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Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent dtre tiimds d des taux de reduction diff6rent3. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich*. il est film* d partir de I angle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de hai.'t en bas. en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagramm^s suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 32X ntrod p> ' y^-^.V NOTES ON ntroductioii to the New Testament BY ANDREW B. BAIRD, B.D., Professor of Old and Nerv Testament Introduction. Printed for the Use of the Students in Manitoba Coi.i,egb, The STovel Co., Printers a:;d Pubmshers, winnipeg. i In Uncl( |on to til ]|ible as t t'lew of r Inth low impc lize the r lal order i ^uman ag |>eople to ' !ary to ke( i^ere givei re to not laturing Jhristian : I Thet themselvci I I. Wl fight are tl of the Cat II. H i)een transi ^orin in v md removi khem by th iof restorinj |of Textua Introduction to the New Testament. Chapter I— Definition and Divisions. Under the title of Introduction we are to give our atten- ion to those studies which acquaint us with the history of the lible as a collection of books, with its form and with a general Jiew of its contents. In this literary study of the Word of God we will find jow important it is to look at Revelation as a whole to recog- lize the relation borne by part to part, to note the chronologi- lal order of the parts and the maimer in which they reflect the |unian agent in their composition and adapt themselves to the |)eopIe to whom they were first given. It will therefore be neces- fary to keep the historical circumstances in which the books l^ere given carefully in view in order that there may be no fail- ure to note each advance in the delivery of doctrine in the Jiatunng of Church organization, and in the development of Christian life. J The topics to be treated in this course of lectures divide piemselves into three main classes : I. What books constitute the New Testament and by what hght are they included in it ? This is usually called the study ot the Canon of the New Testament. II. How are we to assure ourselves that these books have f)een transmitted during eighteen centuries in practically the Form in which they were given ? How are we to detect and remove such alrerations as may have been incorporated in them by the errors of copyists, and what can we do in the wav |Of restoring the text to its original purity ? This is the problem jof Textual Criticism. Thh Canon. -e their literary a„ I « rM. T """"' "">■ ""^"^ ? Wh ' ;hey .,o,d i„ the^c,,e™r/ 2:r"Tr '"' '^""' ""■" '' be C^cussed „,K,er .He „e«, Spe . In.rld::.ir '°"-" "" ' WVISION I._THE CANON OF THE NEW TESTAIVIENT. CHAPTKR II—rNTRCDlcrORY. of b^t wS ;„r,!r;t:ri:r^''^ T"'' -- '"^ -"-'"•■I 'u.e Of the .ita a,.d P^a^ S'^— :«- -""l especial* r„t 'r^ra i:;;^,^^ "'^'-""^ ^ »'-■«"' -' occurs i„ .He New T^stZTt tTw'TKr T'^ "•°- but not n thespn«Ar^f i, . • ^^-i^'. Ga . • ig) I. is used t thT^ r;°c^sr',::r^'"''™--''^^^! phrases as " The rule of fai • , v *''f ""^"^"y "' ■•^"ch rule of the church." Thede'riva.? " ' "' "■""''" " Th -ed," were used by Orlgeu fc gg "^ .T""'^'''''' "'""'•" in the sense of being acwlw . ^ "" °"'" ''''"'"=1 isnoextautexa„,p,fof t™ rfl,^^ " auttoritative, b„. .„eJ the Scrip.ures .ill „e find ".i^ 0^?™ ""7 "^^Wlied.o (c. 380A.D.), where .he word -T "■''" °' Amphilochins contents of .he Bible are .o be de."'" ?' ™'^ "^ "'"^'' ^J '««. now used was .hus la.e .h ' I"'"'- ""' ^""o'*" "'4 lectiouof religious bookst!: '.^u 'S' T'^'t' ""j '" '™ senses-active and oassiv^ "earlier. The word is used admitted into .he colleCio^byTule oTZ? '"1'"^ "'°^'' form part of the rule and giv^ tht'ruTe :o".L:hu*r ^'""' Iiow that the books (, le they claim to ha\] es they bear? Whg ;.s and what place (I fie.se questions are ti Auction. THE NEW RY. restamentandCharteri^ d as the collectiotj horitative writter. chuich. Ily a straight rodi lent. The wor( -10, Gal. : 16)1 tive sacred books! specially in sucl3 'f truth," " The' nical," "canoni lid other fathers j •ative, but there' '«" as applied toj f Aniphilochius! le by which the] Lit although ///(i thoritative col-f he word is used] Jooksarc those ■e those whiclii hurch. \^ The ten : 1. Tl ltti(|iiity icriptun he Jews i 01111(1 in : ;Tim. 3 ; hlej- com ittthoritat J^ the me 3'eted the ■iters," IS suffici pripture < 2. Th sv. 5: 1, &t in the ^I'li^'i/.i)'. or Hb to the c W^rds exte I 3. Th expression was to com naent in mj lated cov old covenai ment " hen the Vulgate the fourth ( sary to disti o^ the old, ^sociations lord's supp 2SS has sur general Lf The Ne ly nine diffi Namkr of tiik Coi.Mvction. 3 The name of the collection of books is variously ifcii : ' 1. That which statuls highest as far as the claims of «ti<|Uity and authority atTfd our estimate is Scrlpturt • the if riptures ; the holy Scriptures. This name wa;i used l.y lie Jews ui pre-Christian times and in the New Testament it is Otnd ni such places as Matt. 21 : 42, Luke L4 : 27, John 8 • 39 |rmi. 3 : 5. They were so called, no doubt, not only because Bey comprehended the national literature but because as itthoritative they were by way of eminence " ///. writings" 5t) the men who professionally copied, and studied and inter- )reted these writings (r/"W/«7a) were called r^wu^zi, "the Alters," "the scribes," and when these books were quoted it ^s sufficient to say " It is written " (Matt. 4 -4, (}) or the pripture saith (Rom. 4:7). 2. The Bible. The Greek word occurs in 2 Tim. 4 : 13 2v. 5 : 1, 10 : 3, but simply with the meaning " book "and bt in the dLstinctive sense in which it is now used. The name ^,y/"^ or .a ^^Mia was first applied by the Jews of Alexand- * to the collected books of the Old Testament and was after- (^rds extended to later Cliristian writings. I 3. The New Testament. This name is derived from the expression used by our Lord at the institution of the rite which ^s to commemorate His death. " This cup is the new te.sta- tfent in my blood." The word " testament " is better trans- ited covenant " in the Revised Version, incontra.st with the Jd covenant made with Moses. The use of the word ' ' testa- ment 'here was due to the Latin word testamentum, which in tje Vulgate was used as equivalent to the Greek ^'.a(h;.r, l„ tte fourth Christian century when some name became neces- ^ry to distinguish the books of the new covenant from those I the old, the title " New Testament " having specially .sacred I sociations from being repeated at every celebration of the lord s supper came into general use, and in spite of its inexact- le.ss has survived. feneral Literary Characteristics. The New Testament comprises twenty-.seven books, written jy nine different authors (assumi I,S ujiisiy lliclL [I ■•^ -»-y|Jl.->ti\_ LU Li The Canon. Hebrews was written by some other person than St. Paul) during a period of about 50 years. These books vary in forni and character. The first in order are historical, the next doc- trinal, and these are followed by a portion which is character- ized by visions and prophecy. They were called forth on vari- ous occasions to meet, as they arose, the needs of the early Church. Some of St. Paul's epistles seem at first sight to have had an entirely local and incidental reason for existence, others seem to hav^ the whole Church in view. Luke dedicates his gospel and the Acts of the Apostles to Theophilus, thougli doubtless mtending them for general circulation. St. Paul evi- dently intended the epistle sent to a special community to reacli a larger circle when he says : ' ' And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the Church of the^ Laodiceans, and that ye likewise read the epistle from Lao- ; dicea." (Col. 4:16.) The Process was Gradual. The colection of the books of the New Testament into 5 body of doctrinal and practical divinity, the recognition that in the matter of authority they were on a par with the Scripture- i of the Old Testament, and the separation of canonical from non-canonical books, was gradual. The influences which at length made such collection imperative were : 1. The insufficiency and uncertainty of oral tradition foil the guidance of the early Church. 2. The need of some explicit and authoritative standard for the conviction of heresy and the exclusion of apocryphali books. The reasons why the collection of these sacre writings took place so slowly were : 1. The slow and precarious means of communication be tween places where the Church was establis^^ed and where wer treasured up the writings, which had in several cases beei specially addressed to these communities. In thinking of tin way in which the Church at Antioch or at Jerusalem becani acquainted with the epistles to the Romans or to the Colossians 1 than St. Paul), )oks vary in forinj al, the next doc- ich is character-; led forth on vari- ;ds of the early first sight to have , existence, others] ke dedicates his^ iophilus, thougli •n. St. Paulevi- tinnunity to reach is epistle is read ; Church of the] Mstle from Lao- 'estament into a cognition that in h the Scripture.^ canonical fronij nade such al ral tradition foil itative standard 1 of apocryphal] these sacred! e: imunication bej and where werfi eral cases beeil thinking of thtl usaleni becanii ) the Colossiansi ve must i'ailway i Jhese wri f>een seei: fchurch ( Itvould ha communi ^ 2. Bi which me f arly teac ^onteut tc from the { jhad left n treat wor] f)iind a pr f ontent, 1 |lready ex Vhat mem till alive, pty rather |ut I will : Shall short |3-14). I lut gradua Iction of t divisions 'The Etitly divid 1. The D.) and radual col] 2. The lA.D. 303) pm the rer 3. The Ige (A.D. 3 »^as formall' 4 I Graduai. Growth of the Canon. I^e must leave out of view modern conditions marked by the lailway and the printing press. The process of multiplying these wrmngs was tedious and costly ; even if each portion had cZTf 'n •'!,""" '' '^ authoritative over the whole Church (which ,s disputed), the difficulties of communication |.ould have made the work of familiarizing the whole Christ an Community with the gospels and epistles, a slow process. Ihi I' ^ff^'' "'^'^ "^'^ ^^'^^^y ^ ^°^y «f oral tradition |.h ch me^ for a time the necessities of the situation, and the larly teachers of Christianity, following Oriental ideals, were fct T''^''"'^: "^ "''^ ''"" the teachings which had come from the Savior. The apostles were disciples of a master who bd eft no writings behind Him, and they recognized that their |reat work was to preach the gospel, not to write it down • to puiid a present Church, not to legislate for one of the future lontent, like the great body of the Christians, with the writings ^ready extant in the Scriptures of the Old Testament, and w fl tni aurrr""";' '' ^'^ ^°^''^ ^'^'^ '^ ^^^ mindsof m 1 11 alive, the resort to writing was under the impulse of neces- l^^y rather than freely chosen : " I had many things to write |ut I vvill not with ink and pen write unto thee, but I trust i |ha^l short y see thee and we shall speak face tJface" (J^' 13-14). I was only after the Apostles had passed away and ^ction ot their scattered writings. Ilvfsions of the History. inH "P'^^i''^'^ ""^ '^^ ^"^ Testament canon may be conven- |ntly divided into three periods. ^conven . 1. The first extends to the time of Hegesippus (c. 170 D.) and includes the era of the separate circulation and radual collection of the Apostolic writings LD'30?r'T'^'?^T^ ^^ '^' persecution of Diocletian LD 303), and marks the separation of the sacred writings torn the remaining ecclesiastical literature ^ L fA D^307^^-^"'l.^: '^'^"'^ ^'^ *^^ ""^^' -""-l^'f Carth- Ec r \f ^' '" ^^hich a catalonie of the books of Scripture Ns formally ratified by conciliar authority. ^^^>Pt«re if 6 Thk Canon. f I The first is characteristically a period of tradition tl second of speculation, the third of authority ; and it is noi di' cult to trace the features of the successive ages in the course c^ the history of the Canon." Westcott. ' Chapter III.-The History of the Canon-The Firs Period. Naturally the allusions in the New Testament itself to an writings in the way of Christian literature are of the scantit- description. Uike, in the beginning of his gospel, speaks c many memoirs of the life "and teaching of Christ as extaii Peter cites the epistles of Paul as Scriptures (2 Peter 3-16 and perhaps 1 Tim. 5:18, is an allusion to Mat. 10-10 ' Bi the New Testament writers distinctly claim that these writino are to be used for public purposes (1 Thess. 5:27, Col. 4:J( Rev. 22:18), and have an authoritative value (2 Thess 3-6-lJ Rev. 22:19). The epistle of Clement of Rome to the Corinthians probably the earliest Christian writing outside of the New Te- tament, and was written during the latter part of the first cer tury. The sum of his testimony to the canonical books ma be indicated by saying that he reminds the Corinthians of mai ters mentioned in Paul's first epistle to them, and from the wa he refers to it, it is evident he had a copy of the epistle befor hini. " Take up," he says, " the epistle of the blessed Pai the apostle. What first of all did he write to you in the b, ginning of the gospel ? Of a truth he spiritually enjoined yo> concerning himself and Cephas and Apollos because that the^ also ye had formed partialities &c. ' ' Many other passages al ^ there are in which his words seem echoes of expressions in t. epistles to the Romans and Hebrews, to 1st Peter, to Timoth and Titus, ai:d less distinctly also to the gospels of Matth and Luke. But, says the objector, may not these quotations, which ; the best are very brief and fragmentary, be from some contet i of tradition, tli^ V ; and it is not di:| ges in the course J lNon — The Firs anient itself to an re of the scan tic- gospel, speaks i •f Christ as extaii t s (2 Peter 3:16 I Vlat. 10:10. Bi : hat these writim . 5:27, Col. 4:1( (2 Thess. 3:6-1^ i he Corinthians :i 2 of the NewTe; t of the first ceri mical books ma | :)rinthians of mai and from the wa ;he epistle befor' the blessed Pai,. ' you in the bi ally enjoined yoj ecause that thef ther passages als xpressions in tl iter, to Timothy pels of Matthe tations, which aj >m some contenl pr-ary re answer to diement a It was nee Utas certa; while, in etact. ( fiom the < original . Che case o t&)ns and 1 Mfiply tha which 1 ^tbout ai those t< In the flotation i iiced witl riiiula fo] Iparently |tegory w Polyc 30stleJol than th( 3ny. H: he is acqua of Paul's e ifpians at t Mints shall neither seer midst of wl he conimen( you in all I*ord, but V f Papiaj Fblycarp. ai ■ho lived £ The APOSTOI.IC Fathers. 7 pjr-ary records other than the gospels and epistles. The best ■Jswer to that is to look at the method of quotation employed by aement and the other early fathers. When, to verify a quotation ^as necessary to refer to a roll in which a specified passage t^s certainly not easy of access, it is no wonder that quotations 1.0.' '"of 7T^ "^ ^^^" '^' ''''''' ^'^ °^t^" "°t verbally ^m ii.. nu ^ f ^'^■^^^" quotations which Clement makes ftom the Old Testament only seventeen follow the words of the Z ,^u T"" T" '^° ^' '"^^eP^^sages together, and in the case of the New Testament, as of the Old. his loose quota- t^nsand his allusions imply far more than they express. Thcv i«ply that the Scriptures, which underlie his teachings, and to which he constantly though incidentally refers, are assumed rArt:xrhi:r-' '- '- ^— ^^ - ™ I In the epistle of Barnabas (c. 119 A.D.) is apparently a potation from Mat. 20:16, which very significantly is intro d^ced with the words, - .lie New 1 It the end, iifiht, tha '^s fraguii fonging Epistl( ie and t Libted an bocalyps( jdy will 1 Sumn mdence uj ^ have e: :Ill New T ivflo are rec ivhich has 1 point one b ante Apocry thfb limits o: a^ Christ; 24|her direcl o^Peter. an usurped a p tl^s all : it ; tiine curren pst widely ill books of 1 lactly by t, lact coincic |ief is mor different New Te£ Summary of First Period. . 9 pils, at least shows that four was the recognized number of the Itespels in his day. J The Muratorlan Fragment, so called because discovered if Muratori (published 1740), was written in Greek, though afw found only in Latin, about 170 A.D., as is judged from i*ernal evidence. It gives the first extant list of the books of .he New Testament. It is mutilated both at the beginning and It the end, but assuming what there is no reasonable ground to Iqubt, that the mi.ssing introduction spoke of Matthew's Gospel :Ws fragmentary canon names all the books now regarded as oilonging to the New Testament except the Epistle of James t^' Epistle to the Hebrews and 2nd Peter. The Epistle of rye and the two Epistles of John are referred to as having been iOiibted and yet received, and among the list is included the Apocalypse of Peter, though of this it is said, "some of our fiy will not have it read in the Church." Summary of evidence from the First Period. The Jdence up to this point is summed up by Westcott as follows • fe have examined all the evidence bearing on the history of I New Testament canon which can be adduced from those lo are recognized as fathers of the Church during the period lich has been marked out. It has been shown that up to this Int one book alone of the New Testament remains unnoticed : - Apocryphal book alone and that doubtfully, placed within limits of the Canon. There is not, so far as I am aware in Christian writer during the period we have examined, ler direct mention of or a clear reference to the 2nd Epistle JPeter. and the Apocalypse which bore his name partially *|irped a place among the New Testament Scriptures. Nor is is all : it has been shown also that the form of Christian doc- le current throughout the Church as represented by men bst widely differing in national and personal characteristics books of the most varied aim and composition is measured Jactly by the Apostolic canon. It has been shown that this Jact coincidence between the Scriptural rule and the traditional ■^lef IS more oerlect and striking as we apprehend more clearly differences which co-exist in both. It has been shown that New Testament in its integrity gives an adequate exnlana- 10 'i Thk Canon. ion of the proj^e. of Christianity in its distinct types, and tli there is no reason to believe that at any subsequent time suci, j creative power was active in the Church as could have callJ forth writings like those which we receive as Apostolic TIu I are the rule and not the fruit of the Church's development. But at present the argument is incomplete. It is ^t^ necessary to inquire how far a canon was publicly recogni/ .! i national churches as well as by individuals; how far i'/ w • recogmzed even by those who separated from the orthodc communion, and on what grounds they rejected any part of- Chapter IV. -The History ofthe First Period.-co-/. The Evidence of Versions and of Heretics. The Early Versions. The oldest and most important version is the Syrlac n shito. The word Peshito means faithful or simple and ti version was so called because it adhered to the text and did J include, as was the fashion of the time, mystical and allegoriJ paraphrases It was in early and genci.l vue ^a the com, m " ties in which Syriac was spoken before schisti^s 1. gan to se^ these into sects which held next to no .ci.gious communicati. with each other, and hence it is usual to assign to it a place the second century. The Peshito contains the canon as .1 have It, except that it lacks Jude, 2nd Peter, 2nd and 3rd JohJ aiid the Apocalypse. The use of this version having been ger -al, we may regard this list as the testimony of the Syri^ .:Lurch in tb. 2nd century. The volume contains no uncano] cil book a.;u Its omission of books elsewhere included is susc e! tible for the most part of easy explanation. In respect to 4 Peter the position of the Peshito is the same as that of "1^^ writers already quoted. There is scarcely any historical evil stinct types, and tli bsequetit time sucli )s could have callt as Apostolic. Tin I's development. ^ miplete. It is ^'| iblicly recogn;-^ ' \ lis ; how far it w, from the orthodc | ected any part of ; 1 r Period.— G>fitradicto] dsftent with )r reject evi noiiy with iXception tt itid such pc yti critical p ;he accepted )!' to supplei The Evidence of Versions. n afe in its favor before the end of the 3rd century The ^dence in favor of the Apocalypse is mostly to be found in the V|stern churches ; 2nd and 3rd John are so brief and so private ^character that it is not surprising to find them unknown in hi East for a considerable number of years after they were ?|itten. It must be admitted though that the omission of Jude rom the list in the Peshito is rather puzzling. The Old Latin version was made not for the churches of taly. because Rome was during the second century in a ereat ^asure a Greek city, but for the large and vigorous church in Jgrth Afnca-and it must have been made early in the second -««tury, because Tertullian, who quotes it before the end of the ;ef tury. found that it had been so long and so generally in use ^t Its phraseology had moulded the religious conceptions of 2 African church. In its earlier form this version included m same books as the Muratorian canon, i.e., all except Heb- ■^, James and 2nd Peter, but before the time of Tertullian a^brews had been added. The testimony of this version may >ft regarded as the voice of the Church in North Africa. Evidence of Heretics. The treatment which the books of the New Testament ^urt^V^^^^^fV^^"'"'''' '"^ '''^'''' ^"""^ the second -^tury IS hardly to be explained except on the supposition that hey are the actual productions of the age to which they are commonly assigned. These writers bear valuable though unin- oided and partial testimony to the genuineness and canonicity )£the Gospels and Epistles. They sometimes quote them as contradictory or as containing nothing new, or as being incon- stent with the Old Testament; they expunge certain plssag s )r reject even whole books which they cannot force into har- mony with their doctrinal systems ; but with scarcely an ^^eption their testimony is in favor of the canonical writings A such portions as they reject are rejected on doctrinal no ^cntica grouiKls. In no case do they set up avowed rival^S ^accepted Uooks They wish only to expound, to commend Mfto supplement them. ""cnu 12 The Canon. If! ;f'l , I unon h r A^ r^'"''' ^'' "^""^^^ recognized and insist upon by the fathers. Irenaeus says : So Igreat is the surety^ the Gospels that even the very heretics bear witness to them I that each one of them taking the Gospels as his starting po endeavors thereby to maintain his own teaching. ^ Basilides was a Gnostic philosopher who flourished Alexandria about 125 A.D. In an account given of him Hippolytus occur these words : "This," says he (i.e. Basilidd IS that which is said in the Gospels. 'That was the trl hght which hghteth every man that cometh into the wor'i ' so apparent a quotation from John's Gospel that it implies ti existence of that Gospel before 125 A.D. ^ 1 1Q. ??!*''°",* ^" exponent of Gnostic criticism, wrote abj Ids A. D. , and attempted to use the Christian books as the ba^' of his teaching. In this interest he issued a canon of his ov (the earliest list of which we have any record), consisting of t Gospel according to I^uke, much mutilated to suit Gnostl views, and ten of Paul's Epistles with scarcely any changl His preference of Paul seems to have been due to an exagJi ated estimate of Paul's antagonism to the law and his adopiii ofoneoftheextantGospels, which with all his omissions b badly served his purpose, is proof ot how firmly imbedded t' Gospels were in the religious life of the people, and how hod less the introduction of a new Gospel seemed to him to be Simon Magus, Menander, Cerinthus, Valentinus, Herj clion and the Clementine Homilies bear further testimony in tj same direction, but for details the student who wishes to purs.' the subject further is referred to one of the works specially subject of the Canon. Summary. The following summary of the evidence based upon t| history of the first period is condensed from Westcott • 1. The evidence which has been collected is confessed i fragmentary both in character and substance. And that ' must be so, follows from the nature of the case. But when ^ the fragments are combined, the result exhibits the chief marl ot complete trustworthiness. !Cognized and insistj jreat is the surety ir witness to them,: IS his starting poil ching. r who flourished lit given of him 1 ys he (i.e. Basilidei That was the trd ti into the wor'd,'! I that it implies ti| ticism, wrote abol m books as the baj! a canon of his o\' d), consisting oft:; :ed to suit Gnosi ircely any chang iue to an exagge; w and his adoptii 1 his omissions b mly imbedd-d t pie, and how ho] I to him to be. Valentinus, Her 4 er testimony in t: ho wishes to purs vorks specially ( e based upon fi Westcott : ted is confessed? ce. And that se. But when e its the chief mari ,fj I. , (1.) ligg with n|errupte iihristend l^New' m it is n vilters wl night hav I (2.) ' ta|extent. ?m quota ai|guage c >4t of the clear i |;hemsel It of th( |ected th k of th( (3) Tl Jence. l»ys cons tt^charact< I'cely a i lerved \^ pstolic w lence of ihis comi J Nor is e fif uch a rn rifted by th l^ent in tl jons whic the seal their co Epistles m vSt. John lil agreeme i Summary of the First Period. 13 (1.) It is of wide range both in time and place Beein- i|g with Clement of Rome, the companion of St. Paul an un- i^rmpted series of writers belonging to the chief churches of ^nstendom witness with more or less fulness to the books of ^ New Testament, and though the evidence is thus extended ret It IS not without its points of connection. Most of the mters who have been examined visited Rome : all of them aight have been acquainted with Polycarp. I (2.) The character of the evidence is no less strikinc- than tjextent. The allusions to Scripture are perfectly neural - ^ quotations are prefaced by no apology or explanation The a^uage of the books used was so familiar as to have become .aft of the common dialect. And when men speak without .ny clear intimation that the opinions they express are peculiar o|hemselves ,t is evident that they express the general judg- T fr^r '"• ^^' """^"^ testimonies which have been ollected thus unite in one ; and that one is the general jude" i<^t of the Church. ■' ^ (3) This is further shown by the uniform tendency of the ^ence. It is always imperfect, but the different parts are ^ys consistent. It is derived from some of the most difFer- Icharacters. and 3-et all that they say is strictly harmonious. |cely a fragment of the earliest Christian literature has been r^nred which does not contain some passing allusion to the ipostohc writings ; and yet in all there is no discrepancy The .fluence of some common rule is the only natural explanation I this common consent. -"'"iuii f Stfcra\iL''Th'lT'" '"^^ --tence rlZ) ;L ; testimony of individuals is expressly con- raied by the testimony of churches Y„,^ ^ ■ uil-enf ,-n f).« T? ^ ly "I cnurciies. Two great versions were T Vu ^. ^""^ ^''' ^""^"^ '^^ ^^^J'^^t times, and the Ions which they exhibit agree with remarkable exactne s bu.e scattered and casual notices of ecclesiastical wrter «ieir common contents-the four Gospels the Acts thl Kpistles of St. Paul, the first general Epi;t;es ots^' P^et ^^.'etnTr^C^^^^^ ^-^- And 6 . _- .nnepenacnt writers is not limited to tho.se 14 The Canon. ; .!! who were members of the same CathoHc' church ; the evidtr of heretics is even more full and clear ; and when they differ I from the common opinion, doctrinal, and not historical objt I tions occasioned the difference. 'i (4) One circumstance which at first sight appeared to e: 1 barrass the enquiry, has been found in reality to give it life a ■ consistency. A traditional word was current among Chx t tians from the first coincidently with the written word. It I difficult, indeed, to conceive that it should have been ptherw I if we regard the Apostles as vitally connected with their ag I but it is evident that the two might have been in many ways . related as to have produced an unfavourable impression as the completeness of our present Canon. But, now, on the a trary, the New Testament is found to include all the great t ments which are elsewhere referred to apostolic sources. Ma imperfect narratives of our I^ord's life were widely current, 1 the Canonical Gospels offer the types on which they we formed. In the first ages the New Testament may serve once as the measure and as the rule of tradition, 2. For the earliest evidence for the authenticity of tj books of which it is composed is not confined to direct tel mony. Perhaps that is still more convincing which sprii^ from their peculiar characteristics as representing special ty;i of Christian truth. No one probably will deny the existed of distinguishing features in the several forms of Apostc teaching, and the history of the sub-apostolic age is the iJ tory of corresponding differences developed in the early Clirl tian writers, and in turn transformed into the germs of herel The ecclesiastical phase of the difference is in ev-ry case lai than the Scriptural ; and thus, while I have spoken of the ii i century after the Apostles as the dark age of Church histoij the recognition of the great elements of the New Testaiiif^ furnishes a satisfactory explanation of the progress of I Church during that critical period, which, on the other hail offers no place for the forgery of such books as are included the Canon. :hurch ; the evidei; nd when they diflfcr not historical objt, sight appeared to e: * ility to give it life a^ irrent among Chr | vritteu word. It have been ptherw: icted with their ag.| )een in many waysj ble impression a; 3ut, now, on the c(| ude all the great e| stolic sources. Ma e widely current, 1 n which they wf I iment may serve ^? lition. authenticity of ! ined to direct te^ icing which sprii enting special ty: deny the existes forms of Apost( 3lic age is the 1: I in the early Cli: he germs of here: in evc^ry case la e spoken of the 1" of Church hisi( he New Testaui: le progress of on the other hx s as are included I 1! - ; (1.) ] Conical n^ly com V<|ry doul ai been f< 'eter. Ai nd third J le Apocal 2qeived e> fly to be o|)ublic a Ujfed by t age, ai Irminati were p if it I [be recoj Churc J The Ca ^icly pro 'rilers prov ronouncing ito dispute The fori IS certai: F'iontests. I In the n lent as to th .'cond centu rCiof what 1 Icinent and t work with > suppose th ley organize w^ Summary of thk Fikst Period. 15 I (1.) But while the evidence for the authenticity of the ^on:caI books of the New Testament is up to this point gen- r^Iy complete and satisfactory, it is not such as to remove 71 r '!, ""r '',^ '^' '''^^''' '' ^'^^^^- At Pr^«^»t no trace M been found of the existence of the second Epistle of St •^r And the Epistles of St. James and St. Jude. the second nd third Epistle, of St. John, the Epistle to the H;bLws :d le Apocalypse, were received only partially, though they were ^^rtori:!:;^^^'^^^^'^ n Sur ^''^ '"r '^'" '^''' "^" '^'^ °f ^ <^^"^" itself found o pubhc and authoritative expression except where it was re uired by the necessities of translation. But though during the rst age. and long afterwards the Catholic Church offered no etermination of the limits and groundwork of the Canon ley were practically settled by ^hat instinctive perception of ^uth, .f It may not be called by a nobler name, which I'believe SyCWh"^ " '"^^'^"^ °^^^ ^^^ °^^--t-" «f the _^The Canon of Marcion may have been the first which was uMicly proposed, but the general consent of earlier Cathlhc 'niers proves that within the Church there had been no need for ro«omi.^g a judgment on a pointwhich had not been bl'gt ^ The formation of the Canon may have been gradual but ^was^c^rtainly undisturbed. It was a growth an^ not a .riL In the next part it will be seen to what extent this aeree ^eat as to the Catholic Canon was established at theendof the ^c^nd century. And this will furnish in some degree a mels rgf what liad been already settled. The opinion^ I^^" l#ent and Tertullian were formed by influences which we^e t fork withm the age of Polycarp ; and it is wholly arti^^ 4^^^"^ '-'-' ""''-' -^^^"-^ theprinci^Iel^S: 16 Chai'Tkr V.-Thk History ov run CANON.-r»«/o< lie !. ■ Second Period— A. D., 170-303, The occasional and defensive character which niarkl Christian writings during the first period now disappears ;J the theologians and philosophers of the neu faith begin ". vindicate for themselves a foremost place in the world's thinki' I and the world's literature. The chain of evidence bearing in, the Canon is distinct and abundant. Let us look first at the testimony In favor of the Can* as a whole and the books which were on all hands acknol ledged to belong to the Canon {'''iJ-okoyooiivm.) As representing the Galllca.* .hurch one may quote Ir c^us (A.D. 130-200) and the epi.stle which was addressed time of persecution under Antonius Verus by the churchc. Lyons and Vienne to their brethren in Phry^ia, who held t same faith and hope of redemption as themselves. In tli. writings quotations from and allusions to the gospels a epistles abound. As representing Alexandria, Pant^nus and Clement valuable witnesses. Speaking of his teachers Clement sa^ And these were preserving the true tradition of the bles^i teaching directly from Peter and James, from John and Pa | the holy Apostles, son receiving it from father (but few are tl I who are like their father) came by God's providence even I us, to deposit among us those seeds [of truth] which were c ' rived from their ancestors and the Apostles. Origen quaintly says: "When our Lord Jesus Christ carf whom Joshua (or Jesus), son of Nun, prefigured. He sent c^ His Apostles as priests bearing the trumpets of the magnifice- and celestial doctrines of grace. First comes Matthew who his gospel sounds the sacerdotal clarion, Mark also Luke a John sounds each his own trumpet ; then Peter blows the tj ; Canon. — coniim,, rO-303. acter which mark now disappears i ; neu faith begin 1 the world's thinki:, I'ideiice bearing up 1 favor of the Canci :i all hands ackn(ii one may quote In; ch was addressed s by the churches, ryjia, who held lemselves. In tiki to the gospels z, lis and Clement :hers Clement say^ tion of the bless om John and Pal er (but few are tl| providence eveni th] which were J Jesus Christ cm gured, He sent! 5 of the magnifice| ;s Matthew, whog ark also, Luke eter blows the t| run 1 pets ittituling )Ctlypse, JUoally c ^(1 liatl -tes his rety four lqg;tnas o I Thk DisprTKD Books. 17 ;i#ni)ets of his epistles ; Ja.nes also, and Jude. Then, notwith- Ijul.ng his first blasts. John sounds (,thersin his epistle and ap- Jjlypse, asalso I.uke when he describes the Acts of the Apostles ^ally comes, nioreov.., he who said (1 Cor. 4:9), 'I think that 3«f the Muratonan Canon and of the Old Latin version. No cer- aa trace has yet been found of the 2nd epistle of Peter The ^pfetle to the Hebrews is mentioned by Clement of Rome and 'Lr • \^^'^'''' "^ "'^ P^«'"^« but not in the Muratorian -anon nor ni the Vetus Itala. The claim of the Apocalypse is .upported by Justin who speaks of it as written by the apo'tle o^n ; It ,s referred to by Papias and Melito ; it is found in the iMratorian Canon but not in the Peshito. xJn!!''^^u'T''^''^' '' ^'" ^" "«^'^^d that the reception f each of these books seems to have been determined in a con iderable degree by geographical considerations. The estunony in favor of the epistle of James and that to the Ue- .f 2nd andTn r^'^f' '" ''' ^^""^ ^^^"^^'^' ^^at in favor I ^u l""^'" '"^ J"^^ "^ '^' W^^t^"-" Church and that favor of the Apocalypse in Asia Minor. 1 '0 18 The Canon. Let us now sketch briefly the evidence in favor of these books during the second period, as it has been preserved in the several geographical divisions of the Church. The Alexandrine Church is represented by Pantsenus, Clement, Origen and Dionysius, of whom Clement and Origeu are the most important as being the writers whose works are most fully preserved to us. The testimony of this church is generally uniform and clear. In addition to the acknowledged books, the epistle to the Hebrews and the Apocalypse were re ceived then as divine scripture even by those who doubted their immediate apostolic origin. The two short epistles of St. John were well known and commonly received ; but no one except Origen, as far as can be discovered now, was acquainted wit! the second epistle of St. Peter and it is doubtful whether h made use of it. The Latin Churches of Africa are represented mainly b\ TertulHan, by Cyprian and by Lactantius. These writers eithet exclude or ignore the epistle to the Hebrews ; with the excei tion of one quotation by TertulHan from Jude, they make ncj allusion to the disputed catholic epistles, but their evidence oi' behalf of the Apocalypse is ample. Of the Roman Church, Minucius Felix and Hippolytus stand out as representatives. Their evidence is defective bu goes to show that they recognized the Apocalypse as scripture but refused to admit the epistle to the Hebrews to be the wor' of the apostle Paul. The Churches of Asia Minor numbered among the writers during this period such men at Trenseus and Gregory ( Neo-Caesarea, These churches accepted the Apocalypse, an 2nd John (which practically carries with it 3rd John) ; h\ there is no trace of the use of the epistle of St. Jude. There one clear reference to the epistle to the Hebrews but no certai instance of the use of St. James or 2nd Peter. The Churches of Syria are represented by Serapioi Paul of Samosata and Pamphilus. In this church we find tl first traces of a complete Canon at the beginning of the fourt century. favor of these reserved in the; . by Pantsenus,; snt and Origeii hose works are this church is ; acknowledged alypse were re- lo doubted their jtles of St. John: no one except acquainted will :ful whether ht ented mainly b) se writers either with the excep :, they make n| leir evidence oil and HippolytusI is defective bui pse as scripture 3 to be the worl ;d among thei s and Gregory ( Apocalypse, an 3rd John) ; bi Jude. There r& but no certai ed by Serapioi urch we find tl ng of the four! In all |ion of t ^l^im that bddetermit I Theaj tills the e\ been gathei that of earl i But th :Otiiing froi titating und thai Jtyictive ju 3#id the b< i^ve been i \^ocalypse :h|iit purely ifliice that 1 )t^ Epistle itt exactly ia|horship, ;^on even ht meantin lotice, and i 0<|nded wii vtk needed pet to the as we s interrog£ ;|Chapter Earlier \ id against in a chan The Disputed Books. 19 ^ In all these parts of the church there was a growing recog- Mtion of the unity and wholeness of the scriptures and the :toim that it was to be regarded as the ultimate rule by which to determine the faith and practice of Christians, The age was not only constructive but conservative • and t^s the evidence for the New Testament Canon, which has bfen gathered from writers of the third century, differs from t^t of earlier date in fulness rather than in kind. I But the fulness of evidence for the a-knowledged books :aiung from every quarter of the Church, and given with un- .ii5itatmg simplicity, can surely be explained on no other ound than that it represented an original tradition or an in- ictive judgment of Apostolic times. While on the other ad the books which were not universally received seem to i#ve been in most cases rather unknown than rejected The %calypse alone was made the subject of a controversy and ;^t purely on internal testimony. For it is well worthy of i^ice that the disputed books (with the exception of the sec )^ Epistle of St. Peter, the history of which is most obscure) i^ exactly those which make no direct claim to Apostolic If horship, so that they might have been excluded from the ^on even by some who did not doubt their genuineness In » meantime Apocryphal writings had passed almost out of If ice, and no one can suppose that they were any longer con- flinded with the Apostolic books. Nothing more, indeed ^* needed than that some practical critics should give clear Jet to the implicit opinion which was everywhere held • and ^, as we shall see in the next chapter, was soon furnished by I interrogations of the last persecutor. Chapter VI.-The History op the Canon. -c<,„/,>.«.rf. Third Period.— A.D. 303-397. Earlier persecutions of the Christian Church had been dir- ed against its leaders and teachers, but in the reign of Dioc- ■in a change of policy was inaugurated and an attempt was 20 The Canon. made to destroy the writings in which its teachings were t bodied. And as some Christians took advantage of ; leniency of heathen magistrates by giving up " useless book and so securing immunity, the persecution had the effect leading to a more distinct segregation of the acknowledged scr tures of the Christians. Those who gave up books {iraditvi, were denied re-admission to the church by a stricter party (; Donatists) within the Christian community, and this led U schism which helped too to a more minute specification of ; acknowledged books. Only one author of this period needs to be mentioned, I his testimony is of the highest importance — Eusebius ('.' 340), the Church historian, gives a list to the following effect 1. Confessedly genuine books (o/mkoyonfiswa) — the f Gospels, Acts, Epistlesof Paul (number not stated). First Jo: First Peter, and " if possibly such a view seem correct," Apocalypse. 2. The books which were spoken against (fv/-dsyii:': "although they were ail known and approved by mail} Epistles of James, Jude, 2nd Peter, 2nd and 3rd John. 3. Spurious Q^Oa). The Acts of Paul, Pastor of Hem: the Revelation of Peter, Epistle of Barnabas, Institutions the Apostles and " if such an opinion seem correct, the Re\i tion of John, which some reject but others rank among genuine. ' ' In this section Eusebius gives a modified approval oi admission of the Epistle to the Hebrews, which he reck among Paul's Epistles, and Revelation. Several ocher writers of the fourth century give list^ books, e.g., Athanasius of Alexandria (d. 373), who first i: the word " canon " in our sense, Cyril of Jerusalem (d. !' Gregory of Nazianzum (d. 389) and Epiphanius, Bishop Salamis (d. 403). All agree in giving our present N. T. except that they leave out the Apocalypse. So also does list of the Council of Loadicea (A.D. 360). These, then, ii| be taken as the voice of the Eastern Church. teachings were t advantage of : jp " useless book n had the effeLt acknowledged s< r p books {iraditoh] a stricter party (: '■j and this led t( specification of ; , be mentioned, — Eusebius {2\ he following effec| itytn'ifi.S'xi) — the f(| stated), First Jo!j seem correct,' gainst {d\>TdsYo:'i\ )roved by maini [3rd John. , Pastor of Hernis bas, Institutions i| correct, the Rev4 rs rank among Bed approval of which he recki ^ntury give list,' 573) , who first n [erusalem (d. phanius, Bishopl r present N. T. j So also does These, then, iij The W Ision a be fustiiie le. The the dis] liiJe them ; rflBiounced ejregarded i ■ :' i: Ihlpter \ 'i^ During ;tttement ni x«*rcised gr 'e|e the sou file New ' l^cryphal ijhe Gosp( :^llecting trs he str . ys his rr lej canonici )n|e Jewish ik$ of secur •rfiis work in the r [Some of luct of in: ts and rei text or at i^els and ai^es of bo( I The Cos dest Apoci abused by t a^n by Jero ; any of tl i I Apocryphal Books. 21 %^ The Western Church also during this century reached a ecision about the Canon. Ambrose (d. 379), Jerome (d 420) k.%ustine (d. 430) are the writers whose testimony is of most aliie. These all include the Apocalypse, and while they admit lat the disputed Epistles have o<-ten been set aside, they in- lude them also. When the Council of Carthage (A. D 397) renounced in favor of the books now accepted the Canon may e regarded as settled. ekpTER VIL-Non-Canonical and Apocryphai. Books. ^ During the centuries while the Canon was in process of ittiement many apocryphal books appeared, of which several K^cised great and wide influence in the Church and others 'eile the .sources or advocatesof dangerous heresy. Every part fjie New Testament is paralleled in these writings • we have l^cryphal Gospels, Acts, Epistles and Revelations. If le Gospels in some ca.ses the author seemed merely to aim ;d)llecting and arranging what was floating in tradition • in ;hers he strove to produce a definite dogmatical eflfect. Nearly ways his method ^^ as to elaborate what was merely implied in le canonical books or to describe the literal fulfilment of )me Jewish expectation in regard to the Messiah. For the ik0 of securing a higher regard and a more general acceptance T his work, he concealed his own name and put his book 'rth in the name of some Apostle or Disciple. ^vSome of these works were for generations regarded as the :oduct of inspiration and they were listed with the canonical >oks and read in churches. We possess the texts or parts of le text or at least know the names of some fifty apocryphal Xels and of a small number of parallels of *,he other es of books. The Gospel according to the Hebrews is one of the dest Apocryphal productions ; it was written in Chaldee lused by the Nazarenes and was translated into Greek and VI by Jerome. Some critics are of opinion that it is older [ auy of the canonical Gospels. 22 The Canon - iffliill 'li! The Protevangelium of lames, ascribed to James tj brother of the Lord, compris^^s in twenty-five chapters, t^ period from the announcement of the birth of Mary to the M sacre of the Innocents. It is very old, was widely circular and shows traces of Ebionitic origin. Some writings ascribed to the early fathers ranked for] time with the Canonical Gospels. The First Epistle Clement of Rome was read in the churches, is quoted in same manner as Scripture by Irenaeus, and is found in Codex Alexandrinus. The Pastor of Hermas was also readi the churches, is mentioned as inspired by Irenaeus, Clement Alexandria, and Origen, and is found in the Codex Sinaitici Somewhat similar respect was paid to the Kpistle of Polycd and the Epistle of Barnabas. But the opiniou gradually grew that the best of th| books, while valuable for spiritual or moral edification, d upon a far lower plane than the " acknowledged " books, a| that the writings which imposters tried to palm off as genul productions of the Apostles, were not to be classed even aniol " spuri )us " books, but wholly set aside as every way absu and impious. Chapter VIII — Modern History — I,ines of Proof' The question of the Canon remained without change with but little attention till the time of the reformers when I the revival of learning and in the deepened attention given! the study of the Scriptures it was inevitable that the subji should be re-opened. Luther expressed with characteristic freedom his opinU on the disputed books. He placed the epistle to the HebreJ James, Jude and the Apocalypse at the end of his translatid In the preface to the Hebrews he says : " Up to this point ^ have the right certain capital books of the New Testaniel The four following, however, have had of yore a difteri standing. ' ' ascribed to James ty-five chapters, t 1 of Mary to the M as widely circulat<§ fathers ranked for s First Epistle les, is quoted iti t and is found in ! mas was also read Irenaeus, Clement he Codex Sinaitic Epistle of Polycc at the best of tli ral edification, w ledged ' ' books, a palm off as genu ^ classed even anir IS every way ab^i [yiNES OF Proof | vithout change 24 reformers when | i attention givti: ' ble that the subi "reedom his opini itle to the Hebrew of his translati Up to this point le New Testanie of yore a diflen i!ii w l^he e: i«|iF)le of ^rves a: JJ^Ied in >^ng wit '^ Jude, ] iidked witi (Hli, since nd appeal' I Scripture > l|e good ; ,.Ji- %iseful to e f urity ot ■iTyndak ts twenty -1 itfflDut numl Jter editic eases upon 1 ^e see tl: iif canonica Modern History. 23 u The epistle to the Hebrews was, in his opinion, written by a ifiple of the apostles, an excellent, learned man, whose book •grves all respect, although "wood, hay or straw may be ^led ni ,t ; atid it must not, indeed, be put on the same «»ng with the apostolic epistles." 'Uude, he says, is a book worthy of praise, but not to be mked with the capital books, which lay the foundations of the nth. since the author .shows that he is a disciple of the apostles iidiippeals to sayings and narratives that are nowhere found i Jcnpture. He admires the epistle of Jamee, and holds it ) Be good ; but as it teaches the law rather than Chri.st and ives righteousness to works, it is no apostle's writing. ' " It the work of somv. good pious man, who perhaps caught up )me sayings from disciples of apostles and threw them on ap«r. • Compared with the writings of John, Paul and Peter la an epistle of straw (eine recht stroherne Epistel) Of the X)Calypse, I^uther judged still more unfavourably ; its con- nte he thought disproved the idea that an apostle wrote it. Calvin speaks of the first epistle of John, and takes no Dtice of the second and third epistles of John. In like man- ;r^e leaves untouched the apocalypse. The epistle to the e^ews he accepts as an apostolic epistle ; although he denies lat i aul wrote it, and credits it to a disciple of the apostles f^cond Peter, he says, that since the " majesty of the spirit Christ IS exhibited in it, he hesitates to reject it wholly idis inclined to attribute it to one of Peter's disciples. James i aees no rea.son to reject ; and Jude he will not discard, since i^seful to read, and contains in it nothing at variance with e purity ot apostolic doctrine. Tyndale, the English translator, in his first edition pres- ts twenty-three books which he numbers, and then adds thout numbers Hebrews, James. Jude and the apocalypse later editions he modifies this position somewhat and ex- ^s upon these books a more favorable opinion than I^uther e£^ m jWe see then that the books of the New Testament owe canonical authority not to any deliberate ^nd couccrte4 24 TiiK Canon. * action of churches or of councils ; they gravitated togetht by their own inherent worth, and for the second epistle of 1\M for instance, the historical evidence for which is decick' less than for any of the others, the proof is ininieasurn! stronger than can be adduced in favor of the epistle of Ban: bas or the Pastor of Hernias, the best attested of the apoi r phal books. Or to put the argument in another form : in ord| to see how strong the argument is on behalf of these writing of John or Paul it is only necessary to compare it with the e\| dence in virtue of which we accept certain other writings astij work of Julius Csesar or Xcnophon. The argument iu t| case of the vScriptures is incomparably the stronger. Kinds of Proof. The grounds on which canonical authority has been attl buted to the books of the Bible have been differently concei\ J According to one class of views the reasons are entirely o1 Jective. 1. The church has pronounced in favor of certain boo^ and they are to be received on the authority of her ipse di.\\ The Council of Trent (A.D. 1540), for instance, endorsed w respect to the New Testament the canou which we receive al so settled the matter. 2. The canon is cstabhsl ,ed by the histor- of the bod and the judgment of history is final. This seems to be ti position of the Church of England, although the position J the XXXIX Articles is ambiguous because it gives no list offl books, but rece' \s those of whose canonical authority vj never any doubt in the church — a definition which is not cl sistent with her practice. Another class have been guided entirely by subject^ considerations. 3. According to TyUther and the other reformers each nia.| own judgment is to enable him to decide questions of canci city irrespective of the evidence of the treatment of any ' by the early church. 4. Colerid >:€ and .some others like-minded would go fun and carry the question out of the field of the judgment. O 'avitated togethe :oikI epistle of PcU which is (led (It jof is imnieasurn! f< le epistle of Bai i: itecl of the apo( r :)ther form : in on '^ If of these writiii ipare it with the c' || other writings a^- 1 le argunietit i:i i stronger. arity has been at! ' lifferentlyconcei'. IS are entirely o' or of certain Ixm ;y of her i/>se di\ tanc(.', endorsed w liich we receive ;i storv of the bui is seems to be : igh the position it gives no list of: , lical authority v 1 which is not c ely by subject! eformers each nia [uestions of cano| tment of any bq led would go furt| le judgment. J«|ct l^ii Methods of Proof. 25 ' finds him " is it the lo far as there is in the Bible what prd of God for any man. '. The safe course to follow is found in combining the ob- pve and the subjective lines of proof. By the latter we ce ourselves in entire subjection to the will of God as He ealed it, but in what books that will is revealed can only niown by the exercise of historical criticism. It cannot be fthat we have the authority of any statement based upon lation mforming us what the particular books are which titute the canon. f The articles in the Confession of Faith on Holy Scrip- ■tm are as follows : — I The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought o|e believed and obeyed, depends not upon the testimony of ij man or church, but wholly upon God, (who is truth itself) hfauthor thereof; and therefore it is to be received, because t m the Word of God. , ^^^ "'^y ^^ "^°ved and induced by the testimony of the ^ch to an high and reverend esteem of the Holy Scripture .n# the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doc- t%, the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts the c#e of the whole, (which is to give all glory to God,)' the ul|d,scovery it makes of the only way of man's salvation, the ia|y other incomparable excellencies, and the entire perfec- io| thereof, are arguments whereby it doth abundantly evi- e|:e itself to be the Word of God ; yet, notwithstanding, our u^persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine Utlionty thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit earing witness by and with the word in our hearts ' I m 11 ^6 SECOND DIVISION— TEXTUAT, CRITICISM. Chaptkr IX.— Introductory— Early Manuscripts Having determined in the foregoing chapters what bo constitute the Bible, our next duty is to discover and estab; the contents of these books and the textual criticism of Bible or, as it is often called, Biblical Criticisim has for object the work of settling the genuineness of the te>: Scripture, i. e. , what words were they which the writers i: in communicating to us the divine revelation? The t^ "criticism" as applied to the Bible has come in recent ye to be used in a double sense, now distinguished into Lc Criticism and Higher Criticism. Lower CrFticism, to which we are now to address cl selves, has to do with such subjects as the history and parative value of certain manuscripts, the question whetj certain words and verses really belong to the text in its state, and in general it undertakes to restore the writinf, nearly as possible to the condition 'i which it left the haiiil the author. Higher Criticism addresses itself to such question; those of authorship, literary style, theological attitude ai;-j forth. The title Textual Criticism only applies to the lower ci cism, and to that only therefore is our attention restrictei this section. Textual criticism, it will thus be seen, occui but a small place in a theological curriculum. The objecl a theological education is to make the student a well qua! messenger of the word of life. The Bible contains his mesl and he studies it for its sense. It is the text that conveys! sense, but the textual critic has nothing to do primarily the sense. It is for him to determine the text and for tlie^ terpreter or exegete who follows him to extract the meaning Jv CRITICISM. RLY Manuscripts I 0.. 5 1 ox^fl p VJO-WV' It^ n-0. T E A 0? - ^'^ . ., .• lo-o l iCfM. V«AAX^ --e.x/Uw. f ... ns' i lare Jtian pr But( " opinic ithat na i C1.ASSKS OF Manuscripts. 27 l«|ses of Manuscripts. |The original manuscripts of the Bible have all disappeared led, in the second century, as we learn from Irenaus they if ceased to be available for reference. Those which' were ri|en for ordinary use on A- ►ti|pon It to the effect that it was written by Thecla aii r^tian princess who lived in the fourth century, about 325 m But critics, while admitting that it originated in Egvpt . I opinion that it belongs to a date about 100 yearslaL la^-jthat named. m Ljal of Manuscrg pfs rhe autographs and very early copies were in all prob- .!# written upon papj^rus (2 John. 12). the sheets of which roasted together at the sides so as to form long ribbons. - ^'^ *■""'"«? ^^°^^ wsys. they were rolled up as a ribbon is J y'^Mi ?8 Textual Criticism. and a MS was consulted by unrolling it and allowing the engaged end to curl up as the unrolling went on, so that o| a small portion of writing was exposed at once. The wiiti was in short columns across this ribbon. But papyrus friab'e and perishable, and was in the main displaced by vel about the fourth century, although vellum had been in liiiii^ use much earlier (2 Tim. 4:13). The vellum did not leuJ self readily to the form of a roll on account of its stiffness :M the book form came into use, but the old style of writing^ short narrow columns was retained. Codex Sinaiticus has columns to the page, a whole antelope skin being required | every two leaves, and Codex Vaticanus has three columns. About the end of the tenth century a coarse paper niJ from^ cotton began to be used, but this was displaced inj twelfth century by paj ■: made from linen rags. Style of Penmanship. The earliest specimens of Greek writing are in capital | ters and are found not in the body of any extant MS, bujj inscriptions and in the title pages of some old codices, method of writing in capitals (strictly so called) was follo|| by uncial writing , a use of modified capitals which at first a square, thin and regular, showing that they were imitatl of engravings on stone and metal, but afterwards with de| which characterize each century, became coarser and modi in various ways either in the direction of added decoratiol with a view to rapid writing. The square characters diJ peared, and sloping, oblong or oval letters took their pla(| letters were crowded close together and began to touch onel other until in the tenth century the uncial letter s. disap peaf| cursive writing or runrifng -jrand takes its place. In specii^ belonging to the fourth century initial letters are no larger | others, but soon after they are made conspicuous by being ng to project a little from the column. Then they stand (;ii| the line of the column altogether. Next they are made Ia| than the ordinary uncial letters and following this comesS introduction of ornamentation and the use of distinguish colors. Indeed in some cases wealthy men had majQusciipl f ind allowing the went on, so that o| it once. The wrill I. But papyrus n displaced by vel n had been in liniii ellum did not leua nt of its stiffness : Id style of writiiu^ ex Sinaiticus has :in being required^ as three columns. a coarse paper mi was displaced in 5 1 rags. ing are in capital | iiy extant MS, bij| ne old codices. • called) was follo| lis which at first 4 they were imitatj :erwards with de coarser and mod ' added decoratii are characters d' its took their pin egan to touch o k 1 letters disappe .^ place. In spetii ersare nolargc icuous by being 1 en they stand ( i. they are made 1 Dwing this conn- jse of distingni- tn had manusciii le vellum iW paper '«|ptirpk iliktuat? The ol( >r4s or sei )f|. The If point sense. ^hange jradua of pn [began |nt of 1 centu [marks, fee of su in the lade p: )f uneq )f the a lid be r ritten \ irregu [costly V [with a ting wa or v£ Manuscripts. 29 Pellum so thin and even that it can only be distinguished "f paper by the use of the microscope. Some of the.se were [purple or crim.son and the writing was done in silver or :tuatlon and Other Marks. ;^he oldest manuscripts are written w ithout d ]vKim, i„to ir^s or sentences .so that a whole book looks like one lono- )rd. The Vatican and Sinaitic codices have here and there a igfe point at the level of the top of the word to denote a pause th^ sense. The ninth cen tury affords the earliest examples a thange from continuous writing to separate words and this is^gradually followed by the introduction of the ordinary irEs of punctuation. The date when breathing s and the ac- til| began to be introduced is very difficult to determine on ■^V't of the fashion which prevailed in the seventh and rWi centuries of going over older manu.scripts and inserting m marks, but perhaps these centuries indicate the time when 2 ^e of such marks became general. At an early date— ^•ery eff in the fifth century— a division into line clauses (.o ^ade probably to assist the reader. These line clauses -n)f unequal length, being governed by the sense, but they Df the avei-age length of hexameter lines or about as much fid be read with one inhalation of the breath. Some MSS ritten with one rrrixo, to a line, but as this on account I irregularity in the length of .he lines led to the waste of costly vellum, it came to be usual to mark the end of each hvith a dot and write them continuously. This system w|ting was called stichometry. graphs. Is early as the third century the gospels were brok- mto small sections of which Matthew, for instance led 355. This was done by Ammonius, and these t>nian sections had been prepared specially with a wto the construction of a harmony of the gospels • their ^ depended not upon tne sense but upon the verbal coin- " or variation between one evangelist and another i^xjy. >• '-.^J^fATV^ 80 Textual Criticism. Eusebius improved and extended the harmony by constnid ten tables, the first of wliich contains the Hst of places (.sevel one) in which all four evangelists agree. Nos. 2, 3 and tain lists in which three of them have something in conir and so on. The sections are marked in the margin in > way such as this ^' the upper figures indicating the numbe the section and the lower figure that of the Canon. On n ring to the table we find that Canon 2 contains passages q mon to Matthew, Mark and Luke, and tliat 223 indicates \d this passage is, and where it is to be found in each of the ei gelists. The numbers of the sections and Canons are founi the great majority of known manu.scripts. The riThit indicate divi sions of the gospels of another ki They are determined by the .sense and .seem to be so c{ befcause the headings are noted sometimes in the margin, sd times at the bottom of the page and sometimes in both pl^ and a list of them is generally prefixed to each book. T| divisions were probably made for the sake of convenitiic public reading. The Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles the Apocalypse, were divided into sections according to sei methods tound in various manuscripts. By another system of division which was introduced i very early date, the gospels were divided into 57 reading k> and adapted to the church services. The Acts and PatI epistles were divided into an equal number of lessons, beginning- of each lesson was marked by the word a/7'? or ^ contraction of it, and similarly the end was marked byj word Toko's, Of the divisions used in modern editions of the Scripti| the ch^ters were introduced by Stephen Langton, who A.D., 1228, and the verses by Henry Stephen, who publii an edition of the Greek Testament in 1551. A decided] provement has been inaugurated by the revised version] other recent editions in relegating the chapter and verse sions to the margin and no longer breaking up the iti receive them. The titles now prefixed to the books and the subscripf appended to many of them have no apostolic authority. JM. irniony by coiistruc| : list of places (sevel . Nos. 2, Sandti something in comr in the margin in n dicating the numbe- the Canon. On n contains passages c Llaat 223 indicates v nd in each of the e lid Canons are fouii s. fospels of another \q I seem to be so c^ es in the margin, s(| iietimes in both pk . to each book, ll sake of convenitiifl sties, the Epistles ns according to .seil ;h was introduced! into 57 reading lesi rhe Acts and Pafl nber of lessons, the word «/'/'?' or d was marked byl tions of the Scriptij in L,angton, whoi ephen, who publil 1551. Adecidedi le revised version! ihapter and verse > :aking up the tei and the subscripf tolic authority. !!•!« 1 ii: •;i "•Hi ait attribut aqpiptions a X^traclicte( r||i.), and :i|nd 2 Tl l^ber o The mi lelerinine a niied, for t «veral niati ir«|l)ound t -aioii. Ac crj|)ts amoi rtfe is an ii IcMj^n or the hefgenuinei J lilfeiber o1 (These n jway in compai and coi !a0 as a va oog based u p<^ the se II3' erron ike of th ^terminin HIS readi: iue to g jr of m Iscript b] |ke was I incorpc the num sjlpion or b Manuscripts. 81 are attributed to Euthalius, a deacon of Alexandria, Of the sub- scrii'tions appended to the Pauline epistles three are absolutely :oolradicted by the contents of the epistles (1 Cor., Gal., 1 rim. ), and three others are difTicult to be reconciled with tliun ^IpndL'Thcss. and Titus). Mumber of Manuscripts. The number of ancient nianu,« ripts e.^ant is difficult to leterniineand is of no great value : s ; guide ^ven when dcter- niacd, for many are extremely fragn.e. tary, ,,ul in some cases «vcral manu.scripts by different copyi., aud of different dates ire bound together to make one tolerably complete copy of the :aa()ii. According to Scrivener the number of uncial, nianu- crii.ts amounts to about 100, and of cursives to about 2000. rhls is an immense array of witnesses compared with the half- lo«n or the dozen, which is all that can be produced to attest hejgenuineness of some of the best known classical writings. lufnber of Various Readings. These manuscripts disclose about 200,000 varionsrcading.K, way m which this portentously large number is reached comparmg every manuscript successively with a standard and countmg every divergence, even in the spelling of a ^ord as a variation. In some cases there are three or four varia- ons based upon a single word. Some haxe no bearing whatever POT^ the sense, as yAyw for x,u iyw ■ WaOOatn^ for Ma^Oau,^ . «or e<;r.-v ; or 'Irjno, Xfu^ro, for Xf,inr,„ '/,V.,. Others are l^ly erroneous, due to the carelessness or some explainable ii^ke of the scnbe, .so that thej have no appreciable influence i detcrmnnng our estimate of the text. The large number of incus readings, as compared with those of classical texts is 5t due to greater corruption of the text but to the larger ini*)er of manuscripts extant. The method of reproducing aaiiscnpt by copying was especially liable to error, and each istake was liable to be perpetuated when the copy into which was mcorporated was used as a model by a new transcriber ^he nuinerous variations, so far from giving occasion for IB^ion or beine marks of «reriods of its histo:^ I in every eight, va| it evidence to bi(l| I in sixty has varic| ;nce as to render i iiy of these variotlf^ -y thousand has iij j h evidence as to c| tween the reading-' e " Make your llii: !, if numbers of co j knowing and seri hed to select whatj e hands of a knavt; nd absurd choice: e chapter nor so 'it will be the sani )ensiveness of pa: diaeval times, to e:| hich the burden rial for other lite: ing been in all cS cess of time, not ir 1 1, or has been rend; i 1 restored maniiSM A considerable ii| The most imiiofi jrased in the 12th Syrus. The ork| ly successful atte:^ to make it clear. the Uncial MS? C , including for i from the Gret-k i lebrew a umerals .^here is g iffereiit p crijpt vok ifferent p; ito four f ate I lie sj le same cripts in t re someti ;veral or ; n additioi een added ;rs or figu 'hus D^ D vo succesi h€ Most B The C sposit, haj on of the tS0 Thr raa!ically i " a; not vei :ho|ars 18( '*rom s ranscri I critics N. T. Manuscripts. 33 rew alphabets. The cursives are designated by the Arabic ierals 1,2, 3. The system is convenient but defective. re is great inequality in the number of manuscripts of the prent portions of the New Testament and the same manu- J)t volume is moreover not always of the same date in its i%ent parts. Hence, the whole New Testament being divided ito four parts for convenience of criticism, and to accommo- at«r the system to the usual form in which the MSS appear i^m^me letter is sometimes used to denote dzfefcnimmm- crf ts m the different parts. On the other hand different letters re|ometimes used to indicate the same manuscript, including 2%al or all the parts into which the New Testament is divided ti |ddition to this the changes and corrections which have eeil added to MSS by later hands are designated by small let- mpr figures above and to the right of the original symbols h^ D- D'^ indicate changes which have been made in D by vO^uccessive later hands. J BfThl^odeOatlca^ [B] , ^ISlSm its%&^ 3p|it, has apparently been in Rome almost from the founda- oi^f tlie Vatican library about the middle of the 15th cen m Through the illiberality of the Papal authorities it was ra<|callv inaccessible to biblical students till the publication '^ ms^im"'"^ '^""'""' '''"'" ""^ ''^'^^^" ^^^'^^"^ #rom some peculiarities of the language it is thought that ^e Iranscnption must have been made in Egypt, although twenties contend for the West. There ar^^^LcohZt ' ^il^e. The text is written continuously wiih nTdhlT- nf words, and the letters are equally distant from one an- h« Originally there were no marks of punctuation but a ^^ also some accents have been-Idded" by^TTitiThand ^eAmmonian sections are wanting. Another sign of greai ^hat all the epistles of Paul are arranged tog^her as ^ KiHwith continuous chapters to the ertd. All the critics agree iisMS^saproductof the 4th century; some put if a las 350, and others at a point near th. .nd of the cen tury, 34 Textuai, Criticism, i.;':':' ill It contains nearly all the Old Testament and the New 'IV ment except Hebr. 9:14—13, 1st and 2nd Tim., Titus, V. mon and Rev. (Y The Codex Sinaiticus (denoted by the Hebrew 1^ Aleph), was discovered in the Convent of St. Catherin. Mount Sinai, the first part in 1844 and the remainder in l.^" Tischendorf. It is written on very fine vellum, four coin on a page, in which respect it is unique. The writing i plain .somewhat square u ncial s without breathings or acct ii spaces between the words. The Ammonian section^ marked. It contains a considerable part of the O. T., whole of the N. T. and the epistle of Barnabas and the 1' of Hernias, each of which had been before known as a w only in Latin translations. The whole manuscript is ir.si marked by the hands of many correctors distinguished : ' each other by difterences of penman.ship, ink, &c. manuscript is usually believed to belong to the fourth cent'| A The Codex Alexandrinus. (A; is now in the Brl Museum and was presented to Charles I in 1628 througlii ambassador at Constantinople by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch oti Greek church, who brought it from Egypt, whence its ii| Alexandrinus. The letters are uncial, somewhat round, and more elegant than B. The words are not separated I there are no accents nor marks of aspiration. The initall ters of sections are much larger than the rest and standi from the margin. The manuscript consists of four volumesl first three containing the Old Testament in Greek and the | the New Testament with the first epistle of Clement tothet| inthians and part of the 2nd. In some parts of the Newf tament it is defective — Matthew (e.g.) *^ ^e .s with 25:6. It is highly probable that thit muv. "cript was wr;| about the middle of the 5th century C The Codex Ephraemi (C) is a palimpsest preserve! the Imperial library at Paris. Originally it contained the ^v| of the New Testament, and perhaps the Old also, ekg^ written on thin vellum, a single column to the page — no| contains fragments of all the books except 2 Thess. and 2 Jj and the New Te-^ id Tim., Titus, Pb by the Hebrew lei of St. CatherinJ e remainder in lS5f vellum, four coliii^ The writing i> rea things or accenti imonian sections art of the O. T., rnabas and the l'a| re known as a wi ; manuscript is u;' rs distinguished l;| >hip, ink, &c. to the fourth cent;* now in the Brii in 1628 throui^lii rucar, Patriarch o:| rv't, whence its r | )mewhat round, I re not separated :ion. The initaij e rest and stand; ts of four volume- in Greek and the of Clement to the » larts of the New 'e -s with 25:6. .v. xript was wr| limpsest preservel it contained the v;p e Old also, ek'g| to the page — noj )t2Thess. and2ji '% vm *he writin rst letter :anding a: Ionian sec mons. I vo person ilieved to he Cursi The ci ioBiscules, >age, are i ey are of "es^nting i •ntideratic •th, and o: ur classes. it a large : lia|,eviden plete cursi; 'estarr of the en abl uction ill. ' , ' Ml 1 he trar lade di jf the I )f the :e thou by Gr< [respect itant Gi which The Versions. 36 i^writing is continuous without accents or breathings, the ^'letter of each section being of larger size than the rest and »l|iJtng as in (A) a little to the left of the column. The Am- lof an sections stand in the margin but without the Eusebian inftiis. It has undergone corrections at the hands of at least vopersons, possibly a third. The date of the manuscript is 5Hi|ved to be the first half of the 5th century. he Cursives, ^ ,|rhe cursive manuscripts, or as they should be called the li^scules, if the other name had not been sanctioned by'long ^, are about 2000 in number, and although individually .^re of less value than the uncials, yet some of them as re- •e*itnig apparently very old examplars are entitled to much >i«1eration. The cursives date from the 9th century to the .% and on the basis of style of writing they are divided into urflasses. Only about 150 of them have been fully collated It a large number of others have been examined to discover lial|evidence they offer on disputed passages, and the work •nplete collation is now going on. The great importance cursives generally, in determining the true text of the ^^estament as against the too exclusive and peremptory ii^f the leading uncials, which is the great open question, s i|en ably exhibited and urged by Scrivener in his "Plain tr#uction to the Criticism of the New Testament " Chapter X.— The Versions. Jie translations of the New Testament Scriptures, which r^ade directly from the original Greek, in the early cen- i«»|of the Christian era, bear valuable testimony to the con- ^f «ie Greek at the time when they were made. This «|ce though more indirect and precarious than that fur- m by Greek manuscript, possesses an advantage over them 3iti respect, that several of the oldest versions are older than /tttant Greek MS., and if we may assume that the manu- ipf which contain the versions are themselves free ^rom cor- 36 Textual Criticism. ruption (a large assumption), we have a series of authorities very high order. Isaac Taylor says, "Among all the iiu for ascertaining the antiquity and genuineness of ancient boi none are more satisfactory or more complete than those oik by the existence of early translations, Indeed, if such tr.u tions can be proved to have been made near to the tinit which the author of the original work is believed to have \v and if they correspond in the main with the existing text, if they have descended to modern times through channels . gether independent of those which have conveyed the orig work ; and if, moreover, ancient translations of the same w in several languages are in existence, no kind of proof ca morcj perfect or trustworthy . ' ' These versions are mainly valuable as guides to the and not as models of translation or guides to interpretation there is great difficulty in determining the degree in whicl idioms of a language or the habits of a translator may caused him to deviate from the exact structure of the G sentences. Two of the ancient versions, the Peahito and the \ Latina, have already been spoken of on account of their' mony to the Canon, it will be necessary now to speak o witness which they bear to the genuineness and authentici' the New Testament Scriptures. The Syriac Versions . g^ac represents almost the language spoken by th' habitants of Palestine in our Lord's day. It is posbib| trace it back as far as the first half of the 2nd century. Irl ists in several forms, probably successive versions of the i est translation. 1. It is now agreed with practical unanimity tliai earliest form we have is represented in a MS. of the 5tbf tury, containing fragments of the Gospels, found in an E| ian monastery by Dr. Cureton, in 1842— hence called the ( Ionian. 2. A revision of this translation, probably in the .3rd| tury, resulted in the P eshito, literally the simple or faif j'l ies of authorities! long all the tiieij ess of ancient boc| e than those offel eed, if such tniii| tiear to the timd lieved to have li\| i existing text, .| rough channels a| nveyed the origiij us of the same wjj ind of proof cai:| s guides to the to interpretation! degree in whiclil :ranslator may l icture of the G:^ ihito and the \| :count of their t now to speak of^ s and authenticitl unanimity thai MS. of the 5thl i, found in an Ej lence called thai >ably in the Brdl e simole or fail ;'-t<^nrevAro, t\<^\f^oMcnA/^ ^ "H/^t^ '-vv^ri Vv\, . Mi 1 1bui [It IS so st|;^iushe( iMation o cdrrl with 1 «5^ us, pr vi^een re e3f#iight n lll^e so m< Syriac and Latin Versions. 87 ltl«)iigh it is at the same time a free and idiomatic version of he wlKjle New Testament, except the " antilegoniena . " ^ ^iS. Another translation of the Syriac is called tlie Philoxe- .i^, because made under the patronage of Philoxenus, bishop f Hieraixjlis, A.D. 508. This contains all the New Testament xcept the Apocalypse, and its mo.st notable characteristic is liat it is so excessively literal as to obscure the sense. W. A thorough revision of this ver^ ,on was made A.D. 616 y f homas of Harkel, and is hence called the Harclean. Use 'as niad^ of the best Greek manuscripts and the work was erformed with scrupulous care. 5. There is a partial lectionary of the Gospels in the Vati- in library which is called the Jerusalem Syriac, although lan: ^f '-S forms are rather Aramaean than Syriac It is luj . , elegant than the Peshito and it adheres less strictly . m ongmal thai, the Philoxenian, but it has a vnlue of its mas .1 mdependent version. It professes to have been >I#li. 1080 A/.., and it seems to represent a translation la^ in the 5th th century. •^ Versions. %etus Latina, sometimes called Vetus Itala. The earliest atm version was made in North Africa about 150 A D and a9,jvell known in Tertullian's time. The literary style w and uncouth and there were so many revisions that some have thought there must have been several independent angations. It remains now only in fragments, preserved in « fntings of Tertullian and Cyprian. J^^ ^"'8^*«- ^° th^ Matter part of the 4th century the stl«giushed scholar Jerome made a revision of the Latin an^ation of the New Testament. In the year 392, in speak- ?^ his work, he says, " I brought the New Testament into corn with the original Greek." I, his dedication to Pope imt IS, prefixed to the Gospels, he says, " The four Gospels ve been revised by collating old Greek manuscripts That sy^ight not depart much from the usage of the Latin read- ?.f^ so modified them with our pen that we corrected only 1 I 88 Textual, Ckiticism', those passages which seemed to change the sense, and allow I the rest to remain as they were." Of tlie Vetus Latina tlu are some thirty -eight copies : the copies of Jerome's version absolutely countless : they probably exceed in number all t Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. The Coptic Version*. The Coptic language which sprang from the langua-^c the ancient Egyptians, was used by the Christians in Iv^ from the second century after Christ till the seventh. Tra lations exist in three dialects, the Thebaic or Sahidic, of I > Egypt, the Memphitic of Lower Egypt, and the Bashi spoken in the Delta of the Nile. Very few of the manusi r: of these versions are older than the 10th century, but tht v regarded as good collateral authority for the second and ll centuries. The iEthiopic version of the fourth century, the~-Gnt made by Ulphilas also in the fourth, and the Armenian sion of the 5th century are of less value, but are still witn.- of considerable importance as to the condition of the Greek at the time when they were made. Ill: Chapter XI. — Early Quotations from the Ne\v Testament. As sources of testimony to the accuracy of the New Te ment text we have now considered two witnesses — the e manuscripts and the versions* It remains that we should r tion one more — the quotations from the New Testament, ii by writers of the first three or four centuries, as throwing.; 1 on the condition of the New Testament text in their time I dence of this kind is of much less value than from the u sources, because : 1. It covers much less ground. 2. The quotations are often not exact, because of the J ficulty of referring to the exact passage when a quotationj sense, and alhu Vetus Latina tli Jerome's version . d in number all i om the languai^i. Christians in F,^' he seventh. Tra )r Sahidic, of Vy and the Bashiin V of the manust r: ^ntury, but tht v the second and tl century, the-Gof I the Armenian »ut are still wittiL- ion of the Greek FROM THE NeV cy of the New Te-I witnesses — the t, that we should ii ew Testament, iii ies, as throwing it in their time. I| than from the o| c/vO [a o ^ ^ »•-* 3 »5i> Ci t, because of the! hen a quotation! m wjttited. C wi|tiiig on : re«wy refer the result t inaifccurate. I The wr tage that bi idiled, and ha,^ thougi :io^ so as lappted tex iAdd to ragnients hi tia|ter of wc ■.tiS.of doubt , Among iry and the iiRpolytus, alf of the tl tid i:«. the fif p'he mat om manusc atter is to s !not ''ere pr atethe vahi s lit Its favo another rea help to Intern ly |)e gainec any testimo ^his inter mm The Principles of Criticism. 39 wanted. Copies of the scriptures were few ; the method of wnting on rolls, and the absence of chapters or verses made ready reference difficult, hence memory was relied upon with the result that the majority of patristic quotations are verbally inaccurate. - The writings of the fkthers, too, labor under the disadvan- tage that but few of them have been carefully and critically edited, and many of the .transcribers or editors of later days lave thought they were doing good service by altering quota- ions so as to bring them into conformity with the generally icoepted text. ^ ; Add to this that of the eariy Greek fathers only the merest ra^ients have come down to our day, and it will scarcely be a natter of wonder that the evidence from this source is slight :nd of doubtful reliability. , Among the Greek fatheis of the latter part of the 2nd cent- iryandthe early half of the third, may be named Irenaeus, !^f ' r':, r^'"* "^ Alexandria, and Origen ; in the latte; ^f .i. I '"^"''^' Methodius ; in the fourth Eusebius tidinthe fifth Cyril of Alexandria. TER Xir.— The Principles of Bibucal Criticism. rhe materials of biblical criticism having been collected o^ manuscripts, versions and patristic quotations, the next atteris to systematize and make available the mass of eyi- ^n^ ^ere presented. It would be manifestly absurd to esti- a|t e yalue of a reading by the mere number of the witnes- Itt ts favor as compared with the number of those in favor heTn? ?•• •^''"' ''' considerations of various kinds » nelp to a decision : Internal Evidence of readings, i. e., evidence which teS" ''f "''^'^P^"^^^ ^^-^^- -dependentlv r testimony such as is furnished by manuscripts, etc. ' lis internal evidence is c„bdivided into : 40 Textual Criticism. ^ 1. Intrinsic— What is the author Ukely to have writte: What reading is most consistent with the context ? 2. Transcriptional.— Of two rival readings which, suming it to be a mistake, would a copyist be more likely fall into? Which reading is the more likely to have been origin of the other ? Transcriptional evidence requires us to study the charact- istics of copyists, and the circumstances under which tl: worked, so as to be able to judge of the errors to which t were liable. These errors may be classified into : A. Int entional Corr ufitjons. which, however, were most always made in good faith and with the idea that an of some previous scribe was being expunged. Under this It fall- . , (1.) Linguistic and rhetorical corruptions. (2.) Historical corruptions. (3.) Harmonistic corruptions. (4.) Doctrinal corruptions. (5.) Liturgical corruptions. B. Unintention ^LCorruotions are such as are like have been due to the ignorance or frailty of the scribe. (1.) Errors of the eye. (2.) Errors of the memory. (3.) Errors of the judgment. (4.) Errors of the pen. (5.^ Errors of speech. "^-^ II. In the discussion of external evidence it is nece^ to note the many circumstances— not age merely— which f| any manuscript to be of special value. Naturally, age is the element to be first considered but| there are divergent views. Tregelles would give weight a, | exclusively to ancient witnesse.=, and in cases where they aj decisive would leave the question open, whereas Scrivel cas?s where the ancient witnesses disagree would give li.^ i [y to have wrine| ntext ? ;adings which, t be more hkelyj ly to have been itudy the charactl under which til rrors to which tq into : however, weref le idea that an el i. Under this li| ns. such as are hkel^ i the scribe. lence it is necesj merely — which p| t considered butf d give weight ,es where they aij whereas Scrivei| •ee would givei '^ m veight to t ble thing hix^ like latter of g Srtiiin vvel 'relies h MSpicuou: lept beloi :heBie Dr. le text : \ lephi, Sy: ij^estima PTER e ru: brie: paper by ] icjsejol The wo les. The tp im the I sed to toll owed play lerwise wi the Tiiost in tracing altf Cam n jjjws of y to guide olatsbip. a^licabh eralj princ; m of of wit Canons op Procedure. 41 i^eight to the later uncials and the cursives. It is a very notice- ble thing that scarcely any two known manuscripts show any tiing like verbal agreement ; on the other, hand it is now a latter of general consent that manuscripts are marked oft by srtain well defined general features into families, which 'ri||elles has arranged thus : (a) the Western of which D is the Dnspicuous representative ; (6) the Alexandrian to which B and leph belong, and (r) the Byzantin£ia^hich A belongs. This ^heme Dr. Hort has improved so as to give us four types of letext: Western (D), Alexandrian (represented partly by |), Syrian (A) and Neutral (B). Dr. Hort places a very iestimate upon B. ^^PTER XIII.— The Canons of Biblical Criticism. '^e rules of procedure to be followed in Biblical Criticism ayfe briefly defined as follows, in a statement condensed from paper by Dr. Ezra Abbot : 15-Sgl °^ Canon s of Procedure. the work of the critic can never be shaped by definite les. The formal enunciation of principles is but the first Vm the process of revision. Even Lachmann who pro- sedto iollow the most directly mechanical method, frequentlv ow«d play to his own iudgment. It could not, indeed be i^ise with a true scholar ; and if there is need anywhere tlif most free and devout exercise of everv^ faculty, it must injacuig out the very words of the apostles and the I.ord mm. The justification r,: a method of revision lies in the ult Canons of critici.n, are more frequently corollaries n tews of procedure. Vet .nch canons are not without use tiai^ing the course to I, f..,iowed, but they are intended 5^guide and not dispense with the exercise of tact and •hip The student will judge for himself how far they *f|icable m every particular case ; and no exhibition of e^pnuciples can supersede the necessity of a careful ex- rmon of the characteristics of .separate witnesses and of USPof witne5«#»« Tho t-p^4. „* rx-i « . . — - -*"- ^e.o.t Oi jnuly ocripture, like the 42 Textual Criticism. text of all other books, depends on evidence. Rules r classify the evidence and facilitate the decision, but the fi appeal must be to the evidence itself. The Canons. 1. The text must throughout be determined by e dence without allowingany prescriptive right to print editions. In the intancy of criticism it was natural thai e. printed editions should possess a greater value than indivi^ MSS. The language of the Complutensirai editors, iw Erasmus and Stephens, was such as to command respect their texts prior to examination. Comparatively few in scripts were known, and none thoroughly ; but at present whole state of the question is altered. "We are now accur; acquainted with the materials possessed by the two lattt r tors, and with the use they made of them. If there is as no such certainty with regard to the basis of the Comi Iv sian text, it is at least clear that no high value can be as^i. to it. On the other hand we have in addition to the eaily paratus, new sources of evidence of infinitely greater va- and value. To claim for the printed text any right of p^ sit.n is, therefore, to be faithless to the principles of or truth. The received text may or may not be correct iii particular case, but this must be determined solely by ai peal to the oiiginal authorities. Nor is it right even to a^' the received text as our basis. 2. Every element o f evidence must betaken in tc count before a decision is made. Some uncertaintv iliSarily remain, for when it is said that the text nri>- upon evidence, it is implied that it must rest on anexamii of the whole evidence. But it can never be said that the inu criticism are exhausted. Yet even here the possible lim variation are narrow. The available evidence is so in manifold that it is difficult to conceive that any new aut'i, could do more than turn the scale in cases which are a doubtful. But to exclude remote chances of error, it - sary to take account of every testimony. No arbitrary li. be drawn excluding MSS. versions or quotations belo dence. Rules i ision, but the f. 5* i Btermined by e ive right to print ms natural that t alue than incli\i sian editors, an oramand respcil aratively few ni ; but at present e are now acctn. y the two latt( r . If there is i- 3 of the Comih value can be as^i. ition to the eai h nitely greater va: : anj' right of pi> principles of cr ot be correct in led solely by ai: | t right even to :!>• St betaken in tc line uncertaintv at the text nin-; ■est on an exaniir, 2 said that the mi; the possible lini idence is so fulj at any new autlic'| es which are a; , : : ;s of error, it isi| No arbitrary lit lotations belov ; ' date. ti(M|s, and t In practice neglected aJ variously ai variation is lutely disrei 8. The evidence i: scripts, vers aaliButhorit ?rrars. Thi :ion. The ilso to othei initiation i ■ "If ngbarticles ;isi^ words )Ositions car ramlation. >asaf into the r«|cription 'T JTOni mem slight coiifi ■rounds of dere is ger enuring of iVl^ quoted lew to the ( it^ with ^ lintke shad 'hich could jstacle 1 versioi With which iitions c fy i^rict der iwi of bott Evidence Must be Weighed. 43 tain date. The true text must (as a rule) explain all varia- tions, and the most recent forms may illustrate the original one. In practice it will be lound that certain documents may he neglected after examination, and that the value of others is variously affected by determinable conditions ; but still, as no variation is inherently indifferent, no testimony can be abso- lutely disregarded. 3. The relative weight of the several classes of evidence is modified by their generic character. Manu- scripts, versions and citations, the three great classes of exter-. tial authorities for the text are obviously open to characteristic ?rrors. The first are peculiarly liable to errors from transcrip- :ion. The last two are liable to this cause of corruption and Use to others. The genius of the language into which the ranslation is made, may require the introduction of connect- ng particles or words of reference, as can be seen from itali- cised words in the A. V. Some uses of the article and of pre- )ositions cannot be expressed or distinguished with certainty in ranslation. Glosses or marginal additions are more likely to )ass into the text in the process of translation than in that of ranscription. Quotations, on the other hand, are often partial ■r from memory, and long use may give a traditional fixity to slight confusion or adaptation of passages of Scripture. These •ronnds of inaccuracy are, however, easily determined and tiere is generally little difTimlty in deciding whether the endering of a version, or the testimony of a father can be lirly (luoted. Moreover the most important versions are so lose to the Greek text that they preserve the order of the ori- .aal with scrupulous accuracy, and eve-n in representing linutc shades of expression, observe a constant uniformity 'hich could not have been anticipated. It is a far more seri- ns ©bstacle to the critical use of the authorities that the texts i iStt versions and fathers generally are in a very imperfect atfe With the exception of the Latin version there is not lie Mi vvhich a thoroughly satisfactory text is av ilable ; and le editions of Clement and Origen are little qu-aK ied to sat- Mlrict demands of scholarship. As a gener^^ r ule the evi- I of both may be trusted where thev differ from the late 44 Textual Criticism. text of the N. T., but where Ihey agree with this against ot early authorities, there is reason to entertain a suspicion of. ruption. This is sufficiently clear on comparing the old prii text of Chrysostom with the texts of the best MSS. Butw'; full allowance has been made for all these drawbacks, then: ually corrective power of the three kinds of testimony is of highest value. 4 The mere preponderance of numbers is in its of no weight. If the multiplication of copies of the .\ iiad been uniform, it is evident that the number of later oo[ preser\'ed from the accidents of time would ha\ e far excee that of the* earlier, yet no one would have preferred the k testimony of the 13th to the scantier documents of the c-^ntury. Some changes are necessarily introduced in the ciirtful copying, and these are rapidly multiplied. A -e MS may have been copied from one of great antiquity, buf: nnist be a rare occurrence. If all MSS were derived b\' ■x-ssive reproduction from one source, the most ancient, tho few, would claim supreme authority over the more recent u. As it is, the case is still stronger. It has been shown that j body of later copies was made under one iufluence. They:' the testimony of one church only, and not of all. For iii generations Byzantine scribes must gradually, even though consciously, have assimilated the text to their current fortl expression. Meanwhile the propagation of the Syrian African types of text was left to the casual reproduction i ancient exemplar. These were necessarily far rarer than . and modified copies, and at the same time Ukely to be ar used. Representatives of one class were therefore mult rapidly, while those of other classes barely continued to e From this it follows that MSS have no abstract nunie value. Variety of evidence, and not a crowd of witne.^ must decide on each doubtful point ; and it happens b' j means rarely, that one or two MSS alone support a rea" which is unquestionably right. 5. The more ancient reading is generally pri able. This principle seems to be almost a truism. I' on ly be assailed by assuming that the recent reading is ! itli this against nt ,ina suspicion cf )anng the old pi ii )est MSS. But w drawbacks, thf r; )f testimony isoi jmbers is In its : copies of the \ imber of later ■■<■ Id ha\ e far ex(x\ e preferred tht ocuments of t' itroduced in th lultiplied. A at antiquity, b vere derived by most ancient, the he more recent i; been shown that ufluence. They. it of all. For n illy, even thou.;!, their current fur: I of the Syrian lal reproduction l ly far rarer than. le likely to be : therefore muii ;ly continued to i o abstract nunu , crowd of witiie nd it happens b ne support a lea s generally prt lost a truism. :cent reading '■•" " ^u^-qi Ac t c<4. \jO CKrJs^x .:.# \'. ?^ X ^ ^'*^r^ i C E.K G- 'h Al r AA -fi -£^ CJ'-'vwVrvlp '-W^-^NA. t tl /\ D ^oi^c /?a/>cmA Cj^^t^/^ , ^cCti;vv .Y :B 3, E G- H K L- M P S U V "T A A "^ ^ :xxe i^ c^^^^ix.^^^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) k A /- ^ fA 1.0 I.I l^|2^ 12.5 |iO ■'^" ■■■ £ US 12.0 IL25 i 1.4 Hiotographic Sciences Corporation i^ 1.6 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. M580 (716) 872-4503 \ L1>^ ^\ ^^ t^*<^ "^^ -5^. ."<* i. ]■: Bit The Value of Ancient Texts. 45 kpref sntative of an authority still more ancient. But tnis ^es the decision from the domain of evidence to that of con- jre, and the issue must be tried on individual passages. <; Tho more ancient reading is generally the read- ing of the more ancient MSS. This proposition is fully established by a compari.son of explicit early testimony with the text of the oldest copies. It would be strange, indeed, if it were otherwise. 7. The ancient text is often preserved substantially In fecsnt copies. But while the most ancient copies, as a "^^e, give the most ancient text, yet it is by no means con- fi^ exclusively to them. The text of D. in the gospels, lK)#ever much it has been interpolated, preserves in several ::a^ almost alone, the true reading. Other MSS exist of ^Ist every date, which contain in the main the oldest text, '^W^^ ^" ^^^^ ^^^ orthography is modernized, and other :h^gts appear which indicate a greater or less departure from :he original copy. The importance of the best cursives has J^niost strangely neglected, and it is but recently that their ■^claims to authority have been known. In many cases other ancient evidence is defective or divided, they are highest value, and it seldom happens that any true read- wholly unsupported by late evidence. The agreement of ancient MSS or of the MSS con- |g an ancient text, with all the earliest versions and cita- marks a certain reading. The final argument in |of the text of the most ancient copies lies in the combined jrt which they receive in characteristic passages from the Wient versions and patristic citations. The reading of |dest MSS is, as a general rule, upheld by the true read- versions and certain testimony of the Fathers, where this ascertained. The later reading, and this is not less ^y of notice, is with equal constancy repeated in the cor- text of the Versions, and often in inferior MSS of The disagreement of the most ancient author- aften marks the existence of a corruption anterior 46 Textual Criticism. to ihem. But it hoppens by no means rarely that the vM ancient authorities are divided. In this case it is necessan | recognize an alternative reading; and the inconsistency Tischendorf in his variou. editions would have been less glan if he had followed the example of Griesbach in noticing pr j inently those readings to which a slight change in the balai of evidence would give the preponderance. Absolute certaii is not in every case attainable, and the peremptory assertit^ a critic cannot set aside the doubt which lies on the conflir. testimony of trustworthy witnesses. The differences arc . in themselves (as may appear) of little moment, but tht V| of the scholar is to present clearly in its minutest details| whole result of his materials. 10. The argument from internal evidence is al\Ai| precarious. If a reading is in accordance with the gei;| style of the writer, it may be said on the one side that tlii? is in its favor, and on the other that an acute copyist prob | changed the exceptional expression for the more usual If a 1 g is more emphatic it may be urged thot the is imi.. . ed by its adoption ; if less emphatic, that scribes habitually inclined to prefer stronger terms. Even in the case of the supposed influence of parallel sages in the synoptic evangelists, it is by no means easy t sist the weight of ancient testimony when it supports the allel phrase, in favor of the natural canon which reconinii| the choice of variety in preference to uniformity. But tlu , internal evidence is commonly only of subjective value, 1 1 are some general rules which are of very wide, if not univt | application. These have force to decide or to confirm a j: | ment ; but in every instance they must be used only in ^ bination with direct testimony. 11. The more difficult reading is preferable to si m pier — ( procUvi ledioni praestat ardica — Bengel) . Exi in cases of obvious corruption this canon probably holds j without exception, in questions of language, construction sense. Rare or provincial forms, irregular usages of w I rough turns of expression are universally to be taken in pr| ence to the ordinary and idiomatic phrases. The bold aiici rarely that the !r.| case it is necessani I the inconsisteiic}] [ have been less glarf ach in noticing pr change in the balv e. Absolute certa;j| eremptory assert io: lies on the conflir. e differences arc u moment, but the \\\ s minutest details I evidence is al\Ai^ lance with the gei- : one side that tliis acute copyist proli the more usual e urged thot the iiatic, that scribes ri •nis. fluence of parallel y no means easy t len it supports tl ic- on which reconini; liformity. But the subjective value, t T wide, if not univt i or to confirm v, j it be used only ini is preferable tc| 'ua — Bengel). Es| on probably holds I uage, construction I gular usages of wii [y to be taken in prl ,ses. The bold ancl Pri Prefkr the Harder and Shorter Reading. 47 pmpc agglomeration of clauses, with the fewest connecting pai^cles, is always likely to be nearest to the original text. riipusage of the different apostolic writers varies in this re- *^ but there are very few, if any, instances where the mass of lists have left out a genuine connection ; and on the other laili, there is hardly a chapter in St. Paul's epistles where ;hey have not introduced one. The same rule is true in ques- :io»^ of interpretation. The hardest reading is generally the TClgDne. ^2. The shorter reading is generally preferable to :h|!|longer. This canon is very often coincident with the brt%r one ; but it admits also a wider application. Except in ;er2|rare cases copyists never omitted intentionally, while they -'O^antly introduced into the text marginal glosses and even ^a^us readings, either from ignorance or from a natural desire o mve out nothing which seemed to come with a claim to lUlVrity. 13. That reading is to be preferred which will cx- ilmk the origin of the others. 48 THIRD DIVISION.— INTRODUCTION PROPER, Chapter XIV.— General Introduction to the Goj ispri The Relation of Early Apostolic Teaching to the Writ Gospel. Qur Lord, by His own hand, left no written record of ministry upon the earth, and no written instructions abdut method His followers were to pursue in carrying the Gosp: every creature. In His ministry He depended entirely, a- as outward instrumentality was concerned, on the imprcy made by the sound of His voice and the touch of His lia: impressions of a character notoriously evanescent, and tw the case of those who listened to a Divine teacher, both ap and casual hearer, there was no exception to the genernl ; Not only did He leave no writing Himself, but althoug!: gave many instructions to His disciples about the methcKl were to pursue in spreading abroad a knowledge of His K dom, there was no word about the need of putting into a; during, written form the message they had received. His mand to them was— go preach, go teach, even go baptize never — go write for the sake of succeeding generations, a manent record of what I have said and done. And not this, but there is no hint that the agency which now rival pulpit in the dissemination of the Gospel was to have arv' whatever in the good work. When He defends the woniar. had broken the alabaster cruse and poured the precious ^ ment upon His head, He said : "Wheresoever the Gospel be preached throughout the whole world, this also whiclH woman hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of :■ The text is not as it is often misquoted, "shall be record but, " shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." Audi more explicit is the promise that the Holy Spirit is to bei :tion propkr. ION TO THE GOSP; d ching to the Writ| written record of instructions about, carrying the Gosi: jended entirely, a- ed, on the imprcy e touch of His lia: vanescent, and t \t e teacher, both a; )n to the genenil : self, but althoug!: about the methcd lovvledge of Hi^ K of putting into a; lad received. His I, even go bapti/.e ing generations, a done. And not ;y which now ri\a :1 was tohaveaiN defends the won 1 a' ured the precio i-^ ^soever the Gospi ,d, this also whicl r a memorial ( t , " shall be reio) il of her." Aid oly Spirit is to Ik iliiiil tUillHQI'Ii !i ^ flO-lS < lot be to the: ch CO] ir expi IS recc and Apostolic Oral Teaching. 49 ism with the giving of oral testimony, ' ' When they deliver 'Oltlp be not anxious how or what ye shall .s/>faA; for it shall wilven you in that hour what ye shall speak:' he method followed at first for perpetuating the good lewf was the same as had been in common use both among the ewg for the circulation of the Old Testament vScriptures and md^g other ancient peoples for the dissemination of any teach- iig. They depended upon memories which by long training nd aiuch practice had become marvellously retentive. Such 'ooto as there were, the Old Testament, for instance, were ;w ted expensive. To copy was slow and laborious, and the oIl«^-up volume after it was copied was cumbersome to carry nd ticonvenient to consult. Besides, the Jews had a traditional eptWiiance to adding anything in the way of writing to the law ndjie prophets. They were afraid of the charge of "making crigiire,'' and their own rabbinical commentaries on the Old 'estjnent which were in existence at the time, and which we ow Jave in writing, were handed down orally from generation ) gitoeration, and the successive bands of neophytes were •ain^ in memorizing the rabbinical teaching, which was ar- ^° ^ "^ ^^^ ^^^^ °^ commentaries on the Scriptures. The c>*re'- themselves, being written, were so sacred that even '^3^'" ''' ^^^"^^^ °^ transcribers were held unalterable and us^ot be touched, but at most could only have attention illea: to them in the margin. ich considerations as these show how little ground we .r expecting that one of the first impulses of an apostle be to sit down and commit to permanent written form mories of the Master. It was therefore in accordance ^ith the prejudices of the times, and with the indications a^enience, that for almost a generation after the closing of ir I^d s hfe on earth, the story was to be found only in the ^es and on the lips of those who had been witnesses of Hirrection, and of those who from them had heard the lis record consisting mainly of facts of outstanding im- e and discourses typical of the general tenor of His ts 60 Introduction. ,!.-„ .J teaching, came, by dint of constant repetition by men wl;oi much in each other's company, to have a somewhat fixwl stereotyped form, which form is now to be found in the ma the first three canonical Gospels— called the synoptical Guv because, as distinguished from the fourth, they present ni common outline the same general view of the life and mm of Jesus Christ. We infer from the written Gospels w came later, and all of which in a greater or less degree r have had this oral teaching as their base, that it was nnt homogeneous and self -consistent in its matter, but that i: form, too, there was something approaching a uniform hk; of statement in reproducing selections from a wealth of niati so great that if committed by pen to paper, the world would not have contained the books which would have written. In addition to this very natural selection of sucll cidents and discourses as were suitable to the practical inir^ the disciples had in hand, the evidence requires us to bt ' that even in respect to arrangement of sentences and clioi words, there was a tendency to adopt a uniform meih' statement. The Preamble to Luke's Gospel. But even in addition to this somewhat uniform of orally transmitted teaching which formed the substaii the apostles' preaching there is reason to believe that par it assumed written form before our present gospels were ten. Not only is this implied in the verbal and synta similarities which mark the synoptists, but it is quite plain the introduction to Luke's gospel. He wrote : "Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to up a narrative concerning those matters which ha\e fulfilled among us even as they delivered them unto us, from the beginning were eye-witnesses and ministers Word, it seemed good to me also, having traced the c.)ii:| all things accurately from the first, to write unto thee in most excellent Theophilus, that thou mightest know tb tainty concerning the things wherein thou wast instru.-tej From this preface it is surely permitted to us to aigiC the Gospel which Luke wrote was preceded by numerous 1 ition by tiienwlio?! I somewhat fix( d )e found in the m.i ;he synoptical G i^ 1, they present i f the life and niii, iTitten Gospels v. r or less degrt t ; , that it was not natter, but that i linji a uniform nu )m a wealth of tiui )aper, the world lich would havi d selection of sir o the practical i 'ur requires us to li- eutences and cIh' a uniform mcili levvhat uniform jrnied the substaii believe that pa- snt gospels weu verbal and synl. )ut it is quite pl'ui wrote : sn in hand to ters which ha\e ;d them unto u^. 5 and minister - ig traced the C' )r, /rite unto thee m lightest know tli lou wast instru ti itted to us to ai gi ;ded by numerc "- 1\ tefiFcftllect I^uke s Go tions canm arersaid tc tin exi; aoi«Mark Go^el wit warto the language h thatthe m In the pass aatiiral imj 3f month b :he same v ipostles' t« eadsto the he develop 1. The ina.rfiommu ietition to t icceiiting tl lers wl rast ii The- of mt f them adei a. Thes aem. ^he pic ircUttstanc( le dy«ciples Origin of the Gospkls. 51 teii|collections of incidents or discourses, or both, and that Indie's Gospel took the place of such memoirs. These collec- tioA cannot have been the other Gospels, because such writers are«aid to have been "many," and the only canonical gos- pels in existence at the time were those written by Matthew an^jMark ; and besides, a comparison of the contents of Luke's Ge%el with the others renders it extremely unlikely that it was to these he referred. It is worthy of note, too, that the lanjj^age he --es is such as corroborates the view already taken thi^he mai.. method of transmission was by oral teaching. In 'tie passage " the things wherein thou wast instructed " the latural implication in the words hn-Y/y^Oyi^i is teaching by word 5f mouth by dint of repetition. Compare Acts 2 : 42, where ;heaame word is used. " They continued steadfastly in the ipostles' teaching." A study of this remarkable preamble eadito the conclusion that there were three successive steps in hejfevelopment of the gospel history : '%. The oral tradition, taught by the apostles themselves ind ^Communicated in the fashion of the day by frequent re- jetitlon to those who accepted or put themselves in the way of iccefting the Christian faith. It is to this process the evangel- st ciers when he writes to Theophilus of " the things wherein ho^W'ast instructed." '* The- second stage covers the preparation by "many" I of memoirs or narratives not arranged in order, and none adequate to the greatness of their subject. These were followed by the four Gospels as we have letnl .f he picture then that rises before us as we think of the ircAstances under which the Gospels took shape, sets forth *®#c'ples living together in Jerusalem for the years which ^*^"ed between the ascension of the risen Christ and the is^ion which followed the persecution chat arose about tei^n. In obedience to the Master's command and for the arp(|e of instructing those who had joined them and who id Ift themselves been eye-witnesses of His life and resurrec- an^e story is told again and again. I'^-i 52 Introduction. Naturally they fall into the way of looking at the messagJ from the same point of view and repeating it in forms charac] terized in many parts by great similarity of expression. Tliil approximation to a type did not lessen as the years went by and it is to be remembered that for more than thirty years nfte the ascension, the only gospel was an oral gospel. ItwasoiilJ when it began to be seen that the period of preaching was t] be longer than they had expected and that the work of e\-aiij gelization was to be carried more widely than the efforts ol thj first disciples could reach, that attempts were made to coninil to writing some of the memories which had crystallized inti shape by oral repetition. These memoirs, as we learn from th introduction to Luke's gospel, were fragmentary in charactd and were earlier than any of the extant gospels. They w^ ^i course unauthorized by any ecclesiastical action and werei their nature occasional and accidental . Probably some coij sisted mainly narrative and others mainly of discourses of tlJ Lord. Out of such materials and out of the recollections of til evangelists and those with whom they were intimately assoJ ated, the gospels as we have tliem now were constructed. T\ were written by apostles, St. Matthew and St. John, and ti| by companions and friends of apostles. The second gosp might perhaps bear the name ' ' the gospel according to s| Peter," and the third that " according to St. Paul;" all iiJ be regarded as being of apostolical authority and sanction, d dates at which they were written and even the order in whii they appeared can only be approximately fixed. The geiia Jly accepted dates place the three synoptists between the yeai 65 and 70 A. D,, and St. John at a date not later than the eJ of the first century, probably between 85 and 90 A. D. o] of the most decisive victories won in late years over the dd tructive critics of the New Testament has reference to the da] of the Gospels. Not many years ago this question of datl was the grand battle-field of criticism ; but now it is ackno] ledged even by advocates of the Tubingen school like Hilgef f eld and Keim that the ttaditional view is practically corre, The relative priority and the method ot origin of the first tliii 1%' king at the messat;: it in forms charac^ expression, Tliil ;he years went bv! an thirty years fiftel gospel. It was(jnlj f preaching was the work of e\'arl an the efforts ol thi re made to coniml id crystalHzed inu as we learn from til entary in characttj spels. They weij 1 action and were if 'robably some co:| )f discourses of th recollections of tli intimately asso e constructed. 3t. John, and tw The second gosp 1 according to S| t. Paul;" all iiJ ' and sanction. Ta ;he order in whig ixed. The geiia s between the _\ea| later than the eJ d 90 A. D. oj sars over the del jference to the datl question of dalj now it is ackno( chool like Hilgej 3ractically correi in of the first tliii jring I'on til' britical Jay. hito ex: bral go.' Ihe Iab( lion aui iow are nsts to I Bef le a litl lospels : [he Re 1. I ^'noptisi iiey nar jrd's IE clearly hicifixic Jerusa Judaea 2. D Jtliing t j?er mon Jerusa lat His |ars . 3. TF Synoj ::idents iny whi( fere else 4. Jol teachii lorded it Relations of the Synoptists. 53 king us into the great debateable land of the synoptic aues •on the most keenly discussed and the most impoS o?the r.tical questions affecting the New Testament In the present Ny. Which of the gospels now extant was the first to con e Cfl \ ^i '""^"''^ °^ ^^'^ «^^«»d and third gospels |he labors of the first before them ; or had they all some com .on authonty which they consulted ? How are the ha monie bvv are the scarcely less striking divergencies of theTnop- fsts to be accounted for ? ^ P Before attempting a solution of this problem let us exam .e a ittle more in detail the relations in which the e ynoptL bspels stand to John's Gospel and to each other. ^ |hc Relation of the Synoptics to John's Gospei. l^noDtis';rd^.!*f"'"^; t,^"^ ^°"«P'C"ous feature in which the eynarrate rf " ^ "■" "^ "" '°^^^ '^^"'"^ ^^ ^he events |ie> narrate. The synoptists are occupied mainly with our .rd-s „,,„,,try in Galilee : the only visit to Jerusalem wh"h clearly spoken of is that which immediat ly preceded the hicifixion. John'sGospelontheother handmentio^ns Hi visit b Jerusalem year by year, dwells with detail on His ministry Jud^a and only alludes incidentally to His work in gX 2. Duration of Ministry. I„ the Synoptists there is rmorl'ti? '''' our I^ord's public ministry extended e more than one year, whereas, John speaks ol Hispresetice Jerusalem on three Passover occasions, and so indica e jat^His work extended over three, or at least more than two . S^rr '* "."* ""'^ duplication. John differs from Synoptists in the events recorded. There are but few dents common to John and the Synoptists. He omits .ny which they record and gives some which are found no! 4. John's Is the spiritual Gospel. The character of lord^H •"!"' 1°^" ^^^'' ^" ^'"P^^^^"^ f^^tures from that brded ,n the other three gospels. In the Synoptists there I 1 f\ 1-5. i^ a'* 54 Introduction. much teaching by parable and miracle, an evident attempt bring down the teaching of the Master to ordinary conipr| hension, whereas, John uses no parables and but few miraclfc and sets forth most fully the unchanging essence of the gosp and the deepest mysteries of Christ's teaching. These differences are noticeable enough and difficij enough to explain, but it must not be forgotten that they el exist with a harmony in which can be traced nothing less tlij God's spirit working through men of different temperaments different circumstances and writing for different classes to brij about a representation of the manifold life of Christ. The Relation of the Synoptists to each other. I. Here we have remarkable agreements and no less J markable differences. The kinds of similarity may be iioij under three heads : 1. General agreement Jn plan and arrangemcntj materials. This is more conspicuor in the body of thcGf pels than in the beginnings and endings. 2. From among incidents so numerous that if all w| committed to writing it was doubted if even the world it could contain the books, there is a degree of unanimity| selection which precludes the possibility of entirely kidepe ent action. The correspondences in this matter are represented in following mathematical table to which for the sake of conipl comparison John is added. It is assumed that the total tents of the several gospels is represented by 100 : Peculiarities. Coincideij Matthew 42 58 Mark 7 9!i | Luke 59 41 John 92 8l 3. The effect of this agreement in the selection ofi dents is modified in a considerable degree by the distinct individual style which marks each gospel. Yet there arej ba! Coincidences which demand attention and which! in evident attempt' to ordinary com md but few niiraclti essence of the gosp ing. iiough and diflicti )rgotten that they el :ed nothing less t!i( rent temperaments, Fferent classes to briij ; of Christ. :ach other, lents and no less ; larity may be iio;,^ nd arrangementl L the body of the Gj rous that if all m| even the world ie of unanimity] ' of entirely indepd ire represented in i r the sake of coiiipl i that the total c| 1 by 100 : iliarities. Coincideij 42 58 7 93 59 41 92 81 the selection of:] 2 by the distinct 1. Yet there are sntion and which Take le hea Is he CI I of Go( He hai mMI Verbal Coincidences. 56 iftich more frequently found iu the discourses of our I,ord or of ethers than in narratives. This of course was to be ex- pected, but there are some instances of verbal agreement in simple narrative which furnish food for thought. # Take, for example, a verse common to all three synoptists (Matt 9:6; Mark 2:10 ; Uike 5:24) : " But that ye may know twit the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins (then --%h he to the sick of the palsy) Arise, take up thy bed and ^nto thine house. ' ' The curious feature is that they all agree in planting in middle of the account, the parenthesis, " Then saith he to Lsick of the palsy." This insertion would not have at- Ited attention if it had occurred in only one account Iwhen It occurs in all three, one asks if they have not all Ivved a common source. [Take another example : Luke (8:28) relating the miracle he heahng of the demoniac, tells that "When he saw Is he cried out : ' What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou I of God Host High ? I beseech thee, torment me not ' iHe had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the jThe natural and chronological order surely would have I to report first the command to the unclean spirit and then Jesponse to the command. The inversion, however, only ties significant when we discover that Mark (5:7) agrees Luke in adopting this peculiar order. [L The Differences between the Synoptists are as con- [ous and as difficult to account for as the similarities : Features mentioned in one gospel are in many cases ed in one or both of the others. In the account, for in- of the birth of Christ— an event of which Mark makes ^ntion— there are important variations, although no dis- ^cy between Matthew and Luke. " In Matthew the an- lation is mad- to Joseph ; in Luke it is made to Mary. Mat- Imentions Asit of the wi. men, Luke the visit of the Matthew relates the massacre of the infants in Beth- ■ Kf? 1 1 t' 1 ',1 11 gg Introduction. lehem and the flight to Egypt, neither ot' which particular recorded by Luke, whilst Luke me^Rtions the circumcision the presentation in the temple, both of which are omittd Matthew." 2 Matthew's gospel is characterized l)y discourses oi Lord connected and somewhat lengthy. The sermon on mount (so-called) is given as anaddress, whereas, in Lukeiv all the same matter is to be found, but scattered in many p: throughout the gospel. 3. There are several variations in the chronological in which events are recounted Thebrles to explain the origin of the Gotpels. We are ready now to pass in review the theories which been advanced to explain these coincidences and these i: gencies : The theorv once held that each evangelist wrote indep ently what the Spirit of God inspired him to select and re: has long been abandoned as a misrepresentation of wli; know of the Divine element in inspiration and an iiiai'- representation of the human element. The theories which in recent years have attracted a siderable measure of support may be classed under four li= 1. The theory of mutual dependence. 2. The theory of an oral gospel. 3. The theory of an original document or t ments. 4. The theory of two documents. These theories present many minor variations and tli:J not necessarily mutually exclusive. I. The theory of mutual dependence, i. e the gospels is to be regarded as first, the next copied from the third copied from these two. This view affords a plal explanation of a few facts, but it encourters difficulties | course of the demonstration so clearly insuperable that it >| all but abandoned. The difficulties are such as these '^ It. m which particularsj the circumcision hich are omitted] by discourses nfj The sermon on hereas, in LukLiieJ attered in many plj e chronological e Gospels. he theories which!| nces and these dfj igelist wrote indepj n to select and re resentation of wli; ion and an inadc 3 have attracted .: ssed under four lic^ idence. I. document or t ts. variations and t!.: endence, i. c next copied fnnii view affords a pis irters difficulties isuperable that it are such as these w a.) for the pf 'yto exp OfKspel b< wilfully d possible e account ( the Mout (2.) advocates orrier in w gelists can follower o marks of n already, or and as lon^ lower and { tive so ma which seen much to CO There gospels a 1 or the list II. Tf typed chara< preaching ai pels has sect in Germany vSwitzerJand. There tr \\ as a writter tor in the de\ but this theoi nomena whic have them. (1.) ltd degree of resei The Origin of thk Gospels. 67 (1.) While this theory accoiinfs wifJ, t-,^ .. accou.it of the eenealo.v nf r V ' ^'^'■'^^tions i„ his a.. have been attributed to any other author. Nearly all the early fathers quote it or refer to it. Papias says that ' ' Matthew lurote the ..,.. ,„ Hebrew and Iren.eus writes : ' ' Matthew, the apo.st!e, declares that John .said =i= =1= * o Generation of v.pers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come>- I Occasional attempts have been made to discredit its genu Imeness on such grounds as : I H • 'L ^- ''""' "°^ '''^"^'' '^'' '^^'^' °^ ^" eye-witne.ss. But Ito tins he answer may be made that a graphic style is due not Icrasier ^PP^^tunities of the writer as to his idiosyn- (bj It violates chronological sequence and hence can Scarce y have been written by the Apostle, but rather by a hmp.Ier who collected the materials from others. This obiec- Ifonnnphes. however, that the author set out to write a history lor chronological record, which is by no means the case. Ik ni ^^^ ^"^^V' ^" *^' "'^' "f ^P°«tles the name of Matthew s a ways found in the .second group of four. He is styled a fe" u' ",^fT^ "^"^^ ^'""^^ ^' the customs office. Park (2:14) and Luke (5:27) relate a .similar call of one Inamed Levi who ,s therefore usually identified with Matthew PK anmg God-given) or he may have borne both names origi- K In Mark 2:14 Levi is called the .son of Alph.us Td Mark 3 18 James is al.so described as the .son of Alph^us hnv.ch slender basis it is inferred that Matthew and JanS ere brothers. Publicans were hated and despised by the Jew Hit IS an evidence of Matthew's humility'that he aJe of pe evangelists gives us the information that he belonged to 62 Introduction. m such a class. The promptitude with which he obeyed the n,„ of Christ IS evidence that a previous preparation had been Rui, J on „, his heart and that he had already been impressed ^J the teaching of the Master. Original Language. The question is: Was the Gospel originally written in Greek as we have it now, or did MattI J write it in Aramaic ? The external evidence is nearly all in favor of an Aram„fl original ; while the internal evidence is scarcely less emphatic In favor of a primary Greek form. The testimony of Papias, already quoted, is to the effect! that " Matthew composed the ^.oyta in Hebrew and each one interpreted them as he was able." By Hebrew here is nieaJ not ofcourse the Hebrew of the O.T., which was by this t J a dead language, but the vernacular language of Palestine which may, by way of distinction, be called Aramaic Bv ^~"rta ,s not necessarily meant merely the discourses, but it may include also connecting narratives, and so may cover the same ground as the Gospel. The statement of Papias is supported by Irenaeus, whose words are: "Matthew published his Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect " ; by Pantcemis oi Alexandria, who went on a missionary tour to the IndiaiJ and says that he found among them the Gospel of MattliewiJ Hebrew ; by Origen, who says that Matthew wrote " in Hebf rew characters ■' ; by Eusebius, by Jerome and, in fact, bvi the fathers who refer to the subject at all. In favor of the coi;trary opinion, that Matthew's go.spel J we now possess it, must have been an original document, cannot be a translation, we notice : 1. It bears no traces of being a translation ; there is nonel ofthe constraint which usually marks the translator's work; there are instances of paronomasia (6:16, 21:41) and expIaJ Vr!.°^ '^'"^^ "^^"""^ '""""^'^ ^"'■^ly be well known to JewJ (22:23, 27:8. 27:15, 28.15). ^ ^ 2. There are in the gospel several Aramaic expressions the translations of which are appended, which would not hav he obeyed tliL- c;ili tion had been goinj ?en impressed witti •• Was the Oospelj iw, or did MattlmJ ivor of an Araniaicl rcely less euiphaticl i, is to the effecil rew and each onel rew here is meanil h was by this tiniel Liage of Palestiiiej led Aramaic, courses, but it mail ay cover the samel apias is supportdl blished his Gospel! by Pantcenus, oil Lir to the IiKlianJ pel of Mattliewinj ' wrote " ill Hebf lid, in fact, byallj itthew's gospehsj al document, on ; there is nontl ranslator's work; tl) and explanal 1 known to Jewsl maic expressioDf 1 would not liavd Iter Pl'II iieces,' [raniaic (] Tlu |entity bet Mark aiii iirce hefoi A rath( uikI in til rsioiis of ] s gospel, ( ebrew, am okf (ireek -T period i Oats. etcr and f llnirc'i then eath about pproxiinatel Kusebiu! f;oples, com L'breiv.s for i lite earlier tl The intei jlie twice rep )tc considera "whoso re Itlioiigh the 1 M yet brokei P«iiiiiiiig to h fm and Ch^ The style tepiiig with t Pi readers. ; [KRCsts that ptaiiient and (ifils. It set Okiginal Lanoitagk ok Matthew. 08 .;: Tlie weiKhtiest objection of all is thae .here is often -,„ ™c,t.v between tl,e Greel< of Matthew's .„■ .,el m.l the V Ma.| and Luke, which i„,p,ies that alllad lie a O S |nirce before them. tTceic iJinT ''''"''^'' -^Pl'-^nation of this difficult question is u.Kl n, the assun,pt,ou that, hke Joseplnis, who wrot Jo Uons of h,s •; Jewish War.- Matthew wrote two ed tio„ of |s gospel, one n, Hebrew for the use of Cliristiins u , I ,.rioi s;p':;i:u:d' the^ir '"■' '"- ""-' --^•"' - ^ Oata Irenicus say,, that Matthew wrote his gospel wl,il. h>Kt:r^;t:^^:tot-;"r'"-'°"''- .l»e..s for ,l,e lo.ss of L o I L /eS '° ""'P-.'-'^ "- |ite earlier tlian 60. preaching. Th.s points to a Tl,e internal evidence s^ems rather to favor the hter H«. l.etw,cerepcated" unto this day" (27K 2«. ^V , [.0 considerably later than the crLiiiiL; ; al I t Z n«,e" > whoso readeth let him understand" (•241.-1,?/, [l»... the war endin, in .he d^ttioro t.™ l^a'd pn^birp-pa^r::,.'.'''^'-^'-^'''- "» ~"- |m and Characteristics. Tiie style and selection of materials in fh. u ^ -."^.Mhetheorythatitvvasir,:;;^^^^^^^ tnt if fitll ,"" ""' """'^ "' ""= J^™' Testamem ■. mat rt ,s fitted to serve as a link between the ni,l I 1^ It sets forth Jesus of Nazareth as the Jewish Messiah 64 Intuoduction. in attestation of whose mission tlie author cites no kss thn'., sixty quotations from the Old Testa.nent as fulflllecl i„ i..',, Uinst tile nsual formula of citation beiuK " that it miKhl 1. fulfilled which was spoken by (the prophet)." Ther.. ir many forms of expression too, uhich recall Hebrew i(!in„„ eg., "kingdom of heaven" reflecting the Hebrew " ki„..,loiin of the heavens," whereas the other evangeli.sts use the Vr J kingdom of God"; .seven times he calls our Lord "tlK Son of David"; he alone calls Jeiualem the "Holy Cilv aiid the " Holy Place." and the " Citv of the Great KinV He derives Christ-.^ genealogy not. as ],uke does, from A.hu, | the father of mankind, but from Abraham the Jewish forefiitiiJ and David, the Jewish king. Another striking characteristic of this gospel is the wavnil which great blocks of discour.se are interspersed in the narrative Five of these are con.spicuous, viz: the sermon on the numt, (chapters.,.?), the official instructions to the twelve apostlJ (lU), the .series of parables on the kingdom of heaven ( Ti principles of church discipline (IS), and utterances relatin. J Chrisf.s exerci.se ofjudgment28-2o-all of them clo.sing uiJ similar words 7:28. HI l,",r,;} 1<»1 9r,.i c^ i- r,' I, 11. 1, 1. ).,).), i.M, z().i. Speaking of tlii> massing of di.sconr.ses, Godet says Luke is like " a botanki who prefers to contemplate a flower in the verv place .,f n^ birth, and in the midst of its natural surrounding.^, whiU M ,i thew IS like the gardener who for some special object put. together large and magnificent bouquets." Contents : 1. The genealogy of our Lord and the narrativ'e of HM birth (chaps. 1,2). 2. The preparation for His mini.stry (3—4:11). 'riiiJ includes : 'I (1). The ministry of John the Baptist. (2). The baptism of Jesus. (-i). The temptation. tes no less tlian ulfilk'd ill I,M|, that it iiiij;lit \k I." TlitTi' an f-Iebrew idioms >rew "kiii-duini ts use the term | )ur Lord "tlii| "Holy Cily. e Great Kiii^r les, from AtUr.l iwish forefiitlKr el is the way iii | n the narrative on the niointl twelve apostlt-j ' heaven ( I,'!, ices relating ti, 11 closing widi peakiiijj^ of tliiJ ;e "a botankj -'ry J)] ace of ii> gs, vvhilt' M;it ial object puts irrativ'e of His -4:11). This I (< (7 (H (9 (10 4. Jc Til tio; die pat T). Tl (i. Tl -"■r^ Chap' Biogr mentioned sometimes was a decic is also styk 4:10). He Contents ov Matthkw. ^5 •I The Galikcan ministry (4 . 12—18 • 'V-,) Tl ' which for.ns the main body of the gospel i's n^adTun! alternate series of deeds and words : ^ (1). The call of the Apostles. (2). The sermon on the mount (o-S). (■i) . Ten miracles (interwoven with other incidents) ,S-9 (4). Mission of the twelve and other discourses (lO-l (5). Healing of withered hand and other incidents. Oi). Seven parables (18). (7). Walking on sea and other miracles (14). (8). Denunciation of Pharisees (15:1 — 20.) (i>). Syrophoenician woman and other miracles. (10). Peter's great confessio.i a,ul various instructions imparted to disciples. 4. Journey to Jerusalem and residence there H)-l-'>5.4f5 Tins part includes his triumphal entry, the den^nct ions pronounced on Scribes and Pharisees, tl p e- cl.ct.on o the destruction of Jerusalen, and a s ies of ^ parables dehvered towards the close of his nn-nistry T). The Pnssion (26—27). '». The Resurrection (28). Chapter XVI-The Gospei, according to Mark. Biography. Mark is usually identified win, h, ".entioned in the Acts sometimes by tl„ or ohn M T sometimes by either of the separate names His nw m' ' was a decided IViend of the e^ly Chri;;;:ns ^X^ ''^ s lo .styled a cousu, of Barnabas, a Levite from Cypru ( a" '■"<». He came down fro^n Jerusalem to Antiocli with Paul r f 66 Introduction. 'I- 1 m and Barnabas and went with them on their first missionarv tour as far as Perga. Here he left them and returned to Jcr" usalem for some cause which, though unexplained, must ha\e marked his unpreparedness for the real duties of the missi(,n snice Paul refuses, on account of it. to take him on a second tour. In consequence of this refusal Paul and Barnabas separ ated, Mark going with Barnabas. The breach was happily healed later. Twice we find Mark at Rome with Paul co,„'- niended and trusted as a fellow laborer (Col. 4;]0) At a later date Paul earnestly desires Mark's ministry at Rome and tt'stj- fies to his fidelity (1 Tim. 4:11). I„ the interval Mark seems to have been a companion of Peter who writing from Babylon refers to Mark as present there and calls him " my son " Tlic New Testament does not indicate any closer connection i„ labors with Peter, but reveals nothing inconsistent with tlie intimate connection so well affirmed by tradition. Authorship.— Papias is reported by Eusebius as sayin- • This too the Presbyter (John) u.sed to say - Mark having be- come the interpreter of Peter wrote down what he remembered accurately though not in order, of the things sa)V: and done by Christ, for he neither heard the Lord nor had he been in His company, etc. Irenaeus says : " Wherefore also Mark the interpreter niui follower of Peter does thus commence his gospel narrative " (then follows Mark 1:1). Besides these there are numerous other references which establish the early existence and the authorship of tlie Gospel in Justin Martyr, the Muratorian Canon, Clemens Alexandrinus Tertullian, Origen and others. Place and Date. The Peshito has the following .subscription : " Here ends the holy Gospel, the announcement of Mark, which he sp.;ke and preached at Rome in the Roman language " This stite ment is in accord with the latinisms in style and the evident fact that the Gospel was written for Gentile readers. It is sup- first missiotiary eturned to Jir- ned, must lia\e of the riissidii, 111 on a second Barnabas separ- :li was happily- ith Paul, coiii- 0). At a later .Htin,o.,v of Iren-ensisf^hl "■"■"brance. " If this r«,.ested that M^ark who ,Lf ^ „ 'r,, ^\ "ere present ren,embered his .sayings should write htm o" t A^H T "" composed the Gospel he srave if ,„ , ! I ^"'' ''»""« When Peter learned thiH LTrl^^'lT^T'''' ''^ couraged it. ' ' "eiuier. du . ly forbade nor en- Internal evidence indicates thnf tj.^ o posed before the destruction oTjer l (A ^70)7 T" event Ks nowhere mentioned as hiving occurred but is hfi; T' as nnpending (Mark 13 : 13 24 39 30 "'.'^"^ '' '""^^^ ^t I'i : 20 that the book was wruten after h . " ""^^''^ "' Apostles which occurred in AD 4 So '''T'"l'' '''' these limits then, the date must be n ^"'"7^''" ^''^^^" I'ingen critics al put itTterTe a d ^ ^ ""^' ''^ ''"■ " p I u later, i.e. , at dates between 81 and 170 Purpose and Characteristics. tile nj\-' ^'"""'"^ acknowledged that Mark wrote for Gen t'le Christians, an opinion which is borne out by . rjs' Introduction. 1 . 1 lie al),seiKL' of O.T. quotations (there is only one givcj in tlie evangelist's own narrative). In keeping with this feat- ure, the genealogy of Jesus is not given and the law is . mentioned. lot ... ..7 i^T^'" "'"' ^° ^"'"''^" currency, e.,^>,, denarius (b:,i7. 14:0) : quadrans (12:42), and there are numerous 1 ntin words and phtases : centurion (ir):li<>) ; census (12:14); scx- tarius (7:4-8) ; and phrases (15:15, 15:23). 3. Hebrew and Aramaic words and usages are explained (3:17, 5:41, 7:3, 7:11, 15:22, 15:34). II. In style and diction this gospel is graphic and vivid Its pictures are minute and photographic and it frequently re- ports the very words of Jesus and others, instead of reducii," them to indirect narration as the other evangelists often do. " III. The story bears marks of haste and urgency and the word e>,(U,o, (immediately, straitway, forthwith) is very con- spicuous : it occurs forty-one times as against eight times in the much longer gospel of I^uke. IV. It gives prominence to the effect produced upon the people by what they .saw and heard : the crowding multitudes pre.ss upon Him. they throng Him, they fdl the house, they fol- low Him so continuously that at times He has no leisure so much as to eat bread. V. In the selection of material, Christ is presented as the mighty worker. There is nothing corresponding to the len. thy exposition of His teaching as in Matthew. Miracles abound, but only four parables are recorded. This concise, vigorous, vivid gospel has a purpose of its own-to show Jesus in actual daily life-living among men in the fulness of His energy as the wonder-working Son of God It is the go.spel, not specially for Hebrews nor for Gentiles but tor the ordinary, practical man of business. Contents. The gospel may conveniently be divided into live parts : s only one j,m\cij g with this liat- the law is not , (12:14); sex- are explained : )hic and vivid, t frequently re- ad of reducing its often do. ■gency and the ) is very con- eight times ill uced upon tlit ing multitudes ouse, they fol- no leisure so esented as the to the lengtliy •acles abound, 3urpose of its niong men in Son of God, Gentiles, but : divided into 1. ' the iiiiui tiou. 2. 1 of operai gospel. 3. 1 4. T 5. P (16:8-2( Chapi Thel New Testi his ' ' com Iciaii" (Col ! wrote, it a I with Paul I accoinpani( probably h 58), after ^ and later a< I have been i I him from tl: j is rendered Traditi I and has als( of the Ape liberal and j jarity betvve* j institution o I ances afler I luf ' I Date a I written befoi '""mlk I^UKE's GOSPBI,. (j() 1. The preparation for the ministrvrM ^^i^ o^„. • • t|. .niuistry o. John the Baptist, the ^I^Lt:^'^:::;:;::^ .^ ^.r^tlSZ^'^l ^^^r""! -the centre gospel. ^ ^' °'"'' *^'^ "^^"^ P^"-* of the 3. The last journey to Jerusalem (Chap. 10). 4. The closing scenes in Christ's life (11:1_16;H) i (16:8-^07.'''''''' ' '''" '''^^''°" ^^ '"°'^'' ^^'"'^ than Mark's Chaptek XVII.-Thh Gospe, AccoKDmo To Luke. I V ^^^ '*''"'**''• ^"^^ ^' mentioned only three times in the New Testament, as Paul's "fellow-worker.'' (Ph i 2, 24) a Ins "companion" (2 Tim. 4:11) and as " thl k' 1 Ickn" (Cn] 4-1A) D .JV the beloved phys- cian (Col. 4.14). From the Acts of the Apostles which Luke LXplr'T-'"''" '"" ^'^ " "^ " -' tions that he was v.th Paul on his second missionary journey ^52 A D ) Tud acconjpanied him as far as Philippi (Acts 16: ff where pobably he remained till Paul visited the place again Ta D a ter which he visited C.sarea and Jerusa em'^ h Pau^' I IS rendered more probable by his Gentile name. Tradition has always ^.scribed the third gosp^toTnk. 70 Introduction. he Acts were written about A.D. 63. the usual date assiKM.ed i to the Gospel by conservative critics is r)8-. It docs not trace the genealogy merely to Ahr» l,a„, as Matthew does, „or does it begh, „Uh John ,h Bap, " («. It displays Christ's teaching not so much in its thco- ,h::aZ:;'ofS ■ ''"'"'^^"'' "■" "" ''^"•- "■»" - (^). It represents Christ as fnll of compassion for the poor ,.,e weak and the outcast, for suffering women and for hel^s II. It is the gospel of toleration and large-heartedness It l.as „o harsh word even against the Jews, it enforce lemons o : Is ^d t^r "^'"'Samaritan and the Gentile, a,:: t r' T ".'7'*"'' "' '■ '»l»"g to call down (ire from heaven upon the mhospnau.e Samaritan village. III. II is the gospel which gives prominence to hvmns and .0 prayer. In it. first two chapters it includes the /C /<*. the .,/„^,„^.„,, the A.„,„ n,„.m,. the ./.. mr,:,Z ■ l.e6W „„^,,te, Itrecords, as Matthew's gospel alsodoes .e Lord s prayer, but Luke alone records six fnstance ".ttag ;.-.'. It ulSHi::: wrrrs^;renru':a^t'«: i';sr s ^qrd7e.'" "-"" °' "-- '^^^ IV. While many Hebraic expressions occur the lanirua„ .s ,,earer to classical Greek than that of any of the otie fva^ g 1 .ts. Luke uses a large number of words peculiar to him- self -many of them clas.sically. The conmosition „f i" ™.ences is more studied and elaborarthan TsThe "se whh Matthew and Mark, and his diction is more easytd degit 72 Introduction. Contents. The general divisions of the Gospel are : ' 1. The narrative of the birth and childhood of the Baptist and Jesus, chaps. 1-2. ^ 2. Preparation for the ministry, 3-4:13. 3. Our Lord's ministry in Galilee, 4:14—9:50. 4 Our I^ord's ministry in Peraa and neighborhood, D-5I — Io:14. 5. Thejourney to Jerusalem, 18:15—19:48. 20-24^" '^''^ "^^"''"^ '''^"^'' '^^^*^' '^""^'■^^tion and ascension, Chaptkr XVIII.-The Gospei, according to John. Biography. John was the son of Zebedee and Salome and seemingly . cousin of our Lord (Mark 16;1, Matt. 27:56, John 19:25). His father probably a Galilean fisherman, was sufficiently prosper- ous to have servants (Mark 1:20). His mother was Salome, one of the women who followed our Lord and ministered to Hi nof i„"the Tr^:"' ''■''^- ^ ^^^""^" ^y ^i^^h- J-hn shared n the spmt of that people, in their simple faith, and in their stern heroism. He appears to have ranged himself at the first among the disciples of the Baptist, and then grasping the im- port ofthe Baptist's testimony to the Lamb of God%o h : followed without delay the Master. With his broth;r Jan.e. he received from our Lord the name Boanerges, seemingly in reference to the startlingly vehement utteranc; given fo t divine truth which burned within them. Thiszed, which was at first undisciplined and burned with intolerant anger came at a later date to be infused with a more faithful patience Wit James and Peter, he was one of those admitted to a closer and of these three his connection as that of the disciple whom 2 Gospel are : ood of the Baptist -9:50. ighborhood, O:")] ' 48. II and ascension tNG TO John. and seemingly a )lm 19:25). His [iciently prosper- was Salome, one stered to Him of th, John shared th, and in their iiself at the first rasping the ini- >f God, to have brother James ?, seeming!}- in :e given to the zeal, which was t anger, came at atience. With ted to a clo,ser ?s (lyiike S:.")!), disciple whom J I Jesus lo and to ci His mot along w: (Acts 8.-; church a which h( There is was the ( the end c ful and p Aut( been veh p3i( wf tl: t' -v Hie rtutnorshi The evide The« mony of I God, the ] Sou of Gc Abraham. who is unc 48, 54. p writes, " P come in th( this referen that both V, time. The cause he m the first epi, gospel was ; 'lis lifetime. Basilide tliat which \ which lighte Authorship of Fourth Gospei.. 73 H. .note. After ^1^™!^ Mn" tC^ T:''"! "' along with Peter whom ».« .u T ^* Jerusalem There is doubtless much t „th ir.h, , tv "'"''' ^"'"''•'■ was the centre of his later ,at.s"„dth«\'°" "■".' ^'"'^"'' Iv rne resuUs of whth . "^T'" "'' '° " voluminous litera- '"^ leisuus ot which has been to estnhlicV. tu^ t i sr ;'ftY Vr -"- -^ '"«esh Ltr cis^^^^^^ ibrhim."" Aral d^r.\: 'rTt.'"^ ^^ °' °-" -^ who is u„dy*Xf :: eteruanife .^'"c "" "r.°' "■'" this reference to the F,^ isM r . P'" ' J"""' *-3- And «.a. both wTre wSf th lt::l°r''^;' f " '' "^^"^ tin-e. The testimony of PolX i '' " ^'^^^^ '"' ^='"'^ cause he was the disciple of Joh? ZS^amC:"^ "" »» firs, epistle and says ,as quoted in th 9 h e„ u'y) 'C gospel was published and sent to the churrhl l t ' I " his lifetime." churches by John during Basilides (125), as quoted by Hippolytus savs "Tu; • tl>at which was said in the Gospels 'ThZT' T' ' '' whicl^ li.hteth every man th^ttm^h^ln" ^ Ih""^ '''' 74 Introduction. 3:4 m -^^f 'fr »• Justin Martyr (147) says "Christ has said, ' Except ye ]^ born again ye cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven '"and he used also so many other expressions belonging to John's ^os pel that nearly all the advanced critics admit his use of it. Heracleon (150) writes a commentary on John's gospel, From the middle to the end of the 2nd century a large nun,ber of witnesses may be quoted who use this gospel and refer to it by name. Internal evidence, 1. The author was a Jew. The style points to this. The language, structure of sentences, arrangement of thoughts simply by juxtaposition, are all Hebraic, The imagery breathes the very spirit of the 0,T., with the Hebrew of which the author IS well acquainted (13:18. 19:37). The author is also tamiliar with Jewish opinions and observances ; he outlines the contemporary Messianic expectations, mentions the hostility between the Jews and Samaritans, the importance attached to religious schools, the belief in the transmitted punishment of sin makes repeated references to Jewish observances connected Tf '^^"if L'f? ^^^'■^^' ^^'■^^^' ^""^P^^^ ^'^Sh-en of domestic hfe (ll;17-44), he is acquainted with the Jewish feasts, and hints incidentally at rites connected with them. Moreover a Jewish foundation underiies his whole narrative : it is Jewish opinions and hopes that are taken up into and transfigured by Chris- tian opinions and hopes, Christ is represented as offering hnnselfas the fulfiller of the law. and many special incidents in his life are connected with details of prophecy. On the contrary, the constant use of the phrase, "the Jews, IS thought by some to imply that the writer was not a Jew, It IS true that he often uses the term of a class from which he excludes himself, but he uses it as it was often used about the close of the first century, to designate the aggregate of those who had abandoned the position of^true Israelites and were conspicuous by their opposition to the Christian Church, 2 The author was a Palestinian, as may be inferred from his familiarity with the topography of the Holy I.ana in lid, ' Except ye he 1 of heaven,'" and gingtojohn'sgos- : his use of it. on John's gospel. ry a large number pel and refer to it >ints to this. The nent of thoughts imagery breathes 2w of which the Lie author is also i ; he outlines the ons the hostility :ance attached to d punishment of "vances connected jiven of domestic I feasts, and hints breover a Jewish s Jewish opinions igured by Chris- ntsd as offering ecial incidents in he phrase, " the vriter was not a of a class from : was often used e the aggregate le Israelites and iristian Church, nay be inferred i Holy L,ana iu jreneral tioned ai (' II son acquaint 3. a There ar could on notes of fj with whi witness. scenes an Iscariot, ] tions of di 35, 43, 12: exact hou of number not such a as would t them. 4. Th sion almosi of the Sep witness, bt quainted w impressionj who stood ^ quainted wi one to whoi In harraonj the disciple naturally hi three closes! Peter (21:20 was written therefore be this. John ] nameless dls Intkrnai, Evidence. 75 j'eneral and Jerusalem in particular Am^. *i .iced are several not elsewhe^ta^ed rSL*: "h" '"" .■ .. some more exact speeification is added fn^,' '"^ acquaintance with the locality. ' ™P'>""8 P^'sonal could only come from nersZl ? narrative which notesoffacthavenfrecSrl '^"™''- '"''"' <•'"-■= with Which they indSt^ir ^relTentr''^*^^^ rrare y'rlrr "' '""^ "■"= '^ ^P^ '" * ^^-t; SXI^irs'Trerwrre""eU^ttr' ^ "'^. «'- lions of date are given su^h aT im^l . , "'"' ''^"^"'■ 35,^3, l.:l, 12),.^also i^X SnrtheTrr Tdlf '' exact hour IS given (1:39 4-6 S2)- =,1=^ ^^ °^ ,. would nat„raiiyc,inT:rr:eryTr;::s.^:^^^^ 4. The author was the Aoostle Ink. ti.- . sion almost necessarily followsThl J ^'"' '"" """^'«- of the separate scenes e' 9 5^1 r^"""'""^"^' *°» witness, but an apostle Be^idesthe Tf •""■ °"'^ "" '=^- quainted with the feelines of hrn' 7 " '"'™''Wy ac- in-pressionsafterwrirrrled Zlr"'.'"""^ "' *^'^ who stood very near to the trd Not o 'iv "l' "' '""^"^ quainled with the grounds of Ws acti™ (B K> k . ' """ '"^■ oaetowhom the Saviour's mtn^ J'' *"" ^P'"''' "^ I- harmony with .hlXa^Zr h p of *: booT" '"' ''^"■ the disciple whom Jesus loved (21 7 20 1* Tht h "T""' '° naturally be one specially intimL with 1 wh ^h T"" three closest companions Pet^/r ? ' ^"'' °f His Peter (21:20), nor JaTe" 11 ' ^^°'"" ""'' J"""' " """">' ^ was written n the Si ""■"■'"'' ''''■°« ""'^ G'^'P^I therefore be iohn "'he '"."TTf " '^'''^ ''^"- " »»« *i». John i^ Xhel'-nS: :: rb?n?::Tth'eT^™^'' "ageless disciple hUs the place whicrruld-natur^rie as^ 76 Introduction. signed to him. Moreover, while the EvangeHst i? singulnrlv exact in defining names, he never .speaks of the Baptist by am other name than simply John. This would be perfectly natural if the writer were the other John of the Gospel history— hardly otherwise. Date and Place of Writing. Tradition is uniform in placmg this Gospel later than those of the Synoptics and in makmg the occasion of its composition to be the request of those intimate with John. According to the earliest direct evi- dence It was written in Asia, ^)erhaps at Ephesus, at the request of Christian churches as a summary of John's own teaching upon the life of Christ, to meet a want which had grown up i„ the Church at the close of the apostolic age. The date- was probably near the close of the first century— very likely about 90 A.D Design. This is indicated in the Gospel itself— "Manv other signs truly 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." ' This is then a historical writing with a two-fold evan-ali- cal purpose. Admitting that this quotation embodies "the immediate occasion and design of the Gospel, it is not im- possi. le that other purposes also have a place. 1. Some suppose that it " was designed to be a historical supplement, written for the purpose of recording some re- markable incidents in the life of our I.ord, and some important discourses, not mentioned in the other Gospels, and especially of givnig prominence to the spiritual character of our Lord's life and teaching. " It may be regarded as practically true that not only did John know the work of the Synoptists, or at least the early form of the "logia" and narratives on which their work was based, but he takes for granted that his readers are also ac- quainted with these materials. list is singnl.'irly le Baptist by any : perfectly natural 1 history— hardly 1 is uniform in y^noptics and in be the request of arliest direct cvi- us, at the requtst s own teaching lad grown up in age. The date ry — very likely itself— "Many of the disciples are written that Jon of God, and ame. ' ' 'o-fold evanjreli- 1 embodies the 1, it is not ini- be a historical rding some re- some important and especially of our Lord's : not only did east the early leir work was s are also ac- 2. Ir [lie apostl I 'a 111 ,'i!so i;iiiniiig tc thus. .'1 It I Ibrtli a sysl orally. R this Gospe: I to it in the a thcologic I of tile autli I idea of our These I iiize a con si [Peculiarltl 1. The Icarnation. jtioii, Mark, jjoliii sets foi I chapter is " "logos" of F [reality. 2., In th Jrlstlcofthe [lie presents. Ji'^ times), life I believe (93 tii Other pe( j features by w m. |Contcnts. 1. Prolog -■ Manife Pkcui^iarities op John's Gospel. l-a..l .ISO oo„te,K 1° r,!; h r "^',P"°^""''" "K-i''^' which orally. Reuss especially insists on fi .4 • t<-'^cluiig this Gospel. He asserts that h T '^'1,'^'^^''' ^'^'"''"^^^^ °^ ' to it in the same sense as Lth T ^T' '''''''''' ""' ^PP^'^^ I a theological treaSe tha„ a hitry'l^'r ' ""t ' '' ^^^^^^ '[the author to .e to p.o.^J;^^^' ^Z^ ^^^ ^ Kkaofour Saviour's divinity. b> ^uunuea on the Peculiarities. lio.., Mark, hb active work Lutrh? ■"'" ''""'' J.*., sets forth his Perl„ ' Tl '"""'" ^»" Saviour, |--; of P«.o a hoCiiess ahstraction h^t j^ , r„ah::l': IHS..C oai*t'Xor";i .T"'* "*"'*■ -« '••"«««- ..■ pre.,,.. Sue r~ . Itr'' °' '"' '™"' "'"^'' (Contents. 1. Prologue 1:1-18. |^^^^^ Manifestation of Jesus. Varying degrees of acceptance. 78 Introductiox. W f' li 'l The fuller revelation and growth of uubeliet amonji tlit Jews, Chaps. 5-12. ^^ i. The fuller revelation and growth of faith anionii tlie Disciples.— Chaps. i;{-17. 5. iMie climax of unbelief.— Voluntary .surrender and cm- cifixion of Jesus.— Chaps. 18-lJ). n. The climax of faith.— Resurrection and appearances of I Jesus.— Chap. 20. ' 7. The epilogue to the Gospel.-The link between iIk pa.st and the future.— Chap. _'l. Im ', 111 I'? Chaptek XIX.— Thk Acts op tiik Aposti.k.s. Authorship. This book is by the mianimous voice „i antiquity ascribed to Luke, the author of the third go.spel and this undisputed tradition is supported by the similarity betwai, the two books in in.scription, character and literary stvk There are no les.s than 50 words common to these two hooks which are used nowhere else in the N.T. Add to this t\w fict that the book of "Acts" is manifestly a continuation of t'lie history given in the third gospel, and it will be admitted tliat every argument which proves that Luke is the author of the gospel may be quoted to prove that he is the author of this treatise also. The author was also a participator in the events described At Acts 16:10 the " we .sections ■ ' begin and the incidents which happened between Troas and Philippi are described in the first person plural. Then the events of several yeais are recounted in the third person until Paul comes back to Pliilippi when the " we sections " begin again and predominate froin this point to the end. Timothy and Silas weie at Philippi a^ well as Luke, but Timothy cannot have been the writer for lie IS expressly distinguished from him (20:4-5), and the clai>n of Silas IS inconsistent with the fact that an experience peeuliar to him and Paul affords the occasion (16:19 ff.) for a chanee from "we" to "they." .'lict among tla ith among tin eiulcr and cm ippearancLs of i : between iln. ■OSTI.ES. nous voice (ii rd gospel, and larity between iterary styk se two l)ook> ') this the fact uation of tlie admitted that author of tlie i uthor of tliis nts described, l;he incidents described in ral yeais are k to Philippi, )minate from 1 t Philippi as writer for he the claim of I Mice peculiar j for a change Scope. "Acts." 1 misleading : corded of tin '* ■ experiences ^ (compare 2 C formation is and James, t Peter occupi( I)ook (chaps J The writer d< the actors in in accord witl apostles and ( tails in so far as soon as th( leaves them o The history c( The Puri Luke tells us 1 this is address( began both to to be a continu went on to do ; vert of Rome a Gentile Christ; and how it had was actually pr history and it s Church of Chrij the Gentiles, Much has 1 Acts is a piece c Luke is to recoi the older apos Scinieckenburge encc of such a d the Council at Jei TeND^NCY-WRITlNG IN TlIR AcTS. 79 '' Acl^^'^%J)V^'^'^:' ''''' ^^^"^ to have been simply Acts The fuller title, "The Acts of the Apostles" s m,s eadmg : ,t errs both by defect and excess. Bnt iTt e is re cl a Cor^n^^ ^^ft unrecorded , \. . "'"'"^'"le on the other hand detailed in for,„at,on .s given of the sayings and doings .f Stephen Phi d and James the brother of the Lord, who were not aposH l Peter occup.es the prominent place in the earlier mr^ „f !f ' 00k (chaps l.r,, 10-12.. and Panl in the later apterasr.' Iftc actors ni the scenes he describes : it : therefore n.rf.„« ...accord with his plan that while some inciden" „ he 1 S pestles and other leaders should be given with the fullesTdl .a,Is ,n so far as they contribute to the object he has in view as soo,, as the.r story is no longer necessa y for his p ,rpoI te loaves them out of further view without a word of exZatl.^^ The history covers a period of some .TO years, A.D iS^OS Lukc''tens''rttan;is?" " "'''''''" " «" ™"-°^"ction where 1.U1VC tens us that his former treat se— the eosoei— wh,Vh ri .h.s ,s addressed to Theophilus, gives a recoSof "ll hafje ' egau both to do and to teach ; and this is evidently imeS to l.e a contmuation of the same history. It tells wha T. we.u on to do and to teach : it is to explain to aGe'Se^n' G« tile c7' r "r"^' '"" ■'" '"^ ='-* -" eSS^y "o !, Ch ,st,an,s how the gospel had been brought to him d how ,t had ga,ned the width and freedom with whTch i : -'"^1 y presented. This is the earliest sketch of cl 7rc tatory and ,t sets forth the growth and development o the Much has been made in recent years of the theory that the Ac s ,s aptece of tendenej-writing." and that the obto of Ukc ,s to reconcile the violent differences between Paul a„d c Oder apostles. This theory has been mai tafned by oclineckenburger. Baur nnH 7*.ii^.- u ■ . <-a"icu uy 'gci. xjdur ana Zeller, who in proof of the Pvicf I -of such a difference call attemion to the matter deba^^^^^^^^^ •l.e Councl at Jerusalem, to thedispute between Peter and Paul f?J 4.. 80 Introduction. ^':% to the diverse ideals of Jewish and Gentile Christianity, aii.l to- the bitterness displayed by Paul against the Judaizing element in the church. The writer of the Acts aims at minimizing and reconciling these differences by 1. Omitting all reference to the rebuke administered bv Paul to Peter for his inconsistency in the treatment of Geiitil', Christians. 2. Representing Paul as on friendly terms with the Jerusa lem apostles, and consulting them about the admission of con- verts from he-'thenism. 3. Uying stress on Paul's occasional observance of the Jewish law, and upon Peter's action in admitting Cornelius a Gentile, into the church. 4. Manipulating his narratives so as to present a parallel between, Peter and Paul : each heals a cripple, each raises the dead, each confronts a sorcerer, each has a vision befce i prominent event in his life, and each is miraculously deliAereii from prison. It may be granted at once that there is an element of truth in claiming that I,uke strove for the unity, the simplicity and the peace of the Christian community, and that he wrote from a mediatmg point of view, and it is entirely honorable to him that he should do so ; and especially it must be recogni/eri that he shows that the Pauline type .n Christianity is the legitimate outgrowth of the form in winch the truth was pre- sented by the older apostles ; but that he perverted facts in order to promote his plan, there is not a whit of evidence to prove. Indeed but little stress can be laid upon the irenic purpose of Uike without running against serious difficulties e.g. : Why did he make the opposition of the Jews so con- spicuous throughout the narrative ? Why does he at the time when, on this theory, it was most important to ignore differen- ces, call attention to the jealousy of Paul's action which % elders at Jerusalem felt (21 : 20-21.) This theory too makes it necessary to assume an impossibly late date (A.D. 120 is often named) as the time of publication of the Acts. nity, and to- ;ing element reconciling nistered by t of Gentile the Jerusa- sion of con- nice of the Cornelius, a t a parnlle! I raises the n befo'-e a y delivered element of simplicity t he wrote )norable to recognized lity is the h was pre- d facts in vidence to the irenic lifBcuIties, i''S so con- t the time 2 differen- vhicli the ) makes it JO is often When at nal evidence t rative which ] lo point to tha down to the ve was completed Sources. claim to that t] fill and indepe partly on what cannot fail to r sections,' )and souices. Mucl ''ntimate interc( there wa.: extar reports of depu have unstinted whom fell ' ' dai: ciation with P Caesarea would ' the leaders of th and reliable so place in the earl Characteristic 1. The keyt given by the ris power when the my witnesses bot and unto the uttt "This might a Ghost.'" The] one times — mor bible. 2. The book Luther used to sa on tl'.e Epistles of was so much with Sources of the Acts. 81 When and where w.itten. There is nothing but inter naevKlence to go by. but the abrupt tennination of 1 ,, rative wh.eh leaves Paul a prisoner in Rome A n in .0 point to that plaee and time as if the namthtwa l::,!,';;: ;;:r:o':;Lter ^"^'^ '"■'"' ™-^ -=•'"-'- -'- "-^ ^i-- , ^fT*'', "^^ "" ""^P"""* of his Gospel, I,„ke hvs daun to that thorough knowledje which is derfve 1 f "„, c "i fill and mdependait research. I„ writing thn AmIT , partly on what he had seen aud helrH' hi „t ^Z :„:t: cannot fad to note the vividness aud confideuc of , ' , ^^ sections,' )a„d partly on what he had derived from trus wortH ».n.cs. Much might have been derived from hi on "a .fmate mtercourse with the Apostle Paul. .,„d veo like ere wa.: extant in letters and reports of missionaries and , eportso ckputattons, akind of material to which 1 "„ liave unstinted access as the comoanion of n,« w..om fell ..daily the care of a^r clZche '" TuTe'T/s:" c,at,o„ w,.U Paul during his two years' imprLnmen, h," Ca. area would very likely give hin, an opportunity o Te ine le leaders of the Palestinian Church and securing fro.u a lir 2 a <1 rehable source, .forn.ation which fills a consderable place ni the earlier part ,. his book. con.siderable Characteristics. 1. The keynote of the book is struck in fl,« „ .ivcn by the risen Lord to His Apo^ ' .'"ve' h:.':':;™ power when the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shaTbe my witnesses both In Jern.salem and in all Juda;a and Sn™ »c. unto the uttermost parts of the earth. "^"tpTrar™;™ blio.s . The Holy Spirit is mentioned no le.. than seventv «e^tlmes-more frequently than in any other bookT.h'e 2. The book is full of the deepest soiritual !*.«.« Lather used to .s.ay that it might be r^garde^afa con „ "a"ry on the tpistles of St. Paul, yet oddly enough althourf nl wa. so much with Pan, and acted often no lubta, hfs a!™' \\ 82 Introduction. iiensis, there is not a hint in the boo:,- that Paul /ver wrote a letter, " But this faithful and gi ;wiugliistory of-iu. Church's earlics; days shows ns her pure idetl before l.er ciauge-flovver had begun to fade. It veveals tf* us the true secret of the Church's invincibility as coiiaisting in her simplicity, her sin- cerity, her faith ai.i lurage even in the midst of savage per- secutioii. It show;, us that "God i.s the on! ■ final public opinion" and that " one uith God is always in a majority." Never can il..e golden canUestJck of auy church be removed if it be true to the high Iess=n;s of faith and hope and love which enabled the Church of the Apostles to triumph over the handed ,mtagonism of the world's vice and hatred, and to pre- vail not only over the idolatry without, but also over the false type , of orthodoxy and false types of goodness which sometimes ari.se within her fold," Farrar. H. A conspicuous feature of this book is its minute ac- curacy in the descriptions of persons and places. I^et it suffice to give one class of examples in th< precision with which Luke distinguishes by their proper titles, however unique or rare, the governing ar.thorities ot the provinces and cities he has occa- sion to mention. Thus he speads of the governor of Malta merely as a headman (-/.diro,-). Gallio and Sergius Paulus have the title of proconsul («./Wrr«r,^'); the magistrates of Thessaloiiica are called " politarchs," and those of Philippi have the name praetors ( he has occa- rnor of Malta IS Paulus have f Thessalonica iave the name i public func- " Asiarchs." iged and their oric investiga- 'ery of coins, ) the Gentiles, ■fi ^'il 3. The Ch journeys of the 6. The arr« Paul with his jo C] Of the twent letters, a feature sacred books of t Romans and Heb little of the perso rather than letter ten in a direct am personal in the W( Nine are add alonians, 1 and 2 Colossians and 2ii nion, 1 and 2 Tim Christians : Hebn a more or less gen 1 John and Jude. Besides these have perished (1 C more remarkable than that so many into oblivion. Although the books, they presuj more advanced typ- period of v.-rection events rt .orded in The Pauline composition ranges loi^jmj., Tim Episti^es. 83 • ^' ^^r .?^T^' ^'"°"^ *'^' ^""*'''-'^- The nnssionary journeys of the Apostle Paul, (l|j-21:ir)). 6. The arrest, trials and imprisonments of the Apostle Paul with his journey to Rome, (21:17-28). Chapter XX.-The Episti.es. Of the twenty-seven books of the N.T., twenty-one are letters, a feature in which the Bible stands unique among the sacred books of the world. Some of them, the epistles to 1 ! Romans and Hebrews and the first epistle of X have bu Lttleo the personal element and maybe classed as tretis rather than letters, but in the majority of cases they are wri ' ten m a direct and sympathetic tone and " in a style the mo , personal in the worid." Nine are addressed to individual churches, 1 and 2 Thess alomans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Romans. Philippl" Colossians and 2nd John (?) ; five to private persons .-"^Se mou, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 3rd John ; and two to Hebrew Chnstians: Hebrews and James; the remaining five behig of a more or less general nature, i.e., Ephesians 1 nnH 9 p . 1 John and Jude. -t^Pbesians, 1 and 2 Peter, Besides these it is very likely that other apostolic letters Although the epistles are eariier in date than the historical books, they presuppose at least the gospels, and repre ei^^^t^^^ more advanced type of theology, and one Ihi'ch imp7e l a penod of .x-.ection had gone by since the happening of he events re.orded in the Gospels. ^ ..n, '^^•!- ''^"""^ ^P^**'** ^'^ '^'^t^^" i" """iber and their composition ranges over a period of about fifteen years, ie!' i 81 Introduction. from 52 or 5n A.D., the date of the composition of 1 Thi ni- lonians, till O? or G8, the year in which 2 Timothy w.is wrilUn, not long before the author's death. In order of writing the epistles of Paul may be cla.ssifid in three group'^ • 1. Those written in the course of his missionary travels between '>2 and W A.D.— 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Galatiaiis, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Romans. 2. Those written during the Roman imprisonment which lasted for two years, Gl— 08 A.D.— Colossians, Philenum, ICphesians, Philippians. 3. Those written after his release and during his second imprisonment— between (14 or 65 A.D. and <)7 or (58— 1 Timothy ^ Titus and 2 Timothy. The order of arrangement in the F;>glish bible is a.ronl ing to their length and supposed importance ; but it will m- of value to us to consider them in the order of their appeara. Chapter XXI. —The First Epistle to the Tiie.ssai, ONIANS. Genulncr :ss. Scarcely an objection has been raised again.v. the gcuuineness of this epistle. Bair stands almost alone in refusing to admit it, and several of the disciples of liis sr] -ol have parted compan^' with him on this point. The arguments he bn-igs forward are all subjective and arbitrary, They are e.g. 1. Among all the epistles of Paul there is none so devoid of in-i viduality and doctruial statements. 2. It shows too at a <'ependence on the Acts of tl e Apostles imd on the oth :pi s. 3. There .s an evident allusion to the destruction Jei u alem in the statement that wrath has come upon the Jews to the uttermost ,1 Thess. 2 : 1(5), a date which would bring it down to a point later than Paul's life time. Merely to state, these objections is a sufficient betray .il of their weakness. Professor Jowett says : " It has been objected against the gem single statemen similar traits of ( statements of do( but it could har( of the apostle. ' ' lively traits of cli to invent, and le; Ivxternally Paul's by Irenccti it is found in Ma Syriac and I^atin The CIrcurr Tlicssolanica was liie name of Sale It had then, as nc the Apostle Paul after his memoral welcome from th( allowed to speak i the absence of O. tliat the Christian the Church was n instructing these c had been but brief, tion, but he had h( constancy from Ti welfare, and now h the matters which ; While he than! another and for the that there were stil call forth grave ad themselves loose f fanatical views of tl nearness have give I gances have made t I on account of their f ■t i nmmi t - w • Thessalonica. 85 against the genuineness of this epistle that it contains only a s,nge statenient of doctrine. But liveliness, personality Mnnlar traits of disposition, are far more difficult to invent than statements o doctniie. A later age nnght have supplied these but .t could hardly have caught the very likeness and portrait ofthe apostle'- .'Such intricate siinilaritiesof language, such vely traits o character it is not within the power of any forger to invetat. and least of all of a forger of the second century '' hxternally the epistle is abundantly authenticated as la.lsbylrena-us. Clemens Alexandrinus and Tertullian and .t.s found in Marcion, in the Muratorian Canon and in the Syriac and Latin versions. The Circumstances of the Church In Thessaionlca. Thessolanica was the capital of Macedonia and it is now unde^ le name of Saloniki. the second city in European Turkey A "^!"' p T' ' '''■^' J'^^^^ population which attracted the Apostle Paul on his second mi.ssionary tour in 52 A D after his memorable visit to Philippi. But he met with .scani welcome from the Jews, and after the third week was I'o allowed to speak in the synagogue, and one may gather from he absence of O. T. quotations and from the .stateLnt 1 9 at the Christian converts had turned to God from idols tha the Church was made up of Gentiles. Paul's opportunity o ■nstructing these converts in the truths of the Christia. faith ad been but brief, for his vi.sit had been cut short by pLeu t.on but he had heard a gratifying report of their pafiaice ai"d constancy from Timothy, whom h.. had sent to learn of tS elfare and now he writes within a year after his own visit o^^ the matters which ari.se out of Timothy's report While he thanked God for their faith, for their love to one ao lier and for their steadfastness under persecution he not d tht there were still serous faults in their life, and these faults call forth grave admonitions from him. Some havl Lt "u heniselves loose from heathen vices, some have adopted anatical views of the Second Advent and in anticipation Tits nearness have gwen up their business and by their extrava gances have made themselves a reproach ; others are trouWed I on account of their friends now dead, fearing that they will have t 86 Introduction. '>9 li no share in the blessings which are to accompany the coniiu.. of Jesus Christ. *" "The general design of this epistle then was to confirni tl,t Thessalonians in the Christian faith, to exhort them to re- linquish those vices in which they still indulged, to comfort them in the sufferings to which they were exposed, to console them under the loss of their friends, and to exhort them to make further progress in every department of the Christian character. ' ' Peculiarities. 1. The first conspicuous characteristic arises from the position of this epistle as the oldest example of Christian literature. If not the oldest of Paul's Christiar letters, it is the oldest extant, and it is interesting to note tlie difference between it and later letters. Of these differences lyightfoot enumerates three : (a) In the general style of these earlier letters there is greater simplicity and less exuberance of language. (b) The antagonism to Paul is not the same as in later years. Here the opposition comes from the unconverted Jews' afterwards Paul's opponents are Jewish Christians. (c) The doctrinal teaching of the Apostle does not l)ear quite the same aspect as in the later epistles. 2. This is the least doctrinal of all the Pauline epist'.s due to the fact that those to whom he wrote had need of prac- tical guidance, rather tlian doctrinal teaching, and that so recent was their emergence from heathenism, they had need of milk rather than strong meat. 3. About Paul's teaching on the immediacy of the Second Advent in this and the companion epistle, there are different opinions. It has been widely held that Paul here not only holds but teaches that the advent is to be looked for in the im- mediate future, 1 Thess. 4:15-17. Compare also 1 Cor l.V.)] James 5:8-9, 1 Peter 4:7, 1 John 2:18, Rev. 22:20. This view of Paul's teaching has been maintained by Olshausen, Neamler Lunemann, Alford, Stanley, Conybeare and Howson coming firm the to re- comfort console [lem to iristiaii teristic sample iristiar 3te tlie jreiices lere is I later Jews; t l)ear >ist!eb, prac- lat so ecd of cond Cerent t only le im- [.■):-■)], \iew .luler, ^f\i The contrar alive and remain "we personally,' and that he ex Christ." Thisv and Wordsworth. Contents. 1. The first I chapters he gives as to the characte adversaries, send; 2. The secor This part cor Be pure, be dilige tolerant, but in th doctrinal kernel o: Chapter XXII, Genuinenes! epistle is the same there is no better a Martyr quotes it, speaketh great thi; commit unlawful d 2:3) Irenasus quol the Thessalonians And then shall thai less clearly too Clei The internal Pauline authorship Pauline expression this clear and abunc assailed in recent tii SkCOND THESSAI.ONIANS. 87 The contrary view is that when Paul said "We which are a .ve and remain unto the coming of the Lord," he meant not vve personady.- but "we Christians who may then be alive, " ct-i ^f.'"P'^''^ "'" ^^P^'-^" -- l^e -oulcl "be with 'l^Ilrdslort:."^^ " ''''' '' '^^^^"' ^^"^^^' -"^^.HUicott Contents. 1. The first division is r^/A'^^/.f^/^W (Chap. 1-8). In these chapters he gives thanks for their constancy, appeals to them a to the character of his ministry, complains about his Jewish adversaries, sends peraonal messages and prays for them. 2. The second division is hortatory (4-5). This part consists mainly of warnings and admonitions. Be pure, be dihgent, be watchful, be hopeful, be thankful, be olerant but ,n the midst of these injunctions is imbedded the doctrinal kernel of the epistle about the dead and the advent Chapter XXII. The Second Episti^e to the Thessa- I.ONIANS. GenuFneness. The external attestation in favor of this epistle IS the same as that for the first, which is to sav, that here is no better attested book in the New Testament, 'justin Martyr quotes it "When also the man of Apostasy who speake h great things against the Most High, shall dare to commit unlawful deeds against us Christians," (cf 2 Thess 2:3) Iren^us quotes it. "And again in the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians speaking of Antichrist, he [Paul] says, And hen shall that wicked one be revealed," &c. And no less clearly too Clemens Alexandrinus and Tertullian quote it. Po,/^^ '".!^'"f ' "'''"^"^"^^ '' ^' '^'■^"S ^« '-^"y advocate of Pan nie authorship could expect. The epistle teems with Paaline expressions and sentiments. But, notwithstanding th... clear and abundant e^•idence, the epistle has been violently assailed in recent times on account of the prophecy of Antichrist 88 Introduction. contained in it. The specific objections as alleged by Baup Hilgenfeld and Schrader, are that this prophecy is un-Paulint | and must have had a Montanist source, that it belongs to a later period than the first century, and that the Second Epistle contradicts the first. The last of these assertions is founded or, a mistaken understanding of the statements of the first epistle Paul speaks of the suddeness, the unexpectedness, of tlit Second Advent, rather than its imminence and there is there- fore no contradiction. The other statements are quite arbitrary and subjective and may be opposed by equally strong and equally likely statements on the other side. The occasion of the Epistle. The Thessalonians \m misunderstood the statements of the first epistle and had become greatly agitated as if the I,ord were to appear in,. mediately. The church was in danger of falling into disorder because a number of the Christians had given up their employ- ment in view of the nearness of the Second Advent, and the j prominence given to the subject had occasioned fear and alarm among some, and an impatient longing for the coming of Christ j among others. News of this had reached the Apostle and he writes to correct the prevailing error about the nearness of the | Advent, to admonish those who had fallen into disorderly ways in anticipation of its speedy arrival, and to commend and stablish those who were making progress in their reception of the truth. Date and place of composition. From the fact thati the circumstances, both of the Apostle and of the Thessalon- ians, were unchanged, and from the fact too, that Silas and Timothy, whose names were attached with his own to Uiisi epistle, were still with him, which was not the case after he left Corinth, it may be concluded with confidence that thi^ epistle was written within a few months after the first, possibly in the latter part of the year 52, but more likely in 53. ' And the i place of writing of this, as of the first epistle, was Corinth. The note appended to each in the authorized version to the effect that they were written from Athens has no authority whatever )y BaiiF, -Pauline j igs to a I '. Epistle I inded on epistle, of tlie s there- irbitrarv 3ng and ans had nd had lear im- disorder employ- and the d alarm f Christ and lie ■s of tlie ly ways nd and 3tion of ct thatj issalon- las and j to thisj ifter he lat thisj ossibly iiul the j , The I ict that j er. .►if Mik Grotius, Kwi second epistle wa that it contains placed second be( attestation attach( best with the first which the Apostl there are hints th£ must have been lo siderations, others character can be i but actually refers the Thessolonians mentions their : opposition of the J( given in the first ei time of writing th whatever for chang Peculiarities to any church. ] waiting for the da; ye be not quickly s] • • . . as that 2. The section given rise to wide widely accepted vie\ (a) The man of restraining influenc the restrainer {<> xari^ all the fathers took t! (b) "The mane restraining power is 1 papacy arose. This i the Reformers, Beng< (c) The passage merely states his ini I T" Ths Man op Sin gg Grotius Ewald, Baur and S. Davidson contend that the second epistle was in reality the first written anfV ! that it contains internal evidence of "rnt; b„ hrh" placed second because it is shorter Tt T •' u ^^^" attestation attached to it as the tl'. ^"°' ^'''"'" '^^ best with the first wUnbl^se" a,L"? '"""' ^^" ^ Which the Apostle had ^^ZtI^J^^ZT^:^ there are hmts that the time which has elapsed since his vSt mnst have been longer than a few months. Again t the e c^ s.derat,ons, others on the opposite side of a much '"on^er" character can be adduced. The second t.nf 7 stronger the Thessolomans had received the Gospel, while the 4o3 menfons their advancement i„ faith Lnd Ue The opposition of the Jews which had its beginning i„ Vh? given in the first epistle, had become n^ch : fe tden tuh" time of writing the second. There is therefore ^^ ! whatever for changing the order of thel^ epS£ ^"""" .0 anTctech*'"lts'- ""■"," '^ '.'"°''"' ""^"^ "^"--i lu any cnurch. Its general idea is patient and r,..i-.* wa.trng for the day of the X.ord. Its key not" is 2 2 "^Th! ye be not quiclcly shaken from your mind'nor yetVe roub ed • ■ . . as that the day of the I.ord is now present. 2. The section about "the man of sin" (2-1-12) hnc given rise to wide differences of interpretation The io ! widely accepted views are : ^'^^ (a) The man of sin is an individual-Nero perham Th. restraimng influence U .«..,.) denoting the'tmp L Ind t e restrainer (,; .«..;,..) the succession of emperors Near^ all the fathers took this view. emperors. Nearly (b) " The man of sin " is the succession of popes and the restraining power is the Roman Empire, out of ZZrZl th! Wacy arose. This is the view of the Waldenses the wSfite the Reformers. Bengel, Doddridge, Wordsworth. ' ^ (c) The passage is not a prophecy at all. The Apostle merely states .his impressions of the future condition of the c'i- 90 Introduction. church from a consideration of the circumstances of the timt in which he lived, De Wette, Liinemann, Jowett, Davidson. (d) "The man of sin" or Antichrist is the Reformers generally, but especially lyUther, the chief of the Reformers. And the restraining power is the German enpire, considered as the continuation of the Roman empire. This is the opinion which has been adopted by many Roman Catholic theologians, (e) The prophecy is already fulfilled. It refers to Christ's coming to destroy Jerusalem. The Antichrist (although but few advocates of this view agree in details) was the Jewish nation, especially the Sanhedrim, the apostasy was the revolt of the Jews from the Roman empire or from the faith ; "lie who restraineth " was the Emperor Claudius, during whose reign the Jews could not rebel because they were under great obhgations to him. Grotius, Wetstein, Hammond, Whitby. (f ) The fulfilment of the prediction is still future. The man of sin is an individual, and no individual combining all the characteristics has yet appeared. Olshausen, Alford, EUicott. Contents. I. The Retrospective portion (chap. 1) containing thanks- givings for progress made and prayers for their continuance. II. The Instructive and Hortatory portion (chaps. 2-3) on the date of the Advent and on the necessity for work. Chapter XXIII. — The Epistle to the Galatians. Authorship. There are allusions to this as to other books of the New Testament in the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, and then several evident quotations from it in writings prior to the end of the second century. Internally, too, it is well authenticated, for it bears throughout the stamp of Paul's personality. " The vehemence of temper, the earnest longings for the spiritual welfare of the Galatians, the desire to be pre- sent among them, the mixture of severity and tenderness in ,* I tlic censures, an K'lX'at principle of all remind us of I the second centui The Churcl ill two senses : 1. The narro I'lirygia and cross «! by Nicomedei invaders who had Besides Celts then chiding many Phr 2. Wider— th tlie territory above sidia and Cilicia, Lystra and Derbe i Professor Ram wider Galatia as t vantage of includi from the Acts. But the uarro right one in tliis ca; ethnological peculii wider administrativ same racial conditio their fickleness, the qualities u' ' -h are well as by the Apos Paul had visitc (Acts 16:0) and he j pel to them at the fi which has usually b( pass through their o tlie opportunity of great interest both in would even have pli him. But in a short Gai^atia. 1I.C ce„s„a.s and U,. „„co„,pru„,isi„g ,nainte„ance of tl.c «a.a. pr,„c„,fe„f Cluis.ia,, liberty, which ^rvade he « i,fc itrr, :::;:,;;::'.';• """ -^^ "■ ^-°"" "■= »« -^ - ^^^ in .wl's'en""""" "' ''"''••^- ''^^ ™"l Ga.a.ia i. used «> by Nieo^edes, Jn^^^Bit" a, . 'ft ;':;' S" c^.^|.;':t'X;i:::'a„'J■Je:f°'■ ^ --"—o-- sr::d^:XaXi ~L- - °--^ zxi-f""'"^' Churches or who. exrr:.e"L:: ethnological peculiarities of thLse Ce^ cl ^SX^t wier ad„„„istrative proviuce which was no. mfrked bv e s e rac.al conditions Their enthusiasm, their imprtibnity ™ ,ie "T' " T7f''' ^"'"'^ "•"' drunkeunes. are ^rvthe^;:t,:'^r^.s;:f^,~.^^i!-e;^ pel to them at the first on account of an infirniit3- of the flesh ^;i1Vr T^' '"" ^^'^" ^°'"^^" ^^^^ intendin, e J; • pass thiough the,r count.y he wasdelayed by illness and seLd tl'f opportunity of proclair ng his nessa^e "^^^ and seuecl ^interest hoth in the .es4e aL^i^^f^es^/^?)::; ould even have plucked out their eyes and given them to hnn. But u, a .hort time after his departure a 'change caml •b^ ■^>. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // ^ .^% 4r ^. 1.0 I.I 11.25 1^1^ |2.5 ^ ua mil 2.0 2.2 li^U4 V /J -y Ptiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4S03 V ^ iV <> ^ .^5^^ '^^ r &>, f/. 5^^ 92 Introduction. if" The Occasion of the Epistle. The volatile Galatiaiis were easily led away by the more gorgeous ritual and by the specious arguments of Judaizing teachers who argued that with- out circumcision and the observance of Jewish rites Christianity was imperfect, and that the only way to enter upon the Chris- tian courre was through the medium of Judaism. They pro- claimed that Paul was not an apostle chosen by Christ, the gospel he preachad was different from that of the apostles who had been the Lord's companions, that it was defective and re- quired to bet supplemented by the additions which they proposed. At the time when Paul writes the Galatians had not gone so far as actually to be circumcised but they were in imminent danger of doing so and the Apostle sets himself with vehemence to expose and frustrate the intrigues of these Judaizing per- verters of the gospel. Date and Place of Composition. As to the date there are two views which carry witli them decisions as to the place from which the epistle was writ- ten. Each of these views depends mainly upon a single argu- ment. It is agreed that the letter was written during Paul's third missionary journey and that it belongs to the same group as Romans and 1 and 2 Corinthians. The question is, what place does it occupy in this group ? 1. One view is that it was written about the end of the year 57 or the beginning of 58 after the two epistles to the Corinthians and before that to the Romans. The great argu- ment in favor of this view is the close similarity, both in ideas and language between this epistle and that to the Romans, and (in a less degree) 2nd Corinthians. The Apostle Paul was one of those writers who excel in strong grasp of a sub- ject rather than in facility of expression. His vocabulary was not abundant, and so each of the successive stages of his spirit- ual experience or of his struggle with error is marked by remarkable similarity of trains of thought and even of verbal expression. Now note the correspondence between tlie doctrinal portions of Romans and Galatians "the same main itiaiis •y tho with- aiiity :hris- ' pro- ;, the I who id R- they gone inent lenoe per- with writ- irgii- aul's roup what ' the I tiie irgu- deas and was sub- was )irit- l by jrbal the nain v\ \f' Hi a thesis supporte( proofs (I^ev. 1{ Abraham, thro\ 'aw), developed •nit in language ed from supposir change in the i] tlirong of events serving further tl and Romans, fori ideas expressed i epistle with whic the other two" ,5 S. Davidson, Co place of composit while Paul wasj( 2. The other Ephesus and then assigned to a latei lie says (1:6) "In that called you," inversion to Chr isit as others lah and any place othe Neander, Olshause The materials ion but the balanc year 55 as the date Peculiarities. 1. It is the Gc any other part of th not merely from th( externalism. Luth the tyrannous pries he said : "The epij betrothed myself to course of these shor I than in all the rest Datk op Galatian Episti^e. 93 thesis supported by the same arguments the « c • proofs iUv. 18:5. Ps. m;2, hT 2-4) t. "' ^'''^'"'^ Abraham, thrown into relief bv fhl """"" ^^^'"Ple, -aw), developed to t^:^:^Z:n::T'''':T. ^^ '''' -t i" language of striking similar^; We s T f '"'^"^^ ed from supposing any break h;/,., ' ^'^ ^^ P''^'^'"^" cliange in the Zsll^s trni. T.T f'^'^^'^'^^^^^'-^^^^vofa tiTong of eventsCgh w l^i to's f' ^"' ^^"''^'"^ "^^ serving further that the tl'e epi ^es'^^^^^^^ T P"^'"^' °'^- and Romans, form a climax LTh r . ^^""^'"^"^.G^latians ideas expressed Tthen are el.h/r "''"''•' ^'"^ ^^^"^'^ ^^e epistle wfth Which ^:^^<^^:T^:ir::Ti i!"'' ''^ 0. uavMson, Conybeare and Liffhtfoot Tf ft i. „ i f j . place of composition would be Macedonia or C^ '' , "" »i.ile Paul was journeying be.weerthe .wt ^-^^^^ P-'-P» .l..-.t called yon - anTwht , ' ^ ™ '~" '^'"°™' f™'" «» -version .1 Chri i ,:^^ 3 1*^.^1'^ " ■™" """'""' i«t as otbers take it it nliv, ? !. ' *"■ ^ ""■ " "f"^'' '"= -'1 any place „;;t: L'r C.esr"Slt;h"' '"''^ '"'" '' Nea,u,er, Olsbausen, Meyer!" Ai^^d, E^t ;'cr.'^"^"' The materials available do not iimfif,, o . Jl ion but the balance of probabihty s mX b:"i„ I'v '°'7'T year 00 as the date and Ephesns as the place °' ""' Peculiarities. any otlJ: P.;' oftC^^ ^- .^one more than not merely from the yoklof T d '^ '"^""^^P^^^ Christians, externalis'm. LutL'^rew Lr^elv Im^"^^ • 'T '"''' ^°™ ^' tl.e tyrannous priestcraft Tf Rone In i , ' '"""^^'^ ^^''^^ lie said: '' The epistV to^L r T.- ^" .^'^ ^'^^''a^teristic way X lie episi.e to the Galatians s mv eni<;f1p . t i, :roitrrr;Vh:;:rn,,r^-'i '^-""e; Lt: 1 i I', * t*^ 94 Introduction. iiprth the claim of liberty: "Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free." ; "Brethren ye have been called unto liberty "; "Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all." 2. From the nature of the circumstances which called it forth it is a polymical epistle— a feature which distinguishes it from the epistle to the Romans which goes over the same doc- trinal ground. It is an impassioned, controversial personal statement of the relatron of the Gentiles to the Jews especially as regards circumcision. In it the Apostle speaks with "a tongue whose every word is a thunderbolt." Contents. The epistle has six chapters. Roughly speaking the first two are an autobiographic retrospect in which he establishes his apostolic independence. It is noticeable that after the brief greeting of the first five verses, he plunges at once into tlie main subject of the letter without the thanksgiving to God on behalf of those addressed which usually occupies this place in his epistles. The next two chapters prove his dogmatic position that justification is by faith and not by external observances, which attitude is confirmed by the position of the law, here shown to be secondary. The two closing chapters are practical. They show the nature of Christian freedom, warn against its abuse and close with a summary of his main argument. '1 ' Chapter XXIV.— The First Epistle to the Corinthians. Authorship. There is practical unanimity about the Pauline authorship of the epistle? to the Corinthians. To the first, Clement of Rome bears testimony in tha earliest explicit extant quotation from any book of the New Testament, less than 40 years after it was written (see ante page 6). Folycarp j )erty wherewith ive been called ee, which is the which called it distinguishes it r the same doc- ersial personal Jews especially peaks with "a making the first he establishes t after the brief once into the /ing to God on ;s this place in : position that 'vances, which here shown to 'hey show the )use and close TO THE ity about the ans. To the rliest explicit *estament, less 3). Polycarp says ' as Pav Atlieiu ternal fiistincl iiiciden the Cor letter w Th between the Ron had bee facilities iiftuenti lation it ness. P; found an self, and from Ron "''^ ■ city for a tlie Jews 1 nothing c was forme parture tV time and e fell into gr some case; extremely ] Christian c confusion a in eating ai News c U:M ■channels: f i * i ^ a letter sent (which is n Fortunatus , I this letter fn The Church of Corinth. 95 AtLenagoras, Cle.nent "^1 f ' '"^'"'''^ '' borne by ■enml evidence is " 1^ !™ " '"" '^'^^"'"'''"' T'^ »• ^listinctly i„,pre.,sed upon he Zfe"^;, '"'""'■' "''"'''" '^ mcidences between it .ind tl.e Tlf "f ^^^ "re """Krous eo- "•e Corinthians would hive nlf ', '""' " '" "<" "'''^'J- "•« ■^■"er which reflects o i . ^ "I .?"' 1™"^'^'' " ^""^'^ uie credit on their church life. The Occasion of the Le«»r o , between northern and southern Gre* TTu °" "^' ''''^""'^ the Roman Consul Munrirs (bTi n k"" ^^^-^^^^^d by had been planted by Julius Ccesar an 1 tL .' ' ""'' '°'^"^ facilities for commerce, it had a^I'in T ^*' ^'^''"^ ^^''^^t i'^tiential city. Its wealth w..? " ^ P°f'"^°"« '-^"^1 iation it had won anTjf" oTonrLl "'' '^^'-dpopu- »ess. Paul visited the citv on i^ """"^ ^"^ licentious- found among others AquHa a d PrircHlf cfT'''^^' ^■^""->'- self, and like himself too tentm.r ,! ^^"^^lans like him- from Rome by the decree of clu^::; " H '^' '"" '''''''' city for a year and a hnlf ^. !:"'""^- ^^ continued in the ti'eJewsrLed a'tuLfaS^hrth ^^^^^-^^ ^"^^ ^'^^^^'^ nothing on account of the stand 1^^''^'''''°" '''''' to was formed consisting mainlv of P .m" ^ ^'"'°- ^ ^^"'^^^ parture the work was Trri d on ^ t'' '"^ ""'''' ^^^''^ ^-■ time and especially after the .^^ ' '^P°"°''' ^"^ ^ft-'' «ome fell into great disJde^" ^ Jrt ofr! °'^P°"^-^' ''^ ^^"^^ some cases quarrels end^dt IV ? ^ ^''"^ P^^^^'^^d, and in extremely prelalenthro^^^^^^^^^^ °^ uncleanness. Christian community reifious" " Iv'"' "*^"'^^ '"*« ^he confusion and even th;Ws ^'""^^''' '^"'^^"^^ ^^^"^'^ -f ■•" eating and drinking '"^P"' ^^"^ ^^^^^'"^t^d by excess I chamfe^ f~nS^^^^^^^^ ^-^ ^'^ough various ^letter sent by the Cortth l^ch:;^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^-- (Which is now lost) sent hyliTr u^ ^^^' "^ ''^^y ^^ °"^ Fortunatus and Achaicus Qfi 17, • I' ^"^ ^'°'» Stephanas. - - -». - Corinth!:!- z::z :::r ™;L-fr . "'.'(i 96 iNTRonrcTION. about conduct addressed to the Apostle, and after speakiii;^ about the disorders in the church, the greater part of the letter is devoted to answers to these questions. Place and Date. There is no room for dispute on thcsi points. He says {16;8) "I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentc-- cost, ' and since we know from the Acts that he left Kphesu^ soon after Pentecost, A.I). ."iT, both the time of writing and Uk place from which the letter was sent may be counted upon a- certain. Peculiarities. 1. This is above all a practical letter. This was no occa- sion for expounding the doctrine of justification by faith ; that, we may .safely as.sume, had been done while Paul waspreachiyg to the Corinthians. Questions of conscience, of Christian casuistry, are before the Apostle now, and although like lir- cumstances can never arise again and the same battle will nevermore need to be fought, the principles he lays down will never be antiquated. The one is, "Be fully persuaded in y.mr own mind" — beware of violating your own conscience ; ami the other, "I,et all things be done with charity"— beware of casting a stumbling block in the way of others. "The brevity and yet completeness with which intricate practical problems are discussed, the unerring firmness with which through all plausible sophLstry and fallacious scruples, the radical principle is laid hold of, and the sharp finality with which it is expressed, reveal not merely the bright-eyed sagacity and thorough Christian feeling of Paul, but also his measureless intellectual vigour ; while such a passage as the thirteenth chapter betrays that strong and sane imagination which can hold in view a wide field of human life, and the fifteenth rises from a basis of keen cut and solidly laid reasoning to the most dignified and stirring eloquence. It was a happy circum- stance for the future of Christianity that in these early day.s, when there were almost as many wild suggestions and foolish opinions as there were converts, there should have been this one clear practical judgment, the embodiment of Christian wis- dom." — Dods. h i ifter sjieakiiiy rt of the k-iW] 5pute on tlicsi.- s until PenU- ; left KphesiH ritinp and llu nitt'd upon ;w was no occa- >y faith ; that, kvaspreacliiyj^ of Christian ugh like c'ir- e battle will lys down will .laded in your iscience ; and ' — beware of liich intricate innness with ous scruples, finality with eyed sagacity is measureless lie thirteenth n which can the fifteenth ioning to the appy circnni- early days, and foolish ve been this] Christian wis- j si.' I m 2. picture and llu ^ccn in faith hi u'hicli J way in tondenc to fall h little of are in tl Paul nei in it, thi rebuke t tians. had i>ro to direct lost. Conteni 1. C 2. 1 tion of of 3. E 4. A (a) J (b) I^ ample in : abuse of ( (c) R (1) A (2) A (8) A of love. 5. Th 6. Dii niessages a CONTKNTS OF FlRST CoKINTHIANS. 07 2. This epistle tin -1 .1. w.._ ., Cril',';,"' S',;.t,c:;; liad proclanned to them. chrect the „ew .Ife „,k, p„ve'„t It L, Z^!:;:^ ^^ i::;! Contents. 1. Greeting and thanksgiving ll-<) 3. Disorders in the Church, Chaps. 5-G. 4. Answers to enquirers, Chaps. 7-15. (a) Marriage, Chap. 7. (b) Meats offered to idols, illustrated by Paul's own ev ample ni foregoing his iusf rtcri,fc o. i • '^' 1 ^ &"'"& "'s jusi rights, and warniUL'^s ncnincf ♦!,„ abuse of Christian freedom, Chaps. H-IO. ^ ^ ^ ^'^^ (c) Regulations about gatherings lor worship (11-18). (1) As to covering the head. (2) As to the Agapa? and the Lord's Supper of lo!!! As to spiritual gifts, with digression on the supremacy 5. The Resurrection (15). r.. Directions about the collection for the poor nerson«l tnessagesand autograph conclusion (10). ^ ' ^ '°"^' l! t 98 Introduction. I:' If ' V < Chapter XXV.— The Second Epistle to the Corinthians. Authorship, This is one of the epistles which is admitted even by the Tubingen critics to be by the Apostle Paul The external evidence includes quotations by Iren^us, Athenagoras Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian. By way of interml evidence one needs only to note the marks of Paul's intense personality, his peculiar style and the numerous coincidences with the Acts and wi^h the other epistles, especially 1 Cor Romans and Galatians. Occasion. The first epistle had been carried to Corinth by Stephanas and had been followed by Titus, who had a com- mission to rectify in so far as he could the abuses which were present in the Corinthian Church. The time while Titus w.s absent was a period of very great anxiety to the Apostle • lie was very uncertain about the reception his own letter would meet with from the Corinthians : he was travelling, but for the opportunities of mission work which presented themselves he had no heart. After long expectation Titus meets him in Macedonia and the news he brings is upon the whole favor- able. The Corinthians have shown a desire to cleanse them- selves from the charges of impurity and intercourse with the incestuous number on account of which he had reproved them They had recognized the authority of Titus and had expressed warm personal attachment to the apostle himself But satis factory as this information was, Titus brought also the news that there was a vigorous faction which still resisted the Apostle's authority. ' ' Their animosity to the Apostle was greater thai, when he wrote the first Epistle. They brought forward new charges. They accused Paul of lightness and irresolution- changing his mind, purposing at one time to come and at ano- ther time resolving not to come, as if he were afraid (2 Cor 1:16—18). They charged him with pride and arrogance- seeking to exalt himself above them, and to exercise a domin- ion over their faith (2 Cor. 1 :24). They insinuated that he was artful and cunning in his conduct (2 Cor. 12:16). They openly TO THE :h is admitted 2 Paul. Tlie Athenagoras, y of internal aul's intense coincidences ially 1 Cor., d to Corinth 3 had a coni- which were le Titus was Apostle : lie letter would f, but for the emselves lie sets him in I'hole favoi- ?anse theni- 'se with the roved them, d expressed But satis- le news that e Apostle's greater than )rward new esolution— and at ano- aid (2 Cor. rrogance— e a domin- :hat he was liey openly m denied (2 Cor iiess oi of his ] T] as Pau ately ft 12:15). great e: portion his detr Da spring c within a Pecuira 1. : apostle i; and he s imraeasu his fiery thoughts 2. T thejuda In Galati quiremeni here whei minds, thi Judaism ii moral beai to gratify 3. Th usually ha counted fo the apostle Conte extremely not systemf PEcutiARmEs OF Second Corinthjans. 911 ne.. of hi. letter, wUh rt '' T'""""^ '"' '^^^'t^' """ bo'" of h,-s pe.o„a?app:t;c': (TSrToam ..^™"™^"'"= ™'"- as pa'':::tsir:tX:ij:;;Tf ,r,°^ ^ r- --■"- ately feeling the bitten.ei oTlorti „ut !" T' ^"''°"'°"- 12:16). He writec th„ «„ a ■. ° '«''=9U'>te return great excitemi He Z7lT I "' "'"^ '"' ""'" ""<'- portion of the church buThlT '""'.'°'""^'> the great sdiction at ss. and by but what- lineness of sputed. to Gaitis Cninpart' i Ctiiclirea 1 proves tha is little doi The o i-liiirch is u and was f evangelists. about equal other seems and note the Koine were i to theniselvc still held tl expulsion iss 'Jhe Ap( I Rome. Wh( visiting Mace there I nuist says "I wou times I purpo J these many y( that he shoulc I pagation of th I way for his vi< [their religious jTheimmedifitt I departure for ] jCenchrea. It j deeper motive lalready indical I Paul's purpose Jthe new doctrir [declarations aiu Itheni to matten Occ.s,ON „,, Ehsvu.; to Romans. joi !"-ove.s that the letter vvas wn>? r '"""^"""'"''y ^^'^'^"ce, '•^ 'ittle doubt but th t was ^.^,f "•" ^-"^^^^- --> if - there It was written m the spring of 58. The occasion of the Eni«tio ti . '-•i>'.rch is unk,iovvn. It exis^eH 1 r n '"■'^'" "^ '^'^ ^«"'«" -^' was probab,3- ro!l^^''n1:^'''lrT'''''^^^ evangelists. It was nnde nn f \ , ^ '^'''^^ ^>' unknown a'-t e,ual "un.b^ r ZC:t ::;^^7"^^ ^^"^^^- ^" "ti.er .seeuKs to be addressed (1- V n '" -ornethnes the aiid note the nunicrr.,,. . • Compare 4:1-12 • 7-1 «..".e were a ::°r~'r T,' i"= °-''>- ^1- Jews i '" tl.emselve,s a con"toI "'"""',''"' >""'>' --""I l'^'' attracted *■" '"I'l their Z, Kl ; ■'""''"■ "^ P--°«^'yte,s and ,l,ey |-P«ki„,,i»,,,;,t';™',,;;°';""-'»"*--.S .l.e ,>rocla,„atio„ „' ii^:gifSIIKt,*f^iip There is a sal- by God, attain- tliat free grace discredits the •tion of Israel. 'iig and weak. its ilogmatic ette:- althouuh it. It may he )f justification lere is almost he point to be saving power power is first vith regard to ; illustrations this doctrine is gospel sal- ally unknown iir schools of I e necessity of | and he often considerably ! of this kind Apostle with rict attention i ^Jf to the c •ire enif eoiisnes.'- ticliuica K'ven of tli.it thei ClIAPl Genu apostolic Clement < wiiliin the eg., acci 'iiiacolutlu «'iort as th and the ac Paiihne or: Date from vvliici 's supporte ">aiiii, Mcy uritteii dur during the ] epistle was • there, A.D. Coiiybeare a Meyer s authorship 1. It is from Colossa voyage to Re 2. If the ' from Rome, ^ I arrive at ICp] j omission of O: Epistle to the Colossians. ^o3 to the context is iiecessirv f« , i .>re e,„pl„y„l to eLi^ret'^SucTT"''"'" ""^ '"'^"» »""'^'' ">«y «"ls"es.s, spirit a,„l law ti '""^ '■'•'■■""l"*^. '"^ faitli, right- technical terms i„ i-auii,' . „ ' "' '""'" '"""'"«' "'"'"st Kiven of then, ,. and .t j T' """'■" """'•■■finition is "- .i-r exact i..,p„;t':,:,:t"™S,-',;^- ■"^- ^ -""" ChAPTKR XXVII — Trr,.' U Genul„e„e„ ';„,'^'"-. '';'-'-• - ■"'" Co,.oss,a.b. ".•■'seoHc fath "'but'; "lartit"'"',"""'"' "^- ->• "f >'>'■ Cleraent of Alexandria a, ,|t T',^'' ■""•"" «»">.•, Ire.uens. »-'"" 'I'c second centn'rv li ""' *"" """<-= "- "' ■' ->.'■. accunnda.ion of seme c^ .r-To^f '''"''■"'.vIc •■"^™l„tha(2:10,;!:|G) a,,,'?p',''-'-'^' ■'■""• 2:il.lf,), of -ort as the epistle is ti,' e "i '"? "■°"'--' "' """"*'" ^ ""d. »."! the acts of the Apo ties whier" "" "'^'"--- '-twee,, i l'.i"li.,e origin. '^"' "''"■'' P°"" "> a>> early date and a Date and Place Tf from which the epistle' to the Colo '•'" °^''"°"' "^°"^ *''^ P'^^^ '■'an... Meyer and Reuss ^re of • r^'-^'"^^^kenbnrger, Holz- ;-»en during Pnul^si^;"„:^;P;^^ ''''' '''^ ^^"- -s Co..heare and Ho.son, u;:.;:!;' A^lLr/ .tg^'-' -Cri^rfoir^ir^--- '" '3voroMHeC,„re3„ fro,n coL;\rc.t:r'th":,''.r^^'^ "-« o--".- Aed »yage to Rorae. ' "" """ "« """crtook a long sea ; '™'" «on,f ots:,fan'd Ty^'i:f::r,o';' a°'r'""^ "-= -' "rive at ICphesns a„,l ,l,e,; nt c , " ''" ""'"" "'''" til' i If:.^" •1 104 iNTKODUCTUilN «ble Whereas ,f they wcr.- sent iron. Ocsarea, Oncsi.nns .,,.1 be ,.rr Wth h,s „,a,ster Philen.on, and T .< hjcus wo.,Icl procx.l alone loi-phs,., which accounts forthe oiriissionof Onesinui. ^ffut' J"") '"'?• ^V'"^ ^^''^^ >-^ •'''- '"'-^y l<"ow ,nv ;ffn fH " "r '"^^^ ^>'^-'"^"'^ >'^'<> ■'Already reports (1. affairs of the apostle to others, nan.dy. to the Colossians (0.| 4:H).whomI>aulknew that he wouhl visit first.-a ciran,,; stance vvh.ch ,s in favor of a jonrney not from Rome, but fn.,,, Lcesarea. a lodging, vvh.ch assumes a direct jonrnev to Phrvgia • wheiv- as. .t appears fron, Phil. 2 .. .4, that Paul when uLs'ed fn,„, Ills Roman imprisonment, designed to go into Macedonia. The arguments in favour of the view that Paul wrote from Rome are two in number. -the nature of the Roman imprison- ment, and Paul's companions at Rome. "1. At Rome Paul seemed to have tnore freedom in preaching the gospel than at Ccesarea. At Ca^sarea we .a- only informed that Paul's acquaintances were allowed to visit hnn (Acts 24:23); whereas at Rome. Paul was not in prison but in his own hired house, and received all who came unto him, preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching those thin.s which concern the Lord Jesus with all confidence, no man U- bidding him (Acts 28:30,81). Now this greater libertv in preaching the gospel at Rome corresponds with what we 'red in these epistles. Paul requests the Ephesians to pray for bin, that utterance might be given to him that he might open ]„•; TvTXtlV T^^^"--^ t'- -y«tc,y of'the gosi>el, ' (hph. 0:11.20); and a. similar request is made to the Col'ss ' lans : Withal praying also for us. that God would open unto us a door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ, for winch ■/^^' '^/'^ ^'"^'' '•'^^'^^*' ^''i"l. mentioned in the epistles, suit Rome better u,u. -...uea. Tw. of them. Aristarclms and Luke, accompan^pc: ti ■ apostle to Rome, and it was in the »»*»*^*..»,-i«:,=,^«£» Oticsiimis and ncsiiiius Would would procud uof Ouesiiiiiis, lay know iii\ ■ rt'portal the olossians (Od. it, — n circuiii m\c, but from > prepare liim ygia ; wIkiv- released fnnn riccdouia. I wrote from lan imprison 'if; freedom in iarea we arc owed to visit lot in prison, lo came imtc, those things no man I'or- ;r liberty in /hat we read iray for him, a^lit open Iiis the gospel, > the CoI()s.s d open Unto t, for which as I oui^lit J !' t the epistles, tarchus riiid was in ilic HH] great meet \ CcX'san not a t The pr Roman Th unlike 1 not niei very far had at ance, bi Loadice; and was visited i been pre ossian ai future of ed iii sul its name Design. The ( tion (1:21 '"g it was "1. . 2. A Christ ; 3. Ar The most p andrian Jev Cliristianit} f^chool of PI and angeloh and an ext; several sects Tin.; Church at Coi^oss.!-:. 105 great metropolis the rp«nrf ^c u ".eel with 1,1 fre ,s r, fcl ,"f'°"'*' "■•■" ''•'■"' »™'" Ca-sarea, which al ou.h '^'^'"'-'■■■'""e'-''. rather than i„ "ot a town of ;,r ir,tt iT'";; """" "^ ''•^'esth.e. .as Roman h„priso„ment," ''ecdedly ,„ favor of the The occasion of the Letter Ti,„ r-i "■"ike the other chnrehes to wh el'ol , '""" "''^°'™»"'- "Ot n,entioned in the Act. „ Z "T ,"""'"'«'' '= very far from Ephesu, i„ ,l,„ i ' °"'>;-^- (-olossae is not l-ad at one tin.e b2 a it of '""• 7 7 '" ''"^«'- " ance. bnt before Pa, "slay t hLl b"" '"^ "'= """ "■"»■■'- Uoadicea and Hicrapolis^^..:','.': -'l^Tr,,^ "V™"' >.een prenched'w.'hi , te ^ klr ^'7'" '^"^"'■' "'" «-' ossian and now a fellow nr '^P^P""'^' »i,o was a Col- future of Colossae w^ ,:r :Z,;:' ^T" "'"' ^""'' ^Le ed in subseqnent l,isto,y a ,7bl , '' "'""'*■ '""■"°"- -""".e-coiossae or ci,::i:r;;;rc :;■----- Design. tion aSl'^a'^tl'lfr'' "',"' r'"" """"' '" "» eontposi- " 1. A con,bi„ation of angel worship and asceticisn, Chris':'' ""''-''"' •"■''°^°'^'"- °' S"osis which depreciated The fnosl pSltr^ 'Ilirf'' ''fT """ '""'*="- andrian Jews had .TZrlT n, '° '=' """ «>"'e Alex- ehristia,,ty, i;:^ i!Zf:n'To;^'T!" ' '^"■^' •" school of Philo, but co„,bi„i; with t«:tb''biT'," °' "" and angelology which afterwards was e l! r , "1 "°'°''''-^ and an extravagant r.^.Uc^V:^::^'"^^^^-^». -era, sects of the G.,„stics,.-4;::~^^'*;;8-'-e ^ viii. Thk Epistle to Philemon. Genuineness. This epi.stl 'Tid is found in tlie e was recognized by Marci versions. On account":;! ^^^7^! T 'l "" ^"^^^'^ spicuous doctrine, numerous nnnH. absence of con- •>ut it is referred to by Te mXatarr' "' '° '^ '^^P^^^^"'' Paul's. Add to this the mn ""^^^''^'"^ ^« ^n epistle of a-cl passing off as Pa^I' "rier^,tl l^^r/^TV^^^^^"^ to any forger for the advancement of/ ? , ''^''' ^'^^'^ "«^ a.Kl it will be seen that the evTde ' '"'^ "' "^'^^'' ^^J^^^^^''- ness is entirely .satisfactory '" '"^^^'^ "^^^^ ^-""•ne- Date and Place ^Vi first impri.sonment in Rome\r ? TId? '"'"^ "^"^'^ from verse 10. and from a com part n of ..^^ '' "^'^ ^' ''''' ''ad (23-24) with those he hTdlT ' ^^^^Panions Paul Colo.ssians (1:7 ; 4:lTl4 ) '"''''' '^'' 'P''""^^ ^^e Design. Onesimus a slavf. h»t Colossian friend of the Apo.stt;.uf 1^^ '° ^^"^^"'-' ^ >"a.stcr and had come to Romevv ll ^ u'"" ^""^^ ^'"«'" '"« And now when Onesimus islbolr " '"'^'"^ ^ ^'^'-'^t'^"- former master. Paul ^ Ts itZ^ T'" v ''"^"^"' ^^^ slave's hand, in which the miter./ 1^^ ''''"" "''° ^^e as a servant, but above a ^::::: ::x::z^.'- " -^ ^harf^:;::;,J^;;;,~-^-" -^^^^ of Philemon, ■so in so many words su J2\Vk ^ '"^' ^'"'^"^ raying liberty. '' '"^^'^^^ ^« '"'" to giy^ Onesimus his Peculiarities. 1- This is a private letter r^« ^ t'^e only one of the kind by t rAnn H ^p ''/' "^'"^^' ^"^ ^"^ ^^ i" the Canon. "^ ' ^^P^'""" ^^"1 ^hich is preserved 2. This letter shows the nerfprf ni • ^- •as been called not inappropr'^e ! ' ut ," ^'""^"^^"- '' tact, the good feeling, the grace ul sn ^? ' "^'''^'■" ^^e «. graceful spnghtliness of the play lift I p if If ?£ i f i H' V^4 V Mi 14'' it 108 Introdi-ction. upon words in >hr;,r'.,no: and ax,or^>rr,r. all mark it out as a rar. and attractive specimen of letter writing. 3. The relation in which Christianity stands to slavery is to be seen in this epistle and in that addressed to the Colossians Christianity does not directly forbid slavery. It does not enjoir masters to liberate their slaves, indeed it asserts that Christi' amty makes no difference in the social po.sition : it bestows spiritual freedom but does not break the bonds of servitud-^ t<, earthly .na.sters. Bishop Word.sworth .says: "The Gospel of Christ by christianizing the master, enfranchised the slave It did not legislate about names and forms, but it went to the root of the evil. It spoke to the heart of man. When the heart of the master was .stirred with divine grace, and was warmed with the love of Christ, the rest would soon follow The hps would speak kind things, the hand would do liberai things. Every Onesimus would be treated by every Philemon as a beloved brother in Jesus Christ. That short letter from ' the hired house ' ' of the aged Apo.stle, ' ' Christ's bond.sman ' ' at Rome may be called a divine a.t ot emancipation • one far more powerful than any edict of manumission by sovereigns and senate.s-one from who.se .sacred principles all human statutes for the abolition of slavery derive their virtue " Chapter XXIX.-Thk Epistle to thu Ephesians. Genuineness. In the way of external attestation this epLstle has all the evidence needed to place its authorship be yond do 'bt. It is :i.sed by Polycarp in his epistle to the Phii- ipp.ans, IS quoted as Paul's epi.stle by Irenanis, by Clement u{ Alexandria, by Tertullian, and is attributed to Paul in th. Canon of Muratori, and in the Peshito Syriac version and wis received by Marcion under the name of the Epistle to the Laodiceans. The internal evidence also is abundant. The warmth and eagerness of the Apo.stle's temperament aie made conspicuous 111 this letter by the use of superlatives, strong expressions and H i out as a raa to slavery is e Colossiaiis. es not eiijoii; that Christi : it bestows servitude t(j le Gospel of le slave. It went to the When tliL- :e, and was oon follow, d do liberal y Philemon : letter from Dondsnian " on : one far ■ sovereigns all human ue." KSIANS. station this lorship be- 3 the Phii- I^Ienient of aul in till- II, and was tie to the arnith and )nspicuoii.s ssious and ll ! AUTHOKSHIP C)P COI.OSSIANS. compounds of />r.^._„ a,,,^ •. "metaphorical sense nl "^^''^ °^ ^'« i« "riches" in ^race The riches of Christ " '' rl' • . ^ "''^^'^ «^ His ..s „,heritance.'. This e^^le ^JllT: °' "" ^^^^^^ ot ' ^hose <>y t>.e fac. .hat .h;" ^ ':°^ ^ -fficie„„y explai' 2- There are in th ■ "'' "'"''"<"'■ ^■g.. apostles and "prophe^'"^!? -"":^,'''""«> i*as and word, 2^3). Bntthe to sth«th 'v ^'■*"^^"°f«'-h" Eph' »"«™r. ..Ldrrpa-Li^^^^^^^^ proof of spuriousness. "^^'^ ^'"^ '^ ^vould not be a persons to whom it was addresS ''" " *'^"' »»■• «■= |-er?rrrr„;t":Sf ■-- '-^ "^-trron. features and besides, , hie neXe .. ""' '^'^'"' "" "-^e I by US character as a circular fettel! " "' ='^'^™°'^'^ for ' Date and Place of \u^m ».. |-e,.o.a.-oa.a„d!;rx,jtx-4S'::t 110 Introduction. Tychicus, who was charged also to carry the letter addressed at the same time to the Colossians (Kph. 6:21-22, Col. 4:7-,S). Design. Ephesus was an opulent city on the west coast of Asi-i Mnior and at an early date became conspicuous in Christiu. history as the scene of apostolic labors. Paul founded its church Apollos preached in it, John lived in the city and Tiniothv was Its bishop. Paul's first visit was on his return from Ips second missionary tour. On his second visit he made a staj- i.f nearly three years. His preaching was so effective and made so deep an impression that the traffic in the silver shrines of Diana was seriously lessened, and a riot resulted, in which Patil had a narrow escape. It was first suggested by Archbishop Usher, and has since been very generally accepted, that this epistle was of the nature of an encyclical letter, and that the place now occupied bv the address, " To the Ephesians," was originally left blank to be filled in by each church to which it was read. The reasi i.s for accepting this view -.re thus summarised by Dr. Alfrtu Barry : 1. The words " in Ephesus " in the opening salutation are omitted in two of the oldest MSS. . the Vatican and the Sinaitic. 2. Ancient criticism faced the difficulty by giving to tlie words "Those who are " (where we read "Those who are in Ephesus "), a mystic sense corresponding to the divine name ' He who is," which shows that the difficulty was general and not due merely to a few MSS. 3. Maricon the heretic, on critical grounds, called this epistle "The epistle to the^aodiceans." 4. The great topic of the letter is Unity, an extremelv suitable topic for an encyclical letter. 5. There are no personal salutations nor personal referei ices in the epistle, though Paul had lived for three years in Ephesus and doubtless had warm friends there, ter addressed Col. 4:7-8). oast of Asia in Christian d its church, nd Timothy irn from his ade a stay of 'e and made ^r shrines of I which Paul lid has since 'f the nature occupied by ?ft blank, to rhe reas(,iis Dr. Alfred lutation are ;heSinaitic. I'ing to the who are in vine name, general and called this extremely references in Ephesus '■ ii Kncvcijcai. I.kttkr. "• He speaks as if the f,i,i, „, <-en.,le,, was k„o,v„ ,0 then, o .iJ , ^ .' '"" "f"""'-'"P '<■ ""■e to l,e attached .0 t I ec ' s' ,"""' "^ "'^ '■^I'l'^ian.s La! of "'e sis.erhooalsun.naryofdoctrine.Chap.4:,.'; "• Practical .section. 4:17--G:17. i- The new life. 2. Conquest of sin. 3- Regeneration of social relations. ''• Final exhortation. ni. Conclusion, 6:18-24. 'Peculiarities. tte,r ces,g„ and „ode ofShal ^^ °"' ' *'''-'''""" i" f-h ,f§.i 112 Introduction. errors of Jewish Gnostics ; the other !s general, and isdesiVncd or the edification of believers: The one is a Christian apology the other is a doctrinal treatise on election and grace. " verv%mcln'f'^"'r '''°""' °^ ''' grammatical structure, is very difficult of explanation. The sentences are complicated hy numerous parentheses and digressions. " Each sinL^l. word, ' observes Michaelis, "is perfectly intelhgible '; b.t he sentences are so long, and the members of which each sen- tence consists are at the same time so short, that they arefre- qtiently capable of many different constructions, of which we cannot easily determine which is the right one. If a passage of this epistle were taken unpointed, some would place' the commas in one place, some in another ; and what increases the ditticulty IS, that in our common editions of the Greek Testa ment the points are placed with much less judgment in this epistle than in any other part. " 4. The word "spirit" or "spiritual" occurs thirteen times in this epistle, and the phrase. " The grace of God " a hke number of times. The expression, "in Christ." o'r its equivalent, occurs still oftener. \ "It certainly is the most spiritual and devout of t],e epistles composed in an exalted and transcendent state of mind where theology runs into worship, and meditation into oration' It is the Kpistle of the Heavenlies. an ode to Christ and Hi^ spotless bride, the Song of Songs in the New Testament The aged Apostle soared high above all earthly things to the hivis- ible and eternal realities in heaven. From his gloomy confine- ment he transcended for a season to the mount of transfigm- ation. The prisoner of Christ chained to'a heathen soldier was transformed into a conqueror, clad in the panoply of God and singing a paean of victory " is designed an apology; e." structure, is complicated lach single gible ; but 1 each sen- ley are fre- which we a passage place tlic creases the eek Testa- :nt in this s thirteen ■ God," a t." or its ut of the 2 of mind, oration, and His lent. The the invis- ^ confine- ■ansfigur- 1 soldier, y of God !;: )• Chai Auti Philippia the write: 'etter to ^Jlcssed p£ epistle," ; the course had all ale Philippi, says: "N( city in sue Philippians Date a upon the fa, prisoner, | Caesarea, bu Caesar's hou which has b( then to be j Opinions diff ^vhat is said t^lapsed after ciition of need collection to h Rome, for his his illness rea, This view is fi decision in his able to visit th< the year 68, i. , ' i'l Rome. Occasion. named after Ph Augustus it had Phiuppians. UH Chapter xxx — Thv r Authorshio Tu la w„te.s „„ „,e Ne„ Teste .rp:,"""""' ''^- "'"- -'ii.h.sea Jr-aullabored and U7i,^ vou anione^ whom fi Date and pJacc of ^^ "Pon the face of it thaufr'"'''*^''*'^"- ^^^is epistle h prisoner. Mever tl ^ ^ ^' ^^--itten while its Zf '^'' n^ , -ivAeyer thniks it wn^ «,t,-i , ^""lor was t Ca^sarea, but the allusions to the nf ' '''' ^ Prisoner V ^-.'iness reaching Phitr'and a r"' """=^-^> '"^ "w o°f Tins v,ew is further confi™ ed bv ,h /" "^^'^'^'^ '<> Ro.ne |----U.ad.ee„endo.ed4^--C-^^^^^ 114 Introduction. colony and its position at the junction of the streams of European and Asiatic life, with an additional infusi^ o n.mary colonial feeding gave it a character entirely i 1, About the year 52, in the course of the second missionl'v ilZT :;;' '"' ^"^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^PP^- -^ ^^e story "tli^ reception, their persecution, imprisonment and subsequ' dehverance ,s told in the 16th chapter of the Acts It ahogether hkely that Paul visited the place again b^ of h we have no certain information. Now when Paul wa a prisoner m Rome Epaphroditus, a Philippian, comes to him with a g.ft contributed by Paul's admirers in Philippi. He"hr w himself so heartily into Paul's work at Rome that a s Ho us ^^Z7^ ;"^.'' r • ^" ^^^^^^""^ -d hearing To anxious his friends had been on his account, he nafurally washed to return to Philippi, and Paul could not send h ' me" 7:1 v' r""^ "^° ^'^ ^^"^ ^ -""- ackn^ldg me.t of the kindnes he had received from the Philippians He wished a so to prepare the way for Timothy's visit (2:19)" and to incite them to unity and joyfulness of spirit. Centerits There is but little trace of system in the ep.stle, but Its leading features may be indicated L follows! Chri^a!:!"'l:Ml!'"^'^"^^'"^ "^' '''''' ^^ ^^^ ^^^"PP^" 2. Account of the progress of the Gospel in Rome as well as his position, feelings and hopes. 1:12-22. of Clfnsf^nr.f 'r"n *°. ^'^"^'^^^"^y. ""^ty, the consideration of Christ and the following of his example. 1 :27-2:4. 4. Personal matters. 2:17-30. 5. Fhial exhortations begun but broken off to warn them against Judaising error and antinomianism. 3rd chapter domtom^Ttll'"^' exhortations to unity, joy and free- bened\ttt"Tm1r"^ °' ''''' '''' ^^^'"^ ^^"^^^-^ -'' '■ streams of infusion of ■ely its own. missionary :ory of tlieir subsequiint ^cts. It is . but of tliis 'aul was a to him with He threw It a serious ■aring how 2 naturally send him cnowledge- jpians. He (2:19) and em in the follows : Philippian le, as well sideration :4. to warn I chapter. and free- tions and Pecu/Ja 1. 1 word of r fort to Pa epistle. ye." is th faithful fl before his 2. Do Paul was t neither Ju, is concernt is true that exaltation , approach P^ of our I^ord illustrate an Chap I'he two form a group ties, because t I fellow laborers Ization and gc similar characi here the featm ['» the way of ; in the fact that ('» his blograi [journeys— one t jmodated to the i h'^early all those hpistles have hel [the Acts, Paul v, ivas released, and * ThB-PasTora,. Bpkties. Peculiarities. '^^ 1- This is tile eoistlf „r word of rebuke i„ i.. '^r fe PM-r"""""""- ^Lere is „o, , f°n o Paul, a„d l,i, very l,!,r *P""' "'"">' "".-..^ a grea col ;P.f. e. re is a .nessage'of " ^°:;7,'" '" ''^ '"""'-» '" • " Wore his face. ' ""^ ""-« who has the tuZ:^:r ^^^ Paulta^^he'CltiaT'T " ""^P'™™'^ by i., ^b, -■•^er Judais.ienr»<,"„:Lret';rr-''- ""' '-- t'S ;» concerned rather „ith „"' '° '"""'^at and hi, fetter - rue that the great p tge^Tm"-"' r'" ""«- «a!tat,o„ of Clirist is hefe ^i -^ °" "«^ humiliation nnH '""«ra.e a,, 'ei ' Ti ^"-^''^^ was written oelt """^ «I.ortafo„ rather than for po,en:;cai reastt ""' I -" ^ Sro':; ^ISseTJ^r -", ''■^ -^P'* .0 Titus ^-Crs'^Zdt.:?^^^ -"•» -d gove^r '";r'sT"'°r^ =''<"«ch'.;^rorgaT 116 Introduction. m' for several years, sonjewhat as follows : Leaving Ron.e in .;:] A.D. he follows out the plan indicated in Pliilenion 22 and Phil .pp.ans 2:24 Passing through Macedonia and spending so J tmie at Ph,hpp, he goes on to Ephesus where his presence w required on account of the growth of heretical teaching F .'„ ^ this centre visits are paid to Colossae and Uodicea. and tiie ncx summer he makes his long planned visit to the far West (Ro,n lo:24). Returning in 6(5 to Ephesus he is called away to Maa. donia and he leavesTimothy in his place in Ephesus (1 Tim 1 .8, During this absence, finding that he is to be away longer tlr,; he expected, he writes the first Epistle to Timothy. Retuni ing to Ephesus as his plan was (1 Tim. 4:18) his next tour is to Crete, where he leaves Titus in charge and comes back to Ephesus, from which place he writes his Epistle to Titus i„ the autumn of fi7 and goes by way of Miletus (where he lea^^.s Trophimus 2 Tim. 4:20) and Corinth to Nicopolis. in Epit to spend the winter (Titus 8:12) and he was arre;ted d 1 1 there or perhaps at Ephesus whither he may have gone by w-u^ ofTroas (2Tim. 4:18). He is taken a pnsoner oli c" .n^or l^trrTTimX" '^' "' '"' ^^'"^ °^ '' ^'''- ''' --^ The main reasons for believing that Paul enjoyed a period of freedom and was imprisoned a second time are : 1 Eavly Christian tradition. Clemens Romanus (A D 9(1, says : ^aul also obtained the reward of his patience, havii,!: been imprisoned seven times, having been scourged, havint inThere:f-H''""^^r'^' *'^ ^°^P^^ ^" ''^ ^-t aiid in the West, he received the glorious reward of his faith hav- ing taught the whole world righteousness and having come to he extremity of the West, and having borne witness before he rulers thus he departed out of the world and went into th holy place, having given a striking example of patience." The Muratorian canon (A. D. 170) says that the Acts omits the journey of Paul from the city to Spain. Eusebit,s distinctly mentions Paul's release from captivity and after Ins time, mention of a second imprisonment is frequent. g Rome in C'j u 22 and Pliil. pending soiin. presence w.is clung. F ,,m , and the next ■West (Rom. way to Macc- idTim. 1:8). ' longer than ly. Retuni- i next tour is •mes back to to Titus in ire he leaves is, in Epirus ested either fone by wa)' nee more to s his second 'ed a period s (A.D.OO), lice, having ed, having 2 East and faith, hav- ng come to less before nt into the ;nce, ' ' : the Acts Eusebius I after Ins m not fit tins is Macech not bee; repfatec Th( have jic with the has not I objection 1. P states his whereas n fiiit whate his convici which on t 2. Tir Tim. 2:22\ must have likely he W( 's a relative and especial othy was yo sibilitiesofh Among Bleek, E;wal( Ivewin, mid Those w] fie Wette,.Bat I '^son. Of th( I authorship of : Genuinei epistles is good I Timothy. Ire] land they are in< PA<".'S S,.:c„n^ /Mri.,SON,,KNT. , Tl,„se who be; ieve tl,a, ,„ ' ' "" ""' '" ^"^"^. winch o„ the theory of a sCgleUri^PP' "'"'" "''"'■ 1-23) 2- Ti„,othy h snot, , P"""""'^'" I'e never did «"■■ 2:22- wher LCt';'," ' '"""^ "-. (I Th„ 400 , must have been 1(! „ " "'^'■>' °f »eco„d inrnr ' ^ i'-^;-. he »o,..d\;:jr3rr:er"'' ''■'=^^-'-"'" -y •-a relative term, a„d from t/^eT !"' °'^''S<'- !*"< "youth'^ ^■•"■■'.■ties of his positt, " ^™"*' '»• ■■" view of'ZtlZ- - Among advocates nf f . -t^ilicott, Howson and Wordsworth ' "^'' '^'^^''^' Those who believe thpf tu Genuineness it m mi 118 Introduction. and Old Utin versions. Marcion, it is true, rejected tl.e.n and Tat.an rejected these addressed to Tin.othy. hut huth Z :^^^Z^ '''''''-' '' ''-' '''-''- -^^ - ^" — With regard to the internal evidence, it is admitted that the style and diction are somewhat different from that of Paul's other epistles ; still, as will afterwards appear, the difference i' not so great but that it may beaccounted for from the circumsta, ' ces under which they were written. The character of the gr" t apostle IS distinctly impressed t;pon these epistles-the tan ft^rvour of spirit displayed in numerous parentheses and digr" - tv uid .^r: ''"''"'" '' ""^ "^^^ ^ ^^°^^' ^^- --^ htfmil- ity and self-deprecation, the same earnest desire after the spiritual welfare of his converts, the same habit of allud i g Ins own sufferings for the gospel, and the same vehement in hese. There are also special features and allusions which are so natural and apparently so unimportant. Miat they never won have occurred to a forger : as for example the apostle's a her v anxiety about the health of Timothy (1 Tim. 5:23) ar.d the reference to the cloak, books and parchments which h'e had behind him at Troas, and which he desired Timothy to bri ' t«.l5l;T""'"?''' °^ '^''^ "P^'^'^-^ ^'^' ^e^" strenuoucly a- nd De wZ " r '"^ ""^"^^ ^^P^^^^"^ ^^ ^--- Hicll .n. and De Wette, on the grounds that 3. The words, phrases and sentimeuts are un-Pauline. ctcd them, t botli iict- t in aciord tiitted that t of Paul's iffereiict is ircumstan- f the great -the same nd digrcs ne humil after the lluding to eniencc in iceable in lich are .so I'er would 's fatherly , and tile e had left to bring : any po.s- loucly at- Eichh )ni uid these y a post- ine. Chap' To M native of graiidnioi verted by second tn member o sent on co ing the p From Heb but when ( It is usual tenor of Pa timid and s The oc behind in ; this letter i Timothy to Gospel and inent. Contents. I- After t ation he had II. Direct 2-4 : 11. IV. Persoi and his propei V. Conclu( ^liurch. TiMOTHY. 119 To whom addressed v native of Lys.ra. His falter wIH ^ ""V" '" P--'"«'WIity a grandmother were devon, Je^e"^ T" ■"" '"' "■°"'er and verted by Paul on his first If. "^ "^* apparently con- -ond nn-ssionary journey onCl?^""™'^' ="" '«>» ""e "^■nber of the Apostle's I ttk!,'^i„ ""' '"' ^'■"«' instant «^n' on commissions to the chnrT k'^ '°""'"'"^' «"»"!»" ■"g the part of PersonJi eomn nt /" ^"' ''^^"-"^ 'a* From Heb. IS : 23 it appearsTh^!r° ° '""^ "P'""""' father but when or for what S "we havV„°° '""'''' -Prisonme„; It .s usual to infer from 1 Cor 16 7n ,,"'?" "f determining, tenor of Paul's personal exhortation"; ."■'"' '"" *^ S«^uer!l tumd and shrinking di.p,^^™;^^''''"'' to •"« that he was of a behtad^^Epht„rwhife Pa'u'f"" ''™°"-^ "=<" been ,ef, tb- >etter was written with he L'Tm^^.''^"''™'^' -« T.n.othy to oppose the false teach * 'h '*•""• '° '"»"•"« Gospel and to give him direcUons 'I "" ™bverting the '"««• °"' concerning church govern- Contents. V. Concluding warnin • 4.12—6:2. church. ^ "^™'"^« ^^-ns dangerous elements in the li: III w 120 Introduction. Chapter XXXIII.-The Episti^e to Titus. To whom addressed. Titus is nowhere mentioned in he book of the Acts unless he be identified with the ^tut seel fnt ""' > ' ''^" ""^ P'"^'^^^ ^ "^^'^^ °f Antioch and seems to have become a Christian at an early date for he wen up to Jerusalem with Paul and Barnabas to vindicate the free dom of the Gentiles from the ceremonial law of the Jew Agam when a delegate of firmness and tact was needed to deal w.th the irregularities in the Corinthian church and when Apollos had shewn himself unwilling to go (1 Cor. 16 l'> Titus was employed and did his work successfully. Ten year t^siToor? "^"'^ '° '''''''''' ^ p^^p'^ -^---^ averse to good influences. On the whole he seems to have been the ablest and most reliable of all the helpers t" Ipos" Paul had about him in his later years. ^postie Of the state of the church in Crete we know scarcely any- thing from outside sources and the allusions in this epistle he n us but little. Paul touched at the island on his way'as a pri . oner to Rome, but his stay was too short and his freedom lo much restrained to allow us to account for the introductl of Chnst^nity in this way. Perhaps visitors returning hoine after the Pentecostal outpouring in Jerusalem carried the me sage with them. Paul quotes a verse from a Cretan poet Epimenides, which implies that the Cretans bore a b 1 character for falsehood and other vices, and it is apparent from the letter that they were in serious disorder as regards bo doctrine and government. ^ The occasion of the Epistle. The epistle was to serve a double purpose - both to communicate instructions to Titits regarding his superintendence of the churches in Crete (Titus Titus i"q !c,TT ^. "" '° '"^"'^ ""^ °PP°^^ ^^'^ teachers, Titus 1 9-16). Paul writes also to ask him to cometo Niconolis before winter (Titus 3 : 12). ^M<-opjiis Contents. Crete.' i^ij"''*'°" ""^ statement of purpose of leaving Titus in [TUS. lentioned in le Justus of ^ntioch and for he went te the free- the ' Jews. ded to deal and when Jr. 16 : 12) Ten years lotoriously ns to have he Apostle rcely au}- pistle help as a pris- iedom too duction of ing home the nies- !tan poet, ■e a bad rent from irds both 5 to ser\e i to Titus te (Titus teachers, *^icopolis Titus ni Wi 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Chaptj Occ. during P; approach i the desert and with i in which y with exho: a pastoral < for all Chri Contents. 1. Gre 2. The '^- Uxh , 4. Solei Jieresy. 5- Perso Chapter Canonic I attested, it j, [it is used by Ji [rank with the Ipeatedly quote tlieOldUtin, 121 Second Timothv. 2- QualificaHon, of bishops, ,:7.I0 ;-^-'P«ono, false teachers, I.n.j, '■f7'""^^f- various classes, 2.,.,, -«"..ar,co„„.„,3.„e„ris.,a„,.,.,; 8- Injuuctions to Titus, 3:!M1. Chaptbh XXXIV. -The Sr. . Oecasion and object Ti and w,th immortal hL Tv """^^ «"'1> calm s<.„, •. ■n Which yea„,i„g .ote .J ■:;';'■- '-' will aud t^ ,at -^ w.tl. exhortatious to fidel.ty and ° ''^'™'1 P»P" « mi , ' L Conlt " ""■"""^ ""'' -^-^--r.::""^' ''"' "lvalue 1- Greeting and thanksgiving 2- The kindness of Onesiphorus ■ '^''I-ortations and warnings '--"''"" ""^^""'■--—ede.elopmentsof 5. Personal details. Chaptsk XXXV.-The EprsT,E t , Canonrcy The , '" '" '"'""''""^-- Sdb^'^"■^-"^^'''St;?cL''■' ^"'-"^ '^ -1, I '■' "'■=<' by Justin Martyr as » ■ '^'^ent of Rome a„rl rank with the book of G „e is 'r?'""' ""''"^''ty o '.Z Som't'"'"'" '•'^-"•W r"toPan?'« °' Alexandria,'": '-■-- versions inclu^d. J:!, ../--Syrlac^^ 122 Introduction. cion s hst and from the canon of Muratori. Indeed, the whol. Eastern Church accepted it as canonical, but in the we t k w very generally rejected in the second and third ce t L" Tertulhan. Cyprian and Irenceus refused to receive it B i i the ^^.st m the fourth centn.y. Hilary of Poitiers, and Amb o " of Milan, led a reaction in its favor. They wer; followed bv Jerome and Augustine a,id as a result the epistle, by consent of the western church as well as o. the east, las placed irl^e Was the epistle wntten by the Apostle Authorship. Paul ? The arguments In favor of the Pauline authorship are fnvJ' '*"*';f"* ^^^'''nony reaching back almost to the apos- tohc age m the person of Pant^nus of Alexandria, is by \ large majority, m favor of the Pauline authorship. C eme.-'t of Alexandria, says that the epistle to the Hebrews was Paul' and was wntten in the Hebrew language, and that Luke, hav- ing with great care translated it, published it for ae Greeks Again he says: "And as the blessed presbyt.r (by Xm Pan .nus is meant apparently), before now used to say, sh^ the Lord, as Apostle of the Almighty, was sent to Hebrews Pan , through modesty, as having been sent to Gentiles does not inscribe himself Apostle of Hebrews, because of the hon belonging to the Lord, and also because he went beyond his ZlTc :r>^ o^'""^ ^^^° "'^^^ ^^ was herald and Apostle of Gentiles. Origen repeatedly refers to the epistle as Pauline and after his time there seems to have been no doubt booTinto\l "^' 1"r^' ^" ^'^ ^^'' ^^^ --p^-- ^^ wort ;" Paul! """ "°' ""°^^^ *'^ '^"^^ ^^^^ '' -- ^'- Apoitle^Pa'ur'"' '" ^^^^^^^^^-d on the familiar plan of the 1. The discussion of the dogmatic truth, sented ^^"^"^'^ exhortation based on the doctrine thus pre- S. Salutations interwoven with personal notices, 'with doxology and prayer. !d, the whole 2 west it was i centuries. it. But ill nd Ambrose followed b\- y consent of aced in the (»« :he Apostle orshlpare to the apos- a, is, by a . Clement was Paul's Luke, hav- ne Greeks. (by whom ' say, since Hebrews, itiles, does the honor 'eyond his lerald and i epistle as no doubt nee of the t was the in of the thus pie- ces, with III. close ac Piiil. 2, It is authorsh. of treatim The. may be si 1. Ar to Paul. Roman cJn ''"d Jerome west as cai] 2. If ti •ng to be b; 3. The Petuous and ''ere polish I^arrar says ; an oriental s ''"» ; the mc the race. Tl most niajesti( rhetoric of St, opposing rock 4. Theep not have cor 2:i^ "which (s j^-ord, and wa; Whereas Paul i \ by direct revels . £>• There is favorite topics [resurrection is n I different way, e. [tain themes here AUTHOKSHIP OP Hi.«BKunvS. ' ""■ 2. a..d Hebr. 13 with Lm.\, '"'""' «'"■•• S"'' with It IS agreed even bv thr. , "freatn.en. are strong,, Pa„Mi^:^'"'« "" P'^" '"^ ">e..'od Roma,, church rejected the P,,! "' . ""^""""^ «»"* tl,a, thi ::.':":"■ "'™"«" »'■- ue^'r^^ -'■au,,,.:.::: "" "'"'°"'"'. did „ot regard tZ,u '', '"^'■"P'«' " 'he 2- If this epistle i, P , "' "" ""k of Paul. "•« to be by hi,r " '^^'•""^' " ^'^""s a,o„e i„ „ot „„„, CTzr r''°-^"'S:d s.';re':n,°'"'' ™^^^''. »■■■ Fa'arC' The °" ^"" ^-'"'^ - I :r * "'^ ""- ''yh . I he movement of ti,- . ''''^"ctecl sentences oneuta, sheith with I, ot'TnT' ^^-"'"^ ' *«« revelation. ^ *"' ""^ '"'<' --eceived his teaX, p-°Hte?o;i:s'so?e%^rar," "r""" ''-• Of Pau,.° sr ■■°" '^ "'"'"-^ ' r nor sef =^'^"^' ^■«- " I amerent way, e P- h,« i / ""ce , some are treat. ^ • ■i§ 124 Introduction. the Apostle Paul, e.g., the high-priesthood of Jesus There isnoreal(li.scor(i, butthe peculiarities iu selectiou ai.«d treat- ment of topics are very noticeable. ;>• The writer's use of the 0. T. does not accord with Paid s. This writer introduces (juotations as directly the voice of God: "He saith." "He hath .said"; whereas Paul commonly uses the formula " It is written." " the Scripture saith." This latter phrase occurs 80 times in Paul's writirys but not at all in this epistle. Again this writer quotes fro.,; the Scripture in the Alexandrian text without regard to the Hebrew, whereas f>aul often corrects the LXX by the Hebrew and where he follows the Greek version, uses the text found in the Vatican MS. Upon the whole it mu.st be confessed that we cannot arriAc at any confident conclusion on what ever since the second century has been a matter of ponjecture. It may, however be regarded as highly probable that the epistle was written' bv some one who stood in a close relation with Paul, but not h\' Paul himself. It was by some one who spoke o/ Timothy as "brother" (13:23) whereas Paul .speaks of him as " soV" We ook then for the writer among the younger companions of the Apostle. 1. The name of Luke has been proposed and advocated on the ground of similarity between this epistle and especially the second half of the Acts (Delitzsch). But Luke was 't Gentile and we can hardly doubt but that we have before us the work of a Jew. 2. Clement of Rome has been mentioned (by Eras- mus) because there seem to be many allusions in his epi.tle to this. But the theory has been abandoned, for the style and point of view are radically diverse. 3. Silas (B6hme) and Titus have been proposed, but we do not know enough of them to make such suggestions any- thing more than groundless hypotheses. 11 ills. There 1 ai.'d trcat- ccord with ly the voice ereas Paul e Scripture s writings, |iu)tes from G:arcl to the he Hebrew- text found inot arrive :he second iwever, be written by 3Ut not by iniothy as IS "son." panions of idvocateil especially ike was a before us by Eras- lis epistle style and I, but we ms any- 4. been acl product •^. . •' "itoJuda,sm owing to the houT- "«"■ "f f=""W bact worship and the faLna.t'.t i'h 't'* ,""«'■'»'-' ^-» o The church addressed can scarce,?, f^'"'''^ ">" "'^m '■ ="" not get its knowledge osZI'J".^"'"""''- '"^'^'"^ t ™"M not be described as ha.t / '''°'"' ''=""1 (2:3)- any lettertoJewishChristia,"\ '"■""""''' ™ "««>•" and Aramaic. We decide, tte e 'r i ™"" '*^'y >«ve be™ i,^ »niide,.ce, that the epis ,1 T" „ » "''"' ™ «"-' "egr!" o - »- Palestine, but^not':,,";™"",'::;: '° ''"■'■^" ^'■*'^- ■"■ 126 Introduction. .nnst'if ** V"^ Tf" ""^ Composition. The time of writin.. must have been before the destruction of Jerusalem A D " ? mu^h'"'"^'?^ ''■'' ^"^ ^^°- ^^^ ^-t that Itho;^h' o much :s said of the evanescent character of the Jewish ritual .no mention is made of this, which would have been so s o : bL'r^rr n"''"'°'^"^' ' P°^^^-"- ^ date no of before 70 would seem to suit the circumstances best for ma t of those to whom the epistle is addressed have long be n Chrs tians (5:12), many of their teachers are dead rS-TraL li. have suffered persecutions for their faith (10 32-8^; 12 4-^^' th.nr^' ''^'' u '^" P^"'" °^ ^"'^"^' "«thing but conjectural heones can be advanced. The statement " Thev of ah lute you "may mean either " Those who are about me 1 Italy salute you," or "Those Italians who in this forekn land are with me, send back greetings to their old home ' reade^s^'irLir' °'''"' °' *'^ ""^^^ '' ^^ strengthen his readers in their persecutions and to warn them aL^in^f ti, danger of falling back into Judaism. It has m re of tli at 4 of a treatise than of a letter, and is more scholarly in ts Greek than most parts of the N.T. Contents : 1. Fundamental thesis (1:1 i). 2. Christ is superior to angels (1:5—2:18). 3. Christ is higher than Moses (3—4). 4. The High Priesthood of Christ (5—7). ,8-9): ^''"'' ^' '^' """^'''' '^ ' "^^^"^ b^"'^^ covenant 6. Recapitulation and summary (10). 7. The heroes of faith (11). (12-13^""" ''"'°"'"°'"^' """"g'. "usages a„d blessings Peculiarities: 1. The great theme of the eoistle i« ti,« . • • Christianity to Judaism. - ^ '" superiority oi eof vvritin,!^ , A.D. 7U. Ithough so ^ish ritual, 1 so strong e not long , for mail}- )een Chris- . and they , 12:4—5). ■onjectural y of Italy It me here lis foreign me." gthen his gainst the he nature its Greek- covenant lessings >rity of h It anity ginal Juda's Christ ter tha vvrapp( the bo( than Jt C The 1- J a. Ja 4. Ja «. Ja; 0. Jar 7. Jar This . •suffer (1 ,„£ No. 4i Nos. 3 Nos. 3 Nos. 4 i I/Uke 24.10. It is pro that there an 1. 2 and the < " Hebrews shows that I,„l„- fnal, Judaism the husi- n., ' ^^''istianity the on Jf a:sm the body. ChnsttnUvr"'-'" '^^ kernel'^thin CJinstianity the anti-tvpT and 1"^'"'' ' J"^^^«'" the type' t- than the shadow, the r'ea't /t. '' \"'^^^"^^ '"^ ^J-;st - -apped up in the husk tht ^ t\''' P"^"^^' ^'^^ kerne, the body, the anti-type than the t '''''^' ^^^ «P'"t than "-" Judaism. The word " tt ■fthe^k " "^'"'^^'^"'^^ ^^"e ''"'^keyword of Hebrews." Chapter XXXVI —Ttju t. The author. We read in the N. T of • 1- James, the son of Zebedee 2- James,thesonofAlph^us '^- •^^"^^^' the I^ord's brother. 4. James, the son of Mary ^- James, the Less (or the IJttle.) ^^- James, the brother of Jude ^- James, the first bishop of Jerusalem. --<'mrLr:i--:^s--^^ No- 4 and 7 mav h. -^ • '''^' '^"tten. ' may be ident fied Of Ooi i ,r. N«s- 3 and 4 may be ^H •. "'^^ ^"'"^ 2:9-12. ^ '^^ Identified Mat 97.(?r- », ^ °^ Identified Mart fi.'? t ^ I^ulce 24:10. ""^ '^^ '^-tified Mat. 27:5.. Mark 15:40 ^' ' -^ the single inSli ^ ^^^ ^^^ ;» ^he list abo!:'; " ^"°^" '^y all the other 128 Introduction. titles. It is usual in some quarters to so a sten f„rfT,«. identify 1 and 2 by saying Lt tl.. l^J^ 'l^Z'TZ^^^^ his cousn. the word being used in the extended sense" , It was sometimes employed in the classics. But that vilw t thTarorT Th!', ^^-f "1- . ^^^^^ ^^- of thes^e t^wa! ne author The tone of authority, not expressed but implied n the ep>stle leads one to say the more prominent of th7 I ' 1. ^-^ the Lord's brother. Why then does he not call himleh level With all w^a^^™ ^of J^rcrnri^/r si: hTm;elP^;r°''"°'°"^ ^°^''^ ^^^^^-"' ^^ conten to cTn himself the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James '■ the I.^ord :''"' '"'" "'""'" "" '° ^''' '^^ "^^^"^ ^^^ "^^^ther of Judas' were "^'^If " '}"'"' '^'' ^''^''' J°^^-^' «'-<>" --1 Judas, were, m the orduiary literal sense of the word brothers of our Lord, sons of Joseph and Mary. ' 2. The Agnatic or Epiphanian theory that Joseph was a WKlowerat the time of his espousal to Mary and that 4 brothers' ' were children of the former marriage. Alphtur;or'n ''"''. """"'^""^^ -"-^ of Alphaeus (or Cleopa.^) were cousins of our Lord, their mother and His being sisters, motner This Tames, the Lord's brother, although he did not become a bebever until after the resurrection, became one of thep Z of the church He presided at the council held in Jerusa and IS recognized as the first bishop of Jerusalem. He had high reputation for sanctity and earned the dtle of "camel kneed" from his protracted lending in prayer in the temp He hved under the Nazarite-s vow and was a Hebrew of tL: Hebrews, who clung to the law and the prophets and valu d the gospel as their fulfilment. enistl^m!.?** ^^T °^ ^^^'^P^'^^O"- From the fact that this ol. it must have been written before that event for a discussio,, urther and ' was really se in which at view is se two was ut implied, if the two, ill himself ! spirit of ttiself on a the same nt to call f James." brother of imon and he word, ;ph was a that the sons of ■ mother t become le pillars ^rusaleni e had a "camel - teniplp. ' of the valued hat this a A. D. icussioii m 'y no Israel of Christian! secution, number w whom Jau writes to practice an filed religi( it was writ endurance a holy livin obedience i assuredly h cJoes not at i "ess. His i accurate leg; threatful U' royal I^aw, t] in the Sermo Judaism, but transformatio Contents. (1) Gre (2) On (y) On (4) On 1 Purpose ok James' Ep,.sti.«. I 'inrt decision ■vh^nu i j ^' *^^ ;Part >„•„,,,, ,„„„ „„'^V:'';'^^''J--«'.ad.„co„spic„„„' wr.ter, arg,„, f„r the year u ,r " '"Woticed. Many ep.»t|e de.,c,i„es the Ch4, a„s aluff °" ''^ '^^""'^ ">"?,: «.nd,t,c,„ which prevailed in a co„.snf ""^ "" P"^=«>tio". a The place of „ri,i„. ™"^P'™™=' "^^ree at this ,i„e. J- ..„ „ea„y .r4rorctir,r '-■• -- :.^:':r ^'^^-^-'e' i^^^^^^^^^^^^ .?^^^-f " To the twelve •cly not Christians in generall'e V ^'' '''''' ^'^ "^eant ^-ae of ood, not Jews i^„ gent , „o p^'"' '^^^^^ °^ ^'^e Chnstmns, but Jewish ChrislLns t^ "''''"''''''" '^ «ecut,on, at the hands of thl r" .-, ^"^ ^"''^ ^"^uring per- number were some covetous t '' ^"^" ^"^^ng thei? own whom James rebuked TrLT^^^^^^^^ quarrelsome ols wntes to comfort the des^em , "w^"^^'^"" ^"^ Ja-es practice and to fix in their minds Ihe " '^"'"^^ ^''^^rs of filed rehgion. " The purpos iys D^ V' ^"''^ ^"^ "-'- 't was written was to encourLT r ^"""^'^ " ^^^ which endurance of trial by stirr;:^Them up T^'k ^'"'^^^"^ '^ '^^ a holy hving. And in doing this hf '° ^.'^"S^^ter energy of obedience nor a terrified anx^v JfT^"' "^^^s a slavish assuredly he does not on th. -5 ^'^ ^°^« not dwell as does not at any rate put " the rT ^'"^"^" -^'iv ' h" ' -ss. His ideals are' the idea ll't ^^"---^ "^^hteous accurate legality. The law which I u ""^ ^'^^°"^- "ot of threatful Uw of Moses. wh'clT, 'td .^' '" "^"^^ ^'^ "ot the -yal Uw. the perfect £aw f ib^e f tt /° '°"'^^^' '^"^ ^^e " he Sermon on the Mount He t V ' ^""^ "" '* '' ''' ^orth Judaism, but f Christian J^ldahm-u^V'^"""^^^'-' -^ of transformation and transfiguration ~ '' "' J"^^''«'" "' ''ts Contents. (1) Greeting, l.-i, (2) On the endurance of trials 1.2 TS g On hearing and doing, S^^^^^^^^^^^^ (4) On respect of persons, 2;1-13. 130 Introduction. (j)) On the relation of faith and works, 2:14-20 (G) On the control of the tongue, 8:1-18 ■ ?2 ?!' ^''^ ^''"' ''^''*"^'= ^"^ ^^" speaking, 4:1-12 (8) On the service of God and mammon, 4:1;M7 ' (.') On covetousness and impatience 5-1-11 " rJn ?K ""''"'•'' '''"'' ""^^ '^'^ P^^^^'- °f P'-ayer. ->:12-1,S sinners! 5:^) 2a' ""^^"'°" ^'^"^ ^'^ ^^^^ «^ --ertin. Peculiarities. 1. The style of Greek is pure and beyond what was to be expectecl from a Galikean Jew. It is a combination of e^^q^e n atid rythnncal Greek with Hebrew intensity of expresli The moral earnestness of the author merges into sternness a , there is great abruptness in the way in which he passeTfro •subject to subject. There is neither a thanksgiving to b" with nor a blessing to end with. ^ 2. Not only does it lay stress on the ethical aspects of life and leave dogma very much out of view, but it is wanting in many of ^he distinctly Chnstian and spiritual elements oTr! wT ThteTT •"'""'• C^--t ^« only mentioned twice. There is no allusion to the Incarnation, or to tl.o Resurrection, or the Ascension, or to the work of Redemptio It IS clear that his object is distinctly ethical, but ther at the ame ime distinct allusions to Christian doctrine and. naan's Christianity is to be seen in his fulfilment of the bw works is'?nnl^''" '''""''^ '^^''^'' P^-^^^^^ ^bout faith and works IS a polemic against the Apostle Paul, and taking tliis view many have disparaged the Epistle of James. But asser ion is without foundation. In so far as the names "faith" and works are used in the same sense, the statements of the two writers are not only reconcileable but necessary comnle ments to each other. <-uuipic 2Ck :1-12. M7. er, r):12-l.S. converting t was to hv of eloquent -xpression. rnness and 'asses from ig to begin ects of life 'Vanting in 2nts of re- mentioned or to the deniption. ere are at ine, and a e law. faith and king tliis But tlie i" faith" nts of thi' ' coniple Cha Th Sinieoii. translate 'lis brotl John aiK lie Jiad b to the in sense he forvvardiK great con tlie gospe] Jiistor>' of •5 -IS. 5:29 prison and J^-n- .!em said b}' an ^t is more martyrdom work nienti labors were To whom I The Ep joiirners of Asia and Bit exclusively ft were churche t^-c main elt where tiie san ■>■■&, 4:3. Authorsf tested b\ exte Tc .uiment. J Peter which, w (locunient. Po I apostolic father First Pkthr, 131 »ne Author, p^f,.,.. ,^™7"- ire receive.,! he „r'V"T ""'"""'y ^'•"o" or "; brother Andrew to Jest,, m I "" '" '™» ''™")ji.t b .e ,., the ..„.er nrcle of our Lor , ' i " ■■""' ■'<"■" ^e helo,^«| •sense he IipIh ^ . . " ^ "'scip es atir? ;. . , . "s^^" su.^pej,s. He was tLe chief fi^. • ""* ^'^aph caljv in >n»„ a„d „,,,„ "; was „„rac„,o„s,y delivered fo,,' work „,e.,.,o„e?i„ Gai^^V^, ■f--' f"" «Vd ilirrff 'abors w. ,.e anro„g J,„, '•'"'" " "-• main „is „, JJ^^^^ To whom written. The Epistle Is address.^ ■• r jotirners of .i.e j.k„. "**'' f^" the Elect wh„ A«a a.,d Bith^^nf .?"„™;". '" ''''"""'. Galatia c l"? * exclusively for '1 '*"'." '^ '"""-'f w,-.„ ,„e refutation CD to confirm his reac4s Tt rf T ^'"^'"^ ^"^ J^-^ writes ^^o'nfort the,n i„ their tria s P ! ?' '"^' ^^j to exhort and Contents. ^- Salutation and thni.te ■ • ^^ "o thanksgiving (l:i-_i2) '3) Special exhortations. 3. Concluding portion (5:10-14) Peculiarities* Th Peter on the one hai'id anrtirr^J'T h^^ ^'^"^^^^^ '^^^-^ ^st Romans, Uphesians and Jan. on h f '^'•'^"'^^' ^^I-'^'^^Jy Romans : Rom S-i- io .'"" ^'^e other • e p- .. 1 Pet 1 ■■> J. '" "^^^^- 1 Pet. 1.4_^ . p •^" ^-^ 'egai-ds "-tead of being, as some co^^ /•'''• ^"^ "-- similarities a proof that the faith which'" ' T''^^ ''^ '"^ ^Po«tle are ;"^ '-d^al peculiarities dV c."' "''^^ ""'-^ ""''- ali , ^acl developed the whole sd enfe ^c ^""■'^°" '^^^'^ •• "^^ which none of the other .no f 1 ^ ^^^"•'^^'^"'ty with a fulness ; wide Channel of phr;Xy:rt;^^'^''^^^^^^ «^ ^-^^^ 'ty, which had becon- ^f ^""^^^ ^^eas of Christina --^^ed and shape"' 'th ^ .r^'"^ ^^^^^^- hT d P-achiiiga„d.vriti!;g. W.s i tr"^'""^ ^-^->es bv his 134 Introduction. Paul s. since he was addressing churches reared by the latter and h,s fellow-laborers, to which he hiniself stood in no h^ ate relation. Propagators of error had endeavored to d '■ hem away from attachment to the Pauline doctrine, represen - ng It to be contrary to Peter's. In giving his sanction therefore to the creed and pnnciples of his fellow-apostle, he would mor. :^ :s:.;^ ^^"-^- ^^"^'- -^--^ ^~t to r: Chapter XXXVIII.-Thk Second Ep:sti.e op Peter. Authorship. The genuineness of this book has bee,, more questioned than that of any other book in the New Test anient. The external evidence for it is slender. The first writer to bear distinct testimony to it is Origen who says "Peter again, on whom the Church of Christ is built, against which the' gates of hell shall not prevail has left behind an epistle gen - aly acknowledged, perhaps also a second, for it is a disputed question. Eusebius a hundred years afterwards classed it aL„o he disputed books of the New Testament. But from apostohV t.n es there were traces of it in Clement of Rome. Hernms and Polycarp in Melito of Sardis, Theophilus of Amioch. H pp ! ytusofPontusandFirmilian of C.sarea in Cappad^^a.^^nd n the Clementine Recognitions. It is wanting in the Mur-i- tonan Canon and in the Syriac and Old Latin versions. Intern- al differences operated in some degree against it. The difft-r- Hiffl' T ''"^If .^'''''''" '^" '^° "P'^"^« '^^« ^l^vays been a difficulty and there have been objections drawn from the state- ments of the epistle itself, e. g.. the expression "the holv mount ' seems to imply a later date than Peter's. .n/>'''*'\T-f'T '"""^ 'P°^"" of as equivalent to scripture and It IS not like the simple practical spirit of Peter to enlarge upon the manner of th. creation and the destruction of the world. But in spite of all objections (and it will be .seen that some of these are arbitrary and trivial enough), the epistle secure.l y the latter in no inti- ed to draw . represent- ill therefore vonld more uit to utter ? Pbtkr. has been New Test- The first ys "Peter, which the tie gener- L disputed 1 it amoiio apostolic rnias and I, Hippo- ocia, and he Mura- I. Interii- le difFer- 3 been a :he state- the holy scripture ) enlargf n of the lat some secured recogi had b( better It ity bet about 1 In l)otI: in both applied Da that it m apparent is believ< the epist: Oesi himself, among thi "linds froi "Ye, the, hevvare les fall from 3; knowledge 1. To heretical te 2. To( Contents. 1- Apos 2. Kxhc 'edge, 1:3-11 '^- Remii '"ests, 1:12-21 •i- Warni ers, 2:1-22. Skcond Pjjt^r. •-"-'■.an we can Uor^ltL^'lZ!"' *c„„..a„ce! .n^'cL In hotl, tl,e word conversation ,f r ? ""^ "ame salueation applied to fflan is applied to G^d "■""' °' 'P'^«<^s « apparently i„,pe„di„g (2 Pe" tuf ''''°'''"''-'^"^.«MouZ - bel,eved to „ave occurred in 68 A^n ' ^f. "*' ""'' -"-" "' I""' '° -""'^ «» '° <.e.er„n- ,eXn Jd^ " "" '^"^ '" ^^i-e,r'^i?;.,:;:4';»f ;-^- \"'"". i. stated ,y among then, heretical teacher, t T "'^' "■"''^ "oiM arise ™;ds fton, the ft,, ,2 Te V "^ "O"" ->= 'o pervert tl" Ye, therefore, beloved seeing ,'', ""^ "°^^ specifically. !„' 7" >"'"■ °«n steadfastness bn °''°'^"'=™<^fc<'d. Inow edgeof onr Lord and Sat or fclrT '" «''^^ '•""' "" '"c "-'«>■ ^™« 'Ws it appears tha to deSr'' ^' ^"" « ^ 1- To warn 1 ' '"'°-'°W ^ '■eretical teachers. " " ''«'"'"^' "'<= =™rs of false and -• To exhort them tr> », i " to make progress i„ holiness Contents. '.Apostolic address and ,ree.i„,,,.j.„ o-r^, ^ rests, ,..,2.2,. «™und on ..hicl, ,:i,eir Inovledge i- Warning against nnH ,i ers, 2.1.22. '"«' 'fennnction of the fa,.,e teach- 'f l| vm Introduction. th.tLA''"'"'^'''^'!'''^'''''''' '"^ ^^^'■^^y^f the teachinj^s of u'e world" f a^^;,'"" '' ^^ ''' ''''''' ^^^^^"^ ^"^ ^^- ^^-• 6. Concluding exhortation to make their caHing and dec tion^ sure, including a recommendation of Paul's cnistles closmg with a doxology, 3:14.18. ' Peculiarities. tl.« r,^""""^^''^" '^^' ''^ "'^^ of comparison of the two epis- tles ; The mipious persons" of St. Jude and the " f,kr. teachers" of St. Peter are described by exactly thi sail: du^':. Old Testament offenders, warned by the same examples tareatened with the same retributions. But the writer of thi^ epistle IS less impetuous, more daborate and restrained H. omits, he modifies, he softens. He seems to be writing fron. v,vid memory of what St. Jude has said, but without the epi tie actually before him, so that sometimes he has been as it were magnetised only by the sounds of the words rather than by the words themselves. Thus for St. Jude's ' ' sunken reefs" -'TMa,?.,) . he substitutes the more natural metaphor, but simi- !'We"f ?"?'''. " T' " ''""''"'^ ''''' ''' ^'- J"de'.s unique love feasts (.r-:r.r,), a word which might have suggested many erroneous notions-he uses the word decdts-(.Xt'r«.,) Again, for St. Jude's impossible "clouds without water " he has the more accurate ' ' founts without water. ' ' For t%e' Ivri cally bold expres,sion, " ehains (...v'-'v) of darkness," suggested to St. Jude by passages m the Book of Enoch, he substitutes the less daring phrase, " pits (.. and see tl all able to ■'^ curious we had nc quite Intel they knoH "lals, they selves" (oi "But these destruction be destroye( clear that ] g'iven to the self. There meaning of c warning ;.nd measure disa: tlie force of t] meaning is at 2. Whatt authenticity oi SECOND P,,,,, ^^^^^ j^,^^^^ h's tacit referenrp f^ , '•^'' latigliage obscure Tl , ■'"'''* ''a» »ai„ 1^.,,,. ,■ '^-•-■c of t„e .t,a.l r, :r*^ °^"- '-c..:; ."„':,';"■" predion it ,;° "'"^'^ '"cture,,,„e fo « ™""-"'S»'a.V "'l'-^'- part, ' r, '"^ ■'"J'' (wtli tie abrm! "»■■ •-■•••rHer ex- parts of the epistlel "n • "I""ess wliicli ,„, i '"ent." Her..u ^''^^'■e spoken of"! '• ^ ''S^^'"«t -«^'. Who even i,. , -iris':.^^ '"^ '-" '^'"^^ ^ ^IZ It B only ivhen we turn t„ ,i iml «<-■ the original refp, "" P"""^' Passa-^es ,f <=, , •111 able to r«r,„ 1, '^"'''^'="« fo Micbael i „l c . ®'' ■'""'s'. *'-''(ora;T'''r "«'"""->. '■" i.ee t, " '•^■^«'"l-s ani- 6 ' "u coherence nf c*. t , ' *• "^^ Pree-nanf „ "measure disappeared %f -^"^"'^ sentence haff ''^ tlie force of tli!^! r, ^^'^ '"'''^^ are nartioif f " "^ S;reat ^- Whatever be the ^.u- 'Authenticity of the J ^'^^""'-^te verdict rest>«nr-fi, m y the Second Epistle of PeteT^ ^ ^^'^ ^''''^ct ^eter, ,t wjll remain to l.'iS Introduction* the end of time a writing ^ull of instruction, which is undoubt- ed y supenor to all writings of the second and third centuries It has come down to us from the Apostolic age. It does not touch on a suigle specific feature of the later and more elaboru. systems of Gnosticism. It shows no trace of the ecclesiastical spirit which was so rapidly developed after the death of the Apostles. Whatever be its peculiarities, it expresses thoughts ot which many are akin to those of St. Peter, and worthy of he great Apostle ; and on the ground of its intrinsic value we thankfully acquiesce in the decision of the Church Councils which assigned a place to it in the New Testament canon In all parts ofthe epistle," says Calvin, "the majesty of the spirit of Christ displays itself. " .1 ;• The epistles were written with diflFereiit purposes the First being chiefly hortatory, and the Second polemical T'^c first was written with a design to comfort believers under tli'c persecutions to which they w,re exposed ; and the second to warn them against the errors of false teachers. Hence in the First Epistle the author dwelt upon the example of the suffering of Christ to encom.j., believers in trial ; whereas there was not the same ..ves^^ity in the Second Epistle And hence, also, hope was the key.uvte ofthe First Epistle, because Its purpose ^yas to sustain believers in suffering; and know- ledge was the keynote of the Second Epistle, because its purpose was to establish them in faith. But in both epistles the sanguine and hopeful spirit of the Apostle is apparent • i„ he Second, as vvell as in the First, the author leads forward the thoughts of his readers to the entrance that shall b. ministered to them abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our I,ord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Pet Ml) • i,, the Second, as well as the First. Peter is the Apostle of Hope " s utidoubt centuries, t does not ielaborati.' :lesiastical :ath of the 5 thoughts worthy of value we Councils nt canon. 5ty of the pose.s, the :al. T::c Luider the second to Hence pie of the whereas le. And , because id know- I f| :ause its 1 epistles rent ; in forward shall be gdom of ; in the 3pe. ' ' IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 2.2 lU m 140 11:25 i 1.4 2.0 m 1.6 Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^^^^■^f^ 'R* kT -.^ '''* Jesi he \ 1:1. attei poss( the V Apos "atur wliy i posses Judas shoulc epistle being ( "tliej Jenisal person "ig it V The pre to the b his bette "brethn i" this c£ than his This conj Christian the basis , taught CI above the spiritually than being Of thi exception t JVDH. )HU the writer nnn , '^^o"ger a claim Tj, r '''^'^" ^^e vvriter appeals to wnrrl^ c ^ ^"^' fact that Cr i"> Apostle might do so T °^ "^P^^^Ies proves no » '^ -^^yheshoTclI ;^,/ri^" ^^^"^-- ttr b f-V""°^^ possessed if r^ ^ ^Postlesh-n f„ th^ , , ^ ^ ''^^'^o" h's better knn, i ^'''''^- Our author t) ^"^stion as S^ ;«"jecture is supported by f""^ '''"'■^'>' ^"«vver " no ' Christian Jiterafiir.. • ^y facts. JSTowlior^ • -"^yo the closes, of " h :.r"r """"'^ "■" ^ ' j"" sp.rnua!ly ..t,,e servant J, *'^' "^^ ILuke 11.27 • v, . ' * "- "ei.. h. acJlChir^-^ '''"■^'" ™^ ver;;::,i .tre' Of this Jude very little ,• , exception to the ^f., '''' ^""^wn. tj„,„,^ , '"™^""°j<""'-i, tain. Jerusalem, :)unishnient !ig it before eaders live t far astra\ place from "sanctified k1 called,' that tlie.\ - delivered necessary '"""" """' "'"s,™ „ j„,. on account of tho ■*' Contents T)i W Purpose of ,,..,pi,.,,, WOcca.„o„„f„.eep,-,,eIe,ver.,e4; UWan,inja„dDe„„„eia,io„. W Three instances of God's „ -d application of hesITr""-" ^""*^ '^-'^ -r^--o are no,; -rrS\:r::: '^'^'-:rrri;:::"" --'•"- 'verse n.. "-pies (ve;rmrr';2''"f„r "■^- "■- <3) Exhortation. ■"-IS.-liM. (>' To strengthen themselves i„ fai,. k -ess and hope (verses mJl '' """"■ 8«"i- century before the Phr; .• ^^^^' a book written nU ! "- 'o onr t,-„e • fir Satio^" " "^ "' ^-^^ U2 Introduction. • .f" ^^IT '^ '''" ^'xtraordinary resemblance between tins eptstle and 2nd Peter. There can be no doubt that one ,f wntens .s nulebted to the other, and the greater vigor, s> n .uetry and consistency in Jude gives his epistle the appe;rance of onginahty. In some places too it supplies the key to pltr' meannig. j >■" a tici ,>, Chapter XL.— Thk Epistlks of John. The First Epistle General of John. ant '^'ZT'''"' rr^''"" °'''"^ '^''''' ^' ^'^'y -^-' '-^bund- ant Polycarp and Papias used it and it is found in all the early versions and canons. withTheT"'T'^''^f"'' '' '^''''°°- P^''«°"^^ association with the Lord is evident m 1.1-4, 4:14 and there is such close similarity between the fourth gospel and his epistle that theJ are ii^eparable. Liglitfoot calls this a postscript to the Gospe . same andTh ' .; ^'^^ P^^-'''"^ ^^eological ideas are the Ch^L" H r '" " '''"' pervasive personality and the same Christian idealism in each. The epistle presupposes the gospel and we mav take it for granted that It was written at about the same time as the gospel in the ast decade of the first century. The persons ad- dressed are Christians in general but with special reference to those in Asia Minor, where John spent the later years of his torv '^.^' ^r^^^'^ ^^J^'^t is to apply the facts of the go.spel his- tory that your joy may be full." There is a polemical element also m the epi.tle, a reference presumably to Cerinthus and the Gnostics, but this polemical element is subordinate to the practical, and he meet, error not so much by argument as by the promotion of fellowship with the Father and the Son. The key-word of the epistle is Love. But the tenderness of the Apostle to his httle children does not hinder him from denouncing with Boanerges vehemence whatever is inconsistent with love. l)L't\vccii this hat one of the r vigor, syiu- le appearance vey to Peter's IN. ' and abund- nd in all the association is such close tie that the\- the Gospel, ideas are the nd the same may take it time as the persons ad reference to 'ears of his gospel his- 1 polemical oCerinthus )ordinate to rgument as the Son. tenderness ■ him from iicousistent H. rh thr wa me: pro niei the triiK term used the e; Alexf profe.', stood J'ears i than Si T was vvi It the niei Jar chu lady, sc Jng; (3 nothing The felt at fii and to w The not very s existence, Dionysius Sj'X'ONn John '"■^' ^'-' writer, nltlu.u ,? .^^^^''-'^P-P^'ets, winch she:: was a Hebrew poet and a , S , 7"'P''^'-''>tively p.^e Greek. ";ent. But n,o„, vvitb thi •':";;" ^^ °^ ^^e Old Testa- I"-"^""d.ty of tl.otiglu. Few Tnu ■ language, there is a ;;-'t rc,ui..e nu>re patient stud v to T'"''' "'^'" ^^^ '^^ta' f!- thoughts whieh ti,e wo d^,^''^*^^^^'- 1'>^- '•"^ import of tnncs which are there asserte , '^' ""' ^^ ^''^"'""' the doc ter„,s. ' ' ""^'^^"^ "' apparently simple aphoristk professes to be written by tl^ p, "'^^Muratoriat, Canon, it stood nan,e for the Aposfle ohn "'-'''"'^^ '''' ^ --" »"cler ''ears a reniarkably dosfresemh, """^ ^""^ ''''' >'ears. and t than seven of its thirtee , v""" '° "" ^^^^P^tle no Jj 1'l>e date can only be annrn "^^ ' P"'""^' '" the other -s written fro. Kphlsus rXI^^'r ' ^''^ '^'^^^^^ , It ,s addressed to the dec l! , ^'"^ ^P'"'^"^- "- -eaning there are s ve^T i,^^^^^ ^"^' ^^ ^'"'dren, but of ar churel, the word bdng u ed 1" ^V' ^'^ '^"'^ ^^ticu- Jady, some individual whose nal.f'^^' ' ^^^ ^he dect '"& ; (3) The Inrlv T?i ^ ^^^ have ... means nf i o' / xjie lady Electa • (4) tj,^ i '"^ans ol know- nothing to detprm,-., , -t"^ elect Kvrin 'vu b lu aetermine what meani'nn- ^c ^i ^•>'"a. There is ^ , The object of ,„e iet.e. ," "" "°''' '» '° "= '»''-. felt a. finding those to whom he "T ""=?'««"« the apostle T..ee.eJ!:;:r,:::''-'j-„. not very strong. b„t „„•» „,n° o bef """"r^ "''""'* "^P'^Oe i^ «;'*"ce, bnt says it vSs „''''""'• 0"S«. notes it, -».^iusof A,e.a„..a, ,11 Si, ^^s il^^l^^^ ' II Intkoditctiom. .usebu,s, who. however, classes it a.no„g the disputed hooks I vvas reeogn./cd hy the eom.cils of I.aodicea. (;{(>3 A.D) and of H.ppo im A.D... and the Third Couneil of C.rthage (AD The internal evidence is stronger. There could he no p.)ss.hle nK.,ve for forgery. The third epistle is so sinnlar to the secon.l that .t nuKst. as is agreed hy all. have Ik'cu by the- same author. ^ The place of writing was. no doubt. Kphesus. and the ' "- w'r """"«•'■ ""' matter for in th a""' "•"'"=" ^"d the dlff '"'"""""^^ '» liar, ,, d o T ' y°''''yP'^ 'he subj eti '* T™'" "' ""^J''« Canonicfty. Whil^ fj, and .> „ -Dionysius (250 A n ^ • °^^" accepted •" ^. .. ,.„r„i:s- - «.», «:„ ; *■■■ Date and olaci> «f -. abo,,, the date °' ^-Posifon. There are t™ We„, ---■"-llaT];™:,""'^--"-- «.ee.de„ee.r 146 Introduction. (b) Jerusalem had not yet fallen Ul:!, 2, 8-20:9). But the measuring and trampling of the holy city recorded in these passages is too symbolical to allow us to lay much weight on this argument. • (c) In chapters 13 and 17 mention is made of seven kings, five of whom are fallen. This is understood to mean that his five predecessors having died, the Roman Emperor Galba «kS —m was reigning. But this depends upon a special theory of interpretation and even if all were agreed upon that there are still serious difficulties to overcome. 2. In favor of a later date in the reign of Domitian, A.D. 96. it is alleged : (a) That this was the ancient opinion, as is clearly indica- ted by Irenseus and Eusebius. (b) The Seven Churches of Asia show a very degenerate condition, much worse than wh^n Paul wrote to some of them, about six years before the earlier date. To allow time for the deterioration the later date ought to be adopted. But this is doubtful, both as regards the extent of the change and the length of time necessary to bring it about. On the whole, while one cannot reach a confident conclu- sion, the balance of evidence seems to be in favor of the earlier date. The main argument being the likelihood of a consider- able number of years between the Apocalypse and the gospel. The place of writing was Patmos, a rocky island in the ^gean sea, off Miletus, whither John had been banished. The Apocalypse is addressed to the seven churches of Pro- consular Asia, and it is evidently intended that they should be looked upon as representatives of the Church at large. Design. The aim of the book has been variously present- ed. Some see in it a prediction of the overthrow of Paganism. Others carry it further, and see the destruction of Papal Rome ; others read in it the rise and fall of some future Antichrist.' Thus far the opinions vary ; but in one respect there is agree- ment : the Revelation aims at assuring the Church of the Ad- 20:9). But led in these weight on iven kings, m that his Galba ((kS il theory of ; there are :ian, A.D. rly indica- iegenerate e of them, ne for the •ut this is 2 and the nt conclu- :he earlier consider- 2 gospel. id in the hed. es of Pro- should be ^ present- aganism. il Rome ; ntichrist. is agree- the Ad- Contents op twu< a T«^^ Apocalypse. ™.t of her Lord:, ■,,■,,,,,, , '^7 >^d.ool of interpretatio , wnM "' ""= Coming One p„ say thaf fii^ ^"^ admit fhic o Jivery Christ over! '°"""^ ^"^ victory. "^5° T?'"^ '■ ^' P""- •or over srm?.'^^'"'"^'^^°ver degenerate r ' "''^°-^>' ^^ over nil . 'Appears to be " xt w. ^1 ^ ^^^ or person? "ver all wrong-thoughtednp^c *" ^^^ victory of ru I ^Pintedness. ' ' ^^'^^edness, wrong-heartedness a„/ '* "» and wrong Contents 'vu^ '-^"d has been niad Jh T'^^^^^ ^^''^^ture is verv Garfield. whicT ^ tlf r ^'"^ ^-^3^- ^v L' b:T?°-' and 7, wherp if • - *° ^^a^e in all the .If ^ ^^^^essor ' Where ^t ^s somewhat fanciful ''^°"' ^^^^Pt 4. « Prologue. 1:1-8. 1- The Seven Churches, 1.9-3:22, • ^""^ S^^™ Seals, 4:l_8l 3.TheSevenTr„n.pe.s,8:2:„..,, The Seven Mystic Figures ]o , ,, ^- ^"e Seven Viais, u'Z ;'''''■ '■TheSevenf„Mj„,g„,,„.^^^^ «o„.^ ^- "'■^--"'^-ai„fo„;;c:;-"-n- P"»g th,s theory is that it is oKLJ*!.*fficuIty obliged to lay great 148 Introduction. stress on the expected return of Nero as eighth emperor and his destruction of Rome, events which never occured and yet the book was received as inspired and canonical. 2. The Futuri.st theory goes to the opposite extreme and maintains that all the predictions with the exceptionoftho.se relating to the seven churches are yet to be fulfilled. This has been held by Dr. Todd, Dr. Maitland, R. W. Newton and Isaac Williams. One difficulty under this theory is that it leaves out of sight the declaration that this is a revelation of things which must shortly come to pass. 3. The Historical or Continuous-Historical theory sees in the book a prophetical history of the whole course of the Christian Church. This view has has been held in very many forms (in fact it is discredited by the lack of anything approach- ing agreement among its advocates) but among those who have advocated it in one guise or other may be named Bengel Bishop Newton, Davison, Hengstenberg, Keith and Bishop Wordsworth. ^ 4. The fourth theory puts the element of time in the back ground and gives to visions and symbols a spiritual meaning The Apocalypse has reference to all times. The particular visions do not receive single and definite fulfilments, but each prediction may have a variety of applications. The whole book is designed to teach us the spiritual history of the Church of Christ, to warn us of those spiritual dangers to which we are expo.sed, to inform us of the spiritual trials to which we are liable, to describe the great contest with evil and to comfort us with the assurance of the final victory of Christ over all the powers of darkness, when the Devil and the false prophet will be cast out, and when Christ's people shall be saved and glorified. ' ' This is a modern view and is held in many forms but in the main it is advocated by Archdeacon I,ee, Bishop Boyd Carpenter, Dean Vaughan, Dr. MiUigan, Warfield, Simcox Alford, Ebrard and Godet. emperor and ured and yet extreme and tion of those I This has Newton and y is that it revelation of eory sees in urse of the very many g approach - e who have led Bengal , ind Bishop in the back il meaning, i particular >, but each vhole book Church of lich we are lich we are comfort us ver all the rophet will saved and tns, hut in hop Boyd Simcox, i PkCUUAKITIKS of the Ai'OCAI.VI'SK. uu Peculiarities. 1. The most striking feature of the book is its svmholism. That symbolism is in many of its elements strange and obscured It is a tragedy of eclipse, and earthquake and plague. " It is a book of war, but the war ends in triumph and peace. It is a book of thunder, but the rolling of the thunder dies away in liturgies and psalms." 2. Farrar says : " It nuist be regarded as a psychological impossibility that St. John should have written the Gospel in extreme old age in Greek, which though un-idiomatic in struc- ture is comparatively pure, and yet .some years later should have written the Apocalyp.se in Greek more rugged and .solec- istic than that of any other book in the New Testament, and even all but very worst parts of the Septuagint. It is still more impossible psychologically that John should have retro- gres.sed from the supreme calmness and absolute spirituality of the Gospel and the first Ivpistle to the crude .symboli.sm, 'the tumultuous agitation, the intenser Judaism, the fiercer denun- ciations, the more human tone, and the more imperfect treat- ment of the Apocalvpse." \