diff options
Diffstat (limited to '36828-tei')
| -rw-r--r-- | 36828-tei/36828-tei.tei | 19531 |
1 files changed, 19531 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/36828-tei/36828-tei.tei b/36828-tei/36828-tei.tei new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7a86281 --- /dev/null +++ b/36828-tei/36828-tei.tei @@ -0,0 +1,19531 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> + +<!DOCTYPE TEI.2 SYSTEM "http://www.gutenberg.org/tei/marcello/0.4/dtd/pgtei.dtd" [ + +<!ENTITY u5 "http://www.tei-c.org/Lite/"> + +]> + +<TEI.2 lang="en"> +<teiHeader> + <fileDesc> + <titleStmt> + <title>Pastor Pastorum</title> + <author><name reg="Latham, Henry">Rev. Henry Latham</name></author> + </titleStmt> + <editionStmt> + <edition n="1">Edition 1</edition> + </editionStmt> + <publicationStmt> + <publisher>Project Gutenberg</publisher> + <date>July 23, 2011</date> + <idno type="etext-no">36828</idno> + <availability> + <p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and + with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it + away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg + License online at www.gutenberg.org/license</p> + </availability> + </publicationStmt> + <sourceDesc> + <bibl> + Created electronically. + </bibl> + </sourceDesc> + </fileDesc> + <encodingDesc> + </encodingDesc> + <profileDesc> + <langUsage> + <language id="en"></language> + <language id="la"></language> + <language id="he"></language> + </langUsage> + </profileDesc> + <revisionDesc> + <change> + <date value="2011-07-23">July 23, 2011</date> + <respStmt> + <name> + Produced by Colin Bell, David King, and the Online + Distributed Proofreading Team at <http://www.pgdp.net/>. + </name> + </respStmt> + <item>Project Gutenberg TEI edition 1</item> + </change> + </revisionDesc> +</teiHeader> + +<pgExtensions> + <pgStyleSheet> + .boxed { x-class: boxed } + .shaded { x-class: shaded } + .rules { x-class: rules; rules: all } + .indent { margin-left: 2 } + .bold { font-weight: bold } + .italic { font-style: italic } + .smallcaps { font-variant: small-caps } + </pgStyleSheet> + + <pgCharMap formats="txt.iso-8859-1"> + <char id="U0x2014"> + <charName>mdash</charName> + <desc>EM DASH</desc> + <mapping>--</mapping> + </char> + <char id="U0x2003"> + <charName>emsp</charName> + <desc>EM SPACE</desc> + <mapping> </mapping> + </char> + <char id="U0x2026"> + <charName>hellip</charName> + <desc>HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS</desc> + <mapping>...</mapping> + </char> + </pgCharMap> +</pgExtensions> + +<text lang="en"> + <front> + <div> + <divGen type="pgheader" /> + </div> + <div> + <divGen type="encodingDesc" /> + </div> + + <div rend="page-break-before: always"> + <p rend="font-size: xx-large; text-align: center">Pastor Pastorum</p> + <p rend="font-size: large; text-align: center">Or The</p> + <p rend="font-size: x-large; text-align: center">Schooling of the Apostles</p> + <p rend="font-size: x-large; text-align: center">By Our Lord</p> + <p rend="font-size: large; text-align: center">By</p> + <p rend="font-size: x-large; text-align: center">Rev. Henry Latham M.A.</p> + <p rend="font-size: large; text-align: center">Master of Trinity Hall Cambridge</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">Cambridge: Deighton Bell And Co.</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">London: George Bell And Sons</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">1899</p> + </div> + <div rend="page-break-before: always"> + <head>Contents</head> + <divGen type="toc" /> + </div> + + </front> +<body> + +<pb n='iii'/><anchor id='Pgiii'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Preface.</head> + +<p> +Of the general purport of this book, and of +what led to the writing, I have said all that +is necessary in the Introductory Chapter. The +ideas it contains were growing into distinctness +during the five and thirty years of my College +work, and to many of my old pupils they will +offer little that is new. +</p> + +<p> +But although the book took its source from +teaching; and instruction—but instruction divorced +from examinations—is in some degree my object +still, yet it is meant, not so much for professed +students, as for that large body of the public, who +entertain the desire, happily spreading fast among +the young, of understanding with as great exactness +as possible what it was that Christ visibly +effected, and what means He employed in bringing +it about. +</p> + +<p> +I have avoided all technical terms of Divinity +or Philosophy, and where, as in Chapters II. and +III., I have been led to touch on theological speculations, +I have tried to present the matter in as +familiar a form as I could. Frequently, I have +<pb n='iv'/><anchor id='Pgiv'/> +explained in the notes some geographical and +other particulars which a large majority among +my readers may not require to be told; in this +case I must be pardoned for consulting the interest +of the minority. +</p> + +<p> +A didactic purpose and a literary one, do not +always run readily side by side. A teacher who +desires to inculcate certain principles or ideas, +is ever on the look out for illustrations and recurs +to his topic again and again. So, having, as I +thought, certain topics to teach, I have brought +them back into view more often than I should have +done if I had written solely with a literary view. +</p> + +<p> +I have not commonly given accounts of what +has been said by others on the points of which I +treat, or criticised conclusions different from mine, +for I know that this manner of treatment is not in +favour with the present generation. I recollect the +reason of an undergraduate, in my early days, for +preferring the instruction of his private tutor to +that officially provided—<q>The Lecturer tells you +that Hermann says it is this, and Wunder says it +is that, but Blank (the private tutor) tells you what +it <emph>is</emph>.</q> +</p> + +<p> +With the same view of making the book readable +by the general public, I have abstained from +<pb n='v'/><anchor id='Pgv'/> +apologising when I have advanced a notion not +commonly received. In my first draft I had made +such apologies for what I say on the second and +third Temptations, on the Mission to the Cities, the +Transfiguration, the Denials of Peter and some +minor points—but I afterwards thought it better to +leave them out, and to disclaim here once for all, +any intention to dogmatize, or to fail in respect +toward the weighty authorities with whom I have +ventured to disagree. +</p> + +<p> +In many cases, however, the views that I have +taken rather supplement than supplant those that +are commonly received. Writers on Divinity have +not so much opposed them, as failed to notice the +points on which I dwell. There is however one +topic—the parable of the Unjust Steward, on +which I find myself at variance with all the +writers on the subject I know of, excepting +perhaps Calvin, who begins his Comment on +Luke xvi. 1 by saying <q>The main drift of this +parable, is, that we must shew kindness and +lenity in dealing with our neighbours.</q> He does +not, however, follow up this view as I have +done. +</p> + +<p> +Though in so difficult a matter I cannot be +confident of being right, yet I do feel convinced, +<pb n='vi'/><anchor id='Pgvi'/> +that the accepted interpretation of the parable, +viz. that it is intended to teach the right use of +riches—<q>the really wise use of mammon</q> as +Göbel puts it—is wholly inadequate. So simple +a moral would have been pointed by a simpler +tale. Surely the riches would have been made +the giver's own. Moreover the salient point of +the outward story, that which first catches attention, +always answers in our Lord's parables to a +cardinal matter in the interpretation. Here that +salient point lies in the words <q>Take thy bond +and sit down quickly and write fifty</q> and this +has but a very oblique bearing on the true use +of riches; the distinctive point of the outward +parable is the exercise of delegated power, and the +spiritual bearing must be in conformity with this. +</p> + +<p> +I have everywhere followed the Revised Version, +and I must warn readers that where italics +occur in the <emph>longer</emph> passages they are not <emph>mine</emph>, +except in passage on p. <ref target='Pg101'>101</ref>. They are introduced, +not to mark words important for my purpose, +but simply because they are found in the Revised +Version where they indicate, of course, that the +corresponding word is wanting in the Greek. +For the course of events I have generally followed +the Gospel of St Mark up to the time of +<pb n='vii'/><anchor id='Pgvii'/> +the feast of Tabernacles; and after that the Gospel +of St John. Of the great historical value of the +latter I have, like most biblical students, become +more deeply sensible, the more closely I have +studied it. Speaking of the absence of miracles +wrought in public during the week of the Passion, +p. <ref target='Pg430'>430</ref>, I have not noticed Matt. xxi. 14, because I +believe the Evangelist to refer to miracles that had +taken place during earlier visits to Jerusalem. It +was beyond the scope of my book to discuss the +differences of character of the different Gospels. +</p> + +<p> +In a few instances I follow an order of events +different from that which is most commonly taken. +This order I have shewn in a Chronological +<ref target='Appendix'>Appendix</ref>, in which I have tabulated the chief +events of our Lord's Ministry, taking them month +by month from the time of the Baptism to that +of the great day of Pentecost. I have made this +Appendix more full, in point of reference and +arguments in support of the dates, than would +have been quite necessary for readers of this book, +because I thought it might be made useful generally +to students of the Gospel History. +</p> + +<p> +I have to thank several persons for their +assistance and advice, especially Canon Huxtable, +without whose kind encouragement at the outset +<pb n='viii'/><anchor id='Pgviii'/> +the book might not have been written. I +must note that I have made use of an idea on +Luke xii. 49, which I first came upon, many years +ago, in a small publication of the Rev. A. H. +Wratislaw, then one of the Tutors of Christ's +College; and that I was in like manner set on a +track of thought by a sermon on the Temptation, +by T. Colani, published at Strasburg in 1860. +I have acknowledged my obligations to Bishop +Ellicott's <q>Historical Lectures,</q> and Edersheim's +<q>Jesus the Messiah.</q> Many members of my own +College, and many other friends have assisted +me greatly with advice and corrections. +</p> + +<p> +Although my book is not written with any +thesis about the Gospels to support, still I trust +that I have cleared away difficulties here and +there, and have shewn, in small matters, how one +account undesignedly supports another. If what +I have said shall lead to discussion on some of +the questions raised, or if I shall induce younger +men to apply themselves, in some of those directions +towards which I have pointed, to work of a +literary kind waiting to be done, I shall not have +spent my time and pains without result. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Trinity Hall Lodge</hi>,<lb/> +<hi rend='italic'>May 1st, 1890</hi>. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='001'/><anchor id='Pg001'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Introductory Chapter.</head> + +<p> +In this opening chapter I propose to lay +before the reader the leading ideas which will +be developed in the book. This will necessitate +some repetition, but many readers want to know +at starting whither the author is going to take +them, and whether his notions are such that they +will care for his company. +</p> + +<p> +In the course of lecturing on the Gospels, being +myself interested in questions of education, my +attention turned to the way in which our Lord +taught His disciples. Following the Gospel History +with this view, I recognised in the train of circumstances +through which Christ led the disciples, +no less than in what He said to them, an assiduous +care in training them to acquire certain qualities +and habits of mind. I observed also method and +uniformity both in what He did and in what He +refrained from doing. Certain principles seem to +govern His actions and to be observed regularly so +far as we can see, but we have no ground for stating +<pb n='002'/><anchor id='Pg002'/> +that our Lord came to resolutions on these points +and bound Himself to observe them. A man sometimes +sees his duty so clearly at one moment that +he wishes to make the decision of that moment +dominant over his life and he embodies it in a +resolve, but we must suppose that Christ at each +moment did what was best. So that what I call a +Law of His conduct is only a generalization from +His biography, and means no more than that, in +such and such circumstances He usually acted in +such and such ways. I can easily conceive that +He might have swerved from these Laws had there +been occasion. +</p> + +<p> +I have fancied that I got glimpses of the +processes by means of which the Apostles of the +Gospels—striving among themselves who should +be greatest, looking for the restoration of the +kingdom to Israel, and dismayed at the apprehension +of their Master—were trained to become the +Apostles of the Acts,—testifying boldly before +rulers and councils, giving the right hand of fellowship +to one who had not companied with them, and +breaking through Jewish prejudices, to own that +there were no men made by God who were common +or unclean. The shape which much of the +outward course of Christ's life took, His choice of +Galilee as a scene of action, His withdrawal from +crowds and His wanderings in secluded regions +were admirably adapted to the educating of the +Apostles; while His sending them, two and two, +<pb n='003'/><anchor id='Pg003'/> +through the cities was a direct lesson in that +self-reliance which reposes on a trust in God. +Were not these courses ordered to these ends? +The training was wonderfully fitted to bring about +the changes which occurred. +</p> + +<p> +That this fashioning of the disciples should +have been a very principal object with our Lord +is easy to conceive. For what, except His followers, +did He leave behind as the visible outcome +of His work? He had founded no institution and +had left no writings as a possession for after time. +The Apostles were the salt to season and preserve +the world, and if they had not savour whence could +help be sought? Is it not then likely that the +best means would be employed for choosing and +shaping instruments for the work; and can we do +better than mark the Divine wisdom so engaged? +</p> + +<p> +On many sides the work of Christ stretches +away into infinity. God's purpose in having +created the world, and put free intelligences into +it, as well as the changes which Christ's death may +have wrought in the relation of men's souls to +God, belong to that infinite side of things, which +we cannot explore. But we <emph>can</emph> follow the treatment +by which Christ moulded the disciples, because +the changes are not wrought in them by a +magical transformation, but come about gradually +as the result of what they saw and heard and did. +</p> + +<p> +Changes are brought about in the disciples by +an education, superhuman indeed in its wisdom, +<pb n='004'/><anchor id='Pg004'/> +superhuman in its insight into the habits of mind +which were wanted, and into the modes by which +such habits might be fostered, but not superhuman +in the means employed. We can analyse the +influences which are brought to bear, judge what +they were likely to effect, and estimate fairly well +what they did effect, because they were the same in +kind as we now find working in the world. Christ's +ways, therefore, in this province of His work fall +within the range of our understanding. The +learners are taught less by what they are told +than by what they see and do. They are trained +not only by listening, but by following and—what +was above all—by being suffered, as in the mission +to the cities of Israel, to take part in their +Master's work. +</p> + +<p> +They are altered by their companionship with +our Lord, insensibly, just as we see the complexion +of a man's character alter by his being thrown +into the constant society of a stronger nature. +But Christ works on them no magical change. +Our Lord never transforms men so as to obliterate +their old nature, and substitute a new one; +new powers and a new life spring up from contact +with Him, but the powers work through the old +organs, and the life flows through the old channels; +they would not be the same men, or preserve their +individual responsibility if it were otherwise. God's +grace works with men, it is true, but it uses the +organization it finds; and as much cultivation and +<pb n='005'/><anchor id='Pg005'/> +shaping of the disposition is required for turning +God's Grace to account, as for making the most of +any other good gift. +</p> + +<p> +Christ's particular care to leave the disciples +their proper independence is everywhere apparent. +They come to Him of their deliberate will. They +are not stricken by any over-mastering impression, +or led captive by moving words. They are not +forced to break with their old selves; their growth +in steadfastness comes of a better knowledge of their +Lord, and the more they advance in understanding +God's ways and therefore in believing, the stronger +are the grounds of assurance which are granted to +them; the more they have, the more is given them; +the most attached are granted most. +</p> + +<p> +Christ, we find, draws out in His disciples the +desired qualities of self-devotion and of healthy +trust in God, without effacing the stamp of the +individual nature of each man. He cherishes and +respects personality. The leader of a sect or school +of thought is often inclined to lose thought of the +individual in his care for the society which he is +establishing, or to expect his pupils to take his +own opinions ready made, in a block. He is apt +to be impatient if one of them attempts to think +for himself. His aim very commonly is +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>To make his own the mind of other men,</q> +</quote> + +<p> +and a pupil who asserts his own personality, and +is not content with reflecting his master's, is not of +the sort he wants. +</p> + +<pb n='006'/><anchor id='Pg006'/> + +<p> +But our Lord was a teacher of a very different +kind. He reverenced whatever the learner had +in him of his own, and was tender in fostering +this native growth. He was glad when His words +roused a man into thinking on his own account, +even in the way of objection. When the Syro-phœnician +woman turns His own saying against +Him, with the rejoinder, <q>Yes Lord, yet the dogs +under the table eat of the children's crumbs,</q> He +applauds her Faith the more for the independent +thought that went with it. Men, in His eyes, were +not mere clay in the hands of the potter, matter +to be moulded to shape. They were organic +beings, each growing from within, with a life of his +own—a personal life which was exceedingly precious +in His and His Father's eyes—and He would foster +this growth so that it might take after the highest +type. +</p> + +<p> +Neither did He mean that what He told men +should only be stored in their memories as in a +treasure-house, there to be kept intact. They were +to <q>take heed <emph>how</emph> they heard.</q> With Christ, the +part that the man had to do of himself went for +infinitely more than what was done for him by +another. If men had the will and the power to +turn to their own moral nutriment the mental +food which was given them, it would be well; but +if His words merely lay in their memories, without +affecting them or germinating within them, then +they were only as seeds falling on sterile spots. +</p> + +<pb n='007'/><anchor id='Pg007'/> + +<p> +The training of the disciples was partly practical, +turning on what they saw our Lord do and +were set or suffered to do themselves, and partly +it came from what they heard. I want the reader +to go along with me in marking how this training +of the Apostles was adapted to generate the +qualities which the circumstances of their situation +demanded when Christ left the world; and it is +in the practical part of the work that this is most +readily traced. +</p> + +<p> +The selection of the Apostles may serve as an +instance of what I mean. They were to preach a +gospel to the poor—the movement was to spread +upward from below. This will be found to be the +law of growth of great moral principles which have +established their sway among mankind. The Apostles +therefore were chosen from a class which, +though not the poorest, had sympathies with the +poor. Again the Apostles were to be witnesses of +the resurrection to after times; it was important, +therefore, that they should possess qualities which +would make men trust them; had they been imaginative, +had they been enthusiasts, this would have +been a bar to the accepting of their evidence; but +the Apostles were singularly literal-minded men, +so little suspecting a metaphorical meaning in their +Master's sayings, that when He told them to beware +of the leaven of the Pharisees, they thought it +meant that, having no bread with them, they +would be constrained to eat some not made in +<pb n='008'/><anchor id='Pg008'/> +the proper way. We see no exaggeration in them, +no wild fervour, nothing that belongs to the religious +fanatic. Our Lord never employs the force that +such fanaticism affords; when He meets with what +seems the result of emotion, as when the woman +breaks out with <q>Blessed is the womb that bare +thee,</q> He always brings back to mind that doing +is more than feeling. +</p> + +<p> +We shall have to note, moreover, the progressive +way in which our Lord taught His followers self-reliance +and faith, and the tender care with which +He lets His hold of them go by degrees. Wandering +along with our Lord, they grow into a capacity +for marking greatness, and trusting themselves to a +superior nature. When they are sent, two and two, +through the cities of Israel, they learn to use responsibility, +and to feel that His power could still protect +them even when He was not by. They lacked +nothing then, for Christ provided for them; but the +time should come when they would complete their +training and have real work to do, and then they +would have to employ all gifts which had fallen to +them. For the real conflict, both the purse and the +sword are to be taken; prudence and judgment and +courage must be brought into play in doing God's +work as they are in doing that of every day life. +</p> + +<p> +And when Christ leaves the world, the disciples +are not for long exposed to the revulsion which +the crucifixion would cause. They are not suffered +to feel their Master's loss and miss Him all at +<pb n='009'/><anchor id='Pg009'/> +once. They are not left to suppose that He had +altogether gone, that His cause had failed and all +was over; so that they had better wake from their +delusion and go back, with blighted hope and faith, +to Galilee and their boats and nets. Soon comfort +came. The work for which they had been trained +was still to go on, only not in the way they had +expected. Their following Christ was not to be +a mere episode in their lives: they had not been +wrong in thinking that they should serve Him all +their days. Christ is near them still, and they see +Him now and again. For forty days or more they +felt that He was in their neighbourhood, and might +at any time appear; any stranger who accosted them +might turn out to be He. Thus they are carried +through the time when the effects of shock on their +mind and moral nature was most to be feared, and +they are brought one step nearer to the power of +realising that Christ is with them. After the Ascension, +He is withdrawn from the eye of sense altogether, +His presence will henceforth be purely +spiritual, but no sooner do they lose sight of Him +in the body than the Comforter comes to their souls. +So long as men walked by the guidance of one +whom they saw by their side, they would not throw +themselves on unseen spiritual aid. The Comforter +would not come unless the Lord went away, but +as soon as He was gone the comfort came. +</p> + +<p> +I now come to the oral teaching. Here we +note the same fitness of the means to the end, +<pb n='010'/><anchor id='Pg010'/> +but the purpose in view is a more abstract one: +a quality very essential for Christ's purpose is <emph>expansiveness</emph>. +The truths which He revealed and +the commandments He gave were to be accepted +by different nations, and in various states of society: +they belonged therefore to what is primary in the +nature of man. It is in this that Christ's doctrine +differs from all systems. It does not belong to one +age or one nationality but to all. Whether this +character of Universality was due to prospective +wisdom or to chance, I do not now discuss; I only +say that the substance of Christ's teaching is suitable +for men in different conditions; that the form +in which it is put makes this teaching easy for the +ignorant to retain; and that the circumstances +which accompanied it were singularly conducive +to its spread. Christ arose amongst a nation which +was the most strikingly individualised of all peoples, +but He transmitted the type of Humanity in its +most general form. We mark in Him no trace of +one race or of one epoch; He was emphatically +the Son of Man. +</p> + +<p> +In all His sayings and doings, our Lord was +most careful to leave the individual room to grow. +Some of the <q>negative characteristics</q> of our +Lord's teaching arise out of this universality. If +we go to Him looking for a Social system or an +Ecclesiastical polity we find nothing of the sort. +Humanitarian theorists have turned in disappointment +from His word; but a system suited to our +<pb n='011'/><anchor id='Pg011'/> +age must have been unsuited to Gospel times. +Christ gave no system for recasting Society by +positive Law, and no ecclesiastical Polity, for men +could make laws better when the circumstances +which called for them arose. He gave no system +of philosophy, for such systems are only the ways +of looking at some of the enigmas of life, which +suit the cast of mind of the nation or the generation +which shapes the system. So different nations and +generations should be left to make their systems as +of old, only a new truth was declared, and a new +force was set to work, which systems would henceforth +have to take into account. +</p> + +<p> +Again, the next world is what all want to +know about. If the founder of a religion would +win men's ears, he must set this before them. But, +as we cannot conceive a life under conditions +wholly different from that we lead, any description +must be misleading. False notions besides engendering +devotees and fanatics, would sap human +activity and arrest progress. Hence Christ speaks +to the fact of a future existence, but says nothing +of the mode. He assures us that eternal life awaits +those accounted worthy, but of the nature of this +life He says nothing. He gives no details on which +imagination can dwell. +</p> + +<p> +Farther, Christ leaves no ritual. For a ritual +belongs to those outward things which must change; +it would in time symbolize a view no longer taken, +and if some should still cling to it from the idea +<pb n='012'/><anchor id='Pg012'/> +that it had a magic worth of its own, then it would +stand in the way of the truth it was meant to set +forth. +</p> + +<p> +Laws, Systems, and Ritual, then, were raiment +to be changed as times went on; with them therefore +succeeding generations were left to deal. The +form must come of man, so to man the shaping of +it is left. But Christ gave what was more than +raiment and more than form. <q>The words that I +have spoken unto you,</q> said He, <q>are Spirit and +are life.</q> He gave <emph>seed thoughts</emph> which should lie in +men's hearts, and germinate when fit occasion came. +</p> + +<p> +These thoughts were clothed in terse sayings, +such as a man would carry in his head and dwell +on the more because he did not see to the bottom +of them all at once. Moreover some of these +sayings, for instance, <q>For whosoever hath, to him +shall be given,</q><note place='foot'>Matth. xiii. 12.</note> +will startle the hearer as being +contrary to what he would expect; and the more +he is perplexed, the more he is provoked to think, +and thereby a greater impression is made. +</p> + +<p> +Other truths are wrapped up in parables. The +form of the parable, not the matter it conveys, +concerns me now. It is a form of speech which +imbeds itself deeply in the memories of men and +was admirably suited to preserve a genuine record +during the time when the Gospel should subsist as +an oral tradition. It put what was most important +into the shape which made it most easy to recollect. +<pb n='013'/><anchor id='Pg013'/> +Nothing except proverbs takes hold of men's +memories so firmly as tales. The most ancient +literary possessions of the world are, probably, +certain stories containing a moral. Of course our +Lord's teaching in parables answered greater ends +than this of making His lessons easy to retain: but +this form of teaching agreed wonderfully well with +what the circumstances required. Next to tales in +respect of being easily remembered, come narratives +of detached striking acts. So the materials of the +Gospel History, sayings, parables, narratives of signs +and wonders, are cast into the forms best calculated +for safe transmission through a period of tradition. +</p> + +<p> +We find the same suitableness of the form to the +needs of the case, in the shape in which the whole +Gospel has been delivered to us. I refer to its +being narrative instead of didactic, and coming +from the Evangelists instead of from Christ. If +our Lord had left writings of His own, every letter +of them would have been invested with such +sanctity that there could have been no independent +investigation of truth. Its place would have +been taken by commentatorial works on the delivered +word. When writings are set before us and +we are told, <q>All truth lies there; look no further;</q> +then our ingenuity is directed to extract diversities +of meanings from the given words; for matter +must be set forth in human speech, and human +speech conveys different meanings to differently +biased minds. +</p> + +<pb n='014'/><anchor id='Pg014'/> + +<p> +The Jews regarded their sacred books as the +actual words of God; hence came that subserviency +to the letter, and that stretching of formulae which +brought them to play fast and loose with their +consciences. The Scribes looked on their Law as +a conveyancer on a deed: they were bound by the +letter, and this led them to regard the Almighty as +One dealing with men under the terms of a contract. +This drew them out of the road which led to a +true knowledge of God, and helped to make them +<q>blind leaders of the blind.</q> Our Lord breaks +down this slavery to the letter of the Scripture +which He found existing, and He is careful not to +build up a new bondage to His own words. +</p> + +<p> +When matter has come down by oral tradition, +men can hardly worship the letter of it. We possess +only brief memoirs collected by men, the +dates and history of the composition of which are +far from certain, so that room is left for criticism +and judgment. The revelation of God is, therefore, +not so direct that men will be awestricken and +shut their minds at the sight of it; but human +intelligence can be brought to bear on the records, +whereby their meaning is brought out, and men's +intellects are braced by the exploration of lofty +regions. Men may without irreverence raise the +question, whether the narrator had rightly understood +Christ's sayings, and properly connected them +with the circumstances out of which they arose. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord, in Galilee at any rate, spoke Aramaic, +<pb n='015'/><anchor id='Pg015'/> +and we have merely the Greek; we have only fragments +of His teaching; we possess different versions, +agreeing indeed in essentials, but with such +differences, that we are forced to admit in the +writers a human possibility of error. We have our +Lord's words it is true, but not in the order, or in +the connection, in which they were spoken. There +is not only room for human judgment but a necessity +for it. Hence the form in which our Lord's +utterances have come down to us is suited to the +plan which seems to run through all our Lord's +teaching; it calls for the free play of the human +mind, and leaves room for the admission of a +certain choice as to what we accept as revealed +truth. +</p> + +<p> +It is true that some Divines have endeavoured +to do what our Lord was careful not to do—they +have, by theories of verbal inspiration, endeavoured +to put our Gospels in the position that actual +writings of our Lord would have held; and, so far as +they have succeeded, they have brought about the +evils which attended the notions of the scribes. +But the form in which we have the Gospels does +not lend itself to such a theory. If men go wrong +in this way they have only themselves to blame. +</p> + +<p> +There is another way in which this form of the +Gospels answers to the plan of Christ's teaching. He +impressed men, above all, by His Personality, and +the record of His life is preserved to us in that +form which is best adapted to preserve personality +<pb n='016'/><anchor id='Pg016'/> +and store it up for the future, viz. the form of +memoirs put together by contemporaries, or by +those who were familiar with contemporaries. +</p> + +<p> +History and literature furnish many instances +of men who have made their mark in virtue of a +striking <emph>personality</emph>; whose reputation rests, not on +any visible tokens,—not on kingdoms conquered, +institutions founded, books written, or inventions +perfected or anything else that they <emph>did</emph>,—but +mainly on what they <emph>were</emph>. Their merely having +passed along a course on earth, and lived and +talked and acted with others, has left lasting effects +on mankind. +</p> + +<p> +This may serve to put us in the way of understanding +what was wrought by the Personality of +Christ: for our Lord's disciples followed Jesus of +Nazareth for this above all,—that he <emph>was</emph> Jesus of +Nazareth. Those of His own time had felt this +Personality working on them while they saw Him +and listened to Him. It is consistent, then, with what +we gather of His prospective care, that He should so +provide, that after generations should have as nearly +as possible, the same advantages as that with which +He lived upon the earth. This is effected by His +being presented to them in the Gospels, not as a +writer is in his works, not as a lawgiver is in his +codes, but as the man Christ Jesus, mixing with +men, sharing their feasts, helping their troubles, +going journeys with them, and in all these occasions +turning their thoughts, gently, with a touch that is +<pb n='017'/><anchor id='Pg017'/> +scarcely observed, towards that knowledge of God +which He came to bring. +</p> + +<p> +Which is it that sways us most? Is it the +teacher who tells us,—This is the way you are to +think, this is what you are to believe and what you +are to do? Or is it the friend who blends his life +and heart and mind with ours, with whom we argue +and differ, but take something each from the other, +which assimilates with what is most our own? +Surely we yield more freely to the one who helps +to foster our particular personality than to him who +would thrust it aside, and replace it by his own. +</p> + +<p> +Now Christ, as portrayed in the Gospels, is +such a friend. He trusts to men's believing that the +Father is in Him, not because He has declared +it in set dogmas, but because He has been <q>so +long with them.</q> He is a friend who lifts us +out of our common selves, and helps each one +of us to find his own truest self: we catch fire +from the new light which he kindles in us, and we +become conscious of a new force, a spiritual one. +When the narrative brings us to the sacrifice on +the Cross, we see what the spectators saw, and +something more, for we see this new inward force +transcending all outward violence. When we turn +to the Sufferer on the Cross, we say <q>after all, the +Victory is there.</q> +</p> + +<p> +But not only is our Lord's Personality presented +to us in the literary form in which it can best be +put forth, that of the informal memoir, but we +<pb n='018'/><anchor id='Pg018'/> +are given <emph>four</emph> such memoirs, each regarding its +subject from a different point. We have then +four different projections of what we want to construct. +The help of this is obvious; and it is worth +mentioning that hereby there is more scope for +man's mental action than if we had only one +Gospel. By diligently comparing and fitting in +each with the other, we cultivate our mind's eye to +catch the lineaments of Christ's figure. A painter, +who has to produce a portrait from four photographs, +has a less simple task than if only a single +photograph existed; but his work will be more +intellectual; it will do him more good, and the +result will be more of a conception and less of a +copy. +</p> + +<p> +I believe that the education of man to a knowledge +of God is part of the Divine purpose running +through God's ways, and I detect in the narrative +form in which our knowledge of Christ has been +delivered to us, a wise tenderness for the spiritual +freedom of man and a help to keep his faculties +alive. +</p> + +<p> +I spoke just now of Laws of Christ's conduct. +The more we look at Christ's life and teaching +as a whole, the more we discern in it the observance +of certain Laws, which give it unity and +order. When we stand near some large painting, +or masterpiece of Art, we are taken up with the +portion of it just under our eye; we scan this or +that group and admire its finish and its truth. +<pb n='019'/><anchor id='Pg019'/> +But when we go a little way off, and again look, +and give our minds to it, we become aware of a +different order of perfections in it, namely those +perfections which belong to it as a whole, as the +completed conception of a gifted mind. +</p> + +<p> +So it is with the Gospel History. While we +read chapter by chapter we see what answers to +one group in the great picture; but when we have +the whole in our mind, we see a consistent purpose +holding it all together: we find that our Lord +always acts along certain lines, and carries out +certain principles. One of these, which lies at the +root of His ways of dealing with men, is His +carefulness to keep alive in each man the sense of +his personal responsibility, and of the dignity of +such responsibility. He would seem to say to each +man, <q>It is no small thing to have been entrusted +by God with the care of a soul which you may +educate for fitness for eternal life.</q> We find in our +Lord, indignation, once, at least, even anger,<note place='foot'>Mark iii. 5.</note> +towards men and their ways, but never contempt +or scorn. A man is, merely as a man, entitled +to be treated with respect. The enforcing of this +on the world is, among all the <q>Gesta Christi,</q> +perhaps the most noticeable now. +</p> + +<p> +The simple fact of His dealing directly with +men <emph>themselves</emph>, shews that He owned their free +agency more or less. If men had been merely +puppets moved by strings, Christ could only have +<pb n='020'/><anchor id='Pg020'/> +benefited them by swaying the powers who held +these strings, and there would have been no meaning +in His addressing Himself to the puppets +themselves and giving His life for them. Now, if +men are free they must be at liberty to go in a +direction different from that which is best for them—that +is to go wrong; and so it must needs be +that <q>occasions of stumbling</q> come, and cause +suffering. I mention these principles now, because +they are the bases of the Laws of which I am +going to speak. They will come before us again +further on. +</p> + +<p> +The marking of uniformities in Christ's conduct, +and in His modes of conveying instruction, is +serviceable in this way. We perceive the Laws +(defined as in p. <ref target='Pg002'>2</ref>) by regarding Christ's career as a +whole; and in return, the Laws, when perceived, +help us to grasp its unity and completeness in a +more thorough way; and, besides this, we strengthen +our critical faculty, and arm it with a new criterion +which may become an effective weapon in arguing +on questions of internal evidence. For if we find +in any newly-discovered fragment, or even in the +Gospels themselves, that which runs counter to +what we think we have established as a Law, then +we have to ask ourselves whether it is likely that +the passage is spurious or imperfect or put out of +its right place; or, on the other hand, whether our +Law has been framed too narrowly, and ought to +be restated or enlarged. +</p> + +<pb n='021'/><anchor id='Pg021'/> + +<p> +Again, when we find a Law constantly observed, +and are sure that the narrative cannot have been +written up to the Law, because the narrators knew +nothing of such a Law; then we come on a new +variety of internal evidence. If, in matters which +only a student would observe, our Lord is found to +adhere to certain ways, this favours the view that +the materials for the portrait came from life; for an +artist drawing from description or following an +idea of his own must have missed these delicate +details now and then. This consistency uniformly +observed forms a sort of undesigned coincidence +ramifying through the mass, and holding it all together. +The notion of Laws underlying our Lord's +action, and shewing their traces on the surface from +time to time, will be best illustrated by an example. +I shall take the rules which our Lord observes in +the working of Signs and Wonders; and so I must +here anticipate something of that, which I shall +make the subject of a whole chapter further on. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord is set apart from all other teachers by +His use of Signs and Wonders. We shall enquire, +how He regarded them? What use He designed to +make of them? And, what more especially concerns +us now, what Laws He observes when He employs +them? These Laws we shall find—wrapped up as it +were—in our Lord's answers to the Tempter in the +wilderness. The narrative of the Temptation, which +seems, at first sight, to be a fragment unconnected +with the course of the action of the Gospel History, +<pb n='022'/><anchor id='Pg022'/> +becomes, when the Laws are noted, the key to +the interpretation of much. Isolated phenomena +fall into system. I will relate the Temptations in +the order given by St Luke, and briefly state the +Laws indicated in the Tempter's suggestions together +with our Lord's replies. +</p> + +<p> +I. Christ will not turn stones into loaves to +appease His hunger in the wilderness. This refusal +contains two principles to which our Lord will be +found to adhere. +</p> + +<p> +(1) He will not use His special powers to provide +for His personal wants or for those of His +immediate followers. +</p> + +<p> +When our Lord provided food for the five thousand, +the loaves and fishes the Apostles had with +them were enough for their own party.<note place='foot'>St Matth. xiv. 17.</note> +</p> + +<p> +(2) Christ will not provide by miracle what +could be provided by human endeavour or human +foresight. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord will not even make men better by +action on them from without; He will not change +their being by any spiritual action without their +cooperation. When the Apostles said <q>Increase +our Faith,</q> He worked no sudden change in them, +but He pointed out to them the efficacy of Faith, in +order that by longing for it, they might attain +to it. +</p> + +<p> +II. Christ will not purchase the visible <q>kingdoms +of the world and the glory of them</q> by +<pb n='023'/><anchor id='Pg023'/> +worshipping Satan—that is to say, He will not do +homage to the Spirit of the world to win the world's +support. He will not ally Himself with worldly +policy. He will not fight the world with its own +weapons, and become its master by giving in to its +views and its ways. In addressing the people He +runs counter to the notions they cherished the most. +He would not proclaim Himself as the Messiah, +or allow Himself to be made a King though +thousands, who were looking for a national deliverer, +would have rallied round Him if He had +done so.<note place='foot'>John vi. 15.</note> He would not conciliate the favour of the +great. He would not display His powers, for a +matter of wonderment, to satisfy the curiosity of +Herod, nor would He use them to repel violence by +open force. He would not hearken to the temptation +which said, <q>Use your miraculous powers to +establish a visible kingdom upon earth; and when +this is done you can frame a perfect form of +society by positive Law.</q> +</p> + +<p> +III. Christ will not throw Himself from the +pinnacle of the Temple. The Temptation must +have been to do this in the sight of the people. +Else, why is this pinnacle chosen rather than any +other height? The refusal points to the following +important Laws. +</p> + +<p> +(1) No miracle is to be worked merely for +miracles' sake, apart from an end of benevolence +or instruction. +</p> + +<pb n='024'/><anchor id='Pg024'/> + +<p> +What appear to be exceptions to this rule cease +to be so when fully considered. +</p> + +<p> +The walking on the waters, as we shall see +further on, was a step in training the Apostles to +realize His nearness to them, when He was not +before their eyes. The withering of the fig-tree, +which had leaves before its time, but no fruit, was +an acted parable bearing on the Jewish people. +These are miracles of instruction. We shall find +others of the same kind. +</p> + +<p> +(2) No miracle is to be worked which should +be so overwhelming in point of awfulness, as to +terrify men into acceptance, or which should be unanswerably +certain, leaving no loop-hole for unbelief. +</p> + +<p> +As, in the second Temptation, our Lord refused +to allow physical force to be used to bring men +to adopt His cause, so here <emph>He refuses to employ +moral compulsion</emph>. The miracles only convinced +the willing, men might always disbelieve if they +would. They might allow the fact of the prodigies, +and yet set them down to magic or witchcraft: +it was with many an open question whether to +ascribe them to God or to Beelzebub, for the latter +had, it was supposed, a share of power upon the +earth. But one popular criterion there was of the +power being God's: in heaven, said the Jews, +God reigned supreme and alone. A Sign worked +there would carry with it the autograph of God. +When Joshua would convince their fathers, he had +wrought a Sign in heaven; he had made the sun +<pb n='025'/><anchor id='Pg025'/> +and moon stand still. Let Christ do this and they +would believe. No such Sign will Christ work. If +the world was to be converted <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>nolens volens</foreign> it +might as well have been peopled from the first by +beings incapable of error. +</p> + +<p> +If the end of His coming had been to gain adherents, +His purpose would have been furthered +by granting a Sign which would have struck the +imagination of the masses; but to raise a large +immediate following was <emph>not</emph> our Lord's design. +He wanted only a few fit spirits as depositories of +His word. +</p> + +<p> +He came to educate men to know God. In +this knowledge lay the assurance of immortality. +The knowledge reached through this education +could not be imparted by any mere telling or +express communication, but had to be unfolded +from within the learner's self. Belief was to grow +and not to be imposed. It had two elements, a +perception of a Divine agency at work in the world, +and a personal trust in Christ who manifested God,—a +trust based on something like the devotion of +a soldier to his chief. That the probability that +His mission did really come from God, should be +made to exceed by a little the probability that it +did not, and that this balance of arguments should +lead people to acknowledge Him, was not what +Christ had in view. He sought only the homage +of free, loving, human hearts. +</p> + +<p> +The Laws above mentioned will be found to +<pb n='026'/><anchor id='Pg026'/> +regulate the course of our Lord's actions as regards +the performance of Signs and Wonders. They are +frequently violated in the Apocryphal Gospels, +never, I think, in the Canonical ones. There are +other Laws which I shall have to trace; one, which +is very important, is stated on at least two occasions; +I have referred to it as being paradoxical +in form, and the more fitted to force itself on men's +minds on that account. It is the text, <q>For whosoever +hath to him shall be given, but whosoever +hath not from him shall be taken away even that +which he hath.</q> This looks as if it would fall in +strangely with the Law of Natural Selection and +the Survival of the Fittest, in the organic world. +What I believe our Lord to have meant by it will +be discussed in its proper place. +</p> + +<p> +I shall have also to speak of the <emph>prospective</emph> +bearing of much that our Lord says and does, +and to shew how this gives us a greater assurance +of our Lord's being <q>with us always to the end +of the world.</q> Christ seems to me to look over +the heads of the generation about Him far into the +future; His eye is fixed on the distance, but it does +not look out vaguely into space; it is turned in a +direction that is precisely determined. He walks +with the assured step of one who marches to a goal. +But what that goal is He never tells men, and when +He designedly keeps men's curiosity unsatisfied, we +may conjecture that no answer could be given without +touching on conditions of spiritual existence +<pb n='027'/><anchor id='Pg027'/> +beyond our ken. There may be such conditions +which we could no more conceive than we could +imagine space with another dimension, beside length +and breadth and height. +</p> + +<p> +The history of the Church and of the workings +of men's minds may disclose the existence of +Laws, lying under the events of ages and operating +through them, analogous to those laid down by our +Lord for his own conduct; and we may look along +the direction in which these Laws point. Some +have thought they descried, at the end, a time, in +which peace and righteousness should reign over the +whole world. But Christ Himself doubted whether +He should find faith upon the earth when He came.<note place='foot'>Luke xviii. 8.</note> +However, if He should not, still He will not have +failed, we can be sure of this. What He meant +to effect, whatever it was, will have come about. +Righteous souls may be garnered elsewhere, and +this earth may be only a school of life, a training +ground for the education and selection (for these +two go together) of beings who shall be fitted to +enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='028'/><anchor id='Pg028'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter II. Human Freedom.</head> + +<p> +I have spoken in the foregoing chapter of certain +characteristics of our Lord's ways of dealing with +men. In considering these ways we find ourselves, +at almost every turn, face to face with the great +enigmas of life which underlie all Theology. +Questions about Divine government and human +freedom will, I see, force themselves upon us. +</p> + +<p> +It would keep this book more close to its purpose, +if I could proceed at once with the examination +of what our Lord says and does, and leave +all these difficulties on one side, taking it for +granted that all my readers had arrived at their +own views about them; or if I were to refer them +to works in which they are formally discussed. +</p> + +<p> +But I trust my readers will forgive me, if I +suppose that it may be with them as with those +I have been used to teach—that is to say, that +they will be attracted by these perplexities, and +that they will be impatient at being told that just +what they want to ask lies outside my province. +Many too, I know, would never turn to any of the +<pb n='029'/><anchor id='Pg029'/> +learned works on these matters, of which I might +give them the names. +</p> + +<p> +I have resolved, therefore, to deal with these +matters once for all, in as familiar a way as I can. +I cannot, of course, give my readers solutions of +these questions; I can only tell them how I manage +to do without a solution myself, and put before +them the view of these matters which I hold till +I can get a better, so that they may more readily +enter into my views of Christ's Laws of action, and +understand what I write. +</p> + +<p> +The characteristics of our Lord's ways which +particularly bring us in contact with these mysteries, +and which therefore concern us most now, are (1) +His care to keep alive in His hearers their sense of +being free and responsible agents; (2) His tolerance +of the existence of evil in the world. +</p> + +<p> +These questions of free will and the existence of +evil have been for ages the battle-ground of divines, +and they come before us every day. <q>Why did not +God make every one good?</q> is a question which +occurs to every intelligent child. He runs to his +first teachers with it, and finding himself put off +with an answer that is no answer—for a child is +quick in detecting this—he gets his first notion +that there are matters which even grown-up people +know nothing about. +</p> + +<p> +So, that I may not serve my readers in this way, +I give them all I have myself. I can no more tell +them <q>How</q> or <q>Why</q> God brought about the +<pb n='030'/><anchor id='Pg030'/> +present state of things, than I can solve the great +mystery which is at the bottom of all mysteries: +<q>How, or Why, God and the world ever existed at +all?</q> But I think I can shew that free agency in +men, and the existence of evil, and also a reserve +in the revelation of God's ways—a question I shall +have to deal with next—are consistent with our situation +in this world; supposing that the mental and +spiritual development of God's creatures is the +proximate end and aim of the Spiritual Order. +Some hypothesis we must make as to a purpose in +the world, if we regard it as the work of a <emph>mind</emph>; +and this is the purpose which most seems to fall in +with what I observe. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord speaks of Divine action as <q>The +mystery of the kingdom of God.</q><note place='foot'>Mark iv. II.</note> He directs the +thoughts of His disciples to these ways by telling +them, not what they are, but to what they are <emph>like</emph>. +We shall never, while on earth, perfectly know +these ways, but Christ thinks it well for His disciples +to strive after this knowledge, and to look +for lessons in all they see to help them towards it. +</p> + +<p> +Not only does Christ give us what I have called +<emph>seed-thoughts</emph> on these matters, but He puts us in +possession of a unique method for leading men +towards the truth about them. He takes an incident +of familiar life, and uses it to set forth +spiritual verities. So when we must discourse of +these hard matters our safest course is to follow +<pb n='031'/><anchor id='Pg031'/> +our Lord's way. No doubt, He meant to shew us +<emph>how</emph> to teach, as well as to tell us <emph>what</emph> to teach; so +if we begin with a sort of allegory or parable, we +cannot be far wrong in point of <emph>form</emph>, however +feeble and faulty the execution may be. I +believe that the relation of a parent to his household +affords likeness enough to that of the Father +to His world, to be used as the ground of a parable +on God's Will and Human Freedom. +</p> + +<p> +Let us suppose that the father of a family, a +man of strong will, and steadfastly abhorring evil, +should conceive the project of forcibly shutting it +out from his home. We will suppose the household +planted in a spot remote from human intercourse, +in some self-supplying island or dale +among the hills; and, as I do not mean to touch +on physical evil, let us suppose that no external +calamity comes nigh the dwelling. Here, let us +suppose, the children grow up, uncontaminated by +ill, knowing no temptation, reared in love and +kindness, treated wisely and with such even justice +that envy and jealousy find no room to enter. +</p> + +<p> +The parent proposes to himself to do away +with all temptation, all chance of individual +aberration, and to cast his children's character in +a perfect mould. He would have them merge +themselves in him as much as possible, repeating +his thoughts and accepting his views without +questioning them, or supposing they could be questioned. +All society, all books, but what he approves, +<pb n='032'/><anchor id='Pg032'/> +are banished from that house, so that no whisper +of evil, no pernicious notions can possibly intrude. +Evil is by him regarded as a pestilent weed, which +only exists, owing to some oversight in the making +of the world, for which he is at a loss to account. +It is at once to be eradicated whenever it is +espied. +</p> + +<p> +Let us suppose that all goes well in our imagined +household—that the children love their father +and believe implicitly in him; that they are so +happy in their home and home pursuits that they +do not look beyond; and that the healthy labour, +which their common wants necessitate, gives room +for all their energies. Hence, there is no repining +at their narrow sphere, no longing for more strenuous +activity or more varied life. Each does his +daily work, and returns to pleasant rest and a +happy home, and no more asks himself whether +he is happy than he asks whether the valves of his +heart are opening and closing as they should. +The father, then, looks around him, and sees his +ideal accomplished. He has a family of which +no member does anything but what he approves, +or has a thought but what he shares with him: +not one of them sets up an opinion different from +what he holds. It never occurs to them to doubt +the wisdom of any injunction. Life presents to +them no moral difficulties, because, as soon as any +question occurs to them, they run with it to their +father, and on receiving his reply put aside the +<pb n='033'/><anchor id='Pg033'/> +matter, as being decided and disposed of for good +and all. +</p> + +<p> +We might suppose the parent would look around +with unalloyed satisfaction. But a moment comes +when he finds something wanting. He is not +so thoroughly satisfied as he had expected to be +with the ideal which he has worked out. Some +misgiving obtrudes itself. He asks himself—Is +this condition, this merging of my children's wills +in mine, what is best for them or what is best for +me? Is not this goodness of theirs too negative? +Is it not rather the absence of evil than the presence +of good? +</p> + +<p> +Further he asks, am not <emph>I</emph> substantially <emph>alone</emph>? +Is not mine the only independent mind in the +place, of which all the rest are mere reflections? +Am I not intensifying my loneliness and all the +moral disadvantages that attach to it, by thus +rendering all who surround me merely portions +of myself? For my children are not separate +persons, but bits of <emph>me</emph>. Are not whole provinces +of moral activity shut out from me, by the very +fact of my having everything my own way? Are +there not virtues which require opposition to call +them out? Is it not good to have to ask ourselves +whether we are dealing fairly with opponents? +Is it not good to forgive wrongs? Is it not good +to reach out a helping hand, and lift one who has +stumbled, back into his self-respect? I engage in +no struggles. In my world there are no misdoings +<pb n='034'/><anchor id='Pg034'/> +to forgive and no misdoers to restore. Have I +not closed against myself whole worlds of moral +action and of moral life? +</p> + +<p> +Then, as to my children, <q>Have I not been +wrong in supposing that they must <emph>be</emph> good because +they have never <emph>done</emph> wrong? They have +been so kept from the suggestion of evil that they +could hardly help going right. But could they +resist temptation if it came? They have never +been braced by a struggle with it, nor marked the +ill fruits of evil. They take it on trust from me +that evil brings sorrow; but it usually comes in +disguise and declares itself harmless, and how should +they recognise it if it came?</q> So, question after +question suggests itself, all destructive of his satisfaction. +<q>Can it be,</q> he says at last, <q>that I have +brought up these children so as to be fit for no +world but that which I have carefully constructed +for them? I used to delight in their goodness; +but since I have suspected it to be mainly instinctive—an +innocence that is the outcome of +ignorance—my satisfaction in it is half gone.</q> +</p> + +<p> +At length, he is harassed with the idea that he +may have given up his life to a mistake, that what +he has done has cramped his own mental and moral +expansion, and that the excellence of his blameless +family is only fair-weather goodness after all. +He casts about to think why it is that they have +<q>neither savour nor salt,</q> and concludes <q>What +they want is <emph>personality</emph>—and how should they have +<pb n='035'/><anchor id='Pg035'/> +got it, living in a household where I have taken +care to be all in all?</q> +</p> + +<p> +Then his thoughts run upon <emph>evil</emph>, which he has +been at such pains to shut out, closing against +it every cranny and chink. <q>God,</q> he may say, +<q>has let evil into His world—was I right in keeping +it forcibly out of mine? May not the resisting +and assuaging of evil give occasion for good to +grow up, and feel its own strength? Are there not +many kinds of goodness, brought out in this way, +which we could no more have without evil than +we could have light in a picture without shade? If +there is no room for my children to go wrong, +what moral significance,</q> he asks, <q>is there in +saying that they go right?</q> +</p> + +<p> +So he is disheartened with his project, and gives +it up. He abandons his isolated way of life, and +gives his children freedom. He encourages them to +act and judge for themselves. Henceforth they can +choose their own books, their own friends their +own pursuits, and go forth into life, outside their +charmed circle. +</p> + +<p> +Of course this involves the giving up of his +absolute power; this is inherent in the nature of +things. A man cannot be an autocrat and have +free people about him. If he would have intercourse +with free intelligences, in order to get the +advantages to his own cultivation and expansion +of character which spring from such intercourse; +this must be purchased by abdicating some of his +<pb n='036'/><anchor id='Pg036'/> +powers, or putting them in abeyance. So the +parent forbears using his power, in order that his +children may learn to be free, and that he may +hold communion with free, loving hearts, and engage +in discussion with unfettered minds. +</p> + +<p> +Soon, he finds that he has to encounter opposition. +The children are free to go wrong, and +wrong some of them will go: evil appears in that +household where it was not known. The father +sorrows over this, but when he reviews his condition +he finds that he has a countervailing comfort; +the good that is left about him is now real +good. It is the good of persons who have known +and resisted evil. Besides this, there is more life +and greater vigour of character in his family, than +there was before. They no longer sit with folded +hands always waiting for direction; they have +the air of persons who see a purpose before them; +and they move along their way <q>with the certain +step of man.</q> So he concludes that it is better +that all should engage in the struggle with evil, +even though some should fail, than that they +should move along paths ready shaped out for +them, shewing a merely mechanical goodness. +</p> + +<p> +A great change has come over his life in another +respect, he is now no longer <emph>alone</emph>. Other wills +come into contact, sometimes into collision, with +his will; a host of qualities, which had been folded +up and laid by for years, come again into use. He +is no longer among echoes of himself, but there +<pb n='037'/><anchor id='Pg037'/> +are real voices in his new world. His views may +still prevail, but it must be, not merely because +they are <emph>his</emph>, but because they stand on solid +ground. He may still lead in action; but it must +be because he has the leader's strength, because +he will venture when others waver, and decide when +others doubt. +</p> + +<p> +Here we must leave him, and say a word or +two before making the obvious application of the +parable: We must not press the application too +closely or draw conclusions from the mere machinery +of the parable: it must not, of course, +be supposed that I conceive God to have dealt with +man as the father does with his children; that is to +say, to have kept him at first in tutelage, and then +found it desirable to enfranchise him. The sole +object of the story is to familiarise the reader with +the need of freedom in moral growth. It shews +that for education to be carried out, the <emph>will</emph> must +be free to act. When we have brought this home to +his mind, we shall be the better able <q>to justify the +ways of God to man</q> in some important particulars. +</p> + +<p> +The parable is designed to apply to the condition +of men on earth on the supposition, that +their education—in the largest sense of the word—is +the main work held in view: all depends on the +hypothesis that man is placed on earth to develop +his powers. The need of freedom for members of +the imagined family depends on their being in a +<pb n='038'/><anchor id='Pg038'/> +state of growth. The parable would not apply to +spiritual beings, if we could conceive such, whose +qualities and character were unalterable. <emph>Perfected</emph> +beings have done with growth and struggle, and +have attained to the highest condition, viz. +existence in unison with God. But for <emph>imperfect</emph> +beings, struggling on to their goal, freedom is +required and the opposition of evil is indispensable, +in order that the moral thews and sinews +may harden. +</p> + +<p> +Whenever we come upon an objection to the +ways of God's ordering of the world, which is put +in the form of a question, such as <q>Why was not +the world made in this way or that?</q> we shall +find it a good plan, to follow out the line indicated +in the complaint, and see what would have come +about, supposing that God <emph>had</emph> made the world in +the way which is suggested. +</p> + +<p> +From the imaginary case here put, we see to +what the common child's question leads us—the +question <q>Why did not God make all people good +and keep them so?</q>—If people had been <q>made +good and kept good,</q> that is to say if they had +been constructed by God so as always to act as +His will prompted, then they would not in the +proper sense of the word have been people at all; +they would have been mechanisms worked by God, +and so they could not have been <q>good</q> in the +sense in which we use the word of a man, but only +in that in which we apply it to a watch. There +<pb n='039'/><anchor id='Pg039'/> +could be no moral life without freedom; there +could be no growth of character without temptations +and difficulties to overcome; no heroism, no +self-denial, no sympathising tenderness, no forgiving +love, without suffering or wrongdoing to call them +forth. +</p> + +<p> +Moreover if not only people on earth, but all +created intelligences had, in like manner, been constrained +to respond to every motion of the Divine +will, God would have been the one spiritual being +in the world and would therefore have been absolutely +<emph>alone</emph>. +</p> + +<p> +Let us now suppose, and the supposition falls +in with what our conscience and the Bible tell us, +that in God all goodness dwells. This goodness +cannot lie stored away as in a treasure-house, so +as to be merely an object of contemplation, it +must be active and in operation. This is essential +to our idea of goodness, and it agrees with the +view of God which Christ presents to us, which +is that of a being ever <emph>operating</emph>. <q>My Father +worketh hitherto,</q> says our Lord, <q>and I work.</q> +For good to unfold, and advance toward perfection +in its manifold ways, an arena is wanted. +The world we know of affords the arena required; +in this, God has been working from the first +One kind of His work we can conceive to be +the suggesting thoughts to men; but if it be so, +He leaves the will free either to entertain or to +reject the suggestions, as we might those of a friend. +</p> + +<pb n='040'/><anchor id='Pg040'/> + +<p> +That we may not lose ourselves in the immensity +of God and eternity, we will withdraw our +gaze from the rest of the Universe, and fix it on +this planet of ours, when organic life first began +to appear upon it. The spiritual and material +world might, before this, have been going on, each +apart, through countless ages; but a moment came +when the spiritual and the material were wondrously +blended, and life began upon the earth. +Different orders of being succeeded each other, and +fresh forces came into play. We may suppose that +God sympathised with all His creation, and that +the qualities that appeared in it reflected something +in Himself. God may have rejoiced in +seeing the animal creation happy. The animals +were in a degree free, but they were not self-conscious; +they did not know that they were happy, or +that they were loved, and God may have required +for the full unfolding of His infinite capacity for +sympathy and love, to be in relation with beings +who could know Him and love Him, and know +that they loved Him. +</p> + +<p> +Mr Erskine of Linlathen, in his excellent book +on the Spiritual Order, says <q>Is there not a comfort +in the doctrine of the eternal Sonship, as a +deliverance from the thought of a God, whose very +nature is Love, dwelling in absolute solitude from +all eternity without an object of love?</q> We may +extend this observation to other qualities besides +love, from the exercise of which, a being who is +<pb n='041'/><anchor id='Pg041'/> +alone in the world is necessarily debarred. Is it +not likely that a God of mercy, truth and justice +would frame a world of beings, in His dealing with +whom all these qualities should find scope and +exercise? Without self-conscious beings having free +wills, how could this be done? +</p> + +<p> +Close by the side of this question of free will, +lies that of the existence of moral evil, in a world +made by a being who, by the hypothesis, is perfectly +good. When we supposed the world to be formed +for the evolution of moral goodness, we, perhaps +without knowing it, introduced the idea of moral +evil, implied in that of goodness; for actual good +is evolved in resisting evil and repairing the mischief +it has done; indeed many forms of it can no +more exist without evil as an antagonist, than a +wheel can turn without the friction of the road. +</p> + +<p> +Now, as I have said, if men be left free, they +must have liberty to go wrong. For if they had +been originally made so perfect that they <emph>could</emph> not +go wrong, this would only mean that they were like +watches very excellently fabricated; they could +only move in one particular way, viz. the way in +which they had been designed to move by God. +Inasmuch as such beings would not be persons, +we could not feel gratitude or anger towards them, +nor influence them in any way. If men were like +this, there could be little or no growth, little or no +action of man on man. If, to take another supposition, +man had been so made that it would be +<pb n='042'/><anchor id='Pg042'/> +possible for him to go wrong, but that he had been +sedulously kept out of temptation and placed in +an abode where innocence reigned undisturbed; +then we come to a case very like that sketched in +the foregoing parable. +</p> + +<p> +There is a third case possible. God might make +men capable of going wrong, but might watch over +them and protect them, whether they craved His +help or not, whenever temptation approached. This +constant supernatural interference would soon have +destroyed all self-helpfulness; men would never +have formed habits of avoiding or resisting temptation. +<q>God,</q> the man would say, <q>will not let me +sin—I may go as near to danger as I like, and need +take no care of myself, because I am sure of God's +protection.</q> We know that a child does not learn +to take care of himself, so long as he feels that it is +the nurse's business to see that no harm happens +to him. We come then to this result. God requires +free self-conscious beings, for the full exercise +of the moral goodness in Himself and for its development +and manifestation in the world. +</p> + +<p> +But He cannot give others freedom, and at the +same time provide that they should act only in the +way that He approves: because this in itself would +be a contradiction, and a contradiction not even +Divine power can effect. Hence these free, intelligent +beings must be at liberty to go wrong, +and God must, in exchange for having free wills +about him, forego part of His absolute prerogative: +<pb n='043'/><anchor id='Pg043'/> +and so He must allow evil a place in the world +because this is involved in the <q>liberty to go +wrong</q> just spoken of. +</p> + +<p> +This brings us to the mystery of the <q>origin of +evil.</q> I shall not lay myself open to the charge +made against divines, <q>That they no sooner declare +a subject to be a mystery than they set +to work to explain it.</q> I can see that if man +is to be left free, evil must needs come, and +that without evil in the world none of the more +masculine virtues can be brought to the birth—that +is to say, I see that evil, being in the world, +serves to discharge a function—but I do not pretend +to say how it came. I do not maintain that +it came, solely, from man's misuse of his freedom. +</p> + +<p> +From what we see in the world arises a fancy +that every thing must have its opposite, that light +presupposes darkness, and pleasure pain, and so +good may presuppose evil; but this fancy is not +substantial enough to build upon. Our Lord's +words on the occasions when He deals with evil, +are, to my judgment, most easily reconciled with +one another, and with the circumstances which call +them forth, by supposing Him to recognise a personal +spiritual influence, presenting evil thoughts +to the minds of men; the man remaining free to +choose whether he will entertain these suggestions +or not. +</p> + +<p> +I return to my immediate subject—the function +that evil performs in the existing moral world. We +<pb n='044'/><anchor id='Pg044'/> +read in the Book of Genesis that the earth was to +bring forth <q>thorns and thistles,</q> and that man was +<q>to eat bread in the sweat of his brow.</q><note place='foot'>Gen. iii. +18, 19.</note> This is +the result of a change worked, we are told, <q>for +man's sake.</q> It was indeed for man's <emph>sake</emph>—though +in a different sense—that this was so. He would +have remained a very poor creature if the earth +had produced just what he wanted, without any +labour of his. This illustrates the function of evil +in the ordering of the world. Man's qualities, +moral and physical, are developed by it. It subserves +the progress of the human race. +</p> + +<p> +We should have less heroism, without cruelty +and oppression from without; and could have +no self-restraint, without temptation from within. +Piety and love indeed, when they had once come +into being, might exist without evil; we may believe +that they satisfy the souls of the saints in +heaven; but among men they commonly owe their +birth to a feeling of shelter against evil, and to a +sense of pardoned wrong. +</p> + +<p> +Another office which evil performs is this. The +contention with it helps to bring out the difference +between man and man. If any members of the +family of my parable had possessed the germs of +a strong character, they could hardly have brought +fruit to perfection: the conditions of their innocent +life tended to uniformity. But as soon as temptations +came, latent differences would forthwith +<pb n='045'/><anchor id='Pg045'/> +appear; the strong would grow stronger and the +bad worse. Now there is need of strong men +for human progress. They form the steps in the +stairway by which the race mounts. If life +were smooth and easy, men would, as it were, +advance in line, and the stronger men would not +so surely come in front of the rest. It is in times +of trouble that men are most apt to recognise worth +and capacity, and make much of them. So that +the trials and difficulties of human life which come +of evil, have this good effect among others, they +help to pick out the men who are fitted to be the +leaders of human movements and of human thought. +</p> + +<p> +It may have struck us as strange that Christ +does not deal directly with these perplexing questions +which trouble so many minds. We shall see, +later on, that His not doing so is quite consistent +with the uniform <q>tenour of His way.</q> But +though our Lord does not lay down dogmas on +these points, yet His own actions and expressions +would, of course, accord with what He knew: if, +then, when we hit upon some view of this <q>riddle of +the painful earth,</q> which commends itself to our +minds, we find that it clashes with what our Lord +does or says, then we may throw it aside at once: +and, on the other hand, if we arrive at a way of +looking at the matter which seems to harmonise +with what falls from Him; then, we may hope, not +indeed that we have found a solution of the riddle, +but that our hypothesis will not mislead us, so +<pb n='046'/><anchor id='Pg046'/> +long as we own it to be an hypothesis, and nothing +more. +</p> + +<p> +We may be supposed then to have arrived at +this position. We assume the existence of a +mighty Divine being, in whom all goodness dwells. +We suppose that this world is an arena in which a +struggle is to be carried on between good and evil +by the agency of free intelligent beings; that by +means of this struggle the better natures will be +strengthened and developed, and come more and +more into action; we suppose also that God whispers +counsel and comfort on the side of good. +Further than this we need not now go. +</p> + +<p> +As regards the presence of evil in the world, +there are several sayings of our Lord which might +be noted. I must confine myself to one or two +of the most important. +</p> + +<p> +First let us consider the following passage from +St John's Gospel:<note place='foot'>John ix. 1-3.</note> +</p> + +<p> +<q>And as he passed by, he saw a man blind +from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, +Rabbi, who did sin, this man, or his parents, +that he should be born blind? Jesus answered, +Neither did this man sin, nor his parents: but +that the works of God should be made manifest +in him.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Here the disciples take it for granted, that the +blindness was a punishment for sin, either on the part +of the man or his parents. It is our Lord's practice—and +<pb n='047'/><anchor id='Pg047'/> +a practice so uniform that we may call +it a Law of proceeding—not to enter into controversy +about wide-spread mistaken views on +merely <emph>speculative</emph> subjects: He usually gives a +hint, and leaves it to work in the hearer's mind. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord's answer in this case means, <emph>not</emph>, of +course, that the man and his parents had never +committed sin, but that the blindness was not +the result of that sin; and He passes rapidly +on to state His view of one purpose answered +by this infliction. +</p> + +<p> +In His few words of answer our Lord lets fall +one of those hints, <emph>seed thoughts</emph>, as I have called +them, which lie so thickly in the Gospels. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord tells us, that the works of God were +to be made manifest by this man's infirmity. A +light is thrown by these words on one of the <q>uses +of adversity.</q> Suffering gives room for moral +goodness to come into play. The world is full of +instances easy enough to note. Does not a sick +child in a family educate all around it to tenderness +and self-denial? What more touching lesson +in patience can be given than the sight of the +little sufferer, grieved at nothing so much as the +trouble it causes, making the most of every alleviation, +grateful beyond measure for every look +or word of love. Rough brothers learn forbearance +and gentleness; and to all the household it +becomes natural to think of something else before, or +at least beside, themselves. Wordsworth tells us of +<pb n='048'/><anchor id='Pg048'/> +a half-witted boy whose helplessness and simplicity +fostered a spirit of kindliness in all the poor of the +village, and taught them to respect affliction. +</p> + +<p> +Again in the parable of the Prodigal Son, we +are taught how there is <q>a soul of goodness in +things evil.</q> The wickedness of the prodigal is +made a means of revealing to him and to all the +bystanders the Divine beauty and efficacy of forgiving +love. +</p> + +<p> +We will now<note place='foot'>St Luke viii. 26; St Mark v. 1.</note> +turn to the history of the cure of +the Dæmoniac in the country of the Gadarenes. +I take the history in what seems to me the +plain literal sense, and I must suppose that +our Lord recognised some real evil existence, +which had possessed itself of the man, and +which, by its presence in him, had unhinged his +whole mental or nervous organisation. This existence +is separable from him, but it requires, it +would seem, some body to inhabit and to work +upon. The dæmon begs not to be suppressed or +annihilated, and our Lord grants his petition and +lets him go among the swine. He saves the <emph>man</emph>—what +other evils this dæmon may work in the +world, so that he lets men go, is no concern of +His. The Son of Man is concerned only with +lives and souls—not with property in any way. +</p> + +<p> +The point for us to note is this: Our Lord does +not <emph>annihilate</emph> evil. He does not regard it as an +outlawed intruder who had eluded God's notice, +<pb n='049'/><anchor id='Pg049'/> +and who, as soon as he is discovered, is to be expelled +from the universe at once. His Father has +suffered evil to be, and He, Christ, follows in His +Father's ways: evil may still do its work, only not +on men. This evil influence, we must observe, is +something external to the man; it would seem to +belong to an order of existences, engaged in working +ill as their congenial business; whispering bad +counsel, something in the way that God's Spirit +whispers good, only, of course, not in such deep +authoritative tones; and, in these cases of possession, +it masters the whole being of the sufferer. <emph>Why</emph> this +was allowed to be, is of course a mystery, but yet +it is hardly a greater mystery than why evil in its +other forms should be allowed to exist, and without +evil in some shape, as we have seen, this earth +would be a very imperfect exercise-ground for +mankind. +</p> + +<p> +To represent this case to our minds, let us +imagine some malignant <q>germ</q> that has caused +a plague amongst men, and which in time takes a +slightly different form, so that it is no longer +adapted to human beings, but finds its prey in +cattle instead. Then the plague among men is +exchanged for a murrain among cattle, which, as a +matter of fact, has been known to happen: this +answers to the allowing the dæmon to go to the +swine. Evil is not forcibly exterminated, but it is +transferred from man to the lower animals. +</p> + +<p> +So our Lord is gentle even with the powers of +<pb n='050'/><anchor id='Pg050'/> +evil. They had their function, or they would not +have been there, and they were not to be crushed +out of existence before the time. +</p> + +<p> +If it be, as I have argued, that evil had a +function in the world, then we can see why it +could not be removed by a <emph>universal</emph> decree. But +a <emph>single</emph> act of relief might be admissible in order +to testify to the presence of an exceptional power; +this would not engender in people the habit of +helplessly throwing themselves upon God. For +instance, Christ cures the son of the centurion +merely by speaking the word, but if He had +abolished all fevers by one decree, this would have +been to disorganise the existing order in the +universe. A King going on a royal progress +relieves the misery that comes in his way; his +own kindliness, his royal dignity, and the need +of impressing on the people that their King delights +in doing good, and can do it, require him +so to do. But a regal donation for the relief of all +distress in the kingdom would turn it into a +nation of paupers. So our Lord bestows His +bounty on those who fall in His way. +</p> + +<p> +He who asks, Why did not Christ suppress +evil? may naturally ask also, Why did not Christ +sweep away all human error as to the relations of +God with man? And why did He not so vouch +for the authenticity of His communication that +any doubt about it should be impossible? Now +we believe, that God has revealed Himself to man, +<pb n='051'/><anchor id='Pg051'/> +and yet has left men in some degree free as to +what they will think about Him, and as fully at +liberty to examine the credentials of those who +have claimed to be His messengers, and to judge +of their authenticity, as they would be in a purely +human matter. +</p> + +<p> +We find, as a matter of fact, that men who +have accepted Christ's revelation are not fettered +in mind by it; but are most often enterprising, +energetic and bold searchers after truth. I believe +that it would have been unfavourable to the preservation +of this vigour of mind and to the temper +which should <q>try all things and hold fast those +which are good,</q> if the full and absolute revelation +which some demand had been delivered to mankind, +and all the problems which beset human life +had thereby been settled once for all. To the +questions <q>Why we are told what we are told?</q> +<q>Why we are not told more?</q> and <q>Why doubt and +ambiguities are not all cleared away?</q>—we cannot +hope to give <emph>answers</emph>, but we may find ways of +looking at them which shall help in some degree +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>To justify the ways of God to man.</q> +</quote> + +<p> +It will be best to discuss this subject in a +separate Chapter. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='052'/><anchor id='Pg052'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter III. Of Revelation.</head> + +<p> +If I took the word Revelation in its widest sense +I should not attempt to treat of it here, for it would +comprise nothing less than God's education of the +human race. We talk of Natural Religion and +Revealed Religion, but all Religion has in it an +element of revelation from God. If God had not +provided man with a mind's eye suited to see Him +by, and also something that shadowed Him forth +which that eye could behold, we could have no +religion at all. Of the processes by which belief +has come about in men not the least notable is +this. Men have recognised in some new tidings +what they seemed to have been looking for, without +being aware of it. Some new teacher has become +the spokesman of thoughts which were lying in +them in a state too vague for utterance. Thus +<q>thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.</q><note place='foot'>Luke ii. 35.</note> +Now it is God who has planted these thoughts in +men, and He brings about the occasions which +reveal them. +</p> + +<pb n='053'/><anchor id='Pg053'/> + +<p> +There are for man two worlds, that which is +without him and that which is within. Some races +from temperament or circumstances have been +most taken up with the former, with the workings +of nature and with active social life; while others +have looked within rather than without;—their +minds have found most congenial play in the contemplation +of their own natures, and in brooding +over the mystery of how they came to be what they +were. Corresponding to these two leading diversities +of the human mind, there are two modes by +which men are brought to recognise a great spiritual +agency in the world. +</p> + +<p> +The man of Aryan race, the type of the first +variety, caught sight of an infinite force underlying +all the workings of nature, and so conceived Deities, +with a personal will like his own, animating the +physical world. For the people of the Semitic +race on the other hand, the surpassing wonder was +their own selves—their minds turned to contemplating +their own nature. In so doing they noted +this; they found something within them which +caused them to be happy when they acted in one +way—when they had done a kindness for example—and +made them unhappy when they had behaved +differently. This was so, even when no one knew +of the act, and when they looked to no consequences +from it. They called such actions right +and wrong; but they asked, Where can this notion +of right and wrong come from? This conscience +<pb n='054'/><anchor id='Pg054'/> +too which witnessed of it—which strove with them +just as a friend might, and seemed to be something +outside them—Where did that come from? They +were led by this to conceive a spiritual personal +Being in the world who had left some trace of himself +in men's hearts, and kept up some communion +with them through this voice of conscience. Thus +men of different stamps of mind were led along +different roads, to the notion of something Divine +in the world; and we may say that God revealed +himself to man in these two ways. Now for knowledge +to be sure and solid two elements must go +to the making of it. One from outside the +learner, and the other supplied by him. This outside +element is in physical science provided by +observed fact, and what answers to it in theology +is authoritative revelation. Men can never feel +fully assured about what is wholly spun out of +their own brains, and has no external sign or testimony +to lend it support. +</p> + +<p> +Revelation, in the sense in which I have to do +with it just now, means an authoritative communication +from the Almighty, vouched by some outward +sign, or manifestation. It is with this outward sign, +and with the difficulties attending the ways of +bringing it about, that I am now chiefly concerned. +</p> + +<p> +For the present we will suppose that among the +elements of human knowledge are <emph>truths revealed +by God</emph>. How is this element of absolutely certain +knowledge to be made to fit in with that which is +<pb n='055'/><anchor id='Pg055'/> +only matter of opinion or provisionally true? +Here we come on the great problem of Revelation. +How can the infinite be brought into the same +account with the finite? We know that if we give +one term in an algebraical expression an infinite +value, all the rest go for nothing; so likewise do +probable judgments vanish in the face of absolute +authority. But if Revelation is delivered <emph>in such a +mode</emph> that its declarations admit of no question +whatever, then its statements possess <emph>absolute certainty</emph>. +Compared with such certainty all our +judgments would be doubtful and dim, like candles +in the presence of electric light. Would not this +sharp contrast discourage man from using his own +powers? But is it not by regarding this world as +an exercise ground for these same powers that we +come most near to understanding it? Is it consistent +with God's ways, such as we make them +out to be, that after giving us faculties which would +find their amplest field in the consideration of +spiritual problems he should preclude the investigation +of them by solving them all Himself. +</p> + +<p> +Again the truth delivered in any Divine Revelation +of the problems of the Universe would come +into contact with views based on supposed facts +drawn from History or Geology, or with truths +discovered by the human mind, and difficulties +would occur all along the line of demarcation +between what was infallible and what was not. +For instance, if the history of one nation were +<pb n='056'/><anchor id='Pg056'/> +absolutely revealed, much of that of the nations +contiguous would be revealed too; more particularly +the results of the wars between them: and if +isolated facts belonging to science, such as those +relating to the formation of our globe, were communicated +on Divine Authority, then systems of +Natural Philosophy, starting from these facts as +axioms, might claim, upon religious grounds, acceptance +for every one of their conclusions. If +an independent system essayed to rear its head, +it would be crushed by coming into collision with +some statement that brooked no question. Such +scientific investigation as would be possible could +only proceed by deduction from truths authoritatively +delivered. Observation and induction, which +have led up to the knowledge of nature we now +possess, would find no place. Man would be discouraged +from using his own endeavours to understand +the problems of the universe, and instead of +so doing, he would only pray the Almighty to tell +him all he wanted to know. +</p> + +<p> +These ill effects do not follow in the case of +Christ's religion for two reasons. First, because +Christ does not reveal what man could find out for +himself; and therefore this revelation does not come, +so to say, into competition with human investigations. +Secondly, because the genuineness of the +revelation is not vouched for by evidence which +is <emph>overwhelming</emph> and which finally settles the +question; but is only supported by just enough +<pb n='057'/><anchor id='Pg057'/> +external testimony to command attentive consideration +and respect. The evidence that the Sign +is of God is not so cogent that there is no escape +from it. If it were so, it would silence all discussion +about the fact of Revelation having been +given, in the way in question, and would narrow +the area for the exercise of religious thought. +</p> + +<p> +Reason may agree to bow to Revelation as being +God's declaration; but she has a right to satisfy +herself that it <emph>is</emph> God's declaration, and she will +call in learning and rules of criticism to help her +in determining the question. Even when Reason +has satisfied herself as to the credentials of this Revelation, +there comes another question which gives +play for human intelligence. It is asked <q>What +does this Revelation mean?</q> Language is the outcome +of the human mind, and all statements made +in language, this Revelation among the rest, must +be subject to the laws of the human understanding. +</p> + +<p> +We see then, that both as to its credentials +and its meaning Revelation must always be open +to question; and that a man is as much bound to +exercise his judgment upon these points as upon +the other problems of life. This would seem a very +natural state of things, yet it causes dismay to some +persons when they first begin to look into these +matters for themselves. They had expected, moreover, +to find such a balance of evidence on their own +side, that no one except from wilfulness and perversity +could decide the other way. Examination +<pb n='058'/><anchor id='Pg058'/> +shews that, regarding the question as one of historical +evidence, and putting all prepossessions apart, +the two sides are more nearly in a state of equipoise +than they had been supposed to be; and it is +remarkable that this kind of equipoise has been +maintained, as far as we can make out by history, +from the time of the Apostles till now. Arguments +and testimony have, from time to time, appeared on +one side, and have been answered from the other; +and now and then some discovery has been made +turning the balance on this side or that; but soon +some new idea has been started which has put +another complexion on the matter. So that +positive evidence has never been so complete and +decisive on either side as to prevent a man's habits +or the bent of his mind from swaying his verdict. +</p> + +<p> +When young men first look into these matters +for themselves, having heretofore taken certain +notions on trust, they are apt to be aghast at the +unsettlement, and at the call on them to use their +own judgments and make up their minds. Unhappily +they have often been led to suppose that to +hold a particular set of opinions, <emph>merely as opinions</emph>, +without any effect being produced in their character +thereby, gives them a claim to some degree of +favour in the eyes of the Almighty: while to +question these opinions, or to enquire too closely +into the grounds on which they rest, is dangerous, +and calculated to bring them into disfavour with +Him. I cannot stop to combat this notion now. +<pb n='059'/><anchor id='Pg059'/> +But whatever the reason may be, the fact is certain, +that when persons begin to investigate for themselves +the bases of their belief, they find that many +statements which they had regarded as true beyond +all question are found to stand on less sure ground +than they had thought; and since they fancy that +if the authority of any word of the Bible is shaken +they will soon have no standing ground left, they +become much disturbed. +</p> + +<p> +Then it is that we hear the outcry: <q>Why +cannot all be made clear? Or, if we cannot be told +every thing, why, at any rate, is not that which we <emph>are</emph> +told put so plainly, that there can only be one way +of looking at it? Why were not things so written +that one who runs may read? Why are we not +given quite positive assurance of the truth of what +is revealed? Why have we not a Sign in Heaven +as the Jews demanded, or, what would suit our +times better, an incontestable demonstration of the +truth of Christianity?</q> <q>Why, in short,</q> to use the +words of the objectors of the last century, <q>If God +desired to make a Revelation to man, did He not +write it in the skies?</q> +</p> + +<p> +To none of these <q>Whys</q> can we supply its +proper <q>Because.</q> We cannot give the reasons of +a man's conduct unless we can enter into his +mind; and as we cannot enter into God's mind, +we cannot give His reasons for having made the +ways of the universe such as we find them. But +though we cannot give the enquirer what he +<pb n='060'/><anchor id='Pg060'/> +asks, we can do something to help him all the +same. +</p> + +<p> +We may be able to shew him that it is better +for him only <q>to know in part;</q> and we may also +be able to explain to him that a certain fringe +of shadow must needs encompass those portions of +truth which are revealed; for if they had clear-cut +edges and hard outlines, when we had to fit them +together, like pieces in a dissected map of knowledge, +we should meet with all those difficulties about a +line of demarcation between truth absolute and +beliefs of opinion of which I spoke just now. The +service of all Revelation is to supply our craving +after infinity; and if our demand to have this +infinity presented to us in a finite form—for that +is really what we are clamouring for—could be +approximately gratified, then we should find that, +though a certain portion of the infinite field lying +outside human knowledge had been enclosed and +added on to our intellectual possessions, still we +were as far as ever from having what we wanted: +this new possession would have become <emph>finite</emph>, and +what we wanted was the <emph>infinite</emph>. We should have +got a new science in exchange for our old religion, +but the craving after infinitude would still remain. +The very definiteness introduced into these matters +we should find destructive of their fascination for us. +</p> + +<p> +To take one point at a time, I will begin +with a side of the question which fits on to the +subject of the last chapter. These cries after certitude +<pb n='061'/><anchor id='Pg061'/> +are, in fact, petitions to be relieved of free +will and responsibility in deciding religious matters +for ourselves. What the complaints come to is +this: Why am not I and every one else compelled +to believe certain truths about God's dealings with +man <emph>whether we like to do so or not</emph>? +</p> + +<p> +The point of the matter lies in these last +words. If we had no part of our own to perform +in accepting this belief, if it were no more a matter +of our own choice and feeling whether or not +we admitted the revealed truths, than whether +we admitted some indisputable fact in history or +some proposition in science; then this belief would +not be religion for us at all, it would be a branch +of science and nothing more. It would have no +more moral significance than a proposition in +Euclid. To admit that a certain system may be +built up from premises that are undoubted, is +merely a matter of intellect. One man may have +a head to follow the steps and another not, but +conscience has no part in the matter. +</p> + +<p> +It was distinctive of the Son of Man that His +Gospel was to be preached to the poor; and a +system which addressed only minds capable of +clear reasoning, could not be suited to all mankind; +in fact, it would necessarily set up a Hierarchy +of intellectual culture. So our Lord did +not speak to the understandings but to the hearts +of His hearers. He dealt with His disciples on +the supposition, that there was in them a germ +<pb n='062'/><anchor id='Pg062'/> +which would respond to the quickening influences +of His teaching, and grow into a capacity for +eternal life. Just as the dormant seed germinates +when warmth and moisture reach it, so +would what was dormant in their hearts burst +into life and growth, when the required vivifying +influence was brought to bear. Our spiritual life +is made to depend not only on what is delivered to +us, but on our recognising the truth we want, and +seizing on it as what we are craving after: so that +we say, <q>I have always felt that there was something +I was in want of; now I know what it is, +and I have it here.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The Jews, who would not believe, wanted to +be shewn a Sign from Heaven. They said, <q>Give +us a proof which is beyond contradiction, and we +will believe,</q> which comes to saying: If we cannot +help believing, believe we will. But they did not +mean the same thing by the word <q>believe</q> as +our Lord did. Our Lord did not call on His disciples +to accept notions <emph>about</emph> Him, but to believe +<emph>in</emph> Him, to trust Him as a child does his parent, or a +soldier his commander. What the Jews meant was, +that they would give credence to a particular kind of +evidence, as to the fact of His being their Messiah. +</p> + +<p> +The demand for additional proof is dealt with +by our Lord in the parable of Dives and Lazarus. +The drift of a parable is usually pointed out in the +concluding words; and the verse <q>If they believe +not Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe +<pb n='063'/><anchor id='Pg063'/> +though one rose from the dead,</q><note place='foot'>Luke xvi. 31.</note> spoken of +the rich man's brethren, is, I believe, the key to +one intent of this parable.<note place='foot'>Trench, Parables, 4th Edition, p. 453. +<q>The rebuke of unbelief +is the aim and central thought of the parable.</q></note> The state of mind here +pointed at is a common one enough. It is that of +the man who is rather uneasy at his own want of +belief; but thinks the blame should be laid, not on +any defect in himself, but on the want of proper +proofs and external light. He thinks that his +difficulty comes from the scanty evidence offered +him; he has no idea that what he really wants +is a better moral eyesight to see it by. So +he begs for a little bit more of proof. If he +could only be satisfied, he says, on this point +and that, he would believe. But what would his +belief be worth? Our Lord's answer goes to this:—No +amount of external testimony can supply +what you want, because the defect is within you. If +a man <emph>did</emph> come to you from the dead, you might +be terrified into acquiescence in everything he told +you—you would probably be stupefied into the +most abject submission—but instead of being +elevated into trust in God, you would, very likely, +be so cowed and paralysed, as to be incapable of +any feeling of a noble or spiritual kind. +</p> + +<p> +In the present day people do not ask for Signs +from Heaven, or that men should rise from the +dead—but the same spirit shews itself in the same +<pb n='064'/><anchor id='Pg064'/> +way. The corresponding demand is, <q>Give us +an undeniable philosophical proof of the truth of +Christianity.</q> <q>Shew us this,</q> say men, <q>and we +will believe.</q> Accept the demonstration of course +they must, if it be irrefragable; just as they must +accept the truth that the three angles of a triangle +are equal to two right angles; but such acceptance +is a mental act of a wholly different order from +adopting a religious belief—from feeling for instance +that <q>Christ is with us to the end of the +world.</q> Much confusion has arisen from this difference +not being properly marked. +</p> + +<p> +From what I said at first, as to the nature of a +revelation it appears that there are two elements in +it, one within us and one without us. We must have +<q>ears to hear</q> when God speaks—a faculty that +discerns His voice—and also we must have some +outward sign cognisable by human senses, or by +such judgments based on experience as we form +about historical evidence. I have just shewn that +the first requisite is essential for any religious +belief, and that it is a quality different from the +logical understanding. But when we come to the +attestation of the Sign which vouches the revelation, +then the understanding assumes its ordinary +jurisdiction. We are to judge by the common rules +of evidence as to the authenticity of this Sign and +the genuineness of our information. Reason and +instructed judgment are to be used in these matters +as in all others, and external evidence is allowed +<pb n='065'/><anchor id='Pg065'/> +its weight by our Lord. When the Baptist sends +his disciples to enquire, our Lord works cures +before them, and bids them report what they <emph>saw</emph>. +</p> + +<p> +A man wants some testimony to which he may +turn, which is independent of himself. There are +times when the surest believers mistrust themselves +and their intuitions and ask, <q>How am I to know +that this persuasion of mine is not a creature of +my own brain, due to my temperament and mental +conformation.</q> <q>How can I call on other men to +accept it?</q> Men are not left, unaided, to the distress +of this kind of doubt. The Apostles were allowed +to witness the Transfiguration and the presence of +Jesus risen from the dead that doubt might not +overcome them in moments of physical weakness +or distress of mind. They could always turn to +these recollections and say <q>We know the glory +of God; for we have seen it.</q> +</p> + +<p> +We are not to expect that the Sign which attests +a Revelation shall be guaranteed by a standing +miracle; because such a standing miracle would be +out of harmony with all God's ways as revealed +in the Universe. For a standing miracle means +that God is always, in one particular direction, +visibly displaying the power elsewhere concealed. +If such a miracle existed there would be one set of +facts in the world not of a piece with the rest. If +instead of working the world as He does by self-acting +machinery, God were to reserve one department +for His personal management, He might as +<pb n='066'/><anchor id='Pg066'/> +well interpose in all, and direct all the movements +in the world; in which case, as I said in the last +chapter, the world would cease to have any independent +existence, and would become merely a +portion of the Divine existence. +</p> + +<p> +So when it is demanded <q>That a revelation +should be written in the skies</q> we may ask, How +would you have God's autograph attested? The +Jews, it will be said, had the visible Shechinah, the +light between the Cherubim; but if this light +existed now, there would be no proof of its being +Divine: it would only be another phenomenon, and +science would take cognisance of it. If we had an +oracle declaring future events, all human enterprise +would perish—for enterprise rests on hope and fear. +The Delphic oracles would have paralysed action, +if they had been unerring, unambiguous, and easy +of access. A series of prophecies, it may be +thought, fulfilled from time to time, would serve +to authenticate revelation: and this aid is, indeed, +admissible in attestation of the Sign we speak of; +but it must be subject to the same condition which +must attach to all external testimony: it must not +be too clear or too strong. Men must always be +able to reject it, if they like: either by ascribing +the coincidences to chance, by declaring that the +prophecy brought about its own fulfilment, or by +some similar argument. If we had a series of +prophecies all of which, up to the present time, had +been fulfilled with due regularity, so that no one +<pb n='067'/><anchor id='Pg067'/> +could doubt but that the rest would punctually +come to pass, human action would be very much +paralysed. +</p> + +<p> +The miracles of our Lord's life serve us for our +<q>Signs;</q> and our assurance that they occurred is to +be based both on the external evidence, which in +this case is the testimony to the authenticity of the +record, and on the internal probability, which comes +out of the conformity of the miracles with the Laws +of Christ's action and the declared purpose of His +coming. The miracles could always be referred to +Beelzebub in old days, and they can always be +disbelieved or explained away now. +</p> + +<p> +Since the external evidence is not conclusive on +this side or on that, the judgment formed must +depend partly on the degree in which the Scriptures +establish their own authority; and this degree +depends on the mind and heart which the investigator +brings to his work. One critic will +see nothing but difficulties. Another will say, Our +histories are photographs, imperfect no doubt, but +what they show must have been there when they +were taken: we see the main figures under different +aspects, but we know them for the same. Some +will feel as much convinced, from the character of +thought and expression, that certain sayings came +from our Lord, as a connoisseur in art might be +that a certain picture came from the easel of a +great master whose works had been the study of +his life: he knows the touch. +</p> + +<pb n='068'/><anchor id='Pg068'/> + +<p> +Christ's great Revelation was not given in a book, +not in a history or a treatise, but in a Life and Death. +He shewed the world a Man who knew not Self, +and He also shewed it the Force that came from +God. Men will realize this Revelation in different +ways in different ages; part may come to light at +one time, part at another. Sayings which have long +lain hardly noticed are one day found to be keys +to unlock a treasure, and give insight beyond what +we dreamt of. But besides this Revelation, personal +to individuals, broad Truths are conveyed +which we should not otherwise possess. +</p> + +<p> +Some of the leading Truths are these. That +Jesus came from the Father. That the Father loved +men who believed in Him, and owned them as +sons, and sent into their hearts<note place='foot'>Galatians iv. +6.</note> a filial spirit which +should enable them to lay hold more firmly of this +Revelation. Christ tells them that He came to +manifest God to the world,<note place='foot'>John xvii. 6.</note> and that, whether they +chose to believe it or not, the kingdom of God +was drawn nigh to them.<note place='foot'>Luke x. 11.</note> He tells them that to +know God is eternal life,<note place='foot'>John xvii. 3.</note> and that they who are +counted worthy will attain a resurrection to such a +life.<note place='foot'>Luke xx. 35.</note> +Above all he tells them—and this is the very +charter of the Christian Church, without which her +Doctrines would be only a set of notions, destitute +<pb n='069'/><anchor id='Pg069'/> +of real vital power—<q>Lo, I am with you alway, +even unto the end of the world.</q><note place='foot'>Matth. xxviii. 20.</note> +</p> + +<p> +There is no clashing with human knowledge +here, nothing that can tie the hands of the enquirer. +The advance in spiritual knowledge is not brought +about, simply by the communication of a new truth +from without, which had never been dreamt of +before: men feel rather as if they were reminded +of something they must once have known. There +appears, if I may so say, a tenderness of God in +dealing with man, a carefulness so to reveal himself +as not to obliterate a man's own personality, but to +leave him to feel that any resolution he has reached +is his own, arrived at, no doubt, by listening to God's +prompting; without such prompting superseding +the action of his proper self. No two men represent +God to themselves quite in the same way: He +was not the same for Peter that He was for John. +</p> + +<p> +I believe that a revelation of God is needed +for the education of what is highest in man, and for +bringing him to the highest point he can reach; +and that God has been always revealing Himself in +one way or another. But the revelation of every age +must be suited to the character of that age. Man +must be educated up to it, or he cannot receive it. +Our Lord tells his disciples <q>I have yet many things +to say unto you but ye cannot bear them now.</q><note place='foot'>John xvi. 12.</note> +Later generations are taught in this same way. +The events related in the Acts, and the labours +<pb n='070'/><anchor id='Pg070'/> +which came upon the Apostles fitted them by +degrees for fresh revelations. If our Lord had +declared to St Peter when he first joined him in +Galilee that the Gentiles should have as full a share +in Him and in the Kingdom as he would have; +might not he too have turned away? Or if, as is +likely, he had been personally drawn to Christ too +powerfully to quit Him, yet such a sudden shock +to all his notions might have closed his mind +spasmodically against new ideas? For when a +man recoils from a view which unsettles him and +turns him giddy, he clutches at his supports with +iron grip. Many have been made bigots in this +way. Our Lord is careful to avoid for the disciples +all turmoil of mind; the new seed must be +left undisturbed that it may take firm root; so that +for our Lord to have disordered all St Peter's convictions +by a premature disclosure, would have been +contrary to His ways of acting. +</p> + +<p> +An age must be ripe for the truth, and the +truth must be ripe for the age for the last to profit +by the first. If the theory of gravitation had +appeared ten centuries ago, it would have passed +unregarded away, for then, nobody thought the +outer world worth scrutiny. On the other hand +the neo-Platonic philosophy which once moved +masses of men has now become so many words. +How then is Christ's revelation to last for all time? +It is enabled to do so, because there is <emph>life</emph> in it +and <emph>growth</emph> along with life; because Christ does +<pb n='071'/><anchor id='Pg071'/> +not deliver propositions about God which men are +passively to receive once for all, but his sayings +fall upon the human heart, and are quickened +there, some in one generation and some in another: +each generation seizes on its proper nutriment, +and brings out of His sayings the special +lesson it requires. +</p> + +<p> +St Paul, to recur to the quotation which is, +in fact, the burden of this chapter, speaking of the +effect produced by the preaching of the word on +the hearers says— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>The secrets of his heart are made manifest.</q><note place='foot'>1 Cor. xiv. 25. +This is commonly referred to a sense of guilt, +which is included, no doubt, but the words bear a wider meaning.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +Christ's words reveal for a man the secrets of +his own heart to himself. They interpret to him +his own confused and dreamy thoughts. This was +what drew men so mightily to Him. It was not +so much the novelty of what He told them that +attracted them, as that they recognised in His +teaching old familiar puzzles, which had come and +gone through their minds, times without number, +only in such shadowy guise that they could not fix +and scrutinize them. Christ spake and then men +said <q>This is what has been always troubling us.</q> +Here is what we have always been wanting to say, +and could not put into plain words—and now these +floating impressions of ours are found not to have +come by chance but to belong to truths set in our +<pb n='072'/><anchor id='Pg072'/> +being. God has <q>sent forth the Spirit of His Son +into our hearts crying Abba, Father.</q><note place='foot'>Galatians iv. 6.</note> But He +would not have done so if we had not had the +capacity for being sons, to begin with. +</p> + +<p> +We shall see too, when we think of it, that +a revelation to men can only come by man, or +in a voice or words like those of a man. Man's +understanding is fashioned in a certain way; his +language is the creature of his understanding; +ideas could not be conveyed to him unless they +were clothed in language which he could understand; +Revelation therefore must express itself in +terms of human notions because they alone can be +made intelligible in human speech. If God speaks, +He must speak after the fashion of men, or His +words will be an unknown tongue. +</p> + +<p> +To take an illustration: If a man, owing to +something abnormal in his vision, became aware +of a new colour, something which had nothing +to do with red or yellow or blue; he could +not communicate his new sensation because he +could find no pigment which would in any degree +represent it, and he could not describe it in +words, by likeness to anything in the world. +So God can only reveal to man about spiritual +existence what man can conceive, that is to say +only that to which he finds something analogous +in his own being; for all must be put into that form +with which man's understanding can deal; and the +<pb n='073'/><anchor id='Pg073'/> +only spiritual creature he can conceive is <emph>man</emph>; +the only ideas he can conceive are human ideas; +his mind must work on the lines along which +men's minds move; the only creature with whom +he can sympathise, and whom he can believe to +sympathise with him is <emph>man</emph>, and so—since there +can be no real teaching without mutual understanding—by +<emph>man</emph> he must be taught. Christ's +revelation meets this need. It was as the Son of +Man that Christ declared Himself, and in this +character He conveyed to men the germs of all +the spiritual enlightenment they can receive. Does +not this throw light on the words, <q>No one knoweth +who the Father is save the Son, and he to whomsoever +the Son willeth to reveal Him,</q><note place='foot'>Luke x. 22.</note> and again, +<q>No man cometh to the Father but by me?</q><note place='foot'>John xiv. 6.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='074'/><anchor id='Pg074'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter IV. Our Lord's Use Of Signs.</head> + +<p> +It has been already observed that there is one +feature of our Lord's way of revealing truths to men +which distinguishes Him from all teachers before +or since. This is the use of Signs. +</p> + +<p> +Miracles may have been attributed to those +who have promulgated creeds at various times, but +these miracles did not form a constituent part of +the teaching; they were not blended with it as +those of our Lord were. They are introduced only +to serve for credentials, so that an appeal to them +may silence incredulity; they convey no lesson, +they only serve for proof. I hope to shew that it +was otherwise with the signs wrought by Christ. +</p> + +<p> +My especial concern in this chapter is not with +the nature or the credibility of miracles in general, +but only with the purposes for which Christ introduced +them; and with the questions of how far +they were performed with a view to draw men to +listen and to set forth God's kingdom, and how far +for the purpose of working conviction. In the first +<pb n='075'/><anchor id='Pg075'/> +chapter I have stated certain Laws, which our Lord +observed in working Signs. These I shall presently +discuss; but what I am concerned with now is +the general question <q>Why did our Lord work +Signs?</q> +</p> + +<p> +I use the word <q>Signs</q> instead of miracles +because it is our Lord's own word. The latter +expression fastens attention on the wonderment +which these deeds raised in men. But our Lord +uses the word <q>Sign,</q> which implies that these acts +were tokens of some underlying power which, in +these instances, passed into operation in an exceptional +way. To our Lord, they of course were +not <emph>wonders</emph>, and He never dwells on their wondrousness. +</p> + +<p> +In the accounts of St Matthew, St Mark and +St Luke, the word <q>Signs</q> is that most commonly +employed by our Lord when speaking of His own +working of miracles; while in the Gospel of St John, +the term <q>works</q> is generally found in the like +case, though <q>powers</q> sometimes takes its place. +The expression <q>Signs and wonders</q> means, not +two separate sorts of works, but signs that make +men wonder: it means prodigies, worked to shew +a divine commission, taken on the side of the +<emph>awe</emph> they inspire. Our Lord only uses this expression +twice—once when He says that false +prophets shall come and <q>shew great signs and +wonders,</q><note place='foot'>Mark xiii. 22; Matth. xxiv. 24.</note> +and again in His answers to the nobleman +<pb n='076'/><anchor id='Pg076'/> +whose son was sick at Capernaum, <q>Unless +ye see signs and wonders ye will not believe.</q><note place='foot'>John iv. 48.</note> +On these occasions the term refers to the popular +conception of the form which Divine interposition +would take. The expression <q>signs and wonders</q> +occurs very frequently in the Acts of the Apostles. +</p> + +<p> +When, as here, we are in search of the purposes +which our Lord had in view, in something that He +did, it is of service to ask, <q>What purpose or purposes +did it actually fulfil?</q> What He did would +not be likely to fail in producing the effect intended, +or to bring about a result not contemplated +by Him. So we must try to unravel +the complex effects of these signs, and to discriminate +the several ways in which they worked. +</p> + +<p> +Some were witnessed both by the people and +by the disciples, and some by the disciples and +apostles only. The function of the miracles may +have been different in the different cases. But, +besides their effect on the actual witnesses, the +record of these mighty doings has had a prodigious +effect on generation after generation, from the time +when our Lord walked in Galilee to the present +day; and we may suppose that this posthumous +effect was included in the Divine design. +</p> + +<p> +The character of our Lord's miracles we shall +find to be determined by the nature of the work He +came to do. The work and miracles were adapted +each to the other, and, owing to this, the study of +<pb n='077'/><anchor id='Pg077'/> +the miracles throws a light on His purpose, and +the more insight we get into His purpose the more +reason we see for the miracles being of the kind +they were. +</p> + +<p> +We will consider, under different heads, the +various functions which Our Lord's miracles fulfilled. +That which comes naturally first in order is +</p> + +<div> +<head>(1) The attraction of hearers.</head> + +<p> +One effect of signs on the beholders lay on +the surface. They awoke attention; they caused +men's eyes to be turned to the Son of Man. Jesus +won a mastery over men's souls both by what He +did and what He said; but the doing had to come +first, because without this He would not so soon +have gained a hearing. From a district of small +towns and scattered hamlets a crowd was not drawn +together without some cogent influence. It was the +rumour of the things <q>done in Capernaum</q><note place='foot'>Luke vi. 23.</note> and +of other mighty works that caused the crowd to +gather, and attracted the multitudes who listened, +both in the synagogue and on the Mount. +</p> + +<p> +The works of healing would be attractive enough +to draw within the reach of our Lord's influence all +who were likely to profit, as well as some who +were not: while His words and the influence of +His presence would <emph>attach</emph> to Him as true disciples +those, and those only, who had <q>ears to hear:</q> in +this way the crowd would be sifted. +</p> + +<pb n='078'/><anchor id='Pg078'/> + +<p> +One of the characteristics of our Lord, which +puzzled His followers, and which also strikes us, was +His seeming indifference about the number, or the +worldly position of His adherents. He does not +aim at gaining converts; when His popularity +seems at its height He withdraws from the people. +A warrior Messiah, or a prophet seeking to convince +the world, would have displayed signs suited +to attract the blind devotion of the multitude: he +would have wanted to prove his pretensions by the +striking character of his signs and wonders. Such +was the Messiah whom the Jews were led to expect; +in general they imagined no other, and for +no other did they care: so we find that it surprised +the disciples and the brethren of Jesus, that He +should content himself with healing poor sick people +in hamlets of Galilee, instead of confounding +Herod in Tiberias, or the scribes in Jerusalem. +</p> + +<p> +And if we regard our Lord as a leader looking +to an immediate purpose and depending for success +on His influence with those of His own day, his +conduct is indeed inexplicable; but the whole +tenour of it falls in well with the view which +regards Him as setting afoot a movement which +was to go on working to the end of the world. +Hurry belongs to the mortal who wants to see the +outcome of his work, while eternity is lavish of +time.<note place='foot'>A friend recalls to me St Augustine's words, <q>Deus patiens +est quia æternus.</q></note> +</p> + +<pb n='079'/><anchor id='Pg079'/> + +<p> +We shall see later on that it is foreign to our +Lord's ways to inflame the feelings and blind the +eyes of men by kindling speech. +</p> + +<p> +The overmastering influence of a great leader +will <q>take the prisoned soul</q> of the people and +make it follow his will. But Christ's first care is to +leave each man master of his own will—the man +who is no longer so, ceases to count as a unit. Just +as this is seen in our Lord's teaching, so is it also in +the miracles which set that teaching forth—they +are not worked in the ways or the place that a +Thaumaturge would have chosen—people are not +invited to a spectacle—nor are the wonders so +overwhelming as to cause a whole population +to fall prostrate at our Lord's feet. The rumour +of them is sufficient to make those who <q>have ears +to hear</q> enquire further and <q>come and see;</q> and +a further function of <q>Signs</q> is then called into +play. +</p> + +<p> +This function is that they should serve to select +from the multitude those fitted to follow our Lord. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>(2) Selection.</head> + +<p> +I have said in a previous chapter that education +and selection are inseparable. Any process +that unfolds the powers which lie within men, +emphasizes, so to say, the differences between +them. +</p> + +<p> +The witnessing of wonders, declared to be +wrought by the finger of God, must have stirred +<pb n='080'/><anchor id='Pg080'/> +men's minds, and so brought about in them a species +of education, well calculated to winnow out the chaff +from the grain. +</p> + +<p> +But the quality, which this kind of education +seizes upon and develops, is not intellectual ability, +but the capacity for <q>savouring the things of God.</q> +The miracles served as a touchstone for detecting +this. Many would look, and wonder, and go their +way—they had seen a strange sight, <emph>that</emph> they would +allow, but it did not touch their souls: while to a +few others it would seem as if they had lighted +on what they had been watching for all their +lives. They had always seen dimly that there +must be in the world a living power; not a dead +God in the keeping of the scribes, but a living God +who should speak <emph>in</emph> their hearts and <emph>to</emph> their +hearts, and they had found Him now. The minds +of those who were worth rousing were put on the +alert, and the sense of God's kingdom being near +them, the sense that this every day world was His +and worked by Him, was expanded within them. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>(3) Preparation.</head> + +<p> +We have a distinct instance of the use of <q>Signs</q> +to produce <emph>preparation</emph>. The seventy were sent +working these Signs, <q>in every city unto which He +Himself would come.</q> This preparation would +consist, partly, in the drawing out from the mass +those who were likely to profit. When our Lord +Himself came, these latter would be eager to hear +<pb n='081'/><anchor id='Pg081'/> +Him, and the great announcements He made would +not strike them as altogether strange. The district +over which these messengers were sent probably +lay outside the country where our Lord's ministry +had been chiefly carried on, and was only visited by +Him on this one occasion. This made it the more +important that the right men, rightly prepared, +should form His audience. His truths were not to +fail of taking root, from want of the soil having +been loosened beforehand. We shall see, over +and over again, how careful our Lord is to prevent +the opportunities He gives being lost. He never +neglects or underrates the need of properly preparing +men for receiving new truths: He employs +the ordinary means for effecting this, and He +would have the Children of Light be as wise in +their generation, and as judicious in the use of +such means, as the children of this world. +</p> + +<p> +Again, the display of the miracles roused some, +the Scribes and Pharisees in particular, into active +hostility—they watched the Signs to find ground +for charges of blasphemy and Sabbath-breaking. +Priesthoods, occupied with the externals of their +function are aghast at the assertion of a living +and working God. The worldly are terrified also +and with the terror that awakens fury. These +classes answer to those servants in the parable +who said, <q>We will not have this man to reign +over us.</q> Whenever a vital religion has been proclaimed +it has found opponents of both characters. +</p> + +<pb n='082'/><anchor id='Pg082'/> + +<p> +History witnesses to this, from the stoning of +the prophets to the assaults on religionists in +modern times. The miracles divided men into +three great sections: there were those who were +for Christ, and those who were against Him, and +between these came a body who were not wholly +indifferent or unaffected, but who quieted themselves +with saying that such weighty matters were +no business of theirs. +</p> + +<p> +This breaking up of men into friends and foes +was a kind of preparation for the Apostles' work. +When men begin to take sides their minds cannot +lie torpid: evil passion and selfishness mix with +their doings, no doubt; but in the storm and stress +men get to the bottom of their own hearts and find +out their true selves; and men's truest selves were +wanted by Christ. +</p> + +<p> +So far we have spoken of miracles as means +of rousing attention and drawing out from the +mass those who had ears to hear. We will now consider +them as practical illustrations accompanying +the preaching, and +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>(4) Setting forth the Kingdom of God.</head> + +<p> +They shew not only how close this Kingdom is to +us but they also convey visible lessons, to help men +to conceive it aright. +</p> + +<p> +We learn from our Lord's own lips that one +purpose for which He wrought Signs was to make +men sure that the Kingdom of Heaven was come +<pb n='083'/><anchor id='Pg083'/> +upon them. When He was charged with casting +out devils through Beelzebub, He says, after disposing +of the accusation, +</p> + +<p> +<q>But if I by the finger of God cast out devils, then +is the <emph>kingdom of God come upon you</emph>.</q><note place='foot'>Luke xi. 20.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Whether Our Lord preached in the villages +Himself, or the Apostles or the Seventy, going two +by two, did so in His name the burden of their +preaching was always the same. They call on +men to change to a better mind, and declare that +the Kingdom of God is come nigh. The seventy +are bid to say to those who rejected them, <q>Howbeit +know this that the Kingdom of God <emph>is</emph> come +nigh.</q><note place='foot'>Luke x. 11.</note> Whether men chose to own it or not, +God's Kingdom <emph>was</emph> near them even at their doors. +St Mark, at the outset of his history of our Lord's +Ministry, tells us<note place='foot'>Mark i. 14, 15.</note> +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came +into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom +of God,</q> +</p> + +<p> +<q>And saying, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom +of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.</q> +</p> + +</quote> + +<p> +Christ declared that God was working underneath +the ordinary agencies, which seemed to men +to be working of themselves. God had been so +working all along from the very beginning, but +now Christ had come to reveal God—that is to say +<pb n='084'/><anchor id='Pg084'/> +to make men sensible of the Divine presence and +Divine agency in all that went on both within them +and without. This revelation He would effect in the +ways best adapted to make men understand it. +And as the unlearned are most readily taught by +what is set before their eyes; and as the teacher is +much helped by having something to shew; so +Christ declares the Kingdom and its nature, not +only in parables and discourses, but by practical +instances and illustrations as well; namely by +the Signs He wrought. It was as though He had +said, <q>I have told you that God's power was lying +close about you: Behold it operating here.</q> The +combination of the word and the Sign, as the two +essential elements of the teaching, is expressly put +before us in one passage: we read, +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And they went forth, and preached every where, +the Lord working with them, and <emph>confirming the word +with signs following</emph>. Amen.</q><note place='foot'>Mark xvi. 20.</note> +</quote> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>(5) Teaching wrought by signs.</head> + +<p> +The Signs shew us, not only that the Kingdom +<emph>is</emph> God's, but something also of the nature of that +Kingdom as well. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord speaks of the power displayed in +miracles as God's power working through Him. It +is <q>by the finger of God</q> that He casts out devils +and the man who is healed is bidden to tell his +friends what God has done for him.<note place='foot'>Mark v. 19.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='085'/><anchor id='Pg085'/> + +<p> +Christ nowhere claims the power as His own. +It rests in God's hands; but it is granted to His +prayer, because His will and God's are one. +</p> + +<p> +Moreover the Signs set forth God's love and +goodness to men, and thereby they tell us something +of His nature. All the Signs worked by our Lord +before the people at large, and all the works which +the Twelve and the Seventy performed in their +mission among the cities of Israel, were works of +healing; with the exception of the two instances +of the feeding of the multitudes, which also were +works of Divine beneficence. There are other +miracles of a different character, as we shall see +presently, but those were witnessed either by the +disciples only, or by a circle of private friends as at +Cana of Galilee. +</p> + +<p> +The men of Galilee had hitherto known the +Lord as the God of Israel, who was especially concerned +with the fortunes of their race and nation +as a whole; but now they were told that He was the +Father of every person in that nation, and was sent +especially to the lost sheep among them. It was +this declaration—that of the individual relation of +each man to God, and of the preciousness of the very +hairs of his head in God's eyes—that constituted, +in great part, the comforting nature of the <q>good +tidings of God.</q> The miracles wrought in connection +with the preaching could not bring this point very +prominently forward: but so far as the miracles bear +on the point they are in accord with the teaching. +<pb n='086'/><anchor id='Pg086'/> +They were worked, not upon masses of men at +once, but on individuals, and our Lord addresses +Himself personally to each particular sufferer, as +though his case was considered by itself. I shall +soon, for another purpose, notice two miracles +recorded by St Mark which afford good instances +of our Lord's sympathetic insight into individual +cases. He does not, on entering a village, ordain +that all the lepers in it shall be cleansed, or all +the palsied restored to the use of their limbs. +He condescends to take each case by itself. +</p> + +<p> +There is hardly a case of healing narrated in +St Mark, who, of all our authorities, gives the +most detailed account, which does not shew traces +of special attention on the part of our Lord to the +spiritual and physical features of the particular +case. We will take for an instance the cure of the +sick of the palsy. The connection of what is +spiritual with that which is physical is here very +strongly marked. Our Lord begins by saying to +the man <q>thy sins be forgiven thee.</q> It is possible +that the man's condition may have been due to +imprudence or something worse; the thought of +this may have rankled in his mind and the mental +trouble may have aggravated the physical infirmity: +the great physician cures both together. His +restoration seems to come with the sense of pardon, +but he does not shew himself aware of his recovery, +until our Lord bids him arise. +</p> + +<p> +The shewing that the Divine power worked +<pb n='087'/><anchor id='Pg087'/> +blessings on men one by one, contained in itself a +lesson as to God's infinity; for a finite being +would have been incapable of concerning himself +for every unit of the world's population. Any +supply of energy, short of an infinite one, would +have been exhausted. Hence the notion of God's +personal care for each soul is bound up with the +conception of His infinity. +</p> + +<p> +Christ does not begin with the abstract and say: +<q>God is infinite and therefore He can find room in +His heart to love men, every one;</q> but He begins +with the concrete and says, <q>God does love you and +every one else:</q> and He leaves it to men to +arrive at the truth at the other end of the proposition: +viz. that if God's strength is not lessened +by drawing upon it, this can only be because there is +no limit to it. From this infinity of God it also +follows that the distinction between what we +call great occasions and small ones—between occasions +that we think would justify Divine interposition +and those which would not—may not exist +in God's eyes. In the presence of His infinity, the +difference between great and small things may +disappear; certainly His measure will be a very +different one from ours. +</p> + +<p> +This brings us to another point in the use of +miracles to illustrate the ways of God's Kingdom: +they exemplify the truth that God is no respecter +of persons. Neither the persons on whom they are +wrought, or before whom they are wrought, obtain +<pb n='088'/><anchor id='Pg088'/> +this privilege by any merit or superiority. Men +are not healed because they deserve it. As God +sends rain on the just and unjust, so Christ cures +the sick who come in His way, rich and poor +alike—the son of the nobleman, and the blind +beggar; for our Lord, worldly distinctions do not +seem to exist. A man, <emph>as man</emph>, was of such transcendent +value in the eyes of the Son of Man that, +compared to this, little outer differences were but +as the hills and dales of the earth, which scarcely +roughen the surface of the globe when seen as a +whole. Men, too, are not, except for very special +purposes, picked out by Christ to witness the +miracles; any more than they are in God's world +to receive special mercies, or the lessons, or the +afflictions of life. Those who were passing by saw +the Signs, some profited and some did not: Herod +and other great men would gladly have witnessed +a miracle, but it was not granted them. +</p> + +<p> +The Signs wrought by Christ harmonise with +His teaching in another way: they never have the +air of ostentatiously overriding and superseding +Nature. His power, in its tranquil might, proceeded +calmly along the homely track of every-day life; +just as if it had always been present ruling quietly +in its own domain, and might at any time have +interposed without effort, if the Spiritual Order +had needed it. A man is healed and an evil spirit +is quelled by a word, and a multitude in the +desert is supplied with food they do not know +<pb n='089'/><anchor id='Pg089'/> +how,—all proceeds in a calm continuous way. +Fresh energy is given to natural powers, and +effects are produced of vast magnitude and with +astonishing rapidity; but these powers seem to +work through the organs and along the channels +which nature provides: to our Lord there is one +primary source of all life and movement and light +and force, and that is God, from Whom all His +power comes. He does not call certain visible +manifestations nature, and refer others to God, +as though nature and God were different powers. +The Signs, accordingly, are worked in such a way +that it is hard to mark the particular point where +what is called the supernatural comes into play—to +say, in fact, when nature ends and God begins. +The cures, so far as we can trace them, are effected +by the renewal of vitality in a disordered organ; +this vitality would seem to proceed from Christ; +just as the power which set life going on earth +proceeded from God. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>For as the Father hath life in Himself, so hath +He given to the Son to have life in Himself.</q><note place='foot'>John v. 26.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +Here, of course, we pass beyond the realm of +the forces we can measure, but this imparted force +only restores the organs needed for the cure; the +optic nerve is reinvigorated or the absorbent vessels +are stimulated to abnormal action, and the eye becomes +again efficient. The man is not <emph>enabled to +see without an eye</emph>, as was claimed to be done by +<pb n='090'/><anchor id='Pg090'/> +some workers of miracles in the middle ages; +and there is no miracle in the Gospels like that +mentioned in Paley's Evidences, where a man who +had only one leg becomes possessed of two. Christ +<emph>restores</emph> organs and withered limbs. He does not +dispense with the proper organ or create new +ones. +</p> + +<p> +St Mark gives us full particulars of two cures, +of which we can in some degree trace the process. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And he took the blind man by the hand, and +led him out of the town; and when he had spit on +his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him +if he saw ought. And he looked up, and said, I see +men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands +again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and +he was restored, and saw every man clearly.</q><note place='foot'>Mark viii. 23-25.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +From this it appears that the eye was gradually +restored, and our Lord's question shews that He +did not expect an instantaneous cure. He speaks +as a surgeon might who had performed an operation. +He does not take it for granted that the man must +have received his sight. He applies His hands, +a second time and then the ill-defined dark +objects which the man spoke of, become distinct. +</p> + +<p> +The other case is that of one who was deaf and +had an impediment in his speech. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And he took him aside from the multitude, and +put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched +his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and +<pb n='091'/><anchor id='Pg091'/> +saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And +straightway his ears were opened, and the string of +his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.</q><note place='foot'>Mark vii. 33-35.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +The restoration of the disabled organs is clearly +indicated here. I have referred to these two cases +a few pages back. We now come to— +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>(6) Miracles as a practical lesson to the disciples.</head> + +<p> +So far, we have spoken of miracles as performed +for the sake of the multitude; in order to +draw them to listen and to sift from among them +those fit to become disciples: I have remarked +too how the <q>Signs</q> incidentally conveyed instruction, +how they exhibited to the crowd the +goodness and the power of God. But there were +some miracles, as I have said in the first chapter, +which were especially miracles of instruction, and I +would say a word or two about those, before I pass +on to miracles as means of assurance. These +miracles of instruction were, in almost all cases, performed +when but few of the disciples were by; and +they are mostly wrought in the later period of our +Lord's Ministry. +</p> + +<p> +Among the miracles of this class are, The miraculous +draughts of fishes, The walking on the sea, +The stater in the fish's mouth, The withering of +the fig tree, and the Transfiguration. The last +named, is not usually classed among miracles +<pb n='092'/><anchor id='Pg092'/> +or considered in books which treat of them, but +a <q>Sign</q> it certainly was and it carries lessons with +it which, bit by bit, the world is learning still. +</p> + +<p> +That miracles should be employed as a means +of impressing truths on the learner, we can well +understand. +</p> + +<p> +In no way could a great truth be presented so +forcibly to the mind as by being clothed in the garb +of a miracle. The wondrous circumstances would +print themselves on the mind's eye at once and for +ever; and as they recurred in lonely hours of +thought, something more of their drift and purport +would peep out every time. It is characteristic of +our Lord's ways, that His teaching yields its fruit +gradually; much as a seed-vessel driven by the +wind, which scatters the contents, now of one +cell, now of another, as it whirls along. +</p> + +<p> +I trace in many miracles of instruction, a +bearing on the great movement in which St Peter +was the chief actor; namely, the calling of the +Gentiles, and the taking from the Jews thereby +their exclusive position, as the one people who +knew God. Our Lord quietly, and by slow degrees +familiarizes St Peter with this idea. He is not +suddenly brought face to face with a notion which +would cause a violent shock to his mind. With +men like the Apostles new ideas want a little +time to grow into shape: we know how easily +a man is startled into shutting his mind against +novelty when it is suddenly presented. St Peter +<pb n='093'/><anchor id='Pg093'/> +could not have been instructed as to God's plans +without a long course of explanation which it +was not our Lord's way to give: so He lets the +lesson lie in St Peter's mind till the circumstances +shall come which shall be the key to it. +</p> + +<p> +Of what I call miracles of instruction, I propose +to consider two briefly, with a view chiefly to illustrating +the way in which the instruction was conveyed. +</p> + +<p> +There is this singularity about the Transfiguration, +that our Lord <emph>foretells</emph> it, and in most +remarkable words. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, +That there be some of them that stand here, which +shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom +of God come with power.</q><note place='foot'>Mark ix. 1. Luke ix. 27.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +This promise I understand to mean that some +of the Apostles should, even while yet alive on +the earth, be vouchsafed a glimpse of another world, +and behold Christ in the glorified state which +belongs to Him. The expression <q>in no wise taste +of death,</q> which occurs in all three accounts, must +mean that they should not only have this experience +after passing from this life to another, +but even while yet in mortal frame. For six days +these words are allowed to work in the minds +of the disciples, and then: +</p> + +<pb n='094'/><anchor id='Pg094'/> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and +John, and bringeth them up into an high mountain +apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before +them.</q><note place='foot'>Mark ix. 2-8.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +During the six days and on the way up the +mountain after they were taken from the rest, +Peter, James, and John must have wondered what +the <q>coming of the kingdom of God with power</q> +would be. This prevented their being so stupefied +with astonishment as to miss the lesson of the appearance. +Here again we note our Lord's mode of +<emph>preparation</emph> for the receiving of truths. +</p> + +<p> +I do not discuss the nature of the vision, +because I have now only to deal with the matter +as to its educational effect. When the Apostles +saw the glorified Lord with Moses and Elijah—their +impression was not fear but joy.—<q>It is +<emph>good</emph> for us to be here</q> says St Peter. He +thought they had arrived in another world, and he +proposes to build tents, as if he had landed in a +strange island. He expects to be always there. +</p> + +<p> +But what, in the view I am taking is the +cardinal point of all, is the voice out of the cloud—<q>This +is my beloved Son, <emph>Hear ye Him</emph>.</q><note place='foot'>Mark ix. 7. +Compare Deuteronomy xviii. 15, <q>Unto him ye +shall hearken.</q></note> In these +last words the old covenant is replaced by the new. +Moses representing the Law, and Elijah the Prophets—they +<pb n='095'/><anchor id='Pg095'/> +who had been hitherto the spiritual teachers +of men,—stood there to hand over their office to +the Son. Their work in nursing the minds of a +people set apart as the depositary of the knowledge +of God was now at an end; now Humanity had +succeeded to its heritage, and its teacher was to be +the Son of Man. A religion which is shaped by the +history and the mind of a particular people will be +cast in a particular mould: its outward form must +be rendered plastic if it is to become Universal. So +Moses and Elijah the teachers of Israel lay down +their functions in the presence of the chosen three, +who hear their Master owned as God's own Son, +to whom the world is henceforth to listen. +</p> + +<p> +And when, many years later, the truth broke +upon St Peter so that he said: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter +of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, +and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to him,</q><note place='foot'>Acts x. 34, 35.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +then a new light might illumine these recollections, +which had been laid by in his mind, and they would +draw a fuller meaning from the new idea by which +he was impelled; and he would see how God's +purposes, long entertained, work to the surface by +degrees. +</p> + +<p> +There is one miracle in which I can see no +other intent, than that of the instruction of the +<pb n='096'/><anchor id='Pg096'/> +disciples and, as it may not come before us again, +I will say a few words on it now. The withering of +the fig tree was, as I have said in the Introduction, +an acted parable: the most circumstantial account +is that given by St Mark. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And on the morrow, when they were come from +Bethany, he was hungry: and seeing a fig tree afar +off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find +any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found +nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. +And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat +fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard +it.</q><note place='foot'>Mark xi. 12-14.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +Of the next day it is related: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And in the morning, as they passed by, they +saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter +calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, +the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. And +Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.</q><note place='foot'>Mark xi. 20-22.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +When our Lord remarked from a distance one +fig tree—probably one out of several, for Bethphage +was named from its figs—which alone was in full +leaf, He was drawn to it; whether this was because +He saw occasion for impressing a lesson which He +had at heart to give, or because He really expected +to find refreshment, we cannot decide. The last +motive is not excluded, for though the time of figs +was not yet, still we are told that in Judæa the fruit +of the fig is ripe by the time the leaves have reached +<pb n='097'/><anchor id='Pg097'/> +their full size; and this display of foliage therefore +gave prospect of fruit. We must not argue that our +Lord would, of his superhuman illumination, have +known that the tree was barren, for our Lord never +uses this source of knowledge to find out what may +be learned by ordinary means. +</p> + +<p> +But whether our Lord approached the fig tree +with the lesson in His mind or not, the aptness of +the circumstance struck Him and the lesson it furnished +was given on the spot. It was unusual for a +tree to have leaves at that early season: by putting +them forth, however, it held out hopes of fruit which +it disappointed. This presented in a parable the +situation of <q>the Jews' religion.</q><note place='foot'>ὁ Ἰουδαϊσμός, Gal. +i. 13.</note> They made a +show, and contrasted themselves with other nations, +they dwelt on the fact that they alone worshipped +the true God, and knew and observed His laws—they +invited admiration on this ground—but of all this +nothing came. So the fig tree seemed to say: <q>See +I am green when other trees are leafless, you may +look to me for fruit.</q> It is said that this precocious +putting forth of leaves shews that the tree is diseased +and should be cut down, in like manner it was time +that the Jewish Hierarchy should lose its office. +It is to this Hierarchy that the words <q>No man eat +fruit of thee henceforth and for ever</q> are really +spoken. Mankind was no longer to draw its teaching +from the scribes and priesthood of the Jews. +</p> + +<pb n='098'/><anchor id='Pg098'/> + +<p> +Individual Israelites might of course enlighten +the world, as indeed they have done in a most +remarkable degree; but the Jewish nation as a +body was no longer to be the one recognised +channel of God's communication with mankind. +The leading people among them had wrapped themselves +up in self-complacency and self-sufficiency; +they had moreover enslaved themselves to the letter +of their canonical books and to rabbinical traditions: +they were therefore neither ready nor able to expand +when expansion was needed. In other words, +they were no longer fitted for a living world; which +must, of its very nature, grow and change and discard +all that will not change along with it; and so +like the pretentious tree they were to wither away, +and no man henceforth was to eat fruit of them +for ever. +</p> + +<p> +It would have been long before an Israelite +could have brought himself to see this meaning in +the words of our Lord; but St Peter must have +thought over this last miracle, all the more from +the apparent harshness of our Lord shewn in +it—from its being the solitary instance of a final +condemnation from His lips—and he must have +asked himself; What did it mean? +</p> + +<p> +There are many other miracles in which the instruction +of the Apostles and notably of St Peter +seems to be the leading aim. The walking on the +water might have taught him how closely failure +treads on the heels of impulse: the prophecy, +<pb n='099'/><anchor id='Pg099'/> +<q>Before the cock crow thou shalt deny me +thrice,</q> again conveyed this same lesson together +with much beside: and the words <q>Then are the +children free,</q> which point the moral of the finding +of the stater in the fish's mouth, must have recurred +to St Peter when the Church at Jerusalem was debating +as to how far she could free her Gentile +members from the burdens of the Law. Of this +I shall speak again. I have adduced sufficient +instances to shew what I mean by miracles of +instruction and the way in which they worked. +</p> + +<p> +Lastly we come to the important subject of +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>(7) Miracles as a means of proof.</head> + +<p> +The signs, worked by our Lord, whatever other +functions they fulfilled, had one office which in +the eyes of some apologists is so important as +to drive all other functions into the back-ground. +They are regarded as the main ground of conviction. +The Apostles, it is true, make little appeal +to the Signs worked by Christ: this may have been +because they worked similar Signs themselves, and +knew that their enemies ascribed them to magic. +Their favourite arguments were the fulfilment of +prophecy and the resurrection of the Lord. The +earlier hearers were Jews, and the question with +them was, <q>Did Jesus of Nazareth answer to the +prophetic notices of the expected deliverer of their +race?</q> The Jews we hear <q>were mightily convinced</q> +<pb n='100'/><anchor id='Pg100'/> +by Apollos, not because he declared Christ's works +but because he <q>shewed by the Scriptures that Jesus +was the Christ.</q><note place='foot'>Acts xviii. 28.</note> +</p> + +<p> +But in time the early preachers addressed themselves +to the Gentiles. The Jewish notion of the +Messiah was strange to hearers, who had never +heard of the prophets; while the idea that God +should love the world and reveal Himself to it +commended itself to them, and they would expect +that such a revelation would be accompanied by +manifestations beyond human experience. The +consequence was that, after a century or two, less +was made of prophecy and more was made of +miracles: and if the question <q>What makes you +believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of +God?</q> had then been put to all Christendom, the +answer of an overwhelming majority would have +been, <q>Because of the wondrous works which He +performed.</q> +</p> + +<p> +We shall see, however, that our Lord does +not Himself put Signs in the very forefront of +His claims to the allegiance of men. He only +appeals to them as subsidiary proofs; on which +He would rest His cause when, owing to the +situation or the disposition of the hearer, no higher +kind of proof was available.<note place='foot'>See next chapter.</note> +</p> + +<p> +It will be asked, <q>If miracles were only a subsidiary +ground on which our Lord claimed belief; +What was the primary one?</q> We shall see that our +<pb n='101'/><anchor id='Pg101'/> +Lord's first appeal was Personal; He claimed men's +allegiance from what they had seen of Him and +from what they knew. +</p> + +<p> +There is a passage in St John's Gospel which +brings this very clearly before us. The naturalness +of it and its fidelity to character and situation +are such, that I am as sure that these words passed +between Philip and our Lord, as if they were found +in all four of the Gospels, though they only occur +in the last. They occur in the final discourse of +our Lord when He and the Apostles are on the way +to the garden of Gethsemane. Our Lord has said, +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And whither I go, ye know the way. Thomas +saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou +goest; how know we the way? Jesus saith unto him, +I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no man +cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known +me, ye would have known my Father also: from +henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip +saith unto him, <emph>Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth +us</emph>. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time +with you, and dost thou not know me, Philip? he +that hath seen me hath seen the Father; how sayest +thou, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that +I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words +that I say unto you I speak not from myself: but +the Father abiding in me doeth his works. Believe me +that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or +else believe me for the very works' sake.</q><note place='foot'>John xiv. 4-11.</note> +</quote> + +<pb n='102'/><anchor id='Pg102'/> + +<p> +In Philip's words we perceive an assurance of +the reasonableness of what he asks, which is most +true to the life. He never doubts but that God +<emph>could</emph> be brought before his eyes;—he supposed +that the clouds might be rolled away, so as to +reveal a form of awful majesty clothed with resplendent +light, and with one glimpse of this he +would be content. He thinks that he makes a +most moderate request. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord shews a sort of surprise, that after +having been so long with them, going in and out +among them, they should have missed seeing that +God was in Him. It was perhaps this constant +companionship that stood in Philip's way; that +what was Divine should have mingled with his +daily life was beyond his conception. God, he supposed, +could only shew Himself in some strange +and appalling manner. That God's presence is +reflected, in the least broken way, in that course of +things which is most normal and most ordinary, +was an idea that did not belong to Philip's race or +time; but Christ drops a germ from which it +should arise. +</p> + +<p> +It is the concluding verse of the passage with +which I am most concerned— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father +in me: or <emph>else</emph> believe me for the very works' sake.</q><note place='foot'>John xiv. 11.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +The first appeal is to that belief, which ought +<pb n='103'/><anchor id='Pg103'/> +to have grown up from personal knowledge; that +failing, He points to the works. This belief was +of the same order as that which we have in the +rectitude of an honoured friend. In knowing a +man, we get to a deeper kind of knowledge than +we do in knowing an object: all we can tell about +an object is what its properties are, we know nothing +about what it <emph>is</emph>; but we do get nearer to knowing +what a friend <emph>is</emph>, our souls interpenetrate, as it +were, a little. So that if Philip had known our +Lord as Peter did, he would, like him, have +recognised the <q>Son of the living God.</q> Supposing, +however, that he was not sufficiently +<q>finely touched</q> for such a knowledge, that he +judged mainly from his senses, and needed proofs +of which they could take cognisance; then—as an +alternative course though a very inferior one—He +might believe for the <emph>mere Signs'</emph> sake. Signs +were provided to suit the cases of those who could +not believe without them. +</p> + +<p> +But while many take it for granted that Christ +rested His claims on miracles and worked His Signs +to provide Himself with credentials; others have +gone to the other extreme, and have urged +that Christ disparaged the belief that was engendered +by the sight of wonders. No doubt the +principle—<q>Blessed are they that have not seen +and yet have believed</q> runs through all our Lord's +teaching, but it was better they should believe from +the sight of <emph>such Signs as our Lord worked</emph>—Signs +<pb n='104'/><anchor id='Pg104'/> +which were not coercive—than not believe at all. +Signs, certainly, have led men to believe, when, +either from inward or outward causes, they would +not have believed without. This effect I regard as +a good one, and all good that has ensued from +what our Lord did, I believe that He intended to +do. +</p> + +<p> +The chief texts adduced in disparagement of +miracles are: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will in no +wise believe,</q><note place='foot'>John iv. 48.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +and +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after +a sign.</q><note place='foot'>Matt. xii. 39.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +If signs and wonders were the appointed means +of bringing men to believe, <q>Why,</q> ask the objectors, +<q>are those blamed who cannot believe +without seeing them?</q> <q>Our Lord,</q> they say, +<q>here shews that He sets little value on the +belief that comes of seeing signs.</q> This is, no +doubt, quite true of the sort of belief that comes +of the mere assent of a terrified man: but our +Lord did not terrify men, and the belief that +sprung from seeing <emph>His</emph> signs involved a will and +a disposition to recognize God's hand. +</p> + +<p> +I do not feel sure, however, that the first text +really bears on the matter. I think it quite possible +<pb n='105'/><anchor id='Pg105'/> +that the stress should be laid on the word <emph>see</emph>. The +nobleman <q>besought him that he would <emph>come down</emph>, +and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.</q><note place='foot'>John +iv. 47. Mr Sanday considers this miracle to be identical +with the healing of the centurion's servant, and that the <q>ye see</q> is +addressed to the elders who stand by. With this I am not prepared +to agree. See the Authorship of the Fourth Gospel, W. Sanday, +M.A., Macmillan and Co., a well-known and excellent book.</note> +He thought that our Lord must go down to Capernaum +with him and work the cure there; he cannot +believe that it will be done unless it is wrought +before his eyes. When he began to speak he +had not the faith of the Roman centurion; he +could not suppose that the power of healing could +be exercised from afar; but he soon caught this +confidence from looking on our Lord. If the text +have this sense it does not touch the question +before us. +</p> + +<p> +The second text refers to a sign from Heaven. +It is spoken of those who wanted an overwhelming +miracle to be wrought, which should settle the +question and compel assent in the unwilling. The +generation is not called <q>evil and adulterous</q> +for seeking after such Signs as our Lord wrought, +for crowding to see the cures for instance, but, +for challenging Him to produce a Sign of a +very different character, a magical one, which, for +reasons explained in the last chapter, He would +not do. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord Himself on several occasions points +<pb n='106'/><anchor id='Pg106'/> +to another result of His working of Signs. It +rendered the rejection of Him a sin; this was because +the will was called into operation to explain +these Signs away. The leaders among those adverse +to Him invented loopholes, such as referring +the works to Beelzebub, and those who wanted to +escape being convinced availed themselves of them. +In this way, the acceptance or non-acceptance of +Signs formed a touchstone for discriminating those +who virtually said <q>We will not have this man to +reign over us</q>—a section of people to whom I +alluded in the earlier part of the chapter. Men +were pardoned the unbelief of blindness and dulness, +but not the wilful hatred which went out of its +way to find grounds for rejection, and which would +refer works of pure beneficence to the chief of the +devils; this shewed innate aversion. The following +are passages in point: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<p> +<q>Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! +for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre +and Sidon which were done in you, they would have +repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.</q><note place='foot'>Matth. +xi. 21; Luke x. 13. +</note> +</p> + +<p> +<q>He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If +I had not done among them the works which none other +did, they had not had sin: but now have they both +seen and hated both me and my Father.</q><note place='foot'>John xv. 23, 24.</note> +</p> + +</quote> + +<p> +Again, it is easier to convey to another by +<pb n='107'/><anchor id='Pg107'/> +description an external fact than a personal impression: +and thus the evidence from Signs is easier +to transmit from man to man than that which +arises from realising a Personality. Those who +followed our Lord were subjugated by His influence; +some of us too may extract from His memoirs a +conception of His Personality: but it is only those +possessing the gift of seeing the reality in the +outline, who can lay hold of this source of belief; +while in a miracle, all can perceive credentials +given by God. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord's course of proceeding in a very important +instance, the occasion on which John the +Baptist sends his disciples to Him, is a most instructive +instance of His use of Signs. These Signs +furnished the kind of evidence most available in +that particular case. +</p> + +<p> +When the Baptist is in prison he sends two +of his disciples to our Lord with the question, +<q>Art Thou He that cometh, or look we for +another?</q><note place='foot'>Luke vii. 20.</note> Many months had passed since the +baptism of our Lord, and it seemed that nothing +had been done. He was himself in prison, removed +from the presence, and personal influence of our +Lord. His recollections of Him were perhaps +fading, and his faith growing low. He was then +in the position for which the argument from signs +is especially suitable—nothing would help him +like facts. He was in the situation in which tens +<pb n='108'/><anchor id='Pg108'/> +of thousands of Christians are still—believing, and +yet having misgivings now and then whether what +they call their Faith may not be fancy,—longing for +something positive to cling to, some support outside +themselves. Such support our Lord affords the +Baptist; He puts him as nearly as possible in the +position of a witness of the miracles. +</p> + +<p> +We read: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>In that hour he cured many of diseases and +plagues and evil spirits; and on many that were blind +he bestowed sight. And he answered and said unto +them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye +have seen and heard; the blind receive their sight, the +lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, +the dead are raised up, the poor have good tidings +preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall +find none occasion of stumbling in me.</q><note place='foot'>Luke vii. 21-23.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +We have no other instance in which miracles +are wrought in order to assist one who is in doubt. +Our Lord does not give a direct answer to the +words <q>Art thou He that cometh?</q> If He had +said <q>I am He</q>—and yet had not restored the +kingdom to Israel as the Baptist expected, He +would only have led him into further bewilderment. +So his disciples take back for sole reply, +an account of <q>what they hear and see.</q> The +works are such as our Lord continually performed; +but John's disciples are given a special opportunity +<pb n='109'/><anchor id='Pg109'/> +of witnessing them for their Master's sake. The +Baptist is however certified of this; a great work +of God was being carried on in the world, through +Him on whom he had seen the Spirit descend +when He rose from Jordan.<note place='foot'>John i. 32, 33.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Of the two grounds, then, on which our Lord +claimed men's allegiance—His personal influence +and the signs He worked—our Lord rests preferably +on the first, but the second has its place and +it is an important one. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord is the great physician who deals with +all according as the case and the constitution require. +In different ages men's minds require different +kinds of proof. I believe that such different +kinds are provided—that there is lying ready for +each generation and each type of mind the degree +of evidence which is good for it and of the kind +which it is fitted to assimilate. Miracles are not +the sort of evidence most wanted now; but it was +the sort which for many centuries was looked on +as the most incontrovertible. It spoke to those +who could understand nothing else. It was for +many ages what men especially wanted, and there +it was to their hand. A future generation may +find their main ground of belief in Christ in a +realization of His Personality; and they may in +this way arrive at that kind of knowledge of +Him which our Lord had hoped that Philip might +<pb n='110'/><anchor id='Pg110'/> +have gained. This we can scarcely obtain without +a careful study of our Lord's ways of influencing +men. +</p> + +<p> +I have not yet spoken of our Lord's miraculous +knowledge of events or of His insight into men's +hearts. There have been a few persons in the +course of the world's history who have, in a +wondrous way, discerned the ends towards which +events were working; and others who have divined +the thoughts of other men. These gifts in the +fullest degree our Lord possessed; and when He +needed stronger illumination for the purpose of +His work these faculties were exalted beyond +human range. The superhuman supervened, proceeding +along the lines of human action; and this, +like the powers whereby His other works were +wrought, came from the Father in answer to +prayer. By displaying this divining power He +converts Nathanael, and He forcibly impresses the +woman of Samaria. But effective as the display +of this superhuman penetration was for bringing +about conviction, it was much more than an +evidence of Divine power. The knowledge of this +insight of their Master into their hearts played a +large part in the Apostles' Schooling. They were +habituated by means of it to feel that their hearts +were known, and this habit became so much a part +of themselves that when Christ had left the world +they could realize to themselves that they were +under His eye still. This condition of mind was +<pb n='111'/><anchor id='Pg111'/> +required for their special work, and Christ's training +was directed to develop it within them as I hope +to show. +</p> + +<p> +In the next Chapter I pass to the discussion of +the Laws which our Lord appears to follow in His +working of Signs. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='112'/><anchor id='Pg112'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter V. The Laws Of The Working Of Signs.</head> + +<p> +I have already, in the introductory Chapter, +given my view of the principles which guided our +Lord in the exercise of His superhuman powers. +He is tempted to employ them when He saw they +should not be employed, and the Laws are drawn +from His refusals. Consequently they all take the +form that, for such and such a purpose, or under +such and such circumstances these superhuman +powers are not to be brought into action. +</p> + +<p> +I will recapitulate the Laws before stated— +</p> + +<p> +(1) Our Lord will not provide by miracle +what could be provided by human endeavour or +human foresight. He Himself, as far as we can +see, never employs superhuman power or illumination +to effect what could be arrived at by human +effort. +</p> + +<pb n='113'/><anchor id='Pg113'/> + +<p> +(2) Our Lord will not use His special powers +to provide for His personal wants or for those +of His immediate followers. +</p> + +<p> +(3) No miracle is to be worked merely for +miracles' sake, apart from an end of benevolence +or instruction. +</p> + +<p> +(4) No miracle is to be worked to supplement +human policy or force—as (for instance) those of +Joshua were. +</p> + +<p> +(5) No miracle is to be worked which should +be overwhelming in point of awfulness so as to +terrify men into acceptance, or which should be +unanswerably certain, leaving no loophole for unbelief. +</p> + +<p> +Before going into particulars about these Laws +there is something to be said about the narrative +of the Temptation itself, and the form in which it +has come down to us. +</p> + +<p> +The incident of the Temptation is recorded in +all the Gospels except that of St John; but the +account in St Mark's Gospel relates only that our +Lord withdrew into the wilderness, and that He was +there <q>forty days tempted of Satan.</q> In the +Gospels of St Matthew and St Luke we find, with +some small variations to be noted presently, what +is commonly known as the History of the Temptations +of our Lord. +</p> + +<pb n='114'/><anchor id='Pg114'/> + +<p> +The narratives, taken from the Revised Version, +are as follows: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<p> +<q>Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness +to be tempted of the devil. And when he had +fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward hungered. +And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art +the Son of God, command that these stones become +bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man +shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that +proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil +taketh him into the holy city; and he set him on the +pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou art +the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He +shall give his angels charge concerning thee: And on +their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest haply thou dash +thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, Again it +is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. +Again, the devil taketh him unto an exceeding high +mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the +world, and the glory of them; and he said unto him, All +these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and +worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, +Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy +God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil +leaveth him; and behold, angels came and ministered +unto him.</q><note place='foot'>Matth. iv. 1-11.</note> +</p> + +<p> +<q>And straightway the Spirit driveth him forth into +the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days +tempted of Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and +the angels ministered unto him.</q><note place='foot'>Mark i. 12, 13.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='115'/><anchor id='Pg115'/> + +<p> +<q>And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the +Jordan, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness during +forty days, being tempted of the devil. And he did eat +nothing in those days: and when they were completed, +he hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou art +the Son of God, command this stone that it become +bread. And Jesus answered unto him, It is written, +Man shall not live by bread alone. And he led him up; +and shewed him all the kingdoms of the world in a +moment of time. And the devil said unto him, To thee +will I give all this authority, and the glory of them: for +it hath been delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I +will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship before me, +it shall all be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto +him, It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, +and him only shalt thou serve. And he led him to +Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, +and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast +thyself down from hence: for it is written, He shall give +his angels charge concerning thee, to guard thee: and, +On their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest haply thou +dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering +said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord +thy God. And when the devil had completed every +temptation, he departed from him for a season.</q><note place='foot'>Luke iv. 1-13.</note> +</p> + +</quote> + +<pb n='116'/><anchor id='Pg116'/> + +<p> +What we find in St Mark may have been +generally known to our Lord's disciples from the +earliest period of the ministry. But the account of +the Temptations themselves, which we find in St +Matthew and St Luke, can only have come from our +Lord Himself. Assuming this to be the case, the +passage before us is singular in two respects. +</p> + +<p> +First, Because the Evangelists have here, and +here only, altered the form of what our Lord delivered, +and changed into a narration in the third +person what must, in the first instance, have been +expressed in the first. +</p> + +<p> +Secondly, Because this is the only instance in +which our Lord breaks through His reticence as to +His own personal history on earth. Here and here +only does He give us a glimpse of what had befallen +Him or of what had passed within His breast. +</p> + +<p> +St Matthew and St Luke differ as to the order +of the second and third Temptations. I have +adopted that given by St Luke. According to my +view, our Lord in the one rejects the use of +physical violence and in the other that of moral +compulsion. It is more after our Lord's way to +proceed from what is concrete to what is abstract, +than in the reverse order. +</p> + +<p> +I feel strengthened in this view by some of +the characteristics of the Gospel of St Matthew, in +the form in which it has come down to us. This +Evangelist has always <emph>the Kingdom</emph> before his eyes. +He would therefore be inclined to account the +<pb n='117'/><anchor id='Pg117'/> +rejection of <q>all the kingdoms of the world and +the glory of them</q> as the highest possible instance +of the renunciation of self; and as he accounted +it the most severe of the temptations he would +naturally place it last. St Matthew moreover +throughout his Gospel often puts together the +discourses of our Lord according to their subject-matter, +and not in the order in which they were +spoken. He would therefore have no scruple +about changing the order of the account of the +Temptations which may have come before him +as a detached document. On the other hand +we do not know of any bias of St Luke which +should lead him to prefer one order of events to +another. +</p> + +<p> +Another slight variation may be noticed. St +Matthew tells us that He was <q>led up of the Spirit +<emph>to be tempted</emph> of the devil.</q><note place='foot'>Matth. +iv. 1.</note> The words imply that +He was led up with a view to undergoing temptation. +But in St Mark and St Luke we have <q>being +tempted</q> without any intimation of purpose. +Grave difficulties attach to the view that our Lord +went into the desert with the set purpose of +seeking and confronting temptation. Moreover it +is of the essence of temptation that it should come +on us unawares. If we know that endeavours are +about to be made to persuade us to a particular +course, we close our ears to all that pleads for it—being +forewarned, we are forearmed; so that, as +<pb n='118'/><anchor id='Pg118'/> +regards these words, and indeed throughout the +passage, I place more confidence in the version +of St Luke than in that of St Matthew, or, to +speak more accurately, that of his translator +from Hebrew. +</p> + +<p> +The words <q>Get thee hence,</q> at the close of +St Matthew's relation of the temptation on the +mount, have been supposed to indicate the final +banishment of the Tempter, and therefore to shew +that this temptation came last. The force of the +argument rests on our supposing, as no doubt the +author of St Matthew's Gospel did, that the events +here related formed three distinct visible scenes, +occurring in close succession, towards the end of +the forty days. Whereas I hold that we have here +a representation of our Lord's inward conflicts, +clothed by Him in a garb of outward imagery, +that they might be the better understood. If this +view be taken, the trials may have gone on simultaneously +throughout the forty days, and may +have been so far like our own inward troubles +that one harassing perplexity may well have been +most pressing at one moment and another at +the next. But if these struggles are represented +by visible occurrences, these occurrences must +necessarily be related one after the other. The +words <q>Get thee hence</q> might refer not necessarily +to a final banishment, but only to the end of one +assault. St Luke's version is reconcileable with +the view that he understood our Lord to be speaking +<pb n='119'/><anchor id='Pg119'/> +figuratively and personifying the voices that +tempted him. +</p> + +<p> +It may be asked, <q>At what period of His +ministry did our Lord give the disciples the account +of what passed in the desert?</q> We can only guess, +but the guess is worth making. We do not know +whether the account which we possess was contained +in what critics call <q>the original document,</q> +on which the Gospels of St Matthew and St Mark +are supposed to be based. Its omission by St +Mark rather favours the supposition that it was +not. It may have been, in the first instance, put +down in writing by one who heard the recital from +our Lord's lips, and may have come into the hands +of the evangelists as a separate <q>parchment.</q><note place='foot'>2 Timothy iv. 13.</note> +This document might contain no note of the +time and place at which our Lord delivered the +account—and, in the absence of information on +this point, the compiler of the gospel might have +made the alteration from the first person to the +third, if it had not been made before, and have +inserted the account in the place belonging to +it in the order of events. I conjecture that the +communication was made near the end of the +ministry, possibly after the feast of the dedication,<note place='foot'>Dec. 20, a.d. 29.</note> +at the time when +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>He went away again beyond Jordan into the place +where John was at the first baptizing; and there he +abode.</q><note place='foot'>John x. 40.</note> +</quote> + +<pb n='120'/><anchor id='Pg120'/> + +<p> +The place would recall what had happened +after He had been <q>driven</q> from that spot by the +Spirit into the wilderness about two years before. +</p> + +<p> +Other considerations also lead me to this conjecture. +</p> + +<p> +It is strange that no allusion is ever made to +so important a record: and this would be far more +strange if the knowledge had lain in the minds of +the Apostles all through the period of our Lord's +ministry, than if they had only obtained it when the +close was at hand. Moreover, the absence of any +account of the circumstances under which the relation +was made inclines me to think that this must +have taken place at a time of which our records are +scanty; and there is no time in the sacred history +of which the narrative is less full than the period +at which I place the communication, viz., the early +spring preceding the Passion of our Lord. +</p> + +<p> +There is also this consideration of a different +kind. In all education there are two elements, that +which is communicated by the teacher ready made, +and which the pupil has only to register, and that +which the learner elicits by turning over in his +mind the matter which gives food for thought. In +our Lord's teaching of the disciples the proportion +of the latter element to the former steadily increases +from first to last. At first, sayings are +given them to remember; latterly, they receive +mysteries on which to meditate. In the Sermon +on the Mount men are told plainly what it was +<pb n='121'/><anchor id='Pg121'/> +desirable for them to know; afterwards, the teaching +passes through parables and hard sayings up +to the mysteries conveyed by the Last Supper. +The lessons of the Temptation have the form +of the later teaching of our Lord: they contain +hard matters and only yield their fruit by being +long laid to heart. +</p> + +<p> +Not only would the lessons of the Temptation +have been more intelligible to the Apostles towards +the end of the ministry than at the beginning; but, +turning as they do on the use of superhuman +powers, they would suit the time when the Apostles +were about to exercise similar powers themselves. +</p> + +<p> +Now comes the great question of all: In what +sense is the narrative to be taken? +</p> + +<p> +Many writers accept it as literal history and +suppose the Tempter to have appeared in bodily +form and to have conveyed our Lord, also in the +body, both to the mountain top and the pinnacle +of the Temple. Others have regarded it as a +vision; and intermediate views have been adopted +by many. +</p> + +<p> +On one point fortunately we may be pretty +confident. The substance of the history came +from our Lord. The most unfavourable critics +allow this, from the extreme difficulty of referring +it to any other source. It cannot have been +introduced in order to make the Gospel fall in +with Jewish notions of the Messiah, for there are +no traditions that the Messiah should be tempted: +<pb n='122'/><anchor id='Pg122'/> +and if the passage had been devised by men, the +drift of it would have been plainer, and the temptations +would have been such as men would feel +might have come upon themselves. We have many +accounts, in the legends of the saints, of the sort of +trials which present themselves to the imagination +of human writers; and they differ totally from +these. +</p> + +<p> +I have let fall already a few words shewing in +what way I regard the passage. I must now speak +more fully on the subject. +</p> + +<p> +It may be assumed that, in all our Lord's dealings +with His disciples, His primary purpose was +to do them good. He did not leave behind Him +this reference to His sojourn in the wilderness +and its momentous results, merely as materials +for biographers. The trials which had beset Him +would soon beset them also in doing the work He +destined for them; before He left them He would +therefore relate in what disguises the temptations +had appeared and how they had been repelled. +Behind the Apostles, who formed as it were the +front rank of His audience, there stretched long +files of hearers,—all those to whom His words have +since come. At the end of this file we ourselves +stand; and those among us who have special gifts, +and are tempted to use them for selfish ends, +or for putting a yoke, physical or mental, upon +other men, may well take them to heart. My +business however now is with the Apostles. It +<pb n='123'/><anchor id='Pg123'/> +was likely that our Lord would give them some +hint as to the principles on which superhuman +power can be safely employed: and it was certain +that this lesson would be put by Him in the form +which would best convey it, and which would make +the most lasting impression. The <emph>form</emph> then, as +well as the matter of the lesson, must be worth +studying closely. +</p> + +<p> +One reason why this passage has such a powerful +interest for men is that the history is a personal +one. Our Lord riveted the most earnest attention +of His hearers by speaking to them of Himself; +and something of the same effect is felt by readers +of the story now. We know how a teacher at +once enchains the interest of his class when, leaving +things abstract, or what he finds in books, he says, +<q>Now I will tell you something that happened to +me;</q> and we can understand the eagerness with +which the Apostles would gather round our Lord, +and can imagine how intently they would gaze upon +Him, when He told them that He, like them, had +been tempted, that He too had fought hard battles +and that He would tell them what they were. +</p> + +<p> +Another source of interest is that the story +deals with inner struggles in a figurative way—the +voices are personified and the action is localised. +</p> + +<p> +That Satan should have appeared in a bodily +form is, to my mind, opposed to the spirituality +of all our Lord's teaching. Such an appearance +presents endless difficulties, not only physical but +<pb n='124'/><anchor id='Pg124'/> +moral. If our Lord knew the tempter to be Satan, +He was as I have said forearmed; if He did not +know him, this introduces other difficulties. He +must at any rate have been surprised at meeting a +specious sophist in the wilderness. Milton deals +with the subject with great skill, from his point of +view, in <hi rend='italic'>Paradise Regained</hi>. Certain points he +leaves unexplained, and those I believe to be +inexplicable. They are these. I cannot understand +that our Lord should suffer Satan to transport +Him to the mountain top, or to the pinnacle of +the Temple, or that the Evil One should propose +to Jesus to fall down and worship him. +</p> + +<p> +I can however readily comprehend that our +Lord should represent under this imagery and +under these personifications what had passed within +Himself. He could not indeed bring the lesson +home to His hearers in any other way. To have +represented mental emotions, to have spoken of +the thoughts that had passed through His mind, +would have been wholly unsuited to His hearers. +We know how difficult it is to keep up an interest +in a record of inward struggles and experiences. +Men want something to present to their mind's +eye, and they soon weary of following an account +of what has been going on within a man's heart, +void of outward incident. A recital of what had +passed in our Lord's mind would have taken no +hold of men's fancy and would soon have faded +from their thoughts. But the figure of Satan +<pb n='125'/><anchor id='Pg125'/> +would catch their eye, the appearance of contest +would animate the hearers' interest; while the +survey of the realms of the earth, and the dizzy +station on the pinnacle of the Temple, would take +possession of men's memories and minds. +</p> + +<p> +The Apologue was to Orientals a favourite +vehicle for conveying moral lessons; and we have +a familiar instance in English Literature of the +attraction of allegory. Would Bunyan's <hi rend='italic'>Pilgrim's +Progress</hi> have possessed itself, as it has done, +of the hearts of whole sections of the British +race, if, shorn of its human characters and its +scenery, it had only analysed and depicted the +inward conflicts, the mental vicissitudes and religious +difficulties of a sorely-tried Christian youth? +</p> + +<p> +The use of the name Satan must be considered. +This name, which means the enemy, +occurs in the Old Testament, in the book of Job +and elsewhere but not in the Pentateuch. The +Jews we know had a dæmonology of their own. +The gods of the heathen they regarded as devils, +of whom the Sidonian deity Beelzebub was Prince. +Our Lord never countenances these views. I believe +that He uses the word Satan in a <emph>generic</emph> +sense to personify evil spiritual influences exercised +upon earth. +</p> + +<p> +When the Apostles returned safe after being +sent through the cities, our Lord regards this as an +augury of their success in the great conflict and +says that He <q>beheld Satan fallen as lightning +<pb n='126'/><anchor id='Pg126'/> +from Heaven.</q><note place='foot'>Luke x. 18.</note> We have clearly impersonation +here. He says also <q>If Satan hath risen up against +himself and is divided,</q><note place='foot'>Mark iii. 26.</note> a supposition which +excludes the idea of an individual being, and +agrees with the collective meaning I attribute to +the term. When St Peter rebukes our Lord for +declaring before His followers that He would be +<q>rejected and killed and after three days rise +again,</q> our Lord says <q>Get thee behind me, Satan.</q> +St Peter, by saying of the suffering of which +our Lord spake <q>this shall never be unto thee,</q><note place='foot'>Matth. xvi. 22.</note> +unwittingly had acted as the ally of those who +would tempt our Lord from yielding implicitly +to His Father's will, and our Lord therefore calls +him Satan. On the whole then I lean to the +view that the communication, or discourse of our +Lord, which has been preserved in the form of the +narrative of the Temptation, was delivered by Him +in the form of an <emph>apologue</emph> or species of parable, +in which our Lord, after Eastern fashion, introduced +Satan as an embodiment of the powers of evil. +</p> + +<p> +It must not be supposed that by giving up here +the personality of the tempter we are making an +abatement of what is superhuman in the Gospel, in +order that, in virtue of having so done, we may hope +to win this or that section of doubters over to our +side—the whole question of evil remains a mystery, +and in mystery there can be no degrees. It is of no +use endeavouring to make infinity a trifle less infinite. +</p> + +<pb n='127'/><anchor id='Pg127'/> + +<p> +Whether the word Satan be here used collectively +or personally is altogether a different +question from the existence of intermediate intelligences, +and is quite an open one even for the +most orthodox. +</p> + +<div> +<head>Temptation to turn stones into loaves.</head> + +<p> +I now come to the Temptations themselves. +As these trials were mental, we can only realise +them by imagining what, consistently with our history, +<emph>may</emph> have passed in our Lord's mind. What +<emph>actually did</emph> so pass is of course beyond our knowledge +altogether. We are however justified in +supposing that, as our Lord was <q>tempted as +man,</q> the thoughts and feelings which actuated +Him would be such as men might follow and more +or less understand. +</p> + +<p> +It would appear that when God lays a work on +a man He gives him a general view of the end to +be kept in sight, a vehement desire to accomplish +it, and a forefeeling of the capacity so to do. But +He does not shew him how he is to do it, He does +not make the way clear so that he sees his course +before him and marks its several stages. If a man +were so guided he would not fulfil the conditions of +human agency, there would be no room for his +own will to act, he would have no responsibility. +He would move along a pre-arranged path. God +would, in effect, be doing all and he nothing, and +<pb n='128'/><anchor id='Pg128'/> +so it would come to much the same thing as if the +work were done once for all by God's <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>fiat</foreign>, independently +of human action—and this, as we have +already seen, is not God's way of governing the +world. +</p> + +<p> +When St Paul takes his last journey to Jerusalem, +the Spirit, he tells us, <q>testifieth unto me in +every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide +me.</q> That he must go to Jerusalem he knew and +to go he was resolved, but what course of conduct +he was to adopt or what the result was to be +he did not know at all; afterwards in like manner, +he knew that he was to bear witness at Rome, but +he had no directions as to what he was to do. It +was left to him to act as seemed to him to be +the best. This may give us a help towards understanding +how it may have been with our Lord, +when the mighty charge unto which He was born +came home to His mind, and He felt, rising in +Him, the wondrous powers given to aid Him in +carrying it out. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord when driven by the Spirit into the +wilderness would take no thought of food or +shelter. The one thing He craved for was to be +alone; He must have solitude, and the wilderness +provided that. +</p> + +<p> +When He reflected, He could hardly help +asking Himself whether this light which had +shone upon Him—this voice from Heaven,—were +the resuscitation of His Diviner life or only +<pb n='129'/><anchor id='Pg129'/> +something in His own eyes and ears? A sure test +lay ready: when He had heard Himself hailed as +the Son of God a conviction had risen in Him that +God would give effect to His commands. He had +only to try whether this was so and all doubts would +be resolved. Perhaps the whisper came <q>Try this +experiment in a <emph>very small matter first</emph>.</q> Who +could think this apparent caution and prudence +came from an ill quarter? +</p> + +<p> +Spiritual evil always chooses a trifle, something +from which it seems that no harm can possibly +come, to win its victim to the first false step. Our +Lord was hungry, and loaf-shaped stones were +lying all about Him. Why not turn a few actually +into the loaves they looked like? In so doing, +how could He possibly be wrong? +</p> + +<p> +However plausible the appeal of the Tempter, it +was not entertained. We can conceive that a whole +array of objections would arise; some may have +been such as these— +</p> + +<p> +This putting of God to trial by a test of my +own choosing, that I may determine whether I will +believe His words or not: this implying that I will +admit His authority if He speaks in one way and +not if He speaks in another—Is this befitting one +called to a work like this? +</p> + +<p> +Then came another point—He was hungry. As +St Mark says nothing about the fasting it will be +best not to assume that the fasting was part of our +Lord's original purpose; but as, in the desert of +<pb n='130'/><anchor id='Pg130'/> +Judea, food could not be got without a journey of +some miles, our Lord, whether designedly or not, +had put Himself out of the immediate reach of +food. Should He remedy this by using the mysterious +power with which He felt He was invested? +This power was given Him to forward God's Kingdom +upon earth—should He use it for Himself? +</p> + +<p> +Then the tempter might return to the assault. +There are fluxes and refluxes in human feeling; we +are always afraid that we have gone too far in one +direction, or been too obstinate about our own +point; it strikes us that perhaps we have made +more of it than it was worth, and then we listen +submissively to the other side. +</p> + +<p> +Such a whisper as this may have come—"These +powers are given you to enable you to set up God's +Kingdom upon earth; for this you must win adherents. +These adherents must be maintained. Your +opponents are supported by the great ones of the +earth; the God of Heaven has committed to you +His powers for the support of yours. This little +incident of the loaves only points the way to a +much weightier matter; you <emph>must</emph> use your special +powers to supply your own bodily wants in the +coming contest,—why not begin with using them +for this purpose now?" +</p> + +<p> +Here we have arrived at the gravest point of the +debate—Were these powers really to be used for +His bodily wants or not? As the true conditions +of His work rose before Him, the principles grew +<pb n='131'/><anchor id='Pg131'/> +clearer; He was to deliver mankind as the Son of +Man, He was to work as man, to suffer as man, +that suffering men might always look to Him, +saying <q>He was one of us.</q> And how could this +be, if His lot was so unlike theirs that He met His +own wants by a word of command directly they +arose? How could His followers own the duty of +labouring for their daily bread, if stones at a word +were turned into loaves for Him? How could He +tell men not to think overmuch of the meat that +perisheth, if He had used Divine powers to provide +it for Himself as soon as He possessed them? +If He were to be the stay of loving human hearts, +He must say to men, <q>As you live, I live: of all +your ills and troubles I claim my part.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord's answer points out a train of thought +along which He may have passed, until at length +He reached a firm resolve and reduced the Tempter +to silence. It will not be irreverent to imagine +what might, consistently with what we learn, have +been its nature. +</p> + +<p> +Man wants no reminding that he lives by <emph>bread</emph>. +There is no fear of his not giving care enough to +the needs of his body; but there is danger lest he +should think of nothing but these needs, and starve +his soul and become such that eternal life, without +a body to care for, would only be a condition of +aimless weariness. He resolved therefore to keep +His powers apart for spiritual ends. He will work +no miracle to shew that He <emph>can</emph> work a miracle, or +<pb n='132'/><anchor id='Pg132'/> +to assure either Himself or others that He is the +Son of God; neither will He use this power to +provide what others win by toil, or to preserve +Himself or His followers from the common ills of +human life. +</p> + +<p> +There are a few of our Lord's Signs which +might, at first sight, look as if in them this principle +were not observed. At the marriage of Cana in +Galilee, the Sign is worked as an act of kindness +to save the host from mortification arising from an +accident. +</p> + +<p> +I have mentioned, as regards the miracles of the +loaves and fishes, that on both occasions the supply +which our Lord's own company had with them was +sufficient for their immediate wants. The crowds, +however, had, by their rapt attention to our Lord, +been detained away from their homes and their +supplies, and, if they had had to go a distance to +buy bread, they would have suffered from taking so +long a journey fasting. The case was an exceptional +emergency parallel to that of illness, and our +Lord meets it by miraculous means. +</p> + +<p> +The miraculous draughts of fishes benefited probably +all who were partners in the vessel, but they +were not wrought to meet any necessity on the +part of our Lord. All night long they had taken +nothing; this scarcity may have been part of the +lesson of the miracle, and the great draught is only +a bounteous compensation. This is a miracle of +instruction, as I said in the last chapter: it tells +<pb n='133'/><anchor id='Pg133'/> +men that a turn comes at the moment when they +are about to give up, and that the faith which +bears up long is rewarded. Moreover, to recur to +what I said in the last chapter, St Peter had been +told that he was to be henceforth a fisher of men; +and when multitudes, both of Jews and Gentiles, +were gathered into the Church in Jerusalem he +must have thought of this as answering to the Sign. +</p> + +<p> +The miracle of the stater in the fish's mouth +also requires notice. It is not wrought to obtain +the coin, but to keep before Peter's mind that +he as well as his Master were the children and not +the servants or tributaries of God. +</p> + +<p> +From St Peter's answering without hesitation +that his master would pay the didrachm, it is +clear that there was no difficulty about producing +the small sum. He does not speak to our Lord on +the matter, but our Lord, directly he enters the +house, asks him, <q>What thinkest thou, Simon? +the kings of the earth, from whom do they receive +toll or tribute? from their sons, or from strangers?</q><note place='foot'>Matth. xvii. 25.</note> +</p> + +<p> +This miracle, as we said in the last chapter, is one +of instruction. The payment according to the received +view was the half-shekel that every Israelite +had to pay for providing victims for the Temple +service. It gave the idea of a tribute to God which +stood in the way of the conception of perfect sonship. +It implied that Israelites alone had part or +lot in the worship of the living God. Our Lord +<pb n='134'/><anchor id='Pg134'/> +would have St Peter regard God as the Father of +mankind and not only as the Lord and ruler of +Israel. The whole point of the lesson lies in the +words <q>then are the children free.</q> These words +would be stamped on St Peter's mind by the +finding the stater in the fish's mouth; and they +would recur to him and bring their proper lesson +with them when the right moment came. The +circumstance is not in itself necessarily miraculous, +but it was rendered so in this case by our +Lord's foreseeing that the coin would be found +in the first fish that came. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>The Temptation on the Mount.</head> + +<p> +Next comes a scene in which the Spirit of the +World is represented as pointing out all the glories +of the empire of the inhabited earth, and offering it +to our Lord on the strange condition that He +should fall down and worship him. This represents, +in plain and very forcible imagery, a spiritual +temptation to which those who have laboured to +regenerate mankind have fallen victims over and +over again. Those who have most nearly attained +universal conquest, Mahomet, Zengis, Timour, and +many great political leaders as well, have begun +with a genuine wish to alleviate the ills of mankind, +of whom eventually they became a scourge. +</p> + +<p> +I believe that what our Lord sets before us +here is the temptation to aim at visible and comparatively +immediate success, and to bring about +<pb n='135'/><anchor id='Pg135'/> +our ideal by using the arts of worldly policy; which +were to be supported in the case before us by +superhuman power. +</p> + +<p> +We can conceive a Tempter, such as the Satan +of <hi rend='italic'>Paradise Regained</hi>, saying as he does, +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Great acts require great means of enterprise,</q> +</quote> + +<p> +and urging worldly counsels such as these:—<q>You +seek to set up a perfect kingdom upon earth, to +minimise evil by wise laws, and to make men love +God and serve God out of love. You want success +and you want it soon, in order that in your lifetime +you may see your plans matured. For this, first of +all, you must have at your back not merely disciples +who shall listen and meditate, but men who can advance +<emph>a cause</emph>. The uppermost feeling of the people +among whom you have come is the desire to be free +from Rome. They have drawn from the Scriptures +a notion that a Messiah will soon come and restore +the kingdom to Israel. With this view, be it right +or wrong, you must fall in. You carry with you +powers like those wielded by the prophets of old. +Proclaim yourself such a Messiah as men expect. +Strike to the ground the Roman eagles that are +sent against you. Offer to all who fall on your side +a paradise of palpable enjoyments such as they +can understand. Shew yourself invulnerable, and +be everywhere foremost in the fight. Your superhuman +power will balance the enormous might of +Rome. In order to win the empire of the world you +<pb n='136'/><anchor id='Pg136'/> +must employ policy as well as arms. You must excite +enthusiasm. You must fascinate crowds by eloquence +and lead them to serve your purpose when +they think that you are serving theirs. When you +have secured the empire, you can inaugurate a +golden reign and call on men to bless your Father +who sent you to their aid.</q> +</p> + +<p> +If suggestions such as these had been made +to our Lord by such a Tempter as Milton imagines, +we can see from the reply in our narrative how +they would have been met. This kingdom, our +Lord would say, so gained might indeed be mine +but assuredly it will not be God's; and my business +is not to work for myself but for Him. It was this +utter absence of self, in our Lord, which men could +not comprehend; their common standards could +not measure Him—they are bewildered by this, +and all but the higher sort are put out of touch +with Him. +</p> + +<p> +The picture which our Lord leaves us of His +struggle with the evil suggestions of His insidious +foe teaches us many lessons, but the clearest of +all are these—If we fight the world with its own +weapons we soon put our hands out for using any +others than those. If we seek what the world +has to give we soon fall down and worship it, +without having the least intention of doing anything +of the kind. But besides giving a lesson +for after ages, our Lord here indicates a particular +resolve which shaped His action upon earth. It +<pb n='137'/><anchor id='Pg137'/> +was this,—He would not employ His superhuman +powers to force men to obey, or even to resist +the violence which might be offered Him. He +would not use them to assist in setting up the +outward fabric of a Kingdom of God: and then, +going a little further, He determines not to set up +by His own hand any outward fabric of such a +Kingdom at all. He was not to be an aspirant for +worldly distinction—He was not to be the <emph>leader of +a cause</emph>—He was not to be the founder of a school +of philosophy or of any external form of religion +at all. He came to do a <emph>Work</emph>, The Central Work +of the History of mankind. He declared God, and +declared Himself to be united to God, and that He +would be with men for ever until the end of the +world. But all that has to do with organisation, +outward customs, effective sanctions, or the condensing +of doctrines into the formulæ of creeds, +belongs to the human side of religion, and men +of different climes and ages must shape such +matters for themselves. He came, as I have said, +only to kindle the fire and to set a new force +moving in the world. This Law,—that neither +force nor worldly policy should be used to carry +out the Work of God,—governs all our Lord's acts. +It need hardly be said that there is no miracle +of our Lord's recounted in the canonical Scriptures +in which violence is either done or repelled. In +the apocryphal Gospels we find endless legends +of the retribution which our Lord brought on +<pb n='138'/><anchor id='Pg138'/> +those who injured Him, especially in His boyish +years. +</p> + +<p> +Neither do we ever find that our Lord so displays +His signs or shapes His conduct, as to win +from the crowd material support for the work +He is carrying on. It was never more important +for Him to win over the enthusiasm of the +people than when He taught in Jerusalem in the +week of the Passover: but no public miracle at all +is then performed. It must have seemed strange to +the disciples that He did not confound Pilate on his +judgment seat, or Herod on his throne, but <emph>we</emph> see +that the whole meaning of His coming would have +been lost if He had. The disciples however are not +left at that time without some indication that His +Divine power remained unimpaired—the withering +of the fig-tree, and the foretelling to Peter that he +should deny Him thrice, shewed them that Jesus +was still the Lord. When the Lord in the hands +of His enemies turned and looked upon Peter, how +striking must have been the contrast between the +Kingdoms of the earth and of God! +</p> + +<p> +There is one occasion where our Lord is urged +to act in violation of this principle. The sons of +Zebedee ask whether they may not call down fire +from Heaven on those who would not receive them. +<q>But He turned and rebuked them.</q><note place='foot'>Luke ix. 55.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Again, if He had come down from the cross +when challenged to do so, this principle would have +<pb n='139'/><anchor id='Pg139'/> +been broken through. Those who said <q>He saved +others, Himself He cannot save,</q><note place='foot'>Mark xv. 31.</note> uttered a truth +deeper than they dreamed of: it was of the very +essence of His mission that He should not use His +powers for Himself. +</p> + +<p> +In connexion with this it may be noted that +when St Peter is delivered from the prison,<note place='foot'>Acts xii. 7, 8. Acts xvi. 26.</note> and +St Paul and Silas at Philippi, these deliverances are +represented, not as being worked <emph>by</emph> St Peter or +St Paul, but as being worked <emph>for</emph> them by the +Divine power, without any doing of theirs. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>The Temptation on the Pinnacle of the Temple.</head> + +<p> +When the temptation to employ open force +was repelled, a more insidious one came in its +stead. It was to use moral compulsion, and, by +the public display of a resistless manifestation, to +make doubt and opposition disappear. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord, as I believe, clothes this suggestion +in imagery suited to His hearers: He represents +Himself as borne to the pinnacle of the Temple +and bidden to cast Himself down. Of this pinnacle +an account is given by Dr Edersheim: he considers +it to have overlooked the Court of the Priests. +The following extracts are from his account:— +</p> + +<p> +<q>In the next temptation Jesus stands on the +watch-post which the white-robed priest has just +quitted. In the Priests' Court below Him the +morning sacrifice has been offered.... Now let Him +<pb n='140'/><anchor id='Pg140'/> +descend, Heaven-borne, into the midst of priests +and people. What shouts of acclamation would +greet His appearance! What homage of worship +would be His!</q><note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>The Life and Times of Jesus +the Messiah.</hi> Dr. Edersheim, i. p. 304.</note> +</p> + +<p> +This pinnacle, supposing my view to be correct, +would offer a fitting scene for the story of this +trial, not only as being a giddy height, but because +also the spot was a public one, and a crowd +of spectators would witness the display. If our +Lord had only been tempted to assure Himself of +His power by a miracle of adventurous rashness, +any precipice would have served as well. The +essential force of the temptation lay in the suggestion +to prostrate men's minds, and to subjugate +their wills, by performing before their eyes an +appalling act, the superhuman nature of which +could not possibly be gainsaid. +</p> + +<p> +When we leave the external imagery, and come +to the gist of the lesson, we find in it the truth +which we have had before us over and over again.<note place='foot'>See pp. 23, 24, and pp. 57, 58.</note> +A man's belief is not <emph>his</emph> belief and will not be +effective for moulding his life unless his mind and +his will have some part in the acceptance of it; and +if his own endeavours were to be on a sudden +superseded by Divine action, this would be inconsistent +with that studious culture of man's distinctive +freedom which runs through the conduct +of the world. If will and reason are to be dumbfounded +<pb n='141'/><anchor id='Pg141'/> +by the interference of absolute power, +why should men possess them or care to put them +to use? As a fact, God <emph>suggests</emph> but does not <emph>compel</emph>, +and our Lord's signs agree herewith. They emphasise +His lessons, and witness for God to those +who have eyes for Him—but men can reject the +lesson, signs and all if they please. +</p> + +<p> +Let us imagine the form the Tempter's arguments +might take in the mouth of one like Milton's Satan: +<q>You wish,</q> he might suggest, <q>men to believe that +your power comes from on high. Leave them no +room for doubt. People about you look for a +Sign from Heaven, such as Joshua worked in +Ajalon, and Isaiah displayed in the days of Hezekiah. +Beelzebub, they think, may work Signs on +earth, but Heaven, they own, is God's domain, and +what is written in the skies carries God's hand and +seal. Shew men these Signs for which they ask, +and display your wonders so as to strike men the +most. Cures and works of mercy, witnessed by +a few score people, create but little stir. Shew +something that all Judea, or at least Jerusalem, can +behold <emph>at once</emph>;—great emotions take strongest +hold among men in a mass: display a comet or +darken the sun; or, to begin with, stand on the +pinnacle of the Temple—there is a tradition that +there the Messiah should appear<note place='foot'>Dr Edersheim.</note>—and in the +presence of all the crowd hurl yourself into the +Priests' Court below.</q> +</p> + +<pb n='142'/><anchor id='Pg142'/> + +<p> +To meet these thoughts suggested by the +Tempter, there would rise in our Lord's mind a +crowd of arguments: some of these I have already +ventured to imagine. If our Lord had displayed a +Sign of overwhelming effect, and bidden men deny +it if they could, He would have paralysed intellectual +growth in mankind. Men had been gifted +with faculties fitting them to explore and to judge +of spiritual things: if these were curtailed of room +for exercise, they would languish like limbs disused. +Should He bar investigation in one-half of reason's +realm? Should He so appal mankind, as to enforce +an involuntary acceptance of His claims? Would +not this be putting fresh fetters on those whom He +was come on earth to set free? +</p> + +<p> +Some miracles of a stupendous character are +worked by our Lord, no doubt: such are the +Transfiguration and the raising of Jairus' daughter. +But, marvellous as these two manifestations were, +they were not worked for the mere wonder's sake; +men were not brought together to see them. The +wondrousness is an inevitable accompaniment of +the declaration of God's Kingdom and the disclosing +of His ways, but it is not the prime motive +of the act. There is no display, no appearance +of effort. Expectation is not awakened or the +imagination aroused by the announcement of a +coming prodigy. Neither were these great works +wrought to win proselytes: the few who witness +them are already convinced of their Master's Divine +<pb n='143'/><anchor id='Pg143'/> +power; it is not so much a fuller assurance that they +derive from them, as a deeper insight into the ways +of God. To the three apostles who already best +discerned God's ways, God's power is in these +manifestations more fully displayed; no others +behold it. Here as everywhere, it is to those who +have that more is given. +</p> + +<p> +This same Law governs the appearances of the +risen Lord. He does not stand forth in triumph +and confound disbelief. He had only to shew +Himself in the temple and His enemies would have +lain at His feet. But men were not to be convinced +against their will: all our accounts agree that it +was to His apostles only that our Lord appeared. +St Peter says to Cornelius and his friends: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Him God raised up the third day, and gave him +to be made manifest, not to all the people, but unto +witnesses that were chosen before of God, even to us, who +did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.</q><note place='foot'>Acts x. 40, 41.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +This limitation is very carefully maintained. +Our Lord never appears <emph>in His own form</emph>, when +there is any chance of His being beheld by others +than disciples. In the garden, at the tomb, and on +the way to Emmaus, He shews Himself to disciples +in a strange shape and is only made known to them +for a moment: He was not to be seen and recognised +by any ordinary passer by. His resurrection +was not to be a subject of popular rumour +<pb n='144'/><anchor id='Pg144'/> +or one for the wonderment of the crowd. Some +might say, with the man in the parable, <q>Nay, but +if one go to them from the dead,<note place='foot'>Luke xvi. +30.</note> they will repent,</q> +but our Lord is averse to sensational impressions: +men had had the option of believing or not, and +they had made their choice. When however the +apostles are together in their upper chamber and +the doors are shut, He appears in His accustomed +form, with the print of the nails upon His hands +and feet, for there was no need then for disguise. +</p> + +<p> +The principle that room is to be left for man's +will to act in determining his creed is observed not +only in all the New Testament but throughout the +spiritual history of mankind. Towards the close of +the third chapter I have remarked on the analogy +between an overwhelming manifestation, such as a +Sign from Heaven, and a rigorous demonstration +that Christ's revelation is of God. Men have at +times cried out both for one and the other; but if +what they demand had been given them, the higher +knowledge would have been discontinuous, with uncertainty +on one side of a line and absolute certainty +on the other. There would have been rigid dykes, +as of granite, crossing the field of spiritual thought, +which would have baulked our progress. +</p> + +<p> +The Laws which I have stated concerning +Signs are steadily observed throughout the canonical +Scriptures, although the writers of the +books knew nothing of any such Laws. The +<pb n='145'/><anchor id='Pg145'/> +Apocryphal Gospels on the other hand violate +these Laws at every turn. This opens out almost +a new line of argument on internal evidence. Is +not the coincidence strange, supposing that the +writers allowed play to their fancies, that all the +four Evangelists should have uniformly refrained +from introducing any miracle worked merely for +miracles' sake; or anyone which served to minister +to the bodily wants of the worker; or which was +employed either to enforce submission or to punish +hostility? Is it not also strange that neither in +the Gospels nor the Acts have we any instance of +any public display of power such as should awe the +crowds into belief against their wills? +</p> + +<p> +In this chapter I have considered the series of +Temptations, with reference to their bearing on +the miracles. I have tried to shew that they +supply insight into our Lord's way of solving the +problem of introducing the infinite element without +causing the finite to disappear. But this is +only a student view; and the lesson which the +church has always drawn from them is of infinitely +greater practical worth. The heads of this lesson +are: that the great prizes of life presented themselves +to Jesus as they do to us; that they +glittered in His eyes as they do in ours; that they +offered themselves to His grasp as they sometimes +do to ours, and were deliberately renounced by +Him as hollow, compared with the blessing of +knowing and doing the will of God. Without this +<pb n='146'/><anchor id='Pg146'/> +record, could we have conceived our Lord as being +<q>Man of the substance of His mother born in the +world</q>? Might we not have looked on Jesus +Christ as only a manifestation of Deity, clad in +outer human guise, but without human affections; +visible indeed to men's eyes, but destitute of a pulse +which beats in unison with theirs? This error would +have lodged Christianity in mens' heads instead +of in their hearts and would have destroyed its +universality and force; and this error, the narrative +of the Temptation—whether we regard it as apologue +or fact—is alike effectual to dispel. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='147'/><anchor id='Pg147'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter VI. From The Temptation To The Ministry In +Galilee.</head> + +<div> +<head>Outset of the Work.</head> + +<p> +We now come in sight of that part of our +Lord's work which is the special subject of this +book. We have been shewn something of what +passed in His mind during the days in the desert; +but we are not told what He intended to accomplish +or by what practical steps He would proceed. We +need not suppose that He came forth from the +desert with His plan of action completely prepared. +He may not have settled where He should lay the +scene of His work or whom He should take for +His helpers. All this would grow clear to Him as +time went on. But though He may have been +waiting for the guidance of inner voice and outward +circumstance as to the way of executing His +charge, yet that He had God's work to do and +meant to do it is written unmistakeably in His air. +</p> + +<p> +We are shown Him in St John's Gospel on His +way to Galilee. A glimpse is given us across His +path, and we see Him pass along with the assured +tread of one whose part is taken and who knows +<pb n='148'/><anchor id='Pg148'/> +whither His steps lead. On one point touching +the form of His work He is already clear. He is +not to come as a practical reformer or as a claimant +of power; in these characters He would need active +human aid, and the Spirit of the World would +enter in: but though He is given functions beyond +teaching, yet, in order to wear a garb familiar to the +people, He will be in their eyes nothing more, at +first, than <q>a <emph>teacher</emph> come from God;</q><note place='foot'>John iii. 2.</note> His followers +are to be purely <emph>disciples</emph> and not adherents +of any other kind. His concern was not with +political or social forms of order,—these must be +different in different times and different lands. His +province was to waken into activity the capacity +for knowing God which was practically dormant +in the mass of mankind. Before laying down +any plan or organising any society, He passes +some months in <emph>exploring</emph>, so to say, the tempers, +and minds and capacities of the different classes +of persons in Jerusalem and Galilee. He is in +search of the fittest receptacles for the word. He +looks into the hearts of the disciples of John, and of +those who like Nicodemus were <q>scribes instructed +into the kingdom of heaven.</q> He turns His eye +upon Samaritans and peasants of Galilee; and +finally, as we know, decides to choose the quiet Lake +shore for the cradle of the <emph>Faith</emph>. The peasants +and fishers whose ways He knew—unsentimental, +serviceable men—were taken as witnesses for the +<pb n='149'/><anchor id='Pg149'/> +new revelation: they offered the new flasks wanted +for the new wine. +</p> + +<p> +A man who sets about regenerating society +commonly begins by remodelling institutions; he +trusts to good institutions to make men good: our +Lord, as a Teacher, begins at the other end; He +goes straight to the men themselves and tries to +make <emph>them</emph> better; better men would bring about +better ways of ordering their outward lives; but +each generation must do this for itself. The success +of His enterprise did not rest on its immediate +acceptance; and so, He did not aim at drawing +<emph>numbers</emph> round Him or at gaining influential +proselytes or at consolidating a school or a sect. +Christ's work was to go on for ever, and mankind +would be redeemed equally, whether many followers +or few attended Him while on earth. +</p> + +<p> +It may be asked <q>Did our Lord from the first +see all that lay before Him?</q> The conclusion from +the facts of the history must be that, unless when it +were specially summoned, His divine prescience remained +in abeyance, and that He, as the Son of +Man, was subject to those uncertainties as to the +future which attend ordinary human action. He +could not have worked together with men, as He +did with the Apostles, if He had differed so essentially +from them as to know perfectly every day +what was going to happen on the next: he could +not have experienced surprise; and surprise our +Lord certainly shews at the dulness of the disciples +<pb n='150'/><anchor id='Pg150'/> +in catching His meaning: <q>He <emph>marvelled</emph></q> too at +the unbelief of some districts. On occasion we +know that He could search men's hearts; but they +did not lie bare to His view. Neither can we +suppose that, when He charged men not to publish +their cures, He knew that He would be disobeyed; +or that He chose Judas for an Apostle knowing +that he would betray Him. The general drift of +the purport of His coming, and His insight into +it, grew clearer and clearer the nearer He came to +the end; but we have no warrant for supposing +that the details of all that would happen on the +way lay before Him from the first. +</p> + +<p> +He draws His disciples to Him at first with a +cheerful hope: but towards the close of His career +He has the air of one moving under a load; and +once He gives utterance to what lies at His heart. +The words in which He does this throw a light on +the question of His purpose and His plan; they are +spoken apparently to St Peter— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>I came to cast fire upon the earth; and what will +I, if it is already kindled? But I have a baptism to be +baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!</q><note place='foot'>Luke xii. 49, 50.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +It needed one sent from God to kindle this fire, +and to bring home to men the truth that His Spirit +worked within them to will and to do; but when +the kindling was once effected, the rest might be +left to human effort. Men could feed the flame +<pb n='151'/><anchor id='Pg151'/> +and men could fan it; and so, following the law we +have traced in operation so often, to men the +flame was left, for them to feed and fan. <q>This +being done,</q> our Lord might say, <q>this for which +I came,—why do I linger here? what more do +I want?</q> and yet He might add <q>My whole work +is <emph>not</emph> done: the crowning act remains. Men +will never understand my love at all unless I die +for them.</q> Until He was baptised with this +baptism of suffering, He was like one straitened +on every side by an imperious task which claims +his every thought. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord's movements from the Temptation +on to the Ministry in Galilee are made known to +us by the Gospel of St John. Jesus appears on +the banks of the Jordan, where John was still +baptising his disciples; He mixes with the throng; +the Baptist points Him out to two young men, +one of whom, Andrew, brings his brother to visit +Him; the other was probably the Evangelist himself. +Afterwards our Lord Himself finds Philip, +and Philip finds Nathanael, and the little party +travel on foot to Cana of Galilee. No writer, who +did not confine himself to facts about which he +was certain, would have given so homely a story of +the beginning of so mighty a matter. +</p> + +<p> +The Gospel of St John is manifestly written by +one who is in the position of a disciple; he sees +everything from the disciple's point of view: what +the <emph>disciples</emph> thought of things that happened +<pb n='152'/><anchor id='Pg152'/> +seems to be always uppermost in his mind. He +is not a writer composing a continuous biography +of our Lord, but a disciple drawing lessons +from particular scenes of his Master's life; and +he no more thinks of considering <emph>why</emph> our Lord +took the course He did, than he would consider +why the seasons change. An historian might have +looked for reasons why our Lord did not appear in +public life in Jerusalem; but John does not look +on the matter with an historian's eye. +</p> + +<p> +I will here summarise the occasions on which +the disciples are mentioned, in the period of the +history embraced in this chapter. We first hear +of them in the account of the wedding at Cana. +The Evangelist relates that <q>He manifested forth +His glory, <emph>and His disciples believed on Him</emph>.</q><note place='foot'>John ii. 11.</note> +Next we find the disciples spoken of, as if they +stood in a kind of family relation to Him. <q>He went +down to Capernaum, He, and His mother, and His +brethren, and <emph>His disciples</emph>.</q><note place='foot'>John ii. 12.</note> When we come to the +account of the cleansing of the Temple, it is pointed +out how that action struck the disciples. They +talked it over among themselves; they recalled +the verse in the Psalms, <q>The zeal of Thine house +shall eat me up,</q><note place='foot'>John ii. 17.</note> and thought they saw a Messianic +prophecy fulfilled: we are told too that after +our Lord's death they recalled His words about +building the Temple in three days. We hear +also that they were numerous: <q><emph>many</emph> believed +<pb n='153'/><anchor id='Pg153'/> +on His name, beholding the signs which He did.</q><note place='foot'>John ii. 23.</note> +Next comes a fact of great importance; it is that, +though our Lord did not baptise adherents, yet that +His disciples did so, and that finally more resorted +to them than to the Baptist.<note place='foot'>John iii. 22, iv. +2.</note> A few disciples attended +our Lord in the journey through Samaria, +and to them His first recorded discourse as a +teacher is addressed: there is no further mention +of them during the period embraced in this chapter. +Such is the summary of the matter bearing on my +subject; I proceed to discuss points of interest that +arise out of it. +</p> + +<p> +The advent of our Lord differed from that of +other enlighteners of mankind in one very striking +way. He had, in the Baptist, a special forerunner, +who gave out, on all occasions, that the final cause +of his own preaching was to prepare the way for +one greater than himself. Events of national +history, themselves part of that wide-spreading +<q>Preparatio Evangelica</q> which, to my mind, underlies +the history of the world, had raised a ferment +in the minds of the inhabitants of Palestine. To +this movement the Baptist gave a particular turn. +He brought men to desire that the world should +become better, and taught them that they must +begin by becoming better themselves. Without +this preparation, the germs of truth which our +Lord scattered would more largely have failed to +quicken: the Baptist had broken up the soil to +<pb n='154'/><anchor id='Pg154'/> +receive the seed; his preaching put the people +in an attitude of expectancy, and an expectant +condition is a receptive one. The Old Testament +prophecies had worked to this same end; +they had made expectancy congenial to the +nation's mind. The Israelites were like spectators +waiting to see a great king come with a procession: +the sight of a forerunner sets the crowd astir, and +such a forerunner John was. I have observed +before, that in carrying out His own work our Lord +is careful to use <emph>preparation</emph>. The disciples are +sent <q>to every place where He Himself would +come.</q> Men were not to be repelled from the new +movement by reason of its being strange to them. +What this preparation did for the villages of +Galilee the Baptist did on a grander scale for +all Judæa. +</p> + +<p> +We get but a glimpse of the nature of the +relation between John and his disciples, and need +only notice it briefly. Young men did not, like +those who sat at the feet of a Rabbi, resort to him +for definite instruction: the disciples of John did +not look to be taught interpretations of the Law or +of the Prophets, but they looked for a rule of life +for themselves and a brighter future for their +country or their race—they were ill-satisfied with +the present and eagerly turned to one who represented +both in aspect and in utterance the prophets +of old. There was one feature in John's +ministry, so distinctive that he drew his appellation +<pb n='155'/><anchor id='Pg155'/> +from it.—He caused his disciples to be baptised. +The doctrines implied in the rite do not now concern +me; to some it symbolised the cleansing from +sin, to others the rising into a new life; but the +practical effect of it was to make those who received +it feel that they had, in a way, pledged their allegiance +to John by receiving baptism at his hands: +they had assumed a badge, and were bound by +ties of personal loyalty to their master and to +one another.<note place='foot'><q>I thank God that I baptized none of you save Crispus and +Gaius; lest any man should say that ye were baptized into my +name.</q> 1 Cor. i. 14, 15. This, with the context, illustrates +the notion of a personal tie established by baptism. St Paul is +combating the charge of establishing a sect of his own.</note> +</p> + +<p> +But John's disciples were not separated off from +the outside mass by baptism alone. To the mind of +his countrymen a religion was not a religion at all, +unless it included a <emph>regimen</emph>, unless it parcelled out +their days, according to hours of prayer and times +of fasting. With such a distinctive rule John provided +his followers. He taught them to pray,<note place='foot'>Luke xi. 1.</note> he +accustomed them to voluntary fasts;<note place='foot'>Luke v. 33.</note> and on some +points of ceremonial, such as purification, he may +have had tenets of his own.<note place='foot'>John iii. 25.</note> +</p> + +<p> +We will now trace the steps by which our Lord +gathers disciples round Him. It is possible that +even before our Lord left Galilee He had been +the centre of a group of young men who looked +up to Him, and the Galileans among John's disciples +<pb n='156'/><anchor id='Pg156'/> +might therefore have heard of Him. It falls +in also with this supposition, that our Lord seems +to have been already acquainted with Philip of +Bethsaida, and to have purposely sought him out. +We read—<q>He <emph>findeth</emph> Philip, and saith unto him, +Follow me.</q><note place='foot'>John i. 43.</note> Philip hastens to Nathanael,<note place='foot'>John i. 45; xxi. 2.</note> who +came from Cana in Galilee, and tells him that the +Messiah has been found in the person of <q>Jesus +the son of Joseph, <emph>the man from Nazareth</emph>.</q><note place='foot'>τὸν ἀπὸ Ναζαρέτ. John i. 46.</note> The +words in italics <emph>may</emph> imply <q>of whom we have all +heard;</q> for Cana was not more than six miles +from Nazareth, and Bethsaida was in the same +district. The Baptist, we know, regarded Him, +when He came to be baptised, as his equal or +superior in the favour of God. +</p> + +<p> +Five of the Apostles—John, Andrew, Peter, +Philip and Nathanael—were drawn to our Lord in +the few days spent at Bethabara on His return +from the desert; and probably all these went +back with Him to Galilee. Among these five we +find traces of a lasting tie. This is worth noting, +because such a tie would naturally arise from +comradeship in early years, and of this comradeship +St John's Gospel speaks. These five had gone +together from Galilee, in the zeal of their young +days, to listen to the strange preacher in the +desert of Judæa; they had lived together, faring +alike, and baring their hearts each to the other in +<pb n='157'/><anchor id='Pg157'/> +the confidence of youth. We can understand that +this would bind men fast together, and that St John +writing his Gospel at the end of his life, with possibly +St Andrew at his side, should have been +mindful of all the circumstances in which these +old friends took part, and have gladly taken +occasion to mention their names.<note place='foot'>A fragment of a very ancient account of the Canon of the +N. Test. has been preserved by Muratori. I will quote the translation +of it from Professor Westcott's work. (Prof. Westcott, +<hi rend='italic'>Gospel of St John</hi>, p. xxxv.) <q>The fourth Gospel [was written +by] John, one of the disciples (<hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi> Apostles). When his fellow-disciples +and bishops urgently pressed (<foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>cohortantibus</foreign>) him, he said, +<q>Fast with me [from] to-day, for three days, and let us tell one +another any revelation which may be made to us, either for or +against [the plan of writing] (<foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>quid cuique fuerit revelatum alterutrum</foreign>)</q>. +On the same night it was revealed to Andrew, one +of the Apostles, that John should relate all in his own name, and +that all should review [his writing].</q> If we accept this authority, +John and Andrew were together in their age as they had been in +their youth. Philip also was at Hierapolis not very far off.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Accordingly, we find mention made in the Gospel, +without positive occasion, of these Apostles by name. +We did not need to know that it was Andrew who +said <q>There is a lad here who hath five barley-loaves +and two small fishes.</q><note place='foot'>John vi. 8.</note> The Synoptists<note place='foot'><hi rend='italic'>I.e.</hi> the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke.</note> all relate +the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, but +Andrew is named by St John alone: Philip, another +of this little company, is close by; he is addressed +by our Lord, and Andrew interposes. We +find Philip and Andrew together at a later time. +<pb n='158'/><anchor id='Pg158'/> +When the Greeks who came up and worshipped +at the feast wished to see Jesus they applied to +Philip;<note place='foot'>John xii. <hi rend='italic'>vv.</hi> 20-22.</note> then we have +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Philip cometh and telleth <emph>Andrew</emph>: Andrew cometh, +and Philip, and they tell Jesus.</q> +</quote> + +<p> +St John here seems almost to go out of his way +to speak of Andrew. +</p> + +<p> +Philip also, who scarcely appears in the Synoptical +Gospels, is mentioned six times by St John; +and he is found in company, now with Andrew, +now with Nathanael, as if the ties of old companionship +still held. The particulars we have of +Philip are instructive. Our Lord, as we have seen, +<q>found him,</q> which I take to mean, not that He +merely <emph>lighted upon him</emph>, but that He sought +him. He thought him, therefore, a suitable companion +for His coming journey to Jerusalem for the +Passover. A point of fitness may have been that he +knew Greek: his Greek name would not by itself +go far to prove this; but, taking it along with +the fact that when the Greeks come up to worship +in Jerusalem they address themselves to Philip, +it seems likely that he knew their language. Our +Lord at the Passover would meet many Israelites +who talked Greek more readily than Aramaic, +and a Greek-speaking follower would be of service +<pb n='159'/><anchor id='Pg159'/> +to Him. Again when Philip says, <q>Lord, shew us +the Father and it sufficeth us,</q><note place='foot'>John xiv. 9.</note> our Lord replies, +Have I been <emph>so long</emph> with you and you have not +known me? The words <q>so long</q> are particularly +applicable to Philip, as he had been called a year +before the twelve were formed into a body, and +may have remained in constant attendance on our +Lord when the other disciples quitted Him after +the return through Samaria. +</p> + +<p> +With Nathanael also there is much interest +connected. He, in the last chapter of St John's +Gospel, is called Nathanael of Cana of Galilee, and +is named among others who are Apostles. He is +identified, on good grounds, with the Bartholomew +of the Synoptical Gospels.<note place='foot'>Bartholomew = son of Tolmai, so that Nathanael son of Tolmai +or (as Dr Edersheim writes it) of Temalgon, would be the full name.</note> We mark in Nathanael +an aptitude for discerning spiritual greatness; but, +with all this, he held stoutly to old prejudices in +which he had been born and bred; and when Philip +comes to him with his tidings, he breaks out with: +<q>Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?</q> +There is no reason to suppose that Nazareth was +held generally in bad estimation. Natives of Jerusalem +would look down on all villages in Galilee +without distinction, but Nathanael belonged not to +Jerusalem but to Cana. Cana and Nazareth were +a few miles apart, each being the chief town in +its own district; and the local jealousy and tendency +<pb n='160'/><anchor id='Pg160'/> +to mutual disparagement between neighbours, +which is not unknown among ourselves, and was +rife in those times, will account for Nathanael's +words.<note place='foot'><p>Tacitus speaking of Lugdunum and Vienna on opposite sides +of the Rhone, tells us that they regarded each other with the +animosity which <q>serves as a link between those whom only a river +separates</q> (<q>unde aemulatio et invidia et uno amne discretis +connexum odium</q>). Tac. <hi rend='italic'>Hist.</hi> i. c. 65. +</p> +<p> +St Matthew speaks of that <q>which was spoken by the prophets, +He shall be called a Nazarene.</q> This prophecy, in the words given, +is not found in our canonical books. The Evangelist is supposed to +refer to Is. xi. 1. The Hebrew word for a Branch, there used, +is <foreign lang='he' rend='italic'>Natsar</foreign>.</p></note> +</p> + +<p> +It was of no ill augury for his holding fast the +Faith when he had found it, that he clung to the +old traditionary feeling of his native town. He +was not blinded by it; he is ready to <q>go and see.</q> +Here our Lord exercises His singular gift of introspection, +<q>Behold,</q> says He, <q>an Israelite indeed, +in whom there is no guile.</q> +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou +me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before Philip +called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw +thee. Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, thou art the Son +of God; thou art King of Israel.</q><note place='foot'>John i. 48, 49.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +Probably Nathanael recalled what had passed in +his mind when he had been under the fig-tree. +Perhaps some mystery of existence had then +<pb n='161'/><anchor id='Pg161'/> +weighed upon his soul, and on coming to Christ he +found <q>the thoughts of his heart revealed.</q><note place='foot'>Luke ii. 35.</note> +</p> + +<p> +In our Lord's reply to Nathanael we find His +first recorded utterance as a Preacher of the Word; +here He first speaks of Himself as the Son of Man, +and here we have the first hint of the Law, <q>To +him who hath shall be given,</q> a law which has been +several times before us and will be so again before +long. Nathanael <emph>had</emph> something already; he was +enough in earnest to drop his prejudices; a slight +token had enabled him to see in our Lord <q>the Son +of God, the King of Israel:</q> he is told that he +shall see greater things than these. Jacob had +dreamed of old<note place='foot'>Genesis xxviii. 12.</note> that there was a ladder between +earth and heaven, by which God's angels went and +came; such a ladder Christ was, and he, the +Israelite in whom there was no guile, should see +<q>the angels of God ascending and descending upon +the Son of Man.</q><note place='foot'>John i. 51.</note> +</p> + +<p> +So far I have followed the Gospel of St John. +The Synoptists afford corroborative matter to shew +that the little company, which had met at Bethabara, +continued to hang together. +</p> + +<p> +(1) In St Mark's<note place='foot'>Mark iii. 17-19.</note> list of the Apostles—the +names <q>and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew</q> +come together in the enumeration. If we were asked +for the names of a society of twelve men whom we +knew—they would occur by the twos and threes +<pb n='162'/><anchor id='Pg162'/> +who were most together. St Peter, whom we may +regard here as St Mark's informant, gives the names +as they came to mind. He recalls journeys in the hill +country, when the disciples had walked in scattered +groups, three or four together. In one of these +little knots Andrew, Philip, and Bartholomew may +commonly have been found. +</p> + +<p> +(2) From the way in which St Matthew's<note place='foot'>Matth. x. 2-6.</note> list +is given we may infer something of greater interest +still. St Matthew gives the names of the Apostles +<emph>in pairs</emph>: Simon and Andrew, James and John, +Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew—and +so on. Immediately after the list of names we +have the sending forth of the Apostles to the cities +of Israel. I believe that the Apostles went on this +mission in the pairs which are above-named. Why +else should the names be coupled together? The +Evangelist had in his eye the party as they had +stood listening to their Master's words, with their +staves in their hands, ready to start. He recollects +their separating—two going one way, and two +another,—and therefore, two by two, he puts them +down in his list.<note place='foot'>If a party of young men were in the habit of separating for +excursions and going two by two, and one of the party were afterwards +asked for a list of the company; it would help his memory to +recall them, pair by pair. The Evangelist is going to tell us of our +Lord's directions to the twelve about their mission. It then strikes +him that he must record their names.</note> It is curious that though +St Matthew <emph>couples</emph> the names, yet he does not say, +<pb n='163'/><anchor id='Pg163'/> +as St Mark and St Luke do, that the Apostles +were sent <emph>two and two</emph> together. The coupling in +St Matthew is a kind of coincidence with that +express direction which is preserved by St Mark +and St Luke. +</p> + +<p> +Not only, then, is there probable evidence to +shew that, out of the little body of the earliest +disciples, three clung together; but also that two +of them—Philip and Bartholomew—formed one of +the pairs that went forth declaring to the villages +of Galilee that the Kingdom of God was at +hand. At all events the Synoptists testify to a +special intimacy between two disciples; and circumstances, +which are disclosed by St John alone, +shew how this intimacy naturally arose. Thus we +have, what is always worth noting, a corroboration +by the Synoptists of the narrative of the fourth +Evangelist. +</p> + +<p> +To return to the history in the Gospel of St +John. Our Lord sets out on His return to Galilee, +and may have been Nathanael's guest at Cana for +the night preceding the wedding. It does not fall +within my scope to say more about the miracle than +has been said already. The statement important for +my purpose is, that our Lord manifested His glory, +<q>and <emph>His disciples</emph> believed on Him.</q><note place='foot'>John ii. 11.</note> The fact +that a new teacher worked wonders and drew disciples +round him made a stir in the district; and this +may throw light upon the passage which follows. +</p> + +<pb n='164'/><anchor id='Pg164'/> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his +mother, and his brethren, and <emph>his</emph> disciples: and there +they abode not many days.</q><note place='foot'>John ii. 12. +</note> +</quote> + +<p> +This event leads to no consequences in the history. +It would only have been mentioned by one who, +having the sequence of occurrences in his head, +detailed them all. Still, there must have been +some motive for this removal of the whole family +to Capernaum. I will hazard a conjecture, which +if correct will help to explain the following +text which occurs later on: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And after the two days he went forth from thence +into Galilee. For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet +hath no honour in his own country. So when he came +into Galilee, the Galilæans received him, having seen all +the things that he did in Jerusalem at the feast: for they +also went unto the feast.</q><note place='foot'>John iv. 43-45.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +Why does the Evangelist say that our Lord was +Himself an instance of the rejection of a prophet +in his own country, at the very time when he +is about to say that the Galileans <emph>did</emph> receive Him +because they had seen what He did at the feast? +There must have been some previous occasion on +which He had <emph>not</emph> been received. I believe that +the last quoted passage, fully expressed, might run +thus: <q>He went forth from thence into Galilee <emph>but +not to Nazareth</emph>, for Jesus Himself testified that a +prophet hath no honour in his own country,</q> and +<emph>therefore</emph> He passed by Nazareth and went on to +<pb n='165'/><anchor id='Pg165'/> +Cana, a few miles further north. Now, at what time +could our Lord have experienced this ill reception? I +find no occasion on which such disparagement of His +claims can have been shewn, excepting in the short +interval between the miracle at Cana and this withdrawal +of the whole family to Capernaum. I would +therefore conjecture that on leaving Cana, after the +miracle, our Lord had returned with His mother to +Nazareth, and that the inhabitants had then in some +way shown ill-will.<note place='foot'>The tone of His discourse delivered there, after His visit to +Jerusalem, falls in with this view.</note> He probably brought with +Him some disciples belonging to Cana—a place +of which they were jealous—hailing Him as Rabbi, +and proclaiming Him their Master. The people of +Nazareth resented this assumption of superiority on +the part of a townsman whom they had known from +His birth. The whole family are involved in the +unpopularity, and remove to Capernaum, to wait +the time for going up to the Passover. +</p> + +<p> +Though St John makes no mention, in its +proper place, of the animosity of the people of +Nazareth, yet the recollection of it remains in his +mind; so that, when he says that our Lord went +<emph>into Galilee</emph> on His return from Samaria, this seems +to him noticeable, as though it were strange He +should go where He had been ill received before; +and he tells us why He is well received on this +occasion; namely, because some had brought back +word of His vigorous action in cleansing the +<pb n='166'/><anchor id='Pg166'/> +Temple. Our Lord does not go to Nazareth, but +again makes His stay at Cana. +</p> + +<p> +To return to this short stay at Capernaum. The +point I am most concerned with is, that it is here +that the disciples are first mentioned as attached to +our Lord in His movements; they form, as it were, +part of His family. If our Lord had already met +with opposition, as I have conjectured, this would +have helped to bind the little company closer together. +We hear of no preaching or working of +Signs during the short stay at Capernaum. We +are not positively told that the disciples went with +our Lord to Jerusalem;<note place='foot'>It must be recollected that there is no mention in St John's +Gospel of any disciple <emph>by name</emph>, after the first chapter, until we come +to the sixth.</note> but I imagine that the five +of whom we have read went up to the Passover, +though some may have returned to Galilee soon +after the feast.<note place='foot'>It may be asked, How were the disciples maintained during +several weeks at Jerusalem? Though not of the poorest class they +could not have lived long without labour. John may have been +spared because James remained to help his father in his work. +But if Peter and Andrew had both stayed at Jerusalem through +all the early summer, it is hard to see how they, and Peter's wife, +could have been supported. I should conjecture therefore that if +Peter went to Jerusalem to the first passover, he only made a brief +stay. There were, at this time, apparently no contributions such as +we hear of afterwards (Luke viii. 3).</note> +</p> + +<p> +The narrative of the cleansing of the Temple +shews how burning was our Lord's indignation +at practices that degraded men's notions of God. +<pb n='167'/><anchor id='Pg167'/> +Personal attacks He bore with meekness, <q>when +He was reviled He reviled not again, when He +suffered He threatened not;</q><note place='foot'>1 Peter ii. 23.</note> but He gives free +vent to a godly wrath when He finds men driving a +traffic in holy things. +</p> + +<p> +A personal characteristic of our Lord, shewn +again and again, comes for the first time before us +here: He carried authority in His air, an authority +that needed no assertion, but to which men bowed. +The owners of the oxen yield without resistance +to the determination He shews. It is only the +Hierarchy who ask, <q>What sign shewest thou unto +us, seeing that thou doest these things?</q><note place='foot'>John ii. 16.</note> I need +not say that on demand He will work no Sign at +all: this is His invariable rule. +</p> + +<p> +St John says nothing of the nature of the +miracles wrought by our Lord at this time; we only +hear that they induced people <q>to believe in His +name.</q><note place='foot'>John ii. 23.</note> They may have been chiefly miracles of introspection, +like the recognition of Peter, the seeing +of Nathanael under the fig-tree, and the divining of +His mother's meaning when she said <q>they have +no wine;</q> for St John assiduously keeps before his +hearers this insight of our Lord into men's minds. +In particular he says, in reference to the disciples +who gathered round Him in Judæa, +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>But Jesus did not trust himself unto them, for that +he knew all men, and because he needed not that any one +should bear witness concerning man: for he himself +knew what was in man.</q><note place='foot'>John ii. 24, 25.</note> +</quote> + +<pb n='168'/><anchor id='Pg168'/> + +<p> +When our Lord drove out the money-changers +and those who sold doves, people thronged to Him +in Jerusalem, thinking that the leader whom they +sought had come. But these were not disciples +after His own heart, not such as should receive the +kingdom of God as little children. These were +men who had both notions and a purpose of their +own; men who would follow Him as long as He +went <emph>their</emph> way; and who, when He did not, would +<q>go back and walk no more with Him.</q><note place='foot'>John vi. 66.</note> The +relation of our Lord to these early Judæan disciples +was very different from that in which He +stood, either to the five who had gone with Him +from Bethabara to Cana and Capernaum, or to +those who afterwards thronged to His preaching +of the Kingdom of Heaven. To these Judæan disciples +our Lord as far as we know delivers no +lessons and issues no directions; we do not hear +that they were especially chosen for witnesses of +the Signs in Jerusalem, or that they formed an +organised body in any way. It seems rather as if a +body of men ranged themselves round our Lord +and, from their admiration for Him, took the name +of His disciples, but did not hold themselves to be +under orders, and came and went as they pleased. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord had not yet begun His real Ministry; +He was probing the capacities and natures both of +individual men and of different classes in the community, +with a view to testing their fitness for +taking part in His great work. +</p> + +<pb n='169'/><anchor id='Pg169'/> + +<p> +Something inclined Him, we may suppose, to +take Galilee for the cradle of the new movement; +and the circumstance that those who first adhered +were all Galilæans pointed along the same way. +It would appear to be a method of Divine guidance, +to speak by a whisper within, and, at the same time, +so to order circumstances without, that one should +fall in with the other: sometimes this coincidence +will be perceived and will strike the beholder with +a kind of awe, and sometimes it will operate on +him without his being aware. +</p> + +<p> +There was much that made Galilee suitable: its +position was at once central and retired, and its inhabitants +were, according to Josephus, sturdy and +independent, and, of course, free from the pedantry +of Rabbinical schools. Jerusalem however claimed +a trial from our Lord. He desired to know what was +passing there in the minds of those who were seeking +truth. It was possible that a cradle for the infant +church might be found among the followers of the +Baptist, or among Scribes like Nicodemus. Our +Lord gauges the fitness of both these bodies of +men. We know what conclusion settled itself in +His mind during those early days: He must not +put new wine into old bottles. The enlightened +party among those in authority were more after +the type of Erasmus than of Luther, they lacked +force: they had been trained to pick their way +through difficulties of interpretation, but not to grasp +great principles, still less to <emph>act</emph>; and though they +divined that there was a truth dawning from afar, +<pb n='170'/><anchor id='Pg170'/> +yet their feeling for it was not so much a passion +as a taste. +</p> + +<p> +After the discourse with Nicodemus the Evangelist +returns to narration, and tells us of a visit +of our Lord and His disciples to the district +where the Baptist was carrying on his work. It +may have been that he meant to represent our +Lord as turning from Nicodemus to John's disciples; +as if, when He found the former unequal +to the need, He would try how the latter might +serve. The words are +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>After these things came Jesus and his disciples into +the land of Judæa; and there he tarried with them, and +baptized. And John also was baptizing in Ænon near +to Salim, because there was much water there: and they +came, and were baptized.</q><note place='foot'>John iii. 22, 23.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +It is not said that our Lord actually went to the +spot where John was; but the narrative favours +the view that the two companies were not far from +one another. We are told that followers were +drawn in large numbers to our Lord and that +His disciples baptised them. This adoption of the +rite which, though not unknown before, had been +brought into special prominence by the Baptist, +excited jealousy in John's disciples— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And they came unto John, and said to him, +Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom +thou hast borne witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and +all men come to him.</q><note place='foot'>John iii. 26.</note> +</quote> + +<pb n='171'/><anchor id='Pg171'/> + +<p> +One reason of the anxiety of the disciples to +baptise may possibly have been this; they saw how +that outward rite supplied John's disciples with a +badge that marked them out and made one body +of them; they were all bound together to the +same master by having received baptism at his +hands,—bound together not merely by holding the +same opinions and honouring the same man, but +by something that had been <emph>done</emph>, by a work +wrought upon <emph>them</emph>. Some might interpret this +<q>outward and visible sign</q> in one way and some in +another, but all could see the value of such a sign +or symbol for giving coherence and permanency to +their new community. +</p> + +<p> +In the fourth chapter we find that the Pharisees +at Jerusalem,—they who constituted the religious +world of the place,—had come to the knowledge +that the resort to Jesus was greater than that to +St John— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>When therefore the Lord knew how that the +Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing +more disciples than John (although Jesus himself +baptized not, but his disciples), he left Judæa and +departed again into Galilee.</q><note place='foot'>John iv. 1, 2.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +I make out St John's meaning to be, that our +Lord quitted Judæa because He found Himself +thrust into apparent rivalry with John the Baptist. +The Judæan disciples wanted a sect of their own; +and the Pharisees regarded our Lord's following as +<pb n='172'/><anchor id='Pg172'/> +an offshoot from the movement of John, an offshoot +which was likely to out-top the parent tree. +</p> + +<p> +It seems to me that our Lord was taking a +survey of the different religious sections in Judæa +and examining their fitness to furnish helpers for +His work. Scholars who like Nicodemus were +quick to ask <q>How can these things be?</q> were not +of the right order for setting a great movement +afoot. If men were fully possessed with the +momentous nature of God's spiritual working in +the world, the idea of this as a <emph>fact</emph> would take up +all their minds leaving no room for the question of +<emph>mode</emph>. If Nicodemus had been capable of seeing +how sublime was the future presented to him, he +would never have expected to understand <emph>how</emph> +it could come to pass. Next our Lord tried the +disciples of John; these may have been too full of +the spirit of partizanship, and too much taken up +with questions of purifying and the like, to be fit +foster parents for the new Faith. Whatsoever were +the cause, in neither of these classes did our Lord +find a cradle for the faith. He required men +plastic and receptive, capable of devoted self-surrender +and possessed of self-transforming and +expanding powers. These did not grow freely in +the social climate of Judæa; our Lord's thoughts +then, we may suppose, went back to His own +people and His own country, and He preached +the Kingdom first in Galilee. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord's leaving Judæa was precipitated by +<pb n='173'/><anchor id='Pg173'/> +the rivalry which was threatening between His +adherents and those of John; more especially as +that rivalry was taking the form of a competition in +point of numbers. For the spirit which this would +engender was to our Lord abhorrent in the extreme. +When sect strives with sect, and they would decide +the contest for superiority <emph>by counting heads</emph>, they +are both in a way to fall down and worship the +Spirit of the world. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord was not founding or setting up a form +of religion to which He personally would convert +mankind; but He and His work were part of the +subject-matter of all religion—the relations of God +to man. The apostles are never encouraged to exult +in the number of their converts. Even when they +were sent through the cities, on what we might +regard as a missionary errand, they are not directed +to win men over by strong entreaty—they are not +then bidden, as men afterwards were by St Paul, +to <q>be instant in season and out of season;</q><note place='foot'>2 Tim. iv. 2.</note> they +are only to proclaim the Kingdom of God: those +who have ears to hear will hear, and the rest will +go their way. +</p> + +<p> +Any competition with John the Baptist was +above all to be shunned. Our Lord and the Baptist +were bound together by early ties. Jesus had sought +and received Baptism at his hand, and we always +see a delicate and unswerving fidelity in His behaviour +towards him. It might be that He was +<pb n='174'/><anchor id='Pg174'/> +to increase and John was to decrease, but it should +not be by any action of His that that change of +relative position should be brought about. The +Gospel itself, then, discloses grounds for our Lord's +sudden departure into Galilee. Thus early, among +the hearers of our Lord and the Baptist, appeared +an insidious tendency to form parties, a tendency +which broke out disastrously in later times; when +some said, <q>I am of Paul</q> and others <q>I am +of Apollos.</q><note place='foot'>1 Cor. i. 12.</note> +</p> + +<p> +There is no valid reason for supposing that our +Lord left Judæa from fear of persecution. The +Pharisees may have been in commotion when they +heard that Jesus baptised more disciples than +John; and there may have been some stir in sacerdotal +circles at Jerusalem, but there is no appearance +of violence having been threatened. Neither +do I connect our Lord's journey with the captivity +of the Baptist. I believe that John was not thrown +into prison till three or four months after this +journey through Samaria; but supposing that the +imprisonment had already taken place and it had +seemed likely that Herod's jealousy of John would +extend to Jesus, our Lord would not have left +Judæa, which was not under Herod's jurisdiction, +and have gone into Galilee which was so. +</p> + +<p> +At any rate our Lord quits Judæa and the +Judæan disciples, or all but a few of them, and +travels back to Galilee with a little company who +<pb n='175'/><anchor id='Pg175'/> +were bound to Him, and who tended Him, it +would seem, with affectionate solicitude.<note place='foot'>John iv. 31. They press Him to take bodily support about +which they thought Him careless. This must be an eye-witness's +account.</note> +</p> + +<p> +It does not come into my plan to discuss the +discourses of our Lord except so far as they bear +on the training of the apostles, and so I pass by the +discourse with the woman of Samaria, as I have +done that with Nicodemus. I believe that only +three or four disciples attended our Lord on His +journey: if they had been numerous, they would +not <emph>all</emph> have left Him, wearied and alone at the +fountain. But in visiting a strange town in Samaria, +it might be unwise to enter with a smaller party +than three or four; so that if the disciples numbered +no more than this, we can account for our Lord +being left by Himself. +</p> + +<p> +This journey through Samaria has an important +bearing on my subject. Here, for the first time, we +have a conversation of our Lord with His disciples; +and, what is more, we get a glimpse of an office +in store for them, of a work that is to give a +meaning to their lives. The disciples of the Baptist +had been learners and listeners only; but our Lord's +disciples were not to be mere passive recipients of +teaching. They were to be taught by doing as well +as by hearing; they were to take part with Him in +the great work that was to be wrought in the world. +They were not servants—<q>for the servant knoweth +<pb n='176'/><anchor id='Pg176'/> +not what his lord doeth,</q><note place='foot'>John xv. 15.</note> but they were friends +joining in the common cause. We may wonder +why no earlier converse of our Lord with His disciples +is preserved. Possibly, before this, there were +in the company some of those to whom He <q>did +not commit Himself.</q><note place='foot'>John ii. 24.</note> While these were present, +our Lord may have maintained a reserve, and said +nothing bearing on His work which it was important +for the Evangelist to record. But, when our Lord set +out through the semi-hostile country of Samaria in +the midst of the early summer heat, those only followed +who were in earnest, and on whom He could +rely. +</p> + +<p> +I pass on at once to that address to the disciples +to which I have alluded. Our Lord had been +cheered by the Samaritan woman's openness to the +truth. On leaving the well He comes on a scene, +than which few are more gladdening—a great expanse +of corn growing luxuriantly, swaying with +the wind and glistening in the sun. We mark that +He was always keenly alive to external impression, +and in all He saw espied matter that fitted what +He taught. Our Lord is struck by the sight, He +sees in it something that answers to His thoughts, +and which seems to convey a promise which rejoices +His soul—not for Himself but for His +disciples. The discourse is as follows: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Say not ye, There are yet four months, and <emph>then</emph> +cometh the harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your +<pb n='177'/><anchor id='Pg177'/> +eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white already +unto harvest He that reapeth receiveth wages, and +gathereth fruit unto life eternal; that he that soweth +and he that reapeth may rejoice together. For herein is +the saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I +sent you to reap that whereon ye have not laboured: others +have laboured, and ye are entered into their labour.</q><note place='foot'>John iv. 35-38. See Chronological Appendix.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +The work before the disciples is only to reap: +others had ploughed and sown. Prophets and +teachers, and also rulers and judges, all who had +helped to bring the Israelites into the condition of +being ripe for better things—these past teachers of +men, as well as all the impersonal workings of +the unseen hand which had smoothed the way—all +these answered to the ploughers and sowers of +the crop which the apostles were now to reap. This +<q>Præparatio Evangelica,</q> so often before us, had +been the combined result of many sorts of action, +and into the fruits of this labour the disciples +were now to enter. They, along with all those who +had sowed and tended, should one day rejoice together, +when the grain was garnered in heaven, and +when those accounted worthy of the Resurrection +to Eternal Life should enter on their reward. +</p> + +<p> +Gleams of gladness in our Lord's career come +rarely, and His joy is always for others' sake. It is +not for Himself, not even for the cause that He rejoices—that +cause would surely triumph in its own +time—but His joy is, that He beholds a successful +<pb n='178'/><anchor id='Pg178'/> +and glorious career opening before His fellow-labourers, +the few friends at His side. On the return +of the seventy recorded by St Luke, this same +joy for His disciples' sake is especially spoken of. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, +and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and +earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise +and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes: +yea, Father; for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight. All +things have been delivered unto me of my Father: and +no one knoweth who the Son is, save the Father; and +who the Father is, save the Son, and he to whomsoever +the Son willeth to reveal <emph>him</emph>.</q><note place='foot'>Luke x. 21, 22.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +It would seem that such happiness as our Lord +found on earth came from marking the affectionate +fidelity of the Apostles and their growth in favour +with God. <q>Ye are they,</q> says He to them, <q>who +have continued with me in my temptations</q><note place='foot'>Luke xxii. 28.</note> and He +speaks of the <q>joy in heaven</q> and again of the <q>joy +in the presence of the angels of God,</q> <q>over one +sinner that repenteth;</q><note place='foot'>Luke xv. 10.</note> every one who turned +to Him with a single heart brought Him gladness. +This joyousness, we may believe, spread +a gleam over the life of our Lord and of His +disciples, until when near the end the shadow +came. The disciples were always slow to understand +His hints of coming sorrow; they could not +conceive that the spiritual triumph was to be +emphasised by being contrasted with bodily +<pb n='179'/><anchor id='Pg179'/> +suffering; and He had no more the heart to +break the whole sad truth to them, than He had +to waken the sleepers at Gethsemane. Circumstances +would teach the apostles all the truth in +time, but even His plain words on the last journey<note place='foot'>Mark x. 33, 34.</note> +do not seem to have been taken literally. +</p> + +<p> +For reasons given in the chronological appendix +I place the return of our Lord through Samaria +early in May <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28. +</p> + +<p> +Between the return through Samaria and the +journey up to <q>the feast of the Jews,</q><note place='foot'>John v. 1.</note> some months +have to be accounted for. St John relates but a +single incident, the cure of the nobleman's son at +Capernaum, as belonging to this time; but I would +also place here the preaching in the synagogues in +Galilee mentioned by St Luke. His words are— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into +Galilee: and a fame went out concerning him through +all the region round about. And he taught in their +synagogues, being glorified of all.</q><note place='foot'>Luke iv. 14, 15.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +This is parallel with St John's statement, before +discussed, <q>The Galilæans received Him, having +seen all the things that He did at Jerusalem at the +feast.</q><note place='foot'>John iv. 45.</note> +</p> + +<p> +I also refer to this period the preaching in the +synagogue at Nazareth. The tone of this discourse +as I have already observed (pp. <ref target='Pg164'>164</ref>, <ref target='Pg165'>165</ref>) tallies +with the notion before advanced of a previous ill +<pb n='180'/><anchor id='Pg180'/> +reception of our Lord at Nazareth. There is no +mention of our Lord's mother or brethren, they +had left Nazareth (John ii. 12) and we do not hear +of their return. At other places in Galilee, our Lord +had been received with enthusiasm, but at Nazareth +petty jealousies prevailed. He does not, in +this sermon, speak like one returning with renown +to a warm welcome in his own town. He has an +air of expecting opposition, as if He had met with +it before. He condemns the narrow localising +spirit of His hearers, and goes so far as to impugn +the exclusive claim of the people of Israel to be +the recipients of the favour of God. +</p> + +<p> +It is to be remarked that no mention is made +of <emph>disciples</emph> being in attendance upon our Lord, +from the time of His reaching Galilee by way of +Samaria to that of His presenting Himself to the +four Apostles by the Lake shore—that is, as I take +it, from May to October <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28.<note place='foot'>If a body of disciples had accompanied our Lord to Nazareth, +they would probably have offered some opposition to the Nazarenes. +The absence of all mention of disciples in St Luke, chap. iv. gives +reason for supposing that the visit to Nazareth here recorded is +not the same with that related in St Matthew and St Mark; for the +disciples were then present. See Mark vi. 1-6, Matth. xiii. 53.</note> The little company +that came through Samaria probably broke up +on reaching Galilee. They had their bread to earn +and for the most part went back to their callings; +while our Lord during the summer of <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28 was +preaching in various synagogues, and went, almost +<pb n='181'/><anchor id='Pg181'/> +unattended, to Jerusalem. The absence of His +followers would account for the scantiness of our +information as to this period. +</p> + +<p> +I suppose that the feast spoken of in St +John's Gospel (chap. v. 1), took place early in the +autumn of the same year <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28. It was, I conceive, +about the close of this feast that the Baptist was +thrown into prison; upon this, our Lord returned +into Galilee, and His official ministry began.<note place='foot'>I incline to the old view which identified this feast with the +feast of Tabernacles; the time suits well with my chronological +scheme. This was <q><emph>the</emph> feast</q> of the Jews, it caused great stir. Now +Josephus tells us, that Herod put John in prison because men +came to him in crowds. This was more likely to happen when +men were set free from their work by the holiday than at other +times. It is true that in ch. vii. 2, John calls the feast of tabernacles +by name. But he is there writing his own account, while here he +is only recasting, as I believe, what he has received from an eye-witness. +This may account for the difference of expression. Some +MSS. but not the weightiest, read <q><emph>the</emph> feast,</q> in John v. 1. If +this were received it would go far to settle the point.</note> +</p> + +<p> +We cannot suppose Him to have been quite +alone at this feast at Jerusalem, because some one +must have been there to report what took place. I +do not think that John was with our Lord at the +feast, because, if he had been so, he could only +have been absent from Him a few days before our +Lord rejoined him on the Lake shore, and the +incidents of this call give the impression that the +separation had been of much greater length. I +incline to think that our Lord was attended by +Philip, who alone, at that time, had received the +<pb n='182'/><anchor id='Pg182'/> +order <q>Follow Me.</q><note place='foot'>John i. 43.</note> If John drew some of his +information from Philip, this will help to account +for his frequent mention of him.<note place='foot'>The historical part of John Chap. 5, vv. 1-18 has the air of an +account condensed from materials furnished by another. We are +told that Philip was bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia. He may therefore +have kept up communication with John at Ephesus.</note> +</p> + +<p> +It was on our Lord's visit to this feast that He +first incurred the active enmity of the Scribes. It +followed from His miracle at the pool of Bethesda, +which took place on the Sabbath day. Since the +cure was wrought by a word there was no breach +of the law; but <q>the Jews</q> (by which word St +John indicates the hierarchy) were shocked that +He should tell the man to carry his bed on the +Sabbath day. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>The man went away, and told the Jews that it was +Jesus which had made him whole. And for this cause +did the Jews persecute Jesus, because he did these things +on the sabbath. But Jesus answered them, My Father +worketh even until now, and I work. For this cause +therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because +he not only brake the sabbath, but also called God his +own Father, making himself equal with God.</q><note place='foot'>John v. 15-18.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +The hostility of the Scribes, we see, is very +deadly. The Pharisees are often scandalised at +infractions of their sabbath notions, but they +do not seek our Lord's death as the Scribes do. +The latter were probably Sadducees, tinged with +<pb n='183'/><anchor id='Pg183'/> +western philosophy, and they were actuated by +other motives beside zeal for the Law. +</p> + +<p> +For one thing, they were in reality made uneasy +by our Lord's assertion that a living God was +working among them and close by. Ministers of +state who have possessed themselves of sovereign +power are startled and infuriated if their nominal +monarch personally asserts his power: and, something +in the same way, a priesthood occupied in +promulgating ecclesiastical laws and carrying on +the externals of worship were frightened at the +announcement that God, instead of leaving matters +for them to manage, had Himself come to reign +and rule upon the earth. +</p> + +<p> +But what was more effective than even spiritual +awe was their personal alarm. The dread which one +of their body afterwards expressed—<q>The Romans +will come and take away both our place and our +nation</q><note place='foot'>John xi. 48.</note>—was always over their heads. They were +a sacerdotal oligarchy trembling for their existence. +The people hated the Romans, and the Scribes were +bound to stand well with both: an outbreak might +bring to an end whatever ecclesiastical independence +they still possessed. The priesthood saw +something in our Lord which might lead the people +to take Him and make Him a king. +</p> + +<p> +The reply, <q>My Father worketh hitherto and I +work,</q><note place='foot'>John v. 17.</note> is characteristic of our Lord's way. He +does not meet the charge by contesting the interpretation +<pb n='184'/><anchor id='Pg184'/> +of the Law. He ignores all quibbles of +legality and goes to the root of the matter. It is +by the working of God that the world is maintained. +His Father worketh hitherto, on Sabbath days and +all, and He, the Son, follows in His Father's ways. +The same test of Sonship—that the child takes +after the Father—is applied in the Sermon on the +mount.<note place='foot'>Matth. v. 45.</note> +</p> + +<p> +I must notice another verse of this discourse, +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me +not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will +receive.</q><note place='foot'>John v. 43.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +Our Lord here lays bare the reason why so +few would follow Him. He touches the very centre +of the matter. To kindle enthusiasm among a +mass of men, you must have a person or a name. +A cause is best embodied in an actual claimant +standing before men's eyes; but failing this they +will often rally to a <emph>name</emph> that they know. Our +Lord used only His Father's name; this did not +move their human sympathies for <q>The Father</q> +had no personality for them. It was reserved for +the Apostles to draw men over to the Faith, and +they were given the advantage which Jesus was +content to forego. They could put forward a +personal claimant for the loyalty of men: they +had Christ's story to tell and Christ's name for a +watchword and they won men for the kingdom of +<pb n='185'/><anchor id='Pg185'/> +God by gaining their homage for the Son of +Man. +</p> + +<p> +The temporary separation of the Apostles from +our Lord during the summer of <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28 may +have answered higher ends than merely enabling +them to earn their livelihood. It gave them time +to think over the events of the last six months. +</p> + +<p> +It is a feature of our Lord's way in His course +of teaching, not to suffer one set of ideas or influences +to be disturbed before they have had time +to take root. After a period of stress, or when new +impressions had been stamped on the minds of +his disciples, He provides for them an interval of +calm. When the disciples return exulting from +their mission through the cities, He says, <q>Come +ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a +while.</q> When crowds thronged them and courted +them for access to their Master, He carried them +away, that the impressions He wanted to preserve +might not be effaced in the turmoil. It may have +been in pursuance of this treatment that, after the +resurrection, they were sent for a time into Galilee, +there to wait and to watch. +</p> + +<p> +All teachers know that the time of rest that +follows a period in which new matter has been taken +into the mind is precious for good mental growth: +conceptions then become more clear and complete, +and effect a sure lodgement in the mind: but this, +like many processes in education, helps to widen +the distance between the weak and the strong. +For it is only with the more thoughtful that this +<pb n='186'/><anchor id='Pg186'/> +half unconscious brain-process goes on; the active +minded mature their acquirements during rest, +while the unthinking let them fade away. It +argued well, in consequence, for Peter and Andrew +and John, that Christ's influence had lost nothing +through (as I believe) weeks of separation, but that +as soon as they were called they sprang to their +feet at once,—<q>they straightway left the nets and +followed Him.</q><note place='foot'>Matth. iv. 20.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Reverence for great men whom we have known, +and the power of appreciating them, grow during +absence. We may have been living so familiarly +with one far above the common standard, that we +may almost lose thought of his greatness; the +little matters of common life, which come before us +everyday, take more than their share of notice; and, +as regards these, great men and smaller ones must +be much alike. But when we are away from our +guide, our recollections turn to what is distinctive +of him—to the points in which he contrasts with +everyday men: what he had in common with such +disappears, and our mental portrait preserves what +is characteristic, and gives us the individual more +forcibly than our nearer view had done. We often +first become aware of the true proportions of greatness, +when we look back on it from a little way +off. Out of a range of mountains, all, when seen +from the valley, appearing much of a height, one is +found to vastly out-top the rest when we mount +the opposite hill-side. +</p> + +<pb n='187'/><anchor id='Pg187'/> + +<p> +We may suppose that some process like this +was going on in the minds of Peter and Andrew +and James and John during that summer spent in +their fishers' work by the Sea of Galilee. Our +Lord's image would, all the more, be kept alive in +their minds because when they chanced to meet +their talk would be of Him; and their Master's +form would seem to rise before them when they sat +beside one another, with their boats drawn up on +the beach. We need not suppose that they saw into +their Master's plans, far less into His nature; we do +not know that they had heard <emph>from Him</emph> about the +Kingdom of Heaven which the Baptist had told +them was at hand; but the foundation for Faith +was being laid in a capacity for intense personal +devotion. First they learnt to love the Master +whom they saw by their side; next, by thinking of +Him while He was away, they learned how much +they loved Him, and became aware that their +affection for Him had in it something different +from the common affections they knew. Shortly, +as we shall presently see, a sense of shelter and of +fostering protection mingled with this love, and +grew into a trust, first in the Master who was with +them, and afterwards in the Lord in Heaven. It +is hardly too much to say that the germ of the +new quality, which was to order the world afresh, +was planted in men's hearts by the side of the Sea +of Galilee in that summer of <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28, and that +then Faith—Faith as our Lord speaks of it—dawned +upon the world. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='188'/><anchor id='Pg188'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter VII. The Preaching To The Multitudes.</head> + +<p> +It was, as I believe, soon after that <q>feast of +the Jews</q> lately mentioned (pp. <ref target='Pg180'>180</ref> and <ref target='Pg181'>181</ref> note), +that the news of the apprehension of the Baptist +by Herod reached our Lord at Jerusalem. At +once He enters on His own Great Work<note place='foot'>I place this advent of our Lord into Galilee at the end of +September <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28, but the evidence is insufficient for a positive +opinion. My reasons for supposing that John was not imprisoned till +after this feast are as follows. The Synoptists say that after John's +imprisonment our Lord came into Galilee preaching the Kingdom. +Now when He returned through Samaria He did <emph>not</emph> begin to +preach the Kingdom, and therefore the advent of Mark i. 14 refers +to some other occasion; I believe to a subsequent one. In St +John's Gospel chaps. iv. and v. we hear nothing of <q>the Kingdom</q> +and no disciples are mentioned as attending our Lord. I think +therefore that the events related in these chapters occurred before +the advent into Galilee; this is one argument for placing this visit +to the feast, where I do. Moreover it is hard to find another place +for it. The Synoptical narrative is fairly continuous from the +advent (Mark i. 14) up to the journey to the Feast of Tabernacles, +and there is in it no mention either of a visit to Jerusalem, which +must have occupied several days, or of our Lord's quitting His +disciples. All proceeds consistently if we suppose, as I have +done, that John was put in prison at the time of this feast or +soon after. But there is one difficulty about this. Our Lord says +of the Baptist John v. 35, <q>He <emph>was</emph> the lamp that burneth and +shineth, and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.</q> +The use of the imperfect tense is supposed to show that John was +in prison when this was said, but surely if it is to be pressed +rigorously it would mean that he was <emph>dead</emph>: for he received his +disciples in prison and could give counsel and direction to those +without. He did not cease to shine for <emph>them</emph>. I take these +words to mean that he was no longer a light to the Priests and +Levites. They had gone to him when he was preaching in the +wilderness of Judæa, Matth. iii. 5, and afterwards they had sent +to him in Bethany beyond Jordan: he was now in the territory +of Herod, and there he was out of sight, and with the Priests and +Levites he was out of mind. They could not make him a partisan +or an ally and they had given him up. If John was in prison +at this time, his imprisonment must have been a recent event, +and we should expect our Lord to allude to it when He speaks +of him.</note> and +<pb n='189'/><anchor id='Pg189'/> +goes straight into Galilee, preaching on the way that +the Kingdom of God is come. The reasons for +His holding back, came to an end together with +the liberty of John. We lose now the guidance of +St John, and we pass to the more continuous +transcript of events which the Synoptists give. +</p> + +<p> +Up to this time of His advent into Galilee our +Lord was in part, as I have said, exploring the condition +and the tempers of the people in quest of +the fittest cradle for the Faith. It may possibly +have been that our Lord in His visit to Jerusalem +was giving the Holy City a last trial; but I see +no ground to suppose that our Lord ever seriously +contemplated any course different from that which +He actually took. In any case, this outbreak of +<pb n='190'/><anchor id='Pg190'/> +hostility on the part of the scribes settled the matter: +for the kind of mental growth which our Lord +wished to bring about in the disciples could not +go on in the midst of party warfare. +</p> + +<p> +Young men on the watch for attack are not +in a state for fertilizing "seed thoughts" or for +turning over hard matters in their minds, and care +for the state of the recipient characterizes the +teaching of Christ. Men are to take heed <emph>how</emph> they +hear, as well as what they hear, and are to reach full +growth and shape, not from outward moulding but +by living process from within. Our Lord's eye is +never off His pupils, and yet visible direction hardly +ever appears; He sways them by an insensible touch. +A great truth is brought to light by an incident of +wonder, a pregnant word is let drop, a hard parable +is delivered now and then; but between whiles the +disciples are left to dwell on their own thoughts, +as their fishing boat sails along, or as they follow +their Master among the northern hills. Our Lord +is ever bent on making men thoughtful and on +calling out in each the inner life which is proper +to the man, and for this, tranquillity, or at least +frequent opportunity for quiet communing with +their own thoughts, was absolutely required. +</p> + +<p> +The antagonism at Jerusalem might have +stopped short of violence and yet the wrangling +spirit of the place might have had a very evil effect +on the disciples. It was above all essential that +they should have a single hearted love of truth; +<pb n='191'/><anchor id='Pg191'/> +and this can hardly grow up when party is ranged +against party and each tries to set the views and +statements of the other in the most damaging light, +and to dispose his own propositions in polemical +order with a strategic view. As soon therefore as +the hostility of the scribes was displayed, it became +clear, that the schooling of the Apostles must be +brought about elsewhere than in Judæa. But apart +from this, Jerusalem was, for other reasons easy to +perceive, ill-suited for the purpose. It was too +Academical; the place was full of Rabbis, round +whose feet a circle of pupils sat. Each school +adopted its master's <foreign rend='italic'>dicta</foreign> with the undiscriminating +loyalty of youth; and the scholars of other +teachers, by steadily taking it for granted that +Jesus of Nazareth was a teacher like the Rabbis +they knew, would have half persuaded His followers +that there was something in common between Him +and the Doctors who expounded the Law. +</p> + +<p> +The Rabbis gave their scholars something to +show for their lessons—expositions of the Law +and systematic doctrine—and their pupils would +have said to the disciples, <q>Our master gives us +this or that; what does your master give you?</q> This +would have set them looking for what was intentionally +withheld. Our Lord did not fill them +with opinions or directions to be remembered, but +He made them what He wanted them to be. +</p> + +<p> +To understand how wisely things were ordered, +we must give a glance to what would have been +<pb n='192'/><anchor id='Pg192'/> +the result of the most obvious and apparently +<q>the most natural</q> course. Our Lord's brethren +recommended that He should go and show Himself +and teach at Jerusalem. I have shown the ill +effects this would have had on the training of the +disciples; I will now say a word on the way in +which it would have affected the Church. If +Jerusalem had been the seat of teaching, the disciples +there, instead of numbering <q>a hundred and +twenty,</q> would have been a large body. Possibly +they might have offered armed resistance to the +apprehension of our Lord; and the whole moral of +the action would have been lost if they had. But +passing this by, if a large body of disciples dwelling +at Jerusalem had claimed our Lord as peculiarly +their own, the universality of His work would have +been obscured. The Church at Jerusalem might +have dwelt more on His being their particular +Founder and Bishop than on His being the Redeemer +of the World. +</p> + +<p> +Again, How would it have been with the +authority of the Twelve? Those who had sat at +His feet and listened, just as the Apostles had +done, might have hesitated when He was gone to +acknowledge the Twelve as the <emph>founders</emph> of the +Church; for the Church, they would have said, +began with themselves. More than this, practical +evils would have come about; for these original +disciples, regarding themselves as the depositaries +of tradition, would have recalled every practice of +<pb n='193'/><anchor id='Pg193'/> +their Lord,—for instance the way in which He had +given thanks at meat, or ordered service in prayer, +as well as His practice as to the Sabbath and +fasting,—these would have been passed down as +Divinely sanctioned, and the externals of religion +would have been stereotyped as thoroughly as +though they had been a new Ceremonial Law, +like that from which He desired to release mankind. +Moreover the body of believers who had +personally known our Lord, would have constituted +a kind of ecclesiastical aristocracy; and distinctions—respect +of persons—would have been introduced +from the first. What actually happened was far +more consistent with the general tenour of Christ's +plan so far as we can make it out. The few original +disciples at Jerusalem were lost in the crowd who +were added to the Church after the day of Pentecost, +and the Apostles ruled with unquestioned authority +from the first. +</p> + +<p> +Galilee we have seen, as a retired spot with an +honest-hearted people, was admirably fitted for the +scene of the ministry; but yet it could not be <q>that +a prophet should perish out of Jerusalem,</q> and it +was imperative that there the end should come. +The Holy City was also fitted, in a very peculiar +manner, to be the centre from which the new movement +was to radiate forth. The Lord's death, +the Supreme Event in the history of mankind, was +not to take place in a corner. The circumstances +of it could not be too notorious or too widely +<pb n='194'/><anchor id='Pg194'/> +vouched. It was to be made known in East and +West to the Hebrew, the Greek, the Roman and to +all mankind. Now Jerusalem, both geographically, +and as the point to which the Jews of the dispersion +bent watchful eyes from many lands, was wondrously +adapted to be a centre of diffusion. It was in a +very remarkable way a <q>city set upon a hill.</q> It +stood accessible to three continents, at the centre +of gravity of the known world, and it was on the +watershed of two civilizations: the Aryan and +Semitic races and languages and the different +modes of thinking which go along with the languages +were brought together there. +</p> + +<p> +Moreover, owing to the dispersion of the Jews +and their custom of visiting Jerusalem at the great +feasts when they possibly could, <q>devout men +from every nation under Heaven</q> were drawn +together there from time to time, and a common +interest in what concerned <q>Israel</q> was spread +over the globe. The agency of these festivals connected +Jerusalem, as by electric threads, with every +great city in the inhabited world, and the Israelites +who were settled in every large town of the empire +afterwards provided nests for the new Faith. +</p> + +<p> +The Apostles, as was natural, after the Resurrection +went back to Galilee. It can only have been +owing to directions they must have received, that +they <emph>all</emph> returned to Jerusalem for the Ascension. +Our Lord then enjoined them to remain and from +thence to propagate the Faith. This injunction +<pb n='195'/><anchor id='Pg195'/> +explains their abandonment of their homes and +callings, which is hard to account for otherwise. +</p> + +<p> +I now proceed with the history. During this +chapter I shall for the most part follow St Mark, +who relates the events nearly in the order in which +I believe they happened. After a brief notice of +John and of the temptation he proceeds thus: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Now after that John was delivered up, Jesus came +into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, +The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at +hand: repent ye, and believe in the gospel.</q><note place='foot'>Mark i. 14, 15.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +The Evangelist does not say that our Lord came +from Judæa, but He could have come from nowhere +else. It would seem that our Lord on arriving in +Galilee went at once to the Lake shore and called +the two pair of fisher brethren to His side. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And passing along by the sea of Galilee, he saw +Simon and Andrew brother of Simon casting a net in the +sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, +Come ye after me, and I will make you to become +fishers of men. And straightway they left the nets, +and followed him. And going on a little farther, he +saw James the <emph>son</emph> of Zebedee, and John his brother, who +also were in the boat mending the nets. And straightway +he called them: and they left their father Zebedee +in the boat with the hired servants, and went after him.</q><note place='foot'>Mark i. 16-20.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +This passage would offer an opening for criticism, +if it were not for the light thrown on it by St +<pb n='196'/><anchor id='Pg196'/> +John's Gospel, by help of which an apparent +difficulty is turned into a coincidence. +</p> + +<p> +If we did not possess the Gospel of St John, the +story of the call of the Apostles would stand thus: +It would appear that our Lord came down to the +Sea of Galilee, and said to two fishermen—whom, +for all we should know to the contrary, He had +never seen before,—<q>Come ye after me, and I +will make you to become fishers of men.</q> These +would seem startling words to hear from a stranger, +but the brothers, without asking further, and without +one consulting the other, at once left their +work and followed our Lord. +</p> + +<p> +This would be unlikely, but not passing belief; +men are mastered in a moment, by personal influence, +now and then; but still the preponderance +of probabilities is against the truth of the story. +The Evangelist however goes on to relate that +our Lord passes on along the Lake side, and +within a few hundred yards comes upon another +pair of brothers, also fishermen; he addresses them +nearly in the same terms and they also leave their +nets and follow Him. Now this repetition, the +critic would say, savours in itself of the Eastern +legend. But, what is far more than this, the combination +of the two improbabilities produces an +improbability of a far higher order.<note place='foot'>For instance, if the separate probability of each of two events +is 1/10, that of the joint event is 1/10 x 1/10 or 1/100, or there are ninety-nine +chances to one against it.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='197'/><anchor id='Pg197'/> + +<p> +The information gained from the Gospel of St +John clears the difficulty away. We may learn +from this, how a word or two of fresh information +might, in like manner, clear away other discrepancies +which are stumbling-blocks to learners now. +</p> + +<p> +There we find, that these fisher brethren were +old disciples of our Lord. It is consistent with the +Gospel to suppose that during the summer they had +been at their work, nursing the memory of their +Master all the time. They now hear that He has +come preaching the Kingdom of God in their own +land. They are waiting for Him and expecting His +call. The two pair of brethren stood in the same +relation to Him, consequently they were treated in +the same way, and the result was naturally the same. +This unhesitating compliance on the part of the brethren, +which seems so strange, points to a previous +acquaintance with our Lord; of this acquaintance +St John's Gospel speaks, and so St Mark strengthens +St John just as St John does St Mark. +</p> + +<p> +In the Gospels of St Matthew and St Mark, +which we suppose to be both based on a primitive +document, the story is told without the slightest +idea of obviating objection or mistrust. The writers +never appear to contemplate readers to whom the +fact that Simon and the rest had, before this, been +associated with our Lord should be unknown. They +took it for granted that this was too notorious +to call for mention. +</p> + +<p> +But we have another Evangelist, St Luke, a +more practised writer, whose design was to present +<pb n='198'/><anchor id='Pg198'/> +his account in a coherent form. He did not possess +the Gospel of St John and possibly did not know the +particulars of the earlier call of Simon and Andrew +and John. It may well have been that he was +himself somewhat startled at the abruptness of our +Lord's call to the Apostles, and at their unhesitating +compliance with it, as related in the primitive document, +and felt that it required to be accounted for: +consequently, having the account of the miraculous +draught of fishes among the materials he speaks +of—an account not contained in the Gospels of +St Matthew and St Mark—he finds in this Sign an +explanation of the prompt adherence of the pairs +of brethren, and he combines the two events. +</p> + +<p> +We should gather from him that the Apostles +were struck by the miraculous draught of fishes, +and that the Lord thereupon invited them to follow +and become <q>fishers of men,</q> but I think it most +likely that the call took place as St Matthew and +St Mark relate. The circumstantial minuteness of +the details in these two Gospels, and the naturalness +of the picture—two brothers are engaged in +casting, and the other pair in mending their nets—convinces +me that this relation comes originally +from one who saw for himself. This draught of +fishes may have taken place some days after the +call of the brethren. For we need not suppose, +that, before the Twelve were chosen, those who +were called abandoned the craft by which they +lived, although they probably resorted to their +Master day by day. +</p> + +<pb n='199'/><anchor id='Pg199'/> + +<p> +The early miracles were mostly wrought in the +sight of the multitude; they seem meant to show +that the Kingdom of God was come; but this +miracle of the draught of fishes was performed +when few but disciples were by. It was a miracle +of instruction, it lent great impressiveness to great +lessons; it emphasized in a way never to be forgotten +the call to become <q>fishers of men,</q> and +it gave good augury of success. The thought of +this draught must have come back to Peter at +many a juncture in his life, a notable one being +the morrow of the Feast of Pentecost, when <q>there +were added unto them in that day about 3000 souls.</q><note place='foot'>Acts ii. 41.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The Apostles may have learned another lesson +from this miracle. All night they had toiled and +taken nothing, yet they had not given up in despair +but had worked on hard; the morning brought +success beyond all hope. Men, waiting long for the +yield of their labour, have found encouragement +in calling this to mind. Simon, though thinking +there is little hope of taking fish, nevertheless obeys +at once. He frankly tells his Master his view of +a matter about which he might be supposed to +know best, and leaves Him to judge, but he does +immediately as his Master bids. Our Lord does +not <emph>promise</emph> him success; He only tells him to try +once more; and thereupon without a word, wearied +and out of heart as he may be supposed to have +been by a night of bootless labour, he does what +<pb n='200'/><anchor id='Pg200'/> +he is told. It is enough for Simon to know that his +Master wishes him to <q>Put out into the deep and +let down his nets for a draught.</q><note place='foot'>Luke v. 4.</note> His cheerful +compliance shews a happy disposition and a loyal +nature; for if there had been a grain of peevishness +or selfishness in him, it would have been likely to +be uppermost then. +</p> + +<p> +In the last chapter, we saw our Lord exploring +the characters of classes of men. His eye is now +turned on individuals; He is peering down into His +disciples' hearts, taking them unawares, when their +every day selves lie uppermost, putting them, by +chance as it were, through some little exercise which +shall reveal some tendency or some hidden quality; +and to our Lord this incident brought the secret +heart of Simon into the light of day. +</p> + +<p> +It shewed that he was altogether free from that +kind of stubbornness which is born of self-regard, +and that he did not attach a sanctity to an opinion +or a resolve, merely because it was his. He learnt +from this miracle that it was best to trust to Christ. +He might say to himself, <q>I never felt more convinced +that we should take nothing by letting +down the nets, than I did on that morning on the +lake, but I let them down and found I was wrong.</q> +A memorable act is not done with, educationally, +when it is over. The recollection of it is an attendant +monitor always pointing the same way; and +so this miracle may have done much towards accustoming +<pb n='201'/><anchor id='Pg201'/> +Peter to look to the Lord's prompting, +and to be ready at His word to give up that about +which he felt most sure. It may well have helped +him to that openness of mind, which stood the +Church in good stead, years after at Joppa, when +the envoys of Cornelius were knocking at Peter's +door. +</p> + +<p> +This miracle has been called a miracle of +coincidence, meaning that the marvel lay in the +passing of the shoal at the moment when the net +was cast; it might not be a miracle at all, because +the chances against its being a natural phenomenon, +though enormous, are not absolutely infinite. It is +not one which would appal ordinary beholders: +the boatmen, we may suppose, thought chiefly of +securing the fish. Our Lord is now testing the +capacity of men for discerning God, and He therefore +performs miracles of a less striking order first; +these impress those only who have their eyes open +for the manifestation of what is spiritual; and those +who are found to possess this <q>vision and faculty +Divine</q> are afterwards shewn <q>greater things than +these.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Simon had no doubt seen our Lord work +cures, but this mastery of our Lord over the +creation comes more home to him than His +power over disease, and his feelings break forth. +It is characteristic of him, that what is in him <emph>must +come out</emph> at once; whether it be an objection that +occurs to him, or a motion of indignation or of +<pb n='202'/><anchor id='Pg202'/> +elation, or of the panic to which Orientals are +subject—out it must come; this is the point in +which the identity of his character is most visibly +preserved in all our narratives. Here he is mastered +by the emotions of the moment and must +give them outward show; and along with his gush +of feeling comes the sense of his unworthiness, the +impression of his being wholly unequal to the +duty and position thrust upon him; an impression +not uncommon with men in such junctures; +though biographies abundantly show that those +who feel it most very often acquit themselves +admirably when the trial comes. Touched by this, +Simon throws himself at his Master's feet and +says, <q>Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O +Lord.</q><note place='foot'>Luke v. 8.</note> +</p> + +<p> +We go back now to the course of the narrative +in St Mark's Gospel, and there we find that the +first thing which struck the hearers of our Lord +was the <emph>authority</emph> with which He spoke. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And they were astonished at his teaching: for he +taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes.</q><note place='foot'>Mark i. 22.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +We saw in the last chapter, that men bowed to +the authority in the air of our Lord when He purged +the Temple of Jerusalem: this authority now +passed into His words, and it swayed the hearts +of men. It is the special instinct of a crowd that +it quickly discerns those whom it must hear, and +<pb n='203'/><anchor id='Pg203'/> +this multitude saw that our Lord had something +to tell them and that, not of tradition, but out of +His own very self. Here was a genuine authority +coming of nature or of God, by the side of which +the stated legal authority of the officiating scribes +paled away out of sight. +</p> + +<p> +In what ways was it, we may ask, that this +authority of Christ shone out now, and took such +hold of men? First of all, I would answer, He +brought to the birth, within men, thoughts which +were lying in embryo in their own hearts. This, +which was also Socrates' way, I have spoken of +in the Introductory Chapter and once or twice +since. Our Lord wakened within men the perception +of truths which they seemed to have once +known and forgotten; especially that God was the +Father, not only of Israel as a nation, but of every +particular man in it. The common people had been +told by the learned that they were not worth God's +notice, and when Christ asserted the dignity of each +individual soul they said to themselves <q>we always +thought it must be so; and so it is.</q> The beatitudes +in like manner commended themselves to men's +hearts; they felt that if there was a God in the +world, it ought to be as our Lord said it was. +</p> + +<p> +Secondly, our Lord not only <emph>told</emph> men that they +were the children of God, that they should strive +after their Father's likeness, and that they might +approach nearer and nearer to being perfect as He +is perfect: but, what was more than this, in every +<pb n='204'/><anchor id='Pg204'/> +word He spake,—whether of teaching, or reproof, +or expostulation, or in His passing words to those +who received His mercies—He <emph>treated</emph> them as +God's children. Man, as man, has in His eyes a +right to respect. Anger we find with our Lord often, +as also surprise at slowness of heart, indignation at +hypocrisy and at the Rabbinical evasions of the +Law; but never in our Lord's words or looks do we +find personal disdain. Towards no human being +does He shew contempt. The scribe would have +trodden the rabble out of existence; but there is +no such thing as rabble in our Lord's eyes. The +master, in the parable, asks concerning the tree, +which is unproductively exhausting the soil, why +cumbers it the ground; but it is not to be rooted +up, till all has been tried. There it stands, and mere +existence gives it claims, for all that exists is the +Father's. This notion, that every thing belonged +to God, and was therefore to be reverently regarded, +lay very deep in the hearts of the children +of Israel, even the poorest in Galilee; and when the +Lord brought it to light, men listened to Him with +breathless respect. +</p> + +<p> +Thirdly. If a scribe spoke to the people, he +bethought himself of topics within their comprehension: +he had a double self; one he showed to +them and one he kept for his equals: he was afraid +of talking over his hearers' heads, so he took them +on the side of what he supposed they might understand, +of their interests, for example, and spoke +<pb n='205'/><anchor id='Pg205'/> +of the advantages of good repute, or, at the highest, +of the blessings which God brought on His servants +in this life and hereafter, and of the ill fate which +awaited offenders. All this implied, <q>We who speak +to you, of course, have for ourselves higher principles +and purer motives than those we have named, but +these are quite good enough for you.</q> Now there +is nothing that men, young or old, so surely detect, +as whether a man serves them with the same +thoughts that he gives to himself and his friends. +</p> + +<p> +The people, moreover, are always grateful for +being supposed capable of higher sentiments than +mere hope of gain and fear of loss, and for +the appreciation shewn in taking them on higher +ground; they seldom fail the speaker who boldly +addresses their consciences; they are eager to +justify his trust in them: <q>He has treated us as +men,</q> they say, <q>and men he shall find we are.</q> +Above all they feel the compliment of being +not flattered, but supposed reasonable enough to +hear the truth about themselves and shewn their +failings; and we feel sure that men went away +from the Sermon on the Mount confident of +Christ's respect and regard for them, without His +telling them of it in so many words. He talks to +them quite naturally of <emph>their</emph> Father who is also +<emph>His</emph> Father, just as men speak of any common tie: +and this took hold of their hearts. +</p> + +<p> +Fourthly. We find in the earlier portions of the +Sermon on the Mount, which best represent this +<pb n='206'/><anchor id='Pg206'/> +preaching to the multitude,<note place='foot'>By comparing the Sermon on the Mount with the parallel +passages in St Luke we find that much of it must have been spoken +after the call of the Apostles: this applies particularly to the latter +half of the discourse.</note> that our Lord assumes +a certain positive authority, by putting His own +commands in contrast with the written Law. +</p> + +<p> +It had probably been given out by our Lord's +opponents that He had come to destroy the Law, +and our Lord in this Sermon declares that He is +not come to destroy but to fulfil. +</p> + +<p> +We shall see the point most clearly, if we +understand the word <q>fulfil,</q> to mean, <q>carry out +into its full completeness.</q> For our Lord does not +<emph>destroy</emph> the Law but he <emph>supersedes</emph> it by bringing +God's ways to light, and merging in this light the +previous partial revelations, of which the Mosaic +Law was one. A mathematician supersedes the +practical rules which the pupil at first employs for +solving particular cases of a problem, by giving a +complete and general solution of the whole subject. +This may illustrate the way in which our Lord +merges the particular case of human conduct in +a wider rule embracing human dispositions, and +which regards, not only what men <emph>do</emph>, but also +what they <emph>are</emph>, and what they will <emph>become</emph>. +</p> + +<p> +To take another point. Slavery to the letter +of a written Law hampered moral and spiritual +growth; it led men to regard authority as the sole +test of truth; it tended to prevent their thinking for +<pb n='207'/><anchor id='Pg207'/> +themselves as our Lord desired them to do. No +word of our Lord countenances the idea of verbal +inspiration. He treats the provisions of the Levitical +Law as subject to criticism, He never attributes +them to God, but either to Moses or those of old +time, and after quoting them in His sermon and elsewhere +He commonly adds, <q>But <emph>I</emph> say unto you</q> +and then delivers His own precept—embracing +that of Moses no doubt—but so widely overstepping +it, that it would seem to the people +to amount to a repeal. A teaching which claimed +authority coordinate with that of Moses might well +startle the multitude by its contrast with that of +the scribes. +</p> + +<p> +It may be asked—<q>Why, if our Lord desired +to free men's minds, did He not declare how far +and in what sense their sacred books contained the +word of God.</q> We answer, <q>He would have +caused utter bewilderment if He had entered on +such a matter at all.</q> The truth may be gathered +by observing His practice. He never states abstract +principles, but He acts as He deems fit and leaves +us to infer His views by marking what He does. +He never contests the rules about the Sabbath, but +He observes them only in His own way. He does +not tell the Jews that their Law is not traced by +the finger of God, but He amends and criticizes +its provisions as though they were of man. +</p> + +<p> +Let us suppose, for a moment—not of course +that He had cried down the Law like one who +<pb n='208'/><anchor id='Pg208'/> +exulted in finding a flaw—but that He had attempted +to put into men's heads views about it +which their minds had not yet shaped themselves +to receive; that He had told them, for instance, +that laws must be fitted to human needs, and that +as these needs vary, laws must vary too, and +cannot be the subject of an ordinance unchanging +and Divine. Could He, by such explanations, have +given His auditors any true view of Divine rule? +Would not the Galileans have cried out, <q>That +if the tables of the Law were not graven by God's +finger they were nothing at all?</q> Nothing, in our +Lord's wisdom, strikes me more than His moderation +with regard to error. What seems false to one +man's mind may be true to that of another. When +men, as soon as they spy out an error, cry, <q>Root it +up,</q> our Lord seems to answer, <q>Along with the +tares some wheat needs must go.</q> Men are complex +beings; and much that is best in them is so intertwined +with habits and association that we cannot +sweep away long-standing notions and outward +symbols and ceremonies without destroying also +what is of the essence. Take away from an +Italian woman her belief in the Virgin, or from a +Scotch peasant that in the sacred obligation of the +Sabbath, and a great deal of what is best in them +will go too. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord's way of proceeding is always positive, +never merely negative. He leaves the Law, but He +sows seed which will grow up and displace the spirit +<pb n='209'/><anchor id='Pg209'/> +of blind subservience to it: just as some particular +species in the herbage of a land is often ousted +when a more robust one is brought in. The +Apostles had, up to the end, many wrong notions, +and we may wonder why our Lord did not set +them right; but it would have shaken the whole +fabric of their belief if He had so done; and the +sure teaching of circumstances would, as He knew, +dissipate the errors in time. +</p> + +<p> +So far we have dealt chiefly with the <emph>matter</emph> of +our Lord's teaching of the multitudes, but something +must be said about its <emph>form</emph>. One striking point +in our Lord's practice in contrast with that of the +scribes, is this. He cites no authorities, all comes +from Himself; there is hardly a text of Scripture +in the fifth chapter of St Matthew, except those +which are quoted in order to be extended or gainsaid. +The scribes depended on their learning, they +overwhelmed men with quotations, they laid text +by text, and built up their conclusions upon an +array of authorities. Now a preacher, or a teacher +of any kind, is sure to lose hold of his audience +when he goes away from himself and gives other +people's opinions instead of his own. They look to +him for guidance; and when he says, <q>This is one +man's view and that is another's,</q> and not, <q>This is +<emph>mine</emph>,</q> then they turn from the trumpet of uncertain +sound. The multitude suppose that in all questions +there is a right and a wrong—just as there is a right +and a wrong answer to a sum—and they do not +<pb n='210'/><anchor id='Pg210'/> +want to know what one authority says or the other, +but what they are to accept. +</p> + +<p> +Again, rightly to apprehend the form of this discourse, +we must bear in mind that it is not a written +collection of precepts,—though St Matthew may +have appended some delivered at a later time—and +that still less is it a Code of Laws. It is an oral +address to a crowd of villagers gathered on the top +of the fell. We mark in it the natural rhetoric of +earnest speech: the first necessity is always to win +men to listen, and thus the speaker at the opening +strikes His most impressive chords. +</p> + +<p> +Words of blessing fell on the ears of those who +were used only to hear of their shortcomings and to +be treated as outcasts; and when their attention was +caught by the unusual sound and they listened to +hear who it was who were blessed, they found it +was not the strong and the wealthy and the high +spirited—those whom they regarded as having the +good things of existence while they themselves had +the bad—but the blessed are the poor in spirit, +and this Kingdom of Heaven, newly proclaimed, +belonged to them. The attention caught by the +opening is kept alive by the unexpected nature of +the matter. +</p> + +<p> +Again, our Lord is at pains so to put what He +says that it may not be taken for a fresh body of +injunctions added to the Law; for the people were +already, as He said, overburdened with such injunctions. +He puts therefore what He has to say +<pb n='211'/><anchor id='Pg211'/> +into such strong forms, and, by way of example, takes +such extreme cases, that it is plain that He is illustrating +a principle and not laying down a literal rule. +</p> + +<p> +We have +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Ye have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, +and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, Resist not +him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy +right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man +would go to law with thee, and take away thy coat, let him +have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee +to go one mile, go with him twain.</q><note place='foot'>Matt. v. 38-41.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +He Himself, before the High Priest, does not +submit to wrong, without asking in remonstrance +<q>Why smitest thou me?</q> and the most literal +minded of our Lord's hearers would not have felt +bound to offer his cloke to one who had stolen his +coat. The language shews by its very strength +that it is figurative. +</p> + +<p> +Indeed, a code of Law can hardly be delivered +in an address to a multitude. If it is to meet all +cases it must be complex, and to the hearer +wearisome. If our Lord had delivered a treatise +telling men what they were to do in the ordinary +occasions of life, the precepts must have been so +encumbered by qualifications that all impressiveness +would have been lost. If to the saying +<q>Give to him that asketh of thee</q> our Lord had +appended all the obvious exceptions—such as the +cases in which what is asked for would be hurtful—the +<pb n='212'/><anchor id='Pg212'/> +whole force of the passage would have been +frittered away. As long as a preacher delivers +broad truths, put forcibly, his audience are ready to +hear; but as soon as he begins to qualify his +statements and to make exceptions, his hold over +his hearers is gone, and they think he is unsaying +what he said. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord wished to leave <emph>seed thoughts</emph> lying in +men's minds. He knew that His words would have +to be carried in men's memories for a long while +before being written down. They must therefore +be clad in the form in which they would last +longest and be easiest to carry. He therefore +embodied what He wished to have remembered in +terse sayings, illustrated by cases which are familiar +but extreme. The hearer could carry these sentences +away, and would ponder on them all the +more, because in their literal sense they are startling +and impracticable as rules of conduct. I can conceive +no style better fitted for the purpose which I +believe to have been dominant with our Lord, than +that employed in the Sermon on the Mount. +</p> + +<p> +It seems to me to be part of the strange adaptation +of circumstances to the needs of the Faith, +that what was most vital and most universal was +uttered in the Hebrew tongue. This was the +language of the comparative infancy of the world; +and there is in the genius of it much—especially +its ready lending itself to the form of balanced +sentences—which takes hold of the hearts of untutored +<pb n='213'/><anchor id='Pg213'/> +men. Such men store their wisdom in +saws and proverbs; and in like manner the wisdom +of the Hebrew is dropped in separate pearls, +which can easily be treasured up. When the time +came for touching cultured minds, and connected +argument was required, Greek forms of thought +and speech were needed. Saul was then converted; +and Greek became the language of the Word. +</p> + +<p> +Nothing in our Lord's ministry impresses me +more than the extraordinary sobriety of the whole +movement. We hear nothing of religious transport +or ecstatic devotion. People listen in awe to our +Lord's preaching as to a communication made from +above. They never dare to applaud. He is too +much above them for that. Many have since come +crying <q>Lord, Lord,</q> in different accents, at different +times; we have heard of <q>revivals</q> among +great multitudes, carried headlong by wild excitement, +and of religious delirium reaching to the +borders of mania. All this is in the strongest +contrast with the ways of teaching of our Lord. +</p> + +<p> +True human freedom was with Him a sacred +thing; what man was made for was that he might +be a free spiritual being; and a man is not free +when he is fascinated by fervid oratory and becomes +the blind tool of another, or when he is +intoxicated by religious fanaticism and is no longer +master of his own mind. Any agencies, therefore, +which would impair the health and freedom of a +man's will Christ refused to employ. They belonged +<pb n='214'/><anchor id='Pg214'/> +to that Spirit of the World whose alliance +He had refused. One cause of this sobriety of the +great movement may be found in the elevation +and tone of authority which has just been spoken +of as characterizing our Lord. He seemed to +move in a plane parallel indeed to that of men, +but a little above it. For a speaker to kindle +men's passions he must be possessed by the notions +and feelings of the time: he and his hearers must +have common objects of desire, or a common +jealousy of those who possess what they themselves +want, they must therefore wear the stamp of a passing +and particular phase of mankind. Now it was +the distinctive peculiarity of our Lord's Personality +that it belongs not more to one time or class than +to another. The Son of Man represents Humanity +in the abstract, and no party has ever been able +to claim Him as their own. +</p> + +<p> +In the course of the winter of <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28-29, Levi, +in the vernacular of Galilee called also Matthew, a +toll-taker on the borders of the lake, is summoned +to follow our Lord. He justified our Lord's choice +in a signal manner, for <q>he forsook all, and rose up +and followed Him.</q> +</p> + +<p> +There must have been in this man <q>a soul of +goodness</q> of rare efficacy in resisting influences to +ill. His position must have offered temptation to +exaction. This was corrupting, but the steady and +persistent effect of feeling himself despised must +have been more so even than this. He was hated +<pb n='215'/><anchor id='Pg215'/> +not only as the tax-gatherer, but also as having +accepted the service of the foreign oppressors of +the land. However justly the publican might +have striven to act, it would be taken for granted +that he was endeavouring to fleece those who came +into his hands; and a man soon becomes what +people about him will have it that he is. +</p> + +<p> +Now and then, however, in all positions, we come +across natures which run counter to the influences +around them, or which by a happy chemistry decompose +the evil and turn its elements to good. +Everything in the publican's calling fostered the +love of gain; and to be able to save enough to give +it up and live down ill report was his only hope. +But Matthew breaks with his means of subsistence +totally and at once. At one word of our Lord he +throws all away without a moment's thought, and +joins the little band of followers which was being +drawn into closer attendance on our Lord. This +man surely had <q>salt in himself.</q> +</p> + +<p> +St Matthew has left us his Gospel. We learn +from this which way his thoughts lean, and we see +that he was not of that type of mind most commonly +associated with the idea of the Apostle of a +new creed. He was probably not very young and +his views were formed and fixed: his national +sympathy was intense. God was to him, first of all, +the God of Israel, and he regarded our Lord as the +Messiah, after the type which Jewish hopes and +fancies had fashioned for themselves. In all that +<pb n='216'/><anchor id='Pg216'/> +occurred he saw the reproduction of what was +narrated in the old books; and the burden <q>Now +this was done that the Scripture might be fulfilled</q> +runs through all his writings. +</p> + +<p> +Here then, some might say, we have a man +chosen as a witness and promulgator of a faith which +is to be universal, yet this man's sympathies flow +only along one narrow channel, and he is wedded +to old ways of reading the mind of God. He was +however a guileless, God-fearing, high-hearted man; +and it could not but strengthen the cause to have +among the Apostles one who could enter into the +minds of those who looked for the consolation of +Israel in the old Hebrew way. The first function +of the Apostles,—one on which I shall soon speak +pretty fully—was that they were to bear <emph>witness</emph> of +Christ. This was set forth in that which, so to say, +was their charter of incorporation. <q>Ye shall be +my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judæa +and Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the +earth.</q><note place='foot'>Acts i. 8.</note> Now the more varied the characters of +the witnesses the stronger would be the case when +they agreed. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord, then, will have, among His immediate +followers, minds of every sort. He does not pick +out those only who are most after His own heart, +nor does he mould men into one fashion, so that +they should think on all points alike. We cannot +have freedom among human beings without diversity. +<pb n='217'/><anchor id='Pg217'/> +St Matthew, we perhaps say, had old world +views; but it may have been just because of these, +that he was the most fit Apostle for the Eastern +world. There would be crowds of men whom he +would understand and who would understand him, +but whose minds would have been closed to the utterances +of Paul. The vineyard to which Christ called +his labourers was the whole world; it contained vines +of every stock growing on every soil. It was well +then, that there should be labourers bred in various +schools of husbandry, and that each should work +in the fashion in which he felt he could do it best. +</p> + +<p> +Another point to be noted about the call of +St Matthew is this: The choice of a publican was +a practical proof to the other disciples, as it is to +the Church for ever, that Christ is in no way a respecter +of persons. The two pairs of brethren who +followed our Lord may have been startled at the call +of Matthew, for they no doubt looked on publicans +as their countrymen did; and this act of our Lord's +taught them, more forcibly than any words could +have done, that with Him outward circumstance +went for nothing and the inward man was all in all. +In this call of Matthew the spirit of universality +which belongs to the Christian Church is folded up +like the embryo in the seed. Our Lord makes no +comment on this call; nor do we hear of any +murmurs from the disciples, who had by this time +learned that our Lord was wiser than they, as +Peter had found when he let down the net. +</p> + +<pb n='218'/><anchor id='Pg218'/> + +<p> +Shortly before the call of St Matthew a miracle +occurred, the cure of the sick of the palsy, when our +Lord's renown was at its height—a miracle at the +performance of which <q>there were Pharisees and +doctors of the law sitting by, which were come +out of every village of Galilee and Judæa and +Jerusalem.</q><note place='foot'>Luke v. 17.</note> The presence of these strangers bears +on what follows. +</p> + +<p> +Hitherto we have read of no contest or conflict +in Capernaum; but these Pharisees conceived +misgivings about the movement they had come +to see. This hostility was very different from +that of the Sadducees in Jerusalem, who, regarding +the movement as an insane delusion likely to +bring things about their ears, set themselves remorselessly +to root it out. But the Pharisees +do not seem at first to have borne our Lord +any personal hatred, but only to have been uneasy +about the new teaching which went too far +for them, and did not follow the course which they +had expected. +</p> + +<p> +The Pharisees, nevertheless, were now on the +watch for occasion to find fault. This is not an +occupation which brings out the amiable side of +men's natures; and they became still more soured +by finding nothing on which to hang a charge; so +that at last they even leagued with the Herodians, +their natural opponents, against our Lord. The +most popular of all accusations, and one for which +<pb n='219'/><anchor id='Pg219'/> +it was easy to find ground, was a breach of the +traditionary rules for keeping the Sabbath. +</p> + +<p> +The Sabbath was an inestimable Law. It was +maintained by Divine sanction at a time when a +Law could not be upheld by any other means: it +debarred men from <q>doing what they would with +their own</q> on one day out of seven, so far as regarded +the labour of themselves or of their children, +their servants, their ox or their ass. It secured for +the race this portion of time against the greed of +gain: but all this was done <emph>for men</emph>, although +the Jews had come to look on it as something +done <emph>by men for God</emph>, and in so doing they made +God a taskmaster like the gods of the pagans. +Moreover the Sabbath kept alive in each Israelite +his self-respect as one of God's people; however +sordid his calling, he put away every seventh day +his squalor and his toil and resumed the dignity of +Abraham's son. The Sabbath question was the +chosen battle-ground of those who reduced all +virtues to that literal unquestioning obedience to +authoritative records, which was so damaging to +moral and spiritual life. Men thought that God's +favour was won or His wrath incurred in virtue of +acts—such as the keeping within or the overstepping +the limit of the journey allowed on the +Sabbath-day—which in themselves had no moral +significance at all. +</p> + +<p> +Here again we see how our Lord deals with views +falling short of the truth. The moral creed of His +<pb n='220'/><anchor id='Pg220'/> +countrymen was imperfect; it unduly exalted and +obtruded formal duties, but it was all that they +had; their whole life and that of their nation was +moulded by it; instincts fostered by it had become +hereditary, and to break it ruthlessly down would +have been to lay waste men's souls. +</p> + +<p> +In the instance before us our Lord introduces a +freer practice; and trusts to this to give birth in +time to more intelligent notions about the Sabbath +day. +</p> + +<p> +One passage in the history I purposely passed +by. I thought that I might have to write of it +at such a length as to break the continuity of +the narrative, and I therefore kept it for the close +of the chapter. The passage in question, which +I subjoin, immediately follows the account of the +entertainment of our Lord in Matthew's house. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Then come to him the disciples of John, saying, +Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples +fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the sons of the +bride-chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with +them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom +shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast. +And no man putteth a piece of undressed cloth upon an +old garment; for that which should fill it up taketh from +the garment, and a worse rent is made. Neither do <emph>men</emph> +put new wine into old wine-skins: else the skins burst, +and the wine is spilled, and the skins perish: but they put +new wine into fresh wine-skins, and both are preserved.</q><note place='foot'>Matth. ix. 14-17. I here adopt St Matthew's version in preference +to that of St Mark ii. 16-22. St Matthew was not likely to +forget any circumstance of his call, least of all the words then used by +our Lord; and the quotation <q>I will have mercy and not sacrifice</q> +which he alone relates, is exactly in our Lord's manner. The +passage printed above differs also from St Mark's version in this, that +in the latter the <emph>disciples of the Pharisees</emph> put the question together +with John's disciples. Some disciples of John may have belonged +to the Pharisees as their religious party.</note> +</quote> + +<pb n='221'/><anchor id='Pg221'/> + +<p> +The Pharisees practised fasting on the second and +fifth days of the week: the same practice was probably +followed by the disciples of John; and if we +suppose that Matthew made this feast on one of the +fasting days, this would bring the contrast between +the ways of John and of Jesus more sharply out. +</p> + +<p> +Before examining the charge and the reply, a +word must be said on the absence of all distinctive +religious observances in the practice of our Lord +and His disciples. +</p> + +<p> +The Baptist, we know, enjoined stated fasts and +taught his people to pray, and above all enforced +the initiatory rite from which he drew his name. +At a later period our Lord's disciples beg to be +taught to pray, <q>as John also taught his disciples.</q><note place='foot'>Luke xi. 1.</note> +</p> + +<p> +In those days people looked to a religion to +order the externals of a man's life; hours of prayer +portioned out his day; and so, even the disciples +appear to have felt that with them there was something +lacking, and that they were at a disadvantage +compared with John's disciples because they were +not, through conformity to a special rule, formed +into a body and marked with a badge. +</p> + +<pb n='222'/><anchor id='Pg222'/> + +<p> +It is easy to find reasons why our Lord should +have avoided doing what John did. If He had enjoined +any system of religious observance, this would +have limited the spread of His Kingdom, and have +laid on observances in general more stress than He +desired. One Law or one ritual would not suit +all nations, or all times; for forms must vary with +men's modes of life, and if our Lord had introduced +a form of worship He would have <emph>particularised</emph> +that which, of its very essence, was meant +to be universal. John came as a prophet and +forerunner, and he set on foot a sect, which was +held together and long kept alive by usages of +its own; but the very observances which gave it +vitality as a sect prevented its ever becoming +anything more than a sect. Our Lord is not founding +a sect at all; He is not a missionary making +converts. He comes on earth to proclaim that God +loves men, and to open a way by which men should +<q>come to the Father.</q> He leaves behind Him +men suited to direct a religious movement, but He +organises none himself. Whether He drew many +round Him or few, His great work for the world +would equally be completed on the Cross. He +never baptised, never instituted rites, laws or fasts, +or stated services of prayer; it is not till He leaves +the earth that He enjoins the sacraments of His +Church. It was to be left to men to put all into +shape, for <emph>the outer form belongs to man</emph>; and, if He +had Himself adopted any particular practice in +<pb n='223'/><anchor id='Pg223'/> +any of the matters above named, men might +imagine that this was binding for evermore and +had a virtue in itself. +</p> + +<p> +We come now to our Lord's plain and practical +answer to the particular questions of the Pharisees +which have led to these remarks. Fasting comes by +nature when a man is sad, and it is in consequence +the natural token of sadness: when a man is very +sad, for the loss of relations or the like, he loses all +inclination for food. But every outward sign that +can be displayed at will is liable to abuse, and so +men sometimes fasted when they were not really +sad, but when it was decorous to appear so. Moreover +a kind of merit came to be attached to fasting +as betokening sorrow for transgressions; and at +last it came to be regarded as a sort of self-punishment +which it was thought the Almighty would +accept in lieu of inflicting punishment Himself. +Our Lord does not decry stated fasts or any other +Jewish practices, they had their uses and they +would last their times; only He points men to the +underlying truth which was at the bottom of the +ordinance. +</p> + +<p> +When our Lord spoke, the children of the +bridechamber the companions of the bridegroom's +youth, were still with Him, but He and they would +soon have to part. Sorrow must needs come upon +them for the following reason, if for no other, that +man's education cannot be perfect without it. Then +indeed would they fast, not because it was enjoined, +<pb n='224'/><anchor id='Pg224'/> +not of any stated precept, but because they were +bereaved of their Lord. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord now turns to a metaphor, it was a +familiar one. The lesson it seems to carry is this: +our Lord will not meddle with the old form of things, +He will not patch up the old tenement in order that +the new spirit may make shift to dwell in it. +Change with Him is never mechanical, always +organic; it comes, not by alteration in construction, +but always purely of growth. He is propagating +spiritual truth in the souls of men; the time is +not yet ripe for rites and ordinances and hours of +worship. But the days would come when the truth +would need a garb—it would have to struggle +amongst human institutions, and it must then have +outer expression just as other institutions have. +This expression men must give, and Christ was +careful that, when the time came for this to be +done, the right men should be in their place to +do it. +</p> + +<p> +He takes a second metaphor to set forth the +second part of His work: He will have new flasks +for the new wine. This new doctrine was not +committed either to the disciples of John or even to +scribes enlightened about the kingdom of heaven, +but to those who, having no preconceptions, received +it as children do their parents' words. This +new wine would go on working and would want room +to expand. Peter we know expanded with it; but +men whose minds had stiffened into shape under +<pb n='225'/><anchor id='Pg225'/> +existing systems were like old flasks of skin, so +harsh and dry that they would sooner crack than +stretch; they were neither plastic nor elastic, and +our Lord wanted vessels that should be both the +one and the other. These new flasks were now +soon to be chosen; and when this was done the +work would enter on a new phase. +</p> + +<p> +Up to the time of the call of the Apostles, our +Lord's most conspicuous concern is for the multitudes. +After that call, the Apostles occupy the +foreground, and the whole manner of teaching is +rather suddenly changed. It is no longer adapted +to a congregation of peasants; parables take the +place of plain speech, and instead of everything +being done <emph>for</emph> the learner as before, much is left +to be done <emph>by</emph> him for himself. We mark another +change also in the manner. Hitherto there has been +no <emph>haste</emph>, all has proceeded in the most leisurely way; +but soon danger will begin to threaten and time to +press, and act to follow act in close succession. +</p> + +<p> +Following the subject of my book, I have been +careful to mark how our Lord from the very first +had an eye for characters of the sort He wanted +and how He shaped them, with an unseen hand; +but I must not have it supposed, because we see +little lasting outcome from the preaching to the +multitude, that therefore it was unimportant compared +with the training of the Apostles. We must +not suppose that Christ taught and healed chiefly +that the Apostles might listen and learn. +</p> + +<pb n='226'/><anchor id='Pg226'/> + +<p> +We can discern two kinds of good wrought by +our Lord. In preaching to the multitude he was, +then and there, bringing God's light into the souls +of men. In choosing and fashioning the disciples, +He was providing for the future of His Church. +The work which the Apostles should set on foot +would spread over the earth and affect all future +times, while our Lord could Himself touch but a +single generation in a single spot. Those, however, +who heard Him, carried to their homes a memory +to last their lives; among them His Personality +survived. If, afterwards, troubled questions arose +about Him they would put them by, feeling that +they had drunk at the source before the stream +had got sullied on its way. +</p> + +<p> +When our Lord came into villages where He +was known, people crowded to him from all sides, +and the new delight of communion with God—the +assurance that the whisper which told them that +God cared for them was a true voice—beamed from +the hearers' faces and gladdened the Master's soul. +</p> + +<p> +It was during this active ministry of our Lord, +that the choice of the Apostles was made and the +foundations of their education were laid. The +differences in their minds and characters would be +brought into prominence by the greater intensity +of the lives they afterwards led; new capacities +would peep out among those who, beholding the +intense earnestness of our Lord, learned to be in +earnest themselves. No defined line was as yet +<pb n='227'/><anchor id='Pg227'/> +drawn between the multitude and the disciples. +Those who were of the multitude one day, and +chose to follow, might count as disciples on the +morrow. Our Lord never wholly loses sight either +of the multitude or of the disciples; but, while +the former were His first care in the period embraced +in this chapter, the disciples, and especially +the apostles, will be so in that which will come +before us in the next.<note place='foot'>St Mark distinguishes between these two objects of our Lord's +care, the multitude and the disciples. When our Lord after His +journey to the North is passing through Galilee we read that <q>He +passed through Galilee, and would not that any man should know +it, for he taught His <emph>disciples</emph>.</q> Mark ix. 31. And soon after, +when he is beyond Jordan, we have <q>and <emph>multitudes</emph> came together +unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught <emph>them</emph> +again.</q> Mark x. 1.</note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='228'/><anchor id='Pg228'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter VIII. The Choosing Of The Apostles.</head> + +<p> +In treating of the calling of the Apostles, we +encounter the questions, <q>What led our Lord to +surround Himself with a constituted body of this +kind?</q> and, <q>In virtue of what qualities were its +members chosen?</q> I am led to conclude that our +Lord presaged that which actually came about, +and provided for future needs which he foresaw; +so precisely do the measures he takes meet what +subsequent occasions required. The choice of the +agents, moreover, is singularly happy with respect +to the extraordinary part which was put into their +hands; and it must be noted that this part was one +which Jesus alone, and, if He had only been what +some of His biographers represent, not even He +could have contemplated: while for the parts, which, +from the obvious prospects of the case it was likely +they would have to play, they were not calculated +at all. The apostles were not suited to advance a +social or a political cause or to spread doctrinal +views; but they were specially fitted, as I shall +shew, to gain credence for facts which they could +declare had passed before their eyes. +</p> + +<p> +Before choosing the Apostles our Lord spent +the night alone on the mountain in prayer; on one +<pb n='229'/><anchor id='Pg229'/> +other occasion only did He do the same.<note place='foot'>viz. after the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. +Matth. xiv. 23.</note> If we +regard only the duties expressly laid upon the +Twelve at their call,<note place='foot'>viz., <q>that they might be with him and that he might send +them forth to preach and to have authority to cast out devils.</q> +Mark iii. 14, 15.</note> and the immediate services +expected from them, our Lord's concern about +them may seem more intense than the circumstances +explain. But if we regard them as the +heirs of His work, as those by whom the fire kindled +by Him on earth was to be kept alive and spread, +then our Lord's keen anxiety about them is accounted +for. He looked to an early death, and +when this death came it would depend on their +constancy to carry the cause through the moment +of dismay; and it would depend on the trust they +commanded among men, whether it should be +believed or not, that He had risen in triumph from +the dead. +</p> + +<p> +If we should find that the Apostles were, as a +body, specially qualified to fulfil particular functions, +and that these very functions it fell afterwards to +them to discharge; then, surely, it is not unreasonable +to suppose that our Lord, in choosing the +Twelve, was guided by His foreknowledge of the +situation in which they would be placed, and of +the particular kind of work which they would be +wanted to perform. +</p> + +<p> +It will be shewn that the Apostles were qualified +<pb n='230'/><anchor id='Pg230'/> +to be trustworthy witnesses of fact. If the course +of events had been such that there had been no fact +to witness, this capacity of theirs would have found +no sphere; it would have been provided and never +employed; but, as it was, the transcendent Fact +that Christ died and rose again took place before +their eyes. +</p> + +<p> +The knowledge of this Fact was to be the +most precious possession of the human race. How +then was it to be preserved and transmitted? A +fact only subsists for a future time in the relation +of witnesses. So the greatest care is taken to provide +for this Fact witnesses who would command +belief. Some hearers will soonest trust one kind of +witness and some another; witnesses therefore of +different kinds are provided, that every man might +be likely to find one in whom he could confide: +but all these witnesses have this in common—they +are all convinced of the reality of what they relate, +and are not men to be easily carried away by their +fancy or their feelings. If the religion had depended +on the promulgating of theological doctrines which +needed subtle expositors, then the Apostles would +not have been the right men for the work; but +being founded as it was upon the facts of Christ's +life and death, what was wanted was, that credible +witnesses should be present when these facts occurred +and should remain to tell the tale. This +want was supplied with a completeness which +to my mind testifies of design. +</p> + +<pb n='231'/><anchor id='Pg231'/> + +<p> +To proceed with the history. During this +winter of <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28-29, our Lord, keeping Capernaum +for his place of abode, made excursions to +the neighbouring towns, preaching as he went, and +shewing by His miraculous cures that the Divine +power was working through His hands. +</p> + +<p> +After the call of the fishermen on the Lakeside, +He was constantly accompanied by His +disciples, and from that time forth the education of +His followers was always in His mind. This +education went on like the quiet processes of nature; +the subjects of it never felt that they were being +educated at all, but those who were of the right +natures slowly changed in the direction of what +He would have them be. He did not make them +all copies after one pattern. That which was +native to the man, and which marked him off from +all other men, was lovingly preserved. He intensified +in each man his proper life, which grew +with all the greater vigour through being let to +follow its own bent. As yet we hear of no lessons +given to the disciples <emph>by themselves</emph>, they only shared +what was said to the crowd: this may have been +as much as they could then receive, and possibly +their greatest profit came from what was not given +in the way of lessons at all, from words dropt in +daily intercourse and from watching their master's +doings in the thousand little occurrences of their +wayfaring daily life. +</p> + +<p> +It is worth noting that during all this time of +<pb n='232'/><anchor id='Pg232'/> +their earliest spiritual education all was prosperity. +From the autumn, in which, as I believe, our Lord +called the fisher brethren, to the springtime which +we have now reached in the narrative, His renown +had steadily grown. Wherever He went, men +were grateful for His coming, and drew close +to hear; all seemed eager to press into the kingdom +of Heaven, and to clutch at it as at treasure +trove.<note place='foot'>βιασταὶ ἀρπάζουσιν αὐτήν, Matth. xi. 12. <q>ἄρπαγμα especially +with such verbs as ἡγεῖσθαι etc. is employed to denote <q>a highly +prized possession, an unexpected gain.</q></q> Bishop Lightfoot's <hi rend='italic'>Philippians</hi>, +p. 111. Compare Ps. cxix. 162. <q>I am as glad of thy +word as one that findeth great spoils.</q></note> First from the neighbouring towns, then +from Judæa and Samaria, and, at the time when +this chapter opens, even from Idumea and Tyre +and Sidon, men came to listen to one who was +said to have the words of Eternal life. +</p> + +<p> +Those who took their early impressions of +Christ's service from those days, would retain a +glowing recollection of it all their lives long. Their +minds would be strung to hopeful confidence. +When persecution came they would regard it as +something permitted by their Master for reasons +into which they did not inquire: the allegiance of +mankind belonged, they would say, to their Master +of right; He might for a moment waive his claim, +but He could always resume it when He chose. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord sets a high value on the personal +trust and devotion of his disciples, both for its own +sake and because it was the bud which was to +<pb n='233'/><anchor id='Pg233'/> +blossom into the new and transforming quality of +Faith: this was forwarded in its early growth by +the sunshine of success. The general who would +win the young soldier's heart must lead him to +glory in his first campaign; he will cling to him +through all disasters after his heart is won. +</p> + +<p> +I take up the narrative at the beginning of the +third chapter of St Mark's Gospel. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And the Pharisees went out, and straightway with +the Herodians took counsel against him, how they might +destroy him. And Jesus with his disciples withdrew to +the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed: +and from Judæa.</q><note place='foot'>Mark iii. 6, 7.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +The Evangelists seldom speak of our Lord's +motives, but here the collocation indicates that it +was this confederacy of Pharisees and Herodians +which caused our Lord to leave Capernaum. +The Herodians were more formidable than the +Pharisees. The latter would only set the law in +motion, but the former did not scruple to employ +violence; and the Macedonian guards of the +Tetrarch were at Tiberias within call. Our Lord +never, until His time was come, exposed Himself +unnecessarily to danger; and at this particular +moment His freedom and safety were of vital +importance. All that He had done would, humanly +speaking, be lost or have to be done over again if +He were cast into prison or slain: the pressure of +<pb n='234'/><anchor id='Pg234'/> +this danger may have hastened the appointment of +the Twelve. The body of disciples following our +Lord had as yet no corporate life of its own; it +was only held together by gravitation to Him and +would fall to pieces if He were taken away; at this +juncture then, there was no time to be lost in giving +the body organic life. As soon as the Twelve received +their commission this body became possessed +of a vital centre, and the continuous existence +of the Church was secured, even though its Master +should be removed from earth. +</p> + +<p> +This plot of the Pharisees was probably known +but to few—people when they take counsel together +do not publish their design on the house-tops—and +the absence of excitement among the crowd +favours the view that the danger of the prophet of +Nazareth was not suspected by them. Whatever +may have been His motive, our Lord left Capernaum, +together with His followers, and took, it +seems, the road along the sea shore towards the +north. +</p> + +<p> +Some words of our Lord, belonging probably +to this place, are recorded by St Matthew. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved +with compassion for them, because they were distressed +and scattered, as sheep not having a shepherd. Then +saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, +but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord +of the harvest, that he send forth labourers into his +harvest.</q><note place='foot'>Matth. ix. 36-38.</note> +</quote> + +<pb n='235'/><anchor id='Pg235'/> + +<p> +St Matthew probably found in this need of +labourers a sufficient reason for the call of the +Apostles. More hands were wanted for ministering +to the multitude, and it was desirable that some +should be set apart for the work. But our Lord's +great earnestness in the matter points, as I have +just said,<note place='foot'>p. <ref target='Pg234'>234</ref>.</note> to something more than this, as though +this calling of the Twelve was of vital concern for +the great work that was being done for the world. +</p> + +<p> +It would only have bewildered the disciples if +our Lord had explained to them the meaning and +motive of the commissioning of the Twelve. They +could not be told that Christ's Kingdom on earth +was being vested in the Twelve as an undying body +in order that it might not be shattered by His death. +They could not yet be told of the coming Resurrection, +or that they were being trained to bear +witness of Christ's spiritual presence with His own. +Our Lord's talk with His disciples was primarily +suited to their wants and to their minds, and +not to those of the people of after times: we +must not therefore expect to find in it answers to +the questions we want to put. But we have one +advantage which the disciples had not; they, as +actors in the drama, were taken up with their parts +for the moment, while we contemplate it as spectators +from beginning to end; and even if we cannot +quite follow the action, yet we can make out enough +of sequence to see that this action forms a whole: +<pb n='236'/><anchor id='Pg236'/> +we mark the drift of the earlier incidents when we +see the goal for which all was making, and our +Lord's purposes are sometimes made more apparent +by the course of His acts than by His words. +</p> + +<p> +Without pretending to enter into our Lord's +mind, we cannot help imagining the considerations +which the situation must have inspired. The +danger to the cause from allowing it to hang upon +a single life was becoming more pressing day by day. +Though our Lord in passing through the country, +had kindled men's hearts as He went along, yet +He had left no working agency behind. There was +no rallying point, no minister, no constituted body +in any district or town. It may be asked, <q>Why +did not our Lord do as St Paul did?</q> Why did +He not <q>ordain elders in every city,</q> and establish +His religion territorially step by step, just as an +advancing army occupies the ground it has won? +This is part of the wider question, <q>Why did not +our Lord found a Church Himself?</q> to which an +answer has been given before. His business was to +<q>kindle the fire</q> and only to kindle it. What +has been said of ritual (p. <ref target='Pg222'>222</ref>) applies to Church +government as well. Church polities, like forms of +secular government, were to be formed by men of +each age for themselves; and to lay down a system, +for which a Divine authority would inevitably +be claimed, would bar all human intervention in +matters ecclesiastical, and hamper men's minds in +ways that I have glanced at before. If a system +<pb n='237'/><anchor id='Pg237'/> +of Christian communities had been spread over +Galilee by our Lord as it was spread over Asia +Minor by St Paul, the forms of ecclesiastical +government so sanctioned, and all that related to +outer worship would have been regarded as a part +of revealed truth. A visible Church framed by our +Lord would have afforded a model, from any line +in the construction of which it would have been a +heresy to swerve. Men would not only have consecrated +the principles of its polity but they would +have seized on the visible constitution and points +of practice and have battled for these to the death. +We should have had an institution, Divinely authorised, +and which therefore could not in the smallest +particular be changed, imposed on races inheriting +different temperaments, and one ecclesiastical rule +would have been fixed for all time. +</p> + +<p> +In all matters of procedure the one question +asked would have been, <q>What was the practice of +the Lord?</q> Church polity would have depended +wholly on conclusions drawn from antiquarian +study and, what would have been worse than all, +people having outgrown the institutions regarded +as Divine would have lulled their consciences by +being studiously regardful of the form after the +meaning had disappeared, and they would have +stretched the formulæ to make them fit the times. +In doing this they would have played fast and +loose with their honesty of mind. Moreover it +seems to me an incongruity that the Redeemer of +<pb n='238'/><anchor id='Pg238'/> +the World should also be the founder of a local +Church; the disproportion is so vast between the +two terms. +</p> + +<p> +A way was perfected in that night of prayer +upon the hills, whereby an organic life was imparted +to the little community without setting up +a Church, from the pattern of which no deviation +could be allowed. The Twelve formed a centre +round which the disciples might cluster, and this +rudiment of organisation was enough for the time. +Christ gave only such a germ of external polity as +the immediate need required. The commissioning +of the Twelve imposed no particular form of rule; +but it taught the lesson that organisation and order +and the distribution of duty were essential in things +spiritual as well as in things temporal, and that +it was well for the children of light to be as +<q>wise in their generation</q> as the children of the +world. +</p> + +<p> +When a danger or perplexity offers itself to +men, they seek counsel one of another, but our +Lord takes counsel of the Father alone, there is +with Him no hesitancy, no balancing of this course +against that. In this case, when the morning comes +His resolve is distinct, and it is forthwith carried +out. The constitution and proper functions of the +body that He should create, as well as the persons +who were to be the first members, all were determined +on. +</p> + +<p> +We read: +</p> + +<pb n='239'/><anchor id='Pg239'/> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>He went out into the mountain to pray; and he +continued all night in prayer to God;</q><note place='foot'>Luke vi. 12.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +again, we have +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>He goeth up into the mountain, and calleth unto +him whom he himself would: and they went unto him. +And he appointed twelve, that they might be with him, +and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have +authority to cast out devils.</q><note place='foot'>Mark iii. 13, 14.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +This is all we are told of the planting of that +germ, of which the upgrowth is the Church of +Christ. The organisation thus introduced was just +enough to make of the disciples one body. Henceforth +they could speak of themselves as <q>we;</q> but +as yet, they were only pupils, chosen to be about +their master's person, intrusted with special powers +for the good of those among whom they ministered, +but with no authority over the rest of the disciples. +</p> + +<p> +The hour to which our Lord had looked forward, +the time <q>when the bridegroom should be taken +away,</q> arrived at last, and our Lord's timely +measures in finding the right men and training +them in the right way proved of signal service +then. When the critical moment came the men +proper for the work were found upon the spot. +When our Lord at Gethsemane, declining all superhuman +aid, resigned Himself into His captors' +hands, consternation and bewilderment for a +moment overcame the Twelve—<q>they all left Him, +<pb n='240'/><anchor id='Pg240'/> +and fled.</q><note place='foot'>Mark xiv. 50.</note> The recollection of this moment's failure +may have been of service to them in after days; +it may have made them more lenient to the lapses +of others, and, like the <q>thorn in the flesh</q> given +to St Paul, might prevent their being <q>exalted +overmuch.</q> The situation in which the Apostles +found themselves called out the qualities desired. +As soon as their Master had suffered there came +upon them the sense of responsibility, and they +rose to the circumstances as men with depth of +character do. The cause did not die down even for +a moment, it was kept alive in that upper chamber +where the eleven met. To them, from the first, the +other disciples looked for direction, and to them +they brought their news. The women never doubted +about where they were to go with the news that +the sepulchre was empty, and late in the Resurrection +Day the disciples from Emmaus proceeded +straight to the upper chamber, knowing that the +eleven would be there. +</p> + +<p> +Hardly had the two who returned from Emmaus +told their tale, when +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>He himself stood in the midst of them, and saith +unto them, Peace <emph>be</emph> unto you.</q><note place='foot'>Luke xxiv. 36.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +The eleven had taken the helm quietly, as a +matter of course, when the ship seemed to be +disabled. They had been faithful in a little and +straightway they are called unto much, they are +<pb n='241'/><anchor id='Pg241'/> +chosen for witnesses of the Supreme Event in the +history of Man, of the Resurrection of our Lord +and Saviour Jesus Christ. +</p> + +<p> +It is this character of witnesses which distinguishes +the Apostles from all other depositaries of +a Master's cause. This was the charge that governed +the disposition of their lives. Other men might +organise churches and set forth the teaching of +the Lord, but in the character of appointed witnesses +of the Resurrection they stood alone. Before +the Resurrection they are told +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And ye also bear witness, because ye have been +with me from the beginning,</q><note place='foot'>John xv. 27.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +and afterwards it is as witnesses that they are +singled out by our Lord, <q>And ye shall be my +witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judæa and +Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the +earth.</q><note place='foot'>Acts i. 8.</note> In this distinctive light too they regard +themselves. When a successor to Judas has to be +appointed, St Peter says, <q>of these must one +become a witness with us of his resurrection</q><note place='foot'>Acts i. 22.</note> and +Peter and all the Apostles say, before the Sanhedrin, +<q>We are witnesses of these things.</q> Peter again, +speaking to the brethren from Joppa calls the +Apostles <q>witnesses chosen before of God.</q><note place='foot'>Acts x. 41. For other instances see Luke xxiv. 48; +Acts ii. 32; iii. 15; xiii. 31.</note> +</p> + +<p> +I find in the Twelve a special fitness for the +particular work which it fell to them to perform. +<pb n='242'/><anchor id='Pg242'/> +They brought to the attestation of the Resurrection +the concurring evidence of eleven eyewitnesses, +simple, truthloving, matter-of-fact men, of different +types of mind. +</p> + +<p> +The unanimity of the eleven, both as to their +testimony and as to their adoption of a particular +course of conduct has been less dwelt on by +Apologists than I should have expected. If one or +two could have been gained over by the Scribes to +dissent from the account of the rest, the moral force +of the evidence would have been lost. The chances +against the agreement of the entire body in an +illusion or a misrepresentation are enormous. But +an event so transcendent as to wipe out of the +minds of the witnesses everything else—<q>all trivial, +fond records</q> would efface small subjective differences +by the overwhelming force of the objective +impression; and the occurrence of such an event +would account for that perfect agreement in action +among men who had not uniformly agreed before, +which is among the many striking phenomena +which the book of the Acts of the Apostles discloses +to our own view. +</p> + +<p> +The chosen witnesses have exactly the qualities +which a judge would point out to a jury, as grounds +for giving particular weight to their evidence on +questions of fact coming within their view. I must +say something more on this point. +</p> + +<p> +Nothing carries more weight with a jury than +the impression that the witness has an intense +<pb n='243'/><anchor id='Pg243'/> +belief in the truth of what he says. Such an impression +the Apostles conveyed; the possibility +that they should themselves doubt in the slightest +about any fact to which they speak never occurs to +their mind; all through the Acts and the Epistles +the atmosphere is one of certainty, settled and +serene. The Apostles had not been always so +assured; we find them in the Gospels impatient for +clearer statements and more decisive signs: <q>Now +speakest thou plainly and speakest no parable</q> they +regard as high praise. But after the Resurrection +all this is changed, they are then quite certain of +the fact that Christ is Divine, and they have given +up trying to understand the ways and forms +in which the Divine power might show itself. +They had probably, once thought, like Naaman, +that it must operate something after the fashion +which absolute power uses upon earth. They have +got past this when we meet with them in the Acts. +</p> + +<p> +I have spoken of the difference of character +among the Apostles for this reason. That eleven +men, and a <emph>particular</emph> eleven, should all have agreed +in an account of what they said they had seen, +when by so doing they gained none of the objects +of human desire, is hard to explain unless we +suppose that they were convinced of the truth of +their report. If, however, these men had but one +mind among them, either because one or two +master spirits controlled the rest, or because they +had been so carefully drilled into uniformity that +<pb n='244'/><anchor id='Pg244'/> +they could not help judging alike, then the value +of this unanimity would disappear, for the eleven +would become, virtually, only one or two. Now +that the Apostles were men of independent minds +is clear from what we hear of their disputings by +the way, and from the offence taken at James and +John when they ask for seats on the right and left at +their Master's side; and, indeed, the Gospel portraiture +of all the Apostles leaves on us the impression +that they were of different types of character +and had personalities that were strongly marked. +</p> + +<p> +Certainly St Peter had a turn of mind which +was specially his own. He arrived at steadfast +conviction not by reasoning from step to step—this +was a mental process rarely practised by Galilean +fishers—but by inward intuition, after his own +strong Hebrew sort. When an impulse seized on +him it must have its way, and when his heart was +full of a matter he must pour it out. +</p> + +<p> +Of Matthew what I said (p. <ref target='Pg215'>215</ref>) may stand +in place of a notice here. His Gospel shews us +from what side he looked on the work then +being set afoot. +</p> + +<p> +James and John the <q>Sons of Thunder</q> may +be set down as representing energy and vehemence. +They were not likely to follow a lead, or to fall in +with a fantasy started by anyone else. Our notices +of Thomas and Philip and Bartholomew, remind +us of sketches, in which a few spirited pen-strokes +present a figure which we can fancy we have seen. +<pb n='245'/><anchor id='Pg245'/> +Though Thomas so loved our Lord that he was the +first to propose to go with Him to Jerusalem that +<q>they might die with Him,</q><note place='foot'>John xi. 16.</note> yet he will not take +it on hearsay that Christ is risen. He knew how +dearly the disciples longed to have their Master +back, and he mistrusted their report because he +feared that their impression might come of their +strong desire. His doubts however like those of +Nathanael, are those of an investigator, not of an +assailant; like him he is <q>without guile</q> and is +glad to accept the offer <q>Come and see.</q> Of +Philip I have often spoken. His words, <q>Shew +us the Father and it sufficeth us</q> lay his mind +bare before us. +</p> + +<p> +These three men last named were all inclined +to be incredulous, they were matter of fact persons, +looking without rather than within, and such are +the most trustworthy witnesses to external fact. Of +one Apostle, Simon, it is true we learn that he +had been a <q>zealot,</q> that is, that he had once +belonged to a band of men fired with fanatical +devotion. But, when we hear of him, he had caught +sight of a different kind of Divine Kingdom from +any that he had thought of bringing about, and he +was by degrees learning that <q>the wrath of man +worketh not the righteousness of God.</q><note place='foot'>James i. 20.</note> Not one +of these men had sufficient imagination—sufficient +creative faculty—to embody his longings, even +if he had such, in a vision so unexampled as that +<pb n='246'/><anchor id='Pg246'/> +we have. That some of the eleven should have +had one illusive fancy and some another would not +have been improbable, but that all should have +had the same would have been inordinately so. +As a matter of fact the portraiture of the risen +Lord given in our different memoirs is a conception +singularly consistent, and one which the writers +could not have drawn except from concurring +traditions or personal knowledge of the facts. +</p> + +<p> +There was one Apostle who did not witness the +resurrection—Judas Iscariot. With all that has +been written about him, the problems of his call +and of the purpose of his treason remain unsolved. +If, as many suppose, Judas came from some place +in Judæa, Kerioth by name, he was, among the +Apostles, the only one who was not a Galilæan. +It is possible that he may have been one of those +who attached themselves to our Lord at Jerusalem +before His active ministry began. Our Lord did +not <q>trust Himself</q><note place='foot'>John ii. 24.</note> with these as a body but one +or two may have gone with Him through Samaria +into Galilee. Judas may have been of a mind less +simply receptive than the rest of the twelve. +Perhaps he had aims for Israel, perhaps also for +himself, the patriotic element may sometimes have +been uppermost and sometimes the selfish one, and +perhaps he wanted to hasten the Divine scheme +and help it forward in His own way. +</p> + +<p> +His presence among the disciples shews that +<pb n='247'/><anchor id='Pg247'/> +our Lord did not confine his choice to those who +were of one type, and that a man who had in him +great possibilities, attracted his sympathy, although +these possibilities might be turned to evil, and the +things meant for his good might become an +occasion of falling. +</p> + +<p> +But while each individual of the Apostolic body +had a specific character of his own, yet beneath this +lay a generic condition common to them all. They +all belonged to the lower middle class, living by +labour but above want; they were able to read and +write and some could probably talk Greek with +the neighbouring Hellenists in the country to the +north. The Apostles were plain and homely in +their minds and in their talk. In what they heard +they saw little beyond the meaning that lay on the +surface of the words. This literal mindedness does +not belong to one Apostle or two, but characterizes +them all, and it appears in St John's Gospel as +frequently as in the other three. The Evangelists +relate these displays of simplicity without ever +dreaming that they throw thereby any disparagement +on the Apostles: such they expected them +to be, and such they note that they were. +</p> + +<p> +When men have the wants of the day full in +view every morning of their lives, and must supply +these wants by the labour of their hands, their +thoughts naturally take a practical turn. Now this +we note as a signal trait in the behaviour of the +Apostles and it is exactly what would characterize +<pb n='248'/><anchor id='Pg248'/> +men brought up as they had been. They always +look first to what under the circumstances has to +be <emph>done</emph>; like seafaring men, they are prompt in +resource. When the five thousand stay till nightfall +on the mountain side far from any place where +food could be got, the thought of the Apostles is, +<q>How are they to be fed?</q> They take it on them +to advise that the crowd be sent away while there +was still daylight enough for them to reach the +villages. In the little daily business of common +life they act as if matters of service fell within their +own sphere and on them they had a right to speak. +I have already spoken of their pressing our Lord to +take food on the journey through Samaria. Again, +when the three Apostles are with our Lord on the +Mount of Transfiguration, Peter evidently supposes +that they have entered a new and heavenly country +where they are to stay, and his first thought is to +be of service. People, he supposes, will want abiding +places in the new country as well as in the +old land they had left, so he proposes to build huts +as if they had been camping in the hills. An +Alpine guide would have spoken much in the same +way. These little distinctive characteristics are +carefully preserved, and the instinctive thought of +the attendant Apostles for their Master in their +little acts of personal service is true to nature in a +rare and delicate way. +</p> + +<p> +Such men are good witnesses for they have eyes +for everything. I contend then, first that the +<pb n='249'/><anchor id='Pg249'/> +Apostles were singularly adapted for affording the +testimony required, and next, that, if men were +especially picked out on account of their qualifications +as witnesses, then our Lord must have had in +view some great event for which witnesses were +required. In the selection of these plain men to +found the church we light upon the first hint of +the distinctive feature of the Christian revelation +mentioned above, viz. that it was to be centred, +not in <emph>notions</emph> but in a stupendous Fact (p. <ref target='Pg230'>230</ref>). +</p> + +<p> +When the gospel had to be preached to Greeks +who sought after a methodical system, and the +need came for doctrine, the work was given to +St Paul. But twelve St Pauls as witnesses to fact +would not have carried as much weight as the +Apostles did; for though the most truthful of men, +yet the world of his own thoughts was nearly as +present to him as the world without, and it was +not always perfectly clear when he was speaking +of one and when of the other. The minds of the +Apostles, on the other hand, were quite limpid; +they received all <q>as little children,</q> registering +truly what came from without, and declaring it +just as their five senses set it before them. +</p> + +<p> +I have said (<hi rend='italic'>l.c.</hi>) that the Apostles were not the +men whom the Founder of a policy or a school +would have chosen to win men over to his views. +Our Lord does not choose his successors for their +power of attracting crowds. He does not teach +them to argue or to preach. They prevailed by +<pb n='250'/><anchor id='Pg250'/> +what they were and what they did, more than by +what they said. They had not the art of kindling +enthusiasm and leading captive the minds of men. +They do not possess the magic which masters the +will. Their success comes of what they had to +say, not of the way in which they said it. They +were indeed to be the promulgators of the religion +which was to grow up around the person of Christ, +they were to <q>teach all nations,</q><note place='foot'>Matt. xxviii. 19.</note> but they are not +to dominate men and bear them down by impetuous +oratory. This is too near akin to delusion and +tyranny for teachers of the freemen whom <q>the truth +makes free.</q> Nor were they to rate their success +by the multitude of those they baptized. The truths +revealed in Christ's life and death were given to +the world to be part of its possessions through all +time, and whether they were generally accepted a +little sooner or a little later was of small account. +</p> + +<p> +It may be remarked here what a small part in the +Divine economy, the gift of eloquence plays. Moses +had no utterance, the speech of Paul was contemptible, +and the Apostles can, indeed, say what needs +saying, but have not the gift, so infinitely valued by +the Greek, of leading men captive by persuasive +words. +</p> + +<p> +But though to have been witnesses of the +Resurrection was the great glory of the Apostles, +yet they were something more than witnesses; they +were also the first guardians and propagators of +<pb n='251'/><anchor id='Pg251'/> +the Faith that transformed the world. They were +the depositories of the leaven which gradually set +up its working through the minds of men. +</p> + +<p> +For this other function of their office they were +also singularly qualified in various external ways. +</p> + +<p> +The social position of the Apostles was advantageous +for the promulgating of a Faith which +was to become universal. They belonged to the +stratum in which the Centre of Gravity of Humanity +lay. The small land owners and handicraftsmen in +Galilee were in contact with people in different +stations of life; they could talk with the rich and +they could feel with the poor; they were on the +border land between the learned and the ignorant, +and had just enough knowledge to be able to get +more when they wanted it. There was one truth, +essential and vital to a Faith which was to exalt +and dignify all mankind, which in the class from +which the Apostles came was found growing with +especial vigour as on its native soil. This truth +was the surpassing value of a man as man,—the +sanctity which clothes a human being who is made +in the image of God. The sense of this truth is +much keener among the poor than among the rich; +it is the poor who are most scandalised if a human +being is treated like a brute. The rich have wealth, +dignities and the like, on which their thoughts rest +with satisfaction. But when the poor man takes +account of his condition he finds but one item on +the credit side, and he makes the most of it: it is +<pb n='252'/><anchor id='Pg252'/> +that <q>He too is a Man.</q> The upper class in +Palestine had little mind for anything wider than +a philosophical or political sect, and they treated +the poor as if they had no souls. Christianity therefore +could not have made its cradle with them, and +the lowest class had little intelligence and no power +of combination and would have been at once +trodden under foot. Unless the Church had taken +root in the lower middle class, it could hardly have +spread as it did. That its earliest promulgators +belonged to this class I will not suppose to have +been a matter of mere chance. +</p> + +<p> +To proceed with the course of events. Our Lord +having called to Him <q>whom He Himself would</q> +and chosen the twelve, assigns to them their name. +They are <q>Apostles,</q> men sent forth to preach. +But it was not till the risen Christ appeared to the +eleven in that upper chamber and said, <q>Peace be +unto you; as my Father hath sent me even so send +I you,</q> that they saw all that was meant by this +name; viz. that Christ was the Apostle of His +Father and that they were the Apostles of Christ. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord on coming down with the Twelve +from the mountain found a great gathering of +people waiting for Him on a spot of level ground. +</p> + +<p> +St Luke's account is this. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And he came down with them, and stood on a +level place, and a great multitude of his disciples, and a +great number of the people from all Judæa and Jerusalem, +and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear +<pb n='253'/><anchor id='Pg253'/> +him, and to be healed of their diseases; and they that +were troubled with unclean spirits were healed. And all +the multitude sought to touch him: for power came forth +from him, and healed them all.</q><note place='foot'>Luke vi. 17-19.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +The address to the newly chosen Apostles which +follows this passage in St Luke's gospel has been +incorporated by St Matthew with the Sermon on +the Mount. The portions belonging to it may +there be recognised by the absence both of allusions +to the Law and of the opposed phrases, <q>It was said +to those of old time</q> and <q>But I say unto you,</q> +phrases which point the contrast which forms the +main theme of the earlier address. +</p> + +<p> +The multitudes who awaited our Lord <q>in the +level place</q> were made up of Apostles, disciples, +and people <q>who came to hear him and be +healed.</q> In some passages of this discourse our +Lord had the disciples, and in others the rest of +the people, particularly in view. +</p> + +<p> +It was to the disciples that He turned when +He began to speak. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, +Blessed are ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.</q><note place='foot'>Luke vi. 20.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +The four beatitudes are, to my mind, expressly +addressed to those who are about to take service +on Christ's side. It was only to a disciple that our +Lord could say that He would be hated, and cut +<pb n='254'/><anchor id='Pg254'/> +off and vilified <q>for the son of man's sake,</q> and +it was only disciples, and disciples too who were +active in spreading the word, who could be brought +into comparison with prophets either true or false. +The interpretation also of these beatitudes depends +on the fact that our Lord is speaking to the +disciples. Blessing did not belong to the poor as +an appanage of their poverty but because they +were His disciples and theirs was the Kingdom of +God; it was easier for the poor than the rich to +enter this Kingdom, and then their earthly poverty +brought out by contrast the greatness of their +spiritual wealth. There is this difference between +the lessons taught here and those delivered in the +Sermon on the Mount; here all is personal while +there it is general. Here, our Lord is speaking +to His disciples and says, <q>for <emph>yours</emph> is the Kingdom +of Heaven,</q> and <q><emph>ye</emph> shall be filled.</q> In the +Sermon on the Mount the corresponding pronouns +are <emph>theirs</emph> and <emph>they</emph>. +</p> + +<p> +A special lesson is conveyed to the Twelve is +the last of these beatitudes. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when +they shall separate you from their company, and reproach +you, and cast out your name as evil, for the +Son of man's sake. Rejoice in that day, and leap for +joy: for behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in +the same manner did their fathers unto the prophets.</q><note place='foot'>Luke vi. 22, 23.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +Although the enthusiastic reception of their +<pb n='255'/><anchor id='Pg255'/> +Master must have cheered the Apostles and set +them forward in good heart, yet they were not to +think that they were called to share in a triumph +that was already won. They were not to be over-elated +by this passing favour of men. The danger +was, lest they should be too sanguine and be +carried away by the fascination of popular goodwill. +Well might they be lifted up. Their Master had +just entrusted them with superhuman powers, and +multitudes had come from miles around and had +waited for them all night at the foot of the hills. +So, in the midst of the flush of success, our Lord +tells them that the criterion of their being true +soldiers of God is their winning, not the world's +praise but its hate. There is in the world an +enmity to God as God. There are many who will +readily enough acknowledge a Deity so long as He +is not real and actual and is not brought too near; +they find in the abstract idea a serviceable support +for their social institutions; but from the notion +of a living God close by them they shrink in +dismay, and along with their terror goes hate. +</p> + +<p> +Parallel with these beatitudes run the denunciations +of woe. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received +your consolation. Woe unto you, ye that are full now! +for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you, ye that laugh +now! for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you, +when all men shall speak well of you! for in the same +manner did their fathers to the false prophets.</q><note place='foot'>Luke vi. 24-26.</note> +</quote> + +<pb n='256'/><anchor id='Pg256'/> + +<p> +These denunciations are not found in the Sermon +on the Mount. That discourse was addressed to +people mostly of the same class and in the same +posture of mind. When our Lord first spoke to +the crowds on the hillside people had not begun to +take sides; but, at the period of the history now +before us, they had already clustered into parties; +some had declared for the word and some against +it, while many remained indifferent or in doubt, and +to these several parties our Lord speaks in turn. +</p> + +<p> +I think that when our Lord began to utter +<q>Woe,</q> he turned to the men of station and substance +in whom curiosity was mixed with considerations +of prudence. They are not denounced +for being rich any more than the poor are blessed +for being poor; but their calamity is this, that in +riches they find enough consolation to prevent +their striving heartily after anything better. They +do not <q>hunger and thirst after righteousness,</q> +they do not <q>seek a country;</q> they do not steadily +seek anything; but, if they feel for a moment +uneasy, they clutch their possessions and say, <q>At +any rate I have thus much comfort secure here.</q> +This it was which made it next to impossible for +them to enter the kingdom of God, and our Lord +cries unto them, <q>Woe.</q> +</p> + +<p> +In the last denunciation our Lord comes back +to the disciples again. The ills that men's hatred +brought with it were patent enough, but men's +favour was an insidious snare; for it might lead +<pb n='257'/><anchor id='Pg257'/> +them unawares to love <q>the praise of men more +than the praise of God.</q> The more kindly the +young preacher is received, the more distressing +it is to him to incur dislike; and consequently +the greater is the temptation to soften down Christ's +sternness and to meet the world halfway. Our +Lord warns his new helpers by the example of +those who in old times had prophesied smooth +things, and had gone the way of the world while +the world had made believe it was going theirs. +</p> + +<p> +The beatitudes and warnings of woe form the +prelude, and when this was over our Lord may be +supposed to have lifted up his eyes from those who +stood nearest—probably the Apostles and most +notable persons—and to have addressed the whole +multitude; for, His words, <q>But I say unto you +which hear,</q><note place='foot'>Luke vi. 27.</note> I take to imply, <q><emph>all</emph> you which hear.</q> +The twelve verses which follow form a sermon of +general application of which <q>Love your enemies</q> +is taken as the text. +</p> + +<p> +On this sermon being ended we read +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And he spake also a parable unto them, Can the +blind guide the blind? shall they not both fall into a +pit? The disciple is not above his master: but every +one when he is perfected shall be as his master.</q><note place='foot'>Luke vi. 39, 40.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +This parable is addressed to the newly appointed +Twelve. It bears on the temptations of +young teachers. They are in danger of being elated +<pb n='258'/><anchor id='Pg258'/> +at finding themselves teachers when they had so +lately been learners; they might lean to correction, +and might incline to be over busy in giving +directions and in finding fault; they might persuade +themselves too that they thought only of +the learners' good, when in reality there was, mixed +with this, a good spice of the love of exercising +superiority. They are told that if they are to act +as guides they must see their own way first; the +light within them must not be darkness. +</p> + +<p> +The last verse of the last quotation, refers, not +to Christ and <emph>His</emph> disciples—there is no suggestion +that these should reach <emph>His</emph> perfection—but to the +disciples and <emph>their</emph> scholars. The especial point of +the verse is the responsibility laid upon the teacher, +by the pupils taking him as their ideal. The +pupils of the disciples would copy the disciples +themselves, and they could not excel their pattern. +The learner could not be above his master, what +is cast in a mould cannot be better shaped than +the mould itself; but the perfected work that is +turned out exactly represents the mould. The +disciples therefore must watch against every defect, +for their pupils would copy them faults and all. +</p> + +<p> +The text has another application besides this, +the pupil when perfected would stand on a level +with His master; the latter had no indefeasible +superiority. When they had lighted the lamps of +others the light of the rest would be as bright as +their own. If they were to glory it should be, not +<pb n='259'/><anchor id='Pg259'/> +in their superiority to their pupils, but in their pupils +having become as good as themselves. They were +not to be like those teachers who keep back from +their prentices some special secret of their art. +</p> + +<p> +Next comes the verse, <q>For there is no good +tree that bringeth forth corrupt fruit.</q><note place='foot'>Luke vi. 43, also Matth. vii. 17 where the converse is added.</note> This +applies both to those who teach and to those who +learn. If the master's scholars mostly turn out ill +it may be inferred that he is a bad master; and if +the master be self-seeking at bottom, whatever +disguise he may put on, the evil will come to light: +selfishness always generates counter-selfishness, and +false pretension detected in one case may lead a +young man into general mistrust. +</p> + +<p> +In another view of the verse, the behaviour of +the man is the fruit and his nature is the tree. +This fruit is not without value in itself, but is of +more value still as an evidence of the condition of +the tree. This falls in with the constant burden of +Christ's teaching, <q>God looks to what you <emph>are</emph> as +well as to what you <emph>do</emph>, and part of the importance +of what you do comes from its shewing what you +are, or from its helping by way of practice to confirm +you in your ways whether good or bad.</q> +</p> + +<p> +In the last four verses of the address our Lord +again speaks to the whole company of hearers. +He takes one of His familiar topics, viz., that +good is not only to be admired, it must also be +done. This is expressed by the illustration of the +<pb n='260'/><anchor id='Pg260'/> +house on the rock and that on the earth. Many +who followed Him counted themselves His disciples +because they carried away his commands +in their heads and talked about them. He tells +them that they can only get firm hold of them by +putting them into practice. There were many +hearers who would put our Lord's precepts away +somewhere in their memory, and be satisfied with +possessing right and beautiful thoughts without +carrying them into practice, keeping them like +curios in a drawer. These were like men building +on the earth, who do only just what the moment +requires. But the habit formed by steady obedience +effects a structural change in the man's own mind. +This is a lasting possession—it has taken time +and pains to acquire, but it is storm proof like the +house upon the rock. +</p> + +<p> +When speaking of the Sermon on the Mount, I +touched on the form in which our Lord delivers +what He says. The remarks there made apply to +the discourse before us and, in addition, it may be +said, that this address is admirably adapted to be +carried away by the hearers as a whole. It is +strongly marked by its characteristic style, so that +an addition or alteration by another hand would +strike even an unpractised ear, as not having the +true ring. There are four beatitudes and four +denunciations, corresponding each to each; this +numerical symmetry assists recollection. Then +comes the sermon, made up of sayings so short and +<pb n='261'/><anchor id='Pg261'/> +terse that the most unlettered may carry the whole +away; and finally all ends with a parable, which +is so well suited to the popular mind that it is now +perhaps the best known of all pieces of Bible +imagery. Those who like may trace in this a +certain prevision, a designed fashioning of the garb +of the word to suit it for that oral transmission on +which, at one period, its preservation would depend. +</p> + +<p> +When our Lord had finished His discourse He +returned to Capernaum. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And he cometh into a house. And the multitude +cometh together again, so that they could not so much +as eat bread. And when his friends heard it, they went +out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside +himself.</q><note place='foot'>Mark iii. 20, 21.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +There were occasions in our Lord's life in which +the Divine nature seemed to glow through the +human receptacle. It was so when He came +down from the Mount of Transfiguration, so too, +when he went forward, apart from the rest, at the +outset of His final journey to Jerusalem; and so I +believe it was when He came back to Capernaum +bringing with Him the Twelve whom He had +chosen to form the nucleus of His everlasting +Church. Something in His air seems to have +amazed His friends, <q>they said he is beside himself.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The Scribes, marking the temper of the crowd, +thought it wise to drop their schemes of violence, +but they set afoot the notion that He was possessed +<pb n='262'/><anchor id='Pg262'/> +by the Prince of the Devils and ruled the spirits of +evil in his name. Our Lord made no long stay at +Capernaum, but took the Twelve with Him on a +journey to the cities in Galilee that they might +see how He preached and taught, and, what was +more, that they might learn to put complete trust +in His wise guidance and sheltering love. This +was the first practical lesson they collectively +received. +</p> + +<p> +It was in the interval between the calling of the +Twelve and the despatching of them, two and two, +on their missions, or possibly while they were gone, +that the messengers sent by the Baptist came up +with our Lord and His party. +</p> + +<p> +As the next chapter will be taken up with the +lessons belonging to this mission of the Twelve, +I shall deal with this incident in this chapter, although, +chronologically, it might fall in the next. +It is related by St Matthew as follows: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Now when John heard in the prison the works of +the Christ, he sent by his disciples, and said unto him, +Art thou he that cometh, or look we for another? And +Jesus answered and said unto them, Go your way and +tell John the things which ye do hear and see: the blind +receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are +cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, +and the poor have good tidings preached to them. And +blessed is he, whosoever shall find none occasion of +stumbling in me.</q><note place='foot'>Matt. xi. 2-6. See also Luke vii. 18-23.</note> +</quote> + +<pb n='263'/><anchor id='Pg263'/> + +<p> +The question asked by the Baptist shews us his +condition of mind. A voice in his heart had told +the Baptist that he was born to be the forerunner +of one mightier than himself, and the sign at the +Baptism had shewn him who that Person was. +He had recognised in Him <q>the Lamb of God who +was to take away the sins of the world,</q> the Son in +whom the Father was well pleased. This conveys +the impression that John regarded our Lord as the +Jewish Messiah, but the Baptist's notions about the +Messiah may have been vague, like those which +the people and even the Scribes entertained; although +he was a prophet and more than a prophet, +he would not know more than other people, except +on matters directly revealed to him. The Divine +light is indeed a <q>lantern to a man's path,</q> but it +is a lantern that throws its light only in the direction +in which he who carries it has to go. I believe +that John sent to our Lord because he was bewildered +by what he heard. That the Messiah +should preach and heal was agreeable to what he +had expected: but, <q>Was this to be all?</q> Was He +going to restore the kingdom Himself, or was +another to come and take up that portion of the +work? +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord, it would appear, wished to give John +as nearly as might be the same advantages as His +disciples had. The emissaries are accordingly made +witnesses of the Signs. They are told to relate what +they saw and He adds the significant words, <q>And +<pb n='264'/><anchor id='Pg264'/> +blessed is he whosoever shall find none occasion of +stumbling in me.</q><note place='foot'>Luke vii. 23.</note> Our Lord could not say that +He was the Messiah without letting loose all the +divers erroneous imaginations which hovered round +the name. Our Lord, after His fashion, gives the +Baptist a suggestive hint, leaving it to him whether +He should follow out the clue rightly or not. As soon +as John's messengers, who for a while had witnessed +the works that He did, had turned back home, our +Lord addressed himself to the company who were +with him, people, disciples and all, and spoke to +them of John. This discourse contained lessons of +tolerance which helped to widen the disciples' minds, +and I shall therefore discuss it at some length. It +has a bearing extending beyond those to whom +it was addressed. +</p> + +<p> +I shall take St Luke's version of this discourse +because in that of St Matthew it is, I think, mixed +with matter spoken on other occasions. +</p> + +<p> +It is our Lord's way to point the drift of a +whole discourse by a pregnant sentence at the end, +in which the expositor finds the key to the whole. +Such a saying we have here, in the closing words, +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And wisdom is<note place='foot'>Marginal rendering, <emph>was</emph>.</note> justified of all her children.</q><note place='foot'>Luke vii. 35.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +The meaning of the passage turns on the sense +given to the word <q>justified.</q> It is employed, near +the beginning of the discourse, in the same sense +which it has here at the end, and this helps us to +<pb n='265'/><anchor id='Pg265'/> +understand its particular meaning in this place. I +refer to the passage: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And all the people when they heard, and the +publicans, <emph>justified</emph> God, being baptized with the baptism +of John. But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected +for themselves the counsel of God, being not baptized of +him.</q><note place='foot'>Luke vii. 29, 30.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +The word <q>justified</q> is used in this passage in +the sense it has when we say <q>my son has justified +all my outlay,</q> or <q>the event justified all my precautions.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The publicans by accepting the baptism of +John shewed that God's good offices in their behalf +were not thrown away, that they had not been regarded +with excessive hopefulness or a too indulgent +eye; but the Scribes and Pharisees frustrated +God's good purpose in their behalf. So far as +they were concerned his measures were of no effect. +They would have none of them. The fact was, that, +though they talked about God, they were in fact God-blind, +and when asked to follow His teachers they +found special reasons for declining in each particular +case. John renewed an ideal which had passed out +of sight; he appeared in the ascetic garb of the +prophets of old; his strict life and his outspoken +words disturbed their consciences and they put him +aside by the readiest of expedients, they declared +that he was mad. Then came our Lord declaring +Himself the Son of Man, living as other men did, +<pb n='266'/><anchor id='Pg266'/> +and consecrating thereby the ordinary course and +usages of human life. In His case also the Scribes +had an objection to make. A messenger from God, +they thought, would come upon the earth in a +different way from other men, and all his doings +would be of an exceptional kind: whereas Christ +lived to all appearance just as they did themselves. +In the same way that courtiers surround a prince +by a wall of etiquette in order to elevate him and +hold him apart from the people, so would the +Scribes have encompassed God's messenger with +hallowed observances. They were not likely to +understand that the closer Jesus kept to the +ordinary and universal ways of men which were +of natural growth, the more He was at home in +the Kingdom of His Father who had made the +world and ordered the ways of men. +</p> + +<p> +Christ goes to the root of both these objections. +He takes an image drawn from what was always +under their eyes. He supposes a crowd of children +playing in the market place, while others are sitting +somewhat sullenly by. They play at a wedding, +and they pretend to pipe and dance, but those +who sit by will not stir; and then they change to +a funeral, and imitate the wailing of the relatives +and of the train of hired mourners, but those whom +they wish to gain for playmates will not have this +either; <emph>they do not want to play at all</emph>. The people +would learn from this image as much as was within +their comprehension. They could see that when +<pb n='267'/><anchor id='Pg267'/> +the Pharisees objected on opposite grounds to two +courses, their aversion was really not to either +course but to that to which both courses tended. +But the last verse, <q>wisdom is justified of <emph>all</emph> her +children,</q> goes beyond what the people would see +at the time; and, indeed, as St Matthew in his +version omits the important word <emph>all</emph>, it looks as +if he had himself missed the full sense. +</p> + +<p> +The text conveys a lesson of ample tolerance +which even in these days, all minds are not stretched +wide enough to receive. The point is this. God +has children of more types than one, and all these, in +their own different ways, justify God's thought for +them by taking advantage of His help. The ways +of Jesus and the ways of John differ widely, but +men may reach God coming round by either way. +Some may gain access to the Kingdom through +John and others by Jesus; but all who <emph>are</emph> God's +will get there by some way or other. If the Scribes +and Pharisees were winnowed away by this trial +it was because the germs of a Divine nature +within them had been suffered to perish. They +were God's children no longer, and God's ways +for His children would not succeed with them. +</p> + +<p> +That wisdom is justified of all her children, is a +truth carrying to different generations the precise +lesson of tolerance it needs. It was not long before +the Apostles themselves had occasion to call this +very lesson to mind. An exclusive spirit, and the +desire to have their privileges all to themselves led +<pb n='268'/><anchor id='Pg268'/> +them to forbid a man who followed not with them +to cast out devils in their Master's name. They +are very gently set right. Our Lord is never hard +upon errors arising from mistaken notions; he +gently checks them at the time and takes early +occasion, by a parable, or some lesson of circumstance, +to suggest the proper counter view. +</p> + +<p> +But though the Apostles might profit by this +apophthegm, yet it was aimed directly at the Scribes +who held that in all questions there must be one +right view, all others being wrong; so that toleration +of anything that deviated from the accepted view, +implied indifference to truth. But it is only <q>truth +absolute</q> which is <emph>one and exclusive</emph> and this, +in spiritual matters, can only be attained by an +unmistakeable <foreign rend='italic'>dictum</foreign> of revelation. In a geometrical +investigation, we have an infallible logic +dealing with definite notions; we therefore get one +precise result, and all that differ from this are +worthless. But in matters spiritual an element of +infinity must be present; notions enter which cannot +be defined; men may use the same words in +stating their views, but whether these words convey +the same conceptions to them all, no one can +possibly say. In things spiritual, therefore, no one +answer completely excludes all other answers +because we never get a perfect solution at all; we +only get approximations. In like manner there +are insoluble problems in Mathematical Physics to +which we can only get answers approximately +<pb n='269'/><anchor id='Pg269'/> +correct. These being points in a circle round the +unattainable centre may be infinite in number. +</p> + +<p> +These hard sayings shew that Christ, when he +spoke, looked beyond his hearers into infinite space +and saw there <q>other sheep who were not of this +fold.</q><note place='foot'>John x. 16.</note> He must also have felt sure that these +words of His would be preserved for after times; +for certainly, it was not merely for Galilean hearers +that our Lord uttered pregnant words like those I +have just discussed.<note place='foot'>p. <ref target='Pg265'>265</ref>.</note> The candle was not lighted +to be put in a cupboard. The hard sayings of our +Lord as well as many of His passing words, which +called forth no notice at the time, are to me part +of the witness, everywhere peeping out, of our +Lord's prospective view in what He said and did. +He must have had in view persons or bodies of +men, who would find, some in one of these utterances +and some in another, what answered to a want or a +question rising in their hearts; and, as a fact, men +have in every age lighted on words of our Lord +which seemed to be a revelation directed to their +own case, the key to the special riddle which vexed +their souls. There are herbs and simples growing +on the earth, which men for ages have passed carelessly +by, but some new form of malady has one +day appeared, and in the disregarded plant has the +needful help been found. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='270'/><anchor id='Pg270'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter IX. The Schooling Of The Apostles. The +Mission To The Cities.</head> + +<p> +The point we have now reached in the history +is marked by a signal change as well in the form of +our Lord's teaching as in the outer tenour of His +life. His discourses are no longer a string of +positive precepts, but they consist largely of +parables, commonly closing with a moral put into a +striking, not to say a paradoxical, form. His way +of life is altered also, it is no longer that of a resident +of Capernaum, but that of a wayfarer undertaking +considerable journeys, accompanied by the Twelve +who had left all to follow Him. Outward circumstances, +such as danger from the side of Herod, +may have had influence in bringing this latter +change about, but all things fell together to further +the kind of education desired for the Twelve. +This change from a stationary life to a wandering +one was conducive to the growth of certain qualities +valuable for the founders of a Church. These +<pb n='271'/><anchor id='Pg271'/> +qualities we find conspicuously displayed by the +Apostles in the Acts, and we may ask whether +they had not acquired them in this course of +practical education, and also whether our Lord did +not frame this course with a view to its educational +effects, and the fitting of the Apostles for their +work. Was it of pure accident that all this came +about? +</p> + +<p> +We can also, although with less positiveness, +draw some inferences from the courses which our +Lord avoided taking as well as from those which He +took. When we are disposed to wonder why our +Lord did not take some particular step, it is a +good plan to consider what would have come +about if He had done so. We shall often find +that the proposed course would have had an ultimate +effect, very different from that immediate and +obvious one which had at first occurred to us. So, +by examining the educational consequences which +would have resulted from certain courses that were +<emph>not</emph> taken we shall, I think, learn something about +what to avoid in education ourselves. Although +the education of the Apostles is a purpose ever in +our Lord's view, yet it is only now and then that +we are plainly told that something was said or +done for the Apostles' sakes. This silence as to +the effect which is aimed at is, in education, often +a necessity. If a pupil is told by his master that +he is put through certain studies, not that he +may learn the subject, but that he may perfect +<pb n='272'/><anchor id='Pg272'/> +himself in certain mental motions and improve his +capacities, he is apt to be made self-conscious +and coxcombical or else, feeling satisfied that his +mind and capacities are very well as they are, he +gives small attention to what he is told. +</p> + +<p> +From the very first we have seen indications +that our Lord was divining the natures of men, +selecting them with a forecast to their coming +work, and fitting them to receive and promulgate +His revelation of God. But this inner purpose, +which, until the Twelve are called, has lain underground, +now crops out on the surface and forces +itself into view; and we feel bound to ask of +every subsequent incident in the sacred History, +<q>How was the Apostles' character influenced by +this?</q> +</p> + +<p> +I have spoken of the <q>Schooling of the Apostles</q> +for want of a better phrase, but the mental changes +wrought in the disciples by their Master's company +constitute a very different sort of schooling from +what commonly goes by the name. They receive +no doctrinal instruction in dogmatic form, they +obtain nothing which they can display, they are +shewn no new system for dealing with the problems +of life, nor are they given fresh views about the +Messiah. Those who come asking <q>What they +are to do?</q> are always told that they already +know, or should know, this very well of themselves. +Among the great Teachers of the world +there is hardly one, whose chosen pupils have +<pb n='273'/><anchor id='Pg273'/> +received so few tenets in a formulated shape as +those of Christ; and yet the Apostles at the time +of the Ascension have undergone a transformation, +compared with what they were when our Lord first +found them, greater than was ever wrought in men +in the same time before. +</p> + +<p> +One special function was assigned to the +Apostles which sets them apart from all other +men. In them was engendered a new quality +belonging to spiritual life; they were the trustees +of mankind for a new capacity; they were the +depositaries of the faculty for realising <q>the assurance +of things hoped for, the proving of things +not seen.</q><note place='foot'>Heb. xi. 1.</note> In them Faith, which elsewhere existed +only in the germ, was brought to perfection and +bore fruit, and scattered seed. Their progress in +this quality proceeds by certain steps; these are +roughly indicated in the first chapter of this book +(pp. <ref target='Pg008'>8</ref>, <ref target='Pg009'>9</ref>), but I will name them here again. +</p> + +<p> +First of all, the men who were chosen for the +work had a more than usual power of savouring +the things of God. They are brought under the +influence of One whom they regard as the Messiah +but about whom something of mystery hangs. +They conceive for him a passionate loyalty, and +an affection, of which that inspired by the highest +human natures will only serve to give a bare idea; +they are with him day by day; they look on his +Signs and Wonders, but it seems to them so +<pb n='274'/><anchor id='Pg274'/> +natural that a Man like Him should work wonders, +that they scarcely marvel at them. Inward evil, +selfish thoughts and all, disappear when He is +by. Again, they are educated to feel that in His +company they are safe against outward dangers. +This growing confidence<note place='foot'>Mark iv. 35-40.</note> was tried and found +wanting when they were with their Master on the +Lake and the storm arose; the lesson had to be +studied a little longer. As soon as it was fully +learned they were advanced another stage; the +Apostles, in the great practical lesson which is the +leading matter of this chapter, were taught that +Christ's power reached beyond His presence, that +it could even be delegated to them, and that His +shelter could be spread over them, though He +might be far away. They are sent forth without +purse and scrip that they may the better feel that +they are in Christ's hand and need give no thought +to petty daily cares. The same lesson is afterwards +given to the Seventy disciples. The Crucifixion +brought about an education of a very different +kind, that of affliction and trial; but the Apostles +do not, at once, wholly lose their Master, He is +withdrawn from them by degrees. After the Resurrection +though He no longer lives on the earth +a common life with men, yet His disciples feel +that He is not absolutely gone; He seems to be +still close by, and they may at any moment see +His loved and honoured form and hear the words +<pb n='275'/><anchor id='Pg275'/> +<q>Peace be unto you.</q> The stranger who joins +them on the road may prove to be He; they +may catch sight of the Lord's features as He +vanishes away. Then comes the last stage of +separation when He is completely lost to eye and +ear, and Spiritual Communion only is maintained. +Most carefully and by wisely ordered degrees had +they been brought to apprehend this Spiritual +Communion, and they were actuated by the inner +sense of His presence during all the rest of their +lives. This it was, this realization of our Lord's +words <q>Lo, I am always with you unto the end of +the world,</q> which rendered—and still is rendering—the +Christian Church a body living and organic, +and not a mere exponent or depository of doctrines, +and of traditions about the Lord. +</p> + +<p> +Christ is the Divine core of the true life of +Humanity, and He, when one set of views are +outgrown, may whisper to the <q>company of God's +faithful people,</q> and there may be disclosed to +them another aspect of that truth absolute which +men in the body cannot completely discern or +receive. +</p> + +<p> +Soon after the call of the Apostles the fixed +residence of our Lord at Capernaum was broken +up. Very little consideration will be wanted to +see that it was serviceable, with a view to the +education of the Apostles, that it should be so. +</p> + +<p> +Up to this time the fisher brethren had gone on +working for their livelihood more or less, but now +<pb n='276'/><anchor id='Pg276'/> +their Master saw that He should be but a short time +with them and He would have them all to Himself. +Of labour, both bodily and mental, the Apostles +should indeed have enough, but so long as they +were with their Master—so long as the bridegroom +was with them—all this labour must tend +to the single object unto which they were to consecrate +their lives. We can readily see that so +long as Christ was on earth it was their one duty +to follow and to hear; they should be engrossed +by the sole duty of attending Him and were not +to be distracted by sordid cares or by having to +labour for their daily bread. They were to learn +that the work to which they were called was of a +sublime order, and that the business of common +life was as nothing by its side. After this time the +Apostolic party were supported from their own +savings or from the contributions of their friends, +or of others interested in the <q>words of eternal +life.</q> The following passage belongs to this time: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And it came to pass soon afterwards, that he went +about through cities and villages, preaching and bringing +the good tidings of the kingdom of God, and with him +the twelve, and certain women which had been healed of +evil spirits and infirmities, Mary that was called Magdalene, +from whom seven devils had gone out, and Joanna +the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and +many others, which ministered unto them of their +substance.</q><note place='foot'>Luke viii. 1-3.</note> +</quote> + +<pb n='277'/><anchor id='Pg277'/> + +<p> +But as soon as they ceased to labour for their +daily bread, they were kept continuously and +actively engaged in their Master's service; for they +were not to be exposed to the dangers attending +the lack of settled occupation. Thus we find +that as soon as they ceased to earn their livelihood +they were occupied incessantly, journeying in +attendance on our Lord. This matter may be +approached at either of its two ends. It may +have been our Lord's first care that the Apostles +should be freed from secular labour, and the +journeys may have been secondary to this purpose; +or the journeyings may have been of primary +importance, and the Twelve would then necessarily +abandon their callings, and have to be supported +out of some common fund. In both cases the +educational effect was the same. +</p> + +<p> +If the Twelve after being freed from earning +their livelihood had remained in Capernaum, there +must have been some part of the day when they +were not in actual attendance on their Master; +they would have to meet the reproach of idleness, +and they might lose some self-respect by feeling +that they were eating others' bread; or, in their +spare time they might fall into those polemical +discussions from which our Lord safeguards them +with especial care. +</p> + +<p> +All these evils were obviated by the course +which was actually taken. Our Lord left his +fixed home at Capernaum, and He and the Twelve +<pb n='278'/><anchor id='Pg278'/> +adopted a wandering life. These journeys taken +in company supplied a need which in all education +is a foremost one, that of discipline. They +were given duties to perform. When men travel +together, faring hardly on rough mountain ways, +bound to start together and to keep up each +with the rest, whether disposed to do so or not, +they soon come to set inclination on one side +and to learn what obligation means. There is +no kind of companionship which binds men in +a closer and heartier fellowship than this journeying +together. Thus the Schooling of the Twelve +went on, without their guessing it, as they went +with their Master, sometimes on foot over the +hills, sometimes rowing the boat on the Lake, +sometimes providing for His reception in the cities, +or marshalling hearers to listen to the word; and +sometimes, when multitudes had to be fed, arranging +them, plot by plot, so that they might +be reached by those who distributed the food.<note place='foot'>Mark vi. 39, 40.</note> +</p> + +<p> +This work afforded the very training required. +Nothing is more remarkable in the Apostles than +their unbroken mental health. The histories of +religious communities are full of instances of +ecstacies and hysterical delusions; but never do +we find among our Lord's followers anything approaching +to a spiritual craze. Such crazes are +commonly the growth of solitude, and no Apostle +<pb n='279'/><anchor id='Pg279'/> +while the new ideas are working in him is suffered +to be long alone. This health of theirs came in +great measure from their being constantly employed +about matters of which their hearts were full. The +training of the Apostles fulfils all the conditions +for sound spiritual health; the Twelve lead lives +of out-door labour, with constant change of scene, +with varied interests, with occupations to engage +their minds; some had the provisioning to see to,<note place='foot'>Possibly Philip had this charge, see page <ref target='Pg306'>306</ref>.</note> +some the contributions, some were sent on in +advance to secure lodging,<note place='foot'>Luke ix. 51, 52.</note> and some wrought +works of healing in their Master's name. All this +was conducive to their becoming self helpful, fertile +in practical resource, as well as earnestly devoted +to their Master, confident both of His power and +of that delegated to themselves. Their way of life +brought them also into acquaintance with the +various dispositions and ways of men: all of this +was essential for their work. +</p> + +<p> +At the same time this regular occupation, +though sufficient to prevent any evil spirit finding +in them a corner <q>empty, swept and garnished,</q> +yet was not absorbing or exhausting, it left their +minds and wills free play; they could fall into +groups as they chose, they could talk freely on +the way, they could debate on the meaning of a +parable, or on the nature and time of coming of +the Kingdom of Heaven. +</p> + +<pb n='280'/><anchor id='Pg280'/> + +<p> +After, what seems to have been a short mission +journey, with the Twelve, into the villages of Gennesareth, +which served to initiate them into their +new life and to teach them confidence in their +Master, our Lord came back to the Lake coast +where a great crowd assembled, whom He addressed +from a boat upon the Lake near the +shore. +</p> + +<p> +The crowd that gathered there heard a teaching +new to the world both in matter and in form; men +who had listened to the Sermon on the Mount +might scarcely believe that the speaker was the +same; hitherto the lessons to the multitude had +placed before them truths of life, moral and spiritual, +put in such a way as to require no effort of +the learner to be fully understood; the right or +wrong about some matter, with which they had +daily to deal, had been set before them in a light +in which they had never seen it before. But what +they heard now was not apopthegm, not precept, +but, on the face of it, only a simple tale. <q>This</q> +they would say <q>is all well, but how is it like the +Kingdom of God?</q> Whether much more might +not be learnt, even from these plain lessons, by +turning them over a second time in the mind, was +a question which only a few asked, and of these +few the greater part were probably already among +the disciples of Jesus. They were no longer given +instruction in a condition ready for use, but only +material from which they should extract it for themselves; +<pb n='281'/><anchor id='Pg281'/> +and to do this they must both use their wits +and have hearts alive to God. I shall speak, further +on, of the principle on which our Lord acted in +withdrawing from the mass the opportunities they +had had before. He states it himself, in words +I have many times cited, <q>to those who have +shall be given</q>; words which we have not done +with yet, but which it would draw me from my +point to discuss now. +</p> + +<p> +It was apparently for the sake of the Apostles +that this form of teaching is introduced. One of +the services it rendered is obvious, it set the +hearers thinking. A new form of intellectual +exercise was laid before the listeners, something +was proposed which they had to solve for themselves; +they are given the solution in two cases, +and they are provided with other examples on +which they are to try their own skill. Beside the +stimulus thus given to intellectual activity by +the new kind of teaching, it kept before the +eyes of the students those lofty conceptions of +Divine agency in the world which preachers of +the Kingdom of Heaven would require. Personal +trust in our Lord's words, cooperating with some +intuition of their own, had made them feel sure +that God's Kingdom had come. Now they were +told that they might know something of its ways; +they are set to ponder on them, but the direction +their thoughts are to follow is marked out; they +are not left to rove hither and thither in their own +<pb n='282'/><anchor id='Pg282'/> +imaginations, they are not suffered to pass disjointedly +from notion to notion as in a dream; +the puzzle of the parable arrests their attention, +and the thread which the circumstance of it supplies +serves as a clue confining their thoughts to move +along a certain path. Here again, as we have +observed so often, a selective action comes in, for +it is the more active intellects that are most drawn +towards a puzzle. They find in it something that +their minds may work upon and this is what they +seek; while the sluggish desire nothing of the kind, +but turn aside from anything they cannot at once +understand. +</p> + +<p> +Again, if the Apostles solved a parable for +themselves and thereby arrived at a new aspect of +some Divine truth, this fresh knowledge would be +much more their own, and have a far greater effect +in forming their minds, than if the solution had +come from their Master. A problem solved by the +pupil himself does him more good than a dozen of +which he reads the solutions in a book. The parable +suggested certain parallels between things outward +and things spiritual in the world, and, without conceiving +anything so abstract as an analogy between +these two orders of things, the Twelve may have +caught a glimpse of the truth, that a workmanship +betokening the same hand runs through all provinces +of the universe. +</p> + +<p> +When the disciples had thus been filled with +new thoughts and new ideas, our Lord withdrew +<pb n='283'/><anchor id='Pg283'/> +them from turmoil that the ideas might germinate +undisturbed, we read +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And on that day, when even was come, he saith +unto them, Let us go over unto the other side.</q><note place='foot'>Mark iv. 35.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +An incident in this little voyage served as a +test of the condition of that Faith, the growth +of which in the Apostles' hearts was being, I +believe, watched anxiously by our Lord. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And there ariseth a great storm of wind, and the +waves beat into the boat, insomuch that the boat was +now filling. And he himself was in the stern, asleep on +the cushion: and they awake him, and say unto him, +Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he awoke, +and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be +still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great +calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye fearful? have +ye not yet faith?</q><note place='foot'>Mark iv. 37-40.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +This <emph>yet</emph> is emphatic. This was a miracle of +instruction, and it served also as a test of how far +the Apostles were fit for the high lesson in store +for them, that namely of trusting in the Lord's +protection when they were out of His sight. Their +behaviour shewed that they had not as yet fully +mastered the easier one of trusting in Him when +He was by. +</p> + +<p> +First let us notice a trait of nature in the recital +which shews the hand of an eye-witness. The +<pb n='284'/><anchor id='Pg284'/> +words <q>Master, carest thou not that we perish</q> +exactly express the irritation of alarm, which turns +against those who remain undisturbed. No fabricator +would in those days have hit on this trait; +and a compiler from tradition, unless he had felt +constrained by his authority, might have preferred +to pass it by. +</p> + +<p> +It is not quite clear from the account whether +the disciples hoped for superhuman help from our +Lord or not. The works of His which had most +gained notice had been cures, and that He should +have power over the winds and waves had probably +never entered their minds. Still, it is obvious, that +they turned to their Master in peril, as a child does +to its parent, expecting at least to find Him solicitous +about them. If our Lord had asked them, as +soon as the wind rose, <q>Shall you, if a storm should +come, feel safe because I am with you?</q> they would +have answered, and answered truly, that they would. +But their Oriental disposition to panic lay deeper +in them than their newly born confidence in their +Master, and the sudden emergency brought the +depths to the surface. Their trust, we may be +sure, advanced after that night both in intensity +and breadth. +</p> + +<p> +The miracle in the country of the Gadarenes, +into which our Lord went, brings out one point +which belongs to my subject.<note place='foot'>In <q>Trench on the Miracles</q> this miracle and the question of +the demoniacs in the New Testament are thoroughly discussed. I +purposely confine myself to what bears on the education of the +Apostles. See also above Chap. 2, p. <ref target='Pg048'>48</ref>.</note> This miracle I +<pb n='285'/><anchor id='Pg285'/> +regard as a practical illustration of the lesson of +the parable of the Tares, inasmuch as both one +and the other bear on the great puzzle of God's +tolerance of evil in the world. While the parable +and interpretation are yet fresh in the minds of the +Apostles, the case of this Demoniac comes before +them. It may have struck them—as it must often +have struck ourselves—how often after having learnt +something one day we come, unaccountably, on an +instance or illustration of it on the next. The +circumstance was this, an evil agency was, so to +say, taken prisoner by our Lord; should it be +deprived of existence, or at any rate of activity at +once? Men generally would answer <q>Yes.</q> They +would regard it as something that had escaped +God's eye and which God's servants ought to +destroy whenever they could. This is not Christ's +view. Evil is not regarded by him as an oversight +of God. God has allowed it to exist in the +world, and so it has probably some function to +perform. It is not to be extirpated with ruthless +hand. The tares are to grow until the harvest. On +the same principle our Lord will not send the Spirit +into the pit. He is the Son of Man, and men he +has come to deliver; of the man therefore this +evil agency must loosen his hold; but, saving this, +he may pursue the vocation he was following when +Christ crossed the Lake. Our Lord rescues the +<pb n='286'/><anchor id='Pg286'/> +<emph>man</emph>, because to do good unto men He was sent, +but for property he is not concerned. If the +Demon must be about some evil, but will be +content with turning to the swine, to the swine he +is at liberty to go; he is not sent to them, but +neither is he interdicted. The plague on men is, as +was observed above, turned into a murrain among +swine.<note place='foot'>See above, p. <ref target='Pg049'>49</ref>.</note> The destruction of the swine was the +act of the Divine government only in the same +sense that the losses by the cattle plague are so +now. As we go on we read: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And they began to beseech him to depart from their +borders.</q><note place='foot'>Mark v. 17.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +It would be hard upon this people to say that +they counted the deliverance of their brother a +less matter than the loss of their swine; they +were terror-stricken at the display of superhuman +power, and they wished to be rid of their cause +of fear. +</p> + +<p> +In the above verse we find the first instance of +indifference or aversion among those to whom our +Lord went. +</p> + +<p> +The schooling of the Apostles leads them +steadily on; step by step they advance into the +rougher ground of actual life, and one such step is +noted here. +</p> + +<p> +It was well, as I have said, that a glow of +success should at starting rest upon their path, +<pb n='287'/><anchor id='Pg287'/> +but they could never grow into hardy wayfarers if +all the ways were smooth and all the weather +bright; there were in them many qualities, good +and hard, which could only take their proper lustre +by rubbing against what was rough. So they were +early taught to expect opposition, and they saw in +what spirit it was dealt with by our Lord. Men, +thinking only of the contest, are apt to lose sight +of the matter in debate, and make it a point +of honour not to give way. They are often +made obstinate by being opposed. Our Lord +counts the fact that opposition exists to be +material in the case and allows it its weight. Here +the people pray Him to go and He goes. He +could do them no good by staying against +their will. He returns at once to the western +side of the Lake, and soon after his arrival we +read of the raising of Jairus' daughter. With the +miracle itself I have nothing to do; I am concerned +with the choosing of Peter, James and John, to +witness the miracle,<note place='foot'>Mark v. 37.</note> but this is an instance of +the principle which will form the subject of the +next chapter and will there be discussed. +</p> + +<p> +After this, according to my view of the chronology, +our Lord paid a second visit to Nazareth +accompanied by His disciples. He may have +supposed that the news of His doings would have +turned His townspeople towards Him; but the old +impression is still strong among them. A man +<pb n='288'/><anchor id='Pg288'/> +from God, they thought, must come they knew +not whence, whereas Jesus and His brothers they +had known all their lives; and although it seems +that His mother and brethren had gone to live at +Capernaum,<note place='foot'>Compare Mark iii. 32 and Mark vi. 3.</note> His sisters were still among them in +Nazareth. We may gather from these two events +that the faith of the disciples had by this time +grown strong enough to encounter opposition +without harm. A strong conviction is confirmed +by attack; it takes up a firm position on its bases +of support; while a stripling faith bends and +quivers at every gust of disbelief. +</p> + +<p> +It was soon after this rejection at Nazareth, +and possibly from the neighbourhood of that place, +that our Lord sent forth the Twelve on their mission +journey, giving them the very remarkable injunction, +which I print below. St Luke tells us of +another mission of seventy disciples; how long a +time elapsed between the two missions, or whether +the Apostles were among the seventy, we do not +know; inasmuch as the circumstances of the two +journeys, and the directions given are very similar, +and the educational purport of the two is alike, I +shall print both the narratives here, and consider +the two events together. St Mark's account is as +follows: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And he called unto him the twelve, and began to +send them forth by two and two; and he gave them +<pb n='289'/><anchor id='Pg289'/> +authority over the unclean spirits; and he charged them +that they should take nothing for their journey, save a +staff only; no bread, no wallet, no money in their purse; +but to go shod with sandals: and, said he, put not on two +coats. And he said unto them, Wheresoever ye enter +into a house, there abide till ye depart thence. And +whatsoever place shall not receive you, and they hear +you not, as ye go forth thence, shake off the dust that is +under your feet for a testimony unto them. And they +went out, and preached that men should repent. And +they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many +that were sick, and healed them.</q><note place='foot'>Mark vi. 7-13.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +St Luke gives this account of the sending of +the seventy. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Now after these things the Lord appointed seventy +others, and sent them two and two before his face into +every city and place, whither he himself was about to +come. And he said unto them, The harvest is plenteous, +but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of +the harvest, that he send forth labourers into his harvest. +Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs in the +midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no wallet, no shoes: +and salute no man on the way. And into whatsoever +house ye shall enter, first say, Peace be to this house. +And if a son of peace be there, your peace shall rest +upon him: but if not, it shall turn to you again. And +in that same house remain, eating and drinking such +things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. +Go not from house to house. And into whatsoever city +<pb n='290'/><anchor id='Pg290'/> +ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set +before you: and heal the sick that are therein, and say +unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. +But into whatsoever city ye shall enter, and they receive +you not, go out into the streets thereof and say, Even the +dust from your city, that cleaveth to our feet, we do wipe +off against you: howbeit know this, that the kingdom of +God is come nigh.</q><note place='foot'>Luke x. 1-11.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +In the account of St Matthew we find some +small differences. The discourses delivered on the +two occasions are perhaps combined.<note place='foot'>Matth. x. 5-15.</note> +</p> + +<p> +It so rarely happens that practical directions as +to conduct or behaviour are given to the Apostles +by our Lord, that we may be convinced that +there is strong reason for His so doing in this case. +A lesson of great moment was to be taught by this +mission; much depended on the spirit in which it +was carried out. This spirit would be affected by +the external circumstances, and these are therefore +so ordered as to give the greatest possible impressiveness +to the lesson in view. +</p> + +<p> +These missions have another singularity. Our +Lord, contrary to His usual practice, explains the +part they bore in the education of His followers. +In a few words spoken to the Twelve, as He was +leaving the chamber on the way to Gethsemane, +He throws abundant light on the whole purport of +these journeys. +</p> + +<p> +The words are these: +</p> + +<pb n='291'/><anchor id='Pg291'/> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And he said unto them, When I sent you forth +without purse, and wallet, and shoes, lacked ye anything? +And they said, Nothing. And he said unto +them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and +likewise a wallet: and he that hath none, let him sell his +cloke, and buy a sword. For I say unto you, that this +which is written must be fulfilled in me, And he was +reckoned with transgressors: for that which concerneth +me hath fulfilment. And they said, Lord, behold, here +are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.</q><note place='foot'>Luke xxii. 35-38.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +From this it is seen that all these provisions +and directions had a definite purpose, tending to +give certain strong impressions to the Twelve, one +of the most important being that the Twelve +might trust themselves to Christ's guardianship +even when He was not by. +</p> + +<p> +They were sent without purse and scrip and +shoes, and they found that those among whom they +came would not suffer them to lack anything: all +went smoothly as they proceeded with their work +in the Lord's name. They were to be kept free +from sordid anxieties and harassing bodily wants, +in order that their minds might be open to higher +lessons; and that they might gain the habit of +trusting—not indeed that Christ would send them +on every occasion just what they desired—but that +He would not suffer them to be tried beyond their +strength. Possibly, on that journey all their needs +were supplied so easily, that it may hardly have +<pb n='292'/><anchor id='Pg292'/> +struck them as strange that they never had felt the +lack of anything they required. They may never +have thought that what seemed to come by accident +was really the Lord's doing and part of His plan, +until He Himself recalled this mission to their +minds. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord goes on to teach them that these +journeys of theirs to the cities, compared to the +missions awaiting them in the actual life on which +they so soon would enter, were only what the mimic +fight on a day of review is to the conflict of real +war; or what the exercise of a swimmer in a school, +within reach of his instructor's help, is to the +crossing a river for his life. In the exercise ground +one lesson, or one set of motions is taught at a +time; but when the faculty acquired is brought into +actual practice all a man's capacities and endowments +are wanted to work together at once. So, +in Christ's schooling also, one thing is taught at a +time. Two leading qualities only, viz. trustfulness +in Christ's spiritual oversight and a helpful self-reliance, +were cultivated and tested by this preparatory +mission; but in the actual work itself +which awaited the Twelve, every gift of nature or +fortune, and every faculty of their being would +have to be brought into play and turned to the +best account. +</p> + +<p> +They went on their way through the cities +without purse or wallet, and they found then that +no money or provision was needed; but in the +<pb n='293'/><anchor id='Pg293'/> +real work awaiting them, in the open world, they +must take thought beforehand for all their needs; +and those who have worldly means are to use +them in God's service just as they must do their +talents or their strength. They are to be wise as +serpents as well as simple as doves. Prudence and +a good judgment are entrusted gifts whose true +worth is most apparent when they are turned to +the service of God. It is not only piety for which +God has a care; He claims for his service all endowments +of fortune and body and mind; station +and wealth, health and skill of hand, judgment, +utterance, and clearness of thought—all these are +held on trust for Him. The Apostles had been +sent on the mission without any provision, in order +that they might learn this one particular lesson—what +it was to abandon themselves to the guardianship +of Christ. In the real work now lying close +before them, He bids them use the same forethought +and the same practical good sense in +all that relates to God's service as in what relates +to their own. They went to the cities without +arms, and they were unmolested on their way; +but now they are told to provide weapons of +self-defence, even though they should sell their +garments to buy them. It is not the arms themselves +that are the gist of the matter, but they stand +for a symbol of that personal courage which would +have to play no small part in the work of the +Christian Church. +</p> + +<pb n='294'/><anchor id='Pg294'/> + +<p> +Again these words of our Lord throw a stream +of light upon what was His object in the plan He +pursued; they shew that the training of the Apostles +was carried on continually and systematically from +the first, and was among the things always uppermost +in His mind. When the Twelve set out on +this first mission journey it seemed to them a +passing act in the regular course of ministerial +duty, but after a year had gone by, it is brought +back to their minds by our Lord; and they learn +the significance of that which they had almost +suffered to pass out of mind. It is cited, not +with regard to what it effected directly—not for +the good it did to those who were taught—but +for the qualities it fostered in the preachers themselves. +</p> + +<p> +That these preachers rendered service to those +to whom they were sent there can be no doubt, but +the notice of our Lord calls attention, not to this, +but to the lesson which the Apostles learned. There +are some points in these directions which it is hard +to explain if we suppose them given solely with +the practical view of furthering the Apostles' work, +as Christ's forerunners in making known to the +people the advent of the Kingdom of God. We do +not, on such an hypothesis, see why they should +have gone without food or raiment or have saluted +no man on the way; they would have made no +fewer converts if they had taken purse and scrip +and wished <q>God speed</q> to those they met. They +<pb n='295'/><anchor id='Pg295'/> +might, indeed, have <emph>done</emph> the same good, but they +would not have <emph>got</emph> the same good. We shall see +presently how these instructions were calculated +to make them feel that they were God's servants, +dignified by their duty, and withdrawn by their +special overmastering vocation from the ordinary +intercourse of man with man. +</p> + +<p> +The effects of this journey were twofold. There +was an outside good to be done by the workers in +the world, and an inside good to be done within +themselves. This last was brought about by the +mental processes and motions they went through +in doing the <emph>outside</emph> good to which only they +gave their thoughts at the time. They supposed +that they were sent on this mission because +their Master wished the Kingdom of God to be +preached in the cities, and they regarded the +particular injunctions,—if they thought about them +at all,—as the set rules of garb and procedure for +preachers of the Kingdom. It never occurred to +them that by all this they were being made to grow +inwardly in the way that Christ desired. They +could not be told unto what end they were being +educated, for self-consciousness would have spoiled +all. They would have got no <emph>inner</emph> good, if they +had not believed they were doing <emph>outer</emph> good, and +good no doubt they did. Moreover they never +thought about themselves at all. Christ's disciples +are always led away from doing so. They are, +with sedulous care, kept so occupied in body and +<pb n='296'/><anchor id='Pg296'/> +mind that at last self is lost sight of, and they +become absorbed in their love for their Master, +and in the glory of feeling that they have a share +in His work. +</p> + +<p> +Along with the lesson of confidence in their +Master's care, there went another, not less prominently +insisted upon, that of the dignity of the +work they were being consecrated to do. They +were to go in Christ's name, preaching the +Kingdom He had declared, and affirming its +presence by such Signs as He had Himself shewn. +This dignity belonged, not personally to themselves, +but to the Lord whom they represented; +they felt secure, just as the Ambassador of a +power feels Sacrosanct because he represents the +Majesty of his State. +</p> + +<p> +They were to be possessed with the sense of +the greatness of the charge laid on them, and all +their being was to be concentrated in this. Their +eyes are never to be off their goal; hence the +minute precautions against distraction. +</p> + +<p> +The directions for their equipment will be seen +to further the growth of the impressions desired. +</p> + +<p> +They are to go two together; this is a rule +always observed. Our Lord sent <q>messengers +before his face<note place='foot'>Luke ix. 52.</note> into a village of the Samaritans +to make ready for him;</q> it is not said that they +were two in number, but as James and John are +<pb n='297'/><anchor id='Pg297'/> +loud in their indignation, it is not improbable that +they were the messengers. Two disciples are sent +to find the colt before our Lord's entrance to Jerusalem,<note place='foot'>Luke xix. 29.</note> +and Peter and John together are sent to +make ready the Passover.<note place='foot'>Luke xxii. 8.</note> Afterwards, in all the +Apostolic journeys the Church followed the practice. +In these mission journeys of the newly chosen +Apostles we see how well it suited the objects in +view that they should go in pairs. If three or +more had gone together the sacred character of +their journey might more easily have dropped +out of sight. Conversation on indifferent points +would have been more likely to arise and dissension +might have ensued; two might have differed +in opinion and each have tried to gain over the +third. They could hardly have remained so absorbed +in their purpose, as when they went two +together, full of the one matter in their hearts and +rarely interchanging a word. +</p> + +<p> +Neither would it have been well for them to +go one by one. A man by himself has many +dangers. He may grow downcast, and a depressed +condition is not favourable to the growth of Faith; +or he may harp upon one idea, and having no one +with him to criticise it and reduce it to its right +proportion, it may overshadow his whole mind and +degenerate into a craze. The solitary missionary +might find danger also in success. If the cures he +<pb n='298'/><anchor id='Pg298'/> +wrought excited admiration, he might be inclined +to take some of the glory to himself: or he might +be tempted to go beyond his commission to +preach the Kingdom, and try to establish some +notions of his own about Jesus as the Christ. +The presence of his colleague would recall him to +his true position and remind him that he was not +about his own work but his Master's. If one of +the pair were inclined to take too much on himself, +or to allow the people to exaggerate his +own part in the wonder wrought, he would be sure +to find a silent monitor in his colleague's eye. +When two men go together not only does each +represent to the other the purpose with which he +is sent, but also each supports the other. When +one is inclined to despond the other feels forced +to take a hopeful tone and this does good to +both. +</p> + +<p> +The Apostles were to salute no man by the +way; they were not to join in any trivial wayside +talk. This served to impress upon them the +solemn nature of their work; all their thoughts +were to be centred in that, it was to supply the +master purpose of their lives. They had God's +work to do and God's message to give, and there +should be no room in their hearts for any thing +but this. This severed them for the time from the +rest of the world. They were to go, side by side, +with their staves in their hands, not looking this +way or that, but having the fixed gaze and steadfast +<pb n='299'/><anchor id='Pg299'/> +air of men who are marching determinedly to +their goal. +</p> + +<p> +When they come to the city where they will +stay they are not to plead for hospitality; they +have not come of themselves or for themselves—they +are God's messengers; they are to go to +the house which they think fittest, and, if denied, +they are to shake off the dust from their feet +and go elsewhere, and, when admitted, there they +are to abide as of right. There is to be no shifting +of quarters; disturbance and unsettlement is studiously +avoided, as in all other proceedings of our +Lord. Many among the householders of a village +might strive to have a share in entertaining the +prophets of God; and the passing of these from +house to house would bring into play little worldly +jealousies and call off the attention of the missionary +from his single object. Where they are admitted, +they are told, <q>there abide and thence depart.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The Apostles are given minute directions as to +outfit and demeanour but very little as to what +they were to say. They were not to be mere +mouthpieces, they were teachers as well, and were +left to teach in their own way. To use responsibility +was the highest part of the lesson they +had to learn, and if they had been tied down too +precisely this responsibility would have been lost. +We have no record of their preaching on this +journey—they are sent to proclaim one truth and +one only <q>That the Kingdom of God was come.</q> +<pb n='300'/><anchor id='Pg300'/> +This truth they might enforce in any way they +chose—they might preach to many or few, in +houses or synagogues or on the mountain side—and +if any disbelieved that God's Kingdom was +come, they were to assure their hearers that it +was none the less about them on every side, because +they did not choose to believe it was there.<note place='foot'>Luke x. 9-11.</note> On +their return, they relate what they had taught.<note place='foot'>Mark vi. 30.</note> +</p> + +<p> +There is another point. They are not directed +even to name our Lord; He would not suffer them +to proclaim Jesus of Nazareth, for He had not +<q>come in his own name.</q><note place='foot'>John v. 43.</note> This law is most +steadily observed; the seventy say on their return, +that the devils were subject to them through our +Lord's name, but though they may have used His +name when they wrought cures, they do not seem +to have declared that the expected Messiah had +come; they kept to what they were told to do. +The wonder is that no one on this mission should +have announced Jesus as the Messiah: they could +not have been warned against doing so, because to +warn them specially would have been to suggest +the notion of that which was to be avoided. A +similar circumstance may have been one cause of +the fervent thanks which our Lord renders to His +Father on the return of the seventy.<note place='foot'>Luke x. 21.</note> +</p> + +<p> +How long this journey of the Apostles lasted +we do not know; the exigencies of harmonists have +<pb n='301'/><anchor id='Pg301'/> +led some of them to reduce it to a day or two, but +I should suppose it to have occupied at least a +week. Neither do we know in what districts the +journeys took place; but that the Twelve started +from the neighbourhood of Nazareth in the spring +of <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 29, and the seventy from the Northern +border of Judæa or from Peræa in the following +autumn, is a plausible guess. The words, +<q>Go not into the way of the Gentiles,</q> &c. which +St Matthew puts at the head of our Lord's directions, +I think refer to the mission of the seventy. +In Peræa they were close to Gentile countries and +Samaria lay in the way to parts of Galilee and +Judæa. They are told not to abide in any Samaritan +city or set foot at all in a Gentile land; our +Lord is first sent to the lost sheep of the house of +Israel. All went well on both occasions. On the +return of the seventy our Lord saw in this success +of His disciples in their ministration, an augury +of the establishment of His Church. Men, it was +plain, could be trusted for the great work in view; +and in this success of the disciples in setting it +afoot our Lord seemed to behold the Power of +Evil falling from the sky. Our Lord pours out +His soul on this occasion in thankfulness to His +Father. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, +and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and +earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and +understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes: yea, +<pb n='302'/><anchor id='Pg302'/> +Father; for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight. All +things have been delivered unto me of my Father: and +no one knoweth who the Son is, save the Father; and +who the Father is, save the Son, and he to whomsoever +the Son willeth to reveal him.</q><note place='foot'>Luke x. 21, 22.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +This thankfulness of our Lord assures us of one +point; these seventy must have been exposed to +the possibility of failure. Our Lord's joy is that +of one delivered from a great anxiety. This +instance bears out the view that our Lord's knowledge +of the immediate future was, partly at least, in +abeyance during His stay on earth. Indeed, if He +had been free from all feeling of uncertainty, His +life could not have been truly human. The course +of daily events depending on the will of others +did not in general lie spread out to His view. +</p> + +<p> +Another illustration of this occurs on the return +of the Twelve; our Lord goes to the desert seeking +quiet, but in this He is disappointed, for He finds +Himself attended by five thousand people. +</p> + +<p> +St Mark tells us +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And the apostles gather themselves together unto +Jesus; and they told him all things, whatsoever they had +done, and whatsoever they had taught. And he saith +unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, +and rest a while. For there were many coming and +going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And +they went away in the boat to a desert place apart.</q><note place='foot'>Mark vi. 30-32.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +This rule of our Lord to give the Apostles rest +<pb n='303'/><anchor id='Pg303'/> +and leisure after a period of mental strain, or when +much food for reflection had been taken in, is +almost invariable. Our Lord's intention is, in +this case, frustrated by the zeal of the multitude, +who running together from the villages, go round +the head of the Lake and meet Him on the shore +near the northern end. St John speaking of this +matter says: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Now the passover, the feast of the Jews, was at +hand. Jesus therefore lifting up his eyes, and seeing that +a great multitude cometh unto him, saith unto Philip, +Whence are we to buy bread, that these may eat?</q><note place='foot'>John vi. 4, 5.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +We see that St John attributed this great +concourse of people to its being the time of the +Passover. Now the road from Damascus to Jerusalem +went past the north end of the Lake, and +it has been supposed that the great caravan of +Syrian Jews was passing on its way to the feast, +and that to this the <q>great company</q> belonged. +St Matthew, St Mark and St Luke, however, all +imply that the multitude came from the neighbouring +cities, and St John says that they <q><emph>followed</emph> +Him (<hi rend='italic'>i.e.</hi> from the villages of Gennesaret) +because they beheld the Signs;</q> and St Mark tells +us that the people <q>saw them going and many +knew them.</q> The crowd therefore could not have +been strangers from Damascus. St John, however, +would not have here mentioned the Passover, if +<pb n='304'/><anchor id='Pg304'/> +there had not been some connexion between it +and the presence of the crowd. The connexion, +I believe to have been this. He means to account +for the crowd by saying, <q>It was feast time, no +work was being done, and large bodies of men +were therefore at leisure to follow.</q> Some think +that the Evangelist may have seen in this miraculous +meal a substitute for the Paschal feast, which +our Lord and his followers can hardly have kept +according to due form. +</p> + +<p> +In this miracle, I am particularly concerned.<note place='foot'>See p. <ref target='Pg022'>22</ref>.</note> +In speaking of it in an earlier Chapter I observed +that our Lord's rule of abstaining from using His +miraculous power to provide for the physical wants +of His followers or Himself, holds in this case, +inasmuch as our Lord's party had enough for themselves; +this proceeds on the supposition that the +loaves and fishes belonged to the Apostles, although +if they had had the money, and bought what would +just have sufficed for themselves, the law would +have held good. +</p> + +<p> +It may be asked, <q>Had the Apostles the loaves +with them or did they buy them of the lad?</q> +</p> + +<p> +As a matter of explanation, I think it more +consistent with the narrative of the other Evangelists +to suppose that the lad mentioned by +Andrew<note place='foot'>John vi. 9.</note> was carrying provisions belonging to the +party, than that he had brought them for sale and +that the disciples bought them. +</p> + +<pb n='305'/><anchor id='Pg305'/> + +<p> +St Matthew, St Mark and St Luke speak as +though the loaves and fishes belonged to the +Apostolic company, while St John says <q>There is +<emph>a lad here</emph> who has &c.</q> The supposition that the +lad was employed to carry the provisions does not, +it is said, agree with the received notions of the +poverty of the Apostles. We find, however, that +they had the use of various boats, and St Mark +speaks of <q>hired servants</q> in Zebedee's boat.<note place='foot'>Mark i. 20.</note> +I suppose that one of these servants, not being +wanted while the boat was ashore, was employed +to carry the sack of provisions for the party. It +supports my view that the two common articles +of diet should <emph>both</emph> be brought by the same +lad, in just such quantity as to suffice for our +Lord's company. The words <q>How many loaves +have ye? Go and see</q> shew, that our Lord +supposed them to have brought a supply;<note place='foot'>Mark vi. 38.</note> moreover +the quantity of provisions was nearly the +same and they were of the same kind, as those +which the Twelve had with them on the subsequent +occasion of the feeding of the four thousand.<note place='foot'>Mark viii. 5-7.</note> It +is unlike the East, as we now know it, that there +should have been no bargaining, and that <emph>one</emph> lad +should have seen the opportunity of selling his +commodities and followed from one of the villages, +and that no other should have done so. +</p> + +<p> +Whether the provisions belonged to the disciples +<pb n='306'/><anchor id='Pg306'/> +or were<note place='foot'>That the disciples habitually carried loaves with them on their +journey is clear from Mark viii. 14.</note> purchased at the time, the wants of +our Lord's own party, as I have just said, could +have been supplied without miraculous intervention; +and the rule, answering to the refusal to +turn Stones into Loaves, would hold. These rules, +or Laws as I have called them, treated of in +Chapter V. are not formally imposed by our Lord +on Himself, or alluded to in express terms. +They are <emph>uniformities observed</emph> in his conduct, +which harmonise with the course taken in the +Temptations. We need not suppose that He said +to Himself <q>I will always adhere to this rule or +that,</q> but He observed the rule because to follow +it best forwarded in each case the end in view. +Our Lord's company are never in straits for food, +but our Lord once implies that if they had been +so His power might always be trusted as a means +of supply.<note place='foot'>Mark viii. 16, 17.</note> He would not have adhered to His +practice narrowly, when it would have weakened +the lesson of Trust. Philip may have been charged +with the care of provisioning the party, just as +Judas Iscariot carried the purse; this conjecture +would account for our Lord turning to him with +the question, <q>Whence are we to buy bread?</q><note place='foot'>John vi. 5.</note> +</p> + +<p> +What our Lord said on this occasion to the +multitude we do not know; we are told only that +<pb n='307'/><anchor id='Pg307'/> +<q>He began to teach them many things,</q><note place='foot'>Mark vi. 34.</note> and in +listening they lost all count of time, so that when +our Lord had finished, it was too late for them to +go and buy bread. After the meal He perceived +that they <q>were about to come and take him by +force to make him king.</q><note place='foot'>John vi. 15.</note> The people must have +just heard of the execution of John; they may +have been exasperated against Herod and thought +they had found in our Lord one who would treat +the Romans like Sennacherib's host. We hear of +no outbreak of enthusiasm, no clamorous demonstration +of fervour; they were perhaps too much +possessed by reverential awe for that, at any rate +their orderliness is very remarkable. +</p> + +<p> +No malice on the part of the scribes could have +been so fatal to what our Lord had in view, as this +giving of a political turn to the movement which +He was setting afoot. The erroneous impression +would spread fast and become ineradicable, so that +the work of saving the world might have to be +begun over again in another way. He hurried the +disciples on board that they might not catch the +contagion of this idea. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And straightway he constrained his disciples to +enter into the boat, and to go before him unto the other +side to Bethsaida, while he himself sendeth the multitude +away. And after he had taken leave of them, he +departed into the mountain to pray.</q><note place='foot'>Mark vi. 45, 46.</note> +</quote> + +<pb n='308'/><anchor id='Pg308'/> + +<p> +Solitary prayer on our Lord's part commonly +betokens some important step in his course of +proceeding. Here it precedes His leaving Galilee; +possibly this political manifestation made it advisable; +at any rate, very shortly after this, He +goes to the borders of Tyre and Sidon and sees +little more of Galilee during his life. +</p> + +<p> +On the passage of the Apostles back to the +western shore, occurred the miracle of the Lord +walking on the sea. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And when even was come, the boat was in the +midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And seeing +them distressed in rowing, for the wind was contrary +unto them, about the fourth watch of the night he cometh +unto them, walking on the sea; and he would have +passed by them: but they, when they saw him walking +on the sea, supposed that it was an apparition, and cried +out: for they all saw him, and were troubled. But he +straightway spake with them, and saith unto them, Be +of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. And he went up +unto them into the boat; and the wind ceased: and they +were sore amazed in themselves; for they understood +not concerning the loaves, but their heart was hardened.</q><note place='foot'>Mark vi. 47-52.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +This miracle is one mainly of instruction, it is +a step in that ascending course, whereby the +Apostles were led to the conception of the crowning +truth that Christ was <q>ever with them unto the +<pb n='309'/><anchor id='Pg309'/> +end of the world.</q> The experience of the journey +taught that they <q>lacked nothing</q> when on duty +for Christ; they were now to obtain assurance that +in moments of danger He was at hand to protect. +It is worth notice that they were doing their +utmost for themselves, <q>toiling in rowing,</q> when +Christ comes to their help. In like manner the +miraculous draught of fishes was not given to +men who had lightly accepted disappointment, but +to those who had toiled all night.<note place='foot'>See pp. <ref target='Pg199'>199</ref>, <ref target='Pg200'>200</ref>.</note> I know of no +Gospel instance of Divine assistance granted to +men sitting with folded hands, and leaving Providence +to do all. From this miracle they would +learn a truth which was much more fully taught +after the Resurrection, viz. that their Master was +ever by them, and might assume a body not +subject to the forces affecting matter, and become +apparent at any time. +</p> + +<p> +These lessons would be graven on the Apostles' +memory, and would come upon them from time to +time in after life. They would naturally look back +to the days when they went forth on their first +mission, full of hope and not without exultation; +and when they recalled how all had gone well +with them, how the devils had been subject to +them and how all their needs had been provided +for as it were by chance, it would come home +to them that matters may be Divinely guided +without the finger of God being suffered to +<pb n='310'/><anchor id='Pg310'/> +appear. Many a time they may have cheered +one another saying <q>Christ provided for us when +we went forth with only our staves in our hands. +He will not desert us now;</q> and many a time also +in sore days of distress, the Apostles may have +reminded one another that they were doing their +very utmost—not sitting still and praying for help +when the sea ran high—at the time when their +Master appeared and said: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.</q><note place='foot'>Mark vi. 50.</note> +</quote> + +</div> + +<pb n='311'/><anchor id='Pg311'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter X. To Those Who Have, Is Given.</head> + +<div> +<head>The Teaching by Parables.</head> + +<p> +We have, on our way to this point, while +tracing the course of Christ's Schooling of the +Apostles every now and then caught sight of the +working of the principle, <q>to whomsoever hath, +shall be given.</q> +</p> + +<p> +This apopthegm is recorded to have been three +times spoken; first, as has been just mentioned, +when our Lord gave to His disciples His reasons +for teaching in parables, and again as the moral at +the end of the parables of the talents and of the +pounds. We draw from it that our Lord was +about to exercise selection and deal with different +hearers in different ways. Up to this time He had +put His lessons into terse sayings, like pearls +strung on a string; a hearer could easily carry a +single one away, he had only to listen and learn. +For a multitude who came and went like the +<pb n='312'/><anchor id='Pg312'/> +shifting atoms of a cloud, this was the most that +could be done. But among those who now listened +to the parables at Capernaum were apostles, disciples, +and listeners variously disposed, and they +received a lesson from which different hearers drew +profit in very different degrees. +</p> + +<p> +The time now began to draw in sight when +the most momentous duties that ever fell to men, +would be laid on the Twelve, and to them our +Lord now turned with an interest which daily +grew more intent. The Apostles were not mere +recipients as the crowd had been. They were not +mere passive hearers receiving and storing wise +sayings. What they heard was meant to set their +minds at work, and the good they got from it +depended on themselves. +</p> + +<p> +In the crowd on the Lake shore which stood +listening to our Lord as He spoke from the boat, +there were characters of all sorts disposed towards +Jesus in every variety of way. There were many +followers and some foes, while perhaps nearly half +were neither the one nor the other, but merely the +loiterers who throng every eastern town: these +would go where others went, glad of anything +which broke the sameness of the day. They had +come to listen—after their way of listening, taking +no heed how they heard—many a time before, and +no good had come of it, though the teaching was +so plain that he who ran might read; with all +their opportunities they had got nothing, and so +<pb n='313'/><anchor id='Pg313'/> +from them was taken <q>what they seemed to +have,</q> that is to say, these very opportunities themselves. +They now heard only what appeared to +be the story of an every-day event, and they +wondered what good it could do to them. Thus, +this mode of teaching sorted out its auditory by +a self-acting mechanism. It threw off the light, +while it attracted earnest and enquiring minds +who, never doubting of a deep meaning in all our +Lord said, asked themselves and one another what +this meaning could be. +</p> + +<p> +The aphorism <q>that to him who had, more was +given</q> was, as applied to material wealth, in some +form or other probably familiar to the shrewd +men of the time, just as the saying, that <q>nothing +succeeds like success</q> is among ourselves now. +But what was startling was, that this principle +should be adopted by Christ and laid down as +one of those upon which God's government is +carried on. For this inequality in human conditions, +and the tendency to rise faster the higher +one gets and to sink faster the lower one falls, +was a thing that was commonly regarded as a +defect in the world's arrangement, due to some +inherent perversity in matter or in man. +</p> + +<p> +People's minds, in those days, were possessed +by the notion that God must have intended to +make things fair and equal for all, but that inequality +had slipt into the world in the making, +when God's eye was off it for a moment: soon, +<pb n='314'/><anchor id='Pg314'/> +however, the Messiah would come and set this +right among other things. Hence it startled our +Lord's hearers to find this defect, as they deemed +it, in the order of the world brought forward by +Him, and not only not explained away as they +would have expected, but set forth as among +the Laws according to which the Spiritual Order +of the world was carried on. From the prominence +given to this statement in the narrative of +the three earlier gospels we see what a deep +impression it made. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord applies this aphorism, solely, to the +advantages and opportunities which men should +have for learning the ways of God. But the +analogy between this principle and some observed +principles of economic and organic science is very +striking and interesting, to say no more; while in +education the working of this rule is abundantly +obvious in every school. That the world is ordered +on a basis not of equality but of inequality, is a +patent fact; and lately it has been shewn that it +is of inequality that all progress comes. One +little superiority, due to what seems an accidental +variation, gives an advantage for gaining a greater +superiority and so on. Uniformity, indeed, implies +stagnation. If all men had just the same powers +and minds and characters, would not such a world +stagnate from its insupportable dulness and the +want of stimulus for the faculties of men? If, at +every step, it grew harder to get farther on, then +<pb n='315'/><anchor id='Pg315'/> +no one could go very far. A bullet fired into a +tree, which hardens from the bark to the core, is +brought to a standstill very soon. Such a state +of things would preclude exalted eminence; mediocrity +would reign supreme and the onward march +of mankind would be checked. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord, as a fact, asserts not only that +inequalities widen, but also that they are purposely +so widened. As the explorer advances, he +is brought into more open ground and is better +recompensed for his toil. Spiritual progress was +to be brought about after the plan upon which all +other human progress proceeds. It was to originate +in individuals, who should push forward, +seize upon posts in the foreground and hold +them till the rest came up: it is not the way +of Humanity to advance in line along the whole +front. All progress comes of individual excellence +and the world is so ordered as to favour the +growth of one beginning to out-top the rest. It +is an aid in this direction, that in education +advance becomes commonly easier, and always +more pleasurable as we proceed. Education +moreover sorts out men. A hundred boys, near +of an age, thrown together in a school seem at +first nearly on a par; but an aristocracy develops +itself wonderfully soon, both in the school and out +of doors, and every half year the distinctions +between boy and boy grow wider and become +more strongly marked. However conscientiously +<pb n='316'/><anchor id='Pg316'/> +the teachers may distribute their pains, the abler +boy gets more attention, because he asks more +intelligent questions and, seeing his interest in his +work, the teacher's thoughts in spare moments +revert to him. The same holds of spiritual life, +for when a man attains a sense of communion +with God he becomes conscious of an inward joy, +which illuminates his life, and this helps him on. +Nothing is more striking in the Acts than the +<q>exceeding great joy</q> which with the Apostles +was the habitual state. +</p> + +<p> +A very material point as to the bearing of +this principle is brought out in the two parables +in which it occurs. What is spoken of as that +which a man <emph>hath</emph>, is not what has been given +him or what he has inherited, but only what +he has acquired for himself. It is not so much the +possession of the pounds or the talents which is +the ground of reward, as the assiduity, energy +and intelligence, by which they have been earned. +</p> + +<p> +I will consider the pair of parables<note place='foot'>Matth. xxv. 14-30; Luke xix. 11-27.</note> just mentioned, +before the discourse in which the saying first +occurs, although they stand later in the history, +because they shew most clearly what Christ's +meaning was. In both parables we remark the +following points. +</p> + +<p> +(1) The rewards are proportioned, not to the +amount of the original arbitrary gifts, which, I +suppose, stand for natural advantages, but to +<pb n='317'/><anchor id='Pg317'/> +what has been obtained by turning these gifts to +account. +</p> + +<p> +(2) What the servants are recompensed for is +administrative efficiency. This shews that our +Lord had in view some active service in God's +cause and not internal self-improvement alone. +</p> + +<p> +(3) The rewards are not such that the servants +can use them for their own gratification, they are +not given money for their own use, but they are +promoted to wider governments. He who has +made five talents is given the rule of a larger +province. And the servants are not so promoted +merely for their own sake, the general welfare +of the ruler's domain is the paramount object, +and in order to promote this those who have +proved themselves the ablest are given the amplest +charge. +</p> + +<p> +In the parable of the talents, the <q>man going +into a far country</q> entrusts to his servants sums +varying in amount, <q>to each according to his +several abilities.</q> With these they are to carry on +business on his behalf during his absence. One of +them, he who was of the lowest capacity, received +only one talent—with him I am not now concerned; +but the rest double the capital which had been +put into their hands and all of these, those who have +made two talents as well as those who have made +five receive the same reward. To each is said +<q>Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou +hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee +<pb n='318'/><anchor id='Pg318'/> +over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy +Lord.</q> Here the rewards are not in proportion to +the original gifts, which were as five and two, but +are in proportion to the rate of profit, which was +in both cases the same. All have shewn the same +diligence and all are recompensed alike. +</p> + +<p> +The same principle appears in the parable of +the pounds. The like sum, one pound, is entrusted +to each servant; and the difference in the returns, +one making ten pounds and the other five, is +wholly due to the difference of judgment or +diligence in using the money. The reward is +exactly proportional to the amount which each +servant has earned. +</p> + +<p> +The greater charge is given to him who had +made ten pounds—not purely as a <emph>reward</emph>, but +because he has shewn himself twice as well adapted +to govern the ten cities as the servant who had +only made five pounds. +</p> + +<p> +A few words in the parable of the pounds +shew how well our Lord knew what the prevalent +notion about equality was. The notion I mean +that God must have intended men to share all +advantages alike. When the pound is taken from +him who has left it unused and given to him who +has turned his own pound into ten, the bystanders +in the parable, who, we may suppose, represent +common current opinion, are surprised, not at the +pound being taken away, but at its being so bestowed +as to augment the inequality. They would +<pb n='319'/><anchor id='Pg319'/> +have looked to see it go to him who had made +five pounds, so as to bring the conditions of the +two servants more nearly to a par. They say, +<q>Lord, he hath ten pounds,</q> implying <q>Why give +more to him who has so much already?</q> Men +are jealous of God's prodigality in reward, although +such reward may not diminish what they obtain +themselves. The master in this parable makes no +reply to the bystanders, and our Lord concludes +the parable with the moral, +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>I say unto you, that unto every one that hath shall +be given; but from him that hath not, even that which +he hath shall be taken away from him.</q><note place='foot'>Luke xix. 26.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +The pounds in this parable, be it observed, are +not bestowed on the servants as absolute gifts, they +represent money held on trust, and this is the case +not only with the original pound, but with the +profit as well. The Lord (St Luke xix. 23) +evidently regards all the produce as his own. The +ten pounds have never been given over to the +servant who gained them, so as to be absolutely +his. Neither is the forfeited pound bestowed on +him as a free gift, it is only an addition to the ten +pounds of profit, which formed a fresh amount +of capital in the hands of the most diligent of +the servants to be used in his new employ. +All this agrees with the view which I have +<pb n='320'/><anchor id='Pg320'/> +taken, that the question in the parable is not +one merely of reward and amercement but of +putting the greatest opportunities into the best +hands. In like manner our Lord looks to a +practical end and adopts practical means. The +paramount object that He has in view is the +effective carrying forward of God's work; and +those who shall prove most efficient are to receive +as their reward,—not anything they can sit down +to and enjoy,—but a wider sphere of activity, an +extended range of opportunities, and of duties +answering thereunto. +</p> + +<p> +This remark of the bystanders, so casual in its +form and so weighty in its substance, exemplifies +our Lord's way of dealing with erroneous ideas. +A hint is dropped, attention is called to what +many had taken for granted, and there the matter +is left. It might be many days before the world +would find the seed thus cast upon the waters, but +found, some day or other, it would be. When there +is question of practical evil our Lord is plain and +positive enough. The Pharisees are upbraided +sharply, for making the Law of no effect by their +traditions, and the Sadducees are told that in +denying the resurrection <q>they do greatly err.</q> +But as regards the enigmas of life He only drops +hints, which men may take or not. +</p> + +<p> +I now come to the discourse, which I had put +aside for a moment that the parables might be +discussed. +</p> + +<pb n='321'/><anchor id='Pg321'/> + +<p> +As soon as our Lord had ended the parable of +the Sower +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>The disciples came, and said unto him, Why +speakest thou unto them in parables?</q><note place='foot'>Matth. xiii. 10.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +Observe the words <emph>unto them</emph>. It is not about +themselves that they ask, but the crowd. They +were desirous to see our Lord's influence increase, +and were perhaps anxious that new proselytes +should swell their number, and so they were puzzled +at this new form of teaching, which seemed calculated +to repel converts. <q>In order to win men +over,</q> they would say to themselves, <q>it would +surely be best to speak in the plainest and most +direct way.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The fullest version of the reply is that given by +St Mark. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And he said unto them, Unto you is given the +mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are +without, all things are done in parables: that seeing they +may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, +and not understand; lest haply they should turn again, +and it should be forgiven them.</q><note place='foot'>Mark iv. 11, 12. See also Isaiah vi. 10.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +This is followed by the interpretation of the +parable of the Sower. And then comes a discourse +explaining for what purposes the teaching by +<pb n='322'/><anchor id='Pg322'/> +parables was employed, which throws a strong +light both on this matter and on education in its +highest sense. Here the principle comes to the +front, that it is not so much what is done upon the +man, or for the man, as what is done by the man +himself, that transforms him into a higher creature. +<q>Unto you,</q> says our Lord, turning to the disciples +and the Twelve, <q>is given the mystery of the +kingdom of God.</q> The mystery was given not to +save their thinking but to set them thinking on a +right track. What bore on the practical conduct +of life had been preached to all, but the glimpse +of the underlying spiritual order was vouchsafed to +few: all must learn to tell time from a clock, but +all need not know how it works. It is not the +application of the parable which is here the difficulty—that +is told the hearers at once—but it lies +in the original differences between men, how far +these come of men's own selves, how far of heredity, +and how far men are answerable for their own dispositions; +here we come on great difficulties which +beset all creeds alike. In the parable of the Tares +we are confronted with the origin of moral ill; the +Apostles are to <emph>contemplate</emph> these mysteries, and +they are given a way of looking at them which +will serve for the practical purposes of life, but +they are by no means led to believe that they can +see to the bottom of them. +</p> + +<p> +The second passage brings out a positive use of +parables. They are not primarily meant to hide +<pb n='323'/><anchor id='Pg323'/> +truth but to show it. The matter is only for a +moment put out of sight, in order that men may +search after it, prize it when found, and, bringing to +it eyes sharpened by keen search, may discern all +particulars more truly and well. The sifting of +the auditory of which I have spoken above was +only a secondary and subordinate use of the +parable; its primary one was this; it enshrined an +abstract truth in such a portable concrete form +that it was made accessible to men; it put it into +a shape, familiar to Orientals, a shape to which the +Eastern tongue lent itself with ease, and which +fitted readily into the minds of men; they could +carry the story about with them, and they would +in so doing learn its lesson by degrees. +</p> + +<p> +There was also another point; the meaning of +these new utterances gave men some pains to find, +and when they had found it, they delighted in it as +something they had conquered for themselves. Our +Lord lets men into this secret of all learning. +Did they suffer those words of His which <q>were +Spirit and which were Life</q> to fecundate their +hearts, turning them over in their minds again +and again? The words <q>with what measure ye +mete</q><note place='foot'>Mark iv. 24.</note> have no bearing on outward dealings here; +what they mean is, <q>In proportion to the pains +and attention which you bestow in searching out +all that my words contain, so will the profit be. +If you bestow thought freely, and time as well, +<pb n='324'/><anchor id='Pg324'/> +freely will God requite the same—something will +you then have, and more shall be given you.</q> +To him who had been faithful over a few things a +wider range of duties, and that alone, would be +given as reward. +</p> + +<p> +I note a connection between the introduction of +the new form of teaching and the course of events. +When our Lord began to teach in parables <q>His +departure which he was about to accomplish at +Jerusalem</q><note place='foot'>Luke ix. 31.</note> was shaping itself more and more +definitely in His mind. Time was getting short, +and so He now spake for those only who had ears +to hear. The nature of this departure was too +shocking to Jewish notions and too inexplicable to +be declared in plain terms to the mass. We know +that even the Twelve were bewildered with the +hints that our Lord drops about the end, and we +can easily see how ill-suited such declarations would +have been for the people at large. +</p> + +<p> +Again, we can understand that as the end in +all its awfulness came more and more distinctly +into view, our Lord should confine His teaching +very much to those to whom was committed the +mystery of the Kingdom of God; and, inasmuch +as the Twelve differed in spiritual capacity +among themselves and higher duties were to be +laid on some than on others, within that body +a further selection had to be made. Peter and +James and John form an inner circle, they are +<pb n='325'/><anchor id='Pg325'/> +chosen as witnesses of the things that were not +to be proclaimed until the Son of Man should +come.<note place='foot'>Three it would seem is the number adopted for <emph>witnesses</emph> just +as two is that for missionaries on their way.</note> It is worth noting that in St John's Gospel +we find no trace of the preeminence of these +three; this falls in with the hypothesis of the +author being the Apostle John, who carefully +avoids mention of himself. +</p> + +<p> +This choosing of the Three Apostles who should +be preferred before the rest touches my purpose +closely in another way; it was no insignificant +part of the Schooling of the Twelve. They would +learn from it that Christ gave what charge He +would to whom He would; that in God's service it +is honour enough to be employed at all; and that +no man is to be discouraged because he sees allotted +to another what appears to be a higher sphere +of work than his own. We all know how heavily +jealousy among subordinates who administer affairs +clogs the wheels of the state, and it was of the +highest importance that this vice should be eradicated, +with a view to the practical business of the +Church. +</p> + +<p> +So the great lesson taught to the Apostles—and +in the end it was taught more completely +than ever men were taught it before—was self +abnegation. They came at last not to think +about themselves at all. This unselfishness is +never preached to them, because it cannot be +<pb n='326'/><anchor id='Pg326'/> +taught by preaching. If a man has self-surrender +pressed incessantly upon him, this keeps the idea +of self ever before his view. Christ does not cry +down <emph>self</emph>, but he puts it out of a man's sight by +giving him something better to care for, something +which shall take full and rightful possession of his +soul. The Apostles, without ever having any consciousness +of sacrificing self, were brought into a +habit of self sacrifice by merging all thoughts for +themselves in devotion to a Master and a cause, +and in thinking what they could do to serve it +themselves. +</p> + +<p> +Have not most of us known cases of men, seemingly +immersed in amusements and frivolities, who +would gladly have flung these to the winds, if only +we could have found them something which would +fill their hearts. If such people are selfish, it is +not because they really care very much for themselves; +but because self seems a little more real +and a little more under their own control than +anything else. They have found unreality in many +things; perhaps when they have attempted to do +good they have been thrown back by ridicule or +discouragement, and are thereby brought to feel +at a loss for an interest in life; and in this case +an evil one, who is always by, has seemed to +whisper, <q>Do good to thyself and the world will +speak well of thee.</q> If now, at the right moment, +you could shew these men a real good, they would +be glad enough to throw aside the <emph>self</emph> which they +<pb n='327'/><anchor id='Pg327'/> +have been only trying to persuade themselves that +they cared for, and would seize upon anything +which appeared to answer to the secret hope, +asleep, but still alive in their hearts. +</p> + +<p> +It is a good test of the nature of the devotion +above spoken of to be able to endure the preference +of others to ourselves. If the Apostles +generally had resented the preeminence of the +three, it would have shewn that they had not +realised <q>what spirit they were of.</q> We see +from St Luke xxii. 24 that they had not quite +overcome all personal feeling, but we hear at this +time no word of murmur, though they ventured +pretty freely to murmur when they were displeased: +from this I gather that, little by little they were +losing personal ambition and merging themselves +in their Master's cause. Thus this selection of the +Three out of the body carried with it a lesson in +the postponement of self. +</p> + +<p> +This reserving of special attention for those only +who shewed promise is, as I said just now, connected +with the appearance on the horizon of the +End at Jerusalem. <q>Times and seasons</q> the Father +<q>had put in His own power,</q> and it may not +have been till a year before the Passion that our +Lord had known how short a time was left for +Him on earth. Before He had preached unto +all alike, now, his time and pains were reserved +for the hopeful few. Something of this same +reservation of teaching for those likely to profit +<pb n='328'/><anchor id='Pg328'/> +by it, was seen when the Apostles were sent out +two and two. They were only to be a few days +away, consequently they were to waste no time +over cases that were hopeless; when one city +would not receive them they were to go to another. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Resumption of the Narrative.</head> + +<p> +I left the narrative at the point where the +vessel with the Apostles, whom our Lord had +joined upon the sea, had just reached the shores +of the country of Gennesaret. The multitude +sought Him on His arrival bringing their sick to +be healed. Our Lord's words addressed to them +suit the occasion so exactly, that we may be sure +they belong to this place. The discourse<note place='foot'>John vi. 25-65.</note> is preserved +only by St John. It was probably begun +upon the shore and was afterwards continued by +our Lord in the synagogue. +</p> + +<p> +This discourse is very ably treated by Mr +Sanday,<note place='foot'>W. Sanday, <q>Authorship and Historical character of the Fourth +Gospel.</q></note> and the doctrinal matters of which it treats +do not fall within my sphere. It is the character +of St John's versions of our Lord's discourses that +we find it hard to trace in them the progress of +thought. One or two points usually form the +burden; in this case these points are <q>I am the +bread of life</q> and <q>I will raise him up at the last +<pb n='329'/><anchor id='Pg329'/> +day.</q> This mannerism suits with the supposition +that St John's Gospel was written by a very old +man; for this recurrence to the dominant topic is +a marked peculiarity of the utterances of old age. +St John had probably preached on these discourses +over and over again, and he set them down in the +Gospel in the form in which they were most +familiar to him, with, possibly, something of the +amplification required to adapt them to homiletic +use. +</p> + +<p> +This speech is pitched in so high a spiritual +key that it was not all who had ears to hear it: it +notably effected the purpose of separating the chaff +from the wheat. What the people expected of the +Messiah, and what they looked for in the future +life may be gathered from the gospels or from +Jewish books;<note place='foot'>Speaking of the beliefs of the Rabbis as to the days of the +Messiah, Dr Edersheim, quoting from the Rabbis, says: <q>In that vast +new Jerusalem (not in heaven but in the literal Palestine) the windows +and gates were to be of precious stones, the walls of silver, gold, +and gems, while all kinds of jewels would be strewed about, of +which every Israelite was at liberty to take.... The land would +spontaneously produce the best dresses and the finest cakes.</q> <q>Jesus +the Messiah,</q> Book v. p. 438.</note> our Lord's words gave no promise +of His fulfilling these hopes of theirs, and so we +read— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Upon this many of his disciples went back, and +walked no more with him.</q><note place='foot'>John vi. 66.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +Another cause of offence arose at this time. +</p> + +<pb n='330'/><anchor id='Pg330'/> + +<p> +The Pharisees and certain of the Scribes who +had come from Jerusalem had seen that some of +his disciples ate their bread with defiled, <q>that is +unwashed hands.</q> These persons had not come +from Jerusalem at this time—Passover time—without +serious intentions, and these we may be sure +were not friendly to our Lord. They fasten on +this point of washing before meals, a process not +enjoined by Moses but resting on a <q>tradition of +the elders.</q> The stress however laid on it by the +Rabbis was excessively great,<note place='foot'>Cf. John iii. 25.</note> and the provisions +with regard to it were so minute and troublesome +that only those classes who possessed leisure could +possibly observe them. Here we come upon a self-righteous +exclusiveness; but what was worse than +all was the low idea of God involved in the notion +that He gave or withdrew his favour according as +men were or were not punctilious about trivial +acts. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord turns the attack against His assailants, +<q>Full well,</q> said He, <q>do you reject the commandment +of God that ye may keep your traditions.</q> +He shews how by a Rabbinical fiction they evaded +the natural duty of maintaining their parents in +their age. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And he called to him the multitude again, and said +unto them, Hear me all of you, and understand: there +is nothing from without the man, that going into him can +<pb n='331'/><anchor id='Pg331'/> +defile him: but the things which proceed out of the man +are those that defile the man.</q><note place='foot'>Mark vii. 14, 15.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +It is to be noted that here our Lord turns <emph>to +the multitude</emph>. He calls—not only disciples and +not only scribes, but every one—to listen to this +vindication of the ways of God. These are our +Lord's last words to the people of Capernaum, +and the discourse in the synagogue is nearly His +last utterance in a place of worship. He would +not leave them without a denunciation of that +stress upon outward observances, which prevented +spiritual religion from growing in their +souls. His words are wide, I believe intentionally +so, and sweep away those ordinances about meats +clean and unclean, which, as sanitary measures, had +done good, no doubt, in their time, but which now +led one man to think that because he did not eat +what another did, he stood religiously on a higher +level than his brother. For spiritual religion to +become possible, men must be freed from the +idea that God's favour depended on what they +eat or drank. +</p> + +<p> +This notion however was, by heredity, part +and parcel of the mental constitution of every +Jew. The disciples regard this statement of our +Lord as so bold that it cannot be intended to be +taken literally, they call it <q>the parable.</q> We +can understand, they would say, this about eating +<pb n='332'/><anchor id='Pg332'/> +with unclean hands, but the Master's words would +go to do away with all distinction of meats, and +this surely He cannot intend. No explanation does +our Lord give; He restates in the plainest terms +what was matter of offence. He expresses wonder +that the disciples should be startled at His words—there +was that in store which would offend them +more— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Many therefore of his disciples, when they heard +<emph>this</emph>, said, This is a hard saying; who can hear it? But +Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at +this, said unto them, Doth this cause you to stumble? +<emph>What</emph> then if ye should behold the Son of man ascending +where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; +the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken +unto you are spirit, and are life.</q><note place='foot'>John vi. 60-63.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +As far as affection and loyalty went our Lord +carried them with Him. But their minds had not +kept pace with their hearts, habit was their master +still. That many who had counted themselves +disciples should have taken offence at this bold +assertion, <q>whatsoever from without goeth into the +man it cannot defile him,</q> is easily conceived. It +did away with a ready source of self congratulation. +If a Jew's conscience pricked him, he turned for +comfort to the thought that he had never eaten +anything unclean. +</p> + +<p> +So many fell away that our Lord's company +<pb n='333'/><anchor id='Pg333'/> +was reduced to a handful. He had expected, and +probably intended, to thin it considerably, but +the withdrawals among the disciples appear to +have surprised Him, He says to the Apostles, +<q>Will ye also go away?</q> Puzzled by our Lord's +declarations no doubt they were, but of one thing +they were sure: having known Christ they could +follow no one else but Him. The mountain +journey clenched their devotion and their faith. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And from thence he arose, and went away into the +borders of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered into a +house, and would have no man know it: and he could +not be hid.</q><note place='foot'>Mark vii. 24.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +Now at last does our Lord find for the +Apostles the rest which He had desired to give +them before. It is not a missionary journey, He +does not preach to the people; and the miracles +which He performs are no longer illustrations +of God's Kingdom, but works of beneficence +wrung from Him by the sight of suffering. The +cures are wrought as privately as is possible. +The Syro-Phœnician woman obtains what she +desires by her exceptional openness to Divine +impression: when He entered into a house <q>and +would have no man know it,</q> she sought Him out. +The man who was deaf and had an impediment in +his speech, is taken <q>aside from the multitude privately,</q> +and our Lord charged the witnesses <q>that +<pb n='334'/><anchor id='Pg334'/> +they should tell no man.</q><note place='foot'>Mark vii. 33-36.</note> So again with the blind +man at Bethsaida (probably Bethsaida Julias at +the head of the lake)<note place='foot'>Bethsaida means Fishertown; many places were so named. +Dr Edersheim.</note> <q>He took hold of the blind +man by the hand and brought him out of the +village,</q> and at the end <q>He sent him away to his +home, saying, Do not even enter into the village.</q><note place='foot'>Mark viii. 23-26.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord appears to have returned southwards +along the valley and down the eastern side of the +Lake, where the miracle of the feeding of the four +thousand took place. +</p> + +<p> +This country on the east of the Sea of Galilee, +contained a mixed population, of which only the +smaller part were of Israelite descent. The four +thousand had followed day after day seeking cures; +but there was no fear of these men trying to make +Jesus a King, for there was little nationalist feeling +on that side the sea. Our Lord might therefore +exert His beneficence without imprudence. It +seems strange that the disciples should not have +thought of the feeding of the five thousand; but +they may have thought that it was out of the +question that a miracle should be wrought for +people who were mostly heathen; or it may have +been one of those not uncommon cases in which +a man has seen his mistake and supposes that he +can never make it again, and yet when circumstances +<pb n='335'/><anchor id='Pg335'/> +arise, similar except for some slight variation, +he does exactly what he did before. +</p> + +<p> +When the four thousand were sent away, +our Lord takes boat and crosses the lake to +Magada in <q>the parts of Dalmanutha.</q> Of this +region we know nothing except that it must have +been on the western side of the lake. Here our +Lord again finds himself among the haunts of +men, and, since wherever there was a town population +Pharisees were to be found, these <q>came +forth, and began to question with him, seeking of +him a Sign from heaven, tempting him.</q><note place='foot'>Mark viii. 11.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Perhaps they had heard of the feeding of the +four thousand and wanted to put Him to what they +considered a conclusive test. <q>Could He shew a Sign +in Heaven?</q> This iterated cry shewed the poorness +of the soil, they had nothing else to utter but +a demand for credentials. If our Lord had worked +a <q>Sign in Heaven</q> they would have examined it +to find a flaw, and even if they had been driven to +admit that it was valid, no change whatever would +have ensued in the men themselves. Chronic evil +requires, not a passing shock but a long continued +reparative process for its cure. So, here, to those +who have not nothing is given, indeed nothing +could be given to any purpose, and they soon lose +even what they had, viz. our Lord's presence, for +He leaves them and goes elsewhere. +</p> + +<p> +On the way across the Lake, while this circumstance +<pb n='336'/><anchor id='Pg336'/> +is still in His mind, our Lord warns the +Apostles against this Pharisaic spirit, the leaven of +the Pharisees, which would kill all that is spiritual +in religion by reducing every thing to matter of +dry proof and dead authority. On the mistake of +the disciples, <q>It is because we have no bread,</q> I +have already spoken (p. <ref target='Pg007'>7</ref>), it is to me a proof of the +genuineness of the story. Who would have introduced +it, and who has not met scores of people +who would have clung to the literal sense of the +words just as the Apostles did? +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord and the band of apostles travel along +the upper valley of the Jordan to the neighbourhood +of Cæsarea Philippi. Most if not all of the +outer disciples had by this time fallen away, and +the opportunity for giving His higher inmost +teaching had come. +</p> + +<p> +Never yet, except to the woman of Samaria, +had Our Lord spoken of Himself as the Messiah. +The notions of the Jews about the Messiah varied +greatly, but the notion of an era of material +physical enjoyment was dominant in all, and this +had the demoralising effect of leading men to +regard sensuous well being as the supreme good. +If our Lord had proclaimed Himself the Messiah, +crowds would have rallied to his side, hoping to +have found one who would give them what they +desired. This would have been fatal to all spiritual +growth. Our Lord's reticence about the Messiah +and also about His own nature, is very significant: +<pb n='337'/><anchor id='Pg337'/> +I think it means that truth absolute about heavenly +things is not within the reach of man. +</p> + +<p> +What follows, is so important, that it must be +given in the words of St Matthew whose narrative +is the most full. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Now when Jesus came into the parts of Cæsarea +Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men +say that the Son of man is? And they said, Some <emph>say</emph> +John the Baptist; some, Elijah: and others, Jeremiah, +or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But who +say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, +Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And +Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, +Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed +it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I +also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this +rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades +shall not prevail against it. I will give unto thee the +keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou +shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever +thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. +Then charged he the disciples that they should tell no +man that he was the Christ.</q><note place='foot'>Matth. xvi. 13-20.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +The doctrinal and ecclesiastical bearings of this +passage are beyond my scope, they have been +fully treated over and over again; but one point +belongs to my special province—Peter's knowledge +had not come from anything he had been told. +Our Lord had not breathed it to him, but it had +<pb n='338'/><anchor id='Pg338'/> +grown up in him as great truths have grown up +in prophetic souls by the prompting of God. +This is the true inspiration of God; He whispers +thoughts into the hearts of men, some nurse them +and bring them to maturity, with others they take +no hold. Blessed are those with whom they rest. +Our Lord had said in the synagogue at Capernaum +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>No man can come to me, except the Father which +sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last +day.</q><note place='foot'>John vi. 44.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +Peter had been drawn towards Him in this +way. +</p> + +<p> +Another point is to be noted. Henceforth the +Apostles had a secret—they were to <q>tell no man +that he was Jesus the Christ.</q> +</p> + +<p> +So long as the belief in our Lord as the +Messiah was only a surmise, growing in Peter's +mind more and more into positive shape, he was +not lifted up by it; but now he had become, as he +thought, a species of chief minister, and he looked +to the declaration of an earthly kingdom; so that +when, immediately after the promise of power, +our Lord speaks of sufferings and death, Peter +replies, <q>These things be far from thee.</q> He +never doubts but that our Lord would use His +powers in self-defence. He looks on His words +only as evil boding, and it strikes him that it is +<pb n='339'/><anchor id='Pg339'/> +impolitic to utter them, because they will confuse +and dishearten both the disciples and the Twelve. +</p> + +<p> +This remonstrance of Peter's drew from our +Lord the first stern words which an Apostle had +received from His lips, and very stern they were. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind +me, Satan: thou art a stumblingblock unto me: for +thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of +men.</q><note place='foot'>Matth. xvi. 23.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +It will help us to understand what moved our +Lord so deeply if we go back to the Temptations. +St Luke ends his account of the Temptations +thus, +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And when the devil had completed every temptation, +he departed from him for a season.</q><note place='foot'>Luke iv. 13.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +The words <q>for a season</q> imply that Temptations +recurred from time to time, and that our +Lord, now and again, heard inward voices harping +on the old themes, one of the most persistent +being that which said <q>Employ supernatural might +to bring your Kingdom about.</q> Peter now spoke +in the same strain. Could it be that even His +<q>own familiar friend</q> had gone over to the foe. +</p> + +<p> +The following discourse sounds a new note. +Now for the first time our Lord speaks of the +sufferings that awaited his followers. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man +<pb n='340'/><anchor id='Pg340'/> +would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up +his cross, and follow me. For whosoever would save his +life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my +sake shall find it.</q><note place='foot'>Matth. xvi. 24, 25.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +The Apostles understood this probably as +applying to the hardships and vicissitudes of the +campaign which would result in the restoration of +the Kingdom to Israel; for they looked for such a +restoration up to the last (see St Luke xxiv. 21). +This notion might have been removed no doubt; +but what could have been put in its place? the idea +of a Kingdom over men's consciences, could not be +implanted in men by words or in a short time. It +could come about only by long experience in +seeing and sharing suffering and toil, and by turning +again and again to the abiding recollections of +the Cross. Notions mischievously erroneous would +have sprouted up in the Apostles' minds from any +thing they could have been told in a few words. +</p> + +<p> +One promise however made at this time must +have seemed to them to afford just what they +wanted. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, +There be some here of them that stand <emph>by</emph>, which shall in +no wise taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God +come with power.</q><note place='foot'>Mark ix. 1.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +I understand this verse in a way with which +not every body will agree. +</p> + +<pb n='341'/><anchor id='Pg341'/> + +<p> +I take it as referring entirely to the Transfiguration, +and I consider that the strong expression +<q>shall in no wise taste of death</q> means that the +witnesses should see what is spoken of during their +actual earthly lives. Many might be blessed enough +to behold this after death; but what was to distinguish +the chosen witnesses from other men was +this, that <emph>while in the body</emph> they should see the +Kingdom of God come with power. This boon is +given, not to those who needed assurance, but to +those who possessed it most; it seems given only +to those to whom it is superfluous. The Law of +the working of Signs (see pp. <ref target='Pg142'>142</ref>, <ref target='Pg143'>143</ref>) is rigorously +observed. The vision on the Mount of Transfiguration +coerced no one into belief. +</p> + +<p> +During those six days we may suppose that +the Apostles were busy in their minds, they would +wonder who these <q>some</q> were to be, and why, +supposing that the Kingdom of God came with the +kind of power they looked for—a legion of angels +for instance—why they should not all see it at +once. Of the Transfiguration itself and the lessons +it contains, the superseding of the teaching of the +Law and the Prophets by the revelation of the +incarnate Word, I have spoken fully in Chap. IV. +(p. <ref target='Pg094'>94</ref>). We shall see as we go farther on, that our +Lord is careful that there shall be nothing so rigid +in His teaching as to prevent its being applicable +to all races and conditions of men. It was no +longer Moses, and no longer the prophets embodied +<pb n='342'/><anchor id='Pg342'/> +in the person of Elijah, to whom men were to +listen now. Hitherto all had rested on authority—on +the letter of written Law. In the place of +this were given words which <q>were Spirit and +which were life.</q> Henceforth for their knowledge +of God they were to turn to Christ. He manifests +God unto the world, both in His own Personality +depicted in the Gospels and by Spiritual Communion, +whispering unto the end of the world to +those who are ready to hear. +</p> + +<p> +One point that was gained by this manifestation +may be noted here. Supposing that the foes of +Jesus had dispatched Him at the Feast of Tabernacles, +still something would have been already +accomplished, something secured for the world. +There would have been three witnesses—men not +given to visions or dreaming—who could declare +that a voice from Heaven had sounded in their +ears, and that while Moses and Elias were standing +by, a voice from Heaven had declared that they +were superseded as the Divine teachers of men by +Jesus of Nazareth, of whom it declared, <q>This is +my beloved Son, <hi rend='smallcaps'>hear him</hi>.</q> +</p> + +<p> +As soon as these words are uttered, all that is +wondrous disappears. The Apostles find themselves +with their Master on the mountain top, and +all is as it was before He had begun to pray. If +there had been but one witness he would have +found it hard to convince men that he had seen +all this with his waking eyes; but there were three +<pb n='343'/><anchor id='Pg343'/> +Apostles to say <q>we were together and awake +when we saw it.</q> Is it likely that three men +should have fallen asleep together and have waked +at the same moment, having all dreamed the same +dream? +</p> + +<p> +The supposition, however, of a vision affords a +means of escape from accepting the narration. This +exemplifies the Law that in every revelation delivered +to men not already convinced, room is left +for them to disbelieve if they like, because assent to +proof which is irrefragable is not moral belief at all. +There were people who would have said of this +Transfiguration <q>we would rather believe that you +all three slept and dreamed the same dream than +that your story is true.</q> And some ground is left +for such men to stand upon, though we who believe +may think them straitened for room. With the +three Apostles themselves, the conviction that their +Master was Divine, already formed part of their +being, it could hardly be strengthened; acceptance +was not forced on them for they already accepted +all. What they beheld did not act upon them as +additional proof, but as a glimpse of another +world, a revelation of new modes of existence—something +to give shape to that message of eternal +life which is henceforth the ground theme of our +Lord's teaching. +</p> + +<p> +It may seem surprising that this revelation of +their Master's glory should cause so little disturbance +in the Apostles' minds, or in their freedom +<pb n='344'/><anchor id='Pg344'/> +of intercourse with the Lord. If one whom we ourselves +held in honour changed his mortal guise in +the way described, not only would the shock upset +our judgment but never after could we approach +our friend in the old familiar way; he would belong +to another order and have his true existence in +another plane. We read, it is true, that the +Apostles were for a moment <q>sore afraid,</q> but this +was superficial fear due to the spectacle, to impression +on the outward sense. St Peter, who is persuaded +that they have been removed to a strange +and blessed country, quickly regains self-possession. +Following his instincts as a worker with his hands, +he bethinks himself at once, as was said in Chapter +VIII. (p. <ref target='Pg248'>248</ref>), of what is to be done. When our +Lord and the three take their way down the mountain +we find again the old confident relation of +Master and disciple existing among them, it was so +deep-rooted that all were sure that nothing could +disturb that. Their Master's spiritual exaltation +did not put a gulf between Him and them, because +they were so far one with Him that they were in a +measure uplifted together; what was His, was +also in part their own; whether in earth or heaven, +or wherever their Master's Kingdom should be, +they felt sure they must be by His side. They +could not be estranged from Him by awe of a +newly discovered dignity, for they had been sure +of His possessing this before, and only wondered +that it had not come more patently to light. +</p> + +<pb n='345'/><anchor id='Pg345'/> + +<p> +Thus the complete love of the three which +transfused their being into Christ and rendered the +idea of separation inconceivable, made it possible +for them to receive that as a blessing which if +given to others might have proved a bewilderment. +They already possessed something which made +them capable of receiving more. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord makes no comment on the manifestation +witnessed by the three beyond charging them +<q>that they should tell no man what things they +had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the +dead.</q><note place='foot'>Mark ix. 9.</note> What they had beheld contained a varied +store of lessons, and men in the after times of the +world would draw out one or another according to +the turn taken by their thoughts. The Apostles, +at the moment, only understood a small part +of what this revelation conveyed. No exposition +given in words could have brought to the +comprehension of the three a perception of the +whole bearing of what they had seen, but they +would live into more of its meaning in time. If +our Lord had discoursed on this manifestation, +and represented its purport in this view or in that, +men might have supposed that He meant His +account to be exhaustive, and that the fact contained +no lessons beyond those which He Himself +set forth. Here we come I think upon a possible +reason why our Lord is sparing of exposition +regarding the facts of revelation. He could not +<pb n='346'/><anchor id='Pg346'/> +briefly point out <emph>every</emph> truth that a fact embodied, +and if in an exposition, which was seemingly full, +He should pass any lessons by, these it might be +supposed He intended to exclude; in this way +His reticence preserves for us the many-sidedness +of Divine truth and engages men to ponder on it +for themselves. +</p> + +<p> +For the Apostles to have been allowed to +spread abroad the story of the solemn scene upon +the Mount would have been damaging to the work +both for the world and themselves. The old cry +might again have been raised to take Jesus and +make Him a king; or the people might have been +seized with a fever of curiosity, and the scribes +would have grown all the more bitter in their +hatred from its being leavened with awe. The ill +effect on the Apostles of becoming authorised to +promulgate such momentous tidings is easy enough +to perceive. When people run about to disseminate +some scrap of news which they alone possess +the result is usually not beneficial either to character +or to mind. From this temptation the +Apostles were guarded. What they have seen +and heard is not matter which they may use to +magnify their importance or excite envy—it is a +sacred trust. This signal manifestation besides +being a light to help to the understanding of what +Christ meant by eternal life, was to furnish them +with a reserve of certitude. The three might +never need to draw on it for themselves, but it +<pb n='347'/><anchor id='Pg347'/> +would be of no slight avail with Jewish converts +to be able to assure them that Christ had visibly +appeared in Glory and that God had directed +men henceforth to listen, not to the Law or the +Prophets, not to Moses or Elijah, but to Him. +</p> + +<p> +It is significant that this is to be kept secret +not only until our Lord's death but until His +Resurrection. The three were not allowed to use +it to comfort and reassure the rest as soon as their +Master had suffered on the cross. The nine were +to go through this trial unaided, eight stood the +test, and held together in Jerusalem. When the +Resurrection came, the Apostles <q>were glad when +they saw the Lord,</q> and then in the delight and +exultation of that moment the three may have +poured forth the secret they had in store. +</p> + +<p> +The Apostles were not surprised at being told +that they were to tell no man; they had received +the same charge when they had seen Jairus' +daughter raised to life; but they were greatly +puzzled by the words <q>till the Son of man were +risen from the dead.</q> They believed probably in +a Resurrection, but that was to be ages hence, +whereas this rising of Christ from the dead must +take place in their own lifetime, because after it +had happened they were to be free to speak of the +Vision on the Mount. They asked each other what +this rising could be, and perhaps some fancied that +our Lord would permanently assume the glorified +existence of which He had given them a glimpse. +</p> + +<pb n='348'/><anchor id='Pg348'/> + +<p> +Then came the question of Elijah. Our Lord +turns the allusion to the prophets towards His +coming rejection. Men had ill-treated the prophets; +they will set at nought the Son of man too. +<q>Even so shall the Son of man also suffer of +them.</q><note place='foot'>Matthew xvii. 12.</note> This news is broken to the disciples gently +and little by little, but they never believe that it +is literally true. Their cause must, they were +sure, succeed in the end, Christ would not have +engaged them in failure. What leader ever prophesied +his own discomfiture and death? Our +Lord first broke this truth to Peter at Cæsaræa +Philippi, then to the three, and again, as we shall +see presently, to all the Twelve on their way to +Capernaum; thus the stream of communication +broadens out. +</p> + +<p> +We learn from St Luke<note place='foot'>Luke ix. 37.</note> that it was not till the +next day that our Lord <q>came down from the hill +and much people met him,</q> so that in the night, +and in the long day's walk down to the inhabited +country, the Apostles had ample time for +quietly thinking over all that had taken place. +Our Lord is always careful to leave time for one +impression to fix itself, before another takes its +place. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='349'/><anchor id='Pg349'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XI. From The Mount To Jerusalem.</head> + +<p> +The spot at which our Lord had left the +disciples when He went up to the Mount of the +Transfiguration must have been well peopled and +provided with synagogues, for our Lord on His +return finds a <q>great multitude about them and +scribes questioning with them.</q> The people were +greatly amazed either at His sudden appearance +or at something uplifted in His air. The Scribes +were holding an altercation with the disciples, +possibly exulting over the failure of these to cure +the child, and our Lord, addressing the Scribes +who were, it would seem, the assailing party, asks +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>What question ye with them? And one of the +multitude answered him, Master, I brought unto thee +my son, which hath a dumb spirit; and wheresoever it +taketh him, it dasheth him down: and he foameth, and +grindeth his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy +disciples that they should cast it out; and they were not +able. And he answereth them and saith, O faithless +<pb n='350'/><anchor id='Pg350'/> +generation, how long shall I be with you? how long +shall I bear with you? bring him unto me. And they +brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway +the spirit tare him grievously; and he fell on the +ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, +How long time is it since this hath come unto him? +And he said, From a child. And oft-times it hath cast +him both into the fire and into the waters, to destroy +him: but if thou canst do anything, have compassion on +us, and help us. And Jesus said unto him, If thou +canst! All things are possible to him that believeth. +Straightway the father of the child cried out, and said, I +believe; help thou mine unbelief. And when Jesus saw +that a multitude came running together, he rebuked the +unclean spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf +spirit, I command thee, come out of him, and enter no +more into him. And having cried out, and torn him +much, he came out: and <emph>the child</emph> became as one dead; +insomuch that the more part said, He is dead. But +Jesus took him by the hand, and raised him up; and he +arose. And when he was come into the house, his +disciples asked him privately, <emph>saying</emph>, We could not cast it +out. And he said unto them, This kind can come out +by nothing, save by prayer.</q><note place='foot'>Mark ix. 17-29.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +Our Lord's question to the father is just what a +physician would ask, <q>How long is it since this +hath come to him?</q><note place='foot'>See page <ref target='Pg095'>95</ref>.</note> It may have been that the +longer the standing of the complaint the greater +would be the effort required for the cure; for +<pb n='351'/><anchor id='Pg351'/> +that in working these cures some physical strain +on the nervous energy was incurred may be inferred +from our Lord's feeling that <q>virtue was gone out +of Him,</q> when the woman touched the hem of His +garment in the press round the house of Jairus.<note place='foot'>Mark v. 30.</note> +</p> + +<p> +This force depended on spiritual life, and +if this were lowered in the disciples by their +Master's absence, or by any little rivalry or +thought of personal display in the cure, we can +understand that in this difficult case—for our Lord +distinctly recognises its exceptional difficulty—they +should fail of success. The words <q>faithless and +perverse generation</q> may apply to all those whom +he finds wrangling, more or less the disciples were +faithless, and the Scribes perverse. He came from +a region of serene peace and heavenly communion, +and the contrast of that with what He finds as +soon as he comes to the resort of men, draws +from Him these stern words. From the disciples' +surprise that they could not cast the devil out, it +may be inferred that they had succeeded in what +they regarded as similar cases before. The narrative +proceeds thus +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And they went forth from thence, and passed through +Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it.</q><note place='foot'>Mark ix. 30.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +Our Lord now lays aside for a time His setting +forth of God's Kingdom to the people at large, and +<pb n='352'/><anchor id='Pg352'/> +devotes Himself entirely to preparing the Apostles +for what was to come. He now breaks to all the +Twelve the news of what His end on earth would +be. He speaks in the plainest terms but they do +not understand: their own preconception firmly +holds its ground. Some perhaps thought that this +death spoken of would be like a temporary trance, +from which their Master would rise to a life in the +body such as He had led before. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord, we may be sure, did not suppose +that they would understand, nor was He careful +that they should do so, if He had been He would +have asked them questions and commented on +their replies. If the whole sad truth had been +unfolded, they would have had no heart for daily +work; the cloud in the future would have overcast +their souls. Thus it is that our Lord does not +dwell upon the end. He says nothing of its +meaning, He utters no word of doctrine, but He +states the facts in the barest form. His intention +in doing this is made known to us in words spoken +long afterwards: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>But these things have I spoken unto you, that +when their hour is come, ye may remember them, how +that I told you. And these things I said not unto you +from the beginning, because I was with you.</q><note place='foot'>John xvi. 4.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +It was not His object that they should know +beforehand what was coming, but that when +<pb n='353'/><anchor id='Pg353'/> +circumstances furnished the key, they should +understand that all was taking place in the way +He had foreseen: neither should they be made to +grieve while the bridegroom was with them. +</p> + +<p> +When the Crucifixion came, it would be some +support to the disciples to mark that it was a +fulfilment of their Master's words. They would +get a larger view of God's plans by marking +that what came about was part of a purpose +worked steadily out, on lines long before laid +down. +</p> + +<p> +Whatever our Lord's words might mean, no +doubt about the final restoration of the Kingdom to +Israel entered the Apostles' heads. Come what +might this was to them a certainty, and the notion +of a Kingdom over the hearts and consciences of +men, without the sanctions or appurtenances of +royal sway, was one which neither they nor any +others of those times could conceive; it had to +appear, indeed, as a fact, before it could be entertained +as an idea. +</p> + +<p> +The Apostles were ready enough to admit that +vicissitudes of fortune might befall them and their +Master on their way, but that their cause must +finally triumph was a conviction which formed +part of themselves. They made light of the +conflicts and dangers which beset the road, for +they saw behind all these an empire settled for +evermore and stretching over the world. This +material view brought with it at the time the ills +<pb n='354'/><anchor id='Pg354'/> +that cling to error. It made them think of what +they should themselves receive. Their care for +self, which had passed almost out of sight while +they devotedly followed their Master over the +mountains or the Lake, swelled out greatly now. +Our Lord, so tolerant of merely speculative error, +is made anxious by the symptoms of rivalry +displayed. Mistaken opinions, or illusions, due to +the traditions in which they had been reared, +events already impending would dispel; but self-regard +among the founders of the Church would +be fatal to the work. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And they came to Capernaum: and when he was in +the house he asked them, What were ye reasoning in the +way?</q><note place='foot'>Mark ix. 33.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +We get here a glimpse of the Apostolic company +taking their road along the path which had +been chosen as being unfrequented.<note place='foot'>Mark ix. 30.</note> We may +picture them journeying on, with our Lord a little +in front, with them but not quite of them—for +always He is essentially alone—close enough to +hear a medley of voices and to catch the tones +which indicated contest, but not near enough to +distinguish words—and after Him the Apostles +following in knots of two or three which now and +then came together into one group. Our Lord is +not quick to interrupt; He is singularly sparing +of interposing the Master's hand, He does not +<pb n='355'/><anchor id='Pg355'/> +turn on them and chide. The Apostles would +not have grown to what they did if they had been +checked at every turn. +</p> + +<p> +The dispute has died away, their journey is +over and they are together in the house at Capernaum +which they had left some months before, +when our Lord asks the question in the text just +quoted shewing that He knew their hearts, and +they held their peace. Our Lord sat down and +called the Twelve; from this they might be sure +that He had something of moment to say. +</p> + +<p> +St Mark gives his words thus, +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>If any man would be first, he shall be last of all, +and minister of all.</q><note place='foot'>Mark ix. 35.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +This evangelist's way of putting what was said +makes it look like a penal provision against +seeking the mastery; as if he who was convicted +of aiming at the highest place was to be put down +to the bottom of the scale. But St Luke's version +points to a view more consistent with Our Lord's +usual way. He makes our Lord say, <q>for he that +is least among you all, the same is great.</q><note place='foot'>Luke ix. 48.</note> Christian +greatness is born of willingness to lay the lowliest +duties on yourself, and the way to be first is to be +ready to remain last. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord goes to the root of this matter +of greatness. He makes them put it to themselves +what they meant by being greater one +<pb n='356'/><anchor id='Pg356'/> +than another. He recalls them from what is +worldly and ephemeral, from gradations of precedence +and authority, to what constitutes the real +greatness of a spiritual being, his favour in God's +sight. +</p> + +<p> +St Matthew's account of this discourse is the +most full, and if we take out of it the denunciations +of offence, and suppose them put subsequently as +St Mark gives them, it makes it easier to follow +the connexion of thought. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> + +<p> +<q rend='pre'>In that hour came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, +Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And +he called to him a little child, and set him in the midst +of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye +turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise +enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore +shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the +greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall +receive one such little child in my name receiveth me: +but whoso shall cause one of these little ones which +believe on me to stumble, it is profitable for him that a +great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and +<emph>that</emph> he should be sunk in the depth of the sea. Woe +unto the world because of occasions of stumbling! for it +must needs be that the occasions come; but woe to that +man through whom the occasion cometh!</q> +</p> + +<p> +<milestone unit='tb' rend='rule: 50%'/> +</p> + +<p> +<q rend='post'>See that ye despise not one of these little ones; for +I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always +behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.</q><note place='foot'>Matt. xviii. 1-11.</note> +</p> + +</quote> + +<pb n='357'/><anchor id='Pg357'/> + +<p> +A child does not feel that he is humbling himself +by helping even in the lowliest matters in his +parents' work; rather is he elated at being found to +be of use. The Apostles could take a lesson by +children in this particular; and in order to learn this +lesson, they could hardly do better than try to win +children to them, not counting them lightly because +they were children, but feeling a reverence for +childhood, because Christ claimed children as His +own, and, what was more, declared that in heaven +their angels always beheld His Father's face. +</p> + +<p> +This gentleness of our Lord in rebuking, has an +effect which gentleness often has, it awakens compunctions +in those to whom it is shewn. A child, +who by severity is set on its defence or drawn +into falsehood, is often melted into full confession +by being loved and trusted more than it +deserves. While our Lord was speaking of offences, +St John had been asking himself whether he had +ever put back any who were pressing toward +Christ in their own way, whether he had ever +chilled a nascent faith; his conscience is not clear +and he must come out with what troubles him. +They had seen one casting out devils in their +Master's name<note place='foot'>This incident shews that the Apostles even while journeying +along with our Lord were sometimes out of His sight and acted +independently. Perhaps they were in some degree dispersed when +they halted for the night. This forbidding cannot have taken place +while our Lord was in the Mount because John was there with Him.</note> and the evil spirit of exclusiveness +<pb n='358'/><anchor id='Pg358'/> +had come over them. Their Master they thought +was wholly theirs, and no one who did not become +altogether one of themselves was to have any part +in Him; there is a touch of truth to nature in this +which makes us sure that what we read took place. +Our Lord's reply is again gentle; to be hard on a +fault that was confessed would have dried up that +confidence which flowed so freely. They were to +take the large view, they are told <q>He that is not +against us is for us.</q> Man is a weak being and +where there is good, however partial, there is hope. +Spirits, on the contrary, we may suppose are either +good or evil and do not change their nature; so +when speaking of them, not of mankind, in the +reply to the charge that He cast out devils by +Beelzebub, we find the opposite statement. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>He that is not with me is against me; and he that +gathereth not with me scattereth.</q><note place='foot'>Matthew xii. 30.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +It is commonly supposed that it was at this +visit to Capernaum that the half shekel was demanded +of Peter, which was provided by the stater +found in the fish's mouth; of this miracle I have +spoken already, but I may have occasion to recur +to it again. +</p> + +<p> +We find in St Matthew's Gospel<note place='foot'>xviii. 21, 22.</note> a lesson delivered +at this time by our Lord on the forgiveness +of offences. St Peter,—characteristically ready +to bring out what is in his heart—is willing to +<pb n='359'/><anchor id='Pg359'/> +accept the duty of forgiveness; but he cannot get +rid of the notion in which he has been trained, that +all conduct must be ordered by definite rule. He +would forgive his brother as he was told to do, but +he must know how many times he was to do so. +He could bring himself to acts of forgiveness, +but he did not yet feel that it was more blessed +to forgive than to resent. A parable is spoken +expressly for him, it is that of the king who made +the reckoning with his servants. Later on, when +he had himself needed and received forgiveness +for denying his Master, a new light in this direction +streamed in, no doubt, upon his soul. +</p> + +<p> +This discourse of our Lord precedes His setting +out for Jerusalem to the feast of Tabernacles, and +may be supposed to contain his parting directions +to the body of disciples left behind at Capernaum. +Nothing would be so disastrous as the breaking +out of rivalry among them; His injunctions therefore, +like those which He gave to the Apostles at +the last, are to the effect that they should forgive +and love one another. +</p> + +<p> +At the end of the 9th Chapter in St Mark, we +have a hard passage which has suffered from +interpolation;<note place='foot'>Compare the Revised Version with that of 1611.</note> this I believe to have been the close +of the lesson given to the Twelve in the house at +Capernaum, when our Lord called them round +Him and sat down. +</p> + +<pb n='360'/><anchor id='Pg360'/> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>For every one shall be salted with fire. Salt is +good: but if the salt have lost its saltness, wherewith will +ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace +one with another.</q><note place='foot'>Mark ix. 49, 50.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +When our Lord says <q>every one shall be salted +with fire</q> I believe that He is thinking of that +fire which He had come to send upon the earth; +that new sense of communion with God, which +Christ awakened in the consciences of men and +which has been a mighty transforming agency in +the world. +</p> + +<p> +The Apostles who were to be instinct with +this Spirit were the salt of the world. This +Spirit should be to them what salt is to that +which it seasons and preserves; but if the preserving +principle, embodied in the Apostles, and +which was to emanate from them should itself +prove corrupt, then where could help be found? +If they, the chosen ones, became selfish, if they +wrangled about who should be greatest; then the +fire which our Lord had come to send upon earth +was clearly not burning in them, and whence +could it be kindled afresh. So our Lord parts +from the body of disciples, going with a few on +His way to the feast, and His last injunction is +that they should have salt in themselves and be +at peace one with another. +</p> + +<p> +At this point, the end of the ninth chapter, we +<pb n='361'/><anchor id='Pg361'/> +lose the guidance of the Gospel of St Mark. All +that the writer gives for the events of half a year, +lies in this verse: +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And he arose from thence, and cometh into the +borders of Judæa and beyond Jordan: and multitudes +come together unto him again; and, as he was wont, he +taught them again.</q><note place='foot'>Mark x. 1.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +It would seem as if it was the Galilæan ministry +that he had set himself to relate, and that when +our Lord passed into Judæa and Peræa he—being +perhaps no longer a constant eye witness and not +willing to speak from hearsay—broke off his tale. +The narrative is supplied here by St John (Chap. +vii.) and also by St Luke who, in a section of the +Gospel which has driven formal Harmonists to +despair (Chaps. ix. 50 to xviii. 15), preserves matter +of the greatest value belonging apparently to this +time. +</p> + +<p> +St Luke speaks of a journey to Jerusalem, and +of our Lord's coming to a village of the Samaritans +on the way.<note place='foot'>Luke ix. 51, 52.</note> This journey is identified with that +to the feast of Tabernacles (St John vii. 10) which +must be the same as that spoken of above by +St Mark. It is doubtful whether our Lord saw +Capernaum again before His death, but He may +have done so just before the final journey to +Jerusalem. +</p> + +<p> +A word or two must be said about St John's +<pb n='362'/><anchor id='Pg362'/> +account of the circumstances under which our +Lord set out: his account is this. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, +was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, +Depart hence, and go into Judæa, that thy disciples also +may behold thy works which thou doest. For no man +doeth anything in secret, and himself seeketh to be +known openly. If thou doest these things, manifest +thyself to the world. For even his brethren did not +believe on him. Jesus therefore saith unto them, My +time is not yet come; but your time is alway ready. +The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I +testify of it, that its works are evil. Go ye up unto the +feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; because my time +is not yet fulfilled. And having said these things unto +them, he abode <emph>still</emph> in Galilee. But when his brethren +were gone up unto the feast, then went he also up, not +publicly, but as it were in secret.</q><note place='foot'>John vii. 2-10.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +This disbelief was not, in our Lord's brethren, +grounded on an opposition of will like that of the +scribes. It came from the <q>slowness of heart</q> of +men who had not imagination for things Divine. +What came before their eyes was never doubted +by them; they did not explain His miracles away +as His enemies did, only they did not see what the +possession of this power implied. After the Ascension +they are found among the believers.<note place='foot'>Acts i. 14, <q>with his brethren.</q></note> Like +the rest of the people at Nazareth they admired +<q>the wisdom given unto this man</q> and <q>the +<pb n='363'/><anchor id='Pg363'/> +mighty works wrought by His hands,</q><note place='foot'>Mark vi. 2.</note> but they +could not imagine that one who had grown up +along with them had a nature of a different order +from theirs. Our Lord never upbraids them; they +worked their work and He His. They were blameless +commonplace men, wondering at their brother's +powers and also that, with all His wisdom, He +should fail in the practical sense necessary for +turning His superiority to account. What was the +good of these wonders being wrought if nobody +knew of them? That He must aim at notoriety +seemed to them too much a matter of course to +need saying; and now when the great feast to +which all Israel gathered was at hand, it was +inexplicable that He should not join the company +that travelled from Galilee, and thus enter Jerusalem +with a following at his back. +</p> + +<p> +The voice which, at the Temptation, had whispered, +<q>Use your superhuman power to lend +material aid to your designs,</q> spoke in His brothers' +advice as it had done by Peter. They were not +unconcerned for His safety, if they had foreseen +danger they would have kept Him away from the +Feast (St Mark iii. 21), but they either underrated +the hostility of His foes or assumed that He would +protect Himself by His superhuman power; for +that, possessing miraculous powers as they knew +He did, He should hesitate, on an emergency, to +exert them in self-defence was to them an idea too +<pb n='364'/><anchor id='Pg364'/> +unreasonable to be entertained. The deep truth +unconsciously uttered by His foes, <q>He saved +others, Himself He cannot save,</q> was one which +their minds were not constructed to contain. Our +Lord foresaw that a public entry into Jerusalem +would lead to commotion, and, as afterwards +happened, might bring about His death. A man's +life, if he have a great matter in hand, is the more +precious to him until this be done: so it was with +our Lord. Until He had finished what was given +Him to accomplish, He took such precautions for +personal safety as a prudent man would. To have +made light of danger, trusting to baffle it by superhuman +means, would have spoiled the lesson and +the moral of His life. +</p> + +<p> +When the brethren spoke of His <q>going up +to Jerusalem,</q> they thought of the journey in +public as much as of the feast itself. Half Galilee +would be upon the road, men would mix and +converse freely on the way, and Jesus, they +thought, would, by travelling thus, come in contact +with a number of zealous men and increase His +following largely. But herein lay one of the +dangers which made our Lord shun this course. +The people, proud of the great prophet from their +own district, might have revived the project of +making Him a King, and by a turbulent entry to +Jerusalem have alarmed the Romans as well as +the scribes. Again, the turmoil of this journey +would have disturbed those processes of growth in +<pb n='365'/><anchor id='Pg365'/> +the Apostles' mind over which our Lord held +watch; the feast of Tabernacles was, above all, a +festival of joyousness, and the journey to it was +made an occasion of pleasure and social union. +For the Apostles to have joined the crowd would +have been unfavourable for the germination of the +solemn thoughts of which our Lord had dropped +the seed on His way from the Mount to Capernaum. +By going up privately in the middle of +the Feast these dangers were avoided. There +was no public arrival, no welcome. The Romans +would know and care nothing about a new preacher +who appeared in the Temple, and the priests, in +face of the diversity of opinion about Jesus of +Nazareth, would hesitate to lay hands upon Him. +For the Apostles too, the journey through an unfriendly +country would give plenty of occasion for +turning over in their minds the strange words they +had heard about the sufferings of the Christ, and +the injunctions to <q>have salt in themselves.</q> +</p> + +<p> +What gives this journey its great interest to me, +with my particular purpose in view, is the refusal of +hospitality to our Lord by the Samaritan villages, +and the enquiry of James and John, whether they +should not call down fire from heaven; wherein +the <q>Sons of Thunder</q> justify their name. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And it came to pass, when the days were well-nigh +come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his +face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before his +face: and they went, and entered into a village of the +<pb n='366'/><anchor id='Pg366'/> +Samaritans, to make ready for him. And they did not +receive him, because his face was as though he were going +to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw +this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we bid fire to come +down from heaven, and consume them? But he turned, +and rebuked them. And they went to another village.</q><note place='foot'>Luke ix. 51-56.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +<q>Some ancient authorities,</q> as we read in the +margin of our Revised Version, <q>add, <emph>and said, Ye +know not what manner of spirit ye are of</emph>.</q> +</p> + +<p> +This is so exactly after our Lord's manner, +not only in the quality but in the <emph>quantity</emph> of +rebuke, that I have no doubt but that it is a +genuine saying of Christ preserved by tradition +whether it were originally in St Luke's Gospel or +not. It is like our Lord to drop a word indicating +error and leave the real correction to grow up in +the learner's mind as though it was supplied by +himself. He rarely dilates on what is blameworthy +and never recurs to a failing that has been +noticed at the time. +</p> + +<p> +James and John, we must recollect, had just +witnessed the Transfiguration, this helps to explain +their mood of mind. They dwelt upon the recollection +of this all the more because it was a +secret possession of the three. The contrast of +their Master's inherent greatness and the humiliation +to which He was subjected moved their +indignation. The Lord of heaven was refused +hospitality by a village in Samaria, and this not +<pb n='367'/><anchor id='Pg367'/> +out of niggardliness—that would have moved the +Apostles less—but from an old animosity about +where men should worship. They, no doubt, regarded +their <q>jealousy for the Lord God</q> as +something commendable, and were surprised at +our Lord's rebuking them and telling them that +they knew not what Spirit they were of. The fact +was, that our Lord detected in this fierce proposal +a further growth of that tendency to spiritual arrogance +which had been indicated by their forbidding +the man who followed not with them, and this +seems to cause our Lord concern. He treats it as +a spiritual affection which it would require care to +remove. He does not inveigh against it, but His +parables and the drift of His teaching militate +against the propensity to exercise <q>Lordship</q> over +men. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord subsequently takes occasion to exalt +the blessing of forgiveness and to teach that overmuch +must not be expected or demanded from men. +He gives the parables of the Prodigal Son and of +the unjust Steward, of which last I shall speak in +the next chapter. Peter saw that when our Lord +said, <q>Blessed are those servants whom the Lord +when He cometh shall find watching,</q> He had His +eye upon the future rulers of His community. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And Peter said, Lord, speakest thou this parable +unto us, or even unto all? And the Lord said, Who +then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall +set over his household, to give them their portion of food +<pb n='368'/><anchor id='Pg368'/> +in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord +when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say +unto you, that he will set him over all that he hath. But +if that servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth +his coming; and shall begin to beat the men-servants +and the maidservants, and to eat and drink, and to be +drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day +when he expecteth not, and in an hour when he knoweth +not, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion +with the unfaithful.</q><note place='foot'>Luke xii. 41-46.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +There is a hint of possible priestly oppression +in the mention of the ill-treatment of inferiors by +those upper servants, who, forgetting that their +master might at any moment return, deal with the +possessions as their own. +</p> + +<p> +I said a little while ago that in this matter the +<q>Sons of thunder</q> justified their name. If we had +not this passage, critics would wonder how such +a surname could have been chosen; St John, it +is true, forbade the working of cures by one who +<q>followed not with them,</q> still we regard him as +the Apostle of Love, and in the Gospels we hear +nothing of St James. This coincidence, though in +a small matter, is worth noting. This incident +preserved by St Luke shews that there was at the +bottom of the natures of these two, loving though +they were, a fund of impetuousness and wrath, +and that they could break out into a storm of +indignation, bearing out the name imposed. It +<pb n='369'/><anchor id='Pg369'/> +is worth mentioning that this falls in with what +we read in the Acts, viz. that when <q>Herod the +king put forth his hands to afflict certain of the +church</q> the first on whom he seized was <q>James +the brother of John;</q><note place='foot'>Acts xii. 2.</note> this shews that James was +a vehement, energetic character standing in the +front, who to the political authorities was a marked +man. For this was a political execution; if the +priests had dealt with him for blasphemy he +would have been stoned, not <q>slain with the +sword.</q> Our Lord gathered round Him men of +very various temperaments; it is not only one +type of man, but those of all types, the impetuous +as well as the gentle, for whom Christ finds place +in the realm of action. +</p> + +<p> +On arriving at Jerusalem, Jesus <q>went up into +the Temple and taught.</q><note place='foot'>John vii. 14.</note> His discourse is addressed +to the crowd; and as many visitors would +come from the cities of Asia, the tone of it is +necessarily very different from that of His sermons +in Galilee. It is even possible, as many of the +strangers had lost their Hebrew, that He spoke in +Greek,<note place='foot'>That our Lord spoke Greek when required is inferred from His +being understood by the Syro-Phœnician woman and by Pilate, who +probably knew no Hebrew, see John xviii. 33-38. See also +John vii. 35, Revised Version.</note> this would account for the disuse of parables, +a form of speech which went with the Hebrew +tongue. During all His stay, in or near Jerusalem, +possibly of some weeks' duration, broken by Mission +<pb n='370'/><anchor id='Pg370'/> +journeys, we hear nothing of the disciples; all our +Lord's discourses are with <q>the Jews,</q> and in general +with <q>the Pharisees.</q> (See St John, Chaps. vii. and +viii.) The Apostles, or at least some of them, may +have been absent on mission duties, for St Luke +places the sending out of the seventy near this time. +</p> + +<p> +The question may be asked, where during this +time did our Lord reside? During the feast Jerusalem +was thronged with strangers, it was a time +when all were keeping holiday; every family left +their house, and lived in a tent or booth decorated +with vine branches and flowers. Jerusalem at any +time, was not, as I have said in an earlier chapter,<note place='foot'>Page <ref target='Pg191'>191</ref>.</note> +favoured by our Lord as a residence for His +disciples, and He is not likely to have suffered +them to stay there long during the turmoil of the +feast. At the beginning of the fragment concerning +the woman taken in adultery we find a line +which points to Bethany as the place where our +Lord sojourned. This document, which I regard +as genuinely historical, begins abruptly thus,<note place='foot'>John vii. 53; viii. 1.</note> +<q>And they went every man unto his own house, +but Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.</q> It +looks as if the writer was speaking of the breaking +up of a gathering, towards nightfall. Bethany was +just beyond the Mount of Olives, something +more than two miles to the east of Jerusalem. It +was there, St Luke tells us, that <q>A certain +<pb n='371'/><anchor id='Pg371'/> +woman, Martha,</q> received our Lord—but, as far as +appears, not any disciples—<q>into her house.</q> This +was on some subsequent journey, but our Lord's +affection for Lazarus and his sisters may have +arisen, or at least have grown up, during the +weeks following this feast. Bethany would furnish +for such of the Apostles as were with our Lord +just the retreat desired. +</p> + +<p> +At this point I shall cease to attempt to follow +the order of time. We can indeed trace our Lord's +movements in St John's Gospel, and we can find +in St Luke's account indications of journeys which +may be made fairly well to correspond with these +movements, but much uncertainty must attend the +assigning of particular events or parables to their +proper occasions. +</p> + +<p> +St Luke in this part of his Gospel had lost, it +would seem, the guidance of the original memoir +which is supposed to have been the basis of +the rest, but he was in possession of much +valuable matter, a part of which was, very possibly, +in the form of detached documents, which he +does his best to arrange in order of time. We +can understand that parables, such as those of +Lazarus and the Prodigal Son, would be copied +and circulated and handed from preacher to +preacher, as would also incidents of particular +interest, or discourses of our Lord. This part of +St Luke's Gospel seems drawn from such sources, +and the connecting matter is sparingly supplied. +</p> + +<pb n='372'/><anchor id='Pg372'/> + +<p> +Nothing, then, will be gained by endeavouring +to keep any longer to chronological order. Henceforth, +therefore, I shall treat the points of interest +as separate topics and, passing over all that does +not immediately bear on the Schooling of the +Apostles, I shall take the matters connected with +it, about which I have something to say, and +discuss them one by one. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Note.</hi>—The passage from St Luke, xii. 41, &c. (quoted at +p. <ref target='Pg367'>367</ref>), contains the only mention of St Peter in all the Gospel +narrative, between the going up to the Feast of Tabernacles +(October) and the final journey to Jerusalem (April); although +occasions occur in this interval, such as that when Thomas says: +<q>Let us also go, that we may die with him</q> (St John xi. 16), when +we should have expected that Peter would not be silent. In St +John's Gospel he is not named between Chaps. i. and xiii. The +question arises, was Peter continuously in attendance on his Master +during this last winter; or was he, during part of it, learning to feed +his Master's sheep by holding together the disciples at Capernaum? +If when his Master was in Judæa, he only went backwards and +forwards to him, this would account for the omission of the history +of this half year in the Gospel of St Mark, for which Peter furnished +the materials, and also for the brief mention of the Temptation; +for I suppose our Lord to have given the fuller history of +this to the disciples, when he was near the banks of the Jordan, +after the Feast of the Dedication (St John x. 40). See p. <ref target='Pg119'>119</ref>. +St Peter, who may not have been present, would probably limit his +narrative to what he had himself seen, or heard from his Master's +lips. +</quote> + +</div> + +<pb n='373'/><anchor id='Pg373'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XII. The Later Lessons.</head> + +<div> +<head>Different cases receive different treatment. St Luke ix. 57-62.</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And as they went in the way, a certain man said unto +him, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And +Jesus said unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds +of the heaven <emph>have</emph> nests; but the Son of man hath not +where to lay his head. And he said unto another, +Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and +bury my father. But he said unto him, Leave the dead +to bury their own dead; but go thou and publish abroad +the kingdom of God. And another also said, I will +follow thee, Lord; but first suffer me to bid farewell to +them that are at my house. But Jesus said unto him, +No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking +back, is fit for the kingdom of God.</q> +</quote> + +<p> +What caught attention and led to the collocation +of these two (and in St Luke three) instances +was the diversity of our Lord's treatment of cases +apparently similar. The disciples saw that our +<pb n='374'/><anchor id='Pg374'/> +Lord repelled one who was willing to follow him +at once, and imperatively summoned two others +who asked for delay. But though they might be +puzzled at this inconsistency, they felt sure that +there was a purpose and a meaning in it; so they +transcribed these contrasting cases side by side, +to show that for different conditions of soul Christ +had different treatment ready. The second and +third<note place='foot'>The third is preserved only by Luke.</note> of these colloquies probably took place at +a different time from the first. They seem to +have been held between our Lord and some of +the disciples who were summoned to go out on +the mission of the seventy, for St Luke inserts +this document in his history just before his account +of the mission. Thus St Matthew in his narrative +puts the passage where the first incident occurs, +while St Luke fixes its place by the second and +third. +</p> + +<p> +This <emph>individualising</emph> in our Lord's treatment of +men struck the disciples as something new; they +do not indeed point it out as a novel feature, for +they never remark upon our Lord's ways, but the +care of the Evangelists in preserving the most +striking instances of this diversity of treatment +shews that it caught their notice. To our Lord's +eye every human being had a moral and spiritual +physiognomy of his own. He saw at once, what +it was in each man which went to make him +<pb n='375'/><anchor id='Pg375'/> +emphatically and distinctly his very self, and He +addressed Himself largely to this. +</p> + +<p> +I will now consider the separate instances one +by one. +</p> + +<p> +St Matthew, in the passage parallel to part of +this,<note place='foot'>Matthew viii. 19.</note> tells us that the first speaker was a scribe, and +it appears that he was, in some sort, also a disciple +of our Lord, for on coming to the next case St +Matthew speaks of <q><emph>another</emph> of the disciples.</q> +</p> + +<p> +It was, I think, in Galilee, as St Matthew tells +us, that this profession of adhesion was made. At +the time he speaks of, popular feeling in our Lord's +favour was at its greatest height, and it was owing +to the thronging of the multitude to the Lake +shore near Capernaum that our Lord gave orders +to depart unto the other side. The circumstances +tally perfectly with the language of the passage, +for our Lord was then going into a wild country. +But where the passage stands in St Luke, our +Lord is travelling <q>as it were in secret</q> from a +village in Samaria to Jerusalem. In this journey, +rapidly made, he would not have been likely to +have fallen in with the scribe at all, and, as He +did not preach as He went, we cannot account for +the emotion which the scribe displays; moreover, +it could hardly be said that at Jerusalem, +He would not have <q>where to lay His head.</q> +</p> + +<p> +What most particularizes the scribe is his +impulsiveness. We have here another example +<pb n='376'/><anchor id='Pg376'/> +of that mistrust of emotional fervour which our +Lord uniformly shews. The woman who cried +<q>Blessed is the womb that bare thee,</q><note place='foot'>Luke xi. 27.</note> the scribe +in the case before us, and St Peter, when he said, +<q>I am ready to go with thee both to prison and +to death,</q><note place='foot'>Luke xxii. 33.</note> all are answered by our Lord in the +same tone of repression.<note place='foot'>See also Luke xiv. 15. The exclamation, <q>Blessed is he +that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God</q> is met by the parable +of the Great Supper.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Sudden transports and ebullitions of feeling +like those just named, come mainly of temperament +and of passing physical conditions which +subjugate the agent, and our Lord does not regard +them as betokening a character on which he can +depend. +</p> + +<p> +It speaks well for the right feeling of this +scribe that he forbears to press his suit. He +divined, with the delicacy of a well bred Oriental, +that our Lord's reply, though apparently only +discouraging him from following for his own sake, +shewed that He held it best that he should stay +behind. He is satisfied that our Lord's judgment +will be right and he yields at once. A man with +less perception might have protested against the +imputation on his endurance, and have declared +that he would go with the Master though he +should have to lie on the bare earth. +</p> + +<pb n='377'/><anchor id='Pg377'/> + +<p> +That, however genuine his devotion may have +been, it was best for the scribe to stay at home +is easy to understand; he had been used to an +indoors life and under hardships and exposure he +would have broken down; besides, while being a +burden to the rest, he could, as a jaded man, have +gained little in moral or spiritual growth. He was +moreover, both as to culture and social caste, of a +different type from the rest, and his presence +would have made the party less homogeneous. +Another important consideration was this; by +remaining where he was, he might do that particular +kind of good for which he was suited by +temper and condition better than by following our +Lord. The course which had taken hold of his +imagination may not have been that in which he +could do the best work. By remaining in Galilee +and mixing with other educated men, he, like +Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, might help +to spread tolerance and leaven the mass. +</p> + +<p> +The two cases which follow, no doubt, puzzled +the disciples much. Our Lord had so strenuously +enforced a man's duty to his parents, that they +would have expected these pleas for delay to be +admitted without a word. They are however very +positively rejected, and the refusal is put in so +impressive a form that I cannot but infer that our +Lord intended these colloquies to be recorded. +</p> + +<p> +It has commonly been taken for granted, that +the father of the spokesman in the first of these +<pb n='378'/><anchor id='Pg378'/> +cases was lying dead when our Lord met him and +bade him follow; but Eastern usages almost preclude +this view, for the Jews buried within twenty-four +hours of the death, and for a son to be seen +in public while his father was lying dead would to +their minds have been highly indecent. Some +think that, the father being in extreme age, the +son asked to be allowed to stay with him till he +died; what seems to me more likely is that the +completion of the ten days of strict mourning was +regarded as part of the obsequies, and that the +word <q>buried</q> applies to this. The father might +have been laid in the ground, but the ten days not +having expired, the funeral solemnities were not +considered over. +</p> + +<p> +I think that our Lord meant in this case to +leave a lesson, and that the lesson was this. Family +ties and duties, blessed though they usually are, +must not be turned into idols or suffered to hamper +the <q>clear spirit</q> in its ascent to God. There is +such a thing as the tyranny of family just as there +is of social usage or public opinion, and from each +and all of these our Lord would set men free. +This kind of freedom would cost a struggle as +other kinds also would, and owing to divisions +caused by change of Faith even parents might be +set against children and children against parents—a +heavy price indeed, but one that vanishes +compared with the opening of eternal life to mankind. +Supposing, as I do, that these disciples +<pb n='379'/><anchor id='Pg379'/> +were summoned by our Lord to go forth with the +seventy, I find in this inflexibility which our Lord +displays something quite of a piece with the order +to <q>salute no man by the way,</q><note place='foot'>Luke x. 4-11.</note> and to wipe off +the dust from their feet when not received; all this +is consistent, when taken together, and viewed as +a lesson in the dignity of consecration to God and +the imperative character of the charge imposed. +</p> + +<p> +It is important to observe that though these +disciples make excuse, and our Lord has usually +little tolerance for excuses, yet, instead of being +dismissed, these men are despatched to preach the +Kingdom of God. This shews that the defect in +them was not organic, and that it had not touched +the vital centres. Their malady was of a different +order from that of the guests invited to the great +supper who said, <q>I pray thee have me excused,</q> +for these latter made light of the invitation; while, +if my view be correct, these two men were terrified +and overawed by being called to duties which +their imagination painted as beyond their powers. +They were sensitive and distrustful of self, with +highly strung nerves, and the suddenness of the +call to preach the Kingdom of God took away +their breath. They do not refuse, but they beg +for delay. If they had obtained such a postponement +it would have been all the worse for them, +because they would have been working themselves +into a fever all the while. They are panic stricken +<pb n='380'/><anchor id='Pg380'/> +at the idea of going into strange districts proclaiming +the Kingdom of God. They were quailing +under a nerve-storm and by devising excuses they +only gave it greater force; every moment that +they lingered increased the hold of the morbid +impression: a foreign will must come to their help +and take the place of that which was failing. Such a +will acts most effectively in the form of an imperative +command, calling the patient to immediate positive +action. This treatment is followed here. These +two men, no doubt, followed as they were bidden. +They yielded to authority and herein they found +their cure; they, like the rest, set out with only +their staves in their hands and came back exulting +that the devils were subject to them through the +Lord's name. Thus each of the three personages +receives the proper specific for his case; Christ +divines the treatment that every particular diathesis +requires. +</p> + +<p> +But the crowning case of all is yet to come. +It belongs to a later time than the above, and is +related more at length. It was soon after our +Lord had entered on his final public journey to +Jerusalem, teaching and discoursing as He went, +that a young man, <q>a certain ruler,</q> in St Luke's +words, ran to Him and threw himself at His feet. +St Mark's account is the most full of detail. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And as he was going forth into the way, there ran +one to him, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good +Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? +<pb n='381'/><anchor id='Pg381'/> +And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? +none is good save one, <emph>even</emph> God. Thou knowest the +commandments, Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, +Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, +Honour thy father and mother. And he said unto +him, Master, all these things have I observed from my +youth. And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and +said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go, sell whatsoever +thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have +treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. But his +countenance fell at the saying, and he went away sorrowful: +for he was one that had great possessions.</q><note place='foot'>Mark x. 17-22.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +Behind the young man's question there lay this +view. He regarded eternal life as the reward of +certain good works and the punctilious observance +of what was divinely enjoined. Our Lord on the +other hand represents it, not as being granted or +withheld according to the record of performances, +but rather as coming <q>of congruity</q><note place='foot'>Articles of Religion, XIII.</note> along with +the fitness for it which has been acquired in the +whole education of a life. The man's works have +no doubt had very much to do with making him +what he is, but other influences have acted as +well. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord rejects the appellation <q>Good Master.</q> +In these terms, scholars addressed the Rabbi at +whose feet they sat, they accepted his dicta, and +gave up all independent judgment of their own. +<pb n='382'/><anchor id='Pg382'/> +But our Lord, fostering and, in some sort, respecting +the individual principle in each man, would free +them from fetters of all kinds, those of the Rabbis +among the rest. Here He would say, <q>Why do +you run to a human master</q> (for as such only could +the mass regard our Lord) <q>to tell you what it is +right to do? About this no authority can be absolute +but God, and His commandments you know.</q> +These commandments the young ruler had kept, +indeed it was hardly possible that one in his position +could have done otherwise, but an empty place +was still left in his soul. Life he felt sure must +have a higher meaning and more satisfying occupations +than any he had yet found. Surely he +thought <q>The Master cannot mean to put me off +with telling me to keep the commandments;</q> and +he was right. He had known of no other guide to +virtuous life than rules of conduct, and so he had +come asking for a fresh set of such rules; but a new +light was breaking on his soul and what he really +wanted was for the clouds to be cleared away. +This young man had a noble soul and our Lord +<q>looking on him loved him.</q> The scribe, spoken +of above, would do best by remaining where he +was; but this young man would do best by +following. He was worth rescuing from the conventionalities +and littlenesses of his every day life +and lifting into communion with God. Had he +the force to wrench asunder the bonds, slender +singly but countless in number, which fastened +<pb n='383'/><anchor id='Pg383'/> +him down, and to give up, not merely soft living—that +he would abandon with joy—but the social +consideration and what went with it, personal +connections and all, which he would fling away +by doing as Christ bade? This was the question. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord had not told the scribe to sell all +he had and give to the poor. He laid no such +rule on His disciples, but here it was these possessions +and, more than all, the position they conferred +that clogged the soul and prevented its +rise. The <q>giving to the poor</q> is not enjoined +merely as benevolence; in that virtue it was not +likely that this young man would fail, it is only +a means of disposing of the weight that drags +him down; the magnitude of the sacrifice required +staggered the young ruler and he went sorrowful +away; but perhaps there was more hope of him +than if, at our Lord's word, he had impulsively +surrendered all that he had. He may have been +one of those who afterwards sold their land or +houses <q>and brought the prices of the things +that were sold and laid them at the Apostles' +feet.</q><note place='foot'>Acts iv. 35.</note> From this interview our Lord draws the +moral, <q>How hardly shall they that have riches +enter into the Kingdom of God;</q> this is not a +denunciation of the rich but rather a commiseration +of them, owing to the peculiar and insidious +temptations to which they are unceasingly exposed. +</p> + +<p> +The Apostles are <q>astonished exceedingly</q><note place='foot'>Mark x. 24.</note> +<pb n='384'/><anchor id='Pg384'/> +at our Lord's severity, they had perhaps been +pleased at the prospect of the accession to their +community of a man who was rich and high in +station and well spoken of on all sides. As soon +as they had heard him told to give up all and +follow, Peter, with a touch of almost infantine +nature which stamps the narrative as authentic, +looking to his own case says, <q>Lo we have left all +and have followed thee.</q> This was no boast or +our Lord would not have answered as he does; +it was rather an expression of relief at finding that +this special difficulty which beset the young ruler +no longer stood in their way. They had been +called to leave settled homes and they had done +so. Peter, we know, had a wife, and James and +John had a father and mother alive. Our Lord +seems to give them very positive comfort. Those +who had left home or family or lands for His sake +and the Gospel's should now, in this time, receive +the same a hundred fold<note place='foot'>Mark x. 30.</note> as well as life hereafter. +</p> + +<p> +We seem to find here a direct promise of +worldly benefit, which would be strangely out of +accord with the general tenour of Christ's words; +but then comes a clause, preserved only by St Mark, +which alters all the meaning. It contains but two +words <q>with persecutions.</q> This appears to unsay +all that was said before; for of what good, in the +way of enjoyment, are family and possessions <q>in +<pb n='385'/><anchor id='Pg385'/> +the midst of persecution</q>? Our Lord, to my +thinking, in this passage has His eye on a certain +time to come; the <q>brethren and sisters and +mothers and children</q> must mean the great +Christian family, and the <q>lands</q> are the possessions +of that community which, while the Church +was confined to Jerusalem, had all things common, +<q>When the multitude of them that believed were +of one heart and soul: and not one of them said +that aught of the things which he possessed was +his own.</q><note place='foot'>Acts iv. 32.</note> In the exaltation of spirit in which +that community lived, persecution would seem only +a superficial ill, without which their happiness +would have been too ecstatic for permanent spiritual +health. Their condition as we know from the Acts +was replete with joy; over and over again we are +reminded of the gladness which filled the souls of +the early converts. The reward promised, when +qualified by this phrase, might rightly be set before +the Apostles, for it was no reward at all except to +spiritually minded men. These two words, which +are omitted by St Luke, enable us to understand—what +seems a little strange—why this promise +is not accepted with joy and with eager questions +as to when this happy time should come; it +puzzled the hearers. Any rising exultation is +checked by the words, <q>with persecutions,</q> and +the hearers are perhaps set wondering why Christ +<pb n='386'/><anchor id='Pg386'/> +often drops difficulties into His speech, just when +He seems to be going to reveal what men particularly +want to know, and why, when holding out a +promise, He should dash the cup from their lips. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Parable of the unjust Steward. St Luke xv., xvi.</head> + +<p> +More and more, as our Lord's work draws near +the close, do we notice that His eye, somewhat +diverted from what is passing about Him, is +directed to a condition of things foreseen <q>being +yet far off.</q> It is to provide for this that He +is ever taking thought and imparting lessons; and +if no state of things had come about in which +these lessons might find a field of exercise, we +should be at a loss to understand what they meant +or why they were there. The explanation is found +in the early history of the Church of Christ. In +the parables and discourses of the later ministry +there is one image to which our Lord again and +again recurs. It is that of men labouring in a +Master's service, and most commonly in that of a +Master who is away from home and may at any +time come back. It may be that the Master is a +great King, in which case the labourers are his +ministers, and frequently there is mention made of +diversity of office and of some who exercised +<pb n='387'/><anchor id='Pg387'/> +authority over <q>men-servants and maid-servants.</q> +In these cases we frequently find, either in the +parable itself or in the <q>hard saying</q> which commonly +closes it, an allusion to some special danger +attaching to delegated power. +</p> + +<p> +One such moral danger there is besetting those +entrusted with any charge, and above all with a +spiritual charge, which is very insidious, and more +easily corrected by a lesson given in a story than +by direct reproof; it is that of the severity and +rigour which comes of over-scrupulosity and over-zeal. +The trustee of a property will sometimes +feel morally or legally bound to exact the very +uttermost, and to use a hardness which he would +never think of shewing in his own affairs; and by +habitually constraining himself to use hardness he +may become actually hard of nature himself. +When we come to matters spiritual and ecclesiastical +all this is true in an intensified degree. +</p> + +<p> +The more exalted the priest's notion of his +function and the more genuine his appreciation of +the Majesty of God, the more impossible it seems +to him to abate one iota of God's claims. Things +sacred, he has been taught to think, differ in kind +from things secular, and demand rules of management +of their own. He holds it unlawful to +make composition with offenders against God; +he is the appointed upholder of the rights and +dignities of the Almighty and he dares not bate +a hair. Honestly awe-stricken at the tremendous +<pb n='388'/><anchor id='Pg388'/> +responsibility, he flies where he can to a written +Law, and, pointing to the letter, he takes refuge +in the sacerdotal <q>non possumus</q> as an answer +to every extenuating plea. +</p> + +<p> +I believe that when our Lord delivered the +parable of the unjust Steward, He had in view this +particular evil which is all the more dangerous +because it wears the garb of <q>jealousy for the +Lord God.</q> +</p> + +<p> +If the Apostles, feeling that they formed the +personal staff of a King endowed with all power +from on high, had <emph>not</emph> been lifted up and shewn +some touch of imperious and exclusive spirit, they +must indeed have been more or less than men. +That symptoms of such a spirit had appeared and +caused our Lord concern may be gathered, not +only from the positive instances, such as, the forbidding +one who followed not with them to cast +out devils in the Lord's name; the demand to be +allowed to call down fire from heaven; and the +rebuking of those who brought to Christ <q>their +babes that He might touch them;</q> but, even +more certainly, from the repeated animadversions, +in the later teaching of our Lord, on personal +ambition and the over-straining of authority. +Moderation, as to what may be expected from +human nature, though not enforced by positive +injunctions, is commended to us, after our Lord's +way, by a gentle influence everywhere present, +and by a current in the teaching setting steadily +<pb n='389'/><anchor id='Pg389'/> +towards the point in view. Our Lord had been +speaking to the people in a series of parables—the +lost sheep, the lost piece of silver, the Prodigal +Son,—all set in one key, all bearing on the <q>joy +in the presence of the angels of God over one +sinner that repenteth,</q><note place='foot'>Luke xv. 10.</note> and He then turned to the +disciples, with, as I believe, the same thought still +uppermost in His mind, and urges them as the +<q>pastors and masters</q> of the future, not, by +insisting on the utmost, to make reformation too +hard. +</p> + +<p> +The parable of the unjust Steward was addressed, +we are told, to the disciples, and as the +disciples had no worldly goods at all, it cannot be +the main drift of the parable, as has been sometimes +maintained, to inculcate Christian prudence in +the use of these. I find in this parable a closing +comment in a very terse form; this leads me to +suspect that the key to the main purport lies +therein. The verse is this, <q>For the sons of this +world are for their own generation wiser than the +sons of the light.</q><note place='foot'>Luke xvi. 8.</note> The drift of the parable is, +indeed, to teach a kind of prudence, but not one in +which <emph>money</emph> is concerned. The administration of +property is only the vehicle in which the lesson is +conveyed. What I take to be inculcated here is +true Christian wisdom as to the exercise of authority—spiritual +authority above all. The moral +that I discern is this; that the Apostles and their +<pb n='390'/><anchor id='Pg390'/> +successors may do more good by shewing a little indulgence—by +conceding something to weak human +nature, not enforcing Jewish formalities, and not +insisting too inflexibly upon every point which +they think may touch the honour or the privileges +of Christ's Church—than by adhering to the strictest +regard for observances, and imposing rules for +sanctity of thought and conduct with which only +a chosen few would be able to comply. How +many have been repelled from religion by the +rigour, which Priests or Puritans fancied themselves +under compulsion to employ, and how has this +fretful anxiety for discipline sometimes soured the +natures of those who had it in charge! +</p> + +<p> +I proceed to a short examination of the +parable, of which I will quote the whole. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And he said also unto the disciples, There was a +certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same +was accused unto him that he was wasting his goods. +And he called him, and said unto him, What is this that +I hear of thee? render the account of thy stewardship; +for thou canst be no longer steward. And the steward +said within himself, What shall I do, seeing that my lord +taketh away the stewardship from me? I have not +strength to dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved +what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, +they may receive me into their houses. And calling to +him each one of his lord's debtors, he said to the first, +How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, A +hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take +<pb n='391'/><anchor id='Pg391'/> +thy bond, and sit down quickly and write fifty. Then +said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he +said, A hundred measures of wheat. He saith unto him, +Take thy bond, and write fourscore. And his lord commended +the unrighteous steward because he had done +wisely: for the sons of this world are for their own generation +wiser than the sons of the light. And I say unto +you, Make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon +of unrighteousness; that, when it shall fail, they may +receive you into the eternal tabernacles. He that is +faithful in a very little is faithful also in much: and he +that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in +much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the +unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the +true <emph>riches</emph>? And if ye have not been faithful in that +which is another's, who will give you that which is your +own?</q><note place='foot'>Luke xvi. 1-12.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +I do not pretend to have made out for every +particular in the story of the parable a spiritual +parallel after my own view, indeed I think that interpreters +sometimes look for too complete a correspondence. +I can quite understand that a detail +might be introduced which should give life to the +story and so help to fix it in the hearers' minds, +which might have no analogue in the spiritual +interpretation at all. This parable is, as we are told, +addressed neither to the people nor to the scribes, +but to the disciples, and, as it must have been +delivered during our Lord's journeys in the north +of Judæa or its neighbourhood when He was but +<pb n='392'/><anchor id='Pg392'/> +slightly attended, it is probable that when He +spoke it few beside the Apostles were by. One +peculiarity, which strengthens my impression that +it was uttered for the special benefit of the first +hearers of it, is, that it turns on a matter which +only those who were conversant with the customs +of that place and time could fully understand. +We know so little of the way in which estates +were managed in Palestine, that the relations between +the steward and his Lord are imperfectly +conceived, and much of the difficulty of this +parable arises from this cause: in the other parables +the circumstances forming the shell of the story +belong to all countries and all times alike. If +now, as I have supposed, the primary use of this +parable was for those who first listened to it; if it +were specially intended to teach the Twelve and +their immediate successors not to make too heavy +demands on their converts; then it would matter +less, if the story should not be so clear for men of +later times. +</p> + +<p> +What I regard as the point of the story is this, +that it is just as unwise to exact the utmost that +is due in moral and spiritual matters—casting off +every one who falls short in conduct or differs in +religious views—as it would be in worldly business +to stand out always for the utmost penny of +your rights. The honesty or dishonesty of the +steward is not the central point on which the moral +turns, it is his tact in remitting part of his claims +<pb n='393'/><anchor id='Pg393'/> +with a long-sighted view. I do not think that we +need now trouble ourselves with the question of +who it is that answers to the <q>rich man which had +a steward;</q> but that he does not represent Providence +is clear from the eighth verse, which includes +him among the <q>sons of this world;</q> for it is his +sense in commending the steward which draws +forth the moral, <q>The sons of this world are for +their own generation wiser than the sons of the +light.</q> This rich man's verdict on his steward's +conduct may be taken to represent the view which +practically minded men, versed in affairs and +regarding matters little on their ethical side, would +take of the case in hand; in fact he stands for +the public opinion of his class. +</p> + +<p> +Next comes the question, What was the business +position of the steward? It agrees best both with +the circumstances before us and with such extraneous +information as we possess, to suppose that the +functionary, called here steward, managed absolutely +his master's property, and that he was paid +by a poundage on the net receipts, or by some +similar method, so that his interest and his master's +would, generally speaking, coincide. There is no +allegation against him of fraud or corrupt bargaining, +and indeed, his being in danger of beggary +shews that he is not supposed to have made himself +a purse. He is charged with having <q>wasted the +goods,</q> but this may mean in the way of over leniency +with creditors or of unproductive outlay, not in +<pb n='394'/><anchor id='Pg394'/> +that of personal appropriation. He was clearly not +treated as though he were liable to criminal prosecution. +It is of course meant to represent him as +a <emph>bad steward</emph>, and the word here construed <emph>unjust</emph> +sometimes means little more than <emph>bad</emph>, as will be +seen from Archbishop Trench's note, in the sense +of being ineffective and unsatisfactory to his employers. +</p> + +<p> +Dr Edersheim observes as follows:<note place='foot'><q>Life and times of Jesus the Messiah,</q> p. 267.</note> +</p> + +<p> +<q>It must be borne in mind that he is still +steward, and as such has full power of disposing of +his master's affairs. When, therefore, he sends for +one after another of his master's debtors, and tells +each to alter the sum in the bond, he does not +suggest to them forgery or fraud, but, in remitting +part of the debt, whether it had been incurred as +rent in kind or as the price of produce purchased, +he acts, although unrighteously, yet strictly within +his rights.</q> His master praised his astuteness, he +had kept within the law and so long as this was +done the current code of morality was satisfied. +It is a point to be noted that no bargain is +made with the debtors, he trusts to their gratitude +to receive him into their houses. +</p> + +<p> +A lesson prominent in the parable and which +is brought out in the application is, that as he had +made friends by his leniency in administering the +substance of the master so they, Christian pastors +and masters, should make to themselves friends out +<pb n='395'/><anchor id='Pg395'/> +of something which is called the <q>mammon of unrighteousness</q> +(about which we shall presently +enquire). These friends would, out of gratitude, +receive them into <q>the eternal tabernacles.</q> For +these friends are to be in Heaven themselves, and +they must have got there—if we are to keep to the +story—not only through their pastor's teaching and +ministrations, but they must have partly owed +their salvation to the loving and merciful treatment +they had met with. An offender may be sometimes +won over and completely changed for the +better by feeling that he has been treated more +kindly and leniently than he deserves. The parable +implies that these might not have reached heaven +if their guides had been more hard with them, if +they had exacted every religious duty, and had +been severe upon every failing. These men having +reached the eternal tabernacles welcomed into +them those who by lessening their burdens had +been the means of their getting there themselves. +</p> + +<p> +We now come to the hard question, What is +meant by the words <q>the mammon of unrighteousness</q> +or <q>unrighteous mammon</q>—which are +identical? I think they must mean the temporal +authority in regulating things outward which the +earliest rulers of the Church necessarily possessed. +The word translated <q>unrighteous</q> does not here +imply inherent badness, but that the seeming +wealth has only a value according to worldly judgment +and worldly measure, without intrinsic worth +<pb n='396'/><anchor id='Pg396'/> +in itself. This may corrupt its possessor as much +as worldly riches. I give, in a note, Archbishop +Trench's discussion of the Greek word.<note place='foot'><q>The use of ἄδικος for <q>false</q> runs through the whole +Septuagint. Thus, Deut. xix. 16, μάρτυς ἄδικος, a false witness; +and ver. 18, ἐμαρτύρησεν ἄδικα, he hath witnessed falsely. See +Prov. vi. 19; xii. 17; Jer. v. 31, <q>The prophets prophesy falsely</q> +(ἄδικα), and many more examples might be adduced. So here the +<q><emph>unrighteous</emph></q> mammon is the false mammon, that which will +betray the reliance which is placed on it (1 Tim. vi. 17). Thus +ἰατροὶ ἄδικοι (Job xiii. 4), <q>physicians of no value.</q></q> Trench, +<q>On the Parables,</q> The unjust Steward.</note> Riches, +<emph>as riches</emph>, are never called unrighteous by our Lord. +I do not think, however, that wealth in its common +sense can be intended by the word <q>mammon</q> +here, for of <q>silver and gold</q> the Apostles would +have none. But though the Apostles had not +money, yet they had advantages for the use of +which they must answer; they had, in authority +and position, what answered to wealth; they could +regulate the lives of the converts; they could lay +hands on those chosen for the Ministry; they +could enforce or remit certain of the Laws of +Moses. This power dealt with things outward,—contributions, +observances, rules of discipline and +the like,—and so, if, as the authorities quoted seem +to shew, the word here translated <emph>unrighteous</emph> may +mean false, in the sense of unreal, as paste to +diamond, then this possession of theirs which gave +room for the exercise of clemency—this apparel +of dignity—might be so termed in contrast with +<pb n='397'/><anchor id='Pg397'/> +inward spiritual riches, which form part of the +condition of the individual man. +</p> + +<p> +Of such real wealth we presently hear. Soon +after this <q>the Apostles said unto our Lord, Increase +our faith,</q><note place='foot'>Luke xvii. 5.</note> but this faith is not to be given from without; +it cannot be transferred into them as though it +could be poured from one receptacle into another. +They are to fit themselves for it and grow into it in +the exercise of their work; when attained it would +move mountains, it would be a wealth that no +man could take from them, something inalienably +bound up in their existence, comprising the blessing +of feeling God present in their souls. Here indeed +is a treasure compared to which not only silver +and gold, but power and authority and the right of +ordering of matters in the churches, would seem +trifling and unreal like glass beside the gem. +</p> + +<p> +Again what is the <q>little</q> and the <q>much</q> of +verse 10? According to my view the <q>little</q> +answers to the externals of religious management, +and the <q>much</q> to the spiritual verity which +passes from soul to soul: those who are unfaithful +in matters of administration which are comparatively +little, will find that this spreading laxity +will overgrow their whole nature and that they +will soon become unfaithful in that which is great.<note place='foot'>It is clear that <q>unrighteous,</q> in verse 10 means <q>superficial</q> +and <q>unreal,</q> because it is contrasted with <q>true.</q> The opposite +of ἄδικος is here ἀληθινός.</note> +</p> + +<pb n='398'/><anchor id='Pg398'/> + +<p> +If God's servants had not been faithful in administering +their rule, if they had not in God's +affairs used good sense and judgment, such as +men employ in their own business, if they had not +controlled their tempers, disregarded their personal +interest and suppressed that temptation to lord it +over others which goes with new-born power;—if +they had not, that is, been faithful in the use of +that wealth which is by comparison unreal, then, +not being faithful in the discharge of this delegated +trust, <q>that which is another's,</q> who would +give them that <q>clear-eyed Faith,</q> that sense that +God was abiding in their hearts, which would be +essentially their very <q>own.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Thus we reach what I take to be the close +of the parable; for the verse about serving two +masters, which occurs also in the Sermon on the +Mount, does not, I think, belong to this parable, +but has only been <emph>attracted</emph>, so to say, into its place +by the occurrence in both passages of the rare +word <q>mammon,</q> which induced St Luke to put +the two together. +</p> + +<p> +I need hardly say, how far from positive I +must be about the interpretation of a parable +which has caused such an infinitude of comment. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Our Lord refusing to judge.</head> + +<p> +If we regard the Gospels in the light of memoirs +of our Lord's actual life upon earth, it may seem +<pb n='399'/><anchor id='Pg399'/> +strange that so few occasions are noticed in which +we are shewn our Lord dealing with the business +of ordinary life. Whenever we do find Him forced +to take part in any secular proceeding, He is +uniformly careful to avoid such decisive action as +would establish an authoritative precedent in +regard to things which might be left to men to +manage. Some people are now disappointed at +His not having furnished a wholly new and perfect +scheme of human society. So far is He from +doing this, that He will not even put patches +upon that which He found existing. God had +supplied men with faculties to frame social institutions +for themselves, and these faculties Christ +would leave free to work. If He had interposed +to set the world right by absolute power, it might +have been asked, Why this had not been done +before? and, Whether it was owing to accident +that the world had been let to go wrong? +</p> + +<p> +Living among the people as our Lord did, He +must commonly have conformed to Jewish usages. +He could hardly have performed any act without +coming into contact with their ways. If the particulars +of every little occurrence in His private life +had been set down, perhaps we might have realised, +what we now hardly perceive, that in the Gospel +we are reading of Jewish life in Galilee two +thousand years ago. This absence of what is +called <q>local colour</q> is partly due to the omission +of small particulars. An outline can be more +<pb n='400'/><anchor id='Pg400'/> +general and more universal than a picture of +minute elaboration; and the portraiture of our +Lord would have lost much of its singular +character of belonging to every age as its own, if +the draughtsman's attention had been distracted +from what was characteristic, in order to present +every detail with equal care. +</p> + +<p> +Now arises the question, How far did our Lord +Himself determine which among His doings and +sayings should be recorded and which not? If +He had Himself left a record, every word would +have been regarded as inspired, and the Christian +church would have been ruled, not by an indwelling +Spirit, but by a book written once for all. It +could not have been ruled by both,—for men cannot +walk after the letter and after Faith at the same +time—and that wooden fixity which characterised +Rabbinical Judaism, would have affected Christianity +as well. It pleased God that it should be +left to men to tell the tale, and so other men may +venture to use their judgment about it. But as +Christ passed on His course, He must Himself +have felt that this or that incident or discourse +ought to be handed down. How could He effect +this without miracle of any kind? It seems to +me that He may have selected, as it were, matters +for preservation thus. When He desired an incident +to be known, <q>Wheresoever the Gospel shall be +preached throughout the whole world,</q><note place='foot'>Mark xiv. 9.</note> He emphasizes +<pb n='401'/><anchor id='Pg401'/> +it, by some action or declaration, as +above, viz. by letting drop some vivid expression +which takes hold of the minds of men. Thus the +story of the denials of Peter is rendered indelible +by the words, <q>before the cock crow twice.</q> The +hard saying or striking expression, sometimes +because it touched the quick of men's understandings, +and sometimes because it puzzled them +to make it out, was thought of again and again, +and remained by them as part of themselves. The +incident which called the saying forth, or the +colloquy in which it occurred would have to be +recorded to explain the saying itself: a mass of +the matrix would go along with the precious +metal embedded in it. What it was not thought +needful to preserve, was not enriched with these +pregnant sayings and has not survived. +</p> + +<p> +Hence I believe that the withdrawal from us +of those <q>many other things that Jesus did</q> was +not without design. The consequences of this may +be of service to us in many ways, but the only +one of which I shall speak is this. If every detail +of our Lord's acts had been set down, many more +of those matters of daily life, on which judgment +is now left open, would have been determined for +us by the recorded example of our Lord. Many +Christians would have felt bound to act as Christ +had done, even in those concerns of ordinary life +which might well be left to the individual; and +many inexorable necessities—many rigid lines for +<pb n='402'/><anchor id='Pg402'/> +which there was no occasion—would have traversed +the field of Christian action. +</p> + +<p> +That our Lord should have thus placed a limit +on the particulars that should be recorded about +Him falls in with the views taken in this book, +viz. that He was anxious to preserve individual +freedom of action, and that He looked forward +with a general prescience to the course of events. +</p> + +<p> +It is my opinion that our Lord foresaw, that, in +time to come, men of different races and under +different conditions would desire to fashion their +lives after His, and that therefore He purposely +freed the account of Himself that should come into +their hands from all that was immaterial, and particularly +from all that was exclusively Jewish in +its garb; but whether this were so or not, the fact +remains that no particular national institutions or +social usages are consecrated by our Lord's words +or practice. Supposing that our Lord knew +that posterity would regard His example as a +sacred rule, and that He wished men not to be +hampered in this way, but to retain free play of +thought and will, it is hard to devise for Him a +course more expedient for the end in view than +that which he actually took. +</p> + +<p> +Several instances occur in the Gospels, of appeal +being made to our Lord about vexed matters +belonging to the life of that time. Such appeals +He always meets much in the same way. He +puts the matter aside, either by positively refusing +<pb n='403'/><anchor id='Pg403'/> +to judge or by giving the question an unexpected +turn. +</p> + +<p> +The cases to which I shall refer are, (1) the +disputed inheritance, (2) the woman taken in +adultery, (3) the paying of the didrachma, (4) the +judgment on the tribute to Cæsar. +</p> + +<p> +1. It seems to have been during the ministry +in some city, either in Judæa or Peræa, when the +people were pressing on one another to get near +our Lord, that one of the multitude said to Him, +<q>Master bid my brother divide the inheritance +with me.</q><note place='foot'>Luke xii. 14.</note> +</p> + +<p> +This man was influenced by some notion that +he had been wronged, a notion which was very +likely born of cupidity. This greed he carried +always about him, it was uppermost in his mind, +and when he found the crowd listening to the +Preacher of righteousness, he thought that he +might turn the influence of this Preacher to account +for his own ends. If, by an <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>ex parte</foreign> statement he +could get Christ's judgment on his side, possibly +his brother would do His bidding. The Jewish +Law of inheritance was plain and courts of Law +were accessible, but perhaps his claim had been +disallowed; at any rate he thought it a cheaper +plan to get the great Preacher to interfere. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord repudiates in strong terms the notion +that He is a <q>judge or a divider.</q> Judges and +dividers through many ages had been provided for +<pb n='404'/><anchor id='Pg404'/> +regular duty in a regular way; but Christ's coming +was an act standing by itself in the History of the +race. It had nothing to do with the internal +concerns of this people or of that. Its influence was +worldwide. He was to kindle the new fire, to set +alight the spiritual passion in mankind. He notes +how, in the man who appeals to Him, every affection +had been absorbed and killed by his covetousness. +He turns to the multitude and inveighs +against this insidious vice, and delivers to them +the parable<note place='foot'>Luke xii. 16-20.</note> of the rich man who would pull down +his barns and build greater. There is no hidden +meaning lying behind this parable as there is in +those in which He set the Kingdom forth, it is only +an instructive story for the hearers to carry away. +Then, turning to the disciples, He puts the matter +in a higher light. His moral is ever this, that to +improve a man's well being, whether of a material +or a social kind, you must begin by making the +man himself as good as you can. Such material +well being as is needed for society will follow on the +moral and spiritual improvement of individual men. +<q>Seek ye <emph>first</emph>,</q> says He, <q>the Kingdom of God +and His righteousness, <emph>and all these things shall +be added unto you</emph>.</q><note place='foot'>Luke xii. 36. Matt. vi. 25.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Let us suppose for a moment that our Lord +had listened to this man and reviewed his case +and left a judgment. What would have been +the result? We should have had an isolated +<pb n='405'/><anchor id='Pg405'/> +case of the Law of inheritance, on which an +irreversible decision had been pronounced. Every +code framed for Christian lands would have had +to accept and embody this. Endless comments on +this particular case would have been written, +endless guesses at the circumstances of it would +have been made, and every one who contested a +distribution would have endeavoured to shew that +this decision covered his claims. Moreover, whenever +the Christian missionary came to a new +country, instead of holding a purely spiritual +position he would have brought with him a new +law of inheritance as part of the new religion, and +people could not have accepted his teaching without +changing usages to which they clung. +</p> + +<p> +(2) Next comes the case of the woman taken +in adultery (see p. <ref target='Pg370'>370</ref>). In the criminal jurisdiction +of Moses the leading thought was to <q>put away +evil;</q> but men had grown less cruel, and pity for the +offender and hope of his reformation were coming +into play. If the Lord had given judgment either +in one way or the other we should have been landed +in endless perplexity. The difficult questions of the +distinction between a sin and a crime, and whether +it is advisable for a state to enforce morality, would +have been complicated by a Divine decision in +a case of which the relation would not, unless +the account were fuller than the Gospel notices +usually are, contain all the particulars that are +material. +</p> + +<pb n='406'/><anchor id='Pg406'/> + +<p> +The two cases that remain refer to polity rather +than to law. +</p> + +<p> +(3) The <q>didrachma</q> were levied apparently +as a tax for the Temple service, enforced by custom, +if not by positive law. Those who collected it +ask Peter if our Lord does not pay this annual +sum, and Peter at once declares that He does. +But our Lord will not leave the matter so. The +money shall be paid, because to refuse the payment +would waken ill feeling and give an impression +altogether false; but our Lord will not +sanction such a payment with His authority, without +protest and explanation. It might have been +made the ground of supporting many kinds of +religious impost if He had. He puts the question +in such a light that His practice can never be +quoted in support of any such demand. +</p> + +<p> +(4) Those who came asking whether it was +lawful to pay tribute to Cæsar, like those who +brought the woman taken in adultery, had a hostile +intent. They asked with a view only to entangle, +not with a desire to learn. Our Lord always +baffles those who address Him in this spirit. In +dealing with the question of the tribute, He avoids +each horn of the dilemma and teaches a grand +lesson to the people who heard. For they were to +render to God <q>the things that were God's,</q> that +is to say, not a man's money, but the whole man +himself, for he is made in God's image and carries +the likeness of it in his personality, just as the +<pb n='407'/><anchor id='Pg407'/> +coin carries on its face the name and the impress +of Cæsar. Thus, in these words, the whole man is +claimed as God's own by Christ. +</p> + +<p> +If our Lord had either enforced or forbidden +these two payments, His authority, appealed to on +this side or that, would have further embittered +questions which are bitter enough of themselves. +Men have often pored over Scripture to extract +an authority for what they wanted to do, and the +case of the tribute money, notwithstanding our +Lord's answer, has been pressed into the service +of the upholders of imperial power. +</p> + +<p> +Dr Bryce speaking of the Mediæval Empire +says:— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>From the New Testament the authority and eternity +of Rome herself was established. Every passage was +seized on where submission to the powers that be is +enjoined, every instance cited where obedience had +actually been rendered to imperial officials, a special +emphasis being laid on the sanction which Christ Himself +had given to Roman dominion by pacifying the +world through Augustus, by being born at the time of +the taxing, by paying tribute to Cæsar, by saying to +Pilate, <q>Thou couldest have no power at all against Me +except it were given thee from above.</q></q> +</quote> + +<p> +In finishing this notice I must remark that there +is one social institution about which our Lord does +not shun to speak; this is marriage. He upholds +the sanctity and inviolability of the marriage tie +more stringently than did the Jewish Law. The +<pb n='408'/><anchor id='Pg408'/> +scribe who came <q>making trial</q> of our Lord is +confounded—not by being put off without an +answer—as usually happens in these cases, but by +the singular positiveness of the reply. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his +wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, +committeth adultery: and he that marrieth her when she +is put away committeth adultery.</q><note place='foot'>Matthew xix. 9.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +This exception is not inconsistent with the +principles governing our Lord's acts. Christ's +teaching was meant for all mankind, and Christianity +would have been less adapted for universal +use if it had been bound up with particular +institutions. But marriage is not a particular +institution, it is declared to be as universal as the +human race; it goes down deeper than all divisions, +it belongs to the stock below the point where the +branches sprout. Thus Christ's recognition of the +sanctity of marriage does not hamper human +legislation, or prevent the growth of Humanity in +any manner consistent with its health. +</p> + +<p> +Close by the side of this matter lies another on +which I must only say a word. It is one of the +Gesta Christi that He has put woman into her +right place. Slowly and quietly has this come +about, as a growth from seed turned up in the +soil, and not a construction upreared by men,—as +indeed, with the changes that are wrought by +<pb n='409'/><anchor id='Pg409'/> +Christ is mostly the way. He says not a word +about the social condition of women or their +position in the eye of the Law; He puts forward +no grievances, He asserts no claim. To have done +either one or the other in His day would have been +to bring about a violent upheaval, which would +have destroyed all chance of the germination of +the seed. Nowhere do men cling to old usages +with more tenacity than in the matter of relations +between sex and sex. These variations of usage +may rest upon solid grounds, and it would have +stood in the way of the adaptability of what He +left to the needs of all races and all times, if by +one rigid ordinance He had enforced uniformity, +even in the justest way. But though our Lord +says little about the right place of women yet +He treats them as though that proper place were +already theirs; for parts are given them in His +great world-drama consistent with those they take +in the common life of family and home.<note place='foot'>On the conversation of our Lord at Sychar with the woman +of Samaria, Dr Edersheim says: <q>That Jesus should converse with +a woman was so contrary to all Jewish notions of a Rabbi that they +wondered.</q> The disciples <q>marvelled that he was speaking with +a woman,</q> John iv. 27; and in a note Dr Edersheim has: +<q>Readers know how thoroughly opposed to Jewish notions was +any needless converse with a woman.</q></note> +</p> + +<p> +One word that our Lord drops has too important +a bearing on this point to be passed by. +Frequently as our Lord alludes to eternal life, +it is rarely that anything as to the modes of this +<pb n='410'/><anchor id='Pg410'/> +life can be gathered from His speech, but in the +one passage in which He does touch on this +directly, He implies that distinction of sex ceases +with the life upon earth. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>But they that are accounted worthy to attain to that +world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither +marry, nor are given in marriage: for neither can they +die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and +are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.</q><note place='foot'>Luke xx. 35, 36.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +There is to be no marrying or giving in marriage +in the Kingdom of God. All will there be +as the angels of heaven. There can be no such +thing as a male or female soul. Some may be +educated for eternal life in the frame of man and +others in that of woman, but when out of the +body all distinction comes to an end, and both one +and the other, if deemed worthy of the resurrection +to life, assume the nature of angels of God. +When this comes home to a people and they see +that the distinction of male and female is one of +a day, while the angelic existence, in which no +distinction shall remain, is an everlasting one, then +whatever remains that seems degrading in the +condition of woman will be in the way to disappear. +</p> + +<p> +I will end this by stating the truth which I +have had it in view to bring out. +</p> + +<p> +Supposing that Christ, lest He should hamper +<pb n='411'/><anchor id='Pg411'/> +free human growth, was unwilling to tie down +posterity to particular rules touching the affairs of +life, and that He also foresaw that in time men +would take His behaviour as a model for their +own; then the course He actually took, in refusing +to sanction by His example this or that course of +proceeding in matters coming within man's cognizance, +was admirably suited to His end, and met +perfectly the circumstances of the case. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Our Lord's action prospective.</head> + +<p> +But if our Lord's behaviour in secular matters +is often hard to explain, unless we suppose Him to +have had a glimpse of what has actually come to +pass, much more is this the case in what concerns +the building of His Church. We know from His +own words that He saw His end to be near at +hand. We know how He loved the Apostles and +we know how His heart was set on His great work; +so that it is inexplicable that He should have left +the Apostles without directions for their personal +conduct, and as to the practical shape they were to +give to the work in view. All is explained, if they +were merely being exposed to a few hours of trial, +and if our Lord meant to commission them with +definite duties and give the necessary directions, +when He rose again. Apart from any miraculous +<pb n='412'/><anchor id='Pg412'/> +foreknowledge, our Lord could foresee that His +end was near, and that persecution awaited those +who for more than two years had formed the +chief visible interest of His life. Would He have +left them at Jerusalem perfectly at a loss, would +He have left them in the position of a boat's crew +in the open sea, whose captain has died without +giving them their course? If He had not felt +certain of being soon again by their side, then +indeed we should, with the author of <q>Ecce +Homo,</q> have felt constrained to confess <q>that +there was no historical character whose motives, +objects and feelings remained so incomprehensible +to us.</q> +</p> + +<p> +After the Resurrection, the forms needful for a +religious community are delivered to the Apostles. +They are given a rite, marking admission to the +body, and sacramental words serving as a symbol +and the nucleus of a creed. They are to go and +baptize all nations in the name of the Father and +of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Moreover +they are told what they are, for the moment, to do. +They are to remain at Jerusalem, till they be +endowed with power from on high. Christ opens +to them the Scriptures and possibly left some +instruction as to the earliest form of His Church +which, agreeably to His unfailing method, He +does not communicate to aftertimes. He will not +stereotype the outward garb which he would have +adapt itself to the changing wants of men. +</p> + +<pb n='413'/><anchor id='Pg413'/> + +<p> +Christ's intimations of the future wear the +appearance of being given, less to communicate +fore-knowledge than that when the event came +to pass the hearers might feel that Christ had +<q>told them before:</q><note place='foot'>Matth. xxiv. 25.</note> if He had thought good He +would have made the lessons plainer. It may +have helped to sustain the Apostles during the +terrible hours when their Master lay in the grave, +to turn to these words of forecast and from them +to gather that all was being carried forward towards +a purpose preordained of God. It is true that +our Lord had told the Apostles again and again +what the end was to be, but they could not believe +that He would permit His enemies to prevail, and +our Lord hardly seems to expect that they would +take His words as literal truth. If, during the last +days, they had really believed that He was about +to perish on the cross, they would have been +paralysed with anguish and dismay, and the last +lessons would have fallen on the ears of men who +were prostrated and stunned. +</p> + +<p> +That our Lord's action was suited to what did +actually happen, and not to what was likely to +happen after the judgment of men, appears also +in another way. +</p> + +<p> +The Apostles, both in themselves and in virtue +of their training, were exactly adapted to the part +which came into their hands, but they were by no +means of the sort which the leader either of a +<pb n='414'/><anchor id='Pg414'/> +political or a religious movement would have +picked out to carry it forward when He should +die. They were not men to fascinate crowds and +lead them whither they would, they were not men +to discover that aspect of a dogma which should +commend itself to the understandings of their +hearers. They had no skill in policy, no experience +in government or in organising bodies of men; +their strength lay not in their talent but their truth. +If they had possessed brilliant capacity, and all or +any of the qualities named above, the danger of +disunion or of there being as many different +followings as there were Apostles (see 1 Cor. i. 12) +would have been thereby increased. We read in +History or Philosophy of great men who have left +empires or systems for their chosen successors to +maintain. Did such successors keep free from +dissension and disruption in the way that those +did whom Jesus chose and trained? Did any +such body answer its purpose as the Apostles did? +</p> + +<p> +The training of the Apostles fitted them admirably, +as has been said above, for witnesses who +should carry credit with the world; it brought +them, by the road of personal devotion to a +visible Master, unto Faith in an unseen God; it +endowed them with wonderful endurance, it taught +them the patience whereby they might <q>win their +souls;</q><note place='foot'>Luke xxi. 19.</note> it educated their intuitions to discern +<pb n='415'/><anchor id='Pg415'/> +God's ways and recognise God's whisper in the +voice which spake at their hearts. But they were +destitute of eloquence and of many of the gifts +with which the founder of a sect would have been +careful to see that those were furnished who were +to take His place; and this omission only becomes +intelligible when we find that the deficiencies are +supplied by Christ's presence with them, and by +the Spirit from on high. +</p> + +<p> +What was most important of all was, that no +act or word of Christ's should seem to shut out +from their share in Him any section of mankind. +Agreeably with this, He never proclaims Himself +the Jewish Messiah. No Greek or Roman would +have listened for a moment to one who declared +Himself the especial prophet of the Jews. Though +of the <q>house and family of David,</q><note place='foot'>Luke ii. 4.</note> He will accept +no advantage on this score. He repudiates for +the Redeemer of the world the title of <q>Son of +David,</q><note place='foot'>Matth. xxii. 42, 43. Mark xii. 35-37. Luke xx. 41.</note> which from its nature was based on +legitimacy and must rest on the veracity of genealogical +rolls. The Apostles were to divine the +nature of His Personality by long and close intercourse<note place='foot'>See John xiv. 9.</note> +with Him, more than by canvassing claims +or interpreting texts. When His disciples ask to be +taught to pray, <q>as John also taught his disciples,</q><note place='foot'>Luke xi. 1.</note> +He gives them a prayer very unlike what John +<pb n='416'/><anchor id='Pg416'/> +would have given, for it contains not a word of +that petition for blessing upon Israel, which, in any +prayer that an Israelite offered, contained, to his +mind, the gist of the whole. This prayer too was +offered, not to the <q>Lord God of Israel</q> or the +<q>God of their Fathers,</q>—as Jewish prayers<note place='foot'>See Edersheim, vol. I. p. 440.</note> were; +there was not a word in it, echoing their boast +that God was peculiarly their own—but every +human being is emboldened by it to turn to God +as his Father in Heaven. In all this, however, our +Lord never loosens the bonds of Israelite life. He +proceeds always in a positive and not a negative +way; without removing the Kingdom of Israel +from view, He lets it dissolve, as it were, into the +Kingdom of God. +</p> + +<p> +There is another point brought out in this later +ministry; Christ does not look forward to ultimate +visible success in the way of making converts. +No hope is held out of the whole world being +eventually won over to allegiance—of a spiritual +conquest, any more than of a material one—<q>Howbeit,</q> +says He—and who would have said +this but Christ?—<q>when the Son of man cometh +shall he find Faith upon the earth?</q> No other +than Christ ever dared to tell his followers, not +only that their Master would be put to death, +and they themselves ill used, but also that it was +very doubtful whether their cause, as far as visible +appearances went, would finally prevail. +</p> + +<p> +With Christ indeed as with God, there is no +<pb n='417'/><anchor id='Pg417'/> +speaking of such a thing as either failure or +success at all; He moves steadily onward toward +the development of the Design of the World. But +this men do not easily perceive; adversaries of the +Faith are apt to say <q>If this religion were of God, +the world would have been compelled to accept +it.</q> But of what good could such acceptance have +been? Christianity is not a project of God, which +it gratifies Him for men to be made to fall in with. +Christ views His word as a winnowing fan sorting +out those who are God's, that they may be brought +to that knowledge of Him in which eternal life +resides. At some epochs of the world's history, +the yield will be rich and at others poor; and +although Christ may come at a moment when the +wheat is almost lost in the abundance of the chaff; +nevertheless the grain of earlier harvests will have +been sifted out and garnered in heaven, and +Christ's work will have accomplished its end. +But besides sifting out those who could be +educated to eternal life, it is by Christ's words +and work that the world has been preserved such +that Holiness can grow in it; without this it +might have perished of evil. Wickedness might +have so got the Mastery that the world could not +have served its purpose as an exercise ground for +man's capacity for reaching the knowledge of God. +</p> + +<p> +The whole scheme of Christ's action is made +complete by the promise, <q>I am with you always +until the end of the world.</q> Not only is it in +virtue of this truth that the Church is a living +<pb n='418'/><anchor id='Pg418'/> +organism, and not merely a body dispensing +doctrines or following directions which have been +received once for all, but I also see the fulfilment +of this promise in the alacrity and vigour which +characterised the Apostles' work. They must have +felt that they were something more than a society +of men held together by love for a lost Leader; +and I cannot explain how the eleven held together, +and subordinated every personal care to their +Master's glory;—I cannot account for this personal +transformation of them, <emph>everyone</emph>,—except by supposing +them animated by the feeling that Christ +was among them still. +</p> + +<p> +It is far more in harmony with our Lord's +ways for Him to put the Apostles, by His spiritual +monitions, into the way of organising their Society +for themselves, than that He should peremptorily +lay down a formal plan to which they must +adhere. What Christ left undone, was what it +would be good for man to endeavour to do for +himself: but if Christ had not been by to +whisper, men might never have set themselves +to the work at all. The energy and persistent +determination of the Apostles could hardly have +been maintained without a sense of Christ's abiding +presence; and that they had eye and ear open for +discerning this I count to have come, partly of +God's free gift, partly of their ingrained nature, +but in far greater degree to have been the outcome +of the gentle and almost imperceptible Schooling +of Christ. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='419'/><anchor id='Pg419'/> + +<div> +<head>Christ washing the Apostles' feet. St John xiii. 1-14.</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Now before the feast of the passover, Jesus +knowing that his hour was come that he should depart +out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own +which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. +And during supper, the devil having already put into the +heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's <emph>son</emph>, to betray him, +<emph>Jesus</emph>, knowing that the Father had given all things into +his hands, and that he came forth from God, and goeth +unto God, riseth from supper, and layeth aside his +garments; and he took a towel, and girded himself. +Then he poureth water into the bason, and began to +wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel +wherewith he was girded. So he cometh to Simon +Peter. He saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my +feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do +thou knowest not now; but thou shalt understand hereafter. +Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my +feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast +no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, +not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. +Jesus saith to him, He that is bathed needeth not save +to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are +clean, but not all. For he knew him that should betray +him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. +<pb n='420'/><anchor id='Pg420'/> +So when he had washed their feet, and taken his +garments, and sat down again, he said unto them, Know +ye what I have done to you? Ye call me, Master, and, +Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, the Lord +and the Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to +wash one another's feet.</q><note place='foot'>John xiii. 1-14.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +More than once I have characterised certain of +<q>the things which Jesus did</q><note place='foot'>John xxi. 25.</note> as <q>acted parables.</q> +The cursing of the fig-tree, which is the type of the +class, shews what is meant by the term. The +washing of the Apostles' feet is another of these +parables of action. These acted parables are +usually furnished by incidents lying a little out of +the main drift of the action; as though Christ, +struck by some plant or berry in which virtue lay, +should have stepped to the way-side to gather it +and preserve it for use. +</p> + +<p> +The drift of the practical lesson of which we +read above, I take to be this. There are men, +right in heart towards God, who are beset with +infirmities which lead them astray. The more +alive their conscience is, the more they are distressed +by their lapses into ill. This distress +may grow morbid, and lead to ruin and despair. +Christ in this symbolic action, anticipatory of His +Supreme Work, brings healing for such men's woes. +He does not merely remit the penalty of sin, He +actually <q>puts the sin away.</q><note place='foot'>2 Sam. xii. 13.</note> He is like a +physician who can assure the patient that the +<pb n='421'/><anchor id='Pg421'/> +canker he thought was malignant is only skin-deep, +and can be removed at once. The parable speaks +of a man who is <q>bathed,</q> and whose body is +therefore clean, but who by travelling along the +dusty road has got his feet sullied on the way; +he has only to wash them, to become <q>clean every +whit.</q> So a man, righteous and godfearing at +bottom, may be taken off his guard and carried +away by the stream, or he may contract moral +and spiritual ill from a physical irritation akin to +bodily ailment; these are the evils contracted +on <q>life's common way.</q> These kinds of spiritual +ill answer to the dust on the feet, they can be +wiped off; they have not seriously damaged the +soul. +</p> + +<p> +This was a cheering lesson, and it was made to +bear on the duty of mutual restoration. They were +to wash one another's feet. It is not the way of +the world to do this. If, in a body aiming at +holiness of life, one of the society should go wrong, +it might seem the readiest way of upholding the +society's good name to thrust out the offending +member at once; but Christians are not to deal +with one another thus. It is just when a man +goes wrong that he most wants his brethren's +support. Who else is there to stand by him? So +if a disciple does amiss, the rest are told to wash +his feet as Christ had washed theirs—not making +out that he was clean—fully allowing that he +was sullied, but telling him that the soil would +<pb n='422'/><anchor id='Pg422'/> +wash off; telling him that they had not given him +up as being bad to the core, and that they were +sure that his Father in Heaven had not cast him +off. So doing they might lift him back into self-respect. +</p> + +<p> +It is in St John's Gospel only that this account +is found, and it is not hard to understand why the +writers of the earlier narratives should have passed +it by. They looked for historical matter that was +linked on with what came before and after, or else, +they took for their material pregnant sayings along +with the events out of which they sprang. They may +have omitted this incident, because of this washing +nothing seemed to come. They did not perceive +how significant our Lord's remark on it was. The +writers were just coming to the account of the +Lord's Supper, their minds were taken up with +that, and they went straight forward to this crowning +act. They probably saw in our Lord's words +nothing more than an injunction to lay upon +themselves the lowliest duties in serving each +other. But the words, <q>What I do thou knowest +not now, but thou shalt understand hereafter</q> +rested in St John's ear. They implied that behind +this washing of the Apostles' feet there lay something +more than appeared. What could this be? +He turned the matter over and over again in his +mind, and a sparkle of the truth was, perhaps, +struck out which served to make him careful to +set the matter down precisely as it took place, +<pb n='423'/><anchor id='Pg423'/> +for men to look into when they should have a +better light. +</p> + +<p> +Without entering into the controverted question +as to whether the Last Supper was the Passover +or not,<note place='foot'>Dr Edersheim, who takes the view that this is the Paschal +meal, says that it was usual for the head of the company to wash +the hands of the guests. The washing of the feet would therefore +only be an extension of a common practice and would excite no +great attention. <q>Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah,</q> vol. II. +pp. 495-498.</note> I adopt Dr Edersheim's view that the +contention for precedence arose as they were taking +places at the table. St Luke tells us, <q>there arose +a contention among them which of them is accounted +to be greatest.</q><note place='foot'>Luke xxii. 24, 30.</note> St John omits the +account of the contention and St Luke that of the +feetwashing, but the two fit together admirably +well. Our Lord, by this action of His, gently gives +the Apostles the lesson which they had shewn +themselves to need. The scene evidently rises +before the writer as he takes up his pen, and +every movement of our Lord is followed and set +down, from His quitting His seat to His wiping +the Apostles' feet with the towel which He had +wrapped round His waist. +</p> + +<p> +The narrative goes on, <q>So he cometh to +Simon Peter.</q> Peter's individuality is strong and +marked in its character. Not only is he demonstrative +but he is quick to receive impressions and +new emotion soon displaces the old. His Master's +<pb n='424'/><anchor id='Pg424'/> +dignity was dear to him, and when he thought +this infringed, every other sentiment was lost in +his indignation. He says, <q>Thou shalt never wash +my feet.</q> But as soon as he is told that unless +his Master wash him, <q>he has no part with Him,</q> +he is transported to the opposite extreme, and +begs our Lord to wash—not his feet only—but +his hands and head as well. +</p> + +<p> +Throughout the Gospel history we discern our +Lord's care to keep men in a fit condition to serve +God by active work. All that would impair their +efficiency is to be shunned. Now, to repine and +brood over some past error cuts the sinews of +action; from this the Apostles therefore are always +diverted, and they are to be watchful to prevent +others from sinking into dejection and folding their +hands in despair. A man who is hopeless has no +heart for work, but when he is so far encouraged +as to be able to exert himself his despondency +soon disappears. Thus, by their washing one +another's feet, the efficiency of their Society in all +ways would be notably increased. +</p> + +<p> +The Apostles seem to have rightly learned the +lesson which Christ here inculcates. St Mark had +turned back in his first mission journey, but he is +afterwards spoken of with affection and found of +great service; and St Paul's words, with which I +shall close this notice, are quite in the spirit of this +acted parable. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in any trespass, +<pb n='425'/><anchor id='Pg425'/> +ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit +of meekness; looking to thyself, lest thou also be tempted. +Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of +Christ.</q><note place='foot'>Galatians vi. 1, 2.</note> +</quote> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Use of Signs in the later Ministry.</head> + +<p> +Ever since the time when after the feeding +of the five thousand, the people wanted to take +Him and make Him a King, our Lord has been +chary of working Signs and Wonders; and such as +are wrought are no longer used for demonstration; +Signs are now hardly if at all employed to attract +attention and waken interest. They had already +done in this way all the good they were likely to +effect, and if they had been employed longer, some +of those bye-effects, which potent agencies are +almost sure to produce along with that which is +intended, might have come into operation with +injurious results. +</p> + +<p> +Between the journey to the feast of Tabernacles +and the week of the Passion, three only of the +leading miracles are recorded; they are the giving +of sight to one born blind in Jerusalem, the raising +of Lazarus, and the opening of the eyes of the blind +near Jericho. This last, of which I shall first speak, +occurred on that final journey of our Lord to Jerusalem +<pb n='426'/><anchor id='Pg426'/> +during which He seems to have resumed for +a moment His earliest function, that of witness of +the Kingdom of God to the people at large. We +seem to see, once again, the same Jesus who lived +at Capernaum and taught the people by the Lake +side. +</p> + +<p> +Whether our Lord, on His way to this last +Passover, set out Himself from Galilee or joined +on the road the great company travelling from the +north is left uncertain, but we find our Lord +among a throng of visitants to the feast, who are +proud of having the Great Prophet of Nazareth +among them; and men come to Him—some with +real troubles of soul like the young ruler—and +others, like the Pharisees, either curious to obtain +His decision on some vexed question, or maliciously +setting Him in a dilemma between the +contravention of Moses' Law, and the retaining +of a burden which men were loth to bear. One +small event, preserved to us in the account of this +journey, gives us the clearest glimpse of our Lord's +air and general demeanour that we ever obtain. +There was, about Him, that indefinable something +which wins children's confidence at sight. The +little ones, who swarmed in the hamlets of the +Jordan valley, were drawn to Him by something in +His look, and—after long gazing out of their dark +eastern eyes, in childhood's own intent way—they +made out that they would be safe with Him, and +stole to His side. +</p> + +<pb n='427'/><anchor id='Pg427'/> + +<p> +The miracle of healing, worked on the way, +that of the cure of the blind men in Jericho, is +nearly after the old sort. As Jesus nears the end, +He reverts to the ways with which His revelation +began. Our Lord was touched no doubt by the +affliction of these men and their urgent cry, and +this was a miracle of beneficence, but He takes +no pains now to withdraw the act from public +view, He does not call them <q>aside from the +multitude,</q><note place='foot'>Mark vii. 33. See p. <ref target='Pg333'>333</ref>.</note> and heal them in private as He had +done on His way back from the coasts of Tyre +and Sidon some months before. This miracle +stirred the hearts of many beholders, and this +emotion of theirs may have played no small part +in the great drama to which this journey was the +prelude; for the company that came with our +Lord from Galilee formed the staple of that great +concourse which shouted +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Blessed <emph>is</emph> the kingdom that cometh, <emph>the kingdom</emph> of +our father David: Hosanna in the highest,</q><note place='foot'>Mark xi. 10.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +and this shout of the people not only roused in the +priests that terror which <q>sits hard by hate,</q> but +gave them the very thing they wanted—grounds +for calling upon Pilate to prove himself Cæsar's +friend. +</p> + +<p> +It is not likely that any of our Lord's doings +were without an ordered purpose, and that this cessation +<pb n='428'/><anchor id='Pg428'/> +of Signs certainly was not so, is apparent from +our Lord's words spoken probably soon after the +performance of the first of those miracles mentioned +above. The words are these. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And when the multitudes were gathering together +unto him, he began to say, This generation is an evil +generation: it seeketh after a sign; and there shall no +sign be given to it but the sign of Jonah.</q><note place='foot'>Luke xi. 29. See p. <ref target='Pg104'>104</ref>.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +On this text as given by St Matthew I have +already commented; it is only the coincidence of +the time when it was spoken with the gradual +withdrawal of visible Signs that I have to notice +now. Our Lord looks to sowing the germs of +spiritual Faith. This would not grow up either +from the curiosity of those who sought for Signs, +or the stupefaction of those who gazed in wonderment. +Henceforth it is <q>the word of eternal life</q> +which lays hold of men. The questions asked in +the deepest earnest turn now upon this.<note place='foot'>Luke xiii. 23; xviii. 19.</note> The +revelation of it did not come by express statements +or descriptions, but rather it grew up in +men through their consorting with Christ. They +could not believe that He would perish, and He +told them that because He lived they should live +also.<note place='foot'>John xiv. 19.</note> Christ, speaking just before the end, rests +His expectation of bringing about the knowledge +of God, not on His works but on His Personality. +His reply to the words <q>Shew us the Father,</q> is +<pb n='429'/><anchor id='Pg429'/> +not, Have I not done mighty works before your +eyes? but, <q>Have I been so long time with you +and dost thou not know me, Philip?</q> +</p> + +<p> +I now pass to the raising of Lazarus. It is not +within my scope to discuss the nature of the +miracle, I have to do with it only in its relation to +that Law of the working of Signs, which is suggested +in the Temptation of the Pinnacle of the Temple. +No Sign is given to men whose belief is in the +formative stage, in order to force it on; but to +those whose belief is already assured a conclusive +miracle may be shown, because it does not now constrain +judgment but only confirms it. If the miracle +had been at once published wherever the gospel +was preached, and if it had been supported by +testimony which no one could dispute, this would +have been an exception to the rule so often +marked in our Lord's conduct. This miracle is +in its nature appalling and conclusive, and it could +not be attributed to Beelzebub; but a loop-hole in +point of evidence is left for those indisposed to +believe, for it rests on the unsupported testimony of +St John. The raising of Lazarus was not, we may +conclude, recorded in the Apostolic memoir which +some suppose to have been the basis of the Synoptic +Gospels. I have said in the last chapter that I +think it possible that the entire body of Apostles +were not continuously about the person of our +Lord during the six months between the Feast of +Tabernacles and the last journey. When Thomas +<pb n='430'/><anchor id='Pg430'/> +said, speaking of the proposed visit to Jerusalem +at the time of Lazarus' death, <q>Let us also go +that we may die with Him,</q><note place='foot'>John xi. 16, see p. <ref target='Pg372'>372</ref>.</note> I can hardly suppose +that Peter can have been by and have held his +peace. Supposing then that the writers of this +memoir, among whom Peter must have held a +foremost place, confined themselves as much as +possible to what they knew from <emph>personal knowledge</emph>, +they would have abstained from introducing +a matter so wondrous as that of the raising of +Lazarus, which they had not witnessed themselves. +In whatever way this silence is to be +explained, the silence itself accords with the +above-noted Law. +</p> + +<p> +Passing on to the events of the Passion week, +we may be struck by the absence of all public +and notable Signs at a time when, if ever, they +seemed of vital importance for the cause. A signal +miracle wrought before the crowd in the Temple +would have rallied the people to the side of our +Lord in such numbers and with such vehement +support, that none of His foes would have dared to +lift a hand. For even if the priesthood should +have persisted in persuading themselves that our +Lord's power did not come from God, yet, they +would not have dared to move, if the popular +feeling had been strong, lest they should provoke +a riot and the Roman authorities should intervene. +</p> + +<p> +But the people were themselves disappointed +<pb n='431'/><anchor id='Pg431'/> +by our Lord's working no Sign or Wonder, during +these last days of teaching in the Temple. Some +looked for the restoration of Israel, and were +impatient at the continued delay, while the lower +part of the populace had set their hearts on +seeing a prodigy, and none came. It may be true +that, among the crowd who had shouted <q>Hosanna,</q> +the lead had been taken by the caravan of pilgrims +from Galilee, but still, at the time of the triumphal +entry, the feeling of the people of Jerusalem went +the same way; this had cooled down to indifference +when our Lord left the Temple for the last +time; and disappointment had turned into contemptuous +chagrin when our Lord, after yielding +passively to the Temple guard, stood before Pilate +apparently as powerless as they would have been +themselves. +</p> + +<p> +To Christians of to-day it seems of the essence +of Christ's sacrifice that He should have submitted +of His own free will to indignity and torment, +when, by raising a finger or uttering a word, He +might have shivered the power both of the priesthood +and of Rome. His behaviour in this point is +therefore exactly what we expect. But this truth, +inconceivable for the people, had hardly dawned +as yet on the Apostles' minds. The multitude +would be told and would, in general, believe that +the miracles of Jesus, which all had heard of and +some had seen, must have been unreal or the work +of Beelzebub; while those who had leaned towards +<pb n='432'/><anchor id='Pg432'/> +Him would conclude that, if He had ever been +endowed with Divine power, it had left Him now, +or He would certainly have used it for defence. +</p> + +<p> +But the Apostles were not left without fresh +assurance, given to them alone. Although of Signs, +notable and public, during this period there were +none, still two Signs of a special character there +were, which exactly met the requirements of the +case; they created no stir, they were not observed +by the people, but they served to keep alive in the +Apostles' hearts the certainty that God was with +their Master still. One was the withering of the +fig-tree, the other the foretelling that Peter would +deny his Lord; of the first of these miracles I +have spoken fully before.<note place='foot'>pp. <ref target='Pg095'>95</ref>, <ref target='Pg096'>96</ref>, <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref>.</note> +</p> + +<p> +This latter miracle is connected with our Lord's +strange faculty of seeing what was passing in men's +hearts, and of tracing what the outcome of it +would be. When men felt that Christ knew their +hearts, they were getting near the idea of His +spiritual presence with them; so that all this leads +up to the crowning point of Christ's education, the +rendering the Apostles sensitive to every breath of +the Spirit, capable, amid a din of inward voices +calling them diverse ways, of discerning with sure +ear the tones of God. +</p> + +<p> +This miracle and this event contain a lesson on +forgiven error, intended for all time. Here, as before +observed, we have an instance of Christ's way of +<pb n='433'/><anchor id='Pg433'/> +ensuring that what He desired to preserve should +be handed down. This event is stamped with +life-like particulars which ensure its currency and +its becoming familiar in the mouths of men. +</p> + +<p> +The words <q>the cock shall not crow twice</q> +give to the incident a reality which vitalises the +story and preserves it for ever. Contrast the tale +such as we have it, with what it would have been +if our Lord had only said, <q>You will deny me +before I die.</q> +</p> + +<p> +As to the miracle itself a few words must be +said. It brings out the identity of the idiosyncrasy +of St Peter, who is given up to the impulse +of the moment. +</p> + +<p> +The Peter who denied and then wept bitterly, +is the same man, psychologically, as he who begged +his Master to call him to come upon the sea, and +whose faith failed. This liability to panic clung +to him; years after, we find him at Antioch going +along with Paul in freeing the converts from +Jewish obligations; but, as soon as <q>certain came +from James,</q><note place='foot'>Galatians ii. 11-14.</note> he was alarmed at his temerity and +separated himself, <q>fearing them that were of the +circumcision.</q> (See also pp. <ref target='Pg423'>423</ref>, <ref target='Pg424'>424</ref>.) Neither +by our Lord or any of the brethren is this failing +of Peter's ever touched upon again. +</p> + +<p> +This is exactly a case of what was noted at +page <ref target='Pg421'>421</ref>. Christ washes from off Peter's feet the +soil contracted on the way, and he becomes clean +<pb n='434'/><anchor id='Pg434'/> +every whit. The evil was only skin deep and had +not tainted the blood. For this denial was, I am +sure, not due to any base fear. Peter had drawn +and struck for his Master, and was naturally +bewildered at finding that his Master would neither +suffer His disciples to fight nor call the legions of +angels to His help. In their utter confusion of +mind the Apostles fled, but Peter and John followed +a little way off. This they would not have +done if they had been in actual terror of being +punished themselves. But there was no real +ground for any such fear; no attempt is made to +apprehend any follower of our Lord. To have +tried to do so would have increased that danger +of riot, which the rulers shunned. What Peter +<emph>did</emph> fear was forcible separation from Christ. +He was afraid that, if proved to be a follower of +Jesus, he would be turned out of the judgment +hall of Caiaphas. He would have said or done +almost anything to avoid that. It was, as we +have seen, part of his nature to be mastered by +the feeling that was uppermost. He clung to his +Master's side with the instinctive fidelity of a +Highland henchman to his chief. Thrice he +might have gone away, but this he will on no +account do. After being noticed he on each occasion +moves away and returns, only shifting his +position; he goes into the vestibule, and finally +tries to mix with the crowd round the fire, +whence, out of the half-darkness which saved him +from recognition, he could still see his Master. +</p> + +<pb n='435'/><anchor id='Pg435'/> + +<p> +But <q>his speech bewrayeth</q> him; he is noticed +again as he had been before, and for the third +time he denies. Whereupon the cock crows, and +turning towards the arcade at the end of the +court where the trial was going on, he meets our +Lord's eyes fixed upon him. Then, for the first +time, it strikes him that he has done wrong. It +never occurred to Peter that in saying <q>I know not +the man,</q> he was being disloyal to the Master he +loved. He wanted to keep sight of his Master, +and did not feel bound to speak the truth to a foe. +No words are needed to shew him his fault. One +look of our Lord settles the matter; it awakens the +higher sense of truth, which had gone to sleep when +the old instinct of the Oriental peasant, the habit +of confronting authority with a flat denial, became +dominant in Peter's breast. When the company +of Apostles was scattered on their Master's apprehension, +the strength they had drawn from association +with Jesus vanished at once; and then +Peter dropped from the moral level of a disciple +of Christ into the Galilean fisherman he had been +before. He had been used to regard officials of +Herod, or any ruling power, as his natural enemies, +to whom he was not bound to speak the truth, +and to this, his old self, he came back now. +</p> + +<p> +But though Peter's heart may have acquitted +him of cowardly forsaking his Master,—though he +knew that he would, if need were, have gone with +him to prison and to death,—yet he felt that this +<pb n='436'/><anchor id='Pg436'/> +denial was, in words—though only in words—a +falling away from perfect loyalty; it made clear +to him, as it may have been meant to do, the +weakness of his character in the way of yielding +to impulse, and awakened floods of self reproach. +He went out and wept bitterly; but no trace +appears afterwards of a loss of self respect, or of +his feeling it possible that he could be in disgrace +with his Master; in fact his part in his Master +becomes all the greater, owing to his having +needed that He should wash his feet. +</p> + +<p> +These two miracles of instruction then, the +prediction of Peter's denials and the withering of +the fig tree, were an assurance to the disciples +that our Lord still retained His superhuman +power, and that whether He should drink of the +cup or put it away, up to the last, rested entirely +with Him. These powers of His could not be displayed +to the people without hindrance to the accomplishment +of that Baptism with which He <q>had +to be baptised;</q> even the working of miracles of +healing might so have moved the crowd that they +would have risen in His defence.<note place='foot'>See Preface.</note> The Apostles, +however, were to be rendered sure that these powers +remained what they had ever been and that they +were, for them, in operation still; so that they might +never doubt but that, amid all the apparent defeat, +it was with the voluntary sufferer on the Cross that +the real Victory—the moral Victory lay. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='437'/><anchor id='Pg437'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XIII. The Lessons Of The Resurrection.</head> + +<p> +When contemplating the Passion and the +Resurrection of Christ, we have little attention to +spare for the subordinate personages in the scene. +The effects of these manifestations, in working +changes in the hearts and minds of the witnesses, +are put out of sight by the brilliancy and intrinsic +grandeur of the manifestations themselves, and by +the momentous character of their direct consequences, +universally affecting mankind. But the +transformation in temper, in views, and in habits +of mind which converted the Apostles of the +Gospels into the Apostles of the Acts—a transformation +to me otherwise inexplicable—was +consummated and clenched by the hours of +hard trial and bitter anguish of that Sabbath +day, when there was nothing to be done but to +mourn and to wonder; as well as by the burst +of gladness when the Risen Lord appeared to +the eleven. Throughout all the Post-Resurrection +<pb n='438'/><anchor id='Pg438'/> +interval, during which the Apostles felt that He +was close by and might at any time appear—indeed +that any stranger accosting them might +turn out to be He—the changes which had been +wrought were taking lasting hold. +</p> + +<p> +The data for the history of that Passover season +of <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 30 must have been furnished by the +Apostles, yet we find in it scarcely any mention +of themselves; all personal thought was driven +from their minds; the narrators, like ourselves, +had eyes for the Saviour alone. +</p> + +<p> +From the hour of cockcrow on the Thursday +night to the time when it <q>began to dawn toward +the first day of the week</q> all that we hear of the +Apostles, and that comes out incidentally, is that +John stood at the foot of the Cross. There is not +a word to explain their flight at Gethsemane, they +do not tell us, that they stood in the crowd or +followed to Golgotha; neither have we, what for +my purpose would be invaluable, any word of how +they passed that Sabbath day of enforced inaction, +which—in accordance with our Lord's way of letting +intervals of quiet alternate with times of stress +and strain—followed on the violent perturbation +and intense dismay of the Crucifixion. +</p> + +<p> +The Apostles could not be perfected for the +part that awaited them, unless they encountered +some great desolation of soul. Acute suffering, +which searches the innermost nature, works after +the law which has become so trite to my readers, +<pb n='439'/><anchor id='Pg439'/> +it gives to those who have. There are some who +under its pangs learn that they possess a kind of +strength of which they did not know, and find +that when some, seemingly more robust, break +down in trouble, resource and tenacity are still +left in them. This kind of strength the Apostles +possessed; they stood the test of being apparently +forsaken and were the better for it. Each individual +after the trial felt surer that he could rely +on himself than he had been before, and each then +knew for certain that he could rely on the rest. +</p> + +<p> +They might, as soon as the Sabbath was over, +have taken their northward journey, going every +man to his own; and, as they did not feel safe +where they were—for they had to close their doors +for fear of the Jews—and must have been grievously +bewildered, this is what some out of the +eleven at any rate might have been expected to +do. It is the steadfastness of <emph>the whole number</emph> +that is so surprising. +</p> + +<p> +The trial to which the Apostles were subjected, +during those six and thirty hours, was excessively +severe. They were left as sheep without a shepherd, +with no rallying point, no organised rule; +and not only were they in the deepest anguish, +owing to their personal affection for their Master, +but the lodestar of their lives, the hope of the +Restoration of the Kingdom to Israel, seemed +suddenly and totally withdrawn. +</p> + +<p> +The Jewish notion of a Messiah, who would +<pb n='440'/><anchor id='Pg440'/> +inaugurate a golden age of national glory and +material enjoyment, was so engrained in the +Israelite nature that only facts could drive it out. +Our Lord never argues against it; if He beheld, +in the course of coming events, a fact approaching, +which would do more to dispel error than all the +arguments in the world, this would explain His +silence on these points. The awakening would not +be without dangers. It is a perilous moment for a +man, when the one dream, the one exalted hope, +that has lifted him above selfish considerations is +rudely dispelled; and God, whom he had thought +to serve, seems to disregard him altogether. +</p> + +<p> +Then self and the world say, <q>We told you so; +now give yourself to us? Our votaries will be +found to have taken the right road after all.</q> +Of all the temptations that assailed the Apostles +this was perhaps the direst; but their loyalty +to their Master, born of nearly two years' daily +fellowship, held fast. Even if He <emph>were</emph> gone they +could be true to His memory still, and that was +something left. +</p> + +<p> +One lesson, which the Apostles could hardly +help learning, would arise, in this way, out of the +discomfiture of their hopes. They might ask +themselves, on what this confident expectation of +theirs, of a Messianic kingdom, rested by way of +grounds. They would have to own that Christ +had never spoken of it, but, indeed, had often given +hints of what had really come to pass—hints which +<pb n='441'/><anchor id='Pg441'/> +they had always quickly brushed aside. They +had believed in this material Kingdom because +everybody around them had done so. They had +not formed any notion about it of their own selves; +no movement of their own minds had gone towards +forming the belief. They had imbibed it and +that was all. Hence finding themselves deceived +by trusting to a popular belief, there may have +arisen in them a healthy mistrust of positiveness +about the ways of God. Again, their disappointment +might put them in a better direction for +finding their way. <q>Some hope,</q> they might say, +<q>assuredly Christ did hold out to us,</q> and the +search after this hope might lead them to recollect +that latterly they had heard little from Him of the +Kingdom, and much of the future Life; He had +told them that because He lived they should live +also; and the conception of a Kingdom, not of +this world, might arise in their minds, and take +the place of that of the expected Supremacy of +Israel, which was dissolving out of sight. +</p> + +<p> +Another effect of their affliction was that it +drew them closer together. When a family, is +orphaned by a heavy blow, what they first feel +may be helplessness, but soon follows the feeling +that they must cling together and be true to one +another, and each in his degree supply the help +that is lost. Soon the elder brothers, if there is +good in them, learn what duty is, and this new +responsibility draws capacity out. Now the +<pb n='442'/><anchor id='Pg442'/> +Apostles stood in the position of elder brethren +to all the family of Christ's disciples. +</p> + +<p> +It is a striking feature of the change worked in +the Apostles, that, after the Resurrection, all thoughts +of self disappeared. The Apostles, as the History +shews us, had been originally no less prone to +wrangle as to <q>which should be greatest</q> than +the average of men. We find in the Gospel the +self-regard that we might naturally expect: sometimes +it is of a healthy sort, as when Peter says, +<q>We have left all and followed thee;</q> and sometimes +it is unhealthy, like that soreness on points +of precedence, which we mark even just before +the Last Supper; but in the Acts we find among +the Apostles no trace of self-regard at all. The +history in our hands will account for this change +satisfactorily enough; for these men were called to +a Work, so transcending all human interests, so +absolute, that it would leave no room for any +personal thought in their souls. They were to be +fellow-workers with the living God. What could +be the worth of the difference between this office +or dignity in God's service and that, compared with +being counted worthy to take a conscious part in +God's service at all? Some powerful impression must +have been employed to bring about such a moral +change as this; and what could better account for +such an impression, than to have witnessed Christ +upon the Cross? How could they, the servants, cavil +about social consideration or dignity, when their +<pb n='443'/><anchor id='Pg443'/> +Master had spurned all dignity and cast away all +that common men hold dear, and that too, when +by speaking a word, all that earth could bestow +might have been His. Lastly, the sense that +Christ was present with them and knew their +hearts, was made so real and effectual by the +Post-Resurrection intercourse, that it afterwards +dominated their lives. This feeling would still +the disposition to rivalry, if any such lingered in +their hearts; for, being convinced that their Master +knew what went on in them, they would know +that He grieved over anything that was wrong, +as He had done when He was by their side; and +they would shrink from causing Him pain. +</p> + +<p> +The story of the Apostles is unique in History +in another way. No one of them endeavoured to +draw a following about himself, or to claim succession +to the Master's place. Little differences of +view and little disagreements as to the course to be +followed now and then there were; if, indeed, our +records did not speak of such we should suspect that +something was kept back. We have cases enough +of causes passed on to a company of successors +from the dying leaders' hands, but in no instance, +that I recollect, have these successors remained +united as the Apostles did (p. <ref target='Pg414'>414</ref>). Monarchs +have sometimes left empires in trust to their +generals, whose quarrels have finally torn them to +bits. Philosophers have left their systems or their +discoveries to their favourite pupils, who, taking +<pb n='444'/><anchor id='Pg444'/> +hold of them by different ends, have set up new +philosophies of their own. Kingly dynasties and +political parties have bequeathed causes claiming +to be sanctioned by Divine right, or to embody +immutable principles, and the inheritors have so +fallen out over points of policy, that the broad +principle, broken up into branching channels, has +lost its momentum and disappeared in the sands. +</p> + +<p> +I pass on to the lessons which our History of +the Resurrection conveys. The different narratives +relate our Lord's appearances, with differing +circumstances of persons and place. Herein I find +that loophole for disbelief which may be discovered +in every miraculous manifestation of our Lord. If +the fact of our Lord's Resurrection had been so +attested that no sane person could doubt of the +fact; if He had appeared in public, and appalled +Pilate on his judgment seat or Herod on his +throne, then—strange as it may appear—by the +very fact of the historical certainty being thus +established, the moral significance of the Resurrection +would be impaired, for the acceptance of +it would be independent of that which I have so +often said is essential to religious belief, the concurrence +of the free human will. +</p> + +<p> +Although, as to the occasions and circumstances +of the appearances, we find in the different +accounts rather more than their customary diversity; +yet in the <emph>nature</emph> of the appearances the +agreement is so singular, and the conception +<pb n='445'/><anchor id='Pg445'/> +involved is so unexampled, that it is impossible for +different writers to have lighted at the same time +on the idea, and I can find no explanation for the +phenomena, except by supposing that the picture +was taken from life. The appearances themselves, +as we should expect from their nature, leave on +the mental retina an impression indelible and +distinct; but the traditions about <emph>when</emph> and <emph>how</emph> +they occurred, undergo variation as they pass from +mouth to mouth. +</p> + +<p> +The character of our Lord's appearances, in +all the Gospels, is alike. Most commonly He is +not recognised at first, and does not appear in His +own form, when other than disciples are by; only +to those, who had already mastered the words of +eternal life, was it given to see Him Risen from the +dead. He comes men know not how, when they +are sitting with fastened doors He appears in the +midst; He goes they know not where, and the +disciples who beforetime were so full of curiosity, +do not venture to ask whither He goes or +where He abides. But, what bears most of all +on my subject, is the mode in which our Lord +assuages that dread of a disembodied spirit, which +would have paralysed the Apostles' minds. This +terror, reasonable or not, certainly existed, and +Christ always deals with the fact He finds. +</p> + +<p> +There were lessons still to be taught and for +the right learning of them it was needful that the +old confidence between Master and learners should +<pb n='446'/><anchor id='Pg446'/> +still subsist. Could the disciples have listened to +the Lord, as their old Master, receiving his direction +to go back to Jerusalem and tarry there till +they were <q>endued with power;</q>—could they +have rested gladly on the assurance that He would +appear and help them in any need that came, if +they had regarded Him as a spectre belonging to +another world? +</p> + +<p> +In order to calm their instinctive terror of a spirit, +and be again in some degree what He had been +on the Lake shore of Galilee, it was necessary for +our Lord to assure the Apostles that He had a +body even as they. The deep doctrinal significance +of this lies beyond the limited purpose of +my book, but the point which is within my range—the +effect on the Apostles themselves of the conviction +of our Lord's existence in the body—is +important and full of instruction. It was essential +that confidence should be restored, and the course +actually adopted did restore it in a wonderful way. +Men thought that a spirit might be seen and +heard but only a body could be <emph>felt</emph>. Our Lord +therefore at once appeals to touch—He eats and +drinks before them. He tells them that He has +flesh and bones. He suffers them to <q>handle Him +and see.</q> To this corporal presence as a crowning +fact St John recurs, saying <q>That which we beheld +and our hands handled;</q><note place='foot'>1 John i. 1.</note> and St Peter says +</p> + +<pb n='447'/><anchor id='Pg447'/> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Him God raised up the third day, and gave him to +be made manifest, not to all the people, but unto witnesses +that were chosen before of God, <emph>even</emph> to us, who did +eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.</q><note place='foot'>Acts x. 40, 41.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +Our Lord would not Himself establish a visible +Church. I have amply set out, p. <ref target='Pg236'>236</ref>, the difficulties +that would have ensued if He had so done; +but it was essential that the Apostles should receive +some indication—though only so much as was +essential to the lines upon which they were to +build; and this being a matter of human cognisance +was to be given by Christ in His human guise. A +phantom, or a voice from Heaven, would have +seemed an agency of a different order from the +intervention of the Son of Man. +</p> + +<p> +Here I will stop for a moment, to consider +these narratives of the Resurrection under a purely +literary point of view. These accounts present us +with the same general aspect of the risen Lord, +and they remain true to the primary conception in +unnoticeable points of detail such as no one would +have introduced out of purposed imitation. Inasmuch +as we cannot suppose that the same wondrous +creation of fancy presented itself to different +writers at the same time, we are driven to suppose, +either that the accounts relate actual facts, as +Christians generally believe; or else that they +were imagined by one person who disseminated +the story. But who this writer can have been +<pb n='448'/><anchor id='Pg448'/> +is not only a mystery but a mystery embodying +almost a miracle, for here we have a +genius compared with whom—in point of dealing +naturally with the supernatural—Shakespeare is +thrown into the shade; and further this genius, we +must suppose, never invented or wrote anything +else in that particular line in which he so wondrously +surpassed the rest of mankind. The +Orientals delighted in tales. Did they suffer the +greatest imaginative genius of the world to live +and die unknown? +</p> + +<p> +There was nothing in Literature to furnish +a hint for the portraiture of the risen Lord; the +idea of the Resurrection body must have been due +to one man's imagination and have been presented +with extraordinary literary skill at a time when +imaginative narration was wholly unknown. The +writers of the age in which the Gospels appeared +could set down events and record colloquies, and +depict living personalities with truth and force; +but they were no more capable of conceiving a +character, of making him act, and putting into his +mouth words which should seem to be his own; +or of imagining a new supernatural phenomenon, +and keeping their account always true to itself; +than they were of conceiving the vibrations of an +elastic medium. That this phenomenon also, exactly +met the requirements of a most singular +condition of things adds greatly to the wonder, but +in another way. +</p> + +<pb n='449'/><anchor id='Pg449'/> + +<p> +If the Christian records had been thrown aside +and forgotten, while the world, passing on its way, +reached a mental culture such as we now possess; +and then, in some exploration, the Gospels had +been brought to light: would they not have been +regarded by the critics of that day as wholly +anomalous, and as refusing to fit in with any +theory of the growth and progress of the literary +faculty in mankind? The surprise caused by the +discovery would have been like that of excavators +at Mycenae, if they had found a watch in the +treasury of Agamemnon. This aspect of the +matter belongs to the realm of critical literature +rather than to mine, and I only note it for a +hint. The literary aspect of the History of the +Resurrection has yet to be written; it would be +curious to see it treated from the point of view +of one, who, shut out from a knowledge of the +religious history of mankind, lighted on it as a +mere literary treasure. +</p> + +<p> +There is one point on which I cannot forbear +to touch. Our Lord never mentions His persecutors, +He never touches on the past. The +apparition of a legend usually either reveals a +burning secret, or embodies resentment for the +past; frequently it personifies hatred or foretells +destruction, and its fateful whispers make the +blood of enemies run cold. But in all the utterances +of the Risen Lord not a word is said +of the coming destruction of Jerusalem, not a +<pb n='450'/><anchor id='Pg450'/> +syllable is breathed of the treason of Judas, or +of the persistent malice of the scribes. There is +an ineffable grandeur—so unconscious that we +may fail to mark it—in the utter oblivion that +is passed on the foes who had beset the path of +the Son of Man. He no more resents the ills +that men had wrought Him on His way through +life, than the traveller, who has reached his home, +resents the insect plague of the desert or the +tempests he has met with at sea. The past is lost +to sight, and our Lord displays but one thought +and one interest, and that is for the disciples and +their work. He has now done with the rest of the +world and He belongs wholly to them. He is +lifted above all human contention into that serene +atmosphere, which we feel ourselves to be breathing, +when, reading the story, we seem to find +ourselves in the presence of the Risen Lord. +</p> + +<p> +I will now quote St Paul's account of the +chief occasions when our Lord appeared; but I +can only discuss one or two points of the History. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And that he appeared to Cephas; then to the +twelve; then he appeared to above five hundred brethren +at once, of whom the greater part remain until now, but +some are fallen asleep; then he appeared to James; +then to all the apostles; and last of all, as unto one born +out of due time, he appeared to me also.</q><note place='foot'>1 Cor. xv. 5, 6, 7, 8.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +I take the view, that within a few days of the +<pb n='451'/><anchor id='Pg451'/> +Resurrection, the Apostles, by our Lord's command, +returned to Galilee. If the Resurrection had been +immediately followed by a time of agitation—one +of persecution for instance—so that the Apostles +could not have let their minds dwell on what had +happened, the lessons of that period would have +been soon effaced; but our Lord, as we have seen, +is ever careful to provide seasonable opportunity +for reflection, and it was not likely that He would +suffer it to be wanting now. +</p> + +<p> +The Apostles in Galilee, engaging again in +their old callings, would have leisure to review, +not only the last few days, but the whole of the +two eventful years since they had been called +from their work to follow Christ. It was probably +here in Galilee that the Apostles received a command +to return to Jerusalem; for we cannot +account for the presence there of all the eleven, +at the time of the Ascension, together with the +mother and brethren of our Lord, except by +special direction of our Lord. They would not, +without some injunction, have remained at Jerusalem +after the Resurrection,<note place='foot'>See <ref target='Appendix'>Chronol. Append.</ref>, May <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 30.</note> neither would they +have gone up thither for Pentecost, having been +so lately at the Passover. Whether the appearance +to the <q>five hundred brethren at once</q><note place='foot'>1 Cor. xv. 6.</note> be, +as I think it was, identical with that on the +mountain in Galilee recorded in St Matthew's +Gospel, c. xxviii., v. 16, is a matter of discussion. +</p> + +<pb n='452'/><anchor id='Pg452'/> + +<p> +But where else, except in Galilee could five hundred +disciples have been got together? It could not +have been at Jerusalem, at the Ascension, because +the brethren there only numbered one hundred +and twenty souls.<note place='foot'>Acts i. 15.</note> St Matthew, it is true, only +speaks of the eleven disciples as going <q>into +Galilee unto the mountain,</q> but others must +have been present because we are told that +<q>some doubted,</q> and the eleven would not have +doubted. This admission shews that when the +writer drew up his account, he felt no eagerness +to strengthen the evidence for the Resurrection; +and that He had no fear of its being disbelieved +by those for whom he wrote. The eagerness that +St Matthew does shew is to find instances of the +fulfilment of Scripture, not to support his statements +of fact. It seems to me likely, that, in Galilee, +among His earliest followers, our Lord should +have appeared more publicly than He did elsewhere; +here only could He find a <emph>body</emph> of believers +who should serve as witnesses, and, inasmuch as +among these five hundred, there must have been +men in different states of belief, it falls in with +our Lord's way, so often noted, that He should +appear in a form, not indisputably recognisable at +once and by all, but with His aspect so changed, +by some glorification perhaps, that those who were +half-hearted in their belief might remain in doubt +or disbelief if they chose; while the faithful and +<pb n='453'/><anchor id='Pg453'/> +loving would be in no uncertainty about their +Master's lineaments and voice. +</p> + +<p> +The appearance <q>to James</q> which is related +by St Paul alone, is important, and calls for special +notice. +</p> + +<p> +There are three persons called <q>James</q> in the +sacred books, and there may be a question which +of these it is of whom St Paul speaks. I am of +opinion that it is James the brother of our Lord. +The Corinthians, to whom St Paul is writing, +would hardly know of any other; he was the head +of the church at Jerusalem and when Paul speaks +of <q>James</q> simply, as in Galatians ii. 9, 12, he +means always the brother of the Lord. <q>James, +the son of Zebedee,</q> Acts xii. 2, is designated +<q>the brother of John</q> for distinction's sake, and +of James the son of Alphaeus we never hear. +Every disciple however in the Church at Corinth +had heard of James, the <q>pillar</q> of the Church at +Jerusalem.<note place='foot'>I would point out that in the passage from 1 Cor. xv. quoted +p. <ref target='Pg450'>450</ref>, we have <q>then to the <emph>Twelve</emph>,</q> and later, <q>then to <emph>all the +Apostles</emph>.</q> May not St Paul have meant the latter term to be a +wider one than the former, and, possibly, to include James?</note> +</p> + +<p> +Nothing is heard of our Lord's brethren during +the week of the Passion; possibly, they were not +in Jerusalem, but, from the Acts, as has been just +said, we find that they were present there at the +time of the Ascension. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>These all with one accord continued steadfastly in +<pb n='454'/><anchor id='Pg454'/> +prayer, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, +and with his brethren.</q> Acts i. 14. +</quote> + +<p> +This adhesion of the brethren falls in with the +supposition that our Lord appeared to His brother +James after the Resurrection in Galilee. It was +natural that James and the younger brethren +should have found difficulty in comprehending +that their elder brother, who had played among +them as a child was of a nature essentially different +from their own; and that this exceptional hindrance +to belief should be counterpoised by an exceptional, +but not absolutely decisive, revelation is what we +might expect. It is not inconsistent with our +Lord's treatment of doubt; for the difficulty arose +out of circumstances and not from adverse will. +Of James, our Lord may have felt sure; and Joses +and Jude and Simon,<note place='foot'>Mark vi. 3.</note> no one of whom could have +been much over thirty years of age, while one or +two of them must have been quite young men, +may have been brought to full discipleship by +what they heard from James. +</p> + +<p> +From what St Paul says, <q>Am I not an +Apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?</q><note place='foot'>1 Cor. ix. 1.</note> it +seems likely that to have beheld the Risen Lord +was held to be a condition of the status of an +Apostle. St Paul must have meant <q>seen the <emph>Risen</emph> +Jesus,</q> for to have cast eyes on the bodily presence +of Jesus, as He journeyed and taught, would have +been a distinction shared with thousands. +</p> + +<pb n='455'/><anchor id='Pg455'/> + +<p> +Without some recognition of James by our Lord, +such as is related by St Paul, it is hard to account +for his being placed at the head of the Church. +We hear of no election or form of appointment, +but we find him in this position about ten years +after this time. It would have been at variance +with our Lord's repeated injunctions to the Apostles +not to seek authority one over the other, if the +primacy had been made a matter of contest.<note place='foot'><q>Clement of Alexandria says that Peter, James and John +after our Lord's ascension were not ambitious of dignity, honoured +though they had been by the preference of their Master, but chose +James the Just as Bishop of Jerusalem.</q> Dr Salmon, <q>Introduction +to the New Testament,</q> p. 565.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Organisation and graduation of authority grew +up in the Church, not after any plan settled and +declared, but as the need of it arose. It agreed in +this respect with the history of those human institutions +that have proved the most enduring. In +this, as in all matters, our Lord, wherever it was +possible, left His followers free; not but what, +when these same followers turned to their Master +and prayed for guidance, as in the election of +Matthias, they found in their hearts an answer +positive and plain. +</p> + +<p> +St Peter, in the earliest days of the Church, stands +forth as the foremost personage; but this influence +rests on personal qualities and not on any formal +appointment. He, as I have said (pp. <ref target='Pg248'>248</ref>, <ref target='Pg344'>344</ref>), +was the man of action, the person who in every +juncture addressed himself at once to the question, +<pb n='456'/><anchor id='Pg456'/> +<q>What is to be done?</q> It was Peter, who took +immediate steps to fill up the vacancy which the +apostacy of Judas had left. He was the speaker +on the day of Pentecost, and he it was who in the +case of Ananias sternly repressed falsehood unto +God. But the impetuosity of Peter, and his disposition +to give himself up completely to the impression +of the moment, though it served well to carry +forward a great movement at its outset, may have +made him ill adapted for the ruler of an infant +Church, in which discordant elements had to be +welded into one; while the well-poised judgment +of James the Just<note place='foot'><q>This James whom the ancients ... surnamed the Just.</q> +Eusebius, <hi rend='italic'>Eccl. Hist.</hi> 6, ii. c. 1.</note> and his practical sense fitted +him particularly for this kind of rule. That this +admirable selection, this putting of each in his +right place, should have come about without +dispute; and that those who had <q>borne the burden +and heat of the day</q> should have admitted to +equality—or something more—in outward dignity, +one who was <q>of the eleventh hour,</q> bears out +what I have said of the phenomenal subordination +of self displayed by the Apostles. It shews that +outward dignity and authority—that which I have +taken to be the <q>false mammon</q> of the parable—was +as nothing in their eyes compared to the +true riches, the priceless feeling that their work +great or small, as men might count it, was all +done for God and all accepted by God. +</p> + +<pb n='457'/><anchor id='Pg457'/> + +<div> +<head>The Ascension.</head> + +<p> +What was said of the Resurrection we may say +of the Ascension too. The changes it brought +about in the position and characters of those few +<q>men of Galilee</q> who stood <q>gazing up into +heaven,</q> seem small matters compared with the +immensity of its import for the Human Race. +But, that our Lord did not leave out of sight the +effect on the Apostles of the change in their +condition which His departure would cause, is +clear from words spoken to the Twelve, which are +preserved to us by St John, and on which there is +something to say. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient +for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter +will not come unto you; but if I go, I will send +him unto you.</q><note place='foot'>John xvi. 7, 8.</note> +</quote> + +<p> +This saying the Apostles may have found +hard to comprehend; for it must have seemed to +them impossible that it could ever be for their +good for their Master to leave them; and, why the +Comforter should not come, while they all continued +together, would by no means be clear to their +minds. Neither here nor elsewhere does our Lord +explain to the Apostles either the reason of His +regimen or the way in which it was to work. He +<pb n='458'/><anchor id='Pg458'/> +tells them simply the fact, without a word as to +<emph>how</emph> or <emph>why</emph>. He never leads them to examine into +the <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>modus operandi</foreign> of His treatment, He would +have awakened—what He carefully avoids—self-consciousness, +if He had so done. That they +could not learn, at the same time, from Him in +the body and also from the Comforter in their own +souls, arose, not from any <q>determinate counsel +of God,</q> but because the mind cannot perform +two operations at once. It rested on the positive +psychological fact that we cannot walk by Sight +and by Faith at the same time; that we cannot +turn one ear to an earthly monitor, and keep the +other open to the whispers of a spiritual guide. +The posture of our minds when we are hanging +on the lips of a living Master, is different from +that in which we set ourselves to listen for the +Comforting Voice from within. The Apostles +would not have learned to hearken to the promptings +of the Spirit so long as they could turn to +Christ by their side; and it was therefore <q>expedient +for them</q> that Christ should go away. They +would not otherwise have reached full communion +with the Spirit on high. +</p> + +<p> +Instances in the Acts shew us in what way the +Spirit acted in the hearts of believers. Sometimes, +when human judgment and inclination seemed to +agree, an unaccountable inward reluctance to follow +their dictates was nevertheless felt—a repugnance, +not resting on a new argument, but simply saying +<pb n='459'/><anchor id='Pg459'/> +<q>No.</q> When men experienced such feelings, +some might overbear them by will; but Paul +and Silas recognised in them the voice of the +Spirit. For we hear that they <q>went through +the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been +forbidden of the Holy Ghost to speak the word in +Asia; and when they were come over against +Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia; and the +Spirit of Jesus suffered them not.</q><note place='foot'>Acts xvi. 6-8.</note> +</p> + +<p> +Again Christ's Church was to be everlasting +and universal, and this it could only become by +changing outward and visible for inward spiritual +rule. So long as the Lord was in bodily presence +among them, the disciples naturally looked only +to Him. Where He was, there and there only to +their minds was His Kingdom and His Church. +For His sway to become universal it was essential +that He should go away, for it is only Spiritual +influence that can be everywhere at once. The +fire had to be set alight at a particular spot and at +a particular time, but it was then to be left to +spread over the earth and to go on burning, +seemingly all of itself. +</p> + +<p> +All through the Gospel we mark how men +cling to the Letter, and how Christ, with tender +hand extricates the Spirit from it and tells His +hearers, that it is this which gives the Letter its +worth. A law such as that of Moses has its place +<pb n='460'/><anchor id='Pg460'/> +in the Schooling of a race at a certain epoch of +national life; but a code or a creed that cannot be +expanded must at last be outgrown. If however a +Divine and living Spirit be enshrined in a Church, +it may direct its development, and transform the +outward tenement as inward need requires. +</p> + +<p> +Christ came to set men spiritually free; but, +strange to say, men are slow to take this freedom +up. Among some African races, a man set free +from a master at once goes and sells himself to +another, he cannot be troubled with managing for +himself. This is like the way in which men +liberated from one absolute and infallible authority +have so often handed themselves over to another. +They must have something or somebody to take +their beliefs and consciences in charge. Fancying +that they are to be saved by holding proper +opinions—for by belief they often mean no more +than taking up and maintaining opinion—they +come, asking, <q>What are we to believe?</q> just as +the Scribe asked, <q>What am I to do?</q> Christ's +answer to him practically was, that he possessed +already grounds enough to frame for himself a rule +of conduct such as he required. Might He not +answer the others nearly in the same strain? +</p> + +<p> +Belief, in Christ's sense of the word, is not the +acceptance of a theory, it is something that will +actuate the man's whole being, and which requires +the concurrence of an emancipated will. Now this +emancipation brings with it a responsibility—a call +<pb n='461'/><anchor id='Pg461'/> +to mental effort—which a large proportion of +mankind steadfastly abhor. +</p> + +<p> +Thus the Israelitish party in St Paul's time and +after, hugged the chains of the Jewish Law; then, +after turbulent ages of fierce doctrinal dissension, +when combative spirits found in polemics the strife +which their temperaments required, the Churches +of Greece and of Rome took charge of the consciences +of men. A revolt at length took place +against the external authority of the Church, but +there was no more religious freedom under the +new regimes than under the old. Confessions of +Faith came into vogue, and men tried to tie down +after ages to the ways in which the controversialists +of the sixteenth century had, with much giving +and taking, agreed to regard the insoluble problems +of existence. The Bible was now often held up, +not to reveal God's will and ways, but to yield +texts for weapons in disputes. Christ's care to +guard against a bondage unto written matter is +apparent in the whole form of His teaching; and +especially in His leaving no writings of His own, +and no directly accredited record of His life; but +the craving of men after an unerring touchstone of +truth has wrapped them again in bonds like those +from which Christ would have set them free; and +the Canonical books have been invested with a character +of literal inspiration, not unlike what would +have attached to writings of our Lord Himself. +</p> + +<p> +The verses of John, Chap. xvi. 9, 10 which +<pb n='462'/><anchor id='Pg462'/> +follow that of which I have been speaking, while +leading us to the profoundest Theology, bear on +the change from a visible teacher to a spiritual +one, and so far they come within my scope. I +have only to do with them so far as they illustrate +this change. The reason given for the intervention +of the Spirit is, that Christ, in the body, will no +longer bring home to the world the sense of sin +and of righteousness and of judgement. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>And he, when he is come, will convict the world +in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement: +of sin, because they believe not on me; of +righteousness, because I go to the Father, and ye behold +me no more; of judgement, because the prince of this +world has been judged.</q> John xvi. 8-11. +</quote> + +<p> +I should place the emphasis on the pronouns—He +and I. The Spirit is to take the place of the +departed Lord. So long as Christ was in the world +He Himself brought home to the men who believed +on Him the sense of sin; He presented the ideal +of righteousness, and He enforced the conviction +that moral evil brought doom and destruction upon +men. Henceforth the witness to all this would no +longer be Christ in the body, whose contact with +the world was necessarily limited to one point, but +the Holy Spirit, which could speak to the hearts of +all mankind at once. It would lead me too far from +my province if I enlarged on the topic of <emph>Judgment</emph>; +and I turn to another matter. +</p> + +<pb n='463'/><anchor id='Pg463'/> + +<p> +It may be asked, Why did this Post-Resurrection +state last as long as it did and not +longer? God's <emph>reasons</emph> we leave aside, but this we +can say, Christ never hurries forward processes in +the Apostles' mind, and these processes, in this case, +needed all the time allowed; also, since a state of +watchfulness involves a nerve-strain, it agrees with +Christ's carefulness for the body that this condition +should not last too long. The <emph>durations</emph> of the +different stages of our Lord's teaching—that while +He was in the flesh, and that while He wore the +body of the Resurrection—seem to me just as +wisely ordered for the end in view, as are the +other circumstances of the case. +</p> + +<p> +Christ's way of teaching is the very opposite of +that which would make the learner a mere reflection +of his Master. In the Mission to the cities and in +the ministrations of their every-day life, Christ +had left the Apostles to act very much for themselves, +He had kept their self-helpfulness alive in +various ways; we find them bold to question, and +not slow to murmur, and both questions and +murmurs are readily tolerated by our Lord. But, +even with all these precautions, if they had remained +too long in attendance on Him, we can +imagine that they would have got confirmed in the +habit of looking constantly to their Master and of, +at once, carrying to Him every difficulty without +considering it themselves, and they would thus have +lost capacity both to think and to act. They might +<pb n='464'/><anchor id='Pg464'/> +also have fallen into habits of mind which, serviceable +so long as they were subordinates, would +stand in their way when they had to take the lead. +They might have become faithful to execute, but +helpless to plan. When subordinates, or young +people, are too long deprived of opportunity for +judging and acting for themselves, their minds are +apt to become passive and purely receptive; they +become slow to start a notion or suggest an expedient; +ideas of theirs, they fancy, are not wanted, +and so they soon cease to have ideas at all. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord guarded against this by restricting +the period of the Apostles' pupilage. As soon as +the ground plan of their characters was marked +out, He left them to rear the superstructure for +themselves. He was so tender in preserving every +line of individuality that He would not shackle +freedom of growth in His disciples, even by prolonging +His own companionship and instruction +beyond the proper time. +</p> + +<p> +But, if the period of our Lord's stay on earth in +the body, served its educational purpose all the +better from being no longer than it was; so did that +also of the forty days after the Resurrection (supposing +that we accept the traditional chronology) +for the opposite reason, from its being extended so +long. Four days would have served as well as +forty for the manifestation of the Risen Lord, for +the conclusive witness to His Divine nature, and +for ratifying the hope of immortality in the bosoms +<pb n='465'/><anchor id='Pg465'/> +of mankind; within this time He could have given +His final charge to the infant Church, and have +set it on its way. A higher work however remained +which could not be perfected all at once. The +Apostles were now to receive the crowning lesson +of the course. They were about to pass out of +the training ground into the real arena of danger +and of toil. They were to be gradually fitted to +exercise authority, and to feel trust in the presence +with them of a Spiritual Guide. +</p> + +<p> +It took time for their faculties to grow into +shape and adapt themselves to the change. Christ +always brings His scholars on by gradual progress; +He moulds them as nature moulds organic forms; +there are with Him no sharp or sudden turns, +no jerks in the movements, but all proceeds +along one even curve. If the forty days of this +transitional condition had not intervened, but the +Apostles had been suddenly transformed from +disciples into the rulers of a community; if, more +than this, they had found themselves all at once +exalted into the accredited ministers of the Almighty +in the most express and patent of His +dispensations, what human beings could have stood +the strain? Gradually, during those forty days, +they got used to possessing authority. It was not +formally conferred; but the other disciples took +it for granted that they were to look to them for +direction or advice. In this season also, the Apostles +acquired a habit of watchfulness over themselves, +<pb n='466'/><anchor id='Pg466'/> +knowing that Christ was looking into their hearts, +and might at any moment appear by their side. +</p> + +<p> +The framing of a society in which Christ's +word should be the outer Law and Christ's spiritual +presence be the sustaining life, was to be the work +of men, because it was to be adapted to human +needs. It does not derogate from man's free agency, +that he should own and follow the promptings of +God, for to do this is part of his proper nature; +these promptings are not an alien influence, but +belong to his own self as he was intended to be. +</p> + +<p> +With the descent of the Holy Spirit at the end +of the forty days, the outward visible training of +the Apostles, which it has been my business to +trace, was brought to an end; and the guidance of +God's Spirit, working in men to will and to do of +His good pleasure, came in its place.<note place='foot'>Philippians ii. 13.</note> +</p> + +<p> +The fire which Christ had come into man's world +to kindle, was now alight, and the special need for +Christ's presence on earth did not longer exist. +What was it, we may ask, that He left behind? +The chief visible outcome of His work was the little +band of Apostles; but the mightiest of His influences +were imponderable and unseen. Our Lord's sojourn +on earth had changed the world in which +He had dwelt, so that all subsequent History reads +differently from that which goes before. By what +means was this change wrought? Christ left no +new code of regulations for men to live by. He +<pb n='467'/><anchor id='Pg467'/> +introduced no changes into Human Society or into +any of the forms of Government which He found +upon earth. If men might not be left to frame +such things for themselves, what had freedom and +faculties been given to them for? What Christ did +leave, was infinitely more than a reorganisation of +Society or a scheme for the reformation of men. +On that day of Pentecost a new faculty—that of +communing with God's Spirit—came to the birth. +And a new force—that of living religion—sprang +into existence as a fresh agent in the affairs of the +world—a force which Emperors and sacerdotal +castes and schools of philosophers had soon to +reckon with. +</p> + +<p> +This fire has now and then burned low, but at +such times some <q>circumstance</q> has often come +about, which, answering to some expression of our +Lord—perhaps one which seemed till then obscure—has +opened out a vista in the minds of men. +People say, <q>Now we see what that hard saying +meant,</q> or <q>Christ must have had this in view when +He spoke.</q> Or else—what has sometimes happened—an +idea has sprung up in men's hearts, +seemingly everywhere at once, and Christ's words +have caught a fuller meaning, read by the light of +this. +</p> + +<p> +So far we have traced the steps by which the +Apostles were taught Faith in the unseen. First +by confidence in a Master at their side, next by +the assurance that, though unseen, He was close +<pb n='468'/><anchor id='Pg468'/> +by, and could, if needed, appear and help as of old; +and now, lastly, when seeing Him no more, there +comes in their hearts an assurance that He is with +them to the end of the world. +</p> + +<p> +When I say that the Apostles were <emph>taught</emph> +Faith, I use the word <emph>taught</emph> in a different sense +from that which it has when applied to the +subjects of knowledge. I mean that through wise +moral treatment, a quality existing only as a +rudiment was so developed as to fit the disciples +for communion with God; and not only did they +in this sense learn Faith, but—what also need +learning, more than we suppose—Love and Hope +as well. +</p> + +<p> +I spoke casually just now of the joy which, +as appears by the Book of Acts, illumined the +Apostles' lives. This came greatly of Love; not +merely from the affection of the brethren for each +other, but from a general Lovingness, a capacity +for Love, which, on coming into action, made +them look differently on all they saw. This, like +their Faith, had grown up from their being in +their Master's company. They felt how He loved +them; and if ever one among them was disposed +to think lightly or unkindly of a brother disciple, +he might recollect how dear that brother—faults +and all—was to Christ; and then he could hardly +help feeling that if his Master bore with him he +might do so too. They marked also Christ's beneficence, +His eagerness to render kindness, His +<pb n='469'/><anchor id='Pg469'/> +readiness to use His wondrous power for the +good of those who had no claim upon Him, His +gentleness in rebuke, His never recurring to a +bygone fault. And this sense of being beloved, +this living in an atmosphere of affection, generated +in them the capacity for Loving, just as the Home +Love that is round a child, not only awakens in it +affection to those who shew affection towards it, +but teaches it what Love is; and engenders in it +a great outcome of Lovingness which it strews +broadcast, and bestows, not on persons only, but +on animals, and even on inanimate things. +</p> + +<p> +We have had sight of the Apostles at a time +when this Love was only half fledged among them, +and did not understand itself. It was yet in this +state in St Peter when he asked: How often he +must forgive the brother who sinned against him.<note place='foot'>Matth. xviii. 21.</note> +Love with him was then only unfolding in his +mind, it was still a thing of bounds and measures; +later on he learnt—and his Master's sacrifice +crowned the lesson—that it is in essence infinite. +By the time when the Apostles had to stand +alone and labour for their charge, they had learnt +what Love was. From that came the unity and +harmony of which I have spoken above. A common +interest or even common devotion to a cause would +not have gone deep enough down to have quenched +all rivalries. Even if paramount interests had put +<pb n='470'/><anchor id='Pg470'/> +self out of sight for a while, it would still have been +there, ready to reappear when opportunity came. +Impatience would have come out now and then. +It is Love only which brings others as close to a +man as his own self. This lesson of Love was +perfected, for the Apostles, by their witnessing +Christ's death upon the cross—a death not for +friends, not for those under His protection, but for +men <q>while they were yet sinners.</q><note place='foot'>Romans v. 8.</note> They saw, too, +that when He rose from the dead in absolute might +Divine, He breathed not a word shewing that He +remembered His wrongs, but quietly put the past +away. All this filled the Apostles' hearts with +Lovingness; they could not have gone on with +their work, with so little return to shew, unless +they had loved the brethren and the converts. +The joy which we note in the Apostles, resting +like a halo upon them, comes of their feeling sure +that God loves them, and of their loving all God's +creatures in return. It was this Love that fascinated +their hearers; when the words of Paul, notwithstanding +that his speech—so they said—was contemptible, +went to the hearts of Greeks and Barbarians, +as we know they did, what he touched +them by was this magic of Love. +</p> + +<p> +A word about the nature of that Hope which +nestled in the Apostles' hearts must end my book. +If their Master doubted, whether, when He should +come at the last, <q>He should find Faith upon the +<pb n='471'/><anchor id='Pg471'/> +earth;</q> what, it may be asked, could this Hope of +the Apostles have been? Now, that these words +of Christ were not spoken in despondency is clear +enough for many reasons, but this one reason, +that they caused no despondency to the hearers +would, to my mind, be sufficient of itself. +</p> + +<p> +What this saying tells us is, that we are not +to look for Christ's Kingdom in the shape of a +perfected community existing at the last upon the +earth. Science and observation seem to point in +the same way. Men are never so selfish and so +regardless of others as when they are pushing for +place in a crowd. Now this globe can only yield +food for a time, it must be exhausted of its stores, +and even, it would seem, of its reproductive powers, +at last; and a half-regenerated humanity would +be apt to degenerate back again when they were +struggling for standing room and for bread. +</p> + +<p> +To take another point; though science has +not settled the future of this planet of ours, yet +opinion leans greatly towards our system's having +an end. But, if we accept Christ's teaching, Man +need not come to an end together with the fabric +of the world. The earth is only the spot upon +which he is reared and put to proof. Those who +come out of the trial we believe to be removed, +perhaps after an interval, to another kind of life +elsewhere; so that, though this outer fabric of the +world may perish, Man, we may believe, will +survive, not in a material but in <q>a spiritual +<pb n='472'/><anchor id='Pg472'/> +body</q><note place='foot'>1 Cor. xv. 44.</note> whose nature of course we cannot know. +Thus the Human episode in the great Epic of +Existence, may, as far as life upon this planet +goes, come to an end, but the Humanity for which +the Christian labours and for which Christ died, +will exist for ever; for the Spirits of just men +made perfect will have been garnered from age to +age into abodes prepared for them from the first. +And though Christ, in His wisdom, be sparing of +utterances about that which is winnowed away, +yet there are not wanting analogies justifying +hope. +</p> + +<p> +The education of human souls to fitness for +everlasting spiritual life, is of all God's purposes +the one which we can most continuously discern. +No reign of peace and bliss upon this earth could +be of indefinite continuance; a perfected Humanity +could only endure for a time. Consequently, if we +limit our Love to a Humanity visibly existing +on the earth, we give up our hearts to something +which must necessarily come to an end: if +we make a Deity of this we shall serve but a +temporary God. But—although the earth should +be calcined to powder, or fly off into regions of +space where the temperature is fatal to life—still +that Humanity which has the Son of Man for its +central and presiding figure may abide with Him +for ever, in some of the many mansions of His +Father's House. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='473'/><anchor id='Pg473'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<anchor id='Appendix'/> +<head>Chronological Appendix.</head> + +<p> +It will be of service to readers to have a summary +of the actions and movements of our Lord, in the +order in which they are treated of in the Text. Few of +the dates can be fixed with any certitude and it remains +a matter of opinion in what order many of the events +occurred. The only dates which can be historically +determined are those of the death of Herod, and of +the beginning (<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 25) and end (<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 36) of the Governorship +of Pilate; with these latter I am not now concerned. +When St Luke names the fifteenth year of +Tiberius (<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28, <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.u.c.</hi> 781 beginning on August 19), +it is not quite certain whether he means to fix the +time when John began to preach, or when Jesus was +baptised, or when John was cast into prison. The +grounds for fixing the dates of our Lord's birth, His +appearance in public, and the duration of His Ministry +are given in Tischendorf's <q>Synopsis Evangelica.</q> I +assume, as sufficiently admitted for my working hypothesis, +(1) that our Lord was born early in the year +<hi rend='smallcaps'>b.c.</hi> 4, <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.u.c.</hi> 750, In which, shortly before the passover, +as we learn from Josephus, Herod the Great died; and +also (2) that the Baptism of our Lord took place in the +very beginning of <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28. +</p> + +<pb n='474'/><anchor id='Pg474'/> + +<p> +I propose to exhibit the order of events, taken month +by month, as I suppose them to have occurred. In the +greater number of cases I am supported by the authority +of Dr Edersheim in his work on the <q>Life and Times +of Jesus the Messiah,</q> and also frequently by Bishop +Ellicott, from the Notes to whose Historical Lectures +on the Life of our Lord, delivered 1860, I have +obtained much help in forming this Appendix. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28. <hi rend='italic'>January.</hi> <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.u.c.</hi> 781. +</p> + +<p> +I place the Baptism of our Lord near the close of +the month. This was immediately followed by His withdrawal +into the wilderness. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28. <hi rend='italic'>February.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +The whole of this month I suppose to have been +passed by our Lord in the wilderness. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28. <hi rend='italic'>March.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +About the 10th or 12th of March our Lord appears +<q>in Bethany (or Bethabarah) beyond Jordan where John +was baptizing.</q> John i. 28. +</p> + +<p> +On the next day, John, Simon and Andrew come to +our Lord, and on that which follows our Lord <q>findeth +Philip,</q> and <q>Philip findeth Nathanael.</q> John i. +43, 45. +</p> + +<p> +Indications in the Gospels of the season of the year +in which the events happened are so rare that we catch +even at slight matters—one such occurs here—Nathanael +is seen <q>sitting under the fig tree,</q> John i. 48; and as +<pb n='475'/><anchor id='Pg475'/> +he would hardly have done so if the tree had been bare, +it is probable that at this time the fig tree was already +in leaf. It might have been so by March 10th; for the +climate of the Jordan valley, in the deep cleft of the +limestone rocks, far beneath the level of the Mediterranean +and three thousand feet lower than the hills of +Judæa, was almost tropical; and fig trees, which on the +high ground about Jerusalem were not in leaf till April, +would be at least a month earlier at this <q>Peræan +Bethany,</q> as the place is called by Bishop Ellicott +</p> + +<p> +I suppose our Lord to have left <q>the place where +John was baptizing</q> not later than March 10th and to +have been present at the marriage at Cana on or near +the 14th. The Passover in this year fell on the 30th of +March, and, assuming that our Lord reached Jerusalem +on the 28th March, a fortnight has to be accounted for. +I have explained, p. <ref target='Pg165'>165</ref>, what I suppose to have happened +in the meanwhile, viz. that our Lord returned with +His family to Nazareth, which was 4 miles from Cana, +and that, owing to the displeasure shewn by the inhabitants, +either at His pretensions or at His having performed +His first miracle at another place, He and His mother, +His brethren and His disciples removed to Capernaum—<q>there +they abode not many days,</q> John ii. 12. Our +Lord then went to Jerusalem, and His family, though not +mentioned, may have gone there also. Whether they +ever settled again at Nazareth is uncertain. They were at +Capernaum in March, <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 29, Mark iii. 21, 32. Observe +that the sisters of our Lord are not named: they +remained at Nazareth, where they were probably married. +We read, <q>Are not His sisters here with us?</q> (implying +that the brothers were not so), Mark vi. 3. +</p> + +<pb n='476'/><anchor id='Pg476'/> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d. 28.</hi> <hi rend='italic'>April.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord during this month was with His disciples +at Jerusalem; the events are related in St John, Chap. +ii. 13 to Chap. iii. 21. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d. 28.</hi> <hi rend='italic'>May.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +Henceforth the Chronology depends greatly on the +time at which we suppose our Lord's journey through +Samaria to have taken place. I place it in May <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28, +but many authorities put it in the December of that year. +We read, +</p> + +<p> +<q>After these things came Jesus and his disciples into +the land of Judæa; and there he tarried with them, and +baptized. And John also was baptizing in Ænon near +to Salim, because there was much water there: and they +came, and were baptized.</q>—John iii. 22, 23. +</p> + +<p> +This choice of Ænon on account of there being <q>much +water there</q> points to water having already become somewhat +scarce elsewhere. There are in the North-eastern +part of Judæa only a few springs which never fail. These +are much valued, and one such spring at least was found +at Ænon; its site is doubtful (see Bishop Westcott, +<q>St John's Gospel</q>). If, as some have supposed, it +was late in the Autumn when our Lord made this +journey, water would be abundant enough in many +places, as the streams become full in November. I +speak of this because it bears out my view that our +Lord's journey through Samaria took place in the May +and not in the December of <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28. +</p> + +<p> +In the latter half of the former month, I suppose +that our Lord left Judæa and passed, with only a few +disciples, through Samaria into Galilee (see pp. <ref target='Pg171'>171</ref>, +<ref target='Pg174'>174</ref>, <ref target='Pg176'>176</ref>, <ref target='Pg179'>179</ref>). +</p> + +<pb n='477'/><anchor id='Pg477'/> + +<p> +The verse— +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then +cometh the harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your +eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white already +unto harvest,</q> John iv. 35, +</quote> + +<p> +is important in determining the dates. +</p> + +<p> +Some regard the above saying as having been spoken +soon after seed time; and think that the first sentence +refers to the state of the corn at that moment, when +it would have been just coming up, it being then four +months from harvest: this would agree with the view +that the journey was taken at the end of December,<note place='foot'>The harvest in Palestine ripens at different times in different +localities; but as a general rule the barley-harvest may be considered +as taking place from the middle to the close of April, and +the wheat-harvest about a fortnight later; see Robinson, <hi rend='italic'>Palestine</hi>, +Vol. 1. p. 431 (ed. 2), and compare Stanley, <hi rend='italic'>Palestine</hi>, p. 240, note +(ed. 2). Note taken from Bishop Ellicott's Historical Lectures on +the <q>Life of our Lord,</q> page 106.</note> +and that the <q>whiteness to harvest</q> referred metaphorically +to the harvest of conversions the Apostles were to +reap. Others, among whom is Dr Edersheim, regard +the country as being <emph>at the time of speaking</emph> white +(that is <emph>bright</emph>) with harvest, and consider the words to +have been spoken in May and to bear a literal sense. +This latter view seems to me to agree best with the +incidents of the journey, many of which—our Lord's +weariness, His resting at the fountain<note place='foot'>John iv. 6. The marginal rendering of the Revised Version is +<q>Jesus ... sat <emph>as he was</emph> by the well.</q> The words in italics answer +to <q>thus,</q> οὕτως. This means that He did not call for His cloke +and wrap it round Him, as in winter He would have done. This +is clearly eye-witness narration.</note> and His asking for +<pb n='478'/><anchor id='Pg478'/> +drink—wear, to my mind, an aspect of summer; moreover, +the words <q>Say ye not</q> apply better to a maxim +of husbandry lying in the minds of the people, than +to such an indisputable fact as the time of year when +they were spoken. It would have seemed more natural +to say <q>Are we not four months now from harvest?</q> +It was a fact which was in every husbandman's mouth, +that the interval between seed time (December), and +barley harvest (April) was four months, and our Lord's +meaning is, <q>The husbandman has to wait four months +for his harvest, you begin at once to reap; law-givers +and prophets and agencies unseen have sown for you.</q> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28. <hi rend='italic'>June.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord arrives at Cana in Galilee. A <q>certain +nobleman</q> comes to Him from Capernaum; our Lord +heals his son, John iv. 46. The words <q>whatsoever we +have heard done at Capernaum,</q> Luke iv. 23, refer I +think to this, if so, they help to fix the date of the +Preaching at Nazareth related in St Luke's Gospel, +chap. iv. 16-30. For additional reasons for placing the +Sermon in the synagogue at Nazareth at this time +instead of after John's imprisonment, see above, pp. <ref target='Pg164'>164</ref>, +<ref target='Pg165'>165</ref>, <ref target='Pg179'>179</ref>, and also Dr Edersheim, <q>Life and Times of +Jesus,</q> vol. 1. p. 430. +</p> + +<p> +It should be noted that we hear nothing of our Lord's +mother and brethren. If they had been in Nazareth, +they would probably have interposed as they subsequently +did at Capernaum where we find them living, +Mark iii. 31. +</p> + +<p> +The few disciples who came with our Lord through +<pb n='479'/><anchor id='Pg479'/> +Samaria probably went to their homes when He reached +Galilee, for St John does not speak of them afterwards. +</p> + +<p> +This account of the Preaching at Nazareth is peculiar +to St Luke, I conceive it to have come into his hands +as an isolated piece of information, which he fits into +the history to the best of his judgment. The events at +Capernaum, which in the Gospel of St Luke (iv. 31-44) +are related immediately after this sermon, took place +after our Lord had come preaching the Kingdom (see +Mark i. 21-39). In the Sermon at Nazareth there is +no mention of the <q>Kingdom of God,</q> nor do the +disciples seem to have been in attendance. This favours +the view that the public Ministry in Galilee had not yet +begun. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28. <hi rend='italic'>July, August.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +I believe our Lord to have spent this summer preaching +in the synagogues, not only of Galilee but also of +Judæa. With regard to the verse (Luke iv. 44), <q>and +he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee,</q> we +have in the margin of the Revised Version <q>very many +ancient authorities read <emph>Judæa</emph>.</q> We can understand +Judæa being altered into Galilee, to suit the mention +of Capernaum, but it is not easy to comprehend a +change from Galilee into Judæa (see also Acts x. 37). +It agrees with my view of our Lord's course that He +should at this time have been exploring the tempers of +the people both in Judæa and in Galilee; and I believe +the summer of <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28 to have been passed in this work. +The Lord may have gone about unattended or nearly so, +He had as yet bidden no one to follow except Philip +(John i. 43). The 15th year of Tiberius began in this +<pb n='480'/><anchor id='Pg480'/> +August, but possibly St Luke might speak of the whole +year, from Jan. 1st, by this name. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28. <hi rend='italic'>September.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +The feast of John v. which, both by Bishop Westcott +and Dr Edersheim, is spoken of as <q>the unknown feast,</q> +I believe to have taken place in this month. I am +inclined to identify it with the feast of Tabernacles, see +p. <ref target='Pg181'>181</ref>. It was, as I think, in this month that John was +imprisoned by Herod Antipas, who may have feared +that the great influence of the prophet would be especially +dangerous when the country would be thronged +with visitors to the great feast. The Feast of Tabernacles +in <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.u.c.</hi> 781 began on Sept. 18, and lasted till +Sept. 29. Josephus, <q>Antiquities of the Jews,</q> Bk. xviii. +Chap. v, Whiston's translation, gives the following +account: <q>Now, when [many] others came in crowds +about him, for they were greatly moved [or pleased] by +hearing his words, Herod, who feared lest the great +influence John had over the people might put it into +his power and inclination to raise rebellion (for they +seemed to do any thing he should advise), thought it +best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief +he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, +by sparing a man who might make him repent of it +when it should be too late. Accordingly he was sent a +prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, +the castle I before mentioned, and was there put to +death.</q> The Gospel account is not at variance with +this, for if John denounced Herod's intentions with +regard to Herodias as a violation of Law, this would +<pb n='481'/><anchor id='Pg481'/> +be likely to increase the disaffection of the people. +When the news reaches our Lord (probably in Judæa) +He goes at once into Galilee (Matth. iv. 12, 13; Mark +i. 14; Acts x. 37) and His public preaching of the +Kingdom of God begins. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28. <hi rend='italic'>October</hi>, <hi rend='italic'>November</hi>, <hi rend='italic'>December</hi>. +</p> + +<p> +Early in October our Lord comes to the sea of +Galilee and calls Simon and Andrew and James and +John. Matth. iv. 18; Mark i. 16-19; Luke v. 4. +</p> + +<p> +Following this, comes His residence at Capernaum, +and the events of Mark i. 14-45, and Mark ii. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 29. <hi rend='italic'>January</hi>, <hi rend='italic'>February</hi>. <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.u.c.</hi> 782. +</p> + +<p> +The events of Mark iii. may be placed here. +</p> + +<p> +The call of the Twelve (Mark iii. 13, 14; Luke vi. 13) +probably took place early in February. Neither St +Matthew nor St John gives an express account of the +calling, but both refer to it, <q>And he called unto him +his twelve disciples,</q> Matt. x. 1; and, <q>Jesus said +therefore unto the Twelve,</q> John vi. 67. I suppose it +to have been near the end of the month when the two +disciples sent by John the Baptist came to Christ. +Matth. xi. 2; Luke vii. 18. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 29. <hi rend='italic'>March.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +In this month I should place the following events in +the order given below: +</p> + +<p> +(1) The teaching by parables. Matth. xiii. 3; +Mark iv. 1; Luke viii. 4. +</p> + +<p> +(2) The visit to the country of the Gerasenes (or +Gadarenes). Matth. viii. 28; Mark v. 1; +Luke viii. 26. +</p> + +<pb n='482'/><anchor id='Pg482'/> + +<p> +(3) The raising of Jairus' daughter. Matth. ix. 18; +Mark v. 21-41; Luke viii. 41. +</p> + +<p> +(4) The second visit to Nazareth. <q>And he +went out from thence; and he cometh +into his own country; and his disciples +follow him;</q> Mark vi. 1, also Matth. xiii. 54. +This mention of <q>disciples</q> is one of +many circumstances which distinguish this +visit to Nazareth from that of Luke iv. 15. +</p> + +<p> +(5) The sending out of the twelve two by two. +Matth. x. 1; Mark vi. 7; Luke ix. 1. +</p> + +<p> +(6) Execution of John the Baptist. Tischendorf +is inclined to think that Herod was celebrating +not his birthday but his accession, +which took place on the death of Herod +the Great about ten days before the Passover, +which in <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.u.c.</hi> 750 fell on April 2. +This conjecture is doubtful. Matth. xiv. 2; +Mark vi. 21; Luke iii. 19. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 29. <hi rend='italic'>April.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +The order of events in this month I take to have +been, approximately, as follows: +</p> + +<p> +(1) Herod's misgiving that John had risen from the +dead. Matth. xiv. 2; Mark vi. 16. +</p> + +<p> +(2) Our Lord, on the return of the twelve, crosses +the lake. Matth. xiv. 13; Mark vi. 32; Luke ix. 10. +</p> + +<p> +(3) The Passover was now at hand, John vi. 4. +Feeding of the five thousand, Matth. xiv. 15; Mark vi. +35; Luke ix. 12; John vi. 5. The walking on the sea, +Matth. xiv. 25; Mark vi. 48; John vi. 19. +</p> + +<pb n='483'/><anchor id='Pg483'/> + +<p> +The day of the passover <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 29 was the 18th of +April. What is mentioned by St Mark, viz. that the +multitude sat down on <q>the green grass,</q> agrees with +this indication of the season. It was only during a +short time in spring, and then only in a few places, +that green grass was found in Palestine. This impressed +itself on the narrator, and is an indication of +eye-witness work; it is what critics call <q>autoptic.</q> +There is no mention of green grass in the feeding of +the 4000 which was in the late summer. This miracle +was followed by the return to Capernaum (Discourse on +the bread of life, John, chap, vi.) and the controversy +with the Pharisees on traditions, Matth. xv. 1, 20; +Mark vii. 1-23. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 29. <hi rend='italic'>May</hi>, <hi rend='italic'>June</hi>, <hi rend='italic'>July</hi>, <hi rend='italic'>August</hi>. +</p> + +<p> +(1) Journey to the borders of Tyre and Sidon, +Matth. xv. 21; Mark vii. 24. +</p> + +<p> +(2) Return from thence. +</p> + +<p> +<q>And again he went out from the borders of Tyre, +and came through Sidon unto the sea of Galilee and +through the midst of the borders of Decapolis</q> (on the +east of the sea of Galilee), Matth. xv. 29; Mark vii. 31. +</p> + +<p> +(3) There the feeding of the four thousand takes +place (see under April). Matth. xv. 32; Mark viii. 1. +</p> + +<p> +(4) Our Lord crosses the lake <q>into the borders of +Magadan,</q> Matth. xv. 39; or <q>into the parts of Dalmanutha,</q> +Mark viii. 10, this was on the western coast. +He then proceeds to the north of the lake; there He +heals the blind man at Bethsaida Julias. +</p> + +<p> +(5) <q>And Jesus went forth, and his disciples into +the villages of Cæsarea Philippi,</q> Mark xiii. 33. Confession +<pb n='484'/><anchor id='Pg484'/> +of Peter, Matth. xvi. 13; Mark viii. 29; Luke +ix. 20. +</p> + +<p> +(6) The Transfiguration; Matth. xvii. 1; Mark ix. 2; +Luke ix. 28. +</p> + +<p> +(7) Return of our Lord with Peter, James and John +from the Mount, to the place where He had left the +disciples. Mark ix. 9. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 29. <hi rend='italic'>September.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<q>They went forth from thence and passed through +Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it,</q> +Mark ix. 30, <q>and they came to Capernaum,</q> Mark +ix. 33. +</p> + +<p> +The miracle of the stater in the fish's mouth (Matth. +xvii. 24) is usually placed at this point of the narrative. +We have no other account than that given in St Matthew's +Gospel, where it seems to be related as happening +at this time. But the evidence as to chronology is not +conclusive. This stater or half-shekel was the payment +for the Temple service, and we know that this was levied +in March. That the demand should be made in September +is explained by saying that our Lord's absence +since April might have prevented the collection of the +tax. It is however possible that this event may have +taken place in March, <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 30, see below. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord, leaving Capernaum, made the journey +through Samaria to Jerusalem, John vii. 3, Luke ix. 51, +56, arriving there about the 18th of September, which +in this year was the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles. +The sending out of the Seventy took place soon afterwards, +Luke x. 1. +</p> + +<pb n='485'/><anchor id='Pg485'/> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 29. <hi rend='italic'>October.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord takes up His residence in Judæa, possibly +at Bethany, see p. <ref target='Pg370'>370</ref>. Incident of woman taken in +adultery, John viii. 1. Our Lord in the house of Martha, +Luke x. 38-40. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>November.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord probably passed this month in Judæa. +Many of the events of Luke, chapters xi., xii., xiii. +may have occurred at this time, but we must not +conclude for certain from St Luke's account that the +events of these chapters all fell together in one short +period. Some of them are related by St Matthew in a +different connexion; it seems impossible to place them +in order. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 29. <hi rend='italic'>December.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +The Feast of dedication (encaenia), John x. 22, fell +in this year on the 20th of December, and lasted eight +days. At the end of our Lord's discourse at this feast, +St John says <q>They sought again to take him: and he +went forth out of their hand. And he went away again +beyond Jordan into the place where John was at first +baptizing, and there he abode.</q> John x. 39, 40. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 30. <hi rend='italic'>January.</hi> <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.u.c.</hi> 783. +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord may have remained at the place just +mentioned, <q>the Peræan Bethany</q> (see <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28, March), +during this month, having probably only a few followers +with Him. +</p> + +<p> +<q>And many came unto him; and they said, John +<pb n='486'/><anchor id='Pg486'/> +indeed did no sign: but all things whatsoever John +spake of this man were true.</q> John x. 41. +</p> + +<p> +The people contrast Him with John. This agrees with +what is said of the place, viz. that John had baptized +there; the people recollected him. The teaching of our +Lord in Peræa, of which we have an account only in +Luke, chaps, xv., xvi., was probably given about this +time. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 30. <hi rend='italic'>February.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +Early in this month our Lord leaves Peræa, where +He had been travelling about, being warned by the +Pharisees— +</p> + +<p> +<q>And he went on his way through cities and villages, +teaching, and journeying on unto Jerusalem.</q> Luke +xiii. 22. +</p> + +<p> +<q>In that very hour there came certain Pharisees, saying +to him, Get thee out, and go hence: for Herod +would fain kill thee.</q> St Luke xiii. 31. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 30. <hi rend='italic'>March.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +While on this progress the news of the sickness of +Lazarus reaches our Lord. He seems then to have +been little more than a day's journey from Jerusalem, +but outside the limits of Judæa: +</p> + +<p> +<q>The sisters therefore sent unto him, saying, Lord, +behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. But when Jesus +heard it, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but +for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be +glorified thereby.</q><note place='foot'>This <emph>glorifying</emph> consisted not in its gaining Him glory in the +common sense but in its being an event leading Him to the Cross, +to the fullest abandonment to His Father's will. This is the true +glory. Compare John xii. 28, xxi. 19.</note> John xi. 3, 4. +</p> + +<pb n='487'/><anchor id='Pg487'/> + +<p> +<q>When therefore he heard that he was sick, he +abode at that time two days in the place where he was. +Then after this he saith to the disciples, Let us go into +Judæa again.</q> John xi. 6, 7. +</p> + +<p> +After the raising of Lazarus, the chief priests and +Pharisees <q>from that day forth took counsel that they +might put him (Jesus) to death: Jesus therefore walked +no more openly among the Jews, but departed thence +into the country near to the wilderness, into a city +called Ephraim; and there he tarried with the disciples.</q> +John xi. 53, 54. +</p> + +<p> +From Ephraim, the position of which is uncertain, +(Dr Edersheim, as I understand him, thinks it may have +been near the north end of the sea of Galilee, in +Decapolis,) our Lord passes through <q>the midst of +Samaria and Galilee</q>—St Luke xvii. 11. +</p> + +<p> +This would seem, from the order in which the places +are named, to refer to the journey on the way north to +Ephraim, but no certain conclusion can be drawn. +Towards the end of the month, our Lord joins the +company of people on their way from Galilee to +Jerusalem, passing by Jericho. The incidents of the +journey and the important discourses on the way are +related in Mark, chap, x., and in the parallel passages +of Matthew and Luke. +</p> + +<p> +The question arises, Where did our Lord join this +company? I incline to think that after a short stay +at Capernaum, He went with the Galilean company up +to the Passover. During the stay at Ephraim, the +disciples would have had leisure to turn over in their +minds what they had seen and heard; especially the +raising of Lazarus, and the words to Martha on eternal +<pb n='488'/><anchor id='Pg488'/> +life, the plainest our Lord ever spoke; John xi. 25. +It is our Lord's way, as I have often pointed out, to leave +intervals for reflection. On the way south (supposing +that Ephraim was to the north), with His small company +of disciples, He may have made a short stop at Capernaum, +where, according to my view (see p. <ref target='Pg372'>372</ref>), St Peter +may have partly resided since the feast of Tabernacles, +joining from time to time the disciples in attendance on +our Lord. Jesus would, on this supposition, be in +St Peter's house in the month of March when the +officers, in due course, called for the Temple contribution, +and in this way we avoid the hypothesis of a +payment overdue (see under Sept <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 29). It may +be noted that the officers make no question about +<emph>Peter's</emph> paying the half-shekel; he was a regular resident +and their claim was undoubted, but our Lord had been +long absent and was only passing through the place, so +that in His case the payment was less obligatory. This +is one view of the matter, but I am inclined to think +from the form of the collector's question, <q>Your Master, +does not He pay?</q> (Matth. xvii. 24) that they half +expected an objection on higher grounds. The internal +evidence, that is to say the tone of doctrine, which +appears in the words, <q>Then are the children free,</q> +favours the adopting the later period, inasmuch as it +reminds us of the later discourses in chaps, xv., xvi., +xvii. of John. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 30. <hi rend='italic'>April.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +Our Lord may have made His entry into Jerusalem +on Sunday, April 2. He returned that night to Bethany +<pb n='489'/><anchor id='Pg489'/> +after looking <q>round about upon all things.</q> Mark +xi. 11. +</p> + +<p> +Monday, April 3. Cursing of fig tree on the way +to Jerusalem (see March, <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28), Matth. xxi. 19; Mark +xi. 13. Cleansing of Temple, Matth. xxi. 12; Mark +xi. 15; Luke xix. 45. Return to Bethany, Mark xi. 19. +Either on this day or the next, the Greeks seek Jesus, +John xii. 20. +</p> + +<p> +Tuesday, April 4. Tree is found withered. Parables +delivered in Temple. Controversies with Pharisees, +Herodians and Sadducees. Our Lord takes leave of the +Temple; Mark xi. 20 and chaps, xii., xiii. and parallel +passages in Matthew and Luke. +</p> + +<p> +Wednesday, April 5. Treason of Judas. +</p> + +<p> +Thursday, April 6. Last Supper. Our Lord's apprehension. +</p> + +<p> +Friday, April 7. The Crucifixion. +</p> + +<p> +Sunday, April 9. The Resurrection. +</p> + +<p> +I should place the journey of the Apostles to Galilee +in the subsequent week. This change would do the +Apostles good in many ways. It would relieve the +strain on their minds, and was medicine for the shock +they had received. For our Lord's care for the physical +and mental health of His followers, see text, p. <ref target='Pg302'>302</ref>, on +the words, <q>Come ye yourselves apart into a desert +place and rest a while.</q> +</p> + +<p> +During this stay in Galilee, there took place the +appearance of our Lord on the mountain, which I take +to be that named, 1 Cor. xv. 6 (see text, last chapter), +and at this time I also place the important interview +of our Lord with James, our Lord's brother, 1 Cor. xv. +17, and probably with the rest of His brethren, see below. +</p> + +<pb n='490'/><anchor id='Pg490'/> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 30. <hi rend='italic'>May.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +The appearance at the sea of Tiberias (but see +Mr Sanday on the <q>Authorship of the Fourth Gospel,</q> +chap. xvii.) may have taken place in this month, as also +the return of the Apostles from Galilee to Jerusalem +with the women and Mary the Mother of Jesus, and the +brethren of our Lord. The latter, possibly, had not been +in Jerusalem at the Crucifixion, but had at last learned, +perhaps through James, the fulness of their brother's +greatness. The Apostles as well as the relations of our +Lord must have been enjoined to return to Jerusalem, +or they would not without exception have gone thither. +The Feast of Pentecost was not a sufficiently imperative +call to account for their presence. This injunction must +have been given in Galilee. If we had only St Luke's +account, we should suppose that the Apostles never left +Jerusalem; but this would in itself be unlikely and is +contradicted by the other Evangelists. The day given +for the Ascension by Wieseler, <q>Chronologie des Apostolischen +Zeitalters,</q> 1848, is May 18. +</p> + +<p> +The Ascension was followed by the choice of +Matthias. +</p> + +<p> +The day of Pentecost, as fixed by Wieseler, was +May 27, <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 30. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='491'/><anchor id='Pg491'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Index Of Texts.</head> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>Genesis.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>iii. 18, 19; <ref target='Pg044'>44</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xxviii. 12; <ref target='Pg161'>161</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>Deuteronomy.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xviii. 15; <ref target='Pg094'>94</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xix. 16; <ref target='Pg396'>396</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 7'>18; <ref target='Pg396'>396</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>II Samuel.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xii. 13; <ref target='Pg420'>420</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>Job.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xiii. 4; <ref target='Pg396'>396</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>Psalms.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>cxix. 162; <ref target='Pg232'>232</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>Proverbs.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>vi. 19; <ref target='Pg396'>396</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xii. 17; <ref target='Pg396'>396</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>Isaiah.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>vi. 10; <ref target='Pg321'>321</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xi. 1; <ref target='Pg160'>160</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>Jeremiah.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>vi. 31; <ref target='Pg396'>396</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>S. Matthew.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>iii. 5; <ref target='Pg189'>189</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>iv. 1; <ref target='Pg117'>117</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>1-11; <ref target='Pg114'>114</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>20; <ref target='Pg186'>186</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>vi. 25; <ref target='Pg404'>404</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>vii. 17; <ref target='Pg259'>259</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>viii. 19; <ref target='Pg375'>375</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>ix. 14-17; <ref target='Pg220'>220</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>36-38; <ref target='Pg234'>234</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>x. 2-6; <ref target='Pg162'>162</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>5-15; <ref target='Pg290'>290</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xi. 2-6; <ref target='Pg262'>262</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>12; <ref target='Pg232'>232</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>21; <ref target='Pg106'>106</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xii. 28; <ref target='Pg083'>83</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>30; <ref target='Pg358'>358</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>46; <ref target='Pg180'>180</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xiii. 10; <ref target='Pg321'>321</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xiv. 17; <ref target='Pg022'>22</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>23; <ref target='Pg229'>229</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xvi. 13-20; <ref target='Pg327'>327</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xvi. 22; <ref target='Pg126'>126</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>23; <ref target='Pg329'>329</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>24, 25; <ref target='Pg340'>340</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xvii. 12; <ref target='Pg348'>348</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>25; <ref target='Pg133'>133</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xviii. 1-11; <ref target='Pg356'>356</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>21; <ref target='Pg469'>469</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>21, 22; <ref target='Pg358'>358</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xix. 6; <ref target='Pg408'>408</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xxii. 42, 43; <ref target='Pg415'>415</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xxiv. 24; <ref target='Pg075'>75</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>25; <ref target='Pg413'>413</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xxv. 14-30; <ref target='Pg316'>316</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xxviii. 16; <ref target='Pg451'>451</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>19; <ref target='Pg250'>250</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xxviii. 20; <ref target='Pg069'>69</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>S. Mark.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>i. 12, 13; <ref target='Pg114'>114</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>14; <ref target='Pg188'>188</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>14, 15; <ref target='Pg083'>83</ref>, <ref target='Pg195'>195</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>16-20; <ref target='Pg195'>195</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>20; <ref target='Pg305'>305</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>22; <ref target='Pg202'>202</ref></l> +<pb n='492'/><anchor id='Pg492'/> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>ii. 16-22; <ref target='Pg220'>220</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>iii. 5; <ref target='Pg019'>19</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>6, 7; <ref target='Pg233'>233</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>13, 14; <ref target='Pg239'>239</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>14, 15; <ref target='Pg229'>229</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>17-19; <ref target='Pg161'>161</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>20, 21; <ref target='Pg261'>261</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>26; <ref target='Pg126'>126</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>32; <ref target='Pg288'>288</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>iv. 11; <ref target='Pg030'>30</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>11, 12; <ref target='Pg321'>321</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>24; <ref target='Pg323'>323</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>35; <ref target='Pg283'>283</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>35-40; <ref target='Pg274'>274</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>37-40; <ref target='Pg283'>283</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>v. 1; <ref target='Pg048'>48</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>17; <ref target='Pg286'>286</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>19; <ref target='Pg084'>84</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>30; <ref target='Pg351'>351</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>37; <ref target='Pg287'>287</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>vi. 1-6; <ref target='Pg180'>180</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>2; <ref target='Pg362'>362</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>3; <ref target='Pg288'>288</ref>, <ref target='Pg454'>454</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>7-13; <ref target='Pg289'>289</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>30-32; <ref target='Pg302'>302</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>30; <ref target='Pg300'>300</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>34; <ref target='Pg307'>307</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>38; <ref target='Pg305'>305</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>39, 40; <ref target='Pg278'>278</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>45, 46; <ref target='Pg307'>307</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>47-52; <ref target='Pg308'>308</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>50; <ref target='Pg310'>310</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>vii. 14, 15; <ref target='Pg331'>331</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>24; <ref target='Pg333'>333</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>33; <ref target='Pg427'>427</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>33-35; <ref target='Pg091'>91</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>vii. 33-36; <ref target='Pg334'>334</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>viii. 5-7; <ref target='Pg305'>305</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>11; <ref target='Pg335'>335</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>14; <ref target='Pg306'>306</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>16, 17; <ref target='Pg306'>306</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>23-25; <ref target='Pg090'>90</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>23-26; <ref target='Pg334'>334</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>ix. 1; <ref target='Pg340'>340</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>2-8; <ref target='Pg094'>94</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>7; <ref target='Pg094'>94</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>9; <ref target='Pg345'>345</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>17-29; <ref target='Pg350'>350</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>30; <ref target='Pg351'>351</ref>, <ref target='Pg354'>354</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>31; <ref target='Pg227'>227</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>33; <ref target='Pg354'>354</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>35; <ref target='Pg355'>355</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>40-50; <ref target='Pg360'>360</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>x. 1; <ref target='Pg227'>227</ref>, <ref target='Pg361'>361</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>17-22; <ref target='Pg381'>381</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>24; <ref target='Pg383'>383</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>30; <ref target='Pg384'>384</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xi. 10; <ref target='Pg427'>427</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>12-14; <ref target='Pg096'>96</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>20-22; <ref target='Pg096'>96</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xii. 35-37; <ref target='Pg415'>415</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xiii. 22; <ref target='Pg075'>75</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xiv. 9; <ref target='Pg400'>400</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>50; <ref target='Pg240'>240</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xv. 31; <ref target='Pg139'>139</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xvi. 20; <ref target='Pg084'>84</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>S. Luke.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>ii. 4; <ref target='Pg415'>415</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>35; <ref target='Pg052'>52</ref>, <ref target='Pg161'>161</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>iv. 1-13; <ref target='Pg115'>115</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>13; <ref target='Pg339'>339</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>14, 15; <ref target='Pg179'>179</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>v. 4; <ref target='Pg200'>200</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>8; <ref target='Pg202'>202</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>17; <ref target='Pg218'>218</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>33; <ref target='Pg155'>155</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>vi. 12; <ref target='Pg239'>239</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>17-19; <ref target='Pg253'>253</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>20; <ref target='Pg253'>253</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>22, 23; <ref target='Pg254'>254</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>23; <ref target='Pg079'>79</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>24-26; <ref target='Pg255'>255</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>27; <ref target='Pg257'>257</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>39, 40; <ref target='Pg257'>257</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>43; <ref target='Pg259'>259</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>vii. 18-23; <ref target='Pg266'>266</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>20; <ref target='Pg107'>107</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>21-23; <ref target='Pg108'>108</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>23; <ref target='Pg264'>264</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>29, 30; <ref target='Pg265'>265</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>35; <ref target='Pg264'>264</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>viii. 1-3; <ref target='Pg276'>276</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>3; <ref target='Pg166'>166</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>26; <ref target='Pg048'>48</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>ix. 27; <ref target='Pg093'>93</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>31; <ref target='Pg324'>324</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>37; <ref target='Pg348'>348</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>51, 52; <ref target='Pg279'>279</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>51-56; <ref target='Pg366'>366</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>52; <ref target='Pg296'>296</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>48; <ref target='Pg355'>355</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>55; <ref target='Pg138'>138</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>x. 1-11; <ref target='Pg290'>290</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>4-11; <ref target='Pg379'>379</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>9-11; <ref target='Pg300'>300</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>11; <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref>, <ref target='Pg083'>83</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>13; <ref target='Pg106'>106</ref></l> +<pb n='493'/><anchor id='Pg493'/> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>18; <ref target='Pg126'>126</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>21; <ref target='Pg300'>300</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>21, 22; <ref target='Pg178'>178</ref>, <ref target='Pg302'>302</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>22; <ref target='Pg073'>73</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xi. 1; <ref target='Pg155'>155</ref>, <ref target='Pg221'>221</ref>, <ref target='Pg415'>415</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>20; <ref target='Pg083'>83</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>27; <ref target='Pg376'>376</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>29; <ref target='Pg428'>428</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xii. 14; <ref target='Pg403'>403</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>16-20; <ref target='Pg404'>404</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>36; <ref target='Pg404'>404</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>41; <ref target='Pg372'>372</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>41-46; <ref target='Pg368'>368</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>49, 50; <ref target='Pg150'>150</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xiii. 23; <ref target='Pg428'>428</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xiv. 15; <ref target='Pg376'>376</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xv. 10; <ref target='Pg178'>178</ref>, <ref target='Pg389'>389</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xvi. 1-12; <ref target='Pg391'>391</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>8; <ref target='Pg389'>389</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>30; <ref target='Pg144'>144</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>31; <ref target='Pg063'>63</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xvii. 5; <ref target='Pg397'>397</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xviii. 8; <ref target='Pg027'>27</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>19; <ref target='Pg428'>428</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xix. 11-27; <ref target='Pg316'>316</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>26; <ref target='Pg319'>319</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>29; <ref target='Pg297'>297</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xx. 35; <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>35, 36; <ref target='Pg410'>410</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>41; <ref target='Pg415'>415</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xxi. 19; <ref target='Pg414'>414</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xxii. 8; <ref target='Pg297'>297</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>24-30; <ref target='Pg423'>423</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>28; <ref target='Pg178'>178</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>33; <ref target='Pg376'>376</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>35-38; <ref target='Pg291'>291</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xxiv. 36; <ref target='Pg240'>240</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>48; <ref target='Pg241'>241</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>S. John.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>i. 32, 33; <ref target='Pg109'>109</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>43; <ref target='Pg156'>156</ref>, <ref target='Pg182'>182</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>45; <ref target='Pg156'>156</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>46; <ref target='Pg156'>156</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>48, 49; <ref target='Pg160'>160</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>51; <ref target='Pg161'>161</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>ii. 11; <ref target='Pg152'>152</ref>, <ref target='Pg163'>163</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>12; <ref target='Pg152'>152</ref>, <ref target='Pg164'>164</ref>, <ref target='Pg180'>180</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>16; <ref target='Pg167'>167</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>17; <ref target='Pg152'>152</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>23; <ref target='Pg153'>153</ref>, <ref target='Pg167'>167</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>24; <ref target='Pg176'>176</ref>, <ref target='Pg246'>246</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>24, 25; <ref target='Pg167'>167</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>iii. 2; <ref target='Pg148'>148</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>22; <ref target='Pg153'>153</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>22, 23; <ref target='Pg170'>170</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>25; <ref target='Pg155'>155</ref>, <ref target='Pg330'>330</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>26; <ref target='Pg170'>170</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>iv. 1, 2; <ref target='Pg171'>171</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>2; <ref target='Pg153'>153</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>27; <ref target='Pg409'>409</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>31; <ref target='Pg175'>175</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>35-38; <ref target='Pg177'>177</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>43-45; <ref target='Pg164'>164</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>45; <ref target='Pg179'>179</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>47; <ref target='Pg105'>105</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>48; <ref target='Pg076'>76</ref>, <ref target='Pg104'>104</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>v. 1; <ref target='Pg179'>179</ref>, <ref target='Pg181'>181</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>15-18; <ref target='Pg182'>182</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>17; <ref target='Pg183'>183</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>26; <ref target='Pg089'>89</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>35; <ref target='Pg189'>189</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>43; <ref target='Pg184'>184</ref>, <ref target='Pg300'>300</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>vi. 4, 5; <ref target='Pg303'>303</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>5; <ref target='Pg306'>306</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>8; <ref target='Pg157'>157</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>9; <ref target='Pg304'>304</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>15; <ref target='Pg023'>23</ref>, <ref target='Pg307'>307</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>25-65; <ref target='Pg328'>328</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>44; <ref target='Pg338'>338</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>60-63; <ref target='Pg332'>332</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>66; <ref target='Pg168'>168</ref>, <ref target='Pg329'>329</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>vii. 2; <ref target='Pg181'>181</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>2-10; <ref target='Pg363'>363</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>14; <ref target='Pg369'>369</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>35; <ref target='Pg369'>369</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>53; <ref target='Pg370'>370</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>viii. 1; <ref target='Pg370'>370</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>ix. 1-3; <ref target='Pg046'>46</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>x. 16; <ref target='Pg269'>269</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>40; <ref target='Pg119'>119</ref>, <ref target='Pg372'>372</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xi. 16; <ref target='Pg245'>245</ref>, <ref target='Pg372'>372</ref>, <ref target='Pg430'>430</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>48; <ref target='Pg183'>183</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xii. 20-22; <ref target='Pg158'>158</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xiii. 1-14; <ref target='Pg420'>420</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xiv. 4-11; <ref target='Pg101'>101</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>6; <ref target='Pg073'>73</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>9; <ref target='Pg159'>159</ref>, <ref target='Pg415'>415</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>11; <ref target='Pg102'>102</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>19; <ref target='Pg428'>428</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xv. 15; <ref target='Pg176'>176</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>23, 24; <ref target='Pg106'>106</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>27; <ref target='Pg241'>241</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xvi. 4; <ref target='Pg352'>352</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>7, 8; <ref target='Pg457'>457</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>8-11; <ref target='Pg462'>462</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>12; <ref target='Pg069'>69</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xvii. 3; <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref></l> +<pb n='494'/><anchor id='Pg494'/> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xvii. 6; <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xxi. 2; <ref target='Pg156'>156</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>25; <ref target='Pg420'>420</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>Acts.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>i. 8; <ref target='Pg216'>216</ref>, <ref target='Pg241'>241</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>14; <ref target='Pg362'>362</ref>, <ref target='Pg453'>453</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>15; <ref target='Pg452'>452</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>22; <ref target='Pg241'>241</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>ii. 32; <ref target='Pg241'>241</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>41; <ref target='Pg199'>199</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>iii. 15; <ref target='Pg241'>241</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>iv. 32; <ref target='Pg385'>385</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>35; <ref target='Pg383'>383</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>x. 40, 41; <ref target='Pg143'>143</ref>, <ref target='Pg447'>447</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>34, 35; <ref target='Pg095'>95</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>41; <ref target='Pg241'>241</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xii. <ref target='Pg139'>139</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>2; <ref target='Pg369'>369</ref>, <ref target='Pg453'>453</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xiii. 31; <ref target='Pg241'>241</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xvi. 6-8; <ref target='Pg459'>459</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xviii. 21; <ref target='Pg100'>100</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>Romans.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>v. 8; <ref target='Pg470'>470</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>1 Corinthians.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>i. 12; <ref target='Pg174'>174</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>14-15; <ref target='Pg155'>155</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>ix. 1; <ref target='Pg454'>454</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xiv. 24; <ref target='Pg071'>71</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xv. 5-8; <ref target='Pg450'>450</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>6; <ref target='Pg451'>451</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>44; <ref target='Pg471'>471</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>Galatians.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>i. 13; <ref target='Pg097'>97</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>ii. 9-12; <ref target='Pg453'>453</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>11-14; <ref target='Pg433'>433</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>iv. 6; <ref target='Pg068'>68</ref>, <ref target='Pg072'>72</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>vi. 1, 2; <ref target='Pg425'>425</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>Philippians.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>ii. 13; <ref target='Pg466'>466</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>1 Timothy.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>vi. 17; <ref target='Pg396'>396</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>2 Timothy.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>iv. 2; <ref target='Pg173'>173</ref></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 6'>13; <ref target='Pg119'>119</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>Hebrews.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>xi. 1; <ref target='Pg273'>273</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>James.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>i. 20; <ref target='Pg245'>245</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>1 Peter.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>ii. 23; <ref target='Pg167'>167</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='smallcaps'>1 John.</hi></l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>i. 1; <ref target='Pg446'>446</ref></l> +</lg> + +</div> + +<pb n='495'/><anchor id='Pg495'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>General Index.</head> + +<lg> +<l>Address to newly chosen Apostles, <ref target='Pg253'>253-261</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Advent of our Lord into Galilee, <ref target='Pg188'>188</ref>, <ref target='Pg189'>189</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Andrew, <ref target='Pg157'>157</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Animosity of people of Nazareth, when first shewn, <ref target='Pg165'>165</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Apologue, <ref target='Pg125'>125</ref>, <ref target='Pg126'>126</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Apostles (The), named in pairs by Matthew, reason suggested, <ref target='Pg162'>162</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>must have been directed to return to Jerusalem for the Ascension, <ref target='Pg194'>194</ref>, <ref target='Pg451'>451</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>not fit men to promulgate Theological doctrines, <ref target='Pg230'>230</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>general characteristics of the, <ref target='Pg247'>247</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>not men whom the Founder of a policy would have chosen, <ref target='Pg249'>249</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>the chosen three, <ref target='Pg325'>325</ref>, <ref target='Pg327'>327</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>the crowning lesson of, <ref target='Pg465'>465</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>steps by which they learnt Faith in an unseen presence, <ref target='Pg467'>467</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>taught Love, <ref target='Pg468'>468</ref>; taught Hope, <ref target='Pg470'>470</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ascension, <ref target='Pg457'>457</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>expedient that Christ should go away, <ref target='Pg457'>457</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>Holy Spirit swaying human action, <ref target='Pg459'>459</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Astonishment produced by our Lord's teaching, <ref target='Pg202'>202</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Authority manifested by Christ, <ref target='Pg167'>167</ref>, <ref target='Pg203'>203-206</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Baptist (The) and his disciples, <ref target='Pg153'>153-155</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>competition with, shunned by our Lord, <ref target='Pg173'>173</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Baptist's (The) messengers, their arrival, <ref target='Pg262'>262</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>their question and their answer, <ref target='Pg268'>268</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bartholomew, <ref target='Pg159'>159</ref>, see <ref target='index-nathanael'>Nathanael</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bethany in Peræa (Bethabara), <ref target='Pg119'>119</ref>, <ref target='Pg161'>161</ref>, <ref target='Pg168'>168</ref>, <ref target='Pg189'>189</ref> note</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bethany in Judæa, when did our Lord first resort thither? <ref target='Pg370'>370</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Bethsaida Julias, <ref target='Pg334'>334</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Brethren of our Lord, <ref target='Pg362'>362</ref>, <ref target='Pg453'>453</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Christ leaves disciples independent, <ref target='Pg005'>5</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>with them after the Resurrection, <ref target='Pg009'>9</ref>, <ref target='Pg274'>274</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>influence of His Personality, <ref target='Pg016'>16</ref>, <ref target='Pg017'>17</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>did He from the first see all that lay before Him? <ref target='Pg140'>140</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>explores the tempers of different classes +<pb n='496'/><anchor id='Pg496'/> +of men, <ref target='Pg148'>148</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>His return from the wilderness, <ref target='Pg151'>151</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>calls to him certain disciples, <ref target='Pg151'>151</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>at Cana and Capernaum, <ref target='Pg152'>152</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>leaves time for impressions to fix themselves, <ref target='Pg185'>185</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>arrives at the Lake of Galilee and calls the brethren, <ref target='Pg195'>195-198</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>His way of proceeding positive, <ref target='Pg208'>208</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>enjoins no system of religious observance, <ref target='Pg222'>222</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>why did He not found a church Himself? <ref target='Pg236'>236</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>lays stress on what men are, as well as on what they do, <ref target='Pg259'>259</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>ceases to have a stationary abode, <ref target='Pg270'>270</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>educational effects of the change of place, <ref target='Pg275'>275-279</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>journey to borders of Tyre and Sidon, <ref target='Pg333'>333</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>at Cæsarea Philippi, <ref target='Pg336'>336-338</ref> (see Transfiguration);</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>returns to Capernaum after the Transfiguration, <ref target='Pg354'>354</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>sets out for the feast of Tabernacles, <ref target='Pg359'>359-362</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>refusing to judge, <ref target='Pg399'>399</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>upholds sanctity of marriage, <ref target='Pg409'>409</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>disclaims for the Messiah the title of Son of David, <ref target='Pg415'>415</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>does not look to visibly converting the world, <ref target='Pg416'>416</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>the washing the disciples' feet, an acted parable, <ref target='Pg419'>419</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>always endeavours to set men free, <ref target='Pg460'>460</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>calls the conscience into play, <ref target='Pg467'>467</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>His Kingdom not upon earth, <ref target='Pg471'>471</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Christian revelation centred in a Fact, <ref target='Pg230'>230</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Demoniac in country of Gadarenes, <ref target='Pg285'>285</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Didrachma, paying of, <ref target='Pg406'>406</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Disciples not in attendance at first visit to Nazareth, <ref target='Pg180'>180</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>doubtful if present at feast, John v., <ref target='Pg181'>181</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>early Judæan, <ref target='Pg188'>188</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Dives and Lazarus, parable of, <ref target='Pg062'>62</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ecce Homo, quoted, p. <ref target='Pg412'>412</ref>.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Edersheim, Dr, life and times of Jesus the Messiah, quoted, <ref target='Pg139'>139</ref>, <ref target='Pg140'>140</ref>, <ref target='Pg329'>329</ref>, <ref target='Pg334'>334</ref>, <ref target='Pg394'>394</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>on our Lord's conversing with the woman at Sychar, <ref target='Pg409'>409</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Eloquence, its small part in the Divine economy, <ref target='Pg250'>250</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Erskine of Linlathen, quotation, <ref target='Pg040'>40</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Evil, existence of, <ref target='Pg029'>29</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>functions of, in the world, <ref target='Pg043'>43-51</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Family, description of a, restrained from knowing evil, <ref target='Pg030'>30-36</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Feast of the Jews, John v. 1, <ref target='Pg181'>181</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Five (The) first called, John, Andrew, Peter, Philip, Nathanael, <ref target='Pg156'>156</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Form of Christ's Teaching, <ref target='Pg209'>209</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Free Will, <ref target='Pg029'>29</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>implies liberty to go wrong, <ref target='Pg041'>41</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Galilæans receive our Lord, <ref target='Pg179'>179</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Galilee, why suited for cradle of movement, <ref target='Pg169'>169</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Gospel of St John, surely written by a disciple, <ref target='Pg151'>151</ref>, <ref target='Pg157'>157</ref></l> +</lg> + +<pb n='497'/><anchor id='Pg497'/> + +<lg> +<l>Gospels, advantages of narrative form, <ref target='Pg013'>13</ref>, <ref target='Pg461'>461</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Herodians, <ref target='Pg233'>233</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Inheritance, The disputed, <ref target='Pg403'>403</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>James, our Lord's brother, <ref target='Pg452'>452-454</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>James and John, the sons of thunder, <ref target='Pg365'>365</ref>, <ref target='Pg368'>368</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Jerusalem, not a favourable spot for the schooling of the apostles, <ref target='Pg190'>190</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>not desirable that the Christian community should originate there, <ref target='Pg192'>192</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Judas Iscariot, <ref target='Pg246'>246</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Laws of our Lord's conduct—sense in which term is used, <ref target='Pg002'>2</ref>, <ref target='Pg018'>18-20</ref>, <ref target='Pg306'>306</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Lazarus, raising of, <ref target='Pg429'>429</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Levi (see also Matthew), <ref target='Pg214'>214</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Levitical Law, <ref target='Pg207'>207</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mammon of unrighteousness, <ref target='Pg395'>395-397</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Matthew, <ref target='Pg214'>214-216</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>his call a proof that Christ was no respecter of persons, <ref target='Pg217'>217</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Messiah, what the people expected him to be, <ref target='Pg329'>329</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Milton, <q>Paradise Regained,</q> <ref target='Pg124'>124</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Miracle of feeding of the 5000, <ref target='Pg304'>304</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>of Christ walking on sea, <ref target='Pg308'>308</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>of feeding of the 4000, <ref target='Pg305'>305</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Miracles, standing, not to be expected, <ref target='Pg065'>65</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>use of, <ref target='Pg075'>75</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>Laws of, <ref target='Pg112'>112</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>as works of beneficence, <ref target='Pg333'>333</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Miraculous draught of fishes, <ref target='Pg198'>198</ref>, <ref target='Pg202'>202</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mission (The) to the cities, <ref target='Pg008'>8</ref>, <ref target='Pg288'>288</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>referred to by our Lord, <ref target='Pg291'>291-293</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>effects of these mission journeys, <ref target='Pg295'>295</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>directions given, <ref target='Pg295'>295-300</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Mission of Seventy, <ref target='Pg289'>289</ref>, <ref target='Pg301'>301-302</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Moses, <ref target='Pg207'>207</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-nathanael'/> +<l>Nathanael, <ref target='Pg159'>159</ref>, <ref target='Pg161'>161</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Natural Selection, <ref target='Pg026'>26</ref>, <ref target='Pg314'>314</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nazareth, preaching in synagogues at, <ref target='Pg079'>79</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>second visit of Christ to, <ref target='Pg287'>287</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Negative characteristics of Christ's teaching, <ref target='Pg010'>10</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Nicodemus, <ref target='Pg148'>148</ref>, <ref target='Pg169'>169</ref>, <ref target='Pg172'>172</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Parables, <ref target='Pg312'>312</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>that of the talents, <ref target='Pg317'>317</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>that of the pounds, <ref target='Pg318'>318</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>intended not to hide truth but to show it, <ref target='Pg323'>323</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>of the unjust steward, <ref target='Pg388'>388</ref> and preface</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Passover, 2nd, at time of feeding of the 5000, <ref target='Pg303'>303</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>see <ref target='index-teaching'>Teaching</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Peter, with our Lord at the Passover, <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 28, probably returned to Galilee, <ref target='Pg166'>166</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>how far in attendance before call, <ref target='Pg166'>166</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>his giving himself up on a sudden, to one impression, <ref target='Pg244'>244</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>was he in constant attendance during the winter, <hi rend='smallcaps'>a.d.</hi> 29, 30? <ref target='Pg372'>372</ref> note;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>his practical character, <ref target='Pg248'>248</ref>, <ref target='Pg455'>455</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>denials of, <ref target='Pg433'>433</ref></l> +</lg> + +<pb n='498'/><anchor id='Pg498'/> + +<lg> +<l>Pharisees, their hostility and that of the Sadducees contrasted, <ref target='Pg218'>218</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Philip, <ref target='Pg158'>158</ref>, <ref target='Pg306'>306</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Preparatio Evangelica, <ref target='Pg153'>153-194</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Preparation, noted in our Lord's ways, <ref target='Pg080'>80</ref>, <ref target='Pg094'>94</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Prospective action of our Lord, <ref target='Pg411'>411</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Receiving a hundred fold <q>with persecutions,</q> <ref target='Pg381'>381</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Resurrection, grandeur in the conception of the Risen Christ, <ref target='Pg450'>450</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>appearance of Christ to 500 brethren at once, <ref target='Pg451'>451</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>appearance to James, <ref target='Pg453'>453</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>literary aspect of the history of, <ref target='Pg449'>449</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>duration of post Resurrection period, <ref target='Pg464'>464</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Revelation, <ref target='Pg052'>52-73</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'><q>should be written in the skies,</q> this demand considered, <ref target='Pg059'>59</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Ruler, the young, <ref target='Pg381'>381</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sabbath, its value, <ref target='Pg219'>219</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>our Lord's practice in relation to, <ref target='Pg220'>220</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Samaria, 1st journey through, <ref target='Pg175'>175</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sanday, Mr, authorship and historical character of the fourth Gospel, references, <ref target='Pg105'>105</ref>, <ref target='Pg328'>328</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Satan, <ref target='Pg120'>120</ref>, <ref target='Pg125'>125</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><hi rend='italic'>Seed thoughts</hi>, <ref target='Pg212'>212</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>see <ref target='index-sermon'>Sermon on the Mount</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-sermon'/> +<l>Sermon on the Mount, not a Code of Laws, <ref target='Pg210'>210</ref>, <ref target='Pg211'>211</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>contains <hi rend='italic'>seed thoughts</hi>, <ref target='Pg212'>212</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Sex ceases with life upon earth, <ref target='Pg410'>410</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Signs and Wonders: their laws, <ref target='Pg021'>21</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>distinguished, <ref target='Pg075'>75</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>functions of, to attract hearers, <ref target='Pg077'>77</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>for selection, <ref target='Pg079'>79</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>for preparation, <ref target='Pg080'>80</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>for setting forth the kingdom, <ref target='Pg082'>82</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>for general teaching, <ref target='Pg084'>84</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>they shew that God does not respect persons, <ref target='Pg087'>87</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>they do not wholly supersede the processes of nature, <ref target='Pg088'>88</ref>, <ref target='Pg089'>89</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>practical lessons furnished by them to disciples, <ref target='Pg091'>91</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>Laws of, recapitulated, <ref target='Pg112'>112</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Signs, sparingly displayed after the Feast of Tabernacles, <ref target='Pg425'>425</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>absence of public and notable signs during the Passion week, <ref target='Pg430'>430</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Silas, <ref target='Pg139'>139</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Simon the Zealot, <ref target='Pg245'>245</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Spiritual order, how far analogous to natural selection, <ref target='Pg314'>314</ref>, <ref target='Pg315'>315</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Storm on sea of Galilee, <ref target='Pg283'>283</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Successors inheriting a cause, <ref target='Pg414'>414</ref>, <ref target='Pg443'>443</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Suffer me first to bury my father, <ref target='Pg377'>377</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Synoptists, term explained, <ref target='Pg157'>157</ref> note</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Tabernacles, Feast of, <ref target='Pg181'>181</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Teaching in parables, <ref target='Pg012'>12</ref>, <ref target='Pg280'>280-282</ref>, <ref target='Pg321'>321</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<anchor id='index-teaching'/> +<l>Teaching of Christ, its form, <ref target='Pg209'>209</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>that for the multitudes and that for the disciples, <ref target='Pg225'>225</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Temptation, to turn stones into loaves, <ref target='Pg127'>127-135</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>on the Mount, +<pb n='499'/><anchor id='Pg499'/> +<ref target='Pg134'>134-139</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>on the pinnacle of Temple, <ref target='Pg139'>139-141</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Temptations in the wilderness, form of the narrative, <ref target='Pg113'>113-117</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>where communicated to disciples, <ref target='Pg119'>119</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>whether literal history, <ref target='Pg119'>119</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Transfiguration, <ref target='Pg093'>93</ref>, <ref target='Pg341'>341-348</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Trench, Archbishop, on demoniacs, <ref target='Pg284'>284</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>on the miracles, <ref target='Pg396'>396</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Tribute to Cæsar, <ref target='Pg406'>406</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Twelve, the, their call, <ref target='Pg239'>239</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>their fitness for the work which fell to them, <ref target='Pg239'>239</ref>;</l> +<l rend='margin-left: 2'>their character as witnesses, <ref target='Pg241'>241-243</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Universality of Christ's Kingdom, <ref target='Pg010'>10</ref>, <ref target='Pg415'>415</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Wisdom justified of all her children, <ref target='Pg264'>264-269</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Withering of fig-tree, <ref target='Pg095'>95</ref>, <ref target='Pg432'>432</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Witnessing to Christ the first function of the Apostles, <ref target='Pg216'>216</ref>, <ref target='Pg241'>241</ref></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Woman taken in adultery, <ref target='Pg405'>405</ref></l> +</lg> + +</div> + +</body> +<back rend="page-break-before: right"> + <div id="footnotes"> + <index index="toc" /> + <index index="pdf" /> + <head>Footnotes</head> + <divGen type="footnotes"/> + </div> + <div rend="page-break-before: right"> + <divGen type="pgfooter" /> + </div> +</back> +</text> +</TEI.2> |