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diff --git a/36828.txt b/36828.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..aed8120 --- /dev/null +++ b/36828.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13492 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Pastor Pastorum by Rev. Henry Latham + + + +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 included with this eBook or +online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license + + + +Title: Pastor Pastorum + +Author: Rev. Henry Latham + +Release Date: July 23, 2011 [Ebook #36828] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: US-ASCII + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PASTOR PASTORUM*** + + + + + + Pastor Pastorum + + Or The + + Schooling of the Apostles + + By Our Lord + + By + + Rev. Henry Latham M.A. + + Master of Trinity Hall Cambridge + + Cambridge: Deighton Bell And Co. + + London: George Bell And Sons + + 1899 + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +Preface. +Introductory Chapter. +Chapter II. Human Freedom. +Chapter III. Of Revelation. +Chapter IV. Our Lord's Use Of Signs. +Chapter V. The Laws Of The Working Of Signs. +Chapter VI. From The Temptation To The Ministry In Galilee. +Chapter VII. The Preaching To The Multitudes. +Chapter VIII. The Choosing Of The Apostles. +Chapter IX. The Schooling Of The Apostles. The Mission To The Cities. +Chapter X. To Those Who Have, Is Given. +Chapter XI. From The Mount To Jerusalem. +Chapter XII. The Later Lessons. +Chapter XIII. The Lessons Of The Resurrection. +Chronological Appendix. +Index Of Texts. +General Index. +Footnotes + + + + + + +PREFACE. + + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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--"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 _is_." + +With the same view of making the book readable by the general public, I +have abstained from 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. + +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 +"The main drift of this parable, is, that we must shew kindness and lenity +in dealing with our neighbours." He does not, however, follow up this view +as I have done. + +Though in so difficult a matter I cannot be confident of being right, yet +I do feel convinced, that the accepted interpretation of the parable, viz. +that it is intended to teach the right use of riches--"the really wise use +of mammon" as Goebel 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 "Take thy bond and sit down quickly and write fifty" 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. + +I have everywhere followed the Revised Version, and I must warn readers +that where italics occur in the _longer_ passages they are not _mine_, +except in passage on p. 101. 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 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. 430, 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. + +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 +Appendix, 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. + +I have to thank several persons for their assistance and advice, +especially Canon Huxtable, without whose kind encouragement at the outset +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 "Historical +Lectures," and Edersheim's "Jesus the Messiah." Many members of my own +College, and many other friends have assisted me greatly with advice and +corrections. + +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. + +TRINITY HALL LODGE, +_May 1st, 1890_. + + + + + +INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. + + +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. + +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 +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. + +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, +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. + +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? + +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 _can_ 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. + +Changes are brought about in the disciples by an education, superhuman +indeed in its wisdom, 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. + +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 shaping of the disposition is required for turning +God's Grace to account, as for making the most of any other good gift. + +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. + +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 + + + "To make his own the mind of other men," + + +and a pupil who asserts his own personality, and is not content with +reflecting his master's, is not of the sort he wants. + +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-phoenician +woman turns His own saying against Him, with the rejoinder, "Yes Lord, yet +the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs," 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. + +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 +"take heed _how_ they heard." 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. + +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. + +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 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 "Blessed is the womb that bare thee," He always +brings back to mind that doing is more than feeling. + +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. + +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 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. + +I now come to the oral teaching. Here we note the same fitness of the +means to the end, but the purpose in view is a more abstract one: a +quality very essential for Christ's purpose is _expansiveness_. 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. + +In all His sayings and doings, our Lord was most careful to leave the +individual room to grow. Some of the "negative characteristics" 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 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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. "The words that I have +spoken unto you," said He, "are Spirit and are life." He gave _seed +thoughts_ which should lie in men's hearts, and germinate when fit +occasion came. + +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, "For +whosoever hath, to him shall be given,"(1) 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. + +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. 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. + +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, "All truth lies there; look no +further;" 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. + +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 "blind leaders of +the blind." 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. + +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. + +Our Lord, in Galilee at any rate, spoke Aramaic, 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. + +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. + +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 and store it up for the future, viz. the +form of memoirs put together by contemporaries, or by those who were +familiar with contemporaries. + +History and literature furnish many instances of men who have made their +mark in virtue of a striking _personality_; whose reputation rests, not on +any visible tokens,--not on kingdoms conquered, institutions founded, books +written, or inventions perfected or anything else that they _did_,--but +mainly on what they _were_. Their merely having passed along a course on +earth, and lived and talked and acted with others, has left lasting +effects on mankind. + +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 _was_ 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 scarcely +observed, towards that knowledge of God which He came to bring. + +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. + +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 "so long with them." 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 "after all, the Victory is there." + +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 are given _four_ 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. + +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. + +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. 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. + +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, "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." We find in our Lord, indignation, once, at least, even +anger,(2) 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 "Gesta Christi," perhaps the most +noticeable now. + +The simple fact of His dealing directly with men _themselves_, shews that +He owned their free agency more or less. If men had been merely puppets +moved by strings, Christ could only have 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 "occasions of stumbling" 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. + +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. 2) 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. + +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. + +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, 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. + +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. + +(1) He will not use His special powers to provide for His personal wants +or for those of His immediate followers. + +When our Lord provided food for the five thousand, the loaves and fishes +the Apostles had with them were enough for their own party.(3) + +(2) Christ will not provide by miracle what could be provided by human +endeavour or human foresight. + +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 "Increase our Faith," 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. + +II. Christ will not purchase the visible "kingdoms of the world and the +glory of them" by 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.(4) 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, "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." + +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. + +(1) No miracle is to be worked merely for miracles' sake, apart from an +end of benevolence or instruction. + +What appear to be exceptions to this rule cease to be so when fully +considered. + +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. + +(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. + +As, in the second Temptation, our Lord refused to allow physical force to +be used to bring men to adopt His cause, so here _He refuses to employ +moral compulsion_. 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 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 _nolens volens_ it might as well have been +peopled from the first by beings incapable of error. + +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 +_not_ our Lord's design. He wanted only a few fit spirits as depositories +of His word. + +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. + +The Laws above mentioned will be found to 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, "For whosoever hath +to him shall be given, but whosoever hath not from him shall be taken away +even that which he hath." 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. + +I shall have also to speak of the _prospective_ bearing of much that our +Lord says and does, and to shew how this gives us a greater assurance of +our Lord's being "with us always to the end of the world." 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 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. + +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.(5) +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. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. HUMAN FREEDOM. + + +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. + +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. + +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 learned works on these +matters, of which I might give them the names. + +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. + +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. + +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. "Why did +not God make every one good?" 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. + +So, that I may not serve my readers in this way, I give them all I have +myself. I can no more tell them "How" or "Why" God brought about the +present state of things, than I can solve the great mystery which is at +the bottom of all mysteries: "How, or Why, God and the world ever existed +at all?" 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 _mind_; and this is the purpose which most seems to fall in +with what I observe. + +Our Lord speaks of Divine action as "The mystery of the kingdom of +God."(6) He directs the thoughts of His disciples to these ways by telling +them, not what they are, but to what they are _like_. 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. + +Not only does Christ give us what I have called _seed-thoughts_ 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 our Lord's way. No +doubt, He meant to shew us _how_ to teach, as well as to tell us _what_ to +teach; so if we begin with a sort of allegory or parable, we cannot be far +wrong in point of _form_, 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. + +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. + +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, 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. + +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 matter, as being decided and disposed of for good and +all. + +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? + +Further he asks, am not _I_ substantially _alone_? 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 _me_. 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 to forgive and no misdoers to restore. Have I +not closed against myself whole worlds of moral action and of moral life? + +Then, as to my children, "Have I not been wrong in supposing that they +must _be_ good because they have never _done_ 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?" So, question after question suggests itself, all destructive of his +satisfaction. "Can it be," he says at last, "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." + +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 "neither savour nor salt," and concludes "What they want is +_personality_--and how should they have got it, living in a household where +I have taken care to be all in all?" + +Then his thoughts run upon _evil_, which he has been at such pains to shut +out, closing against it every cranny and chink. "God," he may say, "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," he asks, "is there in +saying that they go right?" + +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. + +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 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. + +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 "with the certain step of man." 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. + +A great change has come over his life in another respect, he is now no +longer _alone_. 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 are real voices in his new world. His views may still prevail, +but it must be, not merely because they are _his_, 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. + +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 _will_ +must be free to act. When we have brought this home to his mind, we shall +be the better able "to justify the ways of God to man" in some important +particulars. + +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 state of growth. The parable +would not apply to spiritual beings, if we could conceive such, whose +qualities and character were unalterable. _Perfected_ beings have done +with growth and struggle, and have attained to the highest condition, viz. +existence in unison with God. But for _imperfect_ 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. + +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 "Why was not the +world made in this way or that?" 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 _had_ made the world in the way which is +suggested. + +From the imaginary case here put, we see to what the common child's +question leads us--the question "Why did not God make all people good and +keep them so?"--If people had been "made good and kept good," 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 "good" 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 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. + +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 _alone_. + +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 _operating_. +"My Father worketh hitherto," says our Lord, "and I work." 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. + +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. + +Mr Erskine of Linlathen, in his excellent book on the Spiritual Order, +says "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?" We may +extend this observation to other qualities besides love, from the exercise +of which, a being who is 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? + +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. + +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 _could_ +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 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. + +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. "God," the +man would say, "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." +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. + +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: and so He must allow evil a place in the world +because this is involved in the "liberty to go wrong" just spoken of. + +This brings us to the mystery of the "origin of evil." I shall not lay +myself open to the charge made against divines, "That they no sooner +declare a subject to be a mystery than they set to work to explain it." 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. + +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. + +I return to my immediate subject--the function that evil performs in the +existing moral world. We read in the Book of Genesis that the earth was to +bring forth "thorns and thistles," and that man was "to eat bread in the +sweat of his brow."(7) This is the result of a change worked, we are told, +"for man's sake." It was indeed for man's _sake_--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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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 +"tenour of His way." 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 "riddle of the +painful earth," 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 long as we own it to be an hypothesis, +and nothing more. + +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. + +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. + +First let us consider the following passage from St John's Gospel:(8) + +"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." + +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 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 _speculative_ subjects: He usually gives a hint, and leaves it +to work in the hearer's mind. + +Our Lord's answer in this case means, _not_, 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. + +In His few words of answer our Lord lets fall one of those hints, _seed +thoughts_, as I have called them, which lie so thickly in the Gospels. + +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 "uses of +adversity." 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 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. + +Again in the parable of the Prodigal Son, we are taught how there is "a +soul of goodness in things evil." 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. + +We will now(9) turn to the history of the cure of the Daemoniac 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 daemon begs not to be suppressed or +annihilated, and our Lord grants his petition and lets him go among the +swine. He saves the _man_--what other evils this daemon 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. + +The point for us to note is this: Our Lord does not _annihilate_ evil. He +does not regard it as an outlawed intruder who had eluded God's notice, +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. _Why_ 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. + +To represent this case to our minds, let us imagine some malignant "germ" +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 daemon to go to the swine. Evil is +not forcibly exterminated, but it is transferred from man to the lower +animals. + +So our Lord is gentle even with the powers of 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. + +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 _universal_ decree. But a +_single_ 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. + +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, 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. + +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 "try all things and hold fast those which +are good," 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 "Why we are told what +we are told?" "Why we are not told more?" and "Why doubt and ambiguities +are not all cleared away?"--we cannot hope to give _answers_, but we may +find ways of looking at them which shall help in some degree + + + "To justify the ways of God to man." + + +It will be best to discuss this subject in a separate Chapter. + + + + + +CHAPTER III. OF REVELATION. + + +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 "thoughts out of many hearts may +be revealed."(10) Now it is God who has planted these thoughts in men, and +He brings about the occasions which reveal them. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +For the present we will suppose that among the elements of human knowledge +are _truths revealed by God_. How is this element of absolutely certain +knowledge to be made to fit in with that which is 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 +_in such a mode_ that its declarations admit of no question whatever, then +its statements possess _absolute certainty_. 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. + +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 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. + +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 _overwhelming_ +and which finally settles the question; but is only supported by just +enough 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. + +Reason may agree to bow to Revelation as being God's declaration; but she +has a right to satisfy herself that it _is_ 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 "What does this Revelation mean?" 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. + +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 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. + +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, _merely as opinions_, 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. 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. + +Then it is that we hear the outcry: "Why cannot all be made clear? Or, if +we cannot be told every thing, why, at any rate, is not that which we +_are_ 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?" "Why, in short," to use the words of the objectors of the +last century, "If God desired to make a Revelation to man, did He not +write it in the skies?" + +To none of these "Whys" can we supply its proper "Because." 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 asks, we can do something to help him all the +same. + +We may be able to shew him that it is better for him only "to know in +part;" 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 _finite_, and what we wanted was the +_infinite_. 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. + +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 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 _whether we like to +do so or not_? + +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. + +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 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, "I have always felt that +there was something I was in want of; now I know what it is, and I have it +here." + +The Jews, who would not believe, wanted to be shewn a Sign from Heaven. +They said, "Give us a proof which is beyond contradiction, and we will +believe," which comes to saying: If we cannot help believing, believe we +will. But they did not mean the same thing by the word "believe" as our +Lord did. Our Lord did not call on His disciples to accept notions _about_ +Him, but to believe _in_ 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. + +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 "If they believe not Moses and the +prophets, neither will they believe though one rose from the dead,"(11) +spoken of the rich man's brethren, is, I believe, the key to one intent of +this parable.(12) 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 _did_ 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. + +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 +way. The corresponding demand is, "Give us an undeniable philosophical +proof of the truth of Christianity." "Shew us this," say men, "and we will +believe." 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 "Christ is with us to the end of the world." +Much confusion has arisen from this difference not being properly marked. + +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 "ears to hear" 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 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 _saw_. + +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, "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." "How can I call on other men to accept it?" 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 "We know the glory of God; for we have seen it." + +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 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. + +So when it is demanded "That a revelation should be written in the skies" +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 could doubt +but that the rest would punctually come to pass, human action would be +very much paralysed. + +The miracles of our Lord's life serve us for our "Signs;" 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. + +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. + +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. + +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(13) 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,(14) and that, whether they chose to believe it +or not, the kingdom of God was drawn nigh to them.(15) He tells them that +to know God is eternal life,(16) and that they who are counted worthy will +attain a resurrection to such a life.(17) 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 of real vital power--"Lo, I am +with you alway, even unto the end of the world."(18) + +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. + +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 "I have yet many things to say unto you but ye cannot bear them +now."(19) Later generations are taught in this same way. The events +related in the Acts, and the labours 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. + +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 _life_ in it and _growth_ along with +life; because Christ does 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. + +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-- + + + "The secrets of his heart are made manifest."(20) + + +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 "This is what has been +always troubling us." 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 +being. God has "sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying +Abba, Father."(21) But He would not have done so if we had not had the +capacity for being sons, to begin with. + +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. + +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 only spiritual creature he can +conceive is _man_; 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 _man_, and so--since there can be no real teaching +without mutual understanding--by _man_ 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, "No one knoweth who the Father is save the Son, and he to +whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal Him,"(22) and again, "No man cometh +to the Father but by me?"(23) + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. OUR LORD'S USE OF SIGNS. + + +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. + +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. + +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 +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 "Why did our Lord work Signs?" + +I use the word "Signs" 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 "Sign," 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 _wonders_, and He never dwells on their +wondrousness. + +In the accounts of St Matthew, St Mark and St Luke, the word "Signs" 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 "works" is generally +found in the like case, though "powers" sometimes takes its place. The +expression "Signs and wonders" 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 _awe_ they inspire. Our Lord only +uses this expression twice--once when He says that false prophets shall +come and "shew great signs and wonders,"(24) and again in His answers to +the nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum, "Unless ye see signs and +wonders ye will not believe."(25) On these occasions the term refers to +the popular conception of the form which Divine interposition would take. +The expression "signs and wonders" occurs very frequently in the Acts of +the Apostles. + +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, "What purpose or +purposes did it actually fulfil?" 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. + +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. + +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 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. + +We will consider, under different heads, the various functions which Our +Lord's miracles fulfilled. That which comes naturally first in order is + + + + +(1) The attraction of hearers. + + +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 "done in Capernaum"(26) 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. + +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 _attach_ +to Him as true disciples those, and those only, who had "ears to hear:" in +this way the crowd would be sifted. + +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. + +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.(27) + +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. + +The overmastering influence of a great leader will "take the prisoned +soul" 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 "have ears +to hear" enquire further and "come and see;" and a further function of +"Signs" is then called into play. + +This function is that they should serve to select from the multitude those +fitted to follow our Lord. + + + + +(2) Selection. + + +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. + +The witnessing of wonders, declared to be wrought by the finger of God, +must have stirred men's minds, and so brought about in them a species of +education, well calculated to winnow out the chaff from the grain. + +But the quality, which this kind of education seizes upon and develops, is +not intellectual ability, but the capacity for "savouring the things of +God." The miracles served as a touchstone for detecting this. Many would +look, and wonder, and go their way--they had seen a strange sight, _that_ +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 _in_ their hearts and _to_ 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. + + + + +(3) Preparation. + + +We have a distinct instance of the use of "Signs" to produce +_preparation_. The seventy were sent working these Signs, "in every city +unto which He Himself would come." 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 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. + +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, "We will not have this man to reign over us." Whenever a vital +religion has been proclaimed it has found opponents of both characters. + +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. + +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. + +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 + + + + +(4) Setting forth the Kingdom of God. + + +They shew not only how close this Kingdom is to us but they also convey +visible lessons, to help men to conceive it aright. + +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 upon them. +When He was charged with casting out devils through Beelzebub, He says, +after disposing of the accusation, + +"But if I by the finger of God cast out devils, then is the _kingdom of +God come upon you_."(28) + +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, "Howbeit know this that the Kingdom +of God _is_ come nigh."(29) Whether men chose to own it or not, God's +Kingdom _was_ near them even at their doors. St Mark, at the outset of his +history of our Lord's Ministry, tells us(30) + + + "Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, + preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, + + "And saying, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at + hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." + + +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 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, "I have told you that God's +power was lying close about you: Behold it operating here." 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, + + + "And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working + with them, and _confirming the word with signs following_. + Amen."(31) + + + + +(5) Teaching wrought by signs. + + +The Signs shew us, not only that the Kingdom _is_ God's, but something +also of the nature of that Kingdom as well. + +Our Lord speaks of the power displayed in miracles as God's power working +through Him. It is "by the finger of God" that He casts out devils and the +man who is healed is bidden to tell his friends what God has done for +him.(32) + +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. + +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. + +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 "good tidings of +God." 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. 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. + +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 "thy sins be forgiven thee." 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. + +The shewing that the Divine power worked 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. + +Christ does not begin with the abstract and say: "God is infinite and +therefore He can find room in His heart to love men, every one;" but He +begins with the concrete and says, "God does love you and every one else:" +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. + +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 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, _as man_, 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. + +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 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. + + + "For as the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the + Son to have life in Himself."(33) + + +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 +_enabled to see without an eye_, as was claimed to be done by 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 _restores_ organs and withered limbs. He +does not dispense with the proper organ or create new ones. + +St Mark gives us full particulars of two cures, of which we can in some +degree trace the process. + + + "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."(34) + + +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. + +The other case is that of one who was deaf and had an impediment in his +speech. + + + "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 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."(35) + + +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-- + + + + +(6) Miracles as a practical lesson to the disciples. + + +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 "Signs" +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. + +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 or considered in books which treat of them, but a +"Sign" it certainly was and it carries lessons with it which, bit by bit, +the world is learning still. + +That miracles should be employed as a means of impressing truths on the +learner, we can well understand. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +There is this singularity about the Transfiguration, that our Lord +_foretells_ it, and in most remarkable words. + + + "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."(36) + + +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 "in no wise taste of death," 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: + + + "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."(37) + + +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 "coming +of the kingdom of God with power" 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 _preparation_ for the receiving of +truths. + +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.--"It is _good_ for us to be here" 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. + +But what, in the view I am taking is the cardinal point of all, is the +voice out of the cloud--"This is my beloved Son, _Hear ye Him_."(38) In +these last words the old covenant is replaced by the new. Moses +representing the Law, and Elijah the Prophets--they 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. + +And when, many years later, the truth broke upon St Peter so that he said: + + + "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,"(39) + + +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. + +There is one miracle in which I can see no other intent, than that of the +instruction of the 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. + + + "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."(40) + + +Of the next day it is related: + + + "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."(41) + + +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 Judaea the fruit of the fig is ripe by the time the leaves have reached +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. + +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 +"the Jews' religion."(42) 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: "See I +am green when other trees are leafless, you may look to me for fruit." 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 "No man eat fruit of thee henceforth and for ever" are really +spoken. Mankind was no longer to draw its teaching from the scribes and +priesthood of the Jews. + +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. + +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? + +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, "Before the cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice," again +conveyed this same lesson together with much beside: and the words "Then +are the children free," 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. + +Lastly we come to the important subject of + + + + +(7) Miracles as a means of proof. + + +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, "Did Jesus of Nazareth answer to the prophetic notices of +the expected deliverer of their race?" The Jews we hear "were mightily +convinced" by Apollos, not because he declared Christ's works but because +he "shewed by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ."(43) + +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 "What makes +you believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God?" had then been put +to all Christendom, the answer of an overwhelming majority would have +been, "Because of the wondrous works which He performed." + +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.(44) + +It will be asked, "If miracles were only a subsidiary ground on which our +Lord claimed belief; What was the primary one?" We shall see that our +Lord's first appeal was Personal; He claimed men's allegiance from what +they had seen of Him and from what they knew. + +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, + + + "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, _Lord, shew us the Father, and it + sufficeth us_. 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."(45) + + +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 +_could_ 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. + +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. + +It is the concluding verse of the passage with which I am most concerned-- + + + "Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or + _else_ believe me for the very works' sake."(46) + + +The first appeal is to that belief, which ought 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 _is_; but we do get nearer +to knowing what a friend _is_, 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 "Son of the living God." Supposing, however, that +he was not sufficiently "finely touched" 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 _mere Signs'_ sake. Signs were provided to suit the +cases of those who could not believe without them. + +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--"Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed" runs +through all our Lord's teaching, but it was better they should believe +from the sight of _such Signs as our Lord worked_--Signs 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. + +The chief texts adduced in disparagement of miracles are: + + + "Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will in no wise believe,"(47) + + +and + + + "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign."(48) + + +If signs and wonders were the appointed means of bringing men to believe, +"Why," ask the objectors, "are those blamed who cannot believe without +seeing them?" "Our Lord," they say, "here shews that He sets little value +on the belief that comes of seeing signs." 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 +_His_ signs involved a will and a disposition to recognize God's hand. + +I do not feel sure, however, that the first text really bears on the +matter. I think it quite possible that the stress should be laid on the +word _see_. The nobleman "besought him that he would _come down_, and heal +his son; for he was at the point of death."(49) 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. + +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 +"evil and adulterous" 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. + +Our Lord Himself on several occasions points 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 +"We will not have this man to reign over us"--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: + + + "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."(50) + + "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."(51) + + +Again, it is easier to convey to another by 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. + +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. + +When the Baptist is in prison he sends two of his disciples to our Lord +with the question, "Art Thou He that cometh, or look we for another?"(52) +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 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. + +We read: + + + "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."(53) + + +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 +"Art thou He that cometh?" If He had said "I am He"--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 "what they hear and see." The works are such as our +Lord continually performed; but John's disciples are given a special +opportunity 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.(54) + +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. + +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 have gained. This we can scarcely obtain without a careful +study of our Lord's ways of influencing men. + +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 +required for their special work, and Christ's training was directed to +develop it within them as I hope to show. + +In the next Chapter I pass to the discussion of the Laws which our Lord +appears to follow in His working of Signs. + + + + + +CHAPTER V. THE LAWS OF THE WORKING OF SIGNS. + + +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. + +I will recapitulate the Laws before stated-- + +(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. + +(2) Our Lord will not use His special powers to provide for His personal +wants or for those of His immediate followers. + +(3) No miracle is to be worked merely for miracles' sake, apart from an +end of benevolence or instruction. + +(4) No miracle is to be worked to supplement human policy or force--as (for +instance) those of Joshua were. + +(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. + +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. + +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 "forty days tempted of +Satan." 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. + +The narratives, taken from the Revised Version, are as follows: + + + "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."(55) + + "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."(56) + + "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."(57) + + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 _the Kingdom_ before his eyes. He would therefore be +inclined to account the rejection of "all the kingdoms of the world and +the glory of them" 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. + +Another slight variation may be noticed. St Matthew tells us that He was +"led up of the Spirit _to be tempted_ of the devil."(58) The words imply +that He was led up with a view to undergoing temptation. But in St Mark +and St Luke we have "being tempted" 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 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. + +The words "Get thee hence," 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 "Get thee hence" 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 figuratively and +personifying the voices that tempted him. + +It may be asked, "At what period of His ministry did our Lord give the +disciples the account of what passed in the desert?" 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 "the original document," 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 "parchment."(59) 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,(60) at the time when + + + "He went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John was at + the first baptizing; and there he abode."(61) + + +The place would recall what had happened after He had been "driven" from +that spot by the Spirit into the wilderness about two years before. + +Other considerations also lead me to this conjecture. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +Now comes the great question of all: In what sense is the narrative to be +taken? + +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. + +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: 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. + +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. + +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 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 _form_ then, as well as the matter of the lesson, +must be worth studying closely. + +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, "Now I will tell you something that happened +to me;" 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. + +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. + +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 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 +_Paradise Regained_. 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. + +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 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. + +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 _Pilgrim's Progress_ 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? + +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 daemonology 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 _generic_ sense to personify evil +spiritual influences exercised upon earth. + +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 "beheld Satan fallen as lightning from Heaven."(62) We have +clearly impersonation here. He says also "If Satan hath risen up against +himself and is divided,"(63) 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 "rejected and killed and after three days rise +again," our Lord says "Get thee behind me, Satan." St Peter, by saying of +the suffering of which our Lord spake "this shall never be unto thee,"(64) +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 +_apologue_ or species of parable, in which our Lord, after Eastern +fashion, introduced Satan as an embodiment of the powers of evil. + +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. + +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. + + + + +Temptation to turn stones into loaves. + + +I now come to the Temptations themselves. As these trials were mental, we +can only realise them by imagining what, consistently with our history, +_may_ have passed in our Lord's mind. What _actually did_ so pass is of +course beyond our knowledge altogether. We are however justified in +supposing that, as our Lord was "tempted as man," the thoughts and +feelings which actuated Him would be such as men might follow and more or +less understand. + +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 +so it would come to much the same thing as if the work were done once for +all by God's _fiat_, independently of human action--and this, as we have +already seen, is not God's way of governing the world. + +When St Paul takes his last journey to Jerusalem, the Spirit, he tells us, +"testifieth unto me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide +me." 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. + +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. + +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 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 "Try this experiment in a _very small matter first_." Who +could think this apparent caution and prudence came from an ill quarter? + +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? + +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-- + +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? + +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 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? + +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. + +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 _must_ use your special powers to +supply your own bodily wants in the coming contest,--why not begin with +using them for this purpose now?" + +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 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 "He was one of us." 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, "As you live, I live: of all your ills +and troubles I claim my part." + +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. + +Man wants no reminding that he lives by _bread_. 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 _can_ +work a miracle, or 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. + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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, "What thinkest thou, Simon? the +kings of the earth, from whom do they receive toll or tribute? from their +sons, or from strangers?"(65) + +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 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 "then are the children free." 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. + + + + +The Temptation on the Mount. + + +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. + +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 our +ideal by using the arts of worldly policy; which were to be supported in +the case before us by superhuman power. + +We can conceive a Tempter, such as the Satan of _Paradise Regained_, +saying as he does, + + + "Great acts require great means of enterprise," + + +and urging worldly counsels such as these:--"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 _a cause_. 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 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." + +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. + +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 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 _leader of a cause_--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 _Work_, 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 formulae 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 those who injured Him, especially in +His boyish years. + +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 _we_ 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! + +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. "But He turned and +rebuked them."(66) + +Again, if He had come down from the cross when challenged to do so, this +principle would have been broken through. Those who said "He saved others, +Himself He cannot save,"(67) 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. + +In connexion with this it may be noted that when St Peter is delivered +from the prison,(68) and St Paul and Silas at Philippi, these deliverances +are represented, not as being worked _by_ St Peter or St Paul, but as +being worked _for_ them by the Divine power, without any doing of theirs. + + + + +The Temptation on the Pinnacle of the Temple. + + +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. + +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:-- + +"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 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!"(69) + +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. + +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.(70) +A man's belief is not _his_ 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 by the interference of absolute power, +why should men possess them or care to put them to use? As a fact, God +_suggests_ but does not _compel_, 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. + +Let us imagine the form the Tempter's arguments might take in the mouth of +one like Milton's Satan: "You wish," he might suggest, "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 _at once_;--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(71)--and in the presence of all the crowd hurl yourself into the +Priests' Court below." + +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? + +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 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. + +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: + + + "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."(72) + + +This limitation is very carefully maintained. Our Lord never appears _in +His own form_, 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 or one for the +wonderment of the crowd. Some might say, with the man in the parable, +"Nay, but if one go to them from the dead,(73) they will repent," 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. + +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. + +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 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? + +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 record, could we have +conceived our Lord as being "Man of the substance of His mother born in +the world"? 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. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. FROM THE TEMPTATION TO THE MINISTRY IN GALILEE. + + + + +Outset of the Work. + + +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. + +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 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 "a _teacher_ come from God;"(74) His followers are to be +purely _disciples_ 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 _exploring_, 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 +"scribes instructed into the kingdom of heaven." 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 _Faith_. The peasants +and fishers whose ways He knew--unsentimental, serviceable men--were taken +as witnesses for the new revelation: they offered the new flasks wanted +for the new wine. + +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 _them_ 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 _numbers_ 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. + +It may be asked "Did our Lord from the first see all that lay before Him?" +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 in catching His +meaning: "He _marvelled_" 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. + +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-- + + + "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!"(75) + + +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 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. "This being done," our Lord might say, "this for which I +came,--why do I linger here? what more do I want?" and yet He might add "My +whole work is _not_ done: the crowning act remains. Men will never +understand my love at all unless I die for them." 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. + +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. + +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 _disciples_ thought of things that happened 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 _why_ 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. + +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 +"He manifested forth His glory, _and His disciples believed on Him_."(76) +Next we find the disciples spoken of, as if they stood in a kind of family +relation to Him. "He went down to Capernaum, He, and His mother, and His +brethren, and _His disciples_."(77) 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, "The zeal of Thine house shall eat me up,"(78) 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: "_many_ believed on His name, +beholding the signs which He did."(79) 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.(80) 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. + +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 "Preparatio Evangelica" +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 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 _preparation_. The disciples are sent "to every place where +He Himself would come." 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 Judaea. + +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 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.(81) + +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 _regimen_, 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,(82) +he accustomed them to voluntary fasts;(83) and on some points of +ceremonial, such as purification, he may have had tenets of his own.(84) + +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 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--"He _findeth_ Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me."(85) Philip +hastens to Nathanael,(86) who came from Cana in Galilee, and tells him +that the Messiah has been found in the person of "Jesus the son of Joseph, +_the man from Nazareth_."(87) The words in italics _may_ imply "of whom we +have all heard;" 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. + +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 Judaea; they had lived together, faring alike, +and baring their hearts each to the other in 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.(88) + +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 "There is a lad here who hath five barley-loaves and two +small fishes."(89) The Synoptists(90) 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. When the Greeks who came up and worshipped at the feast wished +to see Jesus they applied to Philip;(91) then we have + + + "Philip cometh and telleth _Andrew_: Andrew cometh, and Philip, + and they tell Jesus." + + +St John here seems almost to go out of his way to speak of Andrew. + +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, +"found him," which I take to mean, not that He merely _lighted upon him_, +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 to Him. Again when Philip +says, "Lord, shew us the Father and it sufficeth us,"(92) our Lord +replies, Have I been _so long_ with you and you have not known me? The +words "so long" 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. + +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.(93) 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: "Can there +any good thing come out of Nazareth?" 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 to mutual disparagement between neighbours, which is +not unknown among ourselves, and was rife in those times, will account for +Nathanael's words.(94) + +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 "go and see." Here our Lord +exercises His singular gift of introspection, "Behold," says He, "an +Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile." + + + "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."(95) + + +Probably Nathanael recalled what had passed in his mind when he had been +under the fig-tree. Perhaps some mystery of existence had then weighed +upon his soul, and on coming to Christ he found "the thoughts of his heart +revealed."(96) + +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, "To him who hath shall be +given," a law which has been several times before us and will be so again +before long. Nathanael _had_ something already; he was enough in earnest +to drop his prejudices; a slight token had enabled him to see in our Lord +"the Son of God, the King of Israel:" he is told that he shall see greater +things than these. Jacob had dreamed of old(97) 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 "the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of +Man."(98) + +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. + +(1) In St Mark's(99) list of the Apostles--the names "and Andrew, and +Philip, and Bartholomew" 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 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. + +(2) From the way in which St Matthew's(100) list is given we may infer +something of greater interest still. St Matthew gives the names of the +Apostles _in pairs_: 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.(101) It is curious that though St +Matthew _couples_ the names, yet he does not say, as St Mark and St Luke +do, that the Apostles were sent _two and two_ together. The coupling in St +Matthew is a kind of coincidence with that express direction which is +preserved by St Mark and St Luke. + +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. + +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, "and _His disciples_ +believed on Him."(102) 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. + + + "After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his + brethren, and _his_ disciples: and there they abode not many + days."(103) + + +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: + + + "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 Galilaeans received + him, having seen all the things that he did in Jerusalem at the + feast: for they also went unto the feast."(104) + + +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 _did_ receive Him because they had seen +what He did at the feast? There must have been some previous occasion on +which He had _not_ been received. I believe that the last quoted passage, +fully expressed, might run thus: "He went forth from thence into Galilee +_but not to Nazareth_, for Jesus Himself testified that a prophet hath no +honour in his own country," and _therefore_ He passed by Nazareth and went +on to 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.(105) 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. + +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 _into Galilee_ 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 Temple. Our Lord does not go to +Nazareth, but again makes His stay at Cana. + +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;(106) 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.(107) + +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. +Personal attacks He bore with meekness, "when He was reviled He reviled +not again, when He suffered He threatened not;"(108) but He gives free +vent to a godly wrath when He finds men driving a traffic in holy things. + +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, "What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that +thou doest these things?"(109) I need not say that on demand He will work +no Sign at all: this is His invariable rule. + +St John says nothing of the nature of the miracles wrought by our Lord at +this time; we only hear that they induced people "to believe in His +name."(110) 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 "they have no wine;" 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 Judaea, + + + "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."(111) + + +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 _their_ way; and who, when He did not, would "go +back and walk no more with Him."(112) The relation of our Lord to these +early Judaean 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 Judaean 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. + +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. + +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 Galilaeans 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. + +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 _act_; and though they divined that there was a truth dawning from +afar, yet their feeling for it was not so much a passion as a taste. + +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 + + + "After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of + Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. And John also + was baptizing in AEnon near to Salim, because there was much water + there: and they came, and were baptized."(113) + + +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-- + + + "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."(114) + + +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 _done_, by a work wrought upon _them_. +Some might interpret this "outward and visible sign" 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. + +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-- + + + "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 + Judaea and departed again into Galilee."(115) + + +I make out St John's meaning to be, that our Lord quitted Judaea because He +found Himself thrust into apparent rivalry with John the Baptist. The +Judaean disciples wanted a sect of their own; and the Pharisees regarded +our Lord's following as an offshoot from the movement of John, an offshoot +which was likely to out-top the parent tree. + +It seems to me that our Lord was taking a survey of the different +religious sections in Judaea and examining their fitness to furnish helpers +for His work. Scholars who like Nicodemus were quick to ask "How can these +things be?" 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 _fact_ would take up +all their minds leaving no room for the question of _mode_. If Nicodemus +had been capable of seeing how sublime was the future presented to him, he +would never have expected to understand _how_ 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 Judaea; 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. + +Our Lord's leaving Judaea was precipitated by 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 _by counting heads_, they are both in a way to fall down +and worship the Spirit of the world. + +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 "be instant in +season and out of season;"(116) they are only to proclaim the Kingdom of +God: those who have ears to hear will hear, and the rest will go their +way. + +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 +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, "I am of Paul" and others "I +am of Apollos."(117) + +There is no valid reason for supposing that our Lord left Judaea 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 Judaea, which was not under Herod's jurisdiction, and have +gone into Galilee which was so. + +At any rate our Lord quits Judaea and the Judaean disciples, or all but a +few of them, and travels back to Galilee with a little company who were +bound to Him, and who tended Him, it would seem, with affectionate +solicitude.(118) + +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 _all_ 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. + +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--"for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth,"(119) 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 "did not commit +Himself."(120) 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. + +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: + + + "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 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."(121) + + +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 +"Praeparatio Evangelica," 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. + +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 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. + + + "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 _him_."(122) + + +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. "Ye are they," says He to them, "who have continued with +me in my temptations"(123) and He speaks of the "joy in heaven" and again +of the "joy in the presence of the angels of God," "over one sinner that +repenteth;"(124) 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 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(125) do not +seem to have been taken literally. + +For reasons given in the chronological appendix I place the return of our +Lord through Samaria early in May A.D. 28. + +Between the return through Samaria and the journey up to "the feast of the +Jews,"(126) 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-- + + + "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."(127) + + +This is parallel with St John's statement, before discussed, "The +Galilaeans received Him, having seen all the things that He did at +Jerusalem at the feast."(128) + +I also refer to this period the preaching in the synagogue at Nazareth. +The tone of this discourse as I have already observed (pp. 164, 165) +tallies with the notion before advanced of a previous ill 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. + +It is to be remarked that no mention is made of _disciples_ 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 A.D. 28.(129) 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 A.D. 28 was preaching in +various synagogues, and went, almost unattended, to Jerusalem. The absence +of His followers would account for the scantiness of our information as to +this period. + +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 A.D. 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.(130) + +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 order "Follow Me."(131) If John drew some of his +information from Philip, this will help to account for his frequent +mention of him.(132) + +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 "the Jews" (by which word St +John indicates the hierarchy) were shocked that He should tell the man to +carry his bed on the Sabbath day. + + + "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."(133) + + +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 western philosophy, and they were actuated by other +motives beside zeal for the Law. + +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. + +But what was more effective than even spiritual awe was their personal +alarm. The dread which one of their body afterwards expressed--"The Romans +will come and take away both our place and our nation"(134)--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. + +The reply, "My Father worketh hitherto and I work,"(135) is characteristic +of our Lord's way. He does not meet the charge by contesting the +interpretation 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.(136) + +I must notice another verse of this discourse, + + + "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."(137) + + +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 _name_ that they know. Our Lord used only His Father's name; +this did not move their human sympathies for "The Father" 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 God by gaining their homage for the Son of Man. + +The temporary separation of the Apostles from our Lord during the summer +of A.D. 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. + +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, "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a +while." 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. + +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 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,--"they straightway left the nets and followed +Him."(138) + +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. + +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 _from Him_ 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 A.D. 28, and that then Faith--Faith as our Lord speaks of +it--dawned upon the world. + + + + + +CHAPTER VII. THE PREACHING TO THE MULTITUDES. + + +It was, as I believe, soon after that "feast of the Jews" lately mentioned +(pp. 180 and 181 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(139) and 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. + +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 +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. + +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 _how_ 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. + +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; 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 Judaea. 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 +_dicta_ 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. + +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, "Our master gives us this or that; what +does your master give you?" 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. + +To understand how wisely things were ordered, we must give a glance to +what would have been the result of the most obvious and apparently "the +most natural" 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 "a hundred +and twenty," 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. + +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 +_founders_ 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 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. + +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 +"that a prophet should perish out of Jerusalem," 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 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 "city set upon +a hill." 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. + +Moreover, owing to the dispersion of the Jews and their custom of visiting +Jerusalem at the great feasts when they possibly could, "devout men from +every nation under Heaven" were drawn together there from time to time, +and a common interest in what concerned "Israel" 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. + +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 _all_ returned to Jerusalem for the Ascension. Our Lord then enjoined +them to remain and from thence to propagate the Faith. This injunction +explains their abandonment of their homes and callings, which is hard to +account for otherwise. + +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: + + + "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."(140) + + +The Evangelist does not say that our Lord came from Judaea, 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. + + + "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 + _son_ 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."(141) + + +This passage would offer an opening for criticism, if it were not for the +light thrown on it by St John's Gospel, by help of which an apparent +difficulty is turned into a coincidence. + +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,--"Come ye after me, and I will make +you to become fishers of men." 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. + +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.(142) + +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. + +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. + +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. + +But we have another Evangelist, St Luke, a more practised writer, whose +design was to present 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. + +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 "fishers of men," 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. + +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 "fishers +of men," 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 "there were added unto +them in that day about 3000 souls."(143) + +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 _promise_ 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 he is told. It is +enough for Simon to know that his Master wishes him to "Put out into the +deep and let down his nets for a draught."(144) 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. + +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. + +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, "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." 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 +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. + +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 "vision and faculty Divine" are afterwards shewn "greater +things than these." + +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 +_must come out_ at once; whether it be an objection that occurs to him, or +a motion of indignation or of 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, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful +man, O Lord."(145) + +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 _authority_ with which He spoke. + + + "And they were astonished at his teaching: for he taught them as + having authority, and not as the scribes."(146) + + +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 +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. + +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 "we +always thought it must be so; and so it is." 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. + +Secondly, our Lord not only _told_ 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 word He spake,--whether of teaching, or +reproof, or expostulation, or in His passing words to those who received +His mercies--He _treated_ 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. + +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 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, "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." 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. + +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: "He has treated us as men," they say, "and men he shall +find we are." 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 _their_ Father who is also _His_ Father, just as men speak of any +common tie: and this took hold of their hearts. + +Fourthly. We find in the earlier portions of the Sermon on the Mount, +which best represent this preaching to the multitude,(147) that our Lord +assumes a certain positive authority, by putting His own commands in +contrast with the written Law. + +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. + +We shall see the point most clearly, if we understand the word "fulfil," +to mean, "carry out into its full completeness." For our Lord does not +_destroy_ the Law but he _supersedes_ 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 _do_, but also what they _are_, and what they will +_become_. + +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 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, "But _I_ say unto you" 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. + +It may be asked--"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." We answer, "He would have caused utter bewilderment if He had +entered on such a matter at all." 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. + +Let us suppose, for a moment--not of course that He had cried down the Law +like one who 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, "That if the tables +of the Law were not graven by God's finger they were nothing at all?" +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, "Root it up," +our Lord seems to answer, "Along with the tares some wheat needs must go." +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. + +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 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. + +So far we have dealt chiefly with the _matter_ of our Lord's teaching of +the multitudes, but something must be said about its _form_. 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, "This is one +man's view and that is another's," and not, "This is _mine_," 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 want to know what one authority says +or the other, but what they are to accept. + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + +We have + + + "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."(148) + + +He Himself, before the High Priest, does not submit to wrong, without +asking in remonstrance "Why smitest thou me?" 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. + +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 "Give to him that asketh of thee" our Lord had +appended all the obvious exceptions--such as the cases in which what is +asked for would be hurtful--the 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. + +Our Lord wished to leave _seed thoughts_ 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. + +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 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. + +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 "Lord, Lord," in +different accents, at different times; we have heard of "revivals" 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. + +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 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. + +In the course of the winter of A.D. 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 "he forsook all, and rose up and followed Him." + +There must have been in this man "a soul of goodness" 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 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. + +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 "salt in himself." + +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 occurred he saw the +reproduction of what was narrated in the old books; and the burden "Now +this was done that the Scripture might be fulfilled" runs through all his +writings. + +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 _witness_ of Christ. This was set forth in that which, so to say, +was their charter of incorporation. "Ye shall be my witnesses both in +Jerusalem and in all Judaea and Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the +earth."(149) Now the more varied the characters of the witnesses the +stronger would be the case when they agreed. + +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. +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. + +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. + +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 "there were Pharisees and doctors of the law +sitting by, which were come out of every village of Galilee and Judaea and +Jerusalem."(150) The presence of these strangers bears on what follows. + +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. + +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 it was easy to find ground, was a +breach of the traditionary rules for keeping the Sabbath. + +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 "doing what they would with their own" 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 _for men_, although +the Jews had come to look on it as something done _by men for God_, 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. + +Here again we see how our Lord deals with views falling short of the +truth. The moral creed of His 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. + +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. + +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. + + + "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 _men_ 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."(151) + + +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. + +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. + +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, "as John +also taught his disciples."(152) + +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. + +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 +_particularised_ 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 "come +to the Father." 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 _the outer form belongs to man_; and, if He had Himself adopted any +particular practice in any of the matters above named, men might imagine +that this was binding for evermore and had a virtue in itself. + +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. + +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, not of any stated +precept, but because they were bereaved of their Lord. + +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. + +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 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. + +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 _for_ the +learner as before, much is left to be done _by_ him for himself. We mark +another change also in the manner. Hitherto there has been no _haste_, 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 +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.(153) + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. THE CHOOSING OF THE APOSTLES. + + +In treating of the calling of the Apostles, we encounter the questions, +"What led our Lord to surround Himself with a constituted body of this +kind?" and, "In virtue of what qualities were its members chosen?" 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. + +Before choosing the Apostles our Lord spent the night alone on the +mountain in prayer; on one other occasion only did He do the same.(154) If +we regard only the duties expressly laid upon the Twelve at their +call,(155) 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. + +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. + +It will be shewn that the Apostles were qualified 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. + +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. + +To proceed with the history. During this winter of A.D. 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. + +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 _by themselves_, 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. + +It is worth noting that during all this time of 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.(156) First from the neighbouring towns, then from Judaea 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. + +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. + +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 +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. + +I take up the narrative at the beginning of the third chapter of St Mark's +Gospel. + + + "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 Judaea."(157) + + +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 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. + +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. + +Some words of our Lord, belonging probably to this place, are recorded by +St Matthew. + + + "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."(158) + + +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,(159) 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. + +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: 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. + +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, "Why did not our Lord do as St Paul +did?" Why did He not "ordain elders in every city," 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, "Why did not +our Lord found a Church Himself?" to which an answer has been given +before. His business was to "kindle the fire" and only to kindle it. What +has been said of ritual (p. 222) 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 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. + +In all matters of procedure the one question asked would have been, "What +was the practice of the Lord?" 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 +formulae 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 the World should also be the founder of a +local Church; the disproportion is so vast between the two terms. + +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 "wise in their generation" as the children +of the world. + +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. + +We read: + + + "He went out into the mountain to pray; and he continued all night + in prayer to God;"(160) + + +again, we have + + + "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."(161) + + +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 "we;" 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. + +The hour to which our Lord had looked forward, the time "when the +bridegroom should be taken away," 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--"they all +left Him, and fled."(162) 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 "thorn in the flesh" given +to St Paul, might prevent their being "exalted overmuch." 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. + +Hardly had the two who returned from Emmaus told their tale, when + + + "He himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace + _be_ unto you."(163) + + +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 chosen for witnesses of +the Supreme Event in the history of Man, of the Resurrection of our Lord +and Saviour Jesus Christ. + +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 + + + "And ye also bear witness, because ye have been with me from the + beginning,"(164) + + +and afterwards it is as witnesses that they are singled out by our Lord, +"And ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judaea and +Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth."(165) In this +distinctive light too they regard themselves. When a successor to Judas +has to be appointed, St Peter says, "of these must one become a witness +with us of his resurrection"(166) and Peter and all the Apostles say, +before the Sanhedrin, "We are witnesses of these things." Peter again, +speaking to the brethren from Joppa calls the Apostles "witnesses chosen +before of God."(167) + +I find in the Twelve a special fitness for the particular work which it +fell to them to perform. 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. + +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--"all trivial, fond records" 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. + +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. + +Nothing carries more weight with a jury than the impression that the +witness has an intense 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: "Now speakest thou plainly and speakest no +parable" 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. + +I have spoken of the difference of character among the Apostles for this +reason. That eleven men, and a _particular_ 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 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. + +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. + +Of Matthew what I said (p. 215) may stand in place of a notice here. His +Gospel shews us from what side he looked on the work then being set afoot. + +James and John the "Sons of Thunder" 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. Though +Thomas so loved our Lord that he was the first to propose to go with Him +to Jerusalem that "they might die with Him,"(168) 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 "without guile" and is glad to accept the offer +"Come and see." Of Philip I have often spoken. His words, "Shew us the +Father and it sufficeth us" lay his mind bare before us. + +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 "zealot," 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 +"the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God."(169) 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 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. + +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 Judaea, Kerioth by name, he was, among the +Apostles, the only one who was not a Galilaean. 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 "trust Himself"(170) +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. + +His presence among the disciples shews that 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. + +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. + +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 men brought up as they had been. They always look first to +what under the circumstances has to be _done_; 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, "How are they to be fed?" 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. + +Such men are good witnesses for they have eyes for everything. I contend +then, first that the 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 _notions_ but in a +stupendous Fact (p. 230). + +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 "as little children," registering truly what came from +without, and declaring it just as their five senses set it before them. + +I have said (_l.c._) 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 +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 "teach all nations,"(171) 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 "the +truth makes free." 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. + +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. + +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 the Faith that transformed the +world. They were the depositories of the leaven which gradually set up its +working through the minds of men. + +For this other function of their office they were also singularly +qualified in various external ways. + +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 +that "He too is a Man." 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. + +To proceed with the course of events. Our Lord having called to Him "whom +He Himself would" and chosen the twelve, assigns to them their name. They +are "Apostles," men sent forth to preach. But it was not till the risen +Christ appeared to the eleven in that upper chamber and said, "Peace be +unto you; as my Father hath sent me even so send I you," 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. + +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. + +St Luke's account is this. + + + "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 Judaea and Jerusalem, and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, + which came to hear 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."(172) + + +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, "It was said to +those of old time" and "But I say unto you," phrases which point the +contrast which forms the main theme of the earlier address. + +The multitudes who awaited our Lord "in the level place" were made up of +Apostles, disciples, and people "who came to hear him and be healed." In +some passages of this discourse our Lord had the disciples, and in others +the rest of the people, particularly in view. + +It was to the disciples that He turned when He began to speak. + + + "And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed are + ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God."(173) + + +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 off and vilified "for the +son of man's sake," 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, "for +_yours_ is the Kingdom of Heaven," and "_ye_ shall be filled." In the +Sermon on the Mount the corresponding pronouns are _theirs_ and _they_. + +A special lesson is conveyed to the Twelve is the last of these +beatitudes. + + + "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."(174) + + +Although the enthusiastic reception of their 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. + +Parallel with these beatitudes run the denunciations of woe. + + + "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."(175) + + +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. + +I think that when our Lord began to utter "Woe," 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 "hunger and thirst after righteousness," they do not +"seek a country;" they do not steadily seek anything; but, if they feel +for a moment uneasy, they clutch their possessions and say, "At any rate I +have thus much comfort secure here." This it was which made it next to +impossible for them to enter the kingdom of God, and our Lord cries unto +them, "Woe." + +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 them unawares to love +"the praise of men more than the praise of God." 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. + +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, "But I say unto you which +hear,"(176) I take to imply, "_all_ you which hear." The twelve verses +which follow form a sermon of general application of which "Love your +enemies" is taken as the text. + +On this sermon being ended we read + + + "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."(177) + + +This parable is addressed to the newly appointed Twelve. It bears on the +temptations of young teachers. They are in danger of being elated 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. + +The last verse of the last quotation, refers, not to Christ and _His_ +disciples--there is no suggestion that these should reach _His_ +perfection--but to the disciples and _their_ 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. + +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 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. + +Next comes the verse, "For there is no good tree that bringeth forth +corrupt fruit."(178) 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. + +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, "God looks to what +you _are_ as well as to what you _do_, 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." + +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 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. + +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 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. + +When our Lord had finished His discourse He returned to Capernaum. + + + "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."(179) + + +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, "they said he is beside himself." + +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 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. + +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. + +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: + + + "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."(180) + + +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 "the Lamb of God who was to take +away the sins of the world," 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 "lantern to a man's path," 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, "Was this to be all?" Was He going to restore the +kingdom Himself, or was another to come and take up that portion of the +work? + +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, "And blessed is he whosoever shall find none +occasion of stumbling in me."(181) 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. + +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. + +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, + + + "And wisdom is(182) justified of all her children."(183) + + +The meaning of the passage turns on the sense given to the word +"justified." 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 understand +its particular meaning in this place. I refer to the passage: + + + "And all the people when they heard, and the publicans, + _justified_ 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."(184) + + +The word "justified" is used in this passage in the sense it has when we +say "my son has justified all my outlay," or "the event justified all my +precautions." + +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, 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. + +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; _they do +not want to play at all_. The people would learn from this image as much +as was within their comprehension. They could see that when 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, "wisdom is justified of _all_ her children," goes beyond what the +people would see at the time; and, indeed, as St Matthew in his version +omits the important word _all_, it looks as if he had himself missed the +full sense. + +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 _are_ 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. + +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 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. + +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 "truth absolute" which is _one and exclusive_ and this, in spiritual +matters, can only be attained by an unmistakeable _dictum_ 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 correct. These being points in a circle +round the unattainable centre may be infinite in number. + +These hard sayings shew that Christ, when he spoke, looked beyond his +hearers into infinite space and saw there "other sheep who were not of +this fold."(185) 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.(186) 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. + + + + + +CHAPTER IX. THE SCHOOLING OF THE APOSTLES. THE MISSION TO THE CITIES. + + +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 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? + +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 +_not_ 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 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. + +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, "How was +the Apostles' character influenced by this?" + +I have spoken of the "Schooling of the Apostles" 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 "What they are to do?" 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 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. + +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 "the assurance of +things hoped for, the proving of things not seen."(187) 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. 8, 9), but I will name them here again. + +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 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(188) 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 +"Peace be unto you." 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 "Lo, I am always with you unto the end of the world," 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. + +Christ is the Divine core of the true life of Humanity, and He, when one +set of views are outgrown, may whisper to the "company of God's faithful +people," and there may be disclosed to them another aspect of that truth +absolute which men in the body cannot completely discern or receive. + +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. + +Up to this time the fisher brethren had gone on working for their +livelihood more or less, but now 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 "words of +eternal life." The following passage belongs to this time: + + + "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."(189) + + +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. + +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. + +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 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.(190) + +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 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,(191) some the +contributions, some were sent on in advance to secure lodging,(192) 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. + +At the same time this regular occupation, though sufficient to prevent any +evil spirit finding in them a corner "empty, swept and garnished," 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. + +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. + +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. "This" they would say "is all +well, but how is it like the Kingdom of God?" 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; 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, "to those who have shall be given"; words +which we have not done with yet, but which it would draw me from my point +to discuss now. + +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 +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. + +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. + +When the disciples had thus been filled with new thoughts and new ideas, +our Lord withdrew them from turmoil that the ideas might germinate +undisturbed, we read + + + "And on that day, when even was come, he saith unto them, Let us + go over unto the other side."(193) + + +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. + + + "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?"(194) + + +This _yet_ 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. + +First let us notice a trait of nature in the recital which shews the hand +of an eye-witness. The words "Master, carest thou not that we perish" +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. + +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, "Shall you, if a storm should come, +feel safe because I am with you?" 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. + +The miracle in the country of the Gadarenes, into which our Lord went, +brings out one point which belongs to my subject.(195) This miracle I +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 "Yes." 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 _man_, 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.(196) 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: + + + "And they began to beseech him to depart from their borders."(197) + + +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. + +In the above verse we find the first instance of indifference or aversion +among those to whom our Lord went. + +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. + +It was well, as I have said, that a glow of success should at starting +rest upon their path, 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,(198) but this +is an instance of the principle which will form the subject of the next +chapter and will there be discussed. + +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 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,(199) 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. + +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: + + + "And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth + by two and two; and he gave them 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."(200) + + +St Luke gives this account of the sending of the seventy. + + + "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 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."(201) + + +In the account of St Matthew we find some small differences. The +discourses delivered on the two occasions are perhaps combined.(202) + +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. + +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. + +The words are these: + + + "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."(203) + + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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 +"God speed" to those they met. They might, indeed, have _done_ the same +good, but they would not have _got_ 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. + +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 _outside_ 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 _inner_ good, if they had not +believed they were doing _outer_ 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 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. + +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. + +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. + +The directions for their equipment will be seen to further the growth of +the impressions desired. + +They are to go two together; this is a rule always observed. Our Lord sent +"messengers before his face(204) into a village of the Samaritans to make +ready for him;" it is not said that they were two in number, but as James +and John are 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,(205) and Peter and John together are sent to +make ready the Passover.(206) 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. + +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 +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. + +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 air +of men who are marching determinedly to their goal. + +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, "there abide and thence depart." + +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 "That the Kingdom +of God was come." 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.(207) On their return, +they relate what they had taught.(208) + +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 "come +in his own name."(209) 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.(210) + +How long this journey of the Apostles lasted we do not know; the +exigencies of harmonists have 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 A.D. 29, and +the seventy from the Northern border of Judaea or from Peraea in the +following autumn, is a plausible guess. The words, "Go not into the way of +the Gentiles," &c. which St Matthew puts at the head of our Lord's +directions, I think refer to the mission of the seventy. In Peraea they +were close to Gentile countries and Samaria lay in the way to parts of +Galilee and Judaea. 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. + + + "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 him."(211) + + +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. + +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. + +St Mark tells us + + + "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."(212) + + +This rule of our Lord to give the Apostles rest 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: + + + "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?"(213) + + +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 "great company" 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 "_followed_ Him (_i.e._ from the villages of +Gennesaret) because they beheld the Signs;" and St Mark tells us that the +people "saw them going and many knew them." The crowd therefore could not +have been strangers from Damascus. St John, however, would not have here +mentioned the Passover, if 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, "It was feast time, no work +was being done, and large bodies of men were therefore at leisure to +follow." 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. + +In this miracle, I am particularly concerned.(214) 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. + +It may be asked, "Had the Apostles the loaves with them or did they buy +them of the lad?" + +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(215) +was carrying provisions belonging to the party, than that he had brought +them for sale and that the disciples bought them. + +St Matthew, St Mark and St Luke speak as though the loaves and fishes +belonged to the Apostolic company, while St John says "There is _a lad +here_ who has &c." 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 "hired servants" in Zebedee's +boat.(216) 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 +_both_ be brought by the same lad, in just such quantity as to suffice for +our Lord's company. The words "How many loaves have ye? Go and see" shew, +that our Lord supposed them to have brought a supply;(217) 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.(218) It is unlike the East, as we now know +it, that there should have been no bargaining, and that _one_ 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. + +Whether the provisions belonged to the disciples or were(219) 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 _uniformities observed_ in his conduct, which harmonise with the +course taken in the Temptations. We need not suppose that He said to +Himself "I will always adhere to this rule or that," 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.(220) 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, "Whence are we to buy bread?"(221) + +What our Lord said on this occasion to the multitude we do not know; we +are told only that "He began to teach them many things,"(222) 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 "were about to come and take him by force to make him +king."(223) 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. + +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. + + + "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."(224) + + +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. + +On the passage of the Apostles back to the western shore, occurred the +miracle of the Lord walking on the sea. + + + "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."(225) + + +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 "ever with them unto the end of the world." The +experience of the journey taught that they "lacked nothing" 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, "toiling in rowing," 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.(226) 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. + +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 +appear. Many a time they may have cheered one another saying "Christ +provided for us when we went forth with only our staves in our hands. He +will not desert us now;" 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: + + + "Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid."(227) + + + + + +CHAPTER X. TO THOSE WHO HAVE, IS GIVEN. + + + + +The Teaching by Parables. + + +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, "to whomsoever hath, shall be given." + +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 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. + +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. + +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 from them was taken "what they seemed to have," 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. + +The aphorism "that to him who had, more was given" 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 "nothing succeeds like success" 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. + +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, 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. + +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 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. + +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 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 "exceeding great joy" which with the +Apostles was the habitual state. + +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 _hath_, 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. + +I will consider the pair of parables(228) 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. + +(1) The rewards are proportioned, not to the amount of the original +arbitrary gifts, which, I suppose, stand for natural advantages, but to +what has been obtained by turning these gifts to account. + +(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. + +(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. + +In the parable of the talents, the "man going into a far country" entrusts +to his servants sums varying in amount, "to each according to his several +abilities." 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 "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou +hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things: +enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." 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. + +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. + +The greater charge is given to him who had made ten pounds--not purely as a +_reward_, but because he has shewn himself twice as well adapted to govern +the ten cities as the servant who had only made five pounds. + +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 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, "Lord, he hath ten pounds," implying "Why give more to him who has so +much already?" 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, + + + "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."(229) + + +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 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. + +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 "they do greatly err." But as regards the enigmas +of life He only drops hints, which men may take or not. + +I now come to the discourse, which I had put aside for a moment that the +parables might be discussed. + +As soon as our Lord had ended the parable of the Sower + + + "The disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto + them in parables?"(230) + + +Observe the words _unto them_. 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. "In order to win men over," they would say +to themselves, "it would surely be best to speak in the plainest and most +direct way." + +The fullest version of the reply is that given by St Mark. + + + "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."(231) + + +This is followed by the interpretation of the parable of the Sower. And +then comes a discourse explaining for what purposes the teaching by +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. +"Unto you," says our Lord, turning to the disciples and the Twelve, "is +given the mystery of the kingdom of God." 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 +_contemplate_ 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. + +The second passage brings out a positive use of parables. They are not +primarily meant to hide 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. + +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 "were +Spirit and which were Life" to fecundate their hearts, turning them over +in their minds again and again? The words "with what measure ye mete"(232) +have no bearing on outward dealings here; what they mean is, "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, freely will God requite the same--something will +you then have, and more shall be given you." To him who had been faithful +over a few things a wider range of duties, and that alone, would be given +as reward. + +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 "His +departure which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem"(233) 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. + +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 chosen as witnesses of the things that +were not to be proclaimed until the Son of Man should come.(234) 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. + +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. + +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 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 _self_, 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. + +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, "Do good to thyself and the world will +speak well of thee." If now, at the right moment, you could shew these men +a real good, they would be glad enough to throw aside the _self_ which +they 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. + +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 "what spirit they were of." 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. + +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. "Times and seasons" the Father "had put in His own +power," 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 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. + + + + +Resumption of the Narrative. + + +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(235) is preserved only by St John. It was probably begun upon +the shore and was afterwards continued by our Lord in the synagogue. + +This discourse is very ably treated by Mr Sanday,(236) 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 "I am the bread of life" +and "I will raise him up at the last day." 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. + +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;(237) our Lord's words gave no promise of His fulfilling +these hopes of theirs, and so we read-- + + + "Upon this many of his disciples went back, and walked no more + with him."(238) + + +Another cause of offence arose at this time. + +The Pharisees and certain of the Scribes who had come from Jerusalem had +seen that some of his disciples ate their bread with defiled, "that is +unwashed hands." 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 "tradition of the +elders." The stress however laid on it by the Rabbis was excessively +great,(239) 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. + +Our Lord turns the attack against His assailants, "Full well," said He, +"do you reject the commandment of God that ye may keep your traditions." +He shews how by a Rabbinical fiction they evaded the natural duty of +maintaining their parents in their age. + + + "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 defile him: but the things which + proceed out of the man are those that defile the man."(240) + + +It is to be noted that here our Lord turns _to the multitude_. 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. + +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 +"the parable." We can understand, they would say, this about eating 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-- + + + "Many therefore of his disciples, when they heard _this_, 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? _What_ 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."(241) + + +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, "whatsoever from without goeth into the +man it cannot defile him," 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. + +So many fell away that our Lord's company 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, "Will ye also go away?" 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. + + + "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."(242) + + +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-Phoenician woman obtains what she desires by her exceptional +openness to Divine impression: when He entered into a house "and would +have no man know it," she sought Him out. The man who was deaf and had an +impediment in his speech, is taken "aside from the multitude privately," +and our Lord charged the witnesses "that they should tell no man."(243) So +again with the blind man at Bethsaida (probably Bethsaida Julias at the +head of the lake)(244) "He took hold of the blind man by the hand and +brought him out of the village," and at the end "He sent him away to his +home, saying, Do not even enter into the village."(245) + +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. + +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 arise, similar +except for some slight variation, he does exactly what he did before. + +When the four thousand were sent away, our Lord takes boat and crosses the +lake to Magada in "the parts of Dalmanutha." 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 +"came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a Sign from +heaven, tempting him."(246) + +Perhaps they had heard of the feeding of the four thousand and wanted to +put Him to what they considered a conclusive test. "Could He shew a Sign +in Heaven?" 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 "Sign in Heaven" 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. + +On the way across the Lake, while this circumstance 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, "It is because we have no bread," I have already +spoken (p. 7), 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? + +Our Lord and the band of apostles travel along the upper valley of the +Jordan to the neighbourhood of Caesarea 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. + +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: I think it means that +truth absolute about heavenly things is not within the reach of man. + +What follows, is so important, that it must be given in the words of St +Matthew whose narrative is the most full. + + + "Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked + his disciples, saying, Who do men say that the Son of man is? And + they said, Some _say_ 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."(247) + + +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 +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 + + + "No man can come to me, except the Father which sent me draw him: + and I will raise him up in the last day."(248) + + +Peter had been drawn towards Him in this way. + +Another point is to be noted. Henceforth the Apostles had a secret--they +were to "tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ." + +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, "These things be far from thee." 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 +impolitic to utter them, because they will confuse and dishearten both the +disciples and the Twelve. + +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. + + + "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."(249) + + +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, + + + "And when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed + from him for a season."(250) + + +The words "for a season" 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 "Employ +supernatural might to bring your Kingdom about." Peter now spoke in the +same strain. Could it be that even His "own familiar friend" had gone over +to the foe. + +The following discourse sounds a new note. Now for the first time our Lord +speaks of the sufferings that awaited his followers. + + + "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man 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."(251) + + +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. + +One promise however made at this time must have seemed to them to afford +just what they wanted. + + + "And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There be some here + of them that stand _by_, which shall in no wise taste of death, + till they see the kingdom of God come with power."(252) + + +I understand this verse in a way with which not every body will agree. + +I take it as referring entirely to the Transfiguration, and I consider +that the strong expression "shall in no wise taste of death" 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 +_while in the body_ 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. 142, 143) is rigorously observed. +The vision on the Mount of Transfiguration coerced no one into belief. + +During those six days we may suppose that the Apostles were busy in their +minds, they would wonder who these "some" 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. 94). 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 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 "were Spirit and which were life." 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. + +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, +"This is my beloved Son, HEAR HIM." + +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 Apostles to say "we were together +and awake when we saw it." Is it likely that three men should have fallen +asleep together and have waked at the same moment, having all dreamed the +same dream? + +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 "we would rather believe that you all three slept and +dreamed the same dream than that your story is true." 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. + +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 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 +"sore afraid," 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. 248), 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. + +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. + +Our Lord makes no comment on the manifestation witnessed by the three +beyond charging them "that they should tell no man what things they had +seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead."(253) 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 briefly point out _every_ 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. + +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 +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. + +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 "were glad when they saw the Lord," and then in the delight and +exultation of that moment the three may have poured forth the secret they +had in store. + +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 "till the Son +of man were risen from the dead." 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. + +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. "Even so shall the Son of man +also suffer of them."(254) 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 Caesaraea 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. + +We learn from St Luke(255) that it was not till the next day that our Lord +"came down from the hill and much people met him," 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. + + + + + +CHAPTER XI. FROM THE MOUNT TO JERUSALEM. + + +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 "great multitude about them +and scribes questioning with them." 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 + + + "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 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 _the child_ 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, _saying_, We could not cast it out. + And he said unto them, This kind can come out by nothing, save by + prayer."(256) + + +Our Lord's question to the father is just what a physician would ask, "How +long is it since this hath come to him?"(257) It may have been that the +longer the standing of the complaint the greater would be the effort +required for the cure; for that in working these cures some physical +strain on the nervous energy was incurred may be inferred from our Lord's +feeling that "virtue was gone out of Him," when the woman touched the hem +of His garment in the press round the house of Jairus.(258) + +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 "faithless and perverse generation" 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 + + + "And they went forth from thence, and passed through Galilee; and + he would not that any man should know it."(259) + + +Our Lord now lays aside for a time His setting forth of God's Kingdom to +the people at large, and 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. + +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: + + + "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."(260) + + +It was not His object that they should know beforehand what was coming, +but that when 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. + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + + + "And they came to Capernaum: and when he was in the house he asked + them, What were ye reasoning in the way?"(261) + + +We get here a glimpse of the Apostolic company taking their road along the +path which had been chosen as being unfrequented.(262) 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 turn on them and chide. The Apostles would not have +grown to what they did if they had been checked at every turn. + +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. + +St Mark gives his words thus, + + + "If any man would be first, he shall be last of all, and minister + of all."(263) + + +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, "for he that is least among you all, the +same is great."(264) 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. + +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 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. + +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. + + + "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 _that_ 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! + + ------------------------------------- + + 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."(265) + + +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. + +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(266) and the evil +spirit of exclusiveness 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 "He that is not against us is for us." 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. + + + "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not + with me scattereth."(267) + + +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. + +We find in St Matthew's Gospel(268) 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 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. + +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. + +At the end of the 9th Chapter in St Mark, we have a hard passage which has +suffered from interpolation;(269) 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. + + + "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."(270) + + +When our Lord says "every one shall be salted with fire" 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. + +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. + +At this point, the end of the ninth chapter, we 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: + + + "And he arose from thence, and cometh into the borders of Judaea + and beyond Jordan: and multitudes come together unto him again; + and, as he was wont, he taught them again."(271) + + +It would seem as if it was the Galilaean ministry that he had set himself +to relate, and that when our Lord passed into Judaea and Peraea 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. + +St Luke speaks of a journey to Jerusalem, and of our Lord's coming to a +village of the Samaritans on the way.(272) 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. + +A word or two must be said about St John's account of the circumstances +under which our Lord set out: his account is this. + + + "Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was at hand. + His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into + Judaea, 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 + _still_ 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."(273) + + +This disbelief was not, in our Lord's brethren, grounded on an opposition +of will like that of the scribes. It came from the "slowness of heart" 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.(274) Like +the rest of the people at Nazareth they admired "the wisdom given unto +this man" and "the mighty works wrought by His hands,"(275) 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. + +The voice which, at the Temptation, had whispered, "Use your superhuman +power to lend material aid to your designs," 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 +unreasonable to be entertained. The deep truth unconsciously uttered by +His foes, "He saved others, Himself He cannot save," 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. + +When the brethren spoke of His "going up to Jerusalem," 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 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 "have salt in themselves." + +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 "Sons of Thunder" justify +their name. + + + "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 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."(276) + + +"Some ancient authorities," as we read in the margin of our Revised +Version, "add, _and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of_." + +This is so exactly after our Lord's manner, not only in the quality but in +the _quantity_ 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. + +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 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 +"jealousy for the Lord God" 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 "Lordship" over men. + +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, +"Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when He cometh shall find +watching," He had His eye upon the future rulers of His community. + + + "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 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."(277) + + +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. + +I said a little while ago that in this matter the "Sons of thunder" +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 "followed not with them," 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 is worth mentioning that this falls in with what we read +in the Acts, viz. that when "Herod the king put forth his hands to afflict +certain of the church" the first on whom he seized was "James the brother +of John;"(278) 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 "slain with the sword." 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. + +On arriving at Jerusalem, Jesus "went up into the Temple and taught."(279) +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,(280) 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 journeys, we hear nothing of the +disciples; all our Lord's discourses are with "the Jews," and in general +with "the Pharisees." (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. + +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,(281) 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,(282) "And they went every man unto his own house, but Jesus went +unto the mount of Olives." 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 "A certain woman, Martha," received +our Lord--but, as far as appears, not any disciples--"into her house." 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + NOTE.--The passage from St Luke, xii. 41, &c. (quoted at p. 367), + 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: "Let us also go, + that we may die with him" (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 Judaea, 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. 119. 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. + + + + + +CHAPTER XII. THE LATER LESSONS. + + + + +Different cases receive different treatment. St Luke ix. 57-62. + + + "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 _have_ 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." + + +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 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(283) 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. + +This _individualising_ 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 emphatically and distinctly his very +self, and He addressed Himself largely to this. + +I will now consider the separate instances one by one. + +St Matthew, in the passage parallel to part of this,(284) 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 "_another_ of the disciples." + +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 "as it were in secret" 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 "where to lay +His head." + +What most particularizes the scribe is his impulsiveness. We have here +another example of that mistrust of emotional fervour which our Lord +uniformly shews. The woman who cried "Blessed is the womb that bare +thee,"(285) the scribe in the case before us, and St Peter, when he said, +"I am ready to go with thee both to prison and to death,"(286) all are +answered by our Lord in the same tone of repression.(287) + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +It has commonly been taken for granted, that the father of the spokesman +in the first of these 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 "buried" 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. + +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 "clear spirit" 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 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 "salute no man by the way,"(288) 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. + +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, "I pray thee have me +excused," 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 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. + +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, "a certain ruler," in St Luke's +words, ran to Him and threw himself at His feet. St Mark's account is the +most full of detail. + + + "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? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest + thou me good? none is good save one, _even_ 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."(289) + + +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 "of congruity"(290) 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. + +Our Lord rejects the appellation "Good Master." 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. 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, "Why do you run to a human master" (for as such only +could the mass regard our Lord) "to tell you what it is right to do? About +this no authority can be absolute but God, and His commandments you know." +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 +"The Master cannot mean to put me off with telling me to keep the +commandments;" 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 "looking on him loved him." 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 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. + +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 "giving to the poor" 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 "and +brought the prices of the things that were sold and laid them at the +Apostles' feet."(291) From this interview our Lord draws the moral, "How +hardly shall they that have riches enter into the Kingdom of God;" 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. + +The Apostles are "astonished exceedingly"(292) 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, "Lo we have left all and have +followed thee." 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(293) as well as life hereafter. + +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 "with persecutions." This appears to +unsay all that was said before; for of what good, in the way of enjoyment, +are family and possessions "in the midst of persecution"? Our Lord, to my +thinking, in this passage has His eye on a certain time to come; the +"brethren and sisters and mothers and children" must mean the great +Christian family, and the "lands" are the possessions of that community +which, while the Church was confined to Jerusalem, had all things common, +"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."(294) 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, "with persecutions," and the hearers are perhaps set wondering +why Christ 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. + + + + +Parable of the unjust Steward. St Luke xv., xvi. + + +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 "being yet far off." 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 authority over "men-servants and maid-servants." In these cases +we frequently find, either in the parable itself or in the "hard saying" +which commonly closes it, an allusion to some special danger attaching to +delegated power. + +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. + +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 responsibility, he flies where he can to a +written Law, and, pointing to the letter, he takes refuge in the +sacerdotal "non possumus" as an answer to every extenuating plea. + +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 "jealousy for the Lord God." + +If the Apostles, feeling that they formed the personal staff of a King +endowed with all power from on high, had _not_ 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 "their babes +that He might touch them;" 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 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 "joy in the presence of the angels of +God over one sinner that repenteth,"(295) and He then turned to the +disciples, with, as I believe, the same thought still uppermost in His +mind, and urges them as the "pastors and masters" of the future, not, by +insisting on the utmost, to make reformation too hard. + +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, "For the sons of +this world are for their own generation wiser than the sons of the +light."(296) The drift of the parable is, indeed, to teach a kind of +prudence, but not one in which _money_ 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 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! + +I proceed to a short examination of the parable, of which I will quote the +whole. + + + "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 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 _riches_? And if ye have not + been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that + which is your own?"(297) + + +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 Judaea or its neighbourhood when He was but 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. + +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 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 "rich man +which had a steward;" but that he does not represent Providence is clear +from the eighth verse, which includes him among the "sons of this world;" +for it is his sense in commending the steward which draws forth the moral, +"The sons of this world are for their own generation wiser than the sons +of the light." 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. + +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 "wasted the goods," but this +may mean in the way of over leniency with creditors or of unproductive +outlay, not in 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 _bad steward_, and the word here construed _unjust_ +sometimes means little more than _bad_, as will be seen from Archbishop +Trench's note, in the sense of being ineffective and unsatisfactory to his +employers. + +Dr Edersheim observes as follows:(298) + +"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." 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. + +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 of something which is +called the "mammon of unrighteousness" (about which we shall presently +enquire). These friends would, out of gratitude, receive them into "the +eternal tabernacles." 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. + +We now come to the hard question, What is meant by the words "the mammon +of unrighteousness" or "unrighteous mammon"--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 "unrighteous" 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 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.(299) Riches, _as riches_, are never +called unrighteous by our Lord. I do not think, however, that wealth in +its common sense can be intended by the word "mammon" here, for of "silver +and gold" 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 _unrighteous_ 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 inward spiritual riches, which form part of +the condition of the individual man. + +Of such real wealth we presently hear. Soon after this "the Apostles said +unto our Lord, Increase our faith,"(300) 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. + +Again what is the "little" and the "much" of verse 10? According to my +view the "little" answers to the externals of religious management, and +the "much" 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.(301) + +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, "that +which is another's," who would give them that "clear-eyed Faith," that +sense that God was abiding in their hearts, which would be essentially +their very "own." + +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 _attracted_, +so to say, into its place by the occurrence in both passages of the rare +word "mammon," which induced St Luke to put the two together. + +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. + + + + +Our Lord refusing to judge. + + +If we regard the Gospels in the light of memoirs of our Lord's actual life +upon earth, it may seem 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? + +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 "local colour" is partly due to the omission of small particulars. +An outline can be more 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. + +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, "Wheresoever the Gospel shall be preached +throughout the whole world,"(302) He emphasizes 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, "before the cock crow twice." 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. + +Hence I believe that the withdrawal from us of those "many other things +that Jesus did" 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 which there was no +occasion--would have traversed the field of Christian action. + +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. + +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. + +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 to judge or by giving the question an unexpected turn. + +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 Caesar. + +1. It seems to have been during the ministry in some city, either in Judaea +or Peraea, when the people were pressing on one another to get near our +Lord, that one of the multitude said to Him, "Master bid my brother divide +the inheritance with me."(303) + +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 _ex +parte_ 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. + +Our Lord repudiates in strong terms the notion that He is a "judge or a +divider." Judges and dividers through many ages had been provided for +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(304) 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. "Seek ye _first_," says He, "the Kingdom of God and His +righteousness, _and all these things shall be added unto you_."(305) + +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 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. + +(2) Next comes the case of the woman taken in adultery (see p. 370). In +the criminal jurisdiction of Moses the leading thought was to "put away +evil;" 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. + +The two cases that remain refer to polity rather than to law. + +(3) The "didrachma" 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. + +(4) Those who came asking whether it was lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, +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 "the things that were God's," 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 coin carries on its face +the name and the impress of Caesar. Thus, in these words, the whole man is +claimed as God's own by Christ. + +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. + +Dr Bryce speaking of the Mediaeval Empire says:-- + + + "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 Caesar, by saying to Pilate, 'Thou couldest have no + power at all against Me except it were given thee from above.' " + + +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 scribe who came "making trial" 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. + + + "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."(306) + + +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. + +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 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.(307) + +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 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. + + + "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."(308) + + +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. + +I will end this by stating the truth which I have had it in view to bring +out. + +Supposing that Christ, lest He should hamper 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. + + + + +Our Lord's action prospective. + + +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 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 "Ecce Homo," have felt constrained to confess "that there was no +historical character whose motives, objects and feelings remained so +incomprehensible to us." + +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. + +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 "told them before:"(309) 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. + +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. + +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 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? + +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 "win their souls;"(310) it educated their +intuitions to discern 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. + +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 "house and family of +David,"(311) He will accept no advantage on this score. He repudiates for +the Redeemer of the world the title of "Son of David,"(312) 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(313) with Him, more than by +canvassing claims or interpreting texts. When His disciples ask to be +taught to pray, "as John also taught his disciples,"(314) He gives them a +prayer very unlike what John 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 "Lord God of Israel" or the "God of +their Fathers,"--as Jewish prayers(315) 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. + +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--"Howbeit," says He--and who would have said this but Christ?--"when the +Son of man cometh shall he find Faith upon the earth?" 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. + +With Christ indeed as with God, there is no 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 "If this religion were +of God, the world would have been compelled to accept it." 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. + +The whole scheme of Christ's action is made complete by the promise, "I am +with you always until the end of the world." Not only is it in virtue of +this truth that the Church is a living 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, _everyone_,--except by supposing +them animated by the feeling that Christ was among them still. + +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. + + + + +Christ washing the Apostles' feet. St John xiii. 1-14. + + + "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 _son_, to betray him, _Jesus_, + 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. 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."(316) + + +More than once I have characterised certain of "the things which Jesus +did"(317) as "acted parables." 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. + +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 "puts the sin +away."(318) He is like a physician who can assure the patient that the +canker he thought was malignant is only skin-deep, and can be removed at +once. The parable speaks of a man who is "bathed," 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 "clean every +whit." 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 "life's common way." These kinds of spiritual ill +answer to the dust on the feet, they can be wiped off; they have not +seriously damaged the soul. + +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 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. + +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, "What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt understand +hereafter" 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, for men to look +into when they should have a better light. + +Without entering into the controverted question as to whether the Last +Supper was the Passover or not,(319) I adopt Dr Edersheim's view that the +contention for precedence arose as they were taking places at the table. +St Luke tells us, "there arose a contention among them which of them is +accounted to be greatest."(320) 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. + +The narrative goes on, "So he cometh to Simon Peter." 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 dignity was dear to him, and when he +thought this infringed, every other sentiment was lost in his indignation. +He says, "Thou shalt never wash my feet." But as soon as he is told that +unless his Master wash him, "he has no part with Him," he is transported +to the opposite extreme, and begs our Lord to wash--not his feet only--but +his hands and head as well. + +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. + +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. + + + "Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in any trespass, 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."(321) + + + + +Use of Signs in the later Ministry. + + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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 "aside from the multitude,"(322) +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 + + + "Blessed _is_ the kingdom that cometh, _the kingdom_ of our father + David: Hosanna in the highest,"(323) + + +and this shout of the people not only roused in the priests that terror +which "sits hard by hate," but gave them the very thing they +wanted--grounds for calling upon Pilate to prove himself Caesar's friend. + +It is not likely that any of our Lord's doings were without an ordered +purpose, and that this cessation 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. + + + "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."(324) + + +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 "the word of eternal life" which lays hold of +men. The questions asked in the deepest earnest turn now upon this.(325) +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.(326) 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 "Shew us the Father," +is not, Have I not done mighty works before your eyes? but, "Have I been +so long time with you and dost thou not know me, Philip?" + +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 said, speaking of the proposed visit to Jerusalem at +the time of Lazarus' death, "Let us also go that we may die with +Him,"(327) 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 _personal knowledge_, 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. + +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. + +But the people were themselves disappointed 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 "Hosanna," 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. + +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 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. + +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.(328) + +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. + +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 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. + +The words "the cock shall not crow twice" 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, "You will deny me before I die." + +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. + +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 "certain came from +James,"(329) he was alarmed at his temerity and separated himself, +"fearing them that were of the circumcision." (See also pp. 423, 424.) +Neither by our Lord or any of the brethren is this failing of Peter's ever +touched upon again. + +This is exactly a case of what was noted at page 421. Christ washes from +off Peter's feet the soil contracted on the way, and he becomes clean +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 _did_ +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. + +But "his speech bewrayeth" 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 "I know not the man," 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. + +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 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. + +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 "had to be baptised;" +even the working of miracles of healing might so have moved the crowd that +they would have risen in His defence.(330) 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. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. THE LESSONS OF THE RESURRECTION. + + +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 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. + +The data for the history of that Passover season of A.D. 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. + +From the hour of cockcrow on the Thursday night to the time when it "began +to dawn toward the first day of the week" 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. + +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, 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. + +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 _the +whole number_ that is so surprising. + +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. + +The Jewish notion of a Messiah, who would 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. + +Then self and the world say, "We told you so; now give yourself to us? Our +votaries will be found to have taken the right road after all." 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 _were_ gone they could be true to His memory still, +and that was something left. + +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 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. "Some hope," they might +say, "assuredly Christ did hold out to us," 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. + +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 Apostles stood +in the position of elder brethren to all the family of Christ's disciples. + +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 +"which should be greatest" 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, "We have left all and followed thee;" +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 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. + +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. 414). 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 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. + +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. + +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 _nature_ of the appearances the agreement is so singular, and +the conception 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 _when_ and _how_ they +occurred, undergo variation as they pass from mouth to mouth. + +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. + +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 +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 "endued with power;"--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? + +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 _felt_. 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 "handle Him and see." To this corporal presence +as a crowning fact St John recurs, saying "That which we beheld and our +hands handled;"(331) and St Peter says + + + "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."(332) + + +Our Lord would not Himself establish a visible Church. I have amply set +out, p. 236, 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. + +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 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? + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + + + "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."(333) + + +I take the view, that within a few days of the 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. + +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,(334) neither would they have gone up thither for +Pentecost, having been so lately at the Passover. Whether the appearance +to the "five hundred brethren at once"(335) 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. + +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.(336) St Matthew, it is true, only speaks of the eleven disciples as +going "into Galilee unto the mountain," but others must have been present +because we are told that "some doubted," 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 _body_ 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 loving would be in no uncertainty about +their Master's lineaments and voice. + +The appearance "to James" which is related by St Paul alone, is important, +and calls for special notice. + +There are three persons called "James" 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 "James" simply, as in Galatians ii. +9, 12, he means always the brother of the Lord. "James, the son of +Zebedee," Acts xii. 2, is designated "the brother of John" 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 "pillar" +of the Church at Jerusalem.(337) + +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. + + + "These all with one accord continued steadfastly in prayer, with + the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren." + Acts i. 14. + + +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,(338) 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. + +From what St Paul says, "Am I not an Apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our +Lord?"(339) 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 "seen +the _Risen_ Jesus," for to have cast eyes on the bodily presence of Jesus, +as He journeyed and taught, would have been a distinction shared with +thousands. + +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.(340) + +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. + +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. 248, 344), was the man of +action, the person who in every juncture addressed himself at once to the +question, "What is to be done?" 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(341) 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 "borne the burden and heat of the day" +should have admitted to equality--or something more--in outward dignity, one +who was "of the eleventh hour," 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 "false +mammon" 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. + + + + +The Ascension. + + +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 "men +of Galilee" who stood "gazing up into heaven," 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. + + + "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."(342) + + +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 tells +them simply the fact, without a word as to _how_ or _why_. He never leads +them to examine into the _modus operandi_ 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 "determinate +counsel of God," 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 "expedient for them" that +Christ should go away. They would not otherwise have reached full +communion with the Spirit on high. + +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 "No." 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 "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."(343) + +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. + +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 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. + +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, "What are we to believe?" +just as the Scribe asked, "What am I to do?" 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? + +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 to mental effort--which a large +proportion of mankind steadfastly abhor. + +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. + +The verses of John, Chap. xvi. 9, 10 which 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. + + + "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." John xvi. 8-11. + + +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 _Judgment_; and I turn to +another matter. + +It may be asked, Why did this Post-Resurrection state last as long as it +did and not longer? God's _reasons_ 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 +_durations_ 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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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, knowing that Christ was looking into their +hearts, and might at any moment appear by their side. + +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. + +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.(344) + +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 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. + +This fire has now and then burned low, but at such times some +"circumstance" 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, "Now we see what that hard saying +meant," or "Christ must have had this in view when He spoke." 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. + +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 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. + +When I say that the Apostles were _taught_ Faith, I use the word _taught_ +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. + +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 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. + +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.(345) 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 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 "while they were yet sinners."(346) 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. + +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, "He should find Faith upon the earth;" 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. + +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. + +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 "a spiritual +body"(347) 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. + +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. + + + + + +CHRONOLOGICAL APPENDIX. + + +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 (A.D. 25) and end (A.D. 36) of the +Governorship of Pilate; with these latter I am not now concerned. When St +Luke names the fifteenth year of Tiberius (A.D. 28, A.U.C. 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 "Synopsis Evangelica." I assume, as sufficiently admitted +for my working hypothesis, (1) that our Lord was born early in the year +B.C. 4, A.U.C. 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 A.D. 28. + +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 "Life and +Times of Jesus the Messiah," 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. + +A.D. 28. _January._ A.U.C. 781. + +I place the Baptism of our Lord near the close of the month. This was +immediately followed by His withdrawal into the wilderness. + +A.D. 28. _February._ + +The whole of this month I suppose to have been passed by our Lord in the +wilderness. + +A.D. 28. _March._ + +About the 10th or 12th of March our Lord appears "in Bethany (or +Bethabarah) beyond Jordan where John was baptizing." John i. 28. + +On the next day, John, Simon and Andrew come to our Lord, and on that +which follows our Lord "findeth Philip," and "Philip findeth Nathanael." +John i. 43, 45. + +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 "sitting under the fig tree," John i. 48; and as 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 Judaea, 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 "Peraean Bethany," as the +place is called by Bishop Ellicott + +I suppose our Lord to have left "the place where John was baptizing" 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. 165, 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--"there they +abode not many days," 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, A.D. 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, "Are not His sisters here with us?" (implying that the brothers were +not so), Mark vi. 3. + +A.D. 28. _April._ + +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. + +A.D. 28. _May._ + +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 +A.D. 28, but many authorities put it in the December of that year. We +read, + +"After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; +and there he tarried with them, and baptized. And John also was baptizing +in AEnon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, +and were baptized."--John iii. 22, 23. + +This choice of AEnon on account of there being "much water there" points to +water having already become somewhat scarce elsewhere. There are in the +North-eastern part of Judaea only a few springs which never fail. These are +much valued, and one such spring at least was found at AEnon; its site is +doubtful (see Bishop Westcott, "St John's Gospel"). 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 +A.D. 28. + +In the latter half of the former month, I suppose that our Lord left Judaea +and passed, with only a few disciples, through Samaria into Galilee (see +pp. 171, 174, 176, 179). + +The verse-- + + + "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," John iv. + 35, + + +is important in determining the dates. + +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,(348) and that the "whiteness to harvest" referred +metaphorically to the harvest of conversions the Apostles were to reap. +Others, among whom is Dr Edersheim, regard the country as being _at the +time of speaking_ white (that is _bright_) 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(349) and His +asking for drink--wear, to my mind, an aspect of summer; moreover, the +words "Say ye not" 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 "Are we not +four months now from harvest?" 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, "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." + +A.D. 28. _June._ + +Our Lord arrives at Cana in Galilee. A "certain nobleman" comes to Him +from Capernaum; our Lord heals his son, John iv. 46. The words "whatsoever +we have heard done at Capernaum," 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. 164, 165, 179, and also Dr Edersheim, "Life +and Times of Jesus," vol. 1. p. 430. + +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. + +The few disciples who came with our Lord through Samaria probably went to +their homes when He reached Galilee, for St John does not speak of them +afterwards. + +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 "Kingdom of God," nor do the disciples seem to have +been in attendance. This favours the view that the public Ministry in +Galilee had not yet begun. + +A.D. 28. _July, August._ + +I believe our Lord to have spent this summer preaching in the synagogues, +not only of Galilee but also of Judaea. With regard to the verse (Luke iv. +44), "and he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee," we have in the +margin of the Revised Version "very many ancient authorities read +_Judaea_." We can understand Judaea being altered into Galilee, to suit the +mention of Capernaum, but it is not easy to comprehend a change from +Galilee into Judaea (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 Judaea and in Galilee; and I believe the summer of +A.D. 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 August, but +possibly St Luke might speak of the whole year, from Jan. 1st, by this +name. + +A.D. 28. _September._ + +The feast of John v. which, both by Bishop Westcott and Dr Edersheim, is +spoken of as "the unknown feast," I believe to have taken place in this +month. I am inclined to identify it with the feast of Tabernacles, see p. +181. 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 A.U.C. 781 began on Sept. +18, and lasted till Sept. 29. Josephus, "Antiquities of the Jews," Bk. +xviii. Chap. v, Whiston's translation, gives the following account: "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." 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 be likely to +increase the disaffection of the people. When the news reaches our Lord +(probably in Judaea) 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. + +A.D. 28. _October_, _November_, _December_. + +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. + +Following this, comes His residence at Capernaum, and the events of Mark +i. 14-45, and Mark ii. + +A.D. 29. _January_, _February_. A.U.C. 782. + +The events of Mark iii. may be placed here. + +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, "And he called unto him his twelve +disciples," Matt. x. 1; and, "Jesus said therefore unto the Twelve," 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. + +A.D. 29. _March._ + +In this month I should place the following events in the order given +below: + +(1) The teaching by parables. Matth. xiii. 3; Mark iv. 1; Luke viii. 4. + +(2) The visit to the country of the Gerasenes (or Gadarenes). Matth. viii. +28; Mark v. 1; Luke viii. 26. + +(3) The raising of Jairus' daughter. Matth. ix. 18; Mark v. 21-41; Luke +viii. 41. + +(4) The second visit to Nazareth. "And he went out from thence; and he +cometh into his own country; and his disciples follow him;" Mark vi. 1, +also Matth. xiii. 54. This mention of "disciples" is one of many +circumstances which distinguish this visit to Nazareth from that of Luke +iv. 15. + +(5) The sending out of the twelve two by two. Matth. x. 1; Mark vi. 7; +Luke ix. 1. + +(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 A.U.C. 750 fell on April 2. This conjecture is doubtful. Matth. xiv. 2; +Mark vi. 21; Luke iii. 19. + +A.D. 29. _April._ + +The order of events in this month I take to have been, approximately, as +follows: + +(1) Herod's misgiving that John had risen from the dead. Matth. xiv. 2; +Mark vi. 16. + +(2) Our Lord, on the return of the twelve, crosses the lake. Matth. xiv. +13; Mark vi. 32; Luke ix. 10. + +(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. + +The day of the passover A.D. 29 was the 18th of April. What is mentioned +by St Mark, viz. that the multitude sat down on "the green grass," 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 "autoptic." 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. + +A.D. 29. _May_, _June_, _July_, _August_. + +(1) Journey to the borders of Tyre and Sidon, Matth. xv. 21; Mark vii. 24. + +(2) Return from thence. + +"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" +(on the east of the sea of Galilee), Matth. xv. 29; Mark vii. 31. + +(3) There the feeding of the four thousand takes place (see under April). +Matth. xv. 32; Mark viii. 1. + +(4) Our Lord crosses the lake "into the borders of Magadan," Matth. xv. +39; or "into the parts of Dalmanutha," 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. + +(5) "And Jesus went forth, and his disciples into the villages of Caesarea +Philippi," Mark xiii. 33. Confession of Peter, Matth. xvi. 13; Mark viii. +29; Luke ix. 20. + +(6) The Transfiguration; Matth. xvii. 1; Mark ix. 2; Luke ix. 28. + +(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. + +A.D. 29. _September._ + +"They went forth from thence and passed through Galilee; and he would not +that any man should know it," Mark ix. 30, "and they came to Capernaum," +Mark ix. 33. + +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, A.D. 30, see below. + +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. + +A.D. 29. _October._ + +Our Lord takes up His residence in Judaea, possibly at Bethany, see p. 370. +Incident of woman taken in adultery, John viii. 1. Our Lord in the house +of Martha, Luke x. 38-40. + +_November._ + +Our Lord probably passed this month in Judaea. 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. + +A.D. 29. _December._ + +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 "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." John x. +39, 40. + +A.D. 30. _January._ A.U.C. 783. + +Our Lord may have remained at the place just mentioned, "the Peraean +Bethany" (see A.D. 28, March), during this month, having probably only a +few followers with Him. + +"And many came unto him; and they said, John indeed did no sign: but all +things whatsoever John spake of this man were true." John x. 41. + +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 Peraea, of which we have an account only in Luke, +chaps, xv., xvi., was probably given about this time. + +A.D. 30. _February._ + +Early in this month our Lord leaves Peraea, where He had been travelling +about, being warned by the Pharisees-- + +"And he went on his way through cities and villages, teaching, and +journeying on unto Jerusalem." Luke xiii. 22. + +"In that very hour there came certain Pharisees, saying to him, Get thee +out, and go hence: for Herod would fain kill thee." St Luke xiii. 31. + +A.D. 30. _March._ + +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 Judaea: + +"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."(350) John xi. 3, 4. + +"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 Judaea again." John xi. 6, 7. + +After the raising of Lazarus, the chief priests and Pharisees "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." John xi. 53, 54. + +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 "the midst of Samaria and +Galilee"--St Luke xvii. 11. + +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. + +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 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. 372), 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 A.D. 29). It may be noted +that the officers make no question about _Peter's_ 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, "Your +Master, does not He pay?" (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, "Then are the children +free," favours the adopting the later period, inasmuch as it reminds us of +the later discourses in chaps, xv., xvi., xvii. of John. + +A.D. 30. _April._ + +Our Lord may have made His entry into Jerusalem on Sunday, April 2. He +returned that night to Bethany after looking "round about upon all +things." Mark xi. 11. + +Monday, April 3. Cursing of fig tree on the way to Jerusalem (see March, +A.D. 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. + +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. + +Wednesday, April 5. Treason of Judas. + +Thursday, April 6. Last Supper. Our Lord's apprehension. + +Friday, April 7. The Crucifixion. + +Sunday, April 9. The Resurrection. + +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. 302, on the words, "Come ye yourselves apart into +a desert place and rest a while." + +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. + +A.D. 30. _May._ + +The appearance at the sea of Tiberias (but see Mr Sanday on the +"Authorship of the Fourth Gospel," 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, "Chronologie des Apostolischen Zeitalters," +1848, is May 18. + +The Ascension was followed by the choice of Matthias. + +The day of Pentecost, as fixed by Wieseler, was May 27, A.D. 30. + + + + + +INDEX OF TEXTS. + + +GENESIS. + iii. 18, 19; 44 + xxviii. 12; 161 + +DEUTERONOMY. + xviii. 15; 94 + xix. 16; 396 + 18; 396 + +II SAMUEL. + xii. 13; 420 + +JOB. + xiii. 4; 396 + +PSALMS. + cxix. 162; 232 + +PROVERBS. + vi. 19; 396 + xii. 17; 396 + +ISAIAH. + vi. 10; 321 + xi. 1; 160 + +JEREMIAH. + vi. 31; 396 + +S. MATTHEW. + iii. 5; 189 + iv. 1; 117 + 1-11; 114 + 20; 186 + vi. 25; 404 + vii. 17; 259 + viii. 19; 375 + ix. 14-17; 220 + 36-38; 234 + x. 2-6; 162 + 5-15; 290 + xi. 2-6; 262 + 12; 232 + 21; 106 + xii. 28; 83 + 30; 358 + 46; 180 + xiii. 10; 321 + xiv. 17; 22 + 23; 229 + xvi. 13-20; 327 + xvi. 22; 126 + 23; 329 + 24, 25; 340 + xvii. 12; 348 + 25; 133 + xviii. 1-11; 356 + 21; 469 + 21, 22; 358 + xix. 6; 408 + xxii. 42, 43; 415 + xxiv. 24; 75 + 25; 413 + xxv. 14-30; 316 + xxviii. 16; 451 + 19; 250 + xxviii. 20; 69 + +S. MARK. + i. 12, 13; 114 + 14; 188 + 14, 15; 83, 195 + 16-20; 195 + 20; 305 + 22; 202 + ii. 16-22; 220 + iii. 5; 19 + 6, 7; 233 + 13, 14; 239 + 14, 15; 229 + 17-19; 161 + 20, 21; 261 + 26; 126 + 32; 288 + iv. 11; 30 + 11, 12; 321 + 24; 323 + 35; 283 + 35-40; 274 + 37-40; 283 + v. 1; 48 + 17; 286 + 19; 84 + 30; 351 + 37; 287 + vi. 1-6; 180 + 2; 362 + 3; 288, 454 + 7-13; 289 + 30-32; 302 + 30; 300 + 34; 307 + 38; 305 + 39, 40; 278 + 45, 46; 307 + 47-52; 308 + 50; 310 + vii. 14, 15; 331 + 24; 333 + 33; 427 + 33-35; 91 + vii. 33-36; 334 + viii. 5-7; 305 + 11; 335 + 14; 306 + 16, 17; 306 + 23-25; 90 + 23-26; 334 + ix. 1; 340 + 2-8; 94 + 7; 94 + 9; 345 + 17-29; 350 + 30; 351, 354 + 31; 227 + 33; 354 + 35; 355 + 40-50; 360 + x. 1; 227, 361 + 17-22; 381 + 24; 383 + 30; 384 + xi. 10; 427 + 12-14; 96 + 20-22; 96 + xii. 35-37; 415 + xiii. 22; 75 + xiv. 9; 400 + 50; 240 + xv. 31; 139 + xvi. 20; 84 + +S. LUKE. + ii. 4; 415 + 35; 52, 161 + iv. 1-13; 115 + 13; 339 + 14, 15; 179 + v. 4; 200 + 8; 202 + 17; 218 + 33; 155 + vi. 12; 239 + 17-19; 253 + 20; 253 + 22, 23; 254 + 23; 79 + 24-26; 255 + 27; 257 + 39, 40; 257 + 43; 259 + vii. 18-23; 266 + 20; 107 + 21-23; 108 + 23; 264 + 29, 30; 265 + 35; 264 + viii. 1-3; 276 + 3; 166 + 26; 48 + ix. 27; 93 + 31; 324 + 37; 348 + 51, 52; 279 + 51-56; 366 + 52; 296 + 48; 355 + 55; 138 + x. 1-11; 290 + 4-11; 379 + 9-11; 300 + 11; 68, 83 + 13; 106 + 18; 126 + 21; 300 + 21, 22; 178, 302 + 22; 73 + xi. 1; 155, 221, 415 + 20; 83 + 27; 376 + 29; 428 + xii. 14; 403 + 16-20; 404 + 36; 404 + 41; 372 + 41-46; 368 + 49, 50; 150 + xiii. 23; 428 + xiv. 15; 376 + xv. 10; 178, 389 + xvi. 1-12; 391 + 8; 389 + 30; 144 + 31; 63 + xvii. 5; 397 + xviii. 8; 27 + 19; 428 + xix. 11-27; 316 + 26; 319 + 29; 297 + xx. 35; 68 + 35, 36; 410 + 41; 415 + xxi. 19; 414 + xxii. 8; 297 + 24-30; 423 + 28; 178 + 33; 376 + 35-38; 291 + xxiv. 36; 240 + 48; 241 + +S. JOHN. + i. 32, 33; 109 + 43; 156, 182 + 45; 156 + 46; 156 + 48, 49; 160 + 51; 161 + ii. 11; 152, 163 + 12; 152, 164, 180 + 16; 167 + 17; 152 + 23; 153, 167 + 24; 176, 246 + 24, 25; 167 + iii. 2; 148 + 22; 153 + 22, 23; 170 + 25; 155, 330 + 26; 170 + iv. 1, 2; 171 + 2; 153 + 27; 409 + 31; 175 + 35-38; 177 + 43-45; 164 + 45; 179 + 47; 105 + 48; 76, 104 + v. 1; 179, 181 + 15-18; 182 + 17; 183 + 26; 89 + 35; 189 + 43; 184, 300 + vi. 4, 5; 303 + 5; 306 + 8; 157 + 9; 304 + 15; 23, 307 + 25-65; 328 + 44; 338 + 60-63; 332 + 66; 168, 329 + vii. 2; 181 + 2-10; 363 + 14; 369 + 35; 369 + 53; 370 + viii. 1; 370 + ix. 1-3; 46 + x. 16; 269 + 40; 119, 372 + xi. 16; 245, 372, 430 + 48; 183 + xii. 20-22; 158 + xiii. 1-14; 420 + xiv. 4-11; 101 + 6; 73 + 9; 159, 415 + 11; 102 + 19; 428 + xv. 15; 176 + 23, 24; 106 + 27; 241 + xvi. 4; 352 + 7, 8; 457 + 8-11; 462 + 12; 69 + xvii. 3; 68 + xvii. 6; 68 + xxi. 2; 156 + 25; 420 + +ACTS. + i. 8; 216, 241 + 14; 362, 453 + 15; 452 + 22; 241 + ii. 32; 241 + 41; 199 + iii. 15; 241 + iv. 32; 385 + 35; 383 + x. 40, 41; 143, 447 + 34, 35; 95 + 41; 241 + xii. 139 + 2; 369, 453 + xiii. 31; 241 + xvi. 6-8; 459 + xviii. 21; 100 + +ROMANS. + v. 8; 470 + +1 CORINTHIANS. + i. 12; 174 + 14-15; 155 + ix. 1; 454 + xiv. 24; 71 + xv. 5-8; 450 + 6; 451 + 44; 471 + +GALATIANS. + i. 13; 97 + ii. 9-12; 453 + 11-14; 433 + iv. 6; 68, 72 + vi. 1, 2; 425 + +PHILIPPIANS. + ii. 13; 466 + +1 TIMOTHY. + vi. 17; 396 + +2 TIMOTHY. + iv. 2; 173 + 13; 119 + +HEBREWS. + xi. 1; 273 + +JAMES. + i. 20; 245 + +1 PETER. + ii. 23; 167 + +1 JOHN. + i. 1; 446 + + + + + +GENERAL INDEX. + + +Address to newly chosen Apostles, 253-261 + +Advent of our Lord into Galilee, 188, 189 + +Andrew, 157 + +Animosity of people of Nazareth, when first shewn, 165 + +Apologue, 125, 126 + +Apostles (The), named in pairs by Matthew, reason suggested, 162; + must have been directed to return to Jerusalem for the Ascension, 194, + 451; + not fit men to promulgate Theological doctrines, 230; + general characteristics of the, 247; + not men whom the Founder of a policy would have chosen, 249; + the chosen three, 325, 327; + the crowning lesson of, 465; + steps by which they learnt Faith in an unseen presence, 467; + taught Love, 468; taught Hope, 470 + +Ascension, 457; + expedient that Christ should go away, 457; + Holy Spirit swaying human action, 459 + +Astonishment produced by our Lord's teaching, 202 + +Authority manifested by Christ, 167, 203-206 + +Baptist (The) and his disciples, 153-155; + competition with, shunned by our Lord, 173 + +Baptist's (The) messengers, their arrival, 262; + their question and their answer, 268 + +Bartholomew, 159, see Nathanael + +Bethany in Peraea (Bethabara), 119, 161, 168, 189 note + +Bethany in Judaea, when did our Lord first resort thither? 370 + +Bethsaida Julias, 334 + +Brethren of our Lord, 362, 453 + +Christ leaves disciples independent, 5; + with them after the Resurrection, 9, 274; + influence of His Personality, 16, 17; + did He from the first see all that lay before Him? 140; + explores the tempers of different classes of men, 148; + His return from the wilderness, 151; + calls to him certain disciples, 151; + at Cana and Capernaum, 152; + leaves time for impressions to fix themselves, 185; + arrives at the Lake of Galilee and calls the brethren, 195-198; + His way of proceeding positive, 208; + enjoins no system of religious observance, 222; + why did He not found a church Himself? 236; + lays stress on what men are, as well as on what they do, 259; + ceases to have a stationary abode, 270; + educational effects of the change of place, 275-279; + journey to borders of Tyre and Sidon, 333; + at Caesarea Philippi, 336-338 (see Transfiguration); + returns to Capernaum after the Transfiguration, 354; + sets out for the feast of Tabernacles, 359-362; + refusing to judge, 399; + upholds sanctity of marriage, 409; + disclaims for the Messiah the title of Son of David, 415; + does not look to visibly converting the world, 416; + the washing the disciples' feet, an acted parable, 419; + always endeavours to set men free, 460; + calls the conscience into play, 467; + His Kingdom not upon earth, 471 + +Christian revelation centred in a Fact, 230 + +Demoniac in country of Gadarenes, 285 + +Didrachma, paying of, 406 + +Disciples not in attendance at first visit to Nazareth, 180; + doubtful if present at feast, John v., 181; + early Judaean, 188 + +Dives and Lazarus, parable of, 62 + +Ecce Homo, quoted, p. 412. + +Edersheim, Dr, life and times of Jesus the Messiah, quoted, 139, 140, 329, + 334, 394; + on our Lord's conversing with the woman at Sychar, 409 + +Eloquence, its small part in the Divine economy, 250 + +Erskine of Linlathen, quotation, 40 + +Evil, existence of, 29; + functions of, in the world, 43-51 + +Family, description of a, restrained from knowing evil, 30-36 + +Feast of the Jews, John v. 1, 181 + +Five (The) first called, John, Andrew, Peter, Philip, Nathanael, 156 + +Form of Christ's Teaching, 209 + +Free Will, 29; + implies liberty to go wrong, 41 + +Galilaeans receive our Lord, 179 + +Galilee, why suited for cradle of movement, 169 + +Gospel of St John, surely written by a disciple, 151, 157 + +Gospels, advantages of narrative form, 13, 461 + +Herodians, 233 + +Inheritance, The disputed, 403 + +James, our Lord's brother, 452-454 + +James and John, the sons of thunder, 365, 368 + +Jerusalem, not a favourable spot for the schooling of the apostles, 190; + not desirable that the Christian community should originate there, 192 + +Judas Iscariot, 246 + +Laws of our Lord's conduct--sense in which term is used, 2, 18-20, 306 + +Lazarus, raising of, 429 + +Levi (see also Matthew), 214 + +Levitical Law, 207 + +Mammon of unrighteousness, 395-397 + +Matthew, 214-216; + his call a proof that Christ was no respecter of persons, 217 + +Messiah, what the people expected him to be, 329 + +Milton, "Paradise Regained," 124 + +Miracle of feeding of the 5000, 304; + of Christ walking on sea, 308; + of feeding of the 4000, 305 + +Miracles, standing, not to be expected, 65; + use of, 75; + Laws of, 112; + as works of beneficence, 333 + +Miraculous draught of fishes, 198, 202 + +Mission (The) to the cities, 8, 288; + referred to by our Lord, 291-293; + effects of these mission journeys, 295; + directions given, 295-300 + +Mission of Seventy, 289, 301-302 + +Moses, 207 + +Nathanael, 159, 161 + +Natural Selection, 26, 314 + +Nazareth, preaching in synagogues at, 79; + second visit of Christ to, 287 + +Negative characteristics of Christ's teaching, 10 + +Nicodemus, 148, 169, 172 + +Parables, 312; + that of the talents, 317; + that of the pounds, 318; + intended not to hide truth but to show it, 323; + of the unjust steward, 388 and preface + +Passover, 2nd, at time of feeding of the 5000, 303; + see Teaching + +Peter, with our Lord at the Passover, A.D. 28, probably returned to + Galilee, 166; + how far in attendance before call, 166; + his giving himself up on a sudden, to one impression, 244; + was he in constant attendance during the winter, A.D. 29, 30? 372 note; + his practical character, 248, 455; + denials of, 433 + +Pharisees, their hostility and that of the Sadducees contrasted, 218 + +Philip, 158, 306 + +Preparatio Evangelica, 153-194 + +Preparation, noted in our Lord's ways, 80, 94 + +Prospective action of our Lord, 411 + +Receiving a hundred fold "with persecutions," 381 + +Resurrection, grandeur in the conception of the Risen Christ, 450; + appearance of Christ to 500 brethren at once, 451; + appearance to James, 453; + literary aspect of the history of, 449; + duration of post Resurrection period, 464 + +Revelation, 52-73; + "should be written in the skies," this demand considered, 59 + +Ruler, the young, 381 + +Sabbath, its value, 219; + our Lord's practice in relation to, 220 + +Samaria, 1st journey through, 175 + +Sanday, Mr, authorship and historical character of the fourth Gospel, + references, 105, 328 + +Satan, 120, 125 + +_Seed thoughts_, 212; + see Sermon on the Mount + +Sermon on the Mount, not a Code of Laws, 210, 211; + contains _seed thoughts_, 212 + +Sex ceases with life upon earth, 410 + +Signs and Wonders: their laws, 21; + distinguished, 75; + functions of, to attract hearers, 77; + for selection, 79; + for preparation, 80; + for setting forth the kingdom, 82; + for general teaching, 84; + they shew that God does not respect persons, 87; + they do not wholly supersede the processes of nature, 88, 89; + practical lessons furnished by them to disciples, 91; + Laws of, recapitulated, 112 + +Signs, sparingly displayed after the Feast of Tabernacles, 425; + absence of public and notable signs during the Passion week, 430 + +Silas, 139 + +Simon the Zealot, 245 + +Spiritual order, how far analogous to natural selection, 314, 315 + +Storm on sea of Galilee, 283 + +Successors inheriting a cause, 414, 443 + +Suffer me first to bury my father, 377 + +Synoptists, term explained, 157 note + +Tabernacles, Feast of, 181 + +Teaching in parables, 12, 280-282, 321 + +Teaching of Christ, its form, 209; + that for the multitudes and that for the disciples, 225 + +Temptation, to turn stones into loaves, 127-135; + on the Mount, 134-139; + on the pinnacle of Temple, 139-141 + +Temptations in the wilderness, form of the narrative, 113-117; + where communicated to disciples, 119; + whether literal history, 119 + +Transfiguration, 93, 341-348 + +Trench, Archbishop, on demoniacs, 284; + on the miracles, 396 + +Tribute to Caesar, 406 + +Twelve, the, their call, 239; + their fitness for the work which fell to them, 239; + their character as witnesses, 241-243 + +Universality of Christ's Kingdom, 10, 415 + +Wisdom justified of all her children, 264-269 + +Withering of fig-tree, 95, 432 + +Witnessing to Christ the first function of the Apostles, 216, 241 + +Woman taken in adultery, 405 + + + + + + +FOOTNOTES + + + 1 Matth. xiii. 12. + + 2 Mark iii. 5. + + 3 St Matth. xiv. 17. + + 4 John vi. 15. + + 5 Luke xviii. 8. + + 6 Mark iv. II. + + 7 Gen. iii. 18, 19. + + 8 John ix. 1-3. + + 9 St Luke viii. 26; St Mark v. 1. + + 10 Luke ii. 35. + + 11 Luke xvi. 31. + + 12 Trench, Parables, 4th Edition, p. 453. "The rebuke of unbelief is + the aim and central thought of the parable." + + 13 Galatians iv. 6. + + 14 John xvii. 6. + + 15 Luke x. 11. + + 16 John xvii. 3. + + 17 Luke xx. 35. + + 18 Matth. xxviii. 20. + + 19 John xvi. 12. + + 20 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. + + 21 Galatians iv. 6. + + 22 Luke x. 22. + + 23 John xiv. 6. + + 24 Mark xiii. 22; Matth. xxiv. 24. + + 25 John iv. 48. + + 26 Luke vi. 23. + + 27 A friend recalls to me St Augustine's words, "Deus patiens est quia + aeternus." + + 28 Luke xi. 20. + + 29 Luke x. 11. + + 30 Mark i. 14, 15. + + 31 Mark xvi. 20. + + 32 Mark v. 19. + + 33 John v. 26. + + 34 Mark viii. 23-25. + + 35 Mark vii. 33-35. + + 36 Mark ix. 1. Luke ix. 27. + + 37 Mark ix. 2-8. + + 38 Mark ix. 7. Compare Deuteronomy xviii. 15, "Unto him ye shall + hearken." + + 39 Acts x. 34, 35. + + 40 Mark xi. 12-14. + + 41 Mark xi. 20-22. + + 42 {~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH DASIA~} {~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER IOTA WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH DIALYTIKA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}, Gal. i. 13. + + 43 Acts xviii. 28. + + 44 See next chapter. + + 45 John xiv. 4-11. + + 46 John xiv. 11. + + 47 John iv. 48. + + 48 Matt. xii. 39. + + 49 John iv. 47. Mr Sanday considers this miracle to be identical with + the healing of the centurion's servant, and that the "ye see" 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. + + 50 Matth. xi. 21; Luke x. 13. + + 51 John xv. 23, 24. + + 52 Luke vii. 20. + + 53 Luke vii. 21-23. + + 54 John i. 32, 33. + + 55 Matth. iv. 1-11. + + 56 Mark i. 12, 13. + + 57 Luke iv. 1-13. + + 58 Matth. iv. 1. + + 59 2 Timothy iv. 13. + + 60 Dec. 20, a.d. 29. + + 61 John x. 40. + + 62 Luke x. 18. + + 63 Mark iii. 26. + + 64 Matth. xvi. 22. + + 65 Matth. xvii. 25. + + 66 Luke ix. 55. + + 67 Mark xv. 31. + + 68 Acts xii. 7, 8. Acts xvi. 26. + +_ 69 The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah._ Dr. Edersheim, i. p. 304. + + 70 See pp. 23, 24, and pp. 57, 58. + + 71 Dr Edersheim. + + 72 Acts x. 40, 41. + + 73 Luke xvi. 30. + + 74 John iii. 2. + + 75 Luke xii. 49, 50. + + 76 John ii. 11. + + 77 John ii. 12. + + 78 John ii. 17. + + 79 John ii. 23. + + 80 John iii. 22, iv. 2. + + 81 "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." 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. + + 82 Luke xi. 1. + + 83 Luke v. 33. + + 84 John iii. 25. + + 85 John i. 43. + + 86 John i. 45; xxi. 2. + + 87 {~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH VARIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ZETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}. John i. 46. + + 88 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, _Gospel of St + John_, p. xxxv.) "The fourth Gospel [was written by] John, one of + the disciples (_i.e._ Apostles). When his fellow-disciples and + bishops urgently pressed (_cohortantibus_) him, he said, '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] (_quid cuique fuerit revelatum alterutrum_)'. 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]." 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. + + 89 John vi. 8. + +_ 90 I.e._ the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke. + + 91 John xii. _vv._ 20-22. + + 92 John xiv. 9. + + 93 Bartholomew = son of Tolmai, so that Nathanael son of Tolmai or (as + Dr Edersheim writes it) of Temalgon, would be the full name. + + 94 Tacitus speaking of Lugdunum and Vienna on opposite sides of the + Rhone, tells us that they regarded each other with the animosity + which "serves as a link between those whom only a river separates" + ("unde aemulatio et invidia et uno amne discretis connexum odium"). + Tac. _Hist._ i. c. 65. + + St Matthew speaks of that "which was spoken by the prophets, He + shall be called a Nazarene." 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 + _Natsar_. + + 95 John i. 48, 49. + + 96 Luke ii. 35. + + 97 Genesis xxviii. 12. + + 98 John i. 51. + + 99 Mark iii. 17-19. + + 100 Matth. x. 2-6. + + 101 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. + + 102 John ii. 11. + + 103 John ii. 12. + + 104 John iv. 43-45. + + 105 The tone of His discourse delivered there, after His visit to + Jerusalem, falls in with this view. + + 106 It must be recollected that there is no mention in St John's Gospel + of any disciple _by name_, after the first chapter, until we come to + the sixth. + + 107 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). + + 108 1 Peter ii. 23. + + 109 John ii. 16. + + 110 John ii. 23. + + 111 John ii. 24, 25. + + 112 John vi. 66. + + 113 John iii. 22, 23. + + 114 John iii. 26. + + 115 John iv. 1, 2. + + 116 2 Tim. iv. 2. + + 117 1 Cor. i. 12. + + 118 John iv. 31. They press Him to take bodily support about which they + thought Him careless. This must be an eye-witness's account. + + 119 John xv. 15. + + 120 John ii. 24. + + 121 John iv. 35-38. See Chronological Appendix. + + 122 Luke x. 21, 22. + + 123 Luke xxii. 28. + + 124 Luke xv. 10. + + 125 Mark x. 33, 34. + + 126 John v. 1. + + 127 Luke iv. 14, 15. + + 128 John iv. 45. + + 129 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. + + 130 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 "_the_ feast" 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 "_the_ feast," in John v. 1. If this were received + it would go far to settle the point. + + 131 John i. 43. + + 132 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. + + 133 John v. 15-18. + + 134 John xi. 48. + + 135 John v. 17. + + 136 Matth. v. 45. + + 137 John v. 43. + + 138 Matth. iv. 20. + + 139 I place this advent of our Lord into Galilee at the end of September + A.D. 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 _not_ 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 "the Kingdom" 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, "He + _was_ the lamp that burneth and shineth, and you were willing for a + season to rejoice in his light." 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 + _dead_: for he received his disciples in prison and could give + counsel and direction to those without. He did not cease to shine + for _them_. 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 Judaea, 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. + + 140 Mark i. 14, 15. + + 141 Mark i. 16-20. + + 142 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. + + 143 Acts ii. 41. + + 144 Luke v. 4. + + 145 Luke v. 8. + + 146 Mark i. 22. + + 147 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. + + 148 Matt. v. 38-41. + + 149 Acts i. 8. + + 150 Luke v. 17. + + 151 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 "I will have mercy and not sacrifice" 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 _disciples of the Pharisees_ put the question + together with John's disciples. Some disciples of John may have + belonged to the Pharisees as their religious party. + + 152 Luke xi. 1. + + 153 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 "He passed through + Galilee, and would not that any man should know it, for he taught + His _disciples_." Mark ix. 31. And soon after, when he is beyond + Jordan, we have "and _multitudes_ came together unto him again; and, + as he was wont, he taught _them_ again." Mark x. 1. + + 154 viz. after the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. Matth. + xiv. 23. + + 155 viz., "that they might be with him and that he might send them forth + to preach and to have authority to cast out devils." Mark iii. 14, + 15. + + 156 {~GREEK SMALL LETTER BETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ZETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}, Matth. xi. 12. "{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~} especially with + such verbs as {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH DASIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PERISPOMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER THETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~} etc. is employed to denote 'a highly prized + possession, an unexpected gain.' " Bishop Lightfoot's _Philippians_, + p. 111. Compare Ps. cxix. 162. "I am as glad of thy word as one that + findeth great spoils." + + 157 Mark iii. 6, 7. + + 158 Matth. ix. 36-38. + + 159 p. 234. + + 160 Luke vi. 12. + + 161 Mark iii. 13, 14. + + 162 Mark xiv. 50. + + 163 Luke xxiv. 36. + + 164 John xv. 27. + + 165 Acts i. 8. + + 166 Acts i. 22. + + 167 Acts x. 41. For other instances see Luke xxiv. 48; Acts ii. 32; iii. + 15; xiii. 31. + + 168 John xi. 16. + + 169 James i. 20. + + 170 John ii. 24. + + 171 Matt. xxviii. 19. + + 172 Luke vi. 17-19. + + 173 Luke vi. 20. + + 174 Luke vi. 22, 23. + + 175 Luke vi. 24-26. + + 176 Luke vi. 27. + + 177 Luke vi. 39, 40. + + 178 Luke vi. 43, also Matth. vii. 17 where the converse is added. + + 179 Mark iii. 20, 21. + + 180 Matt. xi. 2-6. See also Luke vii. 18-23. + + 181 Luke vii. 23. + + 182 Marginal rendering, _was_. + + 183 Luke vii. 35. + + 184 Luke vii. 29, 30. + + 185 John x. 16. + + 186 p. 265. + + 187 Heb. xi. 1. + + 188 Mark iv. 35-40. + + 189 Luke viii. 1-3. + + 190 Mark vi. 39, 40. + + 191 Possibly Philip had this charge, see page 306. + + 192 Luke ix. 51, 52. + + 193 Mark iv. 35. + + 194 Mark iv. 37-40. + + 195 In "Trench on the Miracles" 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. 48. + + 196 See above, p. 49. + + 197 Mark v. 17. + + 198 Mark v. 37. + + 199 Compare Mark iii. 32 and Mark vi. 3. + + 200 Mark vi. 7-13. + + 201 Luke x. 1-11. + + 202 Matth. x. 5-15. + + 203 Luke xxii. 35-38. + + 204 Luke ix. 52. + + 205 Luke xix. 29. + + 206 Luke xxii. 8. + + 207 Luke x. 9-11. + + 208 Mark vi. 30. + + 209 John v. 43. + + 210 Luke x. 21. + + 211 Luke x. 21, 22. + + 212 Mark vi. 30-32. + + 213 John vi. 4, 5. + + 214 See p. 22. + + 215 John vi. 9. + + 216 Mark i. 20. + + 217 Mark vi. 38. + + 218 Mark viii. 5-7. + + 219 That the disciples habitually carried loaves with them on their + journey is clear from Mark viii. 14. + + 220 Mark viii. 16, 17. + + 221 John vi. 5. + + 222 Mark vi. 34. + + 223 John vi. 15. + + 224 Mark vi. 45, 46. + + 225 Mark vi. 47-52. + + 226 See pp. 199, 200. + + 227 Mark vi. 50. + + 228 Matth. xxv. 14-30; Luke xix. 11-27. + + 229 Luke xix. 26. + + 230 Matth. xiii. 10. + + 231 Mark iv. 11, 12. See also Isaiah vi. 10. + + 232 Mark iv. 24. + + 233 Luke ix. 31. + + 234 Three it would seem is the number adopted for _witnesses_ just as + two is that for missionaries on their way. + + 235 John vi. 25-65. + + 236 W. Sanday, "Authorship and Historical character of the Fourth + Gospel." + + 237 Speaking of the beliefs of the Rabbis as to the days of the Messiah, + Dr Edersheim, quoting from the Rabbis, says: "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." "Jesus + the Messiah," Book v. p. 438. + + 238 John vi. 66. + + 239 Cf. John iii. 25. + + 240 Mark vii. 14, 15. + + 241 John vi. 60-63. + + 242 Mark vii. 24. + + 243 Mark vii. 33-36. + + 244 Bethsaida means Fishertown; many places were so named. Dr Edersheim. + + 245 Mark viii. 23-26. + + 246 Mark viii. 11. + + 247 Matth. xvi. 13-20. + + 248 John vi. 44. + + 249 Matth. xvi. 23. + + 250 Luke iv. 13. + + 251 Matth. xvi. 24, 25. + + 252 Mark ix. 1. + + 253 Mark ix. 9. + + 254 Matthew xvii. 12. + + 255 Luke ix. 37. + + 256 Mark ix. 17-29. + + 257 See page 95. + + 258 Mark v. 30. + + 259 Mark ix. 30. + + 260 John xvi. 4. + + 261 Mark ix. 33. + + 262 Mark ix. 30. + + 263 Mark ix. 35. + + 264 Luke ix. 48. + + 265 Matt. xviii. 1-11. + + 266 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. + + 267 Matthew xii. 30. + + 268 xviii. 21, 22. + + 269 Compare the Revised Version with that of 1611. + + 270 Mark ix. 49, 50. + + 271 Mark x. 1. + + 272 Luke ix. 51, 52. + + 273 John vii. 2-10. + + 274 Acts i. 14, "with his brethren." + + 275 Mark vi. 2. + + 276 Luke ix. 51-56. + + 277 Luke xii. 41-46. + + 278 Acts xii. 2. + + 279 John vii. 14. + + 280 That our Lord spoke Greek when required is inferred from His being + understood by the Syro-Phoenician woman and by Pilate, who probably + knew no Hebrew, see John xviii. 33-38. See also John vii. 35, + Revised Version. + + 281 Page 191. + + 282 John vii. 53; viii. 1. + + 283 The third is preserved only by Luke. + + 284 Matthew viii. 19. + + 285 Luke xi. 27. + + 286 Luke xxii. 33. + + 287 See also Luke xiv. 15. The exclamation, "Blessed is he that shall + eat bread in the kingdom of God" is met by the parable of the Great + Supper. + + 288 Luke x. 4-11. + + 289 Mark x. 17-22. + + 290 Articles of Religion, XIII. + + 291 Acts iv. 35. + + 292 Mark x. 24. + + 293 Mark x. 30. + + 294 Acts iv. 32. + + 295 Luke xv. 10. + + 296 Luke xvi. 8. + + 297 Luke xvi. 1-12. + + 298 "Life and times of Jesus the Messiah," p. 267. + + 299 "The use of {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} for 'false' runs through the whole Septuagint. + Thus, Deut. xix. 16, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}, a false witness; and ver. 18, + {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}, he hath witnessed falsely. See Prov. vi. 19; xii. + 17; Jer. v. 31, 'The prophets prophesy falsely' ({~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}), and many + more examples might be adduced. So here the '_unrighteous_' mammon + is the false mammon, that which will betray the reliance which is + placed on it (1 Tim. vi. 17). Thus {~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~} (Job xiii. 4), + 'physicians of no value.' " Trench, "On the Parables," The unjust + Steward. + + 300 Luke xvii. 5. + + 301 It is clear that "unrighteous," in verse 10 means "superficial" and + "unreal," because it is contrasted with "true." The opposite of + {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} is here {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER THETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}. + + 302 Mark xiv. 9. + + 303 Luke xii. 14. + + 304 Luke xii. 16-20. + + 305 Luke xii. 36. Matt. vi. 25. + + 306 Matthew xix. 9. + + 307 On the conversation of our Lord at Sychar with the woman of Samaria, + Dr Edersheim says: "That Jesus should converse with a woman was so + contrary to all Jewish notions of a Rabbi that they wondered." The + disciples "marvelled that he was speaking with a woman," John iv. + 27; and in a note Dr Edersheim has: "Readers know how thoroughly + opposed to Jewish notions was any needless converse with a woman." + + 308 Luke xx. 35, 36. + + 309 Matth. xxiv. 25. + + 310 Luke xxi. 19. + + 311 Luke ii. 4. + + 312 Matth. xxii. 42, 43. Mark xii. 35-37. Luke xx. 41. + + 313 See John xiv. 9. + + 314 Luke xi. 1. + + 315 See Edersheim, vol. I. p. 440. + + 316 John xiii. 1-14. + + 317 John xxi. 25. + + 318 2 Sam. xii. 13. + + 319 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. + "Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah," vol. II. pp. 495-498. + + 320 Luke xxii. 24, 30. + + 321 Galatians vi. 1, 2. + + 322 Mark vii. 33. See p. 333. + + 323 Mark xi. 10. + + 324 Luke xi. 29. See p. 104. + + 325 Luke xiii. 23; xviii. 19. + + 326 John xiv. 19. + + 327 John xi. 16, see p. 372. + + 328 pp. 95, 96, 97. + + 329 Galatians ii. 11-14. + + 330 See Preface. + + 331 1 John i. 1. + + 332 Acts x. 40, 41. + + 333 1 Cor. xv. 5, 6, 7, 8. + + 334 See Chronol. Append., May A.D. 30. + + 335 1 Cor. xv. 6. + + 336 Acts i. 15. + + 337 I would point out that in the passage from 1 Cor. xv. quoted p. 450, + we have "then to the _Twelve_," and later, "then to _all the + Apostles_." May not St Paul have meant the latter term to be a wider + one than the former, and, possibly, to include James? + + 338 Mark vi. 3. + + 339 1 Cor. ix. 1. + + 340 "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." Dr Salmon, "Introduction to the New + Testament," p. 565. + + 341 "This James whom the ancients ... surnamed the Just." Eusebius, + _Eccl. Hist._ 6, ii. c. 1. + + 342 John xvi. 7, 8. + + 343 Acts xvi. 6-8. + + 344 Philippians ii. 13. + + 345 Matth. xviii. 21. + + 346 Romans v. 8. + + 347 1 Cor. xv. 44. + + 348 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, + _Palestine_, Vol. 1. p. 431 (ed. 2), and compare Stanley, + _Palestine_, p. 240, note (ed. 2). Note taken from Bishop Ellicott's + Historical Lectures on the "Life of our Lord," page 106. + + 349 John iv. 6. The marginal rendering of the Revised Version is "Jesus + ... sat _as he was_ by the well." The words in italics answer to + "thus," {~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH DASIA AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}. 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. + + 350 This _glorifying_ 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. + + + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PASTOR PASTORUM*** + + + +CREDITS + + +July 23, 2011 + + Project Gutenberg TEI edition 1 + Produced by Colin Bell, David King, and the Online Distributed + Proofreading Team at <http://www.pgdp.net/>. + + + +A WORD FROM PROJECT GUTENBERG + + +This file should be named 36828.txt or 36828.zip. + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + + + http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/6/8/2/36828/ + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one -- the old editions will be +renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one +owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and +you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission +and without paying copyright royalties. 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