The Re-Interpretation of Jesus in the New Testament 9781463214548

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The Re-Interpretation of Jesus in the New Testament

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V V

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Gorgias Theological Library

28

The Gorgias Theological Library brings back to active circulation carefully selected rare classics which are essentials for the shelves of every theological library. The selections include tools for scholars, but also general theological works of interest to general readers.

The Re-Interpretation of Jesus in the New Testament

Carl Everett Purinton

gorgias press 2009

Gorgias Press LLC, 180 Centennial Ave., Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA www.gorgiaspress.com Copyright © 2009 by Gorgias Press LLC

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise without the prior written permission of Gorgias Press LLC. 2009

1

ISBN 978-1-59333-953-1

Printed in the United States of America

ISSN 1935-6935

TO MY FATHER AND MOTHER

PREFACE This book is the result of several years' experimentation in interpreting the New Testament, and the approach presented in these pages has been developed in the laboratory of experience. A glance at the Introduction will explain my method and my purpose. As indicated there, one very important factor in the study of the books of the New Testament has been stressed—a direct contact with the person by whom the entire literature was inspired. The material contained in this book has been found useful in connection with some of the courses of the International Council of Religious Education, as well as with college classes on the New Testament; it is hoped that it will be found helpful to the general reader who wishes to know more about the New Testament. "Suggestions for Study" and suggestions "Of Wider Scope" have been provided in the Appendix for those who wish these aids in class work. I wish to express my indebtedness to Doctor Arnold E. Look who has read the entire manuscript and has offered numerous helpful suggestions. Gratitude is also due to my wife who has read all the chapters both in the original copy and in the proofs. The vii

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PREFACE

scriptural texts used are taken for the most part from the American Standard Edition of the Revised Bible, copyright, 1929, by the International Council of Religious Education and used by permission. Hempstead, N. Y. March 15, 1932

C A R L

E V E R E T T

PURINTON.

CONTENTS PAGE

PREFACE

VII

INTRODUCTION

XI

P A R T

1.

T H E

S O U R C E S

CHAPTER

I. II.

P A U L A N D H I S I N T E R P R E T A T I O N OF J E S U S T H E GOSPELS IN THE M A K I N G .

.

.

.

3 11

III.

T H E G O S P E L OF M A R K I N T E R P R E T S J E S U S

18

IV.

T H E GOSPEL JESUS

26

V. VI.

OF M A T T H E W

INTERPRETS

T H E G O S P E L OF L U K E I N T E R P R E T S J E S U S THE

EARLIEST

SOURCES

FOR A

KNOWL-

EDGE O F J E S U S

P A R T VII. VIII. IX.

2.

T H E

43

H I S T O R I C A L

DECISIVE E V E N T : T H E BAPTISM

THE

C H O I C E OF A N

IDEAL: T H E

TATION X. XI. XII.

L I F E

O F

J E S U S

N A Z A R E T H OF G A L I L E E A

34

53 .

.

63

TEMP69

" C A P E R N A U M BY THE S E A "

78

JESUS AND MIRACLES

86

J E S U S ' U S E OF P A R A B L E S

95

ix

x

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

XIII.

XIV.

PAGE

T H E S E R M O N ON T H E M O U N T : MINDEDNESS

RIGHT-

THE

REGARD

S E R M O N ON T H E M O U N T :

105

FOR P E R S O N A L I T Y XV.

114

P R O P H E T VERSUS P R I E S T

123

XVI.

" H E SET H I S F A C E T O W A R D J E R U S A L E M "

134

P A R T

3.

IN XVII.

XVIII.

T H E

L A T E R

I N T E R P R E T A T I O N N E W

T E S T A M E N T

JESUS, T H E M E S S I A H C H R I S T I A N S : ACTS

OF

OF

JESUS

BOOKS

JERUSALEM 147

T H E A P O C A L Y P T I C I N T E R P R E T A T I O N OF JESUS: REVELATION

154

XIX.

A N A P P E A L TO L O Y A L T Y : HEBREWS

.

162

XX.

JESUS AS L I F E , L I G H T , L O V E : THE

LET-

.

169

TERS OF JOHN XXI.

THE C H R I S T OF FOURTH GOSPEL

EXPERIENCE:

THE 178

APPENDIX

187

I. NOTES I I . SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY .

189 .

.

.

I97

I I I . A LIST OF PARABLES IV. A LIST OF USEFUL BOOKS INDEX

209 .

.

.

211 215

INTRODUCTION These pages combine a partial introduction to the books of the New Testament with a study of the life and teachings of Jesus. The purpose of the author is to relate these books to the central figure of the New Testament—the person of Jesus. Because the author feels so strongly that this correlation has not been sufficiently stressed in other works on the New Testament, and because he feels that the material between the covers of this book may help to give its readers a new point of view, he ventures to add a new volume on the interpretation of Jesus. The book opens with a discussion of the sources for a knowledge of Jesus. The need for careful consideration of this question may be seen when one discovers in a recent popular interpretation of Christian history such a sweeping generalization as the following: " N o one can say now . . . just who Jesus was, or what he taught. History records only what certain of his followers believed him to be, and what they thought he taught." It is one of the presuppositions of this book that we have in the books labelled "sources" different interpretations of the person and thought of Jesus. Yet it is quite another thing to say that because Paul's writings and the Synoptic Gospels contain individual interpretations, they cannot be considered as trustworthy sources for a knowledge of Jesus. Paul's letters are documents of the most valuable XI

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INTRODUCTION

kind. Paul was converted within three or four years after Jesus' death. He was therefore a contemporary of Jesus. His writings and his own transformed personality are a convincing testimony to the fact of Jesus and to the character of his influence. If it be pointed out that the Gospels of Matthew and Luke were written at a relatively late date, it should be remembered that they are based upon earlier source materials, which may now be distinguished with some defmiteness. Mark and the " Q " material bring us closer to the time of Jesus. The fact that we have not one, but several interpretations of Jesus is no obstacle, but a distinct advantage. W e are thus enabled to see Jesus from different points of view and by a comparative study to understand him more fully than if we had only one avenue of approach. Our difficulty as Christians is not a lack of knowledge about Jesus. As Professor Frank C. Porter writes, "People in general who simply read and re-read the Gospels, as Matthew Arnold urged all men to do, find that they have a very distinct and powerful impression of the personality of Jesus, of his spirit, of the ideals which he taught, according to which he lived, for which he died. The Gospels are not only books having complicated relations to one another which require to be analyzed and accounted for, they are also, all of them, books that have the mysterious power to make the person of whom they tell live before our eyes and take possession of our minds." The Synoptic Gospels, supplemented and tested by Paul's interpretation of Jesus, offer sufficient and

INTRODUCTION

xiii

trustworthy information about Jesus. Our difficulty as Christians is not primarily intellectual. It is a difficulty of a different sort—in large part volitional, that of willing to live in a Christlike way. The ten chapters which form the second section of the book concern the life, teachings, and death of Jesus. Chapter seven is a reconstruction of the home life and early environment of Jesus, based upon our knowledge of the social and economic conditions of first century Palestine. With this single exception, these chapters are based primarily upon the earliest sources, Mark and the " Q " material. In addition to a discussion of the baptism, temptation, healing work and teaching ministry of Jesus, the author has added in chapters fifteen and sixteen a study of the controversy which eventuated in the death of Jesus upon the cross. This addition was made in the belief that Jesus' loyalty to his ideal, as displayed in the actual conduct of his career, illustrates his religion fully as well as his teaching. The third section deals with the later books of the New Testament, particularly as these interpret the significance of Jesus. Because the aim of the book is to focus attention on the personality of Jesus, the writings of Paul are used only to enlist the Apostle's help in. understanding Jesus and to this end they are very helpful. First and Second Timothy, Titus, James, First and Second Peter, and Jude, are omitted from discussion as having no important contribution to the interpretation of Jesus. Literary criticism is subordinated to religious experience, except in chapters one to six, where a re-

xiv

INTRODUCTION

sume of Gospel criticism was essential to the purpose of the book. In Part 2 an attempt is made to appreciate the actual experiences of Jesus. In Part 3 the emphasis is upon the religious experience of early Christians, particularly as this relates to the person of Christ. The title, The Re-interpretation of Jesus in the New Testament, suggests an interest common to all three parts of the book. The interpretations of Jesus found in the letters of Paul and in the Synoptic Gospels furnish the basis for the reconstruction of the historical life of Jesus in the second section. The final section of the book describes the various interpretations of Jesus in later New Testament books. It is the author's purpose that the title should carry the further implication that just as Christians in the period of the New Testament successively re-interpreted Jesus in terms of their own generation and environment, so the twentieth century Christian must also relate Jesus to his own experience and needs. The attempt has been made in the pages of this volume to describe the significance of Jesus in terms of modern religious thought. A double meaning may therefore be found in the title of this book: first, Jesus, as the New Testament interprets him, and secondly, an interpretation by the author of the meaning of Jesus in the life of to-day.

CHAPTER I PAUL AND HIS INTERPRETATION OF JESUS The letters of Paul furnish the earliest information about Jesus, and if only for this reason, Paul would be of interest. No authentic portrait or bust exists to give a definite picture, but in this respect we share the lot of many of his earlier friends who never saw his face. However, the earliest representation of Paul, from the Catacomb of Domitilla in Rome, in which he is coupled with Peter, indicates an impetuous, authoritative personality, derived no doubt from suggestions in the writings of Paul and the tradition about him. We may draw one or two further inferences from the letters of Paul. He was proud of his Hebrew descent and, no doubt, racial characteristics were readily to be seen. At the time when his letters were written, Paul was no longer young, for he described himself in one place, for example, as "Paul, the old man." The most concrete description is found in a book known as The Acts of Paul which portrays " a short man., bandy-legged, healthy-looking, with his eyebrows meeting each other, inclined to be red-haired, of gracious presence." Paul was not an imposing figure of a man, but it is clear that he possessed a personality both strong and winsome. Although described as "healthy-looking," perhaps a reference to a ruddy complexion, Paul was not physically robust. He spoke of his body as "a frail vessel of earth" and referred to "this earthly tent of 3

4

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SOURCES

mine," confirming the suggestion of frailty. H e was troubled from time to time with attacks which he described as "a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me." Y e t Paul showed himself capable of great endurance in the face of almost overwhelming hardship and suffering. It is easy to skim lightly over the experiences described in II Corinthians 1 1 : 2 3 - 2 7 , yet a careful reading fills one with a most painful sense of the privations, dangers, and cruelties endured by Paul. Deissmann, in his biography of Paul, has illuminated this passage in the following w a y : " T h e enfeebled body is covered with the scars of frequent ill-treatment; he had endured a stoning, five times he had received thirty-nine stripes, thrice had he been beaten with rods. W h a t that means may be gathered from prison officials who have been present at the disciplinary punishment of refractory criminals. Even after the fifth stroke blood often begins to spurt out, after twenty the back has been slashed into a bloody mass. . . . B y no means every delinquent had the physical strength to bear the thirty-nine stripes, many a one died under the executioner's hand; therefore delinquents were 'assessed' beforehand, e.g., to be able to endure only eighteen lashes. . . . T o all this must be added privations of hunger and frost, of thirst, heat and shipwreck and the martyrdom of frequent arrest." 1 T h e astonishing vitality of Paul is best understood from a map-study of his travels. He once said, not boastfully but in self-defense, " I have labored 1 These superior figures throughout the book refer to notes beginning on page 189.

PAUL'S

I N T E R P R E T A T I O N OF J E S U S

5

more abundantly than they all." 2 This may be taken literally, for out of fifty centres of early Christianity in the Mediterranean world, thirty were established by Paul. His missionary tours well illustrate the saying of Matthew, "The field is the world." To be sure, his was "the world of the olive-tree," the Mediterranean world, and not the larger sphere of the veteran globe-trotter to-day. Nevertheless, it must be remembered that Paul traveled slowly and laboriously by foot when on land, by small and precarious sailing-vessels when on sea. Where did Paul gain the world-view that was to make Christianity a universal religion? H e was born and spent his early life in Tarsus, a cosmopolitan centre in the Roman world of Augustus. A few miles from the city are the famous Cilician Gates, a pass in the Taurus mountains through which poured ancient commerce from East to West. In the harbor which served Tarsus mingled sailors and traders from all parts of that world. Even to-day on the docks of Mersina, the modern port of Tarsus, huge crates labelled "Ford" are a mute witness to the still cosmopolitan character of the city of Paul. Tarsus was more than a commercial centre. It was a centre of Greek culture, being the home of a university which before the day of Paul had outstripped even Athens and Alexandria. Eminent Stoics, like Athenodorus, the tutor of Augustus, and Nestor, the teacher of Tiberius, made their home in Tarsus. Moreover, the zest for learning was not an imported fad, for the natives of Tarsus participated actively in the educational life of the city. It is a noteworthy fact that they, after attend-

6

THE

SOURCES

ing the university, went out as teachers to the rest of the world, as we are told by Strabo, the Greek geographer: "even the natives do not remain but travel abroad to complete their studies, and having completed them reside in foreign countries." Such was the atmosphere of Tarsus. Paul, reared as a Jew in a predominantly Greek city, says of himself, " I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians." 3 Coming from such an environment, where two civilizations, Semitic and Greek, found a common meeting-place, Paul was ideally fitted to carry the religion of Jesus to the Greek-speaking world. In the course of a few years there is hardly a great city in that ancient world with which Paul is not familiar : Jerusalem, Damascus, Antioch, Ephesus, Troas, Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens, Corinth, and Rome. He has visited them all and in many of them has lived for months at a time. His letters breathe the atmosphere of these great centres. The idioms of his speech are provided by the foot-races in the stadium, by the familiar sight of Roman soldiers in their shining armor, and by the spectacles of the Roman theatre. Jesus lived and taught for the most part in the peaceful countryside of Galilee, but Paul lived and labored in the din of busy cities. These are some reasons for saying that churches dedicated to St. Paul ought not to be built "before the walls," i.e., in the suburbs, but "in the forum." "Amid the bustle and hurry of labor, there where the waves of the human sea roar and break, while high in the air the wires of the talking giant-city vibrate as they link up church tower with hospital, market hall and

P A U L ' S I N T E R P R E T A T I O N OF J E S U S

7

Parliament, it is right that to-day there should be pulpits in churches of St. Paul from which the Crucified is preached." 4 But what of this Christ whom Paul preaches? Is he also the Jesus of history? Paul mentions so few details of the historical life of Jesus that some writers have questioned whether he had a genuine knowledge of Jesus. The same omission, however, might be used to argue that the details of the life of Jesus were a commonplace, both to Paul and to the people to whom his letters were written. Indeed, on the basis of what we know about Paul, it is hard to see why he should not know the main facts about Jesus. Converted, probably, about the year 3 2 - 3 3 A.D., Paul appeared in Jerusalem three years later and spent fifteen days with Peter, the disciple closest to Jesus. A t this time he also talked with James, the brother of Jesus. Thus six years after the death of Jesus, Paul was on intimate terms with those closest to him. What else but the life of Jesus and the expansion of his influence could have been the topic of their discussions? Moreover, Paul saw Peter frequently on later occasions, and, of course, other disciples and early Christian leaders. In his letters, Paul refers to the Last Supper and to the events connected with the story of Jesus' death, crucifixion, and resurrection in such a way as to suggest that he could have furnished further details if there had been any reason to do so. Scattered through the writings of Paul are actual quotations of sayings of Jesus, some of them reported in the Gospels and some unrecorded outside of Paul's letters, which give further evidence that Paul had a knowledge of

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SOURCES

Jesus. On the basis of these facts, it is safe to assume that Paul was acquainted with the main facts of the life of Jesus. It must be remembered, however, that Paul was not writing a biography of Jesus. H e was interested in interpreting the meaning of Jesus' life and death. The value of that interpretation may be judged from the fact that to be a Christian to-day means what it meant to Paul—to live in the spirit of Jesus. Paul's portrait of Jesus is to be found in two places, in the transformed character of Paul himself, and in his teachings. The title of a recent book on Paul, The Mind of Christ in Paul,5 suggests what the Christian religion meant to him. Paul said, "For to me to live is Christ." 6 His great phrase, oft-repeated, is "Christ lives in me." What this meant to Paul was a complete change of life, illustrated by the fact that the once arrogant delegate of the Jewish Sanhedrin could finally say in all humility, "I Paul myself entreat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ." 7 He urged upon others the ideal which he had embodied in his own life, "Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant. . . ." 8 His cry, ". . . not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of the many," 9 is a true reflection of the character of Jesus. "Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ," 10 said Paul. Thus by his own transformed character Paul bears witness to the character of Jesus. The important teachings of Paul likewise reflect

PAUL'S

INTERPRETATION

OF J E S U S

9

faithfully the thought of Jesus. Romans 12 is sometimes called Paul's "Sermon on the Mount," because it contains so many similarities to the great passage in Matthew 5-7. A selection of sayings from this chapter of Romans will illustrate the point: "For I say . . . to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but so to think as to think soberly . . . let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. In love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned one to another; in honor preferring one another; in diligence not slothful; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation. . . . Be; of the same mind one toward another. Set not your mind on high things, but condescend to things that are lowly. Be not wise in your own conceits. Render to no man evil for evil." Here as in the Synoptic Gospels are the characteristic teachings of Jesus about humility, sincerity, diligence, hope, and love. Such a comparison is convincing proof that Paul had a genuine knowledge of the mind of Jesus. Finally, in such passages as Galatians 5 : 2 2 - 2 4 and in the famous "Hymn to Love," I Corinthians 13, what do we have but verbal portraits of Jesus, which correspond with what we know to be his true character? "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control." "Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but

IO

THE

SOURCES

rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." This characterization of love "constitutes a picture of Jesus himself, and is derived from him. It has no other historical explanation. So that although Christ is not mentioned in the chapter, it is one of Paul's greatest testimonies to the personality of Jesus, to that which Paul knew him to be. It is a portrait of the character of Jesus drawn by one whom this chapter itself proves to have been a great artist; great, too, in his appreciation of the divine beauty and truth of the mind he is depicting." 11 Paul is a trustworthy and at the same time the earliest source for a knowledge of Jesus. His interpretation of the religion of Jesus as the "religion of the spirit" is perhaps the one most needed for to-day.

CHAPTER II THE GOSPELS IN THE MAKING

The Gospels had not been completed at the time when Paul composed his letters, but were still in the making. The only account in the New Testament of the way in which the Gospels came to be written is found in the preface to the Gospel of Luke: "Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us, even as they delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus; that thou mightest: know the certainty concerning the things wherein thou wast instructed." From this description three separate stages in the process of Gospel-writing may be distinguished. First, there is the oral period of the Gospel, when those who had known Jesus repeated what they had seen and heard. In the second place, numerous written collections of things that Jesus had said or things that he had done began to be circulated. The Gospel of Mark, with its omission of all but a few of the teachings of Jesus and its emphasis upon Jesus as the doer of mighty deeds, may be regarded as one of the incomplete products of this second period of Gospel-writing. Finally, on the basis of both oral testimony and various written accounts of "what ii

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Jesus said" and "what Jesus did," the Gospels of Matthew and Luke reached their present form. In this chapter we are particularly concerned with the oral period of the Gospel. The earliest Gospel, Mark, is commonly placed as late as 70 A.D., and Matthew and Luke about fifteen years later. W h y is it that so many years elapsed before any attempt was made to record in writing the life of Jesus? The answer to th:.s question lies in the ancient and peculiarly Oriental preference for the memory. In the time of Jesus, the Torah or L a w , consisting of the first five books of the present Old Testament, existed in written form, and about this written L a w had arisen many detailed explanations and interpretations which had been handed down orally by different teachers. These had accumulated from generation to generation until the volume of the oral interpretation of the L a w was greater than that of the written code itself. It then became a matter of pride and honor to be able to quote both the written and the unwritten L a w without deviation from the original. The importance attached to a good memory may be understood from an examination of certain verses selected from The Sayings of the Jewish Fathers.1 Rabbi Jochanan ben Zakkai is quoted as saying, "Eliezer ben Hyrcanos is a plastered cistern which loseth not a drop." This quaint description becomes full of meaning when one remembers the scarcity of water in Palestine and the means used to preserve it even to-day. Many modern houses of Palestine are equipped with leaders which drain rain water from the roof directly to cisterns where it is preserved for drinking purposes.

THE

GOSPELS I N T H E M A K I N G

13

These cisterns are covered very carefully so that no leaves or débris may endanger the purity of the water. The importance of cisterns filled with pure, cold water in a land often threatened with drought is obvious. Accordingly, a higher tribute to the retentive memory and scholarly character of Rabbi Eliezer could hardly be imagined. Other sayings from this collection illustrate the same emphasis upon a good memory. "Whosoever forgets a single word of his Mishna, they reckon it unto him as though he had committed a mortal sin." " B e careful in the study of the Torah, for error in the learning of it amounts to sin." "There are four types of character in scholars : ( 1 ) He who is quick to hear and quick to forget ; his gain is cancelled by his loss. ( 2 ) He who is slow to hear and slow to forget; his loss is cancelled by his gain. ( 3 ) He who is quick to hear and slow to forget; he is a wise man. ( 4 ) He who is slow to hear and quick to forget ; such a man has a sad lot." Under such conditions it is only natural that Jesus should have expressed his thoughts in a form easily to be remembered. That this was actually the casé is demonstrated by the fact that modern translators of the New Testament find it best to arrange the sayings of Jesus in poetic form. A recent study of the use of poetic language in the addresses of Jesus has shown that the features of Hebrew poetry, parallelism and rhythm, are characteristic of his sayings. 2 The following utterances illustrate the so-called synonymous type of parallelism, in which the second line repeats the thought of the first : Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm ? To save a life or to kill ?

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Every kingdom divided against itself is desolated, And house against house falleth.

The second type of parallelism is known as antithetic in which the thought of the second line brings out the meaning of the first by contrast rather than by repetition: He that findeth his life shall lose it; And he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. So the last shall be first And the first last.

A third main type of parallelism is the progressive in which the second and succeeding lines add something to the thought. They make broad their phylacteries, And enlarge their fringes. And love the chief place at the feasts, And the chief seats in the synagogues. And the salutations in the market-places, And to be called of men, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi For one is your teacher, And all ye are brethren. And call no man your father on earth; For one is your Father, the heavenly. Neither be ye called masters; For one is your Master, even Christ.

The second main characteristic of Hebrew poetry is rhythm. The most common types of rhythm are the four-beat and the three-beat. Occasionally, a two-beat rhythm is used to suggest emotional intensity, especially in funeral dirges. In the Lord's

THE

GOSPELS IN T H E M A K I N G

15

Prayer, as given in Matthew, the four-beat rhythm may be seen: Our Father in heaven Thy kingdom come; As in the heavens, Our daily bread And forgive us our debts, And lead us not into temptation,

hallowed be Thy name. Thy will be done, so on earth, give us to-day; as we forgive our debtors; but deliver us from evil.

These and similar illustrations bring us closer to the Poet-Prophet of Nazareth. Cast in such gem-like phraseology, the words of Jesus would be remembered much more easily by his disciples even though they were not immediately written down. By verbal memory, then, the teachings of Jesus were first preserved. In synagogues, in private homes, by the seaside, from a boat, he taught, always orally, and his words were preserved by memory alone. So far as we know, not a single word of his was recorded in written form during his lifetime. Not even after his death did it immediately occur to his disciples to put his famous sayings into writing. The spoken word in Palestine as in ancient Greece was considered superior to the written record. There are, however, additional reasons why the followers of Jesus did not preserve the memory of their Master in written form. For the most part they were simple men without education. Peter, James, and John were fishermen. Matthew, the taxcollector, was the only disciple, probably, who knew how to write. These immediate followers, furthermore, held fresh in their minds the personality and remarkable words of Jesus, and saw no need to

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write, even if they had known how. Finally, they, like others of their time, were expecting the end of the age. Only gradually, years after the crucifixion, were the small beginnings made of that process which resulted in the writing of the Gospels as we know them to-day. When those "who from the beginning were eyewitnesses" began to die off, then there was the need for written records. Thus, at the very time when Paul was writing his letters, we may believe that the first beginnings of Gospel-writing were in process. Luke, writing many years later, was able to say, "many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us." The nature of these early narratives is illustrated by two leaves of papyrus found in Egypt by Grenfell and Hunt, the first being found in 1897 and the second in 1904. These papyri contain reputed sayings of Jesus, the authenticity of which is not certain. Some of them are incomplete; but can be reconstructed from a comparison with the New Testament. The following saying, for example, can be completed by a comparison with Matthew 7 : 5 : " . . . and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote that is in thy brother's eye." A saying which is not found in the Gospels reads: "Jesus saith, I stood in the midst of the world, and in the flesh was I seen of them, and I found all men drunken, and none found I athirst among them, and my soul grieveth over the sons of men, because they are blind in their heart (and see not), poor, and know not their poverty." Another saying from the first leaf

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GOSPELS IN T H E M A K I N G

17

reads, "Jesus saith, wherever there are two they are not without God, and if one is alone anywhere, I say I am with him. Raise the stone, there thou shalt find me; cleave the wood, and there I am." The quotation suggests the verse of Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." The last line of the saying also inspired the famous poem of Henry van Dyke, The Toiling of Felix. A n interesting "word of Jesus" found on the second papyrus leaf is as follows: "Jesus saith, Let not him who seeks . . . cease until he finds, and when he finds he shall be astonished; astonished he shall reach the kingdom, and having reached the kingdom he shall rest." 3 These utterances cannot be taken at face value as words of Jesus. Burkitt states that "the Oxyrhynchus documents may have preserved genuine Sayings of Jesus which were otherwise unknown, but the collection must have been mixed with nonSemitic elements."4 Nevertheless, these fragments illustrate the character of those early collections which were used by the Gospel writers and to which Luke refers in his preface.

CHAPTER

III

THE GOSPEL OF MARK INTERPRETS JESUS The Gospel of Mark introduced a new type of literature, which came to be known as "gospel" literature. The word gospel is not new. Etymologically, it comes from the Anglo-Saxon "godspell" which is the equivalent of the Greek "evangelion" meaning "good tidings," or "good news." The word occurs frequently in the Old Testament, also being used, as a matter of fact, in pagan writings. Ancient inscriptions show that it was used even in a religious sense, in connection with the worship of the emperors. One of these is a calendar inscription from Priene in Asia Minor, now in the Berlin Museum, dating from about 9 B.C., which refers to the birthday of the Emperor Augustus: "But the birthday of the god was for the world the beginning of tidings of joy (evangelion) on his account." 1 For the first time, however, in connection with the Gospel of Mark, the word gospel was used to designate a kind of literature. Professor Montefiore has suggested the probable manner in which this came to pass.2 It was the custom among the Jews to refer to books by a striking word which occurred in the opening sentence. Genesis, for example, received its title from the opening phrase of the book, "In the beginning (Genesis)." Mark opens with the words, "The beginning of the gospel," but since the first word was too much like the Hebrew title for Gene18

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sis, the second word came to be used, and so the book was called " T h e Gospel." W h e n other accounts came into common usage the differentiation was made byspeaking of " T h e Gospel, according to Mark, Matthew, Luke, etc." T h e originality of the Gospel of Mark does not stop with this new use of an old word, but is much more radical. T h e Gospels represent a new departure in writing, of which Mark is the earliest example. While related to them and in part based upon them, Mark goes far beyond the fragmentary collections of the wonderful sayings and deeds of the Master, which were already in existence. Parallels may be found, of course, to different elements in the Gospels, among the sayings and parables of the Jewish Talmud, for example. T h e dialogues of the Fourth Gospel are strikingly similar to the dialogues of Plato, in which he incorporated the teachings of Socrates. Nevertheless, these examples are far from exact parallels. The Gospels are a new thing. T h e y represent the New Testament equivalent of biographies, and yet they are not biographies in the modern sense. A s Canon Streeter, in The Four Gospels, puts it, "biography in our sense—the complete writing of a life year by year with dates and documents — w a s never practised at all in antiquity. Think of the Gospels, of the Acts, even of Tacitus' Life of Agricola. They are different from one another, but they are all unlike any modern biography in their resolute indifference to anything like completeness. Ancient 'Lives' as a rule select a few great deeds, a few great sayings or discourses: they concentrate upon the last years of their subject, and especially

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upon his death." The purpose of the Gospels is not so much historical as religious. The writers are not as interested in the accumulation of details as in the interpretation of a significant life. The Gospels are best described, perhaps, as character-studies. Inspired by a unique life, the authors of these narratives and Mark, first of all, created a unique f o r m of literary expression. Our earliest information regarding the origin and historical value of the Gospel of Mark gives us to understand that it was written by the companion and interpreter of Peter in Rome. Papias, a bishop in A s i a Minor about 125 A.D., quotes an earlier Christian leader, the "Elder" as saying, " M a r k having become the interpreter of Peter wrote down accurately everything that he remembered, without, however, recording in order what was either said or done by Christ." Three points emerge from this statement: ( 1 ) that the book was written by Mark, the interpreter of Peter in Rome; ( 2 ) that Mark derived most of the facts of his story from Peter; and ( 3 ) the question of the order in which the contents of the Gospel are set down. W h o was Mark, and what were his relations with Peter ? According to the Book of Acts, Mark's early home was in Jerusalem, where he lived with his mother. In this home Peter was a familiar guest, so that Mark, even while a youth, was acquainted with the leader of the disciples. For a time Mark was associated with the missionary campaigns of Barnabas and Paul. Paul's impatience with his youthful assistant severed this early relationship, but it seems that many years later they were again co-workers in

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Rome. Here Mark appears to have worked also with Peter. The intimate way in which Peter refers to "Mark, my son" in I Peter 5 : 1 3 , if the letter is genuine, confirms the tradition which links Mark to Peter as his associate and the recorder of his memoirs. Thus in the Gospel of Mark we have genuine reminiscences of the career of Jesus from an immediate follower, recorded by one who was himself acquainted with the Christian movement from its earliest beginnings, and had been associated actively with the two greatest early Christian leaders, Peter and Paul. Tradition has it that Peter and Paul suffered the death of martyrs in the persecution of Nero. It is likely that Mark wrote his Gospel soon after, perhaps about 70 A.D. Some misunderstanding has been caused by the statement that Mark wrote down what he remembered of the preaching of Peter "without, however, recording in order what was either said or done by Christ." It is possible that the "order" to which Papias refers was "logical" rather than "chronological." Ancient readers seem to have preferred the Gospel of Matthew to the Gospel of Mark, one reason being that in Matthew the sayings of Jesus are arranged in such systematic order. This was not the case with Mark, which more nearly approaches the chronological order than Matthew, Luke, or John. It cannot be claimed even for Mark that it contains a complete chronological record of the life of Jesus. It must be remembered that the Gospel of Mark is based upon the work of Peter, who "adapted his instructions to the needs of his hearers." So what we have is a series of anecdotes, with successive

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glimpses into the historical life of Jesus. It would be better if we had the complete story, yet it is a great deal to be sure that we can reconstruct with the aid of Mark the broad outlines of that life. A reading of the Gospel of Mark leaves the impression that one is dealing with the vivid memories of Peter. Peter occupies a central position in the Gospel. The story opens, after a brief introductory account of the baptism and temptation, with the call of Peter—here and until 3 : 1 6 referred to as Simon. A personal note of gratitude is added when it is remembered that Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law. On the evening of the same day in Capernaum, it is at the door of Simon's house that the crowd gathers. With what pride Peter must have looked back upon that scene on the road to Csesarea Philippi when he, first of all, had claimed for his Master, "Thou art the Christ." The later confession that it was he who had denied his Lord thrice on the eve of his crucifixion must have come also from the lips of Peter. No one else would have laid this charge against the chief apostle. Thus, throughout the Gospel of Mark, Peter appears in the foreground. The scenes described in most detail are those in which he had a personal part. It is natural, therefore, to think of the Gospel as the "Gospel of Peter." Certain peculiarities of the book confirm the view that Mark wrote the Gospel in Rome for readers unfamiliar with the life and customs of Palestine. In this respect, Mark is the "Roman Gospel." Occasional Aramaic expressions are carefully interpreted for the Gentile reader. In the report of the raising of Jairus' daughter, it is Mark alone who explains

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the words Talitha cumi by saying, "which is, being interpreted, . . ." 3 The surname "Boanerges" given to James and John, Mark explains to mean "Sons of Thunder." 4 Jewish ceremonial customs would be foreign to Gentile readers, and consequently the parenthetical statement of Mark 713, 4 is included: " F o r the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands diligently, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders; and when they come from the marketplace, except they bathe themselves, they eat not; and many other things there are, which they have received to hold, washings of cups, and pots, and brasen vessels." Mark, likewise, interprets for his readers such customs and names as " C o r ban," 5 "Bartimams," 8 and the " D a y of Preparation." 7 For these reasons, it is natural to conclude that "the words in Mark are telling Romans about Jews, talking about Jerusalem at Rome. S o an E n g lishman might talk in London about Hindu or Moslem customs he had seen in India." 8 In this earliest Gospel we often find ourselves very close to the historical person of Jesus. Mark pictures Jesus as subject to limitations which are erased or glossed over in the later Gospels. O f that evening before the threshold of Peter in Capernaum, Mark states that Jesus "healed many," while L u k e claims that "he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them." 9 Concerning the visit of Jesus to his native village, Mark reports, "and he could do there no mighty work," while Matthew puts the matter in a different light by saying, "he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief." 1 0 It is characteristic of Mark that he should

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report Jesus' frequent withdrawals from his companions in the search for renewed strength through prayer. Human emotions emerge more clearly in this ancient portrait than elsewhere. Jesus is capable of disappointment and anger. When criticised in the synagogue, he is described as looking "round about on them in anger." 11 When his disciples in the boat are alarmed by the dangers of the storm and awaken Jesus, is it not with a touch of impatience that he cries, "Why are ye fearful? have ye not yet faith?" 1 2 The tender consideration and forethought of Jesus appear, on the other hand, in such a story as that of Jairus' daughter when he reminds them "that something should be given her to eat." 13 Thus in the Gospel of Mark we are impressed by the humanity of Jesus as nowhere else. Mark's Gospel is the shortest and simplest of all. In its brevity this Gospel reminds one of those single sentence summaries of the life of Jesus found in the Book of Acts. ". . . All the time that the Lord Jesus went in and went out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto the day that he was received up from us." 14 And again, "How God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power; who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." 15 The omission of lengthy discourses and collections of sayings in the Gospel of Mark emphasizes the rapidity of the narrative. It is the man of action we see portrayed here, the doer of wonderful deeds. "It is the majestic figure of Jesus, as he walked and

M A R K INTERPRETS JESUS

25

worked and taught among men, that has impressed the writer, and it is this that he seeks to bring before his readers. 'Power' has often been said—and justly—to be the keyword and thought of the Gospel."16 It is the heroic figure of Jesus which we see portrayed in the Gospel of Mark.

C H A P T E R IV T H E GOSPEL OF MATTHEW INTERPRETS JESUS

In his little book, The Earliest Sources for the Life of Jesus, Doctor Burkitt says, "the Gospel according to Matthew is a fresh edition of Mark, revised, rearranged, and enriched with new material." It is natural, then, to expect to find a large part of Mark's Gospel used in Matthew, and this is the actual case. All but fifty-five verses of Mark are said to be incorporated in Matthew, while fifty-one per cent of the very words of Mark reappear in Matthew. This frequent verbal dependence upon Mark may be illustrated by reproducing in parallel columns the familiar account of the Call of the Four. Mark 1:16-18 A n d walking by the sea of Galilee he saw two b r e t h r e n Simon w h o is called P e t e r and Andrew his brother

Matthew 4:18-20 A n d passing along by the sea of Galilee he saw Simon and Andrew t h e brother of Simon casting a net in the sea for they were fishers. And J e s u s 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.

casting a net into the sea for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left the nets, and followed him.

The author of Matthew does not, however, exhibit a slavish dependence upon Mark. He revises, abbre26

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viates, improves upon the material before him. The arrangement of the material differs, especially in the first half of the book, from the order of Mark. Matthew frequently condenses the narrative of Mark, as when, for example, he tells the story of the Gadarene demoniac in 1 3 6 words, while Mark requires 325. The story of Jairus' daughter takes 374 words in Mark, but only 1 3 5 in Matthew. This tendency to abbreviation appears in the omission by Matthew of picturesque, but evidently to him, repetitious details. Where, for example, Mark records, "and they forgot to take bread; and they had not in the boat with them more than one loaf," Matthew says only, "and the disciples came to the other side and forgot to take bread." 1 When there is seeming justification, Matthew even alters the content of the narrative. The request of James and John in Mark 1 0 : 3 5 - 3 9 for special consideration in the coming kingdom implies an ambition on the part of these two disciples which might be considered unworthy, and the later reverence for these immediate disciples of Jesus impelled Matthew to place the request in the mouth of the mother of the sons of Zebedee. Thus the selfseeking on the part of James and John is easily condoned as an excess inspired by mother love and the prestige of the two disciples is maintained. In these and other ways, the writer of the Gospel displays freedom in his use of Mark. Matthew is a much larger book than Mark. In the scroll form in which it was originally written and circulated, Matthew would make a book about twenty-four feet in length as compared to Mark's fourteen or fifteen. Matthew opens with a long gene-

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alogy and an account of Jesus' birth and infancy which is wholly absent from Mark. From the beginning of the Gospel up to the description of Passion Week, Mark occupies 13 chapters with 539 verses as compared to 23 chapters in Matthew and 863 verses. Thus, in this section, Matthew has 324 verses more, or three-fifths as much material again. Since Matthew abbreviates the narrative element, the additions are largely sayings of Jesus. A s a result, there are 410 verses in Matthew which contain sayings not found in Mark. O f these sayings about 230 have close parallels in Luke, while about 180 are found only in Matthew. It is probable, therefore, that Matthew used not only the Gospel of Mark as a source, but also a written document used by Luke, and at least a third source, written or oral. T h e author's method in enriching the outline of Mark is to insert his new matter into the appropriate place in Mark's narrative. This additional material consists for the most part of teaching utterances. Sometimes the insertion is a single saying, at other times much longer. Where Mark describes the sending out of the twelve in seven verses, Matthew occupies forty-two. A n interesting illustration of the way in which the new material is introduced is found in connection with the large group of teachings compiled in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew, chapters 5 - 7 . Mark states in a matter-of-fact way that Jesus entered the synagogue in Capernaum and taught, adding the comment, "they were astonished at his teaching: for he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes." 2 Matthew halts his narrative

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at this point long enough to incorporate three chapters of teaching material and then resumes his narrative with the words of Mark, and proceeds to the next point. In this way five large blocks of teaching discourses are inserted into the outline of M a r k : ( 1 ) The Sermon on the Mount, chapters 5 - 7 ; ( 2 ) Jesus' instructions on sending out the twelve, chapter 1 0 ; ( 3 ) Parables of the kingdom,, chapter 1 3 ; ( 4 ) On the question, "Who is greatest?" chapter 1 8 ; and ( 5 ) Sayings and parables about the end of the age, chapters 24 and 25. Much of the additional material in Matthew consists of the sayings of Jesus and for this reason Matthew has been called the "Teaching Gospel." Renan called Matthew "the most important book ever written," probably because it contains the Sermon on the Mount in its entirety. Matthew also gives the longer form of the Beatitudes. It is in Matthew that we find the New Law contrasted with the Old. It is in this book that we find the beautiful saying, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden." Matthew, alone, preserves such parables as the Wheat and the Tares, the Hidden Treasure, the Pearl of Great Price, the Net, the Householder and His Storehouse, the Ungrateful Servant, the Laborers in the Vineyard, the T w o Sons, and the Ten Virgins. From these and other passages peculiar to Matthew, one gains an insight into the origin and character of the Gospel. Especially striking is the emphasis here upon observance of the Law. Although found also in Luke, the eighteenth verse of chapter five well illustrates the individual character of Matthew, The thought is vividly expressed in Good-

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speed's paraphrase into American idiom, " F o r I tell you, as long as heaven and earth endure, not one dotting of an i or crossing of a i will be dropped from the Law until it is all observed." Matthew continues and here is unique, "whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Similarly, in another place, Matthew reads, "the Scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat: all things therefore whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe." 3 Matthew is the Jewish Gospel. The language and style of the book, as well as the content, confirm this description. " N o book of the New Testament is so full of thoughts and expressions which have a real parallel in rabbinical literature. The Evangelist is, so to speak, a Christian Rabbi, though no doubt he would have disclaimed the title. If the Gospel of Mark is most closely in touch with History, the Gospel of Matthew is most closely in touch with the Talmud." A typical rabbinical phrase is the "Kingdom of Heaven," used consistently in Matthew in place of the "Kingdom of God," found in other Gospels. So, too, the manner in which the parables are introduced is reminiscent of rabbinic parables: "The kingdom of heaven is like to this or that." Jesus is the Jewish Messiah foretold in prophecy. Twenty times or more recurs the typical formula, "Now all this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying . . ." 4 In this light the life of Jesus is retold.

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The material in Matthew which gives the Gospel its distinctive flavor seems clearly to come from Jerusalem, the original centre of Jewish Christianity. Here "day after day" the believers "resorted with one accord to the temple" and observed all the details of the Law, adding only to the orthodox Jewish worship the belief in Jesus as Messiah. There are good reasons, however, for thinking that this Jewish Gospel reflects not the primitive Jewish Christianity of Jerusalem, but a later period, when the rivalry between conservative and liberal Christianity had arisen. This view helps one to understand the scorn of Matthew for "whosoever shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so" 5 and the praise of "whosoever shall do and teach them." In this light we understand better the prominence given Peter: "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. . . ," 6 Peter, as more conservative than Paul, is to be followed. It may well be that this Gospel reflects the Jewish Christianity of Jerusalem under the leadership of James, "the Just," whose conservative policy had made it possible for early Christianity to live for many years side by side with orthodox Judaism. Jerusalem is hardly the home of the Gospel in its written form, however. The date of the book is clearly later than 70 A.D. The language of Matthew 22 :7 seems to refer directly to the destruction of Jerusalem: "The king was wroth; and he sent his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned

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their city." Deinite references are few, yet numerous expressions and ideas point to a date much later than 70 A.D. The use of the term, "church," in Matthew 1 6 : 1 8 is an example. T h e early expectation of the return of Jesus in physical form has been re-interpreted to mean a spiritual experience: " F o r where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." 7 " A n d lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." 8 In the baptismal formula of 28 :ig we see what may be called the beginning of creed-making. It is safe to put the Gospel of Matthew in its final form as late as 85-90 A.D. T h e question remains as to the place of writing. W e know that after the death of Stephen and the first persecution in Jerusalem, some Christians had fled to Antioch and established the church there. Nothing is more natural than that later groups of refugees should turn eventually to Antioch. They would bring with them their precious memories of the teachings of Jesus, perhaps even incomplete written accounts of these teachings. In Antioch the Roman Gospel of Mark was known and perhaps also the document commonly referred to as " Q . " In the course of time, the Gospel of Matthew appeared, combining Mark and " Q " with the Jerusalem tradition. This, at least, fits in with what we know about Antioch. " I n the Church of Antioch, a city with an enormous Jewish population, we seem to have just the atmosphere of the Gospel of Matthew, which, though frankly recognizing that Christianity is for all nations, is just saturated with Jewish feeling, preserves so many sayings of a particularist Jewish

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Christian character, and altogether is less touched by the spirit of Paul than any other book in the New Testament. For Matthew Christianity is the 'New Law.' "9

CHAPTER V THE GOSPEL OF LUKE INTERPRETS JESUS

The Gospel of Luke is probably the only New Testament book which was not written by a Jew. It is the Greek Gospel. To quote Bosworth: "There is a certain Greek beauty about the Gospel."1 While Jewish religion declared, "Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image," with Luke the Greek love of beauty entered into the Christian religion. It is this Gospel which gave the first impulse to Christian art. A true instinct made ancient legend call Luke, himself, an artist. "And the legend has a strong element of truth. It points to the great influence which Luke has had upon Christian art, of which in a real sense he may be called the founder. The Shepherd with the Lost Sheep on his shoulders, one of the earliest representations of Christ, comes from Luke 15 and both medieval and modern artists have been especially fond of representing those scenes which are described by St. Luke alone: the Annunciation, the Visit of Mary to Elizabeth, the Shepherds, the Manger, the Presentation in the Temple, Symeon and Anna, Christ with the Doctors, the Woman at the Supper of Simon the Pharisee, Christ weeping over Jerusalem, the Walk to Emmaus, the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son." 2 The Gospel of Luke has furnished many of the great hymns of the Christian Church: the Gloria in Excelsis,3 the Magnificat,4 the Benedictus,5 and the 34

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Nunc Dimittis,6 as well as more recent hymns, such as Phillips Brooks' "O little town of Bethlehem." Luke is called by Renan "the most literary of the Gospels." The literary qualities of truthfulness to life and simplicity of style are well illustrated in Luke's parable of the Good Samaritan, which requires only 134 words for the telling. A talent for characterization is seen in the description of Mary, "who seated herself at the feet of the Lord to listen to his talk," in contrast with Martha, who "was so busy attending to them that she grew worried." 7 The parables of Luke are masterpieces of short story writing. They have served as models for such writers as Bret Harte, who made it his practice to "conform to the rules laid down by a Great Poet who created the 'Prodigal Son' and the 'Good Samaritan,' whose works have lasted eighteen hundred years, and will remain when the present writer and his generation are forgotten." Among the famous short stories found only in Luke are the Good Samaritan, the Friend at Midnight, the Rich Fool, the Chief Seats at the Banquet, the Lost Coin, the Prodigal Son, the Rich Man and Lazarus, the Unjust Judge, and the Pharisee and the Publican. Who was Luke? A clue to the authorship of the third Gospel is found in its connection with the Book of Acts, which opens with the words : "The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach. . . ." Acts is the sequel of the Gospel and treats of the continuation of Jesus' work by his disciples, leading up to the establishment of the Christian Church. Imbedded in the Book of Acts is a travel-diary, the

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so-called "we"-passages,8 written in the first person plural, which show that the writer was the companion of Paul on several of his journeys. This travel-narrative displays the same characteristics as Luke and Acts and we are able to learn from it much about the writer of those books. The first section of the diary records Paul's passage from Troas to Philippi; the second, written about six years later, informs us that the writer rejoined Paul at Philippi and accompanied him on the tedious journey to Jerusalem; while the third passage of the diary describes the long and dangerous voyage to Rome. From this it will be seen that the author of the diary was an intimate and trusted friend of Paul. He appears to have been living in Philippi when Paul first came to Troas. Meeting Paul in Troas he accompanied him to Philippi and there parted from him, to rejoin Paul years afterward for the trip to Jerusalem. It may be that this man of Philippi was instrumental in persuading Paul to visit Macedonia. We read, "A vision appeared to Paul in the night: There was a man of Macedonia standing, beseeching him, and saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us." 9 Did the later travel-companion of Paul inspire this vision? The description of Luke, "the beloved physician,"10 fits this friend of Paul. Luke was the companion of Paul during his imprisonment at Rome, and it is likely that he had been with Paul a much longer time. The Gospel of Luke uses terms employed only by medical writers of the time, not found in the other Gospels. Moreover, when Paul first came to Troas he was in need of medical attention. Not many

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months earlier he had been taken seriously ill among the Galatian villages, and on the very journey which eventually carried him to Troas and Philippi, Paul had been forced, perhaps by continued ill-health, to forego a part of his campaign and had gone directly to Troas where he met Luke. Perhaps it was Paul's gratitude as well as affection which led him to speak of "our beloved Luke, the doctor," as Moffatt translates the phrase. W e may assume, then, that it was Luke, the companion of Paul, who wrote the third Gospel. Luke was in Rome at the same time Mark was there and afterward made large use of Mark's Gospel. Nevertheless, Luke's Gospel is much more than a reworking of Mark. T o complete the partial quotation from Burkitt used in the last chapter: While "Matthew is a fresh edition of Mark, revised, rearranged, and enriched with new material; . . . Luke is a new historical work made by combining parts of Mark with parts of other documents." 1 1 This is not to deny the extensive use of Mark by Luke. Both Matthew and Luke follow the order of Mark in its main outlines, and where either one departs from it, the other confirms it. Luke retains even more of the exact wording of Mark than Matthew, about 53 per cent as compared with Matthew's 51 per cent. On the other hand, Luke shows considerable independence, deliberately omitting a good deal of Mark. Where Matthew keeps all but 10 per cent of the subject matter of Mark, Luke leaves out more than 45 per cent. One very large section of Mark ( 6 : 4 5 - 8 : 2 0 ) is dropped out, as well as other shorter passages. The manner in which Luke com-

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bines new material with Mark suggests that he considers his other source or sources as of equal value. The following table will illustrate the method of Luke in using new material and the amount of it which is incorporated in his Gospel. Non-Marcan

1:1-4:30

6:20-8 ¡3 9:51-18:14 19:1-27 22:14 if.

Based on Mark

4:31-6:19 8:4-9:50 i8:iS-43 19 ¡28-22:13 (mostly)

A considerable amount of this additional material seems to come from the "Q" source common to Matthew and Luke, but Luke includes much material found neither in Mark nor Matthew. The way in which the Gospel reached its present form cannot be definitely stated. According to Canon Streeter, Luke gathered some of his material while accompanying Paul during his imprisonment at Caesarea, and later on, combined these early notes with the "Q" material. At a still later date, a new edition was made in order to incorporate a good deal of Mark, producing the Gospel of Luke as we know it. Since Luke was himself in Rome and was acquainted with Mark, he may be responsible for all the different stages of the Gospel. In its final form, the book must be dated after Mark, of course, and since no acquaintance with Matthew is indicated,

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Luke may be dated at about the same time, or 8 5 - 9 0 A.D.

The Gospel of Luke is a universal Gospel. Here the descent of Jesus is traced back, not to Abraham, the legendary ancestor of the Hebrews, but to Adam, the founder of the human race. The rejection at Nazareth is taken out of its right order and made symbolic of Jesus' rejection by the Jewish nation as a whole. Luke connects the call of the four with the miraculous draught of fish. By this allegory he compares the rejection of Jesus by the Jews with his acceptance by the Gentiles. Luke contains parallels to Matthew's Sermon on the Mount, but very few to the particular section in which the Mosaic Law occupies the foreground. In the story of the Syro-Phcenician woman, Matthew reports Jesus as saying, "I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel," and "it is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs." 12 Mark says only, "Let the children first be filled; for it is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs." 13 Luke omits the entire scene. Luke alone reports, in addition to the sending out of the twelve, a mission of the seventy. The significance of this duplication lies in the numbers, the number twelve always referring to the twelve tribes of Israel, while seventy was the Jewish numbering of the Gentile nations. The real mission of Jesus is to the Gentiles. In the third Gospel, Jesus does not avoid Samaritan territory, always shunned by loyal Jews, but passes directly through Samaria on his way to Jerusalem. The hero of one of Jesus' most famous parables is a Samaritan. Passing along the border

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between Samaria and Galilee, ten lepers are healed by Jesus, of whom only one remembered to thank him, "and he was a Samaritan." There are a great many other indications of this Gospel's universality. Greek names are substituted for Hebrew, as, for example, in Luke 6 : 1 5 where "Zealot" is used instead of "Canaanean." Luke never refers to Jesus as "Rabbi," but calls him "Teacher," or "Master." While allegiance to the Jewish Law on the part of Jesus is presupposed, the importance of law observance is not emphasized. Luke is not interested in the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy, references to which are found only five times in the Gospel. Luke's name for Palestine is "Judea," a term which no Jew would have used to refer to the whole land, but which can easily be understood when written by a Gentile writer for Gentile readers. Luke, then, is a Greek convert to Christianity, writing for Greek Christian readers or possible converts, of whom Luke had seen many in his travels with Paul. Customs and institutions familiar only to Jews are omitted, while passages which would be distasteful to Gentile readers are either glossed over or omitted entirely. It is shown that from the very first Jesus was rejected by the Jews and eagerly received by the Gentiles. Jesus came for all mankind, not merely for the Jews. This is the keynote of the Gospel of Luke. The quality of Jesus most stressed by Luke is his sympathy for the underprivileged and downtrodden. This is the humanitarian portrait of Jesus. "There is throughout the Lucan writing an atmosphere of

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41

extraordinary tenderness, somehow made quite compatible with the sternest call to righteousness, sacrifice, and effort—and finding expression in a unique sympathy for the poor, for women, and for all whom men despise."14 It is Luke who quotes Jesus as saying, "Blessed are ye poor," while Matthew paraphrases, "poor in spirit." Luke pictures for us the poor woman searching persistently for the lost coin. Luke retains, while Matthew omits, the story in Mark of the widow with her two mites. It is Luke who portrays so graphically the Rich Man and Lazarus. When Pharisees and Scribes criticised, "He welcomes sinners and eats along with them," 15 Jesus, as reported by Luke, answered with those matchless parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son. Jesus accepted the hospitality of Zacchaeus, ignoring the murmur of the crowds, "He is gone in to lodge with a man that is a sinner." 18 The prominence of women in the Gospel of Luke has often been commented upon. Here the annunciation is made to Mary and not to Joseph as in Matthew. Luke, alone, reports the raising of the widow's son. In this Gospel we learn for the first time the names of certain women who are closely associated with the work of Jesus and his disciples, Joanna, Susanna, "and a number of others, who ministered to him out of their means," 17 in addition to Mary Magdalene already familiar to us. Jesus is portrayed as enjoying the companionship of Mary and Martha. Only in this Gospel do we read of the woman healed on the Sabbath. It is, clearly, a genuine characteristic of Jesus which is revealed here in his sympathy for and abil-

42

THE

SOURCES

ity to reclaim the lost. W o m e n , unrecognized in Oriental society, the poor peasants of the land, lepers, outcastes, these find an immediate response in the heart of the Master-Teacher. Well do the words of the Indian seer apply to Jesus : Here is thy footstool and there rest thy feet where live the poorest, and lowliest, and best. When, I try to bow to thee, my obeisance cannot reach down to the depth where thy feet rest among the poorest, and lowliest, and lost. Pride can never approach to where thou walkest in the clothes of the humble among the poorest, and lowliest, and lost. My heart can never find its way to where thou keepest company with the companionless among the poorest, the lowliest, and the lost. 18

C H A P T E R VI THE EARLIEST SOURCES FOR A KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS

The attempt to reconstruct the life of Jesus as it was actually lived has focused the attention of New Testament scholars for a century and a half. As a result of this painstaking investigation, certain conclusions appear to be well established. It is clear that the first three Gospels are of more historical value than the fourth. The Gospel of John has a unique value of its own, but this value is that of an interpretation of the significance of Jesus. It is a valuable supplement to, but not a substitute for the first three, more strictly historical Gospels. These are called the Synoptic Gospels. The word synoptic comes from the Greek syn, meaning "together" and opsis, "view," "a viewing together." The Synoptic Gospels, accordingly, are those which present the same general view of the life of Jesus. The synoptic problem is the task of explaining the marked likenesses and also certain differences among these first three Gospels, the ultimate goal being the reconstruction of the historical life of Jesus based upon demonstrably trustworthy sources. The first step in unraveling the synoptic problem was to recognize the extensive use made of Mark by Matthew and Luke. It is now universally accepted that the later Gospels depend upon Mark for their outline and even for much of their material. The 43

44

THE

SOURCES

following table will illustrate the dependence upon Mark's order of events: Matthew 1:1-4:11.

Mark 1 : 1 - 1 3 . (Baptism only.)

Luke 1:1-4:13.

Galilean ministry

4:12-18:35.

1 : 1 4 - 9 :so.

4:14-9:50.

Judean ministry

I 9 : i - C h a p . 25.

Chaps. 10-13.

19:28-21:38.

Passion

Chaps. 26-27.

Chaps.

Chaps. 22-23.

Chap. 28.

16:1-8.

Birth and baptism of Jesus

9:51-19:27. (Perean ministry.)

week

A f t e r death

14-15.

Chap. 24.

T h e use of the subject matter and even the very language of Mark is indicated by the practical identity of many sections common to the first three Gospels, two examples of which are here given. Matthew

8:3

And he stretched forth his hand and touched him, saying, I will: be thou made clean. And straightway his leprosy was cleansed. Matthew 9 -.5-8 For which is easier, to say Thy sins are forgiven ; or to say, Arise, and walk£

Mark 1:41, 42 And being moved with compassion, he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will: be thou made clean. And straightway the leprosy departed from him, and he was made clean. Mark 2:9-12 Which is easier, to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins are forgiven ; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk f

Luke

5:13

And he

stretched forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou made clean. And straightway the leprosy departed from him.

Luke 5:23-26 Which is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say, Arise and walk f

THE

EARLIEST

Arise, and take up thy bed, and go unto thy house. And he arose,

Mark 2:9-12 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins (he saith to the sick of the palsy), I say unto thee, Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thy house. And he arose, and

and departed to his house.

straightway took up the bed, and went before them all;

Matthew 9:5-5 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins (then saith he to the sick of the palsy).

But when the multitudes saw it, they were afraid,

insomuch that

and glorified God,

and glorified God,

they were all amazed,

saying, we never saw it on this fashion. who had given such authority unto men.

45

SOURCES

Luke 5:23-26 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins (he said unto him that was palsied), I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go unto thy house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his house, glorifying God. And amazement took hold on all, and they glorified God; and they were filled with fear, saying, we have seen strange day.

things

to-

T h e agreement of Matthew and Luke with Mark is easily explained on the basis of their common use of Mark. There are other passages, however, in which Matthew and Luke agree, but have no parallel in Mark. For this reason, it is generally believed that these writers had in common a second written source. Fragments only of this second source can be recovered, and these fragments consist of parts which both Matthew and Luke preserve and which

46

THE

SOURCES

are exceedingly valuable because o f the large a m o u n t o f teaching material contained in them.

I t is t h e

identical language o f such passages as the f o l l o w i n g w h i c h convinces students o f the N e w T e s t a m e n t that Matthew

and

Luke

had

before

them

when

they

wrote another written source, in addition to M a r k . Matthew 3:12 whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor; and he will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will bum up with unquenchable fire. Matthew 11:25-27 A t that season Jesus answered 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 weU-pleasing in thy sight. All things have been delivered unto me of my Father: and no one knoweth the Son,

Luke 3:17 whose fan is in his hand, thoroughly to cleanse his threshingfloor, and to gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire. Luke 10:21, 22 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,

THE

EARLIEST

Matthew 11:25-27 save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him.

SOURCES

47

Luke 10:21, 22 save the Father; and who the Father is, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him.

The foregoing passages contain quoted sayings of Jesus. It may be urged that identity between such passages of Matthew and Luke does not necessarily argue a written source. Transmitted by the trained Oriental memory, the sayings of Jesus might well have been preserved orally in different circles, upon which Matthew and Luke could have drawn independently. Such agreement in the description of events would not, however, be expected of separate oral traditions, and the resemblances in the nonMarcan passages common to Matthew and Luke extend to the narrative as well as to the words of Jesus. On the basis, then, of marked resemblances both in narrative and in teaching passages, it seems probable that the authors of Matthew and Luke used, in addition to Mark's Gospel, a second document, parts of which we are able to distinguish and which we label as " Q " passages. The symbol " Q " is merely the first letter of the German word Quelle or source. It seems more accurate to speak of the " Q " material than of the "Logia," although the latter is sometimes used, because the document in question clearly included events as well as "words" or sayings of Jesus. Is it possible to trace the origin of " Q " ? According to Doctor Burkitt, " Q " is a document which

48

THE

SOURCES

"must have been compiled at a very early date, when the first generation of disciples was still living." 1 Papias, to whom reference has been made, tells us that "Matthew, in the Hebrew dialect, compiled the Logia." Papias refers to "words" of Jesus which evidently existed in Aramaic (Hebrew), the dialect used in Palestine in the time of Jesus. Are these "words" the sayings of Jesus preserved in the " Q " material? If so, we possess a substantial part of a document from the hand of one of the immediate followers of Jesus. Canon Streeter inclines to this view. He suggests that " Q " was a Greek document used in Antioch, later incorporated into Matthew and Luke, but translated originally from an Aramaic work of Matthew, with some possible additions from local tradition. The home of Matthew's Aramaic "Gospel" was Capernaum. " W e know frorr the Rabbis that for many centuries Capernaum was a great centre for 'Minim' or Christians, so that it is probable that others of the Twelve made that cit j their headquarters. Geographically Capernaum is between Antioch and Jerusalem, and some Chri stian trader from Antioch having business at Capernaum, or in some city of Decapolis, may well have come across a collection of sayings made by Matthew and brought it home." 2 Whether or not Matthew is the author of "Q," we possess in this material common to Matthew and Luke parts of a document which carry us back very close to the time of Jesus. We have now given a summary of the so-called "two document" hypothesis, which finds within and behind the present form of the Synoptic Gospels two early sources which may be described with some def-

THE

EARLIEST

SOURCES

49

initeness. Furthermore, all of the material in Mark and "Q" is doubly, and some parts of Mark are trebly attested. It should be added that the two document theory is not an adequate explanation of the synoptic problem. Canon Streeter proposes a four document hypothesis. As many as seven or eight different sources, written or oral, seem to be required to explain all the different materials of Matthew and Luke. It should be said also that a double or even triple attestation does not necessarily show that a particular passage is more authentic than a passage which is found only once. Peculiar to Luke are the parables of the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, and the Pharisee and the Publican, while Matthew alone reports the Laborers in the Vineyard and the Pearl of Great Price. These and similar passages, though only once attested, bear upon them the stamp of genuineness. The two document hypothesis of the sources for the life of Jesus is, then, too simple. The synoptic problem has not as yet been solved. Nevertheless, on the basis of what has been done, we are brought measurably closer to the historical life of Jesus.

C H A P T E R VII NAZARETH OF GALILEE In the earliest sources for the life of Jesus, no reference is made to the early years. Mark and "Q" begin their narratives with the baptism by John, while the writings of Paul contain no information on the subject. W h y is there so little information about this formative period of Jesus' life? Such an omission is almost unthinkable f r o m the standpoint of the modern scientific biographer who finds significance in every detail of a person's heredity and early environment. It is not, however, so difficult to understand f r o m the point of view of the ancient writer. "Such a silence is of a piece with the usage of the early Jews. They were interested in a great man's life only after he had appeared on the stage of history. . . ," 1 T h e same silence is found in the biblical accounts of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, nor is anything more known of the early life of Hillel, a famous Rabbi and near-contemporary of Jesus. There is nothing peculiar in the circumstance that we are forced to speak of the childhood and youth of Jesus as "the silent years." Christian appreciation of Jesus has not been willing to satisfy itself with the bare historical statement of known facts, but has read back into the birth of Jesus the significance of his later life. So Matthew and Luke preserve the beautiful narratives of the infancy, which have been the inspiration of many of 53

54

T H E H I S T O R I C A L L I F E OF J E S U S

the noblest products of Christian art. While it is important to recognize that these narratives should not be considered as literal history, they do help us to gain an understanding of the impression made by Jesus upon his followers. "One might as well try to find the 'real' St. Francis by stripping off all the dim magnificence of legend, all the glory with which art and poetry have crowned him and all the touches of adornment which are the creation of love and imagination. . . . When is a person 'the real person' ? . . . H e is most 'real' when he is 'clothed upon' with the traits of character and the garments of wisdom that the eyes of love behold." 2 Luke, alone, adds to the narratives of the birth and infancy of Jesus a reference to the childhood at Nazareth, the account of the visit to Jerusalem at the age of twelve, and a brief summary of the succeeding eighteen years in the following words: "And Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Any attempt to reconstruct in further detail these silent years must be based upon a knowledge of Palestinian life and customs, and not upon written records. There has never been any serious doubt that Nazareth was the home of Jesus. The modern town nestles beneath the crest of the foothills which rise up from the broad Plain of Esdraelon and form the southern frontier of Galilee. Ancient Nazareth occupied either the same site or, as scholars believe, the hilltop above. The physical environment leaves little to be desired. More than a thousand feet above sea level, Nazareth is blessed with the temperature of the temperate zone. The surrounding countryside is

N A Z A R E T H OF G A L I L E E

55

very productive. Rich harvests of grain whiten in the Plain of Esdraelon below, while vineyards and fruit orchards grace the hills and valleys in the immediate vicinity. From Nazareth hill one's eye may range westward to the dazzling blue waters of the Mediterranean, follow a white ribbon of surfsplashed sand to Mount Carmel, and reach as far south as Mount Ebal; or looking north, over the rolling hills of Galilee to the snow-capped peak of Hermon far in the distance. Separated from Jerusalem by a three days' journey on foot, Nazareth may have been looked down upon as a provincial town by the Jews of Jerusalem. Is this the connotation of the remark, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Probably the villagers of Nazareth were uneducated in the minutiae of law observance. Yet we may at the same time expect to find in ancient Nazareth a genuine piety. From time to time pilgrimages set out for Jerusalem to attend the regular festivals. At the synagogue and in the home Jewish worship was maintained. In the first two chapters of Luke is portrayed the atmosphere in which Jesus grew to manhood: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; For he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people, And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of his servant David . . . Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To show mercy towards our fathers; And to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware unto Abraham our father,

56

THE

HISTORICAL

LIFE

OF

JESUS

To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies Should serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him all our days. W e may visualize the immediate surroundings in which Jesus lived. T h e house itself is made of stone set in mud. It is a one-story building, with an e x terior staircase leading to the roof, where in the evening the family and perhaps neighbors as well gather for the exchange of confidences. B e f o r e the house is an open courtyard, in which is to be seen the mud oven where all the cooking of the family is done. T h e front of the house is pierced by two small windows and a doorway, usually open. W h i l e glass windows were in use in R o m a n times, it is probable that the windows of the ordinary house were filled with a wooden lattice-work rather than glass. T h e door is made of wood, rotating on horns projecting above and below, the horns being set in stone cups. Inside of the house there are two rooms, the entrance leading into a small, windowless room used in the winter to house cattle, and through a vaulted archway to the main room which is on a level several inches higher. A t one end of this living room is a shelf or niche in the wall where the bedding is piled during the day. A t night the quilts are unrolled and the family sleeps in a row on the floor. Jesus mentions the lamp that was lighted in such homes when darkness fell. It was a small clay lamp in most cases, just large enough to hold a tiny amount of oil with a narrow spout f o r a thread-like wick which gave a smoky, uncertain light. One placed such a light "upon a stand" in order that its feeble

NAZARETH

OF

GALILEE

57

rays might give maximum service. In the shadowy daylight permitted to enter the narrow windows of this room, one may observe that the walls are of rough stone, whitewashed and scrupulously clean, but bare. Ornaments and images are not permitted in Jewish homes. The floor is made of hard packed earth, carefully swept. There is little furniture: a low table around which the family sits at mealtime; no chairs; a sort of bureau in which the clothes and other possessions of the family are kept; a few dishes and utensils. In such a home Jesus lived until he reached the age of thirty. Here he pursued the occupation of an artisan, in order to support the large family dependent upon him as eldest son, his father apparently having died. Perhaps the second room was used by Jesus for his workshop. From various passages in the Gospels we know that the family included at least seven children and the mother, four brothers and at least two sisters. In home and synagogue Jesus received his education. Trained at first at his mother's knee, perhaps at as early an age as three years his education would have been taken in charge by his father, for it was the custom for the father to teach the boys in a family and for the mother to teach the girls. Education in a Jewish home was at the same time education in religion, in literal obedience to the command of scripture: "These words which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children. . . ." At the age of six Jesus went to the elementary school attached to the local synagogue. Here the teacher

58

THE

H I S T O R I C A L L I F E OF

JESUS

transmitted orally to his pupils selected passages from the sacred literature, which were repeated after him and learned by heart. There was possibly some instruction in reading and writing at the synagogue school. The basis of instruction was the sacred literature; not, however, the books of the Old Testament as we know it, but three collections of writings: the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings, the last group having less authority than the others. The books of the Law occupied a separate leather roll, the Prophets required two or more rolls, and the Writings several. Such books in the sacred language, Hebrew, were possessed only by synagogues as a rule, not by private families. The synagogue services offered a further opportunity for education. Once in every three and a half years the five books of the Law were read from beginning to end. Readings from the Prophets were a regular part of the service. In addition to the reading of the Law and the Prophets, there was usually an interpretation of the passage read, given sometimes by famous Scribes. In this way Jesus became thoroughly familiar with the history and literature of his people and assimilated the religious ideals contained therein. The books which impressed Jesus most deeply, apparently, were Deuteronomy, with its spiritual interpretation of Hebrew history, Isaiah, and the Psalms. With this heritage of Jewish home and synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus reached manhood, summing up in himself the spiritual experience of his race. His understanding of the essentials of Jewish religion was perhaps the deeper, because as a Jew of Nazareth of Galilee, he was forced to compare his way of

N A Z A R E T H OF G A L I L E E

59

life with the Grseco-Roman culture which he saw all about him. It has often been assumed that the village in which Jesus lived was secluded, shut off from the great world and its activity. Doctor Klausner makes the statement that "there, cut off by mountains from the great world . . . Jesus could not help being a dreamer, a visionary, whose thoughts turned not on his people's future (he was far removed from their political conflicts), nor on the heavy Roman yoke (which had scarcely touched him); his thoughts turned, rather, on the sorrows of the individual soul and on the 'Kingdom of Heaven,' a kingdom not of this world." 3 Actually, the situation was very different. Nazareth is not located in a remote corner of Palestine, but is a town of southern Galilee, facing directly toward central Palestine. From the hill above modern Nazareth, one may look across the great Plain of Esdraelon and view a splendid panorama richly suggestive of heroic moments in Hebrew history, with the green-patched hills and valleys of ancient Samaria visible in the distance. Or one may climb the heights above ancient Shechem, the modern Nablus, within about thirty miles of Jerusalem itself, and discern on the far horizon the reflection of the sun upon the white housetops of Nazareth as they climb the sides of the Galilean hills. It is true that the ancient thoroughfares did not pass directly through Nazareth as does the modern road to Tiberias. The ancient seaport was Ptolemais at the northern side of the Bay of Carmel, across from the modern Haifa, and from this port as a starting-point two main highways diverged, one

6o

THE

H I S T O R I C A L L I F E OF J E S U S

passing a few miles to the north of Nazareth toward the Sea of Galilee and beyond, the other crossing the Plain of Esdraelon a few miles south of Nazareth and leading to the Graeco-Roman cities known as the Decapolis, which lay for the most part east of the Jordan. While neither of these roads passed through Nazareth, both were easily accessible and still a third great highway, the ancient caravan route from Egypt, entered the Plain of Esdraelon from the south near Megiddo and from the location of Nazareth could be seen for its entire length until it passed the Greek city, Scythopolis, located on the site of the Beth-Shan of the Old Testament and of the modern Beisan. Along these main traveled roads "passed to and fro the many colored traffic between Egypt and Mesopotamia and the Orient. Traders, pilgrims, Herods—'the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them'—all within reach, and traveling no faster as a rule than the camel cared to go—they formed a panorama of life for a thoughtful and imaginative boy. . . . We are not expressly told that he sought the sights that the road afforded; but it would be hard to believe that a bright, quick boy, with genius in him, with poetry in him, with feeling for the real and for life, never went down on to that road, never walked alongside of the caravans and took note of the strange people 'from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south'—Nubians, Egyptians, Romans, Gauls, Britons, and Orientals." 4 Nazareth was no more removed from political than from commercial life. Less than an hour's walk away from Nazareth was the important city of

N A Z A R E T H OF G A L I L E E

61

Sepphoris, the capital of Galilee under the Romans. W h e n Jesus was about ten years of age (6 A.D.), Judas the Galilean led a revolt against Roman rule and made Sepphoris his headquarters, plundering the royal palace for weapons. The rebellion finally put down, Sepphoris was burned to the ground and its citizens made slaves. W a s it not his immediate knowledge of Roman administration and Roman power, rather than political inexperience, which led Jesus in later life to regard as futile the revolutionary propaganda ever popular in Palestine? Immediately after the destruction of Sepphoris an elaborate program of rebuilding was initiated which continued until about 25 A.D., the exact period in which Jesus came to manhood. Sepphoris was eventually restored in such splendor that it became known as the "ornament of all Galilee." Archaeological excavation has recently discovered the existence of a Roman theatre with a radius of 1 1 6 feet and a seating capacity of 3,000, one evidence of the character of the city. Jesus was a carpenter, and the son of a carpenter. One of the early Church Fathers, Justin Martyr, reports that Joseph and Jesus made goads and ploughs that still existed in his day. Such objects may well have been fashioned by carpenters in the time of Jesus, but the work of a carpenter also included house-building, and in Palestine houses are built largely of stone. Perhaps it would be better to describe Jesus as a worker in wood and stone, his familiarity with such work being suggested in the story of the House upon the Rock. If Jesus was a skilled workman in the building trade, what is more

62

THE

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natural than that he should have sought employment in Sepphoris, four miles away, where a building boom was in progress? On the streets of Sepphoris, Greek, Roman, and Jew rubbed shoulders, and under such conditions Jesus may well have acquired the tolerance and freedom from artificial convention so characteristic of him in the pages of the Gospels and so unlikely a product of a really isolated Jewish community. 5

CHAPTER

VIII

A DECISIVE EVENT: THE BAPTISM T h e account of the baptism of Jesus has a threefold interest. In the first place, we seem here to find a genuine reminiscence of the inner experience of Jesus, one of very few autobiographical references in the Gospels. If the story of the baptism and temptation is in substance genuine, and it is clear at least that the content of the narrative is entirely consistent with the actual course of Jesus' life, then we have here a true "memoir" of Jesus, passed on to the disciples f r o m the lips of Jesus himself, and by them remembered and reported. In the second place, the incident described is of interest, because the baptism was a decisive event, in the sense that it was a deciding-event, a turningpoint in the life of Jesus. Here at this point in his life and at this particular place in the presence of John the Baptist, Jesus definitely turned his back upon the comfortable certainty of his life in Nazareth and embarked upon a daring adventure. Furthermore, this experience of Jesus differs only in intensity and historical importance, not in kind, f r o m the experience of every individual who achieves significance. It is to be compared with the "call" of such biblical characters as Isaiah and Jeremiah. "At thirty, I stood firm," said Confucius. T o give a more modern illustration, Professor R u f u s Jones of H a v e r f o r d College reports a significant mo63

64

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ment in his early career, shortly after his graduation from college and a year of teaching school: " I was on a solitary walk, absorbed with my thoughts about the meaning and purpose of my life, wondering whether I should ever get myself organized and brought under the control and direction of some constructive central purpose of life, when I felt the walls between the visible and the invisible suddenly grow thin, and I was conscious of a definite mission of life opening out before me. I saw stretch before me an unfolding of labor in the realm of mystical religion, almost as clearly as Francis heard himself called at St. Damien to 'repair the church.' I remember kneeling down alone in a beautiful forest glade and dedicating myself then and there in the quiet and silence, but in the presence of an invading Life, to the work of interpreting the deeper nature of the soul and its relations with God." 1 The experience of Jesus differs only in degree from that of any one who is captured by a ruling passion, who pledges loyalty to a Cause greater than himself. It is not possible for us to trace the inner working of Jesus' mind which finally led him to separate himself entirely from his former habits of living and to assume a new and daring role. It should be emphasized that this was not an isolated event in the experience of Jesus, but rather the moment when the influences and thoughts of past years merged and crystallized in a clearly seen purpose and a deep sense of responsibility. W e view here only the culminating event in a long process of development. This event is the baptism at the hands of John the Baptist.

THE

BAPTISM

65

T h e importance of John the Baptist is more than one might gather from a reading of the Gospels. B y gradual stages in the Gospel literature the importance of John was reduced to that of a herald announcing the coming of Jesus. "There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. T h e same came for witness . . . " says the Fourth Gospel. A n earlier stage of tradition is found in the Gospel of Mark, in which we learn that John came preaching baptism and repentance. A f t e r him, he said, would come one who would baptize not in water, but in the Holy Spirit. More complete than Mark and fully as early is the " Q " material in Matthew 3:7-10 and Luke 3 :7-9, where we learn for the first time that John preached the "wrath to come," and described his successor as one, "whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor; and he will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up." B y reading back from the final form of Gospel tradition to the earliest sources, the true significance of John is revealed in a way that is otherwise impossible. W h a t was it in John that startled the whole Judean countryside and attracted Jesus from a point so remote as Nazareth in Galilee ? W a s it not that John sounded in authentic tones a revival of Hebrew prophecy, so long dormant in Israel ? The greatness of John lies, nevertheless, not in his independent career, but in his relationship to Jesus. Tradition has followed a true instinct in calling him the "forerunner." It is interesting to observe that Rodin named his marvellous statue of John, not the "Baptist," but the "Precursor." T h e most direct route from Nazareth to the lower

66

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Jordan leads through Endor to Beisan and then along the Jordan to Jericho, a full three days' journey. Here on the barren, irregular plain, the stern proclamations of John found an appropriate setting. The occasional oases of the Jordan valley, as at Jericho, serve only to set in vivid relief the aridity of the valley as a whole. What plant life exists is of an inhospitable type. Here grows the famous "Spina Christi," from which was made, reputedly, the crown of thorns pressed upon the head of Jesus. Fruit, resembling green lemons, may be plucked which prove to have a dry, pulpy centre, furnishing the basis of the legend seriously reported by Josephus about the fruit of Sodom which when picked turned to dust and ashes. In the deeper, more moist sections of the valley, a thick jungle-like growth affords some relief from the brilliance of the sun upon white sand and turf. Southeast of Jericho is the ancient Hajlah Ford, the probable scene of the preaching of John and the baptism of Jesus. While he chose to utter his denunciations in a barren region, John did not fail to choose a location frequented by prospective hearers, for this ford was situated on the main thoroughfare between Jerusalem and the cities of Trans-Jordan. At this point the Israelite tribes were said to have entered the Promised Land. In this region Elijah had spent his last days before being taken up into heaven. Even if John denied that he was Elijah, he clearly assumed the task connected in popular thought with the return of Elijah and he would not have denied his hope to lead a new Israel up from the Jordan. 2

THE

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Jesus' motive in seeking baptism at the hands of John has been obscured by the development of Christian thought which found it highly unbecoming that Jesus should have been baptized by one who preached repentance of sins. This attitude is illustrated by Matthew's account of the baptism, where John is made to say, "I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me ?"3 The writer indicates that it was merely a matter of form, making Jesus to respond, "Suffer it now; for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness."4 No such statement is found in the other Gospels and it is clear from the rest of the narrative that the baptism of Jesus was much more than a superficial experience to him. Jesus here dedicated himself to the subject of John's preaching, the coming of the Kingdom of God, and in the process of dedication came to a new realization of his own mission in life. A comparative study of the different synoptic accounts points to the inward character of the experience. Luke reports, "the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form, as a dove upon him, and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son. . . ." 5 According to this account, what happened at this moment was visible and audible to all. Matthew modifies this slightly, "and lo, the heavens were opened {unto him, marginal reading) and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him. . . ," 6 Here it is Jesus alone who sees the Spirit of God descending as a dove, although it is not clear whether bystanders, too, did not see the heavens opened. Mark reports, "and straightway coming up out of the

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water, he saw the heavens rent asunder, and the Spirit as a dove descending upon him. . . ." 7 Here very clearly the experience is that of Jesus alone, an inward, spiritual experience, not an external visible event. T h e "dove" and the "voice" are to be understood, likewise, as symbols of inward experience. Matthew Arnold once said, " H a l f the difficulties of the New Testament would vanish if men would only consent not to translate Oriental poetry into bald, matter-of-fact, western prose." The dove is commonly used in Jewish literature to symbolize divine wisdom, the Spirit of God. In the Talmud, for example, in connection with the familiar verse of Genesis i : 2, " A n d the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters," the comment is added, "like a dove that flutters over her young without touching them." T h e "voice from heaven" is the regular method of describing a revelation. In this experience, then, Jesus was granted a new insight into spiritual reality. The content of this experience is suggested in the quotation, " T h i s is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 8 It was an experience of nearness to God, the closest analogy to which Jesus found in the love of a devoted son to his father and the love of a father to his son. From this moment of complete union with God, Jesus emerged with a driving sense of mission.

CHAPTER IX THE CHOICE OF AN IDEAL: THE TEMPTATION The scene of John's preaching and baptismal activity had been chosen with a view both to accessibility and to solitude. The desolate surroundings of Jericho and the lower Jordan have always been the resort of religious ascetics from before the time of John the Baptist up to the present day, when an occasional Greek monastery may be seen in this vicinity. Into the solitude of this region Jesus came after his baptism, "driven" there, as Mark puts it, to rethink his experience and its bearing upon his future plans. Cornicelius, in his painting, Christ Tempted by Satan, has portrayed the intensity of the experience. "Here is the whole mystery of the Temptation, not explained but portrayed; and that mystery lies behind those eyes that look not at you, and not through you, but past you to infinite abysses, while the mind within is weighing, pondering, seeking principles, testing conclusions."1 With what problems did Jesus wrestle? T o what conclusions did he come ? These questions cannot be understood, much less answered, until something is said about the thought of the times in which Jesus lived. The historian, James Truslow Adams, has described the importance of understanding what he calls the "intellectual climate" of any age, before we can appreciate fully any product of that age, whether it be a book, a per69

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sonality, or a great popular movement. " I t was pointed out in the seventeenth century," he writes, "that different periods in the history of man have had different intellectual 'climates,' and that the whole mentality of each period is dependent upon the particular climate then prevailing. We cannot understand a book written 500 B.C. or 1200 A.D. merely because we can read its words. We have got somehow to come to understand the whole 'intellectual climate' of that period." The "intellectual climate" of the first century in Palestine may be summed up in the expression "Kingdom of God." This is the keynote of the age in which Jesus lived. Jesus appeared in Galilee with the words upon his lips: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye, and believe in the gospel." 2 When Jesus referred to the Kingdom of God, he was using a term familiar to Jewish thought. The roots of the idea are found in Old Testament prophecy. The meaning of the expression is illustrated in the sixth chapter of Isaiah, the vision of God upon his throne. The Kingdom of God is the kingship, the rule of God, not a place. In the vision of Isaiah, God's kingship is invisible to all but the seer. Similarly, it was believed that God's rule, although real, was for the present invisible and only in the future would be made manifest. Thus, the Kingdom of God is both present and future, a conviction that persists throughout the history of the idea, although with changing emphases. Characteristic descriptions of the Kingdom of God may be found in the Psalms, where God is fre-

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quently spoken of as king. With the rule of God is commonly associated the domination by Israel of other peoples. Both of these ideas are illustrated in the following quotation: "Oh, clap your hands, all ye peoples, shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For Jehovah Most High is terrible; He is a great King over all the earth. H e subdueth peoples under us, and nations under our feet." 3 With this national outlook, however, there is frequently in the prophets a glimpse of universalism, as in the famous passage of Micah: "But in the latter days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of Jehovah's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, . . . and many nations shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, and . . . he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths." 4 In Second Isaiah appears the great conception of Israel as God's Servant, through whom all nations are to learn true religion. Such passages could hardly have been absent from the mind of Jesus in his interpretation of the destiny of the Jewish nation. Two centuries before the time of Jesus, however, a great change had taken place in Jewish thought about the Kingdom of God. It is illustrated in the difference between the prophetic and the apocalyptic writings. The prophets thought of God as actively present in the world and that positive steps might be taken by men to bring nearer the better day. The writers of apocalypses, on the other hand, as the name of this type of literature suggests, dealt in visions of the future. These books, like Daniel and Enoch, written after a long period of subjection to

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other nations and inspired by the immediate oppression and cruelty at first, of the Greeks, and then of the Romans, reflect a thorough pessimism regarding the present order. The thoughts of these writers turn wholly to the future and to a miraculous intervention of God in history to assert his sovereignty and establish Israel in her rightful place among the nations. The name more commonly applied to this new order of things was the Messianic Age. While this new Age was placed in the future, its coming was hoped for almost at once. Frequently associated with the coming of the Messianic Age, whether conceived along apocalyptic or other lines, was one who was to act as God's agent in bringing all this about, known as the "Messiah," or in the Greek translation, "Christ." There were two main patterns of thought according to which the Messiah was portrayed. The apocalyptic expectation was that of a supernatural being, the "Son of Man" who is described in Daniel 7 : 1 3 , "And behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man. . . ." In the book of Enoch, a Jewish writing of the first century B.C., a more detailed, but equally supernatural portrait of the "Son of Man" Messiah is to be found. Those who clung to the national hope looked for the coming of a kingly figure of the line of David, the "Son of David" Messiah. In the course of its long development, the idea of the Kingdom of God had attracted to itself many different elements, all of which were present with varying emphasis in the day of Jesus. There was in first-century Palestine a strong nationalist move-

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ment, whose supporters were known as "Zealots," violently opposed to the "Herodians," who favored Roman rule. Extremists belonged to the "Assassins," a secret society pledged to the use of the dagger. From time to time revolutionary movements sprang up, flourished briefly, and were suppressed with great cruelty by the Romans. The hope of nationalist-minded Jews is well expressed in the seventeenth chapter of the Psalms of Solomon, a book which was popular at this time, although written about 50 B.C.: Look upon Israel and bring to her her king-, T h e son of David in the time which thou hast chosen out, O God! T h a t thy servant may rule over thy people, Gird him with strength; That he may crush unrighteous princes. T o him belong the nations of the heathen; W h o shall serve under his yoke. B y the subjugation of the whole earth Shall he give glory to the Lord. From the ends of the earth shall the peoples come T o see the glory of his presence. H e is a righteous king B y God with wisdom blessed to govern his people. H i s hope is placed in neither rider, horse, nor bow, N o r does he gather gold for purposes of war.

Others felt the futility of revolutionary efforts and waited in trust upon God to intervene in the present order of things.

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Jesus' opening words in Galilee, "Repent ye, and believe in the gospel," suggest that he put the chief emphasis upon the moral and religious significance of the coming of the kingdom. Did Jesus believe himself to be the Messiah? This is clearly the view of the Gospel-writers. Matthew and Luke carry back to the birth of Jesus the recognition of him as Messiah. The temptations of Jesus are clearly Messianic in content. Some able scholars, however, have recently denied that Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, and have limited his work to that of a prophet. There are reasons to support this view. It is true, for example, that Jesus spoke, not of the Messiah nor of his own person, but simply of the Kingdom of God. It is very difficult, indeed, to ascribe to Jesus at the outset of his career, the full-grown conviction that he was the Messiah. That a plain mechanic in an instant should have recognized in himself the awe-inspiring personage of the centuries-old Jewish hope, whether conceived in terms of the Davidic "Son of David," or the supernatural "Son of Man," is almost impossible to believe. It is possible to combine the two points of view already suggested by means of the hypothesis that Jesus did not at first, even to himself, think of himself as Messiah, but gradually in the course of his career was forced to the conviction that his role was identical with that of Messianic leadership. Such indeed is the implication of the Gospel of Mark. Not until the affirmation of Peter on the road to Caesarea Philippi according to Mark, does Jesus accept the designation of Messiah, and then

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only in such a way as to transform the popular expectation. Whether Jesus thought of himself as Messiah from the time of his baptism or only gradually came to a Messianic self-consciousness, the temptations portray for us the way in which he interpreted his leadership. Some writers have attached importance to the fact that in Mark the temptations appear not at the beginning of Jesus' public life, but as successive crises in the course of his career. This suggestion need not detract from the value of the temptations for our understanding of Jesus' purpose. T h e baptism clearly was not the only crisis of Jesus' life. It is reasonable, however, to think that Jesus should have sought solitude and an opportunity for a clarifying of his purpose, after so momentous an experience as the baptism. The traveler who wanders in the solitary region about Jericho to-day will find many things to remind him of the temptation narrative. Loose stones of the size and approximate shape of Palestinian loaves suggest the first temptation: " I f thou art the Son of God, command this stone that it become bread," 5 and the popular assumption that material blessings were to accompany the Messianic Age. Jesus' decision affirms the moral and spiritual character of his leadership. His messa;ge must win followers, if at all, by the force of its inner quality, not by any appeal to material advantage. The second temptation, in the order of Luke, is the vision of the kingdoms of the world. A short distance west of Jericho a sharp hill rises to the height of 250 or 300 feet which is connected by

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tradition with the temptation of Jesus. It bears the name Quarantana or Mount of the Forty Days. From this peak a broad panorama unrolls, revealing the whole extent of the Jordan valley from Mount Hermon in the north to the southern end of the Dead Sea, and from Moab in the east to the watershed of the central highland in the west. Looking out over such an expanse, there may well have been conjured up in the mind of Jesus a momentary vision of the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Jesus well knew the revolutionary psychology of multitudes of the people. Goaded to desperation by poverty and oppression, always impatient under the yoke of authority, no matter by whom exercised, thousands of Jews would have rallied again to the standard of a revolutionary leader as they had only a generation before in the short-lived, but bloody revolt led by Judas of Galilee. This temptation to win a following by an appeal to physical force, Jesus also denied. The third temptation carries us to the temple. From such a height as the Mount of the Forty Days, Jesus could very naturally have turned to the west and gazed upward toward the ridge on the crest of which Jerusalem lies. So, too, his thoughts may have turned to the great temple, revisualizing its pinnacles and porticoes, the elaborate ritual of the priests, the learning of men trained in the L a w , and the throngs of worshippers. W e read, " A n d 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." 6 A miraculous deliverance from death under such conditions would

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readily have convinced people that Jesus was indeed a God-given leader. The passage continues with a quotation from Psalm 9 1 , connected in the minds of the Jewish people with the Messiah: There shall no evil befall thee. . . . For he will give his angels charge over thee, T o keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

This temptation was to resort to outward, spectacular methods of gaining support for his cause. Jesus chose the more difficult, the slow and quiet way of winning his nation to an appreciation of the moral and spiritual significance of the Kingdom of God. Underlying the entire temptation narrative is a choice between two alternatives, inward and outward, spiritual and material. Jesus' choice is reflected not only here at the beginning of his career, but in the crises of his later public life, and toward the end, in the Garden of Gethsemane, and even upon the Cross.

CHAPTER X "CAPERNAUM BY THE SEA" Jesus' experience at the lower Jordan marked a definite break with his past. " A f t e r John was delivered up," the Gospel of Mark informs us, "Jesus came into Galilee." Mark describes at a later point in his narrative the manner in which the Baptist's voice was silenced, a knowledge of which quickens our appreciation of Jesus' courage in assuming what was clearly a dangerous role. Jesus returned to Galilee, and, naturally, to Nazareth his home, but not to resume his former occupation nor even his residence there. Matthew adds the definite information that Jesus now left his home in Nazareth and made his permanent abode in Capernaum, an act which resulted in a misunderstanding with his family. Luke is hardly correct in placing Jesus' rejection in the synagogue of Nazareth at this early stage of his career, for the narrative itself assumes that Jesus had already achieved a name for himself at Capernaum. This scene then belongs to a later period of Jesus' public life. T h e significant event at this point is the complete separation of Jesus f r o m his former way of living and even f r o m his family, and his definite plan to make his residence at Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee. W h y did Jesus leave Nazareth for Capernaum? T h e decision clearly had nothing to do with the physical environment, because Nazareth is ideally located. T h e Sea of Galilee, on the other hand, is 7»

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682 feet below sea-level. This body of water, thirteen miles long and seven miles wide, is cupped between high plateaux on east and west, with an aperture in the south through which the Jordan river makes its exit. One accustomed to the broad panorama from Nazareth hill might well find the view from Capernaum restricted, even monotonous, including little more than the expanse of water. It should be added that the Sea of Galilee has its own beauty of restless waters, now calm, now rough, reflecting in color as well as in mood the sky above. Looking from the south, twin peaks, the so-called Horns of Hattin, make an unforgettable picture, while beyond, almost on the horizon, may be glimpsed the white roofs of Safed, a typical "city set on a hill." Nevertheless, Jesus need not have selected Capernaum in preference to Nazareth on the basis of the physical surroundings. The climate of Capernaum, indeed, for one who dwells there the year round, is distinctly undesirable, even unhealthy. Winter by the Sea of Galilee is very pleasant. It is never cold. The hills and plains are always green. As early as March one may find roses growing by the sea shore. The comfort of the winter and the beauty of the early spring fade all too soon, however, before the coming of summer. In May and June the temperature passes the mark of ioo° Fahrenheit in the shade and the night brings little relief. The summer heat of 104° makes work difficult in the day time and sleep unpleasant at night. The stone houses, even with windows tightly closed, offer little cooler atmosphere, while outside, especially on the west side of the lake, the hills cut off

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the breezes. Add to this the heat of malarial fever mentioned so often in the Gospels, and Jesus might well have despised such a climate and have longed for the cool hills of Nazareth. 1 There were other factors, however, which influenced Jesus' choice. The region about the Sea of Galilee was thickly populated. Josephus tells us that in the day of Jesus nine important cities surrounded the sea. T w o of these had been built by royal patrons, Tiberias and Bethsaida-Julias. Tiberias, the only one of these nine cities to survive until the present time, was a gorgeous Roman city, built by Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, and later made capital of his kingdom, and named in honor of the Emperor Tiberius. It was located on the west shore of the sea. On the north, just east of the inlet of the Jordan, Herod Philip had enlarged the village of Bethsaida into a city and named it Julias, after the daughter of Tiberius. T w o cities of the Decapolis graced the eastern side of the sea, fallen columns to-day marking the site of Hippos, directly across from Tiberias, while Gadara, the capital of Perea, was situated further to the south, a few miles beyond the southern borders of the lake. North of Tiberias, immediately on the shore of the lake, lay ivlagdala, the home of Mary Magdalene, which bore the Greek name of Taricheae. This city boasted 40,000 inhabitants and was the centre of the fishing industry, possessing, according to Josephus, a fishing fleet of 230 vessels. The remains of a hippodrome indicate the Greek taste of the populace. In addition to these foreign cities, there were, of course, numerous smaller towns and villages populated by Jew-

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ish residents, as indicated by numerous ruins of Jewish synagogues. In these towns, in their synagogues, and in the open plains nearby Jesus carried on his work. The immediate scene of much of Jesus' teaching is found along the northern shores of the lake. Hilly slopes, interspersed with open plains, descend gently, for the most part, to the water. T h e fertility of the region is illustrated by the Plain of Gennesaret, three miles in width, located just above Magdala, on the northwest curve of the lake's shore. Josephus implies that the name Gennesaret refers to the whole region rather than to the plain alone. H e portrays vividly its fertility, calling it the "ambition of nature." " T h e country also that lies over-against this lake hath the same name of Gennesareth; its nature is wonderful as well as its beauty; its soil is so fruitful that all sorts of trees can grow upon it, and the inhabitants accordingly plant all sorts of trees there; for the temper of the air is so well mixed, that it agrees very well with those several sorts, particularly walnuts, which require the coldest air, flourish there in vast plenty; there are palm-trees also, which grow best in hot air; fig-trees also and olives grow near them, which yet require an air that is more temperate. . . . It supplies men with the principal fruits, with grapes and figs continually during ten months of the year, and the rest of the fruits as they become ripe together, through the whole year; for besides the good temperature of the air, it is also watered from a most fertile fountain." 2 To-day, for the most part, the beauty of the plain has disappeared. Thick clumps of oleanders still

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grow on the edge of the plain near the beach, as they must have in the time of Jesus. A s for the fruittrees, the palms, fig-trees, walnut-trees, the grapevines, and the lemon-trees which Josephus does not mention but which were also found in Jesus' day, all these have largely disappeared from the picture, due to the disregard of the local bedawin for anything that has to do with tree-culture.3 One is reminded of the possibilities of the region by two small sections of the plain which are under cultivation to-day. The Jewish colony, Migdol, established in 1 9 1 0 to the south of Gennesaret, harvests grain there and also cultivates a grove of eucalyptus-trees, banana plants, orange-trees, palms and cypresses. On the northern edge of the plain, the German Catholic Palestine Society maintains a hospice with a garden which vividly illustrates the cultivation of which the region is capable and which was no doubt typical of Jesus' time. In Roman times, without question, the whole area was intensively cultivated. While there are no remains to indicate the presence of villages in the plain itself, villagers would naturally live in huts and watch-towers during the season when the fruit was ripe. Broken millstones and other implements indicate that the plain was actively populated in this sense, at least. Mark reports a scene of great activity which may have been typical: "And when they had crossed over, they came to the land unto Gennesaret, and moored to the shore. And when they were come out of the boat, straightway the people knew him, and ran about that whole region, and began to carry about on their beds those that were sick,

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where they heard he was." 4 The narrative of Mark further describes nearby villages as if they existed in great numbers. With some of these we are familiar from the pages of the Gospels: especially Capernaum, Bethsaida, and, a few miles inland, Chorazin. These, however, are merely the outstanding settlements. Many smaller villages and clusters of fishermen's huts must have dotted the shore. The waters by the northern shore of the lake were a centre for fishing boats and fishermen in Jesus' day and even at the present time, for a very definite reason. This region of the shore, extending from the Plain of Gennesaret past the modern German Catholic Hospice, beyond Tell Hum, the probable site of Capernaum, and as f a r as the inlet of the Jordan is well provided with streams and springs which flow into the lake and attract schools of fish. "Ain-et-Tabigha" is the Arabic name of the copious spring which rises in the centre of this region. The name is derived from the Greek "heptapegon" with its Latin equivalent "septem fontes," indicating the abundant supply of water. Although the water itself is brackish and not suitable for drinking purposes, it does serve to make the soil fertile, and the warm, strongly flavored water entering the sea draws swarms of fish to this neighborhood. A t various points along this entire northern boundary of the sea, fishermen gather, either wading along the shallow waters off the shore with casting nets or in boats with dragnets or larger nets for deep-sea fishing. So, too, in Jesus' day, this region must have attracted fishermen and fishing boats, as the Gospel records show.

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Along this shore of the lake, Jesus found his earliest followers, Simon and Andrew, James and John. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus had already known Simon and Andrew when they were associated with John the Baptist. His earlier friendship with these first disciples may have been the immediate cause of his choice of Capernaum as a centre for his teaching. Capernaum was the home of Simon and Andrew, and here in the home of Simon, later called Peter, it is possible that Jesus made his residence. A well-preserved mosaic on the site of Capernaum is thought to have belonged to the church which stood over the house of Peter in 600 A.D., and may accordingly mark the exact spot. On the site of ancient Capernaum, the Franciscan Fathers have partially reconstructed an imposing white limestone synagogue that once looked south on the Sea of .Galilee. Although this particular synagogue dates from the second or third century, rather than the first, it is thought that the synagogue of Jesus' day was built on this same location. Here on the Sabbath Jesus entered and participated in the service. Mark records, "they were all amazed . . . and the report of him went out straightway everywhere into all the region of Galilee round about." 5 On the evening of the same day, "all the city was gathered together at the door" of Simon's home where Jesus was staying. In days following, Jesus visited other villages nearby whither his reputation had already preceded him. Of these "villages round about" we know the names of two only, Bethsaida and Chorazin. It is clear that this stage of his career was marked on all sides by an enthusiastic re-

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sponse. T o Jesus, himself, the outlook must have been hopeful. The dominant note of this early period has been characterized in the following language: "There is certainly a strong suggestion in the Gospel narratives that the early teaching of Jesus in Galilee was marked by a buoyancy, one might almost say a gaiety of spirit, which is inconsistent with the presence of the constant shadow of the Cross." 6 Later in his career, Jesus faced sterner realities without losing his qualities of leadership.

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XI

JESUS AND MIRACLES In the synagogue at Capernaum, according to Mark, Jesus attracted attention for two things—his teaching and a work of healing. This two-fold reputation clings to Jesus throughout the pages of the Gospels. The earliest sources bear witness to these two sides of Jesus' public work, for Mark emphasizes especially the "wonderful deeds" of Jesus, while the " Q " material consists largely of his sayings. Jesus is both teacher and healer. The miracle narratives are imbedded in the story of Jesus' life and cannot be uprooted without doing violence to the evidence upon which we depend for a knowledge of Jesus. It is important to establish this fact, because the modern tendency is to minimize or to ignore altogether the healing work of Jesus. The root of the modern difficulty in accepting the miracles as a significant part of Jesus' life work lies in the common identification of miracle with the violation of natural law. Miracles are classified with "things which do not happen," or, to quote a more formal statement, "there is one thing that no longer fits in with this new world—a miracle, in the strict sense of the word, in the sense of the intervention of God in this natural order of things by setting aside its laws." In dealing with the New Testament, however, it is misleading to define miracle as a violation of law, because the reign of law is a discovery of modern times. The meaning of miracle in the Gos86

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pels is "an event producing wonder." A f t e r the events of the day in Capernaum, Mark reports that "they were all amazed." It is from this point of view that Harry Emerson Fosdick, in his Modern Use of the Bible, defines miracles as "marvellous events transcending known means of explanation." Such a definition makes it easier to understand the Gospel miracles, for there are many things in our own experience which we cannot explain, but which we accept as facts. What, for example, is electricity ? H o w much do we know, even to-day, about the mysterious influence of the mind upon the body? In the attempt to understand the "wonders" reported in the Gospels, it will be found useful to follow two lines of approach: ( i ) Is it possible to find out what actually happened; i.e., what is the historical basis of the narrative? and ( 2 ) T o what extent is the present form of the narrative due to interpretation on the part of the narrator? For convenience, the miracles may be arranged in four groups: ( 1 ) Nature-miracles, exclusive of (2) Raisings from the dead, ( 3 ) Cases of demon-possession, and ( 4 ) Healings without reference to demons. 1 Beginning with the second line of approach suggested, it is probable that a modern observer would describe very differently the same events which inspired the miracle narratives. This is largely due to the difference between the scientific age in which we live and the "atmosphere of wonder" of the first century A.D. People of New Testament times lived in a world in which the occurrence of unusual, what we should call supernatural, events was assumed as a

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matter of course. Educated and uneducated persons alike believed that certain individuals were gifted with unusual powers. The Scribes of the New Testament, like the authors of the Talmud, did not doubt that Jesus performed miracles. They merely questioned the source of his power. Miracles were commonly believed to have been performed by Old Testament heroes. It would be natural, therefore, for the disciples of Jesus to expect as great or greater wonders from the Prophet of Nazareth. Elijah and Elisha were said to have raised children from the dead, and Jesus was said likewise to have raised the daughter of Jairus. Where Elisha had satisfied a hundred men with twenty loaves of bread and with some to spare, Jesus fed five thousand men with five loaves and two fishes, with sufficient surplus to fill twelve baskets, the number of the tribes of Israel. 2 Allowance should also be made for the human tendency to exaggerate in retelling a story. Mark reports that only Jesus walked upon the water, but Matthew states that Peter tried to do the same. 3 According to Mark, Jesus cures a Gerasene demoniac, but Matthew speaks of "two possessed with demons." 4 Mark describes the cure of blind Bartimseus, while Matthew enumerates two blind men. 5 Such a tendency toward embellishment is common to heroic literature. In the personal letters of Francis Xavier and in the accounts of his immediate followers, remarks Doctor Fosdick, there is no mention of miracles, but the biographies are full of them. St. Francis recounts the struggle he had in learning Japanese, but in the later lives he speaks the lan-

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guage fluently, without ever having studied it. A more modern illustration might be chosen from the legendary lore which has accumulated about our American national heroes, Washington and Lincoln. It has been pointed out that the "luck" of a modern hero, Lindbergh, was largely the product of the popular mind, while the actual epoch-making flight was carefully planned and skillfully executed. The presence of a legendary element in miracle accounts may be admitted, without denying the possibility of a basis of fact. This is true even of the most difficult type of miracles, the so-called "naturemiracles." Thus the story of the Stilling of the Tempest becomes readily explicable to the person who has experienced the uncertain temper of the Sea of Galilee. From a state of mirror-like calmness the waters of this lake become violently rough within the space of half an hour, stirred to quick agitation by the sharp blasts which swoop down into the cuplike hollow of the lake from the hills and plateaux which nearly surround them. The sudden cessation of the wind, in the Gospel incident, might well seem to the disciples a miraculous deliverance from death. It has been suggested that the remark of Jesus was addressed, not to the wind and wave, but to the disciples. "It is conceivable that when the Lord found himself none too gently roused, and saw the disciples, in their wild excitement, reduced to incoherence and inefficiency, shouting and wailing, he addressed his 'rebuke'— not an idyllic 'Peace, be still!' but a sharp and drastic, 'Silence, get muzzled!' which is the literal translation—to the ringleader and not to the tempest. . . ," 6 There are in the Synoptic Gospels only two rais-

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ings from the dead. All three Gospels report the story of Jairus' daughter, 7 but it is interesting to note that Jesus is quoted as saying, "The child is not dead, but sleepeth." Luke's account of the raising of the Widow's Son 8 is unsupported in other sources. The majority of Gospel miracles belong to the third and fourth groups, which will be discussed together. Many of these have to do with cases of mental and nervous diseases, the background of which is supplied in the following description of Roman Palestine: ". . . Owing to protracted wars and tumults and the terrible oppression of Herod and the Romans, Palestine, and especially Galilee, was filled with the sick and suffering and with those pathological types which we now label neurasthenics and psychasthenics. The disturbances had multiplied the poor, the impoverished, and the unemployed, with the result that . . . such neurasthenics, and especially hysterical women and all manner of 'nerve cases'—dumb, epileptics, and the semi-insane—were numerous." 9 Modern psycho-therapy offers instances of paralysis, psychical blindness, psychical deafness, and even organic deafness, which have been completely cured or much improved through treatment. 10 Gospel instances of "demon-possession," labelled by modern medical science as "dissociation of personality," are among others the cases of the Man with the Unclean Spirit in the synagogue at Capernaum, the Gerasene Demoniac, and the Epileptic Boy. The belief existed that sickness and disease were caused by evil spirits. A suggestive though passing reference to the habits and abode of such spirits is

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found in Matthew 1 2 : 43-45: "But the unclean spirit when he is gone out of the man, passeth through waterless places, seeking rest and findeth it not. Then he saith, I will return into my house whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept and garnished. Then goeth he and taketh with himself seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first. . . ." The New Testament cases of demon-possession have their parallels in all countries and all ages. Demonpossession is especially frequent at the present time in China, Japan, and other Oriental countries, where the same belief in evil spirits as the cause of disease exists as in New Testament times. The successful treatment of mental and nervous diseases demands a confidence-inspiring personality. Such was the personality of Jesus. He, himself, believed implicitly in his power to work cures, and that this power was given him by God. He made as a prerequisite to his healings the absolute confidence of the sick and of others concerned. The faith of the paralytic and the friends who brought him into the house at Capernaum by tearing up the roof, when entrance by the door was blocked, illustrates the condition under which Jesus was able to perform cures of healing. Practitioners of psycho-therapy have accomplished striking results in the cure of diseases of the mind, aided by the psychological discoveries of the last quarter-century. Without this theoretical knowledge Jesus was able to do as much or more. In estimating the significance of miracles, it is natural to raise the question, What was the attitude

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of Jesus himself ? It cannot be said that he regarded his work of healing as unimportant. There is the message to John the Baptist, for example. When John sent to Jesus to ask his credentials, Jesus replied, " G o tell John the things which ye 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." 1 1 This reference to Isaiah 3 5 : 5, 6 and 6 1 : 1 is found in " Q " and not in Mark, but it cannot be ruled out arbitrarily on the ground that it is inconsistent with the emphasis in the Gospels upon teaching rather than healing. Jesus seems to have considered the cure of bodies as well as of souls a part of his work in preparation for the coming of the Kingdom of God. "Wherever he saw disease he regarded it as an enemy to the kingdom which he proclaimed and he gathered up all his forces and hurled them at the evil thing. Bodily as well as spiritual disorders were a challenge to his faith in his Father and to the purpose of his life, and that challenge he never declined. . . . His attitude toward disease is precisely the same as that of a worthy practitioner of the healing art to-day. The true physician is out to conquer disease wherever he finds it. . . . Jesus attacks the evil from the mental and spiritual side, and modern medical science is. now prepared to say that in a large group of disorders, his method of attack is the only one that has promise of success." 12 While Jesus did regard cures as a genuine part of his mission, he definitely relegated them, nevertheless, to a secondary position. He shunned the pub-

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licity which resulted from his works of healing. On the day following the cures in Capernaum, when informed by the disciples that the crowds were seeking him, he said, "Let us go elsewhere into the next towns, that I may preach there also; for to this end came I forth." 13 His command to a leper whom he had cured was, "See thou say nothing to any man." 14 To a man with restored sight, he said, "Do not enter into the village."15 Jesus did not use miracles as signs of his authority. To the contrary, when asked by Pharisees and Sadducees for a sign, he refused any proof but the "Sign of Jonah," 16 referring to the fact that the people of Nineveh repented without any sign. Without exception, the healings of Jesus are occasioned by human need and suffering. Matthew and Luke add different, but characteristic touches to Mark's matter-of-fact account of the healing of the Epileptic Boy. Matthew says, "There came to him a man, kneeling to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic, and suffereth grievously."1'' Luke has, "Teacher, I beseech thee to look upon my son; for he is mine only child." Jesus heals a leper, "being moved with compassion." The story of the raising of the daughter of Jairus has an extraordinary tenderness. "Taking the child by the hand," Jesus said to her, "Talitha Cumi." 18 The translation of the Aramaic expression in the Revised Version is "Damsel, I say unto thee, Arise," but the suffix which is used here makes the expression equivalent to the German diminutive, "Kindchen," and should be read, "Rise, my child," or "Get up, little girl." A genuine historical reminiscence

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seems to be found in the final sentence, in which Jesus reminded the parents "that something should be given her to eat." The miracle narratives of the Gospels reflect a personality of power, but also of compassion and love.

C H A P T E R XII JESUS' USE OF PARABLES Jesus was frequently called "Teacher" by his contemporaries. T h e teaching of Jesus, however, had little to do with formal instruction. Many of his recorded teachings consist of scraps of conversation carried on with his disciples, the nature of which is interestingly paralleled in the following newspaper account of a conversation between the modern Hindu saint, Gandhi, and his disciples, regarding their conduct. Gandhi is stated to have told t h e m : "Don't tell lies. Don't use abusive language. Don't smoke. Don't eat sweets." It is further reported that a youth asked plaintively, " H o w about tea?" W i t h a broad smile, the Mahatma replied, "You may drink tea. Drink it: f r o m the River Sabarmati" (the holy river of G u j e r a t ) . Such an incident suggests the story of the Rich Young Man who ran to Jesus and knelt before him with the words, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? to which Jesus replied, " T h o u knowest the commandments: Do not kill. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Do not defraud. Honor thy father and mother." When the youth declared, "Teacher, all these things have I observed from my youth," Mark states that "Jesus looking upon him loved him." "One thing thou lackest," Jesus continued, analyzing the character of the inquirer and detecting its 95

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single flaw, the love of possessions, "Go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor," whereupon the young man "went away sorrowful." 1 The Synoptic Gospels associate with this incident the saying of Jesus: "It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God." 2 Illustrations might be multiplied of the informal, spontaneous character of Jesus' teaching. Luke, for example, rather than Matthew, suggests the true setting of the Lord's Prayer. "And it came to pass, as he was praying in a certain place, that when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Father, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we ourselves also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And bring us not into temptation." 3 Jesus' thoughts were expressed as occasion arose, on the road during a journey with his disciples, in the open fields, or perhaps from a boat by the water's edge to a group assembled on the shore. When a learned doctor of theology tested Jesus with a difficult question, Jesus made his famous summary of the Law in the form of two commands, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God . . . and thy neighbor as thyself." 4 At the banquet table of Simon the Pharisee, when a penitent woman anointed his feet with costly perfume, Jesus defended the woman by relating the parable of the Two Debtors, concluding with a line which has become famous, " H e r sins, which

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are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." 5 In such ways as these, the teachings of Jesus were originally given. The tenacity with which they were remembered is due in part to the pictorial quality of his teaching. Metaphor, simile, hyperbole, these and other forms of figurative language are found in the speech of Jesus. In Matthew's summary of the teachings, the Sermon on the Mount, there is an amazing array of word pictures: salt, light, men sounding trumpets, earthly and heavenly treasures, birds of the heaven, lilies of the field, the mote and the beam, pearls before swine, houses built upon rock and sand. Such language is characteristic of the Gospels. The parable is the form of expression most characteristic of Jesus and the one in which he achieved unique fame. This statement is confirmed by the Gospel saying, "without a parable spake he not unto them." A parable is, literally, a comparison, " a throwing-alongside." The definition, "an earthly story with a heavenly meaning," suggests that it is a story told to illustrate a spiritual truth. Difficulty in understanding Jesus' use of parables has been caused by the statement in the Synoptic Gospels: "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." 6 This explanation can hardly be correct, but seems rather to be due to the tendency of the Gospel writers to allegorize the teachings of Jesus. Mark elsewhere states, "and with many such parables spake he

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the word unto them, as they were able to hear it,"7 implying that the purpose of the parable was to adapt Jesus' teachings to the ability of the hearer, to make his meaning clear. This was surely the purpose of Jesus. T h e right approach to the parables of Jesus is not to seek a hidden meaning, but to look for the single idea which is illustrated in the story. " T h e parable, in fact, is an amplified comparison. W h e n Jesus (Matt. 10: 16) said, 'be ye wise as serpents,' or ( 1 7 : 2 0 ) spoke of having 'faith as a grain of mustard seed,' it was not to set his hearers a-searching for some deeper occult meaning of the words 'serpent' or 'mustard seed,' but only to bring these familiar images vividly before their minds so that, thus helped, their imagination might be better able to realize the amount of wisdom and the degree of faith he meant to suggest." 8 It is difficult to decide which utterances of Jesus should be labelled "parable." Twenty parables are expressly designated as such in the Gospels, but the omission in other cases is only accidental. Some writers have found as many as one hundred parables in the Gospels, while others have found up to sixty. In the appendix to the present volume, a list of thirty-three parables is given, all of which belong to the narrative type and all but two of which are longer than a single verse. Many testimonies have been paid to the parables of Jesus. R u f u s Jones says of the story of the prodigal, for example, that it is "surely the most moving narrative that has ever been written." T h e appeal of this, like other parables of Jesus, lies not merely in its literary form, but in its deep sympathy

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for and truthfulness to human life. A n interesting parallel to the story of the Prodigal Son is found in a partially preserved papyrus from Egypt of the second century A.D., now in the Berlin Museum. T h e letter is written by an Egyptian prodigal son who has quarrelled with his widowed mother and left the village. T h e cause of the quarrel seems to have been the extravagance and loose living of the son. Far from home, penniless, he writes to his mother: " I know what I have brought upon myself. . . . I know that I have sinned," lines strikingly similar to the wording of the parable of Jesus, " H e came to himself." Professor Deissmann's translation of the letter follows in part: "Antonis Longus to Nilus his mother many greetings. A n d continually do I pray that thou art in health. I make intercession for thee day by day to the lord Serapis. . . . I write to thee that I am naked. I beseech thee, mother, be reconciled to me. Furthermore, I know what I have brought upon myself. I have been chastened even as is meet. I know that I have sinned. . . ." 9 The use of parables as a form of literary expression is not confined to the New Testament. Many parables may be found in Buddhist literature. The Old Testament contains several, among them, Nathan's Parable in II Samuel 1 2 : 1-4, the parable of the W o m a n of Tekoa in II Samuel 1 4 : 6, 7, and the parable of the Vineyard in Isaiah 5. In his book, Rabbinic Literature and Gospel Teachings, Doctor Montefiore has made accessible to English readers interesting parallels to the parables of Jesus. The following rabbinic tale is very similar to Jesus' parable of the Pearl of Great Price: " R .

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Yochanan walked from Tiberias towards Sepphoris and leant on R. Chiya b. Abba's arm. They passed a field. He said: That field belonged to me, but I sold it so as to occupy myself with the Law. They passed an olive garden. He said the same. They passed a vineyard: he said the same. Then R. Chiya wept and said, What have you left yourself for your old age? He replied, Does what I have done seem foolish in thine eyes? I have sold what was created in seven days, but I have acquired what was given in forty days." The Torah was to the Rabbis the Pearl of Great Price. Another rabbinic tale resembles Jesus' parable of the Lost Coin: "If a man loses a coin in his house, he kindles many lights, and seeks till he finds it. If for something which affords only an hour's life in this world, a man kindles many lights, and searches till he finds it, how much shouldst thou dig as for hidden treasure after the words of the Law, which gives life both in this world and in the next." A rabbinical parable that reminds one of Jesus' story of the Chief Seats is found in the following passage: "R. Simeon b. Azzai said: Stay a few seats lower down than the seat which is your due, and wait till it is said to you, Come further up. For it is better that it should be said to you, Come up, than that it should be said to you, Go down. As Hillel said, my humiliation is my exaltation, and my exaltation my humiliation."10 From the examples which have been given, it is already clear that the parable as a form of literary expression is not limited to the teaching of Jesus. The religious teachers of his day made wide use of

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parables. It is likely that the regular synagogue readings from the Law and the Prophets were often interpreted by means of such stories. The parables of Jesus and the parables of the Rabbis deal with the same phases of Palestinian life, portray the same homely details, and have a common theme in the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven as it is more commonly found in the rabbinic tales. Such parallels, however, do not lessen the genuine originality of Jesus, which is to be found particularly in his emphasis upon love as a positive and outgoing quality. It is to be observed that the characteristic rabbinic tale of the Lost Coin encourages zeal for the Law, while in his version of the story Jesus portrayed God's active search for the lost. In the parable of the Prodigal, it is said that the Father ran to meet his wayward son. In commenting upon Luke 1 5 : 1 , the introductory sentence to the three parables of the Lost, Doctor Montefiore says: "Surely this is a new note, something which we have not yet heard in the Old Testament or of its heroes, something which we do not hear in the Talmud or of its heroes. . . . The virtues of repentance are gloriously praised in the rabbinical literature, but this direct search for, and appeal to, the sinner, are new and moving notes of high import and significance. The good shepherd who searches for the lost sheep, and reclaims it and rejoices over it, is a new figure, which has never ceased to play its great part in the moral and religious development of the world." 11 Similar to the story of the Lost Son and equally characteristic of Jesus is the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, or the "Parable of Equal Pay for

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Unequal Work." The parable describes the owner of a vineyard who paid a full, day's wage to laborers who were employed at the eleventh hour. The hours of a working day were reckoned from dawn to sunset; i.e., from about 6 A.M. to about 6 P.M. By this reference to the lateness of the hour the generosity of the householder is made especially conspicuous. The teaching of the parable has nothing to do with the apparent injustice to the other workers, but is found in the liberality of the owner of the vineyard. Such is the unstinting character of God's love. Love represents a higher law than exact justice. The main theme of Jesus' teaching in the parables and elsewhere is the Kingdom of God, a subject familiar to the people of his day. Probably for this reason, Jesus never defined what he meant by it. In the Beatitudes, in other sections of the Sermon on the Mount, in the parables, and elsewhere, he described the character of those who belong to the kingdom. He described the difficulty of attaining the kingdom, and above all its value. He compared the swiftness of its coming to lightning that shoots from east to west. Such will be the suddenness of its coming, that there will be two men in the field, one of whom will be taken, and one left; two women will be grinding at the millstone, one of whom will be taken and the other left. All of these questions: when, where, and how? Jesus answered, but never, what? This failure to define the Kingdom of God may at first seem disappointing to those who are anxious to know the exact thought of Jesus, and yet for those who live in the twentieth century, it is fortunate that he did not leave a definition. "Had

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he attempted in the first century to give it a definite content, it might not in the twentieth century have been able to serve us. The fact that it has never had any specific meanings enables us to-day to make use of it. For us in this twentieth century, as for Jesus in the first century, it may stand for a divine-human society in which men are eager to know and to do the will of God." 1 2 Jesus' particular contribution to the idea of the kingdom lies in his emphasis upon the thought that the Kingdom of God is "at hand." It has been said that Jesus had in mind an ideal state of society, to be compared with Plato's Republic, but with this difference, that Jesus believed the Kingdom of God to be already present, if only in a small way, while Plato's Republic existed only in the mind of its creator. Jesus said, " L o , the Kingdom of God is in your midst." T h e parable of the Dragnet may be taken to suggest the idea that the Kingdom of God is already present, although invisible, just as a net is invisible in water, and yet draws the fish irresistibly to the shore. It is like the Seed Growing of Itself, with slow but steady increase. It is to be compared to the Mustard Seed, which is the tiniest of seeds, but which grows into a large bush. Like the Leaven, the Kingdom of God possesses permeating and transforming power. This confident and immediate vision of a N e w World was the mainspring of Jesus' own life. It was to him "like treasure hidden in a field," for which a man "sells all he possesses and buys that field," or "like a trader in search of fine pearls; when he finds a single pearl of high price, he is off

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to sell all he possesses and buys it." The method Jesus used with his disciples was first, to persuade them that a better world was possible, and then to persuade them that it was the one thing for which they could well afford to give up everything else that they had.

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THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT: RIGHT-MINDEDNESS Jesus himself, as we have already said, left no systematic statement of his teachings. The so-called "Sermon on the Mount" in Matthew 5-7 is an attempt to summarize his main ideas and has a partial parallel in Luke 6: 20-49, both passages being based upon "Q" material. The Sermon on the Mount may well be called a "Charter of the Kingdom," for it describes the character and responsibilities of those who belong to the ideal society, the Kingdom of God. It may be outlined as follows: ( 1 ) The character of those who belong, chapter 5 : 1 - 1 2 ; (2) Their responsibility, chapter 5: 13-16; (3) The new way of life contrasted with the old, chapter 5 : 17-48; (4) Humility and sincerity, chapter 6 : 1 - 1 8 ; (5) Single-mindedness, chapter 6 : 19-34; (6) The right attitude toward others, chapter 7 : 1 - 6 , 12; ( 7 ) Perseverance, chapter 7 : 7 - 1 1 ; (8) The difficulty of the way, chapter 7 : 13-23; ( 9 ) Its importance, chapter 7:23-27. The Sermon on the Mount "opens with a startling reversal of the common estimates of happiness and misery." Jesus proclaimed a blessing upon the poor, the sad, the meek, the hungry, the persecuted, and in Luke's version, condemned the rich, the full, the merry, and the popular. The exact words of Jesus are difficult to ascertain. Matthew has, "Blessed are the poor in spirit," while Luke reads only, "Blessed 105

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are you poor." Matthew says, "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness," while Luke states, "Blessed are you that hunger now." There are nine Beatitudes in Matthew, while Luke has only four, but adds four woes. While it is hard to reconcile these and other differences, it is probable that the shorter form of Luke is closer to the original words of Jesus, while Matthew conveys the actual thought. Luke's words have the simplicity of direct address. Matthew's tendency to interpret the teachings of Jesus helps to explain the longer form of the Beatitudes in his account. Luke, then, is closer to the actual words, while Matthew gives their meaning. The English "Blessed" does not give the exact thought of the original. The word used by Jesus was the Aramaic equivalent to the Hebrew of the Psalms; e.g., "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, etc.," where an accurate translation of the Hebrew Ashere is, literally, "O, the happiness of," "Happy," or "Fortunate." It is more correct to think of Jesus as saying, "Happy are you poor." To say "Happy are you now," will carry us one step further into the actual meaning of Jesus. There is no blessing in physical poverty as such, nor conversely, did Jesus comfort the Galilean poor by a promise of material rewards. Jesus emphasized a present, spiritual condition. "Blessed are those who feel their spiritual need," Goodspeed translates, " f o r the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them." Jesus did, it is true, recognize the human need of incentives. When, for example, Peter said: "Lo, we

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have left all, and have followed thee," Jesus replied: "There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or lands, for my sake, and for the gospel's sake, but he shall receive a hundred fold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come, eternal life." 1 Jesus did use incentives, but "the reward which Jesus urged men to seek was something intrinsic, not something extrinsic. It was the joy which is inherent in any form of creative or beneficent activity—the joy which the poet finds when he produces an immortal poem, the j o y which the musician finds when he produces an immortal symphony, the joy which the scientist finds when he discovers some new domain of truth. . . . T o ask men to devote themselves to the Kingdom of God is not, therefore, to ask them to do any such impossible thing as to live and labor without hope of any kind of reward. It is, rather, to ask them to engage in an undertaking in which, to quote Pasteur, an 'immense happiness' may be found." 3 W h a t is the condition of those who are "poor in spirit?" It should be said, in the first place, that to be humble-minded does not mean to have an inferiority complex. Jesus' words need to be tested by his own personality, and Jesus himself displayed a high degree of self-confidence. N o r does humility mean obsequiousness nor servility. Self-respect is essential to good character. Humility and self-respect are combined in the saying of Hillel, a near-contemporary of Jesus: " I f I am not for myself, who is for me? and being for myself, what am I ? " K a n t said,

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"Always treat humanity, both in your own person and in the person of others, as an end and never merely as a means." (Italics mine.) Self-respect, however, is not incompatible with regard for others. Jesus, apparently, did not find it necessary to caution people against an unduly low appreciation of self. He did find it important to warn them against the dangers of pride. Dante placed pride at the head of all the sins, because it separates one from his fellows and kills love. H u mility is such a true appreciation of oneself as permits one truly to appreciate others. Kant said not only to treat humanity as an end in your own person, but also in the person of others. Negatively, humility is the absence of false pride. Positively, it is an attitude of mind in which one is aware of the demands of his own personality, but equally sensitive to the dignity of other persons. Humility thus understood is a quality of primary importance. It is fundamental to a high type of personality, considering personality both in its individual aspects and in its social relationships. The other Beatitudes build upon the foundation provided by the first. "Blessed are they that mourn," is hard to understand. It is not a "blessing" that one would naturally seek. And yet is there not a broadening of sympathies which may result from the experience of suffering and sorrow? Only those who have themselves experienced the breaking of family ties can fully sympathize with those who have suffered bereavement. Between such is established a strong, though invisible bond.

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"Happy are the meek." T h e English translation does not do justice to the original Greek, which corresponds more closely to our word, "gentle," or "considerate." The same word is found in the great saying of Matthew 1 1 : 2 9 , " T a k e my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." T h e word reappears in Paul's saying in II Corinthians 1 0 : 1 , " N o w I Paul myself entreat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. . . ." Paul here uses the word to describe the character of Christ. In this connection Professor Porter writes: "There are three words expressive of the mind of Christ and of the Christian, of which Harnack has recently written, pointing out their great influence in the first two or three centuries of Christian literature: the words gentleness, consideration, and lowliness of mind . . . It was certainly from Jesus himself and an intimate knowledge of his manner of life, his personality, his mind and spirit, that Paul makes use of these three words." 3 "Happy are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness." Those who are aware of their own limitations will aspire to something better. Such recognition is the condition of spiritual growth. That humility is not: a random teaching, but characteristic of Jesus' thinking is to be seen in the recurrence of the idea in other passages of the Sermon on the Mount and in the parables. Humility and sincerity furnish the theme of Matthew 6 : 1-18 and are vividly described first, from the negative point of view, and then from the positive, in connection with philanthropy, prayer, and fasting. T h e keynote

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of the whole section is found in the first verse in the warning against doing good to be seen of men. T h e parables of the Chief Seats and the Pharisee and the Publican deal with the same qualities of mind. Blindness to one's own defects and extreme readiness to pick flaws in others are satirized in Matthew 7 : 1-6. A speck, say of sawdust, is more conspicuous in another's eye than a plank in one's own, or so it would seem in the case of some people, says Jesus. Consciousness of one's own imperfections is apt to forestall hasty judgments of others. Jesus seems to have found certain ideal qualities common to early childhood and to mature personality at its best. W h e n mothers brought their children for Jesus to lay his hands upon them, the disciples attempted to prevent Jesus from being disturbed, but Jesus himself welcomed the little children and said, " o f such is the kingdom of heaven." 4 O n another occasion, when the disciples were disputing as to who was greatest, Jesus took a little child, put him in their midst, and said: "Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven." 5 One of these qualities clearly is humility, the essential nature of which is illustrated in the complete unconsciousness of self of the very little child. Dean Sperry cites an example from childhood which may further illustrate what Jesus meant by becoming like a little child. The child in question was absorbed in a machine on the platform of a railroad station, which in response to a "provocative" penny, produced a strip of aluminum with one's name or other texts stamped upon it. "Travel-

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ers came and went, porters pushed past with luggage, trains came into the station and went out, there were clatter and confusion everywhere, but nothing diverted this boy. . . . He was not conscious of the crowds or even of me, as I handed him the pennies. A n d far more moving to me, as I saw and watched him was . . . his utter absorbed intentness upon that machine and the business in hand." 6 This is a good example of single-mindedness. Similar to the above is the single-minded devotion to a supreme cause described in Matthew 6 : 19-34. Absolute single-mindedness requires a deliberate rejection of material satisfactions which conflict with the achievement of a spiritual goal. The choice must be made between earthly, material treasures and heavenly, spiritual treasures, for "where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also." The result of such selection is to make possible what we to-day describe as "integration of personality." It is this which Jesus had in mind when he said, " I f therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. . . . N o man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other." It has been suggested, likewise, that the Beatitude about the pure in heart refers not merely to a negative absence of low aims, but more positively to the presence of a high purpose. This deliberate sacrifice of lesser goods for a higher satisfaction carries with it a freedom from the concern about "food, drink, and clothing," so common to those who have nothing more important to think about. In this same connection, Luke re-

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ports, perhaps with a sly sense of humor, the dilemma of the Rich Fool 7 who spent his entire life in pulling down barns and building greater ones, preparing always for the time when he should be ready to take his ease—"eat, drink, and be merry"—only at the very end to find himself deprived of the opportunity to enjoy his material possessions. "So is he that layeth up treasures for himself, and is not rich toward God." In Jesus' analogy to childhood, no depreciation of intelligence is involved. The adjective "childlike," should not be made equivalent to "childish." Jesus commanded his disciples to be as "wise as serpents." Energy and diligence find their place in his thought. A story that has often puzzled readers of the New Testament is the parable of the Unjust Steward. 8 It needs to be understood that the rich man praised the manager of his estate not because of his dishonesty, but because "he had done wisely," or even shrewdly. "The sons of this world are for their own generation wiser than the sons of light," commented Jesus, emphasizing intelligence in the conduct of life. The spiritual quest is, furthermore, not easy, but demands stubborn persistence: Ask, and it shall be given you; Seek, and ye shall find; Knock and it shall be opened unto you. 9

The emphasis here should be placed not so much upon "asking," considered as petitional prayer, but rather upon the second line of the parallelism which illuminates the real meaning of the first, and which car-

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ries the idea of persistent "seeking." Deissmann translates the similar utterance of the second O x y rhyncus fragment as follows: "Jesus saith: Let him that seeketh . . . not cease . . . until he findeth and when he findeth he shall be amazed, and having been amazed he shall reign, and having reigned he shall rest." 1 0 Jesus' parables of the Friend at Midnight and the Persistent Widow (Luke 1 1 : 5 - 8 and 1 8 : 1 - 5 ) , when considered from the point of view of human character, also illustrate persistence. Humility, gentleness, considerateness, aspiration, single-minded devotion to a spiritual goal,—these are some of the qualities of character emphasized in the Sermon on the Mount and in the parables of Jesus. Such was not the ideal of the world into which Jesus came. The first century A.D. resounded with the blare of Roman trumpets and was administered in accordance with the doctrine that "might is right." Power was the ideal of the Roman world. In the place of physical power, Jesus substituted an ideal of spiritual strength.

C H A P T E R XIV THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT: REGARD FOR PERSONALITY

In the Galilean origin of Christianity, says Professor Whitehead, there is a suggestion which "dwells upon the tender elements in the world, which slowly and in quietness operate by love; and it finds purpose in the present immediacy of a kingdom not of this world." 1 Love is the dominant note in the teaching of Jesus. The entire Sermon on the Mount radiates love, although the word itself occurs in only one passage. For the most part, Jesus chose to express himself in other terms. His example may offer a suggestion for the modern presentation of his teaching about love, inasmuch as the English word is so liable to misinterpretation. Love in the thought of Jesus is not, for example, a mere sentimental feeling. There are in Greek three words which correspond to our single English word for love. These are eros, filia, and agape. Eros is the Greek term for physical love. It is love interpreted as desire for a thing, desire to possess something. The word eros never appears in the New Testament. A second word for love, and one which is used in the New Testament, is filia, the Greek form being retained in the English word, "filial." This is the word meaning "friendship." The third word for love in the Greek New Testament and the best vehicle for Christian teaching 114

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about love is agape. This love is not that of selfish possession, nor even that of personal affection. As contrasted with filia, which is prompted by affection, agape is the love of one who is "kindly disposed toward another," of one who "wishes another person well." It may be translated as "active good-will." Doctor James Moffatt says that it is love "generalized into a goodwill of active interest, for which the best definition is 'devotion to the ends of God in human personality.' " 2 While agape does not appear frequently in the Synoptic Gospels, it. is the great word used to interpret Christianity in the Pauline and Johannine writings. The motive of love underlies the famous series of contrasts in Matthew 5 : 2 1 - 4 8 . The compiler of these sayings evidently intended to make a comparison between Moses and Jesus as rival lawgivers, as is suggested by the fact that the scene of the sermon is "on a mount," just as the laws of Moses, according to tradition, were revealed upon Mount Sinai. For this reason, this section of the Sermon on the Mount has sometimes been labelled, "The Old Law of Moses and the New Law of Jesus." It is better, however, to speak of the Old Law and the New Life, for the emphasis of Jesus is not upon law at all, but upon love as an inward motive. Anger is the antithesis of love. The sixth command of the decalogue, "Thou shalt not kill," was frequently read in the synagogue, as the introductory phrase, " Y o u have heard," suggests, and was familiar to every Jew. Anger, however, is as serious a thing as murder, says Jesus, in the sense that it is the root of murder. The anger which prompts one to

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call his brother, " R a c a , " i.e., "Empty-headed," or " F o o l , " is likewise a violation of love. When Jesus refers to the seventh of the ten commandments, " T h o u shalt not commit adultery," and then goes on to say that the look is equivalent to the deed, we are not meant to take the words literally. Jesus again emphasizes the inner springs of conduct, in this case, desire. According to Jewish law, a man might divorce his w i f e for a single reason, "write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house." 3 In Jesus' day there was a dispute as to the interpretation of the Law. Shammai said that divorce was permissible for one reason only, unchastity. Hillel said it might be for any cause—that the woman had burned her husband's dinner, or even that he had seen another woman he liked better. Jesus overruled the statement of Deuteronomy quoted above and took the absolute stand against divorce, the exception in Matthew 5 : 32 being considered a later addition. In answer to the argument to-day that divorce in some cases is justifiable, it should be stated that Jesus did not attempt to formulate a legal ruling. His emphasis was upon the importance of a regard for personality. A s Doctor Montefiore comments : " T h e implied attack upon the inferiority of women in Oriental society, and upon the unjust power of divorce given to men, was of the highest importance and value. Thus, upon the whole, we have to recognize that his words have been of service towards a higher conception of womanhood." 4 The reference to swearing suggests the common use of such affirmations as "by heaven," "by the

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earth," "by Jerusalem," and "by my head." Habitual sincerity in speech requires no reinforcements. In contrast with the ancient lex talionis, we have Jesus' extreme sayings about non-resistance. Among these, the saying about the "second mile" is a reference to the Roman corvée, a law which held natives of Roman districts responsible for the maintenance of the postal system, for which horses, carts, or labor might be requisitioned. Likewise, a Roman soldier had the right to ask a native to carry his pack for a specified distance. Jesus said, "Go twice as far." In his references to turning the other cheek, giving away one's inner as well as outer tunic, and going the second mile, Jesus is contrasting a wholehearted generosity with the grudging type of mind which demands an exact, measure for measure justice. In the saying, "love your enemies," the principle of love is given its broadest possible interpretation. It is one thing to maintain an attitude of good-will toward one's family or neighbor ; it is another thing to display good-will toward one's enemies, to return friendship for hatred. Jesus' teaching may, of course, be rendered absurd by an extreme literalism. The question has been raised : "What ought the Samaritan to have done if he had arrived on the scene a quarter of an hour earlier, and, finding the robbers at their work, had realized that he could only save their victim by killing them?" What Jesus would have wished the Samaritan to do may best be determined by what Jesus himself did on one similar occasion. When Jesus entered the courts of the temple where religion was being commercialized and the

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poor were being short-changed in converting their money into the temple coinage, he "cast out them that bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold the doves." Doctor Easton answers the question above in the following way: "I cannot see how there can be any possible hesitation. . . . The love of our neighbor that Jesus commanded may be something that leads us, like him, into battle for the poor and helpless." 5 The sayings about non-resistance and loving one's enemies have proved especially difficult for many readers. But for that matter, almost any section of the Sermon on the Mount will puzzle the literalist. Rihbany, in his Syrian Christ, gives a superb example of the perils of literalism. H e refers to a letter written to him by a lady who had attended a prayer meeting at which the minister, after reading the fifth chapter of Matthew, said, "If we are true Christians we must not shrink from obeying these explicit commands of our Lord." The lady stated in her letter that she had asked the minister, "Suppose the tongue did offend, and we should cut it off, should we be better Christians than if we did endeavor to atone for the offense in some other way ?" The preacher, after a moment of silence, said, "If there is no one here who can answer this question, we will sing a hymn." The Sermon on the Mount contains many poetical exaggerations which cannot be read prosaically. Observe the laughable, but hardly authentic picture of the hypocrites who parade up and down the streets blowing trumpets as they give alms. What is

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more comical than to imagine a person of short height standing on tiptoes and stretching in the vain attempt to increase his height eighteen inches, the English measure of a cubit? O r as the verse is sometimes translated, " W h i c h of you with all his worry can add a single hour to his life?" Do people really throw pearls before pigs ? W o u l d a father actually give his son a stone when asked for bread? Simile and metaphor, paradox and hyperbole, these and other forms of figurative language are used by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere as convenient tools with which to imprint upon the memory of his hearers certain fundamental inner truths. T h e ethical teaching of Jesus in the foregoing passages has a distinctly religious basis. Men are to practise love in their daily relationships, toward their friends and neighbors, and even toward their enemies, because that is the character of God, who makes the sun to rise and the rain to fall upon good and evil alike. This section of the Sermon on the Mount reaches its climax with the "Imitation of God" demanded by m e n : "Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." God's perfectness is that of love. Men know God only through the experience and practice of love. A s the author of the First Letter of John later expressed it, "God is love; and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him.'" 3 Jesus' teaching about love, which furnishes the dominant theme of the Sermon on the Mount, is f u r ther developed in certain of the parables. W h e n Jesus challenged men to the imitation of God, he de-

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scribed the character of God in terms of an active forthgoing love. Jesus contrasted the generosity of God's love, for example, with the half-hearted response of the householder to the need of the Friend at Midnight.7 The setting of this parable is a home in a typical Palestinian village. The door of the house, open as a rule all the day long, is now shut, for it is long past nightfall. The family is sleeping inside all in a row on the floor of the single room of this peasant home. It is not an easy thing to pick one's way in the dark across the sleeping forms of a numerous family. Nevertheless, in spite of the lateness of the hour and the difficulty of getting to the door, the head of the family, after much importunity on the part of the friend outside and with much grumbling, brings his friend what he needs. If even the ordinary human being will respond to the need of a friend, how much more will God respond to human need, says Jesus. The parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost or Prodigal Son 8 all refer to God's active love for the individual. The parable of the Good Samaritan is the story of one who embodied God's love in the course of ordinary human life. Jesus' teaching about forgiveness describes a heightened form of love. The outgoing character of love is well brought out in connection with Peter's question: "How many times am I to forgive my brother when he wrongs me? Seven times over?" To which Jesus answered, "Not seven times over, I tell you, but seventy-seven times over." 9 Matthew connects with this passage the story of the Unforgiving Servant, who, when pardoned a debt of ten

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million dollars by his master, went out and caught by the throat a fellow-slave who owed him twenty dollars and began to choke him, saying: "Pay me what you owe !"10 The power of forgiving love to rehabilitate broken lives is movingly suggested in the story of the Anointing of Jesus by the woman who was a sinner. 11 The classic formulation of Jesus' teaching about love is found in the Golden Rule, although the word itself does not appear. "All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the law and the prophets." 12 This saying has been called "the lowest common denominator" of all religions, because it appears in various religious literatures. The story is told in the Talmud that "a Gentile once came to Shammai (about twenty years before Christ) ; he said to him: Take me as a proselyte on the condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one leg. He pushed him aside with a staff which he had in his hand. H e went to Hillel; he accepted him as a proselyte. H e said to him: 'What is hateful to you, do to no man; that is the whole Torah and the interpretation thereof.' " The book of Tobit has the similar saying: "What thou thyself hatest, do to no man." The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs has a beautiful saying which more nearly approaches the form and spirit of Jesus' Golden Rule: "Love one another from the heart, and, if any one sins against you, talk to him peaceably . . . and if he confesses and repents, forgive him. . . . But if he denies it, do not quarrel with him."

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The following saying of Confucius is often quoted: "Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness." Lao-tze, the older contemporary of Confucius, is said to have urged, "Recompense injury with kindness. To those who are good to me, I am also good. And thus all get to be good." The fact that the Golden Rule is universal rather than peculiar to Christianity is a tribute to its greatness. The positive form of the saying in the New Testament, however, suggests the active, outgoing quality of love, in which rests the originality of Jesus. Toyohiko Kagawa, the leader of the Kingdom of God Movement in Japan writes that since the coming of Christianity to Japan respect for women and children has increased, purity in the home, loving kindness among neighbors, and the movement for peace and temperance have become commonplace. Social welfare and philanthropic work have been started, under the partial leadership of Christians. Polygamy has been almost abolished and licensed prostitution is gradually being done away with. Such has been the influence of Christianity in Japan. The religion of love is a radical original force.

CHAPTER

XV

PROPHET VERSUS PRIEST The religion of Jesus is brought sharply to a focus by a study of certain controversies which had an important part in the external shaping and final termination of his public career. The critics of Jesus are variously named as "Pharisees," "Scribes of the Pharisees," "the Pharisees and certain of the Scribes." On one occasion it is reported that "the Pharisees straightway with the Herodians took counsel against him." Toward the end "Sadducees" are prominently mentioned. The basis of the criticism of Jesus was that he did that which was not "lawful," and that he and his disciples did not walk in the "tradition of the elders." It is important, accordingly, to understand something about the law and the tradition, as well as about the groups opposed to Jesus. The L a w , or Torah, was the heart of Jewish religion. It was more than law in the usual legal sense. It was the revealed truth of God, given to men through Moses, and restored by Ezra, the Scribe, according to tradition, when it had been lost after the fall of the Hebrew nation and the exile of the people. B y the time of Jesus the L a w had for nearly five hundred years been considered as a perfect and divine book, containing guidance for every situation. Scribes, at first copyists of the Law, became its interpreters and teachers. Ben Sira, a famous teacher in Jerusalem about 200 B.C., based his 123

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"wisdom" upon the Torah which was to him the " L a w of life and discernment." A little later, in the time of the Maccabees, the so-called "Pious" showed their willingness to die rather than to defend themselves on the Sabbath, because labor on that day was forbidden in the L a w . In the course of time an oral tradition arose, based upon the written L a w and intended to explain and adapt the L a w to successive generations. In the book of Exodus, for example, it is commanded that no one shall leave his home on the Sabbath; any one desecrating the Sabbath is to be put to death; no one may work and no one light a fire on the Sabbath. These and similar decrees are greatly expanded in the tradition. Tract Sabbath of the Talmud—the Talmud being the present written form of the originally oral interpretation of the Law—explains in minute detail what one may and may not do on the Sabbath. In the home no fire may be built, no lamp moved, no insect killed, no fruit carried in the hand, no writing done, or stitches taken. If a letter is to be sent, it must not be started as late as Wednesday or Thursday, unless it is certain to be delivered before the Sabbath. The Pharisees are described by Josephus as observing both the written and the unwritten Law, in contrast to the Sadducees who observed only the written Law. " T h e Pharisees have delivered to the people a great many traditional observances handed down from their fathers which are not written in the laws of Moses, and for that reason it is that the Sadducees reject them and say that we are to esteem those observances obligatory that are in the written

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word, but are not to observe what are derived from the tradition of our forefathers." 1 Josephus also described the Pharisees as "a body of Jews who profess to be more religious than the rest and to explain the laws more precisely." The Sadducees were the priestly aristocracy, descendants of the Maccabean priest-kings, and from their ranks were chosen the priests in charge of the temple. The Sadducees depended upon the Roman government for their privileges and were therefore interested in perpetuating the political status quo. Neither Pharisees nor Sadducees included many of the people as a whole, the Pharisees being said to have numbered only 6 , 0 0 0 altogether. The Pharisees were, however, regarded by the common people as their religious leaders, and exerted a great deal of influence. The Scribes, in the time of Jesus, "were a class of literati devoted to the study and exposition of the Law," while "the Pharisees were more properly a distinct religious party, most of whose members belonged to the class of Scribes. The object of the Pharisees was, clearly, to live according to the Law, which the orthodox Scribes interpreted. . . . As the Sadducees also followed the written Law, there must have been Sadducee Scribes as well, and it is highly probable that there were also Scribes who belonged to neither party." 2 The Herodians were royalists who opposed any movement which savored of political unrest. They looked forward to the restoration of a Herodian kingdom under Roman supervision, Judea being at the time under a Roman procuratorship.

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The controversial passages of Mark which furnish the basis of this chapter are as follows: ( i ) Eating with publicans and sinners, 2 : 1 3 - 1 7 ; ( 2 ) The question about fasting, 2 : 1 8 - 2 2 ; ( 3 ) Plucking grain on the Sabbath, 2 : 23-28; ( 4 ) Healing on the Sabbath, 3 : 1 - 6 ; ( 5 ) Neglecting ritual ablutions, 7 : 1 - 2 3 ; ( 6 ) Concerning divorce, 1 0 : 2 - 1 2 . These episodes of Mark, together with the parallel " Q " material, are typical of Jesus' encounters with his critics in Galilee, although the order of Mark should not be considered chronological. They reflect the gradual beginnings of criticism and eventually the open hostility of the Scribes and Pharisees, together with Jesus' public denunciation of them, a controversy forcing Jesus into temporary exile. A n early charge laid against Jesus was that he associated with persons not usually regarded as respectable, the so-called "publicans and sinners." T h e publicans were the "tax-collectors," or "tax-farmers" ; i.e., persons who bought the privilege of raising taxes, with the understanding that they were to keep whatever surplus they were able to collect. These publicans were Jews, but were despised by other Jews, because as a group they were notoriously dishonest. In rabbinic literature, the phrase "publicans and robbers" parallels the Gospel "publicans and sinners." Such individuals were also scorned by pious Jews for their neglect of the L a w and tradition. T h e term "sinners" may have reference either to those who had committed a breach of the moral law or to those who neglected religious forms. Both types are enumerated among the friends of Jesus. It was the policy of the Pharisees to avoid all contact

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with such persons. Jesus, on the other hand, actively sought them out, even extending his invitation to discipleship to Levi, or Matthew, at the very time when the latter was "sitting at the place of toll." A different conception of religion from that of the Pharisees emerges in the saying: "They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." 3 The question about fasting shows that the disciples of John and the Pharisees engaged in regular fasts, probably on Mondays and Thursdays. Fasting was not a command of the Law, but was a practice of those who were especially zealous in the performance of religion. It was a work of supererogation. The example of Jesus, who came "eating and drinking," and the conduct of his disciples contrasted sharply with the outwardly more religious attitude of these other groups. Jesus was no ascetic. His conception of religion involved an entirely different principle. The matter of ritual hand washings in Mark 7 : 1 - 2 3 , like the preceding examples, involved a breach of custom or "tradition," rather than of the written Law. Mark, not Matthew, states that this was a custom of all the Jews, and this seems to have been an exaggeration. The passage does illustrate, however, the growing tendency to put more emphasis upon the external observance of religion. The charge here is made against the disciples only, but in the similar passage of Luke 1 1 : 37-44, the accusation is made against Jesus himself. Jesus answered the criticism with the reply that the Pharisees with their over-emphasis upon tradition rejected the true com-

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mands of the Law. In the passage of Luke occurs the condemnation of his critics as cleansing only the "outside of the cup and the platter." The following passages describe a clear violation of the written Law. It should be remembered that in Jewish thought great emphasis was placed upon the importance of the Sabbath and its correct observance. The Gospels report that the disciples of Jesus passed through a grain field on the Sabbath and plucked kernels of grain. 4 The "plucking," interpreted as "reaping," was a direct violation of the law against "work." Luke adds that they "rubbed" the kernels in their hands, which would constitute a second offense, that of "threshing." Jesus defended his disciples by appealing to the example of David, who when hungry entered the temple and ate the consecrated bread. The view that human need, however slight, takes precedence over Sabbath observance, represents a widely different attitude toward the Law from that of the Pharisees. Doctor Easton points out that, although Jesus' teaching is paralleled to a certain extent by the second century saying, "The Sabbath is delivered to you, not you to the Sabbath," the conclusion that Jesus draws is one that no second century Rabbi—or first century Scribe-—could possibly have drawn: Since the Sabbath was made for man, And not man for the Sabbath, Then man is master of the Sabbath.5

Jesus defended the healing on the Sabbath,® with the question, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath day to do good, or to do harm? to save a life, or to kill?" Rabbinic law made allowance for cases of life and

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death, as illustrated in the sayings: "It is right to violate one Sabbath in order that many may be observed," and "The laws were given that men should live by them, not that men should die by them." In this case, however, there was no question of life and death. It was a matter of doing good, then or later. The difference between Jesus and the Pharisees is well brought out in the question about divorce. 7 The right of a husband to divorce his wife for any reason is definitely stated in Deuteronomy 2 4 : 1. Yet there is also in the L a w the statement of Genesis 2 : 2 4 , " . . . a man . . . shall cleave unto his w i f e : and they shall be one flesh." In making his decision, Jesus recognized the moral superiority of one portion of the L a w over another. He found in the Old Testament different levels of religion, and disregarded the lower. Such an attitude toward the L a w would have been impossible for the Scribes and Pharisees. The attitude of the Rabbis—and that of the Scribes of Jesus' day—is represented in the following saying of the Talmud: " H e who says, 'The Torah is not from God,' or even if he says, 'The whole Torah is from God with the exception of this or that verse, which, not God, but Moses spake from his own mouth'— that soul shall be rooted up." The Rabbis did distinguish, it is true, between the moral and the ceremonial law. In comparison with the saying of Jesus about the ceremonial food laws, "Not that which entereth into the mouth defileth the man; but that which proceedeth out of the mouth, this defileth the man," 8 the saying of Rabbi Jochanan ben Zakkai should be quoted: "Death does not defile, nor does

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water cleanse." But this Rabbi went on to say that the ceremonial L a w should be obeyed, nevertheless, "because it is an ordinance of the K i n g of kings." L a w s are to be obeyed, not because of their moral content, but because they are the laws of God. Religion thus conceived is scrupulous devotion to law. T h e zeal with which the L a w was obeyed is illustrated in the process known as "building a fence about the L a w . " The purpose was "to guard against any possible infringement of the divine statute. Thus — t o take an example from the first page of the Mishnah—things which by the letter of the L a w must be completed before morning, by rabbinical rule must be done before midnight, 'to keep a man far removed from transgression.' " 9 The final written form of the vast accumulation of oral tradition, covering a thousand years from the time of Ezra and Nehemiah to 500 A.D., is said to contain 613 different commands which must be observed by an orthodox Jew, 248 affirmative commands, or precepts of commission, and 365 negative commands, or precepts of omission. T o remind himself of these commands the orthodox Jew to-day arrays himself for prayer with the tephilin or phylacteries upon his forehead and left arm, and places upon the doorpost of his home the tnezuzah. This is done in observance of Deuteronomy 6 : 4-9, where it is said, "Hear, O Israel . . . these words which I command thee this day shall be upon thy heart. . . . A n d thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates." The Jew of

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Jesus' day also wore upon the corners of his robe the fringes commanded in Numbers 1 5 : 3 7 - 4 0 : "Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringes of each border a cord of blue; and it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of Jehovah, and do them." T h e modern Jew substitutes for the fringed robe the prayer scarf to the corners of which are attached fringes, or cords. The word for prayer shawl, teleth, is made to equal symbolically the number 600, while the tassels, or fringes, consist of eight threads tied in five knots. These units added together make a total of 613, the number of commands in the rabbinic law. This description of Judaism as a religion of law should not blind one to the presence of a genuine devotional spirit. Professor Montefiore finds the strength of the legal system in "two influences closely connected with each other. The first was the love of God, the Giver of the L a w ; the second was the j o y in the Commandments. T h e L a w was the sign of God's love for Israel; H e had not given them a burden, but a glory. Every command, as one fulfilled it, was a reminder of that gracious love, that affectionate, and yet ethical nearness." 10 T h e " j o y in the Commandments" is vividly demonstrated in the place given to the Sabbath in Jewish life. So eager was the Jew for the Sabbath to come that he did not call Friday by its right name: i.e., D a y Six, but called it Erev Shabat, "Sabbath E v e . " One of the most beautiful parts of the Jewish syna-

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gogue service on Friday evening is the singing of a song to the bride: Come, my friend, to meet the bride; Let us welcome the presence of the Sabbath.

It should not be thought, because of the controversy between Jesus and the Scribes and Pharisees, that Jesus was disloyal to Jewish religion as he understood it. Jesus was no iconoclast. The chief institutions of Judaism in Jesus' day were the temple and the synagogue. Jesus' act in cleansing the temple, no less than Luke's story of his visit to Jerusalem at the age of twelve, illustrates his reverence for that institution. Jesus regularly used the synagogue for his teaching during the first half of his public ministry. When Jesus referred in Mark 12: 36 to David, the supposed author of Psalm n o , as speaking "in the Holy Spirit," i.e., divinely inspired, he seems to have accepted the divine authority not only of the Pentateuch, but of the Old Testament as a whole. His attitude toward the oral law is less certain, but it is clear from his reference in Mark 3 : 4 to what was lawful on the Sabbath, that he recognized the oral law as having some authority. Jesus' criticism of those who made broad their phylacteries and enlarged the fringes of their garments should not be taken to indicate that he himself did not wear these features of what was probably the customary garb of a Jew in good standing. Indeed, there seems to be a direct reference in Matthew 14: 36 to the fringe on his garment. As Branscomb sums it up, "The religion of Jesus expressed itself through the medium of Judaism rather than in opposition to it." 1 1

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It is misleading, nevertheless, to describe Jesus' view of religion in terms of the Law. Except in controversy initiated by his opponents, Jesus rarely made reference to the Law. His training was not that of a scribe, nor did his sympathies lie in that direction. He spoke "as one having authority and not as the scribes." 12 "While there is no doubt that he regarded his message as being thoroughly in accord with the spirit and meaning of the Torah, he was not concerned to establish a detailed relationship between the two." 1 3 Doctor Easton believes that Jesus may actually have uttered the words of Matthew 5 : 1 8 , but only "in a sense peculiarly his own, viewing the Law as an organic whole, in which all parts were visibly subordinated to the ultimate principle of love." With true prophetic insight Jesus found the essence of religion in the principle of love. T o Jesus the content of the Law was summed up in the sayings of Deuteronomy 6 : 5 and Leviticus 1 9 : 1 8 , "Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God . . . (and) thy neighbor as thyself." In the eyes of the Pharisees there could be no contradiction between these and other commands of the Law. In actual practice, however, as illustrated in the controversial passages of Mark, there was a conflict. In such cases, Jesus did not hesitate to make his choice.

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"HE SET HIS FACE TOWARD JERUSALEM" Peter's "confession" on the road to Csesarea Philippi marks an important milestone in the career of Jesus. With his disciples Jesus had been in exile outside the boundaries of Palestine. Opposition rising to a climax with his open denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees had forced him to retire out of danger's way, and to consider carefully how, if at all, he was to achieve his aim. Branded as a heretic by the religious leaders, who may also have insinuated that he was a political agitator, Jesus was prevented from further work with the masses of Galilee. The fate of John the Baptist left no doubt as to what he might expect from Herod Antipas. The journey to Caesarea Philippi led through Gentile territory, and was evidently planned for purposes of retreat. The modern Banias, situated on the ancient site, is located at the foot of Mount Hermon, which towers to a height of 9,000 feet above sea level. The melting snows from the slopes of Mount Hermon furnish the waters for the springs which rise in the neighborhood and combine to form the Jordan stream. Above one of these springs may be seen to-day an inscription written in Greek on the smooth surface of a cliff, beneath a now empty niche, to the god, Pan, worshipped as the spirit of this source of the Jordan. The original Greek name of the town, Panias, was displaced by the name, 134

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Csesarea Philippi, when the city was rebuilt by Herod Philip, the ruler of the regions east and north of Galilee. The city was named in honor of Augustus Cassar, the second name, Philippi, being added to distinguish it from Csesarea on the coast. In this vicinity Herod the Great had built a large temple to Augustus. Here in this region, where the forces of nature and the personification of political power were worshipped, Jesus re-interpreted Messianic leadership. With Peter's declaration, "Thou art the Christ," Jesus for the first time accepted the title "Messiah." Such acceptance makes it seem clear that Jesus felt himself to be more than a teacher, and considered himself rather the leader of a great national movement. If he now identified this leadership with the Messianic role, it was, nevertheless, in a sense very different from the common expectation. It is suggestive at this point to recall that the words placed upon the lips of Jesus at the time of the baptism, "Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased," are a partial quotation from two widely different passages of the Old Testament. The first part is a reference to Psalm 2, commonly interpreted as having reference to the "Son of David" Messiah. The second part, however, refers to Isaiah 42, one of the so-called Servant passages. However accurate it may be to place these exact words in the mouth of Jesus, this does suggest the actual transformation of the Messianic hope made by Jesus. Only on the basis of some such re-interpretation did Jesus accept the title, Messiah. Only on this basis did he permit his disciples to think of him from this time on as

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Messiah. Jesus now devoted himself to impressing upon the minds of his followers the fact that his leadership involved service, suffering, and possibly death, rather than material power and glory. How different this was from the views of the disciples may be judged from Peter's rebuke and Jesus' sharp, almost savage retort: "Thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men." 1 The fact that the term "Son of Man" appears in the passage immediately following Peter's confession may seem to suggest that Jesus identified himself with the "Son of Man" type of Messiah. But where is it ever mentioned that the "Son of Man" is to suffer ? Furthermore, Jesus did not share the pessimism of those who waited passively for God to intervene in history. H e counted his own career an active sign of God's presence in contemporary life. The prophetic ideal of the "Servant," perhaps more nearly than any other, fits the actual career of Jesus and his ideal for the nation. One thing is certain, Jesus rejected the expectation of a political "Son of David" Messiah. But why is it necessary to believe that Jesus accepted docilely any one of the readymade ways of thinking? W h y should he not have drawn freely upon any or all of these so far as they harmonized with his principles, but have subordinated them to a fresh, original interpretation of his own mission? Such a view seems most consistent with his character. While Jesus evidently felt that his mission was equivalent to that of the Messiah, he displayed to the very end a reluctance to use the term. The slopes of Mount Hermon furnish the prob-

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able setting of the transfiguration. This moment has been described as the moment of Jesus' "completest union with his Father." Jesus here dedicated himself to the dangerous duty he saw before him. There is here also a fuller recognition of Jesus on the part of his disciples. The intensity of the experience as reflected upon the face of Jesus so impressed Peter, James, and John that "they became sore afraid." "He stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem," writes Luke, describing Jesus' departure from Galilee. Mark reports an incident which helps to give the atmosphere of the journey: "They were on the way up to Jerusalem, Jesus walking in front of them; the disciples were in dismay and the company who followed were afraid." 2 Glover comments upon this passage: "It is a sentence which one could hardly imagine being included in the Gospel, if it did not represent some actual memory, and a memory of significance. . . . H e is moving to Jerusalem with a purpose. They do not understand it. H e is wrapped in thought; and, as happens when a man's mind is working strongly, his pace quickens, and they find themselves at a distance behind him. And then something comes over them—a sense that there is something in the situation which they do not understand, a strangeness in the mind. They realize, in fact, that they are not as near Jesus as they had supposed. And, as they follow, the wonder deepens into fear." 3 Why did Jesus go to Jerusalem ? Dangers awaited him on all sides there. If the Scribes and Pharisees controlled the synagogues of Galilee, they were also represented in Jerusalem. The new foes in Jeru-

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salem were the Sadducean priesthood and the Roman government. The high-priestly nobility would not look kindly upon a Galilean intruder who questioned their management of the temple. Jesus also ran the risk of betrayal by the misguided hopes of his own supporters. The disciples were indulging in dreams of immediate success. In their minds still lingered, in spite of the persistent warnings of Jesus, a material conception of Messianic leadership, as illustrated by the selfish request of James and J o h n : "And there came near unto him James and John, the sons of Zebedee, saying unto him, Teacher . . . grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and one on thy left hand, in thy glory." 4 The open expression of such hopes held a two-fold danger. In the first place, it was a misrepresentation of Jesus' purpose, liable to incite fanaticism. In the second place, it would have branded Jesus immediately as a political suspect in the eyes of the Roman authorities. Jesus' pledge of secrecy on the part of his disciples may be explained on this basis. This danger is the more apparent when it is remembered that Jesus' visit to Jerusalem coincided with the great Passover festival. Those who have seen British machine guns stationed so as to sweep important thoroughfares and street junctions during Jewish and Moslem festivals in modern Jerusalem will understand the nervousness of the Roman authorities at the time of the Passover when religious fervor and national hopes blended to produce a highly combustible atmosphere. The suggestion that Jesus' work had a political aspect would have resulted in his immediate arrest.

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Why did Jesus go to Jerusalem ? Excluded from Galilee, Jesus had no choice but to abandon his work of religious reform or to proceed to the religious headquarters of the nation, the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus went to Jerusalem to lay his cause before the final court of appeal, the Jewish people assembled by hundreds of thousands for the Passover. H e challenged the nation to a new relationship to God and to a fresh realization of the ancient national ideal of service and religious leadership, as opposed to the formalizing and particularizing tendencies of his day on the one hand and the ill-advised material and political ambitions of so many of the people on the other hand. The journey to Jerusalem was made by way of Transjordan. Other followers besides the disciples accompanied Jesus. Mark and Matthew state that a great multitude went with him from Jericho to Jerusalem. As the procession neared the city, Jesus mounted a colt, evidently furnished by prearrangement, and entered amidst the acclamation of his followers. As he passed, some spread their cloaks before him, while others cut green boughs and spread them in the way. Among the shouts raised, according to the account, were such cries as "Hosanna," "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord," "Hosanna in the highest." When people of the city inquired, "Who is this?" the crowds responded, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee." 5 Doctor Burkitt explains that the cry "Hosanna" was used especially at the time of the Festival of Tabernacles in the autumn, and that a green bough or wand is actually called in Aramaic "a Ho-

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sanna." Instead of the curious expression, "Hosanna in the highest," the crowds really shouted something like, " U p with the wands." The cry of Hosanna was also associated with the winter Festival of the Rededication of the Temple. This is a suggestive clue to the purpose of Jesus as he entered the city. 6 Jesus' first act in Jerusalem was the cleansing of the temple, a gesture toward the restoration of the temple to its rightful use as a place of worship. T h e presence of money-changers and those who sold doves was permitted in its outer courts. Jesus protested against the current practices because of the dishonest charges made by these men in the name of religion. They were making the temple a "den of robbers." T h e fact that Jesus was able to act without interference indicates that he was supported by a large and enthusiastic following. For the moment he was not molested. Jesus made the temple the centre of his activities. This was a strategic move, for the last thing the Sadducees wanted was a riot in the temple area, which would have provoked Roman intervention. The initial act of cleansing the temple had aroused such a response that the Chief Priests and Scribes moved cautiously. There ensued a battle of wits. The manner in which the issue was joined from time to time is suggested by the sentence of Mark which introduces the question about Jesus' authority: "and as he was walking in the temple there came to him the chief Priests, and the Scribes, and the Elders; and they said unto him . . ." 7 This question of authority Jesus skillfully parried. Such discussions were renewed from day to day.

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The question about giving tribute to Caesar put Jesus into a dilemma. If Jesus advised not to pay tribute, he would be guilty of open treason. If, on the other hand, he advised payment of tribute, he would alienate the national-enthusiasts among his followers. "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's," he replied. 8 Jesus, believed that the way to end the oppression of Rome was not by political revolution, but by an example of friendship and good-will. While successful in evading the dilemma in which he had been placed, this approval of non-resistance to Rome lost him much of his popular following. "Three days later," observes Doctor Burkitt, "there was no resistance from the crowd to his own crucifixion. H e was not their man, as perhaps they had hoped." 9 Nor did Jesus win the favor of nationalist-minded Jews by questioning the Davidic ancestry of the Messiah. 10 Jesus' skill in meeting their questions aroused the admiration even of the Scribes, one of whom commented upon his reference to the Great Commandment in the following words: "Of a truth, Teacher, thou hast well said. . . , " n It could not last, but it is a pity that one of Jesus' own friends should have betrayed him. What it was that Judas betrayed, we do not know. The common assumption that he revealed Jesus' hiding place is not convincing, for the simple reason that Jesus made no pretense of hiding. H e could have been seized at any time, day or night. More convincing is the suggestion that Judas revealed Jesus' claim to be the Messiah. Here was evidence that could be given a political color.

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It is impossible to reconstruct a clear picture of the events which led up to the sentencing and execution of Jesus. The Gospels state that all the disciples of Jesus left him and fled after the arrest. The Gospel accounts of the final events, therefore, cannot be considered as first-hand evidence. It is just to assert, however, as Professor Montefiore states, that "the balance of probability strongly inclines to the view that the Gospel narratives are so far correct in that Jesus was really put to death by the Romans at the instance of the Jewish authorities, and more especially of the ruling priesthood." 12 The arraignment of Jesus before the Chief Priests and Elders and Scribes was full of irregularities, if considered as a real trial. The assembly was held at the house of the high priest, we are told, which was unusual. No trial for life was permitted to be held at night. As a matter of fact, no meeting of the Sanhedrin was supposed to be held during a festival. This was really no trial at all, but merely an examination to determine whether charges existed to bring Jesus before Pilate. Asked directly if he were the Messiah, Jesus said, " I am." Here was a charge on which he might be brought before Pilate with a likelihood that the capital penalty would be invoked. Before Pilate Jesus had still an opportunity to escape with his life by denying the Messianic title. The reluctance of Pilate indicates that the evidence did not convince him. Had he so chosen, Jesus might have forsworn the name "Messiah," given up the cause to which he had dedicated himself, and withdrawn into the safety of oblivion. This was impossible, however, for one who had said, "Whosoever

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would save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's shall save it." 13 Some have claimed that Jesus purposely invited death by going to Jerusalem. The cry in Gethsemane is sufficient to disprove that statement: "Abba, Father . . . remove this cup from me; howbeit not what I will, but what thou wilt." 14 The despairing cry on the cross suggests the terrible uncertainty with which he paid the final price of the cause to which he had devoted himself: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" 1 5 So far as Jesus knew, the cause to which he had given himself in the sunny weeks in Galilee, in the bitter days in Jerusalem, had come to nothing. The nation whom he had called to repentance had not heeded, his very disciples had deserted him, at the very end it appeared that God also had deserted him. Jesus, whose lot with us was cast, Who saw it out, from first to last: Patient and fearless, tender, true, Carpenter, vagabond, felon, Jew: Whose humorous eye took in each phase Of full rich life this world displays, Yet evermore kept fast in view The far-off goal it leads us to: Who, as your hour neared, did not fail— The world's fate trembling in the scale— With your half-hearted band to dine, And chat across the bread and wine: Then went out firm to face the end, Alone, without a single friend: Who felt, as your last words confessed,

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Wrung from a proud unflinching breast By hours of dull ignoble pain, Your whole life's fight was fought in vain: Would I could win and keep and feel That heart of love, that spirit of steel. 16

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JESUS, THE MESSIAH OF JERUSALEM CHRISTIANS:

ACTS

T h e usual theory of the authorship of Luke-Acts has already been presented in the chapter on the third Gospel. Chapters 9-20 of the Book of Acts deal primarily with the history of Paul. The present discussion is confined to chapters 1-8, a description of early Jerusalem Christianity, a subject which has considerable modern interest. The call is often heard, "Back to the New Testament church," or " L e t us return to primitive Christianity." W h a t is meant by such a plea as this? Does it imply a wish to escape from the difficulties of modern life by a return to the ease and simplicity of the first century? If so, it needs to be remembered that the earliest Christians, described in the opening chapters of Acts, lived in dangerous times. Peter, John, Stephen, and the rest risked their lives for the sake of the gospel. T h e real attraction of first-century Christianity lies in the strength of its religious conviction. W h e n Peter spoke before a group of curious and even cynical bystanders, the impact of his belief was such that "it went straight to their hearts." 1 T h e religious leaders of the day, concerned with the boldness and rapidly expanding influence of the disciples of Jesus, said of Peter and John: " W h a t are we to do with these men?" 2 W h a t was it that gave such power and strength of 147

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purpose to the earliest Christians? It was their sense of the presence with them of the Living Christ. Something had clearly happened since the betrayal and death of Jesus, when "they all left him, and fled." The author of Luke-Acts seems to imply that the disciples of Jesus remained in Jerusalem after his death, but on the basis of the other Gospels, it seems clear that the disciples had returned dejectedly to Galilee and had resumed their earlier occupations. In the opening chapters of Acts, however, they have all returned to Jerusalem, the scene of the last events in the life of Jesus, where he himself had evidently decided that the success of his cause would have to be determined. Moreover, the disciples have been transformed from a mood of discouragement, a sense of failure and defeat, to one of elation. This complete reversal can only be understood on the basis of their conviction of the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus had died, but he had risen again. From the tragedy of his death and the apparent failure of his cause, Jesus had risen victoriously. How are we to understand this experience of the early followers of Jesus ? It has been said that "the resurrection will always remain a mystery and it is best to leave it so. There can be little question that something occurred which convinced the circle of believers that the Person whom they had loved and followed was alive again after his crucifixion and was a vital presence and power in their midst, at first visibly and then inwardly." 3 It should be said, however, that it is no longer possible to think in terms of a physical resurrection. The literal reading of the story of Jesus' death and resurrection and ascension

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depends upon an outworn theory of the universe. W e no longer think of earth as the centre of things, with hell directly below and heaven directly above us. Heaven and hell are no longer geographical terms. Consequently, a literal reading of the conclusion of the Gospels is rendered impossible.4 Our best and only contemporary—or near-contemporary—witness to the nature of the resurrection-experience is Paul, who says, " H e 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 to the child untimely born, he appeared to me also." In this phrase, "he appeared to me also," 5 lies a clue to the understanding of the experience of all those who knew the risen Jesus. W e are already acquainted with the character of Paul's experience. His was no mere spectacle of the resurrected physical body of Jesus, but an inward, spiritual awareness. Such, or similar, must have been the experience of the other followers of Jesus. The disciples of Jesus, in his lifetime, had been unable to rise to the height of Jesus' own conception of his mission, especially toward the end when Jesus perceived clearly that suffering and even death might be necessarily involved. F o r a time after the death of Jesus, the disciples were stunned by the tragedy, but gradually there came back to them reminiscences of hints and premonitions of the impending danger in the conversations of Jesus. First to Peter came the full realization of the significance of Jesus' life and death. When once this un-

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derstanding had been conveyed to all the disciples, disappointment and vain regret turned instantaneously to joy and an enthusiasm which developed into a steady purpose fulness in the building of the kingdom Jesus had founded. The significant thing about these original Christians is their "high religion," the intensity and contagious quality of their inner experience. Arising with a single individual, the renewed and deepened experience of Jesus spread first to all the twelve, then to the five hundred, and on the Day of Pentecost, to the three thousand, and soon thereafter the number increased to five thousand. Pentecost, with its spontaneous sharing of conviction is called the "Birthday of the Christian Church," and in 1930 the 1900th anniversary of this occasion was celebrated in all Christian lands. Inward experience must always depend upon external imagery for its expression, and so the language used to describe the scene of Pentecost is to be understood as vivid symbolism: " A n d suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat upon them." 6 In such terms the writer describes the gift of the Holy Spirit, the experience of the believer with God through Christ. So universal is the language of emotion that other Jews gathered for the festival from various regions and nations are reported to have heard each in his own language and to have understood what was passing through the minds and hearts of the assembled group. It is pos-

ACTS

sible that the modern psychologist would describe as the "sudden coming-up of the subliminal" what the author of Acts named the coming of the Holy Spirit. 7 Labels are not as important, however, as the actual content of the experience of those who were brought into unity with the spirit of Jesus. T h e unique thing about these early Christians is that they actually tried to live with each other in the way in which Jesus had lived, and the moment from which they dated this group life was the Day of Pentecost. Living together in this way certain customs inevitably arose. T h e twelve seem to have made as their meeting-place the same "upper room" in which they had shared with Jesus the Last Supper, and to which they now invited other followers of Jesus. One of the first acts of the apostles was to elect a successor to the place of Judas, the lot falling upon Matthias. Under the guidance of the apostles, the rapidly growing community presumably organized their own synagogues, although still loyal to Judaism and frequenting the temple daily. Baptism and the breaking of bread together came to be recognized as sacraments. Because it is said, "they had all things in common," this early phase o f Christianity is sometimes referred to as communism. As a matter of fact, there was no organized communism, but merely a brotherhood, with a voluntary sharing of gifts. Barnabas, for example, sold a field and laid the money at the apostles' feet, but there is no necessity to believe that this represented all of his possessions. Ananias and Sapphira were condemned, not because they failed to share all they had, but because they took credit for doing so when they really had not.

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The uniqueness of this early Christian experiment lies not in external organization, but in the spiritual glow of those who shared it. This spiritual rebirth Peter could only describe in terms of fulfilment of the passage in Joel: And it shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh: And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams.8

Charged with the power of this experience, Peter and John were able to continue the marvels of healing hitherto performed only by their Master, when for example they gave to the beggar at the temple gate not alms, but health. Called before the officials of the city and commanded to keep silence, the same disciples were emboldened to say, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken unto you rather than unto God, judge ye: for we cannot but speak the things which we saw and heard." 9 What is perhaps most difficult of all to believe, hearts once hardened with greed were warmed sufficiently to give generously to the common cause. Such things do not happen unless something has taken place to stir people to the very core of their being. An early Palestinian document, preserved only in fragmentary form, contains the fervent, single-word prayer uttered longingly by these early Christians: Marana tha (Our Lord, Come) ! This expression recurs in a letter of Paul, 10 and also at the close of the Book of Revelation, "Come, Lord Jesus." Such was the fervent hope and expectation of early Chris-

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tians and in this emphasis upon Jesus we observe that Christianity has become the religion about Jesus as well as the religion of Jesus. The early Christians of Jerusalem differed from their fellow Jews in this respect, only, that they added to their Judaism a belief in Jesus as Messiah. "And every day, in the temple and at home, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus as the Christ." 1 1 For a brief period the Jewish Christians of Jerusalem lived peacefully with their kinsmen. The opening wedge in the breach between Greek and Jewish Christianity came with the addition of Hellenistic Jews to the Jerusalem group. The definite break came with the persecution of Stephen and the driving out from Jerusalem of the Hellenistic party. Casual sentences of Acts suggest the direction and extent of this scattering of Christians—"throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria." Paul, a witness of the death of Stephen, went toward Damascus, "breathing threatening and slaughter" against Christians who had established themselves there. "They therefore that were scattered abroad upon the tribulation that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, and Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to none save only to Jews." 1 2 Although the details by which it was achieved are unknown to us, yet by the end of a century and a half after the death of Jesus, his name had been proclaimed in every quarter of the Roman Empire, and the knowledge of him had been spread far beyond these frontiers.

CHAPTER XVIII THE APOCALYPTIC INTERPRETATION OF JESUS: REVELATION It is noteworthy that religion is always most vital when it is in conflict with its environment. Early Christianity was most vigorous before it obtained the recognition of the Roman Empire. "Then it consented to become the official religion of the Roman Empire, whose ways of force and later its ways of wealth it consequently ceased to challenge. . . ." 1 Out of a recent discussion of religion in modern society comes the suggestion, "Let it attack the world. Vital religion comes out of tension with society." Like the Book of Daniel, written in the second century B.C., and like Pilgrim's Progress, written in the seventeenth century A.D., the Book of Revelation belongs to the literature of persecution. Also, like these writings, Revelation breathes from every page the vitality of a great leader who by his own example inspired his followers to prefer loyalty to their convictions to physical safety. In the poem, A Death in the Desert, Browning vividly portrays the atmosphere of persecution. He assumes that the Beloved Disciple was the author of all of the Johannine literature. Without accepting this view, it is possible to appreciate the vivid description of the time when "the decree was out." In a desert cave the ancient sage lies at the point of death, watched by iS4

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faithful friends who also keep guard against possible discovery and arrest: This did not happen in the outer cave, Nor in the secret chamber of the rock Where, sixty days since the decree was out, We had him, bedded on a camel-skin, And waited for his dying all the while; But in the midmost grotto: . . . Beyond, and half way up the mouth o' the cave, The Bactrian convert, having his desire, Kept watch, and made pretence to graze a goat That gave us milk, on rags of various herb, Plantain and quitch, the rocks' shade keeps alive: So that if any thief or soldier passed, (Because the persecution was aware) Yielding the goat up promptly with his life, Such man might pass on, joyful at a prize, Nor care to pry into the cool o' the cave. Outside was all noon and the burning blue.

It is not now supposed that the author of Revelation was actually the Beloved Disciple. The book refers to events which took place late in the first century, when the original followers of Jesus must all have been dead. Nor is it probable that the author was John, the Elder, the author of the Letters of John and the Fourth Gospel. The literary style and thought-content of these writings differ radically from the Apocalypse. All that can be said about the authorship of the Book of Revelation is that the writer was a Christian leader, or prophet, residing in Asia Minor and influential among the churches there.

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A t the time when the book was written, however, he was in exile on the tiny isle of Patmos, off the coast of A s i a Minor. A t the risk of endangering his own life, he wrote words of encouragement to the Christians of Asia, the Roman province of which Ephesus was the capital. Again and again the phrase recurs, " T o him that overcometh," with the promise of spiritual rewards. This is the keynote of the book. In the lines of this document we discover the actual lot of faithful Christians who refused to worship the image of the Emperor. Some were cast into prison, some suffered martyrdom " f o r the name." In addition to religious persecution, an economic boycott was enforced against stubborn Christians. A s is to be expected under such conditions, some Christians "fell a w a y " from their costly loyalty. Some lowered their moral standards to the level of their pagan environment. Whatever else he might condone, the author of Revelation had no stomach for the lukewarm. " I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth." 2 The date of the book may be placed toward the end of the reign of Domitian (81-96 A.D.), perhaps between 90 and 95 A.D. T h e number "666"3 is a clear reference to the ruling Caesar. It corresponds best with the name "Neron Csesar." This reading also applies to the number " 6 1 6 " (Nero Csesar) found in some manuscripts. Nero's persecution came in the year 64 A.D., however, and was merely a local affair, while under Domitian persecution spread over the empire. Domitian is therefore the emperor referred

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to. He was known as a "second Nero." He waged a vigorous campaign to force Christians to worship his statues and offer sacrifices at his altars. The writer of Revelation has the ability to make phrases, which whether original or merely a recasting of familiar language, linger in the memory. " H e that hath an ear, let him hear. . . ." 4 "If any man shall kill with the sword, with the sword must he be killed."5 His power rests also upon the vividness of his writing. Observe the concrete objects which have caught the writer's attention and which he now uses in picturing the commercial wealth of Rome: merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet stuff, articles of costly wood, of bronze, of iron and of marble, cinnamon, balsam, spices, myrrh, frankincense, wines, olive-oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, carriages, slaves, shipmasters, seafaring folk, sailors "and all whose business lies upon the sea." Woe and alas for the great city, Where all shipmen made rich profit by her treasures! Gone, gone in one brief hour.6

More important than the gift of phrase-making or of concrete description is the power of suggestion displayed in the book. Who could forget the promise: "I will give him the morning star to see"?7 As literature, the Book of Revelation must be classed with allegory and other symbolical writing. For this reason the book has always been the despair of the practical-minded, the so-called "realists," and the delight of the imaginative. The immediate reason for the use of symbolism is not always under-

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stood, however. John wrote from exile to readers who stood in danger of arrest and imprisonment if the nature of his book were apparent. The purport of the book, accordingly, is partially veiled, as in the substitution of the name Babylon for Rome. So John Bunyan in the quiet of a small prison on Bedford Bridge wrote Pilgrim's Progress for the sake of those who might be benefited and encouraged by the account of his own spiritual pilgrimage and cast the book into the form of allegory, in order to veil historical references. Just as "The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to the Next" was "Delivered under the Similitude of a Dream," so Revelation contains a vision of the things John saw "in the spirit." Revelation is a drama on a cosmic scale. Arrayed against the seemingly overwhelming might of the temporal powers of the earth are the invisible and invincible forces of heaven. Thus, to put conscience before the decrees of the state, right before might, is to ally oneself with forces greater than those man can conceive. This struggle of the tiny Christian church against the injustices of imperial Rome, the author of Revelation portrays in apocalyptic (from the word, "to uncover, reveal") fashion, so common to literature of persecution. After introductory letters to the seven churches in chapters 1-3, the drama begins with a scene in heaven. In a trance the seer is carried before the throne of God, before whose holiness all the heavenly host are worshipping: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, W h o was and who is and who is to come. 8

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The second scene of the drama opens with the voice of a "strong angel" inquiring, " W h o is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof ?" and finally, after seemingly vain search, one is found who is worthy by his own sacrifice, Christ, both the Lion and the Lamb. In chapters 6-11, the preliminary stages of the elemental drama are described in connection with the opening of the seven seals and the blowing of the seven trumpets, whereupon dire things befall the world. A t last, in chapters 12-20, the crisis is reached, and in language derived from many sources, mythological and apocalyptic, the great conflict between right and wrong, God and Satan, is portrayed. First, we see a "woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars," 9 bringing forth "a son, a man child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron," while a great red dragon stands before the woman to devour the child. The woman is the Church, pictured as having existed from the time of Abraham, with Christ, who is to rule. N o w a great war is waged in heaven, the heavenly forces, in defense of the woman and her child, led by the archangel, Michael. " A n d the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world." 1 0 T h e victory of Michael has been portrayed in the famous painting of Guido Reni, St. Michael and the Dragon, in the Church of the Capuchins, Rome, in which Michael is seen with his foot upon the neck of the dragon. In a new series of visions Rome is pictured as " a beast coming up out of the sea," that is, from beyond the Mediterranean, and

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again, reference is made to "another beast coming up out of the sea," referring perhaps to the organized persecution of Christians by the local priesthood of Asia Minor. Confidence in the power of heaven to overcome the dire forces of evil is expressed, after which Rome is again presented, this time as " a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, covered with blasphemous names . . . arrayed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearls . . . and upon her forehead a name written: M Y S T E R Y , B A B Y L O N T H E GREAT, T H E

MOTHER

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T H E HARLOTS A N D OF T H E A B O M I N A T I O N S OF T H E EARTH."11

At last, the final destruction of Rome is seen, and the righteous and almighty God is praised by his creatures. A f t e r a reign of a thousand years of Christ and those who had died the martyr's death, Satan is released only to be cast into "the lake of fire and brimstone," where he : s to be tormented "forever and ever." The book closes with the vision of a new heaven and a new earth. A symbol is an outward sign of an inner truth. Symbolism is closer to poetry than to prose. When prosaic minds have applied literally to their own times the veiled references of Revelation, they have misunderstood and misused a book which in its own day had a great, spiritual significance. Such expressions as " a time, two times, and half a time," were originally intended to refer to the immediate period of the author. Literal-minded readers in every age since have misunderstood the symbolism and have erroneously made it refer to some time al-

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ways in the future, whether the exact date be 1260, 1365-67» i 6 8 9> 1694, 1730, 1843, 1844, 1864, or 1914, all of which have been proposed. A s has been pointed out, the mystic number "666" clearly referred to the Roman Emperor who was persecuting the Christian Church at the time when Revelation was composed. Y e t centuries later it was made by Martin Luther's opponents to refer to him, while R e f ormation leaders saw in the figure of the wicked woman on the beast the Papacy prefigured. A r mageddon has been identified with every great war in history, especially the last, and much spiritual energy has been wasted in determining who belong to the 144,000 of the saved. T h e greatness of the Book of Revelation lies not in its external framework, but in the loyalty of its author to what he believed to be a divine warfare and in the success of his book in arousing others to similar loyalty to moral and spiritual truth. T h e journey of life does not depend for its success upon time and place, but upon the development of a life within, which may be described as spiritual illumination: " A n d there shall be night no more; and they need no light of lamp, neither light of sun; for the L o r d God shall give them light." 1 2

CHAPTER XIX A N APPEAL TO LOYALTY:

HEBREWS

There is a positive ring to the Book of Hebrews which gives it a convincing quality. Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.1

The word translated here as "assurance" is the Greek, upostasis, the primitive meaning of which is "foundation," from which is derived "that which is firm," and such equivalents as "firmness, courage, resolution." This emphasis is characteristic of the entire Book of Hebrews. The author writes, "Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace," 2 and again, "having therefore boldness."3 "Cast not away therefore your boldness, which hath great recompense of reward." 4 Religion, to this author, is not passive resignation, it is an active quest toward a difficult goal: "let us press on unto perfection;" 5 "and we desire that each one of you may show the same diligence unto the fulness of hope even to the end." 6 Religion from this point of view is a spiritual adventure. It is the more an adventure, because of the element of chance involved. There is a distinct risk taken when a person pledges allegiance to an intangible ideal, to something "hoped for," something "not seen." This very risk which is involved is perhaps an asset rather than a limitation, because it presents a stirring challenge. 162

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T h e challenge to religious faith found in the Book of Hebrews was written when there was great need for such an appeal. T h e first generation of Christians had passed away and the second generation had not perhaps felt the rapture of the experience which had come with such power to the earliest believers. Reading between the lines of Hebrews, one discovers that some are "drifting away," "neglectful" of the faith they have received. Others are "falling away from the living God," "dull of hearing," "sluggish," "shrinking back unto perdition." T o those who have lost or have not found the glow of immediate experience the writer of Hebrews addresses his challenge. T o the natural tendency of faith to cool with the passage of time, is now added the influence of persecution. T h e author of Hebrews refers to an earlier persecution, apparently that under Nero, and the present one is in all probability that under Domitian. T h e character of the afflictions suffered by Christians who stood by their beliefs in this difficult time may be judged from the author's reference: " B u t call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were enlightened, ye endured a great conflict of sufferings; partly, being made a gazing-stock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, becoming partakers with them that were so used." 7 The writer refers to the heroism of earlier martyrs, and no doubt the nature of martyrdom was little changed in the time in which he lived and wrote: " T h e y were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword: they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins; being destitute, afflicted,

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ill-treated (of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves, and the holes of the earth." 8 During the persecution of Christians by Nero, according to Tacitus, "First those were seized who confessed that they were Christians. Next on their information a vast multitude were convicted, not so much on the charge of burning the city, as of hating the human race. A n d in their deaths they were also made the subjects of sport, for they were covered with the hides of wild beasts and worried to death by dogs or nailed to crosses or set fire to and when day declined burned to serve for nocturnal lights. Nero offered his own gardens for the spectacle." 9 F r o m this non-Christian writing it will be seen that the description of martyrdom in Hebrews is not overdrawn. It will also be more readily understood why certain less firmly established Christians were drifting away from allegiance to their faith. It was a costly venture and many, no doubt, "fell away." Hebrews is undated and anonymous, the only evidence for its date being found within the book itself. From the contents of the document, it is possible to set general limits—a quo and ad quem. If the reference in 1 0 : 3 2 is to Nero's persecution, then the book must have been written later than 64 A.D. Clement of Rome writing in the year 96 A.D., mentions and even quotes Hebrews and the book was accordingly written before that time. If another persecution was already under way, it would be that under Domitian and the book might be placed between g o and. 96 A .D. Although some writers prefer to think

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that it was written while the sacrifices were still being performed at the temple in Jerusalem and, therefore, prior to 70 A.D., it seems safe on the whole to assign the book to the last quarter of the first century. The expression, " T h e y of Italy salute you," suggests that the author is writing either to or from Rome. Since Clement of Rome is familiar with the book, it is probable that it was written to a church or group of house-churches in Rome, by a Christian leader away from the city. This suggestion is confirmed by the implication of the words in 1 3 : 19b, "that I may be restored to you the sooner." T h e character of the contents proves that the writer is a Jewish Christian, and very clearly, a Hellenistic Jew, because he expresses himself in terms of Greek thought. In the fourth century, for the first time, the western church accepted the theory that Paul was the writer. This can hardly be the case, however, from the nature of the argument and language, and this theory has been generally given up. A l l that we can say about the book is that it was written toward the end of the first century by a Christian leader temporarily absent, perhaps in exile, from his friends and followers who belonged to some Italian, probably Roman church. Under such conditions what does this writer seek to emphasize as the most important thing he can say to his friends? H e makes one central point: the good fortune of Christians in having as their unique possession, Christ, the founder of their faith. "God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners,

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hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son. . . ," 1 0 T h e wonder and awe inspired in the author by the revelation of God in Christ runs through the entire book. " H o w shall we escape," he cries, "if we neglect so great a salvation?" 1 1 The book includes ( i ) a description of the unique leadership of Jesus, compared with the angels, chapters 1 : 1 - 2 : 1 8 . ( 2 ) Jesus is next compared with Moses, chapter 3 : 1 - 6 . ( 3 ) Then with other priests, such as Joshua and Aaron, chapters 4 : 1 4 - 1 0 : 3 9 . ( 4 ) Finally, in chapters 1 1 : 1 - 1 3 : 2 5 we reach the conclusion with a strong appeal to faith considered as loyalty. " H a v i n g then a great high priest," writes the author, and in these words appears his characterization of Jesus as contrasted with that of other New Testament writers. This is not the heroic figure of the Gospel of Mark, nor the humanitarian Christ of Luke's Gospel, nor is it any other of the New Testament portraits of Jesus. It is the picture of a great high priest who by a supreme sacrifice has made atonement for his people once for all. This presentation of Jesus will not appeal to all modern people, and yet it is surprising to what an extent it has molded Christian thought in the past. In its own day, it appealed strictly to those who were schooled in terms of Jewish temple practices and the system of sacrifices. It was necessary, in speaking of Jesus as a great high priest, to account for the fact that he was not of the priestly line. F o r this reason, Melchizedek is introduced, who was of no priestly order, and to whom nevertheless Abraham came for his blessing. So, too, Jesus, though not of the Levite

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order, was a high priest "after the order of Melchizedek." While the type of reasoning will appeal only to a certain few, the presentation and the logic of the argument are such as to call forth the admiration of all readers. "Unquestionably Hebrews is the most complete and carefully elaborated argument in the New Testament," writes Professor Fowler. 1 2 In the words of Professor Kent, "it is faultlessly constructed as an oration according to the canons of the Greek rhetoricians." 13 W i t h this logical manner and rhetorical skill the author betrays his indebtedness to Greek influence, as also in his use of such figures as "the copy and shadow of the heavenly things," 1 4 which shows Platonic influence. It is often remarked that the power of example is greater than that of logic. Thus, in the first ten chapters of Hebrews, the author presents a very skilful argument to convince men that they should be loyal to Jesus. T h e attraction of the figure of Jesus as portrayed in these chapters, however, is more powerful than any reasoned argument. A note with a peculiarly modern appeal is struck with the suggestion that Jesus himself was limited like the rest of us by human weaknesses and limitations and that he suffered bitterly for the cause he championed. " F o r we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." 1 5 W i t h the beginning of chapter 11 and on to the end of the book, the writer of Hebrews deliberately abandons the imperative mood, the method of argu-

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ment and proof, and adopts the indicative. In this chapter, in particular, he makes an appeal to faith by enumerating the long list of those in the past who have set an example of faith. A f t e r the great definition of faith in the first verse, the long list begins with Abel, includes Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, and finds its supreme example in Jesus himself: "Therefore let us also, seeing that we are encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." 1 6 Religion, thus set forth, may be defined as loyalty to an ideal, and the highest ideal, says this author, is exemplified in the actually human life of Jesus, "the author and perfecter of faith."

CHAPTER

XX

JESUS AS LIFE, LIGHT, LOVE: THE OF JOHN

LETTERS

Toward the end of the first or at the beginning of the second century A.D., three brief documents were composed which have come down to us as the "Letters of John." Two of them are definitely addressed, the second letter being written to a church of Asia Minor and the third letter to Gaius, evidently a member of the same group. The first letter is in the nature of an encyclical for general reading. The author speaks of himself as the "Elder" and writes to the "Elect Lady and her children," i.e., the church, and sends greetings from the church where he resides. Gaius he commends as having acted in a generous spirit to certain visitors, evidently missionaries to the Greek population of Asia Minor. The second and third letters are very brief, because, as he says, the Elder hopes soon to greet his friends in person. The Elder writes as a Christian leader with authority over the churches of the region, which he is in the custom of visiting at frequent intervals. In his absence from the church to which these letters are written, he sends them by certain travelling missionaries. That the authority of the Elder is generally accepted is to be seen from the general tone of the letters as well as from the specific commendation of Gaius and the rebuke to Diotrephes who ap169

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pears to have sought prominence for himself in the church and carried this even to the point of discourtesy to the visiting Christians. John speaks familiarly of the church members as his children: " M y little children," "Beloved," "Little children," "Brothers ;" in such a way as to suggest that he, himself, is an old man, well loved for himself as well as respected for his position of authority. T h e essence of the Christian life he sums up in the commandment which "we had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we should walk a f t e r his commandments." 1 The personality of the Elder is beautifully portrayed in the fourth century tradition which has been preserved by Jerome in his commentary on Galatians: " W h e n the holy evangelist, John, had lived to extreme old age in Ephesus, he could be carried only with difficulty by the hands of the disciples, and, as he was not able to pronounce more words, he was accustomed to say at every assembly : 'Little children, love one another.' At length the disciples and brothers, being tired of hearing always the same thing, said: 'Master, why do you always say this?' Thereupon John gave an answer worthy of himself: 'Because this is the command of the Lord, and if it is observed, then it is enough.' " 2 While the Elder urges the practice of love between Christians as the ideal of living, he is able, nevertheless, to speak sharply and to act vigorously against those who undermine the faith of Christians. "Let no man lead you astray," 3 he says. "If any one cometh unto you, and bringeth not this {i.e., the true) teaching, receive him not into your house, and give him no greeting." 4 Those who teach false ideas

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are branded in no uncertain terms as "liars," "deceivers," "Anti-Christs." " F o r many deceivers are gone forth into the world, even they that confess not that Jesus Christ cometh in the flesh." 5 The last quotation suggests a cardinal teaching of "those who were leading men astray," the idea that Christ had never existed in the flesh, but merely "seemed" to have existed in human form. This was the earliest heresy, the denial of the humanity of Jesus, an interesting sidelight upon the modern attempt to brand as heretics those who question his divinity. Because they claimed that Jesus had only "seemed" to live in the flesh, those who taught this and related doctrines were called "Seemers" or "Docetists." These individuals also laid claim to a special knowledge of God and an intimacy with him possessed only by a select few. This feeling of superiority, in such contrast to the spirit of Jesus, led them to make presumptuous statements, some of which may be reconstructed from the language of the Elder: " W e have fellowship with h i m ; " " W e have no sin;" " I know h i m ; " " W e walk in the light;" " I love God." T o such claims John, and not John alone, but the writers of I and I I Peter, I and I I Timothy, and Titus all take exception. These arrogant statements are described as "great swelling words of vanity" in I I Peter 2 : 1 8 . Their "knowledge" consists of "fables and endless genealogies," according to I Timothy 1 : 4 , "babblings" and "knowledge which is falsely so-called," in the words of I Timothy 6 : 20. Seemism or Docetism is an early form of the larger movement known as Gnosticism. This move-

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ment derived its name from its claim to special knowledge (gnosis), which was not, however, ordinary knowledge, but a supernatural wisdom, by which the initiates gained a "true" understanding of the universe, and were saved from the evil world of matter. Christ, as a revelation of divine wisdom, could not have appeared in the earthly, and therefore evil form of human life. Gnosticism was more than a tendency within Christianity. It was a much larger movement, drawing its ideas from many sources and exerting a wide influence in the GrascoRoman and Oriental world. Christian Gnosticism was the result of a merging of Greek and Oriental ideas with primitive Christian beliefs. A partial parallel to ancient Gnosticism may be found in modern theosophy. The writer of the Letters of John and the Christian leaders who wrote the letters bearing the names of Peter, Timothy, and Titus, labelled Christian Gnosticism an intellectual fad. Their own word for it was "fable," "knowledge which is falsely socalled." Those who took up Gnosticism seemed to think that intellectual speculation was a substitute for moral living. So Irenseus, who lived in the second century, informs u s : "They affirm that good behavior is necessary for us (i.e., for the rank and file of mere church members), since apart from them we cannot be saved; whereas they will be saved unquestionably, not on account of their moral behavior but because they are by nature spiritual." 6 In similar vein, John the Elder, writing still earlier, exposed the fallacies of Gnosticism, as it influenced Christianity. "God is light," and these in-

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dividuals claim, " W e walk in the light." But these are not mere words. " H e that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother, is in the darkness even until now. H e that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in the darkness, and walketh in the darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because the darkness hath blinded his eyes." 7 " W e know him," they say, and John answers, " H e that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar. . . . Hereby we know that we are in him: he that saith he abideth in him ought himself to walk even as he walked." 8 "I love God," they boast, and John applies this test: "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen. And this commandment have we from him that he who loveth God love his brother also." 9 Among the parables of Tolstoi, in the volume, Master and Man, is one entitled, "Where Love is, There God is also," in which a humble shoemaker experiences the presence of his Master through the practice of love to those in need. So, too, the Elder John would say that the experience of God is not a matter of mere speculation. "God is love. . . . N o man hath beheld God at any time: if we love one another, God abideth in us . . . hereby we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit." 10 Christianity as a religion of love roots in the life of Jesus. The chief danger presented by Christian Gnosticism was that it threatened to cut Christianity

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off from its source in the historic life of the Founder. Love as demonstrated in the life of Jesus is not the recommendation of a moral quality. Jesus showed by his own life and death what love is. "Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. . . . Hereby know we love, because he laid down his life for us. . . . " u Accordingly, with the opening words of his letter, deliberately, and even at the risk of repetition, John affirms his central thought, the God of love has been revealed in a human life, that of Jesus, and that the life of Jesus is the most precious possession of the Christian religion. "That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled, concerning the word of life (and the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare unto you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us) ; that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you also, that ye also may have fellowship with us: yea, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." 1 2 Each generation shapes words which exert for it a singularly moving power, such words, apparently, for the present age being reality, experience, and experiment. Certain great words, likewise, run through the Johannine literature, both the letters of John and the Fourth Gospel, for these come from the same circle if not from the same author. These words are life, light, love. They are words which still kindle the imagination, stir the emotions, and

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provide for the intellect metaphors with which to express great truths. In his essays on Evil, A. Clutton-Brock13 could find no better terms to describe his meaning than to speak of Good as Life and Evil as Not-Life. "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all," writes the author of the First Letter of John, and the Fourth Gospel begins with the declaration, A light came into the world. The early controversy over the Law is past in these letters, and the antithesis between the religion of the Law and the religion of the Spirit no longer needs the same emphasis. Jesus is now portrayed as a giver of Life. In him is fullness of life. He is likewise the Light of the World, casting out darkness and fear and bringing a radiant hope. But the great word of the three is Love. "God is Love." "For the first time the supreme definition is offered," says Professor Moffatt. 14 It is love which produces the radiance of light and which ennobles life. According to the Divine Comedy, Dante enters the Inferno in the failing light of sunset; by contrast he enters Purgatorio at sunrise, while a new day of hope dawns upon his life; at last he reaches Paradiso and it is midday, in the fullest light of the sun. Love has been present at every stage of his journey. In the Inferno it is mentioned nineteen times, fifty times in the Purgatorio, but in the Paradiso it is heard in every canto. Seventy-seven times it is heard in this culminating section of the great poem. The passage from the Inferno to Paradiso is the journey from death to life, from darkness to light, and the source and fruit of life and light is love.15 So in the First Letter of John the dominating note

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is that of love. In a single chapter the word is found twenty-six times. God is life, light, and love. "Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him." 1 6 The great creeds of the Christian faith have centred in the attempt to express the significance of the revealing of God in the life of Jesus. The importance of the Apostles' Creed, for example, does not lie in its literal wording, but in the historic truth it emphasizes: " I believe in the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; he descended into hell, the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty." Taken as a symbol of Jesus' career of love and sacrifice, the words, "suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried, descended into hell" take on tragic significance. When, however, they are read with stupid literalness, with the placid assumption of an outworn theory of a three-storied universe, they become a hindrance to religious faith. Under such circumstances one may sympathize with the modern attempt to substitute for all such phraseologies a creed like the following based upon I John 4 and Romans 8. "God is love; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. We have beheld and bear witness that the Father hath sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. And this commandment have we from Him, that he who loveth God

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love his brother also. The spirit beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of G o d ; and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified with Him. Amen." 1 7

CHAPTER XXI THE CHRIST OF EXPERIENCE: THE GOSPEL

FOURTH

The Chinese translation of the Fourth Gospel begins with the words, "In the beginning was the Tao, and the Tao was with God, and the Tao was God." "Tao" is a word which the Chinese philosopher, Doctor H u Shih, defines as "the order of heaven and earth, the unassertive, unfelt power which keeps all things in their places." The word is variously rendered into English as "way," "path," "reason," and "God." The important thing, however, is that this is the classical pattern of Chinese religious thought. The use of "Tao" in the translation of the Fourth Gospel is a restatement of a Christian writing in terms of Chinese thought. In a similar way, the Gospel of John was, originally, a re-interpretation of Christianity in terms of Greek thought. The importance of this Gospel in the transition of Christianity to the Grseco-Roman world can hardly be overestimated. Christianity began as an offshoot of Judaism and clothed itself in Jewish forms of thought. Paul helped to transform Christianity into a universal religion by planting it in the Greek-speaking world. It was the author of the Fourth Gospel who began the process by which Christianity adapted itself to its new intellectual environment. 178

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" I n the beginning was the L o g o s , " wrote John. T h e term, " L o g o s , " is introduced without explanation which seems to indicate that it was an idea familiar to contemporary thought. It means in Greek " w o r d , " or "reason." In Greek philosophy the term came to refer to the order of reason which runs through the world and holds it together. In this sense it was first used by Heraclitus in the sixth century B.C. T h e idea was taken over and developed by the Stoics and is found in the famous H y m n to Zeus by Cleanthes, where it is spoken of as the divine reason immanent in nature and man. O God most glorious, called by many a name, Nature's great K i n g , through endless years the same;

whose decree it is . . . That there should be One W o r d through all things everlastingly. One W o r d — w h o s e voice alas ! the wicked spurn; Insatiate for the good their spirits yearn. Y e t seeing see not, neither hearing hear God's universal law, which those revere, B y reason guided, happiness w h o win.

Parallel to the Greek idea of the divine reason is the development of the Hebrew idea of wisdom. In Proverbs 8 : 22-31, for example, wisdom is described as having been present at the creation of the world. W i s d o m comes to be thought of as the creative energy of God. In both Greek and Hebrew thought there was a growing tendency to think of God as removed f r o m the life of man, and a corresponding need of intermediaries between God and man. W h e n

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Philo, the Jewish philosopher of Alexandria, who died about 40 A.D., attempted to harmonize Greek and Jewish thought, he used the Logos as a connecting link between the Platonic, transcendent God and human life. T h e Logos was the agent by whom God's creative work was done. T h e important thing, so far as the Fourth Gospel is concerned, is that at a time when God was thought of as distant from human life, the L o g o s was the way in which he was made known to man. John carried this idea further by saying, " A n d the W o r d became flesh," in the life of Jesus. This was a bold restatement of Christianity in terms of contemporary thought. T h e prologue to the Gospel of John may be considered as a summary of the entire Gospel in the sense that "it adumbrates the three cardinal ideas of the book." T h e first idea, suggested in verses 1, 14, and 18, has to do with the importance of the life of Jesus. Through the earthly life of Jesus men may know what God is like. Jesus is described, in the second place, as the Giver of Light and L i f e , as stated in verse 4. In the third place, it is suggested in verses 12 and 13 that this new life is to be achieved by union with Christ. In connection with these ideas, the Gospel may be outlined in the following w a y : ( 1 ) Prologue, chapter 1 : 1 - 1 8 ; ( 2 ) Historical Introduction: John's witness to Jesus, chapter 1 : 1 9 - 5 1 ; ( 3 ) Jesus in public life, portrayed as the Source of L i f e and Light, chapters 2 - 1 2 ; ( 4 ) The communion of Christ with his followers, chapters 1 3 - 1 7 ; ( 5 ) Concluding events, chapters 18-21. T h e prologue is poetical in structure, with the exception of prose additions in verses 6-8 and 15, and

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may be called a H y m n to the Logos, as the following arrangement of the first five verses will illustrate : In the beginning was the Logos, A n d the L o g o s was with God, A n d the Logos was God. T h e same was in the beginning with God. A l l things were made through him, A n d without him was not anything made that hath been made. In him was life, A n d the life was the light of men. A n d the light shineth in the darkness, A n d the darkness apprehended it not.

In his introduction the author combines literary art with the recital of history. Chapter x : 19-51 is a striking example of artistic composition. This section of the Gospel may be compared to a painting in which everything is made to point to the central figure. John appears as witness, calling attention to the coming of Jesus. Seeing Jesus at the Jordan, John says, "Behold the Lamb of God." T w o of John's disciples are now seen, who "turn to follow Jesus." From another direction Philip approaches, bringing Nathanael. Thus in this section as elsewhere literary art is employed in the presentation of the life of Jesus. In relating the events of Jesus' public life there is no attempt to give a complete account. The author makes a deliberate selection of what he will portray, as he himself states: " M a n y other signs therefore

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did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye may have life in his name." 1 Historical events serve as a framework for the spiritual truth symbolized in the narrative. Jesus, the "true light," first manifests his glory at the wedding in Cana. Nicodemus is told that "the light is come into the world." At the well of Samaria Jesus promises the Samaritan woman: "whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up into eternal life." The feeding of the multitude is an appropriate setting for the truth contained in the words, "I am the bread of life." The story of the man born blind is a graphic portrayal of Jesus as "The Light of the World." Jesus is the Good Shepherd who protects the life of the sheep. The description of Jesus as the Giver of Life reaches its climax in the restoration of Lazarus from the clutch of death. While difficult to understand for the literal-minded reader, this narrative is a striking symbol of the spiritual truth, "In him was Life." The symbolical character of the Gospel creates difficulties in determining its exact historical value. There are striking differences between this Gospel and the first three. The scene of Jesus' earthly career in John is mainly Judea and especially Jerusalem, while the major part of Jesus' ministry in the Synoptic Gospels was accomplished in Galilee. The length of Jesus' ministry in the Fourth Gospel is a full three years, as demanded by the reference to three

T H E FOURTH

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183

separate Passovers, while in the Synoptic Gospels it is little more than a year. According to the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus begins his public work only when the work of John the Baptist is abruptly brought to a close, while there is no corresponding delay in the Gospel of John. There are seven miracles in John, five of which are paralleled in the Synoptic Gospels, but two of them, the changing of the water into wine at Cana and the raising of Lazarus from the dead are unique and of a type difficult to explain on a basis of historical fact. The parable, so characteristic of Jesus' teaching in the Synoptic Gospels, is entirely absent from the Fourth Gospel, while three allegories furnish only a partial substitute. The subject of Jesus' teaching in the Synoptics is the Kingdom of God, but in the Fourth Gospel it is the nature and work of Christ, described in long discourses which have no parallel in the earlier Gospels. These differences are more easy to reconcile when the origin and purpose of the Fourth Gospel are understood. "Tradition is practically unanimous that the Fourth Gospel had its origin at Ephesus, and that its author was that 'John' who figured there as a leader in the Church during the closing years of the first century." 2 H e is the author likewise of the three letters of John, mistakenly identified in early Christian thought with John, the Apostle. From the content of the Gospel, it is probable that John was a Jewish Christian who spent his early life in Jerusalem, and was for many years the highly respected and beloved leader of the church at Ephesus. The Gospel is the product of a rich and long-sustained experience of Christ. As Loisy said, it comes from "a seer who

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has lived the Gospel which he propounds." According to Sanday, "the author sank into his own consciousness and at last brought to light what he found there." The Fourth Gospel is not strictly historical, although based upon history. It is, primarily, a portrayal of the Christ of Experience. And yet there does not seem to be a deliberate misrepresentation of historical fact. As Mrs. Lyman has recently written, "The story is so simply told, sincerity speaks so plainly in every line of the writing, that I can draw but one conclusion from it; namely, that the author believed his story to be actual fact." 3 The allegories and addresses of the latter half of the book are better understood when the reason for the writing of the book is made clear. When the Gospel of John was composed for the Greek Christians of Ephesus, the Gospel of Mark had been in existence for twenty-five years. The Christians of Ephesus and vicinity based their understanding of Christianity upon Mark and the letters of Paul. Both of these sources, however, were meagre as regards the teachings of Jesus. It was to supply this lack that the Fourth Gospel was written, with its long discourses on "the essence of Christianity." 4 These discourses of Jesus have no parallel in the Synoptic Gospels, where the attempt has been made to remember as exactly as possible the very words of Jesus. The Gospel of John here follows the Greek pattern of historical writing in putting into the mouth of the person described not the exact words as a stenographer would have quoted them, but the writer's conception of what was consistent with his character and purpose. Says Streeter: "Thucydides,

T H E F O U R T H GOSPEL

185

the most conscientious of all Greek historians, explains in a famous passage that he has been at the greatest pains carefully to ascertain and accurately to record all matters of fact, but that where he professes to give a speech delivered on any historical occasion, he has as a rule put into the mouths of the characters the sentiments which seemed to him to be proper to the occasion." 5 In the Fourth Gospel we have, then, in the form of a historical document, John's conception of the essence of Christianity. The book should not be judged by the standards of literal history. T h e point of view of the author is different from that of the mere annalist. H e is interested in the spiritual significance of history. T h e spiritualizing influence of the Gospel may be seen in John's re-interpretation of the early Christian hope of the physical return of Jesus. In the farewell address of chapter 14, beginning with the great words, "Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in G o d ; believe also in me," Jesus promises his disciples that after his death he will send them the "Comforter," "the Spirit of Truth." In verses 26 and 28 John identifies the coming of the Comforter with the g i f t of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Thus John re-interprets the second coming of Jesus to mean the spiritual presence of Jesus with his followers. The life of Jesus as portrayed in the Gospel of John is not a mere event in history. It is endowed with a vaster significance. It is seen sub specie ceternitatis. The Fourth Gospel was written when sufficient time had elapsed for men to meditate upon the significance of the life of Jesus to themselves and to the world. Contemplation of the historical fact

I86

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of t h e life of J e s u s h a d served t o e x p a n d t h e importance of t h a t life t o universal proportions, as if Ye would withdraw your sense From out eternity, strain it upon time, Then stand before that fact, that Life and Death, Stay there at gaze, till it dispart, dispread, As though a star should open out, all sides, Grow the world on you, as it is my world. 6 That one Face, far from vanish, rather grows, Or decomposes but to recompose, Become my universe that feels and knows ! 7

APPENDIX PAGES

I. II. III. IV.

Notes Suggestions for Study A List of Parables A List of Useful Books

189-196 197-208 209-210 211-214

I NOTES C H A P T E R I : P A U L A N D HIS I N T E R P R E T A T I O N OF JESUS 1. A . Deissmann, Paul, pp. 61, 62. Used by permission of Ray Long & Richard R. Smith, Inc. 2. I Cor. 15:10 3. Rom. 1 :i4 4. Deissmann, op. cit., p. 228. Used by permission of Ray Long & Richard" R. Smith, Inc. 5. F. C. Porter, The Mind of Christ in Paul 6. Phil. 1:2i 7. II Cor. 10:1 8. Phil. 2 :s-8 9. I Cor. 10:33 10. I Cor. 1 1 : 1 11. Porter, op. cit., p. 24 C H A P T E R I I : T H E G O S P E L S IN T H E M A K I N G 1. W. O. E. Oesterley. Used by permission of The Macmillan Company, publishers 2. C. F. Burney, The Poetry of Our Lord 3. Sayings selected from G. A. Barton, Archeeology and the Bible, pp. 498 ff. 4. F. C. Burkitt, Gospel History and Its Transmission, p. 349 C H A P T E R I I I : T H E G O S P E L OF M A R K I N T E R P R E T S JESUS 1. Quoted in Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East (4th ed.), p. 366. Used by permission of Ray Long & Richard R. Smith, Inc. 2. C. G. Montefiore, The Synoptic Gospels, I, 5. Used by permission of The Macmillan Company, publishers 3. Mark 5:4i 4. Mark 3 :17 5. Mark 7 : 1 1 6. Mark 10:46 7. Mark 15 :42 8. J . M. C. Crum, The Original Jerusalem Gospel, p. 8 3 189

igo 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

NOTES

CHAPS. III-V

Mark 1:34 ; Luke 4:40 Mark 6 : 5 ; Matt. 13:58 Mark 3:5 Mark 4 ¡40 Mark 5 -.43 Acts 1:2i A c t s 10:38 Burton and Mathews, Life of Christ (1927), p. 20. Reprinted by permission of the University of Chicago Press.

C H A P T E R IV : T H E GOSPEL OF M A T T H E W PRETS JESUS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Mark 8 : 1 4 ; Matt. 16:5 Mark 1 -.32 Matt. 23 :2, 3 Matt, i :22 Matt. 5 : 1 9 Matt. 16:18, 19 Matt. 18:20 Matt. 28:20 B. H. Streeter, The Four Gospels, p. 504. Used by permission of The Macmillan Company, publishers

CHAPTER V : THE GOSPEL OF LUKE JESUS 1. 3. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.

INTER-

INTERPRETS

E. I. Bosworth, The Life and Teaching of Jesus A . Plummer, St. Luke, p. xxii Luke 2:14 Luke 1:46-55 Luke 1:68-79 Luke 2:29-32 Luke 10:39, 40 Acts 1 6 : 1 0 - 1 7 ; 2 0 : 5 - 2 1 : 1 8 ; 2 7 : 1 - 2 8 : 1 6 A c t s 16:9 Col. 4 : 1 4 The Earliest Sources for the Life of Jesus, p. 97. Used by permission of E. P . Dutton & Co., publishers Matt. 15 :24, 26 Mark 7:27 Streeter, The Four Gospels, pp. 220, 221. Used by permission of The Macmillan Company, publishers Luke 15 :2 Luke 19:7 Luke 8:2, 3 . . Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali. Used by permission of T h e Macmillan Company, publishers

CHAPS. VI-X

CHAPTER

191

NOTES VI: THE EARLIEST SOURCES KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS

FOR

A

1. The Earliest Sources for the Life of Jesus, p. 104. Used by permission of E. P. Dutton & Co., publishers 2. The Four Gospels, pp. 232, 233. Used by permission of T h e Macmillan Company, publishers CHAPTER VII: NAZARETH OF

GALILEE

1. Joseph Klausner, Jesus of Nazareth, p. 238. Used by permission of The Macmillan Company, publishers 2. Rufus M. Jones, The Trail of Life in College, pp. 39, 40. Used by permission of The Macmillan Company, publishers 3. Klausner, Jesus of Nazareth, p. 236. Used by permission of The Macmillan Company, publishers 4. T . R. Glover, The Jesus of History, p. 29. Used by permission of Ray Long & Richard R. Smith, Inc. 5. Based upon S. J. Case, Jesus, A New Biography, pp. 199 ff. CHAPTER VIII: A DECISIVE EVENT: THE BAPTISM 1. Jones, The Trail of Life in College, p. 161. Used by permission of The Macmillan Company, publishers 2. G. Dalman, Orte und Wege Jesus, p. 98. 3. Matt. 3 : 14 4. Matt. 3 :15 5. Luke 3 :2i, 22 6. Matt. 3 : 1 6 7. Mark 1 : 1 0 8. Mark 1 : 1 1 CHAPTER

IX: T H E CHOICE OF A N I D E A L : TEMPTATION

THE

1. A . E. Bailey, The Gospel in Art (Copyright, T h e Pilgrim Press), p. 132. Used by permission 2. Mark 1 : 1 5 3. Psalm 47 : 1 - 3 4. Micah 4 : 1 , 2 ; cf. Isa. 2 : 1 - 4 5. Matt. 4 : 3 ; Luke 4:3 6. Matt. 4 : 5 ; Luke 4:9 CHAPTER X: "CAPERNAUM BY THE 1. Dalman, Orte und, Wege Jesus, ch. V I I 2. Josephus, Wars of the Jews, III, X , 8

SEA"

192 3. 4. 5. 6.

NOTES

Dalman, op. cit., p. 131 M a r k 6 ¡53-55 M a r k 1 ¡27-28 A . S . Pringle-Pattison, Philosophy

CHAPS.

of Religion,

C H A P T E R XI : JESUS A N D

X-XIX

p. 170

MIRACLES

1. F o r a complete list and classification of miracles, see Case, Jesus, A New Biography, pp. 354-357, footnotes 2. I I K i n g s 4 : 1 - 3 7 , 42-44 3. M a r k 6:47-56 ; Matt. 14:23b-36 4. M a r k 5 ; Matt. 8:28 5. M a r k 10:46; Matt. 20:30 6. J. Warschauer, The Historical Life of Christ, p. 109. U s e d by permission of T h e Macmillan Company, publishers 7. M a r k 5 :2i-43 ; Matt. 9 : 1 8 - 2 6 ; L u k e 8:40-56 8. L u k e 7 : 1 1 - 1 7 9. Klausner, Jesus of Nazareth, p. 266. U s e d by permission of T h e Macmillan Company, publishers 10. F o r examples, see W o r c e s t e r and M c C o m b , Body, Mind and Spirit 11. Matt. 1 1 : 4 - 5 12. W o r c e s t e r and M c C o m b , op. cit. 13. M a r k 1 ¡38 14. M a r k 1:44 15. M a r k 8 -.26 16. Matt. 16:4 17. Matt. 1 7 : 1 5 ; L u k e 9 ¡38 18. M a r k 5 :4i CHAPTER XII : JESUS' USE OF 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

PARABLES

Matt. 1 9 : 1 6 - 3 0 ; M a r k 1 0 : 1 7 - 3 1 ; L u k e 1 8 : 1 8 - 3 0 Matt. 19:24 ; M a r k 10:52 ; L u k e 13 :25 Luke 11:2-4 Matt. 22:34-40 ; M a r k 12 ¡28-34 ; Ltike 20 ¡39, 40 L u k e 7 ¡36-50 M a r k 4 : 1 1 , 12 M a r k 4 .-33 A . Jülicher, article " P a r a b l e s " in Encyclopedia Biblica Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East, pp. 187 ff. U s e d by permission of R a y L o n g & Richard R . Smith, Inc. 10. Montefiore, Rabbinic Literature and Gospel Teaching, pp. 254, 353, 354- U s e d by permission of T h e Macmillan Company, publishers 11. The Synoptic Gospels, II, 520, 521. U s e d by permission of T h e Macmillan Company, publishers 12. E . F . Tittle, Religion and Conduct, p. 44. U s e d by permission of the A b i n g d o n P r e s s

CHAPS. XIII-XV

NOTES

193

CHAPTER X I I I : T H E SERMON ON T H E M O U N T : RIGHT-MINDEDNESS 1. Mark 10:29, 30 2. Tittle, Religion and Conduct, p. Si. Used by permission of the Abingdon Press 3. Porter, The Mind of Christ in Paul, p. 38 4. Matt. 1 9 : 1 3 - 1 5 ; Mark 1 0 : 1 3 - 1 6 ; Luke 18:15-17 5. Matt. 18:1-5; Mark 9:33~37; Luke 9:46-48 6. W. L. Sperry, Signs of These Times, p. 162. Used by permission of Ray Long & Richard R. Smith, Inc. 7. Luke 12:16-21 8. Luke 16:1-8 9. Matt. 7:7-11 10. Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East (4th ed.), p. 426. Used by permission of Ray Long & Richard R. Smith, Inc. 11. Luke 11:5-8 and 18:1-5 C H A P T E R X I V : T H E SERMON ON T H E M O U N T : REGARD FOR PERSONALITY 1. A. N. Whitehead, Process and Reality, p. 520. 2. James Moffatt, Love in the New Testament, p. 44. Used by permission of Ray Long & Richard R. Smith, Inc. 3. Deut. 24:1 4. Montefiore, The Synoptic Gospels, II, 67. Used by permission of The Macmillan Company, publishers 5. B. S. Easton, Christ in the Gospels, pp. 129, 130 6. I John 4 : 1 6 7. Luke 11:5-8 8. Luke 15:3-7; 8-10, 11-32 9. Matt. 18:2i, 22 10. Matt. 18:23-34 11. Luke 7 ¡36-50 12. Matt. 7 : 1 2

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

CHAPTER XV: PROPHET VERSUS PRIEST Josephus, Antiquities, XIII, 10, 6 Encyclopedia Biblica, IV, article "Scribes and Pharisees" Matt. 9:12 Mark 2:23-28 Christ in the Gospels, pp. 116, 117 Mark 3:1-6 Mark 10:2-12 Matt. 15:11 G. F. Moore, Judaism, I, 33. Used by permission of the Harvard University Press

194

NOTES

CHAPS, XV-XVII

10. Montefiore, article "Spirit of Judaism" in Beginnings of Christianity, by Foakes-Jackson and Kirsopp Lake, I, 35-81. Used by permission of The Macmillan Company, publishers 11. B. H . Branscomb, Jesus and the Law of Moses, p. 115. Used by permission of R a y Long & Richard R. Smith, Inc. 12. M a r k 1:22 13. Branscomb, op. cit., p. 130. Used by permission of R a y Long & Richard R. Smith, Inc.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

CHAPTER X V I : "HE SET HIS FACE T O W A R D JERUSALEM" M a r k 8:33 M a r k 10:32 Glover, The Jesus of History, pp. 164, 165. Used by permission of R a y Long & Richard R . Smith, Inc. M a r k 10:35-45 Matt. 2 1 : 1 1 History of Christianity in the Light of Modern Knowledge ; a collective w o r k ; eh. II, pp. 238, 239 M a r k 11 .-27, 28 Mark 12:17 History of Christianity in the Light of Modern Knowledge, p. 243 M a r k 12:35-37 M a r k 12 =32 Montefiore, The Synoptic Gospels (2nd ed.) I, p. 352. Used by permission of T h e Macmillan Company, publishers Mark 8:35 M a r k 14:36 M a r k 15:34 Lines published anonymously in The Spectator (London). C H A P T E R XVII : JESUS, T H E M E S S I A H J E R U S A L E M C H R I S T I A N S : ACTS

OF

1. A c t s 2 ¡37 2. Acts 4:16 3. R u f u s M . Jones, Pathways to the Reality of God, p. 144. Used by permission of The Macmillan Company, publishers 4. C f . W . R. Inge in Science, Religion and Reality, pp. 357, 360 5. I Cor. 15:5-8 6. Acts 2:2, 3 7. Kirsopp Lake, Landmarks in the History of Early Christianity, p. 33 8. A c t s 2 : 1 7 , 18

CHAPS. X V I I - X X

9. 10. 11. 12.

195

NOTES

A c t s 4 : 1 8 , 19 I Cor. 16:22 Acts s -.42 Acts 1 1 : 1 9

CHAPTER XVIII: THE APOCALYPTIC INTERPRETATION OF JESUS: REVELATION 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Harry F. Ward, Which Way Religion, p. 29 Rev. 3 :15, 16 Rev. 13 :18 Rev. 3 : 1 3 , 22 Rev. 1 3 : 1 0 Rev. 18:19, 20 Rev. 2:28 Rev. 4:8b Rev. 1 2 : 1 Rev. 12:9 Rev. 17:4, S Rev. 22:5 CHAPTER

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

XIX: AN APPEAL TO HEBREWS

LOYALTY:

Heb. 1 1 : 1 Heb. 4 : 1 6 Heb. 1 0 : 1 9 Heb. 10:35 Heb. 6 : 1 Heb. 6 : 1 1 Heb. 10 =32, 33 Heb. 11:37, 38 Tacitus "Annals," xv, 44, Harper's Classical Library. Used by permission of Harper & Brothers Heb. 1 : 1 Heb. 2:3 H . T . Fowler, History and Literature of the New Testament, p. 363 C. F . Kent, Work and Teachings of the Apostles, p. 257 Heb. 8:5 Heb. 4:14 Heb. 12 : I, 2

C H A P T E R X X : J E S U S A S L I F E , L I G H T , L O V E : THE LETTERS OF JOHN 1. II John 6 2. Quoted in Kent, Work and Teachings of the Apostles, p. 294 3. I John 3 7 4. I I John 10 5. I I John 7

1 9 6

NOTES

CHAPS,

XX-XXI

6. Quoted from Moffatt, Love in the New Testament, p. 289. Used by permission of Ray Long & Richard R. Smith, Inc. 7. I John 2 :g-ii 8. I John 2:4-6 9. I John 4:20-2i 10. I John 4:8, 12-13 11. I John 4:9; 3 : 1 6 12. I John 1 : 1 - 3 13. A . Clutton-Brock, Essays on Religion, chaps. V and V I 14. Moffatt, op. cit., p. 253. Used by permission of Ray Long & Richard R. Smith, Inc. 15. Cf. W . Boyd Carpenter, The Spiritual Message of Dante, ch. V 16. I John 4:9 17. From the order of service of the Clinton Avenue Congregational Church, Brooklyn, N. Y . CHAPTER

XXI: THE CHRIST OF EXPERIENCE: THE FOURTH GOSPEL

1. John 20:30, 31 2. G. H. C. Macgregor, Gospel of John, p. 1 3. M. R. E. Lyman, The Fourth Gospel and Life of P- 32

To-day,

4. Cf. Streeter, The Four Gospels, ch. X V I . Used by permission of The Macmillan Company, publishers 5. Streeter, op. cit., p. 370. Used by permission of The Macmillan Company, publishers 6. Robert Browning, A Death in the Desert 7. Robert Browning, Epilogue

II SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY C H A P T E R I: P A U L A N D HIS I N T E R P R E T A T I O N OF JESUS i. Read Paul's "Apologia pro sua vita" in II Cor. 10-13, looking especially for any suggestions regarding his personality. 3. What information do the following passages give concerning the birthplace, race, religious background, and social status of Paul: II Cor. 11:22; Phil. 3:4, 5; Acts 21:39; 22:3; 22 -.28; 23 :6 ? 3. Find allusions to the life of the great cities of the Roman world in the following verses selected from Paul's letters: Rom. 1:32; I Cor. 4:9; 9 =24; Eph. 6 : 1 1 ; Phil. 3 : 1 4 ; I Thess. 5 :8. 4. What references in the following passages indicate that Paul knew, or at least had good opportunity to know, the main facts of the life of Jesus: I Cor. 9 : 5 ; 11:23 if.; 15:3-8; Gal. 1:18, 19; 2 : 1 1 ff.? 5- If Paul knew the facts about Jesus' life, why did he not mention more details in his letters? 6. Read Rom. 12, in connection with Jesus' Sermon on the Mount as given in Matt. 5-7, and note similarities of thought. 7. Do you know any churches named after Paul which have been built "in the forum," rather than "before the wall" ? OF WIDER

SCOPE

1. What was the character and extent of Paul's education? 2. What help does Paul give toward the understanding of Jesus? See F. C. Porter, The Mind of Christ in Paul, chaps. I and II. C H A P T E R II: T H E GOSPELS IN T H E

MAKING

1. What three stages of Gospel-writing may be distinguished in Luke's preface, 1 : 1 - 4 ? 2. Illustrate the Oriental dependence upon memory for the preservation of learning. 3. Did Jesus himself ever write anything? Note the only possible reference in John 8:6. Was this writing ? 197

IG8

SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY

CHAPS, II-IV

4. W h a t characteristics of Hebrew poetry may be observed in the utterances of Jesus? Give examples. 5. W h a t bearing does the poetic f o r m of Jesus' sayings have upon their authenticity? 6. List several reasons to account for the lapse of time before any attempt was made to write a life of Jesus. OF WIDER SCOPE

I. Investigate the original f o r m of Jesus' utterances. See C. F . Burney, The Poetry of Our Lord, and other books. 3. Report on the discovery and complete translation of the Oxyrhyncus papyri. See G. A. Barton, Archeology and the Bible, or Cobern, C. M., The New Archaological Discoveries and Their Bearing Upon the New Testament. CHAPTER III: T H E GOSPEL OF MARK INTERPRETS JESUS 1. Read the Gospel of M a r k as a unit, noting the time required. W h a t are the salient characteristics of the book? 2. W h a t is the origin and history of the word "gospel" ? 3. W h y is it inaccurate to classify the Gospels as biographies? 4. W h a t may be learned about John M a r k f r o m the following passages: Acts 13:5> 1 J 5 -37, 39; Col. 4 : 1 0 ; Philem. 24; I Pet. 5 : 1 3 ; I I Tim. 4 : 1 1 ; and possibly M a r k 14:51, 52? 5. W h a t is the place of Peter in the Gospel of Mark, as suggested in the following verses: 1:30, 31, 36; 8 : 2 9 ; 14:68 ff.? . , 6. H o w does the Roman character of the Gospel emerge in the following verses of M a r k : 7:3, 4 ; 10:46; 15:16, 39, 42? 7. W h a t distinctly human qualities of Jesus appear in the following passages: 1:35; 3 : 5 ; 4 : 3 8 ; 6:31; 8 : 1 2 ; 10:14, 21? OF WIDER SCOPE

1. Investigate more thoroughly the statements of Papias about the authorship of the Gospel of Mark. See commentaries. 2. Construct a pen portrait of Jesus, according to M a r k s Gospel. CHAPTER IV: T H E GOSPEL OF MATTHEW INTERPRETS JESUS 1. Illustrate Matthew's dependence upon Mark. 2. Does the author of the Gospel of Matthew display any freedom and originality in using M a r k ? Explain. 3. W h a t does Matthew add to M a r k ?

CHAPS, iv—v

SUGGESTIONS

FOR

STUDY

199

4. Read some of the famous passages of Matthew and note, where possible, the distinctive character of the Gospel: chaps. 5 - 7 ; 13:24-30; 13:44; 13:45, 46; 13:47-50; 18:2334; 21:28-32; 25:1-13. 5. Observe in the following passages the writer's interest in the fulfilment of prophecy: 1:22, 23; 2:5, 6, 15, 17, 18, 23; 3 : 3 ; 4 : i 4 ff-; 12:17 ff-; 13:35; 21:4, s ; 27:9 f. 6. W h a t expressions in the following verses show Matthew to be a "Jewish" Gospel: 4 : 5 ; 10:6; 15:24? Note also emphasis in 5:18, 19; 23:2, 3, 23. 7. When and where was the Gospel written? OF WIDER SCOPE

1. With the aid of Burton and Goodspeed, Harmony of the Synoptic Gospels, investigate further the relationships between Matthew and Mark, locating identical or nearlyidentical passages, noting how Matthew condenses the narrative of Mark, famous passages found in Matthew but not in Mark, etc. 2. W h a t is Matthew's portrait of Jesus?

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

CHAPTER V: T H E GOSPEL OF LUKE INTERPRETS JESUS Note the following passages of Luke which have inspired famous hymns : 1:4Ó-5S; 1:68-79; 2 : 1 4 ; 2 .-29-32. Can you name modern hymns based upon Luke? W h a t are some literary merits of this Gospel? On the basis of the "we"-passages (Acts 16:10-17; 20:521 : i 8 ; 27:1-28:16), what are some experiences that the author shared with Paul? W h a t are some reasons for identifying Luke with the author of the travel-diary? H o w does Luke's method in using Mark differ f r o m that of Matthew ? In what ways does Luke's purpose to write for Greek readers appear in the following passages: 3:38; 4 : 1 6 - 3 0 ; 5:1— 11; 10:1 ff.? Read some of the following stories of Luke in which the humanitarian quality of Jesus is clearly portrayed: 7 ¡3650; 10:25-37; 10:38-42; 15:1-32; 16:19-31; 17:1-10; 18:9-14; 19:1-10. OF WIDER SCOPE

1. With the aid of The Gospel in Art, by Albert E. Bailey, describe some of the masterpieces of Christian art which have been inspired by the Gospel of Luke. 2. Write a biographical sketch of Luke, author of the third Gospel. See introduction to A. Plummer, St. Luke.

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CHAPS, VI-VII

CHAPTER VI: T H E EARLIEST SOURCES A KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS

FOR

1. Explain the meaning of the word "synoptic." Which are the Synoptic Gospels? 2. In what ways do Matthew and Luke show their dependence upon M a r k ? 3. W h y is it believed that Matthew and Luke used a second written source ? 4. W h a t connection may the disciple Matthew have had with this early document? 5. Explain the origin of the symbol " Q . " W h e r e are " Q " passages to be found? 6. W h a t is the two-document theory? W h y is it an incomplete solution of the synoptic problem? OF WIDER SCOPE

1. Show how " Q " reflects country life and customs, and may therefore have originated in Capernaum of Galilee. See J. M. C. Crum, The Original Jerusalem Gospel, chap. I V . 2. List the table of contents for a possible reconstruction of "Q," using one of the following books: B. H . Streeter, The Four Gospels, p. 291, F. C. Burkitt, The Earliest Sources for the Life of Christ, or J. M. C. Crum, The Original Jerusalem Gospel, chap. V I I I . CHAPTER VII: NAZARETH OF

GALILEE

1. W h a t explanation may be offered for the lack of information in the earliest sources about the birth and childhood of Jesus? 2. In the following passages, what may be learned regarding the members of Jesus' f a m i l y : M a r k 6:3, 4; Matt. 13:55, 56? 3. W h a t seems to have been the early attitude of the family of Jesus toward his work? See M a r k 3:31-35 and Matt. 15.57. A r e there indications in the New Testament that this attitude changed after Jesus' death? 4. Describe the education which Jesus probably received in Nazareth. 5. Is it correct to describe Nazareth as an isolated village, "cut off by mountains from the great world"? 6. W h a t influence may the proximity of Nazareth to Sepphoris have had upon Jesus? OF WIDER

SCOPE

1. W h a t was the economic condition of Palestine, and Galilee in particular, in the time of Jesus? See F . C. Grant, The Economic Background of the Gospels.

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SUGGESTIONS FOR S T U D Y

201

2. Reconstruct the life of such a village as N a z a r e t h of Galilee on the basis of the parables of Jesus. S e e also, W . K i r k land, Portrait of a Carpenter, A . Edersheim, The Life and, Times of Jesus the Messiah, and Sketches of Jewish Social Life in the Days of Christ. CHAPTER VIII: A DECISIVE THE BAPTISM

EVENT:

1. W h y is the baptism of Jesus of peculiar interest and importance ? 2. N o t e how much more information about John the Baptist is furnished b y the " Q " passage, Matt. 3 : 7 - i 2 — L u k e 3 9, 16-17 than in the late-written Gospel of John, chap, i , and even than in M a r k 1 : 3 if. 3. W h a t w a s there in the message of John w h i c h impressed Jesus deeply? 4. E x p l a i n the strategic location of the place chosen b y J o h n the Baptist f o r his preaching. 5. W h y did Jesus seek baptism ? 6. N o t e some interesting differences between the accounts of the baptism in Matt. 3 : 1 3 - 1 7 , M a r k 1 : 9 - 1 1 , and L u k e 3:2I-22.

7. W h a t w a s the nature of Jesus' experience at the time of the baptism? OF WIDER SCOPE

1. W r i t e a biographical sketch of John the Baptist. S e e E . F . Scott, The Kingdom and the Messiah, chap. I l l , and other books. 2. M a k e a study of experiences similar to the " c a l l " of Jesus. CHAPTER IX: THE CHOICE OF AN THE TEMPTATION

IDEAL:

1. W h y is it important t o understand the "intellectual climate" of Jesus' d a y ? 2. W h a t is the meaning of the phrase " K i n g d o m of G o d " ? 3. E x p l a i n the term " M e s s i a h . " W h a t ideas about the M e s s i a h w e r e current in Jesus' time ? _ 4. R e a d the temptation accounts in the " Q " material, M a t t . 4 : 1 - 1 1 — L u k e 4 : 1 - 1 3 , and in M a r k 1 : 1 2 , 13, noting the differences. 5. E x p l a i n each of the three temptations and Jesus' decision in each case. 6. Compare w i t h the three temptations of the " Q " account the three crises in the public life of Jesus substituted b y M a r k in the f o l l o w i n g p a s s a g e s : 1 : 3 8 ; 8 : 1 1 ; and 8:32. 7. W h a t principle underlies the temptation n a r r a t i v e ?

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SUGGESTIONS

FOR

STUDY

OF WIDER SCOPE

1. Study the Kingdom of God in Jewish thought and in the teaching of Jesus. See E. F. Scott, The Kingdom and the Messiah. 2. Compare the interpretations of the temptations given in different lives of Jesus. CHAPTER X: "CAPERNAUM BY THE

SEA"

1. Read Mark i : 14-39 for a n account of the beginning of Jesus' career. 2. W h a t definite information does Matt. 4 : 1 3 add to Mark's statement that "Jesus came into Galilee"? 3. W h y did Jesus make his headquarters at Capernaum? 4. Where and under what circumstances did Jesus find his first disciples? 5. H a d Jesus known any of them before this time? See John 1:36-42. 6. Read in Mark 1:2i-34 the account of a typical day in the early part of Jesus' career. 7. W h a t is the dominant note of this period of Jesus' ministry? OF WIDER SCOPE

X. Make a study of the region surrounding the Lake of Galilee, the scene of Jesus' early activity. See G. A . Smith, Historical Geography of the Holy Land, and Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible, article, "Sea of Galilee." 2. W h a t was the order of service in such a synagogue as that of Capernaum? See E. Schürer, The History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ. Sec. Div., vol. II, pp. 75-83. CHAPTER XI: JESUS AND

MIRACLES

1. Give a definition of miracle. 2. In what way was the thought of Jesus' day different from that of our own? 3. Illustrate the natural tendency of writers removed from the event to heighten the miraculous element. 4. Which type or types of miracles can be understood most readily ? 5. W h a t was the source of Jesus' power to heal, according to the following passages: Mark 2 : 5 ; 5:34; 10 '.52; Matt. 8 : 1 0 ; Luke 1 7 : 1 9 ? 6. W h a t was Jesus' motive in healing, as suggested in the following verses: Mark 1 : 4 1 ; 6:34; Luke 7 : 1 3 ? 7. Did Jesus use miracles as "signs"? Note the following passages: Mark 1:36-38; 1:44; 3 : 1 2 ; 5:19, 20; 5 : 4 3 ; 7:36; 8 : 1 1 , 12; 8:26.

CHAPS, xi—XIII

S U G G E S T I O N S FOR S T U D Y

203

OF WIDER SCOPE

1. Make a detailed study of individual miracles. See L . C. Douglas, Those Disturbing Miracles, and other books. 2. Does modern psycho-therapy offer any suggestions regarding the cures of Jesus ? See E . R. Micklem, Miracles and the New Psychology, and Worcester and McComb, Body, Mind, and Spirit. CHAPTER XII: JESUS' USE OF

PARABLES

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Illustrate the spontaneous character of Jesus' teaching. W h a t is a parable? W h y did Jesus use parables? H o w do you explain the statement of Mark 4 : 1 1 , 12? In what qualities lies the appeal of the parables of Jesus? W h a t similarities may be found between the parables of Jesus and the parables of the Rabbis? 7. In what respect does Jesus' parable of the Lost Coin differ from the similar rabbinic tale ? 8. W h a t do the following parables suggest as to the thought of Jesus about the Kingdom of G o d : M a r k 4 .-26-29 J 4 -30-32; Matt. 13:33; 13:44-46; 13:47-50? OF WIDER SCOPE

1. O n the Oriental use of figurative language, see C. C. Douglas, Over-statement in the New Testament. 2. Compare the parables of Jesus with the parables of the Rabbis. See C. G. Montefiore, Rabbinic Literature and Gospel Teachings. CHAPTER XIII: T H E SERMON ON THE RIGHT-MINDEDNESS

MOUNT:

1. Read sections 1, 2, 4, and 5 of Matthew's Sermon on the Mount, as outlined in this chapter. 2. Compare the Beatitudes as given in Matt. 5 :3-i2 with Luke's version, 6:20-26. W h a t differences do you observe ? 3. W h a t did Jesus mean when he said, "Blessed are you poor"? Did he mean that there is a blessing in mere physical poverty? If not, what did he mean? 4. Did Jesus appeal to the reward motive in the Beatitudes or elsewhere? 5. W h a t is the real meaning of humility? 6. In what sense does the first Beatitude provide a foundation on which the succeeding Beatitudes build? 7. Read M a r k 9:33-37. In the light of the episode described, what quality of character did Jesus clearly have in mind? W h a t are some other qualities of ideal character com-

204

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CHAPS,

xm-xv

mon to early childhood and mature personality at its best? 8. Read the parable of the Unjust Steward, Luke 1 6 : 1 - 1 3 . What quality of personality is praised here which should be added to the characteristics already mentioned? OP WIDER SCOPE

1. Make a study of the individual Beatitudes. See H . C. King, The Ethics of Jesus, chap. V I . 2. Find and explain parables which illustrate the same ideas which are brought out in the Sermon on the Mount. CHAPTER X I V : T H E SERMON ON T H E REGARD FOR PERSONALITY

MOUNT:

1. Read sections 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of the Sermon on the Mount as outlined at the beginning of chapter X I I I . 2. W h a t is the meaning of the word "love" as used in the New Testament ? 3. W h y is it misleading to make a comparison between "The Old L a w of Moses and the New L a w of Jesus"? 4. W h a t are some absurdities which result from a merely literal reading of certain sections of Matt. 5 :21-48 ? 5. Is divorce justifiable under certain conditions? W h a t is the underlying thought of Jesus' statement about divorce in Matt. 5:31, 32? 6. A r e the sayings of Jesus about non-resistance in Matt. 5 :3