ifeilM mmm I !' J„ ^3 >33o aiorttell Iniuersita Sibrarij Stljata, Sfem ^nirh THE GIFT OF ALFRED C. BARNES 1889 Cornell University Library The original of tliis bool< is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029301749 BS2330 .Ml"!" ""'"*""" '•"'™^ ''°'?a«Sr.,,ffiS,.te.,.TSStament: an introd olln 3 1924 029 301 749 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NBWYOKK ■ BOSTOK ' CHICAGO ■ DALLAS ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., Limited LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA MELBOXnUlB THE MACMILLAN CO. OP CANADA. Lid. TORONTO The Contents of the New Testament An Introductory Course BY HAVEN McCLURE (B. A., Harvard; University of Chicago; Secretary English Council, Indiana State Teachers' Association) Nm fork THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1921 All rights retened PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA e"S a-SSo f A '' % 3.ZSSS Copyright, igat Bv HAVEN McCLURE Set up and printed. Published July, 1931 -/ UUV-l L VU £ -^CTY-r^ <'^1..Y^..<3_> a^:B rERRia PRINTING CCWPANY NEW YORK CITT PREFACE This book is the crystallization of a number of years' classroom experience in teaching the New Testament as an elective English course in a public high school of over five hundred students. The objective has been to present the results of the labors of the world's great- est Bible scholars in a manner intelligible to the younger mind and to the general reader. At the same time an effort has been made to keep in consonance the contents of the New Testament with the revela- tions of modern science, and to do this without in any way impairing anyone's respect for primitive Christianity. Approaching the subject from the de- tached point of view and in modern phraseology, the writer is pleased to have had this treatment of materi- als, particularly concerning the humanity of Jesus and of Paul, commended alike by Protestant, Catholic and Jew. The author desires to acknowledge an indebt- edness which can never be adequately repaid to O. M. Pittenger, Superintendent of the Indiana State School for the Deaf, and to L. G. Hickman, critic teacher of English at Indiana University, both of whom read the manuscript in part, and but for whose encourage- ment it might never have been begun or completed; to Edgar J. Goodspeed, professor of New Testament interpretation and patristic Greek at the University of ii PREFACE Chicago, who suggested certain ideas reflected therein, and who read the materials concerning the Fourth Gospel ; and most of all to my dear friend, Clayton R. Bowen, professor of New Testament interpretation in the Meadville, Pa., Theological School, the ideal type of Christian scholar and gentleman, to whom more than any other one person the writer is forever obli- gated concerning New Testament criticism. Finally, to the many bright minds of those younger people who have taken the writer's course of New Testament study in high school, he is indebted for many sugges- tions that would otherwise not have been incorpor- ated. January, 1921. H. M. PART I AN ELEMENTARY INTRODUCTION TO THE DOCUMENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT I. THE DOCUMENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT A. Gospel. 1. The Precepts of Jesus: a. The Matthean Tradition. b. The Petrine Tradition of Mark. c. The Petrine Tradition of Luke. d. The Johannine Tradition. B. Apostolic Narrative: I. The Acts of Peter and Paul. C. Apostolic Letters : I. The Pauline Letters (in time order): a. Thessalonians A (I Thess.) b. Galatians. c. Corinthians A (II Cor. 6:14 to 7:1). d. Corinthians B (I Corinthians). e. Corinthians C (II Cor. 10-13 inc.). f. Corinthians D (II Cor. 1-9, inc.). g. Romans (minus chapter 16). h. A note to Ephesus (Romans 16). i. Colossians (slightly revised by a later hand), j. Philemon, k. Philippians. 1. Fragments of II Timothy and Titus. 3 4 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 2. The Catholic (or General) Letters: a. Hebrews (not by Paul). b. Thessalonians B (H Thess., pseudo- Pauline). c. Ephesians (pseudo-Pauline). d. Timothy A (I Tim., pseudo-Pauline). e. Timothy B (H Tim., pseudo-Pauline). f. Titus (pseudo-Pauline). g. I Peter (embodies Romans 12 and 13). h. H Peter (a revised edition of Jude). i. I John. j. n John, k. in John. 1. James. m. Jude (embodied in II Peter). D. Apocalypse, or Revelation. II. WHAT IS THE NEW TESTAMENT? When one studies the New Testament he is not reading a "book," but a series of miscellaneous docu- ments, twenty-seven in number, which are not even in themselves "books" in the modern sense of that term. The New Testament was originally written on sheets or leaves of papyrus, in the Greek language, without any divisions into "chapters" or "verses," and without punctuation or capitalization of the text as we understand such mechanical devices in modern times. The word "book" or "books" as applied to the New Testament, in whole or in part, are merely terms used for the convenience of the publisher and printer, and of the reader. There could have been no NEW Testament, more- over, if there had not been at the times of the appear- ance of its documents the conscious possession on the part of the early church of a body of sacred writings known to us to-day as the OLD Testament. The word "testament" itself, unfortunately, is an ambigu- ous word with a variety of meanings; it often refers in modern terminology to the making of a will, and it also means "contract" or "covenant." In the Bib- lical sense of the word "testament," God is one party to an agreement, and mankind to another ; man agrees to obey and abide by the will of God in exchange for blessings and divine protection and guidance. In 5 6 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT other words, there is a reciprocal exchange of wor- ship and blessing. Thus the Bible deals with the relation of man to God. The Old Testament (or con- tract) was based on "the Mosaic ministry of condem- nation and death" told vividly in the story of Adam and Eve and in the giving of the Ten Commandments. In the appearance of the various documents of the New Testament, it became increasingly apparent and realized that God had, in the life and death of Jesus, made a new covenant, or contract, or testament, with mankind. The distinction is sharply drawn in the ninth chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews. In its final form the New Testament is a peculiarly miscellaneous, heterogeneous series of documents. We call it, or miscall it, a book, and take it for granted, most of us, without stopping to consider its somewhat haphazard makeup. Our fathers had it, our grandfathers possessed it, our ancestors owned it, and as Christian people we simply take it for granted. But there was a long time that the church did not have it: many Christians lived and died before it came into being. The church grasped firmly these docu- ments when brought finally into one collection, and did not debate or deny their authenticity, but gave them merely a somewhat belated ratification in the early councils, and settled their status by a common Christian consciousness rather than by scientific criti- cal judgments. For instance, the Letter of Jude sur- vived through a combination of incalculable circum- stances which we at this late day can no longer recon- struct. Galatians deals purely with a local episode and an obsolete problem, yet it has survived and is THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 7 still valuable in spiritual battles, just as the song "America" with its lines "I love thy rocks and rills, Thy woods and templed hills," obviously reflects the landscape of New England with white meeting-houses on the hills and the sentiments of a Yankee parson, yet is national in patriotic appeal. Who wrote the New Testament ? When was it writ- ten? Where was it written? And why was it writ- ten? It is, after all, the last question that is most important. The authorship is purely a secondary affair; so is the time of its being written; so is the place; and possibly no one knew these things better than those who wrote it. No "book" or document is dated ; the identity of the authors of a number of them is uncertain, and probably never will be known with assurance; nor is it important for practical purposes to know absolutely. In many cases the names of the authors placed at the heading of certain documents like Hebrews, Ephesians, and the Fourth Gospel are merely editorial opinion, and later research and inves- tigation has tended to modify or to reverse the origi- nal verdicts. WHY these documents came into exist- ence is by far the greatest and most important ques- tion. Were they written under the impulse to "get into print," as many a modern scribbler with the literary scabies tries to do? Was fame the goal of the authors? Obviously not, because many are very unskilled in workmanship, such as Ephesians, Mark, and Revela- tion, and are written by people apparently not used to writing (we are now speaking of the original Greek 8 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT texts). Each document seems to reflect some great urgency or vital emergency ; and no suggestion is con- veyed anywhere of its having been done for fame, for pay, or for literary practice. Moreover, one-third or more of the New Testament documents are anony- mous; the author's name at the head of these in each case, as has been said before, is merely a matter of editorial conjecture, and on a number of these there is hopeless disagreement among modern scholarsi The chief point, therefore, seems to be that for the most part they were written under the spell of an overmastering religious experience which the various authors wished to share with other people. This fact is betrayed in innumerable passages, — for instance the language of Paul, "The love of Christ overmasters us" (H Cor. 5:14), and in the language attributed to Stephen in Acts 7:55-60. Paul, in particular, is usu- ally most painfully excited or distressed when he writes ; his style is not only hurried but weighted with strain and stress; and, to cap the climax, the letters are usually impromptu and occasional, inspired by some emergency which must be immediately met and decisively overcome, if possible. Paul's letters, there- fore, are primarily local and contemporary in purpose, but thrilled throughout as they are by a burning re- ligious conviction, their universal element lives on and appeals to the present day Christian as much as to the first and second century Christian. The New Testament, then, is not only a series of miscellaneous documents; in its message it justifies the definition of Professor Bacon of being "the precipitate of the great- est period in the history of religion." III. THE STRUCTURE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT As we have seen, the New Testament is a series of miscellaneous documents, twenty-seven in all, over one-third of which are totally anonymous. It now re- mains to notice that somewhat curious manner in which these documents are arranged as they appear in the New Testament in its present form. They obviously are not placed in the time order in which they are written, for if such were the case I Thessa- lonians and Galatians would have to come first, and the Fourth Gospel possibly last, which would make a strange looking medley to eyes accustomed to the traditional order of arrangement. Therefore, other reasons must be sought for the latter than that purely of time order. Four very similar documents in form and subject- matter, commonly called the Four Gospels, stand first in the canon, or ratified and approved list. Four Gos- pels ! Such a phrase would doubtless have been shock- ing and ofifensive to the ears and minds of the early apostles. Paul very emphatically in Galatians (i : 6-9) says that there is no gospel but one, and "though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed," and proceeds in almost identical language to reiterate the statement. The Greek ver- sion of the New Testament is more accurate in this 9 lo THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT respect: it has "The Gospel" with a, b, c, and d as the four subheads. It is well worth while to notice that in the English version it is "Gospel According To," and not "By" Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, for the real author of the Gospel message is Jesus himself. The Gospel is the heart of the religious mes- sage of Christianity, and contains the precepts of Jesus with just sufficient fragmentary biographical details concerning his life to give an idea of the setting under which the words were spoken. They are not primarily biographies. Some of the Gospel messages are well done by their authors ; some are ill done ; all are sincere, straightforward, and vital. They are not loquacious, or descriptive, or laudatory, or argumen- tative for the benefit of the reader; they do not pre- tend to be purely chronicles; they were not primarily written for their historical value; in fact, they are mainly preaching. They all have a conscious religious message, built on the foundations of the apostles, prophets, martyrs, and saints, who were all builders, and Jesus is the cornerstone. Everyone felt at the outset when the documents of the New Testament were collected and ratified by the early church councils, and before and since that no doubt, the supreme, unchallenged importance of the Gospels ; hence, they come first in the New Testa- ment. They do not come in chronological order, for no one was interested primarily in the dates of their composition. Matthew's Gospel stands first simply because it was, and still is, the most popular, the most widely read and quoted. We pray the Lord's Prayer according to Matthew, we baptize and marry to his THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ii words, and we naturally prefer to quote his versions of the parables and miracles. Renan says that this Gospel is the greatest book which has ever been writ- ten, the most important book in the history of the world. Mark's gospel account, probably the first to have been written, and used by the authors of Mat- thew and Luke as the basis for their Gospels, comes second because of its marked similarity to Matthew in subject-matter and arrangement of materials, and be- cause both are generally considered to have been writ- ten by Jews. Luke's Gospel resembles its two pre- decessors to quite an extent, but differs from them sharply in adding brand new materials; hence, it is placed third in the canon. John's Gospel is last in order because of the universal consciousness on the part of the early church of its lateness in point of time. The first three Gospels are commonly desig- nated the Synoptic Gospels because they "see together" or from a common standpoint the principal facts of the life of Jesus. The Fourth Gospel is theology. Clement of Alexandria, one of the early church fath- ers, says that the synoptic writers wrote "bodily facts," but that John wrote a spiritual summary to crown those facts. As an example of the curious guesswork indulged by traditional New Testament expositors, some former commentators have said that Mark and Luke's Gospels, their authors not being apostles of the original twelve, have been "taken between" Mat- thew and John as pupils or proteges, as it were, which accounts for the position of these two Gospels in the canon, and for that of all four in their respective po- sitions. , , 12 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT The Acts of the Apostles comes after the Gospel as a sort of bridge between Jesus and the apostles, and as a connecting link between the gospel message itself and the epistles written by missionary apostles to churches and individuals. "Acts" here is an extremely awkward word. Whose acts? The Germans say "die Apostelgeschichte," or "Apostles' Acts," emphasizing the first word, but this does not remove the difficulty. Are they the acts of all the apostles? Except for a few subordinate labors of Philip and Barnabas and Stephen, the document concerns mainly Peter and Paul. All New Testament scholars have noted how the name of John is "peppered" into the Book of Acts in connection with that of Peter. The expression "Peter and John" occurs at least eight times, and "Peter with John" once ; but the reader notices that Peter does all the talking while John is present in name only. As someone has said, "John acts like a stowaway." An accurate title for this document more nearly, then, would be "The Acts of Peter and Paul." As to the Pauline epistles, Romans and Corinthians were certainly not the first of Paul's letters and Phile- mon last in order of writing, but these letters are ar- ranged in the New Testament in order of length. Romans has sixteen "chapters," which is a longer letter than most of us have ever written, and little Philemon brings up the rear of the procession. Was Hebrews written by Paul? If so, it would logically come between First and Second Corinthians. If not by the hand of Paul, it is precisely where it belongs, — the first and longest of the catholic (universal, general) letters. THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 13 Not everyone is agreed, after reading Revelation, as to just what is revealed, but it is said to be "things the must shortly come to pass" (Rev. i : i, the word "shortly" being an elastic word, of course). At least four diverse views are held by those who attempt an interpretation of this document, which is written in very bad Greek. The futurist interpreter believes the whole of it refers to events connected with the second coming of Jesus and the "end of the world." The historical interpreter professes to find pictorial de- scriptions of events dotted over the face of history from the early days of the church to the "end of the world." For instance, the various beasts of the book have been identified with such characters as Luther, Napoleon, and the last Kaiser of Germany. The spir- itual interpreter understands the document's symbolism to typify some good or evil principle common to every age of the world, much after the manner of Spenser's "Faerie Queen," which attempts the same thing. The preterist interpreter, which includes the majority of modern, unbiased scholars, finds in the book a reflec- tion of the conditions prevailing at the time of its writing. All recent evidence tends to prove that the reader of the second century saw more in the book than we do now. The New Testament of the Greek Orthodox Church rejects this document as apocryphal, and refuses it a place in the canon, which serves fur- ther to show the many-sidedness of the controversy which has raged for centuries about the authenticity and meaning of the document. IV. THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS. We have seen in our examination of the New Testa- ment documents that there are four very similar docu- ments standing in the front of the \procession, com- monly known as the Four Gospels; that the expres- sion "four gospels" would have been in all probability highly offensive to the ears of the early Apostles, since Paul says in Galatians i : 6-8 that there is no gospel but one, of which Jesus is the author; that because of their supreme, unchallenged importance they come first in the New Testament, and not because they were written first, for they were not. Paul's letters were the first New Testament documents to see the light of day. The Gospel is the heart of the religious mes- sage of Christianity, and consists of the precepts of Jesus to his followers, with an idea of the circum- stances under which they were uttered. Some are well-done; some are ill-done; all are sincere, straight- forward, and vital. They do not pretend to be chroni- cles ; they do not profess to have been written primar- ily for their historical value; they are mainly preach- ing. There is a great deal of gospel in the Book of Acts. The Gospel in its four divisions all have a conscious religious message, built on the foundation 14 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 15 of the apostles, prophets, martyrs, and saints, who were all builders, and Jesus is the cornerstone. By the time the remaining documents of the New Testa- ment are written, the church is built on Jesus not, as originally, the whole foundation, but upon the fol- lowers of Jesus as well. We have pointed out that many of the New Testa- ment documents are apparently written by men not much used to writing, and that some of them betray this artlessness. For instance, Mark is fond of the word "straightway," which occurs forty-two times in his gospel, and eleven times (in Greek) in Chapter i alone. It is a breathless way of saying, — "and then," — "and then,"^"and then," — to make the narrative in some manner crudely coherent. In Matthew 21:7, in speaking of Jesus riding the animal of the Triumphant Entry, the Greek version amazingly reads as follows: "And they brought the ass, and th« colt, and put on them their clothes, and set him ON THEM." In Luke's Gospel, Jesus leaves Galilee to go to Jerusa- lem in 9:51. In 9:52 we find him in Samaria. In 10: 38, he has entered a "certain village" where Mary and Martha live. In 13 : 32, he went "through the cities and villages, journeying toward Jerusalem." In 17: II, the following somewhat astonishing statement is made : "And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusa- lem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee" ! In 19 : i he has entered Jericho, in verse 29, Bethany, and in verses 41-4S, finally into Jerusalem. Nine chapters ! What Luke has done, of course, is to have found suddenly that he had on hand a bulk of materials about the ministry of Jesus given nowhere i6 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT else, and he crushes it into his narrative in these' chap- ters. It is painful from the literary standpoint, but from the religious, of course, is relatively unimpor- tant. In Luke 16:16-18, some interpolations are in- troduced vi^hich have nothing to do with the rest of the entire chapter, which has excited some wonder among scholars. We talk very confidently of the authors of the Four Gospels, just as though we were certain of their iden- tity. Yet every Gospel is anonymous, and the author gives no clue as to his person. The writers are as- toundingly self-efifacing. Therefore, it is better to say, as does Bacon, not the Gospel according to Mat- thew, which after all is only a tradition, but "The Matthean Tradition of the Precepts of Jesus," which is an accurate, scholarly title, and impairs in no man- ner the religious value of the document. Similarly, Mark and Luke, for reasons which will presently ap- pear, may be called the Petrine Tradition, and the Fourth Gospel, the Johannine Tradition. THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM The differences in the first three gospels are not as surprising as their likenesses when they are read side by side by means of a harmony. The common picture of the earthly life of Jesus behind the Synoptics must be quite close to the original. All three give the pre- cepts and biographical fragments of Jesus' life in prac- tically the same time order; often their phraseology is strikingly similar; and out of a grand total of 2890 verses in all three gospels, 450 verses are virtually THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 17 identical in thought and language. A close relation- ship, therefore, must surely exist among the three. THE IMPORTANCE OF MARK'S GOSPEL Although Matthew's Gospel has always been the most popular, and has therefore stood first among all the New Testament documents, in recent years the attention of Bible scholars has been turned more and more to Mark's Gospel. It is the shortest of the three, and very naturally serves as the starting-point in com- paring the Synoptics. Comparison has revealed that fifteen-sixteenths of Mark, — nearly all, — is embodied in Matthew, and almost as much in Luke. Since this is indisputable, Mark's Gospel may very appropriately be denominated the "Cinderella Gospel," which for years has lain among the ashes of neglect while its more elaborate sisters have carried off the palms of praise and attention, but which now has finally come into its own as probably the most important of all New Testament documents. For without Mark, there could have been no Matthew and Luke, in their pres- ent form at least. Because Mark writes a blunt, jour- nalistic, brief, pictorial style, after the Mark Twain fashion, he was called in the early church, "Old Stub- Finger," and his gospel the "Stub-Fingered Gospel." If Mark is the oldest Gospel, and the basis for the other three, where did he get his material? An an- cient church father of the first century, Papias, bishop of Hierapolis, according to Eusebius, says, "Mark, being the interpreter of Peter, wrote down what things he remembered that the Lord had said or done," and goes on to say that they are not in time order, but i8 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT that nothing important is omitted. Peter could not speak Greek, and used Mark as his interpreter to the Greek-speaking audiences of the West. Mark had recounted them over and over, and when "the living document," Peter, was dead, Mark sat down and wrote down "what he remembered," which accounts in full for the rough, informal, descriptive, miscellaneous character of his document. The death of the Apostle Peter was the event that precipitated the writing of the first Gospel. The Gospel of Mark has aptly been called "The Memoirs of the Apostle Peter." Curi- ously enough, everything is written from the stand- point of the Apostle Peter : everything happens when Peter is present; Peter does considerable talking; Jesus talks chiefly to Peter. It is honestly done, for Jesus' rebukes of Peter are given with their original vigor. Mark merely draws back the curtain on the life drama he is recording. He is wholly neutral and unemotional. Had he commented personally on his Gospel, he probably would have played havoc with his materials. He is non-theological and objective. So much cannot be said for Matthew and Luke, who color their narratives to suit special purposes. Finally it may be said that if Mark had any model in mind for his Gospel narrative, it was probably I and II Kings of the Old Testament. For wherever Mark is able, he parallels the life of Jesus with that of Elisha and Elijah. THE GOSPELS OF MATTHEW AND LUKE A comparison of Matthew and Luke shows that both do two things: (i) They follow Mark's narrative; THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 19 and (2) they have materials common to each other not given by Mark. This second material is called by all New Testament scholars Q, which is the initial letter of the German word "Quelle," meaning simply "source." Therefore, algebraically we may say, Matthew = Mark + Q. A further examination will show that Luke has, in addition to Q, an infancy narrative not given by Mat- thew, and a section called the Perean Section which describes the trip to Jerusalem previously discussed, and which contains the Parables of the Prodigal Son, the Rich Man and Lazarus, the Good Samaritan, etc., which are given alone by Luke. Therefore, in express- ing Luke algebraically it is necessary to say, Luke = Mark 4- Q -f- an Infancy Narrative -f- a Perean Section. But what is Q? The answer is briefly that Q is simply a document, now lost, containing a Collection of the Sayings of Jesus. Matthew and Luke wrote with Mark's narrative and this document lying before them. Q contains, for instance, the Sermon of John the Baptizer (Matt. 3:7-12 and Luke 3:7-9 and 16, 17) ; the Temptation Dialogue (Matt. 4: 3-10 and Luke 4: 3-12) ; the Sermon on the Mount, which contains the Lord's Prayer (Matt. 6 and Luke 11) ; the Parables by the Lakeside (Matt. 13 and Luke 13); and the Invec- tive against the Pharisees (Matt. 23 and Luke 11). These, it will be noticed, are collections of precepts and sayings. Therefore, if one were asked, How many times, and where, does the Lord's Prayer occur in the New Testament? our above algebraic formula, if re- called, will solve our memory problem. Since it is Q 20 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT material, the Lord's Prayer will be found twice in the New Testament, — in Matthew and Luke. These are important principles for students of the New Tes- tament, who should be sure that they understand them before leaving them. In our study of certain problems of the life of Jesus, we shall refer to these formulas again. A TRADITIONAL VIEW OF THE FOUR GOSPELS AND THEIR AUTHORS (i) MATTHEW.— What little we know of the tra- ditional Matthew is confined to the four Gospels, and they give but little. He was originally known as Levi, son of Alphaeus (Matt. 9:9; Mark 2: 14). His occu- pation previous to his discipleship was that of a pub- lican, or tax-gatherer, collecting passenger-tolls from the sea of Galilee (Matt. 9:9). After this farewell feast to his list of friends at his house in Capernaum (Luke 5:29), his name only appears in the list of the twelve, usually in connection with that of Thomas, who, like Matthew, was of a practical turn of mind (John 20:24-25). Simon Greenleaf, late professor of evidence in the Harvard Law School, commends the far-sighted wisdom of Jesus in selecting Matthew as a disciple. Here was a business man, a hated Roman tax-ferret, shrewd, calculating, cool, level-headed, and not liable to believe what he could not plainly see and hear. Yet Matthew wrote "the most important book which has ever been written," according to Ernest Renan (1823-1892), a French Orientalist, and a schol- arly observer. According to Harnack, a German au- thority, the Gospel According to St. Matthew was THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 21 written probably about 75 A. D. Matthew's Gospel was written primarily to the Jews, because: (a) He traces the ancestry of Jesus only back as far as Abraham, father of the Jewish race, while Luke traces it clear back to Adam, father of both Jew and Gentile. This was done probably as a concession to Jewish prejudice, and to maintain the sympathy of his readers. (b) Matthew never stops to explain Jewish terms and customs, for all Jews who read knew them al- ready (e. g., Matt. 5:22). (c) Matthew constantly and tactfully quotes the Old Testament to prove the Messiahship of Jesus. (d) Matthew, knowing the Jews to be a race of students, devotes much space to the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. S, 6, and 7), and much to parables and eschatology (end of the world). (e) Matthew exalts Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, and emphasizes his Jewish characteristics more than the other Gospels. (2) MARK. — The Gospel of Mark is the earliest and the shortest gospel, having been written about 70 A. D. according to St. Jerome and other early church fathers. Mark, or John Mark, first appears in the New Testament in Acts 12 : 12. His mother's name was Mary, a well-to-do and benevolent Christian of the early dangerous days of the church. Mark started with his relative, Barnabas, and Paul (Col. 4: 10) on their first missionary journey, but for some reason, commonly inferred as timidity, Mark turned back at Perga (Acts 12:25 and 13:13), much to Paul's dis- gust (Acts 15 : 36-40). Paul and Mark were afterward 22 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT reconciled (Col. 4:10; Philemon 24; II Timothy 4: 11), but thereafter Mark seems to have been a sort of private secretary to the apostle Peter (I Peter 5: 13), at whose dictation he wrote facts of his Gospel. Mark's Gospel was written primarily to the Romans, because : (a) Mark writes a terse, brief, Latin style. His gos- pel is short, and not a word is wasted. It is essen- tially a vivid narrative of action. (b) Mark stops to explain Hebrew terms and cus- toms (Mark 3: 17; 5 : 41 ; 7: i-ii ; 15: 34). Money is reduced to Roman units of currency (Mark 12:42; 14:5). See also Mark 13: 3. (c) Mark quotes the Old Testament very seldom. (d) Mark holds up Jesus as a King, having power over both the visible and invisible worlds, not as a prophet. (e) Mark appeals to Roman civilization as nearly on its own level as possible. The Romans worshipped power, and Mark gives a narrative of action and mighty deeds on the part of Jesus, as much as is pos- sible from the nature of his subject-matter. (3) LUKE. — The author of the third Gospel may have been Luke, "the beloved physician" (Col. 4: 14; II Tim. 4:11; Philemon 24), and narrator of the Acts of the Apostles (Compare Luke i : 3 with Acts 1:1). He accompanied Paul through Macedonia (Acts 16: 10; 20:6), back to Jerusalem (Acts 21:4, 15), and to Rome (Acts 27:2), as told by the "We-Sections" of the Book of Acts. Luke apparently was a converted Greek of high culture and broad sympathy, and like Matthew, a close observer. Dr. Hobart's treatise on "The Medical Language of St. Luke" endeavors to THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 23 show that Luke goes into more detail concerning the physical condition of sufferers who came to Jesus for relief (Luke 8:29; 8:43); and that he alone records the apparent bloody sweat in Gethsemane (Luke 22: 44). Luke has also been called the Social-Evangelist, for he records more concerning the teaching of Jesus in its social implications than the other three. Luke's Gospel was written primarily to the Greeks, because: (a) Luke himself was a Greek, and addresses his Gospel and the Book of Acts to his Greek friend, Theophilus (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1). (b) Luke's Gospel in the original Greek is written in the purest and most literary Greek of the four Gos- pels, and has a distinct literary preface (Luke i : 1-5). It is also more literary in that it shows more scholarly, painstaking research than the other Evangelists (Luke 1:3, 4). Over half of Luke's Gospel comprises ma- terial recorded by him alone. (c) Luke appeals to the cultured, philosophical, beauty-loving Greek mind. He alone records the five earliest Christian hymns: I. "The Ave Maria" : (Luke i : 28-33). n. "The Magnificat" : (Luke i : 46-55). HI. "The Benedictus": (Luke 1:68-79). IV. ■"The Gloria in Excelsis" : (Luke 2 : 13, 14). V. "The Nunc Dimittis": (Luke 2:29-32). Witness also the exquisite description of the First Christmas (Luke 2:8-15). (d) Luke traces the ancestry of Jesus back to Adam, ancestor of Gentile as well as Jew. (e) ,Luke appeals directly to the Greek outlook on life. V. THE COMPOSITION AND CONTENT OF THE FOURTH GOSPEL A comparison of the Fourth Gospel with the Synop- tic Gospels reveals some startling facts. The most startling, perhaps, of all, is the fact that the Jesus of the Fourth Gospel is strangely and incredibly differ- ent from the Synoptic Jesus. This fact has led mod- ern scholars to suspect that the Fourth Gospel is, in reality, not an historic presentation of the life of Jesus. "John perceived that the bodily (physical) Gospels had been written, and so wrote the spiritual Gospel," says Clement of Alexandria, and his successor, Origen. This may account for the fact that the Fourth Gospel contains so little of the Synoptic materials. It is ut- terly different in character and viewpoint, which leads us to ask. Is John moving in another field entirely, or is he giving t^s a new set of facts? Is it body versus body, or body versus spirit that must guide us in in- terpreting this document? Probably the latter. Was it written by a disciple of Jesus, namely the Apostle John, as the traditionalists and conservatives main- tain? Let us examine the document critically and analytically, and then draw, if we can, an unbiased conclusion. If Mark's Gospel, which is the basis of the other two Synoptics, is the transscribed record of an eye-witness (the Apostle Peter) of the whole min- 24 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 25 istry of Jesus, — then if the Fourth Gospel is the rec- ord of another apostle (John) also an eye-witness, the two must inevitably record the essential doctrines as spoken from the lips of Jesus without any fundamen- tal variance. 1. The Fourth Gospel contains no parables (unless in chapter 15 a somewhat rarefied form of one). 2. It contains no exorcisms (casting out of devils). 3. The word "pray" does not occur in the Greek at all, the word "talk" being used throughout. 4. The word "preach" does not occur. 5. The word "gospel" nowhere occurs. 6. The noun "hope" does not occur. 7. The word "wisdom" is never used. 8. The word "faith" is never used. 9. There is no concept o^ "serving" or "service." 10. There is no reference of sympathy for the "poor" (rather the opposite: see John 12:5-8). 11. "Love" occurs seven times as a noun, but only in the sense of affection for personal friends or acquaintances ; (in the Synoptics this word oc- curs but once: Jesus "loved" the Rich Young Ruler). 12. The word "know" (gnosco) occurs fifty-five times, and is made the sole basis of salvation. 13. The word "believe" occurs ninety-nine times and is made the sole basis of salvation. ( (If the reader will go through the Gospel carefully and underline this word and its grammatical variations with red ink, he will have the key as to the interpretation, purpose. 26 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT and the nationality of its author disclosed, as will be pointed out presently). 14. The word "Messiah" in this Gospel is not Jew- ish in scope, but means simply "Son of God." 15. There is no baptism unto remission of sins. 16. John the Baptist is merely called John. 17. There is no Sermon on the Mount. 18. The Synoptics have an open-air, outdoor land- scape and atmosphere of bird, tree, flower, grain, sheep, oxen, sunset: but John is aca- demic and intellectual in tone. 19. Moreover, the audience and spectators upon whose ears his messages fall and before whose eyes his deeds are performed is not the Synop- tic audience oi^ publican, sinner, harlot, Sad- duccee, widow, scribe, or child: the auditors, environment, words, works, are all different. The audience, in fact, is commonly referred to as "the Jews," — surely a strange and unnec- essary designation. 20. With the possible three exceptions of the mir- acles of the Loaves and Fishes, Walking on the Water, and the Healing of the Nobleman's Son, the miracles performed in the Fourth Gospel are not mentioned in the Synoptics. 21. In the Fourth Gospel Jesus speaks a new mes- sage, uses a new vocabulary, and assumes a new attitude toward mankind. He is not a Galilean Jestis or a missionary to the Jews, but their antagonist in attitude and language. 22. In the Fourth Gospel, Jesus, in violent contrast to his Synoptic attitude, rebukes people who THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 27 want miracles performed (e. g. his mother at Cana, 3:4; the Nobleman, 4 : 48 ; the sisters of Lazarus, 11:40). On the other hand he vol- unteers to perform them without being re- quested (e. g. the Lame Man at the Pool of Bethesda, 5:6; Feeding the Multitude, 6:5; the Blind Man, 9:3). They are not acts of pity, but proofs of his own deity and divinity. Natural affection is practically trodden upon. In other words, whereas in the Synoptics the cure is made dependent on faith, in the Fourth Gospel faith is made dependent on the cure, — a complete reversal of the process. 23. The Jesus of the Fourth Gospel is largely self- centered, egocentric. There is little or no kingdom of God or brotherhood of man doc- trine. The phrase "the kingdom of God" or "of heaven" occurs fifty-five times in Matthew ; if the Fourth Gospel was written by a disciple of Jesus, how could he ignore the central doc- trine of Jesus in the first three Gospels? 24. In the Fourth Gospel Jesus is ever talking of himself and his peculiar relationship to man and to God. He is primarily "the expounder of his own person." In fact, the pronoun "ego" in Greek occurs one hundred and fifty-five times apart from the verb in this document. In the Synoptics it is nearly always included in the first personal conjungation ,o^ the verb in Greek, as it also nearly always is in the Latin language. 25. Dealing further with this peculiar egoism of the 28 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT Fourth Gospel, we have the seven great "I Am's" (John 6: 35; 8: 12; lo: 7; lo: n ; ii : 25; 14 : 6 ; 15 : i ). These are plainly allegories used instead of parables in Jesus' debates writh the Jews. 26. In the Fourth Gospel there is no communion- service or "eating of flesh" in the Synoptic or Jewish sense. 27. Jesus washes his disciples' feet AFTER supper instead of before (13:4, 5), a violation of the Oriental custom. 28. There is no Transfiguration story. 29. There is no doctrine of the Second Coming. 30. There is no Garden of Gethsemane story. 31. Salvation is not based on the death of Jesus, as is the theology of Paul and the Synoptic writ- ers, but upon the life of Jesus. 32. Righteousness is not in doing, as in the Synop- tics, but in believing and accepting. Con- versely, Sin consists in disbelief and ignorance. 33. Salvation comes through knowledge and accept- ance. 34. Judgment is present, according to this Gospel, not future (12: 31). 35. The Fourth Gospel is a gospel of a few great ideas which are flung at the reader again and again : Incarnation, Regeneration, Revelation, and Illumination. The Incarnation of the pro- logue represents Jesus as the goal of Greek philosophy. The divine Logos has been em- bodied in human life. It is not the death but the life of Jesus that is the source of salvation : THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 29 it is the communication of life to life, the con- tagion of life. 36. John's Gospel is an attempt to marry reason and revelation, and an effort to relate faith (relig- ious experience) to knowledge (experience in the world, or in externalities). 37. The Fourth Evangelist has a dual conception of the character of Jesus which he keeps in ad- mirable balance: (i) Metaphysical, or the pre- existent, supernatural, incarnated Jesus ; and (2) the religious Jesus, who brings life to men. 38. It will be seen from (31) to (37) inclusive, above, that these concepts are typically Greek, not Jewish. The perfunctory reader of this Gospel may be startled to discover that it is a deliber- ate, splendid effort to do away with the neces- sity of a Judaistic conception of salvation, or rather, becoming a Christian through a Juda- istic entrance to Christianity. 39. Finally, as Professor Bacon says, "The whole group of Johannine literature combats Doke- tism, an obnoxious form of Gnostic heresy which sprang up at the end of the first cen- tury, repudiating the historicity of Jesus, and stigmatizing his whole career as a phantasm (dokesis). First and Second John (the Epis- tles) openly denounce Doketism, while the Gospel of John shows opposition to it only in the more careful statement of the Evangelist's exact meaning." ^ 1 B. W. Bacon, "The Making of the New Testament" (Henry Holt & Co., 1912), p; 23, et seq. 30 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 40. Professor E. F. Scott, of New York, the leading modern authority on this Gospel and its inter- pretation, defines it as "an effort to translate Christianity into Greek terms, and to trans- plant Christianity into Greek thought." 41. Turning from the contents of the Fourth Gospel which we find to be theological rather than biographical or historical, to its form, again we discover startling differences between it and the Synoptics, or Jewish literature in gen- eral. It is highly significant to note that in form it is mainly dialogue. Here, the life of Jesus will bear an analogy to that of Socrates as far as their biographers are concerned, Xeno- phon's "Memorabilia" being the Synoptic life of Socrates, and Plato's "Dialogues" being the Johannine version. 42. Some authors conceive the Fourth Gospel to be modelled after a Greek drama; the curtain rising on the wild ravines of the Jordan River, after the Heavenly prologue has been given, presenting the rugged figure of the Baptist, who announces himself merely as a passing character, and his ministry as a transitory event, compared to that which is to follow. The hero (Jesus), his followers, and his vil- ainous opponents (the Jews) who are ever conspiring against his life, lurking back in the shadows of the stage, and emerging finally vic- torious (the Crucifixion), after repeated and humiliating defeats, comprise the dramatic tri- angle. THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 31 Did, then, the Apostle John write the Fourth Gos- pel in accordance with ancient tradition? The pre- sumption is strongly against such a belief. The docu- ment is unmistakably Greek in thought, language, tone, and form. With the Apostle John as author, as Bacon says, it is necessary to suppose that John, after migrating to Ephesus, underwent a transformation so complete as to make him in reality another man ; and to attribute to this Galilean peasant an extreme degree of Philonic abstraction." ^ Compare, for instance, Jesus' intercessory prayer of John 17 to the Lord's Prayer in length, practicality, and ethical content. Another serious objection to the traditional Johannine authorship is to be found by appealing to the Synop- tics for information concerning the Apostle John, who has been somewhat dubiously identified with the "Be- loved Disciple" of the Fourth Gospel. Mark 3 : 17 identifies James and John, the sons of Zebedee and Salome, as being surnamed by Jesus as Boanerges, "Sons of Thunder," because of their fervor and elo- quence. In Luke 9 : 54, 55, a fiery, impetuous, revenge- ful spirit is shown, somewhat inconsistent with the clinging vine disciple of John 13 : 23, who appears for the first time only during the last twenty-four hours of the life of Jesus. More serious than these two in- stances, however, is the implication of Matthew 20: 20-23, which his readers gathered as fact by reading between the lines, that James and John did not long survive Jesus in this earthly life. Inadvertently, John 21 : 24 refers to the authorship 1 Ibid : pp. 313-213. 32 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT of the Fourth Gospel by the pronoun "we," using the Beloved Disciple as a literary tool, much as Koheleth used Solomon as a poetic monologuist in writing the book of Ecclesiastes. This form of pseudonymity was a common literary device of the ancient world. Says John 21 : 24 in part, "And we (the Ephesian editors, pupils, and successors of the Beloved Disciple) know that his (the Beloved Disciple's) testimony is true." The difficulty of identifying the author is of the book's own creation, somewhat purposely, we suspect. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. The Fourth Gospel is a restatement of Christianity in Greek terms, for Greeks, and by Greeks. This fact in nowise impairs or reduces its religious value and im- portance. It is not the author of the book but the book itself that counts. Martin Luther has said: "Whatever preaches Christ, that is apostolic, be it Judas, or Annas, or Pilate, or Herod; and whatever preaches not Christ is not apostolic, be it Peter, or James, or John, or Paul." The best consensus of ancient tradition and modern scholarship fixes the date of the document as probably no A. D. PART I : APPENDIX A. THE NEW TESTA- MENT MANUSCRIPTS Where do we get the original text of our New Tes- tament? There are in existence three very ancient manuscripts which answer this question for us. They are: I. The Vatican Manuscript. This most ancient of manuscripts has lain for five centuries in the Vatican at Rome, and is one of the precious treasures, of course, of the Roman Catholic Church. For hundreds of years the popes of Rome forbade scholars to examine it. Pope Pius IX, however, one of the most liberal pontifical authorities, finally ordered fac-similes made of it, which are now in the greater public libraries of all the world. The Vatican Manuscript is a vellum folio about a foot square, containing between 600 and 700 leaves, each page having three columns ; and the text is Greek, printed in capital let- ters throughout without spacing the words, which makes it difficult to read. Of the New Testament text, Mark 16:9-20 is missing in the original, although a spurious version is given, marked in the margin as doubtful (this is the primitive Gospel account of the 33 34 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT Resurrection of Jesus) ; and all the text after Hebrews 9 : 14 is gone. II. The Sinaitic Manuscript. This manuscript was discovered in May, 1844, by Constantin Tischendorf, a great German scholar, in St. Catherine's Convent at the base of Mt. Sinai, whither he had gone on a research mission. The monks refused to allow him to carry away more than a leaf or two out of the basket of old manuscripts; and for over fifteen years he strove vainly to get permission and assistance in getting pos- session of these precious documents. Fin- ally, in 1859, he received authority from the Emperor of Russia, and recovered the manu- scripts, which at last accounts were in the Library of Petrograd. In this document again Mark 16: 9-20 is missing. It has four columns to a page. III. The Alexandrian Manuscript. This, the young- est of the three major manuscripts, was pre- sented to Charles I in 1628 by the Patriarch of Constantinople, seventeen years too late to be of service in the King James Version of 161 1. It has two columns to a page, and much of the materials are missing or de- fective. PART II JESUS AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD II. JESUS AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD I. The Birth of Its Founder. — Jesus, who is com- monly called the Christ, was born in Bethlehem of Judea, a tiny village about six miles southeast of Jerusalem. The exact date of his birth is altogether uncertain, but by almost universal traditional agree- ment it has been set at December 25, 6 or 4 B. C. The father of Jesus (Luke 2:48) was Joseph, a poor car- penter of Nazareth in Galilee, and through him the first and third Gospel writers trace back the ancestry of Jesus (Matt, i: 1-16; Luke 3:23-38). His mother was Mary, an attractive but humble and devout wo- man, and Jesus was her first-born son (Luke 2:7), the eldest of a family which was to comprise at least four more sons, James, Joseph, Simon, and Jude, and two or more sisters (Matt. 13:55, 56; Mark 6:3). The parents of Jesus were in Bethlehem at the time of his birth to pay a poll-tax exacted from Jewish subjects by Augustus Caesar, emperor of Rome 31 B. C.-14 A. D. In conformity with an ancient Jewish custom the tax was paid not in the regular place of residence, but in the town where one's ancestors had originally lived as members of the twelve tribes of Israel. Thus Jesus was born near the spot where his distinguished ancestress, Ruth, was wed to Boaz 37 38 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMlENT (Ruth 4: 10), and where his regal forbear, David, kept his father Jesse's sheep a thousand years before (I Sam. 16:11). Due to the congestion in the inn at Bethlehem, Jesus appears to have been born in a nearby limestone cavern which served as a stable, in a rude trough from which horses, camels, and mules were fed, — a fact curiously prophetic of a life which was to be lived through its all too brief span in de- mocracy and poverty. Many beautiful traditions have clustered about the birth of the Founder of Christian- ity, some of which have been recorded by the Gospel writers, among them being the chorus of the heavenly host, the appearances of angels to persons most im- mediately concerned, and the doctrine of the virgin birth; but it must be recalled in this connection that the writers of the Gospel narratives lived in an ancient Jewish atmosphere of angelology and demonology, and have recoi'ded what they believed at the time to have been literal fact. In the references previously noted it will be observed that nowhere does the New Testament disavow that Joseph was not really the father of Jesus. 2. The Ancestry of Jesus. — In modern times science has been exploring the domain of heredity, genetics, and eugenics with eminently successful results. The study of man's life is no longer complete without some knowledge of his ancestral influences. The well- known studies of the Edwards, Jukes, and Kallikak families has revealed the fact that "good blood" and "bad blood" are realities, — that not only physical traits but mental characteristics and moral tendencies are passed down from one generation to the next. In a THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 39 very literal manner the sins of the parents are visited on the children to the third and fourth generation, but fortunately so are their virtues. It is not so hard to explain the apparent enigma of Abraham Lincoln when we discover that one of his progenitors was a grad- uate of Harvard College, and another a judge in the Massachusetts courts. Jesus of Nazareth was derived from the best line of ancestry that the world has ever known. Among the members of his family tree were Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Ja- cob, and Judah, according to Luke's genealogy; and Boaz and Ruth, David, Solomon, Asa, Jehosaphat, Zerubbabel, and Amos and Nahum, according to Mat- thew's. The discrepancy in the two genealogies after David has been named in each has never been satis- factorily explained, but doubtless one or the other is inaccurate. Kings, priests, pioneers, statesmen, schol- ars, and prophets and poets are among the celebrities numbered in the family history of Jesus. From Ruth may he not have inherited the determination to "set his face steadfastly toward Jerusalem" (Luke 9:51)? From Abraham "who went out, not knowing whither he was going, to look for the city which has founda- tions, whose builder and maker is God," that scorn of "safety first" embodied in the words, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me" and "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it" (Matt. 16 : 25, 26) ? 3. The Life of Jesus Prior to His Ministry. — The sentence of premature death was passed upon Jesus in less than twenty-four hours after his birth. Of the group that gathered around the infant in the first week 40 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT of his life, the shepherds, Simeon, Anna, and the scholars from the East, came to bless and wish him well, but as in the story of the sleeping princess, there came also one sinister, malignant face masked with hypocritical cunning to curse and to ruin. In a con- vulsion of anxiety the parents of Jesus fled precipi- tately into Egypt, where possibly they may have had relatives, and returned to Nazareth only after having ascertained that all danger was past, for Herod died soon after their flight. At Nazareth Jesus lived in obscurity and poverty, obtaining the synagogue edu- cation of his station in life, and working at the car- penter's bench with his father. Every Jewish boy must learn a manual trade irrespective of his academic training, and everywhere in his language Jesus betrays a working-class consciousness. After the only re- corded incident of his youth (Luke 2:41-52), it seems that Joseph died, leaving to his eldest son the task of supporting his mother and the rather large family of brothers and sisters. Until he was thirty years old, Jesus must have labored long and well at the car- penter's trade, and frequently in his later precepts he uses the argot of the craft. He became a horny- handed workman. It was his lot to go into the hills around Nazareth, to hew down the mighty trees, cut them into beams, and haul or drag them back to the shop. He made the rude furniture, the plows, the yokes, the coffins, the cradles, the cabinets, the boxes and the stools used in that day. He used the ax, the mallet, the chisel, the adz, and the plane. There was a mother dependent upon him and hungry brothers and sisters to be fed. To these years antedating his min- THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 41 istry the Gospel writers pay little or no heed. But the language of his active career reveals his occupa- tion and rural environment. We find such expressions as, "Take my yoke upon you" (Matt. 11 : 29, 30) ; "No man, having put his hand to the plough" (Luke 9 : 62) ; "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy- laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28); "The labourer is worthy of his hire" (Luke 10:7); "The harvest is plenteous, but the labourers are few" (Matt. 9:37; Luke 10:2); "Went out early in morning to hire labourers" (Matt. 20: i); "The burden and heat of the day" (Matt. 20: 12); "Built his house upon a rock" (Matt. 7:24); "Which of you intending to build" (Luke 14:28); "This man began to build, and was not able to finish" (Luke 14:30); "I will pull down my barns and build greater" (Luke 12: 18). References to green wood and to dry (Luke 23:31), hewing down trees for firewood (Matt. 7:19; Luke 3:9; John 15:6), to mending old garments (Matt. 9: 16), and to moth and rust (Matt. 6: 20) are significant of these years. They are the words of a strong man, whom a violent storm could not awaken as he lay asleep in an open boat (Mark 4:38). Best of all are those magnificent words which are a challenge to every idler and parasite in the world : "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work ... I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day, for the night cometh when no man can work" (John 5 : 17 and 9:4). 4. The Ministry of John the Baptizer. — John the Baptizer.was a first cousin of Jesus, and was born six months before the latter, probably in Juttah, "a city in the hill-country of Judea," in southernmost Pales- 42 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT tine, near Hebron (Luke i : 39, 57). As he grew to manhood, John left the home of his father, Zacharias, and dwelt a solitary hermit in the wilderness of Judea along the northern edge of the Dead Sea (Luke i : 80). In his dress this rugged, sun-bronzed recluse imitated Elijah (H Kings 1:8), and for food ate locusts and wild honey, a primitive diet similar to that still in- dulged in by some Asiatic peoples. Here in the soli- tary wilderness, under a sky copper-colored by day- time with the air full of a quivering, invisible tropic flame, and by night companioned by the desert stars which globed themselves one by one in the heavens like great balls of fire suspended in a purple vault, John lived in solemn communion with nature and the God of nature. About him were great ledges of scarred rock upon which the viper's brood nestled; the deep ravine of the Jordan extended to the north; and at his feet lay the leaden, bitter-alkali waters of the Dead Sea, the lowest spot in the world. It is vir- tually impossible to explain the revelation of God to John without coming to believe that it was made in part through the medium of nature. The very frag- ments of sermons of his which are preserved to us reflect the landscape of the wilderness in which he lived and moved and had his being: the viper's brood fleeing before the fires which at times consumed the vegetation (Luke 3:7); the precipitous gashes in the rocks, the pathless ways neither straight nor smooth under foot (Luke 3:5); the blasted tree (Luke 3:9); the rocks over which he had trod these many years (Luke 3:8). John the Baptizer was a child of na- ture ; he was not a product of the educational and ec- THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 43 clesiastical influences of his time; he was in every re- spect a "free lance." Doubtless the parents of John had often talked to him in childhood and youth of the angelic visitation which was the prologue to his birth, and of the mission which had been mapped out for him when he lay in the cradle. Naturally, when the voice of the strange, fiery, impetuous preacher, with his wild, hermit-like appearance, his bronzed, weather-beaten countenance and unshorn hair, began to echo back and forth from the scarred cliffs, flinty boulders, and frown- ing ledges of the Jordan canyon, Palestine was elec- trified from center to circumference. As Lange has said: "He was like a burning torch, and his public life was like an earthquake." Great crowds thronged from all parts of Palestine to see and hear the wonder- ful preacher, who like General William Booth, "lashed with burning words the enemies of God." According to the Fourth Gospel, a deputation of Pharisees was sent from the authorities in Jerusalem in view of John's tremendous popularity, to require him to es- tablish his identity as a prophet. To these ,he gave contemptuous attention, and their ultimate report seems to have been : "He hath a devil !" (Matt. 11 : 18). John's great message was also electrical: the long looked for kingdom of God promised in the Old Testa- ment scriptures was about to appear; the vicegerent of God who was to usher it in was about to appear; the preparation to enter the kingdom must include repentance for past sins to be evidenced by a symbolic application of water or washing in the River Jordan, the outward sign of an inward cleansing, known as "baptism." Because of this brand new symbol which 44 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT he had introduced, John was known as the "Baptizer" or "Baptist." 5. The Temptation of Jesus: A Modem Conceptioti of the Devil. When the news of John his cousin's preaching reached up into Nazareth of Galilee, Jesus the car- penter recognized the signal, and knew that his hour had struck. Laying aside his leathern apron and his rule, the adz and the plane, he left the home in which he had spent the thirty years of his life (Luke 3 : 23), and joined the vast throngs which gathered near the Dead Sea basin. In the course of time he submitted himself to John as a candidate for baptism. His cou- sin was thunderstruck at the request. "You are the one of whom I have been told all my life," said he, in effect ; "if that is true, it would be better for you to baptize me, than the reverse." Jesus insisted upon undergoing the rite, in this manner setting a laudable example to his future followers, and, should he be accepted by his people, to acknowledge thus publicly the genuineness of John's mission as a prophet. From his baptism, in which he was publicly proclaimed by John as the Messiah who was to usher in the kingdom long expected, Jesus retired into the wilderness to ponder his future public course of action, much as Paul retired into Arabia after his conversion to plan his program of action (Gal. i : 17) before attempting it. The temptation of Jesus is still naively interpre- ted by our traditionalist commentators, because the equally naive Gospel writers give it in dialogical form. THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 43 — a drama spoken by two human actors in actual phys- ical speech. Mark only gives one verse to the temp- tation of Jesus, and does not state of what the temp- tation consisted. Matthew and Luke are more ex- plicit. Where did they get their apparent stenographic report of the conversation between Jesus and the "devil"? Obviously, it is Q material, and if authentic, Jesus himself must have told it later to his friends and followers. What were the temptations? They were auto-suggestions that he introduce himself to the public in harmony with the prevailing and popular con- ceptions of what the Jewish people expected the Mes- siah to be. They expected a military Messiah, a knight clad in glittering armor on a prancing warhorse, to come, to raise an army to follow his standard, to over- throw the despotism of the Roman empire, and to make Jerusalem the capital of the world. The three temptations given in Matthew's order were respec- tively: (a) a selfish Messiahship; (b) a spectacular Messiahship ; and (c) a secular, or non-religious, or military, or despotic, Messiahship. Should he cast himself from a pinnacle of the temple and seek to awe the people by this startling feat? Should he enter Jerusalem with red fire, a brass band, a flying squad- ron, an imposing equipage of followers, a flag-bedecked retinue, and all the other accessories of political tri- umph? Should he seek to conquer the world at the point of the sword, as Mohammed later strove to do, and having conquered, convert ? The third temptation as given by Matthew finds a precise counterpart in the effort of the last Kaiser of Germany to vanquish all the nations of the earth first, and impose kultur upon 46 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT them as a condition of peace. That Jesus pushed aside all these suggestions proves his sanity, poise, and common sense, — that he was a man for the ages. Not by revolution but by evolution, not by social and po- litical upheaval, but by silent transformation, v^ras the method ultimately decided upon by Jesus. That there was a physical devil present is purely a primitive be- lief, and is preposterous from the modern point of view. That Jesus was tempted similarly many times after- ward is evident by comparing Matt. 4 : 10 with Matt. 16:23, and from passages like Matt. 16:1-5; 26:68; and 27 : 40-43. 6. The Kingdom of God. — It will be observed that this general division of the study of the New Testa- ment may be called problems of the life of Jesus. At this point in our discussion, if we are following pre- eminently a scientific method, we may as well frankly admit that further progress is impossible in a truly accurate biography of Jesus. The facts of his life are professedly fragmentary, occasional, and not in chron- ological order in the Synoptics, and it is folly to en- deavor to rearrange them in a manner which purports to be historically final and unimpeachable. The fate of the life of Jesus was transference of the facts of his career by a generation or two of oral tradition from ear to ear, mouth to mouth, and life to life, until the accretions were permanently recorded as "facts." His brief span of life and the slender means at his disposal to accomplish his purposes, naturally cause problems to arise in his life and to remain. We have no phono- graphic or motion picture records of his life ; and it. is grotesque to withhold from a study of the historic THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 47 phenomena of the New Testament our learning, sci- ence, and art, as has long been done. What did Jesus set about to accomplish in his brief span of life? What central idea occupied his mind? Does a reading of the Synoptics reveal the latter? If so, will not a scien- tific approach to the New Testament documents neces- sarily concern itself, not with a futile endeavor to re- arrange the chronological details of the life of Jesus, but with what that life in its recorded fragments sought to achieve? With such a program, the biographical details become secondary as they should be ; for it will be recalled that the four Gospels are primarily the precepts of Jesus with only incidental reference to the historical circumstances under which they were ut- tered. A reversal of the process leads to hopeless con- fusion, or has to date, and to endless academic dis- sension and historical speculation. The phrases "The kingdom of God" or "of heaven" are expressions which occur in one form or the other 122 times in the four Gospels. Of these, 55 are found in Matthew, 19 in Mark, 44 in Luke, and 4 in the Fourth Gospel. Usually these expressions fall from the lips of Jesus. This idea was not invented by the religious genius of Jesus, but was inherited by him from the history and prophecy of his race. It was a hope born of the centuries of Israel's wanderings and sufiferings as a nation : to Isaiah and Jeremiah the Kingdom hope was spiritual; to the New Testament age it was materialistic, military, and worldly, and hardly to be ushered in by a humble carpenter from the backwoods district of Galilee, — a man not bred in the priestly circles of the nation. The kingdom of 48 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT God as promulgated by Jesus and promised by him and John the Baptizer is not clearly defined anywhere in the New Testament. Jesus nowhere describes the kingdom of God, mainly because it was a national hope, not in any respect new, and because his hearers understood what he meant by the expression. The kingdom of God was to be a Golden Age for the Jewish nation, but beyond that opinions dififered as to what would characterize it. To some it meant universal worship of God on earth, and in the Lord's Prayer, Jesus advances this conception of it. To others it meant a reign of justice, with every man under his own vine and fig-tree in peace, prosperity, and con- tentment. Some considered Satan as reigning on earth, and God's promised reign not yet precisely and exclusively operative, and therefore to them it meant the kingship of God on earth as in heaven. Some thought that God would herald his coming on earth to reign over or among men by a prophet of the type of Elijah. The transcendent God, remote and pure, it was believed would need an agent, a proxy, a vice- gerent, a delegate, a Messiah, to destroy the old world order; hence "Messiah" became inevitably associated with a military significance in the popular mind. The military Messiah coming in shining armor as represen- tative of the Most High God would do away com- pletely with poverty, sickness, sin, and Roman des- potism. Now the fact is that Jesus constantly said, "The kingdom of God is at hand," and in his failure (as he determined resolutely not to do in his personal struggles with temptation) to bring it to pass visibly and materially before the eyes of his fellow-country- THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 49 men, he was a bitter, and to many a blasphemous, dis- appointment. He had presumed to be the Messiah; but he had failed to upset the old order of things as far as could be seen. Does this help us to understand the bitterness behind the cry, "Crucify him"? More- over, Jesus teaches the kingdom as a future state, to come within the lifetime of that same generation (Mark 13:30), and often speaks of "receiving it" or "entering into it," as does nearly all the New Testa- ment. But one cannot give any calculating or pre- monitory signs of its coming as he can predict the coming of a storm by the clouds and lightning (Luke 17: 20-24) j and it will be bad news for some, for some will always be on the wrong side of the door (Matt. 25 : 10). In his delineation of the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth, Jesus used invariably one constant figure of speech to characterize its relation- ships, — that of the human family. His favorite anal- ogy was the Household of God. God is a Father ; men are his children; therefore, men are all brothers and should conduct themselves as such; and God loves and forgives his children as a kind earthly father would do (Luke 15:11-32) if man will reciprocate this afifection and obey Him. The human family was the nearest comparison, or metaphor, that Jesus could conceive, to make plain to his fellow-countrymen the coming divine order on earth which it had become his task to reveal. 7. The Constitution of the Kingdom of God (Mat- thew s, 6, 7: The Sermon on the Mount). — Probably early in his ministry Jesus promulgated the Great Manifesto of the New Freedom, the Sermon on the so THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT Mount. This may or may not have been uttered in its totality in a single address. Matthew tends to ar- range his Q materials topically rather than chrono- logically (e. g., he groups the parables by the lakeside. Matt. 13, in a single unit of material), which must leave forever uncertain their time order and relation- ships. Luke's version of the Sermon (Luke 6:20 on) contains only thirty verses as over against the one hundred seven of Matthew, and introduces nothing new save the "four woes" (Luke 6:24-26). The Ser- mon on the Mount should be studied clause by clause as the Constitution of the Kingdom of God. It is a sort of spiritual autobiography of Jesus, and reveals a religious genius of such high order as the world has never seen before or since. The preamble of this con- stitution is comprised of eight so-called beatitudes, the first of which being the one from which the seven following evolve. The second, fourth, and sixth beati- tudes deal with man's inner life toward God, while the third, fifth, seventh, and eighth deal with man's life as it should be manifested in its outward relation- ships toward one's fellow-man. Matthew 5 : 13-20 are critical and diplomatic assertions. Jesus makes it plain that he believes that the Jews are indeed the salt which is to preserve the world from spiritual de- cay, and the light which is to shine in the world-wide darkness of heathenism, provided they do not lose sight of their high religious mission. Moreover, he explicitly declares that he has not come to destroy the law or the prophets of the Old Testament, but to give them their true spiritual fulfilment. Jewish Chris- tians, in fact, are to observe the inner meaning of those THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 51 teachings even more scrupulously than the scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 5 : 20). Jesus then proceeds to state what he considers the inner reality of certain typical commandments handed down by Moses. The Law of Murder is revised to extend to the feelings which in- spire murder, as well as to the committing of the deed ; the Law of Adultery to thoughts of evil; the Law of Oaths to every kind of foolish and needless oath. The Law of Retaliation, having been a relic of a more primitive and barbarous day, is now unnecessary to preserve the safety of the community, and is abolished : and there is suggested in its stead a law of self-re- straint and self-discipline to the furthest endurable limit. In fact, perfection itself should be the goal of the spiritual life (Matt. 5:48). All Christian acts, — prayer, fasting, alms, the exercise of talents (Matt. 7 : 6), seeking higher and nobl6r ideas (7:7), the choice of teachers (7:15), and all forms of active service (7 : 21 ), — must be done solely with reference to the love of God, and not for personal publicity. The man or woman who takes heed of these lessons has built his life upon a solid foundation, which the winds and storms of adversity can never shake (7 : 24, 25). 8. The Lord's Prayer: A Modern Conception of Prayer. — In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught his disciples a model prayer. It was short and to the point, involving a few big principles of prayer as he conceived them. When praying, we should recognize God ("Our Father") first of all, for, as the author of the Letter to the Hebrews remarks, "For he that cometh to God must believe that God exists" (Heb. 11:6). Secondly, a spirit of reverence is essential in 52 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT prayer ("Hallowed be thy name"). Thirdly, we are to pray for the kingdom of God to come on earth, — to pray for our community, state, and nation, — before praying for ourselves ("Thy kingdom come"). Fourth- ly, personal needs are secondary to the broader needs of the world and humanity at large ("Give us this day," etc.). Last of all, we should pray to acquire strength actively to resist all temptation, but once being in, to be delivered from the same ("And forgive us our shortcomings, as we also forgive those wh& have failed in their duty toward us"). In modern times, is prayer becoming a lost art? If fewer people pray today than formerly, why should it be so? Jesus believed in the efificacy of prayer. What is prayer? Is it long-distance communication with God? Emer- son defines prayer as looking at the facts of life from the highest point of view. What value has prayer in modern life? These are perplexing questions to many of the younger generation. If prayer is unpopular, wherein does the difficulty lie? We believe it to be due to misconceptions or to outworn conceptions of the true nature and function of prayer in the lives of men. If we continue to look at prayer as supernatural, long-distance communication, we have a singularly unscientific and valueless conception. Emerson must have been right in his summary of the nature and function of prayer. If we eliminate the supernatural element in prayer, we at once find something strangely electric, vital, and compelling. Prayer assumes a new function and aspect. Let us consider briefly a modern conception of praying: (a) Prayer, when one stands on his feet and offers THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 53 sincere, straightforward, impelling words of faith and optimism, is a heroic, and not a flabby affair. (b) Prayer keeps us sensitive to the higher ethical influences of life. (c) Prayer makes us constantly take measure of ourselves and others by our highest ideals. (d) Prayer thus strengthens one's forces for seem- ingly insurmountable tasks. (e) Prayer inspires the spirit of reverence for God, for humanity, and for the works of God : "for what is over us, for what is around us, and for what is under us." (f) Prayer is the greatest refining influence in life. It should be an expression of the genuine fibre of life, not artificial or assumed, not inflated or bombastic, not sentimental or sickly and pale. With these points in mind, let us consider, for prac- tical purposes as well as to show further the nature and function of true prayer in modern life, some "do's" and "don't's" which apply to prayer. I. First, let us consider prayer negatively. The negative treatment will serve two purposes : first, to show why prayer tends to become unpopular; second, to show one how to avoid pitfalls in praying. (a) Do not pray lengthy prayers. Wordy, long prayers weary an audience rather than key it up. Remember that the Lord's Prayer is a model from the standpoint of brevity. A certain church has recently published a volume of "One-Minute Prayers." Three minutes is an excellent average length for a prayer. (b) Do not pray prayers of flattery and adulation of God. Do not fill a prayer with "soft soap." 54 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT (c) Do not pray vociferously, as though God were deaf. Battering the throne of grace is a physical rather than a spiritual exercise. (d) Do not pray dismal prayers. Sin, sickness, death, and misfortune are indeed facts to be faced, but not unduly dwelt upon or minutely dissected under the circumstances of prayer. (e) Do not pray the sentimental, sickly humility type of prayer. SENTIMENTALITY IS THE DEADLIEST OFFENSE AGAINST PRAYER. (f) Do not pray for suspension of the laws of na- ture, or for miracles. (g) Do not pray retaliative prayers. "Praying at" one's audience is extremely unethical. (h) Do not pray selfish, egocentric prayers, or eth- nocentric prayers. (i) Do not imagine that posture is an essential to successful prayer. The Jew prayed standing up (Luke i8: ii). (j ) Do not pray bombastic, inflated, egotistic pray- ers to demonstrate one's command of language or elo- cutionary ability. II. Second, let us consider prayer positively and constructively, as a vital, impelling life-force. (a) Pray briefly. (b) Pray hopeful, optimistic prayers for the most part. (c) Pray thoughtfully and reflectively, weighing one's words. (d) Pray with frankness, sincerity, and straight- forwardness. (e) Pray always earnestly. THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 55 (f) Pray aspiring, constructive prayers. (g) Pray to God as vital and near at hand, in the same room (Acts 17:27, 28). (h) Pray first for others, — for the needs of the com- munity and the world. (i) Pray for the multiplication of one's own en- ergies. (j) Pray to be of greater service in the world, — to be useful in the world, and not a parasite or a worm. (k) Pray more preventive and fewer curative pray- ers, remembering the old adage. (1) Use the Lord's Prayer as a model prayer, "the pearl of prayers," the little white paternoster, as Victor Hugo has termed it. 9. The Promotion of a Spiritual Kingdom. — One of the first acts of Jesus as teacher was the organization of a select group of disciples, twelve in number, who with a careful intensive training from him might spread with a minimum of confusion and misconception, the doctrine of the kingdom of God. When the disciples finally became apostles (i. e., active workers instead of mere learners. Matt. 10: i, 2), they paired ofiE in an interesting manner after the ancient custom of Jewish rabbis, who traveled in pairs in order to discuss the Law with one another. The two brothers Peter and Andrew went together ; James and John, also brothers, known as Boanerges (Matt. 3 : 17) from the fervor and intensity of their dispositions; Philip and his friend Bartholomew (Nathanael: John 1:43); "doubt- ing" Thomas and shrewd Matthew, both of a practical trend of mind; James and his brother Jude (Thaddeus, or Lebbaeus), of whom we know almost nothing; and 56 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT Simon the Zealot (or Canaanite), an anti-Roman poli- tician and schemer, and Judas Iscariot, treasurer of the apostolic group, and a still darker plotter than his companion. That these pupils never fully learned that Jesus conceived the kingdom of God to be spiritual instead of worldly is evident from Matthevir 20 : 20-28, Luke 24: 21, and similar passages. That the people at large never conceived Jesus as a Messiah, never asso- ciating a humble carpenter with that exalted position, is evident in Matt. 16:14, 21:11, Luke 24:19, John 18:33, aiid Acts 2:22. 10. Christianity as a Religion of Adventure. — Under no consideration did the Prophet of Nazareth ever assert that Christianity would ever be anything else than a religion of challenge and risk until the kingdom of God was firmly established on earth. Nothing could be more fatal to Christianity than to have it lose its spirit of pioneering and achievement. A nursing-bot- tle Christianity will never appeal to the spirit of youth. Youth cries out for adventure, and to the extent that this element is missing in religion, just to that extent will it lose its influence in young lives. Jesus never taught for a single minute that his religion was to be a tranquil, stay-at-home, "safety-first" brand. A cer- tain scribe once came to him, and said, "Master, I will follow you wheresoever you go." And Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." Another of his disciples said to him : "Sir, permit me first to go and bury my father." "Follow me," was the answer, "and leave the (spiritually) dead to bury their (physi- cal) dead!" (Matt. 9: 19-22). The whole of Matthew THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 57 10 is a forecast of the baptism of blood and tears Chris- tianity must undergo from a misunderstanding and "let-well-enough-alone" world. "I am come," said Jesus, "not to send peace, but a sword" (Matt. 10: 34). "He that loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loves son or daugh- ter more than me is not worthy of me. He that is un- willing to take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He that saves his life shall lose it; and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it" (Matt. 10:37-39). There is nothing namby-pamby about a religion of grim possibilities like this. While teaching his message publicly on a certain occasion, his mother and brothers stood at the edge of the crowd, desiring to speak to him. - Someone told him, "Your mother and your brothers stand without, and desire to speak to you." "Who is my mother," asked Jesus of his informant, "and who are my brothers ?" and pointing to his disciples he added, "Behold here my mother and my brothers; for whosoever shall do the will of God, that is my brother, my sister, and my mother !" (Matt. 12:46-50). Something of his sternness of doctrine is indicated also by Matt. 15: 14 and 26. In Matthew 16 are repeated some of the admonitions of Chapter 10: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever shall save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in ex- change for his soul ?" (Matt. 16 : 24-26). To the mother of James and John he asked : "Are your sons able to S8 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT drink of the cup (of martyrdom) that I shall drink of, and be baptized with the baptism (of blood) that I am baptized with?" (Matt. 20:23). Upon their affirma- tion that they were able, he responded : "The greatest person of all is he who serves his fellow-men the most." The rich young ruler wanted to do some one heroic thing by which he could win eternal life, and Jesus gave it to him, — of selling his possessions, taking up his cross, denying himself, and becoming an active pro- moter of the kingdom like the rest of the disciples. The offer was refused, because the risk seemed too great to the mind of one nurtured in luxury. The flaming denunciation of the Pharisees in Matthew 23 gives evidence of great virility and courage on the part of Jesus. It would be well for the New Testa- ment reader to read the Synoptics to notice the calls to service, self-denial, and spiritual warfare and its incident physical anguish and hardships ; and the caus- tic comments of Jesus upon the faithlessness, perver- sity, blindness, and self-sufficiency of his own genera- tion. Jesus had no use for hypocrisy, sham, and a religion of externals and make-believe. He had no patience with the ridiculous Blue Law Sabbath which prohibited a man from very sensibly rescuing live stock from unfortunate accidents (Matt. 12: 11), from preparing food for one's self and friends if hungry (12:3, 4), and from relieving physical distress (Matt. 12: 10-13), on the Sabbath Day. The doctrine of un- washed hands meant nothing to him (15:2-9); clean and unclean foods had no spiritual significance what- ever (15: 11); the practice of fasting was not incum- bent upon his disciples (9: 14, 15) ; to him the condition THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 59 of the heart was everything, and these externalities nothing except as aids to that condition, to be dis- pensed with easily were that state of heart once at- tained. There is nothing in the religion of Jesus, barring possibly his purely prescientific concepts, such as angelology and demonology, that conflicts with sanity and common sense. Religion to Jesus meant aspiration and attainment through self-sacrifice and suffering; the Cross looms up forever as the emblem of personal sacrifice to the last degree, — the laying down of one's life for an ideal. This was the ideal of the Pilgrim Fathers who settled America in 1620. Of them F. G. Peabody has well said: "Not to play safe, but to face risks for a great cause ; not to save life in England, but to lose it in the wilderness ; not to cling passively to the Cross of Christ, but to take up their own cross and carry it, — such were the marks of the Pilgrim character. . . . Religion to them had its own limitations of form and doctrine, but it was funda- mentally chivalric, venturesome, courageous; not the religion of the stay-at-home, but the religion of the adventurer." ^ Such, indeed, was the spirit of the founders of Christianity.^ II. The Miracles of Jesus: A Modem Conception of Miracles. — The ancient world at the time the New Testament was written had not evolved the modern scientific concept of nature as a causal nexus (chain) of interrelated laws, governed by the relationship of cause and effect. Modern science teaches that for 1 New York "Times," October 17, 1920. 2 Bunyan's conception of the Christian life in "Pilgrim's Progress" as a series of struggles is quite in harmony with that of Jesus. 6o THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT every phenomenon or "effect" in nature there must have been a cause, however obscure and puzzling the latter may seem to us. We no longer look at big phe- nomena as "supernatural" in origin, but somewhere as the effects of certain definite, scientific causes. For instance, it was formerly believed that the thunderclap and stroke of lightning were the anger of God or of a god, but modern physics teaches that these phenomena are the effects caused by the collision of two masses of vapor, one charged with positive, the other with negative, electricity ; and that in any case the collision is purely accidental. Therefore, if any "miracle" can be explained from natural causes, it at once ceases to be a "miracle," and is deprived of any supernatural significance. Most people today do not believe in miracles in general, but in THE miracles, a traditional list of which happened within a limited time and within a limited locality. If miracles are met with outside of the Bible, as for instance in the Apocrypha or Lives of the Saints, they are not believed by modern minds even on their own merits. Moreover, in any case. Biblical or otherwise, we are confronted not by mira- cles themselves, but by miracle-narratives. The Ger- man writer Lessing once said, "Accounts of miracles are not miracles." The problem of miracle-analysis is as much ancient, and therefore prescientific, mira- cle-report, as it is miracle event. Miracles are common in all ancient writings, and are not peculiar to the Bible. We can readily believe the miracles of the New Testament, however, if we are willing to apply to them modern scientific tests. It must always be borne in mind that they are recorded by writers in a THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 6i prescientific age, and that, as Bowen remarks, "There was no electric light in Peter's cabin in Galilee." In speaking of the miracles peculiar to the New Testament, it is well to bear in mind the following facts : (i) The word "miracle" nowhere occurs in the Greek of the New Testament, nor does the word "supernatural" or its equivalents or cognates. The three Greek words unfortunately uniformly translated "miracle" are: (a) "teras," meaning "prodigy" or "wonder"; (b) "semeion," meaning "sign" or "signifi- cant event," as the "sign of the prophet Jonah"; and (c) "dunamis," meaning "power," or a one-man abihty, as in healing-power. (2) The miracles, if they were supernatural events, are insufficient to keep Judas from betrayal, Peter from denial, or the Jews from plotting against the life of Jesus. (3) Miracles are never used as evidence in behalf of the claims of Jesus, who himself refused to work signs and wonders (Matt. 16: i), or to come down from the cross. They are homiletic, not evidential; they are used to teach lessons of faith ; they are "acted parables" in many instances, — as for instance in the cases of the gratitude of the Samaritan leper, the still- ing of the tempest, and cursing of the fig-tree, etc. (4) The disciples of Jesus are given power to per- form miracles the same as Jesus (Matt. 10: 1-8; Mark 6: 13; Acts 5: 15, 16), and Jesus said, "Greater works than these shall ye do" (John 14 : 12). (5) Many miracles are recorded in the New Testa- ment other than those of Jesus. For instance, Paul 62 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT (Acts 14:3, 8-10; 19: II, 12; 20: 12), and Peter (Acts 3; 9:40, 41). The New Testament makes no distinc- tion between the miracles of Jesus and those of his disciples. (6) The miracles of Jesus are NEVER alluded to by Paul, who strains the Old Testament scriptures to prove Jesus the Messiah, but who never calls in the miracles of Jesus as evidence of the fact. The miracles of Jesus had a negligible influence apparently on the succeeding generation. There are forty-one miracles in the Four Gospels, with fifteen supplemental miracles wrought ON Jesus. Another scholar lists thirty-six. The so-called "mirac- ulous draught of fishes" is probably not a miracle, for travelers tell us that the density of shoals of fishes at times cannot be conceived, covering often an acre on the surface of the Lake of Galilee. A famous traveler, Captain Wilson, says one shot from his revolver killed three. Bowen estimates the actual number of miracles at twenty-three, not admitting the "signs" of the Fourth Gospel, which is not considered an historical presentation of the life of Jesus. These twenty-three may be grouped conveniently into four divisions : I. Demonology (5). H. Healing the sick (12). III. Restoring the dead (2). ' IV. Nature-miracles (4). , I. Demonology "miracles." These twenty-three Synoptic "miracles" (although the New Testament does not refer to them as such or as supernatural in any manner), we shall now discuss THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 63 in some detail, following Mark's original, primitive, unvarnished account w^herever possible as the basis of our discussions. 1. The demoniac in the synagogue at Capernaum: Mark i : 23-28 ; Luke 4 : 33-37. 2. The Gadarene and the sv^^ine : Mark 5 : 1-20 ; Matt. 8; Luke 8. 3. The Canaanite woman's daughter: Mark 7; Matt. 15. 4. The epileptic boy: Mark 9; Matt. 17; Luke 9. 5. The dumb demoniac: Luke 11; Matt. 9 and 12. These five problems can all be discussed under one head because of their similarity. All persons in New Testament times having some obscure mental or nerv- ous disorder without an accompanying organic defect, uniformly had their cases crudely diagnosed as "de- mon-possession." Jesus believed in demon-possession (Mark 9:28-29 and Matt. : 7-22); so did his disciples; so did the authors of the New Testament documents ; so did people universally. The demons, or devils, were supposed to be hiding among the rocks and tombs, and in out of the way places, ever on the lookout to enter the human body. They obstructed sight, hear- ing, speech, thoughts, and actions ; they inhibited bod- ily functions ; they rendered their victims ceremonially unclean. In China vestiges of this belief still persist; tonsilitis is alleged to come from devil-inhabited ton- sils, and the tonsils are seared with a red-hot iron when swollen and diseased to drive out the devils. A curious fact in Mark 5 is the fact that the victim dwelling among the tombs believed that he had a le- gion of devils in him, which means 6,000 or up, on the 64 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT basis of the Latin military unit. Moreover, the actions of this victim were such as to strike panic into a nearby herd of swine, who fled precipitately down the hillside into the lake and were drowned. The gospel writers, writing from the naive standpoint of first century (not twentieth century) men, and firmly be- lieving in demonology, attributed the destruction of the swine to Jesus directly, who, of course, was in- directly responsible. Although professional exorcists sprang up in multitudes to cure these unfortunate af- flicted ones by means of charms, spells, herbs, incan- tations, etc. (see Tobit 6 : i6), it is noteworthy and admirable that the Carpenter of Nazareth used noth- ing but his personal authority and marvelous influ- ence to restore his patients. That vital, dominant, authoritative personality with the healing faculty per- vading it to an extraordinary degree was irresistible in its magnetism. Many obsessions yet today can be scared away by a decisive personality. Such cures go on today in the clinics of modern psychotherapeutic hospitals. Whether the cures of Jesus were perma- nent or not, however, the New Testament does not state. II. Healing the Sick.— Of these twelve miracles (i) and (2) are two cases peculiar to Mark alone (7: 31-37 and 8:22-26), and may be designated as "saliva miracles." It was anciently believed that the saliva of a holy or a fasting man had highly curative prop- erties. The two miracles here mentioned are wrought by the application of saliva. Matthew and Luke use every other healing story of Mark ; hence it is entirely possible that these two miracles are later interpola- THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 65 tions, and are not authentic gospel narratives. If they are, it is demonstrated that Jesus shared the be- lief of his time and country with regard to the healing properties of saliva. (3) and (4) contain two miracles given alone by the Gospel of Luke (13: 11-17 and 14: 1-6). In the first instance, that of the woman bowed with infirmity, two things are to be noted : first, verse 14, which contains total absence of surprise or wonder at the miracle; and second, that the emphasis by the gospel writer is placed almost exclusively on Sabbath violation. In the second, the same things are to be noted except that the ailment is stated to be dropsy. The healings here are of distorted conditions of the body rather than of fevers or organic lesions. It has been repeatedly proved in the modern world that the former type of ailment often yields readily to suggestion and to con- fidence in the physician by whom one is treated. Medi- cal literature is full of the most extraordinary cases of psychic healing. But the point stressed by Luke in each case is the violation of the Sabbath, not the physical relief of the patient; nor is any amazement manifested by the witnesses of the healing. In Luke 17: 11-19, the point of the story of the relief of the ten lepers is the gratitude of the Samaritan leper, not the fact that he was healed. Where were the other nine lepers, who were Jews? The moral pointed is similar to that of the Good Samaritan parable (Luke 10). (5) and (6) deal with the healing of the centurion's servant (Matt. 8:5-3 and Luke 7:1-10). This is a gospel point for the Gentiles wrought "in absentia." The fact that the miracle was accomplished at a dis- 66 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT tance, and by absent treatment, are not the primary factors here. The astonishing faith of the father, with the family probably sympathetically co-operating, in- cluding the sufferer himself, wrought the cure, accord- ing to Jesus. Luke 7 : 9 states that Jesus admitted his own countrymen and nationality had exhibited to date no such marvelous faith in his ability as a healer. The remaining six of the twelve healings of the sick are found in all three Synoptics. (7) concerns the healing of Peter's mother-in-law (Mark 1:25-31; Matt. 8; Luke 4). The use of the Greek present participle in Mark i : 30, translated more accurately "feverish," indicates in itself that the af- fliction was not a malignant or bacterial fever. The healing is an instance of simple invigoration. (8) is the famous story of the withered hand (Mark 3: 1-6; Matt. 12; Luke 6). Here once again the point of the miracle is the gospel one of alleged Sabbath desecration, and not the healing process itself. The man's hand apparently was knotted, twisted, or dwarfed by loss of nervous control and will-power, an impediment which 'Jesus authoritatively breaks down by the sharp command, "Stretch out your hand!" (Mark 3:5). Everyone knew what to expect — what was coming— including the sufferer, for it is led up to by a preliminary discussion concerning the observ- ance of the Sabbath. (9) deals with the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:25-34; Matt. 9; Luke 8). Nowhere in the New Testament is clearer light shed on the miracle problem than precisely here. Jesus knew nothing about it until it was all over, and the whole healing THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 67 process is the direct result of the patient's supreme conviction that she can be healed. (10) deals with the picturesque episode of the para- lytic man lowered through the roof (Mark 2:1-12; Matt. 8; Luke 5). Here again our Greek lexicon comes to our aid. The Greek "paralyticos" means oftener simply "lamed" or "enfeebled" than it does the more radical "paralyzed" or "palsied." This man's ailment was an inability to use his limbs, and such cases are astonishingly amenable to suggestion. The shrines of St. Anne de Beaupre, Our Lady of Lourdes, Trier, and Our Lady of Consolation are witnesses of numerous cures of invalids who came in wheel-chairs and on crutches, to go away leaving such impedimenta •behind. People who come long distances, at enormous sacrifices, and with faith and conviction, are particu- larly liable to cure. Often strengthened faith and nerv- ous control was all that was necessary for relief. In- stances are known to medical science in which para- lytics who had been bed-ridden for years and their condition given up as hopeless, have risen from their couches of affliction when the hoilse caught fire, and have run precipitately out of doors. (11) concerns leprosy (Mark i : 40-45 ; Matt. 8; Luke S). Leprosy is understood to mean in modern times a malignant destruction of the human tissues baffling all medical power, and placing the victim almost be- yond hope of physical salvation, in the terrible state that Coleridge has poetically designated "life-in-death that thicks man's blood with cold." BUT BIBLE LEPROSY IS NOT THE MODERN MALADY. It covers a wide variety of contagious and defiling skin 68 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT affections. Often it was cured by the passing of time, so that strict regulation became necessary on the part of the high priest or Jocal priest, who rigidly examined the cured one. What else could Jesus mean by com- manding that the leper go show himself to the priest (Mark 1:44; Luke 17:14, etc.)? Apparently Bible leprosy was entirely curable, and after the leper had been quarantined or segregated a sufficient length of time to become again ceremonially clean, he was read- mitted to social relationships. The trouble again has been in our too literal rendering of the word "lepra," which means "scaliness," from "lep," a scale. This word is used in the Bible to apply to leather articles, garments, and the plastering of houses (Leviticus 13 and 14). Many of these lepers came to Jesus for ex- amination as to their ceremonial cleanliness. The road to Jerusalem was often a long one, and the practice sprang up of the patient showing his condition to the local rabbi. Jesus, being an unrecognized, unauthor- ized rabbi by the authorities, always commanded them to go to the priest. In the Greek of Mark i : 41, the expression is literally, "Jesus, snorting at him," with vexation because he had been appealed to as the local authority, rather than the more dignified "moved with compassion" of the King James translators. (12) and the last typical healing miracle is that of blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52; Matt. 20:29-34; Luke 18: 35-43), Matthew makes it "two blind men," just as he doubles the number of animals on which' Jesus rode into Jerusalem. The word "blind" covers a multitude of eye-disorders. Nervous, inorganic blindness yields often to medical treatment and to THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 69 suggestion. Enthusiasm, excitement, shock, combined with faith, will work wonders for the patient who considers his condition hopeless, especially if it be at basis hysterical. As far as we know, the few instances of the blind receiving their sight again is the type of blindness here mentioned. There can be no question of Jesus' healing power in the absence of efifective materia medica ; faith healing, focussed especially in great religious personalities, constituted about the sole method of true healing in antiquity. III. Restoring the Dead — This kind of miracle, the most marvelous of all in the New Testament to the traditionalists, is the very type of which there are more instances of Jesus' disciples having performed it than of himself (e. g. Tabitha by Peter: Acts 9:40; Eutychus by Paul: Acts 20:9-12; see also Matt. 10:8). I. The Raising of Jairus' Daughter (Mark 5:22- 43; Matt. 9: 18-26; Luke 8: 40-56). This touching in- cident should be read carefully in the order of scrip- ture references above given. If this is done, one can observe the tradition grow from Mark to Matthew to Luke, the last basing their accounts on Mark's, of course. Mark says specifically (5:23) "at the point of death" in the original account of this miracle as he had heard it from the lips of Peter, who was present and witnessed the whole affair (5 : 37), and who above all others ought to know the exact circumstances. Mark furthermore records that Jesus himself remarked : "The girl is not dead, but asleep" (5 : 39). Mark is very careful to say that those who heard the words of Jesus laughed scornfully at the theory of coma or un- 70 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT consciousness. The people thought she was dead. The attending neighbors never thought for a second of revising their original judgment. They were con- vinced in their own minds that she was dead and had been raised again. Matthew and Luke record the tradition in its final form; but the modern thinker must believe Mark, who writes accurate, almost first- hand information regarding the transaction. It is en- tirely probable that the girl was restored from a state of coma by the Great Physician. Paul raising Euty- chus is almost an exact parallel. The people all said, "Eutychus is dead" (Acts 20:9-12), but Paul revised their judgment. Revival from death, premature burial, and similar phenomena abound in literature, ancient and modern. Edgar Allan Poe was notoriously fond of this sort of pabulum. One of the victims of the Lusitania disaster of May, 1915, was revived from ap- parent "death." For several days her body lay in the Queenstown morgue. She had been pronounced dead. But she gradually became conscious, though totally unable to move a muscle. When the doctors made their final trip of inspection among the bodies before burial, this woman, who is still living, managed to flutter an eyelid. She was removed at once to a hos- pital and gradually restored to life and consciousness. 2. The Widow's Son of Nain: (Luke 7:11-17). This miracle is recorded by Luke alone, and is not, therefore, a part of the usual trustworthy tradition handed down by Peter. In this hot climate burial was speedily accomplished (John 11:39). In this instance the widow's son, the question again naturally arises: did the ancients discriminate between actual death and THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 71 apparent death? When ii the psychic element com- pletely severed from the physical? The ancients cus- tomarily said "revival from death"; moderns say, "not dead in the first place, if restored." In I Kings 17: 17-23, Elijah restored a widow's son. Luke 7: 16, re- ferring to Jesus as "a great Prophet" in this connec- tion shows that this incident paralleled almost exactly in the minds of the alleged witnesses Elijah's feat. II Kings 4 : 32-36 records the fact that near the same spot where Jesus raised the son of the widow of Nain, Elisha also raised from death the son of the Shunamite widow. It is plainly apparent that a parallelizing tendency is at work here, and all the more from the fact that Luke places this miracle in an obscure, un- connected part of his account. Luke further admits (4: 25-27) that the Messiah of the Jews, when he was come, was to act similar to Elijah and Elisha. It must be further remembered that Luke, though the only evangelist to tell of this miracle, was not a resi- dent of Palestine. IV. Nature Miracles.— The four so-called nature miracles are stilling the tempest, walking on the water, feeding the multitudes, and cursing the fig-tree. (i) Stilling the Tempest (Mark 4:36-41; Matt. 8: 23-27; Luke 8:22-25). In this miracfe-account it will be noted that the emphasis is not put on the fact that the waves were suddenly flattened and certain meteor- ological phenomena dispelled, but upon faith. The men who were with Jesus were experienced fishermen who had lived all their lives by and on the Sea of Galilee, and to assume that they were overwhelmed with terror is absurd. But their fear doubtless is some- 72 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT what accentuated to bring out the gospel lesson that faith dispels and casts out fear. There is no doubt that this incident occurred. The Sea of Galilee is down in a bowl surrounded by high cliffs. Farrar records that the heated air suddenly sweeping down into this cool bowl often produces violent hurricanes which will last but a few minutes, vanishing as quickly as they come. It would be entirely probable that by the time Jesus, who was sound asleep, awakened, the storm would have exhausted its force. Again it is possible that a parallelizing tendency is at work here again through the influence of the Old Testament upon the New. When the Messiah came as vicegerent of God on earth, it had been foretold that he should be able to exercise control over wind and wave (Psalms 77:16-19 and 107:23-30, the latter of which closely parallels Mark 4: 34-41 ; II Kings 6:5-7; Isaiah 43 : 2; Nahum 1 •.4, etc.).- (2) Walking on the Water (Mark 6: 48-51; Matt. 14:22-33) is based on the same principle observed in the Old Testament references given in the last sentence preceding. When the Messiah came, he was to have dominion over the waters. This miracle creeps into the New Testament under the parallelizing influ- ence of the Old Testament. Once again, the point is not the assertion that the physical body of Jesus sud- denly lost its specific gravity and natural gross den- sity, but that faith overcomes all obstacles. (3) Feeding the Multitudes (Mark 6:31-44; Matt. 14:13-21; Luke 9:10-17; repeated with slight varia- tion in Mark 8 and Matthew 15). These very similar incidents, usually considered as miracles, are given in THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 73 their true light in John 6 : 28-58 as symbols of the Eucharist. There were gathered up twelve baskets of fragments, — one for each apostle. There were five loaves and two fishes, or a total of seven units, — seven being a significant religious number to the Jews. Who counted the multitudes? Would they go out into the wilderness without food? These questions naturally occur to the analyst of this miracle story. John 6 : 30 and 49-51 observe a close parallel in the Old Testament account of the children of Israel being fed Manna in the wilderness. II Kings 5 : 42-44 tells of Elisha feed- ing a multitude over the protest of the servitor that the quantity of food was too small. Psalm 107 : 4-9 parallels the New Testament idea very strikingly, as does Micah 7: 14 and 15. Here again we have very beautiful incidents told by the New Testament writers but slightly developed by the influence of the Old Testament upon the New. (4) Cursing the Fig-Tree (Mark 11:12-24 and 20- 26; Matt. 21:18-22; Luke 13:6-9 and 20-26). The student should first read the accounts of Mark and Matthew, and then that of Luke. It will be found that Luke gives as a parable what Mark and Matthew give as a fact. The fig-tree in every case represents Jewish national life, and is intended to fulfil the pro- phecy of John the Baptizer (Luke 3:9). This inci- dent is a parable spoken as Jesus sees a dying fig-tree which suddenly occurs to him as a symbol of the religious life of his people, who were meant to be the "salt of the earth." In concluding our consideration of the miracles of Jesus, the incident of the Coin in the Fish's Mouth 74 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT (Matt. 17:24-27) must be noted as a reported saying of his, but not given by the original account of Mark. The coin is twice the amount of the tax, and the story ends without saying whether it is ever done or not. The point is that Jesus conformed in paying taxes as well as in baptism, and so ought his followers to ob- serve the civil law wherever they may live. The miracles of the Fourth Gospel are not treated here, because, as Professor Bacon remarks, "The seven progressive 'signs' that he (John) narrates, culminat- ing in the raising of Lazarus, are avowedly (20:31) illustrative selections from a multitude of current mir- acle tales," and are not given for their historical value, since not handed down in except possibly one or two cases to Mark as part of the Petrine tradition, but for their theological value. In other words, we repeat that the Fourth Gospel makes no pretense of being an historical account in itself of the life of Jesus. Mir- acles are not purely a Biblical phenomenon, nor pecu- liar to Jesus. They neither add nor take away any- thing to or from our estimate of him when we sum up his permanent effect upon human history. 12. The Parables of Jesus. — As the ministry of Jesus progressed, it became increasingly apparent that his advocacy of a progressive, reformed Judaism wag* evoking bitter hostility and hatred on the part of the conservative ecclesiastical circle at Jerusalem, who controlled the national church of the Jews. There is a sharp break discernible in the teaching method of Jesus in Matthew 12 and 13, which proves him a master psychologist. Observing that a too plain, out- spoken message would bring such violent opposition THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 75 to his work as to make it impossible for him to con- tinue, he turned from a direct to an indirect method of attack. Matthew 13 gives a series of parables (Q material topically arranged) showing a new method of approach which should partially veil the plainness of the conclusions inevitable from his argument. These parables are masterpieces of the story-teller's art. Luke's Perean Section contain the most famous : Laz- arus and Dives, the Prodigal Son, the Good Samari- tan, etc. Following are the parables of Jesus, alpha- betically arranged and briefly interpreted, by which he avoided a premature break with the Jewish gov- ernment until such time as he chose to fling defiance into their teeth (the Triumphal Entry episode) : THE PARABLES ENUMERATED (i) Fig-Tree: (Luke 13:6-9). The heart of this parable seems to be in verse 7. The "three years" refer to the three years of Jesus' ministry, which were barren insofar as Jewish national acceptance of him was concerned ; the "certain man" is God ; the "dresser of the vineyard" is Jesus, who intercedes for its pres- ervation from destruction yet another year. (2) Friend at Midnight: (Luke 11:5-9). By this" parable Jesus teaches that prayer, to be thoroughly effective, must be persevering. (3) Good Samaritan: (Luke 10:30-37). This par- able was given in answer to the question, "Who is my neighbor?" (10: 29). Jesus shows His breadth of view by making a hated Samaritan a better neighbor than a Jewish priest or priest's apprentice. A true neigh- 76 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT bor is one who extends the helping hand in another s hour of deep distress, and the personal devotion is even more important than had it been done through the impersonal agency of institutional or organized charity. The victim of the parable needed personal friendship and sympathy even more than he needed ma- terial assistance. (4) Great Supper: (Luke 14:16-24). This parable may refer to the call of the Gentiles as stewards of Christianity, after the Jews had rejected that privi- lege. Again, it may mean that, between the two hu- man extremes of those who are completely wrapped up in worldly afifairs, and the beggar, the poor la- borer, the publican, and the outcast, the latter have ultimately the spiritual advantage, of entrance into the kingdom of God. See Matthew 21 : 31, 32. (5) Hidden Treasure: (Matt. 13:44). Entrance into the kingdom of heaven, when one has once dis- covered the way, is similar in its effect as if the person concerned were materially poor and had suddenly dis- covered a secret of improving his financial condition. The parable thus exemplifies the joy of one who leaves all to follow Christ, once he understands the signifi- cance of his act and its rewards. (6) House Built on the Sand : (Matt. 7 : 24-27 ; Luke 6: 47-49). The person who conducts his life on Chris- tian principles as enunciated in the Sermon on the Mount has built his life and character upon a founda- tion of rock, so that when the rains and winds of adversity, sorrow, and misfortune beat against it, it will not be seriously shaken, much less be completely swept away. Those who buiJd upon sand apparently THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 'J^ are they who neglect the spiritual life, and strive to build their happiness upon money, pleasure, self-seek- ing, and material affairs, which are not permanent. (7) Laborers in the Vineyard: (Matt. 20:1-16). All who serve God will be rewarded. Often those who serve Him at "the eleventh hour" accomplish actually more than those who, of less ability, have served Him constantly. The laborers under the hire of God will be rewarded according to their opportunity and en- lightenment, and not according to proportionate length' of service. The recently converted heathen who serves' God will be rewarded just as much as the aged civilized Christian who also has served him a lifetime, but with the added advantage of enlightenment from childhood! in a Bible land. In other words, eternal life is a gift of God, and not something which is earned. (8) Lazarus and the Rich Man: (Luke 16:19-31). This, like other parables, is capable of more than one application to life. Obviously, it is aimed at wealth that is indifferent to human need, and not at wealth it- self. It shows that "God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34); that the judgment of the next World is often the reverse of the judgment of this; and that externals count nothing against the condition of the heart. It gives, metaphorically, an interesting glimpse of eternity as anciently conceived. Apparently the future life is to be one of conscious remembrance of the deeds committed in this (Luke 16:25); there is a state of retribution and penalty of sin (16:23); ^ re- versal of rewards and advantages in the case of the hard-hearted rich (16:25); and it illustrates the an- guish of the lost (16: 24). 78 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT (9) Leaven: (Matt. 13:33). The parable of the mustard-seed is primarily the parable of external, visi- ble growth of the kingdom; the parable of the leaven is the parable of chemical diffusion, as yeast diffuses through dough. Christianity is a leaven which dif- fuses silently through and improves every field of human activity: education, art, literature, journalism, music, interpretation of law, the promotion of science through benevolent foundations and broad tolerance, and in our day, particularly, it is going to be enforced in international relationships. (10) Lost Piece of Money: (Luke 15:8, 9). This parable is admirably interpreted by Jesus himself in verse 10. It is an incentive to Christian workers to go out and redeem the lost, from the street-corners, the saloons, the pool-rooms, and the dens of idleness and vice. (11) Lost Sheep: (Matt. 18:12-13; Luke "15 : 4-7). This parable is also called "the Ninety and the Nine" (Luke 15:4). The interpretation is the same as in the case of the lost piece of money. Both illustrate that all human souls are equally important as far as their salvation and value are concerned. (12) Marriage of the King's Son: (Matt. 22: i-io). This parable emphatically illustrates the rejection of Jesus by the Jews and the call of the Gentiles to carry the banner of Christianity. The King is God; His Son is Jesus Christ; the servants are Christian disci- ples ; the invited guests are the Jews ; the burning of the city (v. 7) foretells the destruction of Jerusalem; and those gathered from the highways are heathen Gentiles, good and bad. THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 79 (13) Mustard-Seed: (Matt. 13:31, 32; Mark 5:31, 32; Luke 13: 18, 19). The kingdom of God had a tiny beginning in numbers and influence, — one man and twelve disciples, — ^but has grown so gigantic as to include today one-third of the human race, and that third controls mainly the affairs of the rest of the world. The mustard-plant is still growing, and the words of Jesus are still to be realized by missionary effort. Sometimes this parable is applied to the indi- vidual whose faith at first is small and timorous, but growth in the Christian life makes him strong and of great religious influence. (14) Net Cast into the Sea: (Matt. 13:47-49). Thij parable Jesus explains himself (verses 49, 50), and refers to the sifting out process also described in par- ables (19) and (28), which see. (15) Pearl of Great Price: (Matt. 13:45, 46). This parable is practically the same in meaning as (5) pre- ceding. It illustrates the desirability of membership in the kingdom of heaven, and the reward of one who leaves all to follow Christ. (16) Pharisee and Publican: (Luke 18:9-14). By this parable Jesus exemplified that humility is the standard by whicli God judges personal religion, and not external service or mere lip-loyalty. Verse 12 refers to Monday and Thursday, the two fast-days of the week scrupulously observed by every strict Pharisee. (17) Prodigal Son: (Luke" 15: 11-32). It is essen- tial to know that the word "prodigal" means "extrav- agant" or "spendthrift," and not "wandering." The word is popularly thus misunderstood, unless the two 8o THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT usually go together when applied to modern cases. By this parable Jesus overturned the ancient Jewish con- ception of God as purely a God of wrath and revenge (Exodus 20:5), substituting the conception that God is like a kind, generous, whole-hearted father, gracious and forgiving to his erring children if they will but repent (verse 18) and return to him. "The elder son" of the parable (verse 25), objecting to the lavish cele- bration of the sinner's return, is assured that all God has belongs to him, although no demonstration was ever made for him (v. 31) ; and he typifies those who live all their lives under the approval of God. The latter import of this parable is similar to that of (9) and (10), preceding. (18) Rich Fool: (Luke 12: 16-20). Here is a par- able of warning similar to that of Lazarus and the Rich Man (8). We have control of our lives only to very limited extent, and we build our life's foundation upon sand when we trust in riches, pleasure, and the things of this world alone, to the exclusion of the re- ligious sentiment (See Matt. 6:33). Dante has pointed out in the "Inferno" that the seventh of the seven deadly sins is so deadly that he hesitates to call it by name, but we ultimately discover that it is selfishness. (19) Seed Growing Secretly : (Mark 4: 26-29). The growth of the kingdom of God is secret and invisible, like the seed of grain which grows while its owner and observers sleep, and ripens into harvest without anyone being able to explain the how or why, and is equally as astonishing. (20) Sheep and the Goats: (Matt. 25 : 31-46). The THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 8i final test of admission into the kingdom of God is how one has ordered his life in relation to lives less fortu- nate than his. Individual ministration to human needs while in this life is the final standard of the Great Judge. It is simply a question of selfishness versus service and charity. The most startling feature about this parable is that many of the "sheep" were actually goats, and were perfectly unaware of the fact (verses 44. 45). (21) Sower and the Seed: (Matt. 13:3-23; Mark 4:3-20; Luke 8:5-15). This parable was taken from scenes of life with which the audience of Jesus was quite familiar. There are four kinds of soil: (a) the wayside, where the fowls came, (b) stony, shallow soil, (c) soil not cultivated, and infested with thorns, (d) good, prepared soil; and these represent four kinds of people who receive the "seed" of the gospel; (a) those who do not understand or appreciate the aim of the gospel-message, and evil soon blots out their ac- tivity in its behalf (these presumably are people who stay away from the church); (b) those who eagerly and even joyfully are converted, but realizing that the Christian life is a struggle, soon flag and quit (these are emotional people converted in great revivals who were excited only temporarily) ; (c) those who accept the message at its face value, but continue their busi- ness-cares evenings, holidays, and Sundays, until they become ciphers in the spread of the gospel; and (d) the active, worth-while Christian, who promotes the gospel. (22) Talents: (Matt. 25 : 14-29). The gold talent (a weight of metal used as a money-unit) of the He- 82 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT brews was worth about $32,000, and the silver talent, $2,000. It is interesting to know that Jesus gave us the meaning of "special aptitude" for the word "tal- ent" from this parable. This is a parable of the rela- tion of faith to work. Those who have the advantages of the gospel should make the most of them, and not rest idly content in selfish possession. The Great Judge at the last day will not tolerate such slothful- ness (v. 26), any more than a captain of industry would tolerate it from one of his subordinates or agents whom he had entrusted with a considerable amount of money, and who had failed to use it profitably. Note that no more is expected from anyone out of propor- tion to his ability in either case (v. 15), (23) Ten Pounds: (Luke 19: 12-27). A "pound" is British money-unit worth approximately five dollars. This parable has the same application as the preced- ing (22), and is, in fact, only a varied version of it. But Luke's version, uttered in the house of Zaccheus, seems more specific; the nobleman typifies Jesus; his departure, the departure of Jesus from this world ; his return, the second coming of Christ; his rewards, the principle upon which Christ will reward His faithful as against His faithless servants at the Last Judg- ment. Note verse 11 particularly in interpreting this parable. (24) Two Debtors: (Luke 7: 40-43). This parable, uttered in reproof of Simon the Pharisee, showed the Pharisee that the measure of love received in life is proportioned by the amount of charity displayed for the shortcomings of others. The sinful woman had THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 83 more to repent for than did Simon by his inhospitality ; ♦therefore, her heart was greater than his. (25) Two Sons: (Matt. 21 : 28-31). The first son, who at first refused to work for his father, but after- ward repented and went, typifies the sinners who re- pented and are now working for the cause of right- eousness ; the second son, who glibly promised to work, but did not, typifies the Pharisees to whom this parable is addressed, who are not performing the wilf of God (see also Matt. 23: 15). (26) Unjust Judge: (Luke 18: 1-8). This has iden- tically the same application as (2), preceding, as is evident from Luke 18: i. (27) Unjust Steward: (Luke 16:1-13). "Unjust" here, as elsewhere, frequently in the Bible means "dis- honest." Jesus wants us to imitate, not the steward's dishonesty, but his prudence and cleverness in making himself a friend to his master's debtors who helped him out of his difficulty. The disciples of Christ, if they use their message to aid and comfort others in a practical way, are not likely to be left in want when misfortune overtakes them. This is a parable of con- trast, like the parables of the Friend at Midnight (2), and the Unjust Judge (24) ; that is, there is no ap- proval of the conduct of the self-interested ones, but the lesson is emphasized by the fact that the people involved were not of a high standard of decorum or honesty. (28) Unmerciful Servant: (Matt. 18:23-35). One of the cardinal points of Christian doctrine as set forth' by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere 84 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT is mercifulness (Matt. 5:7; 6:12). God will not be merciful to the unmerciful (Matt. 18:35). (29) Wheat and the Tares: (Matt. 13:24-42). Jesus explains this parable so convincingly and sim- ply that no analytical version could improve upon it (Matt. 13 : 36-42). (30) Wicked Husbandmen: (Matt. 21 : 33-41 ; Mark 12: 1-9; Luke 20: 9-16). This parable again illustrates the Jewish rejection of their Messiah, and His accept- ance by the Gentiles. The vineyard is the kingdom of Israel; the householder, God; the husbandmen, the Jews ; the servants sent as messengers are the prophets slain of old; the Son, Jesus Christ (verse 37), whom they also slew by crucifixion; the destruction of the- vineyard is the destruction of the Jewish nation in 70 A. D. ; and the "other husbandmen" are the Greeks, Romans, and other Gentiles, who were to perpetuate Christianity. (31) Wise and Foolish Virgins: (Matt. 25:1-13). Those who prepare to become members of the king- dom of heaven at the last minute, but who really knew better in the first place, will be shut out. The par- able teaches the suddenness of Christ's coming, and "preparedness." When the kingdom of God shall come, there will always be some on the wrong side of the door. 13. Peter's Confession (Mark 8:27-31; Matt. 16: 13-20). Just as every Shakespearean play has a cli- max in the third act, so the grand climax of the ministry of Jesus probably came in its third year. Now that his disciples had observed his work and absorbed his conception of the New, Universal, Re- THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 85 formed Judaism, Jesus put to them the final question which was carefully designed to search their hearts, to test their faith, and to disclose to him some of the deepest impressions of their extended association with him. From this interesting dialogue it is very vividly apparent that the Carpenter of Nazareth had not im- pressed his fellow-countrymen that he was the ex- pected Messiah. In fact, the truth is that Jesus only considered himself the Messiah-Elect, and that he should not be the Messiah-in-Fact until after he had suffered his ignominious death on the cross. Else why did he charge his disciples not to repeat the substance of Peter's Confession, and why did he immediately thereafter begin to explain the nature and purpose of his death and resurrection? David was anointed to be King of Israel as a child, but served as a shepherd many years in the interim. Paul regards the Messianic career of Jesus as beginning after the death of Jesus, and very seldom refers to the earthly career of Jesus, and never uses miracle-story to prove the Messiahship of Jesus. Up to Peter's Confession, the people appar- ently had no idea of Jesus as Messiah; and modern Judaism, using such scholarly spokesmen as Stephen S. Wise and C. G. Montefiore, stoutly defends this conclusion. In fact, the probability is that when Christianity divests itself of supernaturalism, and mod- ern Judaism of much of its historical paraphernalia, that the two religions will find much common ground on which they can agree, for socially and spiritually the two are virtually identical. Verse 19 of Matthew 16 delegates to Peter the power to bind and loosen Christians to Christian covenants and contracts, par- 86 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ticularly in a spiritual sense, and therefore to him the founding of the Christian organization (see Acts 2: 38-41); and it was he who converted the first Gentile (Acts 10). 14. The Transfiguration.— The Transfiguration of Jesus is regarded by Bowen and by many German scholars as one of the post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus to his disciples.^ Wellhausen, Holtzmann, Kohler, and Bacon support this view. Bacon describes the Transfiguration as "a halting attempt to embody Pauline doctrine in Petrine story." ^ If these views are legitimate, as Bowen suggests, "the Transfigura- tion of Jesus upon the mountain is, in its origin, the appearing of the risen and glorified Jesus to Peter." It is noticeable, as Goodspeed suggests, that the two who appear with Jesus in this scene are Moses and Elijah, the spiritual leaders of Israel, and not David and Solomon, the military and regal leaders of Israel. Alford remarks that the Law and the Prophets here consigned into the hands of Jesus their delegated and expiring power, — that the Old Dispensation had passed away, and the New had come into definite authority. The documentary and textual problem of this incident must remain open, however : is it a pre- or post-Resur- rection appearance of Jesus, with Moses and Elijah, to his disciples? 15. The Triumphal Entry: (Mark ii:i-ii; Matt. 19:29-44; John 12: 12-19).— The black thunder-clouds of official opposition to the. doctrine and ministry of 1 See C. R. Bowen : "The Resurrection in the New Testa- ment" (Crown Theolog. Lib., G. P. Putnam's, 1911), pp. 419-433. 2 B. W. Bacon: "The Making of The New Testament" (Home Univ. Lib., Henry Holt & Co., 1913), p. 330. THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 87 Jesus had been gathering ominously on the horizon for some time, and now threatened at any moment to engulf him. Fifteen separate conflicts between Jesus and the Pharisees are recorded in Mark, and all of them deal with purity and sincerity in religion as over against formalism, ceremonialism, and ecclesiasticism. The arguments of Jesus as to what constituted the substance of real religion, and his criticisms of Phari- saic morality, are in reality what precipitated his death. After Peter's Confession Jesus devoted his time main- ly to private instructions to his disciples to strengthen their faith for the coming ordeal of his ignoble and tragic removal from their midst, and reduced his pub- lic ministry to a minimum. He succeeded completely, although he could not forestall the temporary panic which assailed them at the crucifixion. Every inch a man, and at no time a shirker or slacker, the rugged young carpenter now "set his face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem" (Luke 9:51). Like Martin Luther's famous visit to the Diet of Worms, Jesus, a loyal and devout Jew to the last, attended his last Passover, and deliberately "put his head in the lion's mouth." The Triumphal Entry is one of the most dramatic episodes in the whole life of Jesus, being exceeded only by the more sensational manner of his trial and exe- cution. He received an ovation all along the route. He came, not on a prancing war-horse, but on the donkey, the emblem of peace and royalty (I Kings i : 32-34; II Samuel 13 : 29). He made this sharp distinc- tion, though yielding temporarily to the popular clamor. It is notable that the Palms figure only in the Fourth Gospel account; Mark's account of the 88 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT incident is not Messianic but prophetic; Matthew makes it Messianic in the shout of the populace, but when they explain it they say, "He is a prophet" ; and Luke echoes his own Infancy Narrative, "Hail to the King. Peace and glory and honor in the highest!" The political demonstration accorded Jesus by the throngs who lined the roads was distinctly rural and provincial; in it the proud inhabitants of Jerusalem took no part, for "the Pharisees said among them- selves: 'Behold, the world is gone after him!'" (John 12: 19) — a tribute to the effectiveness of the demon- stration. Jesus doubtless chose this method, which he had expressly forbidden himself during his Temp- tation in the Wilderness, to fling his defiance into the faces of the authorities at Jerusalem in a manner which would stamp itself indelibly in the history of the na- tion. Then he topped it off with the bitter, scathing, flaming denunciations recorded in Matthew 23, beside which the lacerating satire of Swift sinks into ghostly paleness. This last sermon precipitated the death of Jesus within less than twenty-four hours, the Phari- sees using as a tool the avaricious, but poor, ignorant, and unsophisticated Judas Iscariot, whom they very obviously defrauded in the small amount he received, and whose name has ever since been a hissing and a byword, synonymous with detestable treachery. 16. The Last Supper. — This beautiful incident should be treated reverently as well as critically, for on it has been based one of the sacraments of the Christian church universal. The events leading up to this event of Thursday evening are too well known to need elaboration. A controversy has raged over the THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 89 question of whether the Last Supper was Jesus' cele- bration of the Passover. All evidence militates against this view. The Jewish day began at sunset; supper was the first meal of the day. Mark 14: 12-16, which seems to contradict the rest of that chapter, is regarded by many scholars as an interpolation, and not authen- tic. Mark 14: 17, 18 may mean that the Last Supper was not the Passover celebration originally prepared for. Jesus was buried in a hasty fashion by Joseph of Arimathea, who felt duty-bound to prepare himself undefiled by contact with a corpse, for the Passover. Therefore, it was too early for Jesus to celebrate the feast. Or did he feel that it had come to be a super- fluity in Jewish religious life? In any event none of the Passover ritual was here gone through with; there was no Paschal Lamb, no bitter herbs, no un- leavened bread, and no fourfold drinking of wine. If the Passover Lamb had lain before them, Jesus would hardly have used the bread or cracker, to symbolize his death. It apparently was a farewell meal to his beloved associates who henceforth would see him no more in the flesh. As he broke the bread for the meal it suddenly flashed over his mind that here was a homely symbol of his wrecked life, now falling into fragments; the wine poured out suggested vividly to his imagination the shedding of blood. These were merely the simple acts of the supper-table, and con- tained nothing particularly theological or didactic. The sacramental idea was "in the air" in ancient and mediaeval times, and inevitably these became church sacraments. For centuries Christians called it simply the Breaking of the Bread and The Cup. In Gethse- 90 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT mane Jesus again used the cup of wine idea as a sym- bol of his martyrdom, as he had done in Matt. 20. These were parables of his death. Jesus knew that if he were put to death that it must occur before the Passover; he knew that the Jews could not execute him, but only the Romans, and hence, his manner of death could be easily foreseen; he seems to have sus- pected that Judas had betrayed the Messianic Secret to the Jewish reactionaries, which he had been charged not to do (Mat. 16:20); and that the storm must break within twenty-four hours, which it did. In Gethsemane the disciples obviously did not realize the nearness of his death, for they went to sleep. The last words that Jesus directed to his disciples were focussed on the impulsive and changeable apostle to whom he had given the keys of heaven, and who de- nied him three times: "Simon, Simon, Satan has de- sired to possess you that he may sift you as wheat is sifted; but I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not, and when at last you have come back to your true self, you must strengthen your brethren" (Luke 22: 31, 32). In Gethesemane Jesus was seized by a band of men sent out from the officials of the Sanhedrin, or Jewish supreme court. His sudden imprisonment threw his disciples into complete panic, who deserted him and fled in terror to hide themselves from a like fate. That the majority of them fled into Galilee is indicated from Mark 16:7 and John 21. 17. The Two-fold Trial and Death of Jesus.— (a) The trial of Jesus was of a two- fold nature: first, the ecclesiastical, or church trial, and second, the trial before the civil authorities. It was the policy of Rome THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 91 at this time to extend to her subject provinces as much local self-government as the temper of the people per- mitted, with especial tolerance on matters of religion. All religious of3fenses were by law answerable to the Jewish Sanhedrin, but if a prisoner were found worthy of death, the trial must be repeated before the Roman civil authority, usually at Caesarea on the Mediter- ranean, but in Jerusalem should the Roman prosecutor happen to be present. The Jewish sentence must be sustained by him, and only upon his express approval could it be carried into execution. The two phases of this remarkable trial follow: I. The Ecclesiastical (Church) Trial: I. Before Annas (John 18:13): Just why Jesus should first be conducted before Annas is not plain, and it may have been an infringement of the pris- oner's rights. Annas was an old man of about seventy years of age, who lived in one of the ofiScial palaces connected with the administration of the temple. He was ex-high priest, and father-in-law of the present high priest, Caiaphas. Probably he was the actual, if not the nominal, controlling religious influence in Jerusalem, the leader of the old reactionary gang. Annas sent Jesus bound to Caiaphas (John 18:24). 2. Before Caiaphas and an Informal Gathering of the Sanhedrin. — ^A disciple had followed Jesus into the palace of Caiaphas (John 18: 15), and seems to have been respected there (V. 15). He caused Peter to be admitted (18:16), who, however, stood without the door of the trial-room, warming himself over a charcoal fire (18: 16). Here, in accordance with the prediction of Jesus (John 13 : 38), he denied to the maid who 92 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT kept the door tjiat he had ever heard or known of Jesus before, repeating his denial to another inquisi- tive servant later (John 18:25-27). Then, it is re- corded, when Jesus turned and looked at him (Luke 22 : 61 ), he recalled that prediction, and went out and wept bitterly. It was about two or three o'clock in the morning when Jesus was brought before the high priest. The Sanhedrin could not legally conduct court until sunrise, but they now hurried on the trial, re- serving the precaution to approve it technically after sunrise, which only took a few minutes' formality. Caiaphas strove, under pressure, to get Jesus to make some incriminating, haphazard testimony against him- self, but the prisoner, with his ever-admirable self- possession, calmly remarked that his words and deeds had always been open to public inspection (John 18: 19-21), and that he had nothing to conceal. Upon this reply, one of the officers present struck him a blow (John 18:22), showing how much justice and con- sideration might be expected throughout the whole proceedings. Then Caiaphas asked him if he were the Son of God (Mark 14:61). Jesus replied in the affirmative (V. 62). The high priest rent his gar- ments as a token of horror at such blasphemy, and the Sanhedrin by a hasty vote condemned him to death. Then followed an orgy of shameless abuse and bru- tality, an explosion of long-restrained Pharisaic hatred and fanaticism. Among other things, they blindfolded him, and in ridicule of his claims as a prophet, asked him to identify the various ones who struck him (Mark 15:64). (b) The Trial of Jesus Before the Roman Authori- THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 93 ties. — Leaving Jesus still bound, the chief priests, eld- ers, scribes, and Sanhedrin, after another conference, delivered him to the civil authorities in order to try him again as required by the Roman code, and to get the death sentence upheld and executed. This must have been between six and eight A. M., and here fol- lows the second phase of the trial : II. The Civil Trial: I. Before Pontius Pilate. — Pilate was the sixth pro- curator, or Roman governor, of Judea, appointed by Tiberius Caesar in 26 A. D. Pilate had had consider- able trouble with his Jewish subjects, who objected to his bringing the silver eagles and heathen emblems of his soldiery from Caesarea to Jerusalem, and for five days they stormed his palace at Caesarea with furious protests, until finally he yielded to their de- mands and ordered the offending decorations removed. This, together with his appropriating temple money to build an aqueduct to bring a good water-supply to Jerusalem from the Pools of Solomon, had caused a number of minor revolts, one of which is referred to in Luke 13 : 1-5, and had caused Pilate to regard his fanatical subjects with deep disgust. So unsuccessful' was he, that a few years later he was deposed by the Roman emperor, and is said to have committed sui- cide. Pilate went to the Judgment Hall earlier than usual on this Good Friday morning, when he was aware a great deputation was coming with a prisoner for trial, doubtless expecting some Passover disturb- ance of unusual dimensions. With characteristic brusqueness, Pilate opened the proceedings with, "What accusation bring ye against this man?" (John 94 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 18:29). They answered gruffly: "If he were not a malefactor we would not have delivered him up to thee" (18 : 30). But this was no charge at all, so Pilate ordered them to take him away and judge him accord- ing to their law (18 : 31 ). Since they had already done this, to put a plausible face on the proceedings, they accused him of treason to Caesar (Luke 23:2), par- ticularly by declaring himself a king. Pilate then called Jesus aside, and asked him if he were King of the Jews. The former could see, as could even a blind man, "that for envy they had delivered him" (Matt. 27:18). Jesus apparently had not heard the latest accusation, and asked Pilate if he had brought this charge himself, or whether the Jews had (John 18: 34). The Roman governor assured Jesus that could not have been of his own knowledge, for he was not a Jew (John 18:35). Jesus then proceeded to explain that his kingdom was spiritual, not earthly or politi- cal, for if it had been the latter his servants would have waged a campaign of military defense (John 18: 36). Pilate, apparently not grasping the idea of a spiritual kingdom, repeated his question (V. 37). Jesus more in detail explained that he was a king in a purely religious sense (18:37). Pilate, being a prac- tical man, impatiently dismissed these abstractions, and went out to the Jews again. He acquitted Jesus in a most emphatic and unqualified sentence: "I find in him no fault at all" (John 18:38). This caused a wild tumult of mob fury (Luke 23:5), and they ac- cused him of stirring up sedition all the way from Galilee to Judea (23 : 5). Catching the word "Galilee," Pilate sought a loophole for himself to be rid of an THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 95 extremely annoying incident. If Jesus were of Gali- lee, he would be under the jurisdiction of Herod Anti- pas, also in Jerusalem at that time (Luke 23 : 6, 7). To Herod, therefore, Jesus was taken. 2. Before Herod Antipas. — Herod had long been curious to see Jesus (Luke 23 : 8), and asked him many questions. But Jesus looked with disdain on the mur- derei* of John the Baptist, this petty prince who through self-indulgence and cruelty had lost his last spark of manhood and character. Getting no reply, Herod contented himself with throwing over the shoul- ders of Jesus a "gorgeous robe" (Luke 23:11), and dispatching him again to the court of Pilate. 3. The Second Trial Before Pilate. — When Jesus was brought back to him, Pilate earnestly sought to secure his release, a desire which no doubt had been increased by a dream of his wife (Matt. 27 : 19). Again he tried to acquit him (Luke 23: 13-15), and possibly give him a scourging as light punishment (V. 16). Then followed the demand that Barabbas, a notorious criminal, be released, according to the custom of the Passover, but that Jesus be crucified. This was done ; Jesus received the horrible scourging or flagellation ; he was clothed in a scarlet robe, wreathed with a crown of thorns, and given a reed in imitation of a sceptre ; and taken back to Pilate for formal sentence to be pronounced. Pilate, hoping that the sight of the weakened and blood-besmeared prisoner would cause them to relent, let him out before them, saying: "Be- hold the man !" (John 19: 5). Seeing that he was still bent on releasing Jesus, the Jews played their last card. "If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's 96 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar!" they shouted. Pushed to the wall finally by his feeble compromises, and recalling that the Jews had many another complaint to file against him, Pilate became a traitor to those principles to which he had formerly with such firmness adhered. Bringing out a basin of water, he washed his hands of the whole matter, saying: "I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it" (Matt. 27:24). The re- sponse was a great uproar : "His blood be upon us, and on our children!" (Matt. 27:25). (c) The Crucifixion. — Although Pilate turned Jesus over to Roman soldiers, who alone could inflict the^ penalty of death under the Roman provincial laws, the deed was assumed freely and properly by the Jewish authorities. The soldiers took off the scarlet military cloak which had been put on him in mockery, and arrayed him again in his own garments (Matt. 27: 31). He was required to carry his own cross, and preceded by a herald who proclaimed the crime com- mitted to the public, escorted by the maniple of sol- diers, and followed by "a great company of people" (Luke 23 : 27), the tragic procession started on the Via Dolorosa, or "way of grief." For thirty years a carpenter and apparently a man of considerable health and strength, as we have seen on previous occasions, Jesus had been exhausted by loss of sleep and rest since the preceding Wednesday night, by the nervous strain of his several examinations, and by loss of blood from the scourging, and sank down from the weight of his cross. He carried it part of the way (John 19: 17), but in order to avoid delay, the soldiers impressed THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 97 into service one Simon of Cyrene (possibly a colored man, as some have suggested, since Cyrene is in mod- ern Tripoli), "the father of Alexander and Rufus" (Mark 15 : 21), who may have been a Christian sympa- thizer, to carry the burden the remainder of the jour- ney. Many interesting legends are told of the Via Dolorosa, among them that of St. Veronica, who gave the condemned prophet a towel on which to wipe his face, leaving the imprint of his face upon it afterward. Luke alone records the sympathy expressed by the women for the great sufferer, who, however, thought not at all of himself, either now or on the cross, but only of their tragic future (Luke 23:27-31). The in- famous procession finally halted at a "place" (not a "hill"), called Calvary in Latin (Luke 23:33) and in the Hebrew "Golgotha," the place of a skull (John 19:17). It was somewhere outside the city (John 19: 20), and near a highway (Mark 15 : 29). The place of a skull may refer rather to the fact that it was the common place of execution rather than its being a skull-shaped eminence or hill. Several of the world's great painters have depicted Golgotha as a rocky hill, and Adam's skull lying at the foot of the cross, on which the blood of Jesus fell, thus redeeming the human race, and paving the way for the universal resurrection of the dead. Here Jesus was nailed to his cross, between two common thieves who were justly paying the penalty of their misdeeds (Luke 23: 41). Crucifixion was the fearful method of capital punishment provided by the Romans and ancient bar- barians for misdemeanors deemed worthy of death, particularly for slaves and the lowest elements of so- 98 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ciety, among the crimes punishable by it being mur- der, treason, piracy, and revolt. Cicero speaks of it with horror and detestation ; and it was officially abol- ished by Constantine the Great, significantly the first Christian emperor of Rome. It was a fierce form of torture, accompanied by unquenchable thirst, and fre- quently by gangrene, convulsions, lockjaw, paralysis of certain muscles, fever, and swollen blood-vessels. Sometimes the sufferer lectured and exhorted the spectators on certain social and political reforms ; sometimes he cursed and spat at his executioners; sometimes he raved and cursed in agony; and some- times he only moaned or kept silent. On the cross, Jesus was silent, except for seven brief sentences, spoken only for comfort and blessing. About the foot of the cross circulated beneath his dying eyes a sea of spiritual mud: dignified priests and elders taunting him, the Pharisees, the rulers of the people, many of the multitude (Luke 23 : 35), and even the two at his side. The rulers objected to the inscription on the cross: "JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS" (John 19: 19), but Pilate peremptorily refused to change it (John 19 : 22). We may sometimes wonder what pleasure the populace got from the pub- lic executions, yet in our own land many elderly people are still alive who can remember when it was the custom for the whole countryside to attend a hanging, and to take their lunches with them. We may wonder at the horrible nature of crucifixion itself, yet in the year 1915 "Private Peat" recorded that some Canadian soldiers were found affixed thus to barn- doors with bayonets. In its details, history repeats THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 99 itself from time to time, and there is something shock- ingly modern, after all, about the physical features of the death of Jesus Christ. The seven utterances of the cross are: (i) "FATHER, FORGIVE THEM; FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO" (Luke 23:34). (2) "VERILY I SAY UNTO THEE, TODAY SHALT THOU BE WITH ME IN PARADISE" (Luke 23: 43). (3) "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?" (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34). (4) "WOMAN, BEHOLD THY SON." "BE- HOLD THY MOTHER" (John 19:26, 27). (5) "I THIRST" (John 19:28). (6) "FATHER, INTO THY HANDS I COM- MEND MY SPIRIT" (Luke 23:46). (7) "IT IS FINISHED" (John 19:30). The first was a prayer for his enemies, as he taught his disciples to pray in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5 : 44) ; the second, a word of promise to the penitent, dying thief, celebrated in Cowper's hymn, who was profoundly impressed by the nobility and majesty of his great fellow-sufferer; the third, a repe- tition of the words of his great ancestor David's lonely agony (Psalm 22: i); the fourth, a tender regard for the future happiness and welfare of his mother; the fifth, a natural expression of physical need, for which, however, he refused relief, choosing, like a man, to taste the bitterness of death to its last drop, even though the law allowed some relief (Proverbs 31:6); the sixth, a repetition of the faith of his ancestor loo THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT David (Psalm 31 : 5); the seventh, a victorious shout of triumph over his enemies, and the optimistic sense of having completed, within three and one-half brief years, a work that would sometime control the life of the world. Then follows a description of natural phe- nomena: the noonday and afternoon darkness (Mark 15:33). the earthquake (Matt. 27:54), the resurrec- tion of the saints (Matt. 27:52, 53), and the length- wise tearing of the veil of the temple so that all, and not alone the high priest, could see into the Holy of Holies (Matt. 27: 51), symbolizing, as one writer tells us, that no longer was priestly sacrifice necessary for direct communion with God (Hebrews 10: 19-21). (d) The Burial of Jesus. — The fact that Jesus died with the shout of a victor corresponds to his statement found in John 10: 18. But somehow in the purposes of God the shedding of blood is always necessary for the remission of sins, not only individually but nation- ally. "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Jesus died as the type to his nation of the Passover Lamb slain for the remission of sins, and for all who accepted him the Passover sacrifice was no longer necessary (Hebrews 10:3-14). Jesus died about three o'clock in the afternoon, and the Jewish Sabbath be- gan at sunset. The burial of Jesus, after the soldier had made sure of his death with a spear-thrust (John 19 : 34), is beautifully recorded in John 19 : 38-42, by one who purported to be an eye-witness (19: 35). He who had "nowhere to lay his head" in life, in death was buried in another's tomb (Matt. 27:60; John 19:41). 18. The Resurrection of Jesus from the Dead.— In THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT loi "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," chap- ter i8, Gibbon says that the resurrection faith did more to make Christianity a propulsive force in the ancient Roman empire than any other one factor in its operation. It satisfied the human heart more than the breaking-down pantheistic and nature faiths of which the Gentile world was becoming tired, and was beginning to regard as futile. It is here our purpose to present two views of the Resurrection, the old traditional and a modern scientific, and to allow the reader to settle the question for himself. I. The Ancient Traditional View of the Resur- rection. This view is too familiar to need much elaboration : the angel or angels rolling away the stone ; the coming of the women and the disciples to the tomb, which was found empty, and the ten recorded appearances of the risen Jesus to believers during the forty days subsequent to that glorious first Easter morning : a. To the Women at the Tomb : Luke 24: 9, 10, 12. A test-case of the angel. b. To Mary Magdalene : Mark 16:9. A test-case of hearing and seeing. c. To Peter: I Cor. 15:5. A Test-case of at least vision. d. To James: I Cor. 15:7. A test-case of at least vision. e. To Two Disciples: Luke 24: 15-35. A test-case of hearing, seeing, and breaking of bread. f. To the Tefi, Thomas Absent: Luke 24:36-43. A test-case of hearing, touch, and of eating. I02 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT g. To the Eleven Thomas present : John 20 : 26, 27. A test-case particularly of touch. h. To the Seven in Galilee : John 21 : 1-14. A test- case particularly of eating and social commu- nion. j. To the Five Hundred: I Cor. 5:6. A test-case of vision by a multitude of witnesses. k. To the Eleven on the Mount of Olives: Luke 24 : 50. A test-case of vision and hearing. By test-case we mean tangible proofs offered by the Gospel writers from oral tradition to those in particu- lar who had believed on Jesus previously. Then it is recorded that the glorified body of Jesus finally rose from this earth into the heavenly realms, leaving his disciples behind to fulfill the mission bequeathed to them of propagating Christian principles among all the peoples of the earth. II. A Modern Scientific Conception of the Resur- rection. In order to understand the Resurrection story per- fectly, it is necessary again to recall the order in which the documents of the New Testament appeared his- torically. They are: (a) The Letters of Paul; (b) The Synoptic Gospels and Acts; and (c) The Fourth Gospel and General Epistles. Therefore, it is from Paul that we get our first written, earliest, most re- liable, and nearest in point of time to the event itself, Resurrection account. I Corinthians (written about 57 A. D.) is the first document to deal at some length with the Resurrection (Chapter 15). It was written THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 103 only a quarter of a century after the event itself, probably fifteen years before Mark wrote the Begin- nings of Gospel Story, forty years before Matthew and Luke, and half a century possibly before Acts, although these are but tentative estimates. It must have appeared at least sixty years before the Fourth Gospel. The reader will doubtless accept the follow- ing as axiomatic: that whatever Paul teaches about the Resurrection, we may confidently accept as having been the teaching of the Twelve Apostles and the earliest church, for Paul himself says that on this point he and the Apostles were one. If the reader will read carefully I Corinthians 15, he will note the phrase "according to the scriptures" in verses 3 and 4. Paul very boldly and without any historical or descriptive details proclaims the Resur- rection of Jesus. That Jesus died is a matter of his- tory ; that he died for our sins is a declaration of faith rather than of history. That Jesus was raised from the dead Paul knows from the evidence of his own sense (V. 8) ; but that he was raised from the dead on the THIRD DAY he knows only "according to the scriptures." ^ Jesus foretold that he would be raised out from among the company of the dead on the third day "according to the scriptures" (Mark 8:31; 9: 9-13 ; 9: 31 ; 10: 34, etc., basing his prophecy on Hosea 6: 2; II Kings 20: 5, etc.). Where did the Old Testa- ment scriptures get their idea of "the third day" ? The answer is, of course, that it was a primitive concep- tion introduced into Judaism from the Persian and 1 C. R. Bowen : "The Resurrection in the New Testament" (G. P. Putnam's, 1911), p. 11, et seq. 104 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT other religions, of the soul hovering three days over a dead body before taking its flight, and, more par- ticularly, of the resurrection of life in springtime after three months of winter. Paul bases his whole testimony of the Resurrection of Jesus on the subsequent "appearances" to the dis- ciples, and not because he has known of an empty grave. In none of the Letters of Paul is any mention made of an empty grave. In the Book of Acts no mention is made of the disciples preaching of an empty grave ; in Jerusalem they never visit the grave ; Paul never mentions visiting it. Moreover, bodies in New Testament Palestine were buried in hillsides, and not in the ground, so that "Come forth" (John 11:43) is more accurate than "Arise." Jesus, like Lazarus, was buried in a rock hewn out in a hillside. Therefore, "being raised from the dead," rather than referring to the physical body, must surely refer to the soul or spiritual body. Paul, in fact, vigorously combats the idea then beginning to creep into the Corinthian church that the Resurrection has to do with the physical body (I Cor. 15 : 35-56). The Resurrection then, to be brief, as preached by Jesus himself, by Paul, and by the Twelve, meant that the soul of Jesus would not remain in the underworld (Sheol, or Hades : see Acts 2 : 27), but would rise from thence, out from among the company of departed souls, and escape on high into the heavenly realms." ^ It was inevitable that the tradition would crystallize ^ The "'ascension" of Jesus, therefore, would be synchronous with his "resurrection," although one scientist has observed that if the physical body of Jesus ascended, it has not yet reached the nearest fixed star. THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 105 into being in the early church that "being raised from the dead" was the equivalent of the revival of a dead body. Was Mark then to blame for this, since he is the first Gospel writer, and writes of an empty tomb? As a matter of fact, Mark did not finish his Gospel after chapter 16, verse 8. In J. Paterson Smyth's ad- mirable little volume, "How We Got Our Bible," ^ the author states, in a first-hand discussion of the two oldest New Testament manuscripts in existence, that in these two manuscripts (the Vatican and the Sinaitic Mss.) that the last twelve verses of Mark's Gospel are omitted. The Sinaitic manuscript is yet plain evi- dence, for it ends with the two Greek words "epho- bounto gar" ("for they were afraid," V. 8). It was finished by a later and unknown hand, and on the work of this meddler are the accounts of Matthew and Luke based. Why was it finished thus? Because it was very humiliating to give an account of the anti- climax of the ministry of Jesus, of his disciples being thrown into a terrible panic, and of their fleeing back to Galilee, as the Fourth Gospel account intimates all too plainly that they did ; and because of the tradition that the Resurrection had something to do with the physical body of Jesus, — a thing of which he never dreamed. Today no person imagines that his own body will physically be resurrected from the tomb, for we have the burial formula : "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, and dust to dust." Bodies of crucified criminals were ordinarily left hanging on their crosses to be destroyed by the winds, rains, heat, birds, and beasts. Josephus says that in 1 James Pott & Co.. N. Y., 1915, pp. 16 and 20. io6 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT the time of Jesus thousands upon thousands of crimi- nals were crucified annually. Jesus had no reason to expect burial; and that his body was buried was due really to two haphazard, fortunate circumstances : the pity of Joseph of Arimathea, and the admiration of Pilate for the man of Nazareth. Jesus left no in- structions to his disciples at all concerning his "burial." The Gospel accounts make their empty tomb nar- rative dependent solely on an angelic visitor or visi- tors. The women went to the tomb, remarking on the difficulty of rolling away such a monster stone from its mouth. Why did they go? Mark's unfinished account ^ says to anoint a body which had lain three days in the grave (compare John 11:39). Matthew, knowing such an errand to be improbable in such a hot climate, remarks that they went simply to see the tomb. Luke states that they carried spices, but fails to state for what purpose. John 19 : 39 has the anoint- ing done beforehand by Joseph and Nicodemus. If their errand is highly improbable, how about their dis- covery upon reaching the tomb, as Bowen suggests? Without angelic assistance, the tomb was never opened. The body of Jesus must have lain therein until it went the way of all flesh; in 70 A. D. the Roman invasion destroyed the site. Then what does Paul mean when he says : "If Christ be not raised from the dead, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain" (I Cor. 15:14)? Obviously Paul refers to the Christian doctrine of the 1 B. W. Bacon, "The Making of the New Testament" (Henry Holt & Co., 191S),_ on p. 170 says: "The story of the Empty Sepulchre ... is quite unknown to the primitive resurrection preaching,'' and cites I Cor. 15 : 3-11. THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 107 immortality of the soul, and of the soul of Jesus in particular, which had made its escape from the under- world into heaven (Acts 2:27). Of this the early Resurrection faith consisted. Today, if we believe in immortality, we also believe that Jesus is alive as much as any other Christian soul. Is this not a su- perior conception to that of a dead body reanimated and going through all sorts of efforts to prove its material existence? Then when the risen Lord appeared to his disciples back in Galilee, — a marvelous evidence of the depth of impression made by that master personality upon all who knew and loved him, — they went forth gladly and • fervently to preach the gospel of the Resurrection. 19. A Modern Conception of "The End of the World." — In Acts 2:22 the disciple to whom Jesus bequeathed his mission spoke of the Great Teacher as "a man approved of God." The Bible does not gen- erally refer to man in derogatory terms. Man is made "in the image of God" (spiritually and mentally, not physically, for God is Spirit: John 4:24); and Paul speaks of his heathen converts at Corinth as "temples of the living God," and "temples of the Holy Spirit." Lives which bless the world are all therefore recog- nized as in some measure divine. Jesus was the child of his own particular place and epoch, and shared some of its incorrect ideas, such as demonology, angelology, etc. His value to the world, however, does not con- sist in the scientific inaccuracy of his conceptions of nature, but in his unswerving loyalty to truth, his practically perfect character, his undying moral force, and in his spiritual enkindling of millions of lives since io8 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT his time. He was divine, if ever man was. In him the spirit of God dwelt practically one hundred per cent. "Heaven and earth shall pass away," he said, confidently and optimistically, "but my words shall not pass away." His influence has reached down into the gutters of life, and picked up the drunkard, the gam- bler, the harlot, the thief, — human driftwood, — and has inspired them with new self-respect, new cour- age, new faith, new ardor, and a new life. "If any man be in Christ," said Paul, "he is a new creature: old things have passed away, and behold, all things are become new!" Where the influence of Jesus and his doctrine has penetrated, particularly in heathen lands, barbarism and savagery have disappeared; domestic life has been purified; diseases, misery, crime, hope- lessness, squalor, filth, degradation, and cruelty have vanished. The theologians, however, have been slow to acknowledge that Jesus had human limitations. He dreamed that he was to come again in the clouds of glory within the lifetime of his own generation (Mark 13 • 30) to judge the world. Twenty centuries have rolled by and that expectation has not been fulfilled. And although Jesus was mistaken in his literal expec- tations, he nevertheless succeeded in bringing to pass his real mission, the end of the reign of Mosaic law. It is quite probable that the world will never come to an end in the Biblical sense, for we must recall that the ancient Jews lived in a remote and superstitious age, — the prescientific era of human history. 20. The Coming of the Kingdom of God. — Our world-order today is doubtless honeycombed and per- meated with wrong and viciousness. If the kingdom THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 109 of God were to come miraculously today, men and women everywhere would not be prepared for it. Some will always be on the wrong side of the door. Jesus does not speak of the kingdom usually except in fu- ture tense. He sought to keep alive the consciousness in the human heart that "man does not live by bread alone, but every word which proceeds out of the mouth of God," — that is by the divine fire of inspiration which comes of God, and enables the Christian to keep opti- mistic, inspired, and hopeful in the routine of the daily tasks of life. Jesus kept aloof from most social, po- litical, and legislative problems, because he was not as concerned with the reshaping of men's environment as he was in reshaping men themselves. He foresaw that if all men could be reformed and regenerated, all external and mechanical problems of government and environment would naturally and automatically solve themselves and cease to exist. This was his grand solution for all the problems which trouble society; — war, divorce, crime, industrial slavery, government, legislation, international relationships, and so on. Christianity would be like the leaven hid in three measures of meal if given a chance to operate. There- fore conditions of entrance loom larger in the mind of Jesus regarding the kingdom of God, rather than what it will be like when it comes ; and "we, according to his promise, look for a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness and peace" (II Peter 3:13)- PART II : APPENDIX A. JESUS WAS A RURAL PREACHER The simple pictorial figures with which Jesus clothed his teachings reveal him as a rural preacher, just as we have already noted that his numerous allusions to the craft of carpentry show him to have been before his ministry a laboring man. Some of the allusions to rural life are : the sower in the furrow (Matt. 13 : 3 et seq.); the mustard-plant (Matt. 13:31); the farmer at his plow (Matt. 9: 62; Luke 17: 73) ; the injured spar- rows (Matt. 10:23); the lilies of the field (Matt. 6: 28, 29; Luke 12:27); the red glow of sunset (Matt. 16:2); the beggar lying at the gate in rags, and the dogs licking his sores (Luke 16:20, 21); the vine- yards and vine-dressers (Matt. 20: i; John 15: i, 2); the shepherd following his sheep (John 10:11-16); and the midnight bridal (Matt. 25 : 1-12). These were common, familiar, objective scenes of his life, and were not evolved from the back of his head. The fields "white unto harvest" (John 4:35) is a vivid example of a landscape lesson. The reader will contrast this with the figures of speech employed by Paul, who was a city preacher, and had in mind usually the scenes of busy city life: the athlete in the arena, the soldier clad in armor, and the architecture of edifices built on a magnificent scale. 110 PART II: APPENDIX B. SOME OF THE EX- PRESSIONS JESUS CHRIST HAS MADE PROVERBIAL "Blind leaders of the blind": Matt. 15: 14. "To strain at a gnat and swallow a camel": Matt. 23 : 24. "Whited sepulchres" : Matt. 23 : 27. "Easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle" : Matt. 19 : 24. "Wailing and gnashing of teeth": Matt. 13:42, etc. "The strait and narrow way" : Matt. 7 : 14. "Solomon in all his glory" : Matt. 6 : 29, etc. "The truth shall make you free" : John 8: 32. "Get thee behind me, Satan": Matt. 16: 23. "Fishers of men": Matt. 4: 19. "Salt of the earth": Matt. 5: 13, etc. "To turn the other cheek" : Matt. 5 : 39. "Love your enemies" : Matt. 5 : 44. "Rain on the just and the unjust" : Matt. 5 : 45. "Left hand knowing what your right hand does": Matt. 6 : 3. "Serving two masters" : Matt. 6 : 24. "Casting pearls before swine" : Matt. 7 : 6. "Wolves in sheep's clothing": Matt. 7: 15. "By their fruits ye shall know them" : Matt. 7 : 20. "Like a house built upon the sand" : Matt. 7 : 26. Ill 112 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT "New wine into old bottles" : Matt. 9 : 17. "Revealed unto babes": Matt. 11:25. "Ninety and the nine": Matt. 18: 13. "What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder" : Matt. 19 : 6. "Many called, but few chosen": Matt. 19:30. "Eleventh hour": Matt. 20:6. "Stone which the builders rejected": Matt. 21:42. "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's" : Matt. 22:21. "Outer darkness" : Matt. 22 : 13. "Wars and rumors of wars" : Mat. 24 : 6. "Unto everyone that hath shall be given": Matt. 25:29. "Sheep and goats" : Matt. 25 : 32. "Watch and pray" : Matt. 26:41. "They that take up the sword shall perish by the sword": Matt. 26:52. "No prophet is accepted in his own country" : Luke 4:24. "Tree known by its fruits" : Luke 6 : 44. "Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over" : Luke 6 : 38. "Out of abundance of heart the mouth speaketh": Luke 6 : 45. "Wisdom is justified of all her children": Luke 7:35- "Gain the whole world and lose his own soul": Matt. 16:26. "Good Samaritan": Luke 10:33. "Putting a candle under a bushel" : Luke 11 : 33. "Hairs of your head are numbered" : Luke 12 : 7. THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 113 "Where your treasure is your heart will be" : Luke 12:34. "Life is more than meat" : Luke 12 : 23. "Eat, drink, and be merry": Luke 12: 19. "Go into the highways and hedges" : Luke 14 : 23. "Counting the cost": Luke 14:28. "Prodigal son": Luke 15: 13. "Riotous living": Luke 15: 13. "The fatted calf": Luke 15:23. "The faithful in least is faithful in much" : Luke 16: 10. "Purple and fine linen": Luke 16: 19. "It is more blessed to give than to receive": Acts 20:35- "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted" : Luke 18:14. "Search the scriptures" : John 5 : 39. "The poor you have always with you": John 12:8. PART II: APPENDIX C: A BRIEF SKETCH OF PALESTINE Palestine is and always has been probably the most unique and interesting country in the world. It roughly approximates the state of New Hampshire in shape and area. Without Perea, it contains nearly 9,000 square miles. The Mediterranean Sea has no natural harbors in the Holy Land, and this singular fact is responsible for the historical exclusiveness of the Jewish race, and thus it largely escaped foreign contamination. Yet Palestine is the gateway from Europe by land into Egypt and Africa, and every great world-conqueror from the time of Alexander and Pompey down to December 11, 1917, when General Allenby's British army wrested Jerusalem for the last time from the Turk, has made it the greatest center of military activity for the last four thousand years. Palestine has every climate on the globe within its small confines, non-tropical in the north where wheat grows and frost comes, and tropical in the south, where the lion thrives, palms and figs grow, and frost never comes. The River Jordan is a deep, precipitous can- yon, 180 miles long, falling an incline of eighty miles from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, and is widest at Jericho. The Dead Sea is 1300 feet below the sea- level, and is the lowest spot in the world. Its water is 114 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 115 dense, mineral, and crystal clear, with a specific grav- ity too great to swim or drown in, and its water is the saltiest in the world, highly destructive of animal and vegetable life. The topographical surface of the Holy Land from west to east is: (a) the Mediter- ranean coastal plain, varying from seven to twenty miles in width; (b) the foothills, varying from three to five hundred feet in height; and (c) the Lebanon Mountains, from two to four thousand feet high. In Palestine the rainy season is from October to May, and the dry season from May to October, when it NEVER rains. Palestine, thus being the gateway of the world in the time of Christ, was the strategic point of the divine plan for the propagating of Christianity all over the world. PART III THE LIFE OF PAUL PART III THE LIFE OF PAUL I. The Man and the Time. — Every critical period in the history of the world seems to find a leader to tide it over the crisis. These men always seem di- vinely inspired to meet the emergency; they ARE di- vinely inspired, if we believe that God still operates through the words and lives of good men and women everywhere, and that His expressions of His will are not confined exclusively to the pages of the Bible. The Jews in the age of Jesus attempted "to shut God up in a book", and to imagine that He said His last word there, a blunder that well-meaning but mistaken people still frequently make. Jesus overthrew this doctrine, and proceeded to define Christianity not as a book religion, but as a religion of ever-expanding ser- vice (John 14: 12). God continues, and will continue to express His will through His servants everywhere. The litany of saints is a long one. It is not confined to any race, class, color, creed, or activity. "It is a spuri- ous patriotism," said Charles Evans Hughes at the commencement exercises of Wellesley College on June 14, 1920, "that is linked to the triumph of any creed or class, or becomes the vehicle of bigotry." The Boston clergyman, who, during the 1920 tercentenary celebra- "9 I20 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT tion of the landing of the Pilgrims, spoke on "The Litany of American Saints" voiced the same idea. Saints are those who, divinely inspired and with char- acter as their greatest asset, serve the greatest number of their fellowmen. Inevitably this must transcend creed or class, and extend much further than the pages of the Bible. A Paul, a Luther, a Francis Xavier, a Wesley, a Knox, a Thomas Chalmers, an Aristides, a Marcus Aurelius, a Washington, a Lincoln, a William Bradford, a Jesse Lazear, — all these served the age in which they lived, and the ages to come. Joan of Arc, Toussaint L'Ouverture, Nathan Hale, Roger Williams, and countless others now gone are on humanity's ros- ter of saints. It is a common platitude th^t Jesus of Nazareth came in an age of social and political unrest. Religion was dead ; the nature religions had collapsed ; a reign of dreary formalism had set in ; spiritual decay was beginning to spread like a dry rot throughout the whole world. In the hour of world-crisis there emerged from a poor, small back-country town in the most obscure province of the ancient world, the figure of a Carpenter whose character, vision, greatness of heart, and inspiration has eclipsed that of every other human being who has ever lived. When a man was needed with sufficient education, energy, and diplomacy to embody the Christian movement into the history of the world, to rescue it from provincialism, to make it universal, to give it a powerful propulsion into the great Gentile spheres of influence of Rome, Greece, and Asia that lay without Palestine, he was found in the person of the apostle Paul. But, similarly, when God wanted a man to strike the shackles of slavery THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 121 from three millions of American black men, he went to the cornfields of Illinois and raised up Abraham Lincoln. There can be no essential difference in the inspired mission and purity of motive between one of humanity's saints and another, except that of degree. 2. Early Life and Advantages. — Paul, or Saul, as he was originally named, was not a Palestinian Jew, but a Jew of the Dispersion, born in Tarsus, Cilicia, a seaport town of Asia Minor (Acts 21 : 39 and 22 : 3). It stands on both banks of the Cydnus River which roars down from the snow-capped Taurus Mountains, becoming virtually an estuary of the Mediterranean just below the city proper. Here was that seat of Gentile culture, the University of Tarsus, and though Ihere is no record of the fact, yet Paul, knowing Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic, may have been under its influ- ence directly as he doubtless was indirectly. In Tar- sus are still pointed out "St. Paul's Well," "St. Paul's Tree," and "St. Paul's House," traditional spots of interest to tourists, like the Shakespeare house in Stratford and Shylock's house in Venice. Of Paul's parents practically nothing is known save that they were "Hebrews of the Hebrews" (Philippians 3:5) of the tribe of Benjamin (ibid), and strict Pharisees (Acts 26: s). That they were probably well-to-do and devout Jews is apparent from the manner in which Paul was educated, his later religious zeal both against and in behalf of Christianity, and the piety which al- ways characterized all his dealings with his fellow- men. The date of Paul's birth is a mystery. When Stephen was stoned to death about 33 A. D., and his persecutors laid their garments at Paul's feet, the 122 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT Book of Acts speaks of the latter as "a young man" (7:58). About 62 A. D. when Paul took his appeal from the provincial Roman court of Palestine to the supreme court of the Emperor Nero, he must have been sixty years of age or past. Later, in his "prison epistle" to Philemon, written either from Rome or Ephesus, he refers to himself in Greek as "old Paul" (Philemon 9). Probably Paul was about the same age as Jesus. Paul had a married sister living in Jerusalem (Acts 23 : 16), which is important at two points in his career : his attendance at college in Jeru- salem, and his rescue to Caesarea. Saul was Paul's Jewish name ; Paulus was his Roman citizenship name, — a fairly common name, which he adopted on his first missionary excursion into the Gentile world (Acts 13 : 9). Having been born in a Gentile Roman province, Paul received certain civic privileges and immunities, among which were (1) Trial by Roman law, (2) Free- dom from dishonorable penalties, such as scourging and crucifixion, and (3) In legal trial the privilege of supreme appeal from provincial court to the Emperor. Of all these Paul later took full advantage in the hour of need. Although Paul was acquainted with Greek culture (Acts 17:28 and I Cor. 15:33), he always maintained his Rabbinical Jewish identity: "Brought up at the feet of Gamaliel" (Acts 22: 3) is quite a lit- eral expression in the New Testament, while in our day it is altogether figurative. Oral repetition while seated on the floor about the teacher was, and still is, a common Oriental method of education. Gamaliel, the grandson of Hillel, was a liberal Pharisee, an ad- mirer of Greek culture, and is known outside of the THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 123 New Testament. A Jewish boy's education was voca- tional as well as academic. Jesus learned carpentery ; Paul, tent-making' (Acts 18:3), but whether as a weaver of the goat's-hair canvas or a maker of the tent itself is not clear. This trade enabled him to earn a living wherever he went, and to be financially inde- pendent of the churches to which he ministered. 3. Activity Against the Christians and Conversion. — Paul's early training and later education naturally made of him a conservative Pharisee. He "viewed with alarm" the sect of the Nazarenes, finding its doctrine utterly hateful and repugnant, and continued to "point with pride" to the law of Moses and the covenant with Abraham as the sources of revealed religion. There are said to have been three hundred and sixty-five synagogues in Jerusalem in the time of Jesus and Paul, the Jews from outside of Palestine maintaining their own. Doubtless Paul was "one of Cilicia" who disputed with Stephen (Acts 6:9). If so, it will help us to understand his conversion. The martyrdom of Stephen is the first point at which Paul breaks into the New Testament narrative. He stood by, guarding the clothes of the executioners, approv- ing the deed under the penalty provided by the law against blasphemy, but unable or unwilling to cast a stone himself. He heard the dying prayer of the hero : "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit," and "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge" (Acts 7 : 59, 60), and the impression made must have been deep and abiding. But Paul found the first outlet, nevertheless, for his energy and ability in assisting in the persecution of the Christian sect, and in "making havoc of the 124 i'HE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT church" (Acts 8:3). In Acts 9:2, the phrase "of this way" indicates that the Christians had not yet split off from the Jewish mother church. Saul tried to "put out the fire by scattering the brands." With his char- acteristic unflagging zeal, Paul went to Caiaphas, the high priest, for letters of authority in the synagogues of Damascus (Acts 9:2) by which he might extradite all members of the sect of the Nazarenes back to the capital for trial and punishment. It was on the road to Damascus that the highly dramatic incident of Paul's conversion occurred (Acts 9:4-7; 22:10; 26: 14, 15).^ It was simply the reaction of an inherently noble nature against a career of cruelty, bloodshed, and oppression. That is all the expression "It is hard for thee to kick against the goads" (Acts 9:5) can possibly mean. The time to meditate enforced by the long journey in the desert between the two cities pre- cipitated a physical and moral reaction. Paul refers to it as a revelation in Galatians i : 18, but in I Cor. 9:1, he states that he saw no vision, but the risen Jesus, since there is no evidence that he saw Jesus before the crucifixion. As a matter of fact it was prob- ably his memory of Stephen that converted Paul. Cer- tainly he had heard Jesus described sufficiently well before the journey to Damascus. After his conversion, Paul was never the same man again. His is the most remarkable instance of what Christianity can do for a man in the pages of the New Testament. Instead of 1 In his "The Psychology of Religious Experience" (Houghton- Mifflin, 1910), Edward Scribner Ames reminds us that Paul was probably a neurotic, and that for men of temperaments like his and St. Augustine's, the dramatic method of conversion was entirely possible and probable. THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 125 the proud, cruel, vain, boastful, pompous Pharisee riding in triumph upon Damascus, we find him ever after a kind, humble, courteous, sincere Christian gen- tleman. His energy had been diverted into a con- structive channel. Paul ever afterward spoke of his persecution of the church of which he ultimately be- came the leader with great humility and regret (I Cor. 15:9, 10; Gal. 1:13; Phil. 3:6, etc.). In Damascus Paul stayed in the house of Judas (Acts 9: 11), was baptized by Ananias (Acts 9: 10-18), and was intro- duced to the Christian circle by Barnabas (Acts 9: 26 and 2i^), the former still fearful that Paul might be a wolf in sheep's clothing. It was finally determined that Paul should go as an apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9 : 15 ; 22 : 21 ; 26 : 17, 18), since it was obvious that his life would no longer be safe in Jerusalem or Palestine for any but the very shortest periods of time. For he had been a traitor and apostate to his own religion ! 4. The Next Fourteen Years. — Wherever possible, it is preferable to get the facts of Paul's life from his letters. The Book of Acts is generally vague in its chronology. A favorite expression of the author is "many days" (Acts 9:23). After his conversion Paul retired into Arabia (Gal. i : 17-23) to formulate his plans for the Gentile mission, but how long he re- mained is unknown. He lived in Damascus three years after his return from Arabia, and certifies that his account of his life is true as stated by him (Gal. i : 20). After three years he had to leave Damascus (Acts 9: 23-25; II Cor. 11:32, 33) to save his life. He spent two weeks in Jerusalem incognito, where he saw Peter, and James, the brother of Jesus, but was unknown ex- 126 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT cept by hearsay to the Judean churches (Gal. i : 22). Then he went to Tarsus (Acts 9:30)- An interim of fourteen years is passed over (Gal. 2:1), except that he worked and had some harrowing experiences (II Cor. II). Meanwhile, Antioch, the capital of Syria, has become a strong Christian center, the first great Gentile center, where the disciples are first called Christians. There are two groups of Christian com- municants at Antioch: (i) The Jewish group (Acts II : 19), and (2) the Gentile group (Acts 11 : 20). Bar- nabas is the minister to the Gentile group (11 : 22), and sends for Paul (11:25). They remain here a year (11:26), and then depart on the First Missionary Journey, which is estimated to have consumed three years. This ends the period of fourteen years of Galatians 2: i, which mentions the trip to Jerusalem, given in some detail in Acts 15, at the end of the First Journey. The year at Antioch and the three years of the First Journey account for four years of the four- teen, leaving a blank of ten years which must be passed over by Bible students insofar as historical facts of Paul's career are available. 5. The First Missionary Journey. — The theme of the Book of Acts, the document which gives us most of what we know about Paul's biography, is the rise of the Greek, or Gentile, mission. If a diagram of the Book of Acts were to be drawn on a blackboard, it would best represent a series of concentric semicircles spreading north of the city of Jerusalem as the com- mon center. Each semicircle would represent a geo- graphical phase of the spread of the Christian propa- ganda from its original headquarters in Jerusalem. THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 127 For the first semicircle (Acts 8:4), Paul himself was directly responsible. The second is represented in Acts 9:2. Acts 11:19 is a third semicircle. The fourth is the territory of southern Asia Minor covered by the First Missionary Journey of Acts- 13-14. The fifth would be the territory of the Second Journey (Acts 15:36 to 18:22) extending over into Europe. The sixth would stretch as far as Rome (Acts 28: 16). On the First Missionary Journey Paul started forth with Barnabas, his former sponsor at Damascus, and the latter's nephew or relative, John Mark (Acts 12: 25; 13:6; Col. 4: 10). The three start to the isle of Cyprus, which was Barnabas' old home, and not virgin territory, from Seleucia, the seaport of Antioch, Syria, named after Seleucus Nicator, a general of Alex- ander the Great, who also built Laodicea. At Paphos the seat of the worship of Venus, Paul destroyed the influence of Elymas, a professional swindler and "sor- cerer," and converted Sergius Paulus, Roman pro- consul, who is also mentioned in Pliny's "Natural History." It is noteworthy that in Acts 13 : i, 2, and 7, Saul is named last, but in Acts 13: 9 he changes his name from its conspicuously Jewish connotation to that of the Roman "Paulus," becoming thus a "citizen of the world" ; and in Acts 13 : 13, it is no longer "Bar- nabas and Saul," but the completely revolutionized expression "Paul and his company." Upon reaching the mainland of Asia Minor at Perga in Pamphylia, John Mark, for some unknown reason, usually con- strued as cowardice, deserted his two elder compan- ions (Acts 13 : 13), leaving them to go their way alone. The prospect would doubtless have daunted a less stout 128 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT heart than that of the youthful Mark. In order to reach the ,plateau tableland of this vast peninsula, the snow-capped Taurus Mountains must be scaled through the narrow Cilician gates. Dens of robbers; roaring, precipitous rivers plunging headlong down the rocky cliffs for miles and miles, with few or no bridges worthy the name spanning them; solitary ledges, lakes, and deserts ; and behind all a population of barbarians, confronted these pilgrims on their mis- sion. These once overcome, the Book of Acts con- sistently throughout describes a recurrent scheme of treatment of Paul and the early Christian propaganda : preaching as strangers in the synagogue on the Sab- bath, while on week-days quietly working at the trade of tent-making ; conversions ; stirring up of hostilities on the part of the Jewish residents ; physical violence ; and finally deportation as undesirable aliens. The First Journey covered about 1400 miles, one-half of which was by water. It is estimated that three years were consumed in making it. But did Paul and Bar- nabas visit only half a dozen towns? Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Antioch in Pisidia, and Perga were apparently left with vigorous churches. Paul, instead of making a complete circuit of the peninsula, retraced his foot- steps from Derbe back to Perga, revisiting the towns in which his life had been imperilled, which act in itself was sufficient to convince his converts of the sincerity of his message. Some scholars, like Bernard Pick, have imagined that Paul was imprisoned for a time in Iconium, but this must remain an open question. The conclusion of this journey, in which Paul acknowledged his dependence on the Jerusalem church, ends the THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 129 period of fourteen years mentioned in Gal. 2:1. Here, then, follows in Acts 15, the famous trip to Jerusalem of Gal. 2:1. The four preceding years are roughly accounted for, one at Antioch, three on the First Jour- ney, leaving a blank of ten years (Gal. 2:1) unac- counted for. 6. The Council at Jerusalem. — (Acts. 15; Gal. 2: i-io). There is a great mass of literature on the strik- ing discrepancies of Acts 15 and Gal 2:1-10. Paul was at the Council ; the author of Acts apparently was not. Paul is concerned mainly with bringing out the historical facts and the truth. Galatians was written with very obvious vexation, for Paul says, "An agree- ment was reached, and we shook hands upon it" (Gal. 2:9). Titus is not mentioned in Acts; in Galatians 2, he is held up as a sample convert of the case in point. If the external rites and ceremonies of Judaism are necessary to becoming a good Christian, then much of Paul's work has been already false and vain. Therefore, a compromise was reached : (i ) The Jewish group was to come into the church on the basis of ritualism if they so desired; (2) the Gentile group might enter without the Jewish rites (Gal. 2:9). Paul foresaw that in the last analysis there could be no divergence in Christian principle between Gentile and Jew. Ordinarily a strict Jew would not eat at the same table with a Gentile for the latter was not cere- monially pure. The question was : what was to be the future relationship of these two groups? Was Christianity common ground enough to obliterate eventually this prejudice? Paul foresaw the verdict of history, but was broad enough to make a compro- I30 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT mise to meet the present emergency. "If salvation come by THE LAW," said he, "then Christ died for nought" (Galatians 2:21). It was agreed at this council that Paul and Barnabas should go to the Gen- tiles, and Peter, James, John, and so forth, to the Jews. It is notable that wherever we meet the Apostle Peter in the New Testament, he is always the same : impul- sive, rash, emotional, yet amenable to reason appar- ently, his conclusions always being followed by an opposite reaction (Gal. 2: 11, 12). He is always get- ting a rebuke, either from Jesus or Paul. The Book of Acts shows Peter as impulsive and active, engaged commonly in some form of Christian propaganda, too often with a seeming lack of fixed principles. He visits Antioch after the Council at Jerusalem, and eats with the Gentiles; but when a messenger from James, bishop of Jerusalem, arrives, he swings back to the Jews, even Barnabas, apostle to the Gentiles, being carried away by the sudden reactionary impulse (Gal. 2: 13). Acts 15 dovetails into one account several dis- cussions continued over a lengthy period, with Paul both present and absent. The final "decrees" repre- sent the culmination of the discussions on ceremonial diet rather than the original problem of the Gentiles becoming Christians via the Old Testament church with its cumbrous ceremonialism. Galatians 2 clings tenaciously and pointedly to the original question, while Acts 15 blends the solution of various questions presented in the council. The Jewish Christian church at this very point begins to dry up at its source, and the living church is Paul's church by the end of the first century A. D. With Acts 15, Peter and Barnabas THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 131 vanish from the New Testament narrative. From this point on the Book of Acts is a spotlight turned upon Paul and his labors, while the church at Jerusalem is staged ever after in darkness. But it is not to be sup- posed that the Council at Jerusalem settled once and for all the question Paul sought to have settled. Paul was, in fact, tormented all his life by the extreme reac- tionary wing of fanatical Jews, who followed in his wake, crept into his churches, and whispered to his converts that he was deceiving them. They threw his churches into confusion and doubt, as the scathing arraignment of their activities by Paul in Galatians too well evidences. They plotted secretly and openly against the apostle's life until it is almost a miracle that he lived to complete his mission as well as he did. But he triumphed, and his views have become the verdict of history. 7. The Second Missionary Journey. — Paul is now independent of the Jerusalem church absolutely, ex- cept that he remembers his promise to the poor of the Palestinian Jewish churches (Gal. 2: 10; Acts 24: 17). Acts hereafter deals almost exclusively with Paul, and in 16 : 10 drops suddenly into the first per- son (one of the "We-Sections"), indicating first, that it is a sort of diary, and second, that the author, Luke (or possibly Titus), joined Paul's party at that point. Paul proceeds to visit the churches of the first jour- ney, and at Lystra picks up Timothy, who becomes ever after one of his dearest companions (Philippians 2: 19-24). The "impulsion" is ever westward (Acts 16:7), and little is said of churches and missionary work on the continent of Asia. Galatians 4: 13 tells 132 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT us that he was compelled to stop for a time on account of illness, doubtless his "thorn in the flesh" (literally, "a sharp stake driven through the flesh") of II Cor. 12 : 7. In the latter verse the English word "buffet" in the Greek is the cruder "knock down," which indi- cates a physical obsession like epilepsy, or "falling sickness." Another indication in favor of the epileptic theory is the language of Galatians 4:14, where the English word "rejected" in the Greek is literally "spit out at." People spit on the ground in Paul's day whenever witnessing an epileptic convulsion to ward off demonic influence supposed to cause that disease, much as ignorant peasants today cross their fingers to ward off the "evil eye." There are abundant evidences in Paul's own writings as well as in Acts that he was an epileptic and a neurotic. Witness the trance of Acts 22: 17, the visions and infirmities of II Cor. 12: i-io, and the dramatic and peculiar manner of his con- version (Acts 9: 1-9; 22: 5-1 1 ; 26: 9-20). His constant references to weakness and physical distress, his exalted and nervous manner of speaking, his collapses in a state of great excitement, as when he first saw the magnitude of his task at Corinth (I Cor. 2:3), indicate a now conscious, now subconscious, realization of his afflic- tion. Biblical scholars have advanced other theories: deafness, malaria, sick headache, opthalmia, disfigur- ing disease, etc., to explain the "thorn in the flesh," but epilepsy seems to be the most plausible and likely equivalent. There were at least four in Paul's party, Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke (Acts 16: 10), at Troas, probably in autumn of 51 A. D. When Paul and his party THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 133 crossed the Aegean, the status of the modern world was definitely settled, for it meant that Europe and America, not Asia and the Orient, would first become Christian. Troas was historic ground already. The poet Horace had said that if Troy were to be rebuilt, like the African Carthage, its strategic position would undermine in time the domination of Rome over the ancient world. It was here that Xerxes and his three million Asiatics made a futile attempt to overrun Europe. Here the Homeric heroes are alleged to have fought and bled because of "the face that launched a thousand ships." And here the spiritual destiny of modern civilization was determined by a handful of men. (a) Philippi, or "Philip's Town" was the first place of any importance where a halt was made. Paul's stay here was indefinite (Acts 16: 12). There was no Jew- ish colony or synagogue in this place, and the proseucha by the riverside was the only place of wor- ship. The first converts in Europe were women. Lydia sold madder-root, or some form of dye-stuff. Paul and Silas were arrested, beaten, and thrown into prison here, even though Roman citizens, and at first opportunity Paul hurled a thunderbolt at the police- magistrates (Acts 16: 37), that they were destined not soon to forget. Paul again refers to this in I Thes. 2 : 2. Paul's church at Philippi was his best-beloved church, and to them he writes his most cordial and af- fectionate letter (Phil. 1:3, 4; 2:12, 15; 4:1, 19, 23, etc.). Paul left a considerable church at Philippi. More conversions are named (Phil. 4:2, 3), and from now on it becomes imperative to supplement the ac- 134 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT count in Acts with names and details from Paul's own letters. Repeatedly Paul accepts money from Philippi (Phil. 4: 15, 16), as he will do from no other church. The Letter to the Philippians was written to them in acknowledgment of gifts, and especially to Epaphro- ditus. In this connection, the letter might profitably be read. (b) Thessalonica, 100 miles south of Philippi, the modern Salonica or Saloniki, and the second city of European Turkey, was the second main stop of Paul's. It was the capital of Macedonia, and, unlike Philippi, contained a goodly proportion of Jews. Thessalonica speedily became a sort of Christian headquarters (I Thess. 1 : 8), and has maintained a powerful Chris- tian church from Paul's day to the present, Islam hav- ing been unable to make any permanent inroads. Here Paul proceeded "to turn the world upside down" (Acts 17 : 6), and met with the same old program of oppo- sition, although no Jews are mentioned in I Thessa- lonians. Acts gives us a very incomplete and unsatis- factory account of Paul's stay in Thessalonica. For instance, Jason is introduced very abruptly into the account (Acts 17: 5), without any explanation or clue as to his identity. But I Thessalonians gives us a somewhat fuller idea of the missionary trials at Thes- salonica. It should be read in this connection. Ap- parently the Thessalonians had "turned unto God from idols" (I Thess. 1:9; 2: 14), for the Gentile audience required everything from the ground up : God, moral- ity, a new basis of family life, respect for the human body, and the A-B-C of personal decency, all of which the Jewish audience already possessed. Some of Paul's THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 135 Thessalonian converts were Aristarchus and Secundus (Acts 19:29; 20:4; 27:2; Col. 4:10; Philemon 24), and Jason (Acts 17:5; Romans 16:21). While here Paul received financial help from Philippi (Phil. 4: 15). (c) Berea. — Forced to leave Thessalonica by hostile Jews, Paul and his company came to Berea, where they met the usual program of hostilities, this time incited by Jews who followed the missionaries thither from Thessalonica (Acts 17:13). Paul alone is de- ported to Athens to wait for Silas and Timothy, the latter having been sent back from Berea to Thessa- lonica by the Apostle to find out how the church there was faring (Acts 17 : 15 ; I Thess. 3 : 2). Paul has heard of a persecution at Thessalonica since leaving there, and is fearful that the little church will be torn out by the roots (I Thess. 2: 17, 18; 3:4). Paul sends a letter— I Thessalonians — written from Athens after receiving word from Timothy that they have success- fully withstood all hostile opposition (I Thess. 3 : 6). At this point, bea,ring these facts in mind, it will be well to read I Thessalonians, Paul's first epistle, which is short and will virtually explain itself in the light of what has been said. Sopater (Acts 20:4; Romans 16: 21) is a typical Berean convert of Paul's. The First Letter to the Thessalonians (A) This letter was not named I Thessalonians by Paul himself, but by editorial compilers. In the Greek New Testament the longer letter is called "alpha" and the shorter, "beta." The letter reveals conspicuously the motive for its having been written. Was it written in reply to a letter from the Thessalonians? This 136 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT view has been taken by critics like Rendel Harris, Eleanor Wood, and Bacon, but, of course, is merely- speculative. The letter is short, easy to read, and di- vides very neatly : I. The Personal Division. (Chapters 1-3). A. Chap, i: Praise for the Thessalonians, personal, hearty, and tactful. B. Chap. 2: 1-16: Paul's personal defense. C. Chap. 2: 17-3:13: A description of the present situation, and the circumstances of writing. II. The Doctrinal Division. (Chapters 4-5). A. Chap. 4: 1-12: Christian conduct out- lined. B. Chap. 4: 13-5: II :, Eschatology, or "the end of the world." C. Chap. 5: 12-18: Closing advice. Note again two characteristics of the Thessalonians : (i) They were heathen ("Ye turned unto God from idols": 1:9); and (2) they had a certain disorderly, unruly element among their number whose conduct apparently did not meet with Paul's full approval as Christian citizenship (4:11; 5: 12-14). Let us also read in this connection the Second Let- ter to the Thessalonians, which has only three brief chapters, and presents some marked peculiarities which cast some doubt on its being genuinely Pauline. The Second Letter to the Thessalonians (B) The Second Letter to the Thessalonians resembles the first letter strikingly. It contains the same his- THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 137 torical and doctrinal themes in the same order and the same language, mentions the same unruly and dis- orderly elements dwelt upon in the first letter, and re- calls the fact that the Apostle Paul earned his own living while among the Thessalonians in spite of the fact that he was minister to the church. This letter contains 825 words, of which more than 150 are iden- tical in grammatical structure (in the Greek) with those in the first letter. A careful reading, however, and comparison with the first letter confirms the sus- picion that n Thessalonians is merely a pale reflex of I Thessalonians. It appears to be pseudo-Pauline, writ- ten probably by a Pauline Christian or disciple, in an effort to correct effectively some prevalent misconcep- tion in the church as Paul would do if he were living. A reading of the letter discloses what the misconcep- tion was. The churdh had been receiving forged let- ters which had given a false impression of the his- torical phenomena which were to precede the "end of the world" (I Thess. 2: 1-12). It cannot be too often repeated, however, that it was perfectly permissible in ancient times for disciples of ancient philosophers and teachers to forge the names of the latter thus to the documents. The same problem exactly is pre- sented by the Shakespeare apocrypha ("Pericles," etc.) and pseudo-Plato. These documents usually reveal the fact that they are written by men of inferior power, personality, and ability. The genuineness of II Thes- salonians is, of course, an open question. Von Soden, Peake, Moffatt, and McGiffert point out the similari- ties of the two letters in "tables" of resemblance. Jiilicher, Drummond, Burton, and Goodspeed think it 138 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT Pauline, but inferior in spiritual value. Harnack thinks that it is Pauline, but considerably excised and inter- polated by later hands. Briefly, the arguments that it is pseudo-Pauline are : 1. It is much less fresh and warm in tone than I Thessalonians. It is more judicial and deliberate in tone. Note the salutation, which seems pseudo- Pauline: "We are bound to give thanks for you," etc. (II Thess. 1:3). 2. It assumes a distinct tone of authority. Com- manding, rather than the old familiar Pauline "be- seeching" of the first letter, becomes the key to action. 3. The use of the word "traditions" (II Thess. 2:15 and 3:6) is glaringly conspicuous. This word means always in the Bible, a body of authoritative teachings, usually if not always, ancient. Paul uses this word in three places (Gal. 1 : 14; Col. 2: 8; I Cor. 11:2) in its proper definition. Would he use it in II Thessalonians to refer to his own doctrine? We think not. If we assume, however, that this epistle is pseudo-Pauline, then the word is used in a more nearly correct sense by a Pauline Christian who models after I Thessalonians as he writes. 4. The letter consciously alludes to forgeries of let- ters (II Thess. 2:2). 5. In II Thess. 3: 17, the writer clevely conceals on the surface, which was allowable in his day, the fact that the epistle is pseudo-Pauline. The word "sign" or "token" in 3 : 17 is an assurance that the letter is genuine. That counterfeits are possible is consciously referred to (2:2); that they will be frequent is also asserted (2 : 15 ; 3 : 14). The writer is so self-conscious THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 139 throughout on the forgery proposition that he practi- cally betrays himself. 6. The great sweeping argument against the Paul- ine authorship of H Thessalonians by all odds is the famous antichrist, or "man of sin" passage (2: 1-12). "Anti-Christ" in the New Testament does not mean an opponent of the Messiah necessarily, but simply a pseudo-Messiah who may appear, having never heard h;mself possibly of the real Messiah, Jesus. The prep- osition means in this instance "instead of" rather than "against." This passage, as a matter of fact, contains the heart of the message of this letter, which inevitably must stamp it pseudo-Pauline. Briefly, a preliminary program must be gone through with before the "end of the world" when Jesus shall come again. There will first be an apostasy, or falling away from the Christian faith, followed immediately by the appear- ance of a pseudo-Messiah, or "man of sin." There will be a removal of the restraining hand that holds back the man of sin. He will work great signs and won- ders. When finally he sets himself up in the temple above God, then comes the Parousia ("second com- ing") of Jesus Christ (Mark 13:24-30). I Thessa- lonians teaches that the Parousia will be sudden (4: 16; 5:2, 3); II Thessalonians teaches an extended prelim- inary program which will reveal in advance when the Parousia is to be. The reader may well imagine that a mass of specu- lative commentary exists as to the identity of the man of sin. Certainly such a conception was very vivid and intelligible to the Christian mind of the time of Paul and immediately after. The term anti-christ oc- 140 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT curs twice in I John and once in II John. Pseudo- Messiahs are mentioned in the Book of Acts (Acts 5 : 34-39). Revelation refers to anti-christs. About ten years after the death of Jesus, the Emperor Caligula (which means "Little Boot"), wanted to set up his statue in the Temple at Jerusalem to be worshipped as a god. In a frenzy the Jews repeatedly sent dele- gations to Rome in vain to forestall such hideous blasphemy. Fortunately, the vessel conveying the image was sunk en route to the coast of Palestine, which unavoidably delayed the establishment of the cult of emperor-worship in the Jewish capital. Anti- ochus Epiphanes, of Syria, about 168 B. C, captured Jerusalem and erected an altar to Jupiter in the Tem- ple on which he sacrificed swine, the abomination of the Jews, and vilely profaned the sacred edifice in a manner thus which they could never forget or forgive. Nero, who slaughtered Christians wholesale, may have been the man of sin here. After the death of Nero, the horrible ogre of the early church, the rumor gained great headway that he was only in conceal- ment, and would one day return unexpectedly to con- tinue his unspeakably inhuman and terrible persecu- tions. This legend gained him the name of "Nero Redivivus" — Nero revived, or come back to life. This is mentioned disguisedly in Revelation 13 and 17. In fact the curious parallel between II Thess. 2 and Rev- elation 13 has been noted frequently by Bible stu- dents. The reference to the "image of the beast" (Rev. 13: 15) and the fate of his worshippers (Rev. 19:20) must have been extremely vivid to the early Chris- tians. In modern times a practical man might, under THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 141 the same circumstances, regard it as purely a form, make mental reservations, and thus not necessarily predicate divinity with the emperor or his image. But the naive, primitive Christians, in a manner v^rhich we cannot fully appreciate today, refused to compromise between the form and the substancfe. Armenia re- fused to do it in the terrible days of Mohammedan oppression of just a few years ago. The Book of Revelation set its face resolutely against external com- promise. II Thessalonians does the same by infer- ence, but not directly. If Paul held personally this conception of a his- torical program to be fulfilled before the second coming of Jesus, he surely must have held it as a fundamental doctrine. But in none of the rest of his letters is it mentioned at all in connection with the "end of the world," and it conflicts sharply with I Thessalonians on this subject. It adds nothing to our estimate of Paul. If Paul held this conception, it must be added to our estimate of him. (d) Athens. — Resuming Paul's second journey, we have found him staying in Athens awaiting word from Timothy as to how the church at Thessalonica was faring. Meantime, worried as he was, he was not idle. Plow long he was in Athens we have no means of knowing. Browning's poem "Cleon" attempts to give us an idea of the manner in which Athenians regarded him. The Mars Hill sermon of Acts 17 is regarded as a masterpiece of oratory, although, of course, it can- not be a verbatim stenographic report of the speech, nor anything more than a fragment of a public ad- dress. Paul follows the latest approved methods ad- 142 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT vocated in public speaking of "getting in the experi- ence of his audience" by referring to ideas and objects with which they are already familiar, — ^by proceeding from the known to the unknown. This is partly what he meant when he said, "I am made all things to all men" (I Cor. 9:22). To the barbarians he spoke of their stomachs and food (Acts 14: 17); to the Greeks he spoke of athletics (I Cor. 9: 24-27, etc.), and quoted their own poets (Acts 17 : 29 ; I Cor. 15 : 33), Cleanthes and Menander. Paul at Athens made what he after- wards himself considered a serious blunder, and which he radically corrected at Corinth (I Cor. 2: 1-5), name- ly, preaching "worldly wisdom" instead of the ele- mentary facts of the gospel. In this manner he ac- counted for his failure at Athens, a city to which, as far as is known, he never returned. Nevertheless, Dionysius and Damaris are mentioned as Athenian converts in Acts 17 : 24. (e) Corinth. — Paul arrived at Corinth ill (I Cor. 2:3). This city was fifty miles from Athens, the capi- tal of Achaia, and noted for its splendor, luxury, profli- gacy, and vice. Here was the magnificent Temple of Apollo with its fifteen massive columns, each twenty- three feet high and six feet in diameter. Here was a citadel of wickedness indeed, and Paul was brought face to face with base and wholesale corruption. Re- membering his Athenian experiences, facing this new tremendous task, we cannot wonder at his "illness and fear" (I Cor. 2: 1-4, etc.). But Paul immediately determined and held steadfastly to his resolution, not to follow the "worldly wisdom" he had tried in Athens, but to stick to fundamental, elementary preaching (I THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 143 Cor. 2:1-5 and 4: 15, etc.). At Corinth he found a congenial Roman couple for hosts of the same trade (Acts 18:2), whose names are mentioned six times in the New Testament, in four of which the wife's name stands first: Priscilla and Aquila, tentmakers. Acts nearly always confines itself to Paul's activities among the Jews until the sharp reaction comes (Acts 18: 6), when he turns from them to the Gentiles. But I Corinthians addresses the church as Gentiles only (I Cor. 10:7, 14 and 12:1), "carried away by dumb idols," and discusses typical heathen shortcomings of theirs in the light of the gospel (I Cor. 5 and 6). In I Cor. 8, 9, and 10, Paul discusses the diet problem for them. Apparently the lower classes of Corinth were chiefly converted by Paul (I Cor. 1 : 26-28 and 7:21), and the world of fashion, wealth and intellect was sparingly represented, although Gaius (I Cor. 1:14; Romans 16:23), and Erastus, treasurer of the city of Corinth (Romans 16:23) belonged to the latter class. Stephanas was Paul's first convert in Achaia (I Cor. 1:16 and 16:15). Other Corinthian converts were Fortunatus and Achaicus (I Cor. 16:17); Crispus (Acts 18 : 8 ; I Cor. i : 14) ; and Sosthenes (Acts 18 : 17 ; I Cor. 1:1). Why Sosthenes was beaten and by whom (Acts 18: 17) is unknown, unless because he was a poor prosecutor. Acts is vague here again, as fre- quently. Paul remained in Corinth a year and a half (Acts 18: 11), arriving probably in the fall of 52 A. D., and leaving in the spring of 54. Every two years there was held near Corinth the Isthmian Games, a bien- nial athletic festival. It is known to have occurred in 53 A. D. while Paul was at Corinth. Whether he at- 144 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT tended or not is, of course, doubtful, but certainly I Corinthians is full of figures of speech based upon athletics, notably the passage 9 : 23-27. Paul's policy at Corinth was elementary, but was well justified by the subsequent course of events. How the gospel mes- sage spread throughout Achaia is indicated by II Cor. I : I and 11 : 10. Although I Corinthians was written from Ephesus during the Third Missionary Journey some time later, in order that we profit the most from New Testament study, we shall now read I and II Corinthians, to get a complete picture of a typical Pauline church and its problems, which may serve as a basis for our pictures of all the other churches. The First Letter to the Corinthians : (Corinthians B) Corinth, a center of profligacy and corruption in the ancient world, had a church established there with much difficulty by Paul. Apparently one of the dis- ciples of John the Baptist, named Apollos, had sowed the seed of Christianity in Corinth some time before (Acts 18:27; I Cor. 3:6). In characterizing Apollos the Greek uses the word "boiling" rather than "fer- vent" (Acts 18:25) in describing his eloquence. Many naturally preferred the elaborate, oratorical Apollos to the plain-spoken Paul, since oratory was something of an art among the ancient Greeks (I Cor. 13 : i). I Corinthians i : 10 indicates from that point on that the church at Corinth had split up into bickering fac- tions. There was a "Paul party" and an "Apollos party" and a "Cephas party." As these cliques in the THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 145 church were hard to eradicate, I Cor. 16: 12 indicates that ApoUos had been sufficiently diplomatic to resign his work at Corinth and to return home to Ephesus. There appears to have been a certain hostility to Paul himself (I Cor. 4:18-21), which he feels obliged to overcome. Paul appeals to common sense in the solu- tion of the difficulty (I Cor. i : 12, 13). Moreover, there were certain sad blemishes among the Corinthian Christians which seem to have been common everyday occurrences (Chapters s and 6, esp. note 6: 11 and 6: 19). These people, but recently res- cued from heathenism (10:7, 14; 12:2), had not yet learned one of the great fundamentals of life, health, strength, and character, — respect for the human body. In I Corinthians 6 : 6-8, Paul reproves them for dragging their domestic and civil difficulties before pagan magistrates in the Corinthian courts of justice, and thus discrediting and disgracing the Christian movement in the eyes of unbelievers. In fact, I Corinthians deals with a multiude of con- crete matters that throw a flood of light on the Graeco- Roman world of that day, and that constitute a sort of interesting "source-book" of materials for the his- torian of ancient times. In I Cor. i: 11 and 16:17, Paul gives the source of his information regarding affairs at Corinth, namely, Chloe's family. I Cor. 16 : 8 and 10 indicate that Paul wrote from Ephesus; and I Cor. 7: 1 says that this epistle is in reply to one writ- ten to him containing inquiries on various matters, some of which were not covered by the doctrine of Jesus (I Cor. 7: 12, 25). Apparently Paul has written a letter prior to this one to Corinth (I Cor. 5:9, 11), 146 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT which is now lost, or exists only in fragment. There are some verses in I Corinthians which defy explana- tion (7:36-38; 11: 10; 15:29) and possibly never will be adequately interpreted to satisfy all schools of Bib- lical interpretation. I Corinthians 13 is a justly cele- brated parenthesis in the letter which sums up to our mind the whole message of Christianity. I Corinthians 15 is a reply to the question as to the fate of the dead who have not lived to see the Second Coming of Jesus, now imminently expected by Paul and the Corinthian church. I Cor. i6: 13 contains a final injunction to reckless Greeks. The whole letter may be neatly outlined as follows : Outline of I Corinthians for Reading Guide: Chapters 1-4: The "party spirit." Chapters 5-6 : Necessity of respect for the human body. Chapters 7-15: A series of answers to specific in- quiries from Corinth: (a) Ch. 7: The question of marriage or celibacy in the Christian life. Paul himself, doubtless unmarried, does not view marriage from a sympathetic standpoint, partly because he be- lieves the Second Coming of Jesus and the "end of the world" to be imminent, which fact would seem to make marriage superfluous. (b) Ch. 8, 9, 10: The question of eating meat sac- rificed to idols. Paul concludes that "an idol is nothing," and that therefore it cannot af- fect the food oflfered to it as such; but, fur- ther, that if some person of less understand- JHE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 147 ing could not accede to this broad view in the act of becoming a Christian, Paul advises complete abstinence to win him over, (c) Ch. II, 12, 13, 14: Problems of the church- service : (i) 11:1-16 — The behavior of women in church. (A puzzling and unsympathetic at- titude to modern readers). (2) II : 17-34 — the administration of the com- munion service. (3) 12, 13, 14 — The exercise of spiritual gifts, some of which are now obsolete practices. For instance, the "gift of tongues" was a sort of mystic babbling, which Paul warns against in excess as a waste of time in church (14: 27, 28). (4) 15 — The resurrection of the dead who have not lived to see the Second Coming, now so imminently expected by the Corin- thians and Paul himself. This is the first extended discussion of the resurrection to be written in a New Testament document. Chapter 16: Final injunctions and greetings. The Mystery of Second Corinthians : (Corinthians A, C, and D) Reading thoughtfully the letter commonly called Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians leaves one with a curious impression regarding its unity. Is it all one letter or a medley of fragments? Having read I Corinthians carefully, which is undoubtedly a unity. 148 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT n Corinthians impresses one as a patchwork or "crazy- quilt" of vaguely related facts, threats, and exhorta- tions. Approaching this letter for analysis, it is evident that Paul had been to Corinth a second time since the Second Journey visit of 52-54 A. D., before writing this epistle (H Cor. 13:1, 2), and the visit had not been a happy one (2:1-4). Paul had been insulted and slandered (chapters 2, 7, and 10). II Corinthians 2 : 4 refers to a famous "Sorrowful Letter" which he had written to his recalcitrant church, and which some scholars now consider to be "lost." See 2 : g and 7 : 8-12 for further evidences of this letter and its general effectiveness in disciplining the church. These schol- ars advance the theory that the Corinthians in anger or shame destroyed this letter. Paul had sent Titus, however, to Corinth with a "Reconciliation Letter," and II Cor. 2:12, 13 and 7 : 6, 13, 14 show that he awaited Titus' word as to how the church at Corinth was faring; how Titus brought back a good report (2: 14), and how Paul is not sorry that he wrote the letter (2: i, 4). This section of the story seems to conclude abruptly at II Cor. 9: 15. In 1870, a German scholar, Hausrath, advanced the theory that II Corinthians 10-13 inclusive, may con- stitute the "Sorrowful Letter," or a fragment of it, because the tone is bitter and the words are stinging and ironical, as an impartial reading will show. This theory is now universally held among New Testament scholars. Meanwhile, as Paul awaited Titus, he (Paul) was driven from Ephesus (II Cor. 2: 12; Acts 20: i). THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 149 These somewhat fortuitous facts gleaned from this letter lead one to believe that II Corinthians is not, therefore, a single unified letter, but a patchwork of three fragments of letters as follows: 1. A Letter from Paul to Corinth: (II Cor. 6: 14- 7:1). 2. The "Sorrowful Letter": (II Cor. 10-13). 3. The "Reconciliation Letter": (II Cor. 1-9). It will repay the New Testament student to read (i) above, and then re-read I Corinthians 7: 12-16, to see how Paul revised his former judgment with regard to marriage between Christians and pagans. But we must fit I Corinthians into Paul's relationship to the Corinthian church here somewhere along the line in order to have a completely unified impression of this relationship. The following diagram will be, we be- lieve, illuminating in the interpretation of the four letters to the Corinthians : Paul's Relationship to the Corinthian Church: 1. A Missionary Visit from Paul on the Second Journey : 52-54 A. D. 2. A Letter from Paul: (II Cor. 6:14-7:1, called Cor. A). 3. A Letter from Corinth to Paul : (I Cor. 7:1). 4. Paul's Reply: (I Corinthians, called Corinthians B). 5. Paul's Sorrowful Visit: (II Cor. 13:1, 2; 2: 1-14). 6. The "Sorrowful Letter": (II Cor. 10-13, called Cor. C). ISO THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 7. The "Reconciliation Letter" : (II Cor. 1-9, called Cor. D). 8. Paul's Third Visit to Corinth, where he spent the winter (Acts 20: 1-3), and wrote the Letter to the Romans. 8. The Third Missionary Journey. — Resuming Paul's career near the end of the Second Journey, we find that Corinth marks the concluding city of the latter. He starts back to Antioch and Jerusalem ac- companied by Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18: 18, 19), who leave him at Ephesus. This ends the Second Journey, which has hastily covered Asia, and has, with as much thoroughness as was possible under the circumstances, evangelized Achaia and Macedonia. The Third Journey is told from Acts 18: 23 to 21 : 16, and deals principally with Paul's three-year mission at Ephesus (Acts 20:31), where for the first time Christianity came into its first great historic conflict with money interests through the medium of the gor- geous Temple of Diana at Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the repository of many great works of sculpture, painting, and jewelry, the perfec- tion of Ionic architecture, the center of decadent heathen worship, and the object of pilgrimage by hun- dreds of thousands of pilgrims annually. The greatest attestation to the success of a man is the admission of his enemies that he is successful ; and this Paul volun- tarily received from the silversmith Demetrius (Acts 19 : 26). At this time also it is interesting to note how the spotlight of the Book of Acts turns for a brief time upon the personality and labors of Apollos, a dis- THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 151 ciple of John the Baptist, whom we have noticed be- fore. Apollos was probably a primitive Christian who for some reason seems early to have left Palestine, and needed to be "brought up to date" on the doctrines of the Resurrection, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the mission of the Heavenly Christ as Paul con- ceived them. Priscilla and Aquila assisted in the proc- ess, and the final result was the turning of Apollos into a Christian of the approved Pauline pattern. From Ephesus during these three years Paul wrote some of his greatest letters. I Corinthians was written from Ephesus, and that the apostle lived in troublous times is evident not only from Acts, but from I Cor. 15: 32, and numerous other sidelights in the Corinthian liter- ature. Not only did Paul have a tremendous personal struggle at Ephesus, but here he wrote letters to the churches that were being undermined by Judaizers, whom we have noticed before in connection with the Council at Jerusalem. Of these anti-legalistic, or anti- Judaic, letters, Galatians is the most powerful, and must have been written from Ephesus. The Letter to the Galatians We have seen that Paul spent three years in Ephesus during the Third Missionary Journey, and that they were troublous times. I Corinthians was written from Ephesus, and indicates, as well as does II Corinthians, that he had been involved in a great personal struggle (I Cor. 15:32). The stay in Ephesus is notable not only for Paul's strenuous missionary endeavor, but for the letters written from there, not mentioned in Acts, 152 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT to churches which were being undermined by Judaiz- ers, especially Corinth and Galatia. Of these the latter is most typical. Galatians was written not to a congregation in a particular church, but to the several churches of the Galatian province. Bible scholars are divided over the identity of the name "Galatia." There is the North Galatian Theory and the South Galatian Theory. The former refers to the kingdom of Galatia proper, to the north part of the peninsula of Asia Minor. North Galatia was inhabited by Gauls (Galatia is a variation of "Gallia"), of the Julius Caesar type. By South Galatia is meant the country of Lystra, Derbe, Icon- ium, Antioch in Pisidia, etc., of the First Journej' In North Galatia were Ancyra (modern Angora), Pessi- nus, Tavium, etc. It is noteworthy that the author of Acts never mentions Galatia as such in describing the First Journey : he mentions Pisidia and Lycaonia (Acts 13-14). Therefore, the South Galatian Theory is held by scholars mainly of the traditional, conser- vative type, because of its sentimental contact with the Book of Acts. Most liberal progressive scholars maintain the North Galatian Theory. Acts 16 : 6 mentions a hasty trip on the Second Journey through Galatia, where Paul was overtaken by illness (Gal. 4:13). The language of Gal. 4:13 indicates an accidental delay rather than a deliberate intention to evangelize Galatia, and the seeds of the gospel were sown during this illness. It is hardly credible that Paul would say, "Oh, you stupid Gala- tians" (Gal. 3 : i) to the Christians of Lystra, Iconium, Derbe, and Antioch in Pisidia. Zahn thinks Galatians THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 153 was written from Corinth, and that it is the earliest letter of Paul's, but we have already seen that the weight of evidence for priority favors I Thessalonians. The Letter to the Galatians is marked by an ab- sence of cordial specific greetings common to the other letters of Paul. It is addressed simply to "the churches of Galatia" (Gal. 1:2). It is in diametrical contrast to the Letter to the Philippians in every respect. In the sixth verse of the first chapter, Paul, after a some- what formal salutation, plunges immediately into the problem to be dealt with. The English translation, "I marvel," would have been better translated, "I am thunderstruck" or "dumbfounded," for that is Paul's precise meaning. Surprise, astonishment, amazement is the tone of the introduction. Paul is amazed that the Galatian Christians are so soon proving disloyal after his preaching of the gospel there. The trouble is the same old problem presented at Antioch which caused the Council at Jerusalem to convene, and that created the unpleasant scene between Peter and Paul. The old reactionary gang has gotten busy again, raking over the dead embers of Paul's past life, ventilating his early record against the church, and whispering that the liberal Christianity of Paul is not the simon- pure brand, because Paul has repudiated the cere- monies of Judaism which Jesus himself had upheld by personal example, e. g. — circumcision. Paul, said they, had never come under the direct personal author- ity of Jesus like the Twelve; he was a "second-hand" apostle; once he was a persecutor, but now he had changed; he had a two-faced gospel, preaching cir- cumcision to the Jews and uncircumcision to the Gen- 154 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT tiles; he was adopting "the easier way," which wa,s wholly defective; he had "wound them around his little finger." On the other hand, said they, Jesus himself was a Jew, circumcised, ever subject to the Law; the Messianic hope was purely a Jewish hope; and the Twelve Apostles, originally called of Jesus, were the original authorities for the gospel, and they were conformists to the Law, while Paul was a non- conformist. The result was that Paul's stock began to decline. "Do," said they, "as did Jesus and the Twelve, and become the children of Abraham." To this last argument Paul replies in Galatians 3 and 4 at considerable length, and with considerable skill in debate which had been developed in him by his Rabbinical training at the feet of Gamaliel. But the effect in its entirety of the Judaizers' arguments in Paul's Gentile churches, and particularly those of Gal- atia, was distressing to him in the extreme, for he saw his religion threatened with repudiation, and his churches being thrown into confusion and doubt. The Letter to the Galatians is a formal Declaration of In- dependence of Christianity from conformity to Jewish legalism and ceremonialism. It decided forever the now de^d and obsolete issue of whether a Gentile Christian must become a member of the Jewish church before becoming a Christian, and it decided it in the negative. Paul's view has since become the world view. In this respect, the Letter is one of the world's greatest and most influential documents, ranking along with Magna Charta, the Bill of Rights, the American Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and Luther's ninety-nine theses. THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 155 An Outline of Galatians For purposes of reading and analysis, the Letter to the Galatians may be somewhat accurately and conve- niently outlined as follows: Sec. I — (Chapters i and 2). Paul vindicates his apos- tolic authority; he reviews his past career to prove that he is not a counterfeit, "second- hand" apostle. Sec. II — (Chapters 3:1 to 5:12): The real relation of the Christian to the Law (i.e., conforming to Jewish ceremonies) is discussed at some length and with masterly logic and skill. Sec. III. — (Chapters 5:13 to 6) : Paul appeals from the ceremonial bondage of the old Jewish law to a new principle of freedom in Christ, and demonstrates its application. Discussion of Section I The negatives of Galatians i and 2 are very strong and are frequent in occurrence, which indicates the substance of his opponents' accusations. "You have heard, and apparently very recently," says Paul, in effect, "that I have a man-made, second-hand gospel (Gal. 1 : 7-12). This I deny ; for it came to me through the revelation of Jesus Christ himself on that memor- able journey of mine to Damascus. Moreover, after that incident I retired from Damascus to Arabia with- out ever having met any of the Apostles (Gal. i : 16, 17). Of course, they have told you again of my career as a persecutor (Gal. i : 13, 14). But after my return iS6 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT from Arabia, I never met Peter until three years had passed, and then I spent only a fortnight with him (Gal. I : i8). James was the only other Apostle whom I met (i : 19). I went later to Syria and Cilicia with- out ever having become acquainted personally with the Judean churches; and as for the persecutions, — they by contrast only added to my prestige (Gal. i : 21- 24). Before God, I am telling nothing but the truth (Gal. 1 : 20)." Paul then plunges directly into the prob- lem (2; 1-3), recounting the history of how this prob- lem had been thrashed out in the Council at Jerusa- lem (Acts 15-Gal. 2), for which see Section 6 of this text, preceding. Paul made a test-case of Titus, who was a Greek, carried the matter to the supreme court, into the very citadel of the enemy, a compromise agree- ment was reached and concurred in, and they shook hands upon it (Gal. 2 : 9). Paul's view was the liberal, progressive view ; Jesus was the fulfilment of the Law ; and so the former declares decisively: "IF SALVA- TION COME BY THE LAW, THEN CHRIST DIED FOR NOUGHT" (Gal. 2:21). The Old Dis- pensation had lost its effectiveness and had passed away; the New had come to stay. Discussion of Section II "Oh, stupid (or senseless) Galatians" is more nearly a literal rendering of Gal. 3:1. Paul here an- swers the arguments of the Judaizers with regard to "becoming children of Abraham" before becoming Christians. He quotes the celebrated verse of Gene- sis 15:6: "Abraham had faith in God, and of this his THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 157 righteousness consisted" (Gal. 3:6) to prove that by the spirit of faith, and not by physical ceremonies, a man's salvation and righteousness comes, turning his opponents' own ammunition back against them. The Old Testament had preached the gospel thus : "Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them" (Deuteronomy 27:26). But since it is not possible to keep the whole Law, therefore any infringement thereof brings the law-breaker under the curse. Occasionally Paul drops his fluent, formal Rab- binical style, and speaks "man to man," as in Gal. 3: 15, but mainly he develops his thesis by the former method. The Law came 430 years after Abraham (3: 17): how could it displace or supersede the origi- nal covenant with Abraham that "the righteous man shall live by faith" (Habakkuk 2:4). The Law was a sort of secondary arrangement to keep us within bounds, the tutor, the "pedagogue" (and Paul here means literally a guider of footsteps, the conveyer who saw that the child did not play truant, and not the schoolmaster, until the coming of Christ (Gal. 3:25); but when the latter event occurred, the function of the guardian ceased. According to Paul, baptism is put- ting on the garment of Christ, so that we actually live within him ; and when we have done that we are actu- ally the legitimate heirs of Abraham (Gal. 3 : 27-29). Paul speaks of "bondage to the rudiments of the world," which is a stinging reference to superstitious awe for ceremonialism and external rites, whether of heathen cults or of the Jewish Law itself! "You observe days, and months, and times, and years," — externalities in religion! (Gal. 4:10). The slave- 158 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT woman, Hagar, typifies Jerusalem in bondage (to the Law), the Law of Sinai, — the mother of slaves; the free woman is Jerusalem above, our mother, the mother of the free! (Gal. 4:22-31). Paul wonders who has upset the Galatians ! (Gal. 5 : 7-10). Discussion of Section III Paul concludes his argument proper by urging that if slavery is the state so greatly desired by the Gala- tions, let them be slaves to love. If one has the Chris- tian virtues, no law is needed to govern such a per- son (Gal. 5:23). To be sure missteps are made even by Christians, but it is easy for them to set themselves again aright (6: i). Paul gives a very positive dem- onstration of conditions arising from servile bondage to a code of laws (5: 17-23), and of the emancipation from the same to be obtained in freedom in Christ (5 : 22-24). Galatians 5 : 12 is a fiery "parting shot" at his opponents. Gal. 6: 17 may possibly refer, it is thought by some Bible students, to be the marks re- ferred to also in I Corinthians 15 : 32, if both are to be interpreted literally. Conclusion The fact that the Letter to the Galatians has sur- vived down to the present day shows that it must have been well received, and that it probably had the desired effect. The Galatians at all events did not tear it up in anger or shame and "throw it in the waste- basket." 9. Paul Driven from Ephesus. — Not only is the THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 159 Letter to the Galatians probably written from Ephe- sus, but Paul also was having trouble with the church at Corinth. As we have seen, he had sent Titus to Corinth with a "Reconciliation Letter"; but while awaiting the return of Titus, he (Paul) was driven from Ephesus (II Cor. 2: 12; Acts 20: 1). Paul now winters at Corinth (Acts 20: 1-6), and starts back east via Macedonia and Philippi to avoid a plot of the Jews to assassinate him. At Corinth during this winter he writes the Letter to the Romans of his imminent jour- ney back to Jerusalem (Romans 15:25, 26). He tells the Roman church, which he has never seen, that he is going back to Jerusalem with an offering for the poor of that church (Gal. 2: 10; Romans 15:25, 26); and that he is very eager to visit Rome (Romans i : 8- 15; 15:28-33). If he escapes detention or possible assassination in Jerusalem (15 : 31 ), he is going to make the trip to Rome and Spain, ever following his prin- ciple of building on virgin territory (15: 19, 20). The Letter to the Romans may be briefly outlined as fol- lows: Paul's Letter to the Romans Paul in Romans is writing to a church over which he has no authority, and therefore he feels free to dis- cuss as a related whole the principles of the gospel. Chapters i-ii discuss in some detail theoretical Chris- tian principles, and 11-16 apply these principles to per- sonal conduct and the business of living. More specifi- cally, chapters 1-8 compare and relate Judaism and Christianity. Chapter 8 is a magnificent climax, and is possibly the greatest religious and doctrinal master- i6o THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT piece in the writing of the whole world. Romans 9, 10, and II deal in some detail with the Jewish people and their religion, and are critical for Paul, for he has been an apostate to his own religion and to his own people. The splendid figure of the olive-tree as the symbol of the Israelitish religion on which the Gentiles are "grafted" (Rom. 11:16-36) is a masterly bit of Rabbinical logic in which Paul had been thoroughly trained at the feet of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). Paul's Note to Ephesus: (Romans 16) There are more personal greetings in Romans 16 than in all the rest of Paul's letters put together, which has excited some wonder among Biblical scholars. He greets many friends already known to him in Ephe- sus, Asia, and Macedonia, who are intimate and dear. Romans 16 is certainly a note from Corinth to Ephesus. Paul seems to know quite well their personal circum- stances. Julicher says, "Otherwise, we must presup- pose a general migration from Ephesus to Rome." Such a conclusion would be, of course, palpably ab- surd. 10. The Start Back to Jerusalem. — Apparently Gaius was Paul's host on this last sojourn in Corinth (Rom. 16:23). The apostle seems at this time to have been living under high tension, with Jewish plots against him on every hand (Rom. 15:30-32). When at the Council of Jerusalem a division of territory was made and they shook hands upon it, it was suggested that Paul remember the poor of the Jerusalem church (Gal. 2: 10; Rom. 15:25, 26; Acts 20:22 and 24: 17), a vow which he now faithfully sets about to fulfil. He THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT i6i departs at last by sea from Philippi, and sails by Ephe- sus, where he tarries long enough to bid the elders of that church a final farewell. Acts 20 : 38 indicates that they never saw him again. Goodspeed says that Acts is the rise of the Greek mission,, not the memoirs of Paul, and hence does not clumsily include an ac- count of Paul's death ; but it betrays a knowledge of his death in chapters 20 and 21, in Paul's farewell ad- dresses and in the anguished attitude of his friends. Why does the author exploit this, — especially the fare- well address to the Ephesian elders at Miletus? The readers of Acts in the first century must have realized the import of these passages. Paul is unmistakably dead by the time the Book of Acts is written in com- pletion : all his dire prognostications to his friends are too true, else these addresses are grossly improper and must "fall flat" on the readers of the book. This is skilful craftsmanship in writing, and gives Acts a touching significance that a clumsy foot-note or con- clusion could not possibly do. Concerning the offer- ing for the poor of Jerusalem the Book of Acts seems to know little or nothing (Acts 24: 17). Bacon asks, "How was Paul's collection received?" or does Chris- tian modesty and courtesy simply forbid its extended mention ? II. Paul's Presence in Jerusalem Causes a Riot and His Arrest. — (Acts 21 : 17 to 23 : 31). In late May or early June of 58 A. D. Paul arrived in Jerusalem with Luke, Mnason of Cyprus, who was the proprietor of certain lodgings in Jerusalem, Trophimus the Ephe- sian, and certain Christians of Caesarea (Acts 21 : 15, 16, 29), to attend the Feast of Pentecost. Recognized i62 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT by certain Asiatic Jews with whom he had had to deal straightforwardly in the past, Paul was accused of taking a Gentile into the Jewish precincts of the tem- ple, and of subverting the Jewish law and religion (21 : 28, 29). A wild riot ensued in which Paul es- caped only by the timely intervention of Claudius Lysias, captain of the Roman garrison in the Tower of Antonia, and a band of soldiers. Paul made his identity known in Greek to the captain, and was given permission to speak to his fellow-countrymen, which he did in Hebrew. They listened until he spoke of his mission to the Gentiles, and then gave vent to their fury in the words of Acts 22 : 22. Paul invoked his Roman citizenship and was protected from imminent mob violence. Next morning he was taken before the Sanhedrin for examination, but the presence of the prisoner caused such an outburst again that Lysias was forced to hurry him away (Acts 23 : 10). Forty Jewish fanatics conspired under a curse, vowing neither to eat nor drink in the meantime, to murder Paul (23 : 12-14), but this plot was frustrated by its discovery on the part of Paul's nephew (23 : 16). In a very prac- tical way Paul informed the captain (23: 17), who pre- pared seventy cavalrymen and two hundred light in- fantrymen (23 : 23) to escort Paul to safety at Caesarea, where Felix, a successor of Pontius Pilate, retained the customary headquarters of the Roman government in Palestine. All this was done by night, and Felix received his distinguished prisoner with interest and assurance. 12. Paul a Prisoner at Caesarea. — (Acts 24, 25, 26). (a) The Trial Before Felix.— Felix conducted the THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 163 trial described in Acts 24. Note Paul's diplomatic man- ner of address (24: 10). The Jewish accusers failed to convince the governor that Paul had done anything for which they might receive and execute judgment upon him. Felix also hoped the Christians might bribe him to release Paul (24:26). Paul was re- quested by Felix and his wife Drusilla to explain Christianity to them, which he did with such effec- tiveness that Felix trembled and would hear only a little at a time (24: 24, 25). Paul was not a confined prisoner, nor were his friends forbidden to visit or communicate with him (24:23). No doubt Paul may have longed to be free to revisit his churches, but the two years of enforced leisure gave him a much needed rest, and allowed him some time in which to crystal- lize his doctrines in the form of certain last Letters to various churches. (b) The Trial Before Festus. — After the two years under the protection of Felix, the latter was replaced by Porcius Festus. The Jews sought anew to get possession of the person of Paul. Festus began to vacillate in his decisions, and Paul, foreseeing the probable result, appealed promptly to the tribunal of Caesar (25:11). Before his departure he was ex- amined by Herod Agrippa, tetrarch of Galilee, and the latter 's sister, Bernice, who came to pay Festus a com- plimentary visit (25: 13). In Acts 26 we have Paul's story of his life told in a most eloquent manner by the prisoner, again with such effect that it penetrated deeply into the mind of the king (26:28). To Festus it seemed as if Paul were an educated fanatic (26 : 24), though Paul replied to him in a very non-fanatical i64 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT manner (26:25). To Agrippa's reproof, Paul very generously responded with the wish that everyone within his hearing were as he himself, with the excep- tion of being prisoners in chains (26:29). 13. Paul's Voyage to Italy (Acts 27 to 28 : 16).— The narrative of Luke concerning the voyage to Italy is not only fascinating reading from the standpoint of adventure, but is also a priceless document concerning the ships and navigation of the ancient world. Festus delivered Paul into the charge of Julius, a courteous and liberal centurion (Acts 27: i, 3), who put him on a boat of Alexandria sailing for Italy (27 : 6), together with Luke and Aristarchus, the Thessalonican disci- ple (27:2), who probably posed as Paul's servants in order to be able to accompany him. None of the com- pany aboard this ship intended or expected to land at Crete or Malta (Melita, in Latin) when they embarked; and the fact that the captain disregarded Paul's ad- vice against sailing from Fair Havens, Crete (27 : 8-10), led to the shipwreck at Malta (28:1). After three months' delay (28 : 1 1 ), the last lap of the voyage was safely made, by way of Syracuse, noted for its "Ear of Dionysius," its Fountain of Arethusa, and its having been the home of Archimedes, the scientist and mathe- matician, inventor of the burning-glass, and discoverer of the principles of the lever and of specific gravity; Rhegium, or Reggie, where Scylla and Charybdis, the rock and the whirlpool, are located ; Puteoli, the mod- ern city of Naples; and up the Appian Way past the Three Taverns, where Paul and his company were re- ceived by a delegation of Christians (28: 15), through the Capuan Gate into the Eternal City. THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 165 14. Paul in Rome. — When St. Paul entered Rome over the very same road on which Pompey and Caesar and many other Roman military heroes had passed in gorgeous triumph, he looked little like the man des- tined to overcome by his influence the City of the Seven Hills. No chariot carried his weary body; no vast equipage of followers trailed in his wake; stained with travel afoot, escaped from shipwreck, gray-haired and broken in body, an iron chain bound to one arm, yet he passed beneath the Porta Capena the greatest victor who had ever graced the precincts of Rome with his presence, before or since. Patil was confined to his own hired house, accompanied always by a soldier who guarded him, where he may have indicted a few of his letters, and for two years taught the Gospel without interference, while awaiting trial before the bar of Nero (Acts 28:30, 31). He occupied himself busily in many other ways: probably he converted some of the soldiers who guarded him, and who, ac- customed to brutality and excess in all forms under their wicked emperor, could not fail to be impressed by such a life as his. At this point he disappears from history. Probably he was never a free man again. Possibly he was put to death in the Neronian persecution of 64 A. D. It is noticeable how very abruptly the Book of Acts ends. Is there a lost sequel? Is it left not "brought up to date" by the author at the end of Acts 28? Does he, as Goodspeed suggests, stop, fearing an anticlimax, and preferring to continue his treatment of Paul's life so as to end with a note of triumph and joy? Are the famous Prison Epistles written from Rome? These i66 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT are pertinent and suggestive questions. Some of them must remain unanswered probably until the end of time. Tradition tells us that St. Paul was beheaded outside the city walls of Rome, near the tomb of Caius Cestius, and that he was buried under what is now the site of the magnificent Cathedral of St. Paul With- out the Walls. The distinguished Italian archaeolo- gist, Rudolfo Lanciari, tells us that on December i, 1891, he located the tomb of Paul under the crypt of this church, and that there was a slab labelled : "Paolo Apostolo Mart," — Paul, the Apostle and Marytr.^ Colossians-Ephesians, Philemon, and Philippians are so-called "Prison Epistles." It remains for us to dis- cuss them briefly. The Colossians-Ephesians Problem The Colossians-Ephesians Problem involves pri- marily the question of the authorship of these letters. A careful comparative reading of the two will reveal the fact that Ephesians often repeats or resembles ten words at a time numerous passages in Colossians. For example, let the reader read Colossians 3 : 18-25, and then verse at a time compare it with Ephesians 5 : 22, 25, and 6: I, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Further comparison will reveal that, Colossians 2:8 = Ephesians 5 : 6. Colossians 3 : 5, 8 = Ephesians 5 : 3, 4. Colossians 3 : 16, \y— Ephesians 5 : 19, 20. In other words, using a compound proportion, Ephe- sians is to Colossians as II Thessalonians is to I Thes- iSee "In the Footsteps of St. Paul," by Francis E. Clark, D.D., LL.D. (Putnam, 1917), pp. 397-399. THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 167 salonians. Ephesians is a reflex of Colossians. If Colossians is of Paul's writing, then Ephesians is pseudo-Pauline in all probability. We shall discuss this further presently. I. Paul's Letter to the Colossians In reading the discussion on Colossians, the reader shotild read to parallel it the material on Paul's Letter to Philemon, the latter being a wealthy resident of Colossae, and a Christian of Paul's conversion. Colos- sae is a town of Phrygia in Asia Minor, in the valley of the river Lycus, 165 miles east of Ephesus, the nearest metropolis. Paul has never been there (Col. 1 : 4 and 2:1). At the time of writing he is in prison (see our discussion of the Letter to Philemon), and this is one of the famous prison epistles. One of his de- tention companions is Epaphras, of Colossae (Col. 1 : 6-8). Paul sends the Letter to the Colossians by Tychicus, an Ephesian (Acts 20:4; 21:29; Col. 4:7 on), and also sends with the latter Onesimus, a run- away slave (Col. 5:7-9; Philemon 10). The subject-matter of the Letter to the Colossians is meant to be an antidote to an old heresy which in some form Paul had fought all his life, and which now had resumed its attack on Colossae. Some of the elements of this heresy, which is not so clearly defined as it is in the Letter to the Galatians, are : 1. Asceticism: 2:16. 2. Judaism: 2:11. 3. False Philosophy : 2:8 and 20 ("rudiments" meaning rules of form and externality, rather than rules of spirit). Paul is unusually "cosmic" (imper- i68 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT sonal, universal in his discussion of Christian prin- ciples) in this letter, — something that he tends to avoid in the other letters which we know to be from his hand. This is particularly noticeable in Col. i and 2 : 9, ID. It is further shown from the fact that Col. 1:3-8; 9-18; 21-29; and 2:8-12, 13-15, are all single, breathless, labored sentences. Col. i : 15-20 is "cos- mic" and not characteristically Pauline, but on the other hand Col. i : 1-14 is distinctly Pauline. Col. 2 : 9, 10 and 17-19 are not typically Pauline. Therefore, some scholars reject Colossians as not of Paul's au- thorship, but this is a radical view. Some take a com- promise view, such as Von Soden and Holtzmann, who believe it to be of Pauline authorship, but that Col. I and 2 may not have been handed down without re- vision and re-editing to make it apply to the later doctrinal needs of the church. The letter as a whole seems to be clearly Pauline. II. The Letter to the Ephesians The Letter to the Ephesians is almost totally "cos- mic." It reads more like a catholic, pseudo-Pauline letter. There is no note of personal reference after Paul had lived there for over three years (Acts 20: 31). Certainly this is not a characteristic of the Apos- tle Paul, who never forgot to mention his friends in- dividually or collectively, or both, in his letters to his churches. Ephesians 1:15 and 3:2 casually remark that the author "has heard" of the faith of the Ephe- sians ! Would Paul write like this to people whom he had long known? The author, with Colossians lying before him as he writes, in this respect has adopted the THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 169 language of Colossians 1:4. Or is Ephesians a letter making the rounds of a circuit, as McGiffert, Zahn, and many other New Testament scholars believe? (The "Circular Letter Theory," mentioned in Col. 4 : 16, which Paul used to keep news of his welfare and es- tate in circulation for the benefit of the churches). Or is Ephesians a post-Pauline letter, a catholic, or gen- eral letter, as Coleridge asserts in his "Table Talk"? We have already noted the curious resemblance be- tween Ephesians and Colossians, which leads us to think that the former simply mirrors the latter, with- out the warmth and affectionate eagerness of the per- sonality of Paul. Furthermore, does Paul ever speak of himself, once a persecutor of the church, as "holy" ? (Eph. 3:5). He indicates rather the opposite in I Corinthians (Cor. B) 15:9. In I Cor. (B) 3:11, Paul can conceive of Christ as the only foundation of the church of God, while Eph. 2 : 20 asserts that the apos- tles and prophets constitute the foundations! As we have noted, Colossians contains some remark- ably long sentences, but Ephesians outstrips the for- mer in this respect. Ephesians 1:3-14 and 15-23; 2: 1-9; and 3: 1-17 are, in the Greek of the original, all single sentences. Norden, a German scholar, who is the world's greatest living authority on Greek prose, says that "Ephesians i : 3-14 is the most monstrous "conglomeration of clauses" he has "ever seen in the whole range of the Greek language." He also calls attention to the fact that there are forty-four Greek words in Ephesians not found elsewhere in all of Paul's writings. Jiilicher is undetermined as to its author- ship, but Mofifatt, von Soden, etc., declare it to be un- I70 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT deniably pseudo-Pauline. If Paul wrote it, its pecu- liarities must be added to our estimate of Paul. If not, it must be considered a pseudonymous epistle, writ- ten using Colossians as a model and pattern, to meet the needs of the post-Pauline church at Ephesus and elsewhere. Bacon simply welds the two letters into a compound name when speaking of the problem of their origins: Colossians-Ephesians. Certainly, the two letters should be studied side by side. Paul's Letter to Philemon The Letter of Paul to Philemon is a beautiful model of a delicate and tactful letter to a friend. Philemon was a resident of Colossae in Phrygia (compare Col. 4:9 with Philemon 11). He had been converted by Paul (Philemon 19) possibly at Ephesus during Paul's three years' stay in that city (Acts 19). A man of wealth given to charity (vv. 5-7), a Christian propa- gandist (v. I ), using his own home as a meeting-house for his religion (v. 2), he apparently was a distin- guished friend and follower of Paul. Charles Kings- ley said of this epistle: "It is the most civil, kindly, gentleman-like speech I know of on earth." Onesimus (Col. 4:9; Philemon 10), a runaway slave of Philemon's, is the subject of the letter. Usually runaway slaves were tortured to death or perhaps crucified as an example of their fellow-bondsmen. One- simus took chances in going back, for slaves were regarded in ancient times by their masters as merely utensils, not human beings. Varro, a Roman histor- ian, classified agricultural implements into three THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 171 groups: (i) Inarticulate, such as wagons and carts and plows: (2) semi-articulate, such as oxen and other beasts of burden, and (3) articulate, or human slaves. The contempt of Cicero for slaves gives an insight into the ancient attitude. Onesimus did not have to return. He might have given Tychicus the slip (Col. 4:7-9). He returned, of course, to be a slave. Paul, being a child of his own times, did not suggest his emancipation, but naturally accepts the institution of slavery without criticism. Paul elsewhere, however, does recognize a sphere of life in which there is neither bond nor free, and lays down far in advance of his own time the fundamental principle of democracy (Col. 3:11; Gal. 3:28; I Cor. 7:20-24). Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon are the fa- mous "Prison Epistles" of Paul. Were the prison epis- tles written from prison in Caesarea, Rome, or Ephe- sus? Lisco's theory is that Paul probably wrote them from Ephesus, and he is supported in this by Deiss- mann. Lake, Bacon, Robinson, Goguel,' and other scholars. The style and mood fit the Ephesian period. The "household of Caesar" (Philippians 4: 22) simply means the personnel of the imperial establishment (of the Roman governor). Colossae is 950 miles from Rome as the crow flies, and 1200 by the regular route by sea. It is a church Paul has never seen (Col. i : 4). Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus, who has run away, but did Onesimus "run away" 1200 miles? It would be as if Onesimus lived in St. Louis and ran away to London. Ephesus is the nearest metropolis to Colossae. It may be quite probable that Ephesus is the source of the prison epistles. 172 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT Paul's Letter to the Philippians The most recent scholarship has tended to view Paul's Letter to the Philippians as the third and last of the Prison Epistles, and as probably the last letter that Paul ever wrote. On the whole Philippians is a very clear and unquestionable Pauline document. It is the most warm, cordial, and affectionate of all his letters. Paul, it will be recalled, founded this church on the Second Journey, and he made an exception of accepting gifts of money from it, twice at Thessa- lonica, once at Corinth, and he has just received an- other in prison which was brought by Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25-30; 4: 15-19). Paul has been ill in prison (2: 26, 27) ; he will send Timothy to them with news of the outcome of his trial (2:19-23); but he trusts that he himself will be released to make the trip (2:24). "Paul, smiling through his tears, writes the letter to the Philippians," says Bacon. He puts the best face on the whole matter. The whole tone is that of farewell, but its keynote is joy and rejoicing. The smiles and tears of Philippians are especially note- worthy (2:2; 3: 18). So is the loving tribute of the apostle to his beloved companion, the youthful Tim- othy (2:19-23). The authenticity of Philippians is well established. Although "bishops" are mentioned for the first time in i : i, the sudden turn of 3 : 2 against the Judaizers has a familiar ring. If Philippians is Paul's last epistle, it is a fitting conclusion to the life of one of the most remarkable and wonderful men whom the world has ever known. PART III: APPENDIX A. EXPRESSIONS ST. PAUL HAS MADE PROVERBIAL "Against hope believed in hope" : Romans 4 : 18. "The wages of sin is death" : Romans 6 : 23. "The potter and the clay": Romans 9:21. "Given to hospitality": Romans 12:13. "Be not wise in your own conceit": Romans 12: 16. "Heaping coals of fire on his head": Romans 12: 20. "Confounding the mighty" : I Corinthians i : 27. "I have planted, ApoUos watered; but God gave the increase" : I Cor. 3 : 6. "Absent in body, but present in spirit" : I Cor. 5 : 3. "All things to all men" : I Cor. 9 : 12. "Take heed lest he fall": I Cor. lo: 12. "Sounding brass and tinkling cymbal" : I Cor. 13:1. "Not puffed up": I Cor. 13:4. "When I was a child, I spake as a child" : I Cor. 13 : 11. "Now we see through a glass, darkly" : I Cor. 13 : 12. "If the trumpet give an uncertain sound" : I Cor. 14 : 8. "Of the earth, earthy": I Cor. 15:47. "In the twinkling of an eye": I Cor. 15: 52. "The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life" : II Cor. 3:6. "Plainness of speech" : II Cor. 3 : 12. "Rude in speech": II Cor. 11 : 6. "A thorn in the fiesh" : II Cor. 12 : 7. 173 174 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT "Right hand of fellowship" : Galatians 2 : 9. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" : Galatians 6:7. "Passeth all understanding" : Philippians 4 : 7. "In whatsoever state I am, to be content": Philip- pians 4:11. "Touch not; taste not; handle not": Colossians 2:21. "Labour of love" : I Thessalonians i : 3. "Hold fast to that which is good": I Thess. 5: 21. "If God be for us, who can be against us?": Romans 8:31. "No man liveth or dieth to himself alone" : Rom. 14: 7. "Abhor that which is evil" : Rom. 12 : 9. "Render tribute to whom tribute is due": Rom. 13:7. "Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost" : I Cor. 6: 19. "Knowledge puffeth up, but love buildeth up" : I Cor. 8:1. "Temperate in all things" : I Cor. 9 : 25. "Quit yourselves like men": I Cor. 16: 13. "Power matures in weakness" : II Cor. 12 : 9. "I live, yet not I, but Christ in me" : Gal. 2 : 20. "I press toward the mark" : Phil. 3 : 14. "Whatsoever things are true . . . lovely," etc. : Phil. 4:8. "Set your affections on things above" : Col. 3 : 2. "Abstain from all appearance of evil" : I Thess. 5 : 22. "Loss of all things, and do count them but dung": Phil. 3 : 8. "I have fought the good fight" : II Tim. 4 : 7. PART IV THE GENERAL OR UNIVERSAL LETTERS PART IV THE GENERAL OR UNIVERSAL LETTERS I. THE PASTORAL EPISTLES: I AND II TIMOTHY AND TITUS Even a majority of conservative scholars do not now attribute First and Second Timothy and Titus, in their present form, at least, to Paul. Let us examine the reasons for this from evidence both internal and ex- ternal, as we would go about fixing, for instance, the date of any given Shakespearean play. I. Internal Evidence: 1. Paul, if he wrote these letters, wrote as to strangers (I Tim. 2:7; 4:12-16; II Tim. 1:6-8; 2:21-22). For Paul's real opinion of Timothy, warm, personal, and affectionate, read Philippians 2 : 19-22. ' 2. The author warns his correspondents against the most elementary vices. Timothy and Titus are treated as though their character might be a matter of doubt. Evidently, then, the letters are catholic, that is, general, universal, addressed in this instance to all young ministers. In fact, sev- eral passages in the Pastoral Epistles (so-called from the Latin "pastor," a shepherd or minister) 177 178 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT are used by various churches in the ordination services of young ministers. 3. There are, in the Greelc, seventy-four words in I Timothy, forty-six in H Timothy, and twenty- eight in Titus, never found elsewhere in Paul's letters. 4. Paul wrote inspired letters. The Pastoral Epistles compared to his are uninspired. They deal in a common-place, prosaic fashion with or- thodoxy and "sound doctrine." The latter phrase is used repeatedly. 5. There is no reference to Paulinism or Paul- ine doctrines ; n,o "justification," no "old man and new man," no passion, fire, genius, or mysticism. The word "piety" occurs eleven times in Greek and four times in its cognate Greek derivations. 6. The Pastorals deal with church ordination. 7. The personal references do not fit in with Paul's life as we know it (H Timothy 1:8; i : 16- 18; 4:6; 4: 12; Titus 3: 12). These things hap- pened long before the writing of the pastorals. Timothy was along: and Trophimus (Acts 21 : 29) went up to Jerusalem with Paul and was the inno- cent cause of his troubles and arrest. II. External Evidence: I. One theory held to explain the Pauline bio- graphical allusions in the Pastorals is that there was a Fourth Missionary Journey of Paul to Cor- inth, Miletus, Troas, etc., not recorded in Acts or elsewhere. But one assumes the Pastorals to be THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 179 genuinely Pauline for this, and all internal evi- dence is overwhelmingly against it. All the evi- dence of the church fathers Clement, Origen, Jerome, etc., refers to the death of Paul after his first imprisonment. In Acts 20, Paul says his final good-bye to the Ephesian elders v^^ith tears. Burton, Goodspeed, Bowen, and others assume this to be Luke's way of breaking the news that Paul was dead at the time of the writing of Acts, a much more artistic way of doing so than by tacking on a postscript labelled: "Poor Paul is dead." Matthew does the same thing with re- gard to announcing the deaths of James and John (Matthew 20:20-23). 2. Paul says in his last writings that he intends to go from Rome to Spain (Romans 15:28), that he is done with the East forever (Romans 15:23, 24). Evangelizing virgin soil was Paul's mis- sionary principle. Had he been released from his first imprisonment, he would have gone to Spain, not back to Corinth, Miletus, Troas, and the rest. Many scholars believe the Pastorals to contain in- serted Pauline fragments: (II Timothy 1:15-18 and 4: 9-22 ; Titus 3 : 9-23), just as Ephesians quotes Colos- sians often ten words at a time. II. THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS Until recently the traditionalists and conservatives stoutly maintained that Paul wrote the Letter to the Hebrews, but this theory is gradually being dispelled i8o THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT by a calm and impartial view of the document based upon continued modern research. The document it- self apparently has no idea of being a letter until chapter 13, verse 22. It begins like a sermon or hom- ily. It is not addressed to either Jews or Jewish Chris^ tians, but probably to the "spiritual Israel," which would include Gentiles as well. By the end of the first century, this document is well-known, though not included in Marcion's Canon. Origen says, "God only knows who wrote it." Clem- ent and Jerome say that it does not matter who wrote it: it is orthodox. Luther remarks: "Probably Apol- los wrote it." Calvin thinks that Clement or Luke wrote it. Harnack caused quite a stir some years ago by alleging it to have been written by a woman, pos- sibly Priscilla, a view with which Peake sympathizes. Unfortunately the expression "If I were to relate" (Heb. II : 32) in the Greek has a masculine participle, which explodes this conception. The author of this homily, whoever he may be, is the best stylist of the New Testament. Hebrews is a sermon or homily given an epistolary turn near the last to gain attention as this form of writing seemed particularly able to do in that day. Apparently it is designed to arouse new ardor and enthusiasm by holding Christianity above all other faiths, especially Judaism, its rival and mother. It is hortatory in tone and expression, and for literary beauty exceeds in style all other documents of the New Testament. In reading the letter one should note especially chap- ter 9, which defines in some detail the meaning and THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT i8i origin of the phrase, "The New Testament" ; and chap- ter II, often called "The RoU-Call of the Old Testa- ment," and "Heroes of Faith." Hebrews ii again demonstrates to us WHY the New Testament was written, as well as the Old, because the authors were "inspired," by which we mean that they were under the spell of an overpowering religious conviction which they wished to communicate to other people. HI. THE LETTER OF JAMES In the Greek version this letter is entitled JACOB instead of James. In English literature the adjective "Jacobean" is often applied to the reign of James I of England, the era immediately succeeding the Eliza- bethan, because of the etymological association of the names Jacob and James. The writer of this document does not reveal his identity, and the name given it is exceedingly common. It is not epistolary except for the first verse of the first chapter. It begins like a letter, whereas Hebrews, as we have seen, ends like a letter. This document is exceedingly valuable, although the name of Jesus is only twice mentioned (i : i ; 2: i). It is practical, sane, common sense, and wholesome. It is a collection of aphorisms after the principle of the Book of Proverbs. James would have us rightly re- spect and esteem the poor as well as the rich. The celebrated chapter 3, on bridling an unruly tongue, is one of the world's great literary and ethical master- pieces. James' definition of religion (i : 27), and his comment on the briefness of human life (4:14) are i82 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT often quoted. Theologians have made much in times gone by of the apparent controversy of James with Paulinism (James 2), or works as against faith alone, which led Luther to become hostile to this document. "An epistle of straw," as he calls it. Like Hebrews, James is a homily, and therefore horatatory in tone and form. Jiilicher counted and found fifty-four imperative verbs to the total of one hundred and eight verses of James. IV. THE FIRST LETTER OF PETER The First Letter of Peter is a striking example of the style and spirit of Paul. It is addressed to Paul's churches (1:1). The un-Pauline things about it are: (1) It presupposes a persecution (1:7); and (2) the author calls himself an elder (5:1). The moral ex- hortations are strikingly after the manner and lan- guage of Paul ; and Romans 12 and 13 are embodied in I Peter. For example: I Peter 3:8 = Romans 12 : 16. I Peter 3:9 = Romans 12 : 17. I Peter 3:11= Romans 12:18. Also, I Peter 2: 13-17 is re-embodied in Romans 13: 1-7. A careful reading of I Peter i and 2 parallel with Romans 12 and 13 will further emphasize the very remarkable similarity. It is supposed that the "Babylon" referred to in 5 : 13 of this epistle is understood to mean Rome. The fiery trials and the exhortations to remain constant likely refer to the persecution of Domitian over Asia Minor in the 90's, or to that of Trajan, shortly after 100. It THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 183 therefore is probably a pseudo-Petrine document, be- cause Peter was now dead, and he knew no Greek, oral or written. Verse i of chapter i was added not only to address the churches of Asia, but probably also to give the letter a status in the canon. V. THE SECOND LETTER OF PETER The Second Letter of Peter is a revised edition of Jude, just as Ephesians is of Colossians, and I Peter of Romans 12 and 13. The author writes a prefix (chapter i) to his re-edition of Jude and adds an ap- pendix (chapter 3). Comparative readings of H Peter and Jude will reveal what Harnack calls "a forgery" and "sailing under false pretences" but Bacon reminds us that "neither plagiarism nor pseudonymity were recognized offences at the time ; so that we can bring no indictment against H Peter were he the apostle or not." A comparison of H Peter and Jude will be illuminat- ing to the reader, and will reveal among other things the following: H Peter 2:1 = Jude 4. n Peter 2:4 = Jude 6. II Peter 2:6 = Jude 7. II Peter 2:7= Jude 8. II Peter 2: II = Jude 9. II Peter 2 : 12 := Jude 10. II Peter 2:13 = Jude 12. II Peter 2:17= Jude 13. II Peter 2 : 18 = Jude 16. The date of the writing of this document has never i84 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT been fixed with general satisfaction. 150 A. D. is a fair estimate. Certainly the letter is never heard of in the second century, and the Council at Laodicea, 372 A. D., is the first historic evidence of its appearance in the canon. The theme of the letter is the delay of the Second Coming of Jesus. Mark 13 : 30 had promised from the lips of Jesus himself : "Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things (the Second Coming of the Son of Man with the angels) be done." As the years passed on, however, a re- vision of opinion became necessary, and in the late documents of the New Testament there is a pathetic and conscious effort to bolster up the faith of the Chris- tians of the second century with regard to the expected Parousia. It is evident in II Peter 3:4: "And saying. Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." There is no doubt that at the time this document was written, the eager expectation of the Second Coming was on the wane, and primitive people with primitive instincts to re- strain, tended to relax and become decadent, as many Christians in the modern world tend to do. The Doke- tists were particularly active and radical in repudiating the Advent in its supernatural aspect. They were looked upon as the religious Bolshevists of their day. Against them the second chapter of II Peter is directed in the language used originally by Jude. In reading this epistle the following curious verses also should be noted : 2 : 22 ; 3 : 10; and 3:15, 16, which refer to Paul's letters. THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 185 VI. THE JOHANNINE EPISTLES: I, II, AND III JOHN All the Johannine literature, which includes the three letters of John and the Fourth Gospel, is written from a peculiar point of view. They approach Christianity from a certain mystic, supernatural, and theological standpoint that makes them individual and unique, just as the enthusiasm, affection, and personal tone of the Pauline letters make them individual, unique, and in- imitable as a group of writings. I John has no epistolary salutation, but it frequently contains the word "write." A number of verses of I John are re-incorporated in the Fourth Gospel, as are practically all of its ideas. I John i contains many of the ideas of John i. I John 4: 12 is repeated in John 1 : 18. I John 4 amplifies in great detail what Jesus told the Woman of Samaria in John 4 : 24, namely, that "God is Spirit" (usually translated "a Spirit," for which there is no justification in the Greek of the original). We note again a certain willingness of this author (or group of authors : John 21 : 24) to bandy about with great freedom of application the words "thief" and "liar" (John 12:6; I John 2:22; 4:20). The expres- sion "Little children" occurs frequently (John 13 : 33 ; I John 2: i; 2: 12; 2: 13; 2:28; 3:7; 3: 18; 4:4; and 5:21). I John should be read in its entirety. Upon this letter Tolstoy bases his celebrated story, "What Men Live By," which is the best commentary on it that one could possibly read. I John 3: 15 interprets perfectly what Jesus meant in Matthew 5:21 and 22. II John was written by the elder (1:1) to the lady ' i86 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT and her children. HI John was written to "the well- beloved Gaius" (i:i). If the student of the New Testament will recall how common the name John was in ancient as well as in modern times, and will recall in his New Testament reading mention of John the Baptist, John the Apostle, John Mark, John the Elder, and the John of Revela- tion, he will at once perceive why there has been so much confusion in identifying the authors of the vari- ous Johannine documents and why so much doubt and uncertainty has existed with respect to this problem. Vn. THE LETTER OF JUDE Jude is an ugly corruption of the name Judas, be- cause of the association, inevitable in New Testament times, with the name of Judas Iscariot. Jude is seldom read nowadays, few texts are taken from it, and relig- ious life now is not nourished to any extent by it. It is not "well-thumbed" or "wet with tears" like other more familiar and oft-quoted and remembered pages of the second great division of the Bible. Verse 9 is quoted from the apocryphal book of "The Assumption of Moses," and verses 14, 15 and "The Book of Enoch." Jude contains some passages of marked vigor and beauty of expression (verses 12, 13), and has a mag- nificent benediction which survives in modern relig- ious expression (verses 24, 25). The author of the second Petrine letter thought enough of this docu- ment to incorporate it as the body of his message. That the letter was doubtless written at a late date is almost consciously evident in verse 3 : "the faith which was THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 187 ONCE delivered to the saints." The traditional view of this letter is that Jude was the brother of Jesus (verse i). The tone of this document is forbidding in the ex- treme. Verses 3 : 19 are evidently aimed at heretical Doketists and Antinomians, members of Gnostic sects who repudiated the historical Jesus, and stamped his career as a phantasm (dokesis). A fuller discussion of this is given, it will be recalled, in our consideration of the composition and content of the Fourth Gospel. Vni. THE HISTORICAL GROUPING OF THE NEW TESTAMENT DOCUMENTS In our discussion of the New Testament documents considered as separate members of a loosely unified collection, by the time-honored practice of "reading between the lines," it can be perceived that they group themselves around four significant events in the his- tory of Christianity. These are, with the documentary grouping, as follows : I. The Fall of Jerusalem (70 A. D.) : 1. Mark. 2. Matthew. II. Domitian's Persecutions (81-96 A. D.): 1. Revelation. 2. II Peter. III. The Rise of the Greek Mission: 1. Luke. 2. Acts. 3. Thessalonians A. 4. Galatians. i88 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT IV. 5- Corinthians A. 6. Corinthians B. 7- Corinthians C. 8. Corinthians D. 9- Romans, minus chapter 16. lO. A Note to Ephesus (Romans 16). II. Colossians. 12. Philemon. 13- Philippians. 14. Fragments of II Timothy- Titus. (B) and 15- Hebrews. 16. Thessalonians B. 17- Ephesians. 18. James. The Rise of the Heretical Sects, and of Do- ketism : I. I Timothy (A). 2. II Timothy (B). 3- Titus. 4- Jude. 5- I Peter. 6. I John. 7- II John. 8. Ill John. 9- The Fourth Gospel. PART V THE BOOK OF REVELATION PART V THE BOOK OF REVELATION We have seen that the New Testament documents fall naturally into four groups in the historical order of their appearance: (i) The Pauline Literature, grouped around the rise of the Greek mission; (2) The Early Gospels, grouped around the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A. D.; (3) Hebrews, I Peter, and Revelation, grouped around Domitian's persecution of about 95 A. D. ; and (4) The Johannine Literature and General Letters, grouped around the rise of the sects and of heresy. It is to the third division that Revelation be- longs. This document sets itself resolutely against the emperor-worship introduced into the Roman Em- pire by Domitian upon his accession to the throne, in order to unify the empire. Coins and monuments were ordered inscribed in Latin with "deified Vespasian" and "deified Domitian"; definite salutation of the em- peror's image in its shrine became the custom; and later incense burned before it came to be demanded of all Roman subjects. The idea, originating when the Oriental provinces of Rome had hailed Augustus as a god, overwhelmed the first century Christian with hor- ror and repugnance. There can be no doubt but that 191 192 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT the practice of emperor-worship is meant by the "worship of the Beast" and of the "image of the Beast" in Revelation 13, 14, and 19. Today a practical man of the twentieth century might regard it as purely a form, make mental reservations, and not necessarily predicate divinity with the Roman emperor; but the naive, artless Christians of the early Church could not acqui.esce thus. The great note of Revelation is that innlte 'barbarism and innate civilization are forever irreconcilable, that Christian civilization must inevit- ably triumph over the mighty political engine of Rome. Revelation was written by John, the Prophet of Ephesus. There is no evidence to show that it was written by the Apostle John. It is a hybrid document, part letter, part apocalypse. The letters are designed to console and edify the churches mentioned during the Prophet's absence. The task of the Prophet is to steel his friends against the cruelty of Roman and Jewish persecution. The key-note of the letters is that "he that overcometh shall sit with me on my throne" (Rev. 3:21). It is a courageous exhortation to stead- fastness and endurance. The opening vision is that of God on his throne with the Roll of Destiny in his right hand, sealed tightly with seven seals on its edge, and written so that the words overflow on the back of the manuscript (Rev. 5:1). The contents are a secret, but full of meaning. It contains God's program for the world, and must be opened seal by seal to be real- ized; and to open it thus will bring the program to pass, since it is the will of God. Great grief is mani- fest because none will venture near enough to open the seals, until the Lamb appears, and great exulta- THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 193 tion follows. As the seals are opened, great (contem- porary) events transpire, familiar to the readers of the book. The vast majority of able Bible scholars believe in the PRETERIST interpretation of the book, — namely, that Revelation deals almost exclusively with the events of its own time, particularly at the fall of Jerusalem, 70 A. D., and that practically all of them were fulfilled within the lifetime of its first generation of readers. Like the Gospel of Mark, Revelation opens with the notorious "floating nominative" construction with a relative clause appended.^ i : 3 says : "Blessed is he who reads and they who hear," showing that it was designed for public reading in Christian congregations. The author expressly says that his work is a "proph- ecy" (1:3), and that it is going to deal with "things which must SHORTLY come to pass" (1:1). The author is very solicitous that no one tamper with his manuscript (Rev. 22:18, 19), which was a common literary practice of the day. In Greek, Revelation is the most ragged and blundering of all New Testament documents. The simple elegant Greek of the Fourth Gospel could not possibly be from the same hand. The English translators of 161 1 have rendered it info a magnificent style totally unlike the original. Chapter i. — To John the Prophet in his lonely exile on the Isle of Patmos (Rev. i : 9) have come seven messengers from seven churches of Asia Minor (Rev. 1 : 11). Some of these churches have not been faring 1 The first five lines of Tennyson's "The Passing of Arthur" is still another classical example of the "floating nominative" construction. 194 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT well in the absence of their beloved counsellor. As if to anticipate John's anxiety, a sudden trance, or in- spired exaltation, or, as John himself states it "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day" (Rev. i : 19), tells him what messages to return to the bishops ("angels") of the respective churches. He sees Jesus standing before him clothed as the High Priest, in the light of the seven golden lamps (or "candlesticks"), unveiled as the watcher and guardian of his numerous churches, perceiving their shortcomings and errors as well as their commendable traits, and ever ready to rebuke or encourage, as the specific case may require. Chapter 2. — To the church of Ephesus John was re- quired to threaten to remove its authority as a Chris- tian organization (Rev. 2:5), if it showed any more of a tendency to lean toward false doctrine ; the church at Smyrna was commended for its orthodoxy in the midst of poverty and persecution; the church of Per- gamos was Christian in name only (2: 13), but was indulging in idolatrous sins and practices ; as was also the church of Thyatira. Chapter 3. — The church of Sardis was backsliding into the state of the church of Pergamos, Christian in name only (3:1); the church of Philadelphia is com- mended for its steadfastness (3:83); and the church of Laodicea, because it was wealthy, had fallen into a lukewarm condition toward promoting Christianity (3 ■• 15-17)- Chapter 4. — In the Spirit : A Vision of God on His Throne. Chapters 5-11. — The Breaking of the Seven Seals: (Rev. 5:9)- THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 195 Seal No. 1 : (Rev. 6: i, 2) represents the Parthian in- vasion to help the Romans attack the doomed land of Palestine and the city of Jerusalem. The Parthians were the only ancient people Rome was unable to con- quer. Parthia lay northeast of the River Euphrates, the domain of ancient Persia. Crassus and Antony failed disastrously in an effort to subdue them. In the time of Nero Rome and Parthia became allies, and continued thus for many years. Parthian chieftains always rode on "sacred" white horses, and they and their followers were deadily aims with bow and arrow. In April, 67 A. D., Vespasian and a Roman army in- vaded Galilee, and as confederates their forces included 40,000 Parthian cavalry. Seal No. 2: (Rev. 6:3, 4) represents the Romans under Vespasian's authority. Seal No. 3: (Rev. 6:5, 6) represents famine seiz- ing Jerusalem, as it did in a terrible manner, and sug- gests the leader of the Jewish revolt against Rome, John of Gischala, appropriating the sacred oil and wine for food, which we know he did from history. Seal No. 4 : (Rev. 6 : 7, 8) represents pestilence, the "fourth horseman of the apocalypse," which follows in the wake of prolonged war. Seal No. 5: (Rev. 6:9-11) represents the persecu- tion of the Christians, who were blamed for all na- tional misfortunes at that time. Seal No. 6: (Rev. 6: 12 to 8:1, 2) represents the blotting out of Jerusalem and its temple by the Ro- mans in August, 70 A. D. Seal No. 7: (Rev. 8: i to chapter 12) introduces the Blowing of the Seven Trumpets: 196 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT Trumpet No. i : (Rev. 8: 6, 7) represents the devas- tation of Galilee ("the third part" of Palestine) by Vespasian and armies in April, 67 A. D. Trumpet No. 2: (Rev. 8:8, 9) represents the naval battle on the Sea of Galilee the same year between the Romans and Jews, in which 6500 Jews perished and the lake was made a sickening puddle of dead bodies. Trumpet No. 3: (Rev. 8: 10, 11) represents John of Gischala, leader of the Zealots (anti-Romans), who poisoned the streams of drinking-water under the plea of military necessity. Trumpet No. 4: (Rev. 8: 12, 13) represents the final triumph of Roman arms in Galilee, and the retreat of the Jews southward toward Jerusalem. Trumpet No. 5: (Rev. 9:1-12) represents Satan ("the star fallen from heaven to earth" ; Isaiah 14 : 12 ; Luke id: 18) creating panic and confusion, and deeds of monstrous wickedness, as the history of this time reveals. Trumpet No. 6: (Rev. 9:13 to 11:15) represents the vast horde of Parthian invaders from the Euphrates valley, in four divisions. The number may be slightly exaggerated, but John says "I heard," indicating a rumor (Rev. 9:16). Three bands of these operated in Galilee (9:18). Note in particular the references to the destruction of Jerusalem in 1 1 : 2, 8 and 9. Trumpet No. 7: (Rev. 11 : 15 to 12) represents the establishment of Christianity as the universal religion in heaven and on earth. Chapter 12: The Vision of the Sun-Clad Woman, who typifies the Christian church, and the Dragon, or Satan, who seeks to destroy it. THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 197 Chapter 13: The Vision of the Leopard-Like Beast coming up out of the sea represents probably the re- lentless advance on and grasp of the city of Jerusa- lem by the Romans: the Second Beast (13: 11) com- ing up out of the land is false religion, emperor-wor- ship, anti-Christ doctrine, and heresy. The number 666 (13: 18) is interpreted by Iranaeus, an old church father, to mean Rome, for the name Lateinos has the number 666, and Lateinos is common Greek for both the names of a nation and of an individual. It means the Latins, or Romans. It may mean "Nerone CSesar," for letters had then numerical values. An old inscrip- tion found in the ruins of Pompeii says : "The name of her I love is 347." Chapter 14: This chapter alludes to the fall of Jeru- salem, and the paving of the way thereby for the scat- tering of the Christians to use the world as the harvest- field of the Gospel. Chapters 15 and 16: introduce the Seven Vials of Wrath, which, like the Seven Seals and the Seven Trumpets, deal with practically the same events : Vial No. I : (Rev. 16: i, 2) may represent the per- secution of the Herodians and pro-Romans by the Zealots, or anti-Romans, under John of Gischala, "the mark of the beast" alluding to sympathy with Rome. Vial No. 2 : (Rev. 16: 3) represents the naval battles on the Sea of Galilee, the Dead Sea, and the Mediter- ranean, in which thousands of Jews were slaughtered. Vial No. 3 : (Rev. 16: 4-7) refers to the Jewish blood- shed on land, 67-70 A. D. Vial No. 4: (Rev. 16: 8, 9) may be taken either liter- ally or figuratively ; if the latter, it refers to the Roman 198 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT government's unrelenting punishment of Jewish in- subordination. Vial No. 5: (Rev. 16: 10, 11) is uncertain in mean- ing: "The seat of the beast" is here possibly Rome, to which Vespasian was compelled to return from Palestine to determine the occupancy of the throne, leaving his son Titus to subdue the Jews ; possibly it is Caesarea, the Jewish seat of the Roman government ; possibly, but not probably, it is Jerusalem, where cer- tain Roman governors, like Pilate, had ^ireferred to hold forth instead of in Caesarea. Vial No. 6: (Rev. 16: 12-16) refers to the fact that the River Euphrates, the boundary-line between the Roman and Parthian empires, did not exist (in a figur- ative sense) when the two combined to make war upon Palestine, 67-70 A. D. Vial No. 7: (Rev. 16:17-21) refers clearly to the destruction of Jerusalem, which appears under the odious appellation of "Babylon" many times in the book (14: 8; 16: 19; 17: 5, etc.). Chapter 17. It is essential to notice sharply the two main metaphors of this chapter: the Scarlet Woman, Baby4on (I Peter 5: 13), drunk with the blood of mar- tyrs and her soul stained with crime and vice, is Jeru- salem; the Beast ON WHICH SHE SITS is Rome, the City of Seven Hills (Rev. 17:9). Jerusalem owed her strength and authority to Rome, who protected her from heathen invasion. The seven kings referred to in verses 10: 14 are the seven emperors, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, who have fallen ; the sixth is Vespasian; the seventh, who "must con- tinue a short space," is Titus, who ruled two years. THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 199 The eighth is Domitian (v. 11). Verse 18 means that Jerusalem, aided and abetted by Rome, was constantly- stirring up persecution against the church throughout the Roman empire. Chapter 18. This chapter is a funeral-dirge, or elegy, over the tragic fall of Jerusalem, August, 70 A. D. The scenes described were possibly witnessed by John, and verses 17 and 18 are autobiographical. Verses 12 and 13 catalogue the plunder carried off by Titus to Rome, and John's list has been found to be quite accur- ate, for every article named is corroborated by the Jewish history of Josephus. Chapter 19. A Heavenly Celebration of the Fulfill- ment of God's Justice upon Jerusalem. Chapters 20, 21, and 22 describe the spread and ulti- mate triumph of the Christian church over all its ad- versaries, whether temporal or spiritual; and for the former, ancient history from the time of Constantine the Great on verifies John's prophecy. For the latter, the abolition of great national evils in both the medi- aeval and modern world may testify, but there is yet a long road to travel. (a) Gog and Magog: (Rev. 20:8) are spoken of in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Gog is the Sultan of Turkey, who, with his Mohammedan barbarians, overran Asia Minor, including Syria and Palestine, capturing Jerusalem for the first time in 1077, and thus precipitated the Franco- British crusades of which all school-boys know. This Turkish invasion happened about a thousand years after the destruction of Jerusalem, 70, coming within seven years of John's prophecy (Rev. 20:7, 8). (b) The Temple in Heaven. In Revelation 11 :i 200 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT John was required to measure the temple, with the purpose of preserving historically its details of size and structure. The temple on earth was then destroyed as described, and opened thenceforth to men in heaven (Rev. 11:19 and chapter 21). (c) The Two Witnesses: (Rev. 11:3-12) are sur- mised to have been James and Jude, authors of the Epistles of the New Testament bearing their names. On the former's monument is said to have been in- scribed: "He hath been a true witness." (d) The Beast and the False Prophet: (Rev. 19: 19, 20) allude respectively to Rome and heresy, or anti- Christ. (e) The Tranquil New Heaven and New Earth is reflected in the language of Revelation 21 and 22 in direct contrast to the lurid, calamitous scenes of the preceding chapters. Its last sentences in particular are rare sentences of universal literature, making it rank along with Homer, Job, Shakespeare, Dante, and other great masterpieces. Francis Thompson, the emi- nent English poet and essayist, declares that the Book of Revelation reflects in its wording the scenic beauty of the isle of Patmos. The expression "And there was no more sea" (21: i), indicates the deadly monotony inflicted on the mind by habitually living by the ocean, the effect so graphically portrayed by Tennyson in "Enoch Arden." Rev. 22:2 may reflect further the landscape of Patmos. The author of Revelation quite apparently lived in a hot climate if we may judge from 7: 16, where it is declared that in heaven "neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat." What would an Eskimo think of such a description of heaven ? THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 201 The Book of Revelation has been long used as the "Puzzle-Book of the New Testament." To this day it is refused a place in the canon of the Greek Orthodox Church. Many sects have based their tenets upon its prophecies, and it has given rise to many futile fancies in religion. Though the universe crashed into ruins, however, its composer had eternal, unshakable faith in the certain triumph of the Kingdom of God. BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE LITER- ATURE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT: 1. Julicher, Adolf: (London, Smith, Elder & Co., 1903). Translated into English by; D. A. Ward, from the fourth German edition. Jiilicher is the prince of all New Testament commentators, a foremost leader of the liberal school of inter- pretation, and author of probably the best schol- arly introduction ever written. 2. Bacon, Benjamin W. (An Introduction to the New Testament, Macmillan, 1900). By the foremost New Testament scholar in the United States, and professor at Yale University. A leading, scholarly authority of the liberal school. 3. Bacon, Benjamin W. ("The Making of the New Testament," Home University Library, Henry Holt &'Co., 1912). A briefer compendium, but painfully condensed and somewhat technical. 4. Moffatt, James. (International Theological Li- brary Series, Scribner's, 1911). One of the most powerful and influential commentators of the liberal school of interpretation. A ranking world authority. 5. Peake, Arthur S. (New York, Scribner's, 1910). A work of the conservative school by an emi- 205 2o6 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT nent British authority. Tends to defer to tra- dition too much, and fails to come to the firmest possible grasp of the New Testament documents. 6. Zahn, Theodor. (Translated into English by M. W. Jacobus from the third German edition. Scribner's, 1909,) Conservative and reaction- ary; the bulwark of the traditionalist school of interpretation. 7. Von Soden, Baron. ("The History of Early Chris- tian Literature : The Writings of the New Tes- tament." Translated into English by J. R. Wilkinson. Williams & Norgate, 1906.) A mag- nificent work of the liberal school, by a late pro- fessor at the University of Berlin, A world au- thority of highest rank. 8. Reuss, E. ("A History of the New Testament." Translated into English by E. L. Houghton from the fifth German edition. Houghton-Mifflin, 1884.) A splendid authoritative commentary, now somewhat superseded by later research, but still standard. 9. Wrede, W. ("The Origin of the New Testament." Translated into English from. German by J. S, Hill. Harper's, 1909.) Liberal, progressive, il- luminating. 10. Pfleiderer, O. ("Christian Origin." Translated into English from the German by D. Huebsch. New York, B. W. Huebsch, 1906.) A critical study of the animus of primitive Christianity as reflected in the New Testament documents. 11. Wernle, P. ("The Beginnings of Christianity." Translated into English by G. A. Bienemann THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 207 from the German. Williams & Norgate, 1904.) Liberal; somewhat technical for beginners. 12. Goodspeed, E. J. ("The Story of the New Testa- ment." University of Chicago Press.) A brief, scholarly estimate of the authorship and origins of every New Testament document, each in chronological order. Intended as a primer. 13. Burkitt, F. C. "The Earliest Sources for the Life of Jesus": (Houghton-Mifflin, Boston, 1910). An elementary critical treatment of the docu- mentary sources from which the facts of the life of Jesus have been derived, by an eminent scholar of the liberal school. His presentation of materials is simple and readable. II. PAULINE LITERATURE 1. Wrede, W. ("Paul." Translated into English from German by E. Lummis. London, P. Green, 1907.) Conceives Paul as the real founder of Christianity, and is therefore unbalanced, but contains much scholarly material. 2. Weiss, J. ("Paul and Jesus." Translated into English from German by H. J. Chaytor. Har- per's, 1909.) Conceives Jesus as the real founder of Christianity rather than Paul, and is better and more balanced than Wrede's treatise, to which it is respondent. 3. Baur, F. C. ("Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ, His Life and Work, Epistles and Doctrine." Williams & Norgate, 1876. Translated into English by A. Menzies from the second Ger- 2o8 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT man edition.) A commentary that revolution- ized the whole scholarship of Paulinism. Other lives of Paul by Bacon, Shaw, Ramsay, Cony- beare and Howson, Wright, Eleanor Wood, Cone, Clemen, etc., are accessible in divinity school libraries and elsewhere. HI. JOHANNINE LITERATURE 1. Scott, E. F. ("The Fourth Gospel, Its Purpose and Theology." T. & T. Clark 1906.) The lead- ing authority on the Fourth Gospel and Johan- nine Epistles. A professor at the Union Theologi- cal Seminary, New York City. 2. Bacon, Benjamin W. ("The Fourth Gospel in Research and Debate." Moffat, Yard & Co., 1910.) A scholarly, incisive treatise, by the leading American authority. 3. Schmiedel, P. W. ("The Johannine Writings." Translated into English by M. A. Canney from the German. A. & C. Black, 1903.) Coincides with Bacon in conclusions as to origins of the Johannine literature. IV. SOCIAL CHRISTIANITY I. Mathews, Shailer. ("The Church and the Chang- ing Order." Macmillan, 1907.) A sane, scien- tific discussion of the future status of the church as an institution in modern civilization, by the dean of the Divinity School, University of Chi- cago. THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 209 2. Rauschenbusch, Walter. ("A Theology for the Social Gospel." Macmillan, 1917.) Rauschen- busch started on a popular basis the widespread study of social Christianity in America and abroad. Late professor in the Baptist seminary at Rochester, N. Y. 3. Ibid. ("Christianizing the Social Order." Mac- millan, 1912.) An epoch-making discussion. 4. Ibid. ("The Social Principles of Jesus." Asso- ciation Press, 1919.) A stimulating, brief trea- tise, the starting-point of the author's later con- ceptions. 5. White, Bouck. ("The Call of the Carpenter." Doubleday, Page & Co., 191 1.) A brilliant but radical and one-sided conception of Jesus of Nazareth as the champion of world labor. A socialistic treatise, but has run through several editions. 6. White, Bouck. ("The Carpenter and the Rich Man." Doubleday, Page & Co., 1913.) A bril- liant but radical and one-sided treatment of the leading parables of Jesus from the socialistic standpoint. 7. Peabody, Francis G. ("Jesus Christ and the So- cial Question." Macmillan, 1900.) A masterly popular treatment of the social principles of Jesus by the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals, Emeritus, Harvard University. 8. Davenport, F. M. ("Primitive Traits in Religious Revivals." Macmillan, 1905.) The psychology and sociology of revivalism as a primitive sur- vival type of nervous instability. 210 THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 9. Cutten, G. B. ("The Psychological Phenomena of Christianity." Scribner's, 1908.) A treasury of information on nervous aberrations manifested in primitive types of religious virorship. ID. Ames, Edward Scribner. ("The Psychology of Religious Experience." Houghton-Mifflin, 1910.) A scholarly work. Advocates salvation by edu- cation as the future Christianity. II. Ibid. ("The New Orthodoxy." University of Chicago Press, 1918.) Portrays religion as an organic and integral part of everyday life. Treatments of the social implications of Christianity are too numerous to mention, but the preceding will serve to start the beginner aright who is chiefly inter- ested in this aspect of religion. V. THE RESURRECTION I. Bowen, Clayton R. ("The Resurrection in the New Testament." G. P. Putnam's, 1911.) The most scholarly and comprehensive treatment of the subject in English, and freest from dog- matic preposessions. VI. TEXTUAL PROBLEMS 1. Smyth, J. Paterson. ("How We Got Our Bible." James Potts & Co., 1899.) Deals with the manu- scripts now in existence from which the Bible is taken, particularly the Vatican, Sinaitic, and Alexandrian Mss. 2. Bowen, Clayton R. ("The Gospel of Jesus." THE CONTENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 211 1916.) The historic residuum of the Gospels, with passages of doubtful historicity elimin- ated. To this group belongs also the various so-called gos- pel "harmonies" with the same materials from the Synoptics arranged in three parallel columns for syn- chronous comparison, of which Huck's is a standard work. INDEX INDEX Acts, 3, 13, 22, 104, 123, 135, 161-166, 178, 179. Ames, E. S., 124, 210. Ancestry of Jesus, 38. Angelology and demonology, 38, 63. 107. Antichrist, 139-141, 191, 300. Antinomians, 187. Annas, 33, 91. Antioch, —in Pisidia, 138, 152. —in Syria, 137, 189, 150. Apocalypse, 4, 140, 191-301. Apollos, 144, 151, 180. Apostolic Council, 139, 153, 156. Archimedes, 164. Aristides, 130. Ascension of Jesus, 104. Asia, 133, 193. Athens, Paul at, 135, 141, 142. Augustine, 134. B Babylon, 183, 198. Bacon, B. W., 8, 16, 29, 31, 74, 86, 106, 136, 161, 170, 172, 183. 205, 308. Baptist, John the, 41-44, 73, 144, 151, 186. Beloved Disciple, the, 24, 31. Berea, Paul at, 135. Bibliography, 205-311. Birth of Jesus, 37. 2IS Blindness (miracles), 68. Booth, Gen. William, 43. Bowen, C. R., 61, 62, 86, 103, 106, 179, 210. Bradford, William, 120. Browning, 141. Bunyan, 59. Burton. E. D., 179. Cssarea, 93, 123, 163, 171, 198. Caiaphas, 91, 134. Canon, 9, 180. Centurion's servant healed, 65. Chalmers, Thomas, 120. "Cinderella Gospel," 17. Clement of Alexandria, 34, 179, 180. Coin in fish's mouth, 73. Colossians, 166-171. Colossians-Ephesians Problem, 166. Corinth, Paul at, 142, 148, 150. 160. Corinthian Epistles, 144-150. Cowper, 99. Crucifixion of Jesus, 96, 105. D Dante, 200. Deismann, 171. Demetrius. 150. Demonology (see Angelology) — miracles of, 63. 2l6 INDEX Diary of Acts, 131. Doketism. 29, 184, 187. Domitian, 183, 187, 191, 199. Ecclesiastes, 33. Elder, John the, 186. Empty tomb, 104-107. Ephesians, 168-170. Ephesus, —note to, 160. —Paul at, 150, 151, 170, 179. Epistles, — cosmic, 168. —general, 138, 169, 177-188. —Pauline, 135-173. —prison, 166-172. Eschatology (end of world), 21, 107-109, 137, 139, 147, 184. Eusebius, 17. Feeding the multitudes, 73. Felix:, 163. Festus, Porcius, 163. Fig-tree cursed, 73. Fourth Gospel, 24-33. Gains, —of Corinth, 143. — of 3rd John, 188. Galatians, 151-158. Gamaliel, 123, 160. Gibbon, 101. Gnosticism, 29, 187. Goguel, 171. Goodspeed, E. J., 86, 137, 165, 179. H Hale, Nathan, 130. Harnack, 20, 138, 180. Hausrath, 148. Healing the sick, 64-69. Hebrews, Epistle to, 179. Herod, — Agrippa, 163. — Antipas, 95. —the Great, 33, 40. Homer, 133, 200. Horace, 133. Holtzmann, 86, 168. Hughes, Charles E., 120. Incarnation, 36-30. Infancy, — Narrative of Luke, 19, 23, 88. — of Jesus, 37. Iranasus, 197. Issue of blood (miracle), 66. Jairus' daughter restored, 69. James, —Apostle, 31, 32, 57, 156, 176. — ^brother of Jesus, 37. —Epistle of, 181. Jerusalem, —Church at, 139, 131. — Council at, 139, 153. Joan of Arc, 130. Job, 300. Johannine Tradition, 3, 16, 34- 33, 74, 87, 185-187, 308. John, —Apostle, 24, 25, 33, 57, 179, 186. —Baptist, 41, 72, 95, 144, 151, 186. —Elder, 186. —Epistles of, 185, 188. —Mark, 17, 21, 127. — Prophet, 186, 193, 193. — Revelation of, 7, 13, 187. Josephus, 105, 199. Judaism, modern, 85. Judaizers, 139, 153-159, 167. INDEX 217 Judas Iscariot, 88, 90, 186. Jude, Epistle of, 4, 6, 37, 183, 186, 188. Jiilicher, Adolf, 137, 160, 169, 182, 305. Julius Caesar, 152, 165. K Kingdom of God, 27, 46-51, 55, 94, 108. Kingsley, Charles, 170. Koheleth, 33. Kohler, 86. Knox, 120. Lake, 171. Lanciari, 166. Laodicea, 137. 184, 194. Last Supper, 88. Law, 50, 108, 154-158. Lazear, J. W., 120. Leprosy (miracles), 67. Lessing, 60. Lincoln, 120. Lisco, 171. Logos, 38. Luke, — Acts ig.v.), — Evangelist, 22, 133, 164. —Gospel of, 3, 11, 15, 17, 19, 22, 37, 47, 50, 64-66, 69, 71, 73, 75, 88, 187. Luther, 33, 87, 130, 180, 182. Lydia, 133. M Marcion's Canon, 180. Marcus Aurelius, 120. Mark, —Evangelist, 17, 21, 137. —Gospel of, 3, 7, 11, 16-19, 21, 33, 63, 64, 105, 106, 187. — Leaves Paul and Barnabas, 127. Matthean Tradition, 16. Matthew, —Evangelist, 16, 20, 55, 106. —Gospel of, 3, 10, 15, 16-31, 45, 50, 88, 106, 179, 187. McGiflfert, 137, 169. Missionary Journey, —First, 126-139. — Second, 131-150. —Third, 150-160. —Fourth, 178, 179. Moflfat, 137, 169. Montefiore, C. F., 85. N Nature-miracles, 71-74. Nero, 140, 165, 195. Norden, 169. Offering for poor, 131, 16L Onesimus, 167, 170. Origen, 34, 179, 180. Palestine, 114, 115. Papias, 17. Parables, 74-84. Parallelizing influence, 18, 72, 73. Paralytic man (miracle), 67j Parousia, 31, 107-109, 137, T39, 147, 184. Passover, 89, 100. Pastoral Epistles, 177-179. Patmos, 193, 300. Paul, — activity against Christians, 133 —birth, 131. — conversion, 124. —martyrdom, 166, 179. — parentage, 121. Peabody, F. G., 59, 209. Pergamos, 194. 2l8 INDEX Peter. —Apostle, 17, 18, 55, 69, 70, 86, 90, 91, 92, 101, 130, 183, 183. — confession of, 8i. —Epistles, 183-184. — mother-in-law healed, 66. — source of Mark's Gospel, 17, 18. Petrine Tradition, 3, 17, 18, 70, 183-184. Pharisees, 43, 51, 74-84, 87, 91, 98, 133, 133. Philadelphia, 194. Philemon, 167, 170. Philippi, Paul at, 133. Philippians, 133, 172. Pick, Bernard, 128. Pilate, Pontius, 83, 93-96, 106, 198. Plato, 30, 137. Pliny, 137. Prayer, 51-55. Precepts, 3, 10, 14, 47. Preface of Luke, 23. Priscilla, 143, 150, 151, 180. Prologue of John, 38. Proseucha, 133. Q Q-material, 19, 45, 50, 75. R "Reconciliation Letter,'' 148- 150. Renan, Ernest, 30. Repentance, 43. Restoring the dead, 69-71. Resurrection, 86, 100-107. Revelation of John, 3, 7, 13, 140, 187, 191-301. Romans, Epistles to, 3, 159, 188. Rome, 23, 33, 37, 45, 48, 90, 93, ISO, 132, 140, 159, 160, 165, 171, 179, 182, 191-201. Saliva miracles, 64, 65. Sanhedrin, 91. Sardis, 194. Satan, — kingdom of, 48. — tempts Jesus, 44. Scott, E. F., 30, 208. Second Coming (see Parousia). Seleucia, 127. Sergius Paulus, 137. Sermon on the Mount, 49-55. Seven words of cross, 99. Shakespeare, 84, 137, 177, 200. Shylock, 121. Signs, (miracles), 61, 74. Smyrna, 194. Smyth, J. P., 105, 310. Socrates, 30. "Sorrowful letter," 148, 149. Stephen, 123, 124. Synoptic Gospels, 14-23. Swift, 88. Tennyson, 193, 300. Thessalonicins, Epistles to, 135- 141. Thessalonica, Paul at, 134. Thompson, Francis, 300. Thyatira, 194. Tiberius, 198. Timothy, 131, 133 (see Pas- toral Epistles). Titus, 129, 131, 156, (see Pas- toral Epistles). Tolstoy, 185. Toussaint L'Ouverture, 120. Transfiguration, the, 86. Triumphal Entry, the, 86-88. Trial of Jesus, 90-96. Twain, Mark, 17. Twelve, the, 55. V Vespasian, 19^, 195, 196, 198. INDEX 219 Von Soden, H., 137. 168, 169, Wise, S. S., 85. 206. W Walking on the water, T3. Washington, 130. Wellhausen, 86. Wesley, 130. Widow's Son of Nain, 70. Williams, Roger, 130. Withered hand (miracle), X Xavier, Francis, 120. Xenophon, 30. Xerxes, 133. Zahn. Theodor, 153, 169, 206.