■ 'I' ■ I H 1 si ■a ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ,K\37 Settioo C8* Historical ISMt THE WORK AND TEACHINGS OF THE APOSTLES THE HISTORICAL BIBLE By CHARLES FOSTER £eNT, Ph.D., Litt.D. Professor of Biblical Literature in Yale University ARRANGEMENT OF VOLUMES: L The Heroes and Crises of Early Hebrew His- tory. From the Creation to the Death of Moses. {Ready.) IL The Founders and Rulers of United Israel. From the Death of Moses to the Division of the Hebrew Kingdom. {Ready.) III. The Kings and Prophets of Israel and Judah. From the Division of the Kingdom to the Babylonian Exile. {Ready.) IV. The Makers and Teachers of Judaism. From the Fall of Jerusalem to the Death of Herod the Great. {Ready.) V. The Life and Teachings of Jesus. Accord- ing to the Earliest Records. (Ready.) VI. The Work and Teachings of the Apostles. From the Death of Jesus to the End of the First Century. ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE Scenes of Paul's Work C.F.Kew*-, l(o APR 17 191! €&e historical TBfb\»[(e> APR 17 191G THE WORK AND TEACHINGS OF THE APOSTLES CHARLES FOSTER KENT, Ph.D., Litt.D. WOOLSEY PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE IN YALE UNIVERSITY WITH MAP AND CHART CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS NEW YORK CHICAGO BOSTON Copyright, 1916, by CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS PREFACE The Apostolic Age is the most complex period of biblical history. Until the death of Jesus the interest of the biblical student is focused on the Hebrew race, but after that great turning-point in human his- tory it suddenly becomes world-wide. Rome soon takes the place of Jerusalem as the centre of Christianity, and its historical background is the great Grseco-Roman world. It is during the Apostolic Age that the relatively narrow current of Jewish thought mingles with those which flow from the ancient East, from cultured Hellas, and from Rome itself. The mingling of these currents explains the resulting complexity of apostolic life and thought. The New Testament writ- ings vividly reflect this mingling of civilizations and ideas. As they stand these books also lack chronological arrangement. To most New Testament readers the latter part of the New Testament is a labyrinth. It is full of immortal truths and richly suggestive of the heroism and hopes of the early Christians; but, aside from the book of Acts, the New Testament writings in their present order fail to make clear the unity of the mighty, onward, first-century movement of which they are practically the only record. Therefore a chronological synthesis of the material in the epistles and Acts is an indispensable prerequisite for the intelligent study of apostolic Christianity. The cumulative testimony of an ever-increasing body of biblical students confirms the conclusion that the most fruitful, in fact, the only satisfactory way to study biblical history and the complex litera- ture contained in the Old and New Testaments, is by means of the source-method. When the more important passages of this ancient literature are singled out and arranged according to the scientific methods of classification, the biblical writers tell their own story and the modern student gains for the first time a clear and comprehensive knowledge of the abounding life and the vital principles recorded in the Bible. In endeavoring to lay the foundations for this study, I have been constantly helped and inspired, not only by work in the college classroom, but also by scores and hundreds of letters from men and women in various professions and activities who have been able PREFACE to speak from their practical experience in the larger laboratory of life. To endeavor to lay before them in each succeeding period those portions of the Bible that are the most significant and to leave out none that are of primary importance has been one of the constant aims of this series. In the present volume the task has been especially dif- ficult, yet inspiring because of the richness of the material. In Paul's epistles the historian also possesses contemporary records which are of priceless value; but even here frequent omissions bring out in clearer relief the remaining passages which present the logical thought and the essential teachings of the great apostle to the Gentiles. Following the example of modern translators like Moffatt and Weymouth, I have broken up many of Paul's cumbersome and involved sentences into smaller and more intelligible units. By so doing the modern reader is enabled to gain a truer appreciation, not only of the apos- tle's thought but also of his vigorous literary style. The large debt which I owe to the writers who have pioneered this many-sided field is suggested in the Appendix. To my former student, Professor Case, of the University of Chicago, I feel under especial obligation for his illuminating survey of the religious background of the Apostolic Age in his Evolution of Christianity. The study of each succeeding period of biblical history has also brought into increasing prominence the lofty yet practical social idealism of the men who in- spired and wrote the Old and New Testaments. The subject is too large and to vital to be presented only fragmentarily. Its com- prehensive treatment is, therefore, reserved for a separate volume on "The Social Teachings of the Prophets and Jesus." C. F. K. Yale University,' January, 1916. VI CONTENTS INTRODUCTION THE RECORDS AND BACKGROUND OF THE APOSTOLIC AGE PAG] I. The Records of the Work and Teachings of the Apos- tles 3 I. The Significance of the Apostolic Age. — II. The New Testament Letters and Epistles. — III. The Aim of the Book of Acts. — IV. Its Authorship and Date. — V. The Early Sources Quoted in Acts li-15 3B . — VI. Later Traditions in iL-1535. — vil. The Journal of Travel. II. The Historical and Religious Background of the Apostolic Age i I. The Rulers of Rome. — II. What" Rome Did for Chris- tianity. — III. Contemporary Palestinian Judaism. — IV. The Judaism of the Dispersion. — V. The Greek Philosophies. — VI. The Emperor- Worship. — VII. The Mystery-Relig- ions. — VIII. The Religious and Social Needs of the Masses in the Roman Empire. PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANITY IN PALESTINE AND SYRIA § CXLVI. The Origin of the Jerusalem Christian Com- munity 21 ActS 113-16. 20-25 ? 2 1 - 2 - 4 - 6a - l 2 " 41 . I. The Return of the Disciples to Jerusalem. — II. The Choice of a Successor to Judas. — III. The Story of the Day of Pentecost. — IV. The Coming of the Spirit. — V. Peter's Memorable Sermon. — VI. The Faith of the Early Chris- tian Believers. § CXLVII. The Life of the Primitive Christian Com- munity 34 Acts 2"-4". 2i-« 6 . 29 -", 5 1 - 16 . I. The Historical Record. — II. The Healing of the Lame Beggar. — III. Peter's Interpretation of the Old Testament Prophecies. — IV. His Defense before Jesus' Murderers. — V. The Effect of the Release of Peter and John upon the Christian Community. — VI The Communistic Tendencies of the Believers. — VII. The Story of Ananias and Sapphira. — VIII. The Religious Life of the Jerusalem Christians. vii CONTENTS § CXLVIII. The Work and Death op Stephen 45 Acts 6»-7*. « b -«», 8*. I. The Story of Stephen's Martyrdom. — II. The Appointment of the Seven. — III . Stephen's Discussions with the Hellenistic Jews. — IV. The Logic of Stephen's Speech. — V. His Death. § CXLIX. The Expansion op Christianity after the Death of Stephen 54 Acts 8 lb . <- 49 , li". "• M - 86b . 121-w. I. The Far-Reaching Effects of Stephen's Martyrdom. — EL The Samaritan Field. — III. The Results of Philip's Preach- ing in Samaria. — IV. His Conversation with the Ethiopian Eunuch. — V. The Spread of Christianity to Antioch. — VI. The Persecution of the Jerusalem Christians by Herod Agrippa I. — VII. Peter's Changed Attitude Toward the Gentiles. — VIII. The Limitations and Significance of Early . Palestinian Christianity. PAUL'S WORK AND TEACHINGS § CL. Paul's Early Training and Conversion 68 Acts 223, Gal. 1«. ", Acts 269-i», Gal. 1"-", Acts 26*>a, II Cor. 11«. « Gal. 1«". I. Paul's Inheritance. — II. His Personality. — III. His Early Environment at Tarsus. — IV. His Training at Jerusalem. — V. His Zeal as a Persecutor. — VI. The Four Accounts of His Conversion. — VII. His Transforming Psychological Experi- ence. — VIII. His First Fifteen Years of Missionary Activity. § CLI. Paul's First Missionary Campaign 80 Acts 12*. * ll"-*>, 12*, 13J-1428. I. Paul's Work at Antioch. — II. The Sending Forth of Bar- nabas and Paul. — III. Their Work in Cyprus. — IV. The Mission Field in Southern Asia Minor. — V. At Galatian Antioch. — VI. The Apostles* Work at Iconium.and Lystra. § CLII. The Breaking of Jewish Bonds 91 Gal. 2i-«, Acts 15 1 * I. The Burning Problem in the Christian Church. — II. The Accounts of the Way in Which It Was Solved. — III. Paul's Interview with the "Pillars" at Jerusalem. — IV. Problems Arising from the Association of Jewish and Gentile Chris- tians. — V. Paul's Controversy with Peter. — VI. The Sig- nificance of the Breaking of Jewish Bonds. §CLIII. Paul's Second Visit and Later Letter to the Churches of Galatia 100 Acts 15«-16», Gal. li-», 3 17 - *-», 4*-", 5*-«. 13 -6". I. Date and Aim of Paul's Second Missionary Campaign. — II. Revisiting the Galatian Churches. — III. The Occasion viii CONTENTS of Paul's Letter to the Galatians. — IV. The Literary Struc- ture and Contents of Galatians. — V. Paul's Interpretation of the Significance of the Jewish Law and of the Work of Jesus. — VI. The Responsibilities of Spiritual Liberty. § CLIV. Paul's Missionary Work in Macedonia Acts 166-17". I. Paul's Quest of a New Mission Field. — II. His Vision at Troas. — III His Work at Philippi. — IV. The Founding of the Church at Thessalonica. — V. Paul's Work at Bercea. — VI. The Results of His Work in Macedonia. 109 § CLV. Paul's Letters to the Christians at Thessalonica I Thess. li-io, 21-5 5 . I 2 - 28 , II Thess. li-«, 2*-\ 3. I. The General Structure of Paul's Letters. — II. Their Literary Characteristics. — III. The Occasion of His First Letter to the Thessalonians. — IV. Its Contents. — V. The Contents and Authenticity of II Thessalonians. — VI. Paul's Aim in II Thessalonians. 119 § CLVI. Paul's Work at Athens and Corinth 132 Acts lTlfi-lSlSa. I. The Athens of Paul's Day. — II. His Attitude Toward Its Intellectual and Religious Life. — III. His Address to the Athenian Crowd. — IV. His Skill as an Orator. — V. His Problems and Methods at Corinth. — VI. The Results of His Work in Corinth. §CLVTI. Paul's Correspondence with the Corinthian Church 142 I Cor. II" 6 ' N>-17a, 21-29 t 2 1 ' 5 - H" 18 31" 7 . »-". ls . 17 • M-M, 48_5«a, 9-13 1512-28*, 35-38, 42-44, 49-58^ 161-7. 10-14 U Cor. H)!" 6 , Ill" 6 121*« I 6 , 13 2 - 5 , li- 4 > 23 , 2i- 10a 6ii- 13 , 7 2 " 4 8 1 " 6 , 9 1 - 2 > i°-i 5 . I. Conditions in the Church at Corinth that Called Forth Paul's Letters. — II. His First Letter to the Corinthian Christians. — III. His Second Letter to the Corinthians. — IV. His Third Letter to the Corinthians. — V. His Fourth Letter to the Corinthians. § CLVIII. Paul's Principles of Christian Living 156 I Cor. 6, 710-2 4 , 81- 4 . 7 ->. "• ", 913-", 10 x2 ' i 3 - si- 33 , I21 2 - 31 , 131-14 5 . B . 18, 19, 26-33a, 37 -40^ I. Paul's Teaching Regarding the Christian's Duty in His Economic Relations. — II. His Advice Regarding Sex Ques- tions and Divorce. — III. His Practical Application of Jesus' Law of Love. — IV. "The Body of Christ." — V. Paul's Im- mortal Hymn in Praise of Love. § CLIX. Paul's Ministry at Ephesus 168 Acts 18i9-20 3 8, I. Paul's Journey to Syria. — II. The Political and Religious Importance of Ephesus. — III. Conditions that Confronted Paul at Ephesus. — IV. His Method of Work at Ephesus. — V. His Conflict with the Pagan Cults. — VI. The Results of His Work at Ephesus. ix CONTENTS PAGE § CLX. Paul's Interpretation of Jesus' Saving Work 179 Romans 1'. 5 -m, 2«-«, 3 s - 12 . 2 °- 3 i, 4 13 - 17b , 5 1 -", 8, ll»-36. I. Date and Aim of Paul's Epistle to the Romans. — II. Its Structure. — III. Paul's Estimate of the Jewish Law. — IV. The Influences which Shaped His Conception of Jesus. — V. His Doctrine of Salvation through Faith in Christ. § CLXI. Paul's Social Teachings 190 Romans 12i-14i8, 15 1 - 9 - »»>-» I. The Two Sides of Paul's Personality and Teaching. — II. His Reassertion of Jesus' Social Teachings. — III. His Restatement of Jesus' Social Ideal. — IV. The Christian's Responsibility as a Member of Society. — V. His Duties of Toleration and Consideration for Others. — VI. His Obliga- tion to Men of All Races. § CLXII. Paul's Last Journey to Jerusalem 200 Acts 21 1 -", 22 21 -23 21 ». 22 - 2 5a. 31-35. I. The Record of Paul's Journey to Jerusalem and Rome. — II. His Reasons for Revisiting Jerusalem. — III. His Recep- tion at Jerusalem. — IV. The Jewish Attack. — V. The Re- sults of Paul's Visit to Jerusalem. § CLXILL The Ambassador in Bonds 210 Acts 24 1 -25 1 *. 23, 26 1 - 4 - 22-28 16 . 3 °. «. I. Paul's Imprisonment under Felix. — II. The Date of the Procuratorships of Felix and Festus. — III. Paul's Reasons for Appealing to Caesar. — IV. The Story of His Shipwreck. — V. His Journey to Rome. — VI. The End of the Race. § CLXIV. The Last Letters of the Aged Prisoner 223 Philemon, Col. I 1 - 8 - M - 29 , 2 1 - 3 - «-i 2 , 31. 2 . s- 2 ', 4*-9. i«. is, Eph. li-«, 2n-i8 t 44-6. n-16, 31, 32 > 51, 2 > 610-2^ Phil. 11-", i»- 2 6, 4«- 2 o. I. Paul's Last Letters. — II. The Occasion of His Letter to Philemon. — III. The Purpose and Thought of His Epistle to the Colossians. — IV. The Identity of the So-called "Epis- tle to the Ephesians." — V. Paul's Love-Letter to the Phi- lippians. — VI. His Contributions to Christianity. CHRISTIANITY DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE FIRST CENTURY § CLXV. The Message of Hope and Inspiration in I Peter 238 I Peter li-». «. 23 , 21- 3 . »-*>, 3i-is, 4i-«, 7-19, 5. I. The Later Years of the Apostle Peter. — II. His Martyr- dom. — III. The Growth of the Western Church. — IV. The Persecution of the Christians by Domitian. — V. The Aim and Contents of I Peter. — VI. Its Authorship and Date. CONTENTS PAGE § CLXVI. The Early Christian Sermon in Hebrews 250 Heb. I 1 - 5 - 1 18 , 3 1 - 7 , 414-M, 10 1 *- 24 ' 32 - 36 , ll 1 * 10 ' w*i*i *»- 2», 3i-4o > 12, 13 8 " 15 . 20 > 21 . I. The Literary Form of the Epistle to the Hebrews. — II. Its Authorship and History. — III. The Aim of the Ser- mon in Hebrews. — IV. Its Theme and the Development of Its Thought. — V. Its Charm and Power. § CLXVII. The Visions of the Ultimate Victory of Chris- tianity in the Book of Revelation 262 Rev. I 1 - 8 - 10 - lla , 2 la - 6a - 7 - 13 - 1S - 19 « 2S , 3 1_4 > 7 - 8 - 10 > 14 " 16 - 19 - 22 , 4 1 -*- 8b 5*6o, 11-14 79, 10, 13, 14-17, 146-13, JQll-ie, 19-21a, 20 11 " 15 , 21 1 " 5 .' 22 " 27 , 221-5. 10-17. " I. The Aim of the Book of Revelation. — II. Its Theme and Literary Character. — III. Its Authorship and Date. — IV. Its Contents and Sources. — V. Its Interpretation. § CLXVIII. The Christian Wisdom of the Epistle of James 277 James l*-2i», 3J-4 3 , 5. I. The Literary Form of the Epistle of James. — II. Its Aim. — III. Its Authorship and Date. — IV. Its Contributions to Developing Christianity. — V. Its Democracy. § CLXIX. The Rule of Love in the Early Christian Church 287 I John I1-21 3 . "-IT, 31-3, 9-11. i3-i8 t 47-21, Apology of Aristides, 15, 16. I. The Aim and Thought of I John. — II. Its Authorship and Date. — III. The Personality Back of the Johannine Writ- ings. — IV. The Life of the Early Christians. — V. The Es- sence of Christianity. APPENDIX I. A Practical Reference Library 301 II. General Questions and Subjects for Special Research 303 MAP AND CHART The Main Highways of the Roman Empire and the Scenes of Paul's Work Frontispiece Chronology of the Apostolic Age To face page 21 XI INTRODUCTION THE RECORDS AND BACKGROUND OF THE APOSTOLIC AGE I THE RECORDS OF THE WORK AND TEACHINGS OF THE APOSTLES I. The Significance of the Apostolic Age. The Apostolic Age began with the death of Jesus in 29 or 30 a.d. and ended about the close of the first Christian century. This brief three-quarters of a century is significant primarily because it represented the practical application, the testing, and the crystallizing of the principles of faith and life which Jesus had set forth. Christianity then came into close contact and competition with many rival religions, such as the Roman emperor- worship, Greek Cynicism, Epicureanism, Stoicism, Judaism, many Egyptian and oriental cults, and, above all, with the popular mystery- religions. In this infinitely complex environment Christianity ceased to be based on certain simple principles proclaimed by Jesus and il- lustrated by his life and acts; it gradually developed an elaborate system of doctrines, rules, and institutions. This period marked the beginning of that creed-making era which culminated in 325 a.d. in the formulation and acceptance by the Western Church of the Nicene Creed. It also witnessed the spread of Christianity from the little community at Jerusalem to Rome and to the widest bounds of the Roman Empire. It saw the growth of a chain of Christian churches reaching from Babylon in the East to Spain in the West and from the Black Sea in the North to the heart of Africa in the South. The vital questions presented by the period are historical and doc- trinal. How far was the faith of Christianity based on the teachings of Jesus ? How far did it come from the active mind of Paul ? How far was it a composite of Jewish, Greek, and oriental ideas? Fortu- 1 RECORDS OF THE WORK OF THE APOSTLES nately, in answering these complex yet fundamental questions, we have as a basis of comparison the older records of Jesus' work and teachings. We can focus the search-light of these teachings upon those of Paul and of the other New Testament writers, even as the Great Teacher turned them upon those of the older prophets, priests, and sages. The historical study of the literature of the Apostolic Age gives us also a fresh vision of Jesus. Hitherto the Christian church has seen him largely through the medium of Paul's theology; but now we are be- ginning to distinguish in Paul three distinct elements : (1) The Pharisee and devoted student of the Jewish law; (2) The Roman citizen and heir to many of the complex religious ideas current in western Asia . during the first Christian century; (3) Paul the mystic and the devoted follower of Jesus who interpreted the teachings of his Master in the light of his own rich personal experience. With a clearer knowledge of the influences which entered into Paul's vision, we are better able to-day to interpret what he actually saw and thus to see Jesus anew through the eyes of the earliest New Testament writer. II. The New Testament Letters and Epistles. Fortunately, we are not dependent upon secondary sources for our knowledge of Paul. The oldest writings in the New Testament come directly from this heroic apostle to the Gentiles and furnish contemporary testimony re- garding the most important movements of the first quarter century following the death of Jesus. Paul's letters and epistles were the spontaneous outgrowth of his work. When it was reported to him that false teachers were attempting to undermine his influence with the churches which he had established in Galatia, with hot indignation and earnest zeal he sat down and wrote his impassioned letter to the Galatians. Again, when he was unable to go in person and counsel his disciples in the newly established church at Thessalonica, he put into his letters known as I and II Thessalonians the words which he would doubtless have spoken could he have visited them. Later, in his ab- sence from Corinth, he carried on an active correspondence with his fellow Christians there, which is at present incorporated in I and II Corinthians. When he found that he could not go on directly to Rome, as he had hoped, he embodied in a more general epistle the essence of his theological teaching, and added a practical application of the prin- ciples of Christianity to the every-day problems of life. Thus arose the New Testament book known as the Epistle to the Romans. Through these letters and epistles of Paul it is possible to know him almost as intimately as did those who sat under his direct teaching. 2 NEW TESTAMENT LETTERS AND EPISTLES They introduce us to Paul as he pleads with the disciples to choose the right, or as he pours out his passionate protestations of affection and appreciation, or as he declares his faith in God and in his son, Jesus Christ, or at the high moments of his thought and experience, as when, for example, he sings his immortal hymn of love. Few characters of antiquity are revealed more clearly than is that of Paul in his ten or twelve original epistles. Even in pastoral epistles like Titus and I and II Timothy the nucleus is undoubtedly Pauline and the spirit of the great apostle transfuses them, though in their final form they probably came from the pens of later disciples. These epis- tles also give valuable incidental information regarding the details of Paul's work and of conditions in the Roman world, thus richly supple- menting and at several points correcting the more systematic record of Acts. In these epistles, as well as in the later writings associated with the names of Peter, and James, and John, it is possible to trace clearly the growth of Christian institutions and doctrines. Epistles like II and III John and Philemon contain many personal touches which reveal the spirit and life of the early Christians. In Hebrews we listen to a great Christian preacher, setting forth the doctrines of the church as they were taught near the close of the first century. Thus through the epistles it is possible to view from many different angles the early growth and expansion of Christianity. III. The Aim of the Book of Acts. The reference in the preface of the book of Acts to "my former volume" and to "Theophilus" im- plies that the purpose of its author was to continue the narrative of the Third Gospel and to trace the triumphs and progress of the Chris- tian church from Jerusalem to Rome. A closer examination of Acts reveals the fact that its aim was not merely historical but irenical, practical, and to a certain extent apologetic. Its author evidently had three classes of readers in mind: (1) the Jewish and Gentile fol- lowers of Jesus; (2) the Jews who refused to accept Jesus as the Mes- siah; and (3) the Grseco-Roman world. His practical aim therefore is threefold : First, to reconcile the differences in the early church re- garding its duty to Gentiles and to show how, notwithstanding the op- position of certain narrow Judaizers in its ranks, under the guidance of the Spirit of God and through the heroism and persistency of the early apostles, and especially of Paul, it had swept over the barriers of Jewish and heathen opposition, and finally gained a firm foothold in the capital city of the empire. These facts are presented as the final, pragmatic answer to the objections of the narrow Judaistic Christians. 3 RECORDS OF THE WORK OF THE APOSTLES The second aim is to demonstrate that Christianity was born under the shadow of the temple or in the Jewish synagogues, and that not Christianity but Judaism precipitated the bitter hostility between the two kindred faiths. The third aim is to win a favorable reception for Christianity at Rome and from the Roman officials throughout the empire. To that end especial emphasis is placed upon Paul's Roman citizenship and on the endeavor to show that his persecutions and im- prisonments came simply as the result of malignant Jewish or heathen attacks, and that the Roman officials with practical uniformity defended rather than assailed him. This aim doubtless explains why there is no mention of Paul's flogging by the Roman lictors, as recorded in II Corinthians ll 25 , and why the narrative of Acts ends abruptly, saying nothing about Paul's final trial and execution. The all-embracing aim was to show how the spirit and presence of Jesus continued to inspire and direct his followers, so that all that they taught and accomplished was inspired by their living Lord and Master. IV. Authorship and Date of Acts. The critical scholarship of the last century has tended to confirm the testimony of early-church tradition that Luke, the companion of Paul, was the writer of both the Third Gospel and the present book of Acts. Detailed studies of each word and phrase have demonstrated that the same literary character- istics recur throughout these books. The preponderance of medical terms, the marked interest in miracles of healing, and the evidence at every turn of the exact knowledge which only a physician could pos- sess (cf. Hobart, Medical Language of St. Luke) distinguish Acts and the Third Gospel from all other New Testament writings. This re- markable unity of literary style and medical interest points clearly to Luke, the physician, as their common author. The direct statements in Acts strongly confirm this conclusion. In the accounts of Paul's journey from Troas to Philippi (16 10 " 17 ), later from Philippi to Jerusalem (20&-21 18 ), and from Csesarea to Rome (27-28), the author writes in the first person, indicating that he accompanied Paul. The detailed ac- count of their last journey to Rome implies that only two friends, Aristarchus and the author of the so-called "we" sections, were with Paul. Of the six friends whom Paul states were with him at Rome during his imprisonment (Col. 4 10 ' 14 , Philemon 23 " 24 ) practically none except Luke the "beloved physician" (in the light of Acts 15 39 , 27 2 , and II Tim. 4 10 ) could have been the author of this journal of travel. Little is known regarding Luke, but that little is significant. It is clear that he was a Greek Christian. He was certainly for a time a 4 AUTHORSHIP AND DATE OF ACTS resident and possibly a native of Philippi, although tradition makes him a native of Syrian Antioch. He accompanied Paul in his longer and more important journeys, probably in the capacity of medical at- tendant; but he is also mentioned by the great apostle as a "co- worker." His keen interest in all questions which concerned the life and work of Jesus and the extension of Christianity throughout the Roman world is clearly demonstrated in the writings which have come from his pen. Acts 21 8 ' 10 indicates that he remained for a time in the house of Philip the Evangelist and that at Jerusalem he had ample opportunity to converse with James, the brother of Jesus, as well as with many others of the early Christian disciples. At other times he was associated with John Mark, Barnabas, and Silas, and in fact was personally acquainted with practically all of the great Christian leaders of the Apostolic Age. His opportunities, therefore, for gather- ing information and written records regarding the facts of which he writes were unusual. The culture, the historical method, and the broad interest revealed throughout his writings give to them a unique value. The date of the book of Acts is still an open question. Its preface indicates that it was written after the Third Gospel, and its general point of view is that of the last quarter of the first Christian century, when the spirited conflicts between the Jewish and Gentile sections of the church had lost much of their bitterness. Its obvious endeavor to commend Christianity to the Roman world and to demonstrate that the early apostles were never hindered nor attacked by Roman officials suggests strongly that the book of Acts was written late in the century, when Roman opposition was beginning to develop but before the violent persecutions under Domitian about 96 a.d. The book in its final form may therefore be dated with considerable assurance between 80 and 95 a.d. V. The Early Sources Quoted in Acts 1M5 35 . If we did not have the original Gospel of Mark, we would not have known that Luke in his gospel was quoting extensively from this older written source, for his method was to reproduce the ideas and facts of the original in his own language. This literary habit makes the discovery of the early sources which he quoted exceedingly difficult. The evidence, however, is convincing that in Acts, as well as in his gospel, he utilized earlier records. Here the linguistic evidence is especially strong, for, as Professor Torrey has shown {The Aramaic Source in Acts), practically all of Acts l 4 -]^ 35 is Luke's translation of an older Aramaic source or RECORDS OF THE WORK OF THE APOSTLES sources. This fact is vitally important, for it strongly supports the historical value of this part of Acts. Luke's sources were not floating, popular traditions but definite, written records evidently committed to writing long before Luke completed our present book of Acts. The linguistic evidence suggests that Luke found the Aramaic original of the first part of his history of early Christianity in practically the same form as he has given it to us in his Greek translation. The internal proof, however, is cumulative that originally independent documents or traditions have been combined in this old Aramaic source. In one or two cases duplicate traditions of the same event are discernible. Thus the analogies are so many and so close between the simple, straightforward account of the imprisonment and liberation of Peter and John in Acts 4 131 and the more miraculous and elaborate version in 5 17 " 42 , that there is little doubt that they are older and later versions of the same incident. In Acts 9, 22, and 26 Luke also gives three distinct accounts of Paul's conversion, each of which differs in details from the others. The incompleteness of certain of the narratives also points to originally independent sources. Thus, for example, in ll 30 and 15 2 the elders at Jerusalem are introduced without any explanation of their origin. In 12 17 James, the brother of Jesus, suddenly appears with- out any account of his conversion or explanation of how he became the leader of the Jerusalem Christian community. In different parts of the book diverse points of view are also apparent. Thus in chapters 3-5, 8, and 9 32 -!! 18 , the interest centres in Peter and to him is attributed the pioneer work in reconciling the variant views of the Jewish and Gentile Christians regarding their obligations to the Jewish ceremonial law. But in the section which begins with chapter 13 it is Paul's persistency and initiative, even in the face of strong opposition, that finally leads to the breaking of Jewish bonds. The only satisfactory explanation of these minor, yet significant variations, is that originally distinct tradi- tions have here been combined. At least two important groups of early Christian traditions may be distinguished in chapters 3-15. The first is found in &-&*, 8 5 " 40 , 9 31 -!! 18 , and 12 1 " 24 . The geographical back- ground is Palestine and the events gather about Jerusalem, Csesarea, and Samaria. Peter and Philip are the chief actors. It is possible that the facts which these stories record were gathered and written down by Philip or his daughters. The narratives found in PS 4 , ll 1930 centre about Jerusalem and Antioch and form the natural introduction to the account of the first missionary campaign of Paul and Barnabas, found in Acts 12 25 -15 35 . It has been suggested that Silas, who, accord- 6 THE EARLY SOURCES QUOTED IN ACTS ing to 15 27 , was sent as a messenger by the Jerusalem church to the Christians at Antioch, was perhaps the one who wrote this group of narratives. Whatever be their exact history, it is clear that these nar- ratives must be regarded as the primary sources in the book of Acts. The complete absence of any reference to the destruction of Jerusalem or to the bitter persecutions which the Christians experienced under Nero favor the conclusion that the majority of them at least were written early in the second half of the first century. VI. Later Traditions in l 1 -]^ 35 . In addition to the material drawn from the earlier written sources certain narratives are found in the first part of Acts which bear all the marks of being secondary. The first is the account of the ascension in l 1 " 12 . In the Gospel of Luke Jesus' ascension takes place at the close of the day on which he arose from the grave (cf. V, 304, 305) ; but in the account in Acts it is at the end of forty days. Why Luke preferred to incorporate this in his later work is not entirely clear. Its presence has been one of the chief stumbling-blocks in accepting the Lucan authorship of Acts. The reason is probably because he found it already in the Aramaic source, which he quoted as a whole. As has been truly said: "Whatever in- volved a miracle attracted rather than repelled Luke." The account of the choice of a successor to Judas, in l 13 - 25 , evidently contains an important historical kernel. At least this narrative gives us the first glimpse into the life of the Christian community at Jerusalem. The story of the day of Pentecost resembles in literary character the na- tivity stories, which stand at the beginnings of the First and Third Gospels, but it clearly preserves the memory of a transcendently im- portant event in the early history of Christianity. The later duplicate account of the imprisonment and liberation of Peter and John, con- tained in 5 17 " 42 , bears the marks of later growth. The account of Paul's conversion in 9 1 " 18 is probably based on what appear to be older ac- counts in 22 and 26. Occasional editorial additions, as for example, 2 43-47 } 1122 , 23, m 12 » may be detected, but the presence of these later traditions and editorial additions only tends to confirm the conviction that the web and woof of the narratives in Acts 1-15 is very early and reliable Christian tradition. VII. The Journal of Travel. The excellent historical character of the second half of the book of Acts has long been recognized. Here at every point a familiarity with details and a certainty of touch are apparent which are possible only when the author is intimately familiar with the events which he is recording, as well as with their geographical 7 RECORDS OF THE WORK OF THE APOSTLES and historical setting. Recent excavations and research have signally confirmed the accuracy of the minute political, social, and religious al- lusions to the peculiar and rapidly changing conditions in Asia Minor and southern Europe. The explanation of these significant facts is furnished by the book of Acts itself. As has already been noted, in 16 10 - 18 , 20^ 15 , 21 1 " 18 , 27 L -28 16 , the author speaks not in the third but in the first person, thereby quietly setting forth the fact that he himself was a witness of the events which he records. The exactness and minuteness of detail which characterize these passages also suggest strongly that Luke is not dependent upon verbal memory but upon a journal of travel, such as it was customary for companions of important travellers to keep in order to recall their experiences. It is also probable that in the passages where the third person is used Luke was also able to draw from his own notes or from those of others who accompanied Paul, for they reveal much the same minuteness and exactness of detail as do the so-called "we" passages. This conviction is confirmed by the fact that from 15 36 to the end of the book there is not the slightest evidence that Luke was translating from earlier Aramaic sources. The style is homogeneous throughout. In contrast to the first part of the book, where Luke is quoting from older Aramaic sources and where there are nearly a hundred quotations from the Old Testament, the second part of Acts contains only one or two quotations. The whole is written not only in a finished literary style but also from the point of view of Luke, who beyond reasonable doubt was himself the author of the journal of travel. Thus out of a half century of radical criticism, which has been in- clined at times to seriously discredit the historicity of the book of Acts, it has emerged and stands as one of the best historical documents that have come down to us from antiquity. Its faults are shared in common with the best historical writings of the period as, for example, the Annals of Tacitus, in which miracle stories are recounted with the greatest as- surance. In using the book of Acts it is important to follow the pri- mary sources. There is every reason to believe that these give us a re- markably faithful picture of the chief characters and events in the early history of the Christian church. While the book of Acts is ex- cellent history, it is more than a history, it is the epic of conquering Christianity; it is the pragmatic proof of the invincible power of the spirit and teachings of Jesus. II THE HISTORICAL AND RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND OF THE APOSTOLIC AGE I. The Rulers of Rome. Augustus realized his lofty ambition and brought practically all the civilized nations of the earth under one common rule. Rome in the first Christian century represented the world, and the emperor was not merely the symbol but the embodi- ment of all authority and government. The welfare of the world, therefore, depended as never before upon his character and policy. As a result, the citizens of the empire experienced the most varied vicis- situdes of fortune during the seventy years (between 30 and 100 a.d.) which constituted the background of the Apostolic Age. Tiberius, who reigned until 37, was a stern moralist, so severe that he was regarded as a despot by the Roman nobility, whose vices he vainly endeavored to check. Caligula, who reigned from 37 to 41, was thoroughly un- sound both morally and mentally. The brevity of his reign alone saved the empire from shipwreck and his Jewish and Christian subjects from terrible persecution, for in his insanity he imperatively demanded that he be worshipped as a deity by every citizen of the empire. Clau- dius, born in southern Gaul, proved, like Tiberius, a champion of the provinces and endeavored by a generous policy to unite in loyal citi- zenship all parts of the empire. He laid down the significant principle: "It is right that men should live in the religion of their country." He also instituted humane laws in behalf of slaves. For the first time in the history of Rome the killing of a slave by his master was branded as a capital offense. After a reign of thirteen years Claudius was suc- ceeded in 54 by Nero, who came to the throne at the age of seventeen as a result of the intrigues of his mother, Agrippina. For the first eight years of his reign the direction of the government was left almost entirely to Burrus, the Pretorian prefect, and Seneca, the Stoic philos- opher. Seneca favored the provinces, although he himself amassed a great fortune through the misuse of his official position. At the death of Burrus in 62 Seneca killed himself at the emperor's command, and 9 THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE AGE Nero assumed active control of the government. In contrast to his profligate nobles, Nero was not altogether bad but capricious. His persecution of the Christians in 64 was only one of the many mad acts of tyranny that in 68 led to a revolt of the provinces which drove Nero to suicide. In the anarchy which ensued four Roman emperors were crowned within a year, three of whom were military leaders. The last, Vespasian, the commander of the Roman army in Syria, a plebeian, succeeded in restoring peace to the empire. Setting aside the old Roman nobility, he recruited its ranks from the provinces and the cities of Italy. Thereby he gave new life to the Senate which, nominally at least, represented the people. Henceforth it supported the emperor and assisted him in the reorganization of the empire. Titus, the con- queror of Jerusalem, who in 79 succeeded his father, was kind and benev- olent, intent only on promoting the welfare of his subjects. After a short reign of two years he was succeeded in 81 by his younger brother, Domitian, a scholar with high moral standards but ambitious of power and suspicious of the Senate. During his reign of fifteen years the empire prospered, but many of his subjects and especially the Chris- tians were the victims of his tyranny and suspicions. Nerva, who in 96 was chosen as Domitian' s successor by the Senate, shared his author- ity with his colleagues and inaugurated an era of liberty and good-will which was perpetuated by his successor, Trajan (98-117). The rulers of this period present the most striking contrasts. Claudius and Ves- pasian heroically endeavored to conserve the interests of all their subjects. Caligula and Nero, on the other hand, were absolutely irre- sponsible and vicious. Titus and Nerva were too lenient toward of- fenders and too lax in their rule to control the diverse elements in the empire. Tiberius and Domitian were conscientious tyrants who won the ill will of the majority of their subjects. Under these very differ- ent types of rulers Christianity in turn prospered and was persecuted. II. What Rome Did for Christianity. It is an unquestioned fact that Rome alone made possible Christianity's marvellous progress during the first Christian century. The rapid spread of that local cult, an offspring of hated Judaism, until it reached the farthest bounds of the Roman Empire is unquestionably the greatest marvel in human history. The primary explanation is the personality of the Founder of Christianity and the potency of the principles which he proclaimed, but the miracle was possible because its environment was uniquely favorable. The strong hand of Augustus and of the emperors who succeeded him put an end to the destructive wars which had disrupted 10 WHAT ROME DID FOR CHRISTIANITY and devastated the states encircling the Mediterranean and for a cen- tury established practically unbroken peace. Moreover, Rome unified these diverse nations, broke down all political and racial barriers, and substituted for petty patriotism an enlarged consciousness of world citizenship. Throughout its vast domains Rome established police protection; the pirates were hunted from the sea and robbers even from the remote mountain passes. Over valleys and rivers and mountains broad highways were built which made travel in all parts of the empire relatively easy and rapid. Accommodations for travellers and traders were established in all the important cities along these highways, and imperial postal service made communication easy. Under the fostering protection of Rome, Greek traders, artists, and travelling philosophers carried the culture and language of ancient Hellas from the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates to the Pillars of Hercules, so that Greek be- came the common language of communication between all the different citizens of the empire, and even in the imperial city. The great pub- lishing houses, through the services of hundreds of slaves, were able to issue books almost as cheaply as to-day. Literature and the easy means of communication made it possible for ideas to travel with marvellous rapidity throughout the civilized world. Above all, Rome until the very close of the first century was tolerant toward all types of religion. Even in the imperial city itself scores of provincial cults had their devotees, their interpreters, and in many cases their priests and temples. III. Contemporary Palestinian Judaism. The Apostolic Age was a supremely critical period in the history of Judaism. Under the rule of the Roman procurators, who in turn were under the immediate direction of the emperor, Judea felt most acutely every change in the policy of succeeding rulers. Tiberius' s zeal to protect the interest of the provinces led him in 36 to banish Pontius Pilate on a charge of mis- government. The mad Caligula figures both as a friend and a foe of the Jews. In 37 he appointed Herod Agrippa, the grandson of Herod the Great, king over the east-Jordan tetrarchy of Philip and in 39 added Galilee and Perea to his dominion. It was at this period that the per- sonal intercession of Herod Agrippa, who had been a boon companion of Caligula, alone saved the Jews from wholesale slaughter because they refused to worship the emperor. The reign of Claudius was a golden era for his Jewish subjects. In payment of certain personal obligations to Herod Agrippa the emperor made him king over all the territory that had belonged to his grandfather, Herod the Great. For three 11 THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE AGE years, 41-44, the Jews enjoyed great prosperity and privileges under his rule. Like most of the Herodian family he was a pagan at heart, but he posed as the guardian of Jewish traditions and rights not only in Palestine but throughout the Roman world. His sudden death in 44 a.d. marked the beginning of a disastrous chapter in Jewish his- tory. His son, Agrippa II, was later made king of the kingdom of Chalcis and given charge of the Jerusalem temple and the right of ap- pointing the high priest, but in 44 a.d. Judah was again placed under the rule of the procurators. Each succeeding ruler proved worse than his predecessor. The history of Judah from 44 to 66 is a sickening record of cruelty and rapacity on the part of the procurators and of insurrections, futile messianic uprisings, and growing hatred on the part of the Jews. After the death of Nero, and while rival emperors were struggling for the imperial throne, the Zealots precipitated the final rebellion against Rome which resulted in the complete destruc- tion of Jerusalem and the temple. Fanaticism and civil war between the different Jewish factions made this one of the bloodiest struggles in human history. Finally, after Vespasian had been made emperor, Titus, his son, was left victor over a smouldering ruin and a devastated land. From 70 to the end of the century the intellectual capital of Judaism was transferred to Jamnia. Here its learned rabbis continued to study the law. Here also the canon of the Old Testament was com- pleted about 90 a.d. Though mortally smitten by Rome, the Jews con- tinued to dream their dreams of the Messiah who would yet descend from heaven, judge the heathen nations, and set up his supernatural kingdom in which the faithful would be raised from the dead to share with those who were living the glories of the messianic reign. IV. The Judaism of the Dispersion. In the apostolic history the Jews of the dispersion figured more prominently than those of Palestine. Continued residence in Greek-speaking lands had produced in many ways a different type of Jew from that found under the shadow of the temple. He was equally loyal to the traditions and institutions of his race and made frequent pilgrimages to the sacred city, but his outlook was broader and his mind more open to new truth. Many of them, like Philo of Alexandria and the author of IV Maccabees, had accepted many of the principles of the Greek philosophers and were endeavoring both in theory and practice to reconcile Judaism and Hellenism. In their contemporary writings one will find many ideas that are familiar to the readers of Paul's epistles. Thus, for example, the author of IV Ezra (3 21 ) declares: "The first Adam, clothing him- 12 THE JUDAISM OF THE DISPERSION self with the evil heart, transgressed and was overcome; and likewise also all who were born of him." Like their Palestinian brothers, they were expecting the speedy advent of a divine messianic king to inaugu- rate a new era in human history. Beginning as early as the second cen- tury B.C. an earnest missionary spirit had developed among these Jews of the dispersion. The Greek translation of the scriptures had been made not only for their use but to commend the truths which these contained to the Gentile world. In such centres as Alexandria, the Greek allegorizing and spiritualizing methods of interpretation, had been applied by many Jewish scholars to these older scriptures. Israel's cere- monial institutions and even the chief events of its history were inter- preted simply as symbols of spiritual realities or of future events. Under this allegorizing process the strict insistence upon obedience to the ceremonial law was gradually given up and thus the door to Judaism was opened wide to the Gentile world. The intense zeal of these later Jewish missionaries is revealed by the volume and variety of the literature which they put forth. By means of an elastic, allegorizing method of interpretation all that was finest in Greek philosophy was read back into the Old Testament. Moses and the later prophets were proclaimed the forerunners of Plato and Aristotle. Greek philosophy was thus made the servant of the Jewish religion, for whatever the Jews of the dispersion wrote had the prac- tical aim of winning converts and of influencing men to live a higher moral life. Imitating Homer, Philo of Alexandria wrote an epic de- scribing in heroic terms the great events and personalities of Israel's history. These earnest missionaries even dramatized that stirring his- tory. Fragments of the great religious epic called The Exodus sur- vive as an illustration of the way in which they used the methods of the Greek drama to commend the religion of Jehovah to the Hellenic world. Their earliest efforts were rewarded. Many Greeks and Romans shared Israel's faith. A few became what were called "proselytes of righteousness," submitting to circumcision and faithfully keeping all the commands of the Jewish ceremonial law. These were freely ad- mitted to all the services of the temple and enjoyed in full the re- ligious privileges of native-born Jews. The majority, however, took only a partial step toward Judaism. They accepted its monotheism and its moral and social teachings but did not attempt to meet all its ceremonial requirements. Apparently these converts were welcomed by the Jews of the dispersion and were admitted freely to the services of the synagogue. These were included in the class designated in the 13 THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE AGE book of Acts as the "God-fearing Greeks." They were found in al- most every synagogue which Paul visited in the larger cities outside Palestine. It is probable that this class also included the open-minded students of religion, of whom there were many, who were seeking re- ligious and ethical truth and inspiration wherever they could find them. They reveal clearly the religious conditions and spiritual needs of the world to which Christianity appealed. From their ranks came most of the early Gentile converts. Their presence in the synagogues also exerted a powerful broadening influence upon the Jews of the disper- sion, preparing them for the reception of the nobler message which Christianity brought. Thus this wide-spread Jewish missionary move- ment must be reckoned as one of the most important forces in preparing the world for Christianity. V. The Greek Philosophies. The Jewish scholars of the dis- persion, in seeking to reconcile Moses and Plato, paid the highest tribute they possibly could to the Greek philosophers. Israel's prac- tical religious teachers recognized that there was much in the intel- lectual life of Greece that possessed a permanent value for all man- kind. They realized that the philosophers, like the Hebrew sages, approached life from the point of view of the individual. When the gods of the old Greek mythology were beginning to topple into the dust, these lovers of men strove to give their fellows certain working principles by which to live. Plato's great permanent contribution to Hellenic thought was the belief in individual immortality. In the first Christian century he was better represented by Philo, the fan- tastic but earnest Jew of Alexandria, than by the dilettante acade- micians at Rome, whose attitude on most vital questions was either negative or skeptical. Epicureanism was still an active force in the empire. These sturdy scientists of that early age held that matter was the only ultimate reality and that their senses were the only guides to be trusted in the quest for truth. All the current superstitions they unhesitatingly threw overboard. They were ready to grant that the gods existed, but not that they exerted any influence in the earth or on the life of man. In this respect they stood directly opposed to the Stoics. The crowning virtue of the Epicureans was their sturdy loyalty to facts as they saw them. It was, however, a cold philosophy entirely devoid of spiritual inspiration. Out of the noble teaching and example of Socrates grew the two philosophies which were potent moral and religious forces in the life 14 THE GREEK PHILOSOPHIES of the age. Both were inspired by the same missionary zeal and the same interest in the moral welfare of the individual that had actuated the great Athenian teacher. Cynicism, whose founder was a pupil of Socrates, aimed to teach men how to live true to nature. This ideal was often carried to crude extremes. The Cynic philosophers were the early prototypes of the Franciscan friars, and they were sin- cerely devoted to the interests of the masses. Most of them lived lives of noble self-sacrifice and undoubtedly exerted a great influence on the people. Their basic creed was closely akin to that of the Stoics. This popular philosophy bore the stamp of its eastern origin. It taught that the ultimate reality in the universe was not matter but reason, and that the final source of reason was God. The Logos, or divine Reason, is what binds men to God. All men, therefore, are divine in so far as that divine Reason enters into them and they follow its guidance. Here the author of the first chapter of Genesis and the Stoic philosophers join hands. Like the Founder of Christianity, they taught that the supreme task in life was to do the divine will, and that the will of God is done by living a virtuous life in the service of man. In theory at least Stoicism was also democratic, for it taught that all men possess this divine Reason and that only those who refuse to follow its dictates and commit crimes not in harmony with the divine plan are slaves. The Stoics also believed that pain and suffering possess a positive value in developing the individual and that therefore they should be patiently and even joyously borne. In dealing with the old mythologies they, like the Jews of the dispersion, employed the allegorical method of interpretation. They also sought to retain the older forms of their religion, as long as they were helpful in develop- ing the individual. Regarding his future immortality their teachings, especially in the first Christian century, were vague and uncertain. To the prosperous, educated man Cynicism and Stoicism had much to offer. They seemed to satisfy the facts of experience and furnished a practical basis for living. But for the outcast or the man who faced death the religion of Reason gave but cold comfort. At the same time these two philosophies were in a very real sense pioneers of Christian- ity. The belief that men were the children of God, that communica- tion between him and them was possible, and that the end of existence was to do his will by living a virtuous and self-sacrificing life had been held and taught as strongly by Israel's prophets and sages as by the founders of these two philosophies. The doctrine of the Logos, or divine Reason, as the bond between God and men was also destined to 15 THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE AGE exert a powerful influence upon certain phases of Christian thinking, and to find acceptance, as it does in the opening verses of the Fourth Gospel. VI. The Emperor-Worship. Rome did not inherit from its past a native religion virile and broad enough to become the religion of the empire. Yet the need was keenly felt for a co-ordinating religious influence which would reinforce the growing consciousness of political unity. Emperor-worship attempted to meet this need. Historically it was the product of a long evolutionary process. In its origin the idea was Oriental rather than Occidental. In ancient Egypt and Baby- lonia the kings were believed to be incarnations of the deity. Thus the old Babylonian kings Sargon I and Naram Sin in the fourth mil- lennium B.C. placed the sign for god before their names. Gudea, the Sumerian king of ancient Lagash, prayed to a goddess: "I have no mother, thou art my mother. I have no father, thou art my father. ... In the sanctuary thou didst bear me." When Alexander the Great conquered the East he was soon deified and was worshipped long after his death. His successors, the kings of Syria and Egypt, were practically without exception thus worshipped. From the Orient this tendency to deify successful rulers spread to the Western world. The Greeks themselves early show an inclination to worship genius. Thus Aristotle reared an altar in Athens to Plato soon after his death. As has been well said: "The Greek theory of monarchy started with man and made of him its god; the Oriental notion started with God and made the monarch in his image" (Case, Evolution of Early Christian- ity, p. 205). Pompey was publicly proclaimed a god in Athens. Dio Cassius (XLIII, 14 6 ) and Suetonius {Julius Casar, 76) both state that Julius Caesar was styled during his lifetime "The God and Dictator and Saviour of All the World." In 42 B.C. the Roman Senate enacted that his title should be, "Divus Julius." Augustus's disapproval of this strong popular tendency repressed its public expression during his lifetime, but it did not prevent the masses from worshipping him long after his death. Henceforth it became a fixed institution in the Roman Empire. Inasmuch as it was a valuable uniting force, it was en- couraged even by the better emperors. Moreover, there soon gathered about it certain national hopes that were akin to the Jewish messianic expectations. Gentiles as well as Jews were longing for a divine de- liverer who would put down evil, establish justice, and inaugurate an era of prosperity. Vergil's famous prediction, found in his fourth 16 THE EMPEROR-WORSHIP Eclogue, clearly voices this hope: "The last age prophesied by the sibyl has come and the great series of ages begins anew. Justice now returns, Saturn reigns once more, and a new progeny is sent down from high heaven. O chaste Lucina, be thou propitious to the infant boy under whom first the iron age shall cease and the golden age over all the world arise. ... O child, as soon as thou shalt be able to read the praises of heroes and the achievements of thy sire and to know what virtue is, the fields shall by degrees grow yellow with ripening corn, blushing grapes shall hang on a rude bramble, and hard oaks shall drip with dewy honey. . . . Dear offspring of the gods, mighty seed of Jove, enter thy great heritage, for the time is now at hand. See how the world's massive dome bows before thee — earth and oceans and the vault of heaven I" Roman and Jew be- lieved that the coming deliverer, whom they, like Vergil, thought would speedily appear, was to be divinely gifted and that his advent was to be attended by marvellous portents. These miracles meant more to the Orientals than to the Greeks or Romans. The latter preferred to worship a man who manifested heroic qualities rather than a God merely let down from heaven. Both Greek and Oriental believed, however, that the uniqueness of those whom they deified came through birth. "Son of God" was a common term among the Greeks and Romans and was interpreted by them in a very literal sense. Augustus bore the title Divi films, and many were the traditions current regard- ing his divine parentage and miraculous birth (e. g., Suetonius, Aug., 94). Therefore the early Christian missionaries found the Grseco- Roman world in an expectant attitude. Their claim seemed as natural as that of the scientists do to the men of the twentieth century. Their only task was to prove their facts. It was also inevitable that mission- aries like Paul, who were Roman citizens, speaking to their Gentile audi- ences, should interpret Jesus in the terms not only of the Jewish mes- sianic hope but of the larger Roman world to which they appealed. Thus it was that the emperor- worship proved an active force in opening their eyes to the fact that Jesus was not a mere Jewish Messiah but the universal Saviour of mankind. This potent influence also carried many of the early Christian theologians still further and led them to proclaim him the Creator and Ruler of the universe, as well as the Friend and Saviour of sinful men. VII. The Mystery=ReIigions. The emperor-cult, which was sim- ply the worship of power and success, and the Greek philosophies, 17 THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE AGE with their cold appeal to reason, never fully met the deeper spiritual needs of the people. What they desired was something that would satisfy their emotions as well as their reason and would give them the consciousness of fellowship with the Deity and the assurance of per- sonal salvation. This craving for individual protection and salvation is as old as the race. As soon as man recognized the presence of hos- tile forces in the world, he sought means whereby he might ally him- self with some higher power or powers that would deliver him. First he felt the need of deliverance from natural forces, from wild beasts and human foes. Larger experience opened his eyes to the malignant effects of sin. Therefore he went in quest of a saviour or of a way that would deliver him from this insidious evil. Many were the ways that were devised. Scientific knowledge in time provided a partial way of deliverance from his old foes — hostile man and beast and the forces of nature. Moral laws also pointed out ways in which he might in part anticipate the malign effects of sin; but he never ceased to feel the need of the help of some power outside himself. Judaism and Stoicism put the greater emphasis on man's activity as the way of deliverance. The so-called mystery-religions put the chief stress on the help from without. They greatly attracted the masses because they claimed to make clear the way in which man might put himself into touch with this power from without and be assured of salvation. There were many types of mystery-religions in the Roman Empire, each with its exponents and its devotees. From Egypt came the mysteries of Isis; from Persia and India the Mithra cults. From Asia Minor came the Cybele-Attis mysteries. In Greece the Eleu- sinian mysteries, which were associated with the worship of Demeter, and the more riotous Orphic cults had long flourished. Each of these had its representatives in Rome and in many of the larger cities in the empire. Each had attracted to its shrine Romans, Greeks, and Orientals, for each had ceased to be merely a national religion or local cult. The rites differed widely. As a rule, the Oriental types were more frenzied and appealed largely to the emotions and some- times to the passions, but they all had certain characteristics in com- mon. They all claimed to bring their initiates into personal communion with the Deity by means of their mystic rites. They demanded of their followers, as a preliminary, ceremonial and, to a certain degree, moral purity. Thus the requirement of the candidate in the Eleusinian mysteries was that he should be able to speak the Greek language in- 18 THE MYSTERY-RELIGIONS telligently and "be pure of hand." To this was later added the re- quirement that he should "be pure of soul." Most of the mystery- religions also promised to give to their initiates the consciousness of deliverance from sin and of reconciliation with the Deity. To this they added the assurance of personal immortality and of dwelling happily with the gods. As a result of their primitive origin, the popular mys- tery-religions were a strange, almost incomprehensible combination of sensuality and idealism, often passing over into asceticism, of sur- vivals of pagan sorcery and ritualism, combined with the loftiest con- ceptions of Greek philosophy, of crude beliefs, coming from barbarous ages, and divine ideals of fellowship with God and man. Notwith- standing their traditional limitations, they were not only tolerated by the emperors but received the indorsement of prominent Romans. Cicero declares (in De Leg., 3 14 ) : "In the mysteries we perceive the prin- ciples of real life and learn not only to live happily but we die with a fairer hope." By virtue of their democracy and their appeal to uni- versal human needs the mystery-religions proved Christianity's strong- est competitor in the first century. At the same time, like Judaism and the Greek philosophies and even the emperor-worship, they did much to prepare the minds of men for the reception of Christianity. As was inevitable, when competition was so close and constant and when there was so much in them that was essentially good, they exerted a powerful influence upon Christianity, as is shown, for example, not only in the language but also in the thought of Paul and in the rites which were ultimately adopted by the Christian church. VIII. The Religious and Social Needs of the Masses in the Roman Empire. Christianity in the first century spoke to a needy world. Rome had done much to promote the welfare of the masses, but it could not satisfy the deeper cravings of the individual. Men crave companionship. The many guilds and fraternities which flour- ished throughout the empire revealed this need. They also longed for a way of personal as well as social salvation. Amidst the wreck- age of the old mythologies they longed for a worthy object of personal belief and devotion. The crimes and their consequences, which del- uged and blackened society and the life of the individual, had made vividly clear the need of a faith that would unite religion and morals. The disastrous distinctions between slave and freedmen and irre- sponsible noble had sent the thinkers of the world in quest of a unifying faith that would bind all men and classes together. Even in imperial 19 THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE AGE Rome the great crying need was for democracy and fellowship in re- ligion, for a faith that would make all men brothers and happy and hopeful in the common service of a common Lord and Master. In that ancient world, with its hundreds of rival cults, Christianity emerged triumphant because it met these universal needs. 20 PO CO CO C) CO ill *:|Jg illi?] K'i* I- ■* #> Iljl?§ ■3 2U g - S "8 — -* «> 00 « 0, iniAIAIAd O © M ■» t~ 00 inmininiAi/i i — > is ll ! -° u = ; s eo. 5 I S3 ;<£se > 3 3 inSuiiflio ©i ao ao i~uj n n « j J lis 00* 8 *0» ru a s PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANITY IN PALES- TINE AND SYRIA § CXLVI. THE ORIGIN OF THE JERUSALEM CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY Now when the disciples entered Jerusalem they went Return to the upper room where they were in the habit of staying. Sf s ! he There were Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip and Thomas, «P les Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, jeru- Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. All these ^S men continued with one mind in earnest prayer, together I1314 ) with the women, with Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers. Now during those days Peter, standing up in the midst of choice the brothers — there was a crowd of about one hundred and £££ twenty persons all together— said, Brothers, it is necessary cesser that the scripture be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke Judas beforehand by the mouth of David in regard to Judas, who if^. acted as guide to those who seized Jesus. For it is written 20 - 26 ) in the Book of Psalms Desolate be his habitation, And may no one dwell in it; also Let another man take over his office. Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have been associated with us, one should join us as a witness to his resurrection. So they put forward two men, Joseph, called Barsabbas (surnamed Justus), and Matthias. And they prayed, O Lord, who knowest well the hearts of all, do thou show clearly which of these two men thou hast chosen to take the place in this apostolic ministry from which Judas, through transgression, fell away, in order to go to his own 21 ORIGIN OF THE JERUSALEM COMMUNITY place. Then they cast lots for them and the lot fell upon Matthias, who was assigned the place with the eleven apos- tles. The Now when the day of Pentecost came, they were all to- ffi"^ gether, when suddenly there came a sound from heaven gari- like a violent rushing blast of wind which rilled the whole tion a ~ house where they were seated. And they were all filled dayo! with, the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other ^gjto- tongues as the Spirit enabled them to express themselves. (S?-*.«. Now when this sound was heard the multitude gathered; **' 12 ' 13) and they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one an- other, What can it mean? But some others said sneeringly, They are brimful of new wine ! Peters But Peter stood up along with the eleven, and raising his nSion voice addressed them: Men of Judea and residents of Sol Jerusalem, let each of you understand this and listen at- ofthe 1 tentively to what I say: these men are not drunk as you chiles suppose, for it is only nine in the morning! Rather this is P**) what was predicted by the prophet Joel: And it shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams, And yea, even upon slaves and slave-girls In those days I will pour out my Spirit, And they shall prophesy. And I will display wonders in the heavens above, And signs on the earth below, Blood, fire, and vapor of smoke; The sun shall be changed into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the great, illustrious day of the Lord comes. And every one who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Jesus' Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a (£?2j man accredited to you by God through miracles, wonders, and signs which God performed by him in your midst, as 22 JESUS' DEATH AND RESURRECTION you yourselves know, this Jesus, delivered up in accor- dance with God's settled purpose and foreknowledge, you by the hand of wicked men nailed to the cross and slew. But God raised him to life by checking the pangs of death His because it was not possible for him to be held by death. Son For David says of him: ( 24 - 32 ) I saw the Lord constantly before me, For he is at my right hand lest I be shaken. For this reason my heart is glad and my tongue exults, My flesh also shall rest in hope, Because thou wilt not leave my soul in the grave, Nor let thy holy one suffer decay. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life, Thou wilt fill me with gladness in thy presence. Brothers, I can speak freely to you about the patriarch David : he died and was buried and his tomb is with us to this day. Being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would seat one of his descen- dants on his throne, he spoke with prophetic foresight of the resurrection of the Christ when he said that he was not left forsaken in the grave nor did his flesh suffer decay. This Jesus God raised to life as we all can bear witness. Exalted then by God's right hand, and having received His ex- from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, he hath poured %£%; on us this which you now see and hear. For it was not David to j: who ascended to heaven, but David himself says, Sonof divine author- The Lord said to my Lord, * Sit at my right hand, gr Until I put your enemies under your feet.' Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond doubt that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this very Jesus whom you have crucified. The Now when they heard this they were stung to the heart; effect they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brothers, peters what are we to do? And Peter replied, Repent and be ! *$£ ss baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, in ws order that your sins may be put away; then you will receive (^^ 23 ORIGIN OF THE JERUSALEM COMMUNITY the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is intended for you and for your children and for all who are far off, for as many as the Lord our God may call to himself. And with many more appeals he solemnly warned and entreated them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation! So those who accepted what he said were baptized and on that day about three thousand souls were added to them. I. The Return of the Disciples to Jerusalem. "Jesus lives and reigns on high" is the triumphant note with which the Gospels end and the history of the Apostolic Age begins. However the under- lying historical facts may be conceived or psychologically interpreted in the light of the widely varying records, the vivid consciousness of Jesus' presence is one of the great impelling forces throughout the apostolic period. At every point this consciousness explains what is otherwise inexplicable. It is the only sufficient answer to the question of why Jesus' disciples, who according to the oldest gospel record (cf. V, 298, 304) had fled to Galilee, terrified and heart-broken, suddenly returned, accompanied by over a hundred of his followers, to take up their permanent abode in Jerusalem. Their homes, their friends, and their occupations were all in Galilee; while Jerusalem was the centre of that Judaism which had rejected their Master and the home of the Pharisees who had hunted him out of Galilee. Here the Sadducean leaders, whose intrigues had placed him on the cross, ruled all but supreme. In returning to this city of tragic memories the followers of the crucified Nazarene had reason to expect only penury, peril, and persecution. Luke gives no direct explanation of their heroic action, for he follows the later traditions which overlook the humiliating fact that they had at first fled. Many have been the explanations offered by modern historians; but three closely related reasons appear to have influenced the disciples to take this perilous but important step. The first and chief reason was their absolute conviction that their Master was still living and in their midst. Paul declares that Jesus appeared not only to Peter and the Eleven but also to five hundred disci- ples. This statement is supported by the important incidental testi- mony of Acts l 23 . Joseph and Matthias, in the days preceding the memorable feast of Pentecost, are selected as apparently only two of the many who were witnesses of Jesus' resurrection, and Stephen and Paul appear to be the last to share these visions. No fear of danger could deter men into whose eyes the light of heaven had shone from 24 RETURN OF THE DISCIPLES TO JERUSALEM proclaiming that fact at the centre of their nation's life. These visions also confirmed them in the growing conviction that Jesus was beyond doubt the Messiah or Christ for which their race had long waited. Henceforth they unhesitatingly interpreted every utterance of Old Testament prophet, priest, or psalmist, which seemed to look forward to the work of the Messiah, as clear predictions of their Master and of the memorable era in which they were living. These marvellous experiences also seemed to them to confirm the popular Jewish apocalyptic beliefs, already strong in their minds, that Jesus as Messiah would soon come again with supernatural power to establish his rule on earth. The familiar prophecy of Malachi 3 1 : "The Lord whom ye seek will suddenly come to his temple," undoubt- edly seemed to them a direct divine promise pointing them the way to Jerusalem. It also explains most naturally why they spent so much time in those early days in the temple precincts and why the belief in the second coming of Jesus at first occupied a central place in their thought and life. It was easy for men who had just had visions of their risen and glorified Master to believe that he might at any moment appear in the heavens to proclaim and establish his visible kingdom on earth and to forget that he had declared that the Kingdom of God was not to come with observation but that it is within the hearts of his followers (Luke 17 21 ). A third and powerful motive impelling the disciples to go back to Jerusalem was their Master's own experience and example. His min- istry had made tragically clear the limitations of the Galilean field. His supreme courage and determination in going up to Jerusalem, even though well aware of the deadly perils that lurked there, were at last appreciated by his disciples in their true perspective. Now his task was theirs. Strait though the way be, they felt compelled to walk it. Only at Jerusalem could they touch the heart of their nation and bear witness most effectually to the work, the teachings, and the exaltation of their Master. Following his example, as at Capernaum, they aimed to establish a perfect brotherhood or community which would exem- plify the principles of life that he had laid down and furnish the leaven needed to transform their nation. Thus their vision of their risen Master and the duty of announcing it to their nation, their expectation that he would speedily appear in the temple to inaugurate his mes- sianic rule, and their obligation to establish at the historic place chosen by Jesus himself a miniature kingdom of God on earth were forces which drew his followers irresistibly to Jerusalem. 25 ORIGIN OF THE JERUSALEM COMMUNITY II. The Choice of a Successor to Judas. The consciousness of a great mission was evidently strong in the minds of the disciples who rallied at Jerusalem within less than a month and a half after Jesus' crucifixion. A common purpose united them: it was to make clear to all members of their race that he was indeed the promised Messiah and that his messiahship had been attested not merely by his wondrous words and deeds while on earth but by the repeated visions of him as their risen and glorified Lord. This was evidently the reason why they took steps to fill at once the place left vacant in the ranks of the Twelve by the renegade Judas, who, the variant traditions preserved in Matthew and Acts declare, had meantime met with a violent death. As far as the disciples were concerned, he had forfeited his life in the unique brotherhood the moment he betrayed their Master. The de- mand now was for one who had not only associated personally with Jesus, and so was familiar with his words and deeds, but was also a witness to his resurrection. This requirement also suggests the prim- itive definition of the term apostle, which was later applied to cer- tain missionaries, like Paul, who were not included in the Twelve. Peter's speech on this occasion, as recorded in Acts, makes pathetically clear the perplexity of the disciples, suddenly deprived of the author- itative leadership of their Master, and the simple faith with which in their extremity they turned to the Old Testament scriptures for gui- dance. Any passage, which on its surface seemed to throw light on their present problems, quite regardless of its original meaning or ap- plication, was accepted as a definite guide or prediction. For example, in the original of Peter's first quotation (from Psalms 69 25 ), the psalmist evidently had his many enemies in mind and prayed that their habita- tion might be desolate; but to adapt it to the later situation their is changed to his in Acts l 20 . Matthias, who was chosen by lot to fill the ranks of the Twelve, shares the complete obscurity that has engulfed a majority of the dis- ciples who were most closely associated with Jesus. One questions whether the surprising paucity of references to them in early Christian literature is purely accidental. As a whole, the men to whom Jesus intrusted his priceless teachings and example do not appear to have been gifted with marked ability. With the exception of Peter they were men of one talent. Peter's strength consisted in a simple straight- forwardness and zeal rather than irv statesmanship or insight. With the exception of Peter, the leading apostles, Philip, Stephen, Barnabas, Silas, Apollos, and Paul, were enlisted entirely outside the ranks of the 26 CHOICE OF A SUCCESSOR TO JUDAS Twelve. The ultimate success of Jesus' work came not from the ability of his immediate followers but from the invincible power of his personality and teachings. Moreover, "the advance was not the result of design, but of the inherent universality of the new religion. It passed on from race to race by channels of its own making, and broke, with a living power, through every restriction which men had placed upon it." It is also important to note that among the first to rally at Jerusalem were Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers. Paul alone of all the New Testament writers gives any hint as to how the immediate mem- bers of Jesus' family were transformed into devoted followers in the few brief days that intervened between his death and the gathering of his disciples at Jerusalem. Paul in his account of the resurrection appear- ances states (I Cor. 15 1 " 8 ) that after "Jesus had appeared to Peter, to the Twelve, and to upward of five hundred Christian brothers at once, he appeared to James." This James was beyond reasonable doubt the brother of Jesus who later became the head of the Jerusalem church. The evident importance that Paul attributes to James's vision is sig- nificant. The order perhaps implies a certain causal relation between the visions of the older disciples and that which later came to James. In the absence of detailed records it is yet possible to supply the missing links. Up to the time of Jesus' crucifixion James did not believe that his brother was the promised Messiah. Therefore his conversion and absolute conviction that Jesus was the fulfilment of Israel's hopes and that the grave could not hold him must have made a profound impres- sion on the other members of his family. Their presence among the disciples who gathered at Jerusalem indicates that at last even those of his own household appreciated his uniqueness. III. The Story of the Day of Pentecost. Effects point back unmistakably to corresponding causes. The later history of Chris- tianity is in itself convincing evidence that the day of Pentecost was the occasion of a tremendous spiritual experience. The memory of Jesus' words, of his unquenchable hope, and of his calmness in the presence of death were all fresh in the minds of the multitudes. Time and meditation had given them a perspective that enabled them to appreciate him as never before. News of the remarkable experiences that had come to his disciples had spread already among the thronging pilgrims. Among the disciples themselves the first dejection had been followed by a joyous reaction characterized by intense religious emo- tion. On the day of Pentecost this pent-up feeling broke out into an 27 ORIGIN OF THE JERUSALEM COMMUNITY irresistible wave of spiritual enthusiasm that marked the beginning of the world-wide Christian missionary movement. The story in Acts 2 represents the first-century memory and interpretation of this event. Like most of the biblical narratives, which record the epoch-making moments in the development of human faith, the original account has apparently been supplemented by later additions intended to emphasize its divine character and significance. Fortunately it bears on its face the evidences of its growth, so that it is possible to distinguish the original historical nucleus which lies back of it. The jeers of the bystanders who heard the cries of the assembled disciples, "They are brimful of new wine!" suggest that what prompted their criticism was some form of religious ecstasy rather than coherent addresses delivered in various languages. This inference regarding the historical fact underlying the story of Pentecost is con- firmed by Peter's speech, in which he explains the remarkable behavior of the disciples as a fulfilment of the prediction of the prophet Joel in which there is no suggestion of speaking in foreign languages. It is clear also in the latter part of the narrative that what converted the multitudes was not miracles nor divine signs but Peter's calm, logical, convincing sermon. In its present form three elements are traceable which apparently were not found in the original account of the event: (1) The sound from heaven like a violent rushing blast of wind which filled the whole house where the disciples were seated; (2) the tongues as of fire which ap- peared distributed among them with one resting upon the head of each; and (3) their speaking with foreign tongues so that their words were clearly intelligible to the pilgrims present from the various lands of the dispersion. The Bible and contemporary Jewish literature contain certain suggestive analogies which go far to explain the presence of these secondary elements in this nativity story of the Christian church. The subsequent narrative of Acts 2 implies that the sound like a violent rushing blast of wind, which filled the whole house, was the mingled ecstatic shouts and cries of the disciples upon whose waiting hearts the divine Spirit from heaven had breathed. The same dramatic mode of description recurs in 4 31 . In the mind of the one who has given us this narrative in its present form, the analogies between the giving of the law at Sinai and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost were very close. In the late priestly account of the scene at Sinai we read: "As Moses came down from the mount he did not know that the skin of his face was emitting rays of light because Jehovah had been 28 STORY OF THE DAY OF PENTECOST speaking with him" (Ex. S4P). Just as the divine light shining in the face of Jesus at his transfiguration seemed to transfuse and trans- form all about him, so Acts 2 suggests that the joy and courage which filled the faces of the disciples appeared to rest like a divine radiance upon them. The statement that the disciples spoke in foreign tongues was either part of the Christian tradition or else is due to the editor's desire to picture the event in keeping with its larger historic signif- icance. The story is apparently a reflection of the current rabbinical tradition of the giving of the law at Sinai, which states that the voice of God proclaimed the law in the seventy different languages that represented all the then known races of the earth. Back of this late account of the pentecostal experience lies the profound fact that the language of the emotions is intelligible alike to men of all races and tongues. Furthermore, Christianity from the first appealed even more strongly to the Jews of the dispersion — "Parthians, Medes, and Elamites" — who had returned as pilgrims to Jerusalem than to those of Palestine. It was this universal quality in Christianity that most interested the author of Acts 1-15 and he has dramatically set it forth at the beginning of his history. IV. The Coming of the Spirit. Interpreting the secondary ele- ments according to their deeper spiritual significance, the historical nucleus that remains in the story of Acts 2 furnishes a remarkably vivid and satisfying record of the epoch-making experience that came to the Christian community at Pentecost. It does not represent the beginning of the Christian church, for that existed at least in germ from the moment that the disciples reassembled at Jerusalem. Its separation from Judaism and its independent existence still lay in the future. The memorable day of Pentecost marked for the Christian community a new consciousness of direct divine guidance. It also demonstrated the universality and potency of the gospel of Jesus. Modern religious psychology aids in the interpretation of this dramatic story. The feast of Pentecost had doubtless brought to Jerusalem many followers and sympathetic hearers of Jesus. The re- telling of the visions which many of them had had of the risen Christ undoubtedly strengthened the faith and kindled the religious en- thusiasm of all. The feast of Pentecost also recalled the never-to-be- forgotten events of the feast of the Passover only fifty days before. These national feasts during Jesus' ministry had offered rare opportu- nity for the presentation of his teachings, and the influence of the ex- ample of their Master on this memorable occasion must have been 29 ORIGIN OF THE JERUSALEM COMMUNITY strongly felt by his disciples. It was in these circumstances that a divine enthusiasm seized them — an enthusiasm which henceforth for a generation at least characterized the life of the various Christian com- munities scattered throughout the Roman world. Paul has vividly described its manifestations in I Corinthians 14. He found it necessary at a later period to urge the Corinthian Christians, when the impulse seized them to speak with tongues, to "let two or at the most three speak at one time. Also to let some one interpret. If there is no interpreter, let the speaker keep quiet in church and speak to himself and God." He also sought to guard the early Christians from the charge which was originally flung at them by the sneering Jewish multitudes at Jeru- salem, when he declared that "if at a gathering of the whole church everybody speaks with tongues, and if outsiders and unbelievers come in, will they not say, 'You are insane' ? " The phenomenon was a familiar one in the ancient Oriental world. Saul, after his memorable interview with Samuel, falling in with a group of the sons of the prophets, was seized by the same divine enthusiasm. It appears to have been exceedingly common in the primitive guilds of the prophets. It is not without close analogies in the revivalistic services of modern times. Back of this experience lies the firmly established Jewish belief that the Spirit of God the Holy One, or, as it is^designated in later Christian times, the Holy Spirit, took possession of certain men and women of open minds and directed their thoughts, their feelings, their words, and their very acts. Practically every extraordinary action or event not explained by ordinary causes was attributed to this direct divine influence. Jesus himself declared that by the Spirit of God he was able to perform miracles, and he appears to have quietly assumed that all that he did and accomplished was by means of the same divine power working through him. The Spirit of God in He- brew and early Christian thought was his divine power or personality, active in nature, in human history, or working through the minds, the feelings, and the natures of his devoted followers. The great revival- istic experience at Pentecost was, therefore, not the first in Israel's history. The unique element appears to have been the intensity with which it affected the assembled disciples, and the fact that practically all of them felt its mysterious influence. It was not strange that the simple followers of Jesus lacked the vocabulary and articulate means of expressing the new and profound emotions of joy and gratitude and loyalty which filled their souls, and that they voiced them in inarticu- late cries which, when heard from afar, gave the impression of a mighty, 30 THE COMING OF THE SPIRIT rushing wind, and evoked from bystanders the sneering words: "These men are brimful of new wine!" V. Peter's Memorable Sermon. The amazement and sneers of the multitude gave Peter, the spokesman of the disciples, his oppor- tunity. Throughout his brief address, which reflects the beliefs and ideas which were in the forefront at the beginning rather than at the end of the Apostolic Age, when the book of Acts was written, there run two parallel lines of argument and evidence. The one is drawn from Old Testament prophecy; the other is based on the actual experience of Peter and of the disciples whom he represented. Speaking to Jews, he starts from the point of view of the Old Testament and singles out the memorable prediction of the outpouring of Jehovah's Spirit upon all classes in the nation, which is found in Joel 2 28 " 32a . He follows the Greek translation, quoting rather freely and supplying the words "last days" in order to make complete the application of the ancient pre- diction to the events of the day of Pentecost. The latter part of the quotation shows how directly the disciples from the first drew their apocalyptic hopes from these Old Testament predictions. Then fol- lows a remarkably vigorous epitome of Jesus' life and death condensed into one sentence. Peter's statement, "was delivered up in accordance with God's settled purpose and foreknowledge," implies that, as at later times, he had in mind the familiar portrait of the suffering servant of Jehovah in Isaiah 53. He, in common with the Jewish and Christian writers of his age, regarded David as the author of all the Psalms. In his quotation from Psalm 16 8 " 11 , and in his interpretation of the promise, Thou wilt not leave my soul in the grave, Nor let thy holy one see corruption, the logical application depends not only upon the tradition of Davidic authorship, but also upon the Greek version, which he follows and which differs widely from the Hebrew: Thou wilt not forsake me to Sheol, Nor suffer thy faithful one to see the grave. Similarly the apostle, in keeping with the current rabbinical methods of Old Testament interpretation, cites the first verse of Psalm 110 (which is probably a Maccabean poem originally connected with 31 ORIGIN OF THE JERUSALEM COMMUNITY Simon the Hasmonean) as a prediction of Jesus' resurrection. In the light of our modern historical methods of interpretation the logic may- be faulty, but that does not invalidate Peter's underlying argument, for this is but the way in which he sought to interpret his own spiritual experience and that of his fellow disciples. While Jesus was with them they had felt the divine inspiration of his personality and teach- ings. Even when death had taken him from them, the vivid conscious- ness of that same personality and presence had impelled them to come up to Jerusalem and face persecution. Now, not only in their own individual experiences but in a most startling and unmistakable manner they and the multitude which they addressed had seen with their own eyes the evidences of the work of the Spirit of God. To this argument of fact Peter added a strong appeal to the multi- tude: "Repent and be baptized every one of you," that "you may then receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Contrition, confession, and moral cleansing — these are the preliminary steps declared to be absolutely essential by the early prophets and John the Baptist, as well as by Jesus and his apostles, if the individual would enter into intimate spiritual relations with God. In the preaching of Peter "the name of Jesus," which stands for his character, his spirit, and his teachings, has become that which inspires contrition and public confession and gives the assurance of moral cleansing and the abounding joy and spiritual exaltation that made the day of Pentecost forever memorable. It also explains why a large number, possibly somewhat magnified, were then added to the Christian brotherhood. VI. The Faith of the Early Christian Believers. Peter's speech, supplemented by those which follow in Acts, reveals the chief elements in the faith of the early Christian believers. Its fixed foun- dation was their personal acquaintance and association with Jesus during his life on earth and the teachings, the ideals, and the spirit with which he had filled their minds. This is the historical corner- stone upon which Christianity rests and without which it would be, like most other religions, but a system of philosophical speculations or a body of ethical teachings. The faith of the early believers was in- evitably and radically moulded by the current hopes of their race and the predictions of their prophets. It had been so even while Jesus was with them to interpret this ancient heritage; it was naturally ever more so when they ceased to hear his audible voice. All the great early teachers of their race had taught them that their varied experi- ences as a nation were but a preparation for a glorious destiny that 32 BELIEF OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS awaited them and that a Messiah, chosen and empowered by God, was to be the chief agent in realizing this divine purpose and in inaugurating the new era in human history. Naturally and rightly they identified Jesus as the promised Messiah or Christ. This identification at once broadened their conception of the significance of his personality and work. Hitherto they had known him simply as their personal teacher and friend and master; now the historic term Messiah, with its wealth of associations, emphasized his relation to their race and to other races. At the same time the teachings of Jesus, as well as their own interpre- tation of their ancient scriptures, led them to the conclusion that they, the disciples of the Nazarene, were the faithful remnant, the true Israel. Hence they were the heirs of all the Old Testament promises. Not only were they to have a central place in the new and divine order, that they believed would speedily and miraculously be estab- lished, but they had an all-important role in preparing the way for its consummation. All their inherited beliefs and their past and present experiences focused their attention upon Jesus as the central figure in the new divine order. Now they saw him through their spiritual vision, living and exalted, not identical with God but commissioned by him to establish this new order. Hence they called him not only Messiah but also Lord. "Jesus is Lord" was the baptismal formula of the early Christian church. Paul declares in I Corinthians 8 6 : "For us there is one Lord, Jesus Christ." On the lips of the early believers the term Lord had a far more personal and intimate meaning than Messiah or Christ. It corresponded to the older term Master, interpreted in the light of the larger perspective now attained by his disciples. It sug- gested a broader yet closer personal relation between him and his de- voted followers. It was a term not only of adoration but of devotion and fealty. It meant the acceptance of his teachings and ideals as the absolute rule of life and his Spirit as the ever-present interpreter and guide. The first great task, therefore, of his followers was, as Peter declares, to "let all the house of Israel know beyond doubt that God hath made him both Lord and Christ." 33 §CXLVn. THE [LIFE OF THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY Intro- The believers all kept together and shared all things with Son" one another; and they would sell their possessions and goods 30 may well have come down directly from the early Christian community. It fits most perfectly its pres- ent historical setting. Its spirit and thought are characteristic of the primitive Christians. Psalm 2 1, 2 , with its world-wide vision, seemed none too exalted to express their exultation and thanksgiving. The closing lines of the prayer breathe the spirit that actuated the early Christian martyrs and voice their consciousness of a mighty mission as the servants of God to proclaim the teachings and do the great work that God's holy servant Jesus had intrusted to them. As in chapter 2, Luke graphically describes the overmastering ecstasy which seized them by the statement that "the place where they were was shaken and they were filled with the Holy Spirit." This profound spiritual experience also inspired them with new zeal and courage in proclaim- ing the divine truth intrusted to them and in bearing testimony to Jesus' resurrection. VI. The Communistic Tendencies of the Believers. The gen- eral statements at the close of chapter 2 have been popularly inter- preted to mean that the primitive Christian community at Jerusalem lived together on a thoroughly communistic basis. Luke may have wished to convey this impression. He himself would probably have commended such a social organization, for his sympathies, as revealed in his gospel, are strongly communistic; but the popular interpre- tation is not borne out by the older sources which he has incorporated in Acts. These nowhere state that all of the believers put all of their wealth in the common treasury. Instead it is implied that those who did so wholly or in part were highly commended for their excep- 42 COMMUNISTIC TENDENCIES tional generosity. Thus Barnabas, a Jew from the Island of Cyprus, who claimed Levitical descent and who later became an active apostle, sold a farm belonging to him and turned the proceeds into the common fund. The record does not even indicate that he sold all the property that he possessed. Peter's words to Ananias also plainly and de- cisively indicate that no one was under any compulsion to sell his per- sonal property or to turn any or all into the apostolic treasury. The absence of any trace of communism in the later history of Palestinian Christianity or elsewhere in the early Christian church, until the alien tendencies toward asceticism and monasticism gained a foothold within it, substantiates the testimony of Acts. All the more significant, therefore, is the spirit of generosity and practical brotherhood that inspired these primitive Christian believers. Not under the com- pulsion of a social compact or institution, but prompted simply by the spirit of their Master, "they called none of the things which they possessed their own, but shared all things with one another." The social ideals that Jesus had held up before his followers and tried to apply practically in the life of the closely knit community that lived around the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee were being realized. While his influence upon them was still freshest and strongest they literally did to others as they would have others do to them. What Luke records is simply a practical application of Jesus' social teachings. Undoubtedly the believers' expectation of the speedy second coming of their Master was also the background of this unique social life; but it is well that the Christian church has ever held up before it a concrete illustration of what the teachings of Jesus can do and yet will do for society, as well as for its individual citizens. Jesus saved Zaccheus, the tax collector of Jericho, by influencing him to give back in generous measure what he had stolen from society. Barnabas and other Jeru- salem citizens like him represent a still higher stage in that socializing process which Jesus aimed to perfect in every man. The social leaven which he had implanted in the heart of Judaism was beginning to work silently but rapidly in an ever-widening circle. VII. The Story of Ananias and Sapphira. This story has been regarded by many historians as apocryphal. In the form in which it has come to us tradition may have heightened certain details, as, for example, the immediate death of Ananias and Sapphira on the dis- covery of their deceit; or they may have been afflicted with acute heart-disease. One thing is certain: the narrative comes from one of the earlier sources, for it implicitly disproves the general statement 43 THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY of the editor that "the believers shared all they had with one an- other" (Acts 2 45 ). The apostles, like the ancient Hebrew prophets (e. g., Amos's doom upon Amaziah, Amos 7 17 , or Isaiah's definite prediction of the fate of Shebna, Isaiah 22 15 * 19 ), appear to have proclaimed the doom awaiting especially guilty offenders. Thus Paul in I Corinthians 5 5 declared regarding a member of the Corinthian church who was guilty of gross social immorality: "By the power of our Lord Jesus Christ I here consign that individual to Satan for the destruction of his flesh in order that his spirit may be saved on the day of our Lord Jesus." The sin of Ananias and Sapphira appears to have been their attempt to deceive their fellow Christians by retaining part of the proceeds from the sale of the land which they had donated to the community. Confronted by this evidence of disloyalty to the teachings of Jesus, Peter could not have refrained from a scathing condemnation, and it could not have failed to make a profound impression upon the pathetic pair who were making such a disastrous attempt to serve both God and mammon. Whenever, whether at once or, later, death overtook the culprits, it would be inevitably regarded as a divine judgment. It is important to note, however, that the story does not claim to recount a miracle; it simply aims to illustrate by contrast the powerful social spirit that inspired the Christian community and to point an exceed- ingly important moral. VIII. The Religious Life of the Jerusalem Christians. Help- fulness, hopefulness, unselfishness, and joyfulness characterized the life of the early Jerusalem community. In the days immediately fol- lowing the great revival at Pentecost it was in a very true sense a partial realization of Jesus' ideal of the Kingdom of God on earth. All its members were bound together by a common loyalty to their heavenly Father and a single-minded devotion to the ideals of their Master. Daily they worshipped together in the temple; each meal in their homes was apparently eaten in commemoration of their dead but risen Lord. Together they constituted one large family united by a spirit of good-will and generosity and the consciousness of a great mission. The beauty of their common life and the teachings of the apostles attracted many Jews to their ranks. The step for them was easy, for the Twelve had no thought of a break with Judaism. They regarded the scriptures of their race and the service of the temple as essential foundations of their faith. The new elements in their belief simply represented the last chapter in God's revelation to his people. Instead of separating from their fellow Jews, they sought to attract all 44 THE RELIGIOUS LIFE members of their race to themselves, the true Israel. The idea of a mission to the Gentiles outside Judaism was equally alien to the thought of the Twelve, although they would doubtless have welcomed pros- elytes who came to them, even as did the strictest of the Jews. Acts 512-16 SU ggests that in time they had fallen into an entanglement which Jesus in the early Galilean days had carefully avoided. The reputa- tion which the apostles had gained through healing the lame man in the temple courts attracted to them credulous multitudes of men and women afflicted with physical and mental maladies. If the narrative be accepted as strictly historical, it is evident that this popular credu- lity passed over into superstition. It is significant that at this point the record of the successful preaching work of the Twelve in Jerusalem suddenly ceases. Henceforth the interest centres in the group of Hellenistic Jews, gifted with a larger outlook, whose work led ulti- mately to the breaking of Jewish bonds and the expansion of Christian- ity into a world religion. The important fact to be noted, however, is that the vital force in the life of the primitive church was not its ritual or its ceremonial forms but the common beliefs and the mutual love and spirit of service which bound all together into one great fam- ily and attracted to their ranks the many who felt the crying spiritual and social needs that Christianity, thus simply and concretely inter- preted, was able to supply. The early Christian church was but an extension of the unique brotherhood which Jesus had established during his active Galilean days. What was true of Christianity at first has proved true throughout its history : its significant and lasting conquests have been won through the personal touch and through fellowship in faith, in love, and in service. §CXLVm. THE WORK AND DEATH OF STEPHEN Now during those days, when the disciples were increas- The ing in number, the Hellenists (the Greek-speaking Jews) pSint- began to complain against the Hebrews (who were natives JjJ^ and residents in Palestine) because their widows were seven being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. There- iiSf* fore the Twelve called together the main body of the dis- ciples and said, It is not fitting that we should neglect preach- ing the word of God in order to serve meals. Brothers, select seven of your own number, men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will place in 45 WORK AND DEATH OF STEPHEN charge of this matter; but we will continue to devote our- selves to prayer and the ministry of the word. This plan met with the approval of the whole body. Accordingly, they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nic- olaiis, a proselyte from Antioch. These men they set be- fore the apostles, who after praying laid their hands upon them, in- And the word of the Lord spread and the number of the g 6 ^ disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly and a large number apies of priests became obedient to the faith. tL Now Stephen, who was full of grace and power, performed ggjg t great wonders and miracles among the people. But some st^ of those who belonged to the so-called synagogue of the (g-xl) 1 Libyians and Cyrenians and the Alexandrians, and also the natives of Cilicia and the Roman province of Asia began to dispute with Stephen, and they were not able to meet the wisdom and spirit with which he spoke. Then they instigated certain men to say, We have heard him speak- ing blasphemous words against Moses and God. Thus they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes so that they rushed upon him and seized him and took him before the Sanhedrin. They also set up false witnesses who said, This man never ceases talking against this holy place and the law. Indeed we have heard him say that this Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and change the customs handed down to us by Moses! His Then all who were seated in the Sanhedrin fixed their before 3 eves on him. and saw that his face shone like the face of an sanne- an S e l- But th e high priest said, Are these things so? dSn °" Stephen replied, Brothers and fathers, listen : The God of (615-75. gi ory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, and said to him, * Go forth from thy land and from thy kinsmen and come to the land which I will show thee.' Then, leaving the land of the Chaldeans, he stayed in Haran. After his father's death, God moved him into this land where you now dwell. But he did not give him any inheritance in it nor even a foot of land. He did, however, promise that he would give it as a possession to him and to his descendants after him, 46 STEPHEN'S ADDRESS although as yet he was childless. So Abraham became the father of Isaac, whom he circumcised on the eighth day. And Isaac was the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. But God was with him and delivered him out of all his troubles and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him governor over Egypt and over all his own household. But a famine came over the whole land of Egypt and Canaan and great misery so that our forefathers could find no food. But Jacob, hearing that there was food in Egypt, sent our forefathers there for the first time. And on their second visit, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Pharaoh was informed regarding Joseph's lineage. Then Joseph sent and invited his father Jacob and all his family, amounting to seventy-five persons. So Jacob went down into Egypt. But as the time drew near for the fulfilment of the prom- ise made to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, until another king arose in Egypt who knew not Joseph. He, adopting a crafty policy toward our race, op- pressed our forefathers by making them expose their infants so that tliey might not live. At this time Moses was born, a divinely beautiful child, and for three months he was cared for in his father's house. Then he was exposed but Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. So Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians and was a man strong in speech and action. When he had completed his fortieth year, it oc- curred to him to visit his kinsmen, the children of Israel. Seeing one of them being unjustly treated, he took his part and avenged the man who was being unjustly treated by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his kins- men knew that by him God was going to bring them deliv- erance: but they did not understand. Next day he came upon two of them fighting. And he tried to make peace between them, saying, ' Men, you are brothers ! Why injure one another? ' But the man who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, * Who made you ruler 47 God's leader- ship of the people Joseph (MS.) Their deliv- erance by Moses (17-37) WORK AND DEATH OF STEPHEN and judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday]? ' At this speech Moses fled and became a resident alien in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. At the close of forty years an angel appeared to him in the flame of a burning thorn bush in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. When Moses saw this he marvelled at the sight; but as he went up to look at it, the voice of the Lord said, * I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. 1 Trem- bling with fear, Moses did not dare to look. And the Lord said to him, * Take thy sandals off thy feet, for the place where thou art standing is sacred ground. I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groans and I have come down to deliver them. Come now, I will send thee back to Egypt.' That Moses whom they rejected, saying, ' Who made you a ruler and judge over us? ' — that was the very man whom God sent to rule and redeem them by the help of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. He it was who led them forth, doing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who said to the children of Israel, 'God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brotherhood, as he raised me.' Their This was the man who at the assembly in the wilderness Safin intervened between the angel who spoke to him on Mount ^f der _ Sinai and our fathers; he received living words to be given ness er " to us. But our forefathers would not submit to him, but (,8 ^* ) pushed him aside and in their hearts hankered for Egypt. They said to Aaron, ' Make for us gods that they may march in front of us ! As for this Moses who led us out of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him!' Moreover they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifice to this idol, and rejoiced over what their own hands had made. So God turned from them and gave them up to the worship of the host of heaven. God's In the wilderness our forefathers had the tent of testi- Kfor mony, made as he who spoke to Moses had instructed him their to make it after the pattern he had seen. This also our SSp~ forefathers in their turn brought in with Joshua when they ( "" 50) took possession of the territory of the nations whom God 48 THE WORSHIP OF THE EARLY ISRAELITES drove out before them. So it remained until the days of David. He found favor with God and asked that he might provide a dwelling for the God of Jacob. But it was Solor mon who built him a house. Yet the Most High doth not dwell in houses made with hands. As the prophet says: Heaven is my throne, And the earth is a footstool for my feet! What kind of house will ye build for me, saith the Lord? Or what resting place shall I have? Did not my hand make all this? Stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are always resisting the Holy Spirit! As with your fore- aant? 6 " fathers, so with you ! Which of the prophets did your fore- u^r fathers not persecute? They also killed those who an- atti- lve nounced beforehand the coming of the Just One, whose the eof betrayers and murderers you have become — you who re- Jews ceived the law given through angels and yet have not obeyed it! When they heard this they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed up into p^ ns heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the death right hand of God. Behold, I see heaven open, he said, &) ' and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. But they with a loud shriek shut their ears and rushed at him in a body. Dragging him outside the city, they stoned him. And the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a youth called Saul. So they stoned Stephen while he prayed, Lord Jesus receive my spirit! Then kneeling down he cried with a loud voice, Lord, let not this sin stand against them! And when he had said this, he fell asleep. But certain devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamen- tation over him. I. The Story of Stephen's Martyrdom. This story marks an important stage in the history of the Apostolic Age. It contains the first suggestion of a rift between the Jewish and Hellenistic elements in the Jewish Christian community. The only explanation of its presence in a writing, the irenical purpose of which is so evident as 49 WORK AND DEATH OF STEPHEN that of Acts, is that the narrative was originally drawn from an older and probably written source. The facts presented in this narrative have only the most general and loose relation to those found in the preceding chapters. The speech attributed to Stephen in chapter 7 is also the longest in the book. Its thought and argument have no close parallel in the New Testament except in the book of Hebrews. It is clearly the work of a Jew familiar with the contemporary rabbin- ical interpretations of the older scriptures. Thus, for example, it is stated that an angel spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai and that the law was ordained by angels (Acts 7 38, M ). These are details of later Jewish tradition which would naturally be unknown to a Greek like Luke, except as he found them incorporated in some earlier source. Further- more, the discourse attributed to Stephen is not closely connected with its context. It is not so much a defense as a part of a discussion such as Stephen is reported (in Acts 6 9, 10 ) to have carried on in the syna- gogues of the Greek-speaking Jews. The only satisfactory explana- tion of its presence is that it was preserved and associated with the name of Stephen. These and other reasons indicate that this story of his martyrdom is one of the oldest narratives in the first part of the book of Acts. It certainly furnishes invaluable data for the interpre- tation of this great turning-point in the life of the early Christian com- munity. II. The Appointment of the Seven. The dramatic account of the day of Pentecost implies that many Jews of the dispersion were early attracted to the Christian community. This conclusion is con- firmed by Acts 6. It was natural that the teachings and principles of Jesus should appeal more strongly to the Hellenistic Jews (that is, to the Greek-speaking Jews who had been born and reared beyond the bounds of Palestine) than to those of Palestine. Their contact with the larger Greek world had opened their minds to new truths and had developed a receptive attitude. As a whole, they were mentally more alert and better educated. Throughout all their history the Jews of the dispersion had shown themselves more friendly toward new ideas. Thus, for example, they alone accepted the so-called apocryphal books of the Old Testament, while the Palestinian Jews rejected them from their canon. Some of these Hellenistic Jews were probably temporary residents in Jerusalem, simply as pilgrims, while others, having acquired a competence, had returned, like many of the Jews to be found in Jerusalem to-day, to spend the remainder of their life under the shadow of the temple. The Jews of Palestine, on the other hand, were, as a 50 THE APPOINTMENT OF THE SEVEN rule, self-satisfied and inclined to look down upon the other members of their race, whom they regarded as contaminated by contact with the heathen and by long residence in foreign lands. They also viewed askance their more tolerant attitude toward Greek culture and life and the customs of the outside world. It was probably this inherited and inbred attitude that led the Palestinian Jewish Christians to neglect the needy members of the Hellenistic group. The apostles' evident ignorance of this tendency indicates that the neglect was the fault of the humbler members of the community, to whom was doubtless intrusted the task of serving food. Such differences are often more marked the lower the individuals stand in the social scale. The evil was suffi- cient, however, to attract the attention of the leaders in the Helle- nistic group and to induce them to lay the matter before the Twelve. When it was brought to their attention, they settled it in the fairest and simplest way. They rightly maintained that they themselves should not neglect their work of preaching to serve tables. Accord- ingly they requested the Hellenists to select seven of their most re- liable and spiritually minded leaders to look out for the interests of their group. This proposal was commended by the entire Christian community. The method adopted in meeting this difficulty also il- lustrates the democratic spirit that actuated the Christian believers in all their relations with each other. The Greek names of the seven, as well as the narrative, indicate that they were probably all Hellenistic Jews by birth. It is a mistake to regard them as the prototypes of the later order of deacons. Rather they appear to have been a committee appointed to represent the Hel- lenistic group in the Christian community in very much the same way as the apostles represented the Palestinian group. They were chosen apparently not because of their age but for their ability. Their ap- pointment did not establish a new office but rather met practically a pressing need. As the event proved, the men appointed were of such signal ability that they soon showed themselves qualified to do far more than serve tables. Certain of them soon surpassed the Twelve as preachers and controversialists and won a leading place among the apostles who proclaimed the teachings and works of Jesus to the Jewish and Gentile world. Their appointment is a convincing proof that the rift between the Palestinian and Hellenistic Jews, even within the Christian community, was practically inevitable, and that it was recognized long before Paul entered upon his campaign to liberate Gentile Christians from Jewish bonds. 51 WORK AND DEATH OF STEPHEN III. Stephen's Discussions with the Hellenistic Jews. It is difficult to determine how much time is represented by the narrative of Acts 6 and 7. It may have been a year or more. During this period Stephen had evidently become the recognized leader and spokesman of the seven and had developed an apostolic ability which for a time even eclipsed that of Peter himself. There was apparently a tacit and amicable division of the field between the Twelve and the seven. Stephen worked where the Twelve were only partially effective, that is, among the Hellenistic Jews. The narrative indicates that, instead of confining his speeches to the temple courts, he went into their syna- gogues, not to preach but, after the method so much beloved by the Greeks, to engage in open discussion with their elders. The fact that he first entered the synagogues whose membership was made up of Hellenists from the Jewish colonies in northern Africa suggests that Stephen himself came originally from that part of the Roman world. This inference is strongly supported by the marked peculiarity and style of thought reflected in the speech attributed to him and recorded in Acts 7, for they are found only in writings that show the influence of Alexandria. It is exceedingly probable that in the synagogue of the Cilicians he first met, possibly in open discussion, a certain Jew from the Cilician city of Tarsus by the name of Paul. The line of reasoning which Stephen adopted is doubtless represented by the discourse in chapter 7. Starting with Jewish premises, he aimed to show the logical connection with and yet the superiority of the teachings and work of Jesus to those of the earlier teachers of his race. Apparently he triumphed over his opponents. He also aroused the bitter oppo- sition of many of the Hellenists, so that in their rage they charged him with blasphemy. It was a charge which always stirred the wrath of the Jews. Not only did it enrage the mass of the people but evidently kindled the indignation of the Pharisaic leaders. Thus reinforced, the Hellenistic Jews lodged a definite charge against him before the national Jewish council, the Sanhedrin, before which cases of heresy were tried. The final form of the charge that they preferred against him was that his teachings had been hostile to the Jewish temple and law: "that Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and change the customs handed down to us by Moses." Evidently this was a popular inter- pretation of the intent of Stephen's teachings. It implies that he had quoted Jesus' words about the temple recorded in Mark 13 1, 2 . The discourse which follows suggests the ultimate basis of their charge. Like Jesus, Stephen aimed not to destroy the law but to show that his 52 DISCUSSIONS WITH THE JEWS Master's work represented its logical fruition. This charge also sug- gests what would have been the conclusion of Stephen's address had not the stones flung by the infuriated mob forever interrupted it. IV. The Logic of Stephen's Speech. The speech attributed to Stephen in Acts 7 is not a formal defense but a resume of his teach- ings. Its logical connection is not always obvious and a certain typo- logical undercurrent runs through it which is closely related to the contemporary writings emanating from the Alexandrian school. Its free interpretation of history and the use of scripture also recall the methods of the rabbis. He first reminds the Jews of how God called their forefather Abraham and guided their ancestors through countless perils that their descendants might ultimately realize their divine destiny. Each prophet and deliverer was a type of the deliverer that was ultimately to be revealed. The different physical resting-places to which he led his people, and, above all, the land of Canaan, were symbolic of the ultimate rest prepared for those who trust him. The tabernacle and the temple with their formal service were but primitive types of the real heavenly dwelling-place of the Almighty. Through all these various experiences God had been seeking to train his people for the reception of a greater truth, but they had consistently proved stubborn and irreceptive, resisting the influences of his Spirit. Not only they, but the men who stood before him were more intent upon persecuting and killing the prophets than of learning and accepting their messages. Little wonder then that when the Just One announced by all earlier prophets and the culmination of God's process of revela- tion came to them they betrayed and murdered him, for they had dis- obeyed the law and the divine revelation which it embodied. It is evident that Stephen was not conscious of repudiating the Jew- ish law and temple ritual. Rather, like the ethical prophets of old, he felt that he was simply emphasizing their spiritual teachings. Far from desiring to bring about a breach between Judaism and Christian- ity, he was, like the Twelve, trying to lead the Jews to accept the teachings and work of their greatest prophet and their promised Mes- siah. Jesus, in the thought of Stephen, was the Just One toward whom all their earlier leaders and experiences had pointed. V. The Death of Stephen. In the death of Stephen primitive Christianity lost one of its greatest interpreters. A first-hand impres- sion of his character and work is probably preserved in Acts 6 15b . As he stood before the hostile members of the Sanhedrin, they saw that "his face shone like the face of an angel." It is a dramatic and sig- 53 WORK AND DEATH OF STEPHEN nificant fact that Acts in its account of the martyrdom has brought Paul and Stephen together, and has left us to infer that the divine light that shone from Stephen's dying eyes proved the foregleams of the divine effulgence that beamed upon Paul on his memorable journey a little later to Damascus. Stephen manifested the same tireless energy, the same boldness, and the same utter disregard of opposition and pain as did Paul. Like Paul, his logic was destined in the end to break the narrow bonds of Judaism, though he appears to have been unconscious of that fact. If he had lived, the later history of Pales- tinian Christianity would probably have been very different. Cer- tainly the break with narrow Judaistic Christianity would have come much earlier. Stephen in his preaching laid the foundations for the world-wide expansion of Christianity. In his work among the Jews of the dispersion resident at Jerusalem he apparently kindled the fire of Christianity which before long flamed up in the far-away cities of northern Africa and western Syria. Fortunately, in a very real sense the mantle which slipped from Stephen's shoulders fell upon Paul. Like Jesus, Stephen in certain ways accomplished more by his mar- tyrdom than he did while living. Again the age-long principle was illustrated that, if a man gives his life for a cause, no one can gainsay the sincerity of his testimony. The death of Stephen was well cal- culated to make an indelible impression upon all who witnessed or heard of it. The narrative of Acts implies that as he was dying there was given to him one of the many visions of the risen Christ which had characterized and inspired the activity of the early Christians. His words remain the only direct testimony we have regarding the exact nature of these visions: "Behold I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at God's right hand." §CXLIX. THE EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY AFTER THE DEATH OF STEPHEN The On the day when Stephen was stoned to death a great gj£ g persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and of the all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea §££T and Samaria. And those who were scattered went in dif- ^b C ,\) ferent directions preaching the gospel. Philip travelled down to the city of Samaria, where he preached Christ to them. And the crowds attended with one accord to what was said by Philip, listening to him and 54 PHILIP'S WORK IN SAMARIA seeing the miracles he performed. For unclean spirits Philips came with a loud cry out of many who had been possessed, s£. rkm and many paralytics and lame people were healed. So ^i a there was great joy in that city. Now for some time past a man named Simon had been Simon practising magic arts in the city and astonishing the Sa- J^j.? maritans, pretending he was a great person. And all sorts cjan and conditions of people attached themselves to him, say- ing, This one is that Power of God which is known as i The Great Power.' They attached themselves to him because he had amazed them for a considerable time with his magic skill. But when they believed Philip, who preached the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus, they had them- selves baptized, both men and women. Simon himself also believed, and after being baptized kept close to Philip and was astonished to see the signs and great miracles which were performed. When the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had His accepted the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, ggj^a. who came down and prayed that they might receive the ^ e ^ y Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them, (if-*?) They had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they re- ceived the Holy Spirit. But when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was conferred by the laying on of the apostles' hands, he brought them money, saying, Give me, too, this power, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit. Peter said to him, May your money and you perish for supposing that you could buy the gift of God! You have no share nor lot in this religion, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. So repent of this wickedness of yours and pray to the Lord in the hope that your heart's purpose may be forgiven. For I see that you are a bitter poison and a pack of evil. Simon replied, Pray the Lord for me. Pray that nothing you have said may befall me. pJS? So the apostles after bearing their testimony to the word mation of the Lord and preaching it, returned to Jerusalem preach- jLus ing the gospel to a number of the Samaritan villages. But ^twlt the angel of the Lord said to Philip, Rise and go south, plan along the road from Jerusalem to Gaza (this is the desert (^ c 55 THE EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY route). So he arose and went on his way. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a high official of Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who was her chief treasurer and had come to Jerusalem for worship but was on his way home. And as he was sitting in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, Go up and join that chariot. And as Philip ran up he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. Do you understand what you are reading, he asked. How can I, said the eunuch, unless someone guide me? And he begged Philip to get up and sit beside him. Now the passage of scripture which he was reading was this: He was led like a sheep to slaughter, And as a lamb is dumb before the shearer, So he opened not his lips. Who will make known his generation. In his humiliation the justice due him was taken away, For his life is cut off from the earth. So the eunuch said to Philip, Pray, of whom is the prophet speaking? Of himself or of someone else? Then Philip opened his mouth, and starting from this scripture preached the gospel of Jesus to him. As they proceeded on their way, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, there is water! What is to prevent me being baptized? So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both of them stepped into the water, and Philip baptized the eunuch. When they came up from the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no longer, for he was proceeding on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus and he passed on, preaching the gospel in every town, until he reached Caesarea. Preach- Now those who had been scattered by the trouble which gSpef arose over Stephen made their way as far as Phoenicia and to the Cyprus and Antioch, preaching the word to none except Jews. atAn- But some of them were citizens of Cyprus and Cyrene, who fffi, on reaching Antioch began preaching to the Greeks also ^• 24 - the gospel of the Lord Jesus and considerable numbers were brought in for the Lord. In Antioch also the disciples were first called Christians. 56 (6-l9a) HEROD'S PERSECUTION OF THE APOSTLES Now about that time King Herod laid violent hands on Her- some members of the church. James the brother of John od ' r s s he slew with the sword. Seeing that this was pleasing to cutSn the Jews, he went on to seize Peter during the days of un- ap educated at the feet of Gamaliel in the strictness of <£cts our ancestral laws, zealous for God. You know the story of my past career in Judaism. You Sai for ^ now k° w bitterly I persecuted the church of God and ws ra- made havoc of it and how in zeal for my ancestral traditions tradi- I surpassed many of my own age and race. I indeed be- .». those at Damascus. At Damascus the ethnarch of King 26^,11 Aretas set guards in the city of the Damascenes to arrest coj-' me, but I was lowered in a basket through the wall and so escaped from his hands. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to become visit to acquainted with Cephas (Peter). I remained a fortnight iSS^ with him. I saw no other apostle except James the brother {{J*^ of the Lord. I swear to you before God that I am telling the truth in what I write to you. Then I went to the districts of Syria and Cilicia. I was work personally quite unknown to the Christian churches of Syria Judea; they only heard that * our former persecutor is now gjg^ preaching the faith of which he once made havoc,' which C 21 - 24 ) made them praise God for me. I. Paul's Inheritance. "A man small in size, baldheaded, bandy-legged, well built, with eyebrows meeting, rather long nose, and with motions full of grace" — such is the traditional description in the late Christian story of Paul and Thecla of the man who, next to Jesus, has done more than any to shape the religious faith of the human race. The familiar passage in II Corinthians 4 7 implies that in appearance Paul was weak and insignificant. At Lystra he was wor- shipped as Hermes, the small, beardless god. The reference in II Corinthians 12 7 indicates that he was the victim of some chronic disease, which he dramatically describes as "a thorn in the flesh." Galatians 6 U suggests that it was an affliction of the eyes: "See with what letters I am writing to you with my own hand." This implication is con- firmed by the fact that otherwise Paul apparently always dictated rather than wrote his letters. Furthermore, in referring to his illness in his letter to the Galatian Christians he writes: "I can testify that you would have torn out your very eyes, if you could, and given them to me." From his statement that "my flesh was a trial to you" it 69 PAUL'S EARLY TRAINING would seem that intense sick headaches was one of the accompanying symptoms of his eye trouble. This was probably "the stake in the flesh" to which he elsewhere refers. Thus it would appear that Paul's physical inheritance was insignificant. It was indeed a fragile " earthen vessel " in which his indomitable spirit abode. Paul was probably born about the same time as Jesus. His family belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. He himself bore the Jewish name of Saul, Israel's first great king. His Roman name was Paulus, or Paul. In the book of Acts this is used uniformly and appropriately as soon as the description of his active mission to the Grseco-Roman world begins. He evidently sprang from the well-to-do working class. His spontaneous interests were with the manual laborers rather than with the rich or learned. His father doubtless taught him his trade of tent-maker. Weaving the wool of the Cilician goats and making it into tents was an important industry for the inhabitants of Tarsus. From Acts 23 16 we learn that Paul had a married sister and a nephew at Jerusalem. Like Jeremiah, he declares in Galatians l 15, 16 : "It was the good pleasure of God that separated me from my mother's womb and called me through his grace and revealed his Son in me." The Jewish colony at Tarsus, like most of the similar communities in the great cities of the eastern Mediterranean, was a small Jewish world in it- self in the midst of the complex Greek and pagan civilization which surrounded it. Here the youthful Saul grew up a strict Jew, familiar with all the customs of his race and zealous for its institutions. II. Paul's Personality. Paul possessed a versatile, mercurial temperament. He was subject to frequent reactions, but, on the whole, his spirit was that of buoyant optimism. In his religious life he was a mystic, given to frequent visions, which to a great extent determined his thought and action; and yet in his teachings and methods of work he was intensely practical. To his versatility and remarkable adaptability was added the characteristic persistency of his race. Nothing in heaven or earth could deter him from the reali- zation of his purpose. Over burning deserts and bleak mountain passes, through perils of sea and perils of land he goaded on his weak body until he made it his obedient slave (I Cor. 9 27 ). In his letters and in his acts he shows himself not only courageous, strong, and enthusiastic but a hard fighter, whenever he was sure that he had a just case. He was absolutely fearless and outspoken in his denunciation of corruption and wrong-doing of every kind. He was governed by a high sense of personal honor and an intense moral 70 PAUL'S PERSONALITY earnestness. Like the great earlier prophets of his race, he was ready for the sake of the cause which he served to give up everything: fam- ily, wealth, reputation, scholarship, ease. He deliberately chose arduous toil, privation, taunts, and danger, and at times active per- secution and ultimate death rather than be disloyal to the highest interests of the Master whom he served. Through certain of his more personal letters it is possible to look into the very soul of the man. There we find a playful humor, warm feelings, deep sympathies, and strong friendships. Love is the impelling power. As he declares: "Love it is that constrains me." With these emotional qualities Paul combined a splendid organizing ability. He was unquestionably the greatest statesman of the primitive Christian church. Broad in his grasp of the world situation and master of details as well as of men, able to execute as well as to plan — the present generation is beginning to realize that Paul was even greater in his personality and work than in his teachings. III. Paul's Early Environment at Tarsus. Paul shows clearly the influence of the many and varied educational forces with which he came in contact during his diversified career. He ever remained a Hebrew of the Hebrews; but to the powerful racial influences which surrounded the young Jew of Tarsus were added those of the cosmo- politan city in which he was born. This great metropolis of fully half a million inhabitants was situated on the River Cydnus, ten miles north from the coast, under the shadow of the Taurus mountains, which rise to the north. It commanded the famous southern gateway to Asia Minor which led northward through the Cilician passes. Tarsus was by virtue of its natural situation a great commercial and intellectual centre, where the ideas and civilization of the East and West met and mingled as in no other Mediterranean city, except possibly in Ephesus. It contained an exceedingly enterprising, cos- mopolitan population, in close touch with all the Roman world, ex- ceedingly proud, as was Paul, of their Roman citizenship. It was also the seat of a great university, which for generations had been an important centre of Stoic and Cynic philosophy. Strabo's list of the famous philosophers who had either been born or who had studied here is a long one. Chrysippus, the great Stoic, was a native of Tarsus, and the teacher of Cleanthes, whose noble utterance Paul aptly quoted in his famous address at Athens before the court of the Areopagus. The Stoic philosopher Athenadorus, the teacher and friend of Augustus, had been appointed by his royal patron ruler of his native city, Tarsus. 71 PAUL'S EARLY TRAINING The principles which guided him in his effective rule are quoted by- Seneca (Concerning the Peaceful Mind, III): "So it is requisite for us in order to prepare our minds for the managing of the civic affairs, to be always active. For if one is determined to make himself useful to his fellow citizens, yea, and to all men, one accomplishes two things at once. He who places himself at the centre of affairs and admin- isters them according to his faculties benefits both the public interests and his own affairs." Nestor, also a well-known philosopher, suc- ceeded Athenadorus and was probably at the head of the govern- ment at Tarsus during Paul's boyhood. The University of Tarsus was chiefly attended by natives of that city. This seat of learning apparently exerted a powerful influence not only upon the govern- ment but upon the life and thought of all the citizens. They were famous for their ability to speak on practically any subject without previous preparation. Strabo declares: "Even the natives do not remain but travel abroad to complete their studies, and having com- pleted them reside in foreign countries" (XIV, 5 13, 14 ). Tarsus to a unique degree produced citizens of the world and sent forth many itinerant preachers of the Stoic and Cynic philosophies. These facts shed a new light on Paul's declaration: "I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish" (Rom. I 14 ). It is clear, however, that although he was indirectly and inevitably influenced by the intellectual and cultural environ- ment in which he spent his early youth, the attitude of the young Jew of Tarsus toward Greek learning was, on the whole, one of dis- trust, if not contempt. The Judaism of the dispersion was always self- sufficient. Though a part of the Grseco-Roman world, the Jews stood apart. Hence, the most powerful influences in Paul's early- youth were unquestionably those of his Jewish home. As at Jesus' home at Nazareth, the traditions and laws of his race were closely interwoven with the every-day life of the family. Among the earliest words which fell upon his childish ears were those which voiced Israel's confession of faith: "Hear, O Israel, for the Lord our God is one Lord." Every waking hour was filled with reminders of his people's remark- able past and of the presence of the supreme Ruler and Father whom they revered. His studies in the local synagogue school, to which he probably went at about the age of seven, further intensified the strong religious influence of his home. Here he was probably taught He- brew and Aramaic, although most of his quotations from the Old Testament come from the Greek version, which was by this time in 72 PAUL'S ENVIRONMENT AT TARSUS common use among the Jews of the dispersion. His words in Galatians l 16 strongly suggest that, although he was taught the trade of tent- making, from his earliest childhood he was consecrated by his parents to the rabbinate. This conclusion is confirmed by his appearance in Jerusalem a little later. Thus from his boyhood years the conscious- ness of a definite calling gave an especial interest and objective to all his studies. It doubtless also exerted a powerful influence on his daily life so that he was able to declare that as regards the righteous- ness which was in the law he was blameless (Phil. 3 6 " 7 ). IV. Paul's Training at Jerusalem. Probably at about the age of fifteen Paul went to Jerusalem to complete his preparation as a rabbi. In the Jewish world Jerusalem was the great central uni- versity, the home of advanced religious study. It was to Judaism what Athens had long been to the Grseco-Roman world. The breadth of Paul's home training is indicated by the fact that he went to sit at the feet of Gamaliel, the most progressive and prominent Jewish teacher of his age. This famous rabbi is said to have been the grandson of Hillel. He was then the head of the liberal school which that great teacher had founded. He it was who said: "Appoint for yourself a teacher; thus you will avoid what is doubtful." He was one of the very few Jewish teachers who dared depart from the traditions of his race and make use of Greek literature. In Paul's earlier years the master was probably much broader and more tolerant than his dis- ciple, but his example later bore rich fruit in the memorable address on the Areopagus. In the schools of Jerusalem Paul was instructed not only in the current interpretations of the scriptures of his race but also in the peculiar rabbinical methods which he frequently used in his later discourses and letters. These methods were intuitive rather than logical; often fanciful rather than inductive. Real or imaginary analogies were employed more often than strictly scientific processes of reasoning. Allegorical interpretations were freely adopted, even though they had no support in the original. Paul's tendency to employ these methods explains many of the most troublesome passages in his epistles, for notwithstanding his complete conversion to the principles of Christianity, he ever remained in his methods of thought an oriental Jew. V. Paul's Zeal as a Persecutor. It was not only the teaching which he received in Jerusalem but its atmosphere which powerfully affected Paul. There he became a Pharisee of the Pharisees (cf. Phil. 3 6 for his own testimony). In him the intense devotion, the 73 PAUL'S EARLY TRAINING aspiration, the zeal, and the intolerance of his race was sublimated. His was also in part the zeal and intolerance of youth. These were strengthened by his own natural characteristics. He never did any- thing half-way. The result was that, according to his own testimony, Paul, the youthful candidate for the rabbinate, became the ardent persecutor of the Galilean sect which had suddenly taken root not only in Jerusalem but also in certain other Syrian cities. In him the Sadducean high priests, Ananus and Caiaphas, ever suspicious of this sect with its messianic leanings, found a valuable agent. They ap- pear to have given him an open commission to accuse of blasphemy — a capital offense in the Jewish law — any whom he might suspect. Unfortunately, Paul gives no details concerning the inner develop- ment which resulted thus tragically. The account of Stephen's work and martyrdom implies that he first came into contact with the fol- lowers of Jesus in the open discussions led by Stephen in the synagogues of the Hellenistic Jews in Jerusalem. As has been already noted, the report of Stephen's speech in Acts 7 suggests the nature of these dis- cussions. The rabbinical methods employed in interpreting the Old Testament scriptures were accepted as valid by Paul as well as by Stephen. The great question at issue, the character, work, and ap- pearance of the promised Messiah, was of the keenest interest to every member of the Pharisaic party. About it were focused their most cherished political and social and religious hopes. In the light of our later knowledge of Paul, it requires little imagination to picture the fiery zeal with which he entered into these discussions. The claim of Stephen and of the other followers of Jesus that he was indeed the Messiah seemed not only preposterous but blasphemous. There is no clear evidence that Paul had ever seen Jesus in the flesh. The references in his letters are evidently to his spiritual vision. He had doubtless often heard about Jesus and his work from the Pharisees who had dogged the footsteps of the Galilean Teacher; and their re- ports would be far from favorable. It was the very leaven of the Pharisees, against which Jesus had so earnestly warned his disciples, that filled the mind of Paul. Jesus' critical attitude toward much of the Mosaic law and especially toward the traditions of the fathers was enough in itself to condemn him in the eyes of an enthusiastic young Pharisee. Instinctive antagonism explains why Paul, even if he had the opportunity to see and hear Jesus, probably never im- proved it. So to one like Paul, familiar with the Deuteronomic law, which declared that "he who is hanged is accused of God" (Deut. 74 PAUL'S ZEAL AS A PERSECUTOR 21 23 ) Jesus' ignominious death was in itself absolute proof of the flagrant impiety as well as folly of those who claimed that he was the Messiah. That this very passage was earlier one of Paul's chief stumbling- blocks is indicated by the way in which he refers to it in his letter to the Galatians (3 13> 14 ). To their seeming impiety the followers of Jesus added the still more blasphemous claim that he yet lived and had been exalted to the right hand of God, and they adduced as proof the as- tonishing statement that since his crucifixion he had repeatedly ap- peared to them. The old law of Deuteronomy seemed to point the way of duty very clearly to Paul: "If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, who is as thy own life, teach heresy, thou shalt not listen to him nor pity him, but thou shalt surely kill him; thy hand shall be first upon him to put him to death and afterward the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him to death with stones." To one who was taught to believe, as were the disciples of the rabbis, that "he who asserts that the law is not from Heaven has no part in the future world," the command of God seemed clear though its execution was repugnant to all the best impulses implanted in the heart of man. Some such process of thought alone explains why the naturally kind- hearted, impulsive, conscientious Jew of Tarsus became an arch-per- secutor of the humble followers of Jesus. Possibly the bitter heat engendered by the discussions in the synagogue of the Cilicians also explains why Paul first consented to the stoning of Stephen, the leader of the opposition, and then, having thus committed himself to an extreme position, threw himself into the persecution with his char- acteristic vehemence. VI. The Four Accounts of Paul's Conversion. It is significant that the New Testament contains four variant accounts of what was in its far-reaching consequences the most important event in the history of the early Christian church. The author of Acts has preserved three of them, although no one agrees with another in all details. Here the analogies are close with the stories which gather about the important events of Old Testament history, as, for example, Moses' prophetic call or the exodus from Egypt. The oldest account is the briefest and comes directly from Paul: "God, who set me apart from my birth and called me by his grace, chose to reveal his Son in me that I might proclaim the good news concerning him to the Gentiles" (Gal. I 15, 16 ). To this he adds in connection with his account of the res- urrection visions of Jesus in I Corinthians (15 1 " 8 ) : "And last of all, as to 75 PAUL'S CONVERSION a child untimely born, he appeared to me also." Paul's words leave no doubt that his conversion was a real spiritual experience, as is evinced by his changed activity and attitude. The account in Acts 26 is evi- dently the oldest of the three traditions presented by Luke. It agrees substantially with Paul's own testimony, but it makes the revelation more objective. The time and place are indicated and, as in the ac- count of the call of Isaiah or Jeremiah, the divine revelation takes the form of a dialogue. The entirely new element is the statement that a marvellous flashing light was seen not only by Paul but also by his companions. The second account in Acts 22 agrees substantially with that in Acts 26, except that it states that, while Paul's companions saw the light, they did not hear the voice that spoke to him. It also adds that Paul was divinely commanded to go to Damascus, where he would be told what he was destined to do and that this promise was fulfilled through the instrumentality of a certain Ananias, who bap- tized him and in the presence of whom he regained his lost sight. It also states that he returned to Jerusalem, where he had another divine vision and a renewal of his commission to go to the Gentiles. The third account in Acts 9 is evidently in part a composite of the two accounts in 22 and 26. It differs, however, in stating that Paul's companions heard the divine voice but saw no one. It adds that a special vision was vouchsafed Ananias very similar to that attributed to Peter in Acts 10. It also states that after conducting an active mission in Damascus he went up to Jerusalem and entered into open discussions with the Hellenistic Jews. Paul's own testimony, however, is that he remained but fifteen days in Jerusalem and saw no apostle except Peter and James, the brother of Jesus. The minor variations in these versions indicate clearly that in the later tradition imagination has furnished many details. The tendency in each succeeding genera- tion was to interpret Paul's inner vision more objectively and super- naturally. VII. Paul's Transforming Psychological Experience. Paul and the early Christian historians inevitably described his conversion in terms of the first-century psychology and belief. Greek and Roman, as well as Jew, then firmly believed that the spirit of the departed could become visible to the human eye and exert a powerful influence in the affairs of men (cf. Morley, Greek and Roman Ghost Stories). They also believed that the gods could enter in and dwell in men and direct their thoughts and words and acts. Thus they interpreted the acts of the priestess at the Delphic oracle and the ecstatic deeds 76 PAUL'S TRANSFORMING EXPERIENCE and utterances of the devotees of the various mystery religions. This idea was already an established tenet in Judaism, as well as in other oriental religions. While these beliefs naturally determine the form in which Paul describes his experience, they do not conceal the ulti- mate reality. The task of the modern age is to interpret it into the terms of present-day psychology. In his epistles, and especially Romans, Paul throws much light upon the inner struggle that pre- ceded his conversion. In the first eight chapters of Romans he tells of the bitter dissatisfaction which came to him when he discovered that even the law which he so ardently championed could not free him from sin. In the face of the dying Stephen he saw reflected the peace and joy which he himself passionately coveted. The fierce zeal with which he persecuted the Christians suggests the acts of a fanatic, dimly con- scious of the weakness of his position. Like a refractory ox, he wa3 kicking against the goad. Not being an ox but an intelligent being, the knowledge of how unreasonable was his action only added to hi3 fury. Moreover, Paul was not governed primarily by his intellect but by his intuition and emotions. The devotion and forbearance of Stephen and of other Christian martyrs, who followed his heroic ex- ample, undoubtedly appealed powerfully and in the end irresistibly to the naturally tender heart of Paul. Here was something that Phar- isaism lacked. Could it be that the teacher, in loyalty to whom his followers serenely faced death, was indeed the promised Saviour of the race? Was the way of the cross, after all, the way of salvation? If, as his disciples claimed, Jesus still lived, then he had indeed broken the power of the ancient curse upon any one that hangs upon a tree and had the unmistakable approval of God himself. Such thoughts must have been in the mind of Paul when the great transformation came to him. Later tradition is probably right in stating that this came suddenly. This rapid transformation was in perfect keeping with Paul's temperament and character. It is closely analogous to the epoch-making moments in the life of the ancient prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah. It came as a sudden, marvellous vision of the crucified and risen Lord. What the disciples had seen, Paul now be- held. Possibly in keeping with the psychology of his day, he himself believed that he saw and heard a visible, objective personality. Cer- tainly those to whom he related his experience soon believed that he had. But the essential fact in Paul's experience was, as he declares, that God "had revealed his son in him." Henceforth the Spirit of Jesus became the abiding, guiding force in Paul's life. All of his sub- 77 PAUL'S EARLY TRAINING sequent career bears testimony to the reality of this fact. He clearly had in mind his own transforming experience when he declared: "We all with unveiled face, reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same likeness as himself from glory to glory." To a man with Paul's earnest, devoted spirit, such a revelation was an imperative, divine call to service, "for God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness/ has shone within my heart to illuminate men with the knowledge of (rod's glory in the face of Christ." Paul also saw further than Jesus' disciples, for he recognized that through him the old law was set aside and a new way of finding God and the richness of life was provided for Gentile as well as Jew. Paul's personal in- terests, as well as the divine will, impelled him to proclaim that Gospel to the great world that lay outside of Palestine which he knew so well and which, like himself, was craving and seeking for that fellow- ship with the eternal Father, that sense of brotherhood with the human race, and that ideal of service which Jesus had not only taught but realized. VIII. Paul's First Fifteen Years of Missionary Activity. The narrative of Acts is almost silent regarding the fifteen years immedi- ately following Paul's conversion. The chief interest of the writers which Luke quotes regarding this period is in the Jerusalem church and the authority of the apostles. Luke does cite certain traditions which represent Paul as working at Jerusalem in conjunction with the apostles, but this is belied by Paul's own testimony. The one point in which Luke's evidence is supported by that of Paul is that he labored during the latter part of this period in his native province of Cilicia. Meagre though his allusions are, Paul is practically our only informant regarding these early years. From the references in his epistles it is possible to develop at least the order of events with reasonable as- surance. Paul's conversion must have taken place before 36 A.D., when Caiaphas was deposed. The year 33, three or four years after the death of Jesus, is a most probable date. Three years he appears to have worked in the neighborhood of Damascus before his expulsion by the ethnarch of the Arabian king Aretas IV. The exact way in which this was accomplished and the extent of the power of Aretas are not known. Paul's hasty, secret visit to Peter at Jerusalem evidently followed closely after his escape from Damascus. The next important conference with Peter fourteen years later (Gal. 2 1 ) would therefore be about 47 a.d., immediately before his first missionary campaign. This conclusion in perfect harmony with the data in Acts, which in- 78 PAUL'S FIRST FIFTEEN YEARS OF ACTIVITY dicates that 46 was the year spent by Paul at Antioch before he set out on that campaign. The period of retirement in Arabia was clearly a period of recon- struction, spent not with men or apostles, but alone with God. Then Paul adjusted himself to his new vision of Jesus and to his new task. Immediately after this he began his missionary work in Damascus, preaching undoubtedly to Gentiles as well as Jews. That he did so and that his work met with some success alone explain the attempt of the ethnarch of the Arabian king to arrest him. The two weeks spent quietly at Jerusalem with Peter and James, the brother of Jesus, gave to an alert, devoted disciple like Paul a marvellous opportunity to become intimately acquainted with the facts regarding the life and especially with the teachings of Jesus. It, as well as later inter- views, furnishes the explanation of that consciousness of speaking on the basis of Jesus' direct authority which is evident throughout Paul's letters. The next twelve years were devoted to missionary work in Syria and Cilicia. Gradually Paul worked back to his native city Tarsus. These years appear to have been rich in experience. In II Corinthians (ll 23 " 27 ) he has given a word-picture of the trials and deeds of heroism which belong chiefly to these years: "I have often been at the point of death. Five times I have received forty lashes (all but one) from the Jews, three times have I been beaten; once I was stoned, three times shipwrecked; I have been adrift on the sea a night and a day, in many journeys, in perils from rivers, in perils from robbers, in perils from Jews and Gentiles, in peril of town and desert, in perils on the sea, in perils among false brothers, through labor and hardships, through many a sleepless night, through hunger and thirst, often starving, cold and ill-clad." It was in this school of strenuous, heroic service that the world's greatest missionary was trained. During these arduous years Paul does not seem to have met with large success. Nowhere in his letters does he refer to the results of this work. At least it was not sufficient to arouse the alarm of the conservative Jewish Christians at Jerusalem. Only to their ears had come the vague, though cheering report that "our former persecutor is now preaching the faith of which he once made havoc." This early work was sig- nificant because it was an earnest of greater things. Like his Master, Paul found joy in the midst of pain and persecution. In II Corinthians (12 1 " 4 ) he tells of one of the glorious visions that illumined his arduous way. He dates it about 40 a.d., when he was in the midst of his work 79 PAUL'S EARLY TRAINING in Syria and Cilicia. He declares that he was caught up into the third heaven. He frankly confesses that he does not know whether it was in the body or not that he was thus transported up to paradise, but he does know that he heard sacred secrets which no human lips can repeat. That this experience was to him of profound spiritual im- port is clear from the way in which he refers to it and from its effect upon him and upon his life-work. In the same connection he speaks of his superabundance of visions, indicating that these experiences were frequent. They reveal the mystical side of Paul's nature, that capacity for personal fellowship with God which was the perennial source of his power. The vivid consciousness of God working in and through him was the irresistible force that drove him on through seemingly insuperable obstacles and perils. Even though its mani- festations reflect the unscientific psychological ideas of the age, it was supremely vital and real to Paul and through him to the human race, for it meant personal redemption, liberty, and life. § CLI. PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY CAMPAIGN Now Barnabas went off to Tarsus to try to find Saul. And when he found him, he brought him to Antioch, where for a whole year they were connected with the church there and taught a large number of people. During these days certain prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of whom, named Agabus, showed by the Spirit that a great famine was about to come throughout the whole world (the famine which came in the reign of Claudius). So the disciples, each as he was able, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their contributions to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. After Barnabas and Saul had per- formed their mission, they returned from Jerusalem bring- ing with them John, surnamed Mark. cc>m- In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers, MB™. Barnabas, Symeon (called Niger) and Lucius the Cyrenian, besides Manaen (a playmate of Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. As they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set me apart Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then after fasting and praying and laying their hands on them they let them go.' 80 WORK OF BARNABAS AND PAUL IN CYPRUS So they, being thus sent by the Holy Spirit, went down Their to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. On g^cy- reaching Salamis they proclaimed the word of God in the pnw Jewish synagogues, and they had John [Mark] as then- assistant. And when they had gone through the whole is- land as far as Paphos, they met with a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet called Bar- Jesus; he was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man, who called for Barnabas and Saul and asked to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is the translation of his name) tried to divert the proconsul from the faith. So Saul (who is also called Paul), filled with the Holy Spirit, looked in- tently at him and said, You son of the devil, you enemy of all that is right, full of craftiness and cunning, will you never stop diverting the straight paths of the Lord ? See, even now the Lord's hand will fall on you, and you will be blind, unable for a time to see the sun. Instantly a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he groped about for someone to take him by the hand. Then the pro- consul, when he saw what had happened believed, being astounded at the teaching of the Lord. Setting sail from Paphos, Paul and his companions came Jour- to Perga in Pamphylia. John left them and went back to a%J° Jerusalem, but they, passing on from Perga, arrived at *}«* Pisidian Antioch. On the sabbath they went into the synagogue and sat Pauls down; and, after the reading of the law and the prophets, to ( tEe S the rulers of the synagogue sent word to them, Brothers, jgj 80 ' if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say tioch it. So Paul stood up and, motioning with his hand, said, (Mb ^ 1) Listen, men of Israel and you who revere God. The God of this people Israel chose our fathers ; he made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt and with uplifted arm led them out of it. For about forty years he fed them as a nursing mother in the desert, and after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them men- land as an inheritance for about four hundred and fifty years. After that he gave them judges down to the time of the prophet Samuel. Then it was that they asked for a king, and God gave them for forty years Saul, the son of 81 PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY CAMPAIGN Kish, who belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. After de- posing him, he raised up David to be their king, to whom he bore this testimony: * In David the son of Jesse I have found a man after my own heart, who will obey all my will.' From his offspring God brought to Israel, as he had promised, a Saviour, even Jesus, before whose coming John had already preached a baptism of repentance for all the people of Israel. And as John was closing his career he often said, What do you consider that I am? I am not he. But there is one coming after me. I am not worthy to unloose the sandals on his feet! Brothers, sons of Abraham's race and all among you who revere God, the message of this salvation has been sent to us. The in- habitants of Jerusalem and their rulers, by condemning him in their ignorance, fulfilled the words of the prophets which are read every sabbath. Though they could find him guilty of no crime that deserved death, they asked Pilate to have him put to death. After they had carried out all that had been written of him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead. For many days he was seen by those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem; they are now his witnesses to the people. And we preach to you the glad news that God hath fulfilled the promise made to our forefathers by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second psalm: Thou art my son, To-day have I become thy father. And as a proof that he has raised him from the dead, never to return to corruption, he hath said, I will give you holy and trustworthy promises made to David; in another psalm he saith: For thou wilt not let thy Holy One see corruption. Of course David, after serving his own generation in accord with God's purpose, died and was laid beside his fathers; he saw corruption, but he whom God raised did 82 PAUL'S ADDRESS AT ANTIOCH not see corruption. Therefore you must understand, my brothers, that forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you through him, and that by him everyone who believes is absolved from all that the law of Moses could not absolve you. Beware then lest the prophetic saying applies to you: Behold, ye who are disdainful, be astonished and perish, For in your days I am carrying out a work — A work which you will never believe, though one were to explain it to you. As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people begged itsim- to have all this repeated to them on the following sabbath. ^ i ' And when the synagogue broke up, a number of the Jews effect and the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas who talked to them and urged them to hold fast to the grace of God. And on the next sabbath nearly all the city gathered to o PP o- hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the ofthe crowds, they were filled with jealousy; they began to con- -j^ s the tradict what Paul said and to abuse him. So Paul and P ?ocia- Barnabas spoke out boldly. The word of God, they said, g^J 1 had to be spoken to you first; but since you spurn it and g*^ 1 judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, well, here we Gen- turn to the Gentiles. For this is the Lord's command to $£9 us: I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, To bring salvation to the end of the earth. When the Gentiles heard this they rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord and believed, that is, all who had been ordained to eternal life; and the word of the Lord was spread abroad throughout the whole country. But the Jews incited the devout women of high rank and the lead- ing men in the town, who stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their territory. But they shook the dust off their feet as a protest against them and went to Iconium. The disciples, however, were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. 83 of the man at PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY CAMPAIGN Peree- At Iconium the same thing happened. They went into SicS- the synagogue of the Jews and spoke in such a way that a (i4^> & e *& number both of Jews and Greeks believed. But the refractory Jews stirred up and exasperated the feeling of the Gentiles against the brothers. Yet they spent a con- siderable time, speaking boldly about the Lord, who at- tested the word of his grace by allowing signs and wonders to be performed by them. The populace of the town, however, was divided ; some sided with the Jews, some with the apostles. But, when there was a hostile movement of Gentiles and Jews along with their rulers to insult and stone them, the apostles escaped to the Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding country; there they con- tinued to preach the gospel. The At Lystra there was a man sitting, who was powerless in tfttb his feet, a lame man unable to walk from birth. He heard j^^g Paul speaking, and Paul, gazing intently at him and recog- nizing that he had faith enough to make him well, said in a loud voice, Stand upright on your feet. So he sprang up Lystra and began to walk. Now when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, The gods have come down to us in human form ! Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul Hermes, since he was the chief speaker. Indeed the priest of the temple of Zeus in front of the town brought oxen and garlands to the gates, in- tending to offer sacrifice along with the crowds. But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard this they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting, Men, what is this you are doing? We are but men, with natures like your own! The gospel we are preaching to you is to turn you from these unreal things to the living God who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all that in them is. In past ages he allowed all nations to go their own ways, though as the bountiful giver he did not leave himself without a witness, giving you rain from heaven and fruit- ful seasons, giving you food and joy to your heart's con- tent. Even by words like these they could scarcely keep The the crowds from sacrificing to them. stonine But Jews from Antioch and Iconium arrived, who won <£. p 2 o) over the crowds and stoned Paul and dragged him out of 84 THE STONING OF PAUL the city, thinking he was dead. But, as the disciples gath- ered round him, he arose and went into the city. Next day he went off with Barnabas to Derbe; and after Revis- preaching the gospel to that city and making a number of j£?Ga- disciples, they turned back to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, ^ San h strengthening the disciples, encouraging them to hold by es the faith, and telling them, We must enter the Kingdom (nj6) of God through many afflictions. They ordained elders for them in every church, and with prayer and fasting commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. Then, passing through Pisidia they came to Pamphylia; and after speaking the word of the Lord in Perga they went down to Attalia. Thence they sailed for Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On their arrival they gathered the church together and The proceeded to report how God had worked with them, and £*t£e how he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles. They ch ^ h spent a considerable time there with the disciples. tioch " (26-26) I. Paul's Work at Antioch. Antioch, the old Syrian capital, was not only the city where the term "Christians" was coined, but also the point from which Christianity set out on its deliberate con- quest of the Roman world. Here it was that the Gospel of Jesus had first been proclaimed to the Gentiles. As a result, many Greeks were already found in the membership of the Antioch church. An- tioch was also the Syrian gateway through which ran the main high- way that led across Asia Minor and Macedonia to Rome. Its natural position, as well as its history, fitted it for its lofty role. The wisdom and foresight of the Antioch Christians and especially of Barnabas, their leader, were revealed by taking Paul into their ranks. It was a most significant recognition of the man and his work in Tarsus and Cilicia. Barnabas even went in person to bring Paul to Antioch, thus giving to the act an official authority. For Paul the year spent in teaching at Antioch must also have been of great value. Here amidst most favorable conditions he faced many of the problems that he later met single-handed in the other great cities of the empire. Here he worked side by side with Barnabas, whose earlier years as a follower of Jesus had been spent at Jerusalem in closest contact with the Twelve. Here Paul must have absorbed many of the beliefs 85 PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY CAMPAIGN and hopes of the primitive Jerusalem church, although, as he repeatedly asserts, his own faith rested on more personal grounds — his experience of the risen Christ and of the divine Spirit working in his life and in that of the converts who responded to his preaching. The date of Paul's work at Antioch is indicated by Luke, for he connects it with the terrible drought and famine that came according to Josephus during the procuratorship of Tiberius Alexander, 46-48 a.d. Jerusalem suffered especially. The needs of its inhabitants were in part relieved through the generous gifts of a Jewish proselyte, Queen Helena, of Adiabene. Her example was followed by the Chris- tians of Antioch. Barnabas and Paul, the leaders in the mission to the Gentiles, were chosen to bear these evidences of the good-will and devotion of the Gentile Christians to the members of the Judean churches. This Christian act undoubtedly did much to heal the threatening breach between these two branches of the church. It also opened the way for the memorable interview between Paul and the authorities at Jerusalem, recorded in Galatians 2 (cf. § CLII), which established the freedom of the Gentile Christians. It is also sig- nificant that the one condition then insisted upon by the Jerusalem authorities was that the benefactions of the Gentile Christians be con- tinued. Another important result of the mission to Jerusalem was that Paul and Barnabas brought back with them to Antioch Barnabas's nephew, John Mark, who, according to early Christian tradition, had been closely associated with Peter and who later wrote the earliest surviving life of Jesus. Thus the two very different types of churches, that at Jerusalem and that at Antioch, were closely bound together by the bond of mutual service and the way prepared for the great for- ward step that came on the return of Paul and Barnabas to Antioch. II. The Sending Forth of Barnabas and Paul. The narrative in Acts implies that the impulse to enter upon the first foreign mis- sionary campaign came not from one man but from the collective body of Antioch Christians. Paul by his teachings and example had undoubtedly sown the seed. It requires little imagination to detect his personal influence in the memorable meeting when the great de- cision was made. Those who suggest are usually chosen to execute, and Barnabas and Paul were the two appointed to initiate the work. The success of the Jerusalem mission may also have led the Antioch Christians to seek a larger field. They probably had large resources at their command. Barnabas formerly held land in Jerusalem; Manaen, one of their number, had been a playmate of Herod, the 86 SENDING FORTH BARNABAS AND PAUL tetrarch. Antioch was an opulent city and the Jews were among its most prosperous citizens. It is probable, therefore, that Barnabas and Paul went forth on their foreign mission supported not only by the prayers and benedictions but also by the gifts of the Antioch Christians, for "freely you have received, freely give" was a funda- mental tenet of their faith. The missionary spirit was not a later growth but a fundamental principle of primitive Christianity. III. The Work of Barnabas and Paul in Cyprus. It is sig- nificant that when they went forth Barnabas was the leader; when they returned Paul, the younger, was the commanding spirit. Bar- nabas first led Paul and Mark to his native island of Cyprus, but before the two leading apostles returned they had carried the Gospel of Jesus many miles beyond Paul's native city, Tarsus. The author of this section of Acts deliberately condenses his account of the mis- sionary campaign in Cyprus. His reason is in keeping with his pur- pose, which was to describe the victorious advance of Christianity from Jerusalem to Rome and to show that it was protected rather than op- posed by the Roman authorities. Cyprus, as well as Egypt, was aside from the main line of that advance. At Salamis, the chief eastern port of Cyprus, the Christian missionaries found a large Jew- ish colony and were doubtless freely admitted to the synagogues, for it is probable that in this distant outpost little opposition between Judaism and Christianity had as yet developed. Luke's narrative does not expand until Barnabas and Paul come into contact with the Roman proconsul who ruled the island from its capital, Paphos. This was the new Paphos on the coast ten miles northeast of the ancient city of Paphos which had long been famous for worship of the Paphian goddess, whose shrine was there. The Roman proconsul, Paulus, was evidently a man of culture, interested in the various current philosophies. Pliny mentions him among the Roman writers of the day. In his train was a Jew who had grafted on to his inherited faith many of the heathen ideas and practices that had come from the East, especially from Persia. This half philosopher and half fakir had also won a reputation as a prophet or public preacher. He was one of the many missionaries in that strongly missionary age. The mother goddess of Phrygia, the Egyptian goddess Isis, as well as the Cynic and Stoic philosophies, all had their emissaries, like the Pharisees "encompassing sea and land to make proselytes." In Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Rome Paul met and contested with them for the faith of men. In the presence of the cultured Roman proconsul it is 87 PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY CAMPAIGN not Barnabas nor Saul the Jew, but Paulus the Roman citizen who suddenly stands forth and from this time on holds the central place not only in the book of Acts but in the missionary work of the Chris- tian church. The scene in Acts is symbolic of the victorious contest that Christianity was destined to wage with the heathen cults and philosophies of the ancient world. IV. The Mission Field in Southern Asia Minor. The activity of Paul and Barnabas in Cyprus does not appear to have been very fruitful. The narrative in Acts implies that they confined their work chiefly to the Jews. It is not even claimed that the Roman procon- sul definitely aligned himself with the Christian beliefs. No discour- agements or obstacles, however, could daunt Paul or deter him from the realization of the aim which he henceforth set before him. This aim alone explains why he left Cyprus and struck northward into Asia Minor. It was because he was eager to carry the Gospel of Jesus the next stage westward of Cilicia toward the heart of the Roman Empire. Perga, near the southern coast, was left behind, for it was strongly pagan and aside from the great world currents. There also, John Mark turned back, while Paul, sick in body but fearless and de- termined, dragged Barnabas with him up over the almost impassable southern headlands of Asia Minor, facing untold hardships, "perils of rivers and perils of robbers," to the commercial cities that lay on the great highway which led from the East to Rome. Here Paul the cosmopolitan again found himself at home. Here, as at Tarsus, Roman organization, Greek culture, and Jewish religious zeal were found side by side, even though they did not blend. Here was a field that appealed to the great missionary statesman of early Christianity. V. At Galatian Antioch. Antioch, one of the two chief cities of the Roman province of Galatia, was an important eastern outpost of the imperial city. It lay on an isolated plateau over thirty-six hundred feet above the sea-level and two hundred feet above the western plain. It was guarded on the eastern side by the swift, deep- flowing River Anthios. Augustus, recognizing its strategic impor- tance, had made it a Roman colony about the beginning of the Chris- tian era. It dominated the surrounding region to which the narrative of Acts refers and was a most favorable centre in which to plant the Gospel seed. Here was evidently a large Jewish colony which had attracted to its ranks many thoughtful Greeks as well as Jews. The official abolition of the local religion increased the possibilities of this new mission field. Through the medium of the local synagogue Paul 88 PAUL AT GALATIAN ANTIOCH and Barnabas easily gained a hearing from the more religiously minded citizens of this important metropolis. The sermon which the author attributes to Paul contains many echoes of Stephen's earlier address. In its use of the Old Testament it reflects the current rabbinical meth- ods. While its form may be due in part or largely to the author of this section of Acts, it is an excellent illustration of the sermons which carried conviction to the minds of earnest Jews and Gentiles seeking the way of salvation. The success of Paul and Barnabas in Galatia and Antioch was most marked. The Jews and devout Greeks gathered about them with eager questions. Not only the city itself but the surrounding region which it commanded was stirred by the message of the apostles until the opposition of the more conservative Jews was aroused. The author here as elsewhere represents the apostles as speaking first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles, but the account itself indicates that from the first the appeal was to both classes. Recognizing the universality of Jesus' work, Paul in his own teaching and activity had long since broken the bond which still fettered the Palestinian Christians. VI. The Apostles' Work at Iconium and Lystra. A positive character and message such as Paul's inevitably aroused opposition and he was soon driven with Barnabas to find refuge elsewhere and a new field of work. They left behind, however, a devoted group of disciples whose joy and spiritual exaltation testified to the divine transformation which had been worked in their lives. Eighty miles east of Antioch lay another important Galatian city. Iconium, un- like Antioch, was on a fertile, level plain on the western side of a lofty mountain range from whose sides rushed the stream which irrigated the great plain about the city. The almost constant danger of floods and foreign invasion had developed in highest measure the energy and resourcefulness of its inhabitants. Here the apostles found a flourish- ing colony and Jewish synagogue. Jews and Greeks alike responded to their teaching, although certain of the Jews bitterly opposed them. Here for weeks and probably months they conducted a successful mission, but its very success in time aroused the rulers, so that at last the apostles departed amidst taunts and pelting stones. Wearied by constant opposition and in quest of a quiet place of refuge, Paul and Barnabas turned westward to the native town of Lystra, twenty miles from Iconium. It was situated in a peaceful valley, watered by two streams from the western hills. In the midst of the valley rose the acropolis, a steep hill, a hundred and fifty feet in 89 PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY CAMPAIGN height. Here the apostles were among a simple peasant people of the old Lycaonian stock. A kindly work of healing, wrought upon a lame man whose faith was equal to the task, almost instantly won the adoration of the populace. The narrative well illustrates the com- mon popular belief of the day that the gods in human form frequently came down and walked among men. Barnabas, the taller and more commanding figure, was identified as Zeus; Paul, the smaller and alert and more gifted speaker, with Hermes, the spokesman and messenger of the gods. Not understanding the native language, the apostles ap- parently did not at first understand that the people were about to worship and offer sacrifices to them; but as soon as they appreciated the situation they loudly protested and improved the opportunity to tell them of the one living God, whence came all their blessings. Lystra, however, was under the control of the Galatian Antioch and so near Iconium that the Jewish persecutors of the apostles soon over- took them and turned the zeal of the populace into mad rage, so that Paul barely escaped death at their hands. Derbe, the next place to which the apostles turned for refuge, was on a great plain about forty- five miles south of Iconium. Here amidst the native population they met with little opposition. This point, however, marked the eastern limit of their campaign, for it was near the eastern bounds of the prov- ince of Galatia. Paul, instead of going eastward along the direct road to his boyhood home at Tarsus and to the field of his earlier activity in Cilicia, was evidently eager to return and perfect the or- ganization of the Christian communities which they had established in the important cities of Galatia. The lapse of time and in many cases the change of rulers and the abatement of opposition made this possible. Hence they retraced their steps, in each place strengthening the disciples. Out of the ranks of each Christian community they selected certain presbyters or elders to direct and instruct the indi- vidual members. Evidently Paul was seeking not to build up a hierarchy but a democratic brotherhood akin to that which Jesus him- self had established during his ministry in Galilee. Thence they re- turned through Pamphylia to the sea at Attalia and from there by ship to Antioch, where they reported the results of their work to the church which had sent them forth and the great fact that the Gentile world was waiting eagerly to receive the message of their risen Lord. Within less than two decades after the death of Jesus Christianity had entered upon its world conquest, so great was the potency of the personality and teachings of him who taught as never man taught before. 90 PAUL'S INTERVIEW WITH THE APOSTLES § CLH. THE BREAKING OF JEWISH BONDS [Paul himself states that] Fourteen years after my first Paul's visit with Peter I went up again to Jerusalem accompanied ™w~ by Barnabas. I also took Titus with me. I went up in %£* obedience to a revelation. And I laid before them the ment gospel which I preach to the Gentiles; I did this in private Se h before the authorities lest by any means I should be running, **>£*• or should already have run in vain. But even though (Qai. Titus, who was with me, was a Greek, he was not obliged 2118) to be circumcised. The opposition came through certain traitorous false brothers who had crept in to spy out the freedom we enjoy in Christ Jesus in order that they might enslave us again. But, in order that the truth of the gospel might hold good for you, we did not consent for an instant to submit to them. Indeed from the authorities — what- ever they are it makes no difference to me ; God payeth no respect to persons — these authorities had no additions to make to my gospel. On the contrary, when they saw that I had been intrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised just as Peter had been for the circumcised (for he who equipped Peter to be an apostle to the circumcised equipped me as well for the Gentiles), and when they recognized the grace that had been given me, James and Cephas and John, who were considered the pillars of the church, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship that we should go to the Gentiles, they to the circumcised. One thing they urged, that we should remember the poor, which I myself was exceedingly eager to do. When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, Pauls because he stood condemned. For before certain persons rebuke came from James, he ate with the Gentile Christians; but p f eter when they came, he withdrew and held aloof for fear of the for in- circumcision party. The rest of the Jewish Christians also S^~ played false along with him, so that even Barnabas was < n 16 > carried away by their false play. But when I saw that they were not acting uprightly in the true spirit of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of them all: If you who are a Jew live like the Gentiles and not like the 91 THE BREAKING OF JEWISH BONDS Jews, why do you oblige the Gentiles to become Jews? We may be Jews by birth and not * Gentile sinners/ but, knowing that a man is justified by faith in Christ Jesus and not by doing the things which the law commands, we ourselves have believed in Christ Jesus so as to be jus- tified by faith in Christ and not by doing the things that the law commands, for by doing those things which the law commands no human being shall be justified. Now certain individuals came down from Jerusalem and taught the brothers: Unless you are circumcised after the custom of Moses you cannot be saved. Inasmuch as there was a sharp dispute and controversy between them and Paul and Barnabas, it was arranged that Paul and Bar- nabas, along with some others of their number, should go up to Jerusalem to consult the apostles and elders at Jeru- salem about this question. So they set out, being accompanied for a distance by members of the church. And they passed through Phoe- nicia and Samaria, telling about the conversion of the Gen- tiles. And they inspired all the brothers with great joy. ( 8 » 4 ) When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and elders. And they reported all that God had done through them. peters But some of the believers who belonged to the Pharisaic W^he party got up and said, Gentiles must be circumcised and council enjoined to observe the law of Moses. Then the apostles and the presbyters met to investigate this question, and a keen controversy sprang up; but Peter rose and said to them, Brothers, you know well that from the earliest days God chose among you that by my mouth the Gentiles were to hear the word of the gospel and believe. The God who knows all hearts attested this by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he gave it to us; in cleansing their hearts by faith he made no distinction at all between us and them. Well now, why are you trying an experiment upon God by imposing a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we ourselves could bear? No, it is by the grace of the Lord Jesus that we believe and are saved, in the same way as they. 92 (5-11) STATEMENT OF PAUL AND BARNABAS Then the whole assembly was silent and listened to state- Barnabas and Paul recounting the signs and wonders God JJfpLi had performed by them among the Gentiles. and^ When they had finished speaking, James replied, Brothers, bas™? listen to me. Simeon has told how God originally sought The to secure a people from among the Gentiles to bear his counsel name. This agrees with the words of the prophets; as it James is written, l ; After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent, ] Its ruins I will rebuild and set it up again, That the rest of men may seek for the Lord, that they may possess the remnant of Edom Even all the Gentiles who are called by my name, Saith the Lord, who maketh this known from of old. My judgment therefore is that we ought not to put fresh difficulties in the way of those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but enjoin them to abstain from what- ever is polluted by idols, from sexual vice, from the flesh of animals that have been strangled, and from blood; for Moses has had his preachers from earliest ages in every city, where he is read aloud in the synagogues every sab- bath. Then the apostles and the elders, together with the The whole church, decided to select some of their number tSic" and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. The JJ** men selected were Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, Gentae leading members of the brotherhood. They bore the fol- tSST lowing letter: The apostles and the elder brothers send < 22 " 29 > greeting to the brothers who belong to the Gentiles through- out Antioch and Syria and Cilicia. Since we have learned that some of our number, without being authorized by us, have disturbed you with their teaching and upset your souls, we have decided unanimously to select some of our number and send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. We therefore send Judas and Silas, who will also tell you these things by word of mouth. The Holy Spirit and we have decided not to impose any 93 THE BREAKING OF JEWISH BONDS extra burden on you, except these essential requirements: abstain from food that has been offered to idols, from tast- ing blood, from the flesh of animals that have been stran- gled, and from sexual vice. Keep clear of all this and it will be well with you. Farewell. When the messengers were despatched, they went down to Antioch and, after gathering the whole assembly, they delivered the letter. On reading it the people rejoiced at the encouragement it brought. And as Judas and Silas were themselves prophets, they encouraged and strength- ened the brothers with many a discourse. Then after they had spent some time there they were dismissed with a greeting of peace from the brothers to those who had sent them. Paul and Barnabas, however, stayed on in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord along with a number of others. I. The Burning Problem in the Christian Church. The extension of Christianity far beyond the bounds of Palestine, and especially the work of Paul and Barnabas among the Gentiles, pre- sented to the Christian church its first great and insistent problem. For- tunately, it did not become a pressing issue until the work of the Hellenistic Christians had furnished a large body of facts born of experience. The problem involved three distinct issues and it is im- portant not to confuse them. The first and most insistent was, Were the Gentile Christians to be compelled to follow the demands of the Jewish law ? Second, What were the obligations of the Jewish Chris- tians to their inherited law? The third question, fortunately, came to the forefront a little later, What were to be the mutual obligations of each when Jewish and Gentile Christians ate and associated to- gether? According to the testimony of Paul (Gal. 2 4 ), the problem was precipitated by certain Jewish Christians "who had crept in to spy out the freedom" that the Antioch Christians were enjoying in Christ Jesus and who aimed to enslave again the Gentile members of that great and growing church by compelling them to satisfy all the detailed demands of the Jewish law. II. The Accounts of the Way in Which the Problem Was Solved. Fortunately, in the second chapter of Paul's letter to the Galatians he has given a brief but straightforward and clear statement of the issue and its outcome. It reveals not merely Paul's position 94 THE ACCOUNTS OF THE SOLVING OF THE PROBLEM but that of the "pillars" at Jerusalem and unquestionably must be regarded as the primary historical source. Acts 14 28 -15 35 contains what is generally regarded as a parallel record of the same vital controversy. In the outstanding facts the two accounts are in substantial agreement. That in Acts, however, makes it a public rather than the distinctively private conference described in the second chapter of Paul's letter to the Galatians. The influence of the author's harmonizing purpose is also apparent in the absence from his account of any reference to the radical issue between Peter and Paul regarding the obligations of Jewish and Gentile Christians where the two were associated together in the same church. To the formal decision of James and the Jewish Christians at Jerusalem Paul makes no reference in Galatians 2. The only satisfactory explanation is that Paul's private interview with the "pillars" at Jerusalem took place when he went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas to present the gift of the Antioch Christians. This date is supported by Paul's clear implication that he had made no other visit to Jerusalem since his first meeting with Peter, fourteen years before his memorable interview. Paul and Barnabas, therefore, set out on their first missionary campaign with the assurance that the leaders at Jerusalem approved of their action. The public council at Jerusalem apparently came after their return two years later. This chronological arrangement solves many difficulties and brings the testimony of Paul and of Acts into substantial agreement. III. Paul's Interview with the " Pillars " at Jerusalem. The date of Paul's memorable interview with the leaders of the Jerusalem church was probably in 47 a.d., and therefore antedated by two years the conference reported in Acts. Paul tells us that, as frequently in the great decisive moments in his life, he was led to go up to Jerusalem as the result of a special revelation, although in the same connection he speaks of the subversive influence of certain traitorous false brothers in the Antioch church who had precipitated the issue. He plainly felt that the time had arrived for decisive action. To make the ques- tion absolutely clear and concrete, he took with him Titus, a Greek Christian who had not submitted to the Jewish rite of circumcision and who, presumably because of his Gentile origin, observed none of the detailed Jewish laws. Frankly and fully Paul described to the authorities at Jerusalem the Gospel which he had been in the habit of preaching to the Gentiles and asserted its universality and applicabil- ity freed from all Jewish limitations. In the light of the facts, the "pillars" of the Jerusalem church, including the disciples Peter and 95 THE BREAKING OF JEWISH BONDS John and James the brother of Jesus (who had probably been chosen to fill the vacancy in the ranks of the Twelve due to the martyrdom of James the son of Zebedee), fully accepted Paul's position and gave him the right hand of fellowship. It was decided that Paul should be allowed to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles without any limita- tions. The account also implies that the Twelve were to continue to preach the Gospel to the Jews and to require that the Jewish Chris- tian converts should continue to observe the demands of their law. The only obligation laid upon Paul was the request that he remember the needs of the poor Christians at Jerusalem — a request that he de- clares himself eager to grant. This request was probably prompted by the actual needs of the Jerusalem Christian community, many of whom had no direct means of support, and who after the period of famine that had just preceded were in great want. It also aimed to bind together the Jewish and Gentile sections of the Christian church by practical acts of service. Furthermore, it implied a certain obliga- tion, if not subjection, of the Gentiles to the Jews. This obligation is frankly admitted by Paul himself at the close of his letter to the Romans: "Macedonia and Achaia have decided to make a contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. Such is their decision, and it is a debt they owe them, for if the Gentiles have shared their spiritual blessings they owe them a debt of aid in material things'' ( 15 26, 27). Paul says nothing about the public announcement of the results of this interview to the Jerusalem Christians, but it may be inferred that it was made, for the later opposition that Paul had sought to allay by his visit to the historic home of the church came not from the apos- tles but from certain ardent Pharisaic Christians. Paul states in Galatians 2 6-9 that Peter and James defended the Tightness of his claims. He in turn confirmed the wisdom of this decision by telling of the significant work that he had already accomplished (in Syria and Cilicia) among the Gentiles. Paul's vivid record of his interview with the Twelve does not suggest that the slightest limitation was placed by them upon his mission to the Greek world. They simply agreed to divide the Jewish and Gentile fields and not to intrench on. the work of the other. Throughout the interview the spirit of their common Master guided them in dealing with this most delicate and important question, so that without a rupture in the church the ancient Jewish bonds were thrown aside and Christianity went forth unfettered to its world conquest. 96 PROBLEMS IN THE GENTILE CHURCHES IV. Problems Arising from the Association of Jewish and Gentile Christians. One vexed question remained unsolved, and before long demanded an answer. In the early church it assumed portentous proportions; but in the perspective of history it appears relatively unimportant. It became insistent in the mixed Jewish and Gentile churches, where the division between the mission to the Gentiles and that to the Jews could not be rigidly observed. Paul, on the basis of his earlier experience, fully recognized this fact. At the beginning he asserted his conviction as to what was the only satis- factory solution by taking the uncircumcised Greek Titus with him to Jerusalem and by freely associating with him. In the private inter- view the apostles tacitly accepted Paul's position and made no ad- ditions to it, although certain Jewish Christians opposed it from the first (Gal. 2 4 " 6 ). When Peter later came to Antioch, he also at first accepted it in practice as well as theory. This attitude was perfectly natural in a disciple of a Master who had freely eaten with sinners and tax-collectors and who had shown in all his career a calm uncon- cern for all ceremonialism. Peter needed no special vision to convince him on this point. The fraternal spirit manifest among the Antioch Christians was also indubitable evidence that their faith was rooted in something far deeper than mere ceremonial forms. It is evident, however, that during his absence on his first missionary campaign the narrow Judaizers in the Jerusalem church had been active. They were doubtless the same men who had protested against associating with the Greek Christian Titus. Reports of what Peter had been doing at Antioch had probably reached them. Their protests even influenced James to send messengers to Peter with the result that he withdrew from associating closely with the Gentile Christians. Even Barnabas yielded to the pressure of the Judaizers. Luke in Acts 15 23 " 29 has probably embodied the essence of their demands. In any case, Paul's explicit testimony in Galatians 2 indicates that these specific regulations were issued not only after his interview with the " pillars" at Jerusalem but also after Peter's visit to Antioch. They stipulate that all Gentile Christians should abstain from things con- taminated by contact with idols, from sexual vice, from the flesh of animals that had been strangled, and from tasting blood. According to the Jewish law found in Leviticus, chapters 17 and 18, these were the exact limitations placed upon foreigners resident in Palestine. While there is no evidence that Peter publicly insisted that the Gentile Chris- tians of Antioch should observe these injunctions, his ceasing to eat 97 THE BREAKING OF JEWISH BONDS with the Gentile Christians implied a tacit acceptance of the principle involved. His motive was doubtless to maintain peace and harmony in the Palestinian church and to avoid destroying his influence with the Jews. Barnabas, with his strong Jewish inheritance and Jeru- salem affiliations, evidently regarded Peter's position as tenable. It is easy to appreciate the practical considerations which influenced Peter's action. He was quite willing that Paul should preach the Gospel to the Gentiles without restriction but, recognizing that his own mis- sion was primarily to the Jews, he deemed it unwise to openly repudiate the demands of the Jewish law. The incident recorded in Galatians 2 may antedate certain of the facts underlying the story of Peter's vision in Acts 10, which aims to show how he was led to see that in the eyes of God there was no validity in the legal distinction between clean and unclean (10 9 " 16 ), and that he was to associate freely without restriction with Gentiles as well as Jews and to call no man "common or unclean" (10 28 ). His later mission to the Gentiles, to which Paul refers in I Corinthians 9 5 , implies that in time Peter repented of the backward step which he had taken at Antioch and joined with Paul in his mission to the Greek and Roman world. V. Paul's Controversy with Peter. The reason for Paul's indignation and public arraignment of Peter is obvious. He was con- scious that the great apostle agreed with him in principle, but that his action was a deadly blow at the Christian liberty which Paul so ar- dently championed. He argued also that the work of Christ was sufficient for the salvation of both the Jew and the Gentile and that insistence upon the observation of the law was evidence of lack of faith in the Gospel. At the same time, Paul in his later writings and in his own practice strongly advocates consideration for the religious scruples of his Jewish brothers. "Therefore, if food is any hinderance to my brother's welfare, rather than injure him I will never eat flesh as long as I live" (I Cor. 8 13 ). "To the Jews I have become like a Jew to win over Jews. To those outside the law I have become like one of themselves" (I Cor. 9 20a> 21a ). The fundamental difference between Paul's position and that of Peter and the Jerusalem apostles was that they proposed to impose definite rules upon all Gentile Christians, thus breaking the agreement into which they had entered at the memorable; interview at Jerusalem, while Paul demanded for each man individual liberty, although even in his letter to the Galatians with all its protests against the Judaizing Christians, he urges: "Brothers, 98 PAUL'S CONTROVERSY WITH PETER you are called to be free; only do not make your freedom an opening for the flesh, but serve one another in love" (Gal. 5 13 ). The principle involved in this great controversy was long debated in the early Chris- tian church. Revelations 2 14> 20 simply emphasizes the importance of having all Christians abstain from eating things offered to idols. Not until the latter half of the first century, when Christianity broke entirely with Judaism, was the broad yet considerate position advo- cated by Paul universally adopted by the Christian church. Even as late as 120 a.d. the Teaching of the Twelve directs: "But as con- cerning foods bear that which thou art able; however, abstain by all means from meat sacrificed to idols, for it is the worship of dead gods." VI. The Significance of the Breaking of Jewish Bonds. Viewed in the broad perspective of history, the incidents recorded in Galatians 2 mark a new epoch in the history of Christianity. What had hitherto been accepted in practice outside of Palestine was now formulated in a definite principle. Christianity stood before the Graeco-Roman world completely free from the swaddling-clothes of Judaism. Hence- forth the apostles to the Gentiles entered upon their noble task of interpreting the principles of Jesus into forms attractive and intelligible to that world. Paul, conscious of the strong opposition against him- self and his teachings in the Palestinian church and at variance even with certain leaders like Barnabas of the Antioch church, henceforth faced with undivided zeal the Gentile mission field. The conscious- ness of fighting for a great principle spurred him on to still greater endeavors. It also led him to seek fields beyond the immediate pale of Jewish influence in which he could demonstrate in broader and larger measure the efficacy of the Gospel of Jesus for Gentile as well as Jew. The unfortunate by-products of the great controversy were destined to pursue him and undermine to a certain extent his work not only in Asia Minor but even in distant Corinth. At the same time it called forth some of his greatest utterances and tended to con- firm him in his broad position. It was clearly the chief cause of the breach between himself and Barnabas; but the fact that he lost the companionship of his earlier co-laborer led him to rear up a group of faithful disciples who ultimately multiplied manyfold the work of the great apostle to the Gentiles. Thus out of the bitterness of the struggle came rich fruits and the Christian liberty which is man's most cherished possession. 99 PAUL'S SECOND VISIT TO GALATIA §CLm. PAUL'S SECOND VISIT AND LATER LETTER TO THE CHURCHES OF GALATIA After remaining certain days in Antioch, Paul said to Barnabas, Let us now go back to visit the brothers in all the cities where we have proclaimed the word of the Lord and see how they are doing. But while Barnabas wanted to take along John (who was called Mark), Paul did not deem it desirable to take with them a man who had deserted them in Pamphylia instead of going on with them to the work. So there was a serious disagreement with the re- sult that they parted company. Barnabas, taking Mark with him, set sail for Cyprus, while Paul selected Silas and went off, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. He passed through Syria and Cilicia strengthening the churches. He also came to Derbe and Lystra. At Lystra there was a disciple called Timothy, the son of a believing Jewess and of a Greek father. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul, desiring to have him accompany him, took and circumcised him on account of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. [Paul also wrote to the churches of Galatia]: Paul, an apostle, sent not by man, nor commanded by any man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead, and all the brothers who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave him- self for our sins, to set us free from the present evil world, in accordance with the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. I am astonished that you are so hastily deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ and going over to another gospel. It simply means that certain ones are unsettling you and desire to pervert the gospel of Christ. Now, even if we or some angel from heaven preach a gospel different from that gospel which I preached to you, may God's curse be on him! As I have said it before, so I 100 PAUL'S THESIS IN GALATIANS say it now: whoever preaches a gospel to you different from the gospel you have received, let God's curse be on him! O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you— you, before The whose eyes Jesus Christ the crucified has been vividly jrfthe presented? One thing only I wish to learn from you: did s p^ you receive the Spirit by doing what the law commands, Soned or by believing the gospel message? Are you so foolish? g- th Did you begin with the Spirit to end now with the flesh? *sthe Have you had all that experience in vain— if it has really ?ai& been in vain? When he supplieth you with the Spirit and g^, worketh miracles in you, is it because you do what the law ? f *»- commands, or because you believe the gospel message? Si of It is as it was with Abraham, who had faith in God and it ^So" was reckoned to him as righteousness. Know then that (3 1 - 7 ) those who have faith are the real sons of Abraham. Before faith came, we were confined by the law and limited Faith to the faith that was to be revealed. Thus the law was Christ our tutor until Christ should come, that we might be justi- gf£jf a fied by faith. But since the faith has come, we are no son? 611 longer under a tutor; for you are all sons of God by your SSlisof faith in Christ Jesus, for as many of you as have been God baptized in Christ have taken on the character of Christ. There is no longer Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Now, if you are Christ's, then are you Abraham's offspring; by virtue of the promise you are heirs. What I mean is this. As long as an heir is under age, jesus there is no difference between him and a slave, although Sj ough he is lord of all things : he is under guardians and stewards *&*& until the time fixed by his father. So with us also. When ship 011 " we were under age, we lived under the bondage of the %tS~ elemental spirits of the world; but, when the fullness of gom time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, age to born under law to ransom those who were under the law, and 1 in order that we might receive our right of sonship. Be- tea- cause you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son gods into our hearts, crying Abba! Father! So you are no (417) longer a slave but a son and, as son, also an heir through] God. 101 the law to PAUL'S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS But in those days, when you did not know God, you were in bondage to those who by nature are no gods; but, now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back again to the weak, poverty stricken, elemental spirits? Why do you wish to be enslaved all tfiejaw over again by them? You observe days, and months, and festal seasons and years ! You make me afraid that I may have spent my labor on you in vain! Their I beg of you be as I am, for I was even as you, brothers. at§- ged You did me no wrong, although you knew it was because ££!..,* of an illness that I preached the gospel to you on my former visit. And, though my flesh was a trial to you, you did not despise nor scoff at me but received me as an angel of God, like Christ Jesus. Now what has become of all your congratulations? For I can testify that you would have torn out your very eyes, if you could, and given them to me. Have I become your enemy because I have spoken the truth to you? These men seek you zealously but not honestly; rather they desire to shut you out from me in order that you may zealously seek them. Now it is a fine thing for you to be zealously sought for at all times in the right manner— not only when I can be with you. My lit- tle children, you for whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed within you, would that I might be with you at this time and alter my tone, for I am at my wit's end about you! See! I, Paul, say to you: if you let yourselves be circum- cised, Christ will be of no use to you. I assert again to everyone that lets himself be circumcised that he is under obligation to carry out the whole of the law. You who seek justification in the law are done with Christ. You have fallen from grace, for it is by faith that we wait in the Spirit for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but only faith and love. The Brothers, you were called to be free; only do not make hberty vour freedom an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one (13-16) another in love. For the entire law is summed up in one word, You must love your neighbor as yourself. But, if you bite and devour one another, take care lest you be not destroyed by one another. 102 THE GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT I mean, walk by the Spirit; then you will not satisfy the The inclinations of the flesh. For the inclination of the flesh gf C e" is against the spirit, and the inclination of the spirit is jf^e against the flesh ; for these two are opposed to each other, (^») so that you are not free to do as you please. But, if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the sway of the law. Now the deeds of the flesh are quite evident, such as The sexual vice, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, quarrels, JJJttw contention, jealousy, anger, rivalry, factions, party spirit, flesh envy, drinking bouts, revelry, and the like. I tell you be- tie ° forehand, as I have told you already, that those who do ^JS* these things will never inherit the Kingdom of God. But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kind- ness, generosity, fidelity, gentleness, self-control— there is no law against those who do these things. Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh The with its passions and inclinations. If we live by the spirit, §^" let us walk also in the spirit. Let us not be vain nor given y a 7 of to provoking or envying one another. Even if anyone is (s^fo caught in some wrong act, brothers, you who are spiritual must set such a one right in a spirit of gentleness. Let each one of you look to himself lest you be tempted. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. If any- one imagines that he is somebody when he is nobody, he is deceiving himself. Let everyone test his own work and then he will have something to boast about on his own ac- count, and not in comparison with his neighbor. For every- one will have to bear his own load. Each one who is taught should share all the good things of life with those who teach him the word. Be not deceived ; God is not to be mocked : for whatever The a man sows, that shall he also reap. He who sows for his of 51 st own flesh shall from the flesh reap destruction, and he who < 7 10 > sows for the spirit shall reap from the spirit life eternal. And let us not grow weary of doing what is right, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. See what big letters I make when I write with mine own hand! These men who are seeking to compel you to be 103 (11-18) PAUL'S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS Pauls circumcised desire to make a fine show in the flesh. It is !S£n simply that they may not be persecuted for the cross of ^ e . Christ. For even they who have been circumcised do not diction keep the law themselves; but they desire to have you cir- cumcised so that they may boast over your flesh! But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. For what counts is neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, but the new creation, and on as many as will walk by this rule may peace and mercy rest, even upon the Israel of God. Henceforth, let no man interfere with me, for I bear branded on my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. I. Date and Aim of Paul's Second Missionary Campaign. Paul probably set out on his second missionary campaign in the early autumn of 49 a.d. He' was eager to get away from the dissensions raised by the Judaizers at Jerusalem and Antioch. Acts states that his primary purpose was to visit the Galatian churches, doubtless with a view to strengthening them (Acts 16 5 ). He also aimed to prepare them for the problems that he saw before them. His ultimate purpose was to carry the Gospel of Jesus westward throughout the provinces of Asia Minor immediately beyond the Roman province of Galatia which had been the scene of his earlier work. The great metropolitan city of Ephesus, the commercial and religious capital of the province of Asia, was clearly Paul's definite objective. His comprehensive aim even at this period was evidently to conquer the great Gentile world that had been assigned to him at the memorable interview at Jeru- salem. Paul sought not only to extend his conquests to the great political and social centres of this Gentile world, but also, at this critical stage, to make each field in which he preached and planted churches the base for the next advance. II. Revisiting the Galatian Churches. Paul was evidently the one who originally proposed to Barnabas that they face the perils of Asia Minor and penetrate again to the heart of the Roman province of Galatia. Throughout this arduous but successful enterprise Paul had taken the initiative. The reason given in Acts why Barnabas did not accompany Paul in his second visit to this field is their disagree- 104 REVISITING THE GALATIAN CHURCHES ment about taking John Mark with them. Probably a deeper reason was their disagreement regarding the right and wisdom of letting Jewish and Gentile Christians freely associate together without im- posing on either any ceremonial limitation. Moreover, Barnabas's interest lay in his homeland, Cyprus; Paul's in the unconquered ter- ritory beyond his native city, Tarsus. Paul's later references to Barnabas indicate that there was no permanent alienation (I Cor. 9 6 , Col. 4 10 ). The separation of these two pioneer apostles to the Gentiles appears to have resulted in a tacit, or possibly definitely defined di- vision of the Gentile field. Tradition says that Barnabas not only went to Cyprus but also to Egypt, which early became an important Christian centre. Egypt also had a great Jewish population and might well be regarded as belonging to the sphere of activity set aside for the Twelve. At least some such implied division of territory best explains why Paul with his world-wide outlook and tireless zeal never visited nor even alludes in his letters to the populous land of the Nile and the flourishing cities on the southern Mediter- ranean. Starting from Antioch and taking Silas, who was an influential member of the Jerusalem church and likewise possessed Roman citizenship (Acts 16 37 ) and was therefore a Hellenist, Paul set out northward on the great highway that led through Asia Minor to Rome. On the way he probably strengthened the Christian churches which he had established during the first thirteen years of his ministry in northern Syria and Cilicia. Unfortunately, Luke has not preserved the names of these churches. That there was one at Tarsus is reason- ably certain. Thence, following the great Roman highway, they passed through the cities which Paul had visited together with Barnabas. Paul's circumcision of the half -Jewish youth Timothy, whom he wished to accompany him on his visit to the strongly Jewish churches at Iconium and Galatian Antioch, is not a repudiation of the principles for which he contended at Jerusalem but rather an illustration of his avowed purpose, with the Jews "to become like a Jew to win over Jews." Unfortunately Luke, instead of giving details regarding the visit to these churches, has simply introduced one of his general sum- maries (Acts, 16 4> 5 ). In keeping with his assumption that Paul had accepted the resolutions of James and the other authorities at Jeru- salem, he states that Paul formally transmitted these to the different churches. What Paul actually did can best be learned from his own testimony in his letter to the Galatians. 105 PAUL'S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS III. The Occasion of Paul's Letter to the Galatians. The interpreter of Paul's letter to the Galatians is at once confronted with a much-debated question. Did Paul write this letter to the churches in the Roman province of Galatia, which he and Barnabas had estab- lished during their first missionary campaign, or was it written to Christian churches farther north organized by Paul in the old province of Galatia during his second missionary campaign? Volumes have been written in defense of each of these positions and New Testament scholars are about equally divided. Fortunately, our appreciation of Paul's vigorous letter to the Galatians and of the superb spirit and personality which it reveals is not dependent upon the answer to these questions. The chief corner-stone of what is known as the "North Galatian theory" is Luke's statement in Acts 16 6 , following his summary of Paul's work in Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium, that "they crossed the Phrygian and Galatian region, the Holy Spirit having stopped them from preaching the word in Asia; when they got as far as Mysia they tried to enter Bithynia, but the spirit of Jesus would not allow them, and so they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas." Many hold that the most natural interpretation of this statement is that, having passed through the Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium, which were in ancient Phrygia, they turned northward to the old province of Galatia and from thence westward to the seaport of Troas. It is difficult, however, to explain why Luke is absolutely silent regarding Paul's activity in this northern province, if it had been significant enough in its results to call forth the powerful letter to the Galatians. In view of Paul's avowed purpose, we naturally anticipate that, after leaving Iconium, he would go directly to Antioch in Pisidia, which also lay in the Roman province of Galatia — in fact, it is almost impossible to believe that he failed to visit this important scene of his earlier work. The abso- lute absence of any reference or suggestion, either in Acts or in Paul's own letters, that implies a period of successful missionary activity in the old province of Galatia leaves to the "North Galatian theory," to say the least, a very uncertain and indefinite basis. On the other hand, the churches founded by Paul and Barnabas in their first cam- paign were on the direct highway from Syria to Rome, and therefore most exposed to the influence of the Judaizers to which Paul frequently refers in his letter to the Galatians. It is also exceedingly probable that Paul the traveller and Roman citizen would use the term Galatia in its contemporary Roman rather than in its older local application. This conclusion is supported by his custom at other times. In any 106 THE OCCASION OF PAUL'S LETTER case, the definitely known conditions and problems of the south Galatian cities furnish a thoroughly satisfactory explanation of the many detailed allusions contained in Paul's famous letter, so that there can be little doubt that the churches at Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe were in his mind as he wrote. If Galatians was written to these churches, it must have been after Paul had revisited them at the beginning of his second missionary campaign. His inability to visit them again, to which he alludes at the beginning of his letter, suggests strongly that he was not in An- tioch nor the East, but already actively engaged in his work either at Corinth or Ephesus. Apparently the Judaizers, to which he refers, followed close in his footsteps after leaving Antioch and had worked quietly and almost unknown to him while he was busy in the western field. At the same time the questions involved are the direct after- math of the interview at Jerusalem and the reaction at Antioch to which Paul refers. It is probable, therefore, that the Epistle to the Galatians is one of the three earliest of Paul's letters and was prob- ably written during the earlier part of his ministry at Corinth. IV. The Literary Structure and Contents of Galatians. Paul's letter to the Galatians falls naturally into four divisions, with an impassioned introduction found in l 1-9 . Chapters l 10 -2 21 contain Paul's masterful declaration of independence and authority. Rapidly and evidently under the pressure of great feeling, he marshals the im- portant events in his own career and especially his relations to the ''pillars" at Jerusalem, concluding the description with a statement of the terms agreed upon in his famous interview at Jerusalem and their later interpretation at Antioch. The second main division of the letter, S 1 -^ 12 , contains his defense of his gospel of freedom from the law and of justification by faith through Jesus Christ. In 5 13 -6 10 he corrects the possible misinterpretations of his gospel of freedom by defining the moral responsibility of those that hold the Christian faith. The epilogue, 6 11 ' 18 , recapitulates in short, forcible sentences the chief points for which he was contending and concludes with the usual benediction. This epistle has been appropriately likened to one of the dashing mountain torrents, which in many of the fields of Paul's activ- ity leap from the heights above, at first sweeping away all opposition, but in time gradually broadening out to water the plain below. As Sabatier has said, here "unfinished phrases, daring omissions, paren- theses which leave us out of sight and out of breath, rabbinical sub- tleties, dashing paradoxes, vehement apostrophes pour on like surging 107 PAUL'S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS billows." Here Paul writes as he would doubtless have spoken could he have stood in the presence of the faltering and much-confused Chris- tians of Galatia. It is Paul the militant who is here revealed, the man who quickly proved himself the master of every situation into which Providence led him. He is fighting here not merely for the faith of the Galatian Christians but also for the fundamental principles of Christian liberty. It was the age-long issue between the authority of accepted tradition and ceremonialism and the authority of the Spirit of God in the heart and life of the individual. The principle was the same for which Jesus contended against the Pharisees, Luther against the Catholic Church, and modern Christianity against ecclesiastical and literalistic con- servatism. V. Paul's Interpretation of the Significance of the Jewish Law and of the Work of Jesus. It is evident that Paul's opponents made a strong and plausible appeal to the Galatian Christians. They had the whole weight of Jewish tradition back of them. Their charge that Paul was an iconoclast, who rejected as useless the greater part of the Jewish law, was valid. In comparison with the definite way of salvation presented by that law, Paul's gospel must have seemed to many minds somewhat vague. In supporting his position Paul reveals in this letter his marvellous skill in appealing to the intellects as well as to the hearts of men. His first appeal is to the inner spiritual experience of the Galatian Christians themselves. Was it the teachings of the Judaizers or Paul's gospel which had given them the conscious- ness of the presence of the divine Spirit in their hearts and lives ? The phenomena of speaking with tongues and miracles had further attested the divine origin of his gospel. In Paul's mind this evidence of spiritual experience transcended all others. His next line of evi- dence was historical. Abraham, the forefather of his race knew nothing of the later law, but to him had been given the divine promises of which the work of Jesus was the fruition. These promises had been given not only to the descendants of Abraham, but to all, both Jew and Gentile, who shared his faith. What, after all, had the law ac- complished? In answering this question, Paul evidently drew from his own personal experience. It developed, he declared, a conscious- ness of sin, which, on the one side, pointed only to death as its just penalty, but, on the other hand, in opening the minds of men to the need of divine forgiveness, it prepared the way for the fulfilment of God's promises and the accomplishment of the work of Jesus. Gen- 108 PAUL'S VALUATION OF THE JEWISH LAW tiles and Jews alike were subject to the laws of nature, which they believed to be controlled by elemental spirits. Hitherto men had been like immature children, under the tutelage of the law or of their im- perfect religious beliefs; but now at last humanity was about to enter into its heritage. Through Jesus, whose central teaching had been the fatherhood of God and man's divine sonship, man had been de- livered from its old bondage. "He was no longer a slave but a son and as son also God's heir." Therefore he assures the Galatian Christians that their inner spiritual experience, the consciousness, "of Christ formed within them," was the only and supreme evidence that they were the heirs of the promises given to Abraham and indeed the sons of God. To adopt the rite of circumcision and to go back to the ob- servance of the Jewish ceremonial law would be to substitute form for the Spirit and to repudiate the divine heritage which had come to them through the work of Jesus. VI. The Responsibilities of Spiritual Liberty. To Paul, faith and life in Christ had brought liberty. Christian liberty is one of his favorite themes; but Paul always guarded against its interpre- tation as license. He strongly asserts that freedom from the law does not mean liberty to follow one's wayward caprices. It means rather, constant loyalty to the guidance of the Spirit. Indeed, those who "be- long to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and inclinations." Furthermore in Paul's vocabulary, liberty is a synonym for responsi- bility. Not only is the Christian to bear the fruits of the Spirit (which he defines) but also "to bear one another's burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ" — that higher spiritual law which has taken the place of the old Jewish law. The one supreme principle, he declares, in that new law is love: "For the entire law is summed up in one word, 'You must love your neighbor as yourself.' " Thus the epistle opens with powerful invective, which merges into impassioned argument and then in conclusion strikes Paul's ever-dominant note, that of love. §CLIV. PAUL'S MISSIONARY WORK IN MACEDONIA Paul and his associates crossed the Phrygian and Galatian The country, but were prevented by the Holy Spirit from preach- j^Tto ing the word in the province of Asia. When they reached Trog Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus i6«^> would not allow them, and so, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 109 PAUL'S WORK IN MACEDONIA The There a vision appeared to Paul by night: a man in togoto Macedonia was standing and appealing to him and saying, don^r Come over into Macedonia and help us. As soon as he (•• l0 ) saw the vision, we immediately made efforts to go on to Macedonia, inferring that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Arrival Then setting sail from Troas, we ran straight to Samo- Sppi llJ thrace and on the next day to Neapolis, thence to the ( 1112 ) Roman colony of Philippi, which is the foremost city of the district of Macedonia. In this city we spent some days. Lydias On the sabbath we went outside the gate by the river, velSon where we had reason to believe there was a place of prayer; (1316) and we sat down and talked to the women who had gath- ered. Among our hearers was a woman by the name of Lydia, a dealer in purple, who belonged to the city of Thyatira and was a worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart to attend to what Paul was saying. When she and her household had been baptized, she begged us, say- ing, If you are convinced that I am a believer in the Lord, come and stay in my house. And she compelled us to come. The Now it happened as we were going to the place of prayer oft that a slave girl met us who had a spirit of ventriloquism ^ ve and brought great profit to her owners by telling fortunes. (wis) she kept following Paul and the rest of us crying aloud, These men are servants of the Most High God; they pro- claim to you the way of salvation. This she did for many days. Then Paul, completely worn out, said to the spirit, In the name of Jesus Christ I order you to come out of her. And it came out of her immediately. The But when her owners saw that their hope of profit was ofpaui gone, they caught hold of Paul and Silas and dragged them sui int0 the forum before the magistrates. Bringing them be- (i»-24) fore the praetors they said, These are Jews who are making a disturbance in our city; they are proclaiming customs which we Romans are not allowed to adopt or observe. The crowd also joined in the attack upon them, while the prae- tors, after having stripped them, ordered them to be flogged. After they had inflicted many lashes upon them they put 110 THE ARREST OF PAUL AND SILAS them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safe. He, on receiving such an order, put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks. About midnight, as Paul and Silas were praying and The singing to God and while the prisoners were listening to con- r s them, there was suddenly such a great earthquake that it yersfon shook the very foundations of the prison. All the doors immediately flew open and the fetters of all the prisoners were unfastened. The jailer, starting up from sleep and seeing the prison wide open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had made their escape. But Paul said with a loud voice, Do not harm yourself, for we are all here! So, calling for lights, the jailer rushed in, fell trembling before Paul and Silas, and brought them out of the prison. Sirs, he said, what must I do to be saved ? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, said Paul, and both you and your household will be saved. And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all his house. Then he took them at that very hour of the night and washed their wounds. And he and all his family were immediately baptized. Then taking them to his house, he put food before them and rejoiced with all his household at having believed in God. The next morning the praetors sent the lictors with the The order, Release these men. The jailer announced these oftb? words to Paul, saying, The praetors have sent to release fgf" you. So now come out and go in peace. But Paul replied, C 3 *- 40 ) They flogged us in public without trial, we who are Roman citizens ! They put us in prison, and now they are going to eject us secretly! Far be it! Rather let them come here themselves and take us out. The lictors reported these words to the praetors, who, on hearing that the men were Roman citizens, were filled with alarm, and came to ap- pease them, and, after taking them out of prison, begged them to leave the city. So leaving the prison, they went to Lydia's house, where they saw the brothers and en- couraged them; then they departed. pre^L Then travelling on to Amphipolis and Apollonia, they Jgyj reached Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish syna- saion- gogue. And, as was his custom, Paul went in to them and (Jtm) 111 PAUL'S WORK IN MACEDONIA for three sabbaths argued with them from the scriptures, explaining and quoting passages to show that the Mes- siah had to suffer and rise from the dead, and that the Jesus I proclaim to you is the Messiah. Some were persuaded and attached themselves to Paul and Silas, including many devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. The But the Jews, stirred by jealousy, called to their aid some Sidled idle fellows and formed a mob and set the city in an up- jews he roar * Attacking Jason's house, they endeavored to bring («-•) Paul and Silas out before the people, but failing to find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the politarchs, shouting, These men, who have raised a tumult through the whole world, have come here too! Jason has welcomed them! These all violate the decrees of Caesar by declaring that there is another king called Jesus. Great was the excitement among the crowd and the politarchs when they heard this; but after binding Jason and the others over to keep the peace, they released them. Paul Then the brothers at once sent off Paul and Silas at suasat night to Beroea. And they, on arriving there, went to the J™ a Jewish synagogue. The people there were more noble than at Thessalonica, for they very readily received the word and daily studied the scriptures to see if it really was as Paul said. As a result many of them believed, together with a large number of prominent Greeks, both men and women. Pauls But as soon as the Jews of Thessalonica heard that the neTto word of God was being proclaimed at Beroea as well, they Athens came to create a disturbance there and a riot among the crowd at Beroea. Then the brothers at once sent Paul down to the sea coast, while Silas and Timothy remained there. Those who accompanied Paul brought him as far as Athens and left with orders that Silas and Timothy were to come to him as soon as possible. I. Paul's Quest of a New Mission Field. The narrative of Acts 16 6 " 8 is exceedingly condensed and leaves us in uncertainty re- garding many questions. The inference is that Paul, all the way from Iconium until he finally found himself at Troas, was seeking vainly 112 PAUL'S QUEST OF A NEW FIELD for a suitable field for missionary activity. The phrases "forbidden by the Holy Spirit" and "the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them" are already familiar to the reader of the book of Acts. In Acts 21 4 it is stated that the disciples "told Paul by the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem." This statement apparently points to a prophetic utterance under the influence of ecstasy, and the same psychological phenomena probably lie back of the statements in Acts 16. Accord- ing to Acts 15 32 , Silas, Paul's companion, already had a reputation as a prophet. It is possible that he was the spokesman of the Spirit on these occasions. The analogy of Galatians 2 2 points, however, to a decision in Paul's own mind made under the influence of a careful consideration of the facts involved. This was apparently the way in which he made most of the important decisions of his life. Facts and truths, which were more or less central in his thought, were sud- denly and, as it seemed to him, miraculously crystallized into an abso- lute conviction which he regarded as divinely inspired and which he henceforth followed unfalteringly. Even though the narrative of Acts at this point is meagre, it is possible to conjecture what were the underlying reasons which led Paul to turn aside from the Roman province of Asia and its chief city Ephesus, which evidently from the first had been the objective of his second missionary campaign. It is probable that already a small Christian community was found at Ephesus and therefore to go there was to break one of Paul's funda- mental rules, namely, not to "build on another man's foundation" (Rom. 15 20 ). It was also the seat of an exceedingly popular and strongly intrenched heathen cult. When Paul ultimately visited it, it proved a very difficult field. The province of Bithynia, from which he was also turned aside, was situated in the northwestern corner of Asia Minor. Pliny the Younger in his famous letter to Trajan, written near the beginning of the second Christian century, indicates that Christianity at a very early period had gained a strong foothold in this province. It is not at all improbable that when Paul drew near to Bithynia he learned that already other Christian missionaries had anticipated him. From a topographical point of view it was also a difficult field to traverse, and it is probable that the effects of the ill- ness, to which Paul refers in his letters, still deterred him from doing what his indomitable spirit longed to accomplish. Thus hemmed in on every side, he at last found himself at the end of the great Roman highway which led from Syria to Europe. Troas was the door that led across the iEgean to Europe and to Rome itself, the ultimate goal 113 PAUL'S WORK IN MACEDONIA of Paul's ambition. Should he abandon his well-established policy of pressing on from province to province, leaving no important strategic centres behind him, and follow instead the great Roman highway across the sea? Would he succeed, if he left behind him the more distinctly Jewish background and entered the very different Greek world? II. Paul's Vision at Troas. It is significant that at this point in Acts the history is written in the first person. This personal testi- mony continues until Paul reaches Philippi and again appears when he comes back to Philippi on his way to Jerusalem and ultimately to Rome. The most natural explanation of these facts is that Luke lived at Philippi, and that either by chance or previous arrangement he first met Paul at Troas. Ramsay's suggestion that the prototype of the man of Macedonia, who figures in Paul's vision, was Luke himself has much to commend it. The words which came to Paul in his vision from the lips of the man in Macedonia, "Come over into Macedonia and help us," suggest strongly that the one who uttered them was already a follower of Jesus and eager to secure the co-operation of the great apostle to the Gentiles. The fact that Paul went directly to Philippi and began there rather than at Thessalonica his mission to the Macedonians strongly indicates that the words of Luke lay in the background of Paul's consciousness when he had his epoch-making vision. Such incidents, as well as the vision itself, were in perfect harmony with similar experiences in Paul's life. Even as the young patriot Isaiah, laboring under a sense of personal responsibility, sud- denly beheld a vision of Jehovah in his temple and was thereby conse- crated and committed to his life-work, so Paul in one significant mo- ment left behind all uncertainty and recognized that he was divinely committed to the evangelization of Macedonia. III. Paul's Work in Philippi. Paul on landing on the northern shore of the ^Egean passed through the seaport of Neapolis and pressed nine miles northward to Philippi, not the metropolis of Macedonia as the author of Acts states, but the chief city on the southern end of a great plain. This was bounded on the east by a river which lost it- self in a huge marsh to the south of the city. Here in 42 B.C. Octavian and Anthony fought their great decisive battle against Brutus and Cassius. Here the ideal of a republic fell before that of an empire. Octavian in his gratitude for the victory made Philippi a Roman colony and gave it a thoroughly Roman form of government. Here Paul found a small Jewish community, too small to support a syna- 114 PAUL'S WORK IN PHILIPPI gogue but accustomed on the Jewish Sabbath to meet for worship by the riverside. In this group Paul found Greek proselytes as well as Jews. Chief among them was a certain Lydia from the Lydian city of Thyatira. She was evidently a woman of great ability and pos- sessed of considerable wealth, for she appears to have had a bazaar, as well as a home in Philippi. To her Paul's preaching appealed so strongly that she offered her home as a centre for his work. There he apparently remained for some months. Certain details in Paul's experience at Philippi stand out clearly and are obviously based on the extracts from the journal of travel. The story of the slave girl, "who had a spirit of ventriloquism," gives a vivid impression of the religious and social environment amid which Paul worked. Evidently the girl possessed a keen mind, like many of the slaves to be found during that period throughout the broad bounds of the Roman Empire, for her success in predicting the future of those who appealed to her for a divine response was clearly due to her power of insight and inventive genius. Her attitude toward Paul and his fellow workers indicates that she appreciated the truth of their teaching and that she was apparently eager to help them. Her words and deeds, as reported, are a public confession of faith in their teaching. Paul, however, was evidently annoyed by the fact that that confession seemed to come through the medium of heathen divination. His words to her were therefore of the nature both of a command and of a rebuke. They produced the desired result. Evi- dently she had hitherto believed in her miraculous powers; but now Paul's words through suggestion had acted as an inhibition. There- fore she could not go on as formerly. Her silence is possibly an index that she accepted the apostle's teaching. That Paul believed that she was possessed of an unclean spirit cannot be doubted in the light of his assertion in I Corinthians 10 20 . The terms in which he addressed her recall Jesus' rebuke to the man possessed of an unclean spirit in the synagogue at Capernaum (Mark 2 25 ). Furthermore, that Paul believed that he had performed a miracle cannot be doubted, for he plainly asserts his conviction that he possessed this power in II Co- rinthians 12 12 . The slave girl's masters, in their mad frenzy, at first succeeded in playing on the prejudices of the Roman rulers of Philippi. Hatred of everything Jewish was then common throughout the Roman Empire, and Philippi was especially jealous of its Roman citizenship. Paul's personal appearance may have also aroused this race antago- nism. Soon the city mob was seized with the same fanatical frenzy. 115 PAUL'S WORK IN MACEDONIA In these circumstances it was futile for Paul to urge in defense his Roman citizenship. Without waiting for the formality of a judicial trial, the praetors gave the cruel command to flog him and his associ- ates. While Paul does not refer to this experience in his later letter to the Philippians, he does declare in II Corinthians ll 25 that he was "thrice beaten with rods," indicating that on two other occasions his Roman citizenship was not sufficient to deliver him from this horrible indignity. It is possible that the account of the imprisonment of Paul and Silas has been influenced by the late tradition of Peter's imprisonment found in Acts 5 17 " 42 . The present narrative, however, does not claim that the disciples were supernaturally liberated but simply states that a violent earthquake shook the very foundations of the prison, loosening the bars from the prison doors and the chains which bound the prisoners. In view of the insecure construction of prisons in this part of the world even to-day the phenomena described are not without analogies. Paul's action in this crisis is characteristic. As later, when ship- wrecked, the prisoner suddenly becomes the master of the situation. Out of sheer admiration and gratitude the jailer, who doubtless had previously heard Paul's preaching and been impressed by his personality, voiced spontaneously the need and the belief that was already ger- minating within him. Paul throughout all his ministry revealed a marvellous adaptability to every change of circumstance. Dramatic indeed is the picture of his preaching in the darkness of the earth- quake-shaken prison to the frightened jailer and his prisoners. Pos- sibly the earthquake was effectual in restoring the judicial prudence of the Roman praetors, for at dawn they sent the command to loose the prisoners whom they had so unjustly treated. Thus it is that Paul was able to gain a hearing for his assertion that he and Silas were Roman citizens, with the result that the Philippian judges came in person to beg their prisoners to leave the town and that they were thankful thus to escape the consequences of their rash action. Paul left behind him at Philippi a small but exceedingly devoted band of Christians that during the rest of his life was an unceasing source of joy to him. Their personal devotion to him was most marked. At least twice they sent funds for the support of his work at Thes- salonica (Phil. 4 16 ); again at Corinth he was cheered by their gifts (II Cor. II 10 ); and the one supreme love-letter that comes down to us from his lips was prompted by a similar evidence of their affection when he was a prisoner, facing death at Rome (Phil. 4 10 « 18 ). 116 FOUNDING THE CHURCH AT THESSALONICA IV. The Founding of the Church at Thessalonica. Paul left Philippi, not as a fugitive, but at the request of the magistrates. His plan of campaign is again illustrated by the fact that he passed by the smaller cities of Amphipolis and Apollonia and went directly to Thessalonica, the metropolis of Macedonia. It was majestically situated at the head of the Theramic Gulf in a great natural ampi- theatre and looked southeastward toward the iEgean Sea. Here the Egnatian Way met the highways of commerce that radiated from the northern iEgean through the rich plains to the north. Commercially and strategically it resembled Corinth in many ways. It was a free Greek city, ruled by politarchs and proud of its independence and prestige. The opportunities of trade had attracted here a strong Jew- ish colony. The Jewish faith had also won many Greek proselytes. As usual, the author of Acts emphasizes Paul's public preaching, especially in the Jewish synagogue. Fortunately in Paul's letters to the Christians of Thessalonica he has given vivid pictures of his work and experiences there. He found living in this great commercial city expensive. Night and day he worked at his trade of tent-making, while he told his fellow workmen about Jesus (I Thess. 2 9 ). The ma- jority of the converts were from the poorer classes (II Cor. 8 2 ). Most of them were Greeks, for he states that his chief task was to turn them from idols to the service of the living and real God and to prepare them for the coming of his son Jesus, who would deliver them from the wrath that threatened (I Thess. I 9, 10 ). The idea of the parousia or coming of Antiochus or of Augustus or of a god was familiar to the devout Greeks, as we now know from many contemporary inscrip- tions. Eagerly they entered into the expectation of a speedy coming of the divine king whom Paul proclaimed. Indeed, as the event proved, they were too eager, for their expectations in time affected unfavorably their ordinary activity (II Thess. 2). Paul's teaching regarding the coming of Jesus was apparently also the basis of the charge which the Jews preferred against him and Silas. While Paul does not directly refer to it in his letters, this is probably the reason for his reference to the Jews as those "who offend God and oppose all men by hindering us from speaking words of sal- vation to the Gentiles" (I Thess. 2 16 ). Here, as at Philippi, Paul's assailants did not trust to a fair judicial trial but aroused the mob to support their indefinite charge. Warned by previous experience, Paul and Silas had found refuge in concealment. Jason, at whose house they had been received, and certain others of the Christian converts 117 PAUL'S WORK IN MACEDONIA resident at Thessalonica were dragged before the politarchs on the hysterical charge of having entertained "these upsetters of the whole world" who were treasonably proclaiming that not Augustus but Jesus was king. The charge is an echo of that which was brought by the Jewish high priests against Jesus himself. Although the rulers of Thessalonica were especially sensitive to a charge of this kind, they evidently recognized its absurdity and simply put Jason and his as- sociates under bond to keep the peace. The incident, however, marked the end of the personal work of Paul and Silas at Thessalonica. Even though their sojourn there had been limited to a few months, Paul emphatically declared: "Our visit to you was no failure" (I Thess. 2 1 ). The foundations were laid for a strong, democratic, loyal Christian church, which was one of the crowns of his missionary activity. V. Paul's Work at Bercea. The public attack upon Paul and Silas led the Christian brothers to send them off by night to Bercea, fifty miles southwest of Thessalonica. This secluded Greek town was on the western side of a fertile plain that extended eastward to the iEgean Sea. It was flanked on the west by Mount Bermius, from whence came cool, flowing streams to water the groves and fields that encircled it. It proved a quiet haven of refuge for the apostles. While Paul would naturally have chosen a more important centre, he again illustrated his zeal and marvellous adaptability. In a short time he gathered about him an earnest band of Christian believers. The narrative of Acts states that he found here a better class of Jews than at the great commercial city of Thessalonica. It also states that his method was not so much that of public preaching as teaching. Here, as at Philippi and Thessalonica, he was doubtless working out with his fellow converts the doctrines that he later incorporates in his letters to the Corinthians and Romans. The majority of the Christian con- verts at Bercea were evidently Greeks, and numbered many prominent men and women. This is implied by the narrative of Acts and con- firmed by the fact that Sopater, the son of Pyrrhus, clearly a Greek, was the representative of this church, who later accompanied Paul to Jerusalem (Acts 20 4 ). VI. The Results of Paul's Work in Macedonia. The chrono- logical data in Acts are at this point indefinite, but it is probable that Paul's missionary campaign in Macedonia did not extend over more than a year. It represented days and weeks of intense physical and religious work. Much of it was done in the face of strong opposition; but on the whole it was for him a period of great joy and exaltation. 118 THE RESULT OF PAUL'S WORK Here at last he demonstrated beyond all question the adaptability of the Gospel of and about Jesus to the purely Greek world. He must also have been profoundly impressed at this time by the readiness of the Gentiles for that new religion. Christianity was no longer the faith of a little Palestinian sect, but was rapidly becoming a universal world religion. At this time Paul also succeeded in planting the leaven of Christianity in two of the most important cities of southern Europe, which lay on the main highway that led directly to Rome. The Jewish element in these Macedonian churches appears to have been insignificant. Jason (the Greek form of Joshua and Jesus) of Thes- salonica is the only distinctively Jewish name that appears in the record. Otherwise the relatively long list of converts mentioned in Acts and in Paul's letters all bear unmistakably Greek names. Dur- ing his work in Macedonia Paul succeeded in establishing especially strong personal relations with the individual converts. As he faced new and more difficult fields, their love and warm friendship, as well as help, were his constant inspiration. During this period also he was training an efficient body of assistants. With the exception of Timothy they appear to have all been enlisted from this new field. We know the names of at least four who were native Macedonians: Sopater, Aristarchus, Secundus, and Gaius (Acts 19 29 , 20 4 ). To this list should perhaps be added the name of Luke. In Paul's later letter to the Philippians he mentions two women and three other men who were his active co-workers. In Macedonia Paul also realized in fullest measure his purpose to make each new Christian community the basis for the extension of the Gospel to other centres. Apparently in no other field did he succeed so well in implanting his intense missionary spirit. Until the very end of his life gifts to the "saints" in Jerusalem and to Paul himself were sent forth by the poor Christians of Mace- donia whom he had helped so effectually. § CLV. PAUL'S LETTERS TO THE CHRISTIANS AT THESSALONICA Paul, Silas and Timothy to the Church of the Thes- saiu- salonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: (f tion grace and peace to you. Thess. We always thank God for you all when we make men- tion of you in our prayers. We never fail to remember your works of faith and labor of love and steadfast hope 119 PAUL'S LETTERS TO THE THESSALONIANS Pauls in our Lord, Jesus Christ, before our God and Father. fJJie" O brothers, beloved by God, we know that he hath chosen fideilf y° u# ^ or our S 0S P e l came to you not with mere words but of the 7 with power and with the Holy Spirit and with great con- ■JSg!" viction. For you know what sort of men we were among SJf vou * or vour sa ^ es ' And y° u are imitators of the examples set by us and by the Lord, receiving the word amidst great affliction, with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit. Thus you became a pattern to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia; for the word of God has resounded from you not only through Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has reached every place, so that we have no need to speak about it. People tell us of their own accord how we were received by you and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and real God and to await the coming of his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who rescues us from the wrath to come. The For you yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you g^L 1 * was not a failure. But, as you know, although at Philippi con- we had been ill-treated and outraged, we took courage in our oFtne God to tell you the gospel of God under great strain. For SeS 8 " our a PP ea l does not spring from any delusion, nor from an (2i-i2) unclean motive, nor is there any fraud in it. Rather we have been tested by God that we may be intrusted with the gospel. Therefore, we speak not to please men, but God who tests our hearts; for as you well know we have never resorted to flattery nor to any pretext for self seeking. God is witness; we never sought honor from men, from you, nor from any others, though as apostles of Christ we might have claimed authority. On the contrary, while we were among you we were as gentle as a mother, nursing her own children. Since we were thus drawn to you by affec- tion, we would gladly have imparted to you not only the gos- pel of God, but have given our very lives also, for you have become very dear to us. Brothers, you remember our hard labor and toil, how we worked at our trade night and day so as not to become a burden to any of you, while we preached the gospel of God to you. You are witnesses and so is God how pious and upright and blameless we acted toward each one of you, even as a father toward his own chil- 120 THE SPIRIT AND CONDUCT OF THE APOSTLES dren, beseeching you, encouraging you, and charging you to live lives worthy of the God who calleth you to share his own kingdom in glory. And for this we also thank God unceasingly, that when The you received God's message from us, you embraced it, not |£?of as a human word, but for what it really is, the word of God, J*e which also works in the hearts of you who believe. For saio- you, brothers, have followed the examples of the churches {JJf^ of God in Christ Jesus which are in Judea in that you have p«g»^ suffered from your fellow countrymen just as those churches p»-«) have suffered from the Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets. Your countrymen now persecute us and are not pleasing God, but oppose all men by preventing us from preaching to the Gentiles that they may be saved. Thus they continually fill up the measure of their own sins; but the wrath has come upon them at last ! Brothers, when we were separated from you for a little Paul's time (out of sight, not out of mind!), we were the more in- l °J^- tently eager to see you, for we did want to come to you — I tu y° u are still worldly. For with jealousy and quarrel- the° ns * n S in your midst, are you not worldly? Are you not act- corin- ing like ordinary men? For whenever any one says, *I Is*™ belong to Paul' and 'I to Apollos,' are you not like ordinary men? Who then is Apollos? Who is Paul? They are simply servants through whom, as to each the Lord gave power, you learned to believe. I planted and Apollos watered, but God made the seed grow. So neither the planter nor the waterer is important, but God who maketh the seed grow. Be- # We are fellow workers with God. You are God's field, bmfy i_ God's building. According to the grace of God which was teacher £* ven me as ^ e w * se master-builder, I laid the foundation; (•-») but another builds on this foundation. Let each be careful how he builds, for no one can lay any other foundation than that which is laid, namely, Jesus Christ. Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells within you? If anyone destroys God's tem- 144 OBLIGATIONS OF THE CORINTHIANS pie, God will destroy that one, for God's temple is sacred, obiiga- and that is what you are. Therefore, let no one boast Jj^e about men. For all things are yours : Paul, Apollos, Cephas, gorta- the world, life, death, the present, and the future — all are (».». yours and you are Christ's and Christ is God's. You are satisfied already, are you? You are rich al- Pauls ready! You reign without us! Would, indeed, that we febS might reign with you! For I think God hath set forth us ©raw apostles last of all, as men doomed to death ! We are made twans as spectacles to the world, to angels, and to men. For (4813) Christ's sake we are fools, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we hunger and thirst, we are scantily clad and knocked about. We are homeless. Wearily we toil with our own hands. When reviled, we bless. When persecuted, we put up with it. When slandered, we try to conciliate. We have come to be re- garded as the scum of the earth, the refuse of the uni- verse, even until now. I am not writing this to make you ashamed, but to counsel His you as my beloved children. For if you had ten thousand gJde" instructors in Christ, you could not have many fathers. I, g£ m it was, who in Christ Jesus became your father by means ("■«) of the gospel. I beg of you, therefore, imitate me. To this end, I am sending you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord. He will remind you of my methods in Christ Jesus by which I teach everywhere, in every church. Some of you have been puffed up, as if I were not coming to you. Indeed, I will come to you quickly, if the Lord willeth, and then I will learn from those who are puffed up, not what they say, but what power they have. For the Kingdom of God is not a thing of words but of power. What do you wish? Shall I come to you with the rod, or with a loving and gentle spirit? It is actually reported that there is immorality among His you, immorality such as is not even practised among the JgS^a. Gentiles — that a man has taken his father's wife ! And yet gon of you are puffed up! You should rather mourn, in order gXnt that the perpetrator of such a crime might be expelled from SSg*" your midst. I, indeed, though absent in the body, but (S 1 -**) 145 PAUL'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE CORINTHIANS present in spirit,*have already come to a decision as though present, namely, that by the power of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is with you, that individual be delivered over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh in order that his spirit may •be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus. The I wrote you in my letter that you were not to associate Snt" with the immoral, not that in this world you are to keep those entirely aloof from the immoral or the avaricious or the who thievish or from idolaters, since in that case you would have liber- 6 " to leave the world altogether. What I now write is, that ateiy vou qjq no t t associate with any so-called brother who is moral immoral or avaricious or idolatrous or given to abusive (913) language or hard drinking or robbery. With such you ought not even to eat. For what business have I to judge out- siders ? Is it not for you to judge those who are within the church? God will judge outsiders. Remove the wicked from among you. The If Christ is preached as having risen from the dead, how ?afiing is it that some of you say that there is no resurrection of reSii- ^ e dead. E there is no resurrection of the dead, then ingthe Christ did not rise; and if Christ did not rise, then our rection preaching has been in vain and your faith also is vain. We dead 6 a ^ so are detected bearing false witness about God, because (i5i2-i») we have testified concerning God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise, if after all the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, Christ did not rise ; and if Christ did not rise, your faith is futile ; you are still in your sins. Furthermore, those who sleep in Christ have perished. If we have only a hope of Christ in this life, we are, of all men, the most to be pitied. Christ's But Christ in reality did rise from the dead. He was rectfon tne ^ st to De gathered of those who sleep ; for since death t^e came through man, by man also came the resurrection of forsSF the dead. Just as all die in Adam, so shall all be made (2 o-28) ^ ve - m (3]^^. But each in his own order ; Christ, the first to be gathered, then all who belong to Christ at his arrival. Then comes the end, when he is to surrender the kingship to God, the Father, when he has put down all other author- ity, rule and power, for he must reign until he has placed 146 CHRIST'S RESURRECTION all of his foes under his feet. Death is the last enemy to be overthrown, for God hath put everything under his feet. When it is said that everything has been put under him, it plainly excludes him who putteth everything under him. And when all things are put under him, then, the son him- self will be put under him who subjected everything to him, that God may be all in all. But some one will say, how can the dead rise? With The what kind of body do they come back? Foolish man! SfS? What you yourself sow does not come to life unless it dies ; J^fj n and what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a mere ( 35 38 «- grain of wheat it may be, or some other seed. God giveth **' 49) it a body as he pleaseth, even to each kind of seed a body of its own. So it is with the resurrection of the dead: it is sown corruptible, it rises incorruptible; it is sown in- glorious, it rises in glory; it is sown in weakness, it rises in power; it is sown an animate body, it rises a spiritual body. Thus, as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so we are to bear the likeness of the heavenly man. This I tell you, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit The the Kingdom of God, nor can the corruptible inherit incor- ™er 0ry ruption. Behold I tell you a mystery: we shall not all ^^i h sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the Christ twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet call. For the trum- (6068) pet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruption and this mortal body clothed with immortality. But when this corruptible body has been clothed with incorruption, and this mortal body clothed with immortality, then the words of the scripture will be ful- filled: Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting? Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, immovable, excel at all times in the work of the Lord, knowing that your work in the Lord is never in vain j 147 PAUL'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE CORINTHIANS The With regard to the collection for the saints, you must do SSftor just as I directed the churches in Galatia. On the first *^r in ^ a y °* ^ e wee ^> * et eacn °* y° u P ut as ide whatever gain jml- m has been granted him, so that the money will not have to (i 1 ^?) be collected when I come. When I am with you I will send credentials to those whom you select, to bear your gracious gift to Jerusalem and, if it is worth while for me to go too, they will accompany me. Pauls I shall come to you after I go through Macedonia, for I puSEs 6 am going to pass through Macedonia. Perhaps I will spend jF 10 * some time with you, or even pass the winter, that you may speed me forward, wherever I am going. I do not wish to see you now merely in passing, for my hope is to stay some time among you if the Lord doth permit. If Timothy arrives, see that he is quite at home among you, for he is engaged in the Lord's work, even as I am. Therefore, let no one slight him, but send him on his way in peace in order that he may come to me, for I am awaiting him along with the other brothers. As for our brother, Apollos, I begged him most earnestly to go to you with the brothers, but it was not at all his wish that he should come now. He will come, however, when he has a good opportunity. SSdlng Watch, stand firm in the faith, be men, be strong! Let exhor- all that you do be done in love. tation (13, 14) Paul's *» Paul, myself, entreat you by the gentleness and con- dt s sideration of Christ — the Paul 'who is humble enough to £?hfs your face, when he is with you, but outspoken enough when letter ^e * S awaV ^ rom y 0U * * ^ e & °* y° U ^ at wnen I <*0 Come (1i er that you will not compel me to make a bold display of my fo£) confidence with which I am determined to show my courage toward certain people who consider that we act in accor- dance with worldly principles. For though we still live in the world, we do not fight with worldly weapons. The weapons of our warfare are not worldly weapons, but di- vinely strong to overthrow fortresses, overthrowing theories and every stronghold raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every project, to make it subject to Christ. We are ready to pass judgment upon every act of disobedience, when once your submission is complete. 148 PLEADING FOR THE LOYALTY OF THE CORINTHIANS I wish you could have put up with a little foolishness His on my part. Do bear with me, for I feel jealous for you, g}| a f o~ r even as God is jealous. I betrothed you as a chaste f he alt maiden, to present you to your one husband, Christ; but I of y the y am afraid that, even as the serpent with its craftiness be- SSms" guiled Eve, so your thoughts are being seduced from a d 11 -*) single devotion to Christ, for you bear it well when some one comes proclaiming another Jesus whom we have not proclaimed, or when you receive another Spirit than that which you have received, or a different gospel from that which you have already welcomed ! For I consider myself not in the slightest inferior to the most eminent apostles! In speech, I may be defective, but not in knowledge. We have in every way made that fully evident to you. Here I am ready to visit you for the third time ; and I will Plan not burden you, for I desire not your money, but you your- $si t selves; for children are not under obligations to store up gar- money for their parents, but parents for their children. I Tw. will gladly spend all I have and be utterly spent for your u) souls. Am I to be loved the less because I love you so in- tensely? I forewarned you and now warn you in advance, as I did The on my second visit when present and do now when absent, °,f h£ fc both you who sinned before and all the rest, that if I come yj^J back again, I will spare no one, since you seek proof that Christ speaks through me — he who is not weak toward you but powerful in you. For though he was crucified in weak- ness, he lives by the power of God. For though we are weak as he was weak, yet with him we shall be alive toward you by the power of God. Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves. Do you not know that Jesus Christ is in you or else you are failures? For this reason I am writing these things to you while absent, that when I do come I may not have to deal severely with you by the authority which the Lord hath given me, for the pur- pose of building you up and not of pulling you down. saluta- tion in Paul's Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and fourth brother Timothy to the Church of God at Corinth as well as di to all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia: Grace and f^ 149 PAUL'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE CORINTHIANS peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. iiianks- Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ffi?* the Father of tender mercies and the God who comforteth us in all our affliction, so that we are able to comfort those who are in any affliction, by the comfort with which we our- selves are comforted by God. Pauls I call God to witness against my soul that it was to spare ences you that I did not revisit Corinth. I decided I would not fornix come to you again to bring you pain, for if I pain you, who visit is there then to give me joy except the very people I am (23,2X " 4) paining? And I write this to you in order that when I come, I may not receive pain from those who ought to give me joy, being assured regarding all of you that my joy is a source of joy to you all. For I wrote you in great affliction and misery of heart, with many a tear, not to give you pain, but in order that you might know how my heart is overflow- ing with love for you. For- If a certain individual has caused pain, he has caused it S2T not only to me, but in some degree (that I may not exagger- S)i? e ate) to all of you. The censure from the majority is suf- tent ficient for that individual, so that, on the contrary, you fJnder should rather now forgive and comfort him, lest he be over- ( 6 - 1 *) whelmed by excessive grief. Therefore, I beg of you to reinstate him in your love. For I wrote you with the aim that I might know your mind, whether you were absolutely obedient. If you forgive the man, I will forgive him also. Appeal O Corinthians, our mouth is unsealed to you! Our conn- heart is wide open for you! There is no restraint in our f££™. love ; yet you restrained your feelings for us; but let it be a 7«) fair exchange. I speak as to my children, Open wide your hearts to us. Make room for us. We have wronged no one, ruined no one, taken no selfish advantage of anyone. I speak, not in order to condemn you, for I said before that you are our very heart, whether we die with you or live with you. I have great confidence in you; great is my boasting over you. I am filled with comfort. I am overflowing with delight amidst all our affliction. Now, brothers, we would have you know the grace of 150 GENEROSITY OF THE MACEDONIANS God, which has been given to the churches of Macedonia, The how while passing through a most trying ordeal, their gJJ^"" boundless joy and their deep poverty have overflowed in a of the flood of generous liberality. I can testify, that according doS?" to their means, and even beyond their means, they have ^ 6> given freely; with much entreaty, they begged us for the • 1S ) favor of sharing in the service in behalf of the saints. They have also done more than we hoped, for first of all they gave themselves to the Lord and to us in accordance with the will of God. This led us to urge Titus, inasmuch as he had been the one who had commenced the work, also to complete this work of beneficence among you. Indeed it is superfluous for me to write to you about this service to the saints. For I know your willingness, on account of which I boasted about you to the Macedonians, saying that Achaia was ready last year. And your zeal has spurred on the majority of them. He who furnisheth the seed for the sower and bread to The eat will supply you with seed and multiply it and will increase ^niii the fruits of your charity. You will be enriched in every «g}jy way, so as to show all liberality which through us makes men give thanks to God. For the service rendered by this sacred gift, not only supplies the wants of the saints, but in addition causes many a cry of thanksgiving to God. By the practical proof of this service you cause God to be praised for the fidelity of your allegiance to the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all. They also with supplication in your behalf are bound to you in love because of the surpassing grace which God has bestowed on you. Thanks be to God for his un- speakable gift! I. Conditions in the Church at Corinth That Called Forth Paul's Letters. At least a year had elapsed since Paul had con- cluded his initial work at Corinth. From I Corinthians 16 l we learn that meantime he had made a visit to the Galatian churches; already a strenuous period of work at Ephesus lay behind him. Apollos, the brilliant Alexandrian disciple of John the Baptist and later a convert to Christianity, had labored for a time at Ephesus, together with Aquila and Priscilla, and then had gone on to Corinth to take Paul's place. 151 PAUL'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE CORINTHIANS When I Corinthians was written he had returned to Paul at Ephesus. Notwithstanding his Greek name, Apollos was clearly a Jew by birth, learned in the scriptures of his race, and a gifted orator. Alexandria, Tarsus, Ephesus, and Rome were the chief centres at this period in which the culture and learning of the East and West mingled and found prominent public expression. The Jewish community at Alexandria was still dominated by the personality and teachings of the famous Jewish scholar Philo, many of whose disciples survived. Here Apollos would be trained equally in Greek and Jewish thought and in the allegorical method of interpretation which the Jews had learned from the Greeks. To the Greek Christians of Corinth Apollos evidently appealed very strongly. His eloquence, his learning, and his methods of interpre- tation fascinated them and suggested to these rather ignorant, un- cultured members of the Christian community invidious comparisons with Paul the humble tent-maker. Even though Apollos and Paul were in heartiest accord and recognized no rivalry, as is clearly shown by the fact that Paul urged Apollos later to return to Corinth (I Cor. 16 12 ), a factious spirit broke out in the ranks of the Greek Christians at the commercial metropolis of Achaia. News of this reached Paul and was one of the chief themes in his Corinthian correspondence. The Christians of Corinth were also especially exposed and susceptible to the social immorality which characterized the life of that ancient maritime city. The case of incest was tolerated even within the church itself and the prevailing standard of morality was low. Ques- tions of church discipline and of individual responsibility also agitated the members of the Christian community. To Greeks trained to accept Plato's doctrine of spiritual immortality, the Jewish belief in bodily resurrection and of a final judgment day, in which the righteous should rise to share in the messianic kingdom with those still living, presented great difficulties. These were the major problems which are the occasion of the voluminous correspondence between Paul and the church which he first planted in Achaia. Apparently he received two letters from them and himself sent four to them. Twice he visited them. Twice he was informed of conditions there by Christian trav- ellers from Corinth and twice he appears to have despatched Timothy to them with direct messages. This correspondence represents a period of intense activity and apprehension on the part of Paul and at the same time reveals with remarkable clarity his spirit and teachings. II. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthian Christians. In I Corinthians 5 9 Paul writes: "In -my letter I wrote you that you are 152 PAUL'S FIRST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS not to associate with those who are immoral." From this reference it is clear that our present epistle known as I Corinthians is not the first in Paul's correspondence with the Corinthians. In the heart of the second epistle to the Corinthians is a section (6 14 -? 1 ) which is evidently alien to its present context and begins: "Avoid all unnatural ties with unbelievers. What have righteousness and iniquity in com- mon or how can light associate with darkness?" Through six verses he emphasizes the importance of Christians not associating with those who are immoral. It is exceedingly probable that this is a fragment of the missing first letter to which Paul refers. It and the evils of which it speaks probably led three of the Corinthian Christians, Stephanus, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, of whom Paul speaks in I Corinthians 16 17 , to visit him in Ephesus and to lay before him the concrete problems which he discusses at length in his second letter, now found in I Co- rinthians. III. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians. First Corin- thians is the longest and in many ways the most beautiful letter which Paul has bequeathed to us. Here is pre-eminently revealed the pastor dealing with the definite question which his Corinthian converts had propounded to him in person and with the unfortunate conditions which had arisen in Corinth during his absence and which had been brought to his attention by the members of the household of a certain Christian woman by the name of Chloe. His broad aim is to teach the Corinthian Christians how they, in their individual and communal life, may realize the ideal of Jesus. The structure of the letter is clearly defined. The first nine verses contain his formal greeting and the rather measured note of thanksgiving in which he refers to the virtues of those to whom he was writing. Chapters l 10 -4 21 contain a kindly but sharp rebuke of the factious tendencies of the Corinthians. Here Paul's breadth is strikingly illustrated. The individual leaders and their early doctrines are unimportant; loyalty to Christ and his cross are alone essential. Here he contrasts the Greek philosophies and sophistries, which certain of the Gentile Christians of Corinth are inclined to esteem most highly, with the simple spiritual message of the Gospel which he had proclaimed. Argu- ment, gentle irony, and personal appeal are here united in Paul's char- acteristic way. In 5-7 he deals with the lax moral conditions that prevailed in the Corinthian church and more concretely with the special case of incest which had been reported to him. Here and in the succeeding chapters Paul's fundamental principles of living are 153 PAUL'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE CORINTHIANS dramatically set forth. In 8 1 — ll 1 he defines the proper Christian attitude toward idol sacrifices and feasts. In 11 2 -14 40 he discusses questions of public worship and the relative values of the different types of religious activity then prevalent in the church. Chapter 15 takes up the question of personal immortality, and 16 contains Paul's con- cluding instructions, salutations, and benediction. Paul throughout these burning chapters aims to lead his Corinthian converts to look beyond parties and teachers and doctrines to the vital spiritual life within the individual, which is the essence of Christianity and of all true religion. IV. PauPs Third Letter to the Corinthians. Students have long noted the dramatic and fundamental contrast in spirit, content, and literary style between the first nine chapters of II Corinthians and the concluding four chapters. The spirit in the first part of the epistle is that of thanksgiving and commendation; in the second part Paul sometimes ironically, sometimes appealingly, expresses his sur- prise and bitter disappointment at the attitude of those to whom he is writing. The glaring inconsistencies of the epistle disappear when we recognize that 10-13 probably contain a part of Paul's third letter to the Corinthians which has been appended, by a later editor or as the result of displacement, to the fourth and final letter now found in 1-9. In his second letter Paul speaks of Timothy's impending visit and urges the Corinthians to receive him with open mind. The apos- tle also expresses the hope that he himself may visit them soon. It is evident from II Corinthians 10-13 that Timothy did visit them but met with a most unfavorable reception, for Paul's kindly but strong rebuke of their party strife and lax morality had aroused their resent- ment. When the news of this reached Paul, he had apparently gone to Corinth, only to meet with rebuff. It was undoubtedly one of the most tragic moments in his life. He could endure patiently and even joyously the perils of land and sea, but the disloyalty of the Corin- thian church cut him to the heart. Evidently certain Judaizers, pos- sibly the same who had dogged his footsteps in Galatia, had reached Corinth and had poisoned the minds of the Corinthian Christians, already smarting imder Paul's just rebukes. For the moment they were inclined to distrust him and to attribute to him mercenary mo- tives. One of the bolder wrong-doers had openly insulted him, and the better-minded members of the church had failed to rebuke the of- fender. Paul evidently left Corinth baffled and heart-sick. As has been truly said, when he wrote his third letter to the Corinthians: 154 PAUL'S THIRD LETTER "He was fighting with his back to the wall." Its labored style speaks plainly of the deep emotion that almost overmastered him as he wrote. Hesitatingly and yet under the compulsion of a great necessity, he casts aside his modesty and boldly asserts his apostolic authority. But gradually, as he writes, his indignation abates and the irony with which he opens passes into open appeal and a tender expression of the fatherly love which he felt, even toward the disloyal Corinthians. V. Paul's Fourth Letter to the Corinthians. The letter con- tained in II Corinthians 1-9 is so full of personal detail that its date and setting can be determined with great assurance. After writing his third letter to the Corinthians, Paul had evidently sent Titus to note its effect upon them and to report to him. With keenest ap- prehension he awaited this report. When Titus's return was delayed, Paul went to Troas and then on to Macedonia, where at last he found him. Titus's report removed from Paul's shoulders the heavy burden which had so oppressed him. From II Corinthians 1-9 it is possible to reconstruct that report. Paul's third letter had evidently aroused the troubled consciences of the Corinthians and their old loyalty to him asserted itself. Inspired by the good news, Paul wrote in hot haste this fourth letter to the Corinthians. It opens with greetings in l 1, 2 . The first main section (l 3 -2 17 ) is an explanation of his personal plans and an expression of his joy over the loyal action of the Co- rinthians. Chapters 3 x -4 6 are a defense of his teaching, while 4 7 -5 10 contain the pathetic justification of his own physical weakness and of the great misfortunes which had overtaken him and which in the eyes of the ignorant were still regarded as evidences of divine disfavor. Chapters 5 n -6 10 contain a defense of his methods of work. In 6 11 " 13 , 7 2-16 is found a joyous song of thanksgiving, prompted by the love and loyalty of the Corinthians. Chapters 8 and 9 contain a concluding plea for a liberal collection in behalf of the poor saints at Jerusalem. This letter is one of the most personal and noble epistles ever penned by Paul. It is full of deep emotion and lofty aspiration. It reveals with remarkable clarity the exalted motives which inspired him. It is the convincing proof of his absolute sincerity and his deep personal affection for the men whose lives he was seeking to transform. Here the spirit of Jesus again finds expression and enables even the reader in this far-away age to appreciate the charm which drew men to Paul and made his words a miracle-working force in their lives. 155 PAUL'S PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN LIVING §CLVm. PAUL'S PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN LIVING The If one of you has a grievance against another, does he ment dare to go to law before sinful pagan judges and not before SutST *^ e saints? Do you not know that the saints are to sit in be- judgment upon the world? If the world is to come under chri?- your jurisdiction, are you incapable of deciding petty ques- (fcor tions? Do vou not know mat you are to sit in judgment 6»-«) ' upon angels, to say nothing of the things of this life, and yet, when you have things of this life to decide, do you refer them to the judgment of men who are of no account in the church? I speak in order to put you to shame. Has it come to this mat there is not one wise man among you who is able to decide between a man and his brother instead of one brother going to law with another, and that before unbelievers? The Therefore, the fact that you have lawsuits with one an- onjti- y other is convincing evidence of a defect in you. Why not gation rather let yourself be wronged? On the contrary, you in- tween flict injustice and practise fraud, and that upon your brothers. SS?" Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the King- < 7 10 ) dom of God ? Be not deceived : neither the immoral nor idol- aters, nor adulterers, nor any who are guilty of unnatural crimes, nor thieves, nor avaricious people, nor the drunken, nor the abusive, nor robbers, will inherit the Kingdom of God. The All things are lawful for me, but all things are not profit- tSof a °l e f° r me « All things are lawful for me, but I will not Chris- i e t anything master me. Foods are for the stomach and liberty the stomach for foods, but God will cause the one and the (1220) other to perish. The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. Even as God raised up the Lord, so he will also raise us by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and devote them to a harlot? No, indeed. Do you not know that he who joins himself to a harlot is one with her in body (for the two, it is said, shall become one flesh), while he who joins himself to the Lord is one with him in spirit? Shun 156 LIMITATIONS OF CHRISTIAN LIBERTY immorality! Every other sin that a man commits is out- side the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have received from God, and that you are not your own. For you were bought for a price. Therefore, glorify God with your body. For married people, my instructions are — yet not mine The but the Lord's — a wife is not to separate from her husband, dSwce or if she has separated, let her remain single or be recon- (*"-") ciled to her husband. Also a husband must not put away his wife. To other people I say— I, not the Lord— if any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she consents to live with him, let him not put her away. And if any woman has a husband who is not a believer and he consents to live with her, let her not put her husband away. For the unbelieving husband is consecrated through his wife and a woman who is not a believer is consecrated through union with the Christian brother; otherwise your children would be unholy instead of being holy, as they now are. If, however, the unbeliever is determined to separate, let him do so. In such cases the Christian brother or sister is not bound as a slave. God has called you to a life of peace. O wife, how do you know that you may not save your husband? O husband, how do you know that you may not save your wife ? Let each man continue in the condition of life which the con- Lord has assigned to him, just as when God called him. jgj^ Thus I laid down the rule to all the churches. Was a man with already circumcised at the time when he was called? Let ?ot? s him not efface the marks of it. Has any man been called (17 " 24) when he was uncircumcised ? Then let him not be cir- cumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but obedience to God's commands is everything. Each man must remain in the condition of life in which he was when he was called. Were you a slave when you were called? Do not mind that; but if you are able to get free, make use of the opportunity. But a slave, when he is called to be in the Lord, is a freedman of the Lord. In the same way a free man who is called is a slave of Christ, for you have been bought for a price. You must not become slaves 157 PAUL'S PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN LIVING to men. Brothers, each one must remain with God in the condition in which he was when he was called. con- Now as to food which has been sacrificed to idols. 'We tlon ra " know about this for we all possess knowledge!' Knowl- others* e( *& e P u ^ s U P> ^ ut * ove Guilds U P- Whoever imagines that scm- he has some knowledge has not as yet attained the knowl- ^8?. s 4 , 7- edge which he ought to have attained. But if anyone ».i2.i3) i oves God, that man is known by him. Now in regard to food which has been offered to idols : we know well that an idol is nothing in the world and there is only the one God. But this knowledge is not shared by all. Some through their relation with idols even now eat that which has been sacrificed to idols as such, and their conscience being weak is polluted. Food itself will not bring us any nearer to God, nor do we lose anything if we do not eat; while, if we do eat, we do not gain anything. But take care lest this liberty of yours prove a stumbling block to the weak. By thus sinning against the brothers and wounding their weaker consciences, you are sinning against Christ. There- fore if such food causes my brother to fall, I will never eat it again as long as I live, lest I should cause my brother to fall. Pauls Do you not know that those who perform the temple rites Sod* S et tneu " f°°d from the temple and that the attendants at prac- the altar share the sacrifices? In the same way the Lord as an also directed that those who proclaim the gospel are to (^S 1 ) 6 get their living from the gospel. But I have not availed myself of any of these rights, nor do I now write in order to secure any of these rights for myself; for I would rather die than have anyone render this boast of mine an empty one. For if I go on preaching the gospel, that is nothing for me to boast of, for the necessity is imposed upon me. Yes, woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. For only if I preach it willingly, do I receive a reward. If I do it simply because I must, it only means that I have a stewardship intrusted to me. How then do I get a reward? In that I preach the gospel free of charge, that I refrain from using my full rights as a preacher of the gospel. For though I am free from all, I have made myself the slave of all in order to win the more converts. To the Jews 158 PAUL'S PRACTICE AS AN APOSTLE I have become like a Jew in order to win Jews. To those His under the law I have been as if I were under the law in S^, order to win those under the law. To those outside the win an law I have become as one outside of the law — though I au en y am not outside the law of God, but under Christ's law — in (?, e ^ order that I may win those outside the law. To the weak I have become as weak myself in order to win over the weak. To all men I have become all things in order to save some in all of these ways. And I do all of these things for the sake of the gospel in order that I may share in it. Do you not know that in a race, though all run, only one The receives the prize? So run that you may get the prize. f£f 7) Every athlete practises restraint in all ways; but while they do this to receive a fading wreath, we do it for the sake of one that will not fade. Therefore, I thus run with no uncertainty. I plant my blows not as one who beats the air; rather I maul and master my body lest I, after preach- ing to others, might myself be disqualified. So then, let him who thinks he stands securely take care How to lest he fall. No temptation has waylaid you that has not T t ^_ come to man. God, indeed, is faithful and will not permit Nation you to be tempted beyond what you can stand ; but when the (,012,13) temptation comes, he will also provide a way of escape, so that you will be able to bear it. Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to com- the glory of God. Do not be causes of stumbling either to g^_ the Jews or the Gentiles or to the church of God. Thus I cration seek to satisfy all men in all points, aiming not at my own SnJce advantage but at that of the many in order that they may be and ^ saved. Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ. man As the human body is one, yet has many members, and (31 33) all the members form one body, though they are so many, 0*.^ so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we have all been unity baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves chriK or freedmen. We have all been nourished by one Spirit. b ^ h . For even the human body does not consist of one member erhood but many. If the foot were to say, Because I am not the (121220) hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the ear were to say, Because I am not the eye, I do not belong to the body, that would 159 (21-31) PAUL'S PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN LIVING not make it any less a part of the body. If all the body were an eye, where would the hearing be ? If all the body were an ear, where would the smell be ? But as it is, God hath placed the members in the body, each as he pleased. If they are all but one member, where would the body be ? As it is, there are many members and one body. Each The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, Sem- nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. No, totue ** * s decidedly otherwise. Even those members of the body whole which are considered weaker are indispensable, and the parts which we deem less honorable, we invest with special honor, while our indecorous parts receive a special atten- tion which it is not necessary to pay to our more decorous parts. Rather, God hath built up the body and bestowed a special attention on the parts that lacked, so that there might be no disunion in the body but that the parts might have a common concern for one another. And if one mem- ber suffers, all members suffer with it. If one member is honored, all the members share its honor. You, indeed, are Christ's body and individually members of it. Thus God hath set people in the church, first as apostles, second as prophets, third as teachers, then workers of miracles, then those who are able to cure diseases, helpers, admin- istrators and those who speak in tongues of various kinds. Are all apostles ? Are all prophets ? Are all teachers ? Are all workers of miracles? Are all able to cure diseases? Are all able to speak in tongues? Are all able to interpret? But always seek the highest gifts. And now I will point out to you a still higher way. The Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, preme But have not love, fff- I am become like sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. all-") Though I have the gift of prophecy, And know all mysteries and all knowledge, And have such faith that I can remove mountains, But have not love, I am nothing. Though I distribute all my goods to the poor, And give up my body to be burned, But have not love, it profits me nothing. 160 way (4-7) LOVE'S WAY Love is patient and kind, *£Z e ' s Love knows no jealousy, Love is neither boastful nor conceited, It is not shameless nor self-seeking, It is never provoked nor resentful, It rejoices not in evil, But rejoices in the truth. It covers all faults, It believes all things, It hopes all things, It endures all things. Love never fails; its As for prophecies, they shall be set aside, S 11 ^ As for tongues, they shall cease, g^r As for knowledge, it shall be set aside, nent For we know in part, acter And we prophesy in part, < 8 " 13 > But when that which is perfect comes, That which is imperfect shall be set aside. When I was a child, I talked as a child, I thought as a child, I argued as a child, But now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things. For now we look in a mirror and are puzzled, But then we will meet face to face. Now I know only in part, But then I will fully know, Even as I have been fully known. And so these three abide: Faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. Follow after love and zealously seek spiritual gifts, but oSt^of most of all that you may prophesy. For he who speaks in S-y ph " tongues is not speaking to men but to God, for no one un- jf- 1 ^ derstands him. He is speaking of divine secrets in the ecstasy Spirit. But he who prophesies, speaks to men that which is &!£») 161 17-40) PAUL'S PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN LIVING edifying, encouraging, and comforting. He who speaks with tongues edifies himself, but he who prophesies, edifies the church. I would like to have you all speak with tongues, but I would prefer to have you prophesy. The man who prophesies is superior to him who speaks with tongues — unless, indeed, the latter interprets, so that the church re- ceives edification. Therefore, let a man who speaks in tongues pray that he may be able to interpret it. Thank God, I speak in tongues more than any of you; but in church I would rather say five words with my own mind, in order that I might instruct other people, than ten thousand in tongues. The What then, brothers ? Whenever you meet together each IJJri? has something to contribute: a song of praise, a teaching, *gj* a revelation, a speaking in tongues or an interpretation; (M-m. Du t let all things be for edification. If there is speaking in tongues, let two or at the most three speak, one at a time. Also let someone interpret. If there is no interpreter, let the speaker keep quiet in church and speak to himself and God. Let only two or three prophets speak, and let the rest use their judgment. If a revelation comes to one who is seated, let the first speaker be silent. You can all prophesy, one after another, in order that all may learn and all be encouraged, for the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets, for God is not a God of disorder but of harmony. If anyone considers himself to be a prophet or gifted with the Spirit, let him recognize that what I write to you is a command of the Lord. If anyone ignores this, let him be ignored. To sum up, my brothers : zealously seek to prophesy and do not check speaking with tongues; but let everything be done in a decorous and orderly manner. I. Paul's Teachings Regarding the Christian's Duty in His Economic Relations. The heart of Paul's second letter to the Corinthian Christians (now found in I Cor.) contains detailed an- swers to certain practical questions which they had raised in a letter that Paul had recently received. In the light of the answers it is possible to determine the character of these questions. Each question and its answer must be interpreted in the light of its peculiar Corin- 162 A CHRISTIAN'S DUTY IN HIS ECONOMIC RELATIONS thian background. Corinth, because of its geographical position and resulting commercial activity, was the scene of constant and doubt- less bitter litigation. This tendency was intensified by the mixed character of its population. After its destruction by the Romans Julius Caesar had recolonized it with Italians and dispossessed Greeks. Both of these races, and especially the Greeks, were given to quarrels and lawsuits, and the population of Corinth largely consisted of the pioneer spirits who had settled there, or their descendants. Evidently the Corinthian Christians could not quickly throw off their inheritance, especially in the contentious atmosphere in which they lived. Ap- parently the question raised by the leaders of the Corinthian church was whether disputes between Christians should be referred to the Roman courts. Paul answered: "No." He argued that certainly there was enough justice and legal insight within the Christian com- munity to settle all petty disputes. He also called their attention to their belief that the Christians, as heirs to the promises originally given to the Jewish race, were ultimately to sit in judgment upon the heathen. This belief is clearly one of Paul's Jewish inheritances, and yet back of it lies the great fact that, inasmuch as the true Christians embodied the higher principles of their Master, the injustice and crime of the Gentile world were to be revealed by comparison with the righteous and pure lives of Jesus' followers. This teaching, however, was only preliminary to Paul's more fundamental treatment of the question. His ultimate argument rested upon Jesus' law of love. He who de- frauds or wrongs another, or even entertains hate against another, thereby excludes himself from participating in God's rule in the world, for such acts and feelings are evidence that God is not ruling in his life. If Jesus' principle of considering first the best interests of the other is applied, the very causes of lawsuits are removed. The exis- tence of such lawsuits, therefore/is evidence that they have reverted to the old condition from which Paul's preaching and the Gospel of Jesus had temporarily lifted them. Thus, by kindly irony, plain logic, and an appeal to the lofty social ideals of Jesus, Paul endeavored to lift the ignorant and sorely tempted Corinthian Christians to the high level of social living demanded by their Master. II. Paul's Advice Regarding Sex Questions and Divorce. It was inevitable that insistent sex problems should come to the fore- front in ancient Corinth. The city was steeped in social immorality. We are told that in the great temple of Venus, which stood on its acropolis, there were to be found one thousand courtesans. Gross 163 PAUL'S PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN LIVING immorality stalked abroad under the guise of religion. There is little wonder that Paul said with vehemence to his Corinthian converts: "Shun immorality." Licentious feasts and immoral practices con- fronted and allured them at every turn. This deadly leaven was even working within the Christian community itself. Some of its members were interpreting Paul's own words, "All things are lawful for me," as an excuse for mere license. They also insidiously urged that, as it was right to gratify the appetite for food, so also the grosser appetites. With his usual skill, Paul met this seductive reasoning. "Yes," he declared, "all things may be lawful, but all things are not good." Waving aside all appeal to the Jewish or Roman law, he de- clared that the analogy drawn between the bodily appetites was not valid. The body is not for self-gratification but for the glorification of God. It is the dwelling-place of God's Spirit. Social immorality means the pollution of the body, the lowering of the individual to the level of the harlot, and hence the destroying of the seat of the spiritual life. The figure which he employs to crystallize this fundamental teaching was especially effective with the Greek Christians at Cor- inth. The glory of Greece and of Corinth was its temples. The temple was the symbol of the abiding presence of the Deity. For centuries among all ancient peoples its sanctity had been jealously guarded by laws and institutions. Therefore, when Paul declared that the human body was the temple of the Spirit of God, he set forth in a way never to be forgotten one of the most fundamental teachings of Christianity. Paul answers questions of social morality in the light of the peculiar conditions existing in Corinth. He nowhere suggests that he is laying down universal rules for the Christian world. On only one point is he absolutely certain and that is regarding divorce and remarriage. Here he reiterates in clearest terms Jesus' command, as recorded in Mark 10 9 " 12 . No husband or wife is to break the marriage bond and remarry another. The wife may separate from her husband for suf- ficient grounds, but is to remain single. On his own authority Paul advises Christians married to unbelievers not to separate. If the un- believing partner insists upon separation, Paul grants that the Chris- tian brother or sister is thereby freed from the marriage bond; but in the same breath he earnestly exhorts all Christian husbands and wives to spare no effort to save their unbelieving partners. The entire aim in Paul's teaching is to preserve the sanctity of the marriage relation even in the most desperate cases. 164 MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE In his advice to the Corinthian Christians Paul undoubtedly reveals a slightly ascetic tendency which is one of the chief bases of mediaeval monasticism and similar modern movements. He frankly states, how- ever, that it is not on the authority of Jesus, but simply to insure the freedom of the individual Christians in the Corinthian church and to " secure decorum and concentration upon a life of devotion to the Lord" (7 25, 35 ). He also says that the chief reason why he counselled those who are able to remain unmarried is the distress that he deems imminent and because he believes the interval until Christ comes again is short. At the same time he does not forbid marriage nor say that it is in any sense evil. In Ephesians 5 21 " 23 we have his true convic- tions regarding marriage expressed under more normal conditions. He there uses the figure of the marriage relation to describe Christ's in- timate relation to the church. He reaffirms, as did Jesus (in Mark 10 9 ), its divine foundation as set forth in Genesis 2 24 . Far from con- demning it, he simply endeavors to make its bonds so strong that nothing can sever them. He exhorts all wives to reverence and be subject to their husbands. Even though Paul lacks Jesus' supremely chivalrous attitude toward woman, he does assert in Galatians d 2 * : "There is no room for slave or freeman, there is no room for male and female; you are all one in Christ Jesus." To his exhortation to wives in Ephesians 5 (which reflects his oriental conception of woman) he adds the ringing command to husbands: "Let every man of you love his wife as himself." In I Corinthians 7 3 « 4 he also places the intimate obligations of the husband to his wife and of the wife to her husband on an absolute equality. Here again we recognize the direct reflection of Jesus' absolute democracy and knightly chivalry which have ex- alted woman to her rightful place. III. Paul's Practical Application of Jesus' Law of Love. The detailed problems of the tempted and perplexed Corinthian Christians precipitated some of Paul's noblest and most practical teachings. One of these questions was: "Shall we eat food that has been offered to heathen idols?" It is evident that much of the food, and especially the meat thus offered, was later exposed for sale in the public markets of Corinth. Hence it was almost impossible for the Christians to be sure that any food which they might buy had not been thus polluted. This insistent question had evidently developed two parties in the Corinthian church. One echoed Paul's teachings and asserted: "We all possess knowledge; belief is the essential thing. Mere ceremonial questions are entirely unimportant. As long as our 165 PAUL'S PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN LIVING faith is clear and true, it makes no difference what we eat." The other party— possibly the Cephas party— had not yet broken away from their traditional regard for ceremonial distinctions. Obviously the more broad-minded Corinthian Christians found great difficulty in satisfying the demands of these two antithetic positions. Paul meets the situation in his characteristic practical way. "Yes," he declared, "knowledge is all right but it puffs up. There is a higher principle and that is love, for it builds up." Here again he used a word which appealed with peculiar power to the Greek mind. To build was their dominant ambition and genius. Knowledge, Paul declares, is indi- vidualistic but love is social and constructive. Thus early in his epistle he strikes that lofty note which forever immortalizes it. His applica- tion of the principle of love is as clear as it is convincing. It is the guide of individual liberty. Liberty and knowledge thus guided by love will never permit a brother to ride roughshod over the conscientious scruples of a fellow Christian. In eating food offered to idols, there- fore, each man will be governed not only by his own conception of what is right but by the effect of his act upon his less enlightened brothers. Back of Paul's teachings lay his own life and example, which he repeatedly cites with great effectiveness. Forgetting his own individualistic point of view and selfish wishes, he had become all things to all men to win them to Christ. Again adopting a figure very dear to the inhabitants of a city long famous for its Isthmian games, he urges the Corinthian Christians to keep this high goal ever in view and, like trained athletes, make everything else subservient to attain- ing it. At the conclusion of this discussion stands Paul's great social confession of faith: "Thus I seek to satisfy all men in all points, aiming not at my own advantage but at that of the many that they may be saved." In this practical way Paul interpreted by example, as well as by word, Jesus' supreme command: "Do to others as you would have them do to you." IV. "The Body of Christ.' ■ In setting forth his social teach- ings, Paul employed a figure already used by the Stoic philosophers. They, however, spoke of all humanity as one body. Paul had in mind, when he used this pregnant phrase "the Body of Christ," the collec- tive group of Christian believers. It was the objective social realiza- tion of Jesus' ideal of the Kingdom of God. It recognized that in this more ideal social group each had his own peculiar gift and task. If one member suffers, all the members share his suffering. As each contributes faithfully to the rest, the whole body prospers. The 166 THE BODY OF CHRIST fidelity of each individual member is, therefore, essential to the welfare of the whole. Hence each individual gift must be consecrated to the common social good. It was from this higher vantage-point that Paul approached the problems presented by the jealousy between the dif- ferent members of the Corinthian church and the heartburns caused by the fact that some appeared to possess higher spiritual gifts than others. It is evident from his statements that the intellectual and emotional life of that church was intense. Paul recognized the danger that it might become merely individualistic, merely emotional, and therefore shallow. The picture which he gives of its life is exceedingly illuminating. In his recapitulation he places first the more intellectual gifts: the power to speak words of wisdom and knowledge by the Spirit; second, the gift of faith and the corresponding power of heal- ing; third, the more intuitive gift of prophecy, which is evidently here used in the sense of preaching and exhorting; and, fourth, the uncon- scious gift of tongues or ecstatic utterance and the power of interpret- ing the meaning of these emotional ejaculations. Each, Paul declares, is inspired by the same divine Spirit. Each is of value simply as it is made to conserve the common good. The one supreme aim must be the edification, that is, the building up of the Christian body. V. Paul's Immortal Hymn in Praise of Love. It was while Paul was struggling to emphasize the importance of the motive that should lie back of these various expressions of the religious life that there dawned upon him the immortal principle which is crystallized in his matchless hymn in praise of love. It is one of his wonderful digressions, and yet it was the culmination of all of his thinking in the early part of the epistle and the embodiment of his own life and expe- rience. He calls it the still higher way in which these spiritual gifts are to be used. With a remarkable breadth and insight he declares that all those gifts that were so highly esteemed in the early church, and even the most passionate self-sacrificing devotion, were absolutely useless unless inspired and guided by brotherly love. Then follows the familiar description of the characteristics of love's way in I Cor- inthians 13 4 " 7 . Its background is the personal ambitions, the jealousy, the self-glorification, the backbiting, the factiousness, and the dis- couragement of the Corinthian Christians. Clearly Paul sees the intellectual and moral perils that confront them. Only as they are lifted into the higher levels of faith and feeling can they hope to realize the ideals which he set before them. Childish, indeed, seemed their bickerings. Like a father, he yearned to lead them on from imper- 167 TAWS PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN LIVING fection to perfection, to teach them step by step until they might at- tain a perfect vision of truth. In meeting all these universal needs, he declared that not human knowledge but faith and hope and love were eternal and invincible; yet the greatest of all was love. § CLIX. PAUL'S MINISTRY AT EPHESUS Paul at When Priscilla and Aquila reached Ephesus, Paul left ^S he " them there, but he went into the synagogue and argued (Acts w jth the Jews, who asked him to stay for a longer time, but he would not consent. Instead, taking leave of them, he said, I will come back to you, if it be the will of God. Then sailing from Ephesus and reaching Caesarea, he went up to salute the church and then travelled down to An- tioch. After spending some time there he went off on a journey through the Galatian and Phrygian region, strength- ening all the disciples. Apoi- Meanwhile a Jew by the name of Apollos came to Ephe- Ephi sus. He was a native of Alexandria, a man of culture, AchSa stron S m ^ s knowledge of the scriptures. He had been ( 24 C -2s^ a instructed in the way of the Lord, and he preached zeal- ously and taught accurately about Jesus, though all the baptism he knew was that of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but after Priscilla and Aquila listened to him they took him home and explained more accurately to him the way of God. And as he wished to cross over to Achaia, the brothers wrote urging the dis- ciples there to welcome him. And on his arrival he ren- dered great service to those who by God's grace had be- lieved, for he powerfully and publicly refuted the Jews, showing from the scripture that Jesus was the Messiah. Dis- It was while Apollos was in Corinth that Paul, after pass- Sf P iohii m g through the inland districts, came to Ephesus and found |t he there certain disciples to whom he said, Did you receive sus e " the Holy Spirit when you believed? No, they replied, we (1917) have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. Then he said, In what were you baptized? They replied, In John's baptism. John, said Paul, baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe him who was to come after him, that is in Jesus. When they heard this, they had themselves baptized in the name 168 DISCIPLES OF JOHN AT EPHESUS of the Lord Jesus. And after Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they began speak- ing with tongues and prophesying. They were in all about twelve men. Then Paul entered the synagogue and for three months Pauls spoke fearlessly, arguing and persuading people about the ™ ethod Kingdom of God. But as some grew stubborn and dis- work obedient, defaming the way in the presence of the multi- Epne- tude, he left them, withdrew the disciples, and continued s ( £f 0) his argument every day from eleven to four in the lecture room of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all the inhabitants of the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord. God also worked no ordinary miracles by means of Paul, Mir- so that even towels or aprons which he had used were JJ^ 8 carried to the sick and they were delivered from their dis- formed eases and evil spirits came out of them. Certain travelling Paul Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of (u 20) the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches. The seven sons of a certain Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this; but the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who are you? And the man in whom was the evil spirit, springing at them, overpowered two of them and treated them with such violence that they rushed out of the house stripped and wounded. This became known to all the inhabitants of Ephesus, Jews as well as Greeks; and awe fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. Many believers also came to confess and declare what they had done. And numbers who practised magic arts collected their books and burned them in the presence of Paul. When they added up their value they found that they were worth about ten thousand dollars. Thus the word of the Lord mightily increased and prevailed. After these events had transpired Paul resolved in the Paul's spirit to travel through Macedonia and Achaia to Jerusalem, jS^Sj saying, After I get there I must see Rome. So he sent two of his assistants to Macedonia, Timothy and Erastus, while he himself stayed on for a while in Asia. 169 PAUL'S MINISTRY AT EPHESUS The It was about that time that no small commotion arose SSth's over the way. For a silversmith by the name of Deme- attack trius, by making silver shrines of Artemis, brought rich Paul 1 profit to his workmen. Calling these together, along with (23 40) the workmen who followed similar trades, he said to them, You men well know that this trade is the source of our wealth. You also see and hear that not only at Ephesus but over almost all the province of Asia this Paul has drawn off a considerable number of people by persuading them that hand-made gods are no gods at all. There is danger therefore not only that this our trade will be discredited but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will fall into contempt and that she will be degraded from her majestic rule, she whom all the province of Asia and the inhabited world worship. When they heard this they were filled with rage and kept crying out, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! So the city was filled with confusion, and they rushed into the theater dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were travelling with Paul. Paul also wanted to enter the popular assembly, but the disciples would not permit him. Certain of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, also sent entreating him not to venture into the theater. Now some of the people were shouting one thing, and some another; for the assem- bly were in confusion, and most of them had no idea why they had come together. Certain of the mob concluded that it must be Alexander, since the Jews pushed him to the front. So Alexander, motioning with his hand, desired to defend himself before the people; but when they dis- covered that he was a Jew, one cry broke from them all, and for about two hours they shouted, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians ! Then the recorder, quieting the mob, said, Men of Ephesus, who is there among men that does not know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image that fell from heaven? Therefore, since these things are so, you should keep calm and do nothing reckless. But instead you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. If Demetrius and his fellow tradesmen have a grievance against anybody, public ses- 170 THE ATTACK OF THE SILVERSMITHS sions of the courts are held and there are proconsuls; let both sides state their charges. If you desire anything further, it must be settled in the legal assembly of the citizens. Indeed we are in danger of being charged with riot in connection with to-day's proceedings, for there is no reason that we can give for this riot. After saying these words he dismissed the assembly. When the tumult had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples Paul's and encouraged them. Then, taking leave of them, he went jgjf" on his way to Macedonia. After passing through these through districts and encouraging the people with many an address, (20^ he came to Greece, where he spent three months. Just as he was about to set sail for Syria, a plot was laid against him by the Jews. He therefore decided to return through Macedonia. And these accompanied him : Sopater of Beroea, the son of Pyrrhus, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessa- lonica, Gaius of Derbe, Timothy and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. These went on ahead to wait for us at Troas, while we sailed from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread and joined them at Troas, where we spent seven days. On the first day of the week, when we met for the breaking Paul's of bread, Paul was addressing them, for he was to leave on Son the next day. And he continued his address until midnight. E f uty J Now there were a considerable number of lamps in the upper chusV" room where we met. In the window sat a young man (?12) named Eutychus and, while Paul preached on and on, he was overcome with drowsiness, went fast asleep, and fell from the third story, and was picked up dead. But Paul, going down, threw himself upon him and embraced him. Do not lament, he said, for his life is still in him. Then he went up stairs, broke bread and ate ; at length after convers- ing with them until dawn he departed. As for the lad, they took him away alive and were greatly comforted. Now we had gone on beforehand to the ship and set sail Paul for Assos, planning there to take Paul on board, for this poA h of was his own arrangement, since he intended to travel by Ephe- land. So when we met him at Assos, we took him on board (S?«) and went to Mitylene. Sailing from there on the following day, we arrived opposite Chios. Next day we crossed over 171 PAUL'S MINISTRY AT EPHESUS to Samos and went on the following day to Miletus, for Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus in order that he might lose no time in the province? of Asia, for he was very eager if possible to reach Jerusalem by the day of Pentecost. From Miletus Paul sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. When they came to him, he said, You know well how I lived among you all the time since I set foot in the province of Asia; how I served the Lord in all humility and with tears and trials which came to me through the plots of the Jews, how I never shrank from declaring to you anything that was for your good or from teaching you in public and in your houses, bearing my testimony both to Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now behold I go to Jerusalem, impelled by the Spirit. What things will befall me there I do not know. Only I know this, that in every city the Holy Spirit testifies to me that bonds and troubles are awaiting me. But I set no value on my own life, if I may but finish my course and carry out the commission that I received from the Lord Jesus to attest the gospel of the grace of God. And now behold I know that not one of you shall ever see my face again — you among whom I went about preaching the Kingdom of God. Therefore I protest before you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, for I never shrank from declaring to you the entire purpose of God. Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you guardians that you shepherd the church of the Lord which he has bought with his own blood. I know that when I am gone, fierce wolves will enter in among you, and they will not spare the flock, and that many of your own number will arise who will pervert the truth in order to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on your guard, remember how for three whole years I never ceased night and day admonish- ing each of you with tears. And now I commend you to God and the word of his grace. He is able to build you up and give you your inheritance among all the consecrated. I coveted no man's silver, gold, or apparel. You yourselves know how these hands of mine provided everything for my 172 PAUL'S ADDRESS TO THE ELDERS own needs and for those who were with me. In all things I set you an example that, working as I do, you should succor the needy and remember the word of the Lord Jesus, who said, It brings more happiness to give than to receive. Having spoken thus, Paul knelt down and prayed with them all. Then they all broke into loud lamentation and falling upon Paul's neck, kissed him lovingly, sorrowing most of ail because he told them that they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship. I. Paul's Journey to Syria. As has already been noted, Paul's original objective in his second missionary campaign was Ephesus. He apparently had intended to go there at once after leaving Achaia and to remain. Instead he made a hurried trip to Syria. His reason for so doing is not stated in the biblical narrative and evidently was an open question in the minds of the early narrators. The author of Acts inferred that his object was to salute the mother church at Jerusalem. Under the influence of this inference, Luke, in Acts 18 22 , has not stated directly but left his readers to imply that Paul actually went to Jerusalem. Here one recognizes the influence of Luke's pro- found regard for the authority of the Jerusalem church. There is much evidence, however, that Paul did not revisit Jerusalem at this time. The account of the completion of his third missionary journey in Acts 21 clearly implies that he had not returned since the council at Jerusalem. At his private interview with the "pillar" apostles the one command which they had laid upon him was to remember the poor with gifts. That he would return to Jerusalem empty-handed is almost incredible. The evidence rather is that he went back to Antioch and there remained for some time. The situation suggests that the reasons which led him to do so, instead of going directly back to Ephesus, were twofold. The first was his need of rest after his exceedingly strenuous and in many ways discouraging work at Corinth. Paul, the native of the seaport town of Tarsus, was naturally fond of the sea and for him the sea journey was ordinarily restful rather than arduous. His remaining for some time at Antioch, even though the crying needs of the western fields were ringing in his ears, is best explained because of his need of rest. The other and probably the principal reason why he returned to Syria was that, after having rested for a time, he might revisit the churches of Galatia. Apparently the strenuous letter which he had written these Galatian churches was 173 PAUL'S MINISTRY AT EPHESUS penned at Corinth and he was naturally desirous of following it in per- son. Inasmuch as the land journey was far more arduous, he wisely determined to make it, not on his return to Antioch, but as he, again refreshed, set out for his new field of activity. That he did then re- visit the Galatian churches is stated by Luke. This time Paul fol- lowed the great Roman highway westward, from Antioch in Pisidia, taking the northern, more mountainous, route directly to Ephesus. Then at last, after having revisited the scenes of his earlier missionary activity, he found himself free for work in the chief emporium and political capital of the Roman province of Asia. II. The Political and Religious Importance of Ephesus. The province of Asia was one of the largest, richest, and most closely knit of all the Roman provinces in Asia Minor. Here at Ephesus the Ro- man proconsul had his official residence. From Ephesus great com- mercial highways radiated to all the important cities of the province, and it was the chief gateway which led over the sea to Corinth and Rome. On the main highway to the east lay the cities of Colossse and Laodicea. Northward, all within a radius of one hundred and fifty miles, were Sardis and Thyatira, the cities in which were estab- lished the important Christian churches mentioned in the opening chapters of Revelation. Ephesus was in many ways the most in- fluential city in which Paul had as yet worked. Like most Greek cities, it encircled a hill rising about five hundred feet from the plain and crowned with an acropolis. The business and intellec- tual centre of the city was on the west of this hill looking toward the sea. On its northwestern slope above the River Cayster was the huge stadium capable of holding fully six thousand people. Here Paul with the Ephesian populace doubtless witnessed many of the popular games from which he draws some of his most effective figures of speech. Farther to the south on the western brow of the hill was the great theatre. The remarkably well-preserved ruins which have been ex- cavated at this point probably represent a somewhat later theatre built on the site of the one which figures so prominently in the nar- rative of Acts. It marked the centre of the life of the ancient city. Just below it to the northwest was the Roman agora, while to the southwest was the famous Hellenistic agora, surrounded by beautiful porticos with public halls on the south. Not far from this point prob- ably stood the Hall of Tyrannus. According to tradition, Ephesus was settled by a Greek colony from Athens in the eleventh century B.C. Even before the Greeks 174 THE RELIGIOUS IMPORTANCE OF EPHESUS appeared, the city was already famous as the shrine of a native nature- goddess, whose temple lay on the broad plain beside the Cayster to the northeast of the Graeco-Roman Ephesus. Recent excavations have laid bare the foundations of this ancient sanctuary far below the huge platform of the great Greek temple of Artemis, which was built as early as the sixth century B.C. Out of the conflicts between the Greek colonists and the priestesses of the native temple grew the famous traditions of the Amazons who fought as men. In Paul's day the temple of Artemis stood seven feet above the plain on a great artificial platform, which had been built on the ruins of earlier temples. It is approached by ten steps, and covered an area of over eighty thousand square feet. Its huge columns rose more than sixty feet above the platform. Standing in solitary grandeur in the midst of the great plain, it appears to have well merited the signal honor of being reckoned as one of the seven wonders of the world. The oracles of the Greek goddess Artemis rivalled those even of Delphi, although they never appear to have exerted as wholesome a political or moral influence as did those of its more famous Hellenic rival. To the temple of Artemis came fugitives from all parts of Asia Minor, for within its sacred precincts they were immune from all pursuit or attack. It was also the great banking centre of that part of the Roman Empire, for kings as well as thousands of private individuals placed their wealth under the protection of the temple authorities, assured that it would be safely guarded. The gifts of thousands of pilgrims swelled the temple's income and supported the vast horde of virgin priestesses and celibate priests, of temple singers and hymn-writers, and of menial servants associated with this ancient shrine. The hierarchy of the temple and those whose income was dependent either directly or in- directly on the worship of the temple were always a powerful factor in the life of Ephesus. The city itself bore the coveted title of "Guard- ian (literally, Sweeper) of the temple." III. Conditions that Confronted Paul at Ephesus. As early as 44 B.C. the Roman consul Dolabella had granted to the Jews of Ephesus the toleration of their religious rites, the privilege of Sabbath observance, and protection in making pilgrimages to Jerusalem (Jos., Ant., XIV, 10 12, 25 ). Augustus had later confirmed these privileges. Paul, therefore, found a strong Jewish colony at this great commercial metropolis. As at Corinth, he also found them unwilling to accept a religion which was offered to Jew and Gentile alike and which set aside as obsolete many of the inherited laws of their race. Ephesus 175 PAUL'S MINISTRY AT EPHESUS was pre-eminently given up to magic and the religious quackeries in- herited from the ancient religions. Many Jews were found in a cos- mopolitan city like Ephesus who, for mercenary reasons, practised these magical arts. To this class belonged the strolling Jewish ex- orcists, the sons of Sceva, who figure in a popular tradition concerning Paul's work at Ephesus which the author of Acts has incorporated in his narrative. Ramsay is probably right in saying that "the writer is here rather a picker up of current gossip, like Herodotus, than a real historian" (St. Paul, p. 273). The story, however, records the in- dubitable fact that Paul here came into constant contact with this debased Judaism, in which popular demonology, angelology, and superstition were grotesquely commingled. Modern excavations have revealed hundreds of the magic papyri, or "Ephesian letters," as they are called because most of them were prepared in Ephesus. Although the prevailing religious life of Ephesus was shallow, the spirit of the city was on the whole tolerant. Here all religions of the East and West and of the North and South — Judaism, Gnosticism, the oriental mystery cults, Greek and Alexandrian philosophy, and nature-faiths — commingled; but the prevailing religious fashion was to single out and combine what was attractive in each. Hence, as long as Paul did not interfere with vested or financial interests, he was free to teach whatever and whenever and wherever he pleased and was sure of a liberal hearing. IV. Paul's Method of Work at Ephesus. Again Paul's mar- vellous gift of adapting himself to any situation was well illustrated. The narrative in Acts states that he first went into the Jewish syna- gogue and endeavored by argument and persuasion to convince them that Jesus had inaugurated the Kingdom of God for which their race was longing, but that they rejected the way of thinking and living which he proclaimed. Then Paul adopted and followed a daily pro- gramme which evidently fitted the peculiar conditions of that ancient Ionian city in which the working hours for all classes began with sun- rise and extended to eleven o'clock in the morning. The remainder of the day they spent in their homes or at public places. Paul ap- parently plied his trade of tent-maker during business hours. Then, when the lecture hours of the public philosophers and rhetoricians were over, he secured the lecture hall of one of them, a certain Tyrannus, and, as is recorded in the Beza text, argued publicly from eleven to four each day. In closely crowded Ephesus many were doubtless attracted to the lecture room of Paul the Christian philosopher. Jews 176 PAUL'S METHOD OF WORK and Greeks, and many visiting strangers from the neighboring cities of Asia listened to his fervid appeals. In Ephesus Paul himself must have become intimately acquainted with the mystery-religions of Asia Minor from which are drawn many of the figures of speech that appear in his later letters. His epistle to the near-by church of Colossae is an excellent illustration of the way in which he probably combated the prevalent gnostic doctrines. At Ephesus Paul built on foundations already laid by his co-workers Priscilla and Aquila, if not by earlier Christian apostles. In thus build- ing he departed from his general rule of action because he recognized the great strategic importance of Ephesus. Evidently he made it the base for missionary activity throughout Asia. Epaphras and probably Timothy were sent to establish a Christian community in Colossae (Col. I 1 " 7 ). Tychicus possibly did similar pioneer work in Laodicea (Eph. 6 21 ). The personal letter appended in chapter 16 to the Epistle to the Romans was evidently written to the Christians of Ephesus (c/., e. g., Rom. 16 5 ) from Corinth, after Paul had left the capital city of Asia. In it are found warm personal greetings addressed to his fellow workers in Asia. Twenty-four in all are mentioned in this short letter. It suggests how well and how broadly Paul's work at Ephesus was organized and that Ephesus was but the centre through which he sought to reach all the important cities in southwestern Asia Minor. V. Paul's Conflict with the Pagan Cults. For a considerable period Paul's work seems to have met with little opposition. In his contest with the Jewish exorcists the sympathy of a majority of the Ephesian populace was with him, for the anti-Jewish feeling was evi- dently strong. He does not appear to have come into direct conflict with the authorities of the temple of Artemis. The Asiarchs, some of whom sympathized with Paul, were the official local representatives in the province of the worship of the emperor and of Rome. Their task at this period was apparently more political than religious, for the bitter conflict between Christianity and the Roman emperor- worship still lay in the future. According to Acts, the first strong opposition to Paul's teaching came from organized labor and was due to the fact that his teachings had already gained a wide acceptance throughout the city. One of the favorite offerings of the pilgrims to the temple of Artemis was a votive image, which was presented to the goddess by the offerer and left within the temple precincts. These votive images represented the goddess seated on a throne. Those 177 PAUL'S MINISTRY AT EPHESUS offered by the poorer people were usually made of terra-cotta. The wealthy brought images of silver. The guild of the silversmiths, of which Demetrius was the spokesman, evidently manufactured these silver images. Contemporary inscriptions indicate that there were many guilds of manual workers in ancient Ephesus. Thus, for example, the guilds of the wool-workers, of the surveyors, and of the workmen before the gate are mentioned in the inscriptions. They constituted, therefore, an important class in this commercial metropolis and were able by the cry of class interest to stir the mob to action. While sub- ject to the strict supervision of Rome, Ephesus still enjoyed the demo- cratic organization of a typical Greek city. It had its senate and in addition its popular assembly. In the peculiar civic organization of the cities of Asia Minor, the recorder or clerk was the leading official, as appears in the narrative of Acts. This narrative is probably cor- rect in stating that he opposed the class uprising, fearing Roman sus- picion and possible interposition. Either through ignorance of facts or intentionally the author of Acts has failed to speak of the greater misfortunes which overtook Paul. In fact, the exact order of events is not entirely clear, although it is obvious that the scene in the theatre, at which Paul was not present, occurred during the latter part of his sojourn at Ephesus and was probably one of the causes of his ultimate departure. Paul himself declared that he fought with wild beasts at Ephesus and many are inclined to interpret these words literally. It is possible, however, that he had in mind the infuriated mob which sought his life and that of his associates. In a later letter, written to the Corinthian Christians from Ephesus, he states that he nearly lost his life there (II Cor. II 23 ). There can be little doubt that the closing months of his activity were marked by bitter opposition and persecution. VI. The Results of Paul's Work at Ephesus. Paul spent more time and apparently suffered more bitter persecution at Ephesus than at any other city that he visited except Rome, where he at last gave his life for the cause he served. At Ephesus also he had to con- tend against a complex of false philosophies, as well as pagan super- stitions. And yet it proved a most fruitful field. In writing from there to the Corinthians he declared: "A great door r is opened to me" (I Cor. 16 9 ). There he was able to rally about him an exceedingly loyal band of helpers. In the Ephesian letter, appended to Romans, he speaks of "Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Jesus who for my life laid down their own necks" (Rom. 16 3> 4 ). Two others, 178 THE RESULTS OF PAUL'S WORK Andronicus and Junius, shared a prison experience with him. Ephesus and the province of Asia in the succeeding centuries proved one of the great strongholds of Christianity, and yet the results of Paul's per- sonal work there appear to have been far less permanent than else- where. We have no record that he ever again visited or wrote any other letter to the Ephesian Christians except the short personal note in Romans 16. Even in this he urges his fellow workers at Ephesus to keep their eye on "those who stir up dissensions and put hindrances in your way, contrary to the doctrine which you have been taught. Avoid them. Such creatures are no servants of Christ our Lord, they are slaves of their own base desires; with their plausible and pious talk they beguile the hearts of unsuspecting people." In Paul's later ad- dress to the Ephesian elders he is represented as warning them that "fierce wolves will get in among them, and they will not spare the flock"; also that "men of their own number will arise with perversions of the truth to draw the disciples after them" (Acts 21 29 - 30 ). These statements point to the many heretical and especially gnostic doctrines that sprang spontaneously from the already infected soil of Ephesus. In their earlier dealings with Rome the citizens of Ephesus had repeat- edly shown themselves exceedingly fickle. The same impression re- garding the Ephesian church is conveyed by the letter addressed to it in Revelation 2 4> 5 . The two letters to Timothy, to whose care the Christian communities in Asia were intrusted, indicate that the loyalty to Paul which had characterized the other churches of his planting was lacking here. II Timothy l 15 contains the sweeping statement: "You know that all who are in Asia have turned away from me." While their nominal allegiance appears to have been trans- ferred from Paul to John the presbyter and other apostolic leaders, the pioneer work of Paul remained the foundation of the church in Asia, and the principles laid down by him reappear in the rich Johan- nine literature that later sprang from Ephesus (§ CLXIX). § CLX. PAUL'S INTERPRETATION OF JESUS' SAVING WORK Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, Greet- set apart for the gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ ^ g om< our Lord, through whom I have received grace and a com- i 1 - 6 - 7 >* mission to promote obedience to the faith for his name's sake among all the Gentiles, among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; to all in Rome who 179 PAUL'S INTERPRETATION OF JESUS' WORK are beloved by God, called to be saints, Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Pauls First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for tfon to you all, because your faith is reported throughout the whole R e m n wor ld. God is my witness, the God whom I serve with my church spirit in the gospel of his Son, how unceasingly I always (8 1,} mention you in my prayers, asking if at last the way may be opened to me by God's will to come to you. For I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift for your strengthening or, in other words, that I may be comforted by meeting you, I by your faith and you by mine. Brothers, I would not have you ignorant that I have often purposed to come to you (though hitherto I have been prevented) so as to have some results among you, as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. I have an obligation to Greeks and to barbarians, to wise and to foolish alike. Hence my eager- ness to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. Thesis: I indeed am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God's Su?" saving power for everyone who has faith, for the Jew first ne g s and for the Greek as well. In that gospel God's righteous- aione ness is revealed by faith to develop faith, as it is written: faft°h ugh Now the righteous shall live by faith. ("■") For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all Failure the impurity and wickedness of those who hinder the truth hea? e by their wickedness, for what is to be known of God is *j£3 d plain to them; for God himself hath made it plain. For, to° r since the creation of the world, his invisible things, his right- n everlasting power and divine nature, have been clearly eous- perceptible in what he hath made, that they may have no Se'cause excuse. Though they knew God, they have not glorified of faith him as God nor given him thanks; they have given them- (? 8 S) 0d selves up to futile speculations and let their senseless minds be darkened. Claiming to be wise, they have be- come fools; and they have exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the semblance of a likeness of mortal man, of birds, of four-footed beasts, and of reptiles. So God hath given them up in their heart's lust to sexual vice, to the dishonoring of their own bodies; for they have ex- changed the truth for a lie and have worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. 180 THE LIKE REWARD FOR JEW AND GENTILE He it is who will render to everyone according to his Jew works, eternal life to those who by patiently doing good Gentile seek for glory, honor, and immortality, but wrath and in- tobe dignation to those who are factious, who disobey the truth warded and obey wickedness. Trouble and anguish are for every fo r ke human being who does evil, for the Jew first and for the th e ir Greek as well; but glory, honor, and peace for everyone (2«-«) who does good, for the Jew first and for the Greek as well. There is no partiality with God. All who sin outside the law will perish outside the law; and all who sin under the law will be condemned by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are just before God, it is those who obey the law who will be acquitted on the day when God judgeth the secret things of men. What then, have we Jews any advantage ? Not at all, Failure for we have already charged both Jews and Greeks that Sewsto they are under sin, as it is written, None is righteous, no, att g^ not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God. All eous- have turned aside, one and all have become unprofitable; through no one does good, not a single one. For no mortal will *£?_Jf w be acquitted in his sight by acts of obedience to the law, for »») through the law simply comes the consciousness of sin. But now apart from the law a righteousness of God has Right- been disclosed. It is attested by the law and the prophets, £SX~ but it is a righteousness of God through faith in Jesus f^fb Christ. It is for all who have faith, for there is no dis- Christ tinction. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but they are justified freely by his grace through the ran- som provided by Jesus Christ. God set him forth as a means whereby men might, through faith in his blood, win divine forgiveness. This was to demonstrate the justice of God because he had passed over previously the sins committed during the period of God's forbearance, and to demonstrate the justice at the present epoch, showing that he himself is just and justifieth every man through faith in Jesus. Where then is the boast ? It is excluded ! By what law ? Of works ? No, by the law of faith. We hold that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God only the God of the Jews? Is he not the God of the Gentiles also ? Surely he is of the Gen- 181 (21-31) PAUL'S INTERPRETATION OF JESUS' WORK tiles also. Surely then there is one God, and he will jus- tify the circumcised by faith, and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then make the law of none effect through faith? No, indeed! We establish the law. Abra- For the promise to Abraham and to his offspring that he muf5- an should inherit the world, was not made through the law, of a th?s n k ut through the righteousness of faith. For if they who piin- are of the law are heirs, faith is without meaning, and the (J?}®*) promise is made of none effect. What the law produces is wrath; but where there is no law, there is no trans- gression. For this reason inheritance depends upon faith, that it may be a matter of divine favor, to make the promise sure to all the offspring, not only to those who hold to the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as is written: I have made thee a father of many nations. The Therefore, since we are justified by faith, let us enjoy JSe the peace we have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. JgjJJjg Through him we also have gained access to this grace atr- wherein we stand, and we exult in the hope of God's glory. trough And not only so, but we also exult in our troubles, knowing chnsts t h a t trouble produces stedfastness, and stedfastness pro- sacrf- duces tested character, and tested character produces hope. (51% This hope never disappoints us, for God's love has flooded our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. For while we were yet weak, in due season Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will scarcely die for a righteous man, though one might perhaps dare to die for a good man. But God proveth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, now that we are justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God by him? For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Not only so, but we exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we now re- ceive our reconciliation. There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. For 182 THE NEW SPIRITUAL LIFE OF THE CHRISTIAN what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do, God The hath done by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful spiri- flesh. And to deal with sin he condemned sin in the flesh, ^f^ te in order that the just requirements of the law might be ful- to the filled in our lives, as we walk not by the flesh but by the t ian S " spirit. For those who are fleshly minded incline to the (8111) things of the flesh, but those who are spiritually minded in- cline to the things of the spirit. The inclinations of the flesh mean death, but the inclinations of the spirit life and peace. For the inclinations of the flesh are hostile to God, for they do not submit to the will of God (indeed they can- not). Those who are in the flesh cannot please God, but you are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But, if Christ is within you, though the body is dead as a result of sin, the spirit is living as a result of righteousness. And, if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells within you, then he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also make your mortal bodies live because his Spirit is dwelling within you. So then, brothers, we are under no obligation to the oblige flesh to live by the flesh. If you live by the flesh you must an? s die, but, if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the f e r *^" of body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit spin- of God these are the sons of God. For you have not re- son- ceived a slavish spirit that would make you fear again; ship but you have received the spirit of sonship, whereby we cry, Abba Father! This Spirit bears witness with our own spirit that we are children of God; and if children then heirs, heirs of God and heirs with Christ also ; for we share his suffering in order to share his glory. I consider that the sufferings of this present life are not Man's worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed shfp to us. Even the creation waits in eager expectation for the j^e 3 ** 1 revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was sub- goal of jected to vanity, not by its own choice but by him who thus tfon" subjected it, whose hope being that creation itself will also (1826) be delivered from the bondage of corruption and gain the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that 183 PAUL'S INTERPRETATION OF JESUS' WORK even until now the whole creation sighs and throbs in pain ; and not only so but we ourselves also, who have the first- fruits of the Spirit, sigh to ourselves as we wait for the de- liverance of our body that means our adoption as sons. By this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is not hope. Whoever hopes for what he sees already ? But, if we hope for something that we do not see, we wait for it patiently. Assis- So also the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do of nce not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit pleads for spSit us w **k s *S ns that cannot be uttered, and he who searcheth ( 26 > 27 ) hearts knoweth what is in the mind of the Spirit, for the Spirit pleads for the saints according to the will of God. Ron of We know also that to those who love God, even those who Sho e are called according to his purpose, all things work together ola * or g°°d* For those whom he knew beforehand he also (28-30) appointed beforehand that they might be transformed into the likeness of his Son, that he might be the first-born of a great brotherhood. Then he also called those whom he had appointed beforehand, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. invui- What then shall we say to all this? If God is for us, secu? le who can be against us ? Will not he who spared not his those f own S° n out gave him up for us all freely give us all things ? who Who will lay a charge against those whom God hath chosen ? God-s n When God acquitteth, who will condemn? Will Christ vealed" J esus ? — h e wno died* yes, and rather who was raised through from the dead, who is at God's right hand, who also pleads (SXJ for us ! Who can ever separate us from Christ's love ? Can tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? For, as it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither things present nor things to come, neither powers of the height or of the depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from God's love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh the inexhaustible wealth of God's wisdom and knowl- 184 GOD'S OMNISCIENCE AND GOODNESS edge ! How unsearchable his judgments ! How mysteri- Gods ous his way ! Who ever knew the mind of the Lord ? S™" Who has ever been his counsellor ? Who has first given ^nd^ to him and has to be repaid ? All things come from him, ness " live by him, and return to him. Glory to him forever. (1133M > Amen. I. Date and Aim of Paul's Epistle to the Romans. Paul's letter to the Romans is the best New Testament illustration of an epistle. Upon it Paul evidently expended great thought and care. The Epistle to the Galatians reminds one of a rapid mountain torrent, but in Romans Paul's thought flows more leisurely, winding here and there, gathering a great variety and volume of figures as it flows on to the practical applications with which the epistle closes. It was a dramatic moment in Paul's life when he dictated this letter to the Christian community at Rome. His work at Ephesus and Corinth, and in fact in the Greek world, was nearing completion. Longingly he looked at the great Roman ships setting out from Corinth for the imperial city. As he tells his readers, to visit them was one of the chief ambitions of his life. His long days and nights of labor with Pris- cilla and Aquila at Corinth and Ephesus had given him ample oppor- tunity to become acquainted with the problems of the Roman church. Doubtless many of his own converts, having gravitated toward the imperial city, were included in its membership. It appears to have comprised both Jewish and Gentile converts, for Paul in his letter evi- dently had both classes in mind. Even though his heart was in Rome, his face was steadfastly set toward Jerusalem. He was well aware of the opposition and perils which awaited him there, but nothing could deflect him from his purpose to take back as a peace-offering to the saints at Jerusalem the collections which he had gathered in response to the request of the "pillar" apostles from the churches which he had • planted in the Western world. The Gentile problem which was still insistent throughout the Eastern church was evidently prominent in Paul's mind as he wrote his Epistle to the Romans. He also felt strongly the call of that larger Gentile world which Rome represented. He longed, as he tells his readers, to take up his evangelistic work among them, but his primary aim was, as has been truly said: "A restatement in the light of his experience, during the long mission now closing, and in view of the fresh propaganda which he was contemplat- ing in the West, of the principle of his Gospel to the Gentiles in its re- 185 PAUL'S INTERPRETATION OF JESUS' WORK lation to Judaism." Romans contains not a system of philosophy or theology, but Paul's great confession of faith. The situation called for the systematic setting forth of his mature convictions and the principles that had inspired him in his work. Here is revealed not Paul the theologian but Paul the Christian mystic and missionary. II. The Structure of the Epistle to the Romans. Into the opening salutation (l 1-7 ) Paul puts not only his formal greeting but also his credentials as an apostle and the essence of his Gospel message. In l 8 " 17 is found the usual commendation of those to whom he wrote, a statement of his aim in writing to them, and the thesis which he later defends. Chapters l 18 -5 21 contain his main teaching. Here he seeks to show what God has done through the work of Jesus to meet the needs of both Gentiles and Jews. In 6*-7 6 he makes certain practical applications of these principles and defines the obligations of those who enjoy the results of divine grace: it is to dedicate themselves to God and to live, like Jesus, a sinless life. In 7 7 " 25 he reverts to the problems that gathered about the Jewish law and declares that it was simply preparatory to the work of Jesus but not able in itself to save men. Romans 8 is one of the great classical passages in Paul's writings. Here he speaks clearly out of the depths of his own spiritual experi- ence and aims to show what Christ means in the inner life of the in- dividual. "Christ" is not used here in the limited Jewish messianic sense. It stands not only for all that Jesus did and taught and was but also for the crucified yet living Christ whom Paul had beheld through his inner vision. Chapters 9-11 give the reason why the Jews, the favored people, had not been saved: through failure to be- lieve in Jesus they had forfeited their birthright; but in God's plan they were yet to have a place with the Gentiles. Chapters 12-15 con- tain the practical application of the principles of the Gospel to Chris- tian life and conduct. Chapter 16 is a personal letter that has been appended to the original Epistle to the Romans. III. Paul's Estimate of the Jewish Law. In Paul's letter to the Roman Christians the historical student of religion recognizes the many and varied currents of influence which converged in the great apostle to the Gentiles. Most of the figures and many of the ideas expressed in this epistle are the product of his intensely legalistic train- ing. His natural tendency to speak in legal terms was strengthened by the fact that he lived and worked in the rigidly legalistic atmos- phere of the Roman Empire in which he proudly claimed citizenship. So often had he pleaded his own case before Jewish and Roman tribunals 186 PAUL'S ESTIMATE OF THE JEWISH LAW that it was second nature for him to speak in the language of the court- room. Whenever he referred to the Jewish law it was always in terms of highest respect. On its ethical side it still had for him a certain binding authority. He was keenly alive to its historical and practical value as a clear, concrete formulation of fundamental moral and re- ligious principles. To Israel, during the childhood of the race, the law had been, like a Roman pedagogue, a wise guide directing the nation's moral and religious education. But Paul was also well aware of the limitations of the law. It had begotten in the majority of his coun- trymen self-pride and a sense of moral self-sufficiency which were fatal to all real religious progress. Moreover, Paul knew by painful experience that while the law developed in the mind of a conscientious man like himself a bitter consciousness of sin, it provided no practical way of escape from its consequences. Above all, the law emphasized the judicial side of God's character and provided no way of bringing man into that trusting, loyal fellowship with his divine Father which is the essence of true religion. Hence, Paul frankly declares that, while the ancient law had performed a great service in training men's moral sense, as a means of saving men from the consequences of their igno- rance and misdeeds and of leading them into complete and joyous fel- lowship with God it was a failure. To this he adds the revolutionary but logical conclusion that the Jews who had staked their hope on keeping the law were, after all, on an equality with the Gentiles. In- deed, if their confidence in the efficacy of the law had dulled their consciousness of the need of the personal fellowship with God, their lot was even more pitiable than that of the great heathen world of Paul's day, which was longing and earnestly seeking for salvation and unity with God. IV. The Influences which Shaped Paul's Conception of Jesus. Into Paul's life there had suddenly come a mighty transforming and satisfying spiritual experience. Psychology may explain the form of this experience, but it was regarded by Paul as a supreme miracle. Interpreted into the terms of the psychology of his own day, he had ex- perienced what the contemporary mystery religions promised to their devotees: God (in the person of the crucified but risen Christ) had entered in and taken possession of him. This transcendent religious experience was repeated at many later crises of his life. That such experiences were possible was almost a commonplace of contemporary Greek or Roman religious thought. For centuries the teachers of the Jewish race also had taught that the Spirit of Jehovah at times 187 PAUL'S INTERPRETATION OF JESUS' WORK rushed upon and took possession of the true prophets and even of patriotic warriors like Gideon and Saul. The prophet Joel had pre- dicted that this experience would be shared in common by all classes of men. The primitive church at Jerusalem had felt and seen the marvellous realization of this prediction. In Paul's confession of faith (Rom. 1-11) the influence of many other inherited beliefs may also be recognized. Pharisaic Judaism had taught him to believe in the pre-existence and the supernatural character of the Messiah or Christ. In the light of Paul's own experi- ence it was difficult for him to think of Christ, a spirit, as other than ever existent. In apocalyptic passages, like Daniel 7 13 , "the one like to the Son of man" was represented as coming from the heavens and as standing beside the throne of God. On the other hand, legal- istic Judaism, as interpreted by IV Ezra, represented the Messiah as an atoning sacrifice intended to propitiate the divine judge. Al- though not in the Old Testament, in the contemporary Jewish litera- ture, such as the Wisdom of Solomon, II Baruch (4S 42 - 43 ), and IV Ezra (3 7 ), Adam, the traditional forefather of the human race, is re- garded as the source of all the sin and woe which he has transmitted to his descendants. The burdening belief that all flesh was bowed to earth by a crushing, cumulative weight of sin was shared alike by Stoic philosophers and thoughtful Jews. In his own spiritual ex- perience of Jesus and in that of his fellow Christians Paul found the fulfilment of all his inherited hopes and beliefs and the solution of all his spiritual problems. It was also inevitable that he should interpret Jesus and his work in the light of these varied inheritances. To ignore this fact is to misinterpret Paul and to fail to appreciate his perma- nent contributions to Christianity which are enmeshed in the figures and beliefs of a bygone age. V. PauPs Doctrine of Salvation through Faith in Christ. To understand Paul's teachings it is also important to note that he is fond of using a great variety of figures to set forth the same ultimate truth. This method is a characteristic of most great religious teachers. The more important the truth the more important that it be viewed from many points. Paul, in his endeavor to make clear what Christ has done for him and could do for all men, used four familiar figures, each drawn from the legal vocabulary of his age. It is evident that they all represent the same vital experience in the life of the individual. The first, that of the redemption or emancipation of a slave from bondage, was grimly suggestive and familiar to every citizen of that 188 SALVATION THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST ancient world. It was probably suggested by Jesus' words, recorded in Mark 10 45 : "The Son of man has come not to be served but to serve (as a slave) and to give his life as a ransom for many (slaves)." The underlying idea is closely related to Paul's characteristic doctrine of Christian liberty. By its use he declared that Jesus came to free men from the bondage of that merely judical relationship to God of which Paul frequently speaks and which in his experience he found so onerous. Another figure was that of justification or acquittal. This figure, of course, was suggested by the ancient courts of justice, where the culprit was arraigned by the representatives of the state and his release was assured only when his innocence could be proved or palliating circum- stance adduced. Here, as in each of these parallel figures, the domi- nating idea is that deliverance or salvation is attained as the result of the divine love expressed in the work and death of Jesus. A third figure was that of forgiveness. Here the sinner was thought of as a debtor to whom God had granted full forgiveness, because of divine love which Jesus supremely exemplified and proclaimed. The fourth parallel figure was that of reconciliation. It implied that the sinner by his acts had put himself in an attitude of enmity toward God. Jesus is again the one who reconciles him to his divine Father. It is significant that in each of these figures, by which Paul de- scribes the salvation of the individual, the work of an intermediary between God and man is implied, if not absolutely required. It em- phasizes the fundamental difference between Paul's own relation to God and that of Jesus. Jesus did not desire nor would he have toler- ated any intermediary between himself and God. Paul and the great majority of his fellow Christians in the past, as in the present, crave such an interpreter of God. In supplying this practically universal need, Paul and the early apostles made their supreme contribution to Chris- tianity, for they proclaimed Jesus to be the great interpreter of God to man. Christ in man and man in Christ made personal fellowship with God possible and easy. Here Paul unconsciously joins hands with the Greek mystics. His doctrine of Christ in him and he in Christ was not a mere figure of speech nor a dogma; it was a deep, transforming, spiritual experience which freed him from his conscious- ness of sin and gave him instead a consciousness of fellowship with God. Sometimes Paul attributed this mystic experience to the pres- ence of Christ, sometimes to the Spirit of Christ, and sometimes to the Spirit of God within him. In Romans 8 9 " 11 he uses these three synonyms together: "But you are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if 189 PAUL'S INTERPRETATION OF JESUS' WORK the Spirit of God dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him; but if Christ is within you, though the body is dead as a result of sin, the spirit is living as a result of righteous- ness. And if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells within you, then he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also make your immortal bodies live because his Spirit is dwelling within you." Like certain of the early writers in Acts, Paul evidently uses the terms "Spirit of Jesus," "Holy Spirit," and "Spirit of God" interchangeably. The ultimate basis of his mysticism is the contrast between a life governed by the fleshly passions and a life governed by the higher spiritual emotions which find their source and inspiration in God. It is a life of fellowship and loyal co-operation with God made possible as the individual is touched by the personality and in- spired by the teachings of Jesus. It is this spiritual experience which Paul describes by his favorite term "faith in Christ." It is not mere subscription to articles of belief, but it is the effect of the Spirit of Christ at w r ork in the heart of the individual. It is the spirit of love which Jesus proclaimed and exemplified, which transforms men into his likeness and binds them together in loyal, devoted, self-sacrificing service of the great brotherhood which he founded. When this Spirit is at work in the heart of a man his past sins and his evil habits no longer have power over him; he is conscious of God's forgiveness, and is invincible against the pains and perils of life, for he is " more than a conqueror through him who loved us." No power in heaven or earth can separate him " from God's love in Jesus Christ our Lord." It is thus that men are saved through faith in Christ. Well is this trans- forming spiritual process described in the primitive Christian prayer preserved in the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles: "We thank thee, our Father, for the life and the knowledge which thou hast made known to us through Jesus thy Servant." §CLXI. PAUL'S SOCIAL TEACHINGS I beseech you, therefore, brothers, on account of the mercies of God, dedicate your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, for this is your reasonable service. And do not be moulded in conformity to this world, but be transformed through the complete renewal of your mind, so that you may be able to make out what is the will of God, even what is good and acceptable and perfect. 190 EACH TO DO HIS TASK By virtue of the divine authority granted to me, I charge Each every one of you not to think of himself more than he ought Jaith- to think; but so to think that he will attain a sane estimate gjuy of himself according to the degree of faith which God hath task apportioned to each. For just as in our one body we have ^£ ich many members, and all the members do not have the same ge js functions, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and (»-«) e we are each members one with another. We have different gifts according to the grace that is given us ; if it is prophecy let us use it in proportion to our faith; if practical service, in practical service ; the teacher must do the same in teach- ing; he who exhorts in his exhortation; he who gives must do it liberally; he who is an authority must be in earnest; he who does acts of mercy must do them cheerfully. Let love be without hypocrisy; abhor what is evil, cleave in his to what is good. In your love for your brothers feel true l^ 1 affection for one another. In matters of honor yield to one gon another. Be not lacking in zeal; keep alive the spiritual feiiow glow; serve the Lord; rejoice in your hope; be steadfast in S£f"- trouble, persistent in prayer; contribute to the needs of <£"■ * the saints, constantly practise hospitality. Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Think in harmony one with another. Strive not for the high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be self-conceited. Bless those who persecute you, bless and curse them not. The Do not pay back evil for evU to anyone; take thought for §£S" what is seemly in the eyes of all. If possible, as far as it atti- depends on you, live at peace with all men. Never revenge toward yourselves, beloved, but give place to the wrath of God; ^!.^. en for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the 21 ) Lord. Rather, if your enemy is hungry feed him, if he is thirsty give him drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head. Be not conquered by evil, but conquer evil by doing good. Every individual must obey those who rule over him, for The there is no authority apart from God; the existing author- §^|" ities have been constituted by God. Therefore, whoever duty to resists authority is resisting the order established by God, author- and they who oppose will bring judgment on themselves. JJJmj For rulers are no terror to right-doers but to wrong-doers. 191 PAUL'S SOCIAL TEACHINGS You wish, do you not, to have no fear of authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended by it, for a ruler is the servant of God for your good. But if you do wrong, you have cause to fear, for he does not bear the sword for nothing, for he is God's servant to inflict divine punishment upon evil-doers. It is necessary, therefore, that we should obey, not only to avoid divine vengeance, but also for conscience' sake. For this same reason we pay taxes, for tax collectors are God's servants, devoting their energies to this very thing. Render to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute is due, taxes to whom taxes, respect to whom respect, and honor to whom honor is due. to ws Owe no man anything, except to love one another, for he men W who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law. For the (810) commands, Thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet, these and all other commands are summed up in this one word, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. obiiga- You also know what this crisis means: that it is high ofThe time to arouse ourselves from sleep, for salvation is nearer present f us now fa^ w hen we first believed. The night is far (12-H) advanced, the day is near. Let us, therefore, lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light. Let us behave ourselves becomingly, as in the light of day without revelry or drunkenness, without lust or sensuality, without quarrelling or jealousy. Rather let us put on the character of the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for gratify- ing the cravings of the flesh. Toiera- Receive a man of weak faith, but not to pass judgment toward upon his scruples. One man has faith enough to eat all ({J?.™) things; while the man of weak faith eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats look down upon the one who does not eat, nor let the man who does not eat condemn him who eats all things, for God hath received him. Who are you that you should criticize the servant of another ? Whether he stands or falls concerns only his own Master, and stand he will for the Master hath power to make him stand. One man rates one day above another, while an- other man rates all days alike. Let every man be fully 192 TOLERATION OF OTHERS' CONVICTIONS convinced in his own mind. He who rates highly a cer- tain day does it for the Lord. The eater also eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God ; and he who refrains from eating, refrains for the Lord's sake and he also gives thanks to God. For none of us lives for himself and none of us dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Thus whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. It was for this that Christ died and lives again in order that he might be the Lord both of the dead and of the living. And why do you criticize your brother? Or you, why do you look down upon your brother? All of us will have to stand before God's tribunal, for it is written: As I live, saith the Lord, Every knee shall bend before me, And every tongue shall make confession to God. Every one of us, therefore, will have to give an account of himself to God. Therefore, let us no longer criticize one another. Rather con- make this decision, never to put any stumbling block or tlon ra " hindrance in your brother's way. I know and am convinced f °^£; in Christ that nothing is in itself unclean, except that it is con- rs unclean to the man who considers it unclean. If your JJ^f brother is being troubled because of food that you eat, then scru- you are no longer living in accordance with the law of love, ft Do not by the food that you eat ruin that man for whom Christ died. Therefore let not what is good for you become a cause of reproach, for the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. He who serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and esteemed by men. We who are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the qbuga- weak, and not to please ourselves. Each of us should {jfwfrd please his neighbor in order to do him good by building *£* him up. And this is our duty, for Christ did not please us 1 -*) himself, but, as it is written, The reproaches of those who reproached thee fell on me. For what was written of old was written for our instruction, that through our stead- fastness and the encouragement of the scriptures, we might 193 PAUL'S SOCIAL TEACHINGS have hope. May the God who inspires steadfastness and encouragement grant to you that you may think in such harmony, one with another, after the example of Christ Jesus, that with one heart and voice you will glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Therefore, welcome one another, as Christ has welcomed STboth you, for the glory of God. Christ, I say, became a servant Jewish f the circumcised in order to vindicate God' s truthfulness Gentile in showing how sure are the promises given to our forefathers ers U ( e £) and also that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. Even so it is written, For this reason I will praise thee among the Gentiles and sing to thy name. The My aim has been to make the Gentiles an offering ac- Ifm in ceptable to God and consecrated by the Holy Spirit. There- Pauis f or6j J have cause to be proud in Christ Jesus of the work work which I have done for God, for I will not presume to speak (16b21) of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in securing the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed, by means of signs and miracles, and by the power of the Holy Spirit. The fact is that, from Jerusalem around as far as IUyricum, I have proclaimed fully the gospel of Christ. My ambition, however, has always been to preach the gospel only where Christ's name had not been men- tioned lest I should be building on a foundation laid by another man, but, as it is written, That they might see to whom no report about him had come, That those who had not heard of him should under- stand. I. The Two Sides of Paul's Personality and Teaching. Paul's breadth and greatness are attested by the fact that throughout the ages the most diverse types of mind have found in him their supreme inspiration. Ignatius, Luther, and Calvin are only a few of his many devoted, spiritual disciples. For eighteen centuries each generation has taken from Paul that which most appealed to its interests and needs and left the rest of his teachings almost untouched. A theo- logical age found in Paul's writings the materials from which it recon- structed a complete metaphysical system. Now, in the present strongly 194 THE TWO SIDES OF PAUL social age, Paul promises still to hold his place as a moulder of Chris- tian thought. The explanation of this marvel is Paul himself. At heart he was a mystic, but, unlike most mystics, he was intensely prac- tical. This fact alone saved his theology from becoming mere vague mysticism or cold philosophy. His head was often in the clouds, but his feet were always planted squarely on earth. Faith meant every- thing to him, and yet in many of his writings he asserted in most practical terms that "faith without works is dead." This unique combination of mysticism and the strongly ethical and social interpre- tation of religion is undoubtedly the explanation of his continuous leadership. Men to-day may reject many of his theoretical doctrines, but they cannot escape the charm and inspiration of his practical ethics. This rare combination of the mystic and social teacher is due to Paul's personality and training. His peculiar type of mind and his unique psychological experiences made him a mystic. The apocalyptic tendencies of contemporary Pharisaism undoubtedly in- tensified this tendency. On the other hand, his early study of the Jewish law forever fixed in his mind the practical, social concept of religion. This precipitate remained long after he had rejected the ceremonial side of the law. This tendency was strengthened by his study of the ethical prophets and by his knowledge of the practical problems that were constantly arising in the lives of the Christians who looked to him for pastoral guidance. II. Paul's Reassertion of Jesus' Social Teachings. The great force, however, which made Paul a strong social teacher was his familiarity with Jesus' social teachings. Paul was intensely interested in his own theories about Jesus; but it was in the field of practical social ethics that the great apostle stands closest to his Master. That this should be true was natural, for the heart of Jesus' teachings was ethical and social. Evidently Paul had a more extensive and intimate knowledge of these teachings than is generally recognized. His oppor- tunities for gaining this knowledge were many, for he came into intimate and repeated contact with the disciples of Jesus while the first im- pression of their Master's work and teachings were still upon them. Evidently Paul also had in certain respects a more extensive acquain- tance with certain of Jesus' teachings than is reflected in our gospel records. This fact is obscured, however, by Paul's peculiar method of quoting. Even his direct citations from the Old Testament are rarely reproduced with absolute accuracy. It was more natural for him to paraphrase and interpret than to quote verbatim. Ordinarily he did 195 PAUL'S SOCIAL TEACHINGS not believe it necessary to state that he was reproducing Jesus' teach- ings, for he assumed that practically all that he proclaimed was based on those teachings. Also he felt the living spirit of Jesus working in his mind and prompting his every word. It was only when he was in doubt as to whether or not he was reproducing his Master's teachings, as in I Corinthians 7, that he plainly states this fact. Hence, there are good grounds for believing that in the field of social ethics Paul is simply interpreting Jesus' teachings and that he has thus preserved certain elements not found in our four gospels. This conclusion is strongly confirmed by a careful examination of Romans 12 and 13, where in a majority of the cases the underlying principle can be di- rectly traced to the lips of Jesus. III. Paul's Restatement of Jesus' Social Ideal. Paul, like Jesus, began not with organized society but with the individual, and sought to develop socially minded citizens as the foundation for an ideal social order. Like his Master, he dealt primarily not with external acts, but with inner motives. He recognized that the individual must first be socially redeemed, transformed, and consecrated to the service of God and society. His thoughts and character must be moulded, not only by circumstances and social conventions, but above all by loyalty to the will of God and to the interests of the Christian commu- nity. After he has made this complete self-sacrifice to the service of God and his Kingdom, it is easy for each man to find his own individual task in the church and in society and to perform it efficiently. In Paul's mind the perfect social order is the "one body in Christ," of which all his faithful followers are members. It is unimportant that individual talents differ; the one essential is that each use his own for the largest profit of the community. Here, as in I Corinthians and Ephesians, he built on the foundations laid by Jesus in his parables regarding the Kingdom of God; but the details are determined by Paul's own personal experience. The Christian communities which he had founded had given him a vision of the perfect community, bound to- gether by the spirit and principles of Christ. In his vision he saw this ideal community growing and extending, even as the Christian church was then rapidly extending, until it included all mankind. Paul, in his loyal service to the local communities, which were the pro- totype of the all-embracing community of the saints to be estab- lished in the future, had himself attained personal salvation, liberty, and fulness of life. Therefore he pointed out to his fellow Christians the same sure and satisfying way of salvation and life. He declared 196 HIS RESTATEMENT OF JESUS' SOCIAL IDEAL by implication that, instead of losing their life, they also could find it through loyalty to the ideal of the perfect community and in work- ing for its establishment. In its glories each individual would attain the complete expression of his own highest aspirations; in its fellow- ship the full satisfaction of his social craving; in its service the development of his noblest gifts. This community of the socially re- deemed, which Paul called the "Body of Christ," is not a mere mys- tical abstraction but a perfectly practical social ideal. In Paul's day each local Christian community gave to the individual Christian the field and the definite objective needed to develop his loyalty to the ideal community. Here, as always, Paul makes a complete and natural synthesis of the ideal and the practical. In so doing he has presented a working social programme as applicable to the needs of society to-day and in the future as it was in the first Christian cen- tury. IV. The Christian's Responsibility as a Member of Society. Jesus simply presented social principles; but Paul in his fervent zeal to develop efficient loyalty to the ideal community (which occupied the central place in his vision of the future) lays down many definite laws and commands. He also sets forth his specific social teachings in systematic order and in a most condensed yet forceful form. In Romans 12 9-16 he defines the Christian's responsibilities to the mem- bers of the Christian community. Verse 14 clearly belongs with the next section ( 17 " 21 ), which describes the Christian's obligations to those outside the community. In 13 1 " 7 he discusses the Christian's obli- gations to civil authorities. In verses 8 " 10 he stresses the underlying and all-comprehending principle of love. Love is indeed the golden strand that runs through all of Paul's social teachings. He begins with the command, "Let love be without hypocrisy," and ends with the quotation, "Love is the fulfillment of the law." His social teach- ings as a whole are simply a practical, detailed application of the Golden Rule to the problems of the individual in his relation to society. Jesus' beatitude, "Happy are the peacemakers," becomes on the lips of Paul a definite command: "Think in harmony one with another." "Happy are the humble" and "Happy are the poor in spirit" are also transformed into the definite commands: "Strive not for the high things but associate with the humble" and "Do not be self -con- ceited." The Master's command, "Love your enemies," on the lips of Paul becomes, "Bless those who persecute you, bless and curse them not." Paul also concludes his recapitulation of the Christian's 197 PAUL'S SOCIAL TEACHINGS responsibilities with the powerful, positive command: "Be not con- quered by evil, but conquer evil by doing good," which is a splendid summary of the principles which underlie both Jesus' social teachings and method. Throughout Paul's discussion of the Christian's obligations to or- ganized society we recognize the influence of Jesus' broad principle: "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's." In the concluding sentence Paul quotes almost ver- batim the words of his Master, expanding them freely, however : "Render to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute is due, taxes to whom taxes, respect to whom respect and honor to whom honor is due." In his interpretation of Jesus' principle Paul shows the influence of his Ro- man citizenship, of his cosmopolitan training, and of his practical statesmanship. His assertion of the divine authority of rulers is in striking contrast with Jesus' rather contemptuous estimate of the men who play the tyrant over their subjects. The context implies that Paul had in mind simply those rulers who proved by their acts that they were "servants of God." His aim is evidently to deliver the Christians from conflict with the pagan authorities, but the working principles which he lays down are intensely practical through all ages. Nowhere can one find in such condensed form a more exact statement of a theory of government, of its obligations to the individual citizen, and of the duties of a citizen to the state. V. The Christian's Duties of Toleration and Consideration for Others. It has been asserted that Paul's "outlook is almost devoid of social elements" and that the hope of the speedy second coming of Jesus destroyed his interest in society. Carried to its logical conclusion, this result would seem to a superficial reader in- evitable; but exactly the opposite effect is discernible. Instead of encouraging his converts to sit with idle hands awaiting the great consummation, which he, as an heir to the Jewish apocalyptic hopes, regarded as imminent, Paul encouraged them to discharge all their social obligations with the greatest care and consideration. His be- lief that the "night is far advanced and that the day is near" only intensified his social consciousness. The explanation is that he re- garded the Christian church already established and rapidly expand- ing as the foundation of the new world-wide community that was to be perfected at the second coming of Jesus. Paul's breadth is also revealed in the principles which he laid down regarding toleration toward others. The man of weak faith, whom he 198 TOLERATION AND CONSIDERATION FOR OTHERS had in mind, was the one limited by the conventional conceptions of religion. It was the type of man who regarded the observation of certain ritualistic forms and of days of feasting or fasting as abso- lutely essential. Evidently Paul himself did not share these beliefs; but he contended as earnestly for the liberty of personal judgment for the man with whom he did not agree as he did for his own. Each man, as he convincingly argues, is simply responsible to God. Here again it seems probable that Paul is standing squarely on principles proclaimed by Jesus and implied, though not recorded, in our gospels. It was this principle which determined the attitude of Jesus, as well as Paul, toward the ceremonial institutions of Judaism. Underlying Paul's command not to criticise nor look down upon a brother Christian one sees clearly Jesus' teaching: "Judge not that you be not judged." Also his command not to put a stumbling-block or hinderance in a brother's way is but Paul's free paraphrase of Jesus' words: "Woe to you who cause any of these little ones to stumble." With rare effec- tiveness and felicity Paul lays down the comprehensive Christian prin- ciple that the larger responsibility to show toleration and considera- tion to the brother of more limited vision rests upon the man of broader faith and outlook. He is the one who should be supremely governed by the law of love. The context also implies that the significant saying: The Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, But of righteousness, peace, and joy, came directly from the lips of Jesus. VI. The Christian's Obligation to Men of All Races. In conclusion Paul suggests the Christian's larger missionary obligations to the Gentile world. He presents this responsibility, not in the form of a direct command, but first by pointing out the fact that Jesus' work was done that Gentiles as well as Jews "might glorify God for his mercy." He then adds that his own primary aim as an apostle has been to bring the Gentiles into harmony with God's purpose. He declares that his great ambition has been to preach the Gospel where before Christ's name had not been mentioned. Paul wisely leaves to each individual Christian the application of the principle so nobly illustrated by his own example and by that of his Master. Thus, Paul's teachings regarding the social responsibilities of each Christian may be briefly summarized under six heads: (1) To give him- self completely to the service of his divine Master. (2) To use each 199 PAUL'S SOCIAL TEACHINGS and all of his talents in behalf of "the body of Christ." (3) To show to his fellow citizens in this ideal commonwealth justice, love, consider- ation, and hospitality. (4) To regard all men of every shade of faith in the spirit of love and forgiveness and to serve them as opportunity offers. (5) To pay to the state its dues and to respect and obey its rulers. (6) To extend to the Gentiles everywhere the hand of Chris- tian fellowship, to proclaim to them the Gospel of the Master, and by these means to attract them to the ranks of those who are loyally working for that perfect community which is ultimately to include all mankind. Thus, nobly and practically, in the concrete terms of love and loyalty and service, Paul interpreted Jesus' great social command to "seek first the Kingdom of God." §CLXH. PAUL'S LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM Paul's When we had torn ourselves away from the presbyters of voyage Ephesus and had set sail, we ran in a straight course to *8J" Cos; on the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patera. (Acts Finding a ship bound for Phoenicia, we embarked and set 2|17) sail. After sighting Cyprus and leaving it on our left, we sailed for Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload her cargo. After we had searched out the dis- ciples, we remained there seven days. Certain of these disciples under the inspiration of the Spirit kept telling Paul not to set foot in Jerusalem; but when our time was up, we set out and went our way, escorted until we were out of the city by all of them, including women and children. Then kneeling on the beach we prayed and said good-bye to one another. While we went on board the ship, they re- turned home. Sailing from Tyre to Ptolemais, we com- pleted our voyage. Then after we had saluted the brothers, we spent one day with them. ms ex- Setting out the next morning, we came to Caesarea and en?e at entered the house of Philip, the evangelist, who was one of £gsa- the seven, and stayed with him. Now he had four un- (8-m) married daughters who prophesied. While we remained there many days a certain prophet by the name of Agabus came down from Judea. Coming to us, he took Paul's girdle and bound his own feet and hands, saying, Thus saith the Holy Spirit, * So shall the Jews bind the owner of 200 PAUL'S EXPERIENCE AT C.ESAREA this girdle and hand him over to the Gentiles.' When we heard these words, we and those who dwelt at Csesarea be- sought Paul not to go up to Jerusalem; but Paul replied, What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but to die in Jerusalem for the sake of the Lord Jesus. When he would not be persuaded, we ceased speaking, saying, May the Lord's will be done. After some days, we packed up our baggage and set out His for Jerusalem. And certain of the disciples from Csesarea ^ iyal accompanied us, conducting us to the house of a certain Jeju- Mnason, a native of Cyprus, one of the early disciples with o^? whom we were to lodge. When we arrived at Jerusalem the brothers received us gladly. On the next day Paul went with us to James. All the Recep- presbyters were present and, after saluting them, Paul told je° r u- at in detail all that God had done through his ministry among saiem the Gentiles; and when they heard it they glorified God. They also said to him, Brother, you see how many tens of The thousands there are among the Jews who believe and that Som- ali of them zealously uphold the law. Now they have been f e the told that you teach all Jews who live among the Gentiles (*™> to break away from Moses and that you tell them not to circumcise their children and not to follow the old customs. What now is to be done ? They are sure to hear that you have arrived, therefore do what we say. We have four men here who have taken a vow upon themselves. As- sociate with them, purify yourself with them, and pay their expenses that they may shave their heads and all will know that there is no foundation for the stories about you but that you are orthodox and that you yourself keep the law. As for the Gentile believers, we have communicated to them our decision that they must abstain from those things which have been offered to idols, from blood, from the flesh of animals which have been strangled and from sexual vice. Then Paul associated himself with the men the next day, was purified along with them, and went into the temple, announcing when the days of purification would be completed, that is, when sacrifice could be offered for each of them. 201 PAUL'S LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM But when the seven days were almost over, certain Jews from the province of Asia, seeing Paul in the temple, stirred up all the crowd and laid hands on him, shouting, Men of Israel, help ! This is the man who teaches all men every- where against the Jewish people and the law and this place. Aid besides he has even brought Greeks into the temple and desecrated this holy place. (For they had previously seen Trophimus, the Ephesian, with him in the city whom they supposed Paul had taken into the temple.) The whole city was aroused and the people rushed to- gether and seized Paul and dragged him outside the temple, and immediately the gates were closed. But while the people were seeking to kill Paul, word came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in confusion. Immediately taking some soldiers and officers, he rushed down to them. But when they saw the commander and the soldiers they ceased beating Paul. Then the commander drew near and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. And he in- quired, Who is he and what has he done ? Some of the crowd shouted one thing, some another; but when he could not learn the exact truth on account of the uproar, he ordered Paul to be led into the barracks. But when Paul was at the steps, he had to be carried by the soldiers on account of the violence of the crowd, for the whole multi- tude of the people followed shouting, Away with him ! Just as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, May I say something to you ? The com- mander replied, Do you know Greek ? Then you are not the Egyptian who in former days stirred up the four thou- sand Assassins and led them out into the desert ? Paul replied, I am a Jew, a native of Tarsus of Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people. And as the commander gave permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hands to the people; and when there was perfect silence he addressed them in Hebrew, telling them of his vision on the way to Damascus and how the Lord said to him, Go, for I send you afar to the Gentiles. Until he had said this the people had listened to Paul, 202 PAUL'S SCOURGING but now they raised a great outcry saying, Away with such scourg- a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live! They §gg_ shouted and threw their clothes into the air and flung dust gaga- about until the commander ordered Paul to be led into the of the barracks and to be examined under the lash in order to ^$ 2 . ascertain the reason why the people had shouted at him. "> But when they had tied him up with straps, Paul said to the officer who was standing by, Are you permitted to scourge a Roman citizen, and that without trial? When the officer heard this he went to report the matter to the commander, saying, What is this you are about to do ? For this man is a Roman citizen. Then the commander went to him and said, Tell me, are you a Roman citizen ? And he answered, Yes. Then the commander replied, I paid a large sum for this citizenship. But I was born a Roman citizen, said Paul. Then the men who were about to ex- amine him immediately left him. The commander also was alarmed when he learned that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him. The next day the commander, wishing to know exactly Paul's what charge was brought against Paul by the Jews, unbound before® him and ordered the high priests and all the Sanhedrin to |^_ assemble. Then bringing Paul down, he made him stand nedrin before them. Whereupon, Paul looking straight at the %£]*~. Sanhedrin, said, Brothers, I have lived before God with a perfectly good conscience up to this day. Then the high priest Ananias ordered those who were standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. Paul said to him, You white- washed wall, God will strike you ! Do you sit there to judge me according to the law while you yourself break the law by ordering me to be struck ? But those who were stand- ing by said, Would you rail at God's high priest? Paul said, Brothers, I did not know that he was a high priest (for it is written, * Thou shalt not speak evil of a ruler of thy people '). Then Paul, knowing that part of the Sanhedrin con- sisted of Sadducees and the other part of Pharisees, shouted to them, Brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees. For the hope of the resurrection of the dead I am on trial! When he said this, there was a quarrel between the Phari- 203 PAUL'S LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM The sees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. be?£Sfn For while the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection the n or angel nor spirit, the Pharisees acknowledge all these dScees things; hence there was a great uproar. And some of PhaS 6 me scribes, who belonged to the party of the Pharisees, sees arose and contended, We find no harm in this man. What (810) if some spirit or angel has spoken to him? When the quarrel became so violent that the commander feared that Paul would be torn in pieces by them, he ordered the troops to go down and take him from their midst by force and bring him into the barracks. Paul's On the following night the Lord stood by Paul and said, ^f on Be of good courage, for as you have borne witness to me at Jerusalem so you must bear witness also at Rome. The Now when daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy kmhSi and solemnly swore not to eat or drink until they had killed (u-u) Paul. Those who bound themselves by this oath were more than forty in all. Going to the high priests and elders they said, We have bound ourselves by a solemn oath not to taste anything until we have killed Paul. Now you, together with the Sanhedrin, must make it appear to the commander that you wish him to bring Paul down to you because you wish to investigate more minutely the charges brought against him. We will be ready to kill him before he comes near this place. The But Paul's nephew heard of the treacherous ambush and Sosure gained admission to the barracks and informed Paul. Then °f * he Paul called one of the officers and said, Take this young man ^u?2i a) to the commander for he has some information to give him. Accordingly the officer took and brought him to the com- mander and said, Paul the prisoner called me and asked me if I would bring this young man to you for he has something to say to you. Then the commander took him aside by the hand and inquired of him in private, What is the informa- tion you have to give me ? He said, The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul to-morrow down to the Sanhedrin for the avowed purpose of examining his case in detail. Now do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of them are lying in wait for him. Then the commander sent away the young man, enjoin- 204 PAUL AT CAESAREA ing him to * tell no one that you informed me of these things.' Paul He then summoned two of the officers and said, Make cS£a-° ready two hundred infantry, seventy horsemen, and two "» hundred spearmen by nine o'clock to-night to march as far as Caesarea. Provide horses also to mount Paul so as to bring him safely to Felix the governor. He also wrote a letter to Felix. The soldiers, therefore, according to their instructions, Arrival took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. On the caesa- next day the infantry returned to the barracks, leaving the rea cavalry to go on with him. When they reached Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and also brought Paul to him. When he had read the letter, Felix asked from what province he was, and learning that it was Cilicia he said, I will hear all about your case whenever your ac- cusers arrive. And he gave orders that Paul be kept in the pretorium of Herod. I. The Record of Paul's Journey to Jerusalem and Rome. When Paul set out on his final journey to Jerusalem, the intermittent stream of narrative in Acts suddenly broadens, giving us a detailed picture of Paul's public activity. Fully one-fourth of the book of Acts is devoted to these journeys which finally led him to Rome. Only regarding Paul's two years' imprisonment at Caesarea the narra- tive suddenly becomes silent. Two reasons probably explain this striking literary phenomenon. With the exception of the two years at Caesarea, Luke was evidently drawing from his own personal experi- ence and observation. Throughout most of this narrative he speaks in the first person plural. As has already been noted, the evidence is practically conclusive that Luke himself is the author of this journal of travel and that, even where he does not use the first person, he is in close personal touch with the facts. The second reason is because of the nature of the material here presented. Two of Luke's most important contentions are: (1) that practically all the opposition to Christianity came from the Jews, and (2) that the early attitude of the Roman officials toward Christianity was not only friendly but protective. It is probably under the influence of this motive that Luke has reproduced and expanded the speeches of Paul and the Roman officials and introduced even the supposed text of the letter sent by the Roman governor of Jerusalem to Felix, the procurator of 205 PAUL'S LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM Judea. He also aimed to say as little as possible about the heart- burns and bitternesses of the past. Luke's concentration on these definite aims alone explains his silence regarding the real object of Paul's visit to Jerusalem and the realization of the apostle's great ambition. II. Paul's Reasons for Revisiting Jerusalem. The narrative of Acts indicates clearly that Paul went up to Jerusalem in direct op- position to the earnest warnings of his friends. They knew well the bitterness of the opposition which he would meet in that centre of Judaism. The account of the warning of Agabus, who had just come from Judea and was therefore in close touch with conditions there, indicates that the old type of Hebrew prophet still survived in the Christian church. For the "Thus saith Jehovah" is substituted the equally impressive phrase "Thus saith the Holy Spirit." The over- mastering conviction that incites him to speak is evidently akin in every respect to that which in earlier days drew Amos from his flock and impelled him to speak before the assembled multitudes at the great sanctuary in Bethel. The methods whereby Agabus impressed his message upon Paul also recall the dramatic object-lessons which Ezekiel used to convince his irresolute countrymen. But neither the warnings of the Christian prophets nor Paul's own knowledge of the perils which confronted him at Jerusalem deterred him. What were the reasons which thus impelled him onward? The first was evi- dently his feeling that he must fulfil the parting injunction of the pillar apostles in their last interview at Jerusalem, when they urged him to remember the poor at Jerusalem. He also felt a deep obliga- tion to discharge the trust placed in his hands by the Gentile churches and to deliver at Jerusalem in person the funds intrusted to his care. More important still, Paul desired in the presence of the mother church to vindicate his work among the Gentiles. He plainly declares this purpose in the conclusion of his letter to the Roman Christians: "Pray that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea and also that my mission to Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints." Above all, Paul ardently hoped by this visit to establish the unity of the "Body of Christ." This achievement he hoped to make the crown of his life-work. All the influences of his Jewish inheritance led him to crave the approval and fellowship of his Jewish Christian brothers. If he could win these, all the bitterness of the Judaistic controversies would be but easily forgotten memories, and the Christian church would be in a position to face the Grseco-Roman world with unbroken 206 PAUL'S REASONS FOR REVISITING JERUSALEM front. It was, therefore, as the first great apostle of Christian unity that Paul undertook this perilous adventure. III. Paul's Reception at Jerusalem. The narrative of Acts indicates that Paul's reception by the leaders of the Jerusalem church was on the whole friendly, but it is ominously silent regarding the way in which they received the contributions of the Gentile churches. They were still chiefly concerned about Paul's attitude toward the Jewish law. It is evident that they were unable to rise above their intense Jewish environment. It is probable that already the storm of Jewish persecution was rising, which resulted a few years later in the death of James, the brother of Jesus, and in the scattering of the Jerusalem church. Even the optimistic Luke gives the impression that within the Christian brotherhood Paul met with bitter disap- pointment. While the leaders shared with him the joy inspired by his marvellous achievements in Gentile lands, they were unable to shake off their immediate fears. Their chief concern was still about his at- titude toward the Jewish law. Was his action, as reported, in avowing publicly his personal loyalty to the Jewish law inconsistent with his earlier teachings and practices ? It was certainly consistent with his avowed principle "of becoming like the Jews to win over the Jews and as one of themselves to those under the law." Moreover, his chief contention had been that the Jewish law was not binding on any Christians except as they freely chose to keep it in order not to offend the "weak." Against the action of the Jewish Christians, who con- tinued for conscientious reasons to observe the laws of their fathers, he was the last to raise a voice of protest. The impression that he was opposed to the Mosaic law itself was also wrong. In the circum- stances he probably felt amply justified, in order to remove false im- pressions, in associating with four poor men who had taken a vow and in defraying the expense of the sacrifices demanded by the Jewish ritual. IV. The Jewish Attack. Paul's action probably satisfied the Jewish Christians, but in the end it proved disastrous. His presence in the temple arou»©d the smouldering antagonism of certain of the visiting Jews from the province of Asia, who had probably come into hostile contact with Paul during his long and strenuous ministry at Ephesus. The memory that Paul had earlier brought Titus, a Greek Christian, to Jerusalem, may still have lingered in the popular mind. If so, it tended to give credence to the charge of the Ephesian Jews that Paul had taken another Gentile Christian, Tropbimus of Ephesus (who had journeyed to Jerusalem with Paul) into the sacred temple 207 PAUL'S LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM precincts. According to the Jewish law, confirmed by the tablets set up by Herod about the enclosure which shut in the inner courts of the temple, this was a capital offense. The charge was undoubtedly false, but it was sufficient to inflame the mind of the fanatical mob. The Romans were ordinarily inclined to support the Jewish law, but the Jews in their fury evidently intended to take justice in their own hands and to slay Paul on the charge of impiety. Uprisings of this character, even in the temple courts at this period, were evidently common, and the Roman guards, stationed at the tower of Antonia on the northwestern side of the temple area, were ever on the alert to put down an uprising. Their timely interference alone saved Paul's life. As ever in face of danger, he was cool and alert. It was characteristic of Paul to face the mob and to improve the dramatic opportunity thus offered to preach the faith for which he was ready to die. The variations in the account of his conversions indicate that the details of the speech here attributed to him are not the result of the verbatim report, for which the occasion offered no opportunity, but of Luke's tendency to present vividly and concretely the spirit and thought of the characters who figure in his narrative. Even in the hands of the Roman soldiers, Paul again proved himself master of the situation. Emperors like Augustus and Tiberius, keenly interested in the welfare of the provinces, had taught the Roman provincial officials to beware lest they misuse their power. Paul's assertions that he was a Roman citizen not only saved him from scourging but also insured him a fair hearing. Before the Roman official could take action, Paul, because of the nature of the charge brought against him, must be tried and con- demned by the supreme Jewish court, the Sanhedrim According to Luke's account, Paul, knowing well the constitution of this unique assembly, precipitated a dispute among its members which again brought in the Roman troops. The futility of the charge brought against Paul was evidently recognized by his bitterest foes. Baffled in their attempt to put an end to him at the hands of the mob, they formed a conspiracy to kill him secretly. Fortunately for Paul, he had Jewish kinsmen at Jerusalem, who revealed this plot to him. His ability and Roman citizenship had evidently made a deep impression upon the Roman commander, so that almost as a royal prisoner Paul was sent to Felix, the governor of Judea, whose official residence was at Caesarea. V. The Results of Paul's Visit to Jerusalem. Unfortunately, the details in Luke's account of Paul's visit to Jerusalem have ob- scured the main issue. Was his mission successful? Did the Jeru- 208 THE RESULTS OF PAUL'S VISIT salem church accept the contributions of the Gentile Christians and in so doing cement the bond between the two branches of the Chris- tian church? Whatever be the answer, the significant fact is estab- lished that Paul, who most nobly interpreted the spirit of Jesus, was such an ardent advocate of Christian unity that he was quite ready, if necessary, to die for this cause. The facts themselves are fugitive. Luke's narrative leaves us to infer that Paul's mission to Jerusalem was successful. Possibly there were details which Luke deemed best to omit. Early Christian tradition asserts that Luke himself was the one whom Paul describes in II Corinthians 8 18 " 21 as "the brother who is praised by all the churches because of his services for the Gospel, and not only so, but who has been appointed by the churches to travel with us in charge of this contribution which we are admin- istering for the glory of the Lord. His appointment was also in ac- cord with our desire, for we want to take precaution lest any one should find fault with us regarding the administration of this charity, for we aim to do those things which are honorable, not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of men." That Luke accompanied Paul to Jerusalem is clear. He appears also to have returned to Syria after the apostle's long imprisonment, for he was present to accompany him on his journey to Rome. It is strange that Luke says nothing in Acts concerning the realization of Paul's ardent hope that "his mission to Jerusalem might prove acceptable to the saints." Luke's account leaves us to infer that it was acceptable and that Paul's public proof of his personal regard for the Jewish law was one of the conditions under which they accepted it. If so, further light is thrown upon his reasons for submitting to what must to many of his friends have been regarded as a compromise. Possibly at the suggestion of the Jeru- salem apostles part of the contributions from the Gentile churches was used to defray the expenses of the four Jewish Christians, who were thus enabled to fulfil their vows. Certainly Paul's later letters, and especially Philippians and Ephesians, resound with thanksgiving because the unity of the church of Christ had been established and the barriers, which had kept Gentile and Jew apart, had been removed. To the Gentiles of Asia Minor he writes (Eph. 2 19 " 21 ) : "You are no longer strangers and foreigners, you share the membership of the saints, you belong to God's own household, you are a building which rests on the apostles and prophets as its foundation, with Jesus Christ as the corner-stone. In him the whole structure is welded together and rises into a sacred temple in the Lord." 209 § CLXm. THE AMBASSADOR IN BONDS Pauls Five days after Paul arrived at Caesarea the high priest, JJJach- Ananias, came down with some elders and an orator called ment Tertullus. They laid the case against Paul before the 24i°») S governor. After Paul had been summoned, Tertullus be- gan to accuse him, saying, Inasmuch as it is owing to you, most excellent Felix, that we enjoy perfect peace and as it is through your wise provision that evils are corrected in this nation in every instance and in every place, we accept these with profound gratitude. But in order that I may not detain you too long, I beg you in your forbearance to hear a brief statement from us. For we have found this man Paul a pest and a disturber of the peace among all the Jews throughout the world and a ringleader of the Nazarene sect. He even tried to desecrate the temple, but we ar- rested him. By examining him yourself you will be able to find out about all these charges which we allege against him. The Jews also joined in the attack, declaring that these things were so. Paul's Then at a signal from the governor, Paul made his reply: g££: Knowing that you have administered justice in this nation tionof f or many years, I willingly make my defense, because, as SSoj you are able to ascertain, it is not more than twelve days (1021) since I went up to worship at Jerusalem. They neither found me arguing with any one in the temple nor stirring up a crowd either in the synagogues or in the city. They cannot prove the charges which they are now bringing against me. But this I confess to you that in the way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, and I believe all that is written in the law and the prophets and I hold the same hope in God as they themselves enter- tain, that there is to be a resurrection of the just and the unjust. Therefore, I too am under obligation at all times to have a clear conscience before God and man. After several years I came up to bring alms and sacrifices for my nation. They found me while doing this in the temple, ceremonially pure and mixed up in no mob nor riot; but there were certain Jews from Asia who ought to be here 210 PAUL'S PROTESTATION OF INNOCENCE before you to present whatever charge they may have against me. Or let those men there tell what fault they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin, unless it be that single sentence which I uttered when I shouted as I stood among them, * It is for the resurrection of the dead that I am being tried to-day before you.' But Felix, being accurately informed regarding the way, adjourned their case, saying to them, When Lysias the com- mander comes down, I will decide your case. He also gave orders to the officer to hold him in custody and to allow him some liberty and not to prevent his own friends from min- istering to him. Some days later, Felix came with Drusilla his wife, who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him speak re- garding faith in Christ Jesus. But when he argued about justice, self-control, and future judgment, Felix became alarmed and replied, You may go for the present and when I find a convenient time I will send for you, though he hoped at the same time that Paul would give him money. For this reason he sent for him frequently and conversed with him. But when two full years had passed, Felix was suc- ceeded by Porcius Festus. And as Felix wished to in- gratiate himself with the Jews, he left Paul in custody. Now three days after Festus entered the province he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem. Then the high priests and the leading Jews brought a charge against Paul and begged Festus as a favor to send and have him brought to Jerusalem, for they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. But Festus replied that Paul was in custody in Caesarea and that he himself was about to go there in a short time. Therefore, he said, let those of you who are able go down with me and charge the man with whatever crime he has committed. After staying eight or ten days in Jerusalem he went down to Caesarea. The next day Festus took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought in. When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him and brought many and grave charges against him which they were unable to prove. Paul said in reply, I have committed no offense against the Jewish law or the temple or Caesar. 211 Felix's decision regard- ing Paul (22, 23) Felix's delay of Paul's case (24-27) The new plot of the Jews (25i-«») Paul's defense (6b-8) THE AMBASSADOR IN BONDS Paul's But Festus, wishing to win favor with the Jews, asked to the 1 Paul, Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried POT~or there before me regarding these charges? Paul said, ( 9 - 12 ) I am standing before Caesar's tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also know perfectly well. If, however, I have done wrong and have done anything worthy of death I do not object to dy- ing. But if these men have brought no real charges against me, then no one has a right to favor them by giving me up to them. I appeal to Caesar! Then after conferring with the council, Festus answered, You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go. Paul After some days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice Agrip e - came down to Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. iJ M> And since they were spending many days there, Festus M ) laid Paul's case before the king. So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with much pomp and entered the audience hall, accompanied by the military com- manders and by the chief men of the city. Then at the command of Festus Paul was brought in. Pauls Thereupon, Agrippa said to Paul, You have permission to before 6 speak in your own behalf. At this, Paul, stretching out Agrip- his hand, began his defense: I consider myself fortunate, (26i-«. King Agrippa, in being able this day to defend myself before ! ' 23) you against all the accusations with which I am charged by the Jews, for you are exceedingly well informed regarding all the Jewish customs and questions. Therefore, I beg of you hear me patiently. All the Jews know the kind of life I lived from my youth upwards among my nation and in Jerusalem. . . . Now to this day I have had the help of God and have stood firm, testifying to small and great, never saying a single word beyond what the prophets and Moses said would take place, namely, that the Christ was to suffer and be the first to rise from the dead and proclaim a message of light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles. The When Paul thus made his defense, Festus said in a loud o? plies voice, Paul, you are stark mad ! Your great learning is and tus driving you insane ! But Paul said, I am not mad, most Agrip- noble Festus, but I am speaking words of truth and sober- (m-m) ness. For the king to whom I can speak freely, knows 212 PAUL'S REPLY TO KING AGRIPPA about these things. Indeed, I cannot but believe that no detail has escaped his notice, for this thing was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you not believe the prophets? I know that you do. But Agrippa said to Paul, In a short time you will believe that you have made a Christian of me ! Paul replied, Long or short, I pray to God that not only you but also all my hearers this day may be such as I am, excepting these chains. Then the king arose with the governor and Bernice and Decia- those who had been sitting with them and withdrew to dis- Jf tlon cuss the matter with one another. And they said, This ffjgrs man has done nothing deserving of death or imprison- cence ment. Agrippa also said to Festus, This man might have (,M8) been released if he had not appealed to Caesar. Now when it was decided that we were to sail for Italy, inci- they handed over Paul and certain other prisoners to an Jjfthe officer of the imperial regiment named Julius. Then Tg^fj 6 going on board of a ship of Adramyttium, which was bound to the seaports of the province of Asia, we set sail, having with us Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. On the next day we put in at Sidon, where Julius treated Paul very kindly and allowed him to visit his friends and to avail himself of their generous care. Putting to sea from there, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the wind was against us. Then, after sailing the whole length of the sea which lies off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. There the officer found an Alexandrian ship bound for Italy and put us on board of her. For a number of days we made slow progress and came with great difficulty off Cnidus. Then, as the wind did not al- low us to go on, we sailed under the lee of Crete, opposite Cape Salome, and coasting along with difficulty we reached a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea. Inasmuch as our voyage had taken considerable time Paul's and the sailing had become dangerous, and the autumn g^jjf fast was already over, Paul warned them saying, Men, I sailors perceive that this voyage will be attended with danger and much loss not only to the cargo and the ship but to our own lives. The officer, however, let himself be persuaded by the captain and the owner of the ship rather than by the 213 THE AMBASSADOR IN BONDS things which Paul said. And as the harbor was incon- venient for wintering in, the majority advised putting to sea to try to reach Phoenix, a Cretan harbor facing southwest and northwest, in order to winter there. The When a light southerly breeze sprung up, they thought s fi™ that they had secured their object. After weighing an- chor they ran close along the coast of Crete ; but it was not long before a tempestuous wind called Euroklydon rushed down. The ship was caught and was not able to face the wind; so we gave up and let it drive. Then we ran along the lee of a little island called Cauda, where we managed with great difficulty to secure the ship's boat. After hoist- ing it on board, they used ropes to undergird the ship. Fearing lest they should be stranded on the Syrtis quick- sands, they lowered the sail and lay to. But as we were being terribly battered by the storm, they began to lighten the ship the next day, and on the third day they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. Then for many days, neither sun nor stars were seen and a heavy gale still raged so that at last all hope of our being saved was taken away. Pauls Now when they had gone a long time without food, Paul of°en^ stood forth in their midst and said, Men, you should have cour- listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and thus St spared yourself this hardship and loss. But now I bid you (,M,) have courage, for there will be no loss of life, only of the ship, for last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, stood beside me and said, * Fear not, Paul, for you must stand before Caesar. Behold also, God hath granted you the lives of all those who are sailing with you.' Therefore, have courage, men ! For I believe God and that it will be just as I have been told. But we are to be stranded on a certain island. Ap- It was now the fourteenth night and we were drifting toiSS through the Sea of Adria, when the sailors in the middle of <"-«) the night suspected that land was near. And when they cast the lead, they found twenty fathoms of water and a little further, when they cast the lead, they found fifteen. Then, fearing lest we should be stranded on the rocks, they threw out four anchors from the stern and longed for 214 PAUL'S SHIPWRECK the day. The sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had even lowered the boat in the sea, pretending that they were going to lay out anchors from the bow, when Paul said to the officers and the soldiers, Unless these men stay in the ship you cannot be saved. Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat and let her fall off. Just before daybreak, Paul begged them all to take some Pauls food, saying, To-day is the fourteenth day that you have ^^f 61 been anxiously watching and fasting without taking food. Therefore I beg of you take some food, for this will keep you alive; indeed, not one hair of your heads will perish. After he had said these words, he took a loaf and, after giving thanks to God, he broke and began to eat it in the presence of them all. Then they were all encouraged and they themselves took food. There were about seventy- six souls of us on board. And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea. When it was day, they could not recognize what land it The was ; but they noticed a certain inlet with a sandy beach on ^Jeck which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. So ( 3 '"") cutting away the anchors, they left them in the sea. At the same time unloosing the ropes which tied the rudders and hoisting the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach. Coming to a place where two seas met, they stranded the ship. The prow, sticking fast, remained im- movable, but the stern began to go to pieces on account of the beating of the waves. Then the soldiers counselled that they should kill the prisoners lest some one of them might swim ashore and escape. But the officer, desiring to save Paul, prevented them from carrying out their plan and commanded that those who were able to swim should jump overboard first and get to land and that the rest should follow, some on planks and the others on pieces of wreck- age. Thus, they all got safely to land. Now, after we had escaped, we found that the island was paurs called Malta. The rude natives showed us more than or- eS?? ri " dinary kindness, for they lighted a fire and welcomed us jjjth all because of the pouring rain and the cold. Now, when viper Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the (281 "* ) fire, a viper driven forth by the heat fastened itself on his 215 THE AMBASSADOR IN BONDS hand. When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, Undoubtedly this man is a murderer ! Though he has escaped from the sea, justice will not let him live. He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. But the natives waited for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead ; but after waiting a long time and seeing that no harm came to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. Paul's In the same part of the island there was an estate belong- heaiing tog to the governor, whose name was Publius. He wel- ( 710 ) corned us and entertained us most hospitably for three days. Now it happened that the father of Publius was lying ill of fever and dysentery; so Paul went in to see him and after he had prayed, laid his hands on him and cured him. When this had happened, the other sick people in the island also came and were cured. Moreover, they loaded us with many honors and when we set sail they provided us with all those things which we needed. voyage After three months we set sail in an Alexandrian ship puteoii called The Twin Brothers, which had wintered in the is- ("•") land. And touching at Syracuse, we remained there three days. Then tacking around we reached Rhegium. A day later a south wind sprang up and we arrived the second day at Puteoii where we found Christian brothers and were urged to spend a week with them. Paul at Thus, we reached Rome. From thence, brothers who (J B OI £ e had heard about us, came out to meet us as far as the ■■• 81 ) Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns. And when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage. When we finally reached Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself with a soldier to guard him. For two entire years he lived in his own hired house, receiving all who came to him, preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ, quite openly and without hindrance. I. Paul's Imprisonment under Felix. Paul's transfer from Jerusalem to Csesarea delivered him from assassination at the hands of the Jews but brought him under the power of Felix, one of the most unprincipled of the Roman procurators who ruled during this period over the troubled province of Judea. Like his brother Pallas, Felix 216 PAUL'S IMPRISONMENT UNDER FELIX was probably once a slave of Antonia, the mother of the emperor Claudius. The conservative Roman historian Tacitus thus tersely describes him: "He exercised the prerogative of a king in the spirit of a slave, with superlative cruelty and licentiousness" (5 9 ). His rule, as procurator, was in keeping with his character. He so exas- perated his Jewish subjects that the Zealots and the Sicarii, the Nihil- ists of that period, fomented a series of rebellions which were merci- lessly repressed by Felix. Popular messiahs, some of them secretly in league with Felix, also kindled false hopes among the common people and gave him further opportunity for pillage and confiscation. The statement, therefore, that Felix kept Paul in prison for two years, hoping to extract from him a bribe, is in perfect keeping with the character of this former slave, who by a turn of the wheel of fortune had been received into the imperial circle and had married, first a daughter of Mark Anthony and Cleopatra, and later Drusilla, the daughter of Herod Agrippa I. The account of Paul's trial before Felix is probably based on Luke's memory of the event. The flattering words addressed to Felix by the orator, Tertullus, were well calculated to win a favorable hearing, but they were a parody upon the facts. In declaring that Paul was a disturber of the peace, Tertullus appealed to Felix on a point in re- gard to which he was exceedingly sensitive. Paul's reply is a notable example of direct, powerful oratory and probably represents the main points in the great apostle's address. His Roman citizenship probably alone saved him from an adverse decision. Felix had heard from Paul's own lips that his mission to Jerusalem was to bear funds from the Gen- tile churches. This fact was evidently the basis of his hope of securing a rich bribe. His mercenary purpose also explains the large degree of freedom which he granted to Paul. Instead of being incarcerated in a vile prison, the apostle was placed under the charge of a Roman mili- tary officer and allowed considerable liberty. The narrative of Acts is largely silent regarding the details of these two years. For Paul, however, they were years of intense intellectual and literary activity. His later letters suggest that he continued his correspondence with the Western churches and directed his lieutenants. Luke's silence re- garding this period indicates that he returned to the Greek churches and possibly brought back at the end of the two years further contribu- tions for Paul's support. Csesarea was already one of the great in- tellectual centres of Syria, and Paul evidently improved the oppor- tunities which it offered for further study. There is evidence in his 217 THE AMBASSADOR IN BONDS later writing that during this period he read certain apocalyptic writ- ings such as the Assumption of Moses and an otherwise unknown writing which Epiphanius designates as the Apocalypse of Elias. Also in the light of Paul's later letters it is evident that his conceptions of Jesus and of the significance of his work still further developed dur- ing these years so rich in their opportunities for meditation. II. The Date of the Procuratorships of Felix and Festus. The retirement of Felix and the succession of Festus to the procurator- ship is one of the landmarks in New Testament chronology. Josephus states that "when Portius Festus was sent to succeed Felix, the leading Jewish inhabitants of Csesarea went up to Rome to accuse Felix. He would certainly have been brought to punishment for his mis- deeds toward the Jews had not Nero yielded to the importunate solici- tations of Felix's brother, Pallas, whom he at that time held in the greatest honor." Tacitus in his Annals (13 23 ) states that Pallas fell from Nero's favor in the year 55 a.d. This definite statement would fix very closely the date of the beginning of the procuratorship of Festus, did not Tacitus also add in the same context that Pallas was later tried and acquitted by an unprincipled judge by the name of Paetus, although, "the approved innocence of Pallas did not please men so much as his arrogance offended them." It is possible that this reference means that Pallas was later restored to Nero's favor. His restoration, however, is only a possibility. It is, on the whole, more probable that Felix was retired and Festus entered upon his proconsulship as early as 55 or 56 a.d. III. Paul's Reasons for Appealing to Caesar. Festus appears, on the whole, to have been one of the best of the Roman procurators. He was unfamiliar, however, with Jewish institutions. The accession of a new procurator encouraged Paul's Jewish foes to believe that they might secure a verdict against him, for Festus was naturally eager to win the favor of the leaders of the nation. The narrative of Acts suggests that Festus suspected their demand that Paul be transferred for trial to Jerusalem. At the same time, as a Roman ruler intent upon restoring peace to the province which had been torn by dis- sensions and riots as a result of the unprincipled rule of Felix, Festus naturally looked with suspicion upon the prisoner Paul. He evidently regarded him as a religious fanatic and therefore one to be carefully watched. Festus's desire to please the Jews evidently so overruled his Roman sense of justice that he was inclined to yield to the de- mands of the high priest and transfer Paul's trial to Jerusalem. This 218 PAUL'S APPEAL TO CESAR decision left Paul in a most critical position. To go to Jerusalem was to face the danger of secret assassination and the probability of ulti- mate condemnation, for a man like Paul, whose activity had so often aroused the mob, was regarded by the Roman officials as a criminal, even though he be innocent of any evil intent. On the other hand, as we know from Paul's letter to the Romans, his chief passion at this time was to visit the imperial city. Hence his appeal to Caesar. As a Roman citizen he possessed the right of appeal and Festus had no valid grounds for refusing it. Paul's later examination before King Agrippa II, the son of Herod Agrippa I, was an unimportant episode, except that it reveals still further the heroic spirit of the great apostle and his zeal to improve every possible opportunity to proclaim the religion of his Master. It was evidently introduced by Luke as a further illustration of the fact that the Roman officials found nothing in the work of Paul worthy of condemnation. IV. The Story of His Shipwreck. The account of Paul's voy- age and shipwreck is one of the classical passages of the New Testa- ment. It gives us the most vivid picture in ancient literature of the life of the courageous mariners who defied in their little craft the perils of the sea. Most travellers bound from Palestine to Rome by the sea route embarked at Csesarea, Accho, or Tyre. The small ships which plied from these ports sailed close to the shores of Syria and Asia Minor. There their passengers often transshipped, as did Paul at Myra in southern Lycia, in one of the larger Alexandrian grain ships, which sailed from the great Egyptian seaport directly to Rome. Thence the ordinary course ran past Rhodes, along the southern shore of Crete, where there were favorable harbors and thence north- westerly past the southern shores of Greece until they felt in their sails the northern winds which came down through the Adriatic and which bore them quickly to the eastern shores of Sicily. There they turned abruptly northward through the Straits of Messina and sailed directly to Puteoli or the mouth of the Tiber. The open season for navigation was ended by the 10th of November, although, according to the Latin writer Vegitius, the favorable season was limited to four short months between May 26 and September 14. Paul was placed as a prisoner under the charge of the centurion Julius, who was apparently one of the many officers under the immedi- ate direction of the emperor. With him went Aristarchus, whom Paul in Colossians 4 10 speaks of as his "fellow prisoner." According 219 THE AMBASSADOR IN BONDS to the Western text, the journey from Sidon to Myra took fifteen days. The accepted text states that they met adverse winds which retarded their progress and compelled them to sail south of the Island of Cyprus, rather than skirt the shores of Syria and Asia Minor. From the first Paul seemed to have won the respect and later the genuine affection of the Roman official in whose charge he had been placed. With his usual enthusiasm and energy the apostle entered heartily into the discussion as to whether or not they should venture to continue their belated voyage along the southern shores of Crete. Paul's experience and good judgment led him to oppose this plan, but the counsel of the captain and the owner of the ship overruled his advice. The reference to the Feast of the Atonement indicates that they were venturing beyond the open season for sailing, and the event signally confirmed the wisdom of Paul's counsel. The vivid description of the storm and shipwreck needs no interpretation. Above it all Paul rises sane and serene, again the master of the situation. In the hour of crisis, as so often in his experience, his dauntless faith expressed itself first through a heavenly vision and then through words of cheer and inspiration. Here we see the reasons why Paul gained an in- vincible hold upon the affections and wills of men. Good faith, good fellowship, and unceasing confidence in the unlimited power and the constant guidance of a kindly Providence inspired him and all to whom he spoke. Even the venomous serpent, probably still par- alyzed by the cold, seemed to the onlookers to have no power over this man who was in such close league with the Infinite. Even the sick were given new hope and health by his sympathetic touch. The miracles which Luke records seem but commonplaces in the life of Paul. As we have already seen, the apostle himself regarded them simply as incidental proofs of his divine commission. Before their three months' sojourn was over, not only the governor but also the en- tire population of the little island of Malta were vying with each other in showing hospitality to the Roman prisoner who had appealed to Caesar. V. Paul's Journey to Rome. After Paul and his strange com- pany had spent three winter months in Malta they set out on an Alexandrian ship for Rome. Instead of going around to the mouth of the Tiber they entered the Bay of Naples and landed at Puteoli. It was a period when the beautiful Italian springtime was just burst- ing forth in its glory. Puteoli was at this time the favorite watering resort of the Roman nobility whose magnificent villas skirted the Bay 220 PAUL'S JOURNEY TO ROME of Naples. Dearer to the heart of Paul than the beauties of nature and the creations of man was the hearty welcome which he received from the Christian brothers residing there. His friend, the Roman centurion, allowed him to spend the week with them. On his arrival a messenger had evidently been sent to inform the Christians at Rome, for, as he proceeded on his journey, a deputation met him at the Forum of Appius, forty-three miles south of Rome. To Paul this evidence of their loyalty was a great inspiration. More as a trium- phant conqueror than as a prisoner under a serious charge, he proceeded along the famous Appian Way toward the Imperial City which he en- tered at the Porta Capsena. Thence he probably proceeded through the heart of the city, viewing the Palatine with its stately palaces on the left, past the old Forum toward the northern side of the city where was situated the camp of the pretorian guard. VI. The End of the Race. Luke states that for two years Paul lived in his own hired house, receiving all that came to him, preaching the Kingdom of God, and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ, quite openly and without hinderance. This remarkable freedom may have been due to the influence of his friend the Roman centurion. It was entirely in keeping with the Roman custom of the period. Tacitus states in his Annals (6 3 ) that Gallio, the brother of Seneca, who had been proconsul of Achaia during Paul's activity at Corinth and who, like the great apostle, met his death at the hands of Nero, was thus kept under guard, not in his own hired house but in the house of a Roman officer. One of Luke's chief aims was to show that, while the hand of Christian fellowship had been freely extended to the Jews, they had almost invariably taken the initiative in persecuting the Christians. He, therefore, departs from the direct narrative to tell us that Paul, soon after his arrival, called together the leading Jews of Rome, stated his case, and appealed to their sense of justice. Not having received any news from their fellow Jews in Palestine, they were at first inclined to accept his story, but the majority of them re- fused to accept his teachings. Luke's condensed narrative leads us to imply that Paul in the end failed to win that support from the Jews at Rome which he sorely needed. It was so contrary to his character- istic tact to upbraid them for their failure to accept the Christian faith that it is probable that this portion of the narrative has been somewhat colored by Luke's apologetic purpose. The significant fact underlying the narrative is that Paul fully recognized the peril of his position and the importance of conciliating, if possible, the Jews 221 THE AMBASSADOR IN BONDS at Rome. The abrupt ending of Luke's narrative is in itself ominous. If Paul had been liberated by the Roman emperor, Luke would have been the first to proclaim this fact, for it would have conserved as nothing else could one of the chief aims for which he wrote. Luke, on the other hand, was not writing a book of martyrs. Nothing is said of the death of Peter, the other leading character in his history. The death of James is passed over with the barest mention. The martyrdom of Stephen alone is recorded in detail because of its power- ful influence on the expansion of the Christian church. The tradition that Paul was released to preach in the West cannot be traced earlier than the end of the second Christian century and was probably based on the apostle's expression of the hope, in Romans 15 24 , that he might live to visit Spain. The long delay of Paul's trial is in perfect keep- ing with all that we know about Nero and especially the early, irrespon- sible years of his reign when he spent practically all of his time in the pursuit of pleasure and left the direction of public affairs to his old teacher Seneca, the Stoic philosopher, and to Burrus, the pretorian prefect. This long delay also gave Paul's Jewish foes, of whom the heads of the priestly hierarchy at Jerusalem were the chief, an op- portunity to collect ample evidence against him. There was much that they could present to blacken his character in the eyes of the Roman officials, who, in dealing with a prisoner charged with stirring up sedition, were not so much concerned with motives as with acts. Even Luke's narrative indicates that wherever Paul went he aroused bitter opposition which frequently expressed itself in mob attack and popular uproar. In II Timothy 4 we evidently have notes from the closing days of Paul's life. In 4 14 the apostle speaks of Alexander the blacksmith: "He has done me a great harm; the Lord will pay him back for what he has done. Beware of him for he has been bit- terly hostile to everything that I have said." It is not impossible that this is Alexander the Jew of Ephesus, who, according to Acts 19 33 , was put forward as spokesman when the silversmiths and tradesmen of that temple city rose up to mob Paul and his associates. In II Timothy 4 16 - 17 Paul adds pathetically: "The first time there was no one to defend me, but all deserted me. May this not be brought up against them! But the Lord supported me and gave me strength. ... I was rescued from the jaws of the lion." In the light of u we see him alone, with only the faithful Luke to comfort him, fighting his last great fight. Pitted against him were the same foes that had, under the shadow of Roman authority a quarter of a century before, 222 THE END OF THE RACE hunted to death his innocent Master. The analogies between the two scenes are strikingly close. The actors and setting alone are different. Jesus faced death at the capital city of his nation. Paul the Roman citizen died at the capital of the empire to which he owed allegiance. Clement of Rome, who lived near the close of the first century, wrote : "Paul by his example pointed out the prize of patient endurance, . . . he won the noble renown, which was the reward of his faith, having taught righteousness to the whole world and having reached the farthest bounds of the West. And when he had borne his testimony before the rulers, he departed from the world and went into the holy place, having been found a notable example of patient endurance." Tertullian, who wrote in the second century, is more explicit: "Paul has for his crown the same death with John (the Baptist)." And Origen, early in the third century, states definitely that Paul "suf- fered martyrdom in Rome under Nero." Paul was probably beheaded at Rome in 57 or 58 a.d., early in the reign of Nero. In II Timothy 4 6-8 we have his final song of triumph: "I am already being poured out as a drink offering and my time to go has come. I have fought the good fight, I have run the race, I have kept the faith. Hence- forth there is left for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me on that great day — and not only to me but to all who have loved the thought of his appearing." § CLXIV. THE LAST LETTERS OF THE AGED PRISONER Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ and Timothy our brother, Greet- to our beloved fellow-worker, Philemon, to our sister Apphia, (p g hi . to our fellow-soldier, Archippus, and to the church which J^ mon meets in your house. May grace and peace be granted you all from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I always give thanks to my God when I mention you in Thanks- my prayers ; for as I hear of your love and faith which you f™ 6 manifest toward the Lord Jesus and to all the saints, I pray that their participation in your faith may result in their gaining a clear knowledge of all the good we enjoy through our relations to Christ. For I have had great joy and com- fort in your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. Therefore, although in Christ I might be quite free to- ward you to command you to do what is fitting, I appeal to 223 LAST LETTERS OF THE AGED PRISONER you rather on the ground of love. So as Paul, the old man, who is now a prisoner for Christ Jesus, I appeal to you on behalf of my spiritual child who was born while I was in chains — Onesimus ! Once you found him worthless, but now, true to his name (Profitable), [ he is worth something both to you and to me. I am sending him back to you, though it means parting with my very heart. I would have liked to keep him with me, that in your stead he might serve me during my imprisonment for the gospel; but I wish to do nothing without your consent, so fiat this kind act of yours might not be done under compulsion but of your own free will. Perhaps it was for this very reason that he was parted from you for a while, that you might receive him back for good, no longer as a slave but something more than a slave — a brother, peculiarly dear to me, but even dearer to you both as a human being and as a fellow Christian ! Therefore if you regard me as a partner, then receive him as you would me. And if he has done anything dishonest or owes you any sum, put that down to my account: * I, Paul, write this with my own hand, I will pay it back.' (I say nothing of the fact that you owe me, over and above, your very soul.) Yes, brother, let me have some return from you in the Lord ! Refresh my heart in Christ. I write you, trusting in your obedience. I know you will do even more than I say, and at the same time get quarters ready for me, for I hope that through your prayers I may be sent back to you ! con- Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ, salutes you, as SjS 5 do a 1 * 30 Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow- **?£, workers. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. ( M -25) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother, to the consecrated and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae. May grace and peace be granted to you from God our Father. Thanks- We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord (al) ng Jesus Christ, when we pray for you because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you cher- 224 THANKSGIVING FOR FAITH OF THE COLOSSIANS ish for all the saints on account of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope in the message of gospel truth which has come to you, as it spreads over all the world, yielding fruit and increasing, as it also has done among you from the day that you heard it and learned to know what God's grace really is, as indeed you did learn to know it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ in your behalf and it is he who has informed us of your love in the Spirit. Now I rejoice in my sufferings in your behalf, and I would Pauls make up in my own person whatever is lacking of the suf- gj?f n ~ ferings which Christ has to suffer in behalf of his body, the behalf church. I have been appointed a minister of the church Gen- e in the position intrusted to me by God in your interests, ^S-i*) to present God's message fully, even that secret which, though concealed from all ages and generations, now has been disclosed to his saints. God willed that they should understand the glorious wealth which this secret holds for the Gentiles — this secret which is Christ in you as your hope of glory. Him we proclaim, training and teaching every man in all wisdom in order that we may present every man before God, perfect in Christ. For this end I labor, striving with a divine energy which is working might- ily within me. Yes, I want you to know how severe is the struggle in which I am engaged in behalf of you and the brothers in Laodicea and for all who have never seen my face, that their hearts may be encouraged, that they may be welded together in love, that they may have all the wealth of conviction that comes from insight, and that they may know the secret of God which is Christ, in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge lie hidden ! Therefore, since you have received the Messiah, even Christ's Jesus the Lord, live your life in him, being firmly rooted J*t£ and founded in him, confirmed in the faith, as you have and been taught it, and filled to overflowing with gratitude to P o™r God. Take care lest anyone lead you away prisoner by his (612) philosophy or idle fancy based on human tradition, or on a belief in the elemental spirits of the world and not on Christ. For it is in Christ that the entire fullness of the divine na- ture dwells embodied and in him you are made perfect. 225 LAST LETTERS OF THE AGED PRISONER It is he who is the head of all rulers and powers; in him you have also been circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hand, but with Christ's own circum- cision, which consists in the putting off of the body of flesh, for you were buried with him in baptism and thereby raised with him through faith in the power of God which raised him from the dead. what If, therefore, you have risen with Christ, seek those j£ eans things which are above, where Christ is seated at the to be right hand of God. Mind what is above and not what is with on the earth. Do not tell lies to one another, for you have (JfS* stripped off the old mankind with its practices and have put •-") on the new mankind, which is being renewed in knowledge in the likeness of its Creator. In that new creation there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor freeman ; but Christ is every- thing and in all of us. The Therefore, as God's own chosen, consecrated and be- dTnces loved, be clothed with compassion, kindness, humility, cfhris e t gentleness, patience. Bear with one another and forgive ltfe^ one another, if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive. And above all you must have love, for it is that which binds to- gether the perfect life. Also let the peace which Christ gives reign supreme in your hearts. For this end you have been called to be members in one body. Also be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell within you in rich measure. Teach and train one another in all wisdom by means of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing to God with thankfulness in your hearts, and whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. Children, obey your par- ents at every point, for this is right for those who belong to the Lord. Fathers, do not irritate your children lest you make them sullen. Servants, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only when their eye is on you, as those who aim simply to please men, but with single purpose, be- cause you revere the Lord. Whatever you are doing, work at it heartily, as servants of the Lord and not of men. Tychicus, that beloved brother and faithful minister and 226 (12-23) PERSONAL GREETINGS fellow servant of the Lord, will give you all the information per- about me. It is for this reason that I am sending him to n °^ you that you may know how I am and to comfort your (* 7, 16# hearts. He is accompanied by that faithful and beloved brother, Onesimus, who is one of yourselves. They will inform you of everything here. And when this letter has been read by you, let it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans. Also see that you read the letter that reaches you from Laodicea. The salutation is in my own hand, from Paul. Remember me in my imprisonment. Grace be with you. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to p-reet- the saints who are faithful in Christ Jesus. May grace { ^ ph , and peace be granted to you from God our Father and the !1 2 ) Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Thanks- who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the fllf 18 heavenly realms through Christ! He chose us in him before the creation of the world that we might be conse- crated and without blemish in his sight, destining us to be his sons through Jesus Christ. Therefore, remember that once you were Gentiles in The the flesh, who are called the * Uncircumcision ' by the so- Xj°ew called * Circumcision,' which is the work of human hands and in the flesh. Remember that you were at that time out- we in side Christ, aliens to the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you, who were once far away, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace — he who united us both and broke down the hostile dividing wall. In his own flesh he set aside the law with its definite commands so as to make peace by uniting these two parts in himself into a new mankind. Thus in himself he put an end to that hostility by reconciling both Jew and Gentile to God in one body through the cross. And he came to proclaim a gospel of peace to you Gentiles who were far away and to the Jews who were near, for it is through him that we both have ac- cess by one Spirit to the Father. 227 Christ (211-18) Christ (11-16) LAST LETTERS OF THE AGED PRISONER unity There is one body and one spirit — one hope was held church out to you as the goal of your calling — one Lord, one faith, (44 " 6) one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over us all, acts through us all, and is in us all. But to each of us has been given his own grace, according to the measure of the gift of Christ. The Christ himself granted some to be apostles, some to be body in prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers, in order that the saints may be fully equipped for the work of service, that is, for the upbuilding of the body of Christ, until we all attain the unity of the faith and the knowledge of God's son, even to the perfect manhood and to the full measure of maturity which belongs to the fullness of Christ, that we may no longer be babes, blown from our course and carried here and there by every passing wind of doctrine, by the adroitness of men who are skilful in mak- ing use of every evil device to mislead. Rather we are to hold to the truth and by our love grow up wholly into union with him who is our head, even Christ. Dependent on him, the whole body is welded together and compacted by every joint with which it is supplied, and by the due activity of each part the body is enabled to grow so as to build itself up in love. The Put away all bitterness and passion, anger, clamoring eriy " and insults, together with all malice. Be kind to one an- (JE* other, tender hearted, forgiving one another, as God in 5 2 ) Christ has also forgiven you. Therefore, be imitators of God, as his beloved children, and lead lives of love just as Christ loved you and gave himself up for you to be a fra- grant offering and sacrifice to God. Ann- In conclusion, be strong in the Lord and in the strength Sf the of his might. Put on the complete armor of God, so as to Jgjg be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil. For fljct we have to struggle not with flesh and blood but against rulers and authorities, against the forces which govern this darkened world, against the spiritual hosts of evil ar- rayed against us in the heavens. Therefore put on the complete armor of God that you may be able to stand on the evil day and remain victors over all. Stand, therefore, fastening the girdle of truth about your loins, putting on the breastplate of righteousness, and having your feet shod 228 ARMING FOR THE LONG CONFLICT with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, take the shield of faith by which you will be able to quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all manner of prayer and entreaty. Be alert to seize every such oppor- tunity, interceding in behalf of all the saints and in my behalf also, that speech may be given me, that I may ex- pound fully and openly the mystery of the gospel on behalf of which I am an ambassador in bonds, that I may have freedom to speak boldly as I ought. Our beloved brother Tychicus, a faithful minister in the Per- Lord, will give you all the information about me, that you n £ may know how I am doing; that is why I am sending him to ( 2124 ) you that you may know all about me and that he may en- courage your hearts. Peace and love with faith be to the brothers from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ sincerely. Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ, to all the Greet- saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, as well as to (p g hih the bishops and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God >*■ 2 ) ' our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God whenever I remember you; in all my Thanks- prayers for you all I always pray with joy because of your co- fjjp 18 operation in furthering the gospel from the very first day to P rot - this moment. For of this I am confident, that he who began t£n~of the good work in you will go on to perfect it until the day of ?£n C ~ Jesus Christ. It is only right for me to be thus thinking of ( 3U ) you all, for in my prison and as I defend and confirm the gospel, I recall how you all share with me the same grace. God is my witness that I yearn for you all with the tender affection of Christ Jesus himself. And this is my prayer that your love may become richer and richer in knowledge and in all manner of insight, that you may be able to make right distinctions, so that you may be men of transparent character and that you may do no harm to any one, in view of the day of Christ, and that you may be full of the fruits of righteousness, which come through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. Now I would have you know, brothers, that the things 229 LAST LETTERS OF THE AGED PRISONER The which have befallen me have really tended to advance the nate 1 " gospel; throughout the whole of the pretorian guard and effects everywhere else it is generally recognized that I am im- Pauis prisoned for the sake of Christ, and most of the brothers prison- have through my imprisonment gained greater confidence ™3£* in the Lord to speak fearlessly the word of God. ^ I know that this will result in my release, because of your calm prayers and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, in ful- Jude fillment of my earnest expectation and hope that I may Jg£^ d never feel ashamed, but that, now as ever, by my boldness or" 11 Christ may be honored in my person, whether by life or $?2!f by death. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. But, if it is to live in the body, this means for me fruitful work; but what I should choose I know not. I am in a dilemma between the two. I have a strong desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is by far the best. But for your sakes it is more necessary that I should live on here in the flesh. And since I am sure of this, I know that I shall abide and remain with you all, to promote your progress and joy in the faith. Thus you will have ample cause to glory in Jesus Christ over me, as a result of my again being with you. Exhor- Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, Rejoice. Let tot!? vour forbearance be known to all men. The Lord is at joyful hand. Be anxious about nothing; but in regard to every- caim thing make known your requests to God in prayer and (447) supplication with thanksgiving; so shall the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. pher- Finally, brothers, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever nobie things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever ^oughts things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good repute — if there be any virtue or anything worthy of praise — think on these things. Practise also what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me; then the God of peace will be with you. But I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your thoughtfulness for me; for you were ever thoughtful, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak of want, for I have learned how to be content wher- ever I am. I know how to live humbly; I also know how to 230 THANKSGIVING FOR KINDNESS live amidst abundance. I have been initiated into each Thanks and every secret of life, both of plenty and of hunger, of p ° r ai- e abundance and of want. I can do all things in him who g£jj_ strengthened me. Yet it was beautiful of you to share in ness my affliction. You Philippians know well that, in the be- phiup- ginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no ]^ is _ church but yours had any communication with me about tiara giving and receiving; even when I was in Thessalonica you sent money once and again for my needs. It is not the money I am anxious about, but what I am anxious about is the interest that accumulates in this way to your credit! I have enough of everything and more than enough. I am amply supplied with what you sent by Epaphroditus ; it is a fragrant perfume, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your own needs from his wealth in glory in Christ Jesus. Glory to God our Father for ever and ever. Amen. I. Paul's Last Letters. Bound in chains and facing almost certain death, Paul continued to direct the churches of his planting by means of letters and faithful messengers. Five and possibly six of his surviving letters come from this period of imprisonment. They fall into two groups. The first group includes the letters to Philemon and the Colossians and the one which at present bears the name Ephesians. From references within them we learn that all three were sent at the same time in the care of Tychicus and Onesimus to Paul's friends in Asia Minor. The letter to the Philippians was written when Paul had already begun to feel the pinch of poverty. In this letter he promises to send Timothy to them ere long. In the closing chapter of II Timothy, which is unquestionably Pauline, his faithful fellow worker has already left him and, save for Luke, he is quite alone. This, therefore, represents the last of that remarkable series of letters which had come from the great apostle to the Gentiles. They contain Paul's dying testament. In them he has endeavored to formulate the heart of the message with which he has been intrusted and to explain the mystery of the gospel. As the result, they are, with the exception of Romans, the most doctrinal of his epistles. Under the shadow of his coming death he was evidently relaxing his hold on the detailed problems of individual churches. The distinctions between Jew and Gentile and the conflicts about the ceremonial law 231 LAST LETTERS OF THE AGED PRISONER are but distant memories. Instead his thoughts are fixed on the eternal verities. As he himself tells us, he is now an old man. The reader sometimes misses the fiery vigor and the crisp incisiveness that characterize Paul's earlier controversial letters. The strength and charm of these letters lies in the wealth of rich and warm emotion which pervades them. The stream of love and brotherly kindness, which runs through all of his writings, now broadens and deepens. Paul is here intimately revealed as the friend and loving adviser of master and slave, of saint and sinner, of those strong in the Christian faith and of those perplexed with doubts. He is anxious about his own future only as it will affect his friends. Like his Master, he faces life and death unafraid. The peace of Christ completely fills his heart and brims over into these peerless love-letters. They also develop certain profound and important religious conceptions which he had only hinted at in his earlier letters. II. The Occasion of Paul's Letter to Philemon. Paul's letter to Philemon and that in Romans 16 are the only personal notes that have survived from the apostle's voluminous correspondence. From Colossians 4 9 we learn that Philemon was probably a native of the little town of Colossa? on the great highway that ran eastward from Ephesus. Paul's words imply that he was one of the converts won during the apostle's ministry at Ephesus. The letter is addressed to Philemon and his wife Apphia and to Archippus, who was probably their son. Philemon was evidently a wealthy and influential man. At this home the Christian church held its meetings, and Archippus was their leader. Among the many whom Paul had attracted to him through his personality and preaching, while a prisoner at Rome, was the runaway slave Onesimus — a part of the vast human wreckage that gravitated irresistibly to Rome. The confession of this genuinely converted slave revealed the fact that he had once belonged to Paul's friend Philemon and that he had not only run away but had probably stolen from his master. Both of these offenses, according to Roman law, were punishable by death. Paul's faith in the social efficiency of Christianity is signally illustrated by what he did. Into the hands of the runaway slave he put this letter and confidently sent him back to his master. It breathed the spirit of good-fellowship, mutual confidence, and brotherly kindness. It reveals a democracy that over- leaps all social distinctions. With kindly humor that is not the least of Paul's many attractions he makes a friendly pun on the name of Onesimus (Profitable). It is the letter of a courtly, noble-minded 232 THE LETTER TO PHILEMON Christian gentleman, forgetful of self and intent simply upon establish- ing goodwill between all men. It also well illustrates Paul's superla- tive tact. Not by command, but by an appeal to Philemon's generosity, he insures a hearty welcome and full forgiveness for the once dishonest, runaway slave. This homely little letter is, therefore, of large signifi- cance, for it presents Christianity not in theory but in practice, and introduces us to two worthy citizens of the ideal Christian community which Paul was seeking to make world-wide. III. The Purpose and Thought of Paul's Epistle to the Colossians. Like the Epistle to the Romans, this letter was ap- parently written to the members of a church which Paul had never visited. Its general structure closely resembles that of the larger epistle. It begins with the usual greeting and thanksgiving (l 1-23 ). The doctrinal and most important section is found in l 24 -2 23 , the prac- tical applications in S 1 -^ 6 , and the concluding notes and salutations in 4 7 * 18 . The occasion of the letter was a visit of Epaphras, a faith- ful Christian, who laid before Paul the complex problems which were troubling the Christians of Colossse. Colossae, by virtue of its geo- graphical situation was peculiarly exposed to the gnostic and Greek influences which emanated from Ephesus on the west, and to the popular doctrines of the mystic religions which came pouring in from the East. Certain Jewish exorcists, who still insisted on the impor- tance of ceremonial rites, such as circumcision and strict Sabbath observance, apparently contributed to the confusion of religious ideas and so completed the bewilderment of the simple-minded Christians of Colossae. In this epistle Paul is evidently fighting the current gnostic and mystical religions with their own weapons. It is another graphic illustration of his being "all things to all men." His language and teachings clearly show the influence of his talks with Epaphras. Here beliefs partially suggested in earlier epistles are expanded. It is also possible that during his imprisonment Paul had been reading certain current Jewish apocalyptic books. The result is that in this epistle and in its companion, Ephesians, the historical Jesus largely disappears and the Christ is interpreted in the language of the Jewish apocalypses. Like all the Jews of his age, Paul firmly believed in hierarchies of angelic beings both good and bad. Through the Jewish belief in personified Wisdom his mind had been opened to the doctrine of the Logos, set forth by the Greek philosophers and Philo. He also appreciated the attractions of the mystery-religions, which offered personal salvation through mystical unity with the Deity. 233 LAST LETTERS OF THE AGED PRISONER The terms in which Paul sets forth his Christology in these epistles are, therefore, not peculiar to him but a part of his varied inheritance. His aim is to make clear to all types of readers his profound conviction that Christ is absolutely supreme above all the elemental spirits of earth and heaven and thus to furnish a practical basis for unity and to prevent discord and factiousness. To those familiar with Greek philosophy he declared: "In Christ the entire fulness of the divine nature dwells in the body." To those who inclined toward the pagan mystery-religions, he said in terms already familiar to them: "You have been buried with him in baptism and thereby raised with him through faith in the power of God which raised him from the dead." The key to the interpretation of his statements is found in his profound and original conception of the mystical social solidarity of the race and of Jesus' unique relation to the ultimate ideal community which he calls the "Body of Christ." With prophetic insight he sees this "new crea- tion in which there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncir- cumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor freeman; but Christ is every- thing and in all of us." This new mankind is a product of the mind and work of Jesus. His life, his heroic sacrifice, and his abiding spirit are the essential creative forces. Paul evidently has these facts in mind when he declares that "Christ is everything and in all of us." Every noble emotion, every spiritual aspiration, and every prompting of loyalty to the ideal community are felt by Paul to be "Christ in him." Christ represents in Paul's thought those eternal forces at work in the world and in the hearts of men that have already broken down the hos- tile dividing wall between Jew and Gentile and are uniting by the bonds of love and brotherhood all mankind into one universal community. In the light of this profound conviction the Pauline Christology, with all its poetic, old-world imagery, becomes the symbol of eternal and intelligible verities. IV. The Identity of the So=called "Epistle to the Ephe- sians." One of the perplexing New Testament problems is the strik- ingly close analogy both in structure and thought between the epistle to the Colossians and that addressed (in its present superscription) to the Ephesians. The absence of any reference to specific conditions in the Ephesian church and the relative lateness of the tradition embodied in the superscription make it exceedingly improbable that this epistle was originally sent to the Christian community at Ephesus. In Colossians 4 16 Paul refers to a letter which he was sending to the Laodi- ceans and which he wished the Christians of Colossse also to read. Just why he wrote two letters dealing with practically the same themes 234 THE IDENTITY OF EPHESIANS in very much the same way is not clear; but that he did so is on the whole the best explanation of the existence of Ephesians. Laodicea was only six miles from Colossae, and Hierapolis across the Lycus River was the home of another Christian community. Each of these Christian churches was confronted by the same problems. Realizing how great was the peril and possibly fearing lest the letter to the Colossians might be lost, Paul apparently, in the enforced leisure of his imprisonment, wrote a duplicate letter, at the same time modify- ing and expanding the original. It is possible that this second letter bore the superscription, "To the Laodiceans," as is suggested by Marcion and other early authorities. This explanation is, on the whole, more satisfactory than that it is the work of an unknown Christian who used Paul's letter to the Colossians as a foundation on which to build later doctrines. Even though, like Colossians, it reflects many beliefs only hinted at in earlier epistles but found in the complex of religions which was the background of Paul's work and thought, its ideas are distinctively Pauline. V. Paul's Love=Letter to the Philippians. The occasion of Paul's letter to the Philippians was the visit of one of their number, Epaphroditus, who had brought from them to Paul in prison a gift of much-needed money. The messenger had been seriously ill and homesick at Rome. He accordingly is to be Paul's messenger to the Philippian Christians. The apostle's aim is to express his thanks and love, not only for this gift but for the many which had endeared their friendship and bound him peculiarly close to them. It is, therefore, one of the most intimate of his letters. His larger aim is to set forth his faith under trial and thereby to strengthen that of his loyal friends so that they may enjoy in largest measure the peace and happiness that the Christian life affords. Paul's approaching death sanctifies and glorifies this letter. Its detailed allusions light up the darkness which otherwise shrouds the closing days of his Roman imprison- ment. All anxieties and polemics have disappeared. "Rejoice" is its key-note. In fact Paul uses this word so often that in 3 1 he ex- claims, with a characteristic flash of kindly humor: "Well then, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. I am repeating this word 'rejoice* in my letter, but that does not tire me and it is for you a safe precau- tion." Here is spontaneously revealed the joy of a runner who has nearly completed his race — the joy of one who speaks out of his own rich experience. He is still hoping that he may be released in order to visit them, but regarding the outcome of his trial he is indifferent, assured that, whether it be life or death, either is gain. In his closing 235 LAST LETTERS OF THE AGED PRISONER words he expresses the wealth of his love for them and reveals his burning zeal to inspire each of them with the serene faith which made life or death for him a joy. VI. Paul's Contribution to Christianity. Chief among the many difficult tasks which the present generation has undertaken is the evaluation of the work of Paul. Many have contended that he has concealed rather than revealed the personality and teachings of the Master whom he professed to serve. For a generation the question of whether Jesus or Paul is the real founder of Christianity has been hotly discussed. That Paul's beliefs, especially regarding the Christ, were influenced by his Jewish and Hellenic inheritances cannot be questioned. His pictures of a pre-existent, supernatural Messiah who is to come again from heaven to judge mankind and to establish a new kingdom on earth, is very different from the simple portraits of Jesus in the oldest gospel records; but he shared these beliefs with the primi- tive church. They are not his unique or permanent contributions to Christianity. It is, therefore, unfortunate that Christian theology in the past has been built more on the teachings of Paul than on those of Jesus. The chief reason is because the material which has come from Paul is far more abundant. His great historic work was the break- ing of the bonds of Judaism. In this task he did not work alone, for Stephen and many others shared in this labor; but it was Paul who formulated the declaration of independence and commanded the forces that effected the revolution. He grasped most clearly Jesus* great teaching of individual liberty and made it an accepted tenet in the Christian church. Paul also found the results of Jesus' work and teachings enmeshed in a narrow Jewish environment. He brought them out and held them up before the enraptured gaze of humanity. Moreover, he interpreted the principles of Jesus and the beliefs of his immediate followers into the language and figures current in the larger Grseco-Roman world of his day. Thus Paul was the chief leader in that band of enthusiastic, devoted missionaries who transplanted Christianity from Jewish to Gentile soil. While he was not the first Christian missionary, he inspired and directed the great missionary movement of the first century until, through his wise statesmanship and tireless activity, Christianity had been established in all the great cities of the empire. Paul also reared up a large band of efficient Christian preachers and teachers, who multiplied his work and carried its influence to all civilized races. In his life, as well as in his teachings, Paul interpreted Christianity 236 PAUL'S CONTRIBUTION TO CHRISTIANITY as a personal, spiritual fellowship between God and the individual; at the same time he placed a profound emphasis upon the ethical and social aspects of religion. All generations have recognized that Paul's warm, religious life, his devotion to his Master, and his self-sacrificing heroism are to be counted among the richest heritages of Christendom. The present generation, however, is beginning to appreciate the su- preme value of his contribution to the practical interpretation of Jesus' social teachings. He it was who developed the logical and concrete implications of his Master's ideal of the Kingdom of God. On the basis of his work with the Christian communities which he established in the fields of his missionary effort he perfected the plan of an ideal community that would include all mankind, that would give every man an opportunity through loyal, loving service to attain fulness of life and happiness and would realize in definite form on earth the lofty, social teachings of his Master. It is, therefore, not as a theologian but as a Christian missionary, statesman, and social organizer that Paul has made his greatest and most permanent con- tributions to Christianity. The external structure and the creeds of historic Christianity are largely the results of his building; but, as he always asserted, the foundation on which it is laid is Jesus Christ. 237 11.2) CHRISTIANITY DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE FIRST CENTURY § CLXV. THE MESSAGE OF HOPE AND INSPIRATION IN I PETER Greet- Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to God's chosen people, ^ g the exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, P et 2 f r Asia, and Bithynia, chosen in accordance with the fore- knowledge of God the Father through the sanctifying work of the Spirit to obey Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood. May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Thanks- Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ! ^ ng In accordance with his great mercy he hath caused us to be future k orn anew to a living hope through the resurrection of hope™ Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance imperishable, (3 ' 9) undefiled, and unfading. It has been reserved in heaven for you who are guarded by the power of God through faith for a salvation which is ready to be revealed at the last hour. Rejoice, therefore, in this, even though now for a short time you may need to suffer various trials. This suffering is only for the testing of your faith (far more precious than gold which perishes and yet is tested by fire), and it will be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the reappearing of Jesus Christ. Him you love, although you have not looked upon him. Though at present you cannot see him, you nevertheless believe in him and you will exult with an unspeakable and glorious joy when you ob- tain, as the object of your faith, the salvation of your souls. The Now that through your obedience to the truth you have orthis purified your souls for a brotherly love that is sincere, love SfrTh one another heartily and fervently; for you have been born (22.23. anew, not of mortal but of immortal seed by God's ever- 21 " 8) living and enduring word. So put away all malice, all deceit and insincerity and envy and slander of every kind! 238 submit to FRUITS OF THE NEW BIRTH Like newly born infants, thirst for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation. You are the chosen race, the royal priesthood, the holy The nation, the people who belong to God, that you may pro- S| el claim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness < 9 10 ) into his marvelous light. Once you were no people but now you are God's people. Once you were unpitied but now you are pitied. Beloved, I entreat you as sojourners and exiles not to Toat- indulge the fleshly passions which wage war upon the soul, the* Conduct yourselves properly before the heathen, so that, Jg£ to although they now defame you as evil-doers, they may yet g5? glorify God, when you are put on trial, because they see (11,12) your good deeds. Submit for the Lord's sake to every human authority, To whether it be the emperor as supreme or governors sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers and the encourage- jjjgj 11 ment of those who do what is right. For it is God's will q*-v? that by doing what is right you should silence the ignorant charges of foolish persons. Be free men, but do not make your freedom an excuse for evil conduct; rather be God's true servants. Honor everyone, love the brotherhood, rev- erence God, honor the emperor. Household servants, be submissive to your masters with Duty all respect, not only to those who are kind and considerate ^nts" but also to those who are surly; for it is a merit, when from ( 18 20 ) a sense of a duty to God one patiently endures the pains of suffering unjustly inflicted. For if you do wrong and re- ceive a blow for it, what credit is there in your bearing it patiently? But if, when you do right and suffer for it, you bear it patiently this counts as a merit in God's sight. It is for this that you were called, for when Christ also Jesus' suffered in your behalf, he left you an example that you ^^ m ' should follow in his footsteps. He committed no sin nor was ( 21 -*) guile found in his mouth. When he was reviled he reviled not again; when he suffered he never threatened, but left everything to him who judgeth justly. He it was who bore our sins in his own body on the cross that we, having died as far as our sins are concerned, may live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were 239 MESSAGE OF INSPIRATION IN I PETER straying like lost sheep, but now you have come back to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls. Duties In the same way you wives must be submissive to your wives husbands so that, even if some of these husbands do not (314) believe the word, they may be won over, apart from the word, through the behavior of their wives when they see how reverent and blameless your behavior is. Let not your adornment be merely outward, one of plaiting the hair, putting on ornaments of gold, or wearing apparel. Instead, it should be a new nature in the heart with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and peaceful spirit which is of rare value in the sight of God. ofnus- Likewise, you husbands, be considerate, as you live to- (7 5 ) 11 gether with your wives, recognizing that they belong to the weaker sex. Also treat them as heirs, equally with you, of the gift of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. The Finally, you should all be of one mind, sympathetic, kind ti^ to the brothers, compassionate, humble, not paying back SL ev ^ * or ev ^ nor revimi g when you are reviled, but on the reward contrary giving a blessing in return, for to this end you (512) have been called that you may inherit a blessing, for, He who would love life, And see good days, Let him restrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking guile; Let him turn from evil and do good, Let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the upright, And his ears are open to their cry; But the face of the Lord is set against evil-doers. The And who will wrong you, if you are zealous for that which Kg 58 " is good ? Even if you have to suffer for what is right, you Sngthe are na PP v - So have no fear of their threats nor be troubled ; faith- but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord, being always ^rS- ready with an answer for any one who asks you for a reason (£m n f<> r th e no P e which you cherish. Yet answer with meek- ness and fear, preserving a good conscience, so that, when 240 THE BLESSING AWAITING THE FAITHFUL you are assailed, those who slander your good Christian behavior may be put to shame. For it is better for you to suffer for doing right, if that be the will of God, than for doing wrong; for Christ also, once for all, died for sins, a just man for unjust men, that he might bring us to God. Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, you must The arm yourselves with a determination to do the same (for ^fij^ he who has suffered in the flesh has done with sin) that for gftirisf s the rest of your life in the flesh you may be governed not exam- by human passions but by the will of God. For in the past j^?. 5) you have given time enough to doing what the heathen choose to do ! You used to live lives of unbridled license, lust, hard drinking, revelry, dissipation and illicit idolatry; therefore, they think it strange that you will not plunge with them into the same flood of profligacy; so they abuse you. But they will have to give account to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. Now the end of all things is near. Therefore, keep a caiito cool head, be calm, and pray. Above all be intent upon JSJJ loving one another, for love hides a multitude of sins, serrfce Be hospitable to one another without grudging. You must serve one another, each with the talents which he has re- ceived, as excellent stewards of God's manifold goodness. If anyone preaches, let it be as one who utters the word of God. If anyone renders a service, let it be in the strength which God supplieth, so that in everything God may be glori- fied through Jesus Christ to whom belongs the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal, which To has come to test you, as though a strange experience had sSsel? befallen you. Rather, since you are sharing Christ's suf- ^s ferings, rejoice that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice and exult. If you are reproached for the sake of Christ, you are happy, for then the Spirit of glory, even the Spirit of God himself, is resting upon you. Let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evil-doer or as one who meddles with other people's affairs; but if a man suf- fers for being a Christian, let him not be ashamed; let him rather glorify God for being permitted to bear this name. The time is come for the judgment to begin with the 241 ment (17-18) MESSAGE OF INSPIRATION IN I PETER The household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the ISnd- end of those who reject God's gospel ! If the righteous {£* of man is scarcely saved, what will become of the impious judg- and sinful ! Therefore, let those who are suffering in ac- cordance with the will of God, while they continue in their well-doing, intrust their souls to him, their faithful Creator. Re- Now, I exhort the elders among you — I who am also an Suites elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and a sharer eiders m t ^ ie gl orv to ^ e revealed — be shepherds of your flock of (5i«> God. Take charge of them, not under compulsion but willingly, in accordance with the will of God, not for base gain but freely, not by way of lording it over your charges but proving yourselves patterns for the flock. Then when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory, of In the same way you younger men must also submit S g to the elders. Indeed, all of you must gird yourselves with ('" T > humility toward one another, for God opposeth the proud but giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourself, there- fore, under the strong hand of God, so that when it is time, he will raise you. Cast all your anxiety upon him, for he careth for you. au Be calm, keep awake. Your enemy, the devil, is going fSrS 6 about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he can devour. b§n! Resist hi* 31 * De steadfast in the faith, knowing that your tested brothers in other parts of the world are passing through (8U) the same sufferings. And the God of all grace who hath called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suf- fered for a short time, will restore, establish, and strengthen you. The dominion is his forever and ever. Amen. Per- Through the agency of Silvanus, our faithful brother (as notes I consider him), I have written these few lines in order to encourage you and to testify that this is what the true grace of God is. Stand fast in it. The church in Babylon, chosen by God like yourselves, salutes you, as does also my son, Mark. Salute one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to you all who are in Christ. I. The Later Years of the Apostle Peter. Unfortunately, Luke's interest is transferred in the latter part of the book of Acts so 242 (1.-14) LATER YEARS OF THE APOSTLE PETER completely to Paul that we are left in almost complete ignorance re- garding Peter's later activity. From Paul's letter to the Galatians it is evident that James, the brother of Jesus, with his zeal for the Jewish law, best interpreted the spirit of the Jerusalem Christians. Peter's inclination to extend to the Gentile Christians the hand of fellowship, as has been noted on one memorable occasion, was openly rebuked by James. This inclination probably explains (1) why Peter did not remain at the head of the Jerusalem church and (2) why he sought other missionary fields. Acts 9 32 -ll 18 indicates that he first turned his attention to the cities along the Mediterranean seaboard. There is no evidence that he ever returned to make his permanent home at Jerusalem. He was not there on the occasion of Paul's final visit. Early tradition says that he became the head of the Antioch church. It is exceedingly probable that he made this the centre of his work in Syria. Paul's eagerness to push westward was perhaps in part due to his desire, or possibly his formal agreement, to leave this field to Peter and his associates. It is evident that Peter's reputation and authority steadily increased. In I Corinthians l 12 Paul refers to the Cephas or Peter faction in the church at distant Corinth. Paul's other later reference to Peter is incidental but suggestive. He claims, although he evidently did not avail himself of the right, "to travel with a Christian wife like the rest of the apostles, like the brothers of the Lord, like Cephas himself." It is indeed unfortunate that he did not tell us where Peter was wont to travel, but the statement does imply that, like Paul and most of the early Christian apostles, Peter himself had entered upon the work of an itinerant missionary. The complete absence of any reference to Peter in Paul's detailed letters written during his imprisonment indicates that, as late as 57 or 58, "the apostle to the circumcision" had not as yet transferred the field of his activities to Rome. II. Peter's Martyrdom. There are indications, however, even in Acts that Peter became a missionary in later years to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews. Early and late Christian traditions are all agreed that he spent his last days in the Imperial City and there met his death at the hands of Nero. Clement of Rome, writing about 100, says: "Peter, who on account of unrighteous jealousy, endured not one or two, but many sufferings, and so, having borne his testimony, went to his deserved place of glory," is, like Paul, "a notable pattern of patient endurance." He adds: "To these men who lived lives of holiness was gathered a vast multitude of the elect, who by many 243 MESSAGE OF INSPIRATION IN I PETER indignities and tortures, being the victims of jealousy, set the finest examples among us." Eusebius, quoting from Dionysius, bishop of Corinth during the second half of the second century, states that Peter and Paul both taught in Italy and suffered martyrdom at the same time. He quotes also from a certain Caius, who lived during the last half of the second century: "I am able to show the trophies of the apostles; for if you will go to the Vatican or to the Ostian Way, you will find the trophies of those who laid the foundation of this church." In the light of this early and cumulative testimony, there can be little doubt that Peter went to Rome and there met his death. It seems certain, however, that these events were subsequent to the martyrdom of Paul in 57 or 58. Indeed, the needs of the Roman church may well have drawn him to the Imperial City soon after Paul's death. If Peter went to Rome in 58 and met his death during the persecutions of Nero in 64, he had ample time in which to reorganize the Roman church and to establish the basis of the traditions which have grown up about his work. Peter's irenical spirit was well cal- culated to conciliate the large Jewish element in the Roman church and to unite them with the ardent followers of Paul. Thus there is every reason to believe that at last the most impulsive, the most unstable, the most outspoken, and in many ways the most devoted of Jesus' disciples, by his earnestness and his eagerness to serve, not only received but merited the highest honors that the later church had to bestow; also that he was finally united with his Master through martyrdom, not at Jerusalem, the centre of Judaism, but at Rome, the new religious capital of Christendom. III. The Growth of the Western Church. The momentum given to the spread of the Christian church by Peter and Paul and their associates increased rather than declined during the last half of the first century. Before 60 a.d. Christianity is said to have been preached throughout the inhabited world. For the most part the heroic activity which resulted in this marvellous growth is an un- written chapter in human history. The biblical record does not carry us far beyond the death of Paul, and the extra-biblical Christian his- torians furnish few details regarding this important period. ■ We know it chiefly through the results which were clearly apparent during the next century. Christianity, like a kindling flame, had swept along the northern shores of Africa from Egypt to Carthage. In all the important cities of Spain, of southern Gaul, of Asia Minor, as well as Greece and Italy, strong and growing Christian communities were 244 THE GROWTH OF THE WESTERN CHURCH established. In Rome Christianity had become such a prominent force that it commanded the attention of the Roman as well as the Christian historians. As Luke asserts in his apostolic history, Chris- tianity in its earliest days had been fostered rather than persecuted by the Roman authorities. The first active persecution began under Nero in 64. It was apparently confined to Rome, or at least to Italy, and there is no evidence that it spread to the provinces. It tended, however, to bring the Christians into prominence. Doubtless to them was transferred much of the popular disfavor that had hitherto been reserved for the Jews. Tacitus in his Annals (15 44 ) has painted a gruesomely vivid picture of this persecution. He states that in order to overcome the persistent rumor that Rome had been set on fire by the command of Nero, the emperor "put in his own place as culprits and punished with most ingenious cruelty, men whom the common people hated for their shameful crimes and called Christians. Christ, from whom the name was derived, had been put to death in the reign of Tiberius by the procurator Pontius Pilate. The deadly superstition, having been checked for a while, began to break out again, not only throughout Judea, where this mischief first arose, but also at Rome, where from all sides all things scandalous and shameful meet and become fashionable. Therefore, at the beginning, some were seized who made confessions; then, on their information, a vast multitude was convicted, not so much of arson as of hatred of the human race. And they were not only put to death, but subjected to insults, in that they were either dressed up in the skins of wild beasts and perished by the cruel mangling of dogs or else put on crosses, to be set on fire, and, as day declined, to be burned, being used as lights by night. Nero had thrown open his gardens for that spectacle and gave a circus play, mingling with the people dressed with charioteer's costume or driving in a chariot. From this arose, however, toward men who were indeed criminals and deserving extreme penalties, sympathy, on the ground that they were destroyed not for the public good, but to satisfy the cruelty of an individual." Under the growing insistence of Rome that all her subjects prove their loyalty by joining in the common worship of the emperors, the lot of the faithful Christians became increasingly difficult. Under such emperors, however, as Vespasian and Titus, there was no open persecution. IV. The Persecution of the Christians by Domitian. Do- mitian, who came to the throne in 81 A.D., was an autocrat by nature and relentlessly crushed anything which suggested opposition to his 245 MESSAGE OF INSPIRATION IN I PETER absolute authority. Certain members of the growing Christian sect soon became the object of his bitter persecution. Originally Chris- tianity appears to have spread among the slaves and poorer classes of the empire, but in the reign of Domitian it mounted almost to the throne itself. According to the Roman historian Cassius Dio, in 95, the last year of Domitian's reign, he put to death his cousin Flavius Clemens and banished his wife, Flavia Domitilla, who was also related to the emperor. "The charge of atheism was made against both of them, in consequence of which many others also who had adopted the customs of the Jews were condemned. Some were put to death, others lost their property." One of the Christian catacombs to-day bears the name of Domitilla, and many members of her household lie buried there. Strikingly significant of the place which Christianity had already won in the empire is the fact that the two sons of Clemens and Domitilla had been adopted by Domitian and named as his suc- cessors. Had not their parents' heresy been discovered, a Christian emperor would probably have been crowned at Rome within less than seventy years after the death of Jesus. Domitian does not appear to have instituted a wholesale persecution of the Christians, but the beliefs of the individual Christians rendered it almost impossible for them to be loyal to their Master and to the rigorous demands of the emperor. The result was that active persecution broke out at many points throughout the empire. Its severity was dependent to a great extent upon the policy of the local Roman rulers. Pliny, the famous Roman writer, in his letter to the Emperor Trajan, written about 112 A.D., throws much light upon the earlier persecutions and especially upon the character of the Christians and their numbers and promi- nence even in the distant parts of the empire. Pliny had been ap- pointed governor of the province of Bithynia in northwestern Asia Minor. His letter also reveals the policy of Rome under the lenient rule of Trajan. Pliny prefaces his letter with the statement: "It is my custom, my lord, to refer to you all questions about which I have doubts." Then he goes on to speak of the many Christians who had been brought before him, had confessed their beliefs, and had persisted in holding them, until he had been compelled to order them away to execution. He adds: "There were others of like insanity, but, because they were Roman citizens, I noted them down to be sent to Rome. Soon after this, as it often happens, because the matter had been brought to notice, the crime became wide-spread and many cases arose. . . . Others who had been named by an informer said that they 246 PERSECUTION OF THE CHRISTIANS BY DOMITIAN were Christians and soon after denied it, saying, indeed, that they had been, but had ceased to be Christians, some three years ago, some many years, and one even twenty years ago. . . . They asserted, however, that the amount of their fault or error was this: that they had been accustomed to assemble on a fixed day before daylight and sing by turns a hymn to Christ as a god; and that they bound themselves with an oath, not for any crime, but rather not to commit a theft, or robbery, or adultery, not to break their word, and not to deny a deposit when demanded. After these things were done it was their custom to depart and meet together again to take food, but ordinary and harmless food; and they said that even this had ceased after my edict was issued, by which, according to your commands, I had forbidden the existence of clubs. On this account I believed it the more necessary to find out from two maid-servants, who were called deaconesses, and that by torture, what was the truth. I found nothing else than a perverse and excessive superstition. I therefore adjourned the examination and hastened to consult you. The matter seemed to me to be worthy of deliberation, especially on account of the number of those in danger. For many of every age, every rank, and even of both sexes, are brought into danger, and will be in the future. The contagion of that super- stition has penetrated not only the cities but also the villages and country places." To this letter Trajan replied, commending Pliny's policy and stating that the Christians were not to be sought out but if they were accused and convicted, they were to be punished. He also commanded that every opportunity be given them for repentance and that anonymous accusations should not be admitted. These re- markable letters make vividly clear the painful condition in which the Christians found themselves throughout the Roman Empire from the days of Domitian and give the reader a definite conception of the back- ground of the first epistle of Peter, of Hebrews, and of the book of Revelation, all of which are the outgrowth of a period of bitter and prolonged persecution. V. The Aim and Contents of I Peter. It is a striking fact that I Peter, according to its superscription, was written to certain of the Christians of Bithynia, regarding which Pliny writes in his letter to Trajan. Like Paul's epistles to the Colossians and Laodiceans, I Peter was intended to be passed on from one Christian community to another. The provinces to which it is addressed lie in northwestern Asia Minor. The order in which they are mentioned probably repre- sents the natural itinerary of the messenger who bore the epistle. If 247 MESSAGE OF INSPIRATION IN I PETER so, he would land first at Pontus on the southern side of the Black Sea and thence go southward through Galatia, turning westward toward Cappadocia and Asia, and thence northward through Bithynia, whence he could return by water or the direct highway overland to Rome. The opening paragraph, following the greeting, states the aim of the letter. It was to keep alive the hopes and to encourage the Christians in the presence of strong temptations and bitter persecutions. The general introduction, which ends with 2 10 , is intended to set forth the beliefs which are the inspiration of the persecuted Christians. In 2 n -3 12 the author aims to define their duties toward unbelievers and toward each other in their social relations. This is all summed up in 3 8, 9 . Chapters 3 13 -4 n picture the blessings awaiting those who do right and patiently endure suffering for the sake of their faith. The thesis is presented in the opening verses (3 13, 14 ) and summed up in 4 7 " 11 . The section 4 12 -5 n contains an exhortation to be courageous in suffering and places special emphasis upon the obligations of the elders and the young men in the Christian communities. Again the opening verses t 12, 13 ) contain the thesis and the concluding verses (5 8 " 11 ) the summary. Brief personal notes are found in 5 12 " 14 . The epistle is characterized by its complex yet classical Greek style, by its remarkably symmetrical structure, and by its broad, hopeful, cou- rageous spirit. It was well calculated to calm and steady the terrified, wavering Christians, for whom it is written. From the allusions in the opening verses of chapter 4 it appears that those to whom the epistle or homily is addressed were converts from paganism who were familiar, through bitter personal experience, with the hideous vices which were prevalent throughout the Grseco-Roman world. VI. Authorship and Date of I Peter. The superscription, "Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ," appears to answer at once the question of authorship, but the epistle itself contains data which pre- sent one of the most difficult problems with which the New Testament reader is confronted. Certain indications point directly to Peter, the disciple, as the author. Many phrases and ideas, as, for example, the assertion, in l 17 , that God judges every one impartially is a reassertion of the apostle's word as reported in Acts 10 34 . So, also, the privilege of sharing Christ's sufferings is emphasized both in I Peter 4 13 « 16 and in Acts 5 41 . The beliefs set forth in this homily, and especially the expectations regarding the speedy reappearance of Jesus to judge all mankind, suggest the simple faith of the primitive Christian church. On the other hand, it is difficult to believe that Peter, the Galilean 248 AUTHORSHIP AND DATE peasant, accustomed to the Aramaic tongue, could acquire the rela- tively finished Greek style which is found in this homily. As has also been shown in a detailed study (cf. Foster, The Literary Relations of I Peter), two hundred and eighteen passages in this short book are either directly dependent upon or closely related to three of Paul's epistles (Rom., Eph., and I Cor.). These references represent half of the book. As has been definitely demonstrated, I Peter is a literary mosaic. It quotes largely from the Greek version of the Old Testa- ment. The author was also intimately acquainted with the Wisdom of Solomon (cf., e. g., 2 25 and Wisd. I 6 and 31 3 , or 3 20 and Wisd. 14 5 - 6 ) and with II Maccabees. There are also many points of contact with the Epistle to the Hebrews, and it seems probable that the dependence is on the side of I Peter. On the other hand, this homily is quoted by the author of James and also by Clement of Rome, who wrote about 100 a.d. Even more significant are the repeated allusions to the per- sistent persecutions to which the "exiles of the dispersion," that is, the Christians scattered throughout the Roman Empire, are subjected. The only historical situation which fully meets these conditions is furnished by the reign of Domitian, 81-96. They are in exact accord with those which Pliny found in Bithynia a decade or two later. While it would have been chronologically possible for Peter to have written this homily before his death, the persecutions of Nero, as reported by the Roman and Christian historians, do not present the back- ground implied in I Peter. Pliny's reference to a Christian who declared that he had recanted twenty years before may well be a di- rect allusion to the persecution which our author contemplated. In the light of all the facts, therefore, it seems probable that I Peter was written between 90 and 95 a.d., although an earlier dating in the reign of Nero is not absolutely excluded. In certain respects this homily presents a striking analogy to the first half of the book of Acts. In both books Paul is clearly the more original, pioneer spirit. His convictions and energy dominate the situation; but the authors of each of these writings reveal a strong de- sire to give to Peter a certain pre-eminence. In each writing the aim also is to reconcile the thought of these two great leaders in the apos- tolic church. In Acts the earlier differences were passed over in silence. In I Peter many of the ideas and striking phrases of Paul reappear under the name of the Galilean apostle. The explanation of this surprising phenomenon is perhaps to be found in the unusual phrase, "through Silvanus," which is found in the postscript to the epistle. 249 MESSAGE OF INSPIRATION IN I PETER The identity of Silvanus is not certain. This postscript indicates that he was Peter's scribe. The preposition that is used, as well as the context, implies that he was more. If the epistle was dictated by the Galilean apostle the present Greek form of the epistle is probably the work of the amanuensis. Furthermore, if Silvanus or Silas is the one who accompanied Paul in his second missionary journey, the prominence of Pauline ideas and phrases is easily explained. The broad outlook of the epistle, the mention of "my son Mark" in the concluding verses, and, above all, of the church in Babylon, as the church which sends greetings, point to Rome as the place where this epistle was written. Tradition furnishes not the least evidence that Peter ever visited Babylon or that Christianity by the middle of the first century had penetrated the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates. As in later Christian literature, Babylon is beyond reasonable doubt a symbolic designation for corrupt Rome, even as "my son" is applied to Mark, not literally but symbolically. The conclusion which on the whole best satisfies these complex facts is that the central teach- ings in the epistle came originally from the lips of Peter, but that the letter in its present form is largely the work of Silvanus or Silas. Writ- ing as he probably did at the beginning of the last decade of the first century, when the controversy between Jew and Gentile Christian, between Peter and Paul, was practically forgotten and when Paul's teachings had broadened and deepened the current of Christian thought, he unconsciously, if not deliberately, blended the teachings of the two great apostles and sent the epistle forth in the name of Peter as a practical message of hope and encouragement to the perse- cuted Christians in the distant provinces. § CLXVI. THE EARLY CHRISTIAN SERMON IN HEBREWS God's God, who in ancient days spoke to our forefathers in many Jreme forms and fashions through the prophets, has at the end of tfon lar tnese days spoken to us through a Son whom he appointed through heir of all things, as it was through him that he created the (hS? universe. He, reflecting the brightness of God's glory and ,w ) being the exact image of God's own character, upholds all things by his word of power. After he had secured our purification from sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become as far superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. 250 CHRIST'S SUPERIORITY TO ANGELS For to what angel did God ever say, Christ's superi- ority to Thou art my son, ? 5 n fS I have this day become thy Father? ' ' } Or again, I will be a father to him, And he will be my son. He says to the Son, Thou didst found the earth at the beginning, O Lord, And the heavens are the work of thy hand. They will perish, but thou remainest, They will all grow old like a garment, And thou wilt roll them up like a mantle, And like a garment they shall be changed, But thou art the same, And thy years will never fail. For it was fitting that God, for whom and by whom all signm- things exist, after he had brought many sons to glory, should If 10 * perfect by suffering, the Pioneer of their salvation, for both Christ's he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one t^ 6T ' Father. It was necessary that he should resemble his S^"' brothers in every respect in order to prove a merciful and faithful high priest in all things divine, and in order to atone for the sins of the people. For, inasmuch as he has suffered by his temptations, he is able to help those who are tempted. Therefore, holy brothers, you who share a heavenly Christ's calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high s ^ t fl' priest of our confession. He was faithful to those who ap- Moses pointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of greater glory than Moses, inasmuch as the founder of the house enjoys greater honor than the house itself. For every house is founded by some one, but God is the founder of all things. Moreover, Moses was faithful in all God's house as an attendant, in order to bear witness to the things which are to be revealed; but Christ was faithful as a Son 251 O 1 " 7 ) THE EARLY CHRISTIAN SERMON IN HEBREWS over God's house, and we are that house, if we hold firm to the end the confidence and the pride in our hope. our Inasmuch, therefore, as we have a great high priest who thSK?" has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let Jjjf^. us hold firmly our confession of faith. For we have not a (4M-M) high priest who is incapable of sympathizing with our weak- nesses, but one who has been tempted in all ways like our- selves, yet without sinning. So let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in the hour of need. The Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter swp w " the holy Presence by virtue of the blood of Jesus, by the g*JJ new and living way which he has opened up for us by rend- thus ing the veil, that is, of his earthly nature, and since we have Shed a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with ^° 19 ' a true heart and full assurance of faith, having had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies bathed in pure water. Let us hold the hope which we avow without wavering, for he is faithful who gave us the promise. Let us consider how we can stir up one an- other to love and to good deeds. En- Recall the former days, when, after you were enlightened, age^" you endured a hard struggle and much suffering. This ESm was P art ^y because you yourselves were being held up as the objects of reproach and persecution and partly because (wS) you made a common cause with those who were thus treated ; for you not only sympathized with the prisoners but you also accepted the confiscation of your own possessions cheerfully, knowing that you have for yourselves more valuable and lasting possessions. Therefore, do not cast aside your confident hope, for it carries with it great reward. For you stand in need of patient endurance, so that, after doing the will of God, you may receive what you have been promised. Exam- Now faith is the assurance that we will receive that for ofthe which we hope, the conviction of the reality of those things power w hi c h we do not see. It was for this that the men of olden faith time were attested. Through faith we understand that the (IIW) world was fashioned by the word of God so that what is seen was made out of the invisible. 252 THE POWER OF ABEL'S FAITH By faith Abel offered God a more acceptable sacrifice Abel than Cain and thus was attested to be righteous. For God (4) gave the attestation by accepting his gifts and through this faith, though dead, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken to heaven, so that he did not Enoch die and could not be found, because God had taken him (6,6) away. For before he was taken to heaven he was attested to be well pleasing to God; but without faith it is impos- sible to be well pleasing to him, for the man who draws near to God must believe that he doth exist and that he doth reward those who earnestly try to find him. By faith Noah, after having been taught by God about Noah things still unseen, reverently constructed an ark to save (7) his household; thus he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that depends on faith. By faith, Abraham obeyed, when he was called to go Abra- forth to a place which he would receive as an inheritance, ^S and he went forth not knowing where he was to go. By 1719 ) faith he came and made his home in the promised land as in a foreign country, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob who were co-heirs with him of the same promise. For he was waiting for the city which has the foundations, whose builder and maker is God. By faith, when Abraham was tested he sacrificed Isaac and was ready to sacrifice his only son, although he had received the promise and had been told, It is through Isaac that your offspring shall be reckoned ; yet he considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead. By faith, Moses was hidden for three months after birth Moses by his parents, because they saw that the child was beauti- (2329) ful and they did not fear the royal decree. By faith Moses when he had grown up refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, preferring to endure ill-treatment with God's people rather than to have the passing pleasures of sin, because he considered reproaches with the Messiah to be richer wealth than all the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking for the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not because he feared the king's wrath, for he held on his course as one who saw him who is invisible. By faith he instituted the passover that the destroying angel might not touch the first- 253 THE EARLY CHRISTIAN SERMON IN HEBREWS born of the Israelites. By faith they crossed the Red Sea, as through dry land ; but when the Egyptians made the at- tempt, they were drowned. Rahab By faith, Rahab, the harlot, did not perish with those who (31) were disobedient for she had welcomed the spies peaceably. other What more shall I say ? For time would fail me to tell Ssroes* °* Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, of David faith 6 an( * Samuel and the prophets — they who by faith conquered (38-34) kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, proved valiant in war and put to flight foreign armies. Later Women received back some as though raised from the ™l~ dead; others were broken on the wheel, refusing release fgr^ that they might secure a better resurrection. Others again faith were tested by scoffs and scourgings; yes, and by chains (35 ' i0) and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tried by temptation, they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, en- during want, oppressed, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wanderers in the desert and among the hills, in caves and in holes in the ground. Through faith, these all were attested, but they did not obtain the promise. God had something better in store for us, so that apart from us they were not to attain full perfection. There- Therefore, surrounded as we are by such a great crowd brave 6 of witnesses, let us lay aside every handicap and the sin, Jtand wn * cn clings so closely to us, and let us run with patient (i2»-8) endurance our appointed course, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter of faith. He, for the sake of the joy which lay before him, patiently endured the cross, looking with contempt upon the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Therefore consider him who steadily endures all that hostility from sinful men, so as to keep your own hearts from fainting and failing. In your struggle against sin you have not yet shed your blood. Have you forgotten the comforting message that reasons with you as with sons? My son, do not think lightly of the Lord's discipline, And do not faint when he correcteth you, 254 COMMAND TO BE BRAVE AND STAND For whom the Lord loveth he disciplineth, And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Patiently endure for the sake of discipline, God is dealing with you as with sons; For where is the son whom his father does not disci- pline? And if you are left without that discipline which all share, Then you are not sons but bastards. Moreover, we had our earthly fathers to discipline us, There- and we yielded to them ! Shall we not much more pa- submit tiently submit to the Father of our spirits, and so live? g> od>s For while their discipline was only for a time and accord- di°ci- s ing to their judgment, he disciplines us for our profit that f^f we may share in his holiness. All discipline seems for the present to be painful not joyous; but to those who are trained by it, it afterwards yields the fruit of peace and righteousness. Therefore, strengthen your drooping hands and weak knees and make straight the paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated but rather be made whole. i Persistently strive for peace with all men and for that Avoid consecration without which no man will ever see the Lord, {™k- Carefully guard lest anyone misses the grace of God, that Riding no root of bitterness grow up to trouble you and through it many be defiled; also that there be no fornicator or un- godly person like Esau, who for a single meal parted with his birthright. For you know how, when later on he wanted to secure the blessing, he was set aside, for he found no opportunity to repent, though he sought it earnestly with tears. For you have not come to what you can touch, to flaming The fire, to gloom and darkness and to storm and the blare of JS the trumpet, and the sound of words, such that those who ^ een heard it begged that no more should be added (for they theSd could not bear the command, If a beast touches the moun- new the tain it must be stoned). So terrible was the sight that even cove- Moses said, I am terrified and trembling. Rather you o^> have come to Mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels, to the festal 255 THE EARLY CHRISTIAN SERMON IN HEBREWS gathering, and to the assembly of the first-born whose names are recorded in heaven, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus who mediates the new cove- nant, and to the sprinkled blood which speaks a nobler message than Abel's. There- See to it that you do not refuse to listen to him who is obedi- 6 speaking to you, for if they who refuse to listen to their J!^ earthly instructors fail to escape, how much less shall we divine escape if we turn a deaf ear to him who speaketh from (l^f) ter heaven. Then God's voice shook the earth, but now he promiseth, saying, Once again I will cause not only the earth but the heavens to quake. The phrase 'once again* denotes the removal of those things which can be shaken as created things, in order that those things only which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, let us render thanks that we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and in this way let us worship God acceptably with godly reverence and awe, for our God is indeed a consuming fire. Jesus. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day and forever. spirit- Do not let yourselves be drawn aside by all sorts of strange wlr? d teachings, for it is well to have one's heart strengthened lasting by God's grace and not by special kinds of food which have Staf 1 " never been of any use to those who scrupulously attend to (i3«-«) them. We have an altar from which the worshippers at the Jewish tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is taken by the high priest into the holy place as a sin offering are burned outside the camp. And for this reason Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people by his blood. There- fore, let us go to him outside the camp, sharing his reproach, for we have no lasting city here below, but we seek for the city to come. Through him, then, let us constantly offer to God our sacrifice of praise, namely, the fruit of lips which make confession in his name. Bene- Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead ffil™ our Lord Jesus, who by the blood of the eternal covenant is the great Shepherd of the sheep, fully equip you with every good thing that you may do his will, creating in us, through Christ Jesus, what is acceptable in his sight. To him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen. 256 THE LITERARY FORM OF HEBREWS I. The Literary Form of the Epistle to the Hebrews. In its literary form and thought the so-called "Epistle to the Hebrews" stands in solitary grandeur among New Testament writings. Its only kinsmen are the speeches of Peter, Stephen, and Paul reported in Acts. It was evidently written by a Greek Christian. Its involved, often redundant sentences reveal the student rather than the man trained in the active stream of life. Its traditional title and the personal notes in the last chapter give it the semblance of an epistle; but there can be little doubt that it was originally addressed by word of mouth to a definite assembly of Christians, for it has all the char- acteristics of a sermon. It is faultlessly constructed as an oration according to the canons of the Greek rhetoricians. The impressive introduction is found in l r -4 13 . The formal argument, which develops the thought that Jesus is our great high priest who enables us to enter the divine presence with confidence, is presented in 4 13 -10 31 . The ideas are here prevailingly expressed in the first person. The short passage, 10 32 " 39 , marks the sharp transition to the direct personal ap- plication. The pronoun "you" henceforth takes the place of "we." The examples of the men of faith who have endured sufferings are massed impressively and dramatically in chapter 11. The general- izations, the logical conclusions, and the practical exhortations follow in 12 1 " 29 and 13 8 " 15 . The elaborate benediction, which furnishes the appropriate conclusion to this noble sermon, is found in 13 20, 21 . The indications that the contents of this epistle were first presented to an audience within the physical as well as the mental vision of the preacher are many. In 5 11 , for example, when he began to develop the intricate allegory of "the high priest with the rank of Melchizedek," some of his audience may well have yawned. With the intuitions of the true preacher he felt that their interests were suddenly relaxed, for he adds: "On this point I have a great deal to say which it is hard to make clear to you, for you have grown dull of hearing." Indeed, there is a trace of impatience in his words: "You still need someone to teach you once more the elementary principles of the divine revelation. You are in need of milk not of solid food!" But in the next paragraph he recovers his buoyant optimism and probably also the attention of his audience: "Let us go on then to what is mature, leaving elementary Christian doctrine behind." In ll 32 he exclaims: "Time would fail me to tell of Gideon" and the other heroes of the faith. It is the preacher, not the writer, who feels the imperative limitations of time. The bonds of sympathy and interest between the speaker and his 257 THE EARLY CHRISTIAN SERMON IN HEBREWS audience were evidently very close. He constantly addresses them as "beloved" or as "brothers." In 10 32 " 34 he asks them to "recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle and much suffering." He goes on to speak of the reproaches which they endured, of their sympathy for those who were in prison, and of the cheerfulness with which they bore the confiscation of their possessions. Here we listen to a pastor praising and exhorting mem- bers of the flock which he has led through much tribulation and which is again facing persecution. As several scholars have observed, the personal notes in 13 1 " 7, 16 ~ 19, 22 " 24 , destroy the otherwise close-knit unity of the book (cf. Torrey, Journal of Bib. Lit., XXX, 137-156). The interest, the vocabulary, and the literary style are fundamentally different from those which characterize the rest of the sermon. It is exceedingly probable that the notes were later added to this address in order to give it the appearance of an epistle and to imply that it came from the great apostle to the Gentiles. The reference to brother Timothy and the salutation from the Italians support the inference without definitely stating that what preceded was written by Paul from Rome. II. The Authorship and History of Hebrews. Notwithstand- ing the implication of the personal notes in chapter 13, the Pauline authorship of Hebrews was early questioned, even by the church at Rome. That he is not its author is now almost universally recognized. While Hebrews has many points of contact with Paul's epistles, its thought moves on an entirely different level. Its author was a theo- logian, a finished orator, and a master of the Greek idiom. He was acquainted with the writings of Philo and the Alexandrian type of thought. The early conflict between Jew and Gentile had completely disappeared from his horizon. All the institutions and events of Old Testament history were to him but prophetic types of heavenly and future realities. He adopted without question the apostolic teaching that the Christians were the seed of Abraham (2 16 ) and the true people of God (4 9 ). He quotes at length from the Greek version of the Old Testament, and his quotations are very exact, but he fol- lows guilelessly the mistakes of the Greek translators. Like most of the apostles, he regards the Old Testament primarily as a collection of predictions regarding Jesus and the triumphant progress of Chris- tianity. As has been truly said, the author is "a man of deep sincer- ity and great richness of soul." His interest in Christ, however, is more intellectual and not so personal as Paul's. For him Christ is 258 AUTHORSHIP AND HISTORY the great high priest who has made it possible for his followers to at- tain forgiveness of their sins and direct access to God. And yet the author of Hebrews has an intensely practical rather than a merely theological interest. He was endeavoring to inspire and help his fellow Christians who were facing bitter persecution. In the latter part of the famous eleventh chapter he apparently has in mind the persecutions of Nero in 64, as well as the earlier attempt of Antiochus Epiphanes to wipe out Judaism. When he spoke, these events lay in the distant past. The persecutions which he immediately faced were probably those under Domitian. A date about 85 a.d. also satisfies in every respect the literary relationships of Hebrews. Its use by Clement of Rome about 100 fixes its origin in the first century. Alex- andria at this time undoubtedly had a large Christian community and this strongly Grseco-Roman city furnishes the most natural background for the original sermon contained in Hebrews. Either by chance or definite intention it was carried in time to Rome. Its high intellectual and spiritual values undoubtedly from the first gave it an accepted position in the rapidly growing collection of early Christian writings. When later in the second Christian century the New Testament canon was beginning to be definitely fixed, Hebrews lacked but one thing and that was the apostolic (Pauline) authority which, by implication, the personal notes in 13 supply. It is probable that by the middle of the second century Hebrews was current in its present form and had won its place side by side with the other New Testament epistles. III. The Aim of the Sermon in Hebrews. Pliny's famous letter to Hadrian makes clear the peril which the author of Hebrews was seeking^to avert. The Roman governor tells of many who were or had been Christians, who at his dictation prayed to the gods and made supplication with incense and wine to the emperor's statue, which Pliny had ordered to be brought into the court for this pur- pose. He also says: "In addition to this they cursed Christ, none of which things, it is said, those who are really Christians can be made to do." In 6 11, n the author of Hebrews states his aim: "It is my earnest desire that each of you should show his zeal to realize your full hope to the very end, so that instead of being slack you may imitate those who inherit the promises by their unswerving faith." His purpose is to strengthen the faith of the Christians so that they will hold fast to it amidst the trying temptations and persecutions that impend. All of his thought and teaching are focused on this definite end. In this respect the epistle of I Peter and Hebrews are in close accord. 259 THE EARLY CHRISTIAN SERMON IN HEBREWS They are probably the outgrowth of the same great struggle. In preserving the faith of Christendom during this severe ordeal they each performed an inestimable service. IV. The Theme and the Development of the Thought of Hebrews. The text from which the sermon in Hebrews was preached was apparently taken from Jeremiah 31 31 . It is quoted not at the beginning but in the heart of the sermon (8 10 ) : This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel; I will set my laws within their mind, And I will inscribe them upon their hearts, I will be a God to them, And they shall be a people to me. The author's thesis is that Christ, superior to all other agents sent by God to man, is the culmination of all preceding revelation and the one who has established the new and everlasting covenant between God and the individual. In 12 2 he describes Jesus as the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith. The foundations of this sermon are the primitive Christian beliefs and the teachings of Paul. To these are added the distinctive contributions of the Alexandrian type of thought. While there are few traces of rabbinical influence, there are many points of contact with the noble homily in IV Maccabees which at about the same period was either preached as a sermon or sent out as a general epistle. Possibly both emanate from Alexandria. Both accept the belief in atonement for sin. This doctrine was in fact a fixed tenet of contemporary Judaism. In both of these homilies faith is conceived of, not in the Pauline sense of mystical fellowship with God, but as a belief in the providential rulership of the world (cf. IV Mac. 15 24 , 16 22 ). Both also illustrate their teachings by the example of the Old Testament heroes. To a modern reader the first, the doctrinal part of the sermon in Hebrews, is the least convincing. The picture of the exalted Christ in the opening paragraphs undoubtedly represents the beliefs of a majority of the Christian church at the close of the first century. Already the roots of this doctrine have been traced through Paul and the early apostles back to the Jewish apocalypses. The author of Hebrews has evidently arrived at the same beliefs by a different way. Following the Alexandrian teachers and especially Philo, who inter- preted the entire Old Testament allegorically, he drew chiefly from the Psalms the proofs of Jesus' divine nature. The present age is par- 260 THEME AND DEVELOPMENT OF THOUGHT ticularly impatient with the use of proof texts, especially when they are torn from their context and given an interpretation entirely foreign to that in the mind of the original writer. Thus, for example, in 1 1(M2 he quotes from Psalm 102 26 " 27 , which was clearly addressed to Jehovah, for the original psalm begins in B : Thou, Jehovah, art enthroned forever, And thy fame is to all generations. As uniformly in the Greek text (which the author of Hebrews fol- lowed) "Jehovah" was translated "Lord." This fact alone explains his interpretation of the psalm as a description of Christ's character and creative work. The passage is significant because it throws clear light on one of the ways in which the creed of the later church de- veloped. It also explains why there is such a vast difference between 7 the simple, vivid picture of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels and the elaborate Christology of these later writers. Throughout the opening chapters of Hebrews the logic is largely that of the Alexandrian al- legorical school, which was inclined to find a symbolic meaning in every Old Testament phrase and figure. Even though the author of Hebrews feared that his audience might fall asleep in the process, he developed at length his allegory regarding Melchizedek, the king of Salem, finding in the meaning of each of these titles symbolic sugges- tions of the character and work of the future Messiah. To his hearers, however, this allegorical method of interpretation was undoubtedly as convincing as that of the modern biblical interpreter is to the present generation. In estimating the permanent value of Hebrews, it is important to remember that the author's aim was not doctrinal but practical. In describing the character and work of Jesus he used the terms and figures which were most intelligible and impressive to his hearers. The conclusion of his doctrinal introduction is found in 10 19 ' 31 . Its great central teaching is in perfect harmony with the teaching of Paul and the gospel narratives, and is as true as it is sig- nificant: Jesus by his work has rendered unnecessary all the compli- cated rites which were associated with the ancient covenant and has made it possible for each individual to enter into personal, intimate fellowship with God himself. The thought in the remainder of the sermon moves on a high intellectual and spiritual plane. The au- thor's noble array of the heroes of the faith has been the inspiration of millions of tried and tempted souls through the ages. With the true instincts of the preacher he has included women as well as men in 261 THE EARLY CHRISTIAN SERMON IN HEBREWS this list. Even Rahab, the harlot, rises to bear testimony to the power of faith to transform a wasted, impure life. Faith, as thus concretely defined, is not only intellectual belief but trust and loyalty expressed in life and acts. Thus it is that our author supplements Paul's mystical, though more spiritual conception of faith, and imparts to it a practical, kinetic quality. V. The Charm and Power of Hebrews. Undoubtedly the sermon in Hebrews brought conviction and inspiration to the perse- cuted Christians who first heard it. It has also contributed much to the beliefs of the Christian church. It is to-day one of the ten or twelve great books of the New Testament. Its charm lies not merely in its majestic rolling sentences. Its power is certainly not dependent upon its logic. Unlike many of Paul's epistles, its appeal is not pri- marily to the emotions. Its charm and power lie rather in its dauntless, courageous spirit and in the marvellously effective way in which the author has rallied the forces which engender faith and steadfast en- durance in the presence of temptation and trial. It is interesting to analyze these forces. The first is Christ's triumphant exaltation and his superiority to angels and men. The second is his sympathy with our trials and temptations, for he himself has shared them. The third is his supreme achievement in having made access to and fellow- ship with God possible and easy for every individual, however bur- dened with sins. The fourth is that he has swept away the cumber- some forms of the old covenant and established a new and simpler relation between God and man. The fifth is that the Christian, if he proves faithless, will forfeit thereby all hope for the future. The sixth is that past experience has shown that Christ's followers have the power to endure even the most terrible trials and persecutions. The seventh is the inspiring example of the long list of heroes who, through faith, have achieved. The eighth is the supreme example of Jesus himself. Thus the ultimate charm and power of Hebrews lie not in its theology nor its rhetoric but in its ability to inspire heroic, self- sacrificing faith in God and undying loyalty to the principles of Jesus. §CLXVH. THE VISIONS OF THE ULTIMATE VICTORY OF The CHRISTIANITY IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION pSe A revelation by Jesus Christ, which God granted him ?Iv£fi- *^ at he n^ght make known to his servants what must tion quickly come to pass. He disclosed it by sending it through iSa) v ' his angel, to his servant John, who bore witness as to what is 262 THE PURPOSE OF REVELATION the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to what he saw. Blessed is he who reads and blessed are they who hear the words of this prophecy and lay to heart the things which are written in it, for the time is near. John to the seven churches in the province of Asia. May Greet- grace be granted to you and peace from him who is and ^K„j was and is forevermore, and from the seven spirits before his throne and from Jesus Christ who is the faithful wit- ness, the first-born from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and who has freed us from our sins Ascrip- by his own blood and made us a Kingdom, to be priests to pSse f his God and Father, to him be glory and power for ever and t ^ hTist ever. Amen. Lo, he is coming on the clouds and every (*>-») eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and the tribes of earth will mourn over him. Even so. Amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, he who is and was and is forevermore the Almighty. On the Lord's day I was in the Spirit, and I heard a loud The voice behind me like a trumpet calling, Write what you see JJSd in a book and send it to the seven churches. t*>^ To the angel at the church at Ephesus write : I know your p? »*) deeds, your toil and your patient endurance. 'And I know The that you cannot tolerate wicked men and that you have J^Jf^ tested those who called themselves apostles but are not Ephe- and have found them to be liars. And I know that you are (2SL. enduring patiently and have borne up for my sake and 7) have not grown weary. Yet I have this against you: you have given up your first love. Let anyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches: To him who overcomes I will grant to eat from the tree of life which is in the paradise of God.' To the angel of the church at Smyrna write: These are To the the words of the First and Last, he who is dead and has ^' arch returned to life: 'I know your distress and poverty (but smyr- you are rich!). I know how you are being slandered by («*i> those who call themselves Jews and are not, but are a mere synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. The devil, indeed is going to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will 263 VISIONS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION have to endure distress. Be faithful even to death and I will give you the crown of life. Let anyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches: He who overcomes shall not be injured by the second death.' To the To the angel of the church at Pergamum write: These at pS are the words of him who has the sharp, two-edged sword : g^ 1 1 know where you dwell. Satan's throne is there ; and yet you are loyal to my name and have not renounced your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my witness and faithful servant, who was put to death among you in the place where Satan dwells.' To the To the angel of the church at Thyatira write: These are a^Thy- the words of the Son of God who has eyes like a flame of (S?» ^ re an< * whose feet are like burnished brass : * I know your ») ' deeds, your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. I know that of late you are doing more than you did at first. Only hold fast to what you have until I come.' to the To the angel of the church at Sardis write : These are the ^ arch words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the S|fdis seven stars : * I know your deeds ; you have the name of being alive but are dead. Be watchful, rally what is still left, though it is about to perish; for I have found none of your deeds complete in the eyes of God. Now, re- member, those teachings which you have received and heard, hold to them and repent. If you will not be watch- ful, I will come like a thief and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. Still you have a few names in Sardis of those who have not soiled their garments. They will walk beside me in white, for they are worthy.' To the To the angel of the church at Philadelphia write: These at Phil- are the words of the faithful and Holy One who has the key agj*- of David, who opens and none shall shut and shuts and none (7. £ io) shall open: ' I know your deeds. See, I have set an open door before you which no one is able to shut, for though you have little strength, you have kept my word, you have not renounced my name. Because you have kept my word through your patient endurance, I will keep you safe from the hour of trial which is coming upon the whole world to test the dwellers on earth.' 264 LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT LAODICEA To the angel of the church at Laodicea write : These are To the the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the a t La£ beginning of God's creation : * I know your deeds ; you are ' hot! So because you are luke-warm, neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit you out of my mouth. I reprove and discipline those whom I love; therefore be in earnest and repent. Lo, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and sup with him and he with me. To him who over- comes I will grant to sit beside me on my throne, as I myself have overcome and sat down with my Father on his throne. Let anyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.' After this I looked, and there was a door standing open The in heaven. And the first voice which I had heard talking JfGod with me like a trumpet said, Come up here, and I will show s^gg you what must come to pass after these things. Immedi- heav- ately I found myself in the Spirit, and lo, a throne stood in ^ne heaven and One sitting on the throne who resembled in (4 1 " appearance jasper and sardius. And around the throne there was a rainbow, resembling emeralds in appearance, and also around the throne were twenty-four other thrones and on these thrones were seated twenty-four elders, clad in white robes with golden crowns upon their heads. From the throne there come flashes of lightning and peals of thunder, while in front of the throne seven blazing torches are burning, which are the seven spirits of God. And in front of the throne there appears to be a sea of glass, re- sembling crystal, and on each side of the throne all around it are four living creatures, full of eyes before and behind. And day and night they never cease saying, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and ever more shall be. The Then in the midst of the throne and before the living £!d er creatures I saw a Lamb standing among the elders. And f^ e I looked and heard the voice of many angels round the ^amb throne and the living creatures and the elders, numbering V 265 VISIONS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, crying aloud, Worthy is the Lamb that has been slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and all things that are in them, crying, To him who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and dominion for ever and ever. And the four living creatures said, Amen. And the elders fell down and wor- shipped. The After that I looked, and there was a vast host which no fJde" one could count, from every nation and tribe and people and and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, ness Se " clad in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. trium- And tnev cried aloud, saying, It is to our God who is seated phant on the throne and to the Lamb that we owe our salvation ! (7» n io. Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, Who are 13.14.17) tnese c i ac j ^ w hite robes, whence have they come? I said to him, You know, my Lord. So he told me, These are the people who have come out of the great distress and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are now before the throne of God and serve him day and night within his temple. He who is sitting on the throne will shelter them in his tent; Never again will they be hungry or thirsty, Never again will the sun or any scorching heat smite them; For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, And will guide them to fountains of living water; And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. The Baty- f Then I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, with an ofthSl eterna * g° s P e l t( > proclaim to the inhabitants of the earth, who° se to every nation, tribe, language and people. He cried S2pped aloud, Fear God, give him glory, for the hour of his judgment beLt * s come# Worship him who made heaven and earth, the (fjfij) sea and the fountains of water. And another, a second 266 THE FATE OF BABYLON angel followed, crying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon, the great. She who made all nations drink the wine of wrath pro- voked by her vice ! And then another, a third angel fol- lowed these, crying aloud, Whoever worships the Beast and his image or receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand shall drink the wine of God's wrath which stands ready un- mixed in the cup of his fury and shall be tortured with fire and brimstone before the holy angels and the Lamb. And the smoke of their torture goes up for ever and ever, and they get no rest from it day and night — the worshippers of the Beast and his statue and all who receive the mark of his name. This is what reveals the patient endurance of the saints who keep God's commands and the faith of Jesus ! Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write this: The Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth ! J^S? Even so, says the Spirit; let them rest from their labors; faithful for what they have done goes with them. Then I saw heaven open wide and there was a white The horse. Its rider was named Faithful and True, and he Jeemer righteously judges and makes war. His eyes are a flame £§Jg M) of fire and on his head are many diadems. He has a name inscribed upon him, known to no one but himself. He is clad in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven follow him on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and spotless. From his mouth proceeds a sharp sword wherewith to smite the nations, and he will shepherd them with a rod of iron and tread the wine-press with the fierce anger of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh his name is written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS And I saw the Beast and the kings of earth and their The armies assembled to make war on him who was seated on g^. a horse and against his army. But the Beast was seized, tjom^ together with the false prophet who had done signs before human him by means of which he seduced those who received the ^J, mark of the Beast and worshipped his statue. Both of ( 19m ) them were cast alive into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone, and the rest were killed by the sword which 267 VISIONS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION came forth from the mouth of him who was seated on the horse. Final Then I saw a great white throne and One was seated on rSon ft fr° m whose presence earth and sky fled away and no and place was found for them; and I saw the dead, great and Sent small, standing before the throne. And the books were (20"-i5) p en — a j go mother book, the book of life, was open. And the dead were judged by what was written in these books according to their deeds. And the sea also gave up its corpses and Death and Hades gave up their dead; and all were judged according to their deeds. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire (this is the second death — the lake of fire). And everyone who was not found enrolled in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Gods Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first doJm g heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea to is no more. And I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, anSng coming down from God out of heaven, all ready like a bride gf?.,) i arrayed for her husband, and I heard a loud voice out of the throne saying, Behold God's dwelling place is with men, And he will dwell among them, And they shall be his people. Yea, God himself will be among them, And he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, And death shall be no more; No sorrow nor wailing nor pain, For the first things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new ! And he added, Write this: These words are faithful and true. The I saw no temple in the city, gJJ e For its temple is the Lord Almighty and the Lamb. ence The city has no need of the sun, Se Nor of the moon to give it light, $&> For the glory of God illumines it, And the lamp thereof is the Lamb. 268 THE DIVINE PRESENCE By its light will the nations walk, And into it will the kings of earth bring their glory. Its gates will never be shut by day, For there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and honor of nations, But nothing unclean shall ever enter it, Nor any one who practises abomination or falsehood, Only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. Then he showed me the river of the water of life, bright The^ as crystal, flowing through the streets of the city from the SSf throne of God and of the Lamb. On both sides of the river Jgg 5 of grew the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, each ( 2 2 11 ) month yielding its own fruit. And the leaves of the tree serve to heal the nations. None who was accursed will remain there; The But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, g f S? > And his servants will render him holy service, Jg3 And they will look upon his face, c*- 6 ) And his name will be on their foreheads. And there will be no more night there, And they will have no need of the light of lamp or sun, For the Lord God will illumine them; And they will reign for ever and ever. Then he said to me, do not seal up the word of the its prophecy of this book, for the time is near. ™Sng (10-15) Let the wicked still be wicked, Let the filthy still be filthy, Let the righteous still do right, Let the holy still be holy. Behold I am coming quickly, And my reward is with me, To reward each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, The First and the Last, The Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes, 269 VISIONS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION That theirs may be the right to the tree of life, That they may go through the gates into the city. Without are the dogs and the sorcerers, The fornicators, the murderers, and the idolaters, And everyone who loves and practises falsehood. worfd- *> Jesus, have sent my angel to testify these things to Side " you for the churches. invita- (£ n i 7 ) I am the Root and the Offspring of David, The bright, the morning Star. The Spirit and the Bride say, Come, And he who hears, let him say, Come; And let the thirsty come, Whoever will, let him take the water of life freely. I. The Aim of the Book of Revelation. Through the ages the book of Revelation has been the stumbling-block of the realist and the delight of the mystic. Hundreds of volumes have been written interpreting its symbolism. Its magic phrases have been interwoven in Christian hymns and the devotional life of the church; but for the majority of men and women to-day it is a sealed book — sealed so tightly that they pass it by with calm unconcern. It represents the opposite pole of thought from that of the present historical, scientific age. Its literary antecedents are the apocalypses of Ezekiel, Zech- ariah, and the closing chapters of Daniel. Its author was a poet and a dreamer; but, like the authors of I Peter and Hebrews, his aim was intensely practical. The hopes, which he clothes in his highly sym- bolic visions, were the common property of the primitive church. Paul frequently alluded to them. In the second chapter of II Thes- salonians he presents these hopes in detail. The authors of I Peter and Hebrews were constantly reminding their readers that "the end of all is near." These apocalyptic hopes, as have been noted, were a part of their Jewish inheritance. But the attitude of the Graeco- Roman world was also that of expectancy. The greater the prevailing vice and suffering, the more ardently Jew and Gentile hoped and be- lieved that a great world upheaval was near. In his preface the author of Revelation states that his purpose was to "show what must soon come to pass." But his aim was not merely to satisfy the curiosity of his fellow Christians; it was to prevent their accepting the false teachings and teachers to which he refers in his opening exhortations 270 THE AIM OF THE BOOK to the seven churches. It was to keep the tempted Christians through- out the world from bowing down to the Beast which represented Rome and the emperor-worship. It was to hold up so vividly before them the rewards of future blessedness awaiting the faithful that they would resist persecution even to death. This strange book is saturated with the spirit and the ideals that actuated the early Christian martyrs. It dramatizes the mighty conflict between Christianity and heathen- dom. Its appeal is not primarily to the reason but to the emotions. It was well calculated to stir the enthusiasms, to call forth deeds of heroic self-sacrifice, and to buoy up the martyr at the stake. The author, like all the other apocalyptic writers, was also inspired by an ethical aim. In the bitter conflict between Christianity and heathen- dom the righteousness of the divine Ruler of the universe was at the stake. Our author, like the immortal poet who has given us the book of Job, asserts his invincible conviction that God is just and good and that he will in the end vindicate, not only his righteous servants, but his own eternal justice. II. The Theme and Literary Character of the Book of Reve- lation. In this book we have a stupendous world drama set forth in the form of an epistle. Under the influence of Paul's brilliant example, later Christian authors and editors evidently felt that this was the only acceptable way in which to gain authority and general accept- ance for their teachings. The personal notes in the introduction (1-3) and in the epilogue (22 18-21 ) are loosely connected with the rest of the book. After 1-3 the geographical background of the book is not Asia Minor but Palestine. These introductory and concluding notes were apparently added to give to the book the semblance of an epistle. Its theme is Christianity's long and painful struggle with paganism and the organized forces of evil and its ultimate triumph. Revelation also objectifies and dramatizes the great truth that the supreme power at work in the regeneration of human society is the spirit and work of the Christ and the heroic self-sacrifice which he exemplifies and in turn inspires. Such a dramatic foreshortening of history possesses a unique value, for it enables us to see the great historic movements in their genetic relations and in their real significance. The book of Revelation is, therefore, a fitting conclusion to the Bible, which be- gins with a description of the creation of the universe and a setting forth of the divine purpose, for it gives a glorious picture of the ultimate realization of that purpose. The book is a composite of dissolving visions, all blended together like the different motifs in a grand ora- 271 VISIONS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION torio. Bold figures and strange symbols, with which we have become partially familiar in the Old Testament prophecies and in contempo- rary Jewish literature, confront us at every point. The picture of a woman arrayed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars, seems but the dream of a mere vision- ary unless we are acquainted with the literary and intellectual atmos- phere which produced it. A leading characteristic of the apocalyptic literature is that historic forces and movements are represented largely by symbols drawn from the animal or natural world. Not only is the imagery exceedingly dramatic, but the action is rapid and on a broad scale. The whole is distinctly impressionistic. It is impossible to visualize many of these pictures notwithstanding their seeming con- creteness. If we could see in our mental vision an objective city of gold with walls of jasper and twelve huge gates, each made of a single pearl, and yet the whole transparent like glass, we would fail com- pletely to appreciate the author's purpose. The language is that of mysticism and it speaks almost wholly to the feelings. As the late Professor James has said, in commenting upon these visions: "They stir chords within us which music and language touch in common." III. The Authorship and Date of the Book of Revelation. Another marked characteristic of the apocalyptic writings is that they were all (except the Shepherd of Hermas) published anonymously or rather under the pseudonym of some earlier saint who was supposed to have possessed the power of predicting the future. Thus the score or more of extant Jewish apocalypses are all later than 200 B.C., but bear the names of Enoch, Noah, Daniel, Baruch, and Ezra, who lived long before. From Christian sources comes the Apocalypse of Peter, of which a fragment has recently been discovered. Although at one period it nearly gained a place in the New Testament canon, it is now universally recognized as pseudonymous. It is probable that the book of Revelation is no exception to this otherwise universal rule. The account in Mark ll 37, 38 of a request of the disciples James and John that they be allowed to sit one on Jesus' right hand and the other on his left in his glory, reveals an apocalyptic interest which would naturally lead a later Christian writer to single out these two disciples as the most natural medium for revelations regarding the future. The early death of the apostle James was a well-known fact of primitive Christian history. The martyrdom of his brother John, though clearly implied by the early traditions, was not so firmly es- tablished. Hence he who was Jesus' favorite disciple would most 272 AUTHORSHIP AND DATE naturally be selected from the Twelve as the one to whom to ascribe later visions. That he is the author of the book of Revelation is not clearly stated but strongly implied in its opening chapters. The possibility, of course, remains that it was the work of another John. John, the presbyter of Ephesus, is held by many scholars to be its author. It is probable that the book was written in Ephesus, but the internal evidence is decisive that it is not from the same author that wrote the Fourth Gospel. The language and idioms of the two books are fundamentally different. Revelation is an Hebraic writing tran- scribed rather than translated into popular, Hellenistic Greek. As Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria in the middle of the third century, says, after describing the distinctive characteristics of the Gospel of John: "Utterly diverse and strange is the apocalypse in comparison with all this, hardly touching or even approximating to any of these things, having no common relation to them." The God of Revelation is not the loving Father of the Fourth Gospel but a majestic King sitting in solemn state to receive the homage of his human subjects. Very different also is the portrait of Jesus. In the book of Revelation the note of love is almost lacking. It reverses the words of Jesus in John 15 15 : "I call you servants no longer. ... I call you friends." The indications that the book was written near the close of the first Chris- tian century are cumulative. It probably contains fragments of an earlier Christian apocalypse coming from the reign of Nero, but it also reflects the popular belief, current in the latter part of the century, that Nero, the arch persecutor of the Christians, had again come back to life and was instigating a new and more horrible persecution (17 8 ). The dark and ominous horizon revealed in this book has all the char- acteristics of the latter part of the reign of Domitian. Then not only the Christians of Rome but all throughout the empire were ex- posed to constant temptation and many to active persecution. The Beast and his statue, which had many worshippers (cf. 14 11 ), are ap- parently but veiled allusions to Domitian and to his vigorous campaign against all Christians who refused publicly to acknowledge his divine authority. The book of Revelation, therefore, may with reasonable confidence be attributed to an otherwise unknown Christian prophet who wrote about 95 B.C., and like the writers of the Gospel and epistles of John belonged to the Johannine school, who were strongly influenced by John, the presbyter of Ephesus. IV. The Contents and Sources of Revelation. The general divisions of the book of Revelation are obvious. Chapters 1-3 contain 273 VISIONS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION letters to seven important churches in the province of Asia. In 4 1 - ll 13 are found preliminary visions of coming judgment. Chapters ll 14 -20 15 describe in vivid apocalyptic form the overthrow of Rome and of Satan. The culmination of the book is a description, in 21, 22, of the new and heavenly reign which is to be instituted on earth when the preliminary work of destruction has been completed. Into the body of the book have been woven many older apocalypses and apoca- lyptic themes, but they all lead up to one grand, final crescendo. Thus, for example, the vision in 4 of Jehovah seated high on his throne, guarded by four beasts, each with six wings, who cry, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty," is an expansion of Isaiah's magnificent vision (recorded in Isaiah 6). The Old Testament student also rec- ognizes in the succeeding visions the four living beings of Ezekiel 1, the four horns of Zechariah 1 ; in 14, vivid descriptions of the day of judgment drawn from Zephaniah and Joel. The glowing picture of the New Jerusalem is suggested by Isaiah 49-54. The figures and symbols of Daniel 7-12 also reappear at many points. In Revelation 11-13 and 18 there are traces of older Jewish apocalypses, which have been only slightly revised and adjusted to their new Christian setting. Thus, for example, the command in ll 1 " 2 "to rise up and measure the temple of God and the altar" strongly implies that this was first written before the destruction of the Jewish temple in 70 a.d. Furthermore, in the symbolism there are unmistakable traces of older Babylonian and Persian myths. The sun and moon and the five planets are probably to be identified with the seven astral deities of the Baby- lonian pantheon. Corresponding to these are the seven spirits in l 4 and the seven angels in 8 2 . The huge red dragon, with its seven heads and seven horns and seven diadems upon its heads, which "with his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and flung them to the earth," probably represents the later Jewish version of the old Baby- lonian story of Tiamat, personified chaos, that contended against the gods. In Revelation 12, "that old serpent is called the Devil and Satan, the seducer of the whole earth." He is overthrown by the angels of heaven, led by Michael, who in the book of Daniel figures as Israel's patron angel. V. The Interpretation of the Book of Revelation. Inter- preters of Revelation are divided into two distinct groups. The first includes those who disregard the fact that a fundamental characteristic of the apocalyptic type of literature is the presentation of past and present history as though it were still future. Therefore, they regard 274 ITS INTERPRETATION the visions as predictions yet to be fulfilled and interpret them liter- alistically. The second group interpret the visions in the light of the conditions that obtained during the first Christian century and seek to find the underlying principles which they illustrate. The first group rarely agree in their detailed interpretations, for they ignore the historical background and are guided almost wholly by ingenious con- jecture. Their followers are usually of the mystical, enigmatical type of mind that scorns scientific methods of research. The second group follow the only method that promises to give a true understanding of the thought and purpose of the original writer. The selection of seven churches is probably because seven is a part of the prevailing sym- bolism of the book. The churches mentioned first are situated in the three leading cities along the eastern iEgean. The order is from south to north: Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum; then from north to south, including representative inland towns. Each of these churches had on the whole proved faithful. The allusion to "Satan's throne" is probably due to the fact that Pergamum was the old capital of the province of Asia and was therefore the traditional centre of the emperor- worship. Since 29 B.C. it had also had a flourishing temple dedicated to Augustus or Rome. Chapters 4-6 contain the impressive introduction to the great world drama. In 5 the Almighty is pictured, seated on his throne, attended by angels and worshipped by the representatives of the church. In 5 the figure of the "Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Scion of David" looms up impressively. He proves to be none other than "the Lamb that seemed to have been slain." This unique description of the Messiah is evidently taken from Isaiah 53 7 ("as a lamb that is led to the slaughter"). In 6 the agents of death appear. In these opening chapters the poet brings out with great dramatic effectiveness the tremendous contrast between the bitter conflict that was then raging and that was destined to rage between the church and the empire, and the peace and majesty in heaven above. Chapter 7, which represents a digression from the main theme, introduces another element of con- trast, for it gives an anticipatory vision of the countless hosts of the servants of God. It is evidently introduced to give the reader an assurance of the ultimate outcome of the great conflict. The recurrence of the number seven gives a certain literary unity to the book. Not only are there seven letters to seven churches from the seven spirits before the divine throne, but the scroll which con- tains the record apparently of the sins of mankind is sealed by seven 275 VISIONS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION seals. At the breaking of each of these seals a new judgment is visited upon the earth. The breaking of the seventh seal (8 1 " 5 ) is the prelude to the blowing of seven trumpets that announce the world judgment. Each blast introduces one of the natural portents, which were associ- ated in apocalyptic thought with the end of the world. The blowing of the sixth trumpet marked the destruction of Jerusalem (ll 1-14 ). With the blowing of the seventh trumpet, the scene is transferred temporarily from earth to heaven. This last blast inaugurates the titanic struggle between the hosts of good and evil. Here the author weaves in many of the figures of the old mythology and it is difficult to be absolutely sure of his meaning at every point. Chapter 12 is the most difficult in the book. The people of promise, of whom the Christians are the lineal heirs, is apparently represented by the woman clad in the sun with the moon under her feet. The male child to whom she gives birth, who is to "shepherd all the nations with an iron flail and who was caught up to God and to his throne," is clearly the Mes- siah or Lamb whose victorious role is later described. The first of the two Beasts, which emerge in 13, represents Rome and the emperor- worship; the second Beast her zealous provincial priesthood that had "every one put to death who would not worship the statue of the Beast and obliges all men low and high, rich and poor, freemen and slaves alike, to have a mark put upon their right hand or forehead so that no one can buy or sell unless he bears the mark, that is the name of the Beast." The cipher 666 is the total of the numerical values represented by the Hebrew letters of the name Csesar Neron (k = 100, s = 60, r = 200, n = 50, r = 200, w = 6, and n = 50; making 666). This identification is confirmed by the fact that in the old Latin version, where Nero is written without the final n (which equals 50), the number is 616, representing again the exact total of the Hebrew letters. Chapter 14 1 " 5 is another of those marvellous digressions which stir the imagination and hope of the reader and anticipate the final victory recorded in 21 and 22. In 14 6 - 20 the theme of judgment is again taken up, and in 14 " 20 the final judgment recorded in the succeed- ing chapters is anticipated. In 15M6 1 the scene is transferred again to earth. The seven angels with seven bowls represent the seven plagues which are poured out upon earth. Again the seventh is the culmination. This last bowl is emptied upon Rome, the woman with seven heads, which represented the seven hills on which she was seated and the seven kings who ruled over her (17 9, 10 ). The eighth head is apparently to be identified with Domitian. The ten horns 276 ITS INTERPRETATION possibly stand for the angelic being which will fight for her at the great final conflict. The vivid description of the overthrow of Rome in 18 was largely suggested by the II Isaiah's lament over fallen Baby- lon (Isaiah 47), and that of Ezekiel over Tyre (Ezek. 26, 27). Chapter 19 1 " 10 contains another of the wonderful anticipatory visions of the certain vindication of the faithful. It furnishes an effective contrast to the powerful description of the final overthrow of the Beast and of Satan in 19 n -20 15 . The culminating scene of this tremendous drama (21 1 -22 17 ) is one of the most poetic and powerful passages in literature. Here all the noblest promises found in the Old Testament prophets are presented in one stupendous, concrete picture. The underlying thought is that after all the evil in the earth has been swept away by the purifying fires of judgment, God himself will come to dwell among his faithful people and to satisfy their every want. Jew and Gentile will share alike in the privileges of this ideal commonwealth in which "nothing unclean shall enter, nor any one who practises abomination or false- hood." Like Paul, the author of Revelation is endeavoring to portray objectively the ideal of the Kingdom of God, the community of the morally and socially redeemed, that Jesus held up before his followers. It is this picture of the perfect social state, as the final goal of creation, which gives to the book its perennial value for all generations. § CLXVIH. THE CHRISTIAN WISDOM OF THE EPISTLE OF JAMES James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to Greet- the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greeting. ciames Count it as pure joy, my brothers, whenever you find i 1 ) yourselves hedged about by various trials. Be sure that The the testing of your faith produces endurance ; only let your Jesting endurance be a finished product that you may be perfect and faith complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, (2 " 8) let him ask God who giveth to all men liberally and without reproach, and it shall be given him. Only let him ask in faith, with never a doubt; for the man who doubts is like a surge of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. Let not that man think that from the Lord he will receive anything, double-minded that he is, unstable in all his ways. Let a brother of low position rejoice when he is raised up; 277 (12-15) THE CHRISTIAN WISDOM IN JAMES The but also let one who is rich rejoice in being brought low, tafcSTy for ne wul P ass awa y uke the flower of me grass* for ^e sun of rises with the scorching wind and the grass withers, its (ST flower drops off, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So shall the rich fade away in the midst of their undertakings. The Happy is the man who endures under trial; for when he Sure nas stood the test he will receive the crown of life which is of promised to all who love God. Let no one say, when he is Son being tried by temptation, I am being tempted by God; for God is incapable of being tempted by evil and he tempts no one. Everyone is tempted as he is carried away and lured by his own desire; then desire conceives and bears sin and when sin is fully matured it gives birth to death. Gods My beloved brothers, do not be deceived: every gift is gjy good and every endowment is perfect, coming down from good above, from the Father who is the source of all love, with (1618) whom there is no variation nor shadow of change. In ac- cordance with his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, in order that we might be a kind of first- fruits among his creatures. The Know this, my beloved brothers. Therefore, let every Sty^f man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to be angry; for self- human anger does not lead to what God regards as right. (i^) 1 " 01 So ridding yourselves of all that is vile and of the evil that abounds, receive humbly the message implanted within you which is able to save your souls, of Act on the word instead of merely hearing it and deluding ence 1 " yourselves. For, if any one hears but does not act, he is (22-25) iik e a man w h looks at his natural face in a mirror, for he looks at himself, goes off and at once forgets what he was like. But he who looks intently at the perfect law of free- dom and continues looking, proving himself to be no forget- ful hearer, but an active doer, will be blessed in his activity. The If any one thinks he is religious and does not bridle his essence tongue but deceives himself, his religion is worthless. The ligion religion that is pure and stainless in the sight of God the (W27) Father is this: to care personally for orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. My brothers, as you believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, who 278 THE DEMOCRACY is our glory, do not show favoritism. For suppose a man True comes into one of your meetings, wearing gold rings and JS^ 00 " handsome clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in ( 21 ■•) dirty clothes. If you attend to the one who wears hand- some clothes and say, Sit here, this is a good place, and say to the poor man, Stand there, or Sit at my feet, are you not making distinctions among yourselves and judging people with wrong standards ? Listen, my beloved brothers, hath not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the Kingdom which he has promised to those who love him? Yet you insult the poor man. Is it not the rich who lord it over you and themselves drag you into law courts ? Is it not they who revile the noble name you bear? If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to scripture, which says, You must love your neighbor as your- self, you are doing well; but if you show partiality you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as offenders. For whoever obeys the law as a whole, but makes a single The slip is guilty of everything. For he who said, Do not com- St y e of mit adultery, also said, Do not kill. Now, if you do not c ™°?-- commit adultery but do kill, you have transgressed the law. obeS- Speak and act as those who are to be judged by the law of but also for the sins of the whole world. 287 THE CHRISTIAN RULE OF LOVE The And by this we may be sure that we know him — if we dln'ce 0Dev his commands. He who says, I know him, but does of be- n ot obey his commands is a liar and the truth is not in him. cms- But whoever obeys his word, in him love for God has really (£jf reached perfection. By this means we may be sure that we are in him; whoever says he remains in him ought him- self to walk even as he walked. of Beloved, I am not writing you any new command, but an £!"£ old command which you have had from the beginning: the the old command is the word which you have heard. And (7?u) yet I am writing you a new command, which is realized in him and also in you, for the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. He who says he is in the light but hates his brother is still in darkness. He who loves his brother remains in the light, and in the light there is no stumbling block. But he who hates his brother is in darkness, he is walking in darkness and does not know where he is going, for the darkness is blinding his eyes. The My dear children, I am writing to you because for his J££_ sake your sins are forgiven. Fathers, I am writing to you mand because you know him who has been from the very be- (i f 2.?3T e ginning. Young men, I am writing to you because you have 15-17 conquered the evil one. Children, I have written to you because you know the Father. Love not the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the cravings of the flesh and the cravings of the eyes and the vainglory of life, belongs not to the Father but to the world. And the world with its cravings is passing away, but he who does the will of God remains forever. God's 1 See wnat a marvelous love the Father hath bestowed upon love us in letting us be called the children of God! And that b°s ward we are. For this reason the world does not recognize us: dren because it has not known him. Beloved, we are now chil- (3 1 - 3 ) dren of God, but what we are to be has not been revealed. We do know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on him keeps himself pure just as he is pure. Anyone who is born of God does not commit sin, for a 288 THE CHRISTIANS' LOVE FOR THEIR BROTHERS divine seed remains in him and he cannot sin because he Their is born a child of God. By this the children of God and \°™ the children of the devil are recognized : anyone who does Jjj* r h _ not do right is not a child of God nor is he who does not er° love his brother. For this is tfco message you have heard i'^' from the very beginning, that you are to love one another. Do not wonder, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed over from death to life because we love our brothers. He who has no love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. We know what love is by this, that Christ laid down his The life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for the Srtof brothers. But if anyone has this world's wealth and sees g^s- his brother in need and restrains his sympathy for him, how love can love for God remain in him. My children, let us show (l ' 18) our love not in words nor with lips only, but by deed and sincerity. Beloved, let us love one another for love comes from God God is and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ^T5o) He who does not love, does not know God, for God is love. God's love for us has been manifested by his sending his only Son into the world that through him we might live. Love consists in this, not in our love for him but in his love for us and in his sending his Son to be an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God so loved us, then we ought to love The one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love v*°° f3 one another, then God remaineth in us and the love for him g**'^ is perfect within us. By this we know that we remain in i£In him and he remaineth in us because he hath given us a (1121) portion of his own Spirit. And we have seen and bear wit- ness that the Father hath sent the Son as a Saviour of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remaineth in him and he remains in God, and we our- selves know the love God hath for us and we believe in it. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God and God remaineth in him. Love is perfect with us when we have full confidence about the day of judgment, for we 289 THE CHRISTIAN RULE OF LOVE are just as he is in respect to this world. In love there is no fear. Instead of that, perfect love drives out all fear, for fear has to do with punishment; he who fears has not at- tained perfect love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone declares, I love God and yet hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has never seen. And we have this command from him, that he who loves God is to love his brother also. The The Christians know and trust God, the Creator of heaven feiiow? an