PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
A Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels — Volume 1
James Hastings · 1,289,916 words · 1288 reading sections
Section 901
'Such language, certainly, would hardly be appropriate in speaking of a spot well known and definitely marked by long tradition. The Emperor, too, in his letter to Macarius, regards the discovery of "the token of the Saviour's most sacred passion, which for so long a time had been hidden under ground," as "a miracle be…
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Jerusalem and the probable course of the ' second wall ' of the three mentioned by Josephus. The first wall, tliat of David and Solomon, encompassed the Upper City (Zion), and its north line ran east- ward from the tower of Hippicus to the wall bounding the temple area. ' The second wall had its beginning from the ga…
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The genuineness of the traditional site has been defended by Chateaubriand (Itiiiiraire de Paris d Jerusalem), Williams (The Holy City), Krafft (Die Topographie Jerusalems), Tisohen- dorf i^Reise in den Orient), de Vogai {Les Sglises de la Terre- fiainte), Sepp (Jenimlevi), Clermont-Ganneau (L'Authenticite da Saint-Sep…
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For the lessons drawn by our Lord from the wickedness and the destruction of Sodom, see art. Sodom. A. H. M'Neile. GOOD ((£70965, KoXis).— It is not easy to define Christ's idea of what is good. His expressions vary from a conception of the Good as one with the infinitely and inimitably Perfect to the most commonplace…
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tnii> -]'ii it iif ;j iiipss in him ; but the good must take form in some actual warring with the world's evils, some earnest attempt to remedy the miseries, sufferings, diseases, afHictions, sorrows, or jwverty of men. This is the vital test applied in the great parable of the Judgment (Mt 2o"''^-)- The Son of IMan …
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The goodness of Christ brought a new force into Jewish religion, one that changed the nature of it. Judaism was formal, ceremonial, mainly an exter- nal worship. Its prophets had striven to kindle it into a moral and spiritual faith. But prophet and priest had stood apart. In Christ the middle wall was broken down, and…
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2. But closer examination shows that the term was not used by the Evangelists to describe all that Jesus said ; nor was the verb ' preach good tidings ' descriptive of all His work. In Mt. this sentence occurs twice : ' Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preach- ing the gospel of the kin…
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(i) The phrase 'the gospel of the kingdom' de- scribes the good news brought by Jesus in its relation to that Kingdom of God or of heaven which He proclaimed. It implies that the King- dom has 'a gospel.' The gospel and tlie Kingdom are not co-extensive any more than the gospel and God are. But there is good news conce…
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The meaning of the term 'gospel' as used by Jesus may now be summed up. It seems to de- scribe the message He taught concerning — (a) the fatherly nature of God ; (b) tlie inclusiveness and spirituality of the Kingdom ; and (c) God's provision for men's deliverance from sin through His own mediation. This gospel was no…
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6. A brief space must be given to the con:sidera- tion of tlie gospel in the rest of NT in so far as it is connected \«th Christ. In one sense this would involve an exposition of many chapters of Acts and of all the tnistles, for He is ' the head-stone of the corner,' ana the gospel is only ' complete in Him.' But all …
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2 Co 5™- -', 1 P 1'', 1 Jn 1' -J-). His Resurrection is the earnest of the new life into which all those are introduced who are born anew by faith in Him (Ro 6^ 1 Jn 3-- =<). He is the first-fruits of them that .sleep : His Resurrection involves the resurrec- tion to eternal life of all in whom He lives (1 Th 4"-5'», 1…
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10. Eelation between the canonical Gospels and recent literary discoveries. 11. Discussion of the evidence from Papias as to an original Hebrew Gospel. 12. Other considerations bearing on an original Hebrew Gospel. 13. A possible theory of the Synoptic Gospels. 1. The word ' Gospels ' in Christian terminology, a…
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It is scarcely necessary to add that these facts or requirements would be ' commended to every man's conscience' (2 Co 4-) by examples of the wisdom, sublimity, and beauty of the SaWour's moral and spiritual teaching. Of this we have an example in St. Paul's speech at Miletus (Ac 20"). In this case the audience was com…
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preached unto you ... in what words I preached it 2 Ti 28 ' Remember Jesua Christ, risen from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my gospel.' In these instances, certainly in most of them, tlie word 'gospel' means not so much St. Paul's manner or method of presenting the good news of GOSPELS GOSPELS 6G5 …
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We are now enabled to understand ' I received of the Lord ' ( 1 Co 1 1^) in the same sense as we interpret ' The Spirit of Jesus suflered them not.' St. Paul did not really mean that his knowledge of the Gospel history had been acquired without human intervention, nor can he have intended his readers so to understand h…
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1 Co 153, 1 Ti 26, Tit 21-'). OI Christ's death is also stronj,] when instituting the Supper. It cannot perhaps be certa nl affirmed that Col S" Even as the Lord forgave you, so also lo (cf Eph 4J ) was suggested by the sentiment of ' F.ither, foi t, e the n (Lk '>3*') for the v erb is different, Lk. having ijmm. Co…
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A ( ;i ispel, in fact, is not a biography. What are III s.ixiii;: efficacy in the events of our Lord's life .111- Hi- liirth, death, and resurrection. The fact 'ill lli. went about doing good, and healing all ' 1 1- oppre.ssed of the devil' (Ac W), and 11 I xample .and His moral and spiritual dis- 1 I - I liiew a…
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It may be proper to remark, by way of caution, that an inquiry into the principle or principles by which the Church was guided in her selection of authoritative Gospels is not precluded by any theory of inspiration. Even if we hold that the sacred books only are inspired, and that the Church was not inspired, or guided…
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value in his own devotional r - M ,11 I. d instinct- ively that its wisdom is for th.: I ^ I ills ■ tlie per- fect,' or 'full grown,' not fnr ' Im- ^ m ' In i.t , inu.li less for ' them that are without.' Moreover, apart in. in tliis difference in quality between St. John's Gospel and the .Synoptics, the difference i…
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We know fronr the lists given by Eusebius, and allusions in other autliors, that our extant ante- Nicene Fathers represent a very small fraction of the literature of the Church before his time. We may judge from this fact how unlikely it would be that much of the writings of heretics would sur- vive. Such literature di…
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' The order of the list * of elders given by Papias is, as Pro- fessor Stanton remarks {op. cit. p. 168), * a somewhat strange one.' He gives the true explanation as to why John and Matthew are mentioned last, i.e. ' For the very reason that they had embodied their testimony in writing, they were less im- portant than …
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■When he finds M • .1 - , r Gospels Mark's Oospel, as he read it, there seemed any inaccunu;y, this must he imputed to the translators ; the Gospel as Matthew himself wrote it was free from fault ' (Salmon, Introd. to XT, p. 93). The conclusion, then, to which we are <lriven is that if the existence of an original H…
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Whatever solution of the Synoptic problem be ultimately adopted by the general consensus of critics, it does not seem likely that the compli- cated hypotheses of the German school of a genera- tion ago will again commend themselves to scholars of sober judgment. It is a sound canon of criticism that sources are not to …
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•Thcprolinliilitv i^ 1h.it mn-it of tliciii .li«n]iiieared earl.V, lieinK iiiiali!.. t.. iiD.int.tiii 1 1 1. II p. .'.ill. in ;.!. .iijm.I. ..1 the Gospels which GOSPELS (APOCRYPHAL) GOSPELS (APOCHYPHAL) As an example of the way in which the Christian hajfijadisl workedj it may suffice to mention his treatment of OT…
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iv. V.\lue. — The question of greatest moment which arises in estimating the value of the Apoc- ryphal Gospels naturally has reference to their worth as additional sources for the life and teach- ing of Jesus. From what has been already said about their origin and their relation to the canoni- cal Gospels, their value …
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'orld with i lofty ethical i tain circles distorted, by the foreign elements of its environment. Oriental mythology and Greek philosophy had met. and given rise to syncretistic systems which exerted a deep influence on men's conceptions of the Christian faith and life. Traces of this ! clearly c hildhood stories in …
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The Childhood Gospels stand in the main current of ecclesias- tical doctrine in their view of the ^person of Christ. The Gospel of Thomas shows that the circles in which it found acceptance lield to the doctrine of Christ's human and Divine natures. There are traces that point to a Gnostic origin, and to a concep- tion…
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Within a century after the Decretum Gelasii, Gregory of Tours in his book de Gloria Martyrum (i. ch. 4) had no scruples in using the extravagant legends contained in tiie ' Transitus Marise ' ; indeed, so little store was apparently set by ecclesiastical condemnation, that about 435, thirty years after the decree of In…
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The narratives in the Koran about Jesus, who is regarded as a forerunner of Mohammed, are drawn largely from apocryphal sources, either directly from the so-called Arahic Gospel of the. Infancy, or indirectly from the popular tales which had an --- parents are named Banna,— of her dedication to tlie Temple, of the cho…
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GOSPELS (APOCRYPHAL) GOSPELS (APOCRYPHAL) Jirstbom i ) reif;nei>t \ 1 1 „s to the narratne of the Tei 1 I I I Just rum My motltei, the H I J My ham and bore Me anay to th / —a fantastic description on the model of I l)ia^on**6 I 11 1 I fourth petition runs ' Give vs to-day ourt i Iitl \iani'llc ?nfl:ftar( to …
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On the view here taken of the Gospel according to the Hebrews, tlie value of its fragments as a source of the life of Jesus is inconsiderable. It cannot justly lay claim to be an authority, as Oscar Holtzmann regards it, on the same level as the SynoiJtics. Some sayings, however, ascribed to Christ and not elsewhere re…
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but that probably only this one passage occurrcl ■ ' could be adduced m favour of the extreme asc i 1 1 i i . n , (CAron. i. 616). That the Gospel contained iiuieli ■ I entirely- free from suspicion of heresy is ninli:ii.l' n I :i while others, with considerable divergences, are : acter. On the assumption, which is i…
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Herod is reffarded as the real judge of Christ ; throughout, there is the evident intention to exculpate Pilate, who washed his hands, while Herod refused. It is Herod who gives the order for the crucifixion, and his permission is required for the disposal of the body of Jesus. When Jesus was handed over to the people,…
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The date of the Gospel is about the middle of the 2nd cent., althougli some critics put it con- siderably earlier. Its place of origin was almost certainly Sj^ria. T,TTTT\TiTr. n--^nrinnt. If. ;;t-7>,-- 77'/';';.- • r-nr l-^ mi'mhres de Gospel I-/ St. J', lei- ; also editions by lieiidel Harris, the author of Superna…
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Gnostics repudiated the canonical Apostolic writ- ings, they sought in many instances to secure authority for their Gospels'by attributing them to Apostles or to others well known in Apostolic times. Besides those mentioned below, there were Gospels of Matthias, of Bartholomeiv, of A ndreiv, of Barna- bas ; and even th…
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the ki.i the Gospel of the Ebionites is found in vary only very sli,i,'li!;; ;r - istic of the teaching of tl after lii- n, i^[i' r . f !:n Fourth Gospel, Jesus is introduced the midst of the narrative dealing with the Baptist. ' There was a certain 7nan named Je$us {and He was about thirty years old), tcho chose us…
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B. 4. Gospel of Philip.— A solitary fragment of this Gospel is preserved in Epiplianius (Hwr. 26, 13), who states: 'The Gnostics cite a Gospel, forced in the name of Philip the holy Apostle, a-s saying : ' The Lord revealed to me what the soul must say in ascending to heaven, and how she must answer each of the upper …
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scholars place it later, in the second half of the century. In its present form the Protevangelium narrates the child- lessness of Joachim and Anna, the shame and reproach that fell upon them on that account, and the birth of Mary in answer to their prayer (chs. 1-5). When Mary is three years old, slie is taken to the…
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AVitli the exception of the Zaeharias group of incidents, the Protcvangclium is a well-designed unity, a skilfully constructed romance, in wliich the author, with "the help of material lying ready to his hand, achieved to liis own satisfaction the definite purpose which he had in view. What this purpose was it is not d…
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The external evidence, then, converges on the view that our present Gospel was a compilation of stories drawn from a longer Gospel, which origin- ated in Gnostic circles, the parts which were iin- disguisedly Gnostic in tone being omitted. This con- clusion is confirmed by the character of the Go.spel itself. A few Gno…
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restored to human form by Mary'i — the mule's back. ire, and, when the found unharmed, witli great honour he wafer in which ni.M \ ellous virtue, 1 lull' witli leprosy .V yoiuig man who mule. [ilacing Jesuh This Gospel was the main source of the know- ledge of Jesus among the Mohammedans. For their edification, Kess…
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Literati-re. — Tischendorf, Wright, Forbes Robinson, Orr (opp. citL)\ Mrs. Lewis, 'Apocrypha.' (Shui. Sinaitica, xi.). C. (6) 1. The Gospel of Nicodemus.— This Gospel, dealing with the Trial, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus, and with His Descent into Hades, is a com- bination of two earlier writings— (1) Acta Pilati,…
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It is clear that the Acta Pilati in their present form are largely dependent on the canonical Gospels, and that many of the additions are fabri- cations put forward for apologetic reasons. The aim of the writer is to furnish convincing proof of the truths of Christianity ; wliat could better serve his purpose than to s…
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Neither the Diatessaron nor the commentary of Ephraem has been preserved to us in the original Syriac. There are, however, Latin and Arabic versions of the Diatessaron, and two distinct Armenian versions of Ephraem's commentary. For the reconstruction of the text of the Diates- saron, Ephraem's commentary is of the hig…
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LrrERiTDRK. — H. F. Pelhani, Outlines of Roman HiMory, bk. V. ch. iii. ; J. B. Bury, A History of the liotnan Empire.^ ch. vi. ; A. H. J. Greenidge, Roman P'vhlic Life, ch. xi. ; for the regular course of an administrative career, see R. Ca{;:nat, Cottrs d'Epigraphie LallneS (1898, with Supplement 1904), pp. 86-155 ; S…
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(2) When we come to the Fourth Gospel, we find that in the Prologue the word ' grace,' no doubt through the Pauline teaching and its consequences, has blossomed fully into those greater meanings with which the Church had become familiar.* In 1" the author describes the Incarnate Logos as ' full of grace and truth ' in …
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GKACE GKACE grace that is in Christ into somu l^iuJ m1' i.|iinisition to the justice that is in Goil. Smii, tiim-- a,:,'ain i] x<'/"s stands alone; for the A|iii-il.' ti.:ii> it at times not merely as a Divine uunijuic, Imt :ls the operative principle of the wiiole economy of re- demption. But as it is Christ who emb…
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(c) Again, Christ's grace, in St. Paul's view of it, was marked by its sin-eonquering power. Besides the great antithesis between grace with its free gifts on the one hand, and the Law with its works and debts on the other, we have in the Apostle's teaching a further antithesis between grace and sin. This antithesis fo…
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p- 161 «■ J. C. Lambert. GRACIOUSNESS. — The word ' graciousness ' does not occur in the EV of the Gospels. The adjective 'gracious' occurs only once (Lk 4=^) j,, the AV and not at all in the RV. The idea, how- ever, covered by the noun is of very frequent occurrence, and may truly be said to be one of the leading cha…
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690 GRAPES GREATNESS it was, therefore, in His very nature (Lk 23**). In His thought the gracious method of His treatment of men was to become a general standard of con- duct (Jn 13">), and would even constitute the basis of final judgment (Mt 25«). It should not be overlooked that, while St. Luke is the Evangelist …
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2. The greatness of Christ's folloicers. — Christ has less to say about His own greatness than about that of His followers. For there is a great- ness that belongs to His Kingdom, and this He covets for each one of them. So exalted is it that it surpasses the highest conception of greatness hitlierto received (Mt 11" =…
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which corresponds to the divisii I .lews .iiul Gentiles; cf. Ac l-l' loi", Ko \"' -y- '■> :>;' joi-, i Co Greek (C.il ■„■■!, ! .iNm ihr f.illi.'i' .,| 'I'inmt.hy (Ac 16''). Tlus use oi ||„. wi.nl w.-is .■..nliiiued by the Christian Fathers, such as Justin Martyr, Tatian, and Athanasius. 2. Grecian. — 'EXXtjuo-ti;!…
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our and free in conversation ne ^^^y "?^ the laws regulating social customs sa,ucu.«.."-"- Anj breacu oi ui j, ,„„tters of ceremony, is desires! and he will fall mto a paroxysm of lage over his 'broken honour ^„^ respect by_benain:- '^^~ ', | V jj^ „?in, at times, "^tlt^"^ -penor: a^ jaise it to Ins Low, One -terced…
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1. References in the Gospels. — With the above Ijreliminaries, the issue may now be considered in relation to the four Gospels. And first, the less careful student must be warned that the quotation which records the pathetic plea of the disciples to their Lord, ' Increase our faith,' * stands out as an exception. The t…
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LiTERATi-TRE. — Reference may be made to Drummond, Sat. Law in tlie Spir. World, p. 123 ff. ; Bruce, Parabolic Teathing, pp. 90-143 ; Marcus Dods, Parables oj our Lord, 1st Ser. p. 47 jf. B. Whitefoord. GUARD.— 1. RV rendering of KomruSia (Lat. cnstodia), Mt 21^-^ 28", AV 'watch'; obtained by the chief priests and Ph…
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Some of the parables of Jesus reflect this aspect of Oriental life. The man to whom a friend has come unexpectedly at midnight is distressed be- cause he has nothing in the house to otter him {Lk ll'"'). In tlie parable of the Wedding Feast (Mt 22iff.) we note the early invitation of the guests, the calling of tliem by…
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Besides the guest-chambers of private houses, there were, as there are now, in most villages one or more guest-chambers, provided and maintained at the public expense, for the accommodation of travellers who arrived in larger numbers than could be privately entertained. They were shelters for man and beast of a very si…
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suffice in the present article to show that the removal of guilt was the object of Christ's death, and that the recognition of sin as guilt is in conse- quence a prominent, if not the primary feature of tlie teaching of the NT concerning sin. 1. The gospel, as first preached bv the Baptist (Mt 3-) and Jesus Himself (M…
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3. It is difficult to set forth St. Paul's theory of guilt without entering upon the wliole question of his view of sin. But a few considerations will make it clear that he looks at sin, in the first instance, as inciirring guilt. It is represented as an act committed against God (Ro 1-'). All its essential features ar…
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698 GUILT GULF i. The Epistle to the Eebrems brings out the various elements in tlie conception of human guilt with conspicuous clearness. We have to do with the living God (He 3'- 4^- 10^')> who is a consuming fire(12'''), self -existent and separate from creation (121'--'), the supreme lawgiver and judge (10^° 12-…
1,247 wordsSource & rights
Public-domain historical reference work (1906–1908); OCR text from Internet Archive. Historical scholarship and terminology reflect its era; OCR may contain errors. Verify quotations and current scholarly claims independently.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.