PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
A Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels — Volume 2
James Hastings · 1,290,716 words · 1269 reading sections
Section 661
RANSOM READER 469 or, what is at bottom the same idea, as satisfaction for a life. Tlius in Is 43^ ^ Jehovah is metaphorically said to have given Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba as a random for (' instead of ') Israel. Hofniann, in his SchriJ'tbeweis (ii. p. 234, 2iid ed.), has a differ- ent interpretation. He takes the n…
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Mt 20-8= Mk lo-is has been assailed (by Baur, etc.), but surely without the sliglitest grounds (cf. Ritschl, ii. p. 42 tt'. ; Denney, p. 8(5 f.). Its mean- ing also must be interpreted by the fact that Clirist's own mind at the time of uttering it was full of the thought of His death. It is His ' life ' He gives, and H…
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READINESS. — The expression ylveade eroifxoi, ' Be ye ready, ' is employed by Christ to denote the necessity for constant readiness to receive Him at His Second Coming (Mt 24*^ Lk 12'"'). Closely akin to it in meaning is the more frequently used yp-qyopelre, ' Watch ye,' the word with which Christ demands constant watc…
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(1) It is everywhere implied that Christ's with- drawal from the world affords His disciples the needful opportunity for the free and independent exercise of the gifts and powers entrusted to them. Their spiritual resources are to be developed to the utmost without the consciousness of being con- stantly overshadowed b…
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3. Their genuine absorption in tlieir subject. — There is evident in these Evangelists a feeling that they are dealing with a theme too sacred to be trifled with. Their attitude towards the Lord whose life and actions they seek to portray is one of profound reverential afi'ection, constraining them to a complete sinkin…
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4. His nnxoorldly standard of personal worth. — While drawing a sharp distinction between the two kinds of worth,— the material and the spiritual (Mt 6'®- 2»- 25)^ _ Jesus did not denounce material success, though for Himself He never sought it. What He did denounce was the disposition to take material success as the m…
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LiTERAiURB. — In addition to the Lives of Christ, the following works may be consulted :— Ullmann, Sinlessness of Jesus ; Lacordaire, Conferences on Jesus Christ ; Seeley, Ecce Homo ; Bruce, Training of the Tivelve, and With Open Face ; T. G. Selliy, Ministry of the Lord Jesus ; Farrar, Witness of History to Christ, pp…
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i. Jesus bids His di.sciples rebuke a brother who sins (17'). The following verse shows that the sin to be rebuked is a personal wrong. This resent- ment of wrong seems opposed to His blessing on the meek (Mt 5^) and His exhortation to turn the other cheek to the smiter (w.^*-*^). The context, however, shows that this …
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There is no dispute, then, that, in St. Paul's use, and generally, the word KaraWay-jf/ denotes a change from enmity to friendship. The differenceiS in regard to reconciliation in the gospel relate to two other points. (1) On whose side does the change from variance to friendship take place — on God's side as well as m…
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The other, or manward, side of reconciliation is one on which a few words will suffice. Its neces- sity and importance are admitted by all. Estranged from God by his sense of guilt, and alienated in the spirit of his mind, the sinner needs, as the first condition of his salvation, to have this enmity of his heart broke…
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It ha-s been seen, accordingly, that while, in their legal usage, the OT terms for ' redeem ' and ' re- demption ' Imply payment of a price, or, in the case of firstborn sons, .sul)stitution of a life, or a monetary ransom, these terms are often used in 476 REDEMPTION REDEMPTION the more general sense of simple del…
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3. Redemption in the Gospels.— With respect to the sources, it is acknowledged that a distinc- tion is to be made between the Synoptics and the Fourth Gospel. The last, however, is accepted in the present article as a genuine work of the Apostle John, embodying, if with a certain colouring from his own personality and …
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(Lk 18"-'') ; of a Judas it is declared, 'Good were it for that man if he had not been born ' (Mt 202-*, Mk 142') ; the parable of the Final Judgment has such a sentence a.s, 'Depart from me, ye cursed,' etc. (Mt 2u-»i -Hi). The Synoptic teachi'ng on this point is identical with that of St. John, who declares that the …
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Not a great deal, comparatively, is said in the Synoptic Gospels of the work of the Spirit in im- parting these spiritual blessings. But the Spirit's presence and agency are nevertheless constantly assumed. Jesus was ' full of the Holy Spirit ' after His baptism (Lk 41), and it was the Spirit of the Lord upon Him who f…
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REDEMPTION REDEMPTION 479 favoured individuals that tlie disclosure was directly made (in Jn. to Nathaiiaei, l-*'-^' ; to Nicodemus, 3'2"' ; to the Samaritan woman, 4^*' etc.). It is to misinterpret Peter's preat eoiifession in Mt Iti'o to take it to mean that up to that time the disciples bad no linovv- ledge that…
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For now it is to be observed that this silence of Jesus on the connexion of His sufferings and death with His saving work is far from absolute ; on the contrary, the intimations of such connexion, when brought together, and read with the help of such a key as Is 53 affords, are neither few nor ambiguous. It is not, ind…
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There is yet one other fact to which attention needs to be directed in this connexion. The death of Jesus is evidently dwelt upon by the Evangel- ists with a special sense of solemnity and mj'stery, and there are features in the story of His Passion which deepen this feeling of mystery, and compel us to seek some speci…
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REDEMPTION REDEMPTION 481 below. The efficacy of this redemption is placed by all NT writers, after the sacrificial analoi^y, in the ' blood ' (Ac 20-'«, Ko S'^, I<:ph 1^ He 912 and passim. 1 P l^-^'-*, 1 Jn 1^, Kev 1^ 5'-* etc.), which here is the symbol of a sacrifice that culminates in death. This strain of teach…
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It is in the Epistle to the Hebrews, however, that the relation between Christ's redemption and the sacrificial ritual of the OT is most fully wrought out. The writer of the Epistle evidently proceeds upon the view which regards the Levitical sacrifices as having a propitiatory value through the vicarious shedding of t…
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does seek to atone — for the sin of another. (On the application to redemption, cf. Ro b^-^-.) — (3) The Biblical view of the infinite evil and hate- fulness of sin. Sin is direct contrariety to the holiness of God. Eternally, therefore, holiness must react against it in condemnation and punish- ment (cf. Ro 118). It f…
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2. A new period in the history of this doctrine begins with Anselm in his Cur Dens Homo. Anselm's theory turns on the necessity of a ' satis- faction ' to God's violated honour ; but it is note- worthy that he does not find this satisfaction in the penal endurance of our curse. His theory moves rather in the circle of …
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The result of the total survey will probably be to impress upon us : (a) how defective the best of human theories are to express the whole truth on this great subject ; (b) the fact that elements of truth are embraced in nearly all the theories, which a more complete view must endeavour to conserve ; and (c) the need o…
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Charles Scribner'.s Sons REFORM REGENERATION 485 is a beautiful and i)atlietic example of fruitful reflectiveness (Lk 2i'-'-^i). Without reflectiveness the Holy Spirit's work of illumination and guid- ance could scarcely have its full and due fruit (Jn 142; 1613). Reflectiveness is necessary to grasp the lessons of…
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The word ' regeneration ' occurs in AV only in Mt 1928, Tit 35 (iraXivyevea-la), and the figure of a new or second birth is most distinctly expressed in our Lord's conversation with Nicodemus, Jn 3 {yevvTidiivai 6.vw6ev). But as the first of these pass- ages is eschatological, and refers to the new world which is intr(…
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It should be remarked, in passing, that John never uses nerdvoLa or o-Tpe</)eo-0ai in the moral sense (except in the quota- tion from LXX at 12'"'). and that the Svnoptists never use ' regeneration ' of tlie individual, or speak of a new birth (except by the allusion in Mt Is^) ; but it is one and the same experience w…
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There are two points of contact between the Pauline presentation of truth on this subject, and that which we have found in our Lord's teaching, which require to be emphasized. (1) There is in both the same outlook to immortality ; the spirit in Paul which makes men children of God is also the earnest of a life which va…
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3. Catholic Epistles. — We find the idea of re- generation both in James and 1 Peter. In Ja. (li^) God is the author of it, Christians its subjects, and ' the word of truth ' the instrument. We are reminded here of the parables in which the word of God — that is, the gospel — is spoken of as a seed, and of 1 Co 4i9. th…
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ypvxiKov and St. John by t6 yeyewqixivov iK Tijs capKbs is not any metaphysical abstraction, but human beings as they are encountered in the world ; and it needs no argument that they must become other than they are, through and through, if they are to dwell with God. It needs no argu- ment, either, that they cannot ma…
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Kegeneration is not an exclusively NT idea, and those who regard NT ('hristianity as a kind of religious -syncretism have sought the key to some of its ideas, its terminology, and its rites, especi- ally where this doctrine and its sacramental con- nexions are concerned, in the Greek and Oriental mysteries which were s…
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■ The difliculty in our day is to believe in a revelation as <\ir fathers did. . . . Our minds bear a strouirer witness than the 490 RELIGION RELIGION minds of our forefathers did to the idea of a revelation : so strong a witness, that we tliink it must have originated in them. We cannot thinli it possible that God…
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' Holding His hand, my steadied feet May waVs. the air, the seas ; On life and death His smile falls sweet. Lights up all m3'steries. Stranger nor exile can I be In new worlds where He leadeth me.' (b) A second primary response of the soul in religion is a sense of sin, or separcttion. Religion has found expression in…
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of law (Ro 13'") and solves the complicated prob- lems of social life (Ro 14"*). The three provinces of religious manifestation correspond with the tlnee primary sensibilities of the religious life. The religious i)liiloso])her seeks to rationalize the consciousness of dependence on some theistic basis. The priest cou…
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The Christian consciousness rejected the last word ; but adopted and hallowed the other two, which stood for human, not Divine service. They appear in ' deacon ' and ' liturgy ' respectively : the third word is left embedded in idolatry. — See, further, below, § 5. (3) Christ has made religion moral in its char- acter…
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' The society as founded by Christ has in its collective being a priestly character, but is witliout an official priesthood. It has no temple save the living man ; no sacrifices save those of the spirit and the life ' (Fairbairn, Christ in Modern Thcoloijij, p. 49). (6) Christ made religion indejjctident in its action…
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2. Pre-requisites of religious experience. — The great fundamental pre-requisites of religious experi- ence the Gospels take for granted. There is no more of an attempt to prove God's existence than man's existence, or God's power of speech than man's. God loves to speak to man, and man can under- stand. God is the imp…
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who has power to forgive sins (2^"), and to whom all men owe absolute spiritual allegiance (8^^-^8)_ xhe other Synoptics, as well as Jn., specifically repre- sent Him as claiming to be superior to the wisest lawgivers and propliets of the past (Mt 12^2 jgs^ Lk IP', Jn 1''') — One whose mission in the world was to give …
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upon personal experience. They liave to do witli ' Jesus only.' His statements as to truth and His promise of future blessedness were sufhcient grounds of certainty without any 'experiences' to corroborate them. Salvation, according to the earliest Christian Gosjjcl, is j)roved not by personal experience but by practic…
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8. Range and content of Christian experience. — No part of human nature is excluded from the influence of .saving grace. Schleiermacher centred religion in the feelings, Hegel in the intellect, Kant in the will ; but Jesus Christ centred it in the man. The Torah of Jesus brought into loftiest prominence the fact that a…
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All the Gospel writers mention, though incident- ally or prophetically, the liberty and the new strength and courage to will and to do the right which come with trust in Jesus, as well as the new and glad sense of love for both man and God {r,.(j. Mk 123»- 31, Mt IP" 25-"', Lk 6^2 ipi- 22^ jn g^e). One is not merely co…
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K ENUNCIATION RENUNCIATION 497 1. Sin, of course, is to be renounced without (|ualitication or compromise ; and wluitsoever leads tu sin. The ' thou shalt not ' of the Decalogue is tarried into the inner sphere with an extent and thoroughness of ap[)lication not known to the law- f^ivers of the ^^■orld. ' We have re…
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The law of Renunciation has been repeatedly restated in modern literature. ' Die and re-exist ' was a maxim of Goethe. Self-renoirncement was expounded by Matthew Arnold (Lit. and Dogma) as the secret of Jesus. ' Die to live ' is a principle of Hegelianism. This latter axiom has been ex- jjounded by Dr. E. Caird (Hegel…
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**Copyright, 190S, by toward God. This meant a change of the whole of life in its inlook as well as in its outlook ; a change, in short, of one's self, motives, aims, pursuits. Jesus' primary thought was of a change to. For His starting-point was God. Hence the burden of His message was God and righteousness. But thi…
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But Jesus was a preacher, not a theologian. Consequently His call to repentance is, as a rule, in the form of those exquisite parables that speak to the heart. Such is the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (Lk 18''-^^), and that of the Pro- digal Son (15"-2<). The latter of these is the truest, the humanest, and…
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The meaning of the word, or at least part of the meaning, is suggested by vo\v\oyia in the latter part of the verse. What our Lord condemns is clearly verbosity, the unthinking use of many words, and perhaps also the formal, careless use of expressions which are in themselves appropriate. The reference to Gentile error…
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3. In the well-knoAvn passage Mt Ips-so jgsus ofiters the gift of repose (avawavais, EV rest) to those who will learn of Him. It is true, av6.Trav<ri.s strictly speaking denotes relief from labour, a break to atibrd rest to tired toilers (see Trench, NT Synonyms, § 41) ; and it seems also to imply the resumption of la…
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2. Reproach as borne by Christ. — So far as the term is concerned, it is only by the two robbers who were crucified along with Him that our Lord is said to have been reproached (oceiStfoj, Mt 21**, Mk 15^^ ; see RV). This reproach by the robbers belongs to the general subject of the reviling of Jesus Christ in connexio…
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J. C. Lambert. RESERVE.— In Mt 7® Jesus counsels reserve in the commvinication of religious truth. That maxim, which has had great and sinister developments in the Church, stands alone, both in its place in the Sermon on the Mount and in His teaching. Its meaning, then, can be gathered only from His practice. 1. It A…
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3. The sufferings of the Messiah. — It was imme- diately upon Peter's confession that Jesus began to teach the necessity of suffering and death for Him- self (Mt W^, Mk 8^1). There are a precision and a fulness of detail in the account of this teaching, which are probably reflected back upon it from later experience. B…
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In considering the Scripture intimations regard- ing the hope of a universal Restoration of humanity, it must be (clearly seen that whatever hopes may, more or less distinctly, emerge in the expressed thought of the Apostles, are all clearly based upon, and inspired by, an enlarging thought concerning the Person of .Je…
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Due weight must be assigned to the remarkable reticence maintained by Jesus regarding the world to come, botli concerning the nature of the blessed- ness of heaven, and the future destiny of the unre- {)entant. In His incarnate condition, under the imitations necessarily involved in the taking of a veritable human natu…
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(c) In the Pauline writings the most conservative exegesis reads a clear declaration of the Divine purpose that all men shall be saved, but denies that any certain hope as to the final issue can be built upon the fact. Here many will naturally diverge in judgment, and feel that they can raise their hope so securely now…
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Literature.— The subject is treated, in loc, by the following : various works on NT Theology ; Salmond, Christ. Dnc.t. of Im- mortality \ Petavel, The, Problem of Immortality (1892); Toy, Jndnifim, and Christianity, ch. vii. (1892) ; Row, Future. Retri- bution ; Maurice, Theological Essays ; R. H. Charles, Eschatol- op…
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(2) The effect upon the attendants is recorded with varia- tions. In A they ai'e described as Ix.-mmvti; jj-im tJ)'; (^amfi fjt.'riSivu 5s hiaipouvri;. In B, ty^v Se (puv/,v oux vixovtrccv tov XtuKouvros u.ot. In C the attendants are not mentioned. It is usually said that the distinction of case after x-^oOhm implies t…
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From what source the distinctive features of the Resurrection narratives in Mt. and Lk. were derived is not known. Atten- tion has often been drawn to their diversities. They are cer- tainly difficult to harmonize. But the substantial identity as to the central fact is not less impressive because of the diver- sities. …
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On the evidence, so far, to the empty grave, we are constrained to say that the Aveight of the Evan- gelists' united testimony is so strong that it cannot with any justice be rejected. (For critical acknow- ledgment of this see Oin- LorrFs Res7irrection in Oxf. Libr. Pract. Theol. p. 87 f.). (2) But it has been assert…
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508 KESUERECTION OF CHRIST RESURRECTION OF CHRIST needless to remark that this daring assertion of the actual production of the bodj' is a mediceval fabrication, but it is an assertion very necessary to account for facts, when the empti- ness of the grave was admitted and yet the Resurrection denied. Substantially, …
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The first impression derived from Lk. — that the Ascension took place on the same day as the Resurrection — is partly corrected on further con- sideration of the Gospel itself. For there does not seem sufficient time to crowd all these events into a single day. Emmaus is reached towards even- ing when the day was far s…
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The exact antithesis to the Pharisaic conception, which was prevalent in the Apostolic age, was the Greek conception of emancipation from the body and continued existence as pure spirit. See preceding article. The view given by the Evangelists is indepen- dent of both of the above conceptions. It certainly possesses a…
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510 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST RESURRECTION OF CHRIST within the grave while the other is declared to liave risen ? Is the emptiness of tiie grave in Joseph's garden essential to belief in Christ's tran- sition into the pneumatical estate ? Since it is impossible for us to determine the precise relation between these two…
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For the nature of the resurrection body see Goulburn, Bampton Lectures ; Skrine, Contemp. Rev., Dec. 1904, 870. 8. The sayings of the Risen Master are most significant. Their marine)' is perfectly distinct from that of the ministry. What Keim (Jesus of Nazara, vi. 354) describes as the ' simple, solemn, almost life- …
972 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.