A Brighter Day Begins with His Word.

PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK

A Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels — Volume 2

James Hastings · 1,290,716 words · 1269 reading sections

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Section 241

170 MERIT MESSENGER world of the saving revelation of God, and the recognition of this work by God in the exaltation of Christ, which yields Him the fruit of His work in the salvation of men, is, at the same time, in- cluded in the execution of God's own purpose of salvation. Thus the ethical doctrine of the work of…

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Section 242

und seine Anwendung auf das Verstiindniss des Werkes Christi' in SK, 1S94, p. 9; Ritschl, Uechtferti.Qtuuj und Versohnung-^, 3 vols. 1889 [Eng. tr. {Justification and Reconciliation) of 1st vol. from 1st ed. 1872, of 3rd' vol. from 3rd ed. 1902]; H. J. Holtz- mann, NT Theol. 1897 ; Wendt, Lehre Jesu 2, 1901 [Eng. tr. f…

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SECTION 243

Section 243

i. AyrjISTISG OF KINGS.— T\\Q custom of anoint- ing the king, from which his designation as ' mes- siah ' arose, is connected with magical usages of hoary antiquity, based on the conception that the smearing or pouring of the unguent on the body endows the human subject with certain qualities. Tluis the Arabs of Easter…

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Section 244

* There is not a shred of e\idence to show that this clause is not genuine in Hos ?fl. It is difficult to see wh.v, if the idea 'had its roots in Isaiah's time' and not in that out of which Ezk 34^ ZT--^- 45** 9 and Jer 309 arose (Harper, ad loc), we should follow Wellhausen in rejecting the clause. Nowack rejects the …

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SECTION 245

Section 245

Its survival is probably due to Ezekiel, the jn-iest- prophet, herald of restoration, of hope and of re- constructive effort. This prophet was an earnest student of Israel's past, and read its records and its oracles. The inffuence not only of his great elder contemporary Jeremiah, but also of the ear- lier prophets Ho…

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SECTION 246

Section 246

Before we come to deal with the later phages of Mesisianic expectation, we would here note the his- toric evolution of three distinct line-^ of anticijvi- tion respecting the human a^^ency whereby Israel's .salvation and the establishment of a Divine and righteous rule would l>e efl'ectetl. ( 1 ) The righteous Messiani…

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SECTION 247

Section 247

2. -Another feature of equal importance, which l>egins to emerge in apocalyptic literature, left its impress on Messianic expectation, viz. the belief in the resurrection of the dead. The first clear intimations of this faith are to be found in Is '26", Dn V2-. In the older apocrj-pha (Sirach. Judith, Tobit, 1 Mac.) it…

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SECTION 248

Section 248

The ' Son of Man ' has a yet more definite and distinguished role in the Similitudes of the Book of Enoch (chs. 37-71), written probably after B.C. 100. Here He is obviously a supernatural person- alitj- and not a symbolic figure, or indefinitely expressed as 'like a son of man.' The Son of Man is not mere man. This is…

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SECTION 249

Section 249

* Jesu Predigt in ihrem Geffensatze zttm Judenthum, p. 112 f. t Book of Enoch, Ayipendix B, p. 315 £f. ; cf. also Bartlet, Expositor, Dec. 1S92. X Helioion cies Judenttims-, p. 305, footnote. § Bousset's Jesii.9 (Eng. ed.), p. ISS. Bousset thinks that it was not till the closing '^months of His ministry that this ti…

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Section 250

(e) ' Son of David ' is the most characteristic, as it is the most tiaditional and historic, designa- tion of the Jewish Messiah. It expresses the most representative type of Messianic expectation, if we understand by that term an anointed Jewish king who was to be the national deliverer. This conception, as Ave have a…

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SECTION 251

Section 251

The Psalter of Solomon, not inaptly called by Ryle and James ' the Psalms of the Pharisees,' clearly reveals by its contents that it belongs to the period B.C. 70-40. Its chief interest for us consists in the strong indications which it gives of the reviving Messianic hopes of Israel at this time under the Koman yoke. …

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Section 252

of Him>elf whicli He adopted was, according to the Sj^noptics, ' Son of Man,' whicli, we have already shown, implied a high eschatological func- tion and dignity : (iii. ) He also regarded Himself as ' Son of God' (cf. Mk 1^""), though He restrained the annoimcemenl of the title (Mk 3"- '-). (rf) He was wholly out of s…

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SECTION 253

Section 253

Moreover, the rebuilding of Jerusalem is the reflex of the Deutero-Isaianic utterances, and also of Ezk 4U-44. 47, Sir 35'3ff-, To 13i5-i8 145^ Enoch 90-^. According to Ps-Sol 17^^, this restoration of Jerusalem is to be the work of the Messiah. 5. The Messiah as a martial personcdity is based on the portraiture of Is…

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Section 254

LiTERATURK. — This has been j-iartiaUy indicated in the course of this article. The article on ' Messiah ' in Hastings' DB and in EBi and PRE'^ should be consulted. A selection only of the most imjx)rtant works need be given here : Drunuuond, The Jewish Messiah ; Edersheim, Lite nn</ Times of Jesus thf Messiah'^, I 160…

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Section 255

Notwithstanding the marked difference in vocab- ulary, style, and thought found in the various Gospels, they all agree, when rejwrtingthe sj^eeches of Jesus, in putting a metai^horical spiritual mean- ing into even the simplest words, such as ' sheep- fold," ' door,' ' key,' ' lamp,' ' bread.' 'water,' ' tish,' 'life,'…

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SECTION 256

Section 256

* See, e.fi., Deissmann, Bible Studies, 1901, pp. 7.3, 233 ; Percy Gardner, Exploratlu Emnfielica (1899); cf. Ramsav, 'Greek of Early Church and Pagan Ritual ' (Erpos. Tiinen [1898], p. 9). t See Deissmann, pp. 142, 147, 197 ; Moulton, Gram. ST Greek, (1996), has shown that the prepositions are practically identical i…

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Section 257

Lk., which shows more attention to literary style than any other XT writing except the Hebrews (Moulton), uses far fewer original meta- phors. This is because it was not a first-hand work, but a compilation (P). Even the beautiful reference to Jesus as the Sun-rise (1"^) looks back to the OT ; and the tei-ms ' torment …

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Section 258

* For Oriental parallels to the Ix)gos in other Oriental re- ligions, see JRAS, April 1906. 182 MIXA MINISTER, MINISTRATION partly to keep the edge of the skirt away from the cloth spread for the flour, they usually draw up the dress to the knee (Is 47^- ^). The sound of the hand-mill grinding the flour for the dai…

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Section 259

3. SiaKovos, 8iaK0V€iv, -eXo'Sai. (Si-qKOVOVV, 5i7]K6vr]ffa, later impf. and aor. for ediaKovow, ediaKOfTjaa). — The derivation of hiaxovo; is uncertain. If Buttmann's con- jecture is right {Lexil. i. 218), that the root of the word is an obsolete verb hia.yM = hiuxM, it may have originally meant 'a messenger.' Prellw…

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Section 260

(v.) Mt 25« 7r6re ov 5ir]Kovri(ra/iiev aoi ; those words supplement in a solemn way the sayings just commented upon. Ministering love is not only the path to true greatness, it is also the indispensable * ' My idea of heaven is the perpetual ministrj- of one soul to another ' (Tennyson, Memoir by his Son, ii. 421)."…

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Section 261

MINISTRY.— The word 'ministry' as now used in English has two leading senses : (a) service ren- 184 MINISTKY MINISTRY dered, and {b) an official class, especially ecclesi- astical. The latter has no place in this discussion, wliich has regard to the public service rendered by our Lord during His life on earth. In t…

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Section 262

(a) For tlie Birth of Jesus, we know that it occurred in the reign of the emperor Augustus (Lk 2^"^), and not long before the death of Herod the Great (Mt 2^-'^% Herod died probably not later than B.C. 4, as is made out from statements of Josephus (see Dates), and thus it appears tliat by an early error (of Dionysius E…

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Section 263

(b) The long period theory. This holds that there were four Passovers in the ministry, and is hence called the quadripaschcd theorj'. It dates from Eusebius in the 4th cent., and is held by many modern scholars. This takes the unnamed feast of Jn 5' to be a Passover, holds to the com- monly received text of Jn 6"*, put…

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Section 264

Resurrection to Ascension. Cities and Vil- lages. The Lake. Caper- naum. Tyre and Sidon. D e c a p o 1 i s. Csesarea Phil- ippi. Probably 28, 29. Galilee. Judsea. Persea. Jerusalem vicinity. and Jerusalem. Galilee. Olivet. Probably 29 or 30. iii. Results of our Lord's Ministry. — Wlien we attempt to sum up th…

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Section 265

1 MIRACLES MIRACLES 187 anil it is most natmal, most agreeable to the whole constitution of human nature, that it shall be animated, sustained, and governed by the Di\-ine Power and Life. Men of science, moreover, are increasingly willing to admit the necessity of the spiritual and rational as the ultimate giwmd of…

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Section 266

In this fact, that the Divine Power dwelt in its fulness in the personality of Jesus, we find the unifying principle for all the miracles of the Gospels. The master-jjrinciple of them all is contained in our Lord's own declaration, ' If I by the finger of God cast out devils, then is the kingdom of God come upon you' (…

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Section 267

of the good and^ "beautiful acts of others (xaXov ipyov, Mk 14*5). He makes no great distinction between His ordinary works of mercy and the extraordinary, regarding them all alike as wrought simply and naturally in the way of His life and vocation. The miracles were 'not the highest Avorks ; they belong to a bwer leve…

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Section 268

As an example, apply the process to Mk 1-3. As a residue we lia\e — 1. The account of the Baptist's preaching (without the refer- ence to the prophetic witness). 2. The Baptism of John (robbed of the spiritual endowment of Jesus and its accompaniments). 3. The bare mention of a temptation in the wilderness (with ang…

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Section 269

(6) The healings of nervous diseases, which many are more willing to accept on the ground of their likeness to well-known medical facts of to-day, are not better attested than those involving physical disorder and disease. The healings of fever, leprosy, issue of blood, and blindness are all recorded m the Triple Synop…

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Section 270

Mt. Mt. Mt. Mt. Mt. Mt. FOUND IN Mk. Lk. Mk. Lk. ■• Mk. Mk. Lk. Lk. Mk. Mk. Lk. Lk. Jn Jn In the above, noteworthy facts are — (1) Only one Evangelist in each case records 3, 4, 5, 10, 13. Number 10 stands by itself, and is not found in other Gospels, although these speak of the rending of the veil of the …

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Section 271

the physical, mental, and eternal welfare of the race, His presence is ever active who said, ' Lo, I am with you always.' Literature. — For general, dealing with the various themes comprised in above art., see the many Lives of Christ, Commen- taries on the Gospels, and artt. in Hastings' DB, Enctjc. Bihlica, and otii…

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Section 272

(b) He to whom the human will ought to be sur- rendered must be known to be supremely worthy of reverence, trust, and love. Inasmuch, then, as knowledge of God is essential to eternal life, it was one of the aims of Christ to impart this knowledge (Jn 17^). God had often been represented as the Fatlier of the Chosen Pe…

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Section 273

3. The extent of Chrisfs mission. — While the regeneration of men was His hfst concern, His numerous miracles evince His care for man's physical needs. As all departments of life were to be purified and enriched by Hi> example and teach- ing, so aU men were to feel that they could l»e saved by His grace. It has been su…

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Section 274

loaKATTEE. — Cremer, Lex. «.r. irem/jj. : Wendt, Teaehirm ofJesiu. iL 1^4 5. W. J. HESDEB50X. MISSIONS.— 1. Thf prophetic background.— The^ missionary spirit and aims of Christianity have their beginnings in the history, literature, and character of the Jewish people. The OT, especi- ally in the portions which express…

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Section 275

preach, is incalculable. Not a little of the teach- ing of Jesus which we have in the Gospels may have taken its present shape from tiie frequent repetition of their message. i. The limits within which the personal work of Jesus ivas confined ivere declared hy Himself: 'I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the hou…

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Section 276

■which are prefaced with a declaration of the de- struction of the Temple ( ' Tliere shall not be left one stone upon another which shall not be throA\Ti down,' Mt 24'-, Mk 13-, Lk 21'^), and contain the announcement that ' this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness to all the nations …

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Section 277

The passage in Mt. (28'*"^') is characterized as 'a later apj^endix ' (Mofi'att, Historical XT, p. 647) entirely on account of its contents. The indica- tions (in a ditierent order) of its lateness are said to be — (i. ) its incipient Trinitarianism, (ii.) the Trinitarian formula of baptism, which is found nowhere else…

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Section 278

The dispute in the early Church in relation to the Gentiles, regarding which so much has been made, was not about preaching the gospel to tiiem, but about the conditions on which they were to receive salvation and be admitted into the Church. No instructions on these matters had been given by the Lord Jesus, and differ…

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Section 279

I MOCKERY MOCKERY 19; this in Mt., and it is omitted by D and Sjt ^"^ in Mark. Even if original in Mk., it maj' imply that Jesus was condemned to death (cf. 'they covered Haman's face,' Est 7**), rather than that He was blindfolded so that He might be asked to prophesy who struck Him. Accordingly, the meaning may b…

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Section 280

This ingenious theory is open to the most serious objections. Some of these have been stated by Mr. Andrew Lang in the very elaborate investiga- tion he gives in Magic and Religion. It is verj- diftictilt to make good the identiHcation of Purim witli the Sacnea even if Frazer's interpretation of the Sacfea cotild hold …

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Section 281

Literature.— In addition to the Commentaries and Lives of Christ, see Frazer, Golden Bough 2, iii. 186-198 ; A. Lang, Magic and lieligion, 70-201, 298-305 ; VoOmer, Jesus und das Sacce- enopter ; Reich, Der Konig mtt dcr Dornenkrone. Arthur S. Peake. MONEY. — We propose to treat first of money in general as referred …

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Section 282

On the other hand, the supply of copper money must have been almost, if not quite, exclusively of native production. There were the copper coins of the Hasmomiean princes, those of the various Hei'ods, and those \vhicli had been struck since A.D. 6 by successive procurators of Judoea. Unlike the foreij^n silver money, …

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Section 283

2. Mina {fMva, Lk W'- 1«- 's- 20. 24. 25 i^y ^^d py pound) is the sixtieth part of the talent. Like the latter, it is to be calculated on the Roman-Attic scale. It contains 100 denarii, and is thus equal to £4. The only mention of this sum in the Gospels is in the parable of the Pounds (Lk 19i2'-*T), where a nobleman,…

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Section 284

2. Drachm (Spax/Jiv, Lk 15^- ** AV and RV piece of silver). — This is the name of the unit of the Greek system of silver coinage, and, as such, might be applied to a great variety of coins from different mints and of different standards. In the Gospels it occurs only in the parable of the Lost Coin, where, of course, i…

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Section 285

(ill.) Copper coins. — There are three copper coins mentioned in the Gospels : the assarion, the kod- rantes, and the lepton. The last is tr. ' mite ' in the EV, Avhile the tAvo others are called, AA'ithout dis- tinction, by the name 'farthing.' 1. Assarion {daadpiov Mt lO^", Lk 12^, AV and RV farthing, Amer. RV penny…

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Section 286

' In the Oriental provinces of the Roman Empire,' says Babelon {Jlonnaics Grccqucs ct Ronw.incs, I. i. 466), ' the word Xctttov regularly denoted IcKjal copper money as distmguished from coppers of the Roman mint.' At ditierent times and in various places it was used of coins of verj- ditiierent value. A> used in the G…

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Section 287

While, however, this is true, and all the more so because His controversy with the Jews turned largely upon the question of His claim to equality with God, and the blasphemy which this claim appeared to them to imply, epithets and phrases may readily be quoted from the Gospels which have no meaning except as presupposi…

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Section 288

MONTH.— See Time. MOON. -In the NT the moon {(reK-qv-r)) is part of the established natural order. So when Christ prophesies the end of the world, ' The moon shall not give her light' (Mt 2429, j^j^ 1334). Twice in the Gospel of Matthew (4-'^ n^^) aeX-nvid^ecrdat. (liter- ally to be inoonstnidc) is used to describe me…

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Section 289

1. (a) It was the opinion universally held among Jews and Christians in Apostolic times, that Moses was the author of the Pentateuch. (On our Lord's acceptance of this opinion, see below). Mk 12^. The passage in E.xodus relating God's appearance in the bush is said to occur 'in the book of Moses.' And in I Lk 20"" Mo…

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SECTION 290

Section 290

Jn 719- ~. Our Lord shows the Jews that a strict observance of the letter of the whole Law is, in practice, impossible ; and that He is therefore, from their own standpoint, entitled to heal on the Sabbath. 'Did not Moses give you the law? and yet not one of you carries it out in actual practice (toie? ts» toLut).' For…

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Section 291

2. But because Moses was the rejjresentative of the Old Dispensation, Jesus and the NT writers thought of him as something more. He was an historical personage of such unique prominence in Israel's history, that his whole career affords parallels to spiritual factors in the New Covenant. The history of the old Israel r…

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Section 292

1 Co 103- -». As Christ is the Bread of Life, so He is the Water of Life. The Israehtes, in the mind of St. Paul, did not eat and drink mere physical food and water, but spiritual. The two accounts of the striking of the rock by Jloses for the production of water (Ex 176, >fu 20ii) gave rise to the Rabbinic explanation…

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Section 293

\ 206 MOUXT, MOUNTAIN MOUNT OF OLIVES Concerning our Lord's dealings \^'ith other mothers than His own, few details are given in the Gospels. It is noteworthy that the mother of Zebedee's children (Mt 20=^") goes unrebuked, as does the action of the mothers who brought their children to Him (Mk 10^^). His sympathy …

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Section 294

On a mountain in Galilee the risen Jesus gave His disciples their great commission (Mt 28'^). The circumstances suggest some height familiar to all, not far from the scenes of the Galilaean ministry, commanding a wide prospect. Certain identifica- tion is, of course, impossible, but these conditions are Avell fulfilled…

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Section 295

A small spur running S. is sometimes known as the Hill of the Propliets, on account of the interest- ing old ' Tomb of tlie Prophets' — a sepulchre gener- ally believed, until recentl}',t to have been origin- ally Jewish — which is situated there ; and the other somewliat isolated spur to the S. E. , on wliich stands t…

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Section 296

Turning S. the spectator sees the bare slopes south of the citj- walls, once thickly covered with the houses of the poor, terminating in the two deep valleys of Kidron and Hinnom, while on the opposite slope some of the houses of Siliudn may be distinguished. Far to the S. in a gap in the hills lies the convent of 3Tar…

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Section 297

' Blessed art thou, O God our Lord, King of the universe, God of our Fathers, our Creator, our Redeemer, our Sanctifler, the MOUTH MULTITUDE 209 Holy One of Jacob, the KiTi<^ of Life, who art good and doest good : the God of truth, the righteous Judge who judgest in righteousness, who takestthe soul in judgment, an…

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Section 298

employs 'multitude' in 9 places, but also 'company' (Lk 231), ' luunber of the people' (61"), and 'people' in 837, where liv!Li\\\))xc\ {Commentary on the Uecused Veision) says it would not be in accordance with English idiom to say ' the whole multitude of the country' ; yet the latter is thetr.of AV, which does not u…

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Section 299

On other occasions His compassion for the multi- tude led Him to heal their sick (Mt 14"), and to feed the 4000 (Mt 15»-, Mk 8^). The astonishment and wonder with which the multitude regarded Jesus is a very marked feature in the Gospels, especially in Mk. and Lk. (see art. Attributes of Christ, ii. 9). These feelings…

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SECTION 300

Section 300

hich in practice does not e.xceed £500 (Koran, A. 173 ; Lane's Arabian Nights, vi. 8). Tlie Jewish Rabbis distinguished betAveen manslaughter and MURMUR, MURMURING MUSTARD 2il murder (Ex 21^^- ") : only in the latter case did capital jjiinishment follow (Edersheim, History of tlic Jewish Nation, p. 375 f. ; W. R. S…

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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.