• B. FiiisTArTrvF oit Co.vsTitrcr/VE Vkiiiop.- Tin: For.Y/n.vt; of tiik Ki.vudom.
Scene. — Mainly in Giililee, but also p.artly in
.leriLsalem. Time. — From about Pentecost .v.n. 27 to shortly before Pa.ssover .».i>. 2fs.
Mt 4>-'-I.S'-% Mk l"-(!i». Lk 4'«-n«, Jn ■.'-•".
In this period the points to notice are : ii.) The Call, Training, and .Mi.ssion of the Twelve, followed perliajis by a larger ninnber (the Seventy of ."Nt. Luke); (ii.) tlie gradual differ- entiation of the ministry of Jesus from that of .lohn BapL and its ius.suinption of a miiih larger scope; (iii.) a full course of teaching on the true nature of the Kingtlom of God (or of Heaven); (iv.) the performance of a number of Messianic works, chiefly of heal- ing ; I V. 1 llw e:Ti cl of Ihi'si' works on the
on
JESUS CIiniST
JESUS CHRIST
cominoii people as seen in a great ninoinit of
supi-rticial entlmsia-sm, but willinut as yet
iniK'li iiitelli^t lit appivlieiision (if the object
really in virw; (vi.) the Kiowini; liosiility
(if the scrihis and I'liarisee.s caused by a more
and mure declared divergence of jirinciiilc :
(vii.) the very jientle inilirect and gradual
pnttiiii; forward by Jesus of llis claim as the
Messiah.
Up to the point which we have now readied
there had been no delinile ' founding " of a society ;
no steps had been taken towards the instil ntioii
even of a new sect, much less of a new religion.
The IJaplism of Jesus had been alli-ndcd by cir-
cuuistanccs which mark(d Iliiu nut in a liliihly
si,i,'niticant inaiuier ; but tlie general knowledge of
these circumstances Wiis vajrue. and even in those
who were not unacquainted witli tliiin they awoke
expeclalions rather than conviclions, and these,
too, were vai;ue aiul left for the futiu'c to define.
Kor the rest little as yet liad occurred to deline
them. A certain number of disciples had <;alliered
round Jesus in the most easy ami natural manner,
just as disciples had gathered round many a Uablii
before lllm. These sim|)ly came and went as
inclination took them ; they were not as yet bound
by any closer ties to llis person. lie had pone
about ipiielly with some of them in llis cnmpany,
but nolhlui; very startling had liappenid. The
e.xpulsion of the buyers and selUrs from the
temple was a prophetic act, and two 'signs' had
occurred at a considerable interval ; but this was
little to what the Jews expected in their .\lessiali.
So far Jesus had worked side by side with tlie
Baptist, and on very similar lines. If llis di.s-
ciiiles took a share in baptizing (.In 4-), it was in
the same kind of baptizing as that of John. It was
a ba|)iism 'of reiientance,' and in no sense baptism
' into the name of Christ.'
The period on which we are now entering marks a great advance. The work which Jesus came to perform now took its distinctive shape. What had gone before was of the nature of foretaste, hints, fore.'ihadiiwings ; now the strokes fnllnw each other in ipiick succession by which the imr- pose of Jesus is set clearly before those who have eyes to see. We may take these one by one.
i. 'llw Call, Training, and Mission of the. Twelve {and nf the Seventy). — The lirst step is one which evidently struck the imagination of the followers of .lesus, because it is placed in the fore- front of the .Synoptii; narrative. It is, in fact, the real begiiuiing of the I'ublic Ministry. Among tliiise will) had been the first to seek a nearer aciiuaintai.ee with the new Proiihet were two pairs of brothers, both from Capernaum, and both fishermen by trade. When Jesus returned to Galilee they all went back to their ordinary occupations, and they were engaged in these when sudih-niy they saw Ilim standing by the shore of the lake and received a peremptory command to follow Him (Mk l'«--'||). This 'following' meant soiiiething more than anything they had done as yet ; they were to 'be with him' (.^ik :Ji^), so that they might receive His teaching continuou.sly and in a manner systematically. They were en- couraged to ask questions, and their (|Ui'stions were answered. Special and full e.\planaiions were given to them which were not given to others (Mt 1:5"). The teaching of ,Iesus was not esoteric, but there was this inner circle to whom peculiar advantages were given for entering into it.
The call which was issued in the first instance to the four, I'eter and Andrew, James and .lolin, was gradually extended. The one other instance parlieidarizi-d in tlie Gospels is that of Levi, the son of .Alphx'Us, to whom was given — possibly by Jesus lliiii.self (Wei.ss, Lefteii Jesu, 1.503) — the name
of ' Matthew '( = ' given by God '). A like call pro- ceeded to others, till the number was made up to twelve (li.st.sin .Mk ;ii">-i', Mt in--', IJ< (!"-'", Ac I'"). The persons cho.sen lielniiged to the middle and lower classes. Some must have been tairly well- to-do. Not only did tjie tisherinen own the boats they used, but the father of James and John had ' hired .servants ' (.\lk l-"), and John wasac(|uainted with the high priest* (i.e., perhaps, with members of his household, Jn IHi"). .Matthew was of the despi.sed class of ' ])nlilicans.' The secnnd Simon belonged to the party of Zealots, line, the second Judas (like his father, Simon, Jn (!"' 1:!-^' U\'), was a native of Kerioih in Jiidaa. 'I'hey were chosen evidently for a certain moral aptitude which they showed for the mission to be entrusted to them. Judas Iscariot pos.se.s.sed this like the rest, but wrecked his fair chances. The choice and call of Jesus did not jsreclude the use of common free- will.