V. The Transfiejuration. — To the confession of the apostle and to the words of thanksgiving, which are also words of serene contentment and inward .a.ssurance, there was not wanting an out- ward Divine sanction. This was given in the scene which is known to us as the Transfiguration (Mk !t--''|l). The narrative of the Transfiguration reminds us, in more ways tlian one. of those of the Baptism .-ind Temiit.ation. Once again the aposth-s liear words which seem to come from Heaven con- firming the nn.ssion of their M,aster. At the same time tliey .see a vision which brings out the signiti- cance of that mission in a way for which as yet they can hardly liave been prepared. The appear- ance of Moses and Klijah by the side of, and as it were ministering to, Jesus, symbolized the Law and the I'rophets ,as leading up to and receiving their fulfilment in the Gospel.
It is Imitosslble not to see the appropriateness of this Divine testimony to the ndssinn «if .lesus occurring just where it does. That urdijue relationship of the Son to the Father, which forms the ciuistant background of the narnitlve ,tf the Ftuirth «ii»siH'l, and Is not less the background real, if not so ap|>arent— of the Synoptics, could not but assert Itself fVoni [line to time. And what'tlme could be lltt»'r for a clear pronouncement i»f It than this, when outwani circumstances were for the most part so disciuiraging, and when the pros|M-ct was becoming every day nearer and mon< certain of the fatal and terrible end ^ If the Son must neisls go down Into the valley of the shailt>w of death, the Father's flu-e will shine upon llliii for n moment before He enters It with a brightness Hhlch will not t»e obscurest.
As bearing upon the essentially historical character of the narrative, howi-ver dllllcult and even lm[iosslble It liiav be for us to reconstruct Its details In such a way that we coultl W .said to iinderstarul them, note ill the signlllcance of the appearance ol Mo^cs and Flljah at a time whioi that signitlcance can have b,'i>u but very Imperfectly apprehendml by the disciples, and wh,-n there was absolutely nothing to suggest such an Idea to thciii ; and CJ) the Tninstlgiiratlon comes within the cvcle i>f evcnt> lit n'gur.1 to which a strict silence was t" be 'nbscrvisl. Thli striking and iM>cullar stamn of genuineness was not >vantlng t*. it. We may nolo also (:!) the random s|Hcch of St. I'eler (Mk »»,)
C30
JESL'.S C'UKIST
JESUS CHRIST
11^ a llttld grraphlc and authentic touch which hud not been
InrKOtlen.
It iiii^'lit be 9upiu)9c<l that the t'nlareenients In Lk 931f- wore merely editorial, but, like iinl n few added iletails In ttds (fOHpel, they become more impressive u|)oii retlexii>ri. The other evan- pelist.H throw no li>:ht upon the tiubjecl of the converse between tlie irlorilled ll^ures ; huke alone says that tiiey 'spake of his decease which iio was about to accoiiipllsli at .lerufyilem.' This was. we may be sure, tiie sultject which (leeply occupied the lidiid of flesiis at this time ; and it is hardly less certain that tlie particular aspect of It which would be I'nost present to Him would be its relation to the prophetic ,Scrlpturcs of OT (and the l-:iw also had Its prophetic side), "We mik'ht expi-ct an appear- ance of Isaiah rather than Klijah ; but Ktijali was the typical prophet, and the .Jews expecttsl his appearing' (ef, Wetsteln on Sit IT'). The other pecidlur detail In Lk, that • I'eler and they that were with bllii were hea\->' with sleep,' may well seem condrinatory of the view i,e.ff.) of Weiss and Heyschla*:, that the scene was presented tu the three apostles In divinely caused vision.
vi. The Prophecies of Death ami liesrirrertiott. — Tlu' period we are ile.-icribing is ji kiiul of water- shed, which marks not oul.v the summit of the ascent but the beginning of tlie descent. We liave seen how this was the case with the enthusiasm of the multitude: it was also the case with Christ Hiin.self. The confe.'i.sioii of St. I'eter was imme- diately followcil, and the Transfifjuration both preceded and followed, by distinct pro[)lu'cies of the fatal end which was to clo.se Ills ministry — an end fatal in the eyes of men, but soon to be can- celled by His resurrection. As these prophecies will meet ils again in the next period, to which they give its dominant character, we will reserve the discussion of them till then,
D, Clcse of tiie Active Period: the Messiaxic Crisis ix View.
5ce lie— Judaea (Jn 7«W- 11") andPersea (Mk 10i||,
Ju 10«), Time. — Tabernacles .\.r>. 28 to Passover a.d. 20. Jit lO'-'iO^S Mk 10, Lk 951-19" (for the
most part not iu chronological order), Ju
7"-n".
In this period we may note more particu- larly (i,) the peculiar section of St, Luke's Gospel which might on a superficial view seem to be placed in this period; (ii,) that portion of the Johannean narrative which really belongs to it; (iii.) the general char- acter of our Lord's Teaching at this time ; (iv.) in particular, the prophecies of Death and Hesunvction ; and (v,) the hints which are given of a special significance attaching to these events. The time of this period extends from the Feast of Tabernacles in AD. ;;8 to the Passover of a. p. 29. There is more difficulty in mapping out the distri- bution of its yjarts topographically. We have some clear landmarks if we follow the guidance of the Fourth Go.spel. The events of the section Jn 7'-li)-i partly belong to the Feast of Taber- nacles ami iu part follow at no great interval after it. We have again in Jn 10*- a clear indication of time and place, the Feast of Dedication at .Jerusalem. Tliis would be towards the end of December, After that, Jesus withdrew beyond Jordan to the i)lace where ' John was at the first baptizing' (Jn 10*"), Here he made a lengthened stay, and it was from hence that He paid His visit to lielhany for the rai.sing of Lazarus, Then He again retired to a city called Ej)hraim on the edge of the wilderness north-east of Jerusalem, where He remained until the Jews began to gather together to attend the Passover (Jn \V>^). We have thus a fairly connected narrative extend- ing from the beginning of the year to the Pa.ssover of A, I), 29, the scene of which is in part Judiea and in part Periea, We have also a fixed point cover- ing, perhaps, about a fortnight in the latter half of October and localized at Jerusalem. But what of the seven or eight weeks which separate this