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. Col. and Eph. z^P't'f^'- Nor can we base any argument on the statement in 1 Th 215, that 'the Jews killed the Lord Jesus' (see Ac S'S). There remains one definite historical allusion, 1 Ti U13 ' Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed the good confession.' Our Lord's answer, 'Thou sayest' (i.e. 'yes'], to Pilate's question, ' .\rt thou the king of the Jews?' which is the only confession before Pontius Pilate reported in the Synoptic Gospels, hardly satisfies, important though it is, the requirements of St. Paul's solemn adjuration.
"The proclamation by Jesus before Pilate of the nature of His Kingdom, and that He had come for the sole purpose of bearing witness unto the truth, which is recorded in the Fourth Gospel, is indeed a ' good confession ' ; and we must remember that although St. John did not commit his (lospel
l..n- after the death of St. Paul, vil,
i::I. -- .s- li-t ]ir./pared
tn .i-.rrt tl.,a it is a work of fictiOM, 1
' :- :■•" ..We to
,|U,„ii.ir, il,:a tlie circumstances rernr.l.
1 i. :■.••! ■•'■ I them.
:'.■',■., kn.AvntnSt. Paul. The omisii. ..i
- : : ilospels
,.t tl.i- sul,.i.uire of 'the good conf.-
-lir;,kiim IS nnt morc remarkable than
ll.t!-ir silence .as to the
Mr-'i "1 ' - 'Jt the risen Lord to Jam
s and to 'duo brethren
■''l";>V,n,- ..n now to allusions by St.
Paul to the moral and
«l.iriui;.l teu.liing of Jesus, thert .are on
1^. Th. -. u.. (1) 1 Co
I'i" '•''But' tn.to 'the 'marriJ.'rT''". > ' '! 'l' '
: ..■ [, hut. the
Lord, That the wife depart not h.,n, h,
depart, let her remain uriu.urn.l, .., .
... .. I. ...':!.'.! 1,. her
husband); and that the busl.aiiJ 1-,.^. i
■. tiiir Lord's
general prohibition of divorce is foui,, but the prohibition of divorce of h.r
which, or its equivalent, St. Paul lui.- only in Mk wA It is conceivable t'
■In.-ll., .,..., K-. i, h.uii.l
omitted by Mt. and Lk. either as un
being almost unheard of, or as implied
, .iiir l...i".l -.1. ' .1 .1 ...
that marriage, generally speaking, is ii
' The Lord ordaine.1 that they which j.r
live of the gospel.' The reference is t"
■Th,. l,,h ..n. ! , ..i-lh'..
of his food ' (Mt nil"), or, more prolwlih
by St: Luke (liiV), ,„ whirl, ■ liir,- ' i-
'-I'lii.i' :i,i..'.l"i,'.'," :,'„„V,-
That the refereinv i. tn ihr hitler f(in
the tact that the ...mh- ,.-,^r„ m i T
The natural sens.- ..i 1 T, M- i, il,..i tit
Dn 7 There are 1 to that source
(1) tl at the 01 r Ic
tl o d f a tl 11 V t (.1 II 1 ) and (2) that it
ould be su Iden X 1 1 oke 1 I (1 Tl ) The wording of ths latter pv sage ren arkable liour el es knon pertecth that the day of the Loid so cometh as a th et i tl l night The onh |.lace in our pic ent Gospels here the jn Igi enttiumpet 1 niei tioned is Mt 4 and in \ « of the same hapter we ha\ e tl e illustration of the thief s unexpected and unsuspected attack
There are in conclusion a number of passages in w hich it is lilhc It tt ee lef lences to recorded savings of Chnst
Hn 1 I lr( JoT!) to all their dues etc See Mt 2''21, ■\Ik I I I lei unto C isar etc («toJ»t()
1 1 si alt lo t th\ 1 eighbour as th\self I the »e o 1 ul le of the Law hee Mt
ito that which is h is e\ li See Mt ints and harmless
hy not rather take
ol to touch a woman This timei t of St Paul s is in preserved only '
eunuchs for the kingdom of hea\ e
prefaces this saj ing \11 n en
the\ to whoi 1 It ol ^' hn^
lIu on Ho belt c h i a h I
1 Co 9" I 1 a\ e a ste ai Ish i
1615
The nieagreuess of historical material containeil in these references to Jesus, His acts and sayings, which are to be found in the Epistles of St. Paul, will cease to surprise us when we compare them with the baldness of the Creeds of the Church, even of the Constantinopolitan.
7. The truth is that we have been liitherto mis- led by the ' Lives of Christ ' which have from time to time appeared. The assumption that underlies an attempt to write the Life of any one is that it is possible to give an account not only of his birth and death, but to arrange in some orderly chrono- logical sequence the movements of his life, using the term ' movement ' in its most comprehensive signification. Tliis it is well nigli impossible to do in the case of our Lord's earthly miiiisl ly. P.etween the age of twelve years :ui'l Hi- .Irntli the only events which really mark iiitci\.ils .wr, II is Imptisiii by Jolm, the Temptation, ami the I'miisliguration. It is true that tlic ImiuiHi Gospel notes the Pass- overs whiih took ]>\:iri- iliiring our Lord's ministry ; but it caiiiKit III- s.ii.l th.it any of the attempts to arrange the i Ik iiiii^laiiics ana discourses recorded in till- SyiK.iitics sii ti.s til lit in with St. John's notes III liiiic liave liccii Mirh .is to compel belief. More- iiM'i, tiltliiiuj;h cimrlusions based on internal evi- ileiiuc must always be more or less precarious, yet there are instances of sayings of Jesus which have ill early place in the Synoptic record, but wliich tiom their tone it is difficult to assign to an early st.iuc of our Lord's ministry.