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 in the XT. To these is added, (iii. ) that the first disciples could hardly have knoM n of the universal mission, or else they lived in flagrant disobedience to their ^Master's solemn command, and only reluctantly recognized its fulfilment in the Pauline gosi^el. But it may be said, on the other hand, as to (i. ), that the incipient Trini- tarianism of the NT is such a daring conception, especially to men who had been trained in the strict monotheism of Judaism, that its existence can hardlj' Ije explained without some word of the Lord Jesus in relation to it, such as that which Mt. records. How are we to account for the ' incipient Trinitarianism' of the Pauline benediction — 'The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost ' (2 Co 13^'') — if there were no words of the Lord Jesus to justify it? As to (ii.), the baptismal formula, as it has been called, may not have been a formula. It may have been the mistake of a later time to regard it as such. If it was not a formula, there was nothing to hinder the Apostles and others from baptizing in the name of the Lord Jesus ('The Bap- tismal Formula,' by J. H. Bernard in Expositor, VI. V. [1902] 43 fl". ). (iii. ) The apparent inaction of the disciples may not have been due to ignorance or disobedience. The command as given in Lk. and Acts indicates a graduallj' widening sphere of operations, in Jerusalem and Judtca, in Samaiia, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. The difficulties and persecution which the Apostles en- countered at the beginning of their work maj- have been to them a proof that the time had not yet come when they could leave the nearer and narrower fields and go forth to the Gentiles. If any reliance is to be placed on Acts as an historical document, it is abundantly evident that the first disciples did know of the world mission, and that they were moving in the line of their instructions. For in his first recorded utterance St. Peter strikes the universal note repeatedly. He quotes the words of Joel in explanation of what had hapjiened at Pentecost, saj'ing, ' It shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, that I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh'' (Ac 2^"), 'And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved' (v.-i). He closes his appeal to the people with the assurance that ' the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar ofi', even as many as the Lord our God shall call ' (v.^). Then in 3^'- there is the recognition of the coming of Christ as a fulfilment of prophecy, as a canying out of the covenant made with Abraham ('And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed'); further, in the words, ' Unto you first God, having raised up his Servant (Trars), sent him to bless you,' there is the recognition of a wider field to be entered in due time. The great declaration, ' Neither is there salvation in any other : for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved' (4^-), is meaningless, if there was not behind it a consciousness of the universal character of Christianity, and, as a consequence, the con- sciousness of a universal mission.
The disciples are also seen to be moving in the line of their instructions. They certainly preached
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the gospel in Jerusalem and in all Juda?a. It is also seen that they preaclied it among the Samari- tans, towards whom Jews had as strong an anti- pathy as they had towards Gentiles ( ' Philip went down to tlie city of Samaria and preached Clirist unto them. . . . (Peter and John) i^reached the gosjjel in many villages of the Samaritans,' Ac §5. L'5) Jq a^ fg-^y years after the Crucifixion (Har- nack says 1, Ramsay 3, Lightfoot 4, Turner 6 or 7 [in fixing the date of St. Paul's conversion, see Hastings' DB, art. 'Chronology of the NT']) the faith of Christ had spread to Damascus, and had gained such hold there, that Saul was sent thither by the Sanhedrin to bring ' anj" of the Waj',' whom he might find, bound to Jerusalem (Ac 9'-). Lastly, some of those who were scattered abroad upon the persecution wliich arose about Stephen went as far as to Antioch, and preached the word to the Greeks ("E\\7?vas, the reading adopted by Tischendorf, Nestle, etc. ) ; and when tidings of these things came to tlie Church at Jerusalem, they sent forth Barnabas to visit and help them (Avhicli he did by finding Saul of Tarsus,
Ac 1118-26).
Taking Turner's estimate as above (though we prefer Ramsay's), tlie gospel was firmly established in Damascus (and in Antioch) 6 or 7 years after the Crucifixion. The trouble which arose about Stephen marked the close of the comparatively peaceful pro- gress of the Church. The hidden cleavage between Judaism and Christianity then became apparent, and an entirely new situation resulted, which affected those within and without the Church. The sympathy of the Jews (Ac 2^") towards the Christians had become antipathy (12-- ^). The persecution created anxieties which naturally ab- sorbed the attention of the leaders. Coming as it did when the Church had been extended through- out Palestine, the persecution maj- have arrested the forward movement which, in accordance with the line of progress sketched out in Ac P, had then become due. A little consideration of the difficulties which attect the progress of modern missions in different countries might lead to a better understanding of the situation in the Apos- tolic age, and to a higher appreciation of the results which the first missionaries achieved.