The punishment of excommunication is not appoint- ed by the law of Moses. It is founded on the natural right of self-protection which all societies enjoy. The case of Korah, Dathan, and Abirani (Num. xvi), the curse denounced on Meroz (Judg. v, 23), the commis- sion and proclamation of Ezra (vii, 2G ; x, 8), and the reformation of Nehemiah (xiii, 25), are appealed to by the Talmudists as precedents by which their proceed- ings are regulated. In respect to the principle in- volved, the "cutting oft' from the people" commanded for certain sins (Exod. xxx, 33, 38 ; xxxi, 14 ; Lev. xvii, 4), and the exclusion from the camp denounced on the leprous (Lev. xiii, 4G ; Num. xii, 14), are more apposite.
In the New Testament, Jewish excommunication is brought prominently before us in the case of the man that was bom blind and restored to sight (John ix). " The Jews had agreed already that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore said his parents, lie is of age, ask him" (ver. 22, 23). "And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out" (ver. 34, 35). The expressions here used, cnroavvaywyoq yivt]- rai — t^ifiaXov cwtov t^uj, refer, no doubt, to the first form of excommunication, or niddui. Our Lord warns his disciples that the}' will have to suffer excommuni- cation at the hands of their countrymen (John xvi, 2), and the fear of it is described as sufficient to prevent persons in a respectable position from acknowledging their belief in Christ (John xii, 42). In Luke vi, 22, it has been thought that our Lord referred specificall}' to the three forms of Jewish excommunication, "Bless- ed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company [ff^Ojo/cwaa'], and shall reproacli you [('a^f ((iio-ojcru'], and cast out your name as evil [t/v/^fiXwtrn'], for the Son of man's sake." The three words ver}' accurately express the simple separation, the additional malediction, and the final exclusion of niddui, chercvi, and sliammdthd. This verse makes it probable that the three stages were al- ready formally distinguished from each other, though, no doubt, the words appropriate to each are occasion- ally used inaccurately. See the monographs in Latin on Jewish excommunication by Musculus (Lips. 1703), Opitz (Kilon. 1G80).
II. In the New Testament. — Excommunication in the New Testament is not merely founded on tiie natural right possessed by all societies, nor merely on the ex- ample of the Jewish Church and nation. It was insti- tuted by our Lord (Matt, xviii, 15, 18), and it was prac- tised by and commanded by Paul (1 Tim. i, 20 ; 1 Cor. V, 11; Tit. iii, 10).
1. Its Institution.- — The passage in Matthew has led to much controversy, into which we do not enter. It runs as follows : " If tliy brotlier shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone ; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three Avitnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the Church ; but if he neglect to hear tiie Church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican. Verily I sa}' unto you. Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Our Lord here rec- ognises and appoints a way in which a member of his Church is to become to his brethren as a heathen man and a publican, i. e. be reduced to a state analogous to
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that of the Jew sufferinc!; the penalty of the third form of excDniraiiUR'atioii. It is to follow on his contempt of the ensure of tlie Cliurch passed on liim for a tres- pass whicli he has committed. Tlie tir.-.l excision is to hs preceded, as in the case of the Jew, by two warn- ings.
2. Apostolic Example. — In the Epistles we find Paul frequently claiming the right to exercise discipline over his converts (comp. 2 Cor. i, 23 ; xiii, 10). In two cases we find him exercising this authority to the ex- tent of cutting off oflTenders from the Church. One of these is the case of the incestuous Corinthian : "Ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken awaj' from among j'ou. For I verily, as absent in body, but pres- ent in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when j^e are gath- ered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit might be saved in tlie (h\y of the Lord Jesus" (1 Cor. v, 2-5). The other case is that of H5'meni)eus and Alexander: " Holding faith and a good conscience, which some, having put away concerning faith, have made ship- wreck \ of whom is Hymenajus and Alexander, whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme" (1 Tim. i, 19, 20). It seems certain that these persons were excommunicated, the first for im- moralit}', the others for heres)'. What is the full meaning of the expression "deliver unto Satan" is sloubtful. All agree tliat excommunication is contain- ed in it, but whether it implies any further punishment, inflicted by the extraordinary powers committed spe- cially to the apostles, has been questioned. The stron- gest argument for the phrase meaning no more than excommunication may be drawn from a comparison of Col. i, 13. Addressing himself to the " saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse," Paul exhorts them to " give thanks unto the Father, which hath made us most to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light : wlio iiath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son : in whom we have redemp- tion through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins." The conception of the apostle here is of men lying in the realm of darkness, and transported from thence into the kingdom of the Son of God, which is the in- heritance of the saints in light, bj' admission into the Church. What he means bj' tlie power of darkness is abundantly clear from many other passages in his ■writings, of which it will be sufficient to quote Eph. vi, 12 : " Put on the whole armor of God, that yo may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil ; for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against princi- palities, against powers, against the rulers of the dark- ness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in higli places." Introduction into the Church is therefore, in Paul's mind, a translation from the Icingdom and pow- er of Satan to tlie kingdom and government of Christ. This l)eing so, he could liardly more naturally describe the effect of excluding a man from the Church than by tlie words "deliver iiim unto Satan," the idea be- ing that the man ceasing to be a subject of Christ's kingdom of light, was at once transported back to the kingdom of darkness, and delivered therefore into the power of its ruler, Satan. This interpretation is strong- ly confirmed by the terms in which Paul describes the commission which he received from the Lord Jesus Christ when he was sent to the Gentiles: "To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they ma}' receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among theni which are sanctified by faith that is in'me" (Acts xxvi, 18). Here again the act of b^ing placed in Christ's kingdom, the Church, is pronounced to be a translation from darkness to light, from the power of