The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 1 — Section 4

near the apostolio age," and which the best modern scholars generally conceive to have been put out some time between A,D, 100 and A.D. 120, it is evident that muoh of the New Testament canon was known to the -writer, who w0a,es into the tapestry of his work many of the New Testa- ment thoughts and expressions, a.nd occasionally quotes whole passages more or less accurately. Especially the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. LYke are made use of. What is very noticeable in this ancient and curious treatise, written evidently by a Jewish Christian to his own people, is the influence which the books written by or under the influence of St. Paul evidrntly exercised upon the author. From St. Luke's Gospel twenty-two rare (Greek) words are used by the writer of the• Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs,' of which rare words nineteen are found in no contemporary writer. From the Acts, which may be looked upon as a second part of St. Luke's Gospel, twenty-four rare words are taken, of which twenty are alone found in this book of the New Testament. The anonymous author of the 'Testaments ' borrowed from the vocabulary of most of the New Testament books, though from none so largely as from those written by or under the influence of St. Paul. This most ancient and singular treatise has received in the last few years considerable attention at the hands of scholars. Some consider it honeycombed by interpolations of a lat.er date, but as yet this theory of lat.er interpolation is supported mainly by ingenious conjecture. Very lately the scholarly Archbishop Bryennios, Metropolitan of Nico- media, disoovered. and published the known but long-lost 'Teaching of the Apostles' ( ~,&iX'l -rwv ow8EKa 'A'lToa-ToAwv). This most ancient treatise probably belongs to the last decade of the first century, possibly to an earlier date. It is largely based on sayings of Jesus Christ reported in the Gospels, especially in that of St. Matthew; but St. Luke's Gospel was dis- tinctly known and used by the writer. One clear reference to the Acts occurs in eh. iv. of the 'Teaching.' The words rather than the acts and miracles of the Lord are dwelt upon. No Gospel is quoted by name. We have now traced the Third Gospel back to days when probably St. John was still living, oertainly to a time when men who had listened to John and Peter, to Paul and Luke, were still living and teaching. The testimony of one of the most famous of these pupils or disciples of the apostles will close our long chain of evidence. Olement of Bome was the disciple of St. Paul ; the oldest traditions, too, -oouple his name with St. Peter. At a very early period, undoubt.edly, in the lifetime of St. John he presided over the Church of the Christians at Rome. It is certain that in the Church of the first century he exercised a. powerful and lasting influence. Various ancient writings have been preserved bearing his honoured name. Of these only the first Greek epistle can be confidently pronounced authentic; it has been variously dated, A.D. 6B, 70, 95. Which- ever of these dates be accepted, its testimony will be the witness of the belief in the years immediately succeeding the martyrdom of Paul, when  TIIE GOSPl~L ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. vii ------------------------------ certainly many of the pupils and disciples of the twelve still lived and worked among men. We will confine ourselves to this first Greek epistle of unquestioned authenticity. Clement 1 was evidently a diligent student of the wrtings of Paul, Peter, and John. He occasionally uses words found only in St. Paul; still more frequently those common to SS. Paul and Peter; while the influence of their inspired writings is plainly visible throughout this first epistle. In two passages the Gospels are evidently expressly quoted. The first ( cap. xiii.) begins thus: "Remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, which he spoke to teach goodness and long-suffering." Then follows a passage in which the writer seems to unite St. Matthew's and St. Luke's accounts of the sermon on the mount; but where, in the opinion of Volkmar, the text of St. Luke predominates (see Luke vi. 31, 36-38). The second is in the forty- sixth chapter, and contains the spirit and indeed the very words of the Lord as reported in Matt. xxvi. 24; xviii. 6; Mark ix. 42; Luke xvii. 2. Archbishop Thomson sums up generally the evidence for the early reception of the Gospels among the Chrititian Churches of the first days as inspired authoritative writings, as follows: "In the last quarter of the second century the four Gospels were established and recognized, and held a place that was refused to all other memoirs of the Lord. At the end of the second quarter they were quoted largely, though not vi,ry exactly, but the authors' names were not made prominent; they were 'memoirs,' they were 'the Gospels,' and the like. At the opening of the second century the words of the Lord were quoted with unmistakable resemblance to passages of our Gospels, which, however, are quoted loosely without any reference to names of authors, and with a throwing together of passages from all thre~ (synoptical) Gospels" (Introduction to Gospel of St. Luke, by the Archbishop of York, in the' Speaker's Commentary'). In the last decade, then, of the first century we find that the three first Gospels had been written, and were used as the authoritative basis of Christian teaching. Now, what is the probable story of the composition of these Divine memoirs? To answer this question, let us go back to Pentecost (A.D. 33), and the months and first years succeeding that memorable day. With startling rapidity the few hundreds who before the Ascension, with more or less earnestness, belie1Jed in Jesus of Nazareth, and accepted him as Messiah, became, after the first Pentecost, thousands, and these num- bers kept growing in Palestine and the adjacent countries, with an evor- widening tendency. It was necessary at once to teach these " thousandti" something beyond the great fact that the Son of God had died for them. The apostles of the Son of God felt at once that they must tell these ••thousands" what was the life which the Son of God would have those who believed in him live. To do this they repeated to the listening crowds their Master's teaching; they rehearsed again and again tho memorable 1 Of. Wcstoott 011 the Canon, 'Ago of lhe Apostolio Fa.thors' eh. i. viii INTRODUCTION TO