[1518] Some editions read undecim = the eleven.
[1519] 1 Cor. xv. 3-8.
[1520] [Tu solus peregrinus es, agreeing with the Greek text: "Art thou the only sojourner," etc. But comp. Revised Version.--R.]
[1521] Another reading occurs here, non invenerunt = Him they found not.
[1522] Luke xxiv. 13-24.
[1523] [Luke xxiv. 12 is omitted by Tischendorf, on the authority of codices allied to the text of the Vulgate. The omission was probably occasioned by the difficulties discussed above.--R.]
[1524] The text has, Sive alios quosdam duodecim discipulos Paulus, etc. In the mss. another reading is found: Sive alios quosdam duodecim apostolus, etc. = it may be that the Apostle Paul intended some other twelve to be understood, etc.
[1525] For sacratum illum numerum, five mss. give sacramentum illius numeri = the mystical symbol of that number.
[1526] Acts i. 26.
[1527] Mark xvi. 12.
[1528] In villam.
[1529] Castellum.
[1530] Villam.
[1531] Agrum = field, domain, as the equivalent for agron.
[1532] Castella.
[1533] Municipia.
[1534] 1 Cor. x. 17.
[1535] Matt. xvii. 2.
[1536] The text gives, Non enim sicut erat, apparuit, etc. Some editions make it non enim aliter quam erat, sed sicut erat apparuit = for He did not really assume another form, but appeared in that which He had.
[1537] Luke xxiv. 33, 34.
[1538] Luke xxiv. 35.
[1539] Mark xvi. 13.
[1540] The words Ego sum, nolite timere, are thus inserted.
[1541] Luke xxiv. 36-40.
[1542] John xx. 19, 20.
[1543] Et cum manducasset coram eis, sumens reliquias dedit eis.
[1544] Luke xxiv. 41-43.
[1545] John xx. 20-23.
[1546] Luke xxiv. 44-49. [Many harmonists place this passage in connection with this appearance (evening of the Resurrection day); but part of it may belong to the final appearance, or be a summary of the teaching during the forty days.--R.]
[1547] John xiv. 26, xv. 26.
[1548] Acts i. 2-9.
[1549] John xx. 26-29.
[1550] Novissime. [The Greek is husteron, "afterwards," not necessarily "lastly."--R.]
[1551] Mark xvi. 14.
[1552] Mark xvi. 15, 16.
[1553] Mark xvi. 17, 18.
[1554] Mark xvi. 19, 20.
[1555] Acts i. 4-8.
[1556] Some editions read si = if I will, etc. But the best editions and mss. give sic, as above. And that Augustin read it so, is clear also from what occurs further on in Book iv. 20.
[1557] John vi. 1.
[1558] Matt. xxviii. 5-7.
[1559] Mark xvi. 6, 7.
[1560] Matt. xxviii. 16-20.
[1561] Luke xiii. 32. See above, Book ii. chap. 75, § 145.
[1562] Illis undecim = those eleven.
[1563] John xxi. 14.
[1564] John xx. 14.
[1565] Matt. xxviii. 9.
[1566] Luke xxiv. 35.
[1567] Luke xxiv. 15.
[1568] John xx. 19-24.
[1569] John xx. 26.
[1570] John xxi. 1.
[1571] Matt. xxviii. 16, 17.
[1572] Mark xvi. 14.
[1573] Mark xvi. 19.
[1574] Luke xxiv. 50, 51.
[1575] John xxi. 25.
[1576] Acts i. 3.
[1577] Acts x. 41--the words, per quadraginta dies, being added.
[1578] 1 Cor. xv. 4, 5.
[1579] [The discussion of the appearances of the Risen Lord is so clear and candid, that one must regret that it finds its conclusion in the allegorizing exegesis of this section.--R.]
[1580] Phil. ii. 6, 7.
[1581] John xiv. 21.
[1582] John i. 5-9.
[1583] 1 John iii. 2.
[1584] Matt. xxv. 33-46.
[1585] Isa. xxvi. 10.
[1586] John xviii. 3.
Book IV.
This book embraces a discussion of those passages which are peculiar to Mark, Luke, or John.
Prologue.
1. As we have examined Matthew's narrative in its complete connection, and as the comparison which we have carried out between it and the other three on to its conclusion has established the fact, that not one of these evangelists contains anything either at variance with other statements in his own Gospel, or inconsistent with the accounts presented by his fellow-historians, let us now subject Mark to a similar scrutiny. Our plan will be to omit those sections which he has in common with Matthew, which we have already investigated as far as seemed requisite and are now done with, and to take up those paragraphs which remain, with the view of submitting them to discussion and comparison, and of demonstrating their thorough harmony with what is related by the other evangelists on to the notice of the Lord's Supper. For we have already dealt with all the incidents which are reported in all the four Gospels from that point on to the end, and have considered the subject of their mutual consistency.
Chapter I.--Of the Question Regarding the Proof that Mark's Gospel is in Harmony with the Rest in What is Narrated (Those Passages Which He Has in Common with Matthew Being Left Out of Account), from Its Beginning Down to the Section Where It is Said, "And They Go into Capharnaum, and Straightway on the Sabbath-Day He Taught Them:" Which Incident is Reported Also by Luke.
2. Mark, then, commences as follows: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God: as it is written in the prophet Isaiah;" and so on, down to where it is said, "And they go into Capharnaum; and straightway on the Sabbath-day He entered into the synagogue and taught them." [1587] In this entire context, everything has been examined above in connection with Matthew. This particular statement, however, about His going into the synagogue at Capharnaum and teaching them on the Sabbath-day, is one which Mark has in common with Luke. [1588] But it raises no question of difficulty.
[1587] Mark i. 1-21.
[1588] Mark iv. 31.
Chapter II.--Of the Man Out of Whom the Unclean Spirit that Was Tormenting Him Was Cast, and of the Question Whether Mark's Version is Quite Consistent with that of Luke, Who is at One with Him in Reporting the Incident.
3. Mark proceeds with his narrative in the following terms: "And they were astonished at His doctrine: for He taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit: and he cried out, saying, [1589] What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us?" and so on, down to the passage where we read, "And He preached in the synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils." [1590] Although there are some points here which are common only to Mark and Luke, the entire contents of this section have also been already dealt with when we were going over Matthew's narrative in its continuity. For all these matters came into the order of narration in such a manner that I thought they could not be passed over. But Luke says that this unclean spirit went out of the man in such a way as not to hurt him: whereas Mark's statement is to this effect: "And the unclean spirit cometh out of him, tearing him, and crying with a loud voice." There may seem, therefore, to be some discrepancy here. For how could the unclean spirit have been "tearing him," or, as some codices have it, "tormenting him," if, as Luke says, he "hurt him not"? Luke, however, gives the notice in full, thus: "And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and "hurt him not." [1591] Thus we are to understand that when Mark says, "tormenting him," he just refers to what Luke expresses in the sentence, "When he had thrown him in the midst." And when the latter appends the words, "and hurt him not," the meaning simply is, that the said tossing of the man's limbs and tormenting him did not debilitate him, as is often the case with the exit of devils, when, at times, some of the members are even destroyed [1592] in the process of removing the trouble.
[1589] The words Let us alone, are omitted. [So the Greek text, according to the best mss.--R.]
[1590] Mark i. 22-39.
[1591] Luke iv. 35.
[1592] Reading elisis. Various mss. give amputatis aut evulsis = amputated or torn off.
Chapter III.--Of the Question Whether Mark's Reports of the Repeated Occasions on Which the Name of Peter Was Brought into Prominence are Not at Variance with the Statement Which John Has Given Us of the Particular Time at Which the Apostle Received that Name.
4. The same Mark continues as follows: "And there came a leper to Him, beseeching Him, and kneeling down to Him, and saying unto Him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean;" and so on, down to where it is said, "And they cried out, saying, Thou art the Son of God: and He straightway charged them that they should not make Him known." [1593] Luke [1594] also records something similar to the last passage which we have here adduced. But nothing emerges involving any discrepancy. Mark proceeds thus: "And He goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto Him whom He would: and they came unto Him. And He ordained twelve that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach; and He gave them power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils. And Simon He surnamed Peter;" and so on, down to where it is said, "And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done: and all men did marvel." [1595] I am aware that I have spoken already of the names of the disciples when following the order of Matthew's narrative. [1596] Here, therefore, I repeat the caution, that no one should suppose Simon to have received the name Peter on this occasion for the first time, or fancy that Mark is here in any antagonism with John, who reports that disciple to have been addressed long before in these terms: "Thou shalt be called Cephas, which is, by interpretation, A stone." [1597] For John has there recorded the very words in which the Lord gave him that name. Mark, on the other hand, has introduced the matter in the form of a recapitulation in this passage, when he says, "And Simon He surnamed Peter." For, as it was his intention to enumerate the names of the twelve apostles here, and it was necessary for him thus to mention Peter, he decided briefly to intimate the fact that the said name was not borne by that disciple all along, but was given him by the Lord, not, however, at the time with which Mark was immediately dealing, but on the occasion in connection with which John has introduced the very words employed by the Lord. The other matters embraced within this paragraph, present nothing inconsistent with any of the other Gospels, and they have also been discussed previously.
[1593] Mark i. 40-iii. 12.
[1594] Luke iv. 41.
[1595] Mark iii. 13-v. 20.
[1596] See above, Book ii. chaps. 17 and 53.
[1597] John i. 42.
Chapter IV.--Of the Words, "The More He Charged Them to Tell No One, So Much the More a Great Deal They Published It;" And of the Question Whether that Statement is Not Inconsistent with His Prescience, Which is Commended to Our Notice in the Gospel.
5. Mark continues thus: "And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto Him: and He was nigh unto the sea;" and so on, down to where we read, "And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told Him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught." [1598] This last portion Mark has in common with Luke, and there is no discrepancy between them. The rest of the contents of this section we have already discussed. Mark continues in these terms: "And He said unto them, Come ye apart into a desert place, and rest a while;" and so on, down to the words, "But the more He charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; and were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: He maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak." [1599] In all this there is nothing which presents the appearance of any want of harmony between Mark and Luke; and the whole of the above we have already considered, when we were comparing these evangelists with Matthew. At the same time, we must make sure that no one shall suppose that the last statement, which I have cited here from Mark's Gospel, is in antagonism with the entire body of the evangelists, who, in reporting most of His other deeds and words, make it plain that He knew what went on in men; that is to say, that their thoughts and desires could not be concealed from Him. Thus John puts it very clearly in the following passage: "But Jesus did not commit Himself unto them, because He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man; for He knew what was in man." [1600] But what wonder is it that He should discern the present thoughts of men, if He announced beforehand to Peter the thought which he was to entertain in the future, [1601] but which he certainly had not then, at the very time when he was boldly declaring himself ready to die for Him, or with Him? [1602] This being the case, then, how can it fail to appear as if this knowledge and foreknowledge, which He possessed in so supreme a measure, is contradicted by Mark's statement, "He charged them that they should tell no man: but the more He charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it"? For if He, as one who held in His own knowledge all the intentions of men, both present and future was aware that they would publish it all the more the more He charged them not to publish it, what purpose could He have in giving them such a charge? Well, but may not the explanation be this, that he desired to give backward ones to understand how much more zealously and fervently they ought to preach on whom He lays the commission to preach, if even men who were interdicted were unable to keep silent?