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THE DOCUMENTS

OF

THE NEW TESTAMENT

TRANSLATED & HISTORICALLY ARRANGED WITH CRITICAL INTRODUCTIONS

BY

G. W. WADE, D.D., HON, D D. (WALES) Canon of St. Aiaph

WITH A FOREWORD BY

THE RIGHT REVEREND THE LORD BISHOP OF MONMOUTH

1934 LONDON : THOMAS MURBY & CO,, 1, FLEET LANE, E.G.

ALUREDO GEORGIO

ARCHJEPISCOPO CAUBRENSI EMERITO FORTITUDINE CONSILIO DILIGENTIA PRMDITO QUI ECCLESIM CHR1STI IN CAMBRIA MILITANT! SUMMA OPE DIU INSERVI1T HOC OPUSCULUM DEDICAT AUCTOR

FOREWORD

It must be confessed that the habit of Bible reading is less in evidence to-day than it was in past generations, when the Family Bible was in daily use. But while the purely devotional study of the Word of God may have become less common, it is, on the other hand, true that the intelligent and reverent study of the Bible, as the record of God's revelation, has increased, and is still increasing. Whereas a century since such study was pursued only by professional scholars equipped with a know- ledge of the ancient languages, there is now a large public following with deep interest the developments of Biblical criticism, and the researches of Biblical scholars. Provision for the needs of the English reader in these matters is demanded, and is furnished in many different forms. Among these is to be reckoned the production of new translations of the Old and New Testaments, distinguished not only by the use of modern speech, but also by their constant reliance on recent important advances in textual criticism, in philology, and in archaeology. To this class of work the present volume belongs, while it undoubtedly possesses a specific character of its own.

In the Introduction will be found a concise statement of the principal issues of New Testament criticism, as they present themselves to those who loyally and reverently accept the Church's faith in Jesus Christ. Since it is no longer taken for granted that every word in the Four Gospels must necessarily be a precisely exact record of the historical event, the reader must seek to determine what allowance, if any, should be made for later additions or alterations. Dr. Wade does not pretend to answer this question, but contents himself with suggesting the main considerations to be borne in mind in the search for a solution.

The main body of the book is a translation which deliberately follows a course midway between an exact literal rendering of the original, and a paraphrase intended to bring out the mean- ing of the writer. Where a passage is capable of two or more interpretations, Dr. Wade has assumed the responsibility of a commentator, making plain in his free rendering the view which he considers to be the more probable. In this way his transla-

viii FOREWORD

tion becomes a running commentary, exhibiting the conclusions which a Biblical scholar has reached after an exhaustive study of contending interpretations. I venture to express the confi- dent hope that many readers will be grateful for the assistance which they will derive from this book in their intelligent appre- ciation of the writings of the New Testament.

GILBERT MONMOUTH.

PREFACE

In view of the excellent translations of the New Testament which exist already, another English version may well be deemed superfluous. Nevertheless, for the work here offered some justification may perhaps be found in certain special features marking it. It is meant not only to furnish an accurate, yet not literal, rendering of the Greek, but also to provide with various aids those who are beginning the historical study of the N.T. documents.

In general, a good translation should be a transcript, in the idioms of one language, of the ideas expressed by the original author in the idioms of another. The use, indeed, of modern phraseology in translating ancient writings inevitably results in some incongruities, since complete uniformity is out of the ques- tion. But to the present translator it has seemed that more is gained than lost by replacing, even at the cost of some in- consistency, various Greek (or Hebrew) terms and modes of speech by current English equivalents. Where the signi- ficance of the original is disputable, he has not retained its obscurity ; but has tried to convey to the reader, without any ambiguity, that meaning which, after much consideration, he has judged to be the most probable. Moreover, in many places he has introduced connecting or explanatory clauses (distinguished by italics) in order to elucidate the bearing of a statement, or to bridge a gap between one stop in an argument and the next.

An effort has been made to represent the method of com- position adopted by the authors of some of the documents, who have embodied in their own writings materials derived from a predecessor. It is generally admitted that among the first three Evangelists the First and the Third have borrowed from the Second, and have incorporated parts of the latter's narrative, in some places word for word, in others with much variation. Accordingly, care has been taken, wherever the language of St. Mark has been appropriated by the other Synoptists, to repro- duce, in rendering the Matthaean and Lucan parallels, both the resemblances and the divergences observable between the Evan- gelists, in spite of some resultant clumsiness in the English. An attempt has also been made to indicate in the same way a common element, accompanied by differences, in the First and Third Gospels, where this appears to be drawn from another earlier narrative, which, unlike St. Mark, is no longer extant.

ix

x PREFACE

A few minute distinctions in the Greek have had to be ignored, since they could only have been represented by cumbrous circumlocutions.

Inasmuch as the Synoptic writers, in spite of including in their Gospels so much common material, have each a number of distinctive phrases, some of these have been retained in an English dress, although a monotonous effect is often produced in consequence. But notwithstanding this drawback, it has seemed desirable to convey thus to an English reader some idea of the characteristic diction of the Evangelists in question.

The passages in the First and Third Gospels for which the Evangelists are indebted to the work of predecessors are marked in the Translation by familiar symbols. In Acts, where the author has embodied portions of a Journal or Diary, kept by himself or another, these are likewise indicated. Similarly in the case of II Peter, certain parts, which seem to have been derived from the Epistle of St. Jude, have a distinguishing sign prefixed to them.

Further, since it is becoming recognized that among the Epistles some arc probably of composite origin, fragments of different Letters having been purposely or accidentally united together, it has been thought well, where there seems sufficient reason for supposing that this has happened, to disentangle the constituents of such Epistles; and these have been printed separately. Additional help is afforded to students of the N.T. by the arrangement of its various contents in the chronological order in which it is believed that they originated; whilst every book is preceded by a concise Introduction, summarizing the external and the internal evidence for the authorship, the place of origin, and the date of it.

Prefixed to the Translation as a whole is a more extensive Introduction to the Study of the Historical narratives, in which an effort is made to explain the conditions that brought these into existence, and to review the considerations which have to be taken into account in drawing conclusions about the value of their contents.

The Greek text underlying the Translation is substantially that of Westcott and Hort, though this statement requires some qualification, (i) In a few places the reading of their margin has been preferred to that of their text. (2) Their punctuation has sometimes been disregarded. (3) A small number of read- ings, lacking strong MS. support, but possessing much intrinsic plausibility, and a few conjectural emendations, proposed by various scholars, where the MS. readings present great diffi- culties, have been adopted; and are marked by asterisks. (4) Various chapters and verses have been transposed, where the succession of events, or the sequence of thought, is thereby ren- dered more natural or logical. (5) In one place in the Third Gospel and in several places in Acts some passages, though not occurring in the best MSS., have been introduced (between

PREFACE xi

pointed brackets) on account of their interest. (6) Here and there, a few words and clauses, which, though found in good MSS., look like accidental duplicates, or interpolated glosses, are enclosed within square brackets. It should be added that, as the book is intended primarily for English readers, the use of Greek characters has been avoided throughout.

Much of the information collected by the writer for his New Testament History (Methuen, 1922, 2nd ed. 1932) has been utilized again ; and it has not been thought necessary to repeat here the authorities there cited. But gratitude for help in various degrees is due to numerous scholars whose works had either not appeared prior to the publication of the earlier book, or else appeared too late to be fully utilized in the preparation of it. Among such scholars are Abbott-Smith, Bacon, Bernard, Charles, Creed, Crum, Dalman, Easton, P. N. Harrison, Headlam, Hoskyns and Davey, Klausner, Lawrie, Lock, McNeile, Matthews, Moffatt, Moulton and Milligan, Rawlinson, Streeter, Vincent Taylor, Warschauer, Wright, and certain of the con- tributors to the New Commentary (edited by Bp. Gore and others) and to the Journal of Theological Studies. Moffatt 's New Translation of the New Testament, Weymputh's New Testament in Modern Speech, the anonymous Twentieth Century New Testament, and Way's Letters of St. Paul and Hebrews have also been consulted with advantage; and for the assistance derived from them cordial acknowledgments are here tendered to their authors.

Finally, he wishes to express his indebtedness to the generous aid given to him by his wife, who, grudging neither time nor labour, has prepared the greater part of the MS. for the press, and whose opinion, when her advice has been sought in regard to the choice of words and phrases, has proved of very great value.

It is perhaps not inappropriate that one, whose duty it has been, in the course of nearly half a century, to listen to, or read, the translations of many hundreds of pupils, should, after the close of that long period, submit to the criticism of others a Translation of his own. He cannot, of course, expect his work to be wholly free from accidental oversights, inaccurate state- ments, inconsistencies of method, and infelicities of expression ; but he trusts that they are not numerous enough to deprive the book of all worth. The Archbishop of Wales* has most kindly allowed the volume to be dedicated to him ; whilst the Bishop of Monmouth, having read a large part of it in proof, has con- sented to give an estimate of it in a Foreword. If such a philosophical and scholarly critic finds himself able to say some- thing in its favour, his judgment creates a hope that the work, notwithstanding its defects, may prove of some use to those for whom it is designed. To both of these generous friends grateful thanks are here returned.

*Smce these words were written, the Archbishop has resigned his high office.

KEY

TO THE BOOKS OF THE N.T., AS ARRANGED IN THIS TRANSLATION.

	PAGE		PAGE
Matthew	326	II Tim. 4. 5b-8 ...	... 184
Mark	194	4. 9-12	... 183
Luke	257	4- i3-J5 .••	in
John (om. 7. 53—8. 11)	... 477	4. 16-18*	... 156
7« 53 — 8 ii ...	31 3	4- i8b, 19	185
Acts	387	4. 20, 2Ia	in
Romans i. — 15	. 126	4. 2Ib, 22a	185
16	1 53	4. 22b	183
I Corinthians . ...	76	Titus i. i — 3. ii	557
II Cor. i.— 9		,, 3. 12—15	no
(om. 6. 14 — 7 II Cor. 6. 14 — 7. i	I) 112 74	Philemon ... . Hebrews	... .63 ... 236
10 — 1 1	1 02	Tames	g £
) i * *-*• * j Galatians		I Peter	185
Kphesians	165	II Peter	... 535
Philippians	I7*\	I John .	... 52 5
Colossi ans	'o	II John	. 532
1 Ihessalomans	. 46	Ill John	.- 534
II Miessalonians		Jude	233
I 'I iniothv	C4*7	The Revelation	447
II fun. i. 1-14	554
i. 15-18	184
2. 1—3. 9 ...	554
3- 10, ii	184
3. 12-17	••• 557
4 i, 2*	... 184
4. 2b-ca	557

Galatians

Fragment of I Cor.

( = 11 Cor. 6. 14—7- i) // Cor. ( = 1 Corinthians) Fragment of III Cor.

( = 11 Cor. 10 — 13) Fragment of Titus

( = Tit. 3. 12-15) - Fragments of I Timothy

(=-II Tim. 4. 13-15,

5i

52-55 52

55 55

55 55

55

Fragment ef IV Cor.

( = 11 Cor. 1—9) ......

Q, Note on .........

Romans i — 15 ......

Fragment of an Ep. to Ephesus

( = Rom. 16) ...... 56

Fragment of II Timothy

( = 11 Tim. 4. 16-18*) 56 or 57 Colossians ......... 59

Philemon ......... 59

Ep. of uncertain destination

A D.

59

61

61

PROBABLE ORDER AND DATES OF THE N.T. DOCUMENTS

(Many of the dates are very uncertain)

A.D. I, II Thessalonians

James

Philippians

Fragments of III Timothy

( = 11 Tim. 4. 9 12, 22*>) Fragments of IV Timothy

( = 11 Tim. 1. 15-18; 3. lo-ii

4. i, 2a,5b-8, i8b, 19, 21^

22a)

Ep. of Peter ( = 1 Pet.) Mark Jude

20, Hebrews

Luke Matthew

55

55-60 56

61

.. 63 65 or 68 65 or 70 after 70 80

80-85 85-95 .. 90-96 90-100 90-100

Acts

Revelation ... ...

John .........

I. II, III John ...

Ep. of unknown authorship

( = 11 Pet.) ... 95-120

Pastoral Epp.

(Exclusive of the sections previously noted)... 100-125

xiii

PATRISTIC WRITERS CITED

Nantes A.D.

Clement (of Rome) died in 95 or 100

The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles ... ... written about 100

Ignatius d. 107 or 117

Marcion ... ... ... ... ... ... ... d. after 138

Justin Martyr ... d. after 150

Polycarp ... d. 156

Papias ... d. 156?

Muratonan Catalogue ... ... . . corn-piled 170-180

Irenams . . ... d. 202

Clement (of Alexandria) .. . ... . ... d. after 203

Tertulhan * ... d. 220-240

Origen . . ... ... . ... ... ... d. 253

Cyprian ... . d. 258

Dionysius (of Alexandria) . . . ... .. . . d. after 265

Victor inus . ... ... ... ... ... ... d. 284-305

Eusebius (of Caesarea) .. ... ... ... ... d. 340

Jerome .. ... ... ... ... ... ... d. 430

CERTAIN MSS. TO WHICH REFERENCE IS MADE

Name

Vatican

Sinaitic

Alexandrine

Ephraemi

Bezan

Freer

Ferrar Cursives

Date

Fourth century

Fourth century

Fifth century

Fifth century

Fifth, or sixth, century

Fifth century Twelfth to fifteenth century

Place where preserved Rome London London Paris

Cambridge Washington Various localities

INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORICAL STUDY OF THE N.T.

(i) THE CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCING THE GOSPELS.

Before History can be extracted from the N.T. documents, they require to be sifted, and their dates, and their worth as authorities, estimated. Though some of them purport to be historical narra- tives, whilst others are only Letters, Homilies, or theological Treatises, the former are not necessarily the most valuable for the modern historian ; at all events, the earliest in date, whatever their nature, claim first attention. Such are the Pauline and some of the other Epistles; for several of these precede even the earliest of the surviving historical narratives by more than a dozen years The testimony, indeed, which they bear to the ministry of our Lord is slight (St. Paul, for example, rarely quotes Sayings of Christ, and mentions in detail none of the marvellous acts recorded of Him) ; but there are some references to events in His Life, and numerous allusions to His Death and Resurrection. Moreover, almost all the Epistles contain the names of their real or ostensible writers, and in the case of most of them there is no sufficient reason for doubting their authenticity ; whereas the Gospels are all anonymous, though of two the authorship may plausibly be inferred. Again, among the historical narratives some are prior to the rest, and consequently -prima facie deserve to be regarded as the most authoritative, though it must not be overlooked that the later of two works may include materials anterior in date to the earlier ; and (as will be seen) there is reason to believe that this is the case with some of the N.T. docu- ments. As explained in the Preface, it is to facilitate in some measure the historical study of the writings of the N.T. that the arrangement in which they are commonly presented is here replaced by another, in closer accord with the chronological order in which they probably came into existence. This re-arrangement has more than one advantage. Firstly, it brings to the forefront those writ- ings (the Epistles) which contain the earliest references to Christian beliefs and practices, however occasional and cursory many of the allusions to these are. To ignore the Epistles in connection with the historical study of the N.T., and to concentrate exclusively upon the Gospels and Acts, is to disregard several documents which are not only prior in origin to the historical narratives, but, in respect of certain matters mentioned, are also first-hand authorities; whereas it is likely that the Gospels altogether, and Acts to a large extent,

1

2 ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS

are second-hand sources. And in the next place, the Epistles throw much light upon the conditions in which the Gospels themselves were ultimately produced; and suggest how they came to comprise certain of the matters that constitute their contents. From the Epistles can be derived some notion of the questions to which the Gospels were written to supply answers; and some idea of the considerations which decided the choice of subjects for inclusion in the accounts of Christ's ministry, when such were called for. Since rolls of papyrus were generally of limited dimensions, a single roll (if it were desired to use no more) would not contain all that could be narrated, even concisely, about that ministry ; and so a writer was compelled to make a selection from the materials at his com- mand. The selection, however, was not arbitrary, but must have been, in great part, dictated by the needs or wishes of the Christian community of which he happened to be a member. What these needs and wishes were can be inferred not only from some of the subjects with which the Epistles are largely concerned, but also from certain peculiarities of the Gospels themselves.

That the historical writings of the N.T. were intended primarily for those who were already professed Christians appears from the abruptness with which the principal characters in them are introduced : nothing is said, for instance, at the beginning of the Gospel of St. Mark to explain who John the Baptist and Jesus were (i. 4, 9). Their names were cherished among the Christian communities, and certain beliefs were entertained about them; but traditions orally transmitted would suffice to satisfy enquirers living within the first generation subsequent to the Crucifixion ; and for some while there would be little demand for written narratives about the ministry of either. The thoughts of the primitive Church could not fail to be turned to the future rather than to the past; interest would be concentrated less upon memories of Jesus' life on earth in conditions of lowliness than upon the prospect of His Return in glory, to bring the existing constitution of the world to an end, and to inaugurate the Reign of God, of which both He and His Apostles predicted the nearness. Consequently, so far as His earthly ministry occupied men's minds, it would be accounts of His Death and Resurrection which at first principally absorbed attention. This conclusion is not only intrinsically probable, but is confirmed by explicit statements in the earliest documents con- tained in the New Testament, namely, the Epistles of St. Paul and others. In / Cor. u. 23-26; 15. 3-8 (see also / Th. i. 10; Rom. i. 4; 5. 6; 8. n) the author affirms that included in the instruction which he himself had received, and had transmitted to others whom he had taught, were the institution of the Eucharist by Jesus before His arrest, His atoning death by crucifixion, His resurrection from among the dead two days later, His Messiahship, His unique rela- tion to God (as being His Only Son), His exaltation to the highest dignity that it was possible for His Heavenly Father to bestow, and His expected descent from Heaven to judge mankind; and it

ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS 3

is also implied that prophecies about many of these events were contained in the Old Testament Scriptures. The sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross to save men from their sins; His restoration to re- newed Life; and His future return in Glory are matters to which St. Peter also alludes (/ Pet. i. 19; 2. 24; 3. 18; i. 3, 21; 4. 13, 17). The Resurrection, especially, was the subject of the early preach- ing of both St. Peter and St. Paul, according to the summary reports in Acts 2. 24, 32; 3. 15; 4. 10; 13. 30, etc. These Apostles, however, furnish in their own writings no account of the circum- stances under which Jesus was crucified ; nor do they explain where, after His Crucifixion, He first appeared to some of His followers, or in what form the belief about His Resurrection was then held — whether a resuscitation of the physical Body was thought to have occurred, and the tomb to have been left empty; or whether the proof of His Risen Life consisted of visionary experiences only. But obviously deep interest concerning some or all of these subjects was bound eventually to be awakened; and although information about them could be obtained by some people through intercourse with those who claimed either to have been themselves actual witnesses of what was related (cf. Acts i. 22; 10. 34-41), or to have been in contact with such witnesses, it could only reach others through written records, if these should be produced in any quarter. It is clear from allusions in Acts and elsewhere that in various com- munities of Christians oral instruction was regularly given with a view to strengthening their faith (see Acts 2 42; n. 26; 15. 35; 28. 31); and from the phrase used by St Luke, m the preface to his Gospel (i. 4), such instruction seems to have resembled catechetical teaching. But though the Death and Resurrection of the Lord must have been the principal, they could not have been the sole, matters in which interest was felt There existed, for instance, small groups of disciples of John the Baptist ; and a subject of enquiry would be the relations of John and Jesus to one another during their lifetime Allusions, in the course of the Apostles' missionary addresses, would be made to incidents in the ministry of Jesus, to His deeds of mercy, to His marvellous displays of Power (Acts 2 22-36; 10. 38), and to His patience; and details would be demanded. Church meetings would be held under the leadership of the Apostles, and curiosity would be felt about the occasion of the appointment of the latter by Jesus. Church rites (Baptism as well as the Eucharist) were regularly observed, and some explanation of their origin would be called for.

But more particularly would problems of conduct emerge and press for solution. Such would concern the relations of Jewish and Gentile Christians both with each other, and, collectively, with their surrounding Jewish and heathen neighbours It might, for example, be asked what precedent or authority, if any, was to be found in the words or acts of Jesus for the keeping (after Jewish tradition) of the Sabbath or other holy days and seasons (cf. Rom 14. 5 f.), or what light was thrown, by anything that He had said,

2

4 ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS

upon the duty of Christians in regard to Jewish regulations about certain foods (cf. I Cor. 8, Col. 2. 20-23), upon the payment oi taxes by Christians to heathen sovereigns (cf. Rom. 13. 1-7), and upon the binding nature of marriage under all circumstances (cf. / Cor. 7. 8-24). And actual illustrations of how appeals to Sayings of the Lord were made by an Apostle, when giving admonitions to his converts, are furnished by St. Paul's citation of words of Christ in connection with the duty of supporting fellow Christians in need, and with the claims of Christian missionaries to maintenance by those amongst whom they were toiling (Acts 20 35, / Cor. 9. 14). There would consequently ensue an urgent longing for the collection and diffusion of all the knowledge procurable about the instruction which the Lord had given to those who had companied with Him.

Since Jesus Himself left no writings behind Him, it was only through oral traditions (as has been already observed) that reminiscences of His Life could be preserved and handed down in the course of the years immediately following His death. Such reminiscences would often be isolated stones, which had retained a place in the recollections of people because they included some re- markable manifestation of Power on the part of Jesus, or some arrest- ing parable or allegory related by Him, or some incident leading to His uttering an impressive maxim or precept that summarized the principles of conduct which He commended to men. Within a very few years, however, reports of events or instructions, transmitted orally, would become inexact and fluctuating ; and during the period wherein the only accounts' of our Lord's life and ministry depended, for their survival, on treacherous memories, the particulars of numer- ous occurrences could scarcely fail to diverge and vary. Moreover, the blurring effect produced upon oral traditions by the mere lapse of time would be intensified, after 70 A.D., by the catastrophe of the Fall of Jerusalem, for such an event was calculated to obliterate from many minds recollections of much that had happened before it. Conditions like these would foster in the Christian communities a desire for the preservation, in writing, of all the surviving tradi- tions about Jesus that could be trusted. The demand for the collec- tion of such would become the more insistent in proportion as the interval before His expected Return from Heaven grew more and more prolonged, and deferred hopes about the future created greater interest in the past It was to meet this demand that the earliest documents, recording more or less consecutively, from the first, what He had said and done, came into existence. Moreover, as the years following the destruction of Jerusalem multiplied, and the Church's spiritual experiences grew more extensive, memories of the ministry of Jesus would tend to be reviewed in the light of these; and there would be a disposition to compose a narrative of that ministry in which history would be coloured by theological reflection.

Written records, when such took the place of previous oral tradi- tions, must have inevitably reproduced in some measure the quality

ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS 6

of the latter, so that even the earliest of the N,T. histories, compiled, as they were, in an, uncritical age, cannot be expected to be equally trustworthy in every part. Nevertheless, that efforts would be made by the compilers of such documents to obtain information from those who were best qualified to give it, and that care would be taken to represent it accurately (according to the literary standards of the time) is suggested by what is affirmed by St. Luke about him- self and others in the preface to his Gospel (i. 1-4). Obviously the most reliable channels through which information could reach those who were anxious to receive it were the Apostles of the Lord, so long as these remained alive; and there is good reason to believe that the recollections of certain among them he behind more than one of the Gospel histories.

Probably the earliest document to be drawn up relating to the ministry of our Lord was one mentioned by Papias, who affirms that " Matthew compiled the oracles (of the Lord) in the Hebrew language, and each reader interpreted them as he was able.'1 In this statement the expression " the oracles " would seem to designate accounts of what Jesus both said and did (cf. p. 125) ; the term " Hebrew " is probably used loosely for " Aramaic " ;l and " inter- preted " is most naturally understood in the sense of " translated " into Greek. The document in question has not survived : whether some of the writers of the Gospels derived materials from it at second- hand is a subject for conjecture (see below)

Another early document, which has also disappeared, can be substantially reconstructed from certain passages in the First and Third Gospels — passages which are so similar that they must have been borrowed in common from some source, but have not been borrowed from Mk. It is possible, indeed, in the abstract, that of the writers of Mt. and Lk. one may be indebted to the other for these passages, but this is unlikely (see p. 124), and most probably both have drawn upon an earlier document. This source is generally denoted by the letter Q, a symbol suggested by some German scholars, and taken from the German word for " source." Since, however, it is very questionable whether in the passages common to Mt. and Lk. alone there is comprised the whole of this document, certain critics prefer to denote it by S ( = " source "), retaining Q for those portions of it which are embodied in Mt. and Lk. This hypothetical source may have been in origin anterior to Mk. (see p. 198) as well as to the other two Synoptic Gospels. Its contents appear to have included many illustrations of our Lord's teaching, and narratives of one or two miracles; but its original plan and scope are doubtful. It seems not improbable that the writer was indebted to the collection of " oracles " just mentioned — presumably in a Greek rendering.

Of the surviving written records of Jesus' ministry the earliest is

1 The name Gabbatha, though called Hebrew in Joh. 19. 13, is really Aramaic : cf. also 19. 17; Acts i. 19.

6 ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS

the Gospel of St. Mark. Its purpose (as the opening words imply) was to present an account of the Good News conveyed to man through the words and works of Jesus, which gave evidence of His being the Christ, God's Son, and thereby of the fulfilment of divine pro- mises made through the Hebrew prophets. The Evangelist's narra- tive is not a biography of Jesus; it relates nothing about His early years, but begins with His baptism by John; illustrates His activities first in Galilee and later in Jerusalem; and ends with His Cruci- fixion. It doubtless once comprised an account of the Appearances of the Risen Lord to His disciples; but it has suffered accidental mutilation at the end. According to Patristic tradition, St. Mark reproduced the instruction about our Lord which was given by St. Peter. If this is so, it is clear that the Evangelist, for much that is related by him, had access to a first-hand authority, since St. Peter was one of three who were singled out by their Master from among the Apostles for special privileges on more than one occasion. That St. Mark was faithful in recording what he learnt from St. Peter, and composed his Gospel with a sense of responsibility, was the opinion of Papias (see p. 196) ; and the value of Papias' judg- ment on this point can be appraised in some degree by consideration of what the book contains and what it does not contain, when it is compared with the subjects that mostly occupied the thoughts of the early Christian communities.

St. Mark's Gospel includes features which met contemporary wants in various ways. The framework of it consists of a brief record of the most critical occasions in the Lord's ministry, from its beginning to its close. It comprises the Baptist's prediction of the coming of One greater than himself; the Baptism of Jesus by John; the descent of the Spirit upon Him; His proclamation of the nearness of the Dominion of God ; His Call cf the first Apostles ; His despatch of the Twelve upon a mission ; His acknowledgment to them that He was the Christ;1 His prediction of His impending Death; the Transfiguration; the Entry into Jerusalem; His state- ments about the events presaging the end of the Age; the institution of the Eucharist; His Betrayal, Arrest, Crucifixion, and Resurrec- tion. Into this scheme the writer inserted, first of all, numerous instances of Jesus' wonderful Powers, especially His ability to heal human infirmities; and since he implies that more cures of sick people took place (i. 34; 3 10) than he has related in detail, it would appear that he selected only a proportion out of a large num- ber, his choice being determined by a wish to illustrate the variety of wonders that Jesus wrought. In a few cases where he records more than one instance of the same kind of miracle, it was doubt- less because each was distinguished by special features. In the second place, the Gospel describes certain occurrences which led up

1 In two passages prior to 8. 27-31 Jesus seems to use the term " Son of man" of Himself — see 2. 10, 28; and to explain the fact it has been suggested that St. Mark borrowed the section 2. i — 3. 6 from an earlier document framed on a different plan.

ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS 7

to the utterance, by Jesus, of sayings of great significance; and it reproduces several of His allegories and parables. And thirdly, the author narrates some discussions between Jesus and representatives of various Jewish sects and classes — these narratives being aptly designated " conflict stories." The most lengthy section of the whole book is the last, which is occupied with an account of Jesus' Passion and Death.

From this brief summary of the Second Gospel it will be seen that its contents were calculated to satisfy not inadequately the wants of the Early Church, as these have been sketched above. Thus, to take only one or two points, the inclusion of the Baptist's pre- diction of the advent of One superior to himself, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus, His numerous cures of the afflicted, and the other wonders wrought by Him, were adapted to persuade sur- viving disciples of John that Jesus was really He of Whom the Baptist had spoken (cf. Joh. 10. 41; Acts 18. 25; 19. 3, 4). An account of the reply returned by Christ to a question concerning the payment of taxation to the Romans was likely to be helpful in dis- suading Christians from sympathizing with the Jewish antagonism to Rome that culminated in armed rebellion. Examples of Jesus' precepts and allegories would be prized by all who wished for in- struction in such conduct as might secure for them entry into the promised Dominion of God A report of what Jesus said about the End of the Age would have the greatest interest for those whose thoughts dwelt on that subject (cf. / Thess. 4. 13 f ; II Thess. 2. if.;/ Cor. 15 ). The significance of the inclusion of these matters in the Gospel is increased by the fact that the book says little or nothing about certain other subjects in which the first Christian communities were also interested, such silence favouring the infer- ence that the Evangelist comprised in his narrative only those reports about Jesus' acts and sayings for the truth of which he believed himself to have adequate evidence. It may be suspected that some anticipatory reference to the gift of the Spirit manifested by the inspired Discourses and outbursts of Rapturous speech in the Apostolic Church would have been included amongst Christ's reported sayings, had there been any authority for thinking that He had alluded to such ; but reference to these is found only in the non-genuine Appendix (see 16. 17; and cf. Lk. 24. 49; Acts i. 8). One of the questions which soon confronted the Church was the admissibility of Gentiles into its ranks. All doubt about this would have been removed at once, if there had been preserved any memories of a Saying of Jesus during His lifetime, explicitly declaring that Gentiles were to be comprehended within the Dominion of God without submitting to circumcision. In such circumstances it would not have been surprising if, for the decision which the Church's leaders reached on the question (Acts 15. 20, 29), sanction had been sought and found in some alleged words of Jesus, so that th« intimation of His will, as expressed by the Holy Spirit (which, as they believed, guided their counsels), could be unmistakably recog-

8 ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS

nized as agreeing with utterances proceeding from their Lord during His earthly ministry. But as a matter of fact, there is no indication in St. Mark's Gospel that any such utterance fell from Jesus' lips. In it there is contained no saying of our Lord's implying that the Gentiles were to have place in God's Dominion except the general command that the Gospel must be preached to all nations, occurring in 13. 10 (cf. 14. 9), or such a phrase as is found in Mk. 12. 9 (cf. Mt. 21. 43). This circumstance is all the more striking be- cause St. Mark was a friend and companion of St. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, and the advocate of their freedom from the cere- monial injunctions of the Jewish Law (cf. Mk. 7. i9b). And a noteworthy proof of the care with which Jesus' own words were in general reported by St. Mark is seen in 10. 18. If these had not been transmitted to him by an authority which he could not disregard, he would have been tempted to transform them, as the First Evan- gelist has actually done (Mt. 19. 17). Similarly, he has refrained from modifying Jesus' statement about divorce in 10. n, which by the author of Mt. is qualified and restricted. Again, utterances which the writer would have had a strong motive to omit, had they not been fully authenticated, are contained in 13. 32 and 14. 34. And he has likewise preserved certain words of our Lord's, addressed to St. Peter (8. 32, 33; 14. 29-31), which he would have been inclined to exclude, if he had not wished to reproduce faithfully what that Apostle had related.

The fact, however, that the Second Gospel appears to deserve confidence in respect of its scheme of contents has not prevented suspicions from being entertained about the accuracy of its account of Jesus' ministry as a whole The impression produced upon some scholars is that it is a mere collection of detached episodes, arranged without regard to the order in which they really succeeded one another ; so that it does not furnish a reliable narrative of the real sequence of events. One critic, whilst sharing, in general, this opinion about the first half of the Gospel, concedes that it is chronological from 8. 27 to the end. These views seem to do some injustice to St. Mark's work. The succession of incidents enumerated on p. 6 follows a natural course of development. Accompanying, and in some degree influencing, these external inci- dents there appears a change in the mind and outlook of Jesus Him- self. At first, in spite of the conviction which He had come to entertain that He was God's Messiah, He refrained for some while from disclosing, or allowing others to disclose, the truth about Him (i. 24, 25, 34; 3. 12; 8. 27-31). It was not until He foresaw clearly the path marked out for Him by Divine Providence that He admitted to His immediate followers Who He really was. The narrative also shows a process of growth in the antagonism mani- fested towards Jesus. It begins with complaints, uttered by the ecclesiastical authorities of His nation, about His words and con- duct (2. 6-7, 16, 18, 24) ; and these eventually issue in plans for destroying Him (3. 2, 6; n. 18; 14. i). And not only does

ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS 9

opposition emanate from the Priesthood, but endeavours are made even by His own relations to interfere with Him (3. 21, 31-32) ; and finally His chosen Disciples abandon or repudiate