j
(O
PICTURES OF
THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
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PICTURES
OF THE
APOSTOLIC CHURCH
ITS LIFE AND TEACHING
BY
SIR WILLIAM M. RAMSAY
D.C.L., LL.D., D.D.
PROFESSOR OF HUMANITY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN
HODDER AND STOUGHTON
LONDON MCMX
PREFACE
THIS book consists of fifty-two Sections, fifty of
which were written for " The Sunday School
Times " in comment upon the International Les
sons of 1909. Each is complete in itself ; but the
subjects were chosen so as to work together into
a series of typical pictures of the life, the teaching,
and the development of the early Church.
The length of treatment of these subjects was
formerly determined by the exigencies of space in
a periodical. In the present book the whole series
is treated on a uniform scale, according to com
parative importance in the history of the Church.
The growth of the Church was determined by
progressive revelation to the earliest Christians
through the indwelling Spirit, and by clearer com
prehension on their part of the Divine purpose.
Perception of this principle guided Luke in select
ing and grouping the facts which he records. He
knew much that he did not incorporate in his
history. He gave space in his pages to events and
persons according as they influenced the growth
of the Church ; and the present writer tries
simply to follow the scale set by Luke. Hence
vi PBEFACE
the almost complete omission of John the Apostle,
whose activity, powerful as it was, lies in the end
of the first century and therefore falls outside the
limits of Luke s history.
The difference in relative scale between the
original form of these studies and the present
publication may be seen especially in the case of
Stephen, to whom two Sections are now assigned.
There was lacking also a connected sketch of the
activity of Paul, and this has been added as the
concluding Section.
It is necessary for the reader to remember that
" Asia " in Luke denotes, not the vast continent of
Asia, but the Koman province, a part of Asia Minor,
lying between Galatia and the ^gean Sea. So it
is used in the following pages. So also " Galatia "
and "Macedonia" in these pages always denote
the Eoman provinces, not the countries or king
doms which bore those names. Luke avoids the
term "Galatia" on account of the ambiguity;
but the Eoman Paul uses the Eoman term, and
the Church from his time onwards made a practice
of accepting the political facts and divisions of the
Empire.
W. M. EAMSAY.
University of Aberdeen,
17 August, 1910.
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE v
INTRODUCTION : LUKE AND HIS MESSAGE xi
SECTION
I. THE ASCENSION. Acts i. 1-14 .... 1
II. THE DAY OF VISION AND POWER. Acts n.
1-21 5
III. THE BIRTH OF THE CHURCH. Acts n. 22-47 . 12
IV. THE POWER OF FAITH. Acts in. 1-26 . . 17
V. THE SOURCE OF POWER. Acts iv. 1-31 . . 23
VI. THOU SHALT NOT WRONG GOD. Acts iv, 32-v. 11 29
VII. THE TEST OF TRUTH. Acts v. 12-42 . . 36
VIII. GOOD ORDER MAKES FOR ACTIVITY IN THE
CHURCH. Acts vi. 1-7 ... . .42
IX. THE DEATH OF STEPHEN THE VICTORY OF THE
CHURCH. Acts vi. 8-vn. 60 ... 47
X. TRUE AND FALSE BELIEF. Acts vm. 1-24 . 54
XI. THE PROPHET IN THE WILDERNESS. Acts vm.
25-40 63
XII. THE WORK AND POWER OF PETER. Acts ix.
32-43 70
vii
viii CONTENTS
SECTION PAGE
XIII. THE CAUSE AND MANNEK OF THE GROWTH OF
THE CHURCH. Review : Acts i.-ix. . . 77
XIV. THE UNIVERSAL GOSPEL. Acts x. 1-xi. 18 . 84
XV. A MESSENGER OF THE LORD. Acts xn. 1-24 . 91
XVI. THE CONVERSION OF PAUL. Acts vm. 1 ; ix. 1-22 98
XVII. ORIGIN OF THE GREEK CHURCH. Acts xi.
19-30 ; xn. 25 105
XVIII. THE APPROACH TO THE GENTILES. Acts xm.
1-12 112
XIX. PAUL TURNS TO THE GENTILES. Acts xni.
13-52 120
XX. THE CHURCHES OF GALATIA. Acts xiv. 1-30 . 127
XXI. THE UNION OF JEWS AND GENTILES IN THE
CHURCH. Acts xv. 1-35 ; Gal. n. 11 if. . 134
XXII. FAITH AND WORKS. James n. 14-26 . . 141
XXIII. WORD AND ACT. James in. 1-12 . . .147
XXIV. THE NATURE AND POWER OF FAITH. Heb.
xi. 1-30 153
XXV. CHRISTIANITY GIVING VITALITY TO THE ANCIENT
CIVILIZATION. Review : Acts x.-xv. . . 159
XXVI. THE MOTIVE POWER OF LIFE. Rom. xm.
1-14 . .166
XXVII. THE ENTRANCE OF THE GOSPEL INTO EUROPE.
Acts xv. 36-xvi. 15 . . . .172
XXVIII. THE FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN EUROPE.
Acts xvi. 16-40 180
XXIX. THE PROGRESS THROUGH MACEDONIA. Acts
xvn. 1-15 187
CONTENTS ix
SECTION PAGE
XXX. PAUL AT ATHENS. Acts xvii. 16-34 . . .194
XXXI. THE CHARTER OF CHRISTIAN FREEDOM IN THE
ROMAN EMPIRE. Acts xvm. 1-18 . . 201
XXXII. ADVICE TO A NEWLY FORMED CHURCH. 1 Thess.
v. 12-24 209
XXXIII. THE IMPERIAL AIMS OF PAUL. Acts xvm.
23-xix. 22 215
XXXIV. PAUL S VICTORY OVER THE MOB IN EPHESUS.
Acts xix. 23-xx. 1 222
XXXV. A HYMN OF LOVE THE DIVINE. 1 Cor. xm.
1-13 229
XXXVI. PAUL S FAREWELL TO THE HELLENIC CHURCHES.
Acts xx. 2-38 235
XXXVII. THE PROPHETS WHO STOPPED PAUL. Acts xxi.
1-17 242
XXXVIII. THE CHURCH AND ITS ENEMIES IN THE PAGAN
WORLD. Review : Acts xiv.-xxi. . . 249
XXXIX. FREEDOM IN EVERYDAY LIFE. 1 Cor. x. 23-33 256
XL. SELF-DENIAL THE PROOF OF LOVE. Rom.
xiv. 10-21 263
XLI. THE BEGINNING OF THE CRISIS. Acts xxi. 17-
xxn. 29 271
XLII. THE REAL ISSUE BETWEEN PAUL AND THE
JEWS. Acts xxn. 30-xxin. 35 . . . 279
XLIII. PROGRESS OF PAUL S CASE IN PALESTINE. Acts
xxiv 286
XLIV. PAUL S APPEAL TO CAESAR. Acts xxv. and xxvi. 293
XLV. PAUL TAKES COMMAND WHEN DANGER THREA
TENS. Acts xxvii. 1-26 . , 301
CONTENTS
SECTION
XLVI. PAUL THE SAVIOUR OF HIS COMPANIONS. Acts
xxvii. 27-xxvm. 10 ..... 307
XL VII. A LAST APPEAL TO THE JEWS. Acts xxvm.
11-31 ..... : . . 314
XL VIII. WEAKNESS MADE STRONG : THE AUTOBIO
GRAPHY OF A MISSIONARY. 2 Cor. xi. 18-
xn. 10 ........ 320
XLIX. THE LAW OF SPIRITUAL COMPENSATION. 2 Cor.
vm ......... 326
L. PAUL S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT. 2 Tim.
iv. 1-18 ....... 332
LI. THE EPITAPH OF PAUL. 2 Tim. iv. 7 . . 338
LII. EEVIEW OF THE INFLUENCE OF LOCAL CIR
CUMSTANCES ON THE LIFE OF PAUL . . 344
INTRODUCTION
LUKE AND HIS MESSAGE
ANY reasonable discussion of the book of the Acts
of the Apostles must rest on a definite opinion as
to the evidence on which the narrative depends.
Luke (as he tells us in his Gospel, chap. i. 1 f.)
had many authorities. He follows the practice
observed by writers of his age, and states simply
the conclusions to which his consideration of his
authorities had led him, without formally naming
the source of his knowledge. But careful reading
of his very careful narrative suggests in many
cases what his authority was. The following pages
are written on the view that in the opening chap
ters of the Acts Luke s chief authority was the
belief and the accounts current in Christian circles,
as he heard them in Jerusalem and Ceesarea when
xii INTRODUCTION
he was there with Paul for more than two years,
A.D. 57-59. Taking A.D. 29 as the date of the
Crucifixion, we find that this part of the narrative
rests on evidence which was current within thirty
years of the actual events, amid a society consist
ing largely of eye-witnesses and the children of
eye-witnesses.
We can safely assume that Luke had been in
communication with many Christians in both cities,
that he had compared their accounts in a natural
and unconscious way, and that these chapters pre
sent the sum of what he believed on this evidence.
We cannot assume that, when he was in Palestine,
he was intending to write a history and was con
sciously or critically comparing accounts ; and above
all we must not assume that his standard of judg
ing was the same as ours. Though above the ordi
nary level of education and ability, he judged as a
man of that age, a converted pagan, would judge.
He states quite plainly that he wrote his history
because he had enjoyed access to the best sources
of information, and not that he had sought out
information because he wished to write a history.
INTRODUCTION xiii
This may be regarded as an additional proof of the
unbiassed character of his outlook, and of the un
conscious and therefore perfectly honest way in
which the narrative gradually took form in his
mind. But at the same time it suggests that the
general and spiritual truth would impress itself on
his mind more deeply than the details.
The early history of the Christian Church is
narrated by Luke as "miraculous," i.e. as result
ing from the direct interposition of the Divine
power on certain occasions. I accept this char
acter, and try to preserve it in its proper propor
tions ; but it would be a mistake to exaggerate it,
and to have recourse to marvel where no marvel
is apparent. It is not necessary to infer that every
mention of an " angel," i.e. a messenger of God,
implies supernatural agency. Any being, or power,
or person, that served as an instrument to bring
the Divine Will to its consummation, might be,
and commonly was, regarded in Semitic thought
as a "messenger of God".
But an element, which many persons in modern
times stigmatize as "miraculous" and therefore
xiv INTKODUCTION
incredible, is mingled inextricably with Luke s
narrative, even in those parts where he was him
self an eye-witness, and with all the books of the
New Testament. We cannot eliminate those
details which seem to us marvellous, and regard
the rest as true. The history stands as a whole,
and must be judged accordingly; and reason,
history and evidence seem to the present writer
to prove that it is true.
The tendency to disbelieve any history that
contains a marvellous or miraculous element is
largely due to prepossession. Much that super
ficial thinkers among us regard as "miraculous "
is simply unfamiliar. Much that would have
been ridiculed as incredible and absurd thirty
years ago has now become familiar and accepted
in modern science. It is an irrational prejudice
to suppose that a thing is untrue because it is
strange and unfamiliar. For the word "miracu
lous" we might substitute "superhuman," and
we should recognize (as Luke recognized) that the
relation between man and God necessarily moves
on a plane that is superhuman.
INTKODUCTION xv
There is no reason to think that the Acts of the
Apostles was written as a separate work under
that name. It was understood by the author as
the Second Book of his history ; and the reader
will best understand it if he studies it in this way.
It was probably at some time in the second century
that the Second Book was separated from the First ;
and, while the First was placed as one of the
Gospels, the Second, standing alone, required a
name; and the title, "Acts of the Apostles," was
invented for it. Yet its opening words show
clearly that the writer thought of it as the second
part of a single history.
_r
THE ASCENSION
Acts i. 1-14
THE Acts, the second book of Luke s history,
opens with a brief summary of the subject con
tained in his first book, and then gives a fuller
statement of its final episode, the Ascension. This
episode must be regarded as the climax and the
necessary conclusion of the Saviour s life, as Luke
sets it before us and as it must be frankly accepted
or rejected. The central idea of the Christian
religion, the idea which cannot be doubted or
minimized without sacrificing the essential truth
of Christianity, is that God, who had always
through His messengers and prophets communi
cated His word to man, at last, as the climax of
His grace, sent His only Son into the world. The
Divine Nature, which is omnipresent and eternal,
free from the human limitations of space and time,
materialized itself in human form upon the earth,
voluntarily subjecting itself to those limitations
2 I. THE ASCENSION
and yet continuing to be Divine. " The Word was
made flesh, and dwelt among us." In so far as it
was human, this expression of the Divine Nature
in the world must have a beginning, a history for
a term of years, and an end, i.e., a birth, life,
and death. Yet, on the other hand, as being Divine,
it was pre-existent and deathless. The Word was
in the beginning, and the Word was God. Birth
and death have no bearing on the eternal Divine
Nature. Thus the Divine Nature makes itself in
appearance to us double, and this double nature is
called by the terms Father and Son, which must
of course be regarded as symbolical names, at
tempting to make the Divine mystery intelligible
to the human mind with its necessarily limited
powers of understanding.
It was therefore an essential part of the Divine
purpose, that those who had known the Divine Word
in its human expression as the man Jesus, should
become aware that death had no real power over
Him. This result was accomplished by various
events after such fashion that a sufficient number
of persons were firmly convinced of the truth, and
constituted a body of witnesses whose evidence
might convince the world and give effect to the
Divine will.
After this conviction was produced, we come
to the firia.1 stage, the apparent departure of the
ACTS I. 1-14 3
embodied Divine Nature, the man Jesus, from the
world. The earthly period had fulfilled its purpose
and reached its climax. This is the Ascension.
This term, like many of the other words which
must be employed by man in discussing the subject,
is an attempt to express Divine truth which as
Divine is not subject to worldly conditions in the
language of human imperfection. The Divine
Nature is omnipresent. It does not lie more in
one direction from us than in another ; it is neither
above nor below : it is everywhere. To say that
Jesus went up into heaven is a merely symbolic
expression ; it has not a local significance ; it is an
emblematic statement of the truth. The truth
which has to be conceived in the mind is that, at the
due stage and the proper moment, Jesus ceased to
be apparent to human senses in the world, and is
God with God.
In Acts i. 1-14 Luke assumes that his readers
know the briefer account of the Ascension already
given by him in his Gospel (xxiv. 44-51). He does
not in Acts mention that the event occurred on the
Mount of Olives. That was known, and is here
presumed in verse 12. That there are slight ap
parent differences in details between the two ac
counts will trouble no one who thinks in the same
fashion as Luke and the men of his age thought.
Luke puts the accounts side by side ; the spiritual
4 I. THE ASCENSION
truth was the one important thing ; differences of
detail were unreal. Similarly he describes Paul s
conversion three times, always with slight differ
ences in details. Truths transcendental and Divine
had to be expressed in the insufficient language of
mankind, and made intelligible to men of that time.
It is part of Luke s intention to leave the accom
paniments vague, shadowy and uncertain, in order
to concentrate attention on what was real, spiritual
and certain.
But why were two accounts of the Ascension
given in two books of the same historical work by
one author? The Ascension is not merely the
suitable end of the Gospel. It is also the begin
ning of the history of Christianity as set forth in the
Acts. The work of men was now to begin, where
the work of the Son of God on earth ended. The
very first episode in this new stage of the history
is the demonstration that this Ascension, this de
parture of the Divine incarnate Word, is only ap
parent, not permanent. Jesus leaves the world
with the promise to return. The Divine Nature
never leaves man alone to himself. It is always
with him. That this is so, and how the disciples
learned in actual experience that it is so, is the next
episode in Acts, and the next step in the education
of the disciples for the work which they had to
perform in the world.
II
THE DAY OF VISION AND POWEK
Acts n. 1-21
WE have realized why it was that the Son of God
must bring His work in this world to an end, and
must depart when His work on earth had been
completed. This departure, however, is, in a
sense, only apparent and not real. It was the end
of the period during which the Divine Nature, as
the Word become flesh, subjected itself to the
human limitations of space and time. But the
Divine Nature in itself is never absent from the
world or removed from it ; it is always everywhere.
Jesus himself in His life on earth had assured the
disciples that He was with them always, even unto
the end of the world. He guaranteed to them
"the promise of My Father," the gift of power,
the presence of the Spirit. The other Gospels
mention this guarantee and assurance only as the
brief final word of His life on earth ; but John
corrects this impression, and describes this promise
(5)
6 II. THE DAY OF VISION AND POWER
and guarantee at length as an important part of
the teaching of Jesus on the night before His
trial.
At the moment this teaching escaped the dis
ciples. Like Jesus earlier references to His coming
death, they failed to comprehend it. Now the time
had come when their minds were to be opened,
and they should understand. They had been
plunged into depression and despair by the death
of the Saviour ; and their hopes for the Kingdom
of God were crushed. The conviction that He was
not dead, as it grew into abiding certainty, re
kindled the hope, but produced no understanding ;
and they still so utterly misconceived the Kingdom
of God as to ask, Lord, dost Thou at this time
restore the Kingdom to Israel?" Their awaken
ing to understand the character of Jesus, His
mission and His Kingdom, is described in the
second chapter of the Acts. Suddenly they saw
and knew, and the knowledge was the presence
and the power of the Holy Spirit.
The words in which Peter addressed the
assembly are the best account of the marvellous
experience. Such words, if remembered at all,
would be better remembered than the accompany
ing circumstances (which are liable to be modi
fied by popular belief) ; and they have a simplicity,
directness and impressiveness that compels and
ACTS II. 1-21 7
ensures remembrance. The quotation from Joel
could not be forgotten : it struck the key-note of
the incident, and gave the tone which ruled in the
development of the young Church. The speech
made history and was remembered in history, not
indeed verbatim, but in outline and in spirit. This
brief outline of an epoch-making address, delivered
on a memorable occasion, stands in history as the
first utterance of the new Church ; and as such
is a document of the highest interest. We confine
our attention at present to the opening part of this
speech.
What Peter lays stress upon is the gift of
prophecy which had been suddenly bestowed, i.e.,
the gift of insight into the development of history,
and the Divine, eternal principles that control the
movement of events. The disciples perceived now
the meaning and purpose embodied in the life and
death of the Saviour, to which they had as yet
been blind. Jesus had hitherto been above and
beyond them, a figure whom they revered and after
a dim fashion believed in, but whose teaching and
work lay outside the range of their minds. Now
they were inspired with His spirit ; each of them
realized that Jesus was for himself individually
the Saviour; and the knowledge was the Spirit
and the Power of God. This inspiration was
universal, without distinction of sex or rank.
8 II. THE DAY OF VISION AND POWER
Slavemen and slave women, young and old, sons
and daughters, all shared alike in it. It is the
same principle that Paul states: " There can be
neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond
nor free, there can be no male and female ; for ye
are all one in Christ Jesus ".
Luke, who more than any other writer in the
New Testament notices the part played by women,
does not allude to their presence here (unless that
is implied in the first verse). The inner meaning
of universal inspiration and equality without sex-
distinction, which Peter perceived in the scene,
was not yet fully realized in the Christian society
as it actually was. The Church was not then, and
could not for many centuries become, fully domi
nant within its own house. Underneath the exist
ing form Peter saw what it should be and what it
would hereafter be. So did Paul in the words
which we have quoted; yet while Paul foresaw
the absolute equality that should rule in the per
fect Church, he saw also the practical facts of the
moment, and he declared that, in the existing
state of society inside and outside of the Church, it
was not right that women should speak in the public
assembly. We must not, therefore, infer from
Peter s insight into the ideal future that the actual
Church tried to reach the ideal at the moment, or
that Peter thought it should make the attempt.
ACTS II. 1-21 9
There is always in this world a great gap between
the perfect ideal and the possible actuality.
Such is the inner spirit of the event. What
were the outward features and facts as they were
evident to the disciples and as they appeared to
spectators? Two general principles may be laid
down in interpreting such a situation. (1) So
mighty a change in the mind and powers of individ
uals does not occur without some remarkable ex
ternal effects. But (2) the very nature of these
effects would prevent their making a clear and uni
form impression on those concerned. Had the
men who were present recorded separately on that
same day their impressions of the physical features
of the scene, they would certainly have differed
widely.
We have before us two accounts of the scene :
that stated by Peter at the moment in his speech,
and that derived by Luke from the general belief
prevalent in the Church at Jerusalem nearly thirty
years after the event. They differ notably. Peter
brushes aside the external features as unimportant,
fastens on the inner meaning, and dwells on this
alone. Yet he shows unmistakably that he was
aware of the strange external features which Luke
in his narrative dwells upon. The spectators saw
these alone : they could not look beneath the sur
face to the soul : they derided the strange appear-
10 II. THE DAY OF VISION AND POWER
ance of the scene. Peter acknowledges those
features in a word, and passes from them : " These
persons are not drunken, as ye suppose ; but this
is what Joel has foreseen and described ".
The Divine influence affects different human
beings in different ways. To some it was at that
moment overpowering and confusing. To Peter
it was on the instant illuminative and strengthen
ing, as it soon became to all. Hitherto he had
been a listener and an observer, making sometimes
a short statement, and that not always a right or
a wise one. Now he could preach an extempore
discourse, full of insight and power.
Some or many of the others could only " speak
with tongues ". In this place we cannot go into
the precise meaning of this much-discussed ex
pression. It is sufficient to note that ; (1) the gift
of tongues was recognized generally in the early
Church as one of the forms in which the Divine
Spirit manifested itself to give power to the minds
of men.
(2) The Apostle Paul does not rank it very high
among these forms, but says that it is more ad
vantageous for the individual who received the
gift than for the Church in which he used it.
(3) Paul regarded the utterances of this gift as
obscure, needing interpretation, " for no man under -
standeth," and as spoken " not unto men, but unto
ACTS II. 1-21 11
God ". Hence, while the devout interpreted the
words spoken with tongues on this occasion each
in his native language, others regarded them as the
babbling of men filled with new wine. Peter rightly
disregarded these external signs, visible and audible,
and went direct to the spiritual meaning that lay
beneath them. Those accompaniments are in
teresting in themselves, and are in some ways an
instructive study ; but here, where attention has to
be directed only to what is most important, they
must be passed in silence.
John tells that Jesus had foretold this gift of
the Spirit: "I will pray the Father, and He shall
give you another Comforter, that He may be with
you for ever, even the Spirit of truth " (xiv. 16 f.).
Such was the spiritual truth of this scene. Its
external features are described by Luke : " there
appeared tongues as of fire, distributing them
selves among them ; and it sat upon each one of
them". But he does not omit the inner truth:
"they were all filled with the Holy Spirit".
Ill
THE BIETH OF THE CHUKCH
Acts n. 22-47
THE rest of Peter s speech has an imperishable
interest, for it is the first statement of the Gospel
as understood by the primitive Christians in Jeru
salem when they were entering on the work, with
which they had been charged, of conveying the
Divine message to the world. Luke fully appre
ciated its historic importance ; and the right under
standing of it is the key to the whole plan of his
history. Luke thought that Peter as yet did not
comprehend the full import of the work with which
the Church was charged. New situations would
arise, and new ideas would be forced on him. This
speech states the platform upon which he and the
Church started.
After the appeal, "Ye men of Israel, hear these
words," the key-note is struck at once, "Jesus the
Nazarene ". He is called by the designation which
was best known to the audience, and by which
they would most surely identify the person in-
(12)
ACTS II. 22-47 13
tended. It was the designation placed on the cross.
It was the designation used by the accusers of
Stephen, and by Paul in addressing Agrippa. It
was the designation by which Jesus denned him
self to Paul, when he appeared to him nigh unto
Damascus. It was, in short, the designation by
which his enemies described him, and Peter is
addressing enemies.
In the speech five facts are stated emphatically.
(1) The Divine power had proved itself in and through
the person of Jesus by c< mighty works and wonders
and signs". This is taken as an acknowledged
fact; and, since Peter s appeal proved successful,
we must understand that his hearers, although op
ponents, admitted the fact.
(2) The Jews crucified Him through the agency
of men outside the law, that is, of Romans.
(3) This took place as part of the plan formed
beforehand with full knowledge by God.
(4) Death had no power over Jesus.
(5) David had foretold that He would be raised up.
This address shows what a revolution had taken
place in the disciples views. A few days ago they
had been looking for the immediate restoration of
the kingdom to Israel. Now they regarded the
crucifixion and its shame as the central idea in the
salvation planned by God and prophesied by David.
They now understood the Divine purpose.
14 III. THE BIBTH OF THE CHURCH
The address was admirably suited to the audience
of Jews, to whom the outlook of the Church was
still confined. Even the elaborate argument under
the fifth heading, which to us may seem far-fetched
and inconclusive, was to the Jews probably the most
effective of all. Its meaning may] be thus expressed :
David says, " I shall not be subject to death " ; but
David died, and we know his tomb, therefore he
was not speaking of his individual self, but of his
promised offspring, the Messiah ; and as was the
Jewish custom, he identifies his remote descendant
with himself. Now Jesus, his descendant, was not
subject to death, but, as you know, He rose. There
fore Jesus is the Messiah. This reasoning was
conclusive to the people in Jerusalem who knew
the recent facts, and who admitted the argument
from prophecy. To a wider audience of strangers
and pagans it would not have appealed. We are
here within the horizon of Judaism and Jerusalem,
and, so to say, under the shadow of the cross. The
facts are assumed and admitted by speaker and
hearers.
The address pierced the hearers hearts, and
they asked, "What shall we do?" The steps
they should take were marked out by Peter : (1)
Repentance : the same message as that of John
the Baptist.
(2) Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, that is,
with acknowledgment that Jesus is the Christ.
ACTS II. 22-47 15
(3) Forgiveness of sins thereby produced.
(4) Divine inspiration, which follows, raising
them to the level of the Church and the disciples.
There was, evidently, in the mind of Peter and
the disciples a conception of the little Church of
Jerusalem gradually widening itself to include the
Jewish people ; this Jewish Church has its religious
centre in the temple, but adds to the duties of the
temple the religion of the home. What, then, has
become of the command to preach the Gospel to
the whole world? Peter has not forgotten this.
He alludes to it when he says, " To you is the pro
mise, and to your children, and to all that are afar
off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call ".
Clearly, Peter understands that those who are afar
off that is, the Gentiles are to be brought into
the Jewish fold ; the Jewish nation shall be widened
to admit such as are called, who are willing to
accept the temple as the national sanctuary and
conform to the whole Jewish law. The atmos
phere of the passage is still Jewish. The new
Church is a sect of the Jews, knit together in won
derful unity and fellowship by the rite of the break
ing of bread, and prayers in the house and in the
assembly, but accepting the entire Jewish law and
ritual with those Christian rites superadded.
The "breaking of bread," so often alluded to by
Luke, is undoubtedly an act of religion. It is an
16 III. THE BIRTH OF THE CHURCH
accompaniment of the meal in the house : the
bread was broken and divided to all as a symbol
that all were parts of one whole, one fellowship,
one Church, one Master. The common meal was
thus a bond of union among the brotherhood, and
the young Church aimed at encouraging this union
in every way amongst others, by carrying charity
to such a pitch that they regarded their property
as common, and people used to sell their posses
sions and divide them to all according to their vary
ing needs.
But no rule of selling is here stated; in the
exact translation a habit arising from love and
brotherly kindness is implied, not a regulation en
forced on the members. Where property has all
ceased to exist, because all has been divided up,
there can be no charity. Now the giving of charity
according to one s property was one of the most
marked features of the early Church. Luke is here
describing very generous charity, but not a rule of
common property.
In this way the infant Church went on increas
ing, and in the last verse a process is summed up
which may have lasted over many months, until a
new stage in the development of the Church began.
IV
THE POWEK OF FAITH
Acts in. 1-26
As we have already seen, these first Christians in
Jerusalem maintained the Jewish ritual, and to
them, as to the other Jews, the temple was the
place for the public service of prayer. During this
attendance at the temple occurred the striking in
cident described in Chapter in, the healing of a
man, lame from birth, familiar to all visitors at
the temple as a beggar, whose station was by the
Beautiful Gate.
Pity for human suffering physical suffering as
well as moral was a marked feature of Jesus
teaching; and probably the aspect of His work
which most powerfully touched the hearts of the
men among whom He moved, was the sympathy
which He showed for their physical suffering.
This compassion showed itself especially in medical
attention to the sick. The universal experience
(17) 2
18 IV. THE POWER OF FAITH
of missionaries in modern times corroborates this
observation: in mission work no avenue leads
more directly to the popular heart than the relief
of disease and physical pain. It is therefore
natural that an incident such as this one should
be still living in the memory of the poor Chris
tians of Palestine when Luke was there in A.D.
57-59.
The incident was of the nature of a faith-cure.
As the accepted custom among ancient writers
prevented Luke from stating exactly the evidence
on which he relies, we cannot treat the cure as
scientifically attested, nor have we the means of
judging how far it was explicable as an ordinary
phenomenon of medical practice working on the
emotions and the belief. But the story is so life
like and so circumstantial that its general features
cannot be doubted by an unprejudiced mind ; and
the important consequences that ensued helped to
preserve it fresh in the popular memory, and ob
tained for it a place in Luke s brief history, where
only important things are noticed.
It has been doubted whether the faith by which
the cure was effected was the faith of the man
himself, or of the two Apostles. Surely there
should be no doubt. There must have been faith
on his part, for without that he could not be cured.
In Luke vn. 50 the sinner was saved by her faith ;
ACTS III. 1-26 19
in Luke vm. 48 the sufferer was made whole by her
faith. But there was also faith on the part of
Peter and John. Without that also nothing was
possible ; and Peter lays special stress on this in
his address to the multitude. The cure had been
wrought, not by the power of the Apostles, but
" in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene," that
is to say, by their faith in Him. Where Jesus
effected a cure, faith was needed only on the one
side. Where one of His followers effected a cure,
faith on both sides was needed: such was the
normal condition, and there is nothing to suggest
that this case was exceptional.
It lies also in the imperfect nature of Oriental
popular tradition as historical authority, that we
get from Luke a very imperfect idea of the lapse
of time. It is not made clear at this stage whether
weeks or months or years had passed since Pente
cost. Luke himself evidently either had no know
ledge on this point, or was not interested in it.
Time was of little importance to him : the stages in
the development of the Church filled his thought,
and chronology passed out of his sight and mind,
except that, after the fashion of many ancient
historians, he at intervals gives some indication
of time, and leaves the reader to distribute the
intermediate events within the period. Such
an indication occurs later, in Chapter xn; and
20 IV. THE POWER OF FAITH
thus we gather that the cure of the lame man
took place not very many months after the first
Pentecost.
Peter s speech on this occasion marks a distinct
advance in thought and philosophic power from
that which he made at Pentecost. There is clearly
apparent here the historian s intention to indi
cate by means of these speeches the gradual develop
ment of view in the Church, whose standard is
that of its leader, Peter. In the former speech the
way of salvation was described as consisting of
three steps : repentance, baptism, remission of sins ;
but the connexion between these steps, the moral
fact in the man which makes these three steps
into one process, was not stated. Now the nature
of this process is better understood and set forth
in definite words by Peter. The idea of Faith is
fundamental in this address. Through Faith
comes healing.
May we not believe that the advance in Peter s
thought took place through the ennobling influence
of the remarkable incident ? The consciousness of
power brought the consciousness of knowledge : the
two are different sides of one mental fact. The in
tense pity and desire to help gave Peter the power.
As soon as the power was exerted, he knew how it
acted, and on the instant he said to the spectators
that this was not done by the Apostles power or
ACTS III. 1-26 21
pity, but that the name of Jesus by faith in His
name had effected the cure. Then he stated again
the lesson as to the way through repentance and
remission of sins, omitting now the ceremony of
baptism as external and less important, but adding
the inner and vital fact that the issue for the con
verts will be seasons of refreshing that is, revival
in which the Divine power should be shown on
them and in them.
But even yet Peter has not lost the dream or
hope of a restoration of the Kingdom in Palestine :
the consummation shall be the sending of the
Messiah among them. This Messiah, however, is
the same Jesus whom they slew and who has re
turned to heaven. It is implied that the Kingdom
of the Messiah shall be a local one, with Jerusalem
and the temple as its centre. A consciousness of
the widening of the Kingdom appears only in verse
26, "unto you first," that is, to Jews first and
afterward to all men is the Servant of God sent.
The conception of the Divine plan and purpose is
still imperfect in these speeches ; but Peter and
the Church with him were gradually awakening to
fuller consciousness.
The fixed earnest gaze of Peter and John on the
lame man, and of the wondering crowd on the
Apostles, are noteworthy traits. The soul speaks
best through the eyes ; and this earnest gaze is
22 IV. THE POWEE OF FAITH
often mentioned in Acts as indicative of a certain
lofty excitation of the whole inner nature. Wher
ever, for example, it is mentioned that Paul " fixed
his eyes " on some one (as on Bar-Jesus), this power
of the mind expressed itself through the eyes.
THE SOUECE OF POWEK
Acts iv. 1-31
WHILE Peter and John were addressing the people,
the Jewish priests and rulers arrested them, and
on the morrow arraigned them before a hastily
convened council. The Eoman masters of the
city had no part in this act. They interfered in
case of serious disturbance, but generally left to the
Jewish rulers the task of preserving order in the
precincts of the temple. It was the policy of the
high priests to prevent riots, which might attract
Eoman attention and lead to the curtailment of
such powers as the Eomans still left to them.
The marvellously vivid picture which Luke
gives of this council shows the rulers as at first
quite ignorant that the prisoners had been con
nected with Jesus. Yesterday they had observed
the signs of excitement among the people, and taken
immediate steps to check it. The question ad
dressed to the prisoners reveals the suspicion that
(23)
24 V. THE SOUECE OF POWER
the remarkable cure an undeniable fact, evident
in tbe patient who stood before the court as a wit
ness had been produced by unholy and magical
arts. If this were established, the case, as being a
religious one, fell entirely under their jurisdiction.
Peter took the lead in replying, pointing to Jesus
as the one and only source of such power as they
had exerted, charging their judges with His murder,
and drawing the inference that their malice had
only served to illuminate His glory.
This answer, so quiet, so restrained, so complete,
was conclusive. There was nothing more to do.
The intention of the Jewish administration a per
fectly right and wise intention to nip in the bud
a dangerous popular movement, which might lead
to conspiracy, disorder, rebellion and bloodshed, was
brought to naught by the simple fact that here
was neither revolutionary tendency nor trace of
conspiracy nor encouragement to rebellion, but only
the most peaceable and orderly beneficence. They
could not venture to inflict punishment for the
mere cure of a sick man, without putting them
selves hopelessly in the wrong and rousing public
excitement and indignation. Nor could they even
venture to take notice of the historical statement
and the theory of prophetic fulfilment set forth by
Peter. It was safest to let the past remain undis
turbed. If controversy about Jesus began, feeling
ACTS IV. 1-31 25
might be roused, the disorder which they dreaded
might ensue, and the blame would rest with them
selves. From their point of view the less said
about the Messiah the better. They therefore in
structed the prisoners to say nothing more about
Jesus ; and even when Peter declared that " we
cannot but speak the things which we saw and
heard," they merely threatened to punish the two
prisoners in case of disobedience, and let them go.
The priests and rulers were taken aback in this
inquiry, when they perceived that Peter and John
had been with Jesus. They had fancied that with
<rhe death of the leader the movement would quiet
down, and His followers, peasants devoid of educa
tion, would be powerless ; and so it had seemed for
a time to be. Now suddenly it was made clear to
them that those followers could boldly face the
national authorities, and speak with ease and power;
that without any professional training they could
reason convincingly on points of the religious law.
It is to this new power that Luke refers when he
describes Peter in the court as " filled with the
Holy Spirit," possessed and inspired with the Di
vine power. The Jewish leaders recognized here,
and we must recognize, that there was no other
explanation of the facts except the influence of
Jesus, His inspiration and His continued presence
with His followers. What an education those poor
26 V. THE SOURCE OF POWEK
peasants and fishermen had enjoyed in constant
intercourse with Jesus during His life, and in the
consciousness which they now had that He was al
ways with them, even unto the end of the world !
We recognize also that the Divine truth always
works in calm and quiet power ; it is never hyster
ical, excited, or violent. What dignity, what self-
restraint, what instinctive perception how far to
go and where to stop, do Peter and John show
here! Nothing can be added and nothing taken
away, without impairing the effect. What a con
trast between these men and other Jews who had
on other occasions proclaimed the Messiah ! All
those others had been true patriots, devoted, unsel
fish, ready to die for their belief ; but they were
hysterical and violent, and their action could only
produce rebellion on the Jewish side and stern
repression on the part of the Komans. Their
enterprises had all been evanescent. This new
movement was permanent, because it was quiet,
orderly and peaceful. Its followers respected their
neighbours and their magistrates, because they
respected themselves. This is the touchstone to
distinguish the wrong (even when it has an element
of right mixed up in its composition) from the
right which is Divine.
So ended the first collision between the young
Church and the Jewish authorities. The result
ACTS IV. 1-31 27
was to strengthen the whole congregation, to fill
them with the consciousness of the power that
had been granted them, and to give them confidence
for the future. The event lived in the memory of
the Christians, partly from the picturesque and im
pressive nature of the facts, partly because it was
the first public exertion of their common power,
and partly because it inaugurated the long series of
contests between the Church and the Jewish rulers.
We can gather in a vague way some idea here
of the lapse of time since the Crucifixion. A certain
interval separated the two events, for the priests
and rulers had no longer fresh in their minds the
memory of Jesus ; and it was only when Peter
recalled His death at their hands that they began to
connect the two Apostles with that Teacher whom
they had slain. This seems to require that a
good many months had elapsed, during which the
Church, though making steady progress, had not
attracted the notice of the Jewish administration,
but had appeared to be merely one of those associ
ations which from time to time arose and remained
within the limits of the Hebrew religion. The
orderly behaviour of the Christians, and their use of
the temple as their centre, tended to keep them
safe and obscure. On the other hand, it is not
allowable to suppose that a very long interval had
passed since the death of Jesus, for a Church
28 V. THE SOUECE OF POWEB
containing so many thousands even of quiet, peace
able citizens was likely to be forced into promi
nence; and this took place through the incident
of the lame man. The Jewish leaders were evi
dently afraid that any talking about Jesus might
rouse the populace, and this implies that the
memory had not died away, but was comparatively
fresh.
VI
THOU SHALT NOT WEONG GOD 1
Acts iv. 32-v. 11
AT this point Luke again reviews the character of
the early Church. We may, perhaps, infer that
this second review implies a considerable lapse of
time since the first review (n. 44 f.); but it must
always be remembered that Luke lays little stress on
mere considerations of time. He counts according
to the steps in the progress of the Church, and the
review is made at this point because an important
development now occurred in Church administra
tion.
This second review of the early Christians is
similar to the first, but adds a new element.
Strict translation of the Greek words is here ne
cessary ; and loose translation has sometimes pro
duced serious misconception of the meaning. No
universal selling of property is mentioned, and no
J The title is an early Christian formula, used upon old
Phrygian gravestones.
(29)
30 VI. THOU SHALT NOT WRONG GOD
general instructions were issued that members of
the Church ought to distribute to the poor all that
they possessed. But many of the owners of pro
perty (" as many as were possessors of lands or
houses 1 ), of their own free will, from love of the
brethren, used from time to time to sell their pro
perty and bring the proceeds to the Apostles.
They acquired merit and honour by these acts of
self-sacrifice ; and two examples are given, one
honest and meritorious, one dishonest and dis
graceful.
No such examples would be needed, and no
special merit would be acquired, if it had been a
principle in the early Church to renounce all pri
vate property and give everything to the Church.
Peter says in v. 4 that the selling was voluntary,
and the money received from the sale was the pro
perty of the possessor to employ as he pleased.
Nor is it implied that owners of property sold all
and reduced themselves to poverty. On the con
trary it is stated that none were in want, since the
charity of the richer Christians provided for the
poorer. A form of charity which swelled the
number of the destitute by producing a large
number of voluntary paupers, would be inconsist
ent with the spirit of the narrative. Luke believed
with all his heart that such generous charity was
right ; he lays strong enphasis on the frequency of
ACTS IV. 32-V. 11 31
such acts of sacrifice in the early Church, when the
Spirit was moving the hearts of the brethren, and
he has the intention of stimulating to similar action
the Christians of his own time. But his emphasis
is so strong as to have caused misunderstanding of
his meaning, as if universal sale of property and
the absolute rule of community of goods were
carried out in the early Church.
A progress in method is here described. For
merly, when the rich sold their property they used
to distribute to the poor themselves (n. 45). Now,
as numbers had increased and it was more difficult
to know the needs of each, the sellers began to give
the proceeds of the sales to form a Church fund,
which was regulated and distributed by the Apos
tles, " as any one had need ". Here we have the
beginnings of Church organization. As soon as a
permanent fund came into existence, some ad
ministration of it was needed ; and just as the
Apostles took the lead in teaching, so they, as the
friends of the Lord and leaders of the brethren,
were trusted to manage the fund and distribute
the charity. The development of organization
implies increased coherence and definiteness in the
Church. It was no longer a mere assembly of
separate individuals, each acting as the Spirit
moved him ; it was now becoming a unified or
ganism with an administration.
32 VI. THOU SHALT NOT WEONG GOD
At this point, also, a new figure is introduced on
the stage of early Christian history, the first who
is named outside the number of those who had
known the Saviour personally (i. 21 f .), and one who
was destined to play a conspicuous part in the de
velopment of the Church, a Levite from Cyprus,
Joseph Barnabas. It is an interesting fact that
the explanation which is given of his surname is
linguistically not correct ; but this wrong interpre
tation, " the son of exhortation," was a popular
etymology, which Luke heard current among the
people. Popular etymology is commonly unscien
tific.
The story of Ananias and Sapphira, which fol
lows, is one of the most impressive in this history.
It bears strongly marked on it the character of
popular belief current in the early Church, and
one feels no doubt that Luke heard it in Csesarea
or Jerusalem among the brethren in A.D. 57-59.
The members of the young congregation were
not all honest and true. The vain desire to
gain honour and praise from their associates, im
pelled some to contribute to the fund ; but
this lower motive could not make them sincere
and whole-hearted in their conduct. A type
of this class is exposed in the married pair, who,
having sold a piece of land, offered part of the price
to the Apostles. The presentation evidently took
ACTS IV. 32-V. 11 33
place publicly at an assembly of the congregation ;
and the story is told in such a way as to show how
the awe-struck brethren gradually came to compre
hend the nature of the facts as they occurred.
The whole circumstances are not explained at the
outset. The reader learns them piece-meal, as
the spectators learned them. Such an account is
clearly marked as resting on eye-witness ; we have
a real occurrence remembered and described as
it happened. The Church now consisted of
thousands, and there were too many members
for each to know the other personally. The spec
tators thought at first that the action of Ananias
was as honest as that of Barnabas ; and they were
struck with panic as the judgment fell on him at
Peter s denunciation.
But what a contrast is there between the power
which Jesus showed to draw out the best in the na
ture of those who came into personal relations with
Him, and the power which in the presence and aspect
of Peter punished the evil as by a stroke of lightning !
What a contrast between the unvarying beneficence
of Christ s action towards men, and the destroying
power which in several cases goes out from the
Apostles ! Here we feel ourselves in a different at
mosphere and a new era ; the age of the Gospels
is ended ; the age of punishments has begun. In
the world the practical fact is that, when ordinary
3
34 VI. THOU SHALT NOT WEONG GOD
government fails to make its subjects act rightly,
punishment must be resorted to. Jesus did not
need to apply punishment to men ; but no very long
time had elapsed after He left the Church to
govern itself, when the death penalty was foretold
and carried out in its assembly. Jesus ruled by
love ; but now " great fear came upon the whole
Church ". Yet with some people " the fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom ".
In the memory of the early Christians the inci
dent survived, because it impressed on them the
punishing authority with which the Apostles were
invested in the last resort. Peter is not said
to have himself exercised the power and inflicted
the penalty : he merely denounces the crime and
predicts the punishment. But the practical effect
is the same : to foresee and denounce is to punish.
The early tradition laid stress chiefly on the
moral, and it is characteristic of tradition that fea
tures not essential to the moral are omitted, and the
circumstances group themselves in the popular
memory in such a way as to impart terrific im-
pressiveness to the lesson. Hence some of the facts
mentioned in this case are rather hazy because of
the omission of others in marked contrast to the
precise details given about the lame man in Chapter
IV, his age, his situation, etc.
Ananias is not described as a foreign Jew, like
ACTS IV. 32-V. 11 35
Barnabas, but we cannot think that he lived and
owned property in Jerusalem. In the publicity
of life in those regions, the price of a property
would be known to all, even to many who did not
know the owner personally. Yet the narrative
seems to suggest that Peter became aware of the
hidden crime through special insight. Had the
price been widely known, Ananias, who was per
fectly free to use the money as he chose, could
hardly have seriously intended to maintain the
pretence of offering the whole price. Probably,
therefore, he was a foreign Jew. Were the circum
stances fully recorded, this and some other difficul
ties in understanding the exact facts would probably
disappear. For us here it is sufficient to observe
that the intention of the narrative is to burn deep
on the popular conscience a moral warning, and
not merely to record the precise details of a his
torical event. It is a moral apologue, not as invented
to embody a moral, but as remembered because it
did so.
VII
THE TE^T OF TKUTH
Acts v. 12-42
AGAIN a certain i nterval, which cannot be estimated
exactly, elapsed before the next incident in the
history of the Church. As in Chapter IV, this new
incident aro; se through the enmity of the Sadducees
(to whor. Q the chief priests belonged, while the
humbler priests were generally Pharisees: vi. 7).
On the c ther hand the Pharisees, who had been so
hostile t j0 Jesus himself, do not at this time appear
as en e mies of the young Church ; and one of the
leadi Q g Pharisees actually spoke in its defence at
the trial which now occurred.
Tb- e ir comparative friendliness to the first Chris
tian? j f or a time contrasts strongly with their fanatical
hat\ced of Jesus, and arose from the Judaic char-
acte. r o f the Church at this stage, when it had the
Temple as its centre and sanctuary. The Pharisees
werej- nationalists and patriots, and regarded the
a s a sect of the nation, which added to the
(36)
ACTS V. 12-42 37
Jewish ritual some unessential and private features,
while it continued true to the essential facts of Heb
raism. The Sadducees had their eyes fixed on the
Koman officers, and were apprehensive lest anything
should rouse Jewish national feeling and cause trou
ble with their Eoman masters. The Pharisees had
an affection for all who showed strong national and
religious feeling and who made the Temple their
haunt. The Sadducees dreaded the very name
Messiah, and forbade it to be mentioned. The
Pharisees loved the name, though they had hated
the One whom they considered a false Messiah :
they knew that the Apostles were followers of Him
whom they had hated so, but apparently they
thought that the followers had abandoned the more
objectionable features of their Master s teaching,
especially the placing of Gentiles on an equality
of rights with Jews. Moreover, the Sadducees
hated and disbelieved the doctrine of a future life,
and the Apostles were preaching the Kesurrection
(iv. 2).
The first trial had ended in a mere warning to
the Apostles not to preach. They were now
arrested for preaching in spite of the prohibition.
During the night they escaped from prison ; and
in the morning they were found actually preaching
inside the Temple. Hitherto they had preached
only in the Portico of Solomon on the eastern side
38 VII. THE TEST OF TRUTH
of the Temple, or in a private house. To preach
inside the Temple was a bolder act, especially for
escaped prisoners. The manner of their escape is
not described in detail : a " messenger (angelos) of
the Lord " is a term that covers any one who
announces or carries into effect the will of God.
That Luke regarded the escape as effected by super
natural agency might at first seem clear, and this
will be enough for most readers. Those who in
quire more minutely will recognize both that the
narrative has passed from the Semitic to the Greek
mind (for Luke was a Greek), and that in other
cases (e.g. xiv. 20, xx. 9 f., xxvni. 3), as we shall
see, Luke s statement of the facts does not necessi
tate (and in the last case forbids) the intervention
of supernatural agency, though he himself was
perhaps inclined to regard them all as proofs of
supernatural power. But in no case does he say
that supernatural influence was brought into play :
he merely states the facts as he had learned them,
and leaves the reader to judge of their nature.
Here we must observe that the people and the
rulers, who had all been so much impressed by the
cure of the lame man, took no notice of the escape
from prison. They therefore saw nothing super
natural in it ; and when one thinks of the very
simple character of Eastern prisons in modern
times and of the way in which prisoners are often
ACTS V. 12-42 39
allowed out by the gaolers on parole, one sees that
in this case probably some Semitic popular fashion
of stating a fact whose exact nature was not remem
bered has passed into the language of Luke from
the mouth of his informants in Palestine.
The Apostles in the Temple were again arrested,
but in a courteous way, " without violence ". They
were now so much respected by the populace, that
any violence offered to them before a large concourse
might have caused a riot, which it was the object
of the Sadducee rulers to avoid. This political
aspect of the conduct of the ruling priests is never
mentioned in the tradition, which remembered
matters of doctrine (as in IV. 2), but disregarded
political facts. In the second half of Acts it is a
marked feature that relations with the State are
stated so precisely by Luke from his own observa
tion : in the first half they are rarely thought of,
because the popular mind and tradition in Jeru
salem did not observe or remember them.
In answering the charge of disobedience to the
former orders of the Council, Peter repeated boldly
the Apostles message, and emphasized their resolve
to "obey God rather than men". The constant
reiteration of this message was now threatening to
produce in the people the belief that Jesus had
been unjustly slain ; and as the Apostles cast on
the Jewish leaders the responsibility for His murder,
40 VII. THE TEST OF TRUTH
the people might take vengeance on the guilty
ones. The rulers thought that the Apostles " in
tended to bring this Man s blood upon them".
Peter s bold defiance began to suggest to their
minds that the safest way might be to kill the
Apostles and prevent the danger ; but they could
not carry with them the whole Council.
Gamaliel, one of the most famous of all the
Eabbis, spoke the mind of the Pharisees, discour
aging any strong action and advising that the Chris
tians should be let alone, as the movement would
soon exhaust itself if it were caused by mere human
power, while if it were the work of God it was both
vain and wicked to fight against it. In Gamaliel s
speech there probably lay under the surface some
move in the partisan strife between Sadducees and
Pharisees, which did not interest or impress the
memory of the Church. His sentiments seemed
to the Christians to be a Divine inspiration.
They accepted his test of truth, and remembered
it in his own impressive words, " Refrain from
these men, and let them alone ; for if this counsel
or this work be of men, it will be overthrown ;
but if it is of God, ye will not be able to over
throw them".
Amid this diversity of opinion the rulers could
not venture on extreme measures ; and they were
content to warn the Apostles and to beat them,
ACTS V. 12-42 41
hoping thus to frighten others from joining the
movement.
Notwithstanding the action of the rulers, the
Apostles continued steadfast in their duty. They
taught daily, both in the Temple and at home. The
preaching had begun in a house (n. 2, ff.), but from
ii. 46 onwards it was connected rather with the
Temple, especially the Portico of Solomon (v. 12).
The home was reserved rather for more intimate
and private communion among the brethren, when
the daily meal was accompanied by the solemn rite
of " The Breaking of Bread ". But the surround
ings are still purely Jewish in appearance. The
very slight references to a wider horizon and a
wider world for the Gospel are now significantly
wanting ; and the sympathetic opinion of the
Pharisees, which saw in the young Church only
a fervently national school of Hebrew thought,
seemed to be finding full justification. Yet the
seeds of a wider movement were in the soil, des
tined very soon to waken to life and to appear
above the ground.
VIII
GOOD OEDEE MAKES FOE ACTIVITY IN
THE CHUECH
Acts vi. 1-7
THE distribution of a permanent Church Fund
meant an increase of work ; and, after a certain
lapse of time (which was probably not long), the
Apostles found that this financial task threatened
to interfere with the more urgent duty of teaching,
while the congregation found that some were
overlooked in the daily ministration. Taking to
gether ii. 46, iv. 35, vi. 1, 2, we observe a kind
of congregational life, in which the funded dona
tions of the rich were used to furnish a daily meal
for the poor and especially for the widows, and in
which some difference of character and feeling
began to exist between two distinct classes, one
the Jews of Palestine, the other the Jews belong
ing to foreign countries. The latter class are usu
ally called Hellenists, because they spoke the Greek
or Hellenic language, and were much better educated
(42)
ACTS VI. 1-7 43
in the Hellenic civilization than the native Pal
estinian Jews.
It was inevitable that, as a rule, the native Jews
should be better known to the leading persons
in the congregation, the Apostles especially, who
were originally all natives of Palestine ; and there
may have been some ground in fact, though not
in intention, for the complaint of the Hellenists
that their widows were suffering from neglect.
The complaint was promptly met by a further
step in organization which the Apostles proposed
the appointment of Seven men to serve the tables.
It is not implied that the Apostles previously served,
but only that it was now found necessary to have
special officials charged with a duty which had
hitherto been done in an unregulated and hap
hazard fashion. Eesponsibility for the duty must
be imposed on some definite persons, and as the
Apostles could not undertake the work, the Seven
were chosen by the congregation. Hitherto vari
ous persons had acted voluntarily, as the need
called ; and in this way capability had been tested.
Those who had most approved themselves and
gained the respect and good report of the people
were now chosen. They were also men of wisdom
who were likely to show tact and good sense in
distributing alms suitably among claimants who
thought that they had been neglected. The
44 VIII. GOOD OBDEK ACTIVATES THE CHURCH
Patriarch Chrysostom in the fourth century says
that "it needed great philosophy to bear with the
complaints of the widows ". This early congrega
tion was, after all, only human, and had its share
of faults.
Luke names the Seven, but only two of them
appear further in his history. He had good infor
mation here at his disposal up to a certain point.
In the list he gives no information about any ex
cept Stephen, who proved a leader in the Church,
and Nicolas, a Greek of Antioch, converted to Ju
daism and thereafter to Christianity. The statement
about Nicolas is evidently intended by Luke to
mark the first appearance of a Gentile, originally a
heathen, in a leading position among the Christians ;
and it is important to note that Nicolas was a pro
selyte, i.e. he had conformed entirely to the Jewish
ritual and the requirements of the law. Now it is
certain that ordinary Jews would dislike to have
their food apportioned and distributed by a Gentile,
and we may fairly infer that desire to avoid such
difficulties would have prevented the congregation
from selecting Nicolas, unless he had some special
suitability for a particular sphere of duty. In fact
we must infer that other proselytes had joined the
Church, and that Nicolas had the duty of looking
after them and giving information about their needs.
Thus we recognize the growing complexity, as well
ACTS VI. 1-7 45
as the increase in numbers of the Church. We
observe also the spirit of fairness that guided the
action of the congregation.
If Nicolas represented a special class, probably
the others had fixed spheres of duty. We notice
in vn. 9 that there were other divisions of Jews in
Jerusalem, meeting in their separate synagogues.
It may be taken as highly probable that the Church
drew its members from all of these synagogues,
and that the rest of the Seven were specially
qualified to represent particular sections of the
people.
The Apostles proposed that there should be
Seven. The number was evidently a suitable one ;
and, as it seems unlikely that the suitability lay
merely in its being a sacred number in old Hebrew
belief, we must suppose that there were seven
obvious spheres of duty. But on this point Luke
gives no information. The tradition of the Church
preserved the names of the Seven, but was silent
about divisions and all such ephemeral matters.
The historical scholar may regret the silence, but
Luke did not write for modern historians, he
wrote for the Christian congregations of his own
day, and he recorded what they needed and desired.
The official work imposed on the Seven did not
supersede the duty incumbent on all members of
the congregation to evangelize. On the contrary,
46 VIII. GOOD OEDEB ACTIVATES THE CHUBCH
this proof of public confidence stimulated them to
more active mission work. One of the qualifi
cations in choosing the Seven had been that they
should be full of the Spirit ; and now the Church,
through improvement in practical organization,
took a new start in vigour of spiritual life. A well-
governed community is also always an active and
energetic community. The next steps in the pro
gress of the Church were made by two of the
Seven, and not by any Apostle. It was, doubtless,
the facts of subsequent history, and not order of
precedence in the election, that makes Luke name
Stephen first in the list and Philip second. Church
tradition remembered the names in this order.
We have here not an official record, but the
memory of the Christians in Jerusalem.
Nor should we think that the appointment of
the Seven put an end to the voluntary work that
had hitherto been done in distributing the public
benevolence. That work was now regulated, but
did not cease. The congregation at Jerusalem
was always poor; and the Church from first to
last undertook the charge of the poor, and especially
of widows (ix. 41).
IX
THE DEATH OF STEPHEN THE VICTOEY
OF THE CHUECH
Acts vi. 8-vn. 60
WITH the appointment of the Seven began a period
of activity and rapid growth. Especially " a great
company of the priests were obedient to the Faith ".
The lower priests were mainly Pharisees, in contrast
to the Sadducee high-priests ; and the approxima
tion of the Pharisees to the Church was evidently
still continuing. The term "obeyed" is carefully
chosen : these priests added the Law of Christ to
the strict Hebrew ritual. The Church could still
be mistaken for a school or sect of Judaism.
Stephen burst these bonds. He boldly taught
that the Temple and the Law of Moses were
evanescent, because the Faith of Jesus must recre
ate the Law and abrogate the exclusive sanctity of
the Temple. His teaching roused disputation
in several Hellenist 1 synagogues evidently those
1 A "Hellenist" was a Jew who had been educated amid
Greek surroundings, and spoke Greek as his familiar tongue.
(47)
48 IX. STEPHEN S DEATH THE CHUKCH S VICTORY
where he, as himself a Hellenist, had chiefly
preached.
Now this teaching marks a forward step beyond
anything mentioned in Acts previously ; but it
was a step which the Church made as a whole.
Stephen was not disowned by the Apostles, though
his teaching was more outspoken than theirs. He
was recognized by the Church as uttering the mind
and the words of Jesus. His trial followed ; and it
is described in terms which show the deep ven
eration felt for him. The analogy between it
and the trial of the Lord was clearly brought out
in the early tradition ; no such analogy appears
in the account of the Apostles trials. Stephen
was accused in terms which recall some charges
made against Jesus, and false witnesses were em
ployed against both. The violent passions roused
and the flagrant injustice of the methods employed
mark both trials. There are, however, two differ
ences. Stephen replied. Jesus answered never a
word. Stephen was deeply moved. Jesus was
perfectly quiet throughout.
The expression " false witnesses " does not imply
that they invented words which Stephen had not
used, but that they took his isolated sayings apart
A Hellene" was a Gentile possessed of the Greek educa
tion and way of thinking, whether or not he was Greek by
blood.
ACTS VI. 8-VIL 60 49
from their context, and thus put into them an un
justified innuendo. It was easy to distort his teach
ing about the incompleteness of the Hebrew Law
into blasphemy against Moses and against God;
and this was the evidence. The trial, as we notice,
originated, not from the Sadducee rulers, nor from
the bigoted native Jews, but from the Hellenist
synagogues where thought was freer. The Hel
lenist Jews felt that they themselves had gone ex
actly to the right point in freedom of thought, and
they were enraged against one who went further
in the same direction. How the trial might have
gone if Stephen had shown a desire to conciliate
his opponents, and had stooped to minimize or ex
plain away his views, there is no possibility of con
jecturing. He took the opposite course, seizing
the opportunity of giving emphasis to his teaching ;
and his concluding words press home the charge
against his opponents with a passionate enthusiasm,
which a colder intellect might even call provocative.
His hearers believed that the Law was given to
Moses once for all, perfect and final, needing only
to be rightly interpreted, and that the Temple was
the one chosen Sanctuary where God revealed him
self. Stephen argued in his outspoken and in
dividual speech that :
1. The revelation of God s Will and Covenant
had been gradual, and began long before Moses.
4
50 IX. STEPHEN S DEATH THE CHURCH S VICTORY
2. It had been made, not in the Temple, but in
other places and in heathen lands.
3. God s Promise often seemed at the moment
to be impossible of fulfilment, yet His Covenant
always proved true and ought to be accepted as
sufficient in itself as soon as it was made.
4. The Jews at every stage were slow to believe,
obstinate enemies and persecutors of those through
whom God was working, as Joseph whom they
sold into slavery, and Moses whom they cast out
in infancy, rejected when he first came to deliver
them, and turned away from after he had led them
out of Egypt, at the very time when he was receiv
ing God s greatest revelation.
5. At every stage the actions of these rebellious
and unbelieving Jews served only to work out
God s Will : their treatment of Joseph and Moses
placed both in a position to serve the development
of the Divine purpose.
6. God appointed a Tabernacle. Solomon built
the Temple. God dwells not in a house built by men.
Although Jesus is not mentioned in this review
of Hebrew history, He is in the speaker s mind
throughout ; and the hearers could not fail to draw
the hidden reference to Him from every biting sen
tence. He was rejected, scorned, ill-treated like
Joseph and Moses. The Jews had disbelieved the
promise made in Him, as they had disbelieved past
ACTS VI. 8-VII. 60 51
promises. This meaning was so evident that the
audience, judges and witnesses, grew ever more
angry ; and Stephen must have felt this, for he
suddenly broke off the line of his argument and
burst into the indignant climax, vn. 51-53, pointing
the moral in terms of the most cutting rebuke.
The accused became the accuser. He charged
them all with the murder of the Prophets and of
the Righteous One, and with continual disobedience
to the Law in its letter and its spirit.
The speech was interrupted. It had reached its
climax, though probably not its conclusion. Ste
phen s point, that Israel could never obey the Law,
was afterwards a favourite Pauline idea. Whether
Stephen would have proceeded, as Paul hereafter
always did, to argue that the Jews could get
through Jesus the righteousness which they could
never win from obedience to the Law, remains
unknown. The audience was now mad with fury
at this open defiance, as Stephen trampled on their
deepest prejudices and their pride of race and birth
and institutions. At the beginning of his speech
they had seen his face glow with enthusiasm, shin
ing as the face of an angel, " reflecting the glory
of the Lord" (2 Cor. in. 18), as Paul always re
membered it, and had evidently described it to
Luke. That sight had produced a deep impres
sion and secured a hearing so far for the speaker,
52 IX. STEPHEN S DEATH THE CHUKCH S VICTOBY
in spite of the dislike for the evident drift of his
words. Now the audience could not restrain its
rage, and their demonstration stopped the speech.
Stephen, however, was only more transported
with enthusiasm and inspiration than before. As
he had begun by mentioning " the God of the
Glory," so now he beheld the Glory itself. His
gaze pierced into the very Heaven. Time and
human limitations were effaced for him, and he
beheld the real, the eternal truth, " the Glory of
God, and Jesus standing on His right hand ".
Those who set store by details in the emblematic
expression of Divine facts as the feeble language
of man seeks to describe them, may find either
some significance or some inconsistency in the fact
that Jesus is elsewhere pictured as sitting at the
right hand of God. To us such differences seem
to proceed from the weakness of human language
in the picturing of Divine realities.
The catastrophe followed immediately. The
assembly burst through all the restraints of Roman
law and order, but it is noteworthy that they ob
served all the forms of the Jewish Law in giving to
the murder of Stephen the appearance of a judicial
execution. It is not improbable that a form of
sentence was pronounced, in which Paul gave his
vote. Stephen was, according to the Law, taken
outside the camp (Lev. xxiv. 14 ff.) ; the witnesses
ACTS VI. 8-VII. 60 53
cast the first stone at him (Deut. xvn. 7), preparing
for the active work by taking off their upper gar
ments and giving them in charge to Saul, who was
evidently placed in charge of the whole proceedings.
One effect of the explosion seems to have been
to destroy the rapprochement between the Phari
sees and the young Church. Stephen had made it
evident that the Church was not a mere school of
Judaism, and his teaching had been accepted by
all. A persecution followed on the moment, and
it is described as breaking out in full fury even
before Stephen was buried. The Christians fled
to all parts of Judea and Samaria, and it seemed
for a moment that the Church in Jerusalem was
killed. But the words of Stephen proved true : it
was always the acts of the Jews in resisting and
rejecting the Prophets that became the means of
effecting the Divine purpose. He had made a deep
impression by his life ; he made a far deeper im
pression by his death.
Stephen was buried by "devout men". This
term 1 might include any that worshipped the God of
the Hebrews, the one true God. The employment
of such a term in this case suggests the probability
that strangers buried Stephen, while the Christians
were hunted, and could take no action themselves.
1 A different Greek word from xvn. 17 : see footnote,
Section XVIII.
TKUE AND FALSE BELIEF
Acts vin. 1-24
THE most striking result of the severe persecu
tion that began at Jerusalem after the murder of
Stephen the result which stood out clearly and
firmly fixed in the memory of the Church and so
passed into the record of Luke was that the new
teaching, hitherto confined to Jerusalem, was now
carried widely through Palestine, inasmuch as
"they that were scattered abroad passed through
(the country) spreading the good news of the Word,"
town by town and village by village. The congre
gation in Jerusalem had become very numerous,
and thousands of missionaries were now going about,
each working in his own way, conversing in the
guest-houses where they were received, telling the
news of the capital to the rustics in the villages,
or formally preaching the Word. Not a single
detail concerning the Jewish part of the land is re
corded at this point. Luke contents himself with
(54)
ACTS VIII. 1-24 55
the general statement, giving us to understand
that a strong impression was produced throughout
the Jewish towns and villages.
The historian s interest is now directed to the
next stage in the growth of the Church, viz. the
spread of the new Faith to non- Jewish peoples and
regions. The mere diffusion of the Word among
Jews alone would have tended to confine the
Church within the narrower form of a mere sect
of the Hebrews, as it had at first appeared to be in
Jerusalem. That stage has already been suffici
ently described ; and Luke goes on now to depict
the process whereby the Faith spread to the Sam
aritans, the Phoenicians (xi. 19, xv. 2), and nor
thern Syria generally (ix. 2, xi. 19). In all those
regions, except perhaps Samaria, there were many
Jews ; and it was natural that the fugitives from
Jerusalem, being almost all Jews by race, should
come most quickly and easily into relations with
their own nation. Thus most of them confined
their work within the circle of the Jewish assembly
in each town. Some, however, did not thus limit
their efforts ; and it is to this class of missionaries
that Luke now directs the attention of his readers.
The first step beyond the circle of the Synagogue
i.e. the Jews and proselytes in each town, was
taken by Philip, one of the Seven, who went down
to Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah and the
56 X. TRUE AND FALSE BELIEF
Kingdom of God to its inhabitants. No special
reason is given for this step. No special command
or revelation to Philip is mentioned : and we are
left to infer that it arose through his own initia
tive in the general scattering of the brethren.
Nor is it stated what special meaning he gave to
the Kingdom of God ; but it is noteworthy that
this term has not been mentioned in the early
preaching at Jerusalem since the question of i. 6,
which shows such a misapprehension of its real
nature ; and it is probable that a step in the method
and the scope of Christian teaching is implied to
have been made by Philip.
The importance of Philip s action lay mainly in
the fact that the Samaritans, though partly of Jew
ish blood, were schismatics, who were hated and
despised by the Jews because they claimed to pos
sess among themselves the true Temple and the
true Law, whereas the Jews held them to be mere
pretenders and heretics, worse than aliens. The
Samaritans believed in and were waiting for the
coming of the Messiah, and it was probably through
this expectation on their part that Philip was led
on to preach the true Messiah and His Kingdom to
them ; and he doubtless remembered the conduct
of Jesus to the woman of Samaria.
Among those who thus were brought into the
Church was a man named Simon, one of a class
ACTS VIII. 1-24 57
of persons very numerous in that age. He was
teacher of a kind of philosophic religion, in which
the Divine Nature was described as manifesting
itself in various degrees of intensity to mankind,
and embodying itself in certain individuals with
greater or less gradations of power. There was
a certain higher side to this thought : it concerned
itself with the power of God and it recognized as a
fundamental fact that God took an interest in man
kind and revealed himself to men. But Simon,
while not unconscious of this higher side, practised
on the credulity and superstition of the multitude.
He pretended that he was the most complete im
personation of God s power, and he was accepted
by the whole people on his own pretension as that
power of God (i.e. that embodiment of Divine
power) which is entitled " Great ". This claim
he supported by performing sorceries, which de
luded the populace.
From similar cases which are known at that time
we can imagine what sort of arts Simon practised.
Partly he had some scientific knowledge and some
command over the resources of nature through
chemical and other processes. Partly he used pure
jugglery and legerdemain. Partly he imposed
himself on the minds of his audience by clever
teaching of a semi-philosophic type.
But it is important to observe that Simon was
58 X. TEUE AND FALSE BELIEF
not a mere impostor. There was in him an element
of belief, and a certain vague perception of truth,
as the following considerations show. In this brief
history, in which Luke with marvellous skill and
insight concentrates attention on the great stages
of his subject, there would be no room to tell how
the Church proved stronger than a mere vulgar
cheat. To relate that were needless and valueless.
In every sentence Luke has in mind the interests of
the Christian congregation of believers generally,
and they did not need to be convinced that a mere
impostor could not fight against the sword of the
Lord and Philip and Peter and John. The very
fact that, when his devotees and dupes deserted
him, Simon could not stand out against Philip,
but believed and was baptized, shows a certain cap
acity for appreciating spiritual truth, and a certain
power to learn. The man who could accept his
defeat and make his conqueror his teacher was not
a mere charlatan; nor would Philip have been
deceived by a mere impostor.
Although this new step had been made by Philip
without formal authorization from the Church and
the Twelve, it was regarded with no prejudice by
them, but was estimated fairly and dispassionately
on its merits. Peter and John, who had taken a lead
ing place in the counsels of the Church, were sent to
Samaria to investigate. The one question asked
ACTS VIII. 1-24 59
was whether the Spirit of God was in the work.
Where the Spirit led, the Church went. This
openness and freedom of mind, this readiness to
accept new methods and wider views, this willing
ness to learn and to advance, is a striking feature
of the primitive Church.
Evidently the possession of the Spirit is here
regarded in simple fashion as indicated through
certain external phenomena (as in n. 4, x. 45).
This is an early trait. Luke s informant (as to
whom there will be more to say in next Section)
faithfully reported to him the primitive view of the
Church, that those outward phenomena and acts
proved the indwelling Spirit. Afterwards Paul
attained and taught the deeper view that the trans
formation of the individual s moral character and
nature, as shown in his life, is the truest test of the
possession of the Spirit, and that the external
phenomena are, as he says to the Corinthians and
everywhere implies, of secondary importance.
Luke in his history is alive to both views. He
tells how the Spirit was proved in the Church by
the moral character and conduct of the brethren
(u. 46, and other places), but he accurately records
the primitive view ; he always mentions promi
nently the external proofs of the Spirit, and no
where describes the situation purely from the
more developed point of view of Paul s teaching.
60 X. TKUE AND FALSE BELIEF
In this respect the history shows itself faithful
and true to the actual character of the earliest
period.
It is not stated that every Samaritan convert
received the Spirit. The Greek words describe
a long process : the Apostles were laying hands on
them individually, and each then received the Spirit-
Simon saw the process, and the imperfection of
his belief, the hollowness of his character, and the
moral worthlessness of his specious scientific know
ledge, were disclosed. He was eager to obtain the
same power that the Apostles possessed ; and he
came offering to purchase it with money, as if it
were an education in a scientific process according
to formal laws, which could be taught by a pro
fessor to his pupils for a fee. That was the only
knowledge that he possessed ; and his moral nature
had not been so far influenced that he had shared
his wealth with the poor, or begun to feel ashamed
of the gains which he had made by such dubious
means.
Peter rebuked him in strong and prophetic terms.
The prophecy is concealed in the ordinary transla
tion ; the Greek means " thou art for a gall of bitter
ness and a fetter of unrighteousness," i.e. a cause
of bitterness and corruption to others. A man of
such powers as Simon possessed must be a cause
of much evil in the world, when these powers are
ACTS VIII. 1-24 61
guided neither by true moral and religious ideas
nor by right knowledge.
His answer brings out his utter failure to appre
hend the moral side of true knowledge. Peter had
told him that the only way to forgiveness for him
was through repentance and prayer. Simon re
plied by asking the Apostles to pray for him, that
he might be spared the misfortunes which Peter
had just denounced against him. He still re
garded the process of salvation as something exter
nal to himself and not affecting his inner life and
character. Others must pray for him ; persons
who possessed more of the Divine power than he
possessed must help him. Of real repentance and
inward change of heart he shows not a trace. Thus
he justifies the doubts that Peter expressed whether
he could be forgiven. We must understand that
those doubts arose not as to whether forgiveness
was possible, but as to whether Simon would repent
and earn it.
And so Simon passes out of this history, but not
out of the wider life of the Church, which remem
bered how he had become a leader of error, a root
spreading bitterness and evil among the Christians,
the first person who taught and obtained credence
for a doctrine opposed to that of the Apostles. He
continued to claim a place within the Church, and
by remaining inside it to increase his power of
62 X. TEUE AND FALSE BELIEF
doing harm. But no early tradition is recorded ;
only in the second century and later have we. any
further account of his fortunes ; and the tradition
had gathered around it, in the long lapse of time,
much that is incredible and impossible, so that no
single detail can be stated with confidence about
him; but the general fact stands out plain that
Peter correctly gauged his character and foresaw
its consequences.
XI
THE PKOPHET IN THE WILDEKNESS
Acts vni. 25-40
FROM Samaria the Apostles returned to Jerusalem,
and on the way their cordial approval of the ad
vance which Philip had made was shown by the
fact that they occupied themselves in telling the
good news of the Gospel in many Samarian vil
lages. Their journey must therefore have been
slow. Philip did not return with them, but went
away into the wilderness that lay on the south of
Judea between Palestine and Egypt. Then fol
lowed another incident, one of the most pictur
esque in the whole book, narrated in a marked
style, which is characterized more by the spirit of
the Old Testament than by the usual tone of the
New.
Philip was ordered by the messenger of the Lord
to go southwards into the wilderness to strike the
road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza and thence
along the coast towards Egypt and Ethiopia.
(63)
64 XL THE PEOPHET IN THE WILDEKNESS
There he saw a traveller, an important Ethiopian
official, superintendent of the royal treasury, who
had visited Jerusalem to worship and was now re
turning to his own land. A traveller of such high
rank, with a long journey before him not free from
danger, was of course accompanied by some con
siderable retinue of servants and guards. But
these are not alluded to; they were of no conse
quence in this history, which concentrates atten
tion on the important incidents and persons, and
leaves the rest out of notice. The Spirit moved
Philip to approach this officer and address him.
An opportunity was afforded by the book which the
Ethiopian was reading aloud to himself: it was
the prophecies of Isaiah, and the passage was in
the fifty-third chapter, where the prophet describes
the Suffering Servant of God in terms which have
always been applied to Jesus from the time when
His death opened men s eyes to the real character
and purpose of His life.
As was natural in that period, when Greek was
the language of educated men, the Ethiopian was
reading the Greek translation, which sometimes
differs considerably from the Hebrew; and the
second of the two verses that he recited is so rendered
in the Greek as to be obscure and incorrect. It
was therefore not strange that the reader, without
some one to guide him, found himself unable to
ACTS VIII. 25-40 65
comprehend the words, or understand who was
described in them. The second verse, Is. LIII. 8,
is given after the Hebrew in the Revised Version
of the Old Testament thus : " By oppression and
judgment (i.e. by an unfair sentence) He was taken
away : and as for His generation (i.e. the men of
His time), who among them considered that He
was cut off out of the land of the living ? "
Philip had his opportunity. The door was
opened to him. The conclusion of the second
verse especially gave him his cue : " for the trans
gression of My people was He stricken". No other
passage in the Old Testament so plainly anticipates
the unique career of Jesus, which worked out the
ideal of the Messiah in a way utterly different from
the expectation of the ordinary Jews. Beginning
from this Scripture he expounded to the Ethiopian
the purpose and the results of Christ s life on earth.
After a time they came to a water by the way ;
and there Philip baptized the Ethiopian at his
own request. Then they parted.
Philip was caught away by the Spirit of the
Lord, turning towards the north by the old Phili
stine city of Ashdod (Azotus), and preaching in
all the towns of the coast lands till he came to
Caesarea, the Koman capital of Palestine. This
missionary progress probably occupied a consider
able time, as there were many towns and villages
66 XI. THE PBOPHET IN THE WILDEENESS
in this fertile region, and Philip would be likely to
do his work thoroughly in each.
In Caesarea, at last, he settled permanently as
head of the Church in that city. There Luke
found and conversed with him for several days,
when he, with the rest of Paul s companions, landed
at Caesarea on the way- to Jerusalem in A.D. 57.
There afterwards Luke seems to have spent, in the
society of Philip and the Caesarean Church, the
two years that Paul was detained by the procurator
Felix in prison. There he met the four daughters
of Philip, who, being prophetesses, occupied an in
fluential position in the Church.
In the Acts few persons are mentioned unless
they were of real historical importance or con
cerned in some action which Luke regarded as of
critical consequence. So, for example (as will be
shown more fully at a later stage), the minute
account of the conduct and even the emotions of
the slave-girl Khoda in xii. 13 ff. is not, as some
might hastily think, wasted on trifling personal
matters that do not concern the growth of the
Church. That is Luke s way of mentioning his
authority without talking about himself. He had
spoken with Bhoda and had heard from her the
detailed account which he has transmitted to us ;
and he intimates thus that he had first-rate author
ity for the account of a remarkable scene.
ACTS VIII. 25-40 67
So with the prophetesses. Apparently they play
no part in this history; but Luke knew that they
did play a part. They were his guarantee for a
notable episode in his narrative, and a brief
consideration of this will throw much light on
his method of gathering information, and will show
on what trustworthy evidence his statements rest.
In that account of the scene on the road to Gaza,
Philip is set before the reader like one of the
ancient prophets such as Elijah or Elisha. Every
step that he takes is carefully described as sug
gested by Divine command or inspiration. On the
contrary, the Samarian incident, in spite of its im
portance in the growth of the Church, is not said
to have been suggested by Divine command. In
Samaria Philip appears only as a subordinate
whose action had to be inspected and approved by
the superior authority ; but in the wilderness he
stands forth alone as the hero of the occasion. One
feels that the difference of tone is due to the fact that
the Samarian incident was described to Luke by
Philip himself, with a modesty and self-suppres
sion characteristic of his personality. He gave the
credit mainly to the Apostles as greater than him
self. He would not glory in the revelations made
to him. In the same spirit Paul apologizes for
once doing so, and explains that it was forced upon
him by the attacks to which he had been exposed.!
1 2 Corinthians xn. 5 ff.
68 XL THE PKOPHET IN THE WILDEENESS
On the other hand, the interview with the
Ethiopian is described by an admirer of Philip s,
who also was in Luke s estimation an excellent
authority. The picture of Philip like a Hebrew
prophet suggests that this authority was one or all
of Philip s daughters, the prophetesses, who were
informants of the highest trustworthiness. Their
striking and picturesque account of the incident im
printed itself on his memory, and is reproduced in
their Hebrew prophetic style, while he doubtless had
Philip s confirmation of the facts.
While the style of narrative varies in the two
incidents, the practical range of Philip s action is
much the same. The daughters picture their
father with loving admiration, but they do not en
hance the facts. As at Samaria, he baptizes, but
he is not said to convey the Spirit to his convert.
The old Hebrew fervour of religious feeling, which
animated the prophetesses, saw the hand of God in
everything, and described in symbolic language the
Divine guidance that was given to Philip at every
step. Philip doubtless was not less conscious of
the Divine aid in all his work, but he did not speak
so openly about it. We have in these two inci
dents an example of different points of view, arising
from Luke s reliance on different authorities ; but
each part of the narrative makes the other part
more distinct. We can understand how the pro-
ACTS VIII. 25-40 69
phetesses would have pictured Philip as the prophet
of God pitted against the false prophet Simon, and
how Philip might have told simply that he was
moved to address the Ethiopian in the chariot. It
is not difficult to imagine why it was that Luke s
fine literary sense led him to narrate the Samarian
events in Philip s own simpler style, and to prefer
the impressive picture given by the daughters of
the Ethiopian s conversion.
The latter person remains an enigmatical figure.
Was he a Jew by blood, born in Ethiopia? or
was he an Ethiopian by blood, affected and pro
selytized by Jewish religious influence ? Discover
ies made within the last few years show that in
the fifth century B.C. there was a colony of Jews
settled already for a long time on the south frontier
of Egypt where it borders on Ethiopia; and the
spread of their influence into that country is thus
shown to be natural. Whatever his race, the
Ethiopian, as a eunuch, was excluded by the Jew
ish Law from the assembly of the Lord; and
Philip s action is recorded as a proof that no man,
however maimed or humiliated, was excluded from
the grace of the Saviour. The Ethiopian is no
where regarded by Luke as an example of the ad
mission of aliens to share in the privileges of the
Church, any more than Nicolas of Antioch. Pro
selytes in the full sense were freely accepted as
members of the Church from the beginning.
XII
THE WOKK AND POWEK OF PETEK
Acts ix. 32-43
" PETER went through all parts." Never was a
big piece of work mentioned in words so few, yet
so complete and comprehensive. The former
mission to Samaria was now widened to embrace
the whole extent of the growing Church ; and the
same kind of work which took place in Samaria must
undoubtedly be understood to have occurred in
every place that Paul visited. His action was not
restricted to the cities, as Philip s was (vm. 40). It
included the villages (viu. 25). It was everywhere.
It extended not merely to Judea and Samaria and
Galilee (ix. 31), but also to Antioch (Gal. n. 11),
to Corinth (Cor. 1. 12), and, as we may be sure, much
farther.
This is the work of years, probably of a lifetime.
It marks out Peter as the great missionary
among the older Apostles. It shows why it was
(70)
ACTS IX. 32-43 71
part of Peter s duty, in view of an impending per
secution, to send to the churches of Asia Minor
the Epistle known as 1 Peter. In the prosecution
of this great work he could be only seldom in Jer
usalem ; hence the leadership of the central Church,
which lay with him in the earliest years, neces
sarily passed to other hands ; and in later years
James appears to have occupied the most promi
nent position in that congregation (Acts xv. 13,
19 ; xxi. 18 ; Gal. n. 9).
A process of world-wide extent and importance
like this is summed up in five words ; and yet such
is the art and historic skill of the narrative that
its character stands out clearly before the reader.
Two incidents are selected from an early stage
of this process as illustrations of Peter s power. In
Luke s estimation these are the most important
acts known to him during that long missionary
career of Peter ; they proved his Divine mission,
and they were accepted in proof by the people
among whom they were performed. It shows how
different is the spirit of the twentieth century from
that of the first, that what was then considered
by all to be indispensable as a proof of truth now
constitutes a difficulty to prevent more general
acceptance of truth. Both the incidents are deeds
of compassion and healing, similar to the acts
recorded of Jesus in the Gospels, and have
72 XII. THE WOEK AND POWEE OF PETEE
no resemblance to the acts of judgment and
punishment which sometimes occur in Luke s
history.
The first incident occurred at Lydda, a large
village on the high road from Jerusalem to Caesa-
rea and to Joppa. In this situation it must natu
rally have been one of the first places to hear the
Gospel from the lips of travellers, and Peter found
there a congregation of the saints. Among these
was probably Mnason, the ancient disciple in
whose house Paul, Luke, and their company
lodged (according to the right interpretation) on
their way from Caesarea to Jerusalem; and on
our view the mention of his name and early con
version is probably intended to signalize one of the
informants from whom Luke derived his know
ledge of this incident. In Lydda Aeneas, who had
been palsied and bedridden for eight years, was
ordered by Peter to rise, " for Jesus Christ healeth
thee". There is no allusion here to faith on the
part of Aeneas, except that he forthwith obeyed
the command. Nor is it stated whether he was
Christian or Jew or Greek. Attention is concen
trated on the power of Peter ; and all else has
passed out of memory. There is not the same
detail or vividness here as in the account of the
lame man at the gate of the Temple (m. 2 ff.).
Luke s informant was so deeply penetrated with
ACTS IX. 32-43 73
admiration for Peter that his narrative loses touch
with the surroundings. But the incident produced
a strong effect on the population of Sharon, the low
ground between the mountains of Judea and the
sea, at the eastern edge of which Lydda was situ
ated; and thus it was remembered.
The other incident occurred at the sea-port of
Joppa, the modern Jaffa, about ten miles north
west of Lydda. A widow called by the Aramaic
name of Tabitha (i.e. Gazelle, in Greek Dorcas)
had taken a leading part in the charities of the
Church at Joppa; and it may be gathered from
this case that there was an organization of charity
at Lydda similar to that described already at Jeru
salem, and that the work of voluntary helpers was
carried on in a systematic way ; though no record
is preserved as to the official administration in
those early churches of Palestine.
Tabitha died and was prepared for her grave :
the body was washed and laid out ready for burial.
It was known that Peter was not far distant, and
messengers were sent to Lydda begging him to
come. Now the ordinary Jewish custom was that
the burial should take place very quickly after
death. As a rule, at the present day, only a few
hours elapse in those regions between death and
burial : the washing and preparing of the corpse,
the vehement mourning of the women, and the
74 XII. THE WORK AND POWER OF PETER
funeral, are performed with a celerity that is
repugnant to our western minds. In this case
it is not made clear why time was allowed to send
and bring Peter. Possibly, he may have been
asked to come when Tabitha was sick, in the hope
that he might cure her as he had cured Aeneas ;
and he arrived only when she was laid out for
burial. Possibly, the burial was delayed from the
desire to do special honour to the deceased by
having a great Church dignitary present (a desire
which is at the present day always strong among
the people of the Eastern Church), or in the vague
hope that Peter might be able to do something and
give some aid in the great calamity which had be
fallen the congregation at Joppa. The record is
silent about these details. There is no hint as to
the motives of the senders, the action of the mes
sengers, the reasons stated to Peter, or the reso
lution that he formed to bring his abode and work
in Lydda to an end. But the scene is put vividly
before us when he reached Joppa, as he looked on
the dead, and the widows stood by weeping and
showing the clothes that Dorcas had made in her
charitable work ; and this scene perhaps tends to
favour the last hypothesis stated about the reason
for summoning Peter. In this incident, as in the
cure of Aeneas, attention is concentrated on the
ACTS IX. 32-43 75
power of Peter, and only what sets him in strong
relief is remembered.
Faith is not mentioned by Luke as playing any
part in this incident; but it may be understood
that Peter here, as in in. 6, spoke " in the name
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth," and that he would
have said, as in in. 12, that it was not " by our own
power or godliness " that this thing had happened,
but that "by faith in His name hath His name"
restored Tabitha to health. So also he said to
Aeneas, "Jesus Christ healeth thee". On the
other hand there could be no faith on the part of
the dead Tabitha co-operating with the power of
the Apostle, as there was in the case of the lame
men in in. and in xiv. The narrator on whom
Luke relied was wholly preoccupied with the
thought of Peter s power; and this favours the
opinion stated above, that he was one of those
who had seen and been overwhelmingly impressed
by the event. The description of the scene when
Peter arrived at the house strongly suggests the
account of an eye-witness before whose memory
the visible details stood out clearly.
This narrative remains unique and unparalleled
in the book, and yet it is the story told to Luke by
one who saw and believed that Tabitha had died
and lived again.
The incidental allusion to the widows of the town
76 XII. THE WORK AND POWER OF PETER
showing the garments which Dorcas had made,
brings us in contact with the facts of early Church
life. Here we find the germ of the Order of Widows,
which is mentioned by Paul in 1 Timothy v. 9 f.,
and which became very important in the following
years. They devoted themselves to charity and
good works in the congregation.
XIII
THE CAUSE AND MANNEE OF THE
GEOWTH OF THE CHUECH
Review : Acts I. -IX.
IN the opening verses of the Acts the guiding idea
of the book is clearly indicated. As the first book
of Luke s history had shown the Divine Power
made manifest among men in the man Jesus, " all
that He began both to do and to teach," so the con
tinuation of the history will show the continuous
influence of the Divine Power, when no longer
visible to the human senses, but only manifested
in its effects.
The central idea throughout the book is the
guidance of the Holy Spirit, which comes to re
side in the hearts of such men as are fitted (i.e. are
eagerly desirous) to receive it ; the Spirit initiates
and conducts to a successful issue all the action
described in the book, moulds the Church, dictates
the instructions which the Church issues to its
converts (xv. 28), and makes the Church expand
(77)
78 XIII. THE GKOWTH OF THE CHURCH
as a living organization over " all Judea and Sa
maria and unto the uttermost part of the earth ".
Incidentally, we observe that the history does
not reach its limits in the Acts. It has not at the
present day reached its limits ; but it continues
" always even unto the end of the world".
Whether the writing of Luke had reached the
limit which he contemplated is a matter of doubt.
Luke carries it down to the time when the new
Faith was fixing itself firmly in Rome. Did Luke
intend to stop there ? The question has often been
asked. The present writer would answer in the
negative.
The growth of the Church through the influence
of the Holy Spirit is one main topic and guiding
interest of the author. This increasing strength is
measured at first by numerical estimates, so long
as numbers could be reckoned ; 120 in i. 15, 3000
in ii. 41, 5000 in iv. 4. Thereafter the complexity
of the Church, and its extension over many syna
gogues and groups, prevented statements of that
kind. No one could any longer survey the Church
as a whole ; numerical estimates were impossible ;
and the Apostles needed a supplementary body of
Seven Officials to acquire the knowledge of indi
vidual needs which was required for the fair dis
tribution of charity.
In the following stages the steps by which the
BEVIEW : ACTS I.-IX. 79
Church was spread over the world, are stated geo
graphically. Samaria was included, then the mari
time plain, and Galilee, Damascus, Phoenicia,
Antioch, and on to the West. But those steps were
not made by deliberate purpose and plan of the
Church and its officials. The scattering of the
Christians in the great persecution produced the
first advance beyond Jerusalem and its neighbour
hood. The Spirit ordered both the journey of
Barnabas and Saul to the West, and the journey
of Philip to the southern wilderness and after
wards to Ashdod and the cities near the sea.
Only in the first action taken by Philip in Samaria
does an official of the Church make an important
advance which is not expressly attributed to the
action of the Spirit, and in this exceptional case
we see the effect of Philip s own modesty, which
prevented him from claiming to have been hon
oured with a direct revelation of the Divine
will.
The growth of organization in the Church was
also a matter to which Luke devotes special atten
tion. The first public act of the Church after the
Ascension was to fill up the vacancy among the
Apostles, and in the record of the proceedings the
words bishopric, diaconate (twice), and apostleship
are used as equivalent terms. Considering that the
officials in the Philippian Church (with which Luke
80 XIII. THE GEOWTH OF THE CHUECH
was closely connected) were bishops and deacons
(Phil, 1. 1), we must understand that it was a matter
of interest to him to trace the development of these
offices in the Western Churches for the purpose
of taking the place of the apostolate in Jerusalem.
The historian describes with marked care the
first step in the widening of the organization,
viz. the appointment of the Seven, and shows how
it arose out of the need and desire for efficient per
formance of the practical work of the Church.
Good administration was necessary to make an
efficient Church ; the method adopted was a human
device, not a Divine unchanging ordinance, for we
never hear that this institution of the Seven was
repeated elsewhere ; but improved administration
quickened the spiritual power of the Church. Two
other classes of members of the Church at Jeru
salem are mentioned, the young men (more accur
ately translated, the men of active age), v. 6, 10, and
the elders, xv. 4 : these seem not to be officials, but
merely the result of a rough classification according
to age and authority. Where the brethren are
mentioned as doing any serious business, one may
understand that the elder brethren were most pro
minent. Where active bodily work was in question,
the younger would naturally come forward. Then
in the congregation at Joppa we observe the germ
of an Order of Widows, devoted to Church work,
REVIEW: ACTS I.-IX. 81
after their duties in their own families had ceased
to engross their attention.
Being dependent on the oral tradition which he
heard in Palestine, Luke in the early chapters
has no exact statements of time (such as he often
gives in his last chapters, where he writes as an eye
witness and contemporary), and he first alludes to
contemporary events of general history in xi. 28 and
xn. 20-23. But, by comparison with Paul s state
ments of years in Gal. 1. 18, n. 1, we gather that the
intervals between the events mentioned in the first
eight chapters of the Acts were short. The con
version of Paul probably occurred early in A.D. 32, 1
rather less than three years after the Crucifixion. A
certain interval had then elapsed since the death
of Stephen, during which persecution raged in
Jerusalem, and the Christian fugitives had time
to settle in Damascus, and news about them to
reach Jerusalem. Stephen s death fell probably
in autumn 31, and the appointment of the Seven
in late spring 31, before the harvest began, when
the stock of corn was low, prices were high, and
the poor felt the pinch of poverty, and those who
thought themselves neglected were most likely to
be complaining. The events described in Chapters
1 We see no reason to doubt the tradition that it occurred
on 25th January. The day was likely to be remembered in
the Church.
6
82 XIII. THE GROWTH OF THE CHURCH
I. to v. arrange themselves between spring 29 and
31. Philip s mission began in the winter of 31-32
and probably several years elapsed before he settled
in C&sarea. The progress of Peter "through
all parts," evidently began after Paul s first visit
to Jerusalem some time in 34 ; and he was in Jer
usalem temporarily when Paul came there for the
second time in 45, the fourteenth year after his
conversion.
The date of Stephen s death is important. It
shows how rapid was the development of the
Church from the beginning. After the inspiration
of Pentecost, we have a series of steps made at
short intervals through the guidance of the in
dwelling Spirit to meet the external conditions.
The Church was not inactive for a day after the
coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. It was con
stantly exerting itself both in external growth
through the preaching of the Word, and in internal
development through the improvement of its ad
ministration and the organization of charity.
So Luke s history, when rightly understood, is
fatal to that fashionable modern theory which
regards the early Christians as simply waiting in
expectation of the immediate coming of Jesus
Christ to reign upon the earth. The confidence in
the Kingdom of God which they felt was not a
feeling that made them sit inactive ; it roused them
REVIEW : ACTS I.-IX. 83
to strenuous activity and preparation. Every one
was at work, each in his own way : Peter the
leader, yet always ready to learn from the bolder
initiative of others like Stephen and Philip. Each
attempt to muzzle or suppress the new Faith only
resulted in increasing the energy and widening the
range of missionary effort.
XIV
THE UNIVEKSAL GOSPEL
Acts x. 1-xi. 18
THE story of Cornelius is so crowded with interest
that only a tithe of the points that rise in it can
be touched upon ; and it is better to speak more
fully about a very few than to enumerate a larger
proportion of the whole.
1. The importance of the episode in its bearing
on the history of the young Church is shown by
the space devoted to it. Luke always selects and
groups his topics with great care and skill. Out
of many things which he had seen and heard, he
selects only a few ; and he dwells upon these pro
portionately to the importance of each for his pur
pose as a historian. The story of Cornelius is not
merely described at much greater length than any
preceding incident. The important parts of the
story are narrated twice, or oftener : Peter s vision
(x. 11-16, XL 5-10), Cornelius s vision (x. 3-6, 22,
(84)
ACTS X. 1-XI. 18 85
30-32, XL 13 f.), and several other details similarly.
There is one striking parallel to this ; the conver
sion of Paul is described three times in the book.
The reiteration emphasizes the importance of each
event.
2. The purpose of Peter s vision was not to in
timate that God had abolished the distinction be
tween food that was clean and permitted, and food
that was unclean and forbidden. This distinction
was founded on sound sanitary principles, suited
to the climate. There is no reason to think that any
intention iis implied in x. 14 f. to permit or order
Jews to eat creeping things. No one can well
doubt that Peter continued as before to refrain
from eating forbidden food. It may, however,
reasonably be thought that the distinction was to
be regarded henceforth, not as a mere ritualistic
law, but as a rational principle based on sanitary
considerations, and liable to vary in its details ac
cording to climate. Peter s own interpretation of
the vision was stated by him to Cornelius and his
friends, " Unto me hath God shewed that I should
not call any man common or unclean ". The re
ference is here explicit; Peter understood that
the vision was symbolic of human nature, and
meant that all men were or could be cleansed by
God.
Moreover, Peter recounted to the straitest
86 XIV. THE UNIVERSAL GOSPEL
Jewish Christians in Jerusalem his vision and his
consequent action ; and they were all convinced
and glorified God, not because He had abro
gated the distinction of foods, but because " to the
Gentiles also hath He granted repentance unto
life".
This vision is a typical example of the symbolic
or emblematic way of expressing spiritual truth,
which is characteristic of Semitic and especially of
Biblical expression. When Peter called the creep
ing things and quadrupeds and fowls " common
and unclean," and was rebuked in the words,
"what God hath cleansed, make not thou com
mon," the person who insists on the literal inter
pretation about food misses the vast spiritual force,
and also tramples on a sound principle of health
in those southern lands. Christianity did not do
away with what was healthy and good in Judaism,
but completed what was defective and gave life to
what was fossilized in it. The Jewish Christians
saw the meaning of the vision at the moment in
a vague way, though they did not comprehend all
its broad significance. Paul had to work for years
before the principle stated in this vision was fully
recognized by the Church as a whole, though the
leaders accepted it more quickly than the mass
of the Jewish Christians.
3. The meaning of Peter s vision was de-
ACTS X. 1-XI. 18 87
clared in the immediate result. He acted with
out hesitation on the invitation of a foreigner, a
Koman officer, one of the army that held down
the Jewish nation. He entered into his house and
into familiar intercourse with him. He even ate
with him. To hold conversation with an unclean
foreigner, and even to enter into his house might
be allowed to Jews ; the six Jews of the circum
cision who accompanied Peter did that. But
Peter did more than Jewish custom permitted ;
and it is not stated that the six did as much ; the
general drift of Chapter xi. suggests that they did
not eat with Cornelius, for the charge of having
done so is made against Peter alone. The issue of
the incident was the recognition by the Church
that repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy
Spirit were granted to the Gentiles also ; but,
though this was acknowledged to be the case with
Cornelius, yet there was a widespread disincli
nation in Jerusalem to regard the principle as
universal. Doubtless, it was pointed out by the
Judaizing party in the Church at Jerusalem, that
Cornelius was a person who had previously attached
himself to the Jewish religion, for he " feared God
with all -his house, and gave much alms to the
(Jewish) people and prayed to God alway," though
he had never become fully a proselyte or complied
with the whole Jewish Law. It seems therefore
88 XIV. THE UNIVEESAL GOSPEL
to have been still the prevalent view of the Jew
ish Christians in Jerusalem that foreigners should
come into the Church in the same way as Cornelius ;
and apparently the expectation was entertained
that, considering the close relation of Christianity
to Judaism, the Gentile converts would accept
the Jewish Law as binding on them, and live
according to the double Law of Moses and of
Christ (like the priests in vi. 7).
4. The vision of Cornelius is described in slightly
varying terms : in x. 3 " he saw in a vision openly
a messenger of God coming in unto him and
saying " ; in x. 22 "he was warned by a holy
messenger " ; in x. 30 " a man stood before me in
bright apparel and saidi" ; in XL 13 "he had seen
the messenger standing in his house ". Here, as
always, such slight divergences are mere matters
of expression, varying attempts to put into inade
quate human words the real Divine truth, which
is above human language and beyond ordinary
human thought.
5. Both visions are concerned with matters
which must have been much in the minds of the
two recipients at that time. On the one hand the
relation of the new Church to the outer world must
necessarily have been presenting itself to Peter.
He could not have forgotten that the orders of
Jesus were of universal application. The whole
ACTS X. 1-XI. 18 89
world was to be the measure of the Church. Al
though in Jerusalem the problem was less pressing,
yet as soon as Peter and Philip went out of the
holy city, the question forced itself on them how
they should treat the Gentiles, who were numerous
in the sea-plain of Sharon, in Joppa, Ashdod,
Lydda, and Caesarea. The Divine Will here
revealed itself to a man who was eager to find it,
thinking of it, seeking after it, and praying for it.
On the other hand, Cornelius was in a similar
position. He was seeking to attain unto the light :
his prayers were "gone up as a memorial before
God ". Philip was already in Caesarea (vm. 40) ;
and in all probability Cornelius knew what he was
declaring and perhaps had heard him. The vision
of Cornelius was the answer to his prayer, and the
solution of questions over which he had been pon
dering.
6. It is characteristic of Philip to be silent about
his own share and to give all the credit to Peter.
Similarly, at Samaria not a word is said about
Philip s action after Peter appears on the scene.
It is precisely the silence about Philip in this
scene at Caesarea, where Peter could hardly fail
to come into relations with him during his stay,
that shows his mind and his self-suppression.
Philip, therefore, was Luke s authority for the
Caesarean incident. No other informant except
90 XIV. THE UNIVEESAL GOSPEL
Philip would have left out Philip. It is equally
evident that Philip was not his authority for the
sequel at Jerusalem in Chapter XL There is no
reason to think that Philip went to Jerusalem
with Peter.
XV
A MESSENGEK OF THE LOED
Acts xii. 1-24
A PEESBCUTION of a new kind is described in this
chapter. Previously, persecution had been caused
by Jewish dislike of innovation and of seeming dis
respect to the Mosaic Law ; but now the persecutor
was the King Herod Agrippa I, who reigned from
A.D. 41 to 44. No cause is stated for his action ; but
the narrative suggests that it originated in personal
or dynastic motives, and was continued because
Herod found that his first act, the execution of
James, was popular among the Jews in Jerusalem,
whose favour he was bent on gaining. The reason
for his first act probably was that he regarded the
preaching of the Kingdom of God as indicating
disaffection towards his own kingship and danger
to his dynasty.
The Pharisees and those who were zealous for
the Jewish Law had been estranged from their
(91)
92 XV. A MESSENGER OF THE LORD
previous friendliness to the new Faith by the out
spoken preaching of Stephen ; and they were glad
to find a champion of their cause in the King, who
now proceeded to imprison Peter. But, while the
mass of the Jews were hostile, there is every
reason to believe that in all ranks of Jewish society
there were persons well disposed to the new Faith.
Formerly, Jesus had devoted friends at the court
of Herod Antipas, such as Joanna the wife of the
King s steward, and Manaen the King s foster-
brother ; and so now it is probable that there were
in the court of Herod Agrippa friends ready to
help Peter secretly, but not willing to sacrifice their
career and openly profess the new Faith. In the
following centuries of danger and suffering the
Christians were often indebted to the kindness
shown by persons of that class.
The situation in Jerusalem was critical. The
Church was dismayed at the blow which threatened
its leading spirit ; and " prayer was made earnestly
for him". Then follows the detailed and remark
able account of Peter s deliverance. Ultimately,
he was himself the authority, as no other knew
the facts and his own feelings and soliloquy, until
he related them to a company of the Christians.
From one or probably from several of those who
listened on that night to Peter, as he told the
story within a few minutes after his deliverance,
ACTS XII. 1-24 93
Luke heard what had occurred ; and we may be
confident that it is recorded precisely as Peter
described it.
Peter was arrested during the days of Un
leavened Bread, and his execution was postponed
by the piety of Herod until the feast was ended ;
but he was guarded with the utmost care. Two
soldiers were always in the cell with him, and his
hands were fastened by two chains to his keepers, 1
while other two sentinels stood on guard outside
the door. The duty of watching Peter was as
signed to sixteen soldiers, four of whom took the
duty in turn, three hours at a time. On the night
following the last day of the feast, and on the eve
of his execution, the prisoner was wakened from
sleep by a blow on his side: "a messenger of the
Lord stood by him, and a light shined in the cell ".
Of what nature the messenger of God was, whether
a man (as in x. 3 compared with 30) or not,
whether the guards were asleep, what were the
exact circumstances of the release, we are left to
conjecture, and it is evident that Peter did not
explain to his hearers. The important matter
was that a messenger of God had given effect to
the Divine Will, and conducted the prisoner safely
through all the guards to the outer gate (which
1 His left hand was chained to one keeper, his right to the
other.
94 XV. A MESSENGER OF THE LOKD
opened to them of its own accord), and along one
street, before leaving him.
Peter, who had been wakened suddenly out of a
deep sleep, did not himself realize what was taking
place. He thought that it was all a dream, and
" wist not that it was true which was done by the
angel " (i.e. messenger). The description of the
situation and of his thoughts is marvellously
graphic and lifelike. As we read it, we feel our
selves in the porch of Mary s house, listening to
his eager, hurried narrative, and especially his
reflections, when the angel left him, and he " was
come to himself". Previously he had been only
half awake and acting mechanically, but then he
" knew of a truth that the Lord had sent forth
His messenger, and delivered him out of the hand
of Herod, and from all the expectation of the
people of the Jews ".
When Peter thought over his position, one
street away from the prison and therefore still in
imminent danger, he went to the house of Mary, a
near relative of Barnabas and like him probably
possessing some wealth, evidently a widow whose
house was a customary meeting-place for the
Christians. Peter was a friend of the family, and
the slave-girl Ehoda, who answered his knock,
instantly recognized his voice. The whole house
hold and many others had assembled and were
ACTS XII. 1-24 95
praying for Peter s safety at the very moment of
his deliverance. The slave-girl shared the troubles
and happiness of the family ; 1 and now, excited
with joy and losing all sense of her immediate
duty, she left Peter outside in danger, while she
ran in to relieve the anxiety of the household.
Here another singularly vivid and charming picture
is set before us ; Peter knocking repeatedly out
side ; Khoda delivering her glad news in fluttering
joy ; the people incredulous and calling her mad
to say that Peter was there; Ehoda triumphing
over their folly and persisting in her statement ;
the insistent knocking at the door ; the amazement
of all when they went out and beheld the escaped
prisoner ; Peter calming the excited throng with a
motion of his hand, telling his story, sending a
message to James (evidently now the recognized
head of the Church), and going away to an un
known destination.
This incident was evidently described to Luke
by an eye-witness. Only one who was present
could have pictured it so vividly. We can under
stand that many who were in Mary s house that
night would remember Peter s narrative, his words,
feelings and thoughts, for all would regard him
1 Domestic slaves were at that time treated generally as
members of the family even in pagan, much more in
Christian, households.
96 XV. A MESSENGER OF THE LORD
with the keenest interest. But who would re
member the emotions and demeanour of the slave-
girl except herself ? Luke, however, had seen her,
talked to her, heard her account of the scene, and
with the skill of a literary artist perceived that it
was more effective and revealed better the inmost
character of the situation than the narrative of
any other member of the Church whom he met
in Jerusalem. Nowhere in the whole of this
history is the authority whom Luke followed so
clearly shown as here ; and nowhere is there so
beautiful a picture of life in the early Church,
with its house-meetings and its familiar intercourse
between all classes.
To us in modern time the question appears of
supreme moment whether this deliverance was
accomplished by supernatural or by natural means.
To the hearers on that night the question was of
no importance, and does not seem to have suggested
itself. To the Oriental mind the natural and the
supernatural are one : any person who carried into
effect the purpose of God to save His servant was
His messenger. Is not the Oriental view the truer
one ? The trivial things that scholars often dis
cuss and dispute about are not even mentioned by
Peter ; but the important things are there, the
need of the Church, the earnest prayers of the
people, and the help sent by God.
ACTS XII. 1-24 97
Is it wise or right for any of us to dispute who
or what was the messenger of God on this occasion,
and to declare that he who differs from our opinion
is either on the one hand sceptical or on the other
hand irrational ? This narrative is a test case. It
comes to us almost in Peter s own words, spoken
within an hour after the event, and reported by a
devoted mind that treasured every word. No
better authority could be imagined except a letter
of Peter describing the event ; and this report is
almost as good as a letter in respect of faithful
ness, while it shows us the impression made at the
time upon others better than even such a letter
would. In it the natural and the supernatural
meet on a higher plane of thought.
Peter did not reveal his destination to the house
hold of Mary. Probably he wished them to be
able to deny all knowledge where he had gone, in
case his communication with them should be de
tected, and they should be arrested and questioned.
XVI
THE CONVEESION OF PAUL
Acts VIII. 1; IX. 1-22
SAUL OF TAESUS appears first in the scene of
Stephen s death, as a man of active age (not neces
sarily a young man in our sense), taking a leading
part in that terrible scene. He was already a
person of influence in Jerusalem, marked out as a
leader by his intense and devouring enthusiasm,
especially where something exceptional or danger
ous had to be done. The stoning of Stephen,
though stoning was permitted by the Jewish Law
in cases of exceptional and gross impiety, was
dangerous to the perpetrators as being contrary to
Boman law. This disgraceful act, and the even
more disgraceful persecution which followed (more
disgraceful because more cold-blooded and long-
drawn-out), were performed under the superin
tendence of Saul. He made havoc of the Church
for some time, during which occurred the first stage
of Philip s mission in Samaria and the coast towns,
(98)
ACTS VIII. 1 ; IX. 1-22 99
Under the Eoman law the persecution must stop
short of the death penalty. Though occasionally
some exceptional act of Jewish religious frenzy,
such as Stephen s murder, might be winked at, yet
the Roman Government would not permit such
acts to become habitual. Saul, therefore, having
done all that was possible in Jerusalem, looked out
for a new field of action.
Palestine offered none, for the Faith was only
beginning to spread in the rest of the country.
Moreover, the Eoman rule curbed his action seri
ously, and prevented him from doing anything
drastic, except where a large body of Jews, living
together and amenable in religious matters to the
Jewish Law, offered an opportunity.
He fixed his eyes, accordingly, on the great city
of Damascus, which was outside the sphere of
Roman law, and governed loosely by the barbarian
King of Arabia. In such a city the close-knit
fraternity of the Jews was permitted to exercise
its own religious law very freely and fully. A
large body of Jews had settled there and main
tained their worship in several synagogues. Saul,
either hearing or suspecting that the Faith had
spread thither, sought and obtained letters from
the high-priests and the Council or Sanhedrin
(xxn. 5) to the rulers of the synagogues in
Damascus, commissioning him to seize all Chris^
100 XVI. THE CONVEKSION OF PAUL
tians and bring them to Jerusalem. It is evident
that the rulers of the Jews in Jerusalem exercised
authority in religious matters over the Jews
abroad.
We see here a proof that Sadducees (as the
high-priests were) and Pharisees (who were in
fluential in the Council) were united in hatred to
the new Faith since Stephen had offended the
latter. In Damascus, however, the Christians
were still living at peace among their kinsmen as
a school or sect of the Jews (ix. 10 ; XXIL 12), just
as the Church in Jerusalem had done in the first
two years after the Crucifixion.
Saul s journey to Damascus would naturally be
made by the direct road, called " the Way of the
Sea " (i.e. the Sea of Galilee), crossing the Jordan
by the " bridge of Jacob s daughters " (as it is now
called), a few miles above that sea. Modern
travellers from Jerusalem to Damascus usually
make a detour in order to see the sources of the
Jordan and the Waters of Merom, and thence
follow a different road to Jerusalem. The old
tradition places the scene of the remarkable event
that followed at Kaukab, where " the Way of the
Sea " crosses a very slight ridge about twelve miles
south of Damascus. Here the first view of
Damascus burst on the persecutor s sight; "and
suddenly there shone round about him a light out
ACTS VIII. 1 ; IX. 1-22 101
of heaven" " above the brightness of the sun,"
and the whole company fell to the ground. The
others seem to have risen at once to their feet (ix.
7); and they comprehended little or nothing of
what Saul describes as happening to him while he
lay on the ground. Doubtless they went on to
Damascus in due course, and mentioned as they
sat at meat or over their wine a remarkable natural
phenomenon that occurred by the way. Jesus was
not for them.
The scene is three times described in the Acts,
twice by Saul in speeches to which Luke may
perhaps have himself listened, and once by Luke in
his narrative. The ultimate authority is in every
case Saul ; Luke tells what he had himself heard
Saul narrate during their long and familiar inter
course. There are certain slight differences be
tween the three descriptions. Luke must have
been fully conscious of these, variations ; and, since
he has allowed them to remain in his history, we
must understand that Saul sometimes laid more
emphasis on some points, sometimes on others ;
and that Luke was impressed by the variations
and intentionally records them. In this we must
not merely recognize the singular accuracy and
honesty of the historian, but also we must infer
that Luke regarded the differences as being char
acteristic of the scene. Saul was the best possible
102 XVI. THE CONVERSION OF PAUL
authority about what happened to himself ; but
he was so entirely absorbed in the vision that he
was not aware exactly of what his companions did
and felt.
In regard to the vision, attention may specially
be directed to the following points :
1. Saul both heard and saw the Lord. He lays
most stress in his letter to the Corinthians on the
fact that he had seen Him. He had no doubt as
to this. He had seen, and he knew that Jesus,
whom he had thought dead, was living and was
Lord. This profound and unhesitating conviction
that the same Jesus who had preached and been
crucified was still living is most easily explained,
if Saul had seen Him in His earthly life. Hence,
like the Apostles, Saul was a witness that Jesus
was not dead, but had risen.
2. The question is often asked whether the
vision was objective or subjective, whether Saul
saw or only imagined. It is recorded by Luke in
the words of Saul that the other travellers saw no
man. Saul alone saw Jesus. There is an element
in the human being which must respond before
communication can take place between the Divine
power and the human nature. Saul alone could
respond and see. But that the vision was real,
Saul could never doubt. It was the most real
event in his life. It changed his whole career. It
ACTS VIII. 1 ; IX. 1-22 103
has altered the course of all history, and affected
the entire world. The full comprehension of this
great and marvellous event is fundamental in the
Christian life. The more one ponders over it, and
the better one understands it, the more real is
one s grasp of the true nature of religion and of
the true relation between God and man.
3. There was no apparent preparation in Saul s
recent life for his change of character. He was
revelling in the full course of persecution. He
was firmly persuaded that Jesus had been an
impostor, and that for himself the one right work
was to punish all who believed in Jesus, and to
eradicate and destroy that belief. When he was
at the height of his fanatical resolve, he was
suddenly stopped and turned into another path
by the heavenly vision.
4. Yet there was in Saul s past life a real pre
paration for his vision and his new career. In
later meditation he recognized that his whole life
had been a preparation, and that already before
his birth the preparation had begun in the circum
stances and situation of his family. He was born
to be the Apostle of the Gentiles. He had been
brought up from infancy in the Greek city of
Tarsus as at once a citizen of that city and also a
burgess of the imperial city Borne. He had been
trained to a far wider outlook on the world than
104 XVI. THE CONVERSION OF PAUL
the people of Jerusalem could attain to. He
knew the pagan world from inside, its needs, its
desires, its religious longings, its weaknesses, and
its crimes. He could appreciate the universality
of the Saviour s life and message to the world in a
more complete way than any of the Palestinian
Christians. He had for the time been forced into
alliance with the presecuting Jews of Jerusalem
by the common hatred which he and they felt for
the Jesus whom he misunderstood; but that
alliance could not have been permanent. Saul
was too wide and too bold in his views to remain
a mere Pharisee. True comprehension of Jesus
was needed to ripen Saul s character. This com
prehension could not be attained until he had
been disabused of the belief that Jesus was dead.
The Lord revealed himself to him at the proper
moment, and broke the barrier that was preventing
the completion of Saul s education for the purpose
of his life.
XVII
OKIGIN OF THE GKEEK CHUECH
Acts xi. 19-30 ; xii. 25
THE new Churches, Samaria, Lydda, Joppa, even
Caesarea, were of secondary importance in the
history of the Church, and are mentioned merely
as steps in the growth of a young power. We
come now to one of the great Churches of the
Eoman world.
Antioch of Syria was the first Gentile Church,
and exercised, as such, a distinct influence at the
time. The relation between Jews and Greeks in
that great city raised the general question of
Gentile rights in the Church, and after long con
troversy was settled by the first Council, a pre
cursor of the (Ecumenical Councils of later
centuries.
Antioch afterwards became one of the five
patriarchates of the Christian world ; and her
future dignity was foreshadowed in her importance
at the first. It is remarkable that in general the
(105)
106 XVII. OEIGIN OF THE GKEEK CHUECH
history of the early Christian period is an anticipa
tion, and so to say a prophetic forecast of the
subsequent course of history ; the same principles
were at work, and there was a general similarity
in their effect on the earlier and the later Koman
Empire.
The Christians who were scattered at Stephen s
death carried the Gospel wherever they went, and
sowed broadcast the seed of the Church. In every
city they found themselves at home among their
own people and in their own synagogues ; and
they were still generally of the earliest Jewish-
Christian type. They had not adopted the ideas
of Stephen, but were still in the older stage when
the Church seemed to be little more than a school
or sect of Judaism with certain additional rules.
Hence, wherever they went, they " spake only to
the Jews " ; Philip stood almost unique in his
wider outlook. But the leaders of the Church
endorsed Philip s action, and thus began a certain
divergence of view between the leaders and the
mass of the Jewish Church. In the Epistle to
the Hebrews this divergence is implied as a very
marked feature.
In Antioch a wider address was inaugurated by
certain Christian Jews of Cyprus and Cyrene, who
had been accustomed to live among Gentiles.
They began to address themselves to those Greeks
ACTS XL 19-30; XII. 25 107
who had already been attracted by the simple and
lofty religion of the Hebrews, and had thus come
within the influence of the synagogues.
The religious position of these Antiochian Greeks
was quite similar to that of Cornelius, but his case
is described as a single one, whereas in Antioch
many Greeks came over to the new Faith. The
general principle was determined in the single case ;
but at Antioch a Church grew up composed mainly
of Greeks, who, though friendly to the synagogue,
had never been proselytes. Such was the origin
of the first Greek or Gentile Church.
The new Faith now entered on its career in the
Eoman Empire, for so long as it was composed
only of Jews and proselytes, it stood, in a sense,
outside the Empire and in some degree outside of
the Koman law, being amenable in all religious
matters to the Jewish rules and the authority of
the priests. Now, even in religious matters, Chris
tians of Greek birth were free from the Jewish
authority and subject only to the law of the Em
pire. It was therefore in Antioch that the exist
ence of the new sect as a part of the Empire was
recognized ; and then people devised a nickname
by which they might speak about it ; and thus in
the slang of Antioch arose a term which became
a title of honour afterwards, " Christians," the
people of Christus.
108 XVII. ORIGIN OF THE GREEK CHURCH
As in the case of Philip s action in Samaria, the
new step made at Antioch was sanctioned and
accepted by the Church in Jerusalem, after an
inspection had been made first by Barnabas and
afterwards (as Paul mentions, Gal. n. 11) by Peter.
Luke records only the former, and evidently re
garded it as conclusive evidence of the Church s
approval. Barnabas recognized the epoch-making
character of the new step. He saw that the rapid
growth of the Greek element in the Antiochian
Church needed a man of peculiar qualifications.
He perceived that Saul (whom he had met and
appreciated in Jerusalem eight or nine years before)
was the right man for the work, and he went to
Tarsus and fetched him. This probably occurred
in A.D. 43 or the early days of A.D. 44.
Immediately afterwards a step of supreme im
portance in consolidating the now scattered
Churches was made. This step was of the kind
w r hich we saw to be important in the earliest
Church at Jerusalem it consisted in the organiza
tion of a Church fund for the relief of distress but
it was wider in character, for it applied money
contributed in one city to relieve distress in another.
This great step was made from a small and ap
parently accidental beginning. The prophet
Agabus announced " that there should be great
dearth over all the world " not of course a uni-
ACTS XI. 19-30; XII. 25 109
versal failing of the crops in the same year in all
parts and this did in fact occur in many places
during the reign of Claudius, A.D. 41-54. The
Church in Antioch resolved to collect money and
to send relief to the central and mother Church in
Jerusalem. This plan formed the model for the
contribution which Paul twelve years later ar
ranged in the new Churches of Galatia, Asia,
Macedonia, and Achaia, and which delegates
carried to Jerusalem with them (Acts xx. 4, xxiv.
17, 1 Cor. xvi. 1-3).
Thus the principle was established that all parts
and members of the Universal Church should help
to support and stimulate the life of each other.
The practical working out of this principle in
volved constant intercourse between the separate
parts of the Church, the transmission of knowledge
to all parts about everything that concerned every
part, the interchange of ideas, the sending of letters,
the travelling of individuals from congregation to
congregation, the hospitable reception of every
traveller wherever he went, the sense of unity and
brotherhood brought home to every traveller by
finding in all cities Christian friends believing and
thinking like himself. This constant inter-com
munication was of inestimable importance ; it was
the circulation of the very life-blood of the Church.
The famine in Judea, as Josephus describes it,
110 XVII. ORIGIN OF THE GREEK CHURCH
was very severe, and the worst time was in 46 :
these facts imply that the harvest failed in 44 and
45, and that the extreme of scarcity was reached
just before the harvest of 46. The mission of
Barnabas and Saul as the leaders of a deputation
to carry help from Antioch occurred in A.D. 44.
The relation of Jews to Gentiles in the new
Church was naturally a subject of discussion
between the two envoys and the Apostles. The
question whether the Greek converts should be
required to conform to the Jewish Law was
answered in the negative. These discussions seem
to have occurred during private communications
and conversations with the leading Apostles in
Jerusalem ; and no formal assembly of the Church
was held. The time for public consultation had
not yet come. The envoys were not empowered to
lay the matter formally before the Church of Jeru
salem ; but they must already have perceived the
questions and difficulties that must arise ; and they
were strengthened in their work at Antioch by the
concurrence of the Apostles in all that they had
done, and in their plans for the future relations
between Jewish and Gentile Christians in the
Antiochian congregation.
Saul seems to have hoped that this occasion,
when he was bringing help to his people in their
need, would afford a good opportunity of appealing
ACTS XL 19-30; XII. 25 111
to them and touching their hearts ; but he was
warned in a vision to depart from Jerusalem,
"for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles ".
He was, however, now accepted by the leading
Apostles, James and Cephas and John, as "en
trusted with the Gospel of the pagans" in virtue
of " the grace that was given unto " him, i.e. the
vision and the direct commission of God.
The incidents of this visit to Jerusalem have to
be pieced together from Acts xi. 29 f., xii. 25, and
xxii. 17-21, and Galatians n. 1-10; and when
placed side by side, the various details there men
tioned suit each other perfectly.
XVIII
THE APPROACH TO THE GENTILES
Acts xin. 1-12
As Luke described the government of the Church
in Jerusalem by the Twelve, and the appointment
of the Seven to co-operate with them when the
volume of business increased, so at this point, after
telling how the first Gentile Church was founded,
and how it was united to the central body in Jeru
salem by the tie of charity and service, he names
the leaders of this new Church, Barnabas, Symeon
Niger, Lucius a Cyrenaean, Menahem (in Greek
Manaen), and Saul. The order evidently gives
the official precedence and dignity at this period,
A.D. 45. Barnabas ranks first as representing the
authority of the central Church, and as deputy of
the Apostles, Saul last as the youngest and latest.
The other three are evidently the early founders
of the Antiochian Church. The order is that of
the moment. Shortly afterwards no one would
have thought of placing Saul last.
(112)
ACTS XIII. 1-12 113
The five ranked as "prophets and teachers".
They were marked out by their individual gifts as
leaders ; and the administration of the Antiochian
Church was analogous to that of Jerusalem.
There were not, as yet, in the Gentile Church
any officers bearing an official title, such as bishop
or deacon. There were only men of eminent
spiritual power, who on that account administered
the work of the Church. The careful precision
with which Luke marks the character of Church
government in this early time shows that he ap
preciated thoroughly the importance of orderly
administration, and that it was his intention to
indicate the steps by which administrative methods
were elaborated. About sixteen years later Paul
wrote to the congregation in Philippi with its
bishops and deacons ; in the interval the govern
ment of Gentile Churches had been more definitely
organized. About sixteen years earlier Peter, only
a few days after the Kesurrection, had spoken of
"bishopric" and "deaconship" as the sphere of
duty of the Apostles. The old Greek religious
term "liturgy" is chosen by Luke to describe the
sphere of duty of the five prophets and teachers
in Antioch.
In the course of their ministration and fasting,
the message of God was made known to them that
the hour had arrived for beginning the special work
8
114 XVIII. THE APPROACH TO THE GENTILES
to which Barnabas and Saul had been called. A
previous call is here mentioned. The summons
which had been given to Saul has already been
described ; * but we do not learn how or when it
came to Barnabas. We know only that the two
returned together from Jerusalem to Antioch, and
at the proper moment (probably in the spring
of A.D. 46) they were ordered to begin their work.
It is not stated that their work was defined.
Apparently its exact character and sphere was not
known. It had to be discovered by doing it ; and
when the two missionaries returned to Antioch it
was recognized by the Church that they had ful
filled it (xiv. 26). We also must discover what it
was by reading the account of their work.
The Church of Antioch sent them forth, releasing
them from their duties there. The Church of
Antioch received them again on their return (xiv.
27). It was thereby marked out as the Mother-
Church of the Pauline congregations ; and it ranks
henceforth as more truly the directing and moving
power in the Universal Church than Jerusalem was.
The Church of Antioch sent them forth ; but
also the Holy Spirit sent them forth. The action
of the assembled congregation is the action of the
Spirit, alike at Antioch (xm. 4) and at Jerusalem
(xv. 28).
1 See Section XVII.
ACTS XIII. 1-12 115
The two Apostles went down to Seleucia, the
harbour of Antioch, and sailed for Cyprus, where
they made a missionary progress through the island,
beginning from Salamis. Nothing that called for
permanent record occurred, until they reached
Paphos, the capital city at the western end of the
island, where the Eoman governor lived. This
lack of record does not imply want of information
on Luke s part, but only that the procedure in
Cyprus was exactly similar to what had occurred
in Syria and Palestine : the Apostles everywhere
addressed the congregations in the synagogues,
including doubtless the " God-fearing " Gentiles l
who had been attracted to attend, but they did not
directly 2 appeal to the Gentiles. No new step was
made, until at Paphos the Proconsul, Sergius
Paulus, invited Barnabas and Saul to explain their
doctrine to him. This Eoman official was " a man
of understanding," interested in philosophic and
scientific studies, and he desired to hear what
these new teachers of philosophy had to say.
1 The numerous Gentiles, who had been attracted by the
lofty and austere doctrines of Judaism, and who formed a
sort of outer circle round the synagogues, are commonly
called by Luke "God-fearing" or " devout " (as in Acts
xvii. 17, but not " devout " as in viu. 2 : different words in
the Greek).
2 "Directly" means amid the surrounding of Gentile
life, and not in the assemblies of the Jews.
116 XVIII. THE APPROACH TO THE GENTILES
At this point the Apostles came in contact with
a Jew named Bar-Jesus, one of those magicians,
similar to Simon of Samaria, who were so common
in the ancient Greek and Eoman world. Such
persons were, generally, of the same character,
possessing a certain stock of real knowledge about
the powers and processes of nature, which they
eked out in varying degrees by imposture and
fraudulent tricks. To judge from the brief account
given by Luke, Bar-Jesus seems to have been
rather more of an impostor and less of a believer
in his own aims and powers than Simon ; but
still he had sufficient knowledge to impose on a
man of understanding like Sergius Paulus and to
be received among his personal friends.
The magician forthwith recognized that the
newly arrived Jews were dangerous rivals. He
doubtless regarded them as persons of his own
class, bent on obtaining reputation, influence and
fortune by public exhibition of their knowledge
and their powers ; and he sought to turn away the
Proconsul from listening to them. Thus the scene
was turned into a direct combat between the one
power and the other, between the sorcerer or false
prophet Bar-Jesus and the preachers of the true
Faith.
There, in a hall or an open court of the Pro
consul s palace, the contest was fought. We are
ACTS XIII. 1-12 117
left to imagine the earlier stages. The narrative
moves on to the point where the magician, ob
serving the effect which the words of Barnabas
and Saul were exerting on the Roman, and dread
ing that they might supplant him in the favour
of the great man, tried to interrupt the hearing.
Perhaps he sought to cast ridicule on the speakers.
Certainly he attempted to misrepresent and distort
the history of Jesus, whom they were preaching,
and thus " pervert the right ways of the Lord ".
Perhaps he tried to impress the Proconsul by some
tricky exhibition of his power. In one way or
another he roused the enthusiasm and wrath of
Saul, who, though hitherto secondary to Barnabas,
now assumed the foremost place. We can im
agine him making a step forward, transported
with the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, and
fixing his blazing eyes on the sorcerer, who cowered
and shrivelled beneath that terrible gaze and the
terrible words that accompanied it. Some such
withering effect is clearly implied in the act that
followed. Bar-Jesus lost all power of resistance
and all will-power ; he was helpless before the
denunciation of the Apostle. As he heard the
voice of doom that he should be blind for a time,
he tottered about in the hall, groping for some one
who might guide him.
This marvellous scene is the first in which the
118 XVIII. THE APPROACH TO THE GENTILES
Gospel was presented direct to a Gentile (and
doubtless to a group of Gentiles, the attendants on
the Proconsul), wholly unprepared by previous
participation in the teaching of the synagogues.
Without intending it, and without seeking the
opportunity, the Apostles had "turned to the
Gentiles" ; and the occasion was consecrated and
marked as epoch-making by a wonderful exhibition
of spiritual power.
In this moment, filled with the Spirit, Saul steps
into the position of leader ; and at the same mo
ment his Jewish name Saul drops from him in the
historian s mind and narrative. His Greek and
Koman name Paulus is now mentioned for the first
time, and henceforth he stands before us in Luke s
pages as the Eoman or Greek Paul. He moves
henceforth in the Greek and Koman world as a
member of it, bearing a name that belongs to it.
It happened that the Greek and Koman name of
the Apostle was the same as the last name of the
Proconsul; but this was a mere accident. Saul
had possessed from childhood the name Paulus.
He was born in a double rank, a Jew among
Jews, and a Koman Tarsian among Romans and
Hellenes ; and he had two names corresponding
to his double rank. Among Jews he was named
Saul; and hitherto we have seen him in that
character. Among Greeks and Komans his name
ACTS XIII. 1-12 119
was Paulus, and henceforth we shall see him in
this character. The transition from the one stage
to the other is indicated by the use of the alterna
tive names, " Saul otherwise called Paul ".
Further, we must observe that Barnabas is
henceforth mentioned by Luke only in the second
place, with rare exceptions, as at Jerusalem, where
the old rank and order were observed in the
Apostolic decree (xv. 12, 25). Saul the Jew was
second to Barnabas the Jew ; but Paul was first
wherever he went. On Paul all eyes were con
centrated, alike of friends and of enemies. But
now and henceforth he is not simply the Hebrew
and the Pharisee ; he is the citizen and the Evan
gelist of the Gentile world.
XIX
PAUL TUKNS TO THE GENTILES
Acts xin. 13-52
THE dramatic scene at Paphos did not lead to any
further development at the moment ; and the
Apostles went on to Perga, the chief city of Pam-
phylia. The sea-road from Syria to Eome led
along these coasts. Already Christians had gone
to Borne, and the new Faith was known in the
capital of the world. Probably some idea of work
ing along the coasts of the Boman voyage may
have been in the mind of Paul already, and may
have guided his steps gradually westwards.
However that may be, a complete change of
scene was resolved upon at Perga. No reason is
stated ; but that some change of plan occurred
seems proved by the fact that Mark now aban
doned the work and returned home. The others
crossed the great extent of mountains that lay to
the north of Perga, a difficult and even dangerous
journey of more than a hundred miles, and came
to Pisidian Antioch, an important city, a Boman
(120)
ACTS XIII. 13-52 121
Colony, 1 the military and administrative centre of
the southern half of the vast Province called Galatia
by the Eomans.
Here they were reseived with a hearty welcome,
which deeply touched Paul s heart. Afterwards,
when writing to all the Galatian Churches, he re
calls the warmth of their kindness to him and their
ready reception of his message ; and he lays stress
on the fact that they welcomed him thus, although
he came afflicted in a way that was a severe test
of their hospitality and kindness. This affliction
was a disease, "an infirmity of the flesh," which
was considered in those lands as a proof of Divine
wrath and curse, and usually caused the sufferer to
be despised and treated as an outcast. Paul, how
ever, was regarded by the people of the Province
Galatia as " a messenger of God " (Gal. iv. 13).
This illness which afflicted Paul is elsewhere
described by him as a serious hindrance to his
work, striking him down suddenly and often. He
mentions also that this disease was the reason
why he came to preach the Gospel in the cities of
Galatia. His words show plainly that he had a
serious illness in Perga, and on that account the
scene of work was changed from the enervating
1 Colony, i.e. garrison city, in which Roman settlers
and soldiers with their families constituted a privileged
aristocracy.
122 XIX. PAUL TURNS TO THE GENTILES
coast lands to the high plateau where the Galatian
cities lay. At the moment the defection of Mark
was keenly felt by the sufferer ; and for years he
retained a distrust of Mark, though in the end
they became again fellow- workers.
The narrative in the Acts illustrates and confirms
in a striking way the picture given in Paul s letters.
The Apostles came to Antioch, and on the first
Sabbath they were invited by the rulers of the
synagogue to address the congregation. The brief
narrative is silent as to the reasons for this invita
tion ; and we can only guess at them. But such
is Luke s method : he states the facts, but is usually
silent as to the circumstances which in his view
were unimportant. What was important in the his
torian s view was the address delivered by Paul, who
had now become the leader and the chief speaker.
This was, apparently, the first time that Paul
had preached since the Paphian scene. His views
were now broadened ; and here, for the first time,
Luke gives us a report of a sermon by Paul. He
recognized that now at last Paul had perceived his
true vocation, and this is selected as a typical dis
course. It therefore deserves careful study.
The first thing that we observe is that Paul
addresses himself not to the Jews alone, but to
Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles equally. It is
evident that there was a number of the latter class
ACTS XIII. 13-52 123
present in the synagogue, persons previously in
clined towards the simple and lofty religion of
Judaism ; and that they attracted the notice even
of a stranger. In his opening words Paul appealed
to the two classes of hearers separately ; and in
verse 17 the word " our " refers to the Jews alone.
In verse 26, the two classes of hearers are again
mentioned and are both called "brethren," and
summed up together "to us is the word of this
salvation sent forth ". Here for the first time is
the Pauline Gospel declared ; we are all equal, all
brethren, all alike in the new Faith. In verse 38,
the entire congregation is appealed to as " brethren "
simply ; the distinction of the two classes has been
forgotten ; there is only one class in the Gospel ;
there is remission of sins for all ; all who believe
are justified. To this Paul adds that the Law of
Moses was not able to save them from their sins.
The effect of this address was extraordinary.
Luke speaks as emphatically on this point as Paul
in Galatians iv. 13 f. On the next Sabbath, about
ten days after the Apostles had arrived, 1 " almost
the whole city was gathered together to hear the
word". The message of Paul was accepted by
1 As regards this matter of time, the writer took a wrong
view in "St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen,"
p. 99 f. The error is corrected in the " Cities of St. Paul,"
p. 298.
124 XIX. PAUL TUKNS TO THE GENTILES
the Gentiles as their own. The Jews on the con
trary felt a grudge. They began to realize more
than they had at first all that was implied in Paul s
Gospel.
In Pisidian Antioch general good feeling had
evidently reigned between the Jews and their
fellow-citizens. The former were comparatively
open-minded and free from bigotry. They, were quite
willing to welcome the Gentiles as hearers in the
synagogue, and to extend religious patronage to
them. But they were not willing to regard them
as equals and brothers. Now, like Bar-Jesus at
Paphos, they " contradicted the things which
were spoken by Paul, and blasphemed". There
upon Paul pronounced the final words of sever
ance, " we turn to the Gentiles ". To the Gentiles
he addressed himself henceforth primarily in
Antioch. The whole region of which Antioch was
the central city was gradually affected by the
preaching of Paul. This would take place through
the various causes which brought to that great
Eoman Colony and centre of government the
inhabitants of the smaller towns. Paul and
Barnabas seem to have resided continuously in
Antioch, and trusted to these public gatherings
to reach the wider audience of the region.
The Jews were not idle. They possessed great
influence with the ladies of the higher class in
ACTS XIII. 13-52 125
Antioch, i.e. the wives of the Eoman colonists,
and with their husbands the chief men of the
Colony. Luke does not state the steps by which
the Jews effected their end. There must have
been some accusation, a trial, and a sentence. In
all probability one of the three cases in which Paul
was beaten by the rods of lictors, occurred as the
result of this trial and as the preliminary to ex
pulsion, for it was only in Koman colonies that
this kind of action could occur. In Antioch the
colonial magistrates were attended by lictors.
Thus the Apostles were finally expelled from
the city. How long they had resided in it cannot
be gathered with certainty from the narrative ;
but, though the city was very quickly affected by
the new Faith, some lapse of time must have oc
curred while the whole region around Antioch was
being permeated ; and it is necessary to reckon
the stay there as extending over several months.
It may be thought that the Jews would have
succeeded sooner in expelling them ; but it has to
be remembered that Koman law ruled in the
Colony, and that some sufficiently plausible cause
had to be found before peaceable strangers could
be punished and expelled.
If we assume, as seems probable, that this
missionary journey began in the spring of the year,
several months must have been spent in evan-
126 XIX. PAUL TURNS TO THE GENTILES
gelizing all the cities of Cyprus and in going to
Perga. Mt. Taurus could not well be crossed by
the travellers later than October, and probably the
journey from Perga took place as early as August
or September. The ancient custom was to avoid
travelling in the winter season. The winter of
A.D. 46-47 was spent in Antioch.
XX
THE CHUKCHES OF GALATIA
Acts xiv. 1-30
AFTER their expulsion from Antioch the two
Apostles came to Iconium. But the new Church,
which they were leaving behind, was already strong
enough to be self-supporting. It was not young
and delicate, and in need of the daily help and
guidance of its founders. It was " filled with joy
and with the Holy Spirit," entering with good hope
and brave heart on the new life. This description
confirms the picture given by Paul himself in his
letter to the Galatians of the extraordinary vigour
and the fervid spirit which characterized the Gala-
tian Churches from the beginning.
If we compare this state of things with the
anxiety that Paul on his next journey felt about
Thessalonica, when he had to leave it too early, we
feel that his residence in Antioch must have been
long enough to educate the people of the city and
the region round about it in the principles and
(127)
128 XX. THE CHUKCHES OF GALATIA
practice of the Faith; and we must conclude
that the whole winter of A.D. 46-47 was spent in
the city. Moreover, the ancients were as a rule
inclined to regard travelling in the winter on the
plateau as impossible. Just as soldiers did not
march or fight in winter, so people did not travel
in that season, as appears, for example, from Basil s
letters, written in the fourth century; though
modern American missionaries in Turkey make
light of the hardships involved in winter travel.
Antioch is about 3500 feet above sea-level ; a con
siderable tract of high mountains separates it from
Iconium, which is 3370 feet above the sea ; and the
climate in this region during winter is very severe.
In Iconium also the Apostles had great success.
They began, as usual, with teaching in the syna
gogue; and " a great multitude both of Jews and
of Greeks believed ". Here again, as in Antioch,
it seems to be implied that there existed a friendly
relation between the Jews and the Gentiles of the
city ; so that the preaching in the synagogue came
immediately before many Gentiles, who had already
been under the influence of the pure and lofty
morality of the Old Testament. Thus a consider
able Church was built up rapidly in Iconium.
Mischief again arose from the disbelieving Jews,
who, by ways that are not described, set the uncon
verted part of the Gentile population at enmity
ACTS XIV. 1-30 129
with the Apostles. Yet the latter remained there
in spite of the growing opposition, and taught
boldly in public for a long time. This long period
must include most of the spring and summer of
A.D. 47.
The difference of opinion in the city grew
stronger ; and it is well known that among the
ancients public feeling resented such differences as
hostile to the unity which ought to exist in a city,
and regarded the persons who had caused such
differences as enemies of the public peace, without
enquiring whether their acts were justifiable or
not. It was sufficient that their presence and
conduct had caused dissension in the city.
Thus the unbelieving Jews had their hands
strengthened against the Apostles. The end was
brought about by mob violence, and not by formal
action of the magistrates as at Antioch. Paul and
Barnabas learned that there was a plot " to entreat
them shamefully and to stone them". Such ex
pressions point to illegal and riotous conspiracy.
The Apostles yielded to the storm, and fled to
the adjoining country of Lycaonia, viz. that part
of Lycaonia which was in the Roman Province
Galatia, and which contained two cities, Lystra
and Derbe, along with a large number of villages.
Iconium was reckoned by popular native opinion
as a city of the region Phrygia, and in their flight
130 XX. THE CHUECHES OF GALATIA
the Apostles crossed a frontier marked by change of
nationality and of language ; from the old Phrygian
city Iconium they fled to the Lycaonian cities
Lystra and Derbe ; but all these cities alike were
included by the Komans in the Province which they
called Galatia.
Lystra, barely eighteen miles from Iconium, was
the city where the Apostles first settled. It was,
like Antioch, a Koman Colony, so that its popula
tion contained a sprinkling of Komans (who formed
a sort of local aristocracy) and some Hellenes, to
gether with a large number of the old Lycaonian
natives. There were also some Jews, though Luke
does not speak of a synagogue.
The history mentions in a general way that
at Iconium " signs and wonders" were wrought
by the hands of the Apostles, and these words are
confirmed by the allusion which Paul makes in
writing to the Galatians (in. 5) ; but at Lystra Luke
describes in careful detail the healing of a lame
man, which was followed by a great popular demon
stration. The multitude (by which term the
historian seems to mean the non-Roman part of
the population in this Boman colonial city) ex
pressed in their native Lycaonian tongue the belief
that their visitors were not mere men, but gods
come down from heaven in human form; and
they made preparations to offer sacrifice to their
ACTS XIV. 1-30 131
Divine visitants. In front of Lystra, which was
situated on a hill in the middle of a level fertile
river valley, was the temple of Jupiter, and the
priest brought oxen decked with garlands to the
portals of this temple. Barnabas, who was the
more stately and dignified of the two, was regarded
by the populace as Jupiter, while Paul, who was
the chief speaker, was worshipped as Mercury, the
messenger and herald of the chief god. 1 With
difficulty the Apostles restrained the ardour of their
votaries, explaining that their own aim was to
turn away the Gentiles from such vain ceremonies
to the worship of the true God, who, after leaving
mankind in past generations to walk in their own
ways, had now sent His Apostles to proclaim His
true nature to the world.
Soon, however, the changeable mob was swayed
to the opposite side by Jews from Antioch and
Iconium, who excited a riot against Paul, as the
more active of the pair, and after stoning him
dragged his body out of the city. We notice here
that the stoning took place inside the city. It was
a riotous act ; and the Jews who took part in it
had no scruple in profaning a pagan city by such
an act. In the murder of Stephen, on the contrary,
1 An inscription recently found near Lystra groups together
the same two deities.
132 XX. THE CHURCHES OF GALATIA
which was done in strict accordance with Jewish
procedure, though it was in Roman law an act of
riot, the sufferer was taken outside of the city
before he was stoned. It also deserves notice how
carefully Luke refrains from going beyond the
evidence. He does not say that Paul was dead,
but only that the mob supposed him to be dead.
Paul, however, was able to rise up and return into
Lystra ; and on the morrow he went with Barnabas
to Derbe.
Nothing is recorded about the work in Derbe,
except a general statement as to its success. From
thence the Apostles, instead of returning by the
short and direct road through the Cilician Gates
and Tarsus to Syrian Antioch, resolved to retrace
their steps in order to review and confirm the
Churches which they had founded. From Lystra
and Iconium they had been driven by mob violence,
and they had legal right to go back at any time ;
but from Antioch they had been expelled by au
thority of the magistrates, and it may be thought
strange that they could return to that city. The
expulsion, however, did not carry any permanent
disability ; the magistrates had authority to expel
persons who seemed to be a cause of disorder ; but
thai was only a temporary measure, and the exiles
come 1 return at a later time on the chance that
they might be permitted to remain ; and it rested
ACTS XIV. 1-30 133
with the magistrates of the year to take cognizance
of them or to ignore them, as they chose.
The chief act of the Apostles on their return
journey was to provide for the organization and
government of the new Galatian Churches, and
now we hear for the first time of the election of pres
byters by the congregation. The Greek verb must
imply this method of appointment, though Paul
and Barnabas are the subject of the sentence. The
officials are called presbyters, i.e. elders. In Jeru
salem it would appear that the presbyters were
simply the older and more experienced members of
the congregation. In Galatia, they were formally
appointed officials, charged with the duties of teach
ing and administration, and apparently performing
in these new Churches similar duties to those which
were performed in Jerusalem by the Twelve and
the Seven. From Galatia Paul and Barnabas
crossed Taurus (probably in A.D. 48, certainly in
the summer season) and returned through Pam-
phylia to Syrian Antioch, having completed the
duty with which they had been charged.
Thus Antioch became the Mother-Church of all
Gentile Churches.
XXI
THE UNION OF JEWS AND GENTILES
IN THE CHUKCH
Acts xv. 1-35; Gal. n. 11 f.
NOT less than two and a half years can safely be
allowed for the epoch-making journey of Paul and
Barnabas, considering the numerous cities where
they preached, the extent of ground that they
covered, and the length of time that they stayed
in Iconium, and comparing the analogy of later
journeys. They returned to Syrian Antioch, at
the earliest, in the autumn of A.D. 48.
The situation in the Church was materially
altered by this journey: when the two Apostles
turned to the Gentiles," the Church must like
wise do so. The enthusiastic reception of the
Faith by the Galatians could not be rejected or
denied. We may regard it as almost certain
that already the larger part of the Christian Church
was Gentile. So long as merely single Gentiles
here and there, like Cornelius, had come into the
(134)
ACTS XV. 1-35 ; GAL. II. 11 F*. 135
Faith, the Jewish Christians might hope that such
converts would conform to the Jewish Law, which
was almost universally observed in the Church, or
they might shut their eyes to some isolated excep
tions like Titus. Thus the Church would still
remain an essentially national institution, the per
fected form of Judaism, into which the Gentiles
were one by one admitted. The Church in Syrian
Antioch had begun to show that the case was not
so simple; and some private harmonious conver
sation had taken place on the subject in A.D. 45
between Paul and the Church leaders in Jerusalem
(as is mentioned in Gal. n. 10 1 ). But only the
leaders had at that time seen the deeper issues
that were involved. The Christian public in
Jerusalem did not as yet look below the surface.
Now the facts were forced on their notice by
rumour from the north, while Paul and Barnabas
"tarried no little time with the disciples" in
Antioch, i.e. in the year 49.
It was apparently at this time that Peter, in his
progress round all the Churches, came to Antioch
(Gal. ii. 11). In accordance with the understanding
already formed between the leaders and Paul, he
did in Antioch as he had done in the house of
Cornelius : he lived familiarly with the Gentile
Christians, and ate with them. But certain men
1 See Section XVII.
136 XXI. THE UNION OF JEWS AND GENTILES
that came down from Judea ( " from James," i.e.
officially sent from the head of the Judean Church,
as is stated in Gal. n. 12) were shocked at this way
of life ; and they stated plainly the view which
had lain deep in the ordinary Jewish mind through
out these proceedings. If the Gentiles were to enter
the Church, they must comply with the Jewish Law ;
they could not be received straight from paganism
into the full communion of the Church ; there was
too deep a chasm of thought and life and moral
ity separating Jews and pagans ; " except they
be circumcised after the custom of Moses, they
cannot be saved". Now Paul also recognized
the chasm that divided pagans from Jews ; he
fully admitted that the pagans must rise to
the higher moral level of the Jewish religion,
if they were to enter the Church ; but he main
tained that a mere external ceremony like circum
cision was immaterial, and that it was the moral
character of the Mosaic Law which the Gentiles
must put on before they could be saved. Peter,
however, was so far influenced by the Jews that
he withdrew from familiar intercourse with the
Gentile Christians in Antioch, admitting practically
that Jews and Gentiles could not meet at the table
of the Lord, unless the latter accepted the Jewish
rite. Paul rebuked Peter for this defection, and
the issue is not stated. But the dissension grew
ACTS XV. 1-35; GAL. II. 11 FF. 137
sharper in Antioch, and at last it was resolved to
lay the whole matter before the Apostles and the
Church in Jerusalem.
This was an important step. Antioch admitted
that the unity of the Church implied the recogni
tion of Jerusalem as the authoritative centre of
the whole body. As before it had sent help in
time of famine, A.D. 44, so now it sent delegates,
Paul and Barnabas and certain others, to seek
advice. The delegates were escorted on their way
by the Church of Antioch, whose sympathies
were entirely with them ; and as they traversed
Phoenicia and Samaria, "they declared the con
version of the Gentiles," causing great joy. It
was quite evident that a vastly wider movement
than the formation of a Judaistic Church was
imminent, and that issues of world-wide character
depended on the decision in Jerusalem.
When the Church met to welcome the delegates,
they described the wondrous success in Galatia
and the expectation of the Gentiles ; but the
Pharisees who had accepted the Faith urged that
all these Gentile converts must conform to the
whole Mosaic Law; and the meeting was ad
journed for further consideration. The second
meeting was long, and much discussion took place,
in which the Antiochian delegates and their op
ponents stated the arguments on their respective
138 XXI. THE UNION OF JEWS AND GENTILES
sides. Luke describes this debate in two words,
and hastens on to the point where Peter intervened
to relate his own experience, that God had decided
the case by giving the Holy Spirit equally to
Gentiles and to Jews. His speech produced a
hush in the assembly ; and Barnabas and Paul
reinforced his argument from the facts by "rehears
ing what signs and wonders God had wrought
among the Gentiles by them ".
After such testimony it was recognized as im
possible to insist that the Mosaic ceremonial was
necessary, when the Spirit and power had been
granted to multitudes who were ceremonially un
clean. God had shown that the mere ritual of
the Law was not a necessary requirement. James,
who evidently presided as the recognized head of
the Church, summed up the manifest feeling of the
meeting by a conclusive speech, welcoming the
Gentiles to the Faith, setting aside for them many
of the ceremonial requirements of the Law, but
insisting on its moral demand, the prohibition of
all impurity in life. He also required, as a con
cession to Jewish feeling and as almost neces
sary to render free intercourse possible between
Christian Jews and Gentiles, that the Gentiles
should abstain from eating the meat of animals
that had been sacrificed to idols or any meat which
had not been fully freed from blood.
ACTS XV. 1-35; GAL. II. 11 PF. 139
Without these conditions it was impossible for
social communion to exist between Jews and
Gentiles, for all Jews were bound to refrain from
such meat, and if Gentile Christians placed it on
the table and partook of it, Jewish Christians
would be unable to sit with them. If these con
ditions were observed James, strict Jew as he was,
saw no reason why Christians of all nations should
not meet at the common meal ; and his view was
published as the Decree of the Holy Spirit and of
the entire Church.
It seems, at first sight, strange to us that one
moral condition of the most fundamental and
necessary kind should be placed among the cere
monial conditions, which in our view are of com
paratively minor importance. But moral purity
of life was so systematically and universally disre
garded in even the best circles of paganism, that
the Christian teachers were compelled to emphasize
its overwhelming importance, not merely by urging
it along with the other moral duties of life, but
also by publishing it as one of the conditions of
Christian social intercourse. We may illustrate
the position from modern social life : not merely
do we teach temperance as one of the moral duties,
but also we make it a social principle that any
person who is guilty of intemperance is excluded
from society ; and the social law is more effective
140 XXI. THE UNION OF JEWS AND GENTILES
with many persons than considerations of moral
duty.
The Decree of the Council was an attempt to com
bine the Jews and the Gentiles permanently in one
Church. It was accepted by the leaders. It was
acquiesced in at the moment by the rest of the
Jewish Christians, but without hearty goodwill.
A division grew up between them and the Gentile
Christians. The greatest Jews, such as Peter and
John, turned their attention more and more to
the latter. The divergence of feeling in Jerusalem
led to the writing a few years later of the Epistle
to the Hebrews, which attempted to persuade
the reluctant Jewish Christians. 1 The difference
of sentiment, however, was too strong. The Jewish
section of the Church gradually died out after
a century. There was then nothing to gain by
observing the ceremonial prohibitions of the
Council, and only the moral side of the Decree
was enforced finally by the Church.
J We date this Epistle in spring A.D. 59, shortly before
Festus arrived (Acts xxv. i.) ; and we understand that it was
written with Paul s approval and after much conversation
with him, by the head of the Church in Csesareia, viz.
Philip.
XXII
FAITH AND WOEKS
James II. 14-26
THE Epistle of James is inspired by the desire to
resist and extirpate certain faults that became
manifest in the Church as it grew stronger and
acquired a large body of adherents. The two
opening chapters are directed largely against a
dangerous misapprehension of one of the funda
mental principles on which Paul insisted most
strongly. Christianity is the religion of an edu
cated and thoughtful people ; and only those who
rise to the full comprehension of its doctrine, and
who steadily live more and more intensely, and
grow morally stronger as they grow older, can
maintain themselves on the true level of the Faith.
The great Pauline doctrine of justification by faith
was one which the unthinking multitude would
easily misunderstand and misapply. James has to
deal with this misapplication.
His letter therefore belongs in point of date to a
(141)
142 XXII. FAITH AND WOKKS
stage in development following immediately upon
the preaching of Paul. When James declares that
" by works a man is justified, and not only by
faith," he is not contradicting Paul s statement
that " a man is not justified by the works of the
Law save through faith in Jesus Christ " : he is
correcting a false view as to the meaning of Paul s
words. When he asks " was not our father Abra
ham was not Eahab justified by works?" he is
expressing an apparent, but not a real, dissent from
Paul and from the writer of the Epistle to the
Hebrews, who quoted Abraham and Rahab as
examples of faith. James sees and says emphati
cally about Abraham " that faith wrought with his
works, and by works was faith made perfect ". He
saw that faith and works must go hand-in-hand,
and he protests against the separation which some
had made between them.
He emphasized the truth that " faith without
works is dead ". But he also, in the opening words
of his letter, lays the strongest emphasis on the
power of faith. " If any of you lacketh wisdom,
let him ask of God, and it shall be given him : but
let him ask in faith, doubting nothing." He who
doubts must not " think that he shall receive any
thing of the Lord ".
These passages show that faith was to James,
as much as to Paul, a fundamental requirement
JAMES II. 14-26 143
in religion. To the man who prays without per
fect faith God grants nothing. To him who prays
with faith God grants even wisdom, the greatest,
the highest, the most difficult gift in human nature
to bestow. He to whom wisdom is granted has all
things granted to him. It is the poor men who are
"rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom" (n. 5).
Having faith they have salvation. James, therefore,
acknowledges emphatically the supreme power of
faith ; but it is not his purpose to insist on this.
Others had done so sufficiently, and James s slight
allusions imply the prevalence and strength of the
doctrine in the Church.
But it was easy to talk of faith, and to mean by it
something essentially different from what Paul had
in mind. To Paul faith implied a change and re
making of the whole nature, so that the man who
believed must inevitably carry his faith into action.
Faith in the Pauline sense could not exist without
producing what James calls works. Faith was to
Paul a power, and not a mere quality or character
istic. Faith drove the man on to act. Faith pos
sessed and ruled the man. " It is no longer I that
live, but Christ that liveth in me : " every man who
had true faith, and was justified by faith, could say
for himself those words of Paul : Christ lived and
worked in him. But it was quite possible to apply
the words " faith " and " belief " to a certain purely
144 XXII. FAITH AND WORKS
intellectual appreciation of the truth, or an ap
preciation so weak in moral quality that it could
not remake the man s nature. Paul would have
refused to acknowledge such a quality as deserv
ing the great name of " faith ". James saw that
people who thought themselves, and were thought
by others to be, members of the Christian Church,
were making the great mistake and regarding such
empty intellectual belief as "faith"; and he per
ceived that it was not sufficient to tell them that this
quality was not really " faith ". It was necessary to
be far more emphatic, to denounce the error, r and to
bring its nature home to the minds of his hearers
and readers. It was not, as they thought, suffi
cient for salvation to believe that Jesus was the
Christ. Nor was it, among the vulgar, sufficient
even to declare that true belief would work itself
out in life and action. Stronger emphasis was
needed to penetrate deaf ears and dull or pre
judiced minds.
Hence the vigorous and thorough-going way in
which James denounces the error. He points out
that belief alone may be perfectly right, and yet
perfectly inefficacious. J?he devils also believe and
tremble ; they recognize the nature and divinity
and power of Jesus, and tremble before Him ; but
they are no nearer salvation on that account. The
only safe rule, therefore, for the ordinary man is
JAMES II. 14-26 145
to insist that faith without works cannot give sal
vation. Such faith is not the living and transform
ing power that Paul preached : it is dead. Look
at the life and the acts and works of every man,
and do not estimate him on his words and pro
fessions. If you see a fellow-Christian in rags or
starving, and content yourself with words of con
solation and sympathy, such as "go in peace;
may you be warmed and fed," and do not give him
what is needed for his physical comfort, what is
the good of your faith and your sympathetic kindly
words ? Any one, whether learned and clever or
plain and simple, can see the truth of this. Every
one whom you meet will in practice make the same
criticism, and will say, " You have faith, and I
have works : I can by my works demonstrate to
you my faith ; but can you show me your faith
apart from your works : I want some proof of it ?
I need something that I can see and appreciate,
before I take your faith as real : I cannot take it
on credit merely because you talk finely about it."
Such is the plain fact of life. Such is the rough
practical sense of the ordinary man. Faith apart
from works is barren; it produces no good for
the Church, for the neighbours, or for the man
himself.
Then James appeals to examples which would
be familiar to all Christians. Abraham was the
10
146 XXII. FAITH AND WOEKS
great type of faith ; he believed in the Promise of
God, when all appearance and probability was
against its fulfilment. But Abraham s faith
showed itself in act. He offered up Isaac his son
upon the altar, when God seemed to ask it. His
faith was made perfect in the actions of his life,
and hence his belief was reckoned unto him for
righteousness ; but the faith alone without the
works in which it practically manifested itself
would not have justified him. So also Eahab, who
served as another favourite illustration of the
power of faith, was justified not only by faith but
by the work in which her faith made itself effective
and real.
James and Paul then are in reality perfectly
harmonious ; but James warns the generation
which had listened to Paul against a misinter
pretation of his teaching.
XXIII
WOKD AND ACT
James m. 1-12
THE introduction of the custom of electing the
Church officials by the votes of the congregation
was almost inevitable in the Hellenic Churches.
The habit of self-government by free popular voting
was deeply engrained in the Greek nature, and the
Church followed the national bent.
This seems to have been a new departure in
troduced in the Galatian cities. In Palestine the
selection of a twelfth Apostle to fill the place of
Judas had been left to the Divine choice between
two persons who were put forward by a procedure
which is not specified ; and so also the exact
method whereby the Seven were selected is not
described by Luke. But in neither case is there
even the slightest probability that voting was the
method employed; and in the second case the
Greek word which is used makes that quite certain.
Doubtless in both cases discussion showed that
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148 XXIII. WOED AND ACT
certain individuals had commended themselves by
their past life to the judgment of the best and most
trusted members of the community. Opinions
were weighed, and not counted.
In the Hellenic cities the Greek method of
voting was apparently put in practice, as the Greek
term (Acts xiv. 23) probably shows, though the
English translation hides the nature of the process.
The free voting stimulated public interest, and
without it the spark of life could not easily have
been kept effective in a congregation of Hellenes.
The free Hellenic education and custom tended
this way, counting all men equal.
Serious dangers, however, were involved in this
kind of action. The method implied candidature ;
and with candidature came rivalry ; and out of
rivalry sprang jealousy, quarrels, factions, and
divisions. The rival candidates had their supporters
and partisans ; and elections of Church officials
became disfigured by strife. Paul alludes to these
evils, and warns both the Galatians and the
Corinthians against them.
James was also aware of this feature of Church
life ; but the aspect of it which most offended him
was the eagerness of the members of the congrega
tions in the West to speak and teach in public.
All were eager to teach : few were ready to listen
and to be taught. All were eager to recommend
JAMES III. 1-12 149
themselves to the public. Too many had an eye
to future office, and were preparing for their
candidature hereafter by keeping themselves well
before the eyes of the congregation. That is the fault
most characteristic of the Greek character through
out history ; as a race they are fluent, talkative,
fond of ostentation, and generally devoid of re
ticence and deficient in dignity ; and that side of
their nature was specially offensive to the graver
mind of a Jew like James.
Hence the burden of his advice to his readers is
that they be swift to hear and slow to speak (i. 19) ;
and he now devotes a weighty paragraph to warn
them against their besetting fault. They should
not be eager for the official position of a teacher,
and they should not be desirous to show off their
powers as teachers unofficially. If the teacher
has more influence and receives more respect and
even pay, more is expected of him and he is judged
more severely. We all make mistakes, we all
stumble, both teachers and pupils ; but the teacher
is more harshly criticized, while the hearers are not
condemned so readily.
The only duty of the Church officials which
James alludes to is that of teaching. The Epistle
belongs to a very early period, when Church doctrine
and service were very simple, and when the duty
of teaching, both in the conversion of the pagans
150 XXIII. WOBD AND ACT
and in the instruction of the converts, completely
outweighed the other functions of the officials in
the congregation. On the other hand the letter is
later than the formation of the Pauline Churches,
and has in view the faults that were characteristic of
those congregations, and not the faults to which the
older Palestinian Churches were most prone. We
can, then, hardly doubt that James was addressing
the new Churches of the West. When he calls
them "the twelve Tribes which are of the Dis
persion," he is speaking from the point of view
which might be expected, and which is pecu
liarly characteristic of his school and his period.
He had joined with Peter and with John in approv
ing the action and mission of Paul. He welcomed
the Gentiles into the Church. He was ready to
accept them on the same level as the Jews in the
Christian unity. But he still regarded the Gentile
Christians as persons who were received into the
Jewish pale. The Church was the kingdom of
God ; but it was a Jewish kingdom, which drew
all nations unto it, and the Gentiles became " the
twelve Tribes which are in the world outside of
Palestine ".
By an easy transition James passes from the
general idea of stumbling to the particular form in
which stumbling is most common and easy. "If
any man stumbletn not in word, the same is a
JAMES III. 1-12 151
perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also."
The hasty, idle, and foolish word was the most
difficult thing for these Greek Christians to avoid,
and it was the beginning of many dangerous evils.
It is a small and slight thing in itself, but it may
determine the direction of the whole life, as the
bridle and bit in the horse s mouth, or the small
rudder in the great ship, determines the whole
course of each. The tongue of a man, small as
it is, utters great and swelling words, and drives
him on to important issues in action, which he had
not thought of when he began to talk. It is like a
fire which spreads through the whole course and
order of nature ; but the fire is originally kindled
from hell, and the hasty word is suggested by the
devil. The tongue is the one thing in the whole
world that has never been tamed ; birds and beasts,
reptiles and fishes, have all been tamed by man,
and employed for his use or his pleasure ; " but the
tongue can no man tame ".
Its unreasonableness, too, and its double nature,
are shown by the fact that it utters both blessings
and curses. This ought not to be so ; it is utterly
unnatural, and there is nothing similar to it in the
whole universe. Everything else is and does and
produces after its kind. The fountain gives either
sweet water or bitter, but never both. The fig-tree
produces only figs, and men never gather olives
152 XXIII. WOED AND ACT
from a vine. But the tongue is the one unnatural,
incomprehensible, double-natured thing. We can
not tell what it will say : we cannot predict, as a
man is opening his mouth, whether good words or
bad, whether wise words or foolish, will come forth
from it. Still less can we forecast what crime and
misery may issue from the foolish and thoughtless
word which the tongue utters.
XXIV
THE NATUKE AND POWEK OF FAITH
Hebrews XI. 1-30
THE Epistle to the Hebrews was written, as we
think, in early summer, A.D. 59, towards the con
clusion of Paul s imprisonment in Csesarea. It
was composed by some person who was in close
relation and frequent communication with the
prisoner ; and its intention was to recommend the
latter s views to the mass of the Jewish Christians
in Jerusalem, who were suspicious of him and in
clined to dislike his bold Gentile teaching. The
author does not directly explain or defend Paul.
He expounds the religious situation, and leads his
readers to a point of view from which they might
understand Paul better.
The leaders in Jerusalem were in sympathy with
Paul, as he and Luke both tell us ; and this Epistle
distinguishes between the leaders and the mass of
the Church, and addresses itself to the latter. The
writer was in full accord with Paul, but expresses
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154 XXIV. THE NATUBE AND POWER OF FAITH
his own opinions after his own fashion, which is
markedly different from the Pauline fashion. In
this chapter, by words and examples which would
be most easily intelligible to his Jewish readers,
he explains the way in which he understands
Paul s fundamental doctrine of justification by
faith.
What the Christian hopes for, what is promised
to him, is not given to him at the present moment,
and is not anything that he can see or hold in his
hands ; but through faith he feels assured and firmly
convinced that his hope will be given to him in due
season. The men of older time are recorded in the
Scriptures as patterns to all Christians, because they
had faith and through faith believed that the Pro
mise would be fulfilled to Israel, though they never
saw its fulfilment. We, by faith, believe that God
created the material world out of an immaterial
origin, though we can never actually see or know
how the creative act was performed.
Some of the examples of faith, which are selected
from old Hebrew history, seem to depend on the
Jewish tradition, which told more than is recorded
in the Scriptures. We do not easily understand
from Genesis how Abel and Enoch are examples of
faith : the references to them in that book are too
slight. In some way that is not recorded Abel s
sacrifice was a proof of his faith, and was on that
HEBREWS XL 1-30 155
account accepted. Similarly, the translation of
Enoch proved his faith ; and the writer feels in
this case that he must explain. Enoch had be
lieved that God really is, and that God rewards
those who seek after Him. Now paganism and
idolatry in all forms are inconsistent with faith,
because they contain a false idea of God. The
pagan does not know what is the nature of God ;
he either is afraid of his God, and seeks to propi
tiate the anger of the deity, and prevent the Divine
power from doing him harm, or he tries to make a
bargain, promising certain gifts in return, if his
God helps him. Such were the ideas of pagan
worship ; and they are inconsistent with faith.
But Enoch had risen above the ideas of paganism,
and attained to a true conception of the nature
and kindness of God, and his faith in God had its
reward.
Noah, when all others disbelieved, had faith that
that which was told him would happen ; and he
prepared the ark to save himself and his household
from an unseen and future danger. His faith in
the coming punishment of crime condemned those
who would not believe that crime should be pun
ished.
Abraham, when he was bidden to go away into
a strange land and leave his own people, had faith
that good would result from his obedience, and
156 XXIV. THE NATUEE AND POWER OF FAITH
that the Promise would be fulfilled in a distant
future. Hence he became a wanderer in a strange
land, a mere nomad, yet he had faith that a divinely
built city would be given to his descendants. He
firmly believed that his posterity would be numerous
as the sand and the stars, although he and his wife
Sarah were childless until extreme old age ; and then,
when his only son was still young, he was ready to
sacrifice him at the command of God. Isaac and
Jacob, on their deathbeds, blessed their sons, and
with the confidence of faith promised them future
happiness, as yet unrealized. Joseph showed faith
in the future deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and
ordered that his bones should be carried out when
his people were sent forth. The whole history of
Moses shows the triumph of faith. At every stage
his parents and himself and the people whom he
led took great risks, and preferred the future to the
present, trusting to the words of a Promise in spite
of the dangers and difficulties involved in this be
lief. So even Eahab, an alien, a Gentile, a pagan
and a sinner, was saved by her firm confidence
that the true God was fighting against her people.
These heroes of old all died without seeing their
faith justified and their hopes realized (verses 13-
16). Christ was not to come in their time; but
by their faith they anticipated His coming, and
He became a real possession to them. They said
HEBEEWS XL 1-30 157
plainly that they were mere travellers and strangers
in the world, and this proved that they regarded
a heavenly country as their own, and that they
lived in the confident hope of coming at last into
their own land and their true home.
In this way one might go through the whole
of Hebrew history, quoting from every page ex
amples of faith. Every deed of heroism was done
through the strength which faith gives. Every
case in which persecution was nobly endured was a
triumph of faith. Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jeph-
thah, David, Samuel, the great prophets of Israel
all furnish examples of faith. The victories of the
Hebrews in war were gained by faith, often against
overwhelming numbers. In the book of Daniel
we hear that the prophet was unharmed by the
lions, and the three Hebrew children by the fire.
Their faith saved them. To mothers who had
faith their dead sons were given back. The suf
ferings and tortures which heroes and heroines of
Israel endured were numberless and terrible. They
were killed by the most painful lingering tortures.
They were fugitives, skulking in caves, or wander
ing in deserts. It was through faifch that they
endured.
Yet all of these glorious models and patterns
believed in that which was unseen and unknown.
They never in life received the Promise. The
158 XXIV. THE NATUEE AND POWER OF FAITH
completion and perfection of their hope lay among
us, who have known the Coming of the Christ.
They had to wait until our time for the realization
of their faith. We are the happy ones, in whose
time this realization has taken place. Surely,
when we contemplate the history of our own
Hebrew race, and observe so many witnesses testi
fying by their life to the power of faith, we cannot
but be convinced, and live the life of truth, and
follow the example of Jesus in perfect confidence.
We must have faith in what is still unseen and
future. We have to believe in the Kingdom of
Heaven and in the second Coming of Jesus. We
must have faith also in what is past and can no
longer be seen, the life and the death of Jesus on
our behalf. By belief in these, they become real
for us, and they make part of our life and nature.
The whole argument proceeds from a Jew to
Jews. The author pleads with his own brethren
and identifies himself with their case. His object
is not such a trivial one as merely to prove that
Paul was right. Paul himself had no desire for
that. He is preaching the Gospel of Paul from
his own point of view and in his own way, eager
to make his brothers in Israel feel themselves truly
his brothers in Christ.
XXV
CHEISTIANITY GIVING VITALITY TO
THE ANCIENT CIVILIZATION
Beview : Acts x.-xv.
IN Section XIII a review was given of the growth
of the primitive Church in Jerusalem, and of its
diffusion over the Jewish and semi- Jewish popula
tion in the towns of Palestine. We have seen that
for a short time it appeared to the human eye as if
the young Church was to settle down into a mere
sect strict and advanced in tone, but still a mere
sect of Judaism. This was due to the natural,
but too narrow, idea that the kingdom of God was
to have Jerusalem as its centre, and that the whole
world was to conform to the Jewish Law, and
thus enter into fellowship with Christ. Stephen
shattered this idea, and the Church as a whole ac
cepted his views. The persecution that broke out
after his death scattered the first Christians known
afterwards as " the ancient disciples " (Acts xxi. 16)
and caused a wide dissemination of the new
Faith.
(159)
160 XXV. CHRISTIANITY AND ANCIENT CIVILIZATION
The doctrine of Stephen, in all that it implied,
was not at first fully understood even by the leaders
like Peter. Philip, one of the Seven, took the first
step in widening the religious circle. Then Peter
was warned in a vision that he should not call any
man common or unclean, but that in every nation
he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is
acceptable to Him. After some dissension and
discussion the Church in Jerusalem approved of
Peter s action in admitting the Eoman Cornelius
as a member of the Universal Church, even though
he had not conformed fully to the Jewish Law. By
this action of the Church Peter s conduct in eating
with Cornelius was tacitly condoned, though sub
sequent events showed that it was not really ap
proved by the mass of the Jewish Christians, who
acquiesced outwardly in the action of their leaders,
but inwardly were far from being reconciled to the
free admission of Gentiles into the Church.
The whole question was opened up in an acute
form after the foundation of the first Gentile Church
at Antioch. Luke does not expressly say whether
the Gentile members complied with the Jewish
Law ; but he apparently assumes that his readers
were aware that neither Cornelius nor the Antio-
chian Greek Christians did so ; and Paul, in writing
to the Galatians, asserts this about Titus. The
whole history of the period shows that the Jewish
REVIEW: ACTS X.-XV. 161
Law was not accepted in its entirety as binding in
the Antiochian Church. But, although the Greeks
of Antioch continued to be ceremonially unclean,
it was not until a later stage that the question
whether a Jew could lawfully associate with them
was formally raised ; and the circumstances prove
that the earlier Jewish leaders in Antioch mixed
freely with the Greeks. It may be presumed that
the difficulty about meat was solved by them in
the same way as was afterwards approved in the
Apostolic Council.
Before the question was raised, another step had
been made. The new Gentile Church in its turn
began to send forth missionaries on its own
authority, and thus to assert its recognition of
the duty imposed on all Christians to educate, to
Christianize, and to civilize the world. The journey
of Paul and Barnabas was commissioned directly
and solely from Antioch, so far as it had any
earthly origin. Paul himself always asserted that
he had no commission or charge from the older
Church of Jerusalem and its leaders. The action
of the Antiochian Church in sending out the two
missionaries was ordered by the Holy Spirit ; and
this Church might say with as much justice as
the Church of Jerusalem in the Decree of the
Apostolic Council : " it seemed good to the Holy
Spirit and to us ".
11
162 XXV. CHRISTIANITY AND ANCIENT CIVILIZATION
The absolute independence and equality before
Heaven of the new Church in Antioch was thus
clearly and emphatically expressed. In this there
was a danger, which might easily have become
real and serious, but which was averted by the
wisdom and faith of the Antiochian leaders. This
danger was that, in the assertion of its independ
ence, Antioch might separate itself from Jerusalem,
and thus break up the unity of the infant Church.
Any pride or arrogance or too strong self-asser
tion in Antioch, any emphatic resolve to assert its
own rights, would have caused this result. The
manner in which it was avoided is instructive as
an example of the combination of practical sense,
lively sympathy with distress, and readiness to
hear the Divine voice and obey it. To all who
believe in the Divine guidance and eagerly desire
to follow it, the Divine voice will make itself
audible. Charity to the poor, strong sense of
brotherhood amid diversity, and recognition of the
just claim of their distant brethren to be consulted
on great questions, so that there should be a uni
form spirit and tone in their policy, dictated the
action of the Antiochian Church, and cemented
the unity of the Universal Church.
The two most important steps, as recorded by
Luke, in this epoch-making period, on which the
whole future history of the Christian Faith and
REVIEW : ACTS X.-XV. 163
the sense of brotherhood in the entire Church
depended, were the unasked sending of help to
Jerusalem in view of the coming famine, and the
consultation of the Apostles and Elders in Jeru
salem about the relation between Jews and Gentiles
in the Church. The meaning and importance of
each of those steps has already been described.
Here we have only to make four remarks :
1. Luke does not attribute this wise action of
the Church leaders to any preconceived plan. He
makes it clear at every stage that the leaders were
not working out any carefully formed scheme
of their own. Each step was taken under the
coercion of external circumstances. Sometimes a
previously unimportant and little-known person
made the new step. Sometimes persons standing
wholly outside the Church, by persecution or
otherwise, caused a new departure of great histori
cal significance.
2. The leaders were always ready to learn from
each new situation and from any person, and to
take up an idea new to them.
3. The real moving power throughout was the
Holy Spirit. The profound belief in its guidance
was the one principle, according to Luke, which the
leaders had in mind. To follow this guidance was,
to them and to their historian, true statesmanship.
They saw one idea always before them, the Death
164 XXV. CHRISTIANITY AND ANCIENT CIVILIZATION
and the Eesurrection of Jesus ; and this triumph
of life over death was their message to the pagan
world.
4. It is impossible to express too strongly the
deep significance of the change which took place
between A.D. 32 and 48. The attitude of the
Church was turned in the opposite direction. In
stead of seeking to bring the Gentiles into con
formity with Judaism, it had now to face a totally
different problem ; was it possible to retain the
Jews within its bounds ? The Gentiles, the teem
ing population of the Roman Empire, were pouring
into the Church, and threatening to drown out
Judaism. Their overwhelming numbers were ir
resistible. Their eagerness was the most marked
feature of the situation. Paul was deeply impressed
in Galatia with this ardour of the Gentiles ; and
though perhaps the eagerness was hardly so great
elsewhere, yet in every province of the Empire and
in every city it was very strong. The civilized
world was eager for the peace and the promise of
the new Faith. The fields were ripe for the
harvest. The fullness of time was come ; and at
that moment the Divine power made itself mani
fest. The Christian religion came in to cement
the unity of the Roman Empire, to preserve the
ancient civilization and law in its best features for
modern men, and to strengthen the Empire for
REVIEW: ACTS X.-XV. 165
the struggle against destruction by the barbarians.
In the never-ending war between civilization and
barbarism, between light and darkness, it had for
a time seemed that the victory must be with the
powers of evil, for civilization itself had grown
weak with corruption ; but the new Faith gave
life and sweetness to the decay of the ancient
world.
The Eesurrection of Jesus was the saving ele
ment in the ancient pagan world. But in this
change what was to become of the little people
of the Jews ? They held aloof, except the leaders,
and as time passed they became more and more
aloof ; they shrank into their own retirement, and
refused to be merged in the great world. The
attempt made at the Apostolic Council to effect a
modus vivendi between the two elements in the
Church was unsuccessful in reconciling the mass
of the Jewish Christians to their Gentile brethren.
XXVI
THE MOTIVE POWEE OF LIFE
Romans xiil. 1-14
WE have seen how James explained in simple
words and through examples drawn from past
history, his view of the nature and practical effect
of faith. Paul in writing to the Komans states in
the language of the deepest and most philosophic
religious thought his own conception of faith.
James emphasized the plain practical fact that the
faith which does not work itself out in the life and
conduct of a man is dead. Paul, while apparently
exalting faith and depreciating works, was think
ing of the works that are done because a formal
law commands them. He conceived faith as an
intense and burning enthusiasm inspired through
overpowering belief in and realization of the nature
of Jesus an enthusiasm which drives on the man
in whose soul it reigns to live the life of Jesus.
This overmastering faith makes the man s life, and
shows itself in every act that he does. But his
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EOMANS XIII. 1-14 167
works are not done through an external command,
because the Law bids him do them. They are the
way in which his soul expresses itself. They are
his life : it is no longer he himself, as a human being
distinguishable from his faith, that lives. The faith
that is in him is the one thing that lives and acts.
From a different point of view this faith which
possesses the man and lives in him may be de
scribed as love. Faith in Jesus is an intense and
supreme love for God, for all that God has made,
and for all that is like God. The one supreme
duty, the one thing that we owe to all other men,
i.e. what we owe our neighbour, is love. It is easy
to pay to our neighbour all the ordinary debts of
life, all the debts that law recognizes and enforces ;
but there is one thing which is always due from
us to all men, one thing which we can never pay
completely, one debt that always remains still to
be satisfied, and that is the love which we are
bound to feel and show towards them.
This duty sums up and comprises in itself the
entire law of conduct towards other men. He that
has in his soul the true faith, or in other words
the real love, has fulfilled the whole law, and
much more than the whole law. The law, being
a positive and external command, or series of com
mands, cannot do more than state a number of
details "thou shalt not steal," "thou shalt not
168 XXVI. THE MOTIVE POWER OF LIFE
commit murder," and so on. But no such enu
meration of details can ever be complete ; it must
always fall short of the vast fullness and compli
cated relations of life. One may in a sense fulfil
all those positive enactments, one by one, and yet
fall hopelessly short of real goodness. Moreover,
in the multitude of details, the man who is striving
merely to obey the law that orders each action be
comes befogged, and wanders from the true path.
The details often seem to conflict with one an
other ; questions of casuistry arise, and the law is
not a clear enough guide. No one can be justified
merely by doing the works of the law. The one
true guide is the spirit of love and faith burning
in his heart, impelling him to act, and showing
him in each case what to do and how to do it.
There is another strong motive which should
impel mankind to an active and strenuous life.
The Day of Judgment and the Coming of the Lord
are at hand. Every man should live in expectation.
That day is nearer than it was. Each day spent
is a day nearer the end. Life is not a time for
sluggishness and sleep. In the darkness of night,
sleep is permissible ; but the night is now near an
end, and the light of day is about to begin.
Paul s words when he refers to this subject are
always mystic and obscure not that there is really
any obscurity in them, but that he has to express
ROMANS XIII. 1-14 169
in human thought, which is conditioned by time,
the idea of eternity which stands above and outside
of and apart from time. That which is real and
eternal must necessarily stand very close to us.
Human nature is temporary, evanescent and
unreal ; it is here for a moment or an hour, and
then it passes away ; and yet it has a hold upon
and a share in what is fixed and eternal. But the
eternal does not come after the temporary ; it does
not begin when that which is evanescent ends ; it
is the real truth present in and underlying the
changeable and unreal. Because it is real and
eternal it is close at hand ; it is here and now.
But inasmuch as man s nature is imperfect, and
because even the good man who is justified is still
only straining after the truth, and struggling to
reach what is beyond him, therefore the eternal
and the real is apart from him, distant and hidden
in the future.
Hence arises the apparent contradiction be
tween Paul s language at different times with
regard to the Coming of the Lord. Sometimes he
emphasizes its nearness, when he desires to impress
on people that it is certain and inevitable, and that
every man must face it and ought to live in view of
it. At other times, he has to remind them that
many things must happen before the Lord comes,
that the history of the world must continue and
170 XXVI. THE MOTIVE POWER OF LIFE
reach another stage in the development of the will
and purpose of God as a preliminary. In the present
chapter Paul s object is to make the great and final
issue an incentive to immediate activity. That is
what we have to live for, and we must live for it
here and now, not begin to do so at some future
time.
He employs here another kind of metaphor
(which is one of his favourite forms of expression) :
the actions of a man s life are the dress which he
wears. In the dark night, when one is free to live
idle and to sleep, one wears the loose and easy
garments that are suited for sleeping. But in the
day one must put on other garments suited for
active life in the open. With this is worked in yet
another metaphor. The life of the Christian is a
continuous warfare against evil and wrong. The
true Christian is a soldier, and he must wear the
garb of a soldier, the offensive and defensive
armour with which all soldiers in that age, Roman
or Greek or barbarian, were equipped. We must
recognize, therefore, that day is now beginning,
and we must put on the armour that becomes us
to wear in the light of day.
Then in simpler words, and in another metaphor,
Paul describes life as a walk. Since we are going
about in the full light of day, there must be no
pretence and no sham: "let us walk honestly as
EOMANS XIII. 1-14 171
in the day " . Even the pagans of the world reserve
their worst faults of personal conduct for the evening
and the night. The revel at nightfall is accompanied
by drinking, and leads on to vicious indulgence.
Nothing of this can fill any part of the Christian s
life. In the day the life of the pagan is guided by
jealousy against his neighbour and competition
with his rival. This also is unfit for the Christian
and must be abandoned by him. His life is a war
fare, but the war is not against his neighbour, as
is the case with the pagan ; the strife in which he
is engaged is against the powers of evil and of dark
ness. He is to put on Christ as the armour of his
battle, and to identify himself with his Leader.
The war which he fights is the war of Christ against
the world, and he is to give his whole mind to this,
and to take no thought for his own bodily comfort
and pleasures.
XXVII
THE ENTEANCE OF THE GOSPEL INTO
EUKOPE
Acts xv. 36-xvi. 15
THE mission of Paul and Barnabas to the
Council in Jerusalem was followed by a short
period of teaching and preaching in Antioch, which
apparently comprised only a few months at the
beginning of A.D. 50. It was probably in the
spring of that year that Paul proposed to Barnabas
to return to Galatia and "visit the brethren in
every city " where they had preached. The spring
is almost certainly the season when they would
enter upon their journey, just as they would start
in the morning, not in the afternoon. Such was
and is Oriental custom and nature. The start prob
ably was made in quite early spring, as the plan was
to do some work by the way in Syria and Cilicia ;
and the beginning of summer is the season best
suited for the long journeys which they proposed
to make beyond the snowy Taurus and in Galatia,
(172)
ACTS XV. 36-XVI. 15 173
where the cities were placed about 3300 to 3600 feet
above sea-level.
An unhappy incident now occurred, which led
to the separation of Paul and Barnabas. The
latter wished to take his relative, John Mark, as
their companion. Paul, who had been deeply
wounded by Mark s desertion on the former
journey, would not trust him again. There was
a sharp contention between the two old friends ;
and Barnabas went off with Mark to Cyprus,
while Paul chose Silas, a delegate sent by the
Council from Jerusalem. The expression of xv.
37 seems designed to show that the Antiochian
Church sympathized rather with Paul, who was
continuing the forward movement, than with
Barnabas, who went away into the backwater of
Cyprus and passes out of history. Luke expresses
no opinion as to who was to blame for the lament
able quarrel, and we should admire and imitate
his reticence. The fate of the Church lay in the
work of Paul and his coadjutors. We part from
the honourable and gracious personality of Barna
bas with deep regret ; but history marches with
Paul.
Some time was spent by Paul among the
Churches of North Syria and Cilicia. These
Churches are mentioned explicitly only here ; and
they are implied in xv. 23, where the letter of the
174 XXVII. THE GOSPEL IN EUEOPE
Council is addressed to them as well as to Antioch.
Of their foundation no record is preserved. Pre
sumably, they grew up partly through the work
of Paul in A.D. 35-43 (Gal. i. 23), aided by the
natural spread of the new Faith first in the towns
along the great road connecting Antioch with
Tarsus, and afterwards in outlying places. The
facts of the situation show that they were mixed
congregations, where the relation of Jew and Gentile
Christians would be a difficult problem. Accord
ingly, the letter of the Council, fixing the terms on
which social intercourse could take place freely
between the converted pagans, who had been used
to a looser life, and the Jewish Christians, who
had grown up in the teaching of a stricter ritual
and a higher morality, was addressed to all the
Churches of the great united Eoman Province,
Syria and Cilicia ; and there was no need for Paul
to communicate the letter to them. His work
here was only to "confirm the Churches," spend
ing probably some days in each, enforcing the
principles which they had already been taught.
Thereafter, a long journey of at least 120
miles had to be made through a country which
was not Eoman, and in which Paul seems not
to have preached, as it did not offer a favourable
opening. His work began anew when he reached
the Eoman Province Galatia, and came first
ACTS XV. 36-XVI. 15 175
to Derbe, the frontier city, and then to Lystra.
Here and in the other Galatian Churches the
Decree of the Council had not yet been delivered,
as it was not addressed to them. But the prob
lem with which the Decree dealt was as acute
in Galatia as in Syria and Cilicia. Paul loyally
carried out the spirit of the Council s decision,
communicating the Decree to his converts and
urging them to keep it. His object was to secure
unity of feeling and unity of life in those mixed
congregations, where the former pagans were the
overwhelming majority. No real unity was poss
ible, if either the Jewish Christians insisted that
the pagan converts should accept the whole Jewish
Law, or the pagans refrained from complying with
those enactments which were necessary if Jews
were to sit at the same table and eat the same
food with them.
Paul, in his eager desire to show the utmost
respect to the Jewish Law in any case of doubt,
took now a step which led to much discussion.
He found that a youth named Timotheos (Timothy)
at Lystra was a suitable coadjutor. A convert of
Paul s former journey, he had acquired a high
reputation in the congregations of his own country,
Lystra and Iconium : Derbe, which was more
distant from Lystra, is not mentioned. He
was also marked out by prophetic utterances
176 XXVII. THE GOSPEL IN EUBOPE
(1 Tim. i. 18); probably in the public assembly
at Lystra some persons had suddenly, under
Divine inspiration, designated Timothy for this
work.
There was, however, one difficulty. Timothy
was son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother.
While his mother had trained him from childhood
in the Jewish Scriptures, he ranked according to
his father as a Greek, and had not been circumcised.
It was almost impossible for him in this condition
to come into social and friendly relations with Jews.
His mother s marriage, it is true, proves that some
Jews in that region were very free in their views,
but the stricter Jews would be suspicious of the son
of a mixed marriage, and would refuse to have
any relations with him, unless he were circum
cised. Yet Paul s method always was to begin
with the Synagogue in each city, and a coadjutor
whom the Jews would not admit to intimacy
would be much less useful. Accordingly, " because
of the Jews that were in those parts," he himself
circumcised Timothy.
This action was easily liable to misunderstand
ing, as if it implied that ordinary Christians might
be free from the Law, but that those who were to
be worthy of higher dignity must comply fully
with its requirements. Also, it shows that Paul
entertained much wider plans than were stated at
ACTS XV. 36-XVI. 15 177
the start (xv. 36) ; his action to Timothy was
intended, not with a view to the people of the
already existing congregations, who thought so
highly of the young man, but for the Jews of
strange cities. Evidently, he was already planning
his entrance into the great and wealthy cities of
the province Asia.
But after surveying all his Churches, and seeing
that they were steadily growing under the officials
who had been appointed, he found at the frontier
of Galatia and Asia that the Holy Spirit forbade
him to speak the word in the latter province. The
little company of travellers, therefore, turned north
with the design of entering Bithynia, a rich
province containing great cities; but "when they
were come over against Mysia," their farther way
northwards was stopped by " the Spirit of Jesus ".
They then turned westwards till they reached
Troas. This journey, after leaving Galatia, was
entirely in the province Asia, where they were not
allowed to preach; hence they " passed by " (i.e.
neglected) Mysia. 1
The noteworthy difference of expression regard
ing the several intimations of the Divine Will points
to different methods of revelation, and is obscure
to us ; but it springs from intimate knowledge on
1 Mysia was a region of the province Asia : to reach Troas
they must pass through Mysia, but did not preach in it.
12
178 XXVII. THE GOSPEL IN EUROPE
the part of Luke, and this knowledge was gained
from Paul s mouth. We gather only that the
second intimation merely barred the path to
Bithynia, while the first gave clear orders as to
conduct, but left the way through Asia open.
Now at last the explanation of these long jour-
neyings came through a vision. By night Paul
saw a man, whom he recognized as Macedonian,
beseeching him and saying, " Come over into
Macedonia and help us ". Here Luke appears
personally as one of Paul s companions : " straight
way we sought to go forth into Macedonia, suppos
ing that God had called us to preach the Gospel
unto them". From this point onwards we can
see where Luke left and rejoined Paul, by noting
the use of the first personal plural pronoun. The
intention is unmistakable. Luke desires to show
clearly that in certain parts of the narrative he
spoke as an eye-witness. If so, it must also be
inferred that in the rest of the book he was not an
eye-witness, but depended on the authority of
others. In xiv. 22 "we" is used differently; it
means "we Christians" universally; but in xvi.-
xxvin. it marks the writer as one of a small
company of travellers, who are all called to be
preachers and missionaries. It was at Troas that
Luke began to be a companion of Paul; he re
mained in Philippi when Paul went on; later,
ACTS XV. 36-XVI. 15 179
when Paul returned to Philippi, Luke rejoined
him and accompanied him to Jerusalem and Rome.
These and other facts point to some connexion
between Luke and Philippi.
Philippi, a Roman Colony and a leading city of
its district, was reached by a voyage to Neapolis
and a short journey inland. It contained few Jews
and no Synagogue. When some days had passed,
and the Sabbath came, Paul s party went out to
the river-side, and found an assembly of women
met for prayer. This offered an opening, and they
addressed the women. One of these was a stranger
from Thyatira, whose national appellation Lydia
had supplanted her proper name. Although not a
Jewess, she had been attracted by the severe and
lofty Jewish religion. She was now deeply im
pressed by the new teaching, and after a time,
evidently short, she and all her household adopted
the new Faith, and were baptized. Lydia was
apparently a widow, as she was mistress of a
household, possessed of considerable property ; and
she entertained the whole party in her house,
pressing her hospitality upon them.
XXVIII
THE FIRST CHKISTIAN CHUKCH IN
EUEOPE
Acts xvi. 16-40
THE conversion of the household of Lydia, and of
the jailer in Philippi (which is related subsequently),
are examples of the strong family unity that char
acterized ancient society. House slaves were, as a
rule, much attached to their masters, and were
regarded as part of the family and as far more
trustworthy than hired servants, and the house
hold was governed in a half-patriarchal style. The
jailer s household was probably humble and small,
yet even he would doubtless have at least one slave.
But Lydia s household must have been much larger.
She was working a business that required consider
able capital, as she was a dealer in a fashionable
and rather expensive kind of garments. Her house
was able to take in four guests on an unexpected
visit ; and, though Eastern habits of living are sim
pler, yet where a woman was the householder, this
(180)
ACTS XVI. 16-40 181
implies free space and room for separation. The
constraint which she applied shows that the four
missionaries hesitated to force so large a company
on her, and only yielded to her pressing hospitality.
The situation also proves that women enjoyed much
freedom and respect in those Macedonian cities.
Paul and his friends now had a very favourable
opportunity ; as he himself would have expressed
it, a door was opened to him for work in Philippi.
How long he remained there Luke does not define
exactly ; but there is no reason to think the time
was long, or that the evangelization of the city and
the formation of the Church were completed by
him. That was left to Luke, who remained alone.
The catastrophe was forced on prematurely by a
remarkable incident, which is very characteristic
of society in the ^Egean cities, and which shows
what a large part was played by magical and other
arts for making money out of the superstitions of
the populace. There was a slave-girl who was a
skilful ventriloquist, and who gained thereby a con
siderable income for her masters by pretending to
reveal future events and tell fortunes. For the
successful practice of such an art it is necessary to
possess a certain sensitiveness of temperament ; and
the girl seems in some subtle way to have appre
ciated the spiritual influence with which the Apostle
and his companions were endowed. Day after day
182 XXVIII. FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN EUROPE
she followed them, calling out " these men are slaves
of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way
of salvation ". Now these words, which seem to us
to carry some intimation of Christian character,
did not convey any such impression to the people
in the streets, and there is no reason to think that
they were understood in that way by the girl her
self. The " Most High God " was a familiar name
in the syncretistic paganism of the time, mixed of
various Oriental and European elements. " Salva
tion " was what all were seeking after and asking
for in the pagan world, and was often prayed for in
pagan votive offerings. Paul seems to have felt
that these cries, pursuing him daily, attracted
attention to him in a wrong way and were a hin
drance to his work ; and at last he turned on the
girl and addressing the spirit, which according to
the ancient idea resided in her, he ordered it to leave
her. The spiritual sensitiveness which she really
possessed placed her under the influence of a more
powerful nature, and from that moment she lost
her skill.
The girl s owners, who were thus deprived of an
easy livelihood, were extremely annoyed. They
evidently conceived the idea that, if the superior
influence of the strangers were removed, she
might recover her power; and accordingly they
brought a charge against the two leaders, Paul
ACTS XVI. 16-40 183
and Silas, before the city magistrates. The charge
was cleverly contrived to touch the pride of the
city, whose glory it was to be Koman and not mere
Macedonian like the other towns of the region.
The Apostles were accused of causing disorder by
trying to introduce customs which were unlawful
for the people of Philippi as Romans to practise.
Anything that seemed to interfere with or diminish
the honour of the city as a Roman Colony roused
the indignation of the magistrates. They did not
wait to inquire into the grounds of the charge, or
the guilt of the accused. The populace rose as one
man against these hateful Jews. The magistrates
forthwith treated the accusation as proved, and
practically condemned Paul and Silas as enemies
of the city and of the Empire. They rent their
clothes in horror at such abominable acts, and
ordered the prisoners to be beaten by the lictors,
who, as usual, were in attendance on the magistrates
of a Roman city. There was no show of observing
Roman law and procedure, merely fussy and pre
tentious display of loyalty to the Roman name and
of horror at the mere accusation of disloyalty.
Luke does not mention that friendship for their
own citizens, who were injured by strange Jews,
played any part in the magistrates action, but it is
not impossible or inconsistent with his narrative that
such feelings may have influenced their conduct.
184 XXVIII. FIEST CHBISTIAN CHURCH IN EUROPE
After being beaten Paul and Silas were thrown
into prison, and the jailer was specially charged to
keep them safe as prisoners of State. At midnight,
fastened in the stocks, they were praying and sing
ing hymns, and the prisoners were listening to this
strange conduct, when an earthquake occurred.
The ill-fitting doors, and the wooden stocks roughly
let into the wall, were shaken apart ; and the pris
oners were thus set at liberty. That strange
freaks and accidents of an incalculable and extra
ordinary kind frequently take place during an
earthquake is a fact familiar to every one who
has experienced such an event.
The jailer, suddenly awakened to see the doors
standing open, and hastily concluding that the
prisoners, for whom he was responsible with his
life, had taken advantage of the opportunity to
escape, was about to kill himself, when Paul called
out to him, " do thyself no harm, for we are all
here ". There must have been light outside, for
Paul could see the jailer, but the jailer could not
see him. In the dark prison lights were needed
(as in xn. 7). Oriental prisons are almost always
dark, dirty, noisome, ill-constructed, and badly
fitted with appliances for safe custody. When
lights were brought, and the jailer was relieved of
his anxiety, he was filled with gratitude and re
spect for the moral and saving power of Paul ; and
ACTS XVI. 16-40 185
asked about the way of salvation, to which the
slave-girl had said that Paul was the guide. In
that time of excitement and emotion, the man was
more open to belief than in ordinary circumstances.
An earthquake is in itself terrifying ; the way of
suicide had for a moment seemed the only path
open to him ; and fear was the beginning of wis
dom in this as in many other cases. Thus occurred
the somewhat sensational and almost melodramatic
conclusion of the scene, the conversion of the jailer
and his household. Such a conversion, so suddenly
brought about, could only be, at best, the begin
ning of a process of learning the truth ; there was
much to do before such a man could be raised to
the level of Christian life ; and here he passes out
of our range of knowledge. But Luke, who re
mained in Philippi, doubtless knew him in the
years that followed ; and we can conjecture the
future from what is here related. This might not
unfairly be taken as one of the cases in which
Luke, composing his history about A.D. 80, spoke
from the point of view and with the outlook that
belonged to the age when he was writing.
In the morning the magistrates, having had time
to reflect on their hasty conduct, went to the oppo
site extreme, and sent to release the two prisoners
without proceeding further in the case. Paul now
claimed the rights of Roman citizens, belonging to
186 XXVIII. FIEST CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN EUROPE
himself and Silas (whose proper name was Sil-
vanus), in virtue of which they should have been
free from the degradation of personal chastisement.
It was now the turn of the magistrates to humble
themselves, and the incident at Philippi concludes
with their request for pardon and for the departure
of these two dangerous men. Apparently Paul
considered that it was best to comply with what
was practically an order, though put in an apolo
getic form. His work had been so far successful,
and might now be transferred elsewhere, while
Luke remained as his representative in charge.
It is also possible that the energy and practical
experience of Lydia were effective in guiding the
development of the first European Church. 1
Timothy seems either to have gone with Paul
and Silas, or to have followed them shortly after
(as we gather from xvn. 14).
1 As has been stated above, the name Lydia was probably
only a familiar appellation given in Philippi to this Lydian
stranger. In the Epistle to the Philippians she is perhaps
one of the two strong-minded ladies, Euodia and Syntyche,
who are urged to act in unity in Church work. The familiar
use of appellations, or nicknames, or diminutives, was very
common in ancient life ; and it is characteristic of Paul s
more polished manner (see Sect. XXXI) to employ the
correct forms, Euodia, Silvanus, Prisca, while Luke speaks
in a more familiar way of Lydia, Silas, Priscilla. Such
variations show how close both Luke and Paul stand to the
persons whom they mention.
XXIX
THE PEOGEESS THEOUGH MACEDONIA
Acts xvn. 1-15
FROM Philippi Paul and Silas, with Timothy
accompanying or following, went along the great
Eoman road, called the Egnatian Way, to the chief
city of the province Macedonia, Thessalonica, which
still retains part of its old commercial importance,
and its old name in the modified form Salonik.
Here there was a settlement of Jews and a Syna
gogue, where Paul after his usual fashion found an
opening for work. On three successive Sabbaths he
preached, explaining the real meaning of the Scrip
tures, and proving that in them the death and re
surrection of the Messiah were predicted, and that
Jesus had fulfilled these predictions and must there
fore be the Messiah.
Some of the Jews believed, especially a man
named Jason. Very much greater success, how
ever, was gained among the Hellenic population
of the city, both among those called " God-fearing,"
(187)
188 XXIX. THE PEOGEESS THEOUGH MACEDONIA
who had already become accustomed to listen to the
lofty teaching of the Jewish Scriptures, and among
the ordinary pagans who now for the first time
" turned unto God from idols " (1 Thess. I. 9). It
is evident, therefore, that besides preaching in
the Synagogue, Paul and Silas also taught the ordi
nary Hellenes of the city in some other way, either
during or after the three Sabbaths.
A number of the leading women also cast in
their lot with the heralds of the new Faith. Luke
makes it a rule to notice how far the teaching of
Paul reached the women, who in the circumstances
of ancient life had not such ready access to the
public lectures of strange teachers, but who were
often attracted in private to various forms of
Oriental religion, Jewish, Christian, etc. In the
Christian assemblies these women found much freer
opportunity to give public expression to their views,
and thus to strengthen their religious convictions
and to affect the opinions of others. But Paul was
always cautious and apprehensive lest the Christian
women might rouse social disapproval by their
freedom, and he was inclined to discourage their
open public action, though his principles would not
permit him absolutely to forbid a woman whom
the Spirit moved to speak.
As elsewhere, so in Thessalonica, the Jews were
jealous of this free admission of pagans to equality
ACTS XVII. 1-15 189
with themselves, and organized a riot among the
low-class and idle mob of the town. They first
tried to bring Paul and Silas as strangers before a
popular assembly, where the shouting and votes
of the mob would influence the proceedings ; and,
failing to find them, they arraigned Jason and other
brethren before the magistrates. A more formal
procedure was now required; and they accused
their fellow-citizens of having welcomed strangers
who were a danger to public order, and of having
in concert with them conspired to set up another
Emperor, viz. Jesus, and thus been guilty of
treason against the rightful Emperor and the Im
perial law. This was a skilfully planned charge.
At that time treason was interpreted in a wide
sense and was very severely punished ; anything
that could be construed as disrespect to the Em
peror was treason, and to speak of another Em
peror or King was an unpardonable crime. The
magistrates were much perturbed, for if they did
not treat the charge seriously, they themselves
might be accused of disrespect to the Emperor.
They took a very lenient course in the circum
stances, merely binding the accused to come up
for trial when required ; and the brethren sent Paul
and Silas away to Beroea. This proceeding, taken
in conjunction with Paul s statement that he was
hindered by Satan from returning to Thessalonica
190 XXIX. THE PKOGEESS THROUGH MACEDONIA
(1 Thess. n. 18), implies that Jason and the rest
would be tried if Paul returned to trouble the city,
but would remain unharmed so long as Paul was
kept out. In this ingenious way the magistrates
saved their own fellow-citizens, and pacified the
accusers, whose object was to get rid of Paul and
Silas.
The magistrates of Philippi and Thessalonica are
called by their correct titles, strategoi and polit-
archai, and the people of the latter city are rightly
called Hellenes, a name which the Roman Colony
Philippi would have rejected. All these and many
other little details show the minute accuracy of
Luke.
This premature departure from Thessalonica
greatly disturbed Paul. The congregation was not
sufficiently instructed to be safely left to itself.
His anxiety to return, and the need that there was
to clear away from the minds of the Thessalonians
some mistakes which they were making as to the
meaning of his teaching, are shown in his two
letters to them, written very shortly after his de
parture. These letters are unique in their anxious
and special care of an infant congregation.
Paul had been driven from Philippi even more
unexpectedly and prematurely, yet he felt no such
anxiety in that case, but in later years recalls with
grateful memory the conduct of the Philippian
ACTS XVII. 1-15 191
Church in the months that followed his departure.
The difference was, certainly, due to the fact that
Luke remained in charge there, but no one was left
at Thessalonica to whom Paul could so implicitly
trust. Hence he had to send Timothy and Silas,
when he found it impossible himself to return.
Yet, while he was anxious about the Thessa-
lonians, Paul in his letters finds no fault with
them, but extols in the highest terms their noble
conduct, which made them a pattern to all. He
tactfully praises them for the steadfastness which
he desired to encourage in them.
Paul and his company went on to the inland
Macedonian town of Beroea, and there found a
kindly welcome and an attentive audience in the
Synagogue. In this remote Macedonian town the
Jews were probably isolated, and gladly received
the visit of men of their own nation, and without
any prejudice examined carefully the evidence
which Paul pointed out in the Prophets about the
Coming and the Life of the Messiah. Many of
them believed in the new teaching, and with them
were associated a considerable number of Hellenes,
especially ladies. Considering the marked favour
shown to Paul in this Synagogue, we may safely
consider that the Beroean Church consisted largely
of Jews and the "God-fearing" Hellenes, who
had already come under the attractive and im-
192 XXIX. THE PKOGBESS THBOUGH MACEDONIA
pressive influence of the Hebrew monotheism :
these were the most thoughtful and serious part
of the Hellenes, possessed of a naturally religious
mind.
But the enmity of the Jews in Thessalonica still
pursued Paul. They sent agents who roused the
Beroean populace to disorder ; and the brethren,
fearing further riots, sent Paul away, convoyed
by certain of themselves, down to the sea-coast.
Here there occurred apparently some change of
plan, for the Beroean delegates ultimately brought
Paul to Athens, and came back with a message to
Silas and Timothy bidding them join him there.
It would seem that his intention had been to sail
back to Thessalonica, but that such news reached
him as to prevent this plan from being put in
execution (1 Thess. n. 18). There was no legal
power preventing his return to Thessalonica, but
only the evil consequences to Jason and his friends ;
and there was every hope that after a time, when
the acuteness of the situation had quieted down
so far as the magistrates were concerned, it might
be possible for him to rejoin his infant Church.
The change of plan had to be notified to his co
adjutors. Apparently the plan was that Silas and
Timothy should take Thessalonica on their way to
Athens, and do what Paul was prevented from
doing.
ACTS XVII. 1-15 193
The completeness and perfection with which the
narrative in Acts is illustrated by, and throws light
in its turn on, the Thessalonian letters, makes the
study of the relations between them exceptionally
instructive.
13
XXX
PAUL AT ATHENS
Acts xvn. 16-34
PAUL S experiences in Athens are in some ways
the most picturesque and interesting incident in
his whole career. He found himself in the city
which was the centre and the originator of Greek
University life and education ; and, as one who was
trained at Tarsus in the learning of the Greeks, he
surveyed the city, its buildings and sights (such is
the force of the verb in verse 16), and was roused
to indignation that it was full of idols.
Besides his ordinary custom of preaching in the
Synagogue to the Jews and the God-fearing pagans
who resorted thither, he adapted himself to the
Athenian manner, and discussed philosophical sub
jects and the nature of God in the market-place, as
Socrates and other thinkers had done, with any
chance person. In this way he came into relations
with some philosophers of the two schools, which
at that time were eminent in Greek philosophic
circles, the Stoic and the Epicurean.
(194)
ACTS XVII. 16-34 195
In the theory of the Stoic school, man was the
master of his fate and supreme in himself, not
dependent on God, but seeking for himself after
virtue and finding in it the highest good. The
Epicureans enjoined as the aim and rule of life to
enjoy in soul-quietness as many as possible of the
higher pleasures and nobler sensations of human
nature, especially the mental emotions, apart from
any relation to God. Practically, both philosophies
made man and not God the ruler of life ; and this
denial of Divine government issued in making the
city of philosophers also the city where idols were
most numerous. Those who made light of God
were willing to accept and recognize any number
of gods. When Paul spoke of Jesus and the
Eesurrection, the Athenians thought he was talk
ing about two foreign deities whose worship he
wished to introduce.
In the heat of discussion, while some called him
contemptuously a mere vulgar plagiarist and stealer
of other men s ideas (referring to the obvious and
intentional analogies between many of Paul s state
ments and those of pagan philosophers), they at
last took hold of him and brought him before
Areopagus, the court which had some kind of
charge of public morals and teaching, and which
took its name from the hill where originally it had
sat to try cases of murder, though it had long since
196 XXX. PAUL AT ATHENS
changed its seat and its jurisdiction. In the court
the question was formally put to Paul, what was
this new teaching which he was setting forth, and
the desire was expressed to know its exact nature.
Thus before the highest moral and educational
tribunal of the ancient world Paul was placed by
his opponents to state his message to the Greek
world.
The occasion was dramatic, and Luke fully
appreciated the effectiveness of the situation.
There is a subtle difference of tone here in the
narrative corresponding to his conception of the
scene as a whole. At this point he places his
report, once for all, of the message which Paul
brought to the pagans. At Pisidian Antioch he
gave the report of Paul s address to a mixed
audience of Jews and God-fearing Gentiles; but
he reserved for the centre of Greek education his
account of the way in which Paul introduced his
doctrine to an entirely ignorant and unprepared
assembly in a Hellenic city. There is no reason
to think that the speech was radically different in
tone from the kind of introductory addresses which
he might have used to purely pagan audiences in
other cities. It is more philosophic in expression,
corresponding to the different standard of education
in the hearers, but otherwise it is probably on the
same religious plane.
ACTS XVII. 16-34 197
Paul treats the worship of deities by the pagans
as a misdirected form of a right and natural
religious impulse ; that Divine power which they
worshipped wrongly in ignorance Paul declared to
them in its true form. The true God, who made
the world and gives all good things to mankind
(xiv. 15, 17), is immaterial and spiritual, standing
in need of nothing from men ; therefore the prin
ciple of paganism, that men build houses for God to
dwell in and give Him gifts to make Him kindly
disposed to them, is false. It is not the case that
each nation has its separate deity, but the one God
has made all mankind one in obedience to himself,
and His intention is that men should seek after
Him and find Him, who is close to man, and who
is the guiding Power in all things and the life of
all men. As the pagan poets, Aratus and Cleanthes,
have said, " We are also His offspring ". Since we
are God s children, we should not think that God
our Father resembles any image of gold or silver
or stone, carved by human art, for He is purely
spiritual and ideal. In the former times God left
man to learn from those natural witnesses of him
self, viz. the good things which He gives to all. 1
But now He has sent a special message of repent-
1 These words should be compared with the similar, but
more simply expressed, sentiment in the remonstrance ad
dressed to the mob at Lystra (Acts xiv.).
198 XXX. PAUL AT ATHENS
ance. This opportunity for repentance from the
errors and sins of paganism must be used immedi
ately, for the Judgment is coming, and God has
appointed a Man to come and judge the world
according to the opportunities offered to it; the
proof that the message is true lies in the fact that
God raised from the dead the Man whom He
sent.
This speech was addressed primarily to the
Areopagus, but largely to the general audience
who stood round the judges and the parties. In
ancient life and even in courts of law the audience
played a very important part. Lawyers pleading
a case often addressed themselves to the crowd
instead of the judges ; and the applause or dis
approval of the audience represented the public
verdict on intellectual displays.
In Athens Paul was understood to be one of
those new teachers who so often came there to try
and win fame and fortune by their gifts of rhetoric
or dialectic ; and the audience regarded his speech
mainly with the curiosity of idlers whose chief
interest lay in telling or hearing some new thing.
They nocked to hear this supposed new aspirant
for intellectual distinction, but what they expected
from such a person was a brilliant literary perfor
mance. The intense earnestness of Paul touched
no corresponding chord in their hearts, but roused
ACTS XVII. 16-34 199
in some only a feeling of contempt and expressions
of mockery, while others said more politely but
probably quite as carelessly, that they would hear
him again on some future occasion. The more
or less highly educated audience in the hall of
Areopagus was the most difficult in the world for
a preacher of religion to address ; and there can be
no doubt that Luke marks this by his rather con
temptuous description of them (verses 21, 32), and
by his statement that Paul "went forth from the
midst of them". Not much success attended his
work in Athens, and no Church seems to have
been formed there at this time.
Yet even among these idle and frivolous loungers,
priding themselves on their culture and their
superiority to vulgar emotions and ideas, there
were some who caught the ring of genuineness and
truth in Paul s words. One member of the Areo
pagus and a woman named Damaris and a few
others became adherents of the new teaching.
Damaris is not said to belong (as the converted
women in Beroea and Thessalonica did) to the
higher circle of society. Athenian usage precluded
women of the better class from being present at
discussions in the market-place or a formal dis
course before the Areopagus. It is a striking
feature in Luke s character, and shows also the
exactness of his knowledge, that he records the
200 XXX. PAUL AT
conversion and the name of this woman side by
side with the noble Areopagite Dionysius.
Paul himself seems to have recognized that
speculative philosophy was a poor preparation for
a religious training ; and in Corinth, his next
centre of work, he "determined not to know any
thing save Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor.
II. 2) ; and his simple kind of preaching there was
contrasted by some of the Corinthian Christians
unfavourably with the more philosophic style of
Apollos. But, whatever may have been the varia
tion in Paul s style from the Athenian speech with
its quotation from versified philosophy, the sub
stance and the basis of his teaching was everywhere
the same.
XXXI
THE CHAKTEK OF CHRISTIAN FREE-
DOM IN THE EOMAN EMPIKE
Acts xvni. 1-18
PAUL, when he sent directions to Silas and Timothy
to join him in Athens, apparently intended to
stay there for some time. He found, however,
that the place and the people were not readily ac
cessible : " there was not an open door " in the
great University town ; society was too self-com
placent, too clever after a fashion, too critical with
regard to style and outward form. Paul therefore
departed from Athens, and went to Corinth, the
metropolis of the Roman province, an ancient and
famous city, the greatest centre of trade and ex
change in Greece from the beginning of Greek
history onwards.
Corinth had been totally destroyed by the
Romans when they conquered Greece in 146 B.C.,
but had forthwith risen afresh from its ashes, and
re-established itself as the commercial centre of
(201)
202 XXXI. THE CHAKTEE OF CHEISTIAN FKEEDOM
the Greek world. On the narrow isthmus which
divided two seas, it was planted on the direct line
of communication between Eome and the East.
Travellers and officials avoided, in general, the
unbroken sea-route round the south end of Greece ;
and sailed to the one side of the isthmus, spent
some days in Corinth, and then sailed again from
the other coast on their further course from or to
Borne. Much trade also followed this course, pre
ferring the trouble and expense of transhipment
at the isthmus to the risks of coasting round the
ill-famed promontory Malea, which was proverbial
as a danger to the small vessels of the ancients,
though it presents no terror to modern ships. If
Athens was the intellectual capital of the world,
the city of art and of the higher civilization,
Corinth was the capital of the province Achaia
and the centre of life in the ^Egean world, a
Roman Colony like Philippi and Lystra, look
ing westwards and eastwards along the great
route of the Empire to Italy and Eome on
the one side, to Ephesus and all Asia on the
other.
Such a commanding point was precisely the sort
of place which Paul found most useful in his work.
In Philippi and Thessalonica he had been working
along the land-road between Eome and the East ;
but the central and far most important line of
ACTS XVIII. 1-18 203
communication was that which passed through
Corinth. The situation of all these cities throws
light on the inner purpose which was working
itself out in Paul s mind and life. How far he
was himself conscious of it as yet, or how far the
Spirit was working in him without his full com
prehension, we cannot say. After no long time
we find him looking forward to Kome itself as
his goal (Acts xix. 21). But from the first start
he had been groping in a vague way along the sea-
road (xm. 4-13) and the land-road leading towards
the capital of the world.
In Corinth Paul found two persons who were
destined to play a considerable part in early Chris
tian history, though we can only dimly guess what
they did. In A.D. 50 the Emperor Claudius had
expelled the Jews from Eome. Such attempts had
been made more than once before, but all proved
unsuccessful ; it was as easy to stop the incoming
tide on the seashore as to prevent the Jews from
collecting at the centre of the world s financial
operations, where money was most plentiful and
commerce at its busiest. For the moment many
Jews had to retire, but soon the edict fell into
disuse and they came back. On account of this
edict Aquila, a Jew of Pontus, and his wife Prisca
(commonly known, as here, by the diminutive form
Priscilla, cp. Eom. xvi. 3), had come from Eome
204 XXXI. THE CHAETEK OF CHRISTIAN FREEDOM
to Corinth early in A.D. 51. Prisca was probably
a Roman lady of good birth, as she is often men
tioned before her husband. Paul uses the more
formal and polite name Prisca (as he does Silvanus).
Luke always employs the familiar form which he
was accustomed to hear in everyday life, Priscilla
(so also he speaks of Silas). Such little touches are
very characteristic of the two men. Paul had the
high courtesy of the true aristocrat even in the
small matters of life. His friendship with Prisca
and Aquila probably caused his Eoman plans to
come rapidly to maturity in his mind. He learned
from them the condition of Eome.
The readiness with which Paul and the two exiles
joined company is explained partly by their
common trade, but a stronger reason must have
been that the strangers from Rome were sym
pathetic, in other words that they were already in
clined towards the Faith of the Messiah. Whether
they were already Christians cannot be determined,
as Luke is silent ; but, if they were, they had
learned only in a very imperfect way from the in
formal teaching of Jews at Rome, and their friend
ship with Paul must have produced a powerful
effect on their understanding of the Faith. Who
could live with Paul in close companionship and
not be strongly influenced? Some Jews hated
Paul ; others would give their life for him ; none
ACTS XVIII. 1-18 205
could remain indifferent or preserve mere formal
and commonplace relations with him.
As usual, Paul began with public addresses in
the Synagogue to the Jews and the Hellenes 1 who
had already come in some degree under the influence
of the Jewish faith. When Silas and Timothy
came from Macedonia to join him, he devoted him
self entirely to preaching, showing to the Jews
that the Messiah whom they expected was that
Jesus who had already lived and been crucified.
As in other places, a party was soon formed against
Paul among the Jews; feeling grew unusually
bitter ; and Luke describes the situation in excep
tionally strong terms. Paul retired from the Syna
gogue, and turned his attention to the general
pagan population. He found a place of meeting
next door to the Synagogue in the house of a
Roman citizen, Titius Justus. 2 This juxtaposi
tion was not calculated to sweeten the relations
with the Jewish opposition, and legal proceedings
soon ensued. But in the meantime Paul was
encouraged in a vision to persevere in his work.
1 Hellenes in Corinth are the natives of Hellas (Greece)
as distinguished from the Roman citizens who formed the
aristocracy of the Colony. Hellenes in the Asian and other
cities outside of Hellas were generally natives educated in
Greek manners (Section IX).
2 His name was in full probably Gaius Titius Justus, the
Gaius of Rom. xvi. 23.
206 XXXI. THE CHARTER OF CHRISTIAN FREEDOM
Such messages from God come to the man who
is wholly absorbed in his work, and is eager to find
and follow the Divine guidance.
Some of the Jews, including a chief of the Syna
gogue named Crispus, believed and were baptized ;
the last duty was as a rule left by Paul to his coad
jutors and subordinates like Timothy. The prac
tical work of keeping a congregation together by a
regular system of ritual was never undervalued by
the great Apostle (as appears, e.g., in 1 Tim. n. 1-8) ;
but he could leave this part of congregational duty
to others, while he devoted himself wholly to what
others could not do like him, viz. the evangelistic
work.
The recalcitrant Jews brought a charge against
Paul before the Eoman Governor of the pro
vince, Junius Gallic, a brother of the famous
philosopher and statesman Seneca ; but they did
not show such skill in attack as those of Thes-
salonica. They accused him of persuading men to
worship God contrary to the Law. Gallio decided
forthwith against them, refusing to listen to their
case ; he declared that in a charge of misdemeanour
or crime he was ready to hear evidence, but in a
matter of religion and ritual the Eoman State
would not interfere. When the Jews were thus
expelled from the court the Gentile crowd, which
always disliked them, seized Sosthenes, a ruler of
ACTS XVIII. 1-18 207
the Synagogue, 1 and beat him, while Gallic took no
notice of this ebullition of public feeling.
The decision of the Governor was most important.
It amounted to a declaration of freedom in re
ligious teaching ; the Christians might preach, and
the Roman State would not interfere with them,
unless they were charged with some breach of the
civil or criminal law. Thus Eome became for a
time the protector of the new teaching against
Jewish opposition. A decision by an official of
high standing tended to become a precedent guid
ing the judgment of others, although in itself it
did not necessarily constitute a rule. Seneca s
spirit was similar to Gallio s ; and, as Seneca was
now and for some years later one of the leading
spirits in Eoman administration, this decision of
his brother was almost a charter of freedom to the
Church, until the higher tribunal of the Empire
overruled it a good many years later.
The time when Gallio governed the province
Achaia has been determined by a recent inscription 2
as A.D. 52 (probably from spring 52 to spring 53).
Paul resided in Corinth eighteen months, and then
went to Csesarea (and Jerusalem), doubtless for
^osthenes became a Christian afterwards (1 Cor. i. 1).
Some, however, understand that he was already a Christian,
and that it was the Jews who took and beat him.
2 Found at Delphi, in the French excavations.
208 XXXI. THE CHARTER OF CHRISTIAN FREEDOM
the Passover. He therefore resided in Corinth
from about September 51 to February or March
53. The chronology of his second journey, then,
is as follows. He left Syrian Antioch in early spring
50 ; spent April-May in Syria and Cilicia, summer
in South Galatia, autumn in the long wandering
that ended at last in Philippi ; the winter of 50-51
in Philippi and chiefly in Thessalonica ; summer
of 51 in Beroea, which he left about the end of
July or early August ; the journey to Athens and
Corinth and a brief residence in Athens filled up the
month of August and perhaps a week or two more.
Note. The reason why Paul is not said in Acts
XVIIL 22 to have gone up from Csesarea to Jeru
salem may have been that by some accident he
arrived in Csesarea too late for the Feast. Sailing
ships could not count on their voyage as accurately
as modern steamers, and even steamers sometimes
have a breakdown. Compare his anxiety on a
later voyage as to arriving in time (Acts xx. 16).
That he was going to the Feast, according to the
Eeceived Text and Authorized Version of xvm. 21,
seems beyond doubt ; but the reference to the
Feast was omitted in several of the best manu
scripts by a correction, which was intended to
harmonize verses 21 and 22.
XXXII
ADVICE TO A NEWLY FOKMED CHUECH
1 Thess. V. 12-24
THE first letter to the congregation at Thessa-
lonica, the earliest Epistle of Paul that has been
preserved, was written shortly after Paul had
settled in Corinth, upon the arrival of Timothy,
who had gone back to Thessalonica to discharge
some urgent duties which Paul s sudden departure
had prevented. Among these we may probably
reckon the appointment of presbyters.
The situation at Thessalonica was similar to that
which existed in the three Galatian cities, Antioch,
Iconium, Lystra, at the time when Paul had been
suddenly expelled from them. He himself returned
to them to give them a constitution by the election
of presbyters and by other arrangements. He was
eager to return in the same way to Thessalonica,
but was prevented (as has been said above) by the
power of evil ; and he sent word to Timothy to go
from Beroea to Thessalonica and there do what
(209) 14
210 XXXII. ADVICE t iTO A NEWLY FOEMED CHURCH
Paul did personally in the Galatian cities (Acts xiv.
21 f. ; 1 Thess. in. 2 f.). Silas, we may presume,
remained on in Beroea for a similar purpose, and
returned along with Timothy, probably through
Thessalonica. The history as narrated in Acts and
the references contained in the Epistle complete
one another.
The letter, and especially the concluding chapter
of it, show what he thought most important to im
press upon this congregation, recently formed, in
experienced, and still far from firmly established in
morality, good conduct, and the understanding
of what true religion means and requires, and of
what is calculated to build up a firm religious
foundation for a good life.
The earlier part of the letter is concerned with
matters about which Timothy had brought a report
to Paul matters which might not necessarily
happen in every congregation ; but the conclusion
is universal advice, equally suitable to all persons
young in the Faith, and briefly summing up Paul s
views as to the practical working of a young con
gregation. The order in which he states the
various points that need to be emphasized and
impressed on the Thessalonian congregation is in
itself significant ; and they must be noted suc
cessively as Paul mentions them.
1. You should understand thoroughly the char-
1 THESS. V. 12-24 211
acter of the officials who have been chosen to
manage the Church. Their duties are threefold :
(1) to work in the congregation ; (2) to rule over and
represent it in a religious point of view (i.e. in the
Lord) ; (3) to teach and preach. These duties are
not apportioned, some to one class of officials, some
to another ; each official takes part in all three,
though, naturally, each would tend to give himself
most to the department which proved most suit
able to his talents and bent of mind. The officials
are to be regarded with loving respect and esteem
by reason of their work not simply because of their
official rank, but because of what they are doing
among you.
That this should be the first point which Paul
takes up is highly significant. It shows what
stress he laid on good administration and good
government in the Church. A well-governed
Church will be more effective, more vigorous,
sounder and more moral ; that is Luke s view as
shown throughout the Acts, and it is Paul s (as
appears also in other letters, and especially those
to Timothy and Titus).
2. In your relations with one another, live peace
ably, teach and correct those who do not keep step
and order in the march of the Church, cheer those
who have lost courage, hold up with your help
those who are weak and likely to fall, but in every
212 XXXII. ADVICE TO A NEWLY FORMED CHURCH
case make great allowance for all, and do not be
impatient with their faults and failings. Never
try to revenge yourselves on one another by return
ing evil for evil and " tit for tat," but always try
to find opportunities of doing good to each other
and to all the world.
After the duty of the congregation to the officials,
Paul here sums up the duty of the members to one
another, and the whole is an expansion in detail
of the one universal law " that ye love one an
other ". It is particularly important that the duty
of teaching, which has just been assigned to the
officials, is here prescribed for all members of the
congregation; the same work is suitable for both
officials and ordinary persons ; the same Greek
word " teach " is used in respect of both; the idea
had not as yet arisen that there existed any separate
order of clergy, charged with the duty of teaching.
Every member of the congregation may have
occasion to teach and admonish. But, whereas
the officials are charged permanently and regularly
with this duty, the ordinary members only perform
the duty in special cases, where they see a fault or
a weakness and are able to correct it, and wherever
some special call is apparent.
The Greek word which is rendered " disorderly "
contains a metaphor which afterwards became
widely used ; the Christian life is the march of
1 THESS. V. 12-24 213
the Christian army, in which all must keep step
and rank unbroken.
In the last detail which is mentioned it is urged
on these newly converted pagans that they must
seek every opportunity of doing a kindness to those
outside the Church in the pagan world as well as
to Christians. The old pagan idea was that the
benefits of the common religion ought to be con
fined to those who had the right of membership,
and should not be given to others, as if there were
only a limited total so that the share of each would
be diminished if the number of participants was
enlarged. The Christian should follow after that
which is good toward all.
3. Paul next mentions one s duty to oneself.
Be always full of the joy of true religion ; make
your life a continuous uninterrupted prayer ; be
grateful in every part of life, for God especially
desires to see in you a spirit of thankfulness.
4. There has been as yet no allusion to the duty
of assembling together in public worship. This
topic is now introduced ; but, in consequence of
the still unregulated and unformed conditions of
public worship, Paul does not mention the manner
and the ritual, but only the action of the Divine
Spirit in the congregation. This action was mani
fested most in the public assembly, but also
appeared in other ways, in sporadic inspiration of
214 XXXII. ADVICE TO A NEWLY FORMED CHURCH
individuals, and in the heart of each Christian.
The fire of inspiration and enthusiasm should
never be damped down by cold treatment and
ridicule or contempt. Especially the inspired
utterances which were often heard in those early
congregations must not be despised. On the other
hand one must not accept as inspired every utter
ance that was ecstatic and unusual ; many of
them were the result of mental excitement, not of
real inspiration ; all must be carefully tested before
they are accepted as caused by the action of the
Spirit ; everything that is good and has stood the
test should be grasped and retained as a permanent
possession for the Church. In testing these utter
ances the rule may be confidently followed to ab
stain from and reject every kind of evil If an
ecstatic utterance conflicts in any way whatsoever
with anything that we know to be good, it may
safely be dismissed as uninspired and resulting
from mere mental excitation.
This series of rules is concluded with the prayer
that God, who gives the peace that is invoked for
the Thessalonians in the opening verse, may make
them perfect and pure in their whole nature, spirit
and soul and body. The God who has called each
of you into the Church will do this for you ; the
fact that He has called you is the guarantee that He
will complete His work.
XXXIII
THE IMPEKIAL AIMS OF PAUL
Acts xvni. 23-xix. 22
PAUL S third journey from Antioch began with an
other survey of the Galatian Churches, his earliest
Gentile congregations, which were always a special
care to him. Then he proceeded to Ephesus, the
capital of Asia, the great city on the eastern shore
of the ^Egean Sea, looking across the sea westwards
towards Corinth and Rome, while it was the end of
many roads which came from the East and con
verged here at the harbour from which travellers
sailed towards the capital of the Eoman Empire.
Thus at last he carried into effect the intention
which he had in mind, when he was leaving
Galatia on his second journey, and which the
Spirit had forbidden (Acts xvi. 7).
At Ephesus the new religion had already planted
itself, but only in an imperfect form, which is called
by Luke " the baptism of John " : it was a teach
ing which concerned itself with the Messiah, and
(215)
216 XXXIII. THE IMPEEIAL AIMS OF PAUL
regarded Jesus as having fulfilled the Messianic
prophecies, but which apparently failed to compre
hend the purpose of Jesus death and the power
of the Cross in the salvation of mankind. It did
not, therefore, carry with it that intensity of en
thusiasm and that burning fire of belief, which was
recognized by the early Christians as the gift of the
Holy Spirit.
Priscilla and Aquila, who had left Corinth along
with Paul, settled in Ephesus while he went to
Caesarea and Antioch ; and they exerted some in
fluence in making known the Gospel as Paul taught
it. Especially this was the case in regard to a
learned and eloquent Jew from Alexandria, named
Apollos, who came and preached the baptism of
John in Ephesus. They instructed this man more
carefully in the Way of the Lord, as they had
learned it from Paul. When Apollos was going
on a missionary tour to Corinth, they gave him
letters to the Church there ; and his work was
very effective in the great city of Achaia, both in
helping the Christians and in confuting the Jews
by proving from the Prophecies of the Old Testa
ment that Jesus was the Messiah.
Luke s purpose in dwelling on this episode is to
show that even Apollos s teaching at Corinth was
Pauline in character and owed its effectiveness
largely to the ideas of Paul learned through Paul s
ACTS XVIII. 23-XIX. 22 217
two disciples. We, who are accustomed to regard
Paul s teaching as the chief power in spreading the
new Faith, realize only with an effort the cir
cumstances amid which Luke wrote his history,
when the effectiveness and value of Paul s work
was the subject of sharp discussion, and when
many declared that the learned and philosophical
preaching of Apollos had done more in Corinth than
Paul s teaching, and that there was a Christian
congregation in Ephesus before Paul went there.
Accordingly, Luke shows also that these early
Ephesian disciples, real Christians in a sense, had
neither received nor heard about the Holy Spirit
until Paul came ; and it was through the laying
of Paul s hands on them that they received the
supreme gift.
The Jews in Ephesus were less hostile at first
than in most cities; and Paul preached in the
Synagogue for three months, an unusually long
period of friendliness. Then hostility arose, and
the Apostle had to leave the Synagogue and go
direct to the Gentiles, making the lecture-room of
Tyrannus his centre, where every day he taught
for five hours, from one hour before midday till
two hours before sunset ; in the earlier part of the
day the room was used for other purposes, i.e.
doubtless for the teaching of Tyrannus himself.
Two years were spent in this kind of work ; and,
218 XXXIII. THE IMPEEIAL AIMS OF PAUL
as Ephesus was the commercial capital of the
Eoman province Asia, and was visited for trade
and other reasons by great numbers from other
Asian centres, every city in the province was
affected to some degree, and congregations were
formed in places like Colossae, Hierapolis and
Laodicea, which Paul did not himself visit. Pro
bably some of his coadjutors and subordinates
visited these and other cities, while Paul him
self preached to the great mixed audiences in
Ephesus.
The effect produced was evidently very great,
both on the listeners and on Paul himself. In the
first place his plans grew wider and more imperial,
as he became more clearly conscious of the possi
bilities of the situation in the Koman world ; and
Luke marks the growing clearness and breadth of
Paul s outlook, by placing at this point his first
statement of the boldness and all-embracing nature
of his plans. He " spoke boldly ". As Luke has
already described his preaching in so many Gentile
cities, there was some special reason why he
emphasizes the boldness of Paul s preaching in
Ephesus. Further, Luke describes Paul s great
scheme, first to complete the evangelization of the
two provinces, Macedonia and Achaia, by personal
work, then after visiting Jerusalem to go to Rome
and mould the character of the infant Church there,
ACTS XVIII. 23-XIX. 22 219
as he had affected the views and character of the
disciples whom he found in Ephesus.
The brief statement about Jerusalem contains
an essential part of Paul s purpose, which was
apparently so well known to the readers of Luke s
work that it is not formally mentioned by him,
but only casually alluded to here and in xxiv. 17.
Yet, by comparison with Paul s own letters, we
gather what was its nature. The new Pauline
Churches were scattered over the four provinces,
Galatia, Asia, Macedonia, and Achaia. The en
suing visit to the last two would complete his work
for the present in the eastern lands, and the visit
to Jerusalem was to be the climax and end of that
work ; and thereafter he would no longer go about
among them preaching the Kingdom (xx. 25), but
would devote himself to work in Kome and in the
West (Eom. xv. 24).
It was, however, essential to his designs that the
four provinces should be closely knit in unity
and brotherhood to the central Church at Jeru
salem. In Syrian Antioch that end had been
attained largely through the kindness and the help
shown by the new to the original Church (xi. 29 f.).
We have described in a previous lesson the impor
tance of this act. Paul was now again applying the
same method. First in the Galatian Churches,
then in the others, he instituted a weekly collection.
220 XXXIII. THE IMPEEIAL AIMS OF PAUL
the proceeds of which were to be carried to Jeru
salem by delegates representing the four provinces,
as a testimony of the fraternal feeling that bound
together all the scattered parts of the one Univer
sal Church. Such was the bold and statesman
like plan which the great Apostle was working out.
In the second place, the marvellous power which
was exercised by Paul over the minds and souls and
bodies of those with whom he came into relation
is described in striking terms. Numerous cases of
healing, which belong to the category of faith-cure,
occurred ; and the Apostle was brought into direct
antagonism with the magicians and others who
practised on the superstitions of the vulgar to gain
a livelihood. As in other cases already mentioned
at Samaria, Paphos and Philippi, these magicians
possessed a certain amount of real knowledge and
of the power which knowledge gives, and this they
eked out by arts of imposture. As before, the
influence of the cheat and the charlatan yielded to
the sublime power of true faith and true know
ledge. Some impostors attempted to use the power
of Paul by appealing to "the Jesus whom Paul
preacheth," and were signally discomfited. The
idea in their minds was similar to that which had
impelled Simon of Samaria to buy from Peter and
John a share of their knowledge and power.
There is a generic resemblance, amid differences of
ACTS XVIII. 23-XIX. 22 221
detail, in all these encounters between the new
Faith and the practisers of magic ; and their fre
quency shows how powerful an influence was
exerted on the society of that period by such
persons, who combined a certain amount of skill
and knowledge with the arts of the charlatan and
impostor.
XXXIV
PAUL S VICTOKY OVEK THE MOB IN
EPHESUS
Acts xix. 23-xx. 1
THE catastrophe which interrupted Paul s work in
Ephesus came at last after two years and three
months residence (called three years, xx. 31, ac
cording to the universal ancient custom of reckon
ing two years and a fraction as three years). It
was brought about not, as usual, through the Jews,
but through the Hellenes. In Ephesus there was
evidently good feeling on the part of some Jews
towards the new Eaith, and Jewish opposition
did not go to any serious extreme.
Ephesus was the seat of the worship of the
goddess Artemis, who was reverenced by visitors
from the whole province Asia as deeply as by the
citizens themselves. Her worshippers, .whether
native to the city or coming from other places,
used to buy and dedicate in the temple or carry
to their own homes images of the goddess in her
shrine. According to their means these shrines
(222)
ACTS XIX. 23-XX. 1 223
were of silver, or marble, or stone, or terra-cotta,
more or less ornamental and expensive. There
were images to suit all purses. The fabrication
of these shrines (naoi, as they were called) was
a trade of importance in the city, giving employ
ment to a large number of workmen. Those who
worked in an expensive material, like silver, needed
more capital, belonged to a higher ( social grade,
and applied a higher standard of art in their work.
The whole business was organized as a trade-guild,
like almost every trade in Asia Minor, and the
guild of " shrine-makers " was very influential in
the city. Hundreds of such shrines are found in
all parts of the provinces of Asia and Galatia.
The silver shrines, naturally, have all perished ;
but the less valuable ones remain in great numbers.
The teaching of Paul had produced such effect
in the city that the shrine-makers sales were seri
ously diminished. People were listening to Paul
instead of buying and dedicating shrines. The
guild became alarmed about the future of their
industry. The case was typical of what often
occurs in the development of civilization and the
elevation of the moral standard of society. Trades
which minister to the lower tastes of the populace
dwindle and die : the workmen employed in these
trades are thrown out of employment : these men
are often not individually worse than other trades-
224 XXXIV. VICTOEY OVEK THE MOB IN EPHESUS
people : they do the work they were brought up
to do, and take no more thought about what effect
they are producing on society than other workmen :
they merely earn their daily bread in the line
of trade open to them. What is to be done in
such a situation ? The tradesmen in Ephesus
answered this question by raising an outcry against
the new order of things. Civilization and pro
gress must give way to the interests of the work
men and the employers. A maker of silver shrines
named Demetrius, a leading man in the trade, called
a meeting of the craftsmen, and pointed out the
loss to their trading profits, and the impiety and
danger to the religion of the city, which resulted
from Paul s teaching. This Paul (as he said) was
affecting seriously not only Ephesus, but almost
the whole of the province. The prospect of such
loss to themselves and to their goddess roused a
storm of indignation; the city was thrown into
confusion ; crowds rushed through the streets and
flocked into the great theatre, seizing and taking
with them two of Paul s companions, Gaius and
Aristarchus.
This incidental allusion throws light on the
Apostle s methods : we may take it as certain that
he often had with him, especially in his later years,
a number of companions to help in his work :
Timothy, whom he chose at Lystra, is one example
ACTS XIX. 23-XX. 1 225
of many such associates added to the small com
pany which started from Antioch : Luke himself
and Gaius and Aristarchus are examples of the
same class. Gaius belonged to Derbe, Aristarchus
to Thessalonica.
Paul wished to go into the theatre and address
the crowd, but his friends dissuaded him ; and
some of the Asiarchs who were friendly to him sent
messages begging him not to run such a risk. The
Asiarchs were officials of the province, whose
duty was to regulate the rites and ceremonies
of the Imperial religion (i.e. the worship of the
Emperors, living and dead, as embodiments in
human form of the Divine power that guarded
and guided the whole Roman Empire). The fact
that the Asiarchs helped Paul shows that at this
time the Roman government in the Eastern pro
vinces was not unfavourable to free religious
teaching. The attitude of Gallic at Corinth and
of Sergius Paulus at Paphos points to the same
conclusion.
The Jews of Ephesus were afraid that they
might be involved in the same danger as Paul
their fellow-countryman, and they put forward
one of their people, named Alexander, to speak on
their behalf and clear them of complicity in Paul s
action; but when the crowd became aware that
he was a Jew, they would not listen to him. The
15
226 XXXIV. VICTORY OVER THE MOB IN EPHESUS
mob of Greek cities always hated the Jews, though
a number of thoughtful Hellenes were attracted to
the pure and lofty morality of the Jewish faith.
The meeting was now a scene of utter disorder :
many who had rushed with the crowd did not
know why the assembly had come together: for
two hours all continued to shout in honour of
" Great Artemis of the Ephesians ".
At last the secretary of the city, a municipal
official of great importance, who was charged
beyond any other with managing the delicate re
lation between the Imperial government and the
municipal administration, succeeded in obtaining a
hearing. He humoured the crowd by stating in
the first place that the city derived its special
honour from being the guardian of the goddess and
of her temple ; that was a fact indisputable, and
there was no reason for alarm, as if the goddess
or her worship were in danger. But as to the two
men whom the mob had dragged into the theatre,
they had not been guilty of treason to the Empire
(" robbers of temples " is a mere mistranslation)
or of disrespect to the religion of the city. If
Demetrius and the trade-guild of which he was a
leading member had any ground of complaint
against them, there was justice to be had in the
regular courts of law ; an accusation ought to be
lodged in the regular way. If issues of a wider
ACTS XIX. 23-XX. 1 227
kind, touching the relation of these strangers to
the municipality, were involved, such matters
ought to come before a regular meeting of the
public assembly ; but an irregular gathering like the
present was illegal and amounted to a riot. The
Imperial government was always suspicious of
popular assemblies, and apprehensive lest they
might try to meddle in matters beyond their sphere ;
and there was great risk lest the city should be
involved in trouble on account of the disorderly
proceedings of the day.
After listening to this sharp rebuke, the meeting
dispersed. Paul had triumphed, and his enemies
were discomfited. The leading official in the city
had pronounced him and his friends innocent in
respect of the graver matters of treason against
the Koman State or disrespect to the religious
establishment of the city. The Asiarchs, all men
of the highest standing, representing the educated
pagan world, had taken a lively interest in saving
him from danger : they were, as a rule, men who
had held other municipal priesthoods before attain
ing the supreme priestly office, and it was one of
the strangely ironical facts of the whole situation
that the priests should help the man who was most
bent on destroying their ritual. But paganism was
not exclusive ; and pagans rarely objected to the
introduction of a new god into the Pantheon.
228 XXXIV. VICTORY OVER THE MOB IN EPHESUS
Luke does not lay stress on the troubles and
dangers which Paul had to face in Ephesus ; but
from the Apostle s words to the Corinthians we
know that his residence there was a time of great
anxiety. The result of the riot was that Paul,
who had intended to stay in Ephesus until
Pentecost, A.D. 56, left the city earlier in the year,
and went by Troas into Macedonia and Achaia.
Since he left Corinth in spring 53, he had gone to
Csesarea, Jerusalem, and Antioch; he stayed in
Antioch a short time, wrote there the Epistle to
the Galatians, and afterwards travelled through the
Galatian Churches in autumn and early winter 53.
XXXV
A HYMN OF LOVE THE DIVINE
1 Cor. xin. 1-13
WHILE Paul was never afraid to speak in the
strongest and sharpest condemnation, if need were,
of some serious fault in any of his congregations
as a whole, or of any crime committed by an indi
vidual, the method of blame was not that which
he most commonly practised in his letters. He
used more frequently the method of praise. Some
times he encouraged his converts to struggle on
along the difficult path of progress by praising
them for doing that which he wished them to do,
when he could see any signs of their attempting
already to do it. Also he frequently lauded highly
a virtue in which those to whom he was writing
were markedly deficient, without saying or even
hinting that they were lacking. The correction
and improvement of his pupils was always his
object, and he used every possible means of attaining
this end ; but it was most akin to his nature to
(229)
230 XXXV. A HYMN OF LOVE THE DIVINE
encourage them, and it wounded him to be forced
to blame or to condemn.
In this case, when he was writing to the Corin
thians, he perceived clearly that one quality was
most lacking in them and most needful for their
improvement ; and he devotes one of the most
wonderful and exquisite chapters in all his letters to
the praise of the quality which he calls agape, and
which the Authorized Version renders " charity,"
while the Revised Version prefers the translation
"Love". Neither term is a quite satisfactory
equivalent to Paul s word ; but "love" is as near
the truth as our language can come. We need more
"agape," and our speech fails to express exactly
the full force of the quality which we lack. Every
nation needs more love. It is the quality which
Jesus meant, when He gave the order to " love thy
neighbour as thyself " ; it embraces the most com
prehensive and strongest kind of good-will to all
men, a deep and burning desire to seek after the
progress of the race and the benefit of every
individual with whom we are brought into rela
tions ; it is entirely unselfish ; it develops the side
of our own nature in which we can approximate
nearest to the Divine nature, because it is the
human counterpart of the feeling that God enter
tains to man.
Now it is evident throughout the letter that this
1 COR. XIII. 1-13 231
quality was one in which the Corinthians were
distinctly lacking. Every one who studies ancient
Greek history or the modern Greek people recog
nizes that it is on this side that the Greeks especially
require to improve. They have many excellent
qualities, but these are mostly on the side of acute-
ness, intelligent comprehension of personal ad
vantage, and desire to give free play to their
individual nature and character ; and as a race
they need to be developed on the altruistic side.
In the Corinthian congregation such were the
qualities that Paul observed qualities which in
moderate degree are good and useful, but which
very easily grow too strong and become dangerous
and even faulty, unless constantly controlled and
directed by the supreme power of Love, whose
praise Paul sings in a prose poem of marvellous
beauty. The Corinthians were eagerly desirous
to attain excellence, to be pre-eminent in good and
brilliant qualities, to be wise and philosophical, to
understand the world in which they lived, to
criticize and correct their neighbours and society,
to be prophets and teachers admired and respected
of all men. All these are laudable qualities ; no
one would wish to blame them or to stop them ;
but all of them can easily be carried too far. Paul
now points out that whatever excellence in any of
these directions man may attain, whatever progress
232 XXXV. A HYMN OF LOVE THE DIVINE
he may apparently make, all is valueless without
the sweetening and refining power of this Divine
quality Love.
In praising Love Paul does not fall into the error
of criticizing others ; he does not even criticize his
pupils. He does not suggest that the Corinthians
lack the great quality. He suggests only that he
himself may have too little of it. All hint of
possible fault is put in the first person singular.
This is one of the beautiful things in this most
comprehensively beautiful and harmonious " Hymn
of Heavenly Love ".
If I have not Love, even though I should be able
to speak in the most perfect human fashion and
even in superhuman fashion like the angels of
God, I should be a mere empty voice, " but a sound
and hollow ". All the gifts of prophecy, all the
vast range of knowledge regarding the mysteries
of Nature, the mystic relation of man to God, " the
vision of the world and all the wonders that shall
be " valueless is it all without Love. Faith itself
is nought ; if I should attain to that height of Faith
of which the Lord spoke, and should be able
to remove mountains valueless without Love.
Boundless charity, the giving of vast sums to
help the afflicted and the starving, even the charity
that gives itself, the self-sacrifice which goes to the
martyr s fire and is burned as a testimony to the
1 COB. XIII. 1-13 233
truth valueless without Love. However admir
able and splendid it is as a part of one s character,
it needs to be completed by Love before it attains
to be really good. Love is wholly unselfish ; it does
not resent injury, it does not envy the good-fortune
of another, it does not pride itself on its own excel
lence, it is humble in estimating itself, it is not pro
voked or embittered by disappointment. Even if it
gains by the wrongdoing of others, it is not made
joyful by the advantage it has gained ; it rejoices
only when the right cause triumphs, whether or
not itself is the gainer by the triumph.
Another of the beautiful things in this chapter
is that Paul ceases to speak in the first person
singular when he mentions the excellence of Love.
He will not even suggest that he has himself this
quality. He uses the first person when talking of
possible faults, but the third person when he
mentions excellences. The passage is a perfect
pattern of the humility and the unselfishness which
it lauds.
Love is the one lasting thing. Everything else,
however good it may be, is evanescent. The
prophet may lose his power of prophecy, the wise
philosopher may cease to be able and great, and
his intellect may fail ; for these are qualities that
are in themselves partial, one-sided, incomplete ;
they have not attained to the Divine power and
234 XXXV. A HYMN OF LOVE THE DIVINE
perfection. But Love fails not, and is never lost.
It is eternal in all its nature, because it is complete
and Divine in itself. In our imperfect human
nature, when we only see a little darkly and dimly
(as in the poor metal mirrors of the ancients), and
fail to perceive in the reflected image the real
character of the thing itself, we attain to the level
of the Divine and the Eternal only in the one
thing true Love.
The last words of this great chapter cannot be
expressed in any other way than by quotation.
They cannot be explained, because they are so
simple and final. They stand there once and for
ever, interpreting themselves to be read and under
stood by all, but not to be weakened by the feeble
attempts of a commentator. " Now abideth Faith,
Hope, Love, these three ; and the greatest of these
is Love."
XXXVI
PAUL S FAKE WELL TO THE HELLENIC
CHUECHES
Acts xx. 2-38
PAUL S third missionary journey ends, like his
second, with a visit to Jerusalem ; but whereas the
earlier visit is dismissed in a few words (xvui. 21,
22), this later visit is described at great length and
in much detail. This indicates that Luke regarded
it as a critical and highly important event in history,
and it was so for two reasons ; first on account of
its consequences, viz. Paul s imprisonment (which
like that of Jesus was caused by the Jews and
carried into effect by Eoman soldiers), and his
trial in its several stages at Jerusalem, Caesarea
and Eome; and, secondly, on account of his in
tention to make the visit the conclusion and con
summation of a period in his evangelistic work.
The mind of Paul was now full of a great idea.
He was to leave the Hellenic lands and the .ZEgean
shores, and go right away into the Latin-speaking
West, to Kome and to Spain, and make those
(235)
236 XXXVI. FAEEWELL TO HELLENIC CHUBCHES
regions the sphere of his future work. The end of
his letter to the Eomans (especially xiv. 21), written
during the latter days of his residence in Greece,
throws much light on these plans and on this part
of Luke s history. Before going to Italy and
the West, Paul s work in the Hellenic countries
should be completed by bringing the Churches of
the four provinces, Galatia, Asia, Macedonia and
Achaia, into closer relations with the original
Church at Jerusalem, and the feeling of brother
hood and unity should be quickened by the in
fluence of charity. For months, and even years,
those Churches had been gathering funds under
his directions through weekly contributions ; and
now, as the final act, delegates from the provinces
accompanied Paul, to carry help in money to Jeru
salem and to make acquaintance with their Jewish
fellow-Christians there.
The Church in Jerusalem was poor, and it was
in a position where great service to the Christian
cause could be accomplished by the use of money.
At the great feasts Jerusalem was crowded with
pilgrims, both Jews and Jewish Christians, and
there was opportunity for beneficent action and
hospitality on those occasions. The pilgrims were
often poor : fatigue must have fostered diseases in
the crowded city ; food was dear when demand was
great and supply limited. Generous charity on the
ACTS XX. 2-38 237
part of the Church in Jerusalem was not merely
right and Christian, it was also wise and prudent,
for it was effective in spreading the knowledge of
the truth and in conciliating the good-will of the
Jewish strangers who found help and kindness from
the Church in their need. Now this was a work in
which money could be most effectively employed ;
and Paul s plan opens up a great historic view of
the circumstances and possibilities involved. Such
a plan shows true statesmanship and constructive
genius, building up the fabric of a great united
Church, whose head should be in Jerusalem, while
its members were scattered over the whole Eoman
Empire.
For this purpose Galatia sent as delegates Gaius
(Derbe) and Timothy (Lystra) ; Asia sent Tychicus
and Trophimus (probably both of Ephesus) ; Mace
donia sent Sopater (Beroea), Aristarchus and Se-
cundus (Thessalonica), and Luke himself (Philippi).
Achaia alone sent no delegate ; but possibly it
requested Paul to act as its representative, for its
contribution in money was liberal. 1
The party gathered in Troas on the Asiatic
coast. It might have been expected that the visit
would be timed for the Passover ; and probably this
was the original intention, but as Paul was on the
1 The text of xx. 4 is incorrect. The meaning may be got
by omitting the words " as far as Asia".
238 XXXVI. FAEEWELL TO HELLENIC CHURCHES
point of sailing from Corinth for Syria, it was
discovered that the Jews had a plot to kill him ;
opportunity for murder would be easily found in a
ship crowded with pigrims. He therefore changed
his plans, and fixed Pentecost for the visit to
Jerusalem, while he himself went to Macedonia
and celebrated the Passover at Philippi.
The morning after the days of unleavened bread,
Friday, April 15, A.D. 57, Paul with Luke started
from Philippi, took ship at Neapolis, reached Troas
on Tuesday following, and stayed there seven days,
i.e. Tuesday April 19 to Monday 25. On Sunday
evening the whole congregation met for the Agape
feast with the breaking of bread, and religious
services and discourse were prolonged first until
midnight and then till daybreak. At midnight the
meeting was interrupted by the fall of sleepy
Eutychus from the window. Luke, a physician,
believed him to be dead ; but Paul cheered the com
pany by announcing that Butychus s life was still in
him : the spirit had not yet left the body, and Luke s
view evidently is that the spirit was detained in its
flight and life thus continued through the power of
Paul. Early the next morning, i.e. Monday, the
company started from Troas. This allotment of
the days proceeds according to the ancient rule of
counting any part of a day as one day.
The ship on which the whole of Paul s company
ACTS XX. 2-38 239
took passage did not intend to put in at Ephesus,
which lay some miles up a narrow river and was
difficult of access for passing vessels ; but it touched
at many other points on the coast from Assos on
wards, and it lay at Miletus for several days taking
or unloading cargo. Paul used the delay to send
for the presbyters of Ephesus, the officials who
discharged the duty of bishops or overseers in
matters affecting the business and common in
terests of the congregation ; and when they arrived
he made an address to them, which Luke reports
fully with graphic touches, showing that he was
an auditor and eye-witness of the scene.
This address is selected by Luke for report because
it marked the end of a period, of which the sermon
at Pisidian Antioch formed the beginning. Paul in
dicates its character as valedictory very clearly.
It begins as an address specially to the Ephesians ;
but as all the delegates from the four provinces
were present the speaker passed into a general
address to them all (v. 25). Such a change is
naturally made by a speaker, and its occurrence
in a written report proves that a real spoken ad
dress was heard by Luke. Paul soon returned
again to the narrower address ; a speaker marks
easily such transitions by tone and emphasis, but
they are more difficult to catch in a written
report.
240 XXXVI. FAREWELL TO HELLENIC CHUECHES
In accordance with its valedictory character, the
speech gives a review of Paul s conduct during the
three years (so reckoned after the ancient fashion
of counting part of the third year as a whole year)
which he spent in Ephesus ; and all that he says
about his action might be applied to his residence
in his other Churches throughout the four pro
vinces.
In all he had shown the same humility : in all
he had faced the dangers of Jewish enmity : in all
he had taught fearlessly the truth. Now he was
leaving them, and they among whom he had
preached should see his face no longer. The Spirit
constrained him to visit Jerusalem; and yet the
same Spirit announced to him in every city that
imprisonment and affliction awaited him ; but life
was cheap to him in comparison with the unbroken
continuance of his work. In his life among them
he had so borne himself that he was blameless
whosoever might perish ; he had declared the
whole truth how they might save themselves.
When he declares that he has never used his
opportunities as a leader to take the goods of others,
such a disclaimer may seem to us rather below the
dignity of the address ; but Paul was speaking to
Orientals, who are rarely scrupulous about turning
office into a means of unfair gain ; and he was thus
politely giving the presbyters advice against a temp-
ACTS XX. 2-38 241
tation which might assail them in their official life.
The standard of action to which those presbyters
had been accustomed in their heathen life was very
low ; and there was always the danger of a relapse
into their earlier ways. Paul had maintained him
self and his friends by his own labour, in order to
set an example of work ; and as he spoke of his
handiwork, he held up " these hands " to his
auditors. He concluded by admonishing them, as
overseers, to help the weak and to remember how the
Lord Jesus had said : " It is more blessed to give than
to receive ". This saying does not occur in any of
the Gospels ; but it is a brief statement of the pur
port of many passages in the Teaching of Jesus. The
advice to help the weak is specially characteristic
of Paul s sympathetic nature . To support the weak
is among the prime duties both of officials in the
Church and of every Christian (1 Thess. V. 14). 1
1 See Section XXXII.
16
XXXVII
THE PKOPHETS WHO STOPPED PAUL
Acts xxi. 1-17
THE minute detail of the voyages to Jerusalem
and to Italy is remarkable, when we consider how
careful Luke is to mention only what was im
portant for his purpose as historian of the growth
of the Church through the power of the Spirit.
He dwells on them in order to emphasize the im
portance of the crisis which was connected with
them. In a similar fashion in Acts xvi. he dwells
on the details of Paul s journey from Lystra to
Philippi, in order to bring out in strong relief the
power of the Spirit in leading Paul to Macedonia
and to Europe.
But beyond this we must recognize something
of the personal character of the historian ; he had
the love of the true Hellene for the sea, and he
dwells with interest on details of sea-faring, how
Cyprus rose out of the sea on the left, how they
passed Mitylene and Cos and many another
(242)
ACTS XXI. 1-17 243
famous place, how the winds drove them about,
and how they had to haul a little boat on board.
He had seen these events, and he gives bulk to
the important part of the story by recording what
specially interested him.
A coasting vessel, which touched at many points,
carried the party as far as Patara in Lycia. There
they took passage on a larger vessel, which was
fitted for the long voyage across the Levant direct
to the Syrian coast at Tyre, where they waited
seven days while the ship was discharging cargo ;
and they spent the time in intercourse with the
Tyrian congregation.
Here occurred a typical incident. Luke has as
yet mentioned only indirectly that in every city
the Spirit inspired men to prophesy what awaited
Paul in Jerusalem. In Tyre the disciples " said
to Paul through the Spirit that he should not set
foot in Jerusalem". This revelation was, appar
ently, couched in the form of an order, prohibiting
the journey. Luke gives in this a practical ex
ample of the difficulties which may occur, when
congregations are to a large extent guided by in
spiration granted from time to time by the Spirit.
Not every person who is apparently inspired is free
from misleading excitement, and not every person
who is, in a sense, really inspired, comprehends
fully the message that has been entrusted to him
244 XXXVII. THE PROPHETS WHO STOPPED PAUL
to deliver. It is always necessary to examine
the messages of apparent inspiration before we
accept them, even while we carefully refrain from
chilling the enthusiasm of others by unbelief or
coldness or ridicule. This is Paul s advice in
1 Thess. v. 21. 1 Such then is the situation set
before us in the congregation at Tyre. The dis
ciples in that Church, under a real inspiration as
to what would happen in the circumstances about
which all were anxiously thinking, forbade Paul to
go to Jerusalem. Paul knew, however, that such
was not the intention of the message. The Spirit
was not forbidding him, but merely testing him. It
was needful that he should understand well what
awaited him : it was needful for the success of his
work that all the Churches of the Koman world
should realize clearly what dangers he was facing
while he followed the path of duty. Hence these
repeated warnings. In Tyre the warning was
mistaken by the disciples for a prohibition, but
Paul was not misled. For us it is important to
observe how Luke s history sets before us in
practical form the situations and the difficulties
with which Paul deals in his letters. The Acts
cannot be thoroughly understood apart from the
Epistles, and should not be read without constant
reference to them.
1 Also 1 John iv. 1 : see Section XXXII.
ACTS XXI. 1-17 245
When the ship was ready to sail on the seventh
day, the entire congregation, men, women and
children, accompanied Paul and his friends to the
sea-shore ; and they separated with prayer. So
ends this passing glimpse which is given us of the
Tyrian Church, one of the many which had come
into existence unrecorded along that coast. This
chance visit, and the enforced delay caused by
trading arrangements, have preserved the picture.
The words which Luke uses, " when it came to
pass that we had accomplished the days," suggest
that the delay was a little irksome, in spite of the
kindly and gracious intercourse with the little body
of Tyrian Christians, who had to be sought out
in that great city. But Paul was eager to reach
Caesarea, from whence the land-road to Jerusalem
began. He knew Caesarea from of old ; and he
evidently looked forward to meeting Philip there
once more. There was natural sympathy between
the Apostle of the Gentiles and the man who had
first broken the ties of race and sect, and had frankly
preached to the despised Samaritans.
In Caesarea the company remained a number of
days, for the voyage had been so successful that
Pentecost was not yet arrived. They went direct
to Philip s house, and the time which they still
had free was spent in intercourse with him and the
four prophetesses his daughters.
246 XXXVII. THE PEOPHETS WHO STOPPED PAUL
Our view is that this intercourse had great in
fluence on the composition of Luke s history, and
that Philip was one of the authorities on whom
the historian most relied for the events narrated
in the first part of the book. Luke does not at
tribute the delay here to external causes, as he
does at Tyre. They willingly spent the days in
the enjoyment of Philip s hospitality, until the
time when they must start for Jerusalem. During
this interval Agabus, the same prophet who had
foretold in Antioch the great famine, arrived from
Jerusalem ; and with the symbolic action of an
old Hebrew prophet he showed how the Jews at
Jerusalem would bind Paul and deliver him into
the hands of the Gentiles.
It is noteworthy with what insistence Luke
dwells on these successive warnings which Paul
heard and disregarded. A great and justly re
spected modern scholar has pointed out that the
prophecy of Agabus was not fulfilled, and has made
this the ground for a charge of carelessness and
inaccuracy against Luke. But it was not Luke s
purpose to make Agabus literally exact ; his pur
pose was to tell what occurred as it occurred. The
prophecy was in a general, though not in a literal,
way fulfilled ; and the incident brings out in strong
relief Paul s firm resolution and his tenderness of
heart. Even the weeping entreaties of his dearest
ACTS XXL 1-17 247
friends could not break his resolve, though they
might break his heart. Perhaps, alsp, Luke is
here again illustrating the necessity of extreme
caution in understanding the prophetic messages
granted to the Church. Even Agabus, whose pre
diction had been so important in an old crisis of
the Church, was in this case only disturbing the
Will of God and the great plan of Paul ; and he
was only ideally, but not literally, accurate in his
prediction. Prophecies might fail (1 Cor. xm. 10),
but Love never failed.
The journey to Jerusalem was one of sixty miles,
and some preparation and equipment were required
(v. 15). The disciples in Csesarea aided and es
corted Paul. Horses were needed to make such
a journey in the two days which seem to have
been allowed ; and the true translation of v. 16
is that the escort conducted Paul to his host for
the night, one Mnason, an early disciple. The
place for breaking the journey was probably
Lydda; and there we must look for Mnason s
house. On the morrow the party went on to
Jerusalem, where they were welcomed by the
brethren. The whole party visited James on the
following day, and the interview was interesting
and momentous.
We are struck, however, with three facts: (1)
Luke does not mention the special purpose of the
248 XXXVII. THE PEOPHETS WHO STOPPED PAUL
visit and the presentation of the money, except
incidentally in xxiv. 17 ; (2) he says little about
the attitude or the hospitality of the Church in
Jerusalem (except the emphatic " gladly " in v. 17) ;
(3) he says nothing about the impression which
the first view of Jerusalem made on those travellers,
though he does record their first view of Cyprus.
One may probably infer that there was a certain
lack of sympathy between Luke and those Jewish
Christians who had remained in Jerusalem and
were rather old-fashioned. A devoted friend of
Paul, he was never quite cordial to Jews, who so
often were hostile to his hero and teacher.
XXXVIII
THE CHUKCH AND ITS ENEMIES IN THE
PAGAN WORLD
Review : Acts xiv.-xxi.
DUEING Paul s first journey towards the West it
would appear probable that he had no definite plan
of work. He was driven on, partly by the com
mand of the Holy Spirit, given through the
prophets as well as spoken directly to himself,
partly by the overmastering desire in his own soul
to spread the truth which he had learned. These
two forces which impelled him were really ex
pressions of the one ultimate fact. The Spirit
ordered him to do what he was born to do. He
himself was eager to do it, because the impulse
and the power were in his heart and dominated
his whole nature. As he, in after years, looked
back on his past life, 1 he recognized that he was
before his birth chosen out by the purpose of God
for this work; that all the circumstances of his
1 See Galatians i. 9 ff.
(249)
250 XXXVIII. THE CHUECH AND ITS ENEMIES
birth, his family, his early training as a child, and
his later experiences as a young man, had been
such as to fit him for the apostleship of the Gentiles ;
and that throughout all the maze of his early man
hood, his studies in the Jewish Holy Law at
Jerusalem, and his fanatical persecution of the
early Church, the Will of God had been goading
him into the proper path for which he was intended.
That he was conscious of this destiny when he
sailed to Cyprus, we cannot doubt : it had been
expressly and repeatedly intimated to him by the
Spirit. But how and by what methods he was to
accomplish his destiny he had to learn in the
school of experience. He had to begin with
tentatives, he had to try one course and another,
even to make mistakes and thereby find guidance.
He soon recognized that Cyprus and Pamphylia
were not his field of work. After a time, however, he
became conscious that the Galatian churches were
the beginning of his Gospel : there first he had
definitely turned to the Gentiles. Those Gentiles
to whom he felt himself specially suited to speak
and called upon to speak, were the people of the
Boman Empire, among whom he had been born a
citizen, among whom he had acquired his know
ledge of Western civilization and methods and
thought, to whom he was indebted for much.
Opinion may differ as to how far he was con-
REVIEW : ACTS XIV.-XXI. 251
scious of this definite bent to the Eoman world in
his first journey ; but there can hardly exist a doubt
in any mind that he was fully aware of it in the
beginning of his second journey. Through Galatia
he was then directing his course to the great and
highly civilized province of Asia ; x but his purpose
was barred, and he was forbidden to speak there.
Only after long and perplexing wanderings did he
at last learn that the Spirit was shepherding him
into Europe, to the provinces of Macedonia and
Achaia.
Yet Asia also must be conquered for the truth,
and was the chief work of his third journey. Why
this was so, why he had to go first to more
distant provinces, and then fill up the intervening
gap by subsequent work, we can only conjecture.
Perhaps it was in order that he might learn to take
wider views, and that his loving interest in his
earlier churches might not betray him into con
fining his attention to them. It is, at any rate,
certain that this was one of the lessons which he
learned on his second journey, for on his third
journey he was looking to Eome and Spain ; he
was bent on reaching the farthest bounds of the
West, and afterwards filling in the intermediate
space. There was no longer any fear that he
x The province Asia included only the western part of
Asia Minor.
252 XXXVIII. THE CHUECH AND ITS ENEMIES
might narrow his interest to his early churches.
Much as he loved them, he was now resolved to
leave them to work out their own destiny with the
help of his trusted companions and coadjutors,
such as Timothy, and under the guidance of the
Spirit, which was always inspiring those congrega
tions. His third journey was his farewell to the
East, and the prelude to a wider work in the West,
as has been clearly brought out in the last few
Sections.
That the progress of the new Faith was marvel
lously rapid is a fact once doubted by modern schol
ars, but now almost universally admitted ; only
those who ignore historical evidence can doubt it.
What were the causes that contributed to this?
We may assume here what has been already said
in the previous reviews, 1 especially as to the power
and guidance of the Spirit : all that was there said
applies equally here.
The great fact in the pagan world at this epoch
was that the fullness of time was come. The world
was in need, and was conscious of the need, of a
Divine Saviour. People had gradually been driven
by bitter experience to the conclusion that society
was sick unto death, and could not be cured by
human means. The attempts of philosophy to
furnish a cure might satisfy a few exceptional
1 Chaps, xni. and xxv.
REVIEW: ACTS XIV. -XXI. 253
ininds, but could not touch the popular heart. The
common man everywhere was looking for Divine
aid, and had neither confidence in, nor hope of,
any other help. The doctrine of a Saviour, God
manifesting himself in human form to cure the
evils of society, appealed to the heart of the pagan
world : that was what men generally believed to be
necessary, and what they were looking for.
The enemies in the pagan world which the new
Faith had to contend against were many, but three
are conspicuous ;
1. The paganism that ruled in the Eastern prov
inces was a very degraded form of religion, which
had almost entirely lost the germs of true insight
into Divine nature and goodness that once existed
in it. It ministered to and encouraged all the
vices of society. It had become an unmixed evil ;
and there was nothing to be done with it except to
eradicate it. The more educated classes of pagan
society had risen superior to it, and had no belief
in it, though they had nothing better to put in its
place. Idolatry therefore was to Paul the great
enemy: it meant darkness, degradation, infamy,
and degeneration for mankind. He desired to
make men virtuous, chaste, innocent, truthful.
Paganism and the service of idols not merely
failed to inculcate those goods, but actually patron
ized and encouraged the opposite vices, unchastity,
254 XXXVIII. THE CHUBCH AND ITS ENEMIES
drunkenness, untruthfulness. The only redeeming
fact about the established paganism was its weak
ness : men set small store by it ; the very priests
did not believe in it.
2. Magic and witchcraft often replaced the belief
in paganism. The gods were powerless, and were
recognized to be powerless ; and the Christian
teachers were often opposed by sorcerers, who
made money out of their dupes. The events which
occurred at Philippi, Samaria, Paphos and Ephesus,
exemplify the nature of this enemy, and need not
be again recounted. But it is noteworthy that
the magicians were not such hateful enemies as
the common idolatry was : they possessed some
knowledge, perverted and dangerous indeed, but
still a sort of knowledge ; and they could recognize
the truth after a fashion.
3. The supreme enemy was the Koman State
and its religion, which consisted in the worship of
the living emperor as the embodiment in human
form of a Divine idea, and of the deceased emperors
as deified in heaven. Paul s attitude to this enemy
was mixed. On the one hand, as being idolatrous
in character, it was hateful and abominable. But
on the other hand, as being the power of good law,
of order, and of peace, it was in a certain way the
friend of the new Faith. It permitted the Christians
to teach. It protected them against illegal and
REVIEW : ACTS XIV.-XXI. 255
riotous attacks, especially on the part of the Jews.
Many of its officials were friendly to Paul. It had
a certain part to play for a time in the spread of
the Faith ; but ultimately it must be destroyed
and give place to the kingdom of Christ. Mean
while, it must be obeyed until it was altered.
XXXIX
EKEEDOM IN EVEEYDAY LIFE
1 Cor. x. 23-33
THE Corinthian Church, which consisted mainly
of Greeks (with a few Eomans and a few Jews),
had the Greek characteristic of a love for argu
ment and theory and endless discussion. They
had caught up a phrase, which Paul himself had
used, " all things are lawful for me," and quoted
it, apart from the qualifying and limiting context,
in support of arguments which Paul could not
accept (vi. 12, x. 23). Paul had been speaking in
favour of Christian freedom : that which is not in
itself wrong is lawful. So far, that is quite true ;
but it needs much qualification in practical life.
An action may be quite lawful, but very inadvisable.
A person who is trying to break himself of the
smoking habit would not be wise to travel in a
smoking carriage. A reformed drunkard, anxious
to do right, but still weak, should not pass through
the street where his old cronies are wont to
(256)
1 COR. X. 23-33 257
assemble. As a general rule, unless an action
tends in itself to cause positive good, one may well
think twice about doing it.
But further, in all one s life and actions it is
right to think about the effect that may be pro
duced on one s neighbours and associates, and not
simply to consider whether it is lawful or expedient
or convenient for oneself. The Christian congre
gation is a band of brethren ; and the interests
of the whole brotherhood should be considered
in all that one does. A life which is led on the
principle of doing all that is lawful for oneself is a
purely selfish life, and is therefore not a Christian
life.
This general rule Paul now applies to a question
which was much discussed in the early Church, and
which presented itself in practice constantly to
every Christian. Society was at that time organ
ized on a pagan basis. The forms and ceremonies
of ordinary courtesy in private society and in
political and commercial life were pagan in charac
ter. Public meetings were opened with pagan
ceremonial : ought a Christian therefore to refrain
from using his rights and performing his duties as
a citizen ? The giving thanks to God before and
after meat took a pagan form, as an "invocation
of the gods ". Was a Christian to absent himself
from every social meeting in a pagan house, and
17
258 XXXIX. FREEDOM IN EVERYDAY LIFE
confine himself absolutely to the society of Chris
tians? To do so would cut him off from many
opportunities of benefiting his fellow-citizens and
of spreading the knowledge of the truth, and
would amount almost to a boycott" of all non-
Christians by the Christians. How far was it
justifiable or right to accept the established
forms of social intercourse, and to ignore the pagan
character in many of those forms ?
This was always a difficult question, and it was
answered in varying fashion by different persons
and in different circles. Some were far more strict
in this matter than others. The question answered
itself in later times, when Christians became the
majority, and the forms of social courtesy took a
Christian character. But in the first century it
was a burning question. It presented itself in a
very acute form in regard to the eating of meats
that had been offered to idols. Much of the flesh
sold in the butchers shops was cut from victims
that had been offered in sacrifice. Many of the
dinner parties given in society followed after a
religious ceremony, such as a marriage or the
coming of age of a son ; and the flesh set on the
table was that of the animals which had been
offered in sacrifice to the gods. When a Christian
bought meat in a shop, was he to ask whether it
was sagrificia,!? Paul answers unhesitatingly:
1 COE. X. 23-33 259
No. The earth is the Lord s, and everything
that is in the earth has been made by Him, and all
that He made is good. The ox is good in itself :
the idol to which it has been offered is a thing of
nought : the flesh of the animal remains the same,
whether offered or not offered : the idol has no
effect upon it.
Again, if a Christian was invited to a dinner
party by a pagan friend in his own house, and
accepted the invitation, was he to ask, as each
dish was set on the table, whether it had been
offered in sacrifice ? Here, again, Paul unhesitat
ingly answers : No. Eat whatsoever is set before
you, asking no rude question : courtesy requires
this, and Christian principle does not forbid it.
Social intercourse would be impossible, and all the
amenities and grace of life would be destroyed, if
such questions were obtruded on the company in
which one had taken one s place. It is open to
any one to refrain from going into the society of
those who differ in religious opinions ; but "if ye
are disposed to go" into their society, then the
customs of polished courtesy should be observed.
One exception, however, is made by the Apostle.
If some one should challenge you and pointedly
declare that the meat set before you has been
offered to an idol, then you should not eat of it
you should refrain, not for your sake and because
260 XXXIX. FBEEDOM IN EVERYDAY LIFE
of your conscience, but for his sake. He is prob
ably a person of delicate and over-scrupulous con
science ; and he may have doubts as to whether it
is right to eat such food, and yet seeing you eat
he may through shame-facedness be induced to
do what he believes to be wrong and eat like you.
Thus your freedom may be a snare to your brother.
This is a principle of conduct, to which one must
always have regard in one s daily life : one must
think not merely of one s own feelings and judg
ment about right and wrong, but also about the
effect which one s actions may have upon fellow-
Christians. There are actions from which one
should refrain, even though one sees nothing
wrong in them, simply because they may give
offence or cause danger and error to one s brethren
in the congregation. A Christian must always
sympathize with and be mindful of his brother-
Christians and act for their sake as well as for
his own.
Yet while one sympathizes with the weaker and
more delicate conscience of others, and refrains
from hurting or misleading them, one must pre
serve one s own freedom and strength of mind.
One should in those cases refrain consciously for
the sake of others, and not lose one s own boldness
and freedom. We should not suffer their con
science to be the judge of our liberty. In such
1 COE. X. 23-33 261
matters the robust conscience is the healthy one :
the delicate conscience, which is always on its
guard, and is constantly in terror of doing any
thing wrong, is weak. But one must have regard
to one s weaker brother, and not allow one s own
freedom to do him harm; though one feels that
the true Christian is strong, bold and decided,
not weak, apprehensive of evil, and timorous.
Above all, one should refuse to allow the weak
to condemn the strong. "If I partake with
thankfulness of such meat, then I should not be
condemned or evil spoken of regarding the food for
which I thanked God." It may happen that we
hear some weaker Christians tell with horror and
condemnation that such another dined with a
pagan and ate meat of an animal that had been
slain in sacrifice to Jupiter or some other idol. In
such a case we should not keep silence and allow
him to be condemned : we should defend him and
take his part. The main rule of conduct for
Christians should always be, even in such small
matters as eating or drinking, to consider whether
the act will conduce to the glory of God and
the enlargement of His kingdom. In His kingdom
there are both Jews who are over-scrupulous
about small rules of life, and Greeks who are
freer in mind. Let us refrain from offending
either Jews by needlessly outraging their scruples,
262 XXXIX. FREEDOM IN EVERYDAY LIFE
or Greeks by trying to impose on them the
narrower rules of Jewish scrupulousness.
After writing this paragraph Paul seems to have
felt that something was needed to complete it.
We are conscious, as we read it, that in pleading
for liberty he has expressed himself in terms which
are a little hard in tone. There is an element
which must be added to modify and to perfect this
tenth chapter ; and through consciousness of this
Paul adds in Chapter xm. the wonderful exposi
tion of the power of Christian love and the urgent
importance of bringing love to bear on all matters
of life and conduct, which forms the subject of
Section XXXV.
XL
SELF-DENIAL THE PEOOF OF LOVE
Bom. XIV. 10-21
THE subject treated in the previous Section was
one which could not be exhausted in a brief space.
Paul returned to it on other occasions, and especi
ally in a paragraph of his letter to the Romans.
How should the Christian live in the pagan world ?
The question is always hard to answer ; but it was
specially hard for the earliest Churches. The
situation was new. No system of Christian teach
ing about the manifold difficulties of practical life
amid an alien society had been formed. The
questions which arose were often complicated ; and
it was easy for even a trusted and wise adviser to
misunderstand the full import of each problem as
it came before him, and to lose sight of some of
the many issues that were involved. Mistakes
were certainly made by persons whose intentions
were good ; and wide differences of opinion about
the same questions existed within the Church.
(263)
264 XL. SELF-DENIAL THE PROOF OF LOVE
The early Christians, small groups scattered over
the ancient cities in the midst of a numerous
pagan society, had to decide what their conduct
should be in many delicate matters of social con
duct and etiquette. Political meetings for voting
or for judicial or other purposes always began with
some pagan religious ceremony. Was the Christian
citizen to abandon his right of voting, to give up
all share in political life, and to absent himself from
all public meetings, or should he attend them and
take a part, though only a silent part, in a pagan
ceremony ? All magistrates of each city had to
take an official position in the many religious rites
which were performed to ensure for the State or
the city the favour of the gods. Were Christians
to refrain from the career of public service, or
could they take official part in those rites ?
In private life similar difficulties faced them. If
they went to a social gathering, or a dinner party,
there were pagan sacred rites to sanctify the
assembly. The saying of grace before eating and
after took the form of a rite in honour of a false
god. Yet the acknowledgment of the Divine kind
ness and grace, which was made by pagans at
every meal, was in itself a right thing, which every
Christian must approve and regard as springing
from a true instinct, though misdirected. If one
bought a piece of meat in a butcher s shop, it was
&OM. XIV. 10-21 265
usually (as has been mentioned in Section XXXIX)
the flesh of a victim that had been offered in
sacrifice at some pagan temple.
Thus the life of a tiny group of Christians in a
pagan city was compassed about with a cloud of
difficulties. If a member of the little congregation
was to make it his first object to avoid all partici
pation in idolatry and all contact with anything
that had idolatrous associations, his daily life would
be spent and wasted in investigating a multitude
of details, since he was at every step brought into
some kind of relation with something idolatrous ;
and he would have no time or energy left for the
greater things of life. He could only with difficulty
get out of the presence of an idol, for idols were
everywhere in the streets and in the houses, painted
on the walls, or cut in stone or wood, or moulded
of clay or metal.
Would it be wise, or even permissible and justi
fiable, to inquire scrupulously into the history of
every article sold in an ordinary shop, lest it might
have come in contact with an idol ? That would
practically mean that the Christian " must needs
go out of the world," as Paul remarks in 1 Cor. V. 9 ;
for there was no room left for them in their native
cities. Ought the Christians to cut themselves off
wholly from social intercourse with their pagan
neighbours ? If they did so, they would lose many
266 XL. SELF-DENIAL THE PROOF OF LOVE
opportunities of coming into relations with them
and influencing them. If the Christian were to
criticize and blame every idolatrous action of his
pagan neighbours which came before his eyes, he
would make life unendurable for himself and for
his neighbours.
The fact remained inevitable that the Christian
in a pagan city must shut his eyes to, and tacitly
acquiesce in, much that was idolatrous, and much
that he disapproved and hated. The difficult
question was to determine when he ought to cease
to acquiesce and begin to show open disapproval.
The question was answered differently by different
persons. Some engaged in the public service, as
officials or magistrates or soldiers, and allowed the
inevitable pagan rites to be performed in their
presence. Some avoided public service as far as
possible, showing themselves far more scrupulous
and tender of conscience ; and these were blamed
by their pagan neighbours as unpatriotic, morose,
and idle, because they left the duties of public life
to others who were more willing to work for the
public good.
Innumerable such questions faced every Chris
tian daily. He must answer them in his life, and
the answers given were necessarily various. From
this variety of conduct sprang another difficulty.
Those who were scrupulous were apt to condemn
HOM. XIV. 10-21 267
those who allowed themselves greater latitude,
while the free-minded were apt to condemn as
weak-minded those who showed themselves more
scrupulous. It was an almost greater difficulty
that some people, who felt it wrong to act with
bold freedom in their intercourse with society
and in political life, were yet so much coerced by
fear of contempt or ridicule from their strong-
minded brethren that they used a freedom which
they felt to be wrong, and thus endangered their
character and conscience.
Paul has now to lay down general principles of
conduct, which may guide his congregations in
these minor points of life ; and his first rule is that
Christians shall be slow to judge one another.
Neither should the scrupulous man condemn his
brother for being too free, nor the bolder man
condemn his brother for being weak and over
scrupulous. We must all be judged by God ; we
are all God s servants ; we have therefore no right
to occupy God s place as judge of His servants.
One judgment alone we must rigorously pass upon
ourselves, that we do nothing which may hinder
the moral development of any of our fellow-
Christians. It must of course be remembered that
Paul is not here speaking about the great questions
of moral right and wrong. There are cases where
a brother falls into real wrongdoing and crime ;
268 XL. SELF-DENIAL THE PROOF OF LOVE
and then it becomes our duty to condemn and even,
in extreme cases, to hold aloof from the evildoer.
Paul is here concerned with matters about which
opinion may reasonably and justly differ.
The right line of conduct will be determined by
love. You may feel that a meat is not made un
clean because the animal was sacrificed to a pagan
god ; but do not wound a brother s feelings while
you display your freedom of mind by eating it.
Christ died to save him : will you not deny your
self in this small matter to help him ? Will you put
a strain on his conscience, and perhaps lead him
into doing what he thinks wrong ? Any matter of
food and drink belongs in itself to mere human life,
and is not a part of the kingdom of God ; such
matters are temporary, evanescent, and unreal.
We should live in and for the kingdom of God,
i.e. for what is eternal, enduring, and true ; and to
that category belong righteousness, peace, and joy
in the Spirit, not meats and drink. These greater
things we shall attain by seeking always to do
what will tend to produce peace among our
brethren, and to build them up in goodness of
character. In itself wine, like meat, is not evil ;
but it is evil in its effect on the character and life
of society. Do not for the sake of a mere drink
overthrow the work of God ; for that is what you
do if you help by your example to spread the habit
ROM. XIV. 10-21 269
of intoxication. You will show the true spirit of
love in your action, you will foster throughout
the whole sphere of society in which you are placed
the mighty realities of goodness, concord, and joy
in the Holy Spirit, if you sacrifice even your free-
mindedness in order to avoid wounding the feelings
or endangering the moral improvement of your
neighbours and brothers.
Hold your own beliefs as far as you can justify
them to God, but let your beliefs be between God
and yourself. In your action and life think of your
neighbour, and show your love for him. It is not
your beliefs, but your conduct and your love and
your self-sacrifice, that make your life. These are
the things that stand the test, and last through
time into the eternal kingdom of God.
Thus those difficult questions of conduct which
the early Christians had to answer in their life, and
many delicate questions which we in the modern
world must answer one way or another in our
action, are best solved, not by abstract discussions
as to what is right or wrong, justifiable or unjusti
fiable ; but by applying the practical test, which
course of action helps our brother, tends to improve
society, and to establish righteousness and peace
and joy in the world.
In this treatment of the question, addressed to
the Komans, one feels the influence of that wonder-
270 XL. SELF-DENIAL THE PEOOF OF LOVE
ful chapter about love, 1 Cor. xin. The tone in
which the question is treated seems gentler here
than in 1 Cor. x. (see previous Section) ; and yet
the answer is not essentially different ; only the
tone is changed. To the Eomans Paul insists less
on freedom, and more on love. Freedom is a noble
thing ; but love for one s brother is nobler. The
Apostle s view is practically the same in both pas
sages ; but in the first he lays more stress on the
Christian right to be free, in the second he speaks
far more of the Christian duty to act with love and
sympathy. In this life of ours it is usually far
more needful to strengthen our love for our
neighbour than our desire for freedom to do as we
think right. We are all very keenly alive to our
rights ; but we are not always so vividly conscious
of our duties.
XLI
THE BEGINNING OP THE CRISIS
Acts xxi. 17-xxn. 29
AFTER the informal welcome on the day of their
arrival, the delegates were formally received on the
following day by James and all the elders of the
Jerusalem congregation. Luke was present. He
does not intimate that he was present at any of the
subsequent proceedings in Jerusalem or Csesarea,
but when the voyage to Rome was beginning he re
sumes the use of the first person plural. During the
intervening period he must have been near Paul ;
but he was not actually taking part in any of the
incidents that occurred, and hence he could not with
propriety employ the first person. This is evident
to anyone who reads the intervening chapters and
contrasts them with the paragraphs where the narra
tive is expressed in the first person plural.
Paul conveyed the salutations of the Gentile
Churches, and narrated the story of their growth and
all that they had done. The elders made suitable
(271)
272 XLI. THE BEGINNING OF THE CRISIS
acknowledgment, and then turned to the topic
which was weighing on all minds, viz. Paul s
danger.
To guard against this was a prime necessity.
The elders pointed out that there was great misap
prehension even among the Jewish Christians as to
what Paul had done and taught among the Gentiles.
He had changed the front of the Christian Church ;
he had made it look towards the Gentile world, and
he was himself looking towards Rome and Spain
for its future growth, rather than towards Palestine.
Even the Christian Jews were suspicious of the
change, and there were many thousands of them
(chaps, iv. 4, vi. 1, vm. 1, ix. 32, etc.). Their
suspicions were fed by false reports spread in Jeru
salem by the Jews from Asia and the other provinces,
when they came up to the great Feasts in Jerusalem.
These declared that Paul was teaching the Jews to
abandon all the customs of their forefathers and the
Law of Moses; and such reiterated reports (the
Greek verb in xxi. 21 is far stronger than the
English "informed") had produced a strong pre
judice against Paul among even Christian Jews,
while the non-Christian Jews were enraged in the
highest degree. When great numbers of Jews,
Christian and non-Christian, were collected in
Jerusalem for Pentecost, the situation was very
grave.
ACTS XXI. 17-XXII. 29 273
James and the elders, in this passage of the Acts,
are the same persons who are called in the Epistle
to the Hebrews xm. 24 "them that have the rule
over you ". It is clear that in that Epistle the
persons addressed are the mass of the Palestinian
Christians, who were not in perfect agreement
with their rulers regarding Paul s teaching and
conduct, and who looked on the Apostle of the
Gentiles with suspicion and even dislike. Luke
here implies exactly that situation. James and
the elders, who were "the rulers," are evidently
anxious that Paul should now disabuse the minds
of the Jewish Christians of their misapprehension
and suspicion regarding his action and his principles.
Luke does not inform us why the elders had
apparently made no attempt to explain Paul s real
attitude to the mass of the Christian Jews : certainly
they speak here as if the prejudice had spread un-
contradicted, and it looks as if Luke were thus in
dicating that the elders had not been sufficiently care
ful of Paul s interests. He does not blame them, but
he refrains from praising them. Now, however, they
showed themselves anxious to avert the danger.
Probably the coming of the delegates and the full
statement of the actual facts had dissipated some
prejudice from their minds. Paul s intention in
this embassy from the new Churches to the old
seemed to be in process of fulfilment.
18
274 XLI. THE BEGINNING OF THE CRISIS
The suggestion was made that Paul should
display to the multitude his personal observance of
the Law. There were four men known to the elders
as having taken a vow : these had to pay their
vow by sacrificing and by shaving the beard and
dedicating the hair that had grown during the
month preceding. The expenses of the ceremony
were considerable, and rich Jews often showed
charity by paying the charges incurred by poor men
in this way. It was proposed that Paul should pay
the charges for these four men, and should perform
the ceremonies along with them in the temple ; and
he immediately proceeded to act upon the sugges
tion. The ceremonial lasted in regular course
through seven days.
About the fifth or sixth day the storm burst.
Some Asian Jews saw Paul in the holy part of the
temple, where no Gentiles might intrude on pain
of death. These Jews knew that he had been
accompanied by two Asian Gentiles ; and immedi
ately, without any investigation, they inferred (or
pretended to believe) that he had brought his
travelling companions with him into the temple.
They seized Paul and shouted for help, explaining
loudly their charge against him. All the Jews
rushed on Paul and dragged him out of the temple,
and the officials closed the doors (which ordinarily
should have stood open) against the hated and
ACTS XXI. 17-XXII. 29 275
impious criminal. When Paul was about to be
murdered by his assailants, the Tribune who com
manded the Roman garrison in the tower of Antonia
(which dominated the temple and with it the
city), hearing of the riot, ran hastily down the stairs
that led from the tower to the temple with a troop
of soldiers and their officers, and saved Paul from
the hands of the Jews, but bound him with two
chains. The officer then tried to learn what was the
cause of the riot ; but the confusion was too great,
so he ordered Paul to be brought up into the castle.
Such was the crowd and its violence that Paul
had to be carried by the soldiers up the stairs ; but
when he was at the entrance to the castle, he
seized an opportunity of explaining to the Tribune
that he was not a rebel, but a Jew and a citizen of
that important city Tarsus. The fact that, at this
moment, when he was bruised and doubtless bleed
ing from the violence and blows of the Jews, and
excited with the struggle and the rescue from
imminent death, he should have spoken of Tarsus
with such pride, shows that the memory of his own
city, the home of his childhood, lay always close
to his heart.
Further, Paul s every word and act at this
moment of supreme danger evince remarkable
courage, coolness and self-possession. His one
thought now was to seize the occasion of speaking
276 XLI. THE BEGINNING OF THE CRISIS
to the people, when he had a great crowd before
him with their attention fixed on him. This might
be an opportunity of bringing home the truth to
them ; and, with the Tribune s permission, stand
ing on the stairs, he beckoned to the people and
addressed them in the national tongue, Aramaic.
The use of the Semitic speech instead of Greek
(which probably the whole audience understood,
and the foreign Jews generally knew better than the
Jewish vernacular) marked in itself his claim to be a
true Hebrew. Paul was a good linguist : he could
evidently speak with equal ease and power in
Greek and Aramaic : he knew the ancient Hebrew
of the Bible ; and when he planned to visit Spain
he must have been confident that he could address
the audiences of the cities there in Latin.
The speech which he made on the castle stairs
was a defence against the charges which (as he
knew) were being privately made against him, of
having forsaken his nation and abjured the Mosaic
law and profaned the temple. His plan was to
bring home to the people the real facts by a sketch
of his life, showing how bigoted a Hebrew he had
been from childhood, how true he had been to the
Jewish tradition and custom, how bitterly he had
persecuted the Christians, how finally he had been
convinced of his error only by the direct interven
tion and orders of God himself.
ACTS XXI. 17-XXII. 29 277
His account of his persecuting " unto the death "
does not imply that he had intentionally been in
strumental in putting to death other Christians than
Stephen alone. The words do not necessarily in
dicate more than the death of one Christian : and
the Jews had not the authority to execute : only
some isolated sudden outbreak of fanaticism and
murder under great provocation might be (and
usually was) allowed by the Koman government
to pass unpunished, but such conduct could not be
permitted to be carried on systematically.
For example, in the present case, if the Tribune
had been too late in intervening, and if he had
found Paul already dead or at the point of death,
probably no notice would have been taken of
the crime, because the explanation would have
been accepted that Paul was detected in the act
of bringing foreigners into the forbidden place,
and that the passion of the mob was roused to
frenzy. But the Tribune succeeded by his quick
ness in preventing the crime ; and so it might
have been in the case of Stephen, if there had been
a sufficiently active and watchful Roman officer
at hand, eager to stop riots at the beginning.
It is to be observed how much stress Paul lays
on the superhuman element in his conversion.
In this supreme moment, barely rescued from
death, he spoke from the depths of his heart the
278 XLI. THE BEGINNING OF THE CEISIS
truth as he knew it. He was profoundly convinced
that God had repeatedly revealed His Will directly
to His servant. It was, however, vain to hope that
the passionate excitement of the mob could be
calmed by an appeal to facts; and the moment
that he named the Gentiles, the word recalled the
crime of which his assailants believed him to be
guilty, and their frenzy broke out anew.
Paul was then taken into the castle, and the
Tribune proposed to examine him by torture as
a barbarian and a criminal, who would speak
the truth only under the lash ; but Paul appealed
to his rights as a Koman, and proceedings were
instantly stopped and changed.
XLII
THE KEAL ISSUE BETWEEN PAUL AND
THE JEWS
Acts xxu. 30-xxm. 35
ALTHOUGH Paul was now safe for the moment,
his position was still a dangerous one. The first
duty of every Roman Governor was to maintain
peace ; if he failed to do that, he was responsible.
Now Paul was a source of disorder ; he stood alone
against a nation ; but the nation would be paci
fied if the one man were slain; and in such a
situation few Roman officers would hesitate to take
the easy way of securing quiet, without investigat
ing too carefully the rights of the case. The Tri
bune had been on the point of torturing Paul to
extort a confession, after which the prisoner would
have been executed and peace restored. Paul was
saved by the influence and privilege which belonged
to him as a Roman. Yet even against a Roman
the charge of having, however unintentionally,
caused a riot was grave ; and, for the governor of
such a troublesome populace as the Jews, there
(279)
280 XLII. EEAL ISSUE BETWEEN PAUL AND JEWS
was always a strong temptation to propitiate them
by sacrificing the hated individual. One man
would die and the nation would be saved. The
analogy of Paul s case to the seizure and execution
of the Saviour must have been present to Luke s
mind in this part of his narrative.
A preliminary investigation was held on the fol
lowing day by the Tribune in order to determine
the real facts, which as yet he had been unable to
discover; and he called the supreme national
Council to help him in the investigation. The
meeting thus convoked by a Roman military officer
was not a formal assembly presided over by the
high-priest in his official dress ; it was an informal
meeting of the councillors aiding the Tribune to
determine the facts. Neither the Council nor the
Tribune had the right to condemn a Eoman ; but,
if there seemed to be a case against him, a proper
report of the facts must be made to the Governor
of the province, who was styled Procurator. At
this meeting Luke could hardly have been present,
and his knowledge was probably derived from Paul
himself.
The account of the meeting is incomplete ; it was
doubtless opened by a statement from the Tribune
as to why he had called the assembly, and what
he had done ; but Luke hurries on to the point where
Paul was called to speak for himself. The prisoner
ACTS XXII. 30-XXIIL 35 281
began with the remarkable words, addressed not to
the Tribune, but to the councillors of his nation,
"Brethren, I have acted as a citizen in all good
conscience before God unto this day ". The sequel
shows that these words were in some way peculiarly
offensive to the Jews; and as we do not know
what had been said previously, we can only guess
what was the cause. There is no reason to think
that the Jews would be offended because they con
sidered that the prisoner was speaking in a self-
righteous tone, for the words are only a protest in
Jewish style that he was innocent and faithful to
the religion of the nation. But the single word
" acted-as-a-citizen " seemed to the Jews of Pales
tine to amount almost to an unconscious confes
sion of guilt. The accusation against Paul was
that he sacrificed Jewish customs to Greek, and
he here used a word which was characteristically
Greek, and which assimilated the Jewish life under
Divine rule to the godless, free, self-governing life
of Greek citizens. The thought and word consti
tuted an insult to the Hebrew spirit, and the high-
priest Ananias bade those who were beside Paul
smite him on the mouth.
Paul s indignation at such treatment flamed out
in the disrespectful passionate words of verse 3.
He did not know that it was the high-priest who
had spoken, for he had been absent from Jerusalem
282 XLII. BEAL ISSUE BETWEEN PAUL AND JEWS
(except perhaps in xvm. 22) since Ananias was
appointed ; and the latter was sitting as an ordin
ary member of the Council with a Eoman presiding.
His hot retort roused a cry of horror, " answerest
thou the high-priest so ? " Paul, learning who
had spoken, apologized instantly in words quoted
from the Greek version of Exodus xxvni. 28 (differ
ing slightly from the Hebrew version).
There followed an incident which has caused
much difficulty and great variety of opinion among
modern readers. Paul perceived that there was a
want of harmony in the Council, some being Sad-
ducees and some Pharisees. We have seen that the
attitude of the two factions towards the Jewish
Christians was very different, though they were
united for the time by common hostility towards
Stephen. Paul had always been a Pharisee from
personal conviction and through heredity and early
training; and he understood the Pharisaic point
of view. The temporary union between the two
Jewish parties could not obliterate their deep-seated
disagreement ; and Paul, who always claimed to
be still a true Pharisee, a member of the patriot
and popular party, opposed to the cold and aristo
cratic Sadducees, described the nature of the
charge against him in a way which would attract
to himself the sympathy of the Pharisees. Luke
saw nothing wrong or unworthy in this, and he
ACTS XXII. 30-XXIIL 35 283
was best able to judge. Paul was winning over
the Pharisees not merely to himself, but to the
Christian cause. He was showing them the real
issue that was involved, withdrawing their atten
tion from the secondary issue of his own personal
case, and concentrating it on the true nature of
Jewish patriotism. He maintained that the true
Jewish patriot and the true Pharisee should be a
Christian, as he himself was a Pharisee while a
Christian (Phil. in. 6) : it was only misapprehension
of the facts that united Pharisees with Sadducees
against the Faith which was bringing Judaism
into its proper line of development. Yet Canon
Farrar in his " Life of Paul " mourns with deep sor
row over Paul s words, "concerning the hope and
resurrection of the dead am I called in question,"
on the ground that they are a clever trick of mis
representation and special pleading, suitable for a
smart lawyer, but unworthy of the great Apostle.
They do not misrepresent the case ; they go below
the surface, and touch the real nature of the
situation. The hope of a Messiah could be fulfilled
only through the resurrection of the dead, and the
Resurrection of Jesus was the guarantee of the
wider hope for all men (1 Cor. xv. 14). Paul states
the same view more fully in xxvi. 6-8, where there
is no question of a clever trick, for there were no
Pharisees among his judges.
284 XLII. REAL ISSUE BETWEEN PAUL AND JEWS
So keen dissension now arose between the two
factions in the Council, that Paul was like to be
torn in pieces during their quarrel ; and the Tribune
took him away to the castle for safety.
In the night that followed Paul was cheered by a
vision of the Lord, who stood by him and told him
that he must bear witness at Eome. The great
plan should be fulfilled : the visit to Jerusalem,
which Paul intended as a preliminary to his Koman
work (as we have seen), was to be so, though the
manner in which he should go to Eome was not
that which he had had in mind.
The Divine will was working out Paul s inten
tion after its own fashion ; and his life in the fol
lowing years was not arranged as he had intended,
when he spoke to the elders of Bphesus and told
them that his work in that region was finished, and
they should see his face no more. He went to Eome,
but as a prisoner ; and he came again to Ephesus
and to Macedonia to revisit his churches and to
complete his work. Luke is careful to show that
at every critical point in his career Paul was guided
and informed by direct revelation of God. This is
implicated in the structure of Acts ; and you can
not get rid of the superhuman element without
discarding the whole book.
Next day came a sudden change of scene. Paul s
family, which Luke has not previously mentioned,
ACTS XXII. 30-XXIII. 35 285
had not wholly deserted him when he became a
Christian. His nephew came to reveal a plot
against his life ; and the Tribune, recognizing from
the nature of the conspiracy and the desperate
character of the Jewish fanatics that Paul was not
safe in Jerusalem, sent him under a strong guard
to Caesarea, which was reached after a journey on
horseback lasting through the night and the fol
lowing day. The letter which the Tribune wrote
to the Procurator misstates the circumstances, be
cause the writer wishes to present his own conduct
in the most favourable light, and pretends that his
action from the beginning was intended to save a
Boman citizen from molestation by Jews. A touch
like this shows the truth of real life : the letter con
tradicts Luke s narrative, but the difference is due
to the nature of the Tribune, and proves the ex
cellence of Luke s knowledge and the accuracy of
his history.
XLIII
PROGRESS OF PAUL S CASE IN
PALESTINE
Acts xxiv.
THE Jews, finding that the plot against Paul s life
had been foiled by the Tribune s sudden action in
sending the prisoner to Caesarea, resolved to follow
him thither and prosecute the case before the highest
authority in the province.
The Tribune had shifted the responsibility from
himself to the Governor, claiming at the same
time credit which he hardly deserved for zeal in sav
ing a Eoman from the Jewish mob. The officer had
been on the whole kindly in his behaviour to Paul
after discovering that the latter was a Eoman, but
he exemplifies the common weakness and indeci
sion of Roman administration in the provinces,
the unwillingness of officials to bear responsibility,
and their readiness to please the populace even
at the price of serious injustice to an unpopular
individual. We see the same qualities in Felix s
handling of the matter during the next two years
(286)
ACTS XXIV. 287
(combined in his case with baser motives), and in
Pilate s conduct at the trial of Jesus.
On the fifth day the Jews reached Csesarea,
bringing with them a professional legal pleader
named Tertullus to conduct the case. The hear
ing took place on the twelfth day after Paul had
reached Jerusalem.
The ample space which the historian devotes to
this brief period is unique in the Acts, and shows
his sense of the critical importance of what was
now occurring. There is nothing approaching to it
in the whole book except the proceedings regarding
Cornelius and the account of Paul s voyage from
Syria to Kome. To understand the character of
Luke and his conception of a historian s task, the
student must study with special care those three
episodes in their relation to the plan of the work
as a whole.
The arrangement of the events during these
twelve days is not unimportant; yet accurate
apportionment is difficult owing to the fact that
ancient writers and ancient society were not so care
ful as we in modern days are forced to be about
matters of time, whether in regard to days or hours.
Business habits, strict punctuality and strictreckon-
ing of time are modern and Western, not ancient and
Oriental.
The probable arrangement of the twelve days is
as follows. We take it that Paul reached Jerusalem
288 XLIII. PKOGRESS OF PAUL S CASE IN PALESTINE
just after sunset, so that according to Jewish reck
oning this occurred in the same day as his visit
to James on the following morning.
1. Reception by James and the elders : first day
of purification.
2-4. Second, third and fourth days of purifica
tion.
5. Fifth day of purification : riot : Paul s speech
on the castle stairs.
6. Meeting of the Council (Paul s dream during
the night following).
7. Plot to slay Paul is arranged.
8. He starts for Csesarea before midnight, and
reaches Antipatris before dawn : Ananias learns
of Paul s departure : first of the five days (xxiv. 1).
9. Paul is handed over to the Procurator Felix
in Csesarea : second day.
10-11. Paul in Caesarea : third and fourth days.
12. Fifth day : arrival of Ananias and Tertullus
in Caesarea: Paul denounced and the investiga
tion begun.
In the investigation held on the twelfth day by
Felix, Tertullus stated the case for the prosecution.
According to the rules prescribed in the ancient
schools of oratory he began his speech with an
elaborate compliment to the governor, designed to
conciliate his favour ; and in complimenting him on
the excellence of his administration, the orator went
ACTS XXIV. 289
far beyond the limits of truth. Felix had in
reality been an exceptionally bad governor ; and
two years later the Jews complained to Nero about
his conduct, and he was recalled.
Tertullus next stated the charges against Paul.
They are three. (1) Paul had been a cause of dis
order and sedition among the Jews throughout the
Eoman world. This charge is a clever misrepre
sentation of the fact that serious differences of
opinion among the Jews, sometimes ending in
riot, had occurred in many of the cities which
Paul had visited ; but it hides the truth, that the
troubles had always been originated by Paul s
opponents, and that his friends had been unresist
ing sufferers. Still it was a dangerous charge,
considering the character of most Eoman officials,
who were bent on keeping things quiet at almost
any cost.
(2) Paul was a leader of the Nazarean heresy.
This was not a serious charge : the Eomans had
no desire to interfere between one Jewish sect and
another : the accusation is made only to lead on
to the next charge.
(3) Paul had profaned the holy place. The
Eomans had legalized the Jewish ritual and recog
nized any outrage against its ordinances as a crime.
The profanation of the holy place would be a
serious outrage ; but it would depend greatly on the
19
290 XLIII. PROGRESS OF PAUL S CASE IN PALESTINE
character of the individual Eoman governor what
view he would take of the offence. In practice the
Romans generally would have winked at even the
murder of such a criminal by an infuriated mob, if
he were caught in the act and punished at the
moment. But, later, when momentary passion
had passed and the crime was tried in a court,
few Romans would have treated it as very
grave.
The weak part of Tertullus s case was that he
produced no evidence to support his charges. The
accusers were there, but they had no witnesses:
they merely asked Felix to question Paul and judge
from the answers.
Paul in his reply fastened on this weakness.
Like Tertullus, he began with a compliment to the
governor ; but, unlike Tertullus, he restricted him
self to the truth. Felix had governed the Jews
for many years, and the prisoner might fairly con
gratulate himself (as he did) on speaking before a
judge who knew the law. He denied that he had
ever carried on any discussion with anyone in the
temple, much less provoked riot there or in any
part of the city ; and he challenged his accusers
to produce any evidence of their first charge. To
the second charge he pleaded guilty ; but pointed
out that to be a Christian implied full acceptance of
the whole Jewish Scriptures, both the Law and the
ACTS XXIV. 291
Prophets, full confidence in the hope of the Messiah
and of the Resurrection, and perfect innocence and
good conscience towards God and men. The third
charge he denied absolutely.
The answer was complete and, in the absence
of witnesses to support the charges, conclusive.
Luke mentions that Felix had a comparatively
correct knowledge about Christianity, i.e. he knew
in what relation it stood to the Roman law. This
remarkable statement plainly shows that a Roman
governor had already, when this first case came
before him, a fairly exact notion what view Roman
law took of the new Faith : in other words, the
precedent created by Gallic in Corinth expressed
the official Roman opinion : Roman administration
refused to regard the preaching of the new Faith as
a crime.
Felix, however, would not take the responsibility
of offending the Jews merely to do justice to a
single person. He postponed the trial for further
evidence, thus giving the Jews another chance,
though at the same time he showed every indul
gence to Paul, consistent with safe custody. He
even listened to Paul s preaching and, vicious and
corrupt as he was, trembled at the thought of the
coming Judgment, yet his terror did not prevent his
hoping that Paul might offer a bribe to buy release
and freedom. As Felix was a man of high position
292 XLIII. PBOGBESS OF PAUL S CASE IN PALESTINE
and wealth, brother of the richest man in Borne, 1
and husband of aprincess,he could not have thought
of a paltry bribe. Paul s antecedents and position
(of which a corrupt ruler certainly informed himself
carefully) suggested the hope of a bribe such as
Felix would care to accept. This is a proof beyond
question that Paul was believed by the governor
to have command of considerable wealth. Men
like Felix do not mistake a pauper for a wealthy
man.
This state of easy custody lasted for two full years,
until the beginning of summer A.D. 59. We cannot
suppose that Paul spent the time in idleness, but no
record is preserved, except that (on our view) the
Epistle to the Hebrews was written in 59 by
Philip and the Church in Caesarea, under the
direction of Paul, but in Philip s own words
(except that Paul himself added the last few
verses).
1 Pallas, the millionaire freedman of the Emperor Claudius.
XLIV
PAUL S APPEAL TO
Acts xxv. and xxvi.
WHEN two full years had passed over Paul s head
in light and privileged confinement, Felix was re
called to Kome on account of the complaints made
by the Jews against his greed and injustice ; and
being desirous of propitiating his enemies by some
concession, especially one which cost him nothing,
he left Paul in prison.
Festus, the new Governor, arrived in Caesarea
during the summer of A.D. 59. He at once made
a brief visit to Jerusalem, where the Jews peti
tioned him to bring up Paul for trial ; but he re
solved first to investigate the case in Csesarea,
before granting their wish to have the trial in
Jerusalem.
Again there was enacted a scene similar to the
trial before Felix two years previously, the Jews
accusing Paul and bringing many charges against
him without any witnesses to prove their case.
(293)
294 XLIV. PAUL S APPEAL TO C^SAR
We observe, here, that the Jews stood on a far
higher plane of morality than most Asiatic peoples.
Embittered against Paul as they were, they made
no attempt to bring forward invented evidence.
In trials there was some respect for truth. Even
the " false witnesses " who gave evidence against
Stephen and against Jesus did not invent words
which had never been used by the accused ; they
testified to words which had been spoken, but
which were misinterpreted and misunderstood by
the witnesses and by all the Jews. The Hebrew
people had many serious faults, but it is right to
acknowledge that morally they had advanced far
above their neighbours. The law of Moses had
produced an effect on the race. They were self-
righteous and hard, but they aimed at righteous
ness of a narrow yet real kind. The law had
been to them a schoolmaster, as Paul calls it, and
had placed them on a moral platform fitted to bear
the superstructure of true Christianity, whereas
the pagan converts had no such platform of moral
custom and education to stand upon, and Paul had
often occasion to be horrified at the hideous crimes
into which they could fall when they stumbled.
It was slow work to build up this needed founda
tion of morality in the pagan cities.
At the new inquiry Paul again denied the charges,
and when Festus asked him if he were willing
ACTS XXV. AND XXVI. 295
to go to Jerusalem and take trial there, he appealed
to Csesar : in other words, he claimed to be tried
before the supreme tribunal of the Empire, over
which the Emperor, or more commonly a judge
acting for the Emperor, would preside. Festus,
after conferring with his legal advisers, granted
this appeal, and remitted the case to the highest
court of the Koman State. Here again we have
clear proof that Paul was considered by the Koman
officials in Csesarea to be a person of standing and
therefore of some wealth. The Eoman Governor
would not send up for trial before the Imperial
tribunal any and every person who chose to appeal.
He had to judge first of all whether the case and
the person was of sufficient importance to be sent
on to Eome, for he had himself full authority to
judge and to condemn or acquit in such cases as
this.
How did it come about that Paul, who in the
cities of Asia and Europe had maintained himself
by the labour of his hands, appeared now a Eoman
of rank, believed by Felix to be able to offer a
bribe worthy of a rich man s acceptance, and re
garded by Festus as one whose appeal to Csesar
must be forthwith accepted ? Surely we must
understand that formerly he had voluntarily chosen
to teach and exemplify the dignity of labour, that
he had deliberately elected to be a missionary in
296 XLIV. PAUL S APPEAL TO C^SAK
the sense that Jesus had ordered, taking no purse
with him as he travelled and preached, and rarely
even accepting food unless it was earned by his
own labour : Philippi, with its generous hospitality
and its twice repeated gifts of money when he was
in Thessalonica, being the solitary exception which
he allowed, and that only when he was constrained
by pressing kindness. Now had come the time for
a different policy. He had gone to Jerusalem ; he
had faced death there ; and he had received the
Divine instruction that he must bear witness to
the Faith in Eome. Towards Kome his face was
set. His trial must be decided there, and not in
Jerusalem. He must appeal to Caesar, and in the
metropolis of the world before the supreme tribunal
he must plead the cause of God and of the Church,
hoping to gain a charter of freedom for the free
preaching of the Gospel in every city of the whole
Empire. To gain this charter his rights as a
Eoman citizen, and as a member of the governing
aristocracy of the Koman world, formed the ap
parent means. Only as a Eoman could he be sent up
to the Imperial tribunal. Accordingly, he adopted
at this crisis a different line of conduct from that
which he had pursued on his missionary journeys ;
and in all parts of his life alike he acted with the
same noble spirit.
Before the Eoman journey Paul had still to
ACTS XXV. AND XXVI. 297
undergo one more trial, and to speak in the presence
of Kings and Governors. Agrippa II with his
sister Bernice came to pay a visit of state to the
new Governor; and Festus took the opportunity
of examining Paul with the assistance of Agrippa s
intimate knowledge of Hebrew law and religion.
He had to send up a report to the Emperor in
the case of this prisoner, and he was puzzled to
specify correctly the exact nature of the charges,
which only a Jew by religion could properly under
stand.
In the examination Agrippa, as a King, took
precedence and conducted the proceedings, while
Festus sat beside him : "Agrippa said unto Paul,
Thou art permitted to speak for thyself". The
prisoner with an orator s gesture, fettered as he
was, addressed the King with the dignity and self-
possession that was his birthright, without servility
and yet with courtly deference. Beginning by
paying a compliment to the King s familiarity with
" the customs and questions which are among the
Jews," he said only what was true, but he said it
with polished and graceful courtesy.
Paul s speech included a brief autobiography, in
which he touched summarily on the chief events
of his life, and more fully, yet still very briefly, on
the epoch-making occasion of his conversion. The
apparent differences from the accounts given of
298 XLIV. PAUL S APPEAL TO C^SAE
this critical event in Chapters ix. and xxn. arise
chiefly from the fact that none of the accounts
gives every detail, and that different details are
mentioned in each case according to the different
purpose and emotion of the narrator and the dif
ferent character of the persons addressed. Here,
for example, where Paul was speaking in a Gentile
court, he makes no reference to Ananias, hecause
it would not produce any effect on the audience to
hear what part an obscure Jew at Damascus had
played in the action, whereas that part of the
story was likely to appeal strongly to the Jewish
auditors in Chapter xxn.
Paul also laid strong emphasis on the promise of
the Messiah, the hope of the twelve tribes, and the
fact that this hope can be attained only through
the raising of the dead. He first mentions this
truth in more general terms early in his speech ;
and then at a later point expounds the fulfilment
of the promise in the Death and Resurrection of
Jesus.
This idea of the resurrection seemed so absurd
and incredible to the rough and blunt Roman officer,
that he rudely interrupted the speaker by loudly
calling out, " Paul, you maybe a great philosopher,
but you have no common sense ". Festus had no
prejudice against Paul ; but regarded him with
good-humoured contempt as an unpractical en-
ACTS XXV. AND XXVI. 299
thusiast. From the Eoman Governor Paul turned
with a courteous negative to the King, who knew
Judea and what had happened there, and boldly
put the question to him whether he, who claimed
to be a Jew, believed the prophets. Agrippa did
not like the question. He kept his Judaism for
the Jews, but was not willing to display it in a
Gentile court. He would not answer the question
directly, for if he replied in the affirmative he
would incur the ridicule of the Komans, and if he
answered in the negative he would sacrifice his
reputation with the Jews. He therefore turned
aside the question by a half-jesting, half-ironical
remark: "You expect to make a Christian of me
in very quick time ".
The universal opinion of the court was that
Paul was not guilty. He might be a hair-brained
enthusiast, but he was not a criminal ; and Agrippa
declared that he might have been set at liberty,
had the case not passed beyond their jurisdiction
through the prisoner s appeal to Caesar. Thus it
came about that, instead of being released, Paul,
though practically acquitted, was through his own
demand sent on to " bear witness also at Borne ".
The emphatic declaration of Paul s innocence
with which the long proceedings in Palestine ended
is noteworthy. Luke is careful to record that time
after time the Roman officials, such as Gallio,
300 XLIV. PAUL S APPEAL TO CAESAR
justified Paul and took his part against the Jews ;
and he alone among the Evangelists records Pilate s
thrice-repeated statement acquitting Jesus of all
faults before the law (whereas Mark omits it wholly,
John and Matthew mention only one occasion).
XLV
PAUL TAKES COMMAND WHEN DANGER
THREATENS
Acts xxvn. 1-26
WHEN the decision had been ratified by the agree
ment of the Roman Procurator and the Jewish
King that Paul s appeal to the supreme Imperial
tribunal must be accepted and his case sent on to
Eome for judgment, it is evident that no further
time was lost. Festus had reached Palestine,
probably, early in the summer; but the process
had dragged on for some considerable time, and
the autumn was now approaching or perhaps had
begun.
The lateness of the season affected the choice of
route. The quickest and least fatiguing way was
by sea ; but for many months between late autumn
and early spring long voyages ceased and what
may be called ocean-going ships lay up (though
there was no season when ships could not be hired
to take short voyages, watching for a fair oppor
tunity). During the season when distant navi-
(301)
302 XLV. PAUL TAKES COMMAND IN DANGEK
gation was avoided, the journey from the East to
Eome was performed by land through Galatia,
Asia, Philippi and Thessalonica.
On these customs in regard to the way of travel
ling the whole of Paul s voyage turned. The end
of the settled season, when the Mediterranean is
continuously suited for sailing vessels, was close at
hand, and there was every probability that the
land route would have to be chosen for part of the
way. The centurion Julius, into whose charge
Paul was put with a number of other prisoners,
took passage in a ship bound for Adramyttium on
the coast of Asia. If no better opportunity occurred
by the way, it would be easy to get a passage
across to Neapolis (xvi. 11), and thence the convoy
would take the land route. The other prisoners
were, as a rule, doubtless criminals, who were
being taken to Eome to amuse by their death in
the arena the idle populace, habituated to enjoy
such cruel sights. Few persons had, like Paul, the
distinction of being remitted for trial to the highest
court of the Empire.
The prevailing winds on the open Mediterranean
throughout the summer are westerly, favouring the
voyage from Italy to Egypt and Syria, but making
the return voyage difficult. The only way to sail
from Cassarea to Italy or to Adramyttium was to
keep close to the coast, and take advantage of the
ACTS XXVII. 1-26 303
local breezes to dodge along from point to point as
a chance occurred. Such voyages were often ex
tremely slow, and at the best many days and much
patience were needed to reach the south-western
corner of Asia Minor.
In the harbour of Myra, the Lycian city, there
happened a favourable chance. One of the large
ships which carried corn (v. 38) from Egypt to feed
the vast population of the great city of Borne had
put in there ; and the centurion seized the oppor
tunity, and transferred his whole company of
prisoners and guards to this vessel, which was
sailing direct to Puteoli on the west coast of Italy,
the harbour of Eome. The course of this ship
would coincide with that of the other as far as
Cnidus; but the Egyptian corn-vessels were the
largest and best equipped at that time. This
vessel was for some reason belated, and had not
accompanied the Egyptian fleet, which sailed in a
great body for Puteoli earlier in the year.
The winds continued adverse, and many days
elapsed before Cnidus, a promontory on the south
west of Asia Minor, was reached. Hence the
vessel would in ordinary course have run across
the J3gean Sea north of Crete to the southern
point of Greece ; but strong north winds were
blowing, and there was danger that the ship
might be driven on the north coast of Crete, where
304 XLV. PAUL TAKES COMMAND IN DANGEB
there are hardly any harbours (except Suda Bay).
Accordingly, they ran for shelter under the south
coast of Crete ; and again began the process of
slowly making their way westward from point to
point as far as Fair Havens, a harbour near the
middle of the long Cretan southern shore.
Here Paul advised that they should lay up for
the winter, as the middle of October was now on
them. Julius had from the outset treated Paul
with great courtesy, because the latter was a
person of distinction, not a criminal ; and hence
the rather strange situation that a prisoner should
be offering advice about the conduct of a Eoman
officer and the management of the ship. Naturally
and reasonably, the officer preferred to be guided
by the captain and the sailing master, and chose on
their advice to pass the winter season further west in
the harbour called Phoenix. It was now accepted
by all that it was too late to tempt the open sea,
and that the winter must be spent in a Cretan port ;
but Phoenix was the one preferred in such cases
(as we know from an inscription recording the de
tention there of another vessel of the same class),
and the navigating authorities thought that they
could reach it safely. To us it seems strange that
the decision should lie with the soldier and not with
the sailors; but the centurion travelling on the
Emperor s service commanded even the captain.
ACTS XXVII. 1-26 305
Taking advantage, one day, of a gentle south
wind, they sailed from Fair Havens ; close to the
west lay a prominent cape which they had to pass ;
and it was not quite certain that they could round
it with the wind from the south. Paul and Luke
were on deck watching, and doubtless all the
sailors and prisoners were doing the same. It was
an anxious voyage at that late season ; and there
was the danger that the south wind might cast
them on shore. Luke says that they were " close
in shore " : the record of such a detail reflects the
anxiety felt at this moment by one who knew
what Paul s advice had been. They passed the
cape, and then they had to run to Phoenix across
a great bay, where they were much further from
shore.
Then the southerly breeze suddenly changed to
a north-north-east gale a change which is fre
quent on that coast. So strong was the wind that
the ship could not keep her course, but had to run
before it, thus getting dangerously far out to sea
in this stormy season. A modern sailing ship
prefers the open sea ; but ancient vessels were not
so strongly built, and were fitted with one mast
and one huge sail, which strained the hull so
severely as often to cause leaks and foundering.
The little boat, which in calm weather was towed
behind the stern, was now hauled on board with
20
306 XLV. PAUL TAKES COMMAND IN DANGER
difficulty. Another danger threatened : the gale was
blowing the ship direct towards the African quick
sands : they therefore lowered the yard, and under
a little sail with prow turned up towards the wind
drifted westward for fourteen days. The ship was
leaking, and everything that could be thrown over
board was sacrificed to keep her afloat.
In this time of fear Paul cheered the ship s
company by telling of the vision which he had, in
which God promised that all on board should be
saved. It is noteworthy that in Fair Havens
he intimated that there would be much loss of life.
Luke does not hesitate to record on that occasion
a forecast that proved incorrect : even Paul could
be mistaken, and only through direct revelation
did he learn the truth. Now in the time of despair
and despondency, Paul alone stands out to encour
age the crew and to rouse all on board to exert
themselves and save themselves. The centurion
and the captain pass out of notice, and Paul issues
orders.
XLVI
PAUL THE SAVIOUE OF HIS
COMPANIONS
Acts xxvn. 27-xxvin. 10
IN the fourteenth night, as they drifted over the
sea Adria, the quick sense of the sailors made them
aware that land was near ; and soundings showed
first a depth of twenty and soon afterwards of
fifteen fathoms. They therefore anchored by the
stern, to avoid running on shore in the dark, and
prayed for day. The sailors now got out the boat,
pretending to be about to lay out anchors from the
prow, but really intending to make their escape.
But Paul, perceiving their intention, warned the
centurion and the soldiers, who cut the boat adrift.
At daybreak, when the time for exertion was
approaching and strength was needed, Paul en
treated all to take food, and set the example himself.
The terms in which his hurried meal is described
are evidently chosen to suggest the Eucharist:
" when he had taken bread, he gave thanks to God
(307)
308 XLVI. PAUL THE SAVIOUR OF HIS COMPANIONS
in the presence of all, and he brake it ". While it
was not in the strict sense a celebration of the
sacrament, since almost the whole company were
pagans, Luke felt that there was power and bless
ing in the act. Thus all were encouraged to
eat.
The total number of persons on board was 276.
The convoy of prisoners must have been large, and
the crew in one of the great corn- ships was also
numerous: this shows that not the entire crew,
but merely one lot of sailors, had been guilty of the
cowardly action of attempting to desert the ship.
As the daylight broke, they saw before them an
unknown shore, a bay with a sandy beach in one
part ; and they resolved to run on the beach, cast
ing off the anchors, unfastening the two rudders
(which had been lashed up during the night), and
hoisting a small foresail to enable them to beach
the ship on the most suitable spot. This spot, as
they came closer, was seen to be a bank where two
seas met, i.e. where a narrow spit of land stretches
out from the main island towards a small island,
which protects the bay on the west, leaving a nar
row channel between the sea on one side and the
sea on the other side. On the extremity of this spit,
they struck a muddy bottom, into which the prow
fixed itself, while the stern was free and beaten by
the waves, until it began to break up.
ACTS XXVII. 27-XXVIII. 10 309
From this place all got safe ashore in one way
or another. The soldiers who were responsible
with their lives if the prisoners escaped, wished to
kill them all ; but the centurion, desirous of saving
Paul, permitted them all to land. Beyond this
single reference Luke takes no notice of the other
prisoners during the voyage.
This narrative of the voyage and shipwreck has
been almost universally recognized as the most
vivid and trustworthy account of ancient seaman
ship that has been preserved, one that could only
have been given by an eye-witness and a faithful
and accurate observer. We notice that the direct
revelation of the Divine will to Paul plays an im
portant part in the action ; and there cannot be
any doubt that the revelation was one great cause
why Luke was so interested in the story as to relate
it with this fullness of detail. In virtue of this
revelation Paul is depicted on a higher level than
ordinary men, advising more skilfully than the
sailors, maintaining hope and courage when all
were in despair, playing the part of a true Roman
in a Roman ship, reverenced even by the Roman
officer, and in his single self the saviour of all.
Here is a picture such as Luke loves to paint of the
triumph of spiritual over material strength. Even
Roman soldiers, the best in the world, lost courage,
and were saved by the courage of Paul.
310 XLVI. PAUL THE SAVIOUR OF HIS COMPANIONS
Further, Luke describes the voyage at such length
in order to concentrate attention on this part of
Paul s career. Paul was now about to stand his
trial, and the result of his trial before the supreme
court of the Empire was that he was acquitted, and
a decisive verdict was thus pronounced in favour of
free teaching of the Christian Faith. Subsequently,
after the verdict was recalled and persecution be
came the lot of all Christians, Luke recorded the
facts of the earlier period, when the Holy Spirit had
guided the Church to that great acquittal.
The company now safe on a shore, which (as they
soon learned) was the island of Malta, were kindly
treated by the rude natives, who kindled a fire for
them. Paul, always helpful, gathered an armful
of brush- wood and was throwing it on the fire, when
a snake roused by the heat came out of the sticks
and fastened on his hand, clinging there until Paul
shook it off into the fire. The action shows that
the snake was a constrictor, and not (as Luke calls
it) a viper, which does not occur in Malta. There
is found in the island a species of constrictor, in
scientific classification either Coronella Austriaca
or Leopardinus (observers differ as to the exact
species), which is in appearance so like a viper as to
deceive even a skilled naturalist unless he examines
it closely ; and the action of this species would be
exactly what Luke describes. It has teeth, and
ACTS XXVII. 27-XXVIII. 10 311
bites, but the teeth are so small as hardly to draw
blood.
The natives thought the snake was venomous
and expected to see Paul die in torture ; such be
lief in the venomous nature of really harmless ani
mals is extremely common among rude peoples.
They began to moralize on the justice of God,
which had singled out this man among the pris
oners ; he must have been a murderer who deserved
to die : the other prisoners could not be so wicked
as he was, and though he had escaped the sea yet
Divine justice was now punishing his crime. But
when time passed and no harm happened to the
supposed murderer, they changed their minds and
said he was a god. Thus Paul s personality dom
inated all with whom he was brought in contact.
The spiritual power was so manifest in him that
even the rude natives recognized it.
The leading man of the island, one Poplius, en
tertained the company hospitably. He would of
course make some distinction, and would pay much
more attention to the Roman officer and the captain
than to the common soldiers, and more to the
soldiers than to the prisoners. But Paul was treated
among the distinguished guests, and Luke was
with him. Either the courtesy that the centurion
had all along shown him, or the reputation he had
acquired as a god, procured for Paul this special
312 XLVI. PAUL THE SAVIOUK OF HIS COMPANIONS
treatment. In return Paul visited the father of
Poplius, who was sick of a fever, and after prayer
laid his hands on him and healed him. Thereupon
other invalids came from all parts of the island,
and received medical attention : Luke the physician
took part in the treatment of these invalids, and
shared in the honours that were bestowed on Paul.
We understand why Paul was everywhere
treated with such attentive courtesy, but why was
Luke admitted to participate in it and to be every
where in close company with a prisoner ? It was
contrary to the Roman custom to permit any friend
to accompany a prisoner on his way to Rome. In
one famous case even a wife was not permitted to
accompany her husband, a Roman noble, when he
was carried a prisoner to Rome, and she had to hire
a vessel to follow him. The only way in which
Luke could be allowed to accompany Paul and to
be always close to him was that he was understood
to be a slave attending on his master Paul. The
relation between master and slave was close and
familiar, and often very affectionate ; and it was
natural and permissible that a confidential slave
should attend Paul everywhere.
We notice two marks of accurate detail. (1) The
sea between Crete and Malta is called Adria (i.e.
Adriatic) ; that was true to sailors language ; and
the name Adriatic was even extended to include all
ACTS XXVII. 27-XXVIII. 10 313
the sea as far as Cyprus on the east and the African
coast on the south. (2) Poplius is called the first
(man) of the island. This was the technical name
for the head man in Malta, as we know from
inscriptions.
XL VII
A LAST APPEAL TO THE JEWS
Acts xxvin. 11-31
AT the earliest moment possible, after spending
the three months of midwinter in Malta, the con
voy of prisoners sailed for Eome. The regular
season for navigation had not yet begun, but even
in winter it was always possible to take advantage
of fair wind and weather, and to sail from point to
point as occasion presented itself. Especially was
this the case with the large corn-vessels, which
maintained the service between Alexandria and
Kome. Such ships were used to long voyages
across the open sea ; and it was important that
they should reach Puteoli, the harbour for Eome,
as early as possible.
The centurion found one of the corn-ships which
had been driven out of its normal course by the
autumn storms, just like his previous vessel, but
had escaped shipwreck and spent the winter in
a Maltese harbour. On a favourable opportunity
(314)
ACTS XXVIII. 11-31 315
this ship sailed north to the coast of Sicily ; it was
detained three days in Syracuse ; it reached the
Straits of Messina with a wind that was not quite
favourable and required careful navigation ; it was
detained one day in the harbour of Ehegium ; then
a south wind sprang up, blowing fair for their
destination ; thus after one whole day and part of
the next spent in the long run across the open sea
they reached Puteoli, the great harbour of Cam
pania and of the whole Italian west coast, where
all the Alexandrian ships discharged their cargo of
corn for transport to Eome by land.
The centurion s courtesy allowed Paul seven
days rest in Puteoli ; the voyage on an ancient
ship was rather trying at the best of times, as
none of the comforts which modern vessels offer
were available for ordinary passengers : people slept
hard and fared poorly, and once Tacitus tells
that a regiment of Eoman soldiers, after the long
voyage to Egypt and back, was disabled for a time
from active service even on an occasion of utmost
need.
In Puteoli, the harbour for the East, strangers
from Syria, Palestine, etc., were numerous ; and
here the new religion had established itself. Paul
enjoyed the hospitality of the brethren, until the
journey to Eome was made. He was expected
there. His letter to the Eomans written from
316 XLVII. A LAST APPEAL TO THE JEWS
Corinth three years ago had intimated his intention
of visiting the capital of the world, and many of
the numerous friends with whom he had come in
contact during his wandering life found their way
to Eome on business or duty. Now, considering
the situation, it seems beyond doubt that a report
of the case with reasons for sending on the appeal
to the supreme court, must have been dispatched
by Festus to Kome ; the report would be sent by
Imperial courier along the land route. With a
fortunate voyage the centurion would have reached
Eome before the courier, and probably a copy of
the report was sent in his charge ; but, as it
happened, the courier must have arrived long before
the centurion. Further, there can be no doubt that
the brethren in Rome were in communication
with those in the East, and heard from time to
time of Paul s fate ; the sympathetic interest be
tween the scattered congregations, which was
caused by such frequent communication, was
the main support of unity, the very life-blood of
the Church.
Accordingly when a messenger from Puteoli
brought private news to the brethren in Rome
that Paul had reached Italy, many of them started
to welcome him on the way. Some of these eager
friends met him at the " Market of Appius," forty-
three miles from Rome, some at the " Three
ACTS XXVIII. 11-31 317
Shops," about thirty-three miles. The sight of
those friendly faces cheered Paul, and he thanked
God. In spite of alleviating circumstances and
the Divine encouragement, the strain and hard
ship of the voyage must have told on his delicate
frame, and physical weakness caused low spirits.
We see in his letters written from Home plain
signs how much his nature longed for sympathetic
friends ; and we can imagine the joy which he felt
when his Koman friends, some known to him of
old, some new, greeted his arrival in these two
wayside towns.
On reaching Rome, Paul rested three days
such a long holiday is a plain proof of his fatigue
and weakness and then invited the principal Jews
to the house which he had hired, and where he
lived under guard of a soldier. He explained his
case to them in as polite a way as was consistent
with truth : he was delivered to the Romans (he
avoids saying that the Jews did this) ; the Roman
authorities found him innocent and wished to
release him ; then as the Jews opposed his release,
he had been forced to appeal to Caesar, but not in
any spirit of revenge or accusation against his
nation. And now, having come to Rome, his first
act was to entreat his own people to speak with
him ; the Promise made by God to His people, the
Hope of His people, drove him on into imprison-
318 XLVII. A LAST APPEAL TO THE JEWS
ment, into chains, and now to entreat the Jews in
Kome.
They answered that they knew nothing about
the case. It is impossible to believe that they spoke
the whole truth ; but they were evidently nonplussed
at this unexpected situation, and astounded at
the devotion of Paul to his cause and to his nation.
The man whom the Jews had sought to kill first
with their hands, afterwards with all the weapons
of legal procedure, felt no bitterness against his
persecutors : they sought to kill him : he only
sought in return to save them. These Koman
Jews began to wonder whether they had heard
all the truth. They would not betray their own
people, but for the present would merely listen to
what Paul had to say for himself. They denied
that they had received any letter from Judea
about him : it is hard to believe that this can
be true : the statement is probably an evasion,
to which some colour of justification could be
given in a sidelong fashion. They denied that
any of their nation had reported or spoken any
harm of Paul : this is even harder to credit ;
many a pilgrim must have returned and told the
tale in Kome ; but in some evasive way also they
could maintain that no harm had been told of Paul.
They acknowledged that they had heard much
about the new sect on all hands, and that the
ACTS XXVIII. 11-31 319
accounts were all hostile ; but they were prepared
to hear from Paul himself what he had to say in its
defence. They made no allusion to the existence
of Christians in Eome ; yet they must have been
well aware that a Eoman congregation existed,
and that people of their nation belonged to it.
The whole brief reply is evasive, false, and super
ficially polite. Luke felt this; he .will not point
it out, any more than he would draw attention
to the incorrectness of the Tribune s statement
in xxiii. 27. That was not-his method. He states
the facts simply and accurately, and expects his
readers to understand the situation as he knew it.
On an appointed day many Jews came to Paul s
house, and he spent the whole day setting before
them the facts about Jesus, proving from Moses
and the prophets that He was the Promised
Messiah. The result was the usual one: some
believed and some disbelieved. The audience de
parted, and Paul, quoting the words of Isaiah,
recognized his failure with the Jews, but added
that the Gentiles would hear. The second book
of Luke s history ends with this intimation and the
general statement that the Apostle continued to
preach in his own dwelling freely and boldly for
two whole years.
XL VIII
WEAKNESS MADE STEONG : THE AUTO-
BIOGEAPHY OF A MISSIONAKY
2 Cor. XL 18-xu. 10
IN his second letter to the Corinthians, protesting
against the low opinion which his detractors ex
pressed of him, Paul introduces a short sketch of
his own career, prefacing it with an apology for the
appearance of egotism and self-glorification, which
autobiography necessarily wears. He will describe
his own life only because his opponents compel him
to describe his services.
His detractors compared him unfavourably with
certain Jewish teachers, who had come from
Palestine to Corinth. Paul makes the comparison
also, and gives it a very different colour. He is as
truly a Hebrew, an Israelite, an heir of the Promise,
as they. He is far more truly a minister of Christ
than they, for he had suffered imprisonment,
personal chastisement and risk of death in a way
with which they could not compare.
He had been five times beaten by his Jewish
(320)
2 COR. XI. 18-XII. 10 321
countrymen. These beatings are not mentioned
by Luke, but both in Palestine and elsewhere the
Jewish communities exercised justice according
to their own law on their own people within
certain limits. He had been three times beaten
with the rods of Eoman lictors. This might
occur either in a Roman Colony or in any place
where he came in contact with a Roman Governor :
in Philippi alone is such beating recorded, but
the persecution and expulsion which he endured in
the Colonies of Antioch and Lystra might well be
accompanied with beating. Three times he had
suffered shipwreck, and on one of these occasions
he had been in the water for a day and a night.
These are not mentioned in the Acts (this letter
was written before the period described in xx. 4 and
following). In his long missionary journeys he
had been exposed to many dangers, from flooded
rivers, from robbers, in cities and in deserts and
at sea, from foreigners and Jews and even, worst
of all, from pretended Christians. He had suffered
from fatigue and hard work, from want of sleep
and food and drink and clothes, from cold and
abstinence.
The greatest trial of all was the ceaseless anxiety
about his young churches, which always pressed
heavy on his heart. He sympathized with all,
suffered in their sufferings, denied himself the
21
322 XLVIII. WEAKNESS MADE STRONG
freedom of life to which he was entitled because
some weak and over-scrupulous Christians thought
that such freedom of conduct was wrong, and was
heart-broken when any of his converts failed in
their Christian life. In his weakness he had been
saved by the power of God, as when he fled from
the Governor of Damascus, and was saved not
through his courage but in the refuge of a basket
hanging from a wall.
The crowning honour of his career lay in the
direct communion with God which had been
granted to him. This was a private experience,
which lay between him and God, and which in
ordinary circumstances he would shrink from men
tioning to men. Even to speak of such favours as
had been bestowed on him in this way savours of
boastfulness ; but he speaks now under compulsion.
In a vision fourteen years ago he had been trans
ported into heaven ; he had heard what he could
not repeat ; he did not himself fully comprehend
what had happened, whether his body was thus
caught up, or whether the spirit was set free from
the body for a time and enabled to commune with
God. Perhaps it was not the man, but the spirit
alone, that had seen or heard what occurred in
Paradise. Of such honour, in some way that he
could not define or describe, had he been found
worthy.
2 COR. XL 18-XII. 10 323
It was through his weakness that he was made
strong and exalted to honour. He therefore feels
justified in glorying in his weakness, because
through his weakness he was more fitted to exhibit
the power of God, which acted through him and
made use of him for great purposes, far beyond his
own poor strength to carry into effect.
It has sometimes been thought by modern writers
that Luke lays too much stress on the actions and
the sufferings of Paul ; but this account given by
the Apostle himself shows that Luke was reticent,
and passed lightly and silently over much that had
befallen him. We can only conjecture as to the
occasions when many of these events happened,
and we cannot fit them exactly into his life. As
to the great vision, it was a secret of Paul s
spiritual life, mentioned only through this acci
dental cause. Yet he dates it to a year, a thing
that he very rarely does. It occurred in the four
teenth year before he was writing. The Epistle
was written in the year 56-57 (i.e. the year begin
ning, according to Corinthian custom, in autumn
56) ; and the fourteenth year before that (according
to the ancient way of counting) was 43-44. In
that year Paul had gone to Jerusalem with Bar
nabas, and had a vision in the temple, in which he
was ordered to go away and begin his mission to
the Gentiles. May we not connect the account
324 XLVIII. WEAKNESS MADE STRONG
given to the Corinthians with the other account
given in the speech to the Jews, and believe that
the order was accompanied with some marvellous
revelation regarding the purpose of God, about
which he could not speak to men ? That this was
so suits well with the next words. Lest Paul
should become proud through the consciousness of
this great revelation, his weakness was brought
home to him by the disease from which he soon
began to suffer, and which kept always before his
mind the knowledge that he could do nothing
through his own strength. This disease, the stake
in the flesh, which showed the power of Satan over
him, began to afflict him not long after he left
Jerusalem on that occasion ; and, as seems probable,
it seized upon him in Pamphylia. But this weak
ness was the cause of the marvellous success which
was granted him immediately afterwards in Gala-
tia : he visited Galatia on account of it, and there
he gained the first comprehensive victory of his mis
sionary career. God s power was made perfect in
Paul s weakness.
Such seems the thought in this part of the auto
biography ; and the other autobiography contained
in the Epistle to the Galatians ought to be carefully
compared with it. Each throws light on the other
in instructive fashion ; and the nature of Paul s
mind is set before us by the two accounts written
2 COB. XI. 18-XII. 10 325
at different times and in different states of feeling.
But in both there is one character : nothing seems
of value to Paul in his past history except his rela
tion to God : all else sinks into insignificance in his
retrospect. There is nothing real in the world ex
cept the Divine ; all else is error and illusion. The
greatest things are done through man s weakness :
the silence of God shouts aloud among men (to
adapt the striking language of Ignatius) : the
greatest of saints is in himself (as Paul says about
himself to Timothy) the chief of sinners.
XLIX
THE LAW OF SPIRITUAL COMPENSATION
2 Cor. vin.
IN his second letter to the Corinthians Paul pleads
for a liberal contribution to the fund which he was
anxious that all his young Gentile Churches should
send to relieve the poor Christians in Jerusalem.
In Sections XXXVI and XXXVII the purpose of
this contribution, viz. to foster and strengthen the
feeling of unity between the Jewish and Gentile
congregations, was fully described ; and the import
ance attached to it by Paul was explained. In his
first letter, written from Ephesus a good deal more
than a year previously (xvi. 1 f.), he had commended
this contribution to their attention, quoting the
example of the Galatian Churches, and had advised
them to lay by every Sunday a proportion of their
earnings, so that when he arrived no time need be
spent in gathering contributions, and there should
be no occasion for him to solicit donations, but the
whole matter should proceed from their voluntary
(326)
2 COB. VIII. 327
action in storing up their weekly subscriptions.
Titus, who had visited them in the interval, had
again recommended the subject to them. Now
during A.D. 56 Paul once more, in view of Titus s
approaching second visit, urges them to have every
thing completed and ready.
It is interesting to observe the arguments by
which, not directly but only indirectly, he solicits
their contributions. He desired that the collection
should be voluntary, but the idea of charitable
giving, now so familiar to every Protestant con
gregation, was then entirely new ; and it was
necessary to mention the subject, and make the
reasons plain to these recently converted pagans
of Corinth.
He first quotes the example of the Macedonian
Churches, Philippi (which was always generous,
Phil. iv. 16), Thessalonica, Beroea, and possibly
other more recent foundations (Bom. xv. 19). The
Macedonians, who were tried and proved in the
furnace of suffering for their faith, showed their
happiness in the Christian life amid their deep
poverty by giving most liberally. Up to and almost
beyond the limits of their power, they contributed
voluntarily and unsolicited, even begging to be al
lowed the opportunity of showing their apprecia
tion of the grace and of joining in the work of
helping their fellow-Christians. They not merely
328 XLIX. THE LAW OF SPIRITUAL COMPENSATION
gave what Paul had hoped for, viz. money, but
they gave themselves in whole-hearted devotion.
Titus is now about to visit Corinth again, and Paul
trusts that he will carry to completion this gracious
act on the part of the Corinthians, as successfully
as he had done his work on his first visit ; and
hopes that they will show themselves as abundant
in the grace of charitable giving as they were
richly endowed in respect of faith, and power of
expressing their inspired thoughts, and knowledge
of the truth, and eager devotion, and finally in love
for Paul.
The Apostle does not order them to make a
contribution ; he wishes that their action and their
gifts should proceed from their own sense of what
was right, and from the generous impulses of their
own heart. He only mentions the example set by
the generosity of the Macedonian Churches as a
test by which the sincerity of the love which the
Corinthians felt might be tried.
Then follows one of the most noteworthy sen
tences in the whole of Paul s writings. In vm. 9
we have the clearest and most indubitable declara
tion of the pre-existence of Jesus as God before He
condescended to take on himself human form.
This is the doctrine which John states with special
emphasis : the Word was in the beginning with
God : the Word was God : the Word became flesh
2 COB. VIII. 329
and dwelt among men. Paul here has the same
thought in his mind, and quotes it as a higher
example than the Macedonian Churches for Corinth
to follow. Jesus voluntarily gave up the riches of
His existence and Divine power in heaven, and took
on Him the poverty and humbleness of human
nature, that the Corinthians through His poverty
in life on earth and His death might attain to the
spiritual riches of salvation.
A third argument, addressed to the reasoning
powers of the Corinthians (on which they rather
prided themselves), is that they made a beginning
of this collecting in the preceding year, and did so
willingly. As they began, it is only reasonable
that they complete their own undertaking. It is
irrational to begin any enterprise and stop half-way.
If they are now suffering from poverty and bad
trade and loss of profits, they can, of course, give
only in proportion to their means at the moment.
Paul advises all men to give only according to
what they actually possess, and not as lavishly as
if they were wealthy. It is not according to the
will of God, or the dictates of reason and justice, to
indulge in the false generosity of giving away what
one does not really possess : that is giving at the
expense of others ; true charity consists in giving
what one possesses of one s own.
Nor ought one to give away all that one possesses,
330 XLIX. THE LAW OF SPIRITUAL COMPENSATION
and thus reduce oneself to penury and become an
object of charity to others. To do that only adds
to the burden which the congregation has to
support. True religious feeling is rational and
sensible ; and does not squander all that it has.
It thinks, and reasons, and estimates how much it
can do, and in what way it can make the best use
of its resources for the benefit of all. At the same
time the standard of giving should lie in a certain
balance and equality. If the Corinthians now
give of their abundance to the struggling and
poverty-stricken brethren in Jerusalem, the time
may come when the latter will have the opportunity
from their abundance of helping the Corinthians
on some occasion when they are afflicted. Thus
the Church of God lives as a single body, all of
whose parts are nourished equally and equally
healthy, not all doing the same work, but having all
their separate duties and functions, each co-operat
ing with the other, each aiding the other, and so
all maintaining a harmonious and equable life of
strenuous activity.
This healthy condition of the body and of the
congregation implies that no part and no person
should retain a superabundance ; each has what is
fair and suitable to maintain efficient work. The
case of the healthy Church is similar to what is
told in the Old Testament about the congrega-
2 COB. VIII. 331
tion of the Hebrews gathering manna for their
daily food. No one gained anything by gather
ing a superabundant store, for he found that
nothing remained over after satisfying the wants
of his family and himself ; and, on the other hand,
if anyone found it out of his power to gather a
large amount, what he did collect always proved
sufficient. So in the life of the Christian congrega
tion he that gathers a superabundant store and
tries to hoard it, will find that he gains nothing
from it : if the Church is in proper health each part
supplies the other. Such is the law of spiritual
compensation. Through the operation of this law
great charitable organizations have been built by
voluntary unsolicited contributions ; such are for
example the China Inland Mission and Quarrier s
Homes for orphan and destitute children, neither
of which has ever sent out any request for aid or
for subscriptions. Each has been created by faith
and prayer.
PAUL S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
2 Tim. iv. 1-18
A PATHETIC interest, apart from their intrinsic
value, is given to the words of this passage from
Paul s last letter, by the circumstances in which
they were written. Paul s second trial in Rome
before the supreme court had begun; the first
hearing was over, and the final stage was post
poned for a time. Although the first stage had
been successfully passed, yet he had no expectation
that the final result would be equally favourable-
He felt that the time had come when he must leave
his work on earth ; his life was already being poured
out as an offering to God.
Years had now elapsed since the time which is
indicated in Section XL VII. In the interval Paul s
first trial had been successfully surmounted. He
had revisited the Hellenic Churches round the
shores of the Mge&ii Sea. He had written 1
Timothy and Titus. He had been arrested by
(332)
2 TIM. IV. 1-18 333
Roman command, and brought to the capital of
the Empire for trial.
At the same time the final stage of the trial was
not immediately imminent. It had been post
poned ; and the probable reason for this long
delay is that witnesses were to be brought from
the scenes of Paul s work in the East, or investiga
tions made there as to its character and effect.
Thus arises the double tone in this chapter. It
contains instructions to Timothy as to his conduct
and work after his master s death, and yet it urges
him repeatedly to come to see Paul in Rome (a
long journey which might take from one to three
months according to the route), and to bring with
him books and comforts for use in the winter
season.
The interest of the passage for us lies mainly in
the former point of view. It is the last message
of a man who felt that death was approaching : it
sums up his own work, and provides for the con
tinuance of that work when he is gone. Paul s
instructions, and, as we might almost say, his last
will and testament, for the charge which he gives
to Timothy is expressed so solemnly and impres
sively that it may fitly be so called, are characteristic.
Paul s sole concern in view of death is that the
work be carried on. He foresees what dangers
beset the Church in the future, because those
334 L. PAUL S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
dangers have already begun. Some are weary of
"the sound and health-giving doctrine," and their
number will in the future be much increased.
The teaching, which imparts health and points
the way to salvation, is felt to be trite, uninterest
ing, and old-fashioned, and people are full of
curiosity and interest about novelties in teaching :
their ears itch for a more alluring and exciting
sort of instruction : they want teachers who will
advise them to do what they desire to do, and who
will tickle their fancy with quaint and clever
though false philosophical discourses. Such teach
ing only diverts people from hearing the truth.
In opposition to this fatal kind of teaching,
Paul urges Timothy to preach the Divine message,
the true Gospel, as he must be judged hereafter
and as he must live now in the sight of God. He
should press on the work at all times, not putting
off in hope of a more favourable opportunity here
after, but acting now, whether the moment is
favourable or not : he should reprove faults, en
courage all to exert themselves, be patient with
them, but always teach. He is to take up the
work which is now slipping from Paul s hands.
In verse 7 there is a figure of speech which is
not military (as the usual translation makes it),
but connected with athletic contests : " I have com
peted in the honourable contest : I have run the race
2 TIM. IV. 1-18 385
to the finish : I have observed all the rules of this
race-course of faith ". In the Christian life the com
petitor for the prize of righteousness must feel the
same intense eagerness and show the same con
centration of all his powers on the great effort, as are
necessary to win the prize in a great race. The
prize for the race was in ancient times a garland ;
and this garland or crown is ready for Paul as the
consummation of his intense and strained effort
in life. There is, however, one marked difference
between the garland offered for an athletic prize
and the garland which God, the fair umpire and
judge, will award. Only one can gain the prize in
an athletic contest, but all can equally gain that
prize of a righteous life, if they are animated with
the true love for the appearing of Christ and the
coming of His kingdom (verses 1 and 8).
Now appears the human side in Paul s nature.
He is lonely, except for the companionship of Luke.
Several of his assistants he has sent away on
mission work; and Demas, a good Christian in
the past, has been unable to endure the danger
and trials of companionship with Paul, and has
gone back to Thessalonica to enjoy comfort
and ease at home. Paul has sent Tychicus to
Ephesus to relieve Timothy, and set the latter free
to come with Mark to Rome before the winter
begins. But another also has gone to Ephesus,
336 L. PAUL S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
an enemy and a danger, Alexander, against whom
Paul warns Timothy.
In the first stage of his trial no one supported
Paul by his presence and countenance. In read
ing this statement, however, we must remember
that only Koman citizens could appear in court
to support him ; there is no reason to think that
Luke was a Eoman citizen (except as a freedman,
probably, who was not privileged to appear thus
in court), or Tychicus ; but in the Eoman Church
there were some citizens who shrank from the
trial, and Paul felt their desertion.
Yet he pleaded his own cause, with Christ as his
supporter ; and the Divine power had strengthened
him so that the cause of the Gospel was set forth
in the hearing of that great court, the supreme
tribunal of the Empire, and so much effect was
produced that the imminent condemnation was
postponed. The result was, indeed, not a complete
acquittal ; but still it was a great triumph that in
such a time of persecution, 1 when trial generally
resulted in instant condemnation, further investiga
tion was found necessary, and a long postponement
was pronounced for the trial. Paul rejoiced in
this result, not because he was afraid of death, but
because it implied greater freedom for the Chris
tians and fuller opportunity to preach.
1 This was the persecution of Nero, which began in A.D. 64.
2 TIM. IV. 1-18 337
We know what was the usual method at that
time of executing criminals who were condemned
on such charges as were brought against the Chris
tians. They were frequently exposed to be torn
and devoured by wild beasts in the amphitheatre,
or their death was otherwise contrived to be an
amusement to the brutal populace of Rome ; and
the expression which Paul uses, "I was delivered
out of the mouth of the lion," was probably sug
gested by this, though he himself as a Roman
citizen was privileged to have a more honourable
form of death.
22
LI
THE EPITAPH OF PAUL
2 Tim. iv. 7
THESE words, " I have fought the good fight : I have
finished the course : I have kept the faith," are the
brief review which Paul, in the anticipation of
threatening death, makes of his life and his work.
They sum up his whole character.
As was stated in Section L. they refer, not to
warfare, but to competition in athletic sports.
The Hellenic peoples, among whom his Gentile
Churches were founded, were very fond of such
sports, which formed a recognized part of the edu
cation of every boy, and were carefully regulated
under trained medical guidance. Victory in the
great international competitions was regarded as
the highest of distinctions, not merely for the suc
cessful athlete, but for the city to which he be
longed ; and, in that keenly contested arena victory
could be gained only by the most intense and con
centrated effort, following on a long preliminary
(338)
2 TIM. IV. 7 339
period of training according to very severe rules.
The rules of the course and of the preparation for
it, were rigidly enforced by the judges who regu
lated the competition and decided the prize. Com
petitors who had not strictly complied with all the
rules were disqualified remorselessly. To win the
prize, not merely must one be first, one must at
tain that position in accordance with stern laws
and regulations.
In a series of metaphors drawn from this side of
Hellenic life, Paul finds the description which will
best explain to his readers (not merely Timothy
but all the Ephesian Church) the intensity and
the long course of concentrated application which
characterized his life and the life of every Christian :
" I have competed in the honourable contest : I
have run the race to the winning post : I have ob
served the rules which regulate the race-course of
faith ". Paul was the typical man, the typical
human Christian. Our life, just like his, must
be one long struggle onwards towards a goal. We
can maintain the struggle only by strict disci
pline, and the observing of all the rules, as he did.
We reach the goal and win the prize only in the
hour of death, as he reached it. The struggle
ends only with our life : it must be maintained to
the end. The prize is not in this life or of this life ;
but it can be won by all who persevere to the last.
340 LI. THE EPITAPH OF PAUL
Such is the whole life of Paul. He was an eager
competitor from the beginning to the end. Before
he learned what Christ was, when he hated Him
and persecuted all His followers, he was already
struggling on in his ignorance and blindness to
wards the knowledge of God and of truth. He
was even then a leader of men, a preacher, a mis-
sionarj 7 , eagerly bent on bringing others to the
truth as he believed it. On the road to Damascus,
near that city, he saw with his own eyes the Jesus
still living whom he had believed to be a dead im
postor. The direction of his efforts was changed
from that time onwards. He knew now where the
truth lay ; and the same devouring enthusiasm, the
same concentrated energy, which he had before
ignorantly applied in a misdirected course, he now
applied to the spreading of his better knowledge.
He had to face a constant succession of difficulties,
as we must in our life. He was always misunder
stood and suspected by many, as the strenuous
reformer will always be. But he always found
devoted and zealous friends, as the true and honest
seeker after knowledge always finds them, friends
ready to guarantee his honesty with their credit and
their life, ready to believe in him even where ap
pearances were against him, and to help him in
all his difficulties. All men who work unselfishly
for the good of the world, all who try to achieve
2 TIM. IV. 7 341
something noble and generous in their life, all who
live for a high ideal, will turn with growing interest
and admiration to the career of Paul, and will find
mirrored in it the best side of their own nature.
When he first came to Jerusalem after his con
version, the disciples were afraid of him, for they
could not believe in his truth. Barnabas helped
him, became his champion, and guaranteed his
good faith. Then he disputed against the Hellenist
Jews, his own former friends (since he, too, was a
Hellenist Jew) ; but they went about to slay him.
He had to flee from Jerusalem. He lived many
years a life that was undistinguished, while he was
learning the Christian missionary s life by living it,
the only way in which it can be learned. This was
his apprenticeship, in which there seems to have
been (little apparent external success, for Luke re
cords nothing. At last Barnabas brought him to
Antioch, and there he found friends and associates,
but still he ranked last among the Antiochian leaders.
He was then sent forth by the Spirit along with Bar
nabas to a new work in the West ; and in the
prosecution of this work he had to part from that
dear and tried friend, who was not prepared to do
all that Paul believed necessary for success in their
joint career. He had to choose between his work
and companionship with his best friend. He chose
his work ; but the cost was great.
342 LI. THE EPITAPH OF PAUL
This is the sorest trial of human life. It is not
only our unsympathetic opponents who misunder
stand us. Sometimes even our friends differ from
us, disagree with our views, suspect and disapprove
of our aims and course of life, and part from us.
We have to choose between friendship and truth,
the hardest choice in life. Are we quite sure that
we are right in our view? May we not have
mistaken our course? Shall we be justified in
breaking the bond of true companionship? With
that question comes doubt and anxiety, perplex
ity and almost despair.
As we see that Paul s life mirrors our trials and
struggles, so also we may hope to gain some of his
consolations and rewards. He attained to many
revelations of the nature and will of God. In those
revelations he found the highest glory of his earthly
life. They were a sacred possession of which he
could not speak much, but which he kept deep
hidden in his heart. We are not denied such reve
lations. We, too, may have moments of insight
and inspiration, in which we attain to direct com
munion with the Divine Nature, and to sympathy
with the purpose and will of God moments in
which the Truth seems to unveil itself to our gaze.
Those moments are brief and interrupted. We
cannot remain long on that high level ; but we see
that to Paul also those moments of inspiration
2 TIM. IV. 7 343
were discontinuous. The prize, the crown of life,
came to him only with death.
While we see in Paul the man who struggled
through error towards truth, we recognize in him
also the highest type of man. We never under
stand him until we begin to judge his conduct on
the highest plane of human action. If we look on
him from this point of view, then the longer we
study him the better we appreciate the loftiness of
his motives, his unselfishness, his noble and gener
ous spirit in judging the world, his frankness in
condemning all wrong-doing and wrong-thinking,
his courtesy and delicate consideration for the feel
ings of others, his patience in pleading with them.
LII
EEVIEW OF THE INFLUENCE OF LOCAL
CIRCUMSTANCES ON THE LIFE OF
PAUL
TARSUS lay in the lowlands of Cilicia, less than
eighty feet above the level of the sea, from which
it was distant about ten miles down the River
Cydnus. The Cydnus has now changed its course
and flows east of, instead of through, the city ; and
only small boats can cross the bar and enter the
river. Careful engineering operations were needed
to keep the channel clear and deep, so that ships
could sail up into the heart of Tarsus; and a
lagoon, through which the river flowed before
reaching the sea, was embanked and made useful
as the principal harbour and arsenal of the city.
Moreover, a road was cut and built to the north
over the Taurus Mountains, and the Cilician Gates
were opened to trade. Thus through the energy,
forethought and skill of its inhabitants, Tarsus was
placed at the point where sea-going ships could
(344)
INFLUENCE OF LOCAL CIRCUMSTANCES ON PAUL 345
best profit by the trade which poured down from
central Asia Minor toward the nearest and easiest
outlet.
This advantage, we must note, was not the free
gift of nature, but was gained by the application of
knowledge and hard work. The country has now
relapsed into its natural condition, and is dreary,
repellent, and in large part marshy ; but, by drain
ing and by navigation works on the river, a great
extent of fertile soil was formerly made available
for agriculture. The ancient accounts tell with
what pride the Tarsians regarded their river. It
was not beautiful, and strangers who sailed up to
Tarsus could only wonder at the Tarsian feeling ;
but the people loved it because it was, so to say,
their own offspring, created by their skill and
energy. They had transformed a dreary stretch
of half-inundated lands, fringed by sand-heaps on
the shore, into a rich plain, holding in its bosom
a great city through which ran a river able to
float the merchandise of many lands a city with
its feet resting on a great inland harbour and its
head reaching up to the hills. The pride of the
Tarsians in their city, noted by ancient travellers,
was deep-rooted in their nature ; and it appears in
Paul, at one of the most dangerous moments of
his life, when, bruised, beaten, and at the point of
death, he was barely rescued from a fanatical
346 LII. THE INFLUENCE OF LOCAL CIECUMSTANCES
Jewish mob by Eoman soldiers. At that moment,
when his life was dependent on the discipline of
the soldiers and on the goodwill of their com
mander, we cannot suppose that in answering the
hurried questions put to him he would indulge in
mere picturesque details. He said, " I am a Jew,
a Tarsian of Cilicia, citizen of no mean city ". In
that scene Paul showed extraordinary courage and
coolness, and seized the first possible opportunity
to address the mob which a few minutes before
had been tearing him in pieces ; but the fact that
he called himself, not a Eoman (as he did im
mediately after, using the title which was most
honourable and most likely to move the Tribune),
but a Tarsian, and praised the importance of
Tarsus, cannot be satisfactorily explained except
because he shared in the feelings of the Tarsians
among whom he had been born and educated. In
modern times a Jew may be a patriotic Frenchman
or a good Englishman, according to his birth, and
yet remain a convinced and loyal Jew ; and there
is no reason, except modern prejudice, to think it
anything but natural that Paul should entertain
a deep and tender feeling for the home of his
childhood, in which his family had held an honour
able place for generations.
To his Tarsian education, also, Paul owed it
that he could move in Hellenic society at his ease,
ON THE LIFE OF PAUL 347
comprehending and adapting himself to it as
one to the manner born, knowing instinctively
what Hellenes thought and felt and desired. He
was never quite a foreigner among Hellenes. This
was an immense advantage in the Hellenic world,
and fitted him to be the Apostle of the cities round
the JrCgean Sea. Moreover he was born a Roman
citizen, with all the privileges of the race that
governed the world. Several times, in occasions
of need, this privilege (which belonged only to a
few distinguished Tarsian families) helped him to
triumph over apparently insuperable difficulties.
It gave him the right to appeal to the Emperor,
and thus to " bear witness also at Rome " and to
stand before Caesar"; and it qualified him to
look forward to preaching the Gospel even in Spain,
where he must speak in Latin, and to aspire to
conquer not merely the Hellenic East, but also
the Latin West. Thus, even before his birth, he
had been fitted by the circumstances of his family
and ancestry to be the Apostle of the Gentiles
(Gal. i. 15), to interpret to the outer world the
religion that had been nursed among the Jews.
There is no good missionary who does not often
feel how hard it is to comprehend the foreign
people whom he addresses, and what difficulty is
thrown in his path by the fact that he is a stranger
to the heart and thoughts and hopes of his hearers.
348 LII. THE INFLUENCE OF LOCAL CIRCUMSTANCES
Paul was free from this difficulty ; and his freedom
from it is conspicuous in many scenes of his life.
It was in Tarsus, too, that he had learned to
understand the popular paganism, to know that
there were certain fundamental ideas of good
(Kom. n. 14 f .) amid the vast edifice of abomination
that overspread and concealed the good, and to hate
with the whole passionate fervour of his mind the
idolatry, the false conception of God s nature,
which had destroyed the possibility of improvement
and nearer approach to God in the votaries of the
Anatolian rites.
In Tarsus, again, more fully than in any other
city, there was a synthesis between Grecian and
Oriental manners and ideas. The beginnings had
been worked out of a peaceable amalgamation of
European and Asiatic in a system that was neither
purely Greek nor purely Oriental. Throughout
all history, both ancient and modern, the contact
and intercourse between the active peoples of the
Western and the more receptive Eastern races
has stimulated the most fruitful developments of
life ; but the contact has generally taken the form
of war and hatred. In Tarsus, better than in any
other ancient city, the problem of co-operation had
been solved in a peaceful association of the two
elements.
Among many signs of the influence exerted on
ON THE LIFE OF PAUL 349
Paul by his Tarsian upbringing, one more may be
touched here. It is a fact of human nature that a
man can only with difficulty emancipate himself
from early prepossessions regarding the conduct of
women in society. Paul was accustomed in Tarsus
to the complete veiling of women, who there walked
the streets wholly covered up from view, like
Turkish ladies in more recent times. In his atti
tude toward women he moves between two ex
tremes. On the one hand, he knew that in the
fully developed Christian Church, as it shall be,
there is no distinction of nationality or rank or
sex, but that all are placed on an equality and
made one in Christ. But on the other hand, he
knew only too well that his congregations stood in
grave need of improvement, and had not yet risen
far above their pagan standard of life. He felt
that the reputation of the Church in pagan society,
as well as its future development, depended largely
on the conduct of its women. He was always
anxious about them; he was firmly persuaded that
it was unwise for Christian women to go far out
side of current views as to propriety ; and it
seems beyond doubt that his early prepossessions
influenced in some degree the advice which he gave,
and the rules that he prescribed, about the conduct
and the veiling of women. All must feel that he
was right in saying that the rule ought to be a
350 LII. THE INFLUENCE OF LOCAL CIRCUMSTANCES
mean and balance between the Christian freedom of
the future and the conventions of present society ;
but we must remember that he regarded the pre
sent rule as different from the truth of the future.
In his early youth Paul chose his life. There
was open to him the career of a citizen in the
Empire, such as many good Jews (as well as bad
ones) had followed ; but he chose the religious life
after the type of the old prophets. He would not
remain among his Tarsian countrymen, serve the
state, marry, and build up a family: he would
follow the Divine life, and he went to Jerusalem
as its proper environment, to study the Law at
the feet of its greatest living teacher. For many
years he lived in Jerusalem ; and its influence on
him was profound. But this influence cannot
here be touched, because to touch it is to describe
the whole basis of his character. Paul was funda
mentally the Hebrew. All other influences were
modifying and secondary ; they enriched and varied
and sweetened the Hebrew type, and hence they
can be briefly described. But Jerusalem, first as
dreamed of in Tarsus, afterwards as his environ
ment for many years, made the fabric of Paul s
mind.
Damascus and Arabia touched him ; but the
next city which strongly influenced him was
Syrian Antioch. There, however, it was appar-
ON THE LIFE OF PAUL 351
ently not the city as a whole, but the Christian
congregation and its leaders, which moulded him.
Contact with the gracious, sympathetic, and
generous nature of Barnabas was an education
in itself. The other leaders were to him revered
figures, to whose example he must mould his con
duct. He was still learning : the period for com
mand had not yet begun. In Antioch the Church
grew among the Gentiles, but did not directly
go to them : it welcomed them through the door
of the synagogue. Corresponding to this isolation
of the Church from the city is the faintness of the
impression which Antioch makes on the pages of
Luke. The congregation and its leaders, a har
monious and impressive body, stand out before us ;
but no impression of the city is conveyed, except
that it was at some distance from the sea, and that
Paul went down to Seleucia to take ship for Cyprus.
Paphos presents itself as the seat of a Roman
Governor, whose court furnished a memorable
scene, a real turning-point in Paul s life. Here
first he stepped forward as the leader, and spoke
directly to a Gentile as such. The decisive step
was begun, and could never be retraced; but its
effects were not apparent in Paphos itself.
Perga, the capital of Pamphylia, appears only in
passing, once and again. No work was done here
on the first visit, but the Divine power directed
352 LII. THE INFLUENCE OF LOCAL CIKCUMSTANCES
Paul, through the weakness and bodily infirmity
which affected him, to the real beginning of his
proper work. He went across Taurus, a long and
dangerous journey, full of perils of rivers and
robbers, to Pisidian Antioch ; and there achieved
instantaneous and marvellous success. Within
twelve days almost the whole city was listening to
him, and he had turned from the Jews to the
Gentiles. Antioch was a Eoman Colony, the govern
ing city of the southern half of the great province
Galatia, military centre for defence against the
still dangerous tribes of the Taurus Mountains,
lying on the skirts of the Sultan Dagh, 3500
feet above sea-level. Its people shared in the pride
of Eoman authority, although the mass of them
had not the full privilege of Koman citizens. Paul
did not appear among them as the aristocratic
Koman, but as a poor, weak stranger, suffering
from an illness which tried their hearts, because
it was believed to be a punishment inflicted by
Divine power on persons accursed. Yet they did
not despise him from the height of their colonial
dignity; but received him forthwith as the mes
senger of God. Not the whole city, however,
welcomed Paul ; a part held aloof ; and this part
was doubtless the Eoman aristocracy, more digni
fied, more difficult to move, and not reached by
the same address as the older population, for the
ON THE LIFE OF PAUL 353
latter spoke Greek, in which language Paul appealed
to them, while the local aristocracy spoke Latin
and were for the most part poorly acquainted with
Greek.
In Antioch it was that Paul turned entirely
away from the Jews to the Gentiles ; the step
taken at Paphos was here carried to its proper com
pletion. It was at Antioch, too, that the inter
mediate step was taken. On the first Sabbath
after his arrival Paul preached to the mixed audi
ence, and addressed them all as " Brethren " with
out distinction of race the first occasion in the
history of the Church when that was done frankly
and without apology. Luke marks the importance
of the step by giving a full resume of the sermon.
The step was not made from any preconceived
design ; incidentally, little by little, in the course
of the sermon, Paul became conscious that it was
being made as the Divine impulse drove him on.
Addressing this new audience, he became sensitive
as a true orator to something hitherto unknown
to him in the character of his audience ; and like
an orator he adapted himself to it, " becoming all
things to all men ". He was aware of a certain
sympathetic movement of spirit in the large Gentile
part of his audience : this sympathy was the force
that brought almost the whole city together a week
later : it was already manifest on the first Sabbath :
23
354 LII. THE INFLUENCE OF LOCAL CIKCUMSTANCES
it sprang from a certain affinity of character be
tween the nature of the Anatolian people on the
plateau and the Jews ; Paul felt it first in Antioch
and afterward in other Galatian cities. It was
this same quality that a few years later inclined
the Galatian Churches to adopt the whole Law
and ritual of Judaism, and drew upon them the
strong condemnation expressed in the letter to
the Galatians.
This spirit in the pre-Eoman population, the
mass of the city, became the occasion of Paul s
marked forward movement on the first Sabbath in
Antioch. On the other hand, the Eoman aristo
cracy of the Colony, sons of Western immigrants,
had none of that affinity in spirit with the East,
but retained their Western character.
The Jews, who were now thrown into hostility
against Paul, took advantage of the division of
feeling. The Eomans held the reins of govern
ment, as the privileged class. To them the Jews
went for aid, reaching them through the ladies
of their order. Luke does not tell what formal
charge was brought against Paul ; but we can
hardly doubt that he and Barnabas were accused of
disturbing the harmony of the State, a vague yet
a dangerous pretext, which brought about their
expulsion.
Iconium, still called Konia, to which Paul and
ON THE LIFE OF PAUL 355
Barnabas fled from Antioch, was not a Roman
Colony but a Hellenized city, that is, a city in
which Greek constitutional methods of government
by elected magistrates had been established, and
Greek civilization and education flourished. The
people prided themselves that Iconium was the
most ancient of cities, existing before, and rebuilt
immediately after, the flood. The King of Iconium
at the flood was Nannakos ; and in Greece it be
came a proverbial expression for immemorial anti
quity to say " older than Nannakos," as we say
"before the flood " or " antediluvian ".
In this belief that Iconium was the most ancient
of cities, there is an interesting analogy with
Damascus, where the same belief has always been
held. The situation of the two cities is very
similar. Each lies on a lofty level plain, Damascus
2300, Iconium 3370 feet above the sea. Each
lies at the western edge of the plain, which stretches
far away to the east, but is bounded by mountains
a few miles to the west of the city. Each is well
supplied with water that flows down from the
mountains on the west; but the small streams
that come to Iconium and are exhausted in the
city cannot compare in size with the rivers that
rush through Damascus to lose themselves in the
thirsty ; plain on the east. Each city, however,
profits by the abundant water; the fertile soil
356 LII. THE INFLUENCE OF LOCAL CIRCUMSTANCES
becomes a great garden ; both are green with trees
which are conspicuous in the distant view, and
gladden the eyes of the traveller approaching across
the dry plains. Yet there is no monotony in the
view from either city across the vast plains, for
character and variety are imparted by mountain
peaks which rise sharply here and i there like islands
in an ocean.
Iconium and Damascus were also alike in being
both cities rather of peace and commerce than
of war. Neither could be made a strong city in
ancient methods of warfare except by walls of vast
size like those of Babylon ; neither was guarded
by difficult and steep approaches. Their im
portance lay in their productiveness and the wealth
which they derived from agriculture and trade.
Both must attract inhabitants from the beginning
of organized human society, and their proud
claim to vast antiquity was based on truth and
fact. Damascus has bulked far more largely
in the eyes of the world than Iconium, because
it lay closer to the great peoples of ancient
history, Jews, Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians,
Arabs.
The problem of associating in one city the alien
and often hostile minds and manners of Asiatics
and Europeans was attempted in different ways
at Iconium, at Antioch, and at Tarsus ; but in all
ON THE LIFE OF PAUL 357
those great cities of Asia Minor the same problem
was engaging attention, and varied constitutions
and laws were framed to make possible a peaceful
amalgamation of the diverse elements. In Iconium
the Hellenic element consisted mainly of the edu
cated and Hellenized part of the native population,
with some immigrant Greeks. But it reckoned
itself a Hellenic city, and its inhabitants are cor
rectly called Hellenes by Luke, whereas he never
uses that term about Antioch or Lystra, which were
Eoman Colonies. 1 Even in such a small detail as
that he is strictly accurate.
Shortly before Paul visited Iconium the Emperor
Claudius had observed and rewarded the loyalty of
Iconium by granting to it the title Claudian ; and
it long was known as the city Claudiconium. This,
however, did not make it a Roman Colony. It
continued to be a Hellenic city throughout the
1 While in Lystra there were a few Hellenes, the mass of
the population were Lycaonians. In Pisidian Antioch the
mass of the people were Phrygians, and in Philippi Mace
donians ; but a larger proportion of these had received a
Greek education than in Lystra. In all such Colonies the
non-Roman inhabitants were summed up in Latin as plebs,
the plebeians or the multitude, and Luke employs the correct
Greek term which was used regularly as a translation of plebs.
Only in Corinth does he call the mass of the people Hellenes,
though it was a Roman Colony ; but in Corinth the whole
mass of the population were Hellenes by blood and race, and
in geographical fact.
358 LII. THE INFLUENCE OF LOCAL CIBCUMSTANCES
time when Paul was visiting it (as is implied in
Acts and as is proved by coins and inscriptions).
Hadrian honoured it with the rank and privileges
of a Colony about eighty years later.
Corresponding to the difference between Antioch,
where an aristocracy of Roman colonists was
the ruling influence, and Hellenic Iconium, where
power lay with the whole body of citizens, were
Paul s experiences in the two cities. From Antioch
he had been expelled by Jewish foes who influenced
the ladies of the aristocracy. In Iconium those
enemies had to accomplish the same object by
working on the feelings of the general body of
citizens, which is a slower process ; and while it
was going on Paul " tarried there a long time speak
ing boldly ". Gradually " the population of the
city was divided, and part held with the Jews and
part with the Apostles ". ^he process is character
istic of popular government, such as Hellenic cities
loved. Paul was thus able to stay a long time in
Iconium ; and it is not strange that the city ap
pears in subsequent history as a very important
Christian centre, sending its influence far through
central Asia Minor.
Iconium was the last city of Phrygia ; and the
two Apostles after leaving it crossed the frontier
and came into the region of Lycaonia with its two
cities, Lystra and Derbe. There was another
ON THE LIFE OF PAUL 359
part of Lycaonia, which was not at that time with
in the Roman Empire, and therefore lay outside
the limits which Paul set to his work. Lystra
was, like Antioch, a Roman Colony, with a body
of Roman settlers among a large population of
rude Lycaonian rustics. It lay in an open valley
among the hills, close to the junction of two
streams which flow from the western mountains
into the plain twenty miles south of Iconium. It
never exercised much influence on the development
of the country, but remained a small rural town
to the end, always attracting some population and
deriving moderate wealth from its fertile valley,
but by its secluded position unsuited ever to become
great. The character of this rude, uneducated
country town appears in all Paul s adventures
there. Though Greek was certainly the language
in which he preached, yet Lycaonian, not Greek
(which only educated people knew), was the lan
guage most familiar to his worshippers : Paul s
appeal to them was in the simple style which suited
a rustic people ; the populace was easily turned from
the extreme of adoration to the extreme of hatred.
There were some Hellenes in Lystra, among them
Timothy, as we learn later, and Paul reached this
educated class ; but on the whole he had not great
success. Both the rude Lycaonian mob and the
Roman aristocracy remained outside of his influ-
360 LII. THE INFLUENCE OF LOCAL CIECUMSTANCES
ence. It was the vigorous, progressive people of
the middle class, fairly educated, but yet neither
cultured dilettanti nor self-satisfied philosophers,
among whom Paul found most hearers and con
verts, though there were in every city a few from
the higher classes and a considerable number of
the humblest attracted by his teaching.
Derbe, where Paul made many disciples, was a
city of the open plain, on a great road. It derived
some importance at this time from its position as
a frontier city of the Empire, where customs had
to be levied on imports, and business was active.
But like Lystra it never became important in the
history of the Church, and almost disappeared
from notice during the fifth century and later. It
is to us little more than a name.
The great service to Pauline study of fixing ex
actly the site of Lystra, and approximately that of
Derbe, was rendered by an American scholar and
traveller, Professor Sterrett of Cornell.
Bphesus, the commercial capital of the great
and wealthy province of Asia, was not in Paul s
time the official capital. Hence he never came in
contact with the Governor of the province, as he
did at Corinth with the Governor of Achaia and in
Paphos with the Governor of Cyprus. It is quite
clear that when the riot, which was caused by
Demetrius and allayed by the secretary to the
ON THE LIFE OF PAUL 361
city, took place, there was no provincial Governor
resident in Ephesus.
The city, whose deserted site is now five miles
from the sea, was in the first century a seaport,
the most important in the whole of Asia. To
the Romans, Asia was the name of the province
which included the western part of Asia Minor : it
was bounded on the east by the province of Galatia,
and on the north by the Dardanelles and by the
province of Bithynia ; and it ranked as the most
important in the Roman Empire, so far as educa
tion and wealth were concerned. Ephesus was the
great harbour, at the old mouth of the Cayster,
from which the products of both the province and
many remoter parts of the continent of Asia were
carried to Rome. It was the sea-end of great routes
which stretched far away across Asia Minor and
the Continent. It was the gate through which
Asia looked out toward Europe. Hence already
on his second journey Paul was evidently bent on
entering the province Asia and going to Ephesus ;
but he was forbidden by Divine command to preach
in the province Asia at that time, and was finally,
after long wandering, conducted to Europe.
Owing to this change of plan on the second
journey the advance of the new Faith beyond
Galatia did not proceed evenly. Paul found him
self following the line of the land-road from the
362 LII. THE INFLUENCE OF LOCAL CIRCUMSTANCES
East to Kome, by way of Troas and Macedonia.
Philippi and Amphipolis and Thessalonica lay on
this land-road; and, for a time, it seemed as if
Paul s work were to be carried on along its course ;
but again he was diverted from it, and at last he
planted his feet firmly on the great central high
way from the East by way of Ephesus and Corinth
to Kome.
Corinth seems to have exercised a marked in
fluence on Paul. There he came to realize that
the Koman Imperial administration was the pro
tector of the weak against the strong, and the
maintainer of order and peace in the cities and
the provinces. In the Hellenic cities the Jews
or the mob could generally manage to sway the
magistrates against a stranger like himself. Even
in the Koman Colonies, Lystra, Pisidian Antioch,
Philippi, the magistrates were too near the native
character. But, when he reached the presence of
the higher Eoman officials, such as Sergius Paulus
and Gallic, he experienced fair, sometimes even
sympathetic treatment founded on wide general
principles of policy and independent of narrow local
interests and considerations. The scheme for the
conquest of the Eoman Empire now grew clearer
in his mind : it had been present long ago to him,
but now he saw the best means to that end, and
he carried it out through all his future career.
ON THE LIFE OF PAUL 363
Apart from this there is no proof that the special
character or surroundings of Corinth exercised on
Paul any serious influence. Especially, the theory
that he was affected by its proximity to the seat of
the Isthmian Games or of the Eleusinian Mysteries
seems wholly groundless. There were Games and
Mysteries in all parts of the Hellenic world ; and
Paul had long ago learned what their character
was. The education and the superficial, rather
conceited and opinionative philosophy, which was
common in Corinth and Athens, exercised a re
pellent effect upon him. He recognized that the
self-satisfied philosopher was the slowest to believe
and the hardest to convince. But the position of
Corinth as the key of communication along the
central artery of the Empire, and as a point where
many men from all quarters of the world met in
passing, impressed on him the importance of
constant intercourse and in the formation and
maintenance of a world- wide Church.
On his third journey, after going through the
Churches of Galatia, Paul went straight to Ephesus,
visiting no other city by the way. He had learned
ere this that the best way of reaching the people
was not to go over the smaller cities one by one,
but to proceed direct to the capital of each province.
In the capital he had the opportunity of addressing,
not merely the inhabitants of the city itself, but
364 LIL THE INFLUENCE OF LOCAL CIRCUMSTANCES
also numbers of people who for one reason or
another came to the principal city, some for busi
ness, some for religion, some for law, some for
education or curiosity. Especially the religion of
the great goddess of Ephesus, Artemis or Diana,
exercised a strong influence over the whole province
Asia. Many people came on pilgrimage to worship.
More came to see the magnificent ceremonies and
splendid games, by which the mag strates and
wealthy citizens honoured the festivals of Diana
and made the city brilliant. Such magnificent
ceremonies cost large sums of money ; but the
expenditure was productive, because hosts of
visitors were attracted to the shows, and spent
money freely in Ephesus. Here Paul established
himself for a long residence, and exercised a strong
influence on the people. Some of the chief men of
the province, wealthy persons who were appointed
priests in the worship paid by the province to the
Koman Emperors as the embodiments of Divine
power on earth, were his friends. The persons
who practised magic, and who were also dabblers
in science and investigators of the secrets of nature
and practisers. of spiritualistic arts, found that
their influence was much diminished.
The votaries of the goddess, who used to buy
offerings to present to the goddess, now went to
listen to Paul ; and all the trades which ministered
ON THE LIFE OF PAUL 365
to the wants of devotees were seriously affected.
The theatre, in which the rioters gathered to shout
their adoration of the goddess and their hatred of
Paul, is still a stately ruin of vast size; and a
broad street leads down from its northern extremity
to the ancient harbour (now a swamp covered with
reeds).
Though Paul founded many other Churches in
the province Asia, this was done through his
helpers, such as Timothy, Titus, and others. He
himself says that he had never seen the faces of
the Colossians or the Laodiceans ; but he wrote to
them, and he sent envoys to speak in his name.
Miletus, on the south shore of the gulf into which
the Maeander used to fall, though its former shore
line is now many miles distant from the sea, because
the river has filled completely up the gulf, Paul did
visit more than once. His ship stayed there in
A.D. 57, and the Ephesian elders came to hear his
farewell message ; and again years later, after he
had returned from the great trial in Eome, we know
that he was in Miletus and left his faithful friend
Trophimus there sick.
Troas played the greatest part in Paul s life of
all the cities in Asia except Ephesus. It was a
Eoman Colony, and a harbour of importance for
communication with the coasts of Macedonia. It
was also the sea-end of one or more roads from the
366 LII. THE INFLUENCE OF LOCAL CIRCUMSTANCES
northern parts of Asia Minor. Thus Paul came
down to Troas on his second journey. There he
found Luke. There he had the dream which
beckoned him on into Europe. From Troas he
sailed for Philippi. Again at a later date, when
forced to leave Ephesus, he came to Troas intend
ing to sail for Macedonia; but finding there an
open door he stayed for some time in mission work.
Again on his way to Jerusalem, he sailed from.
Macedonia to Troas. Many years later, he again
visited this important harbour in his progress
round the ^Egean Churches ; and there he left the
cloak, whose want he felt in the winter following.
In this review of the geographical surroundings
amid which Paul s life was spent, we see how the
human spirit gradually emancipates itself from
the influence of external circumstances and attains
to dominion over them. It is evident that the
conditions of life in Tarsus and Jerusalem had
great effect in forming Paul s views and opinions.
As his character grew stronger and his outlook on
the world gained breadth he gradually learned to
use for his purposes geographical and other external
conditions. All the resources of civilization, all
the opportunities of life, were employed by him
with ever-increasing skill and ever- widening ex
perience to further his aims. The pressure of
external conditions drove him to Pisidian Antioch,
ON THE LIFE OF PAUL 367
yet in that region he made the conditions sub
servient to his plans. During the latter part of
his career it is evident that in such cities as
Ephesus and Troas it was no longer the local
circumstances which moulded him, but he who
employed the local circumstances for the advantage
of his work. He used the opportunities of nature,
the "open door," with the genius of a great
administrator.
ABERDEEN : THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Ramsay
Pictures of the apostolic church ..B35
