Horæ Apostolicæ

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No. XVII.

 

There is a remarkable consistency in the statements, not only respecting the deep jealousy of the two Jewish parties, but the conduct and spirit of the Roman governors.

 

First, we have three independent examples of their contempt and indifference for these Jewish parties, with their doctrinal disputes.

 

Acts 18:12-17. “And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment-seat, saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law. And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you: but if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters. And he drave them from the judgment-seat. Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment-seat. And Gallio cared for none of these things.”

 

Acts 23:26-29. “Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix, greeting. This man was taken by the Jews, and should have been killed by them: then came I with the army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman. And when I would have known the cause where­fore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council: whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.”

 

Acts 25:18-20, in the words of Festus to Agrippa, “Against whom when the accusers stood up, they brought none accusation of such things as I supposed: but had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. And because I doubted of such manner of questions, I asked whether he would go to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these matters.”

 

The same indifference or contempt is conspicuous in Gallio, in Lysias, and in Festus, when they allude to these questions of the Jewish law, or superstition.

 

Another feature, equally natural and consistent, is the anxiety of the Jewish governors to secure the favour of the Jews, and the indifference of those in other places. We have seen that Gallio drove them contemptuously from the judg­ment-seat. The zeal of the magistrates at Philippi was for the multitude, as Romans, against Jewish disturbers, as the apostles were described to be. When the Jews are the accusers at Thessalonica, though the charge of treason against Cæsar compels the rulers to act against their will, they are satisfied with Jason’s security, since they evidently suspect that it is a Jewish quarrel, and nothing more. At Ephesus, the popular clamour is against the Jews, as well as the apostle, and the courtesy of the town-clerk is reserved for a Gentile tumult.

 

But in Judæa the case is different. With all their con­tempt for these Jewish questions, the governors are forward to seek the favour of the Jews themselves. “After two years Porcius Festus came into Felix’ room; and Felix, willing to show the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound.” The same spirit animates his successor. “But Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure, answered Paul, and said, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these things before me?”

 

It is evident that all these are so many signs of reality and historical truth.

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No. XVIII.

 

Acts 24:23. “And he commanded the centurion to keep Paul, and to let him have liberty, and that he should forbid none of his acquaintance to minister or come unto him.”

 

What centurion can be alluded to in this definite manner? A close attention to the history will explain it. When Lysias sent Paul with an escort to Cæsarea, “he called onto him two centurions,” who were to take two hundred soldiers, and horsemen threescore and ten, and two hundred spearmen. On the morrow, the horsemen went forward from Antipatris to Cæsarea, and the infantry returned to Jerusalem. It is natural to suppose that two centurions were employed, in order that one might take charge of each party after the sepa­ration. When the horsemen arrived, they were ordered to keep their prisoner in Herod’s prætorium. Hence the mention of the centurion is explained. It is doubtless the same who took charge of the horsemen, while the other returned with the foot soldiers to Jerusalem. Yet how indirect is the allusion, so delicate that it is entirely lost in the usual version!

 

Again, since the character of Felix is notorious in general history for his rapacity, whence this unusual gentleness, in suffering the acquaintance of Paul to come to him? We are told, soon after, that “he hoped money would have been given him by Paul, to have loosed him.” If a ransom was to be found, the free admission of his friends was almost neces­sary. But why should Felix expect a large ransom from a prisoner whose personal habits, we may be sure, gave no par­ticular signs of wealth? Perhaps the key may be found in the statement of Paul, shortly before. “Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings.” And besides, since Felix had “a more perfect knowledge of that way,” he was doubtless aware of the strong attachment which the Christians felt for each other. These notices, though they occur near together, have no trace of intentional accommo­dation.

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No. XIX.

 

The last chapters of the history have lately been placed in a clear light in Mr. Smith’s valuable work, the Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul, and the fidelity of the whole narrative established, by an appeal to the geography of the Levant, the usual course of the winds, the descriptions of ancient ships, and the laws of seamanship and navigation. Yet even without this convincing appeal to foreign sources of informa­tion, the narrative contains several internal marks of truth.

 

First, we are told that they sailed under Cyprus, that is, on its lee side, the winds being contrary. In their former voyage, from Patara to Jerusalem, when the wind was favour­able, they passed the island on their left, or sailed by its western extremity. Since the wind now compelled them to leave their direct course, they must consequently have sailed by its eastern side. Now this is confirmed by the next verses, when strictly rendered, that they sailed through the sea along Cilicia and Pamphylia. This coincidence, though based on two successive verses, is worthy of notice; since learned com­mentators have mistaken the route, perhaps from neglecting to compare the former voyage; while the inference from ver. 5 is almost lost in the common version. So. delicate and evanescent, in some cases, are the tests of truth.

 

Again we read (ver. 6) that the centurion “found a ship of Alexandria, sailing into Italy,” and put them therein. When they had reached the Fair Havens, St. Paul told them that there would be loss”not only of the lading (or cargo) and ship, but also of their lives.” After the vision which reversed this threatening, as far as their lives were concerned, we are told (ver. 38) that “when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea.”

 

“The ship,” as professor Blunt observes, was evidently a merchant ship, for mention is made of its lading. The nature of its lading, however, is not directly stated. It was capable of receiving Julius and his company, and bound to the right place for them. This was enough, and all that St. Luke cares to tell. Yet in ver. 38 we find by the merest chance of what its cargo consisted. The tackling was thrown overboard in the early part of the storm; but the freight was, naturally enough, kept till it could be kept no longer, and then we dis­cover, for the first time, that it was wheat. The wheat was cast into the sea.

 

“Now it is a notorious fact that Rome was in a great mea­sure supplied with corn from Alexandria, that in times of scarcity the arrival of the vessels was watched with intense anxiety, that they were of a size not (greatly?) inferior to our line-of-battle ships, a thing by no means usual in the vessels of that day; and hence that such a one might well accommo­date the centurion and his numerous party, in addition to its own crew and lading.”

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No. XX.

 

Acts 11:26 “And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”

 

Ch. 26:27, 28. “King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.”

 

1 Pet 4:16. “Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf!”

 

These are the only three places in the New Testament where the name, Christian, occurs. It is plain that for a long time there was no commonly recognised term of this kind. Hence they are called variously, “they that believed” (2:44), “the disciples” (6:1), “the disciples of the Lord” (9:1), “those of the way” (9:2), “the way of God” (18:26), or simply, “the way” (19:9). Again, the name of Naza­renes was applied to them by the Jews, as a term of reproach, but plainly arose before the extension of the faith to the Gen­tiles. It was at Antioch that the large accession of Gentiles first made it impossible to look upon them merely as a Jewish sect, and required the use of some more distinctive title. It was natural, therefore, that the use of such a title should first prevail at Antioch. When the book was written, towards the close of Paul’s imprisonment at Rome, the formation of churches in the chief cities of almost every province would awaken inquiry as to the origin of this new name, that was already in every one’s mouth. How suitable, then, would be this passing remark of the historian, to show when and where it began to be current.

 

Again, from the circumstances which gave rise to this new name, it would clearly be in use among the Gentiles, while Christians themselves would usually prefer the names endeared to them by earlier use—the brethren, the disciples of the Lord, believers, the household of faith; and the Jews would cling to their old nick-name, the Nazarenes. Now, in agree­ment with this view, the name only occurs once again in the history, in the mouth of Agrippa, who was rather a Gentile than a Jew in all his habits of thought, and in the presence of Festus and a Gentile audience.    It is found once only in all the epistles, where St. Peter speaks of the persecution to which believers were exposed from the heathen around them. “Yet let none of you suffer as an evil-doer. . . . Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed.” All this exhibits the consistency of truth, in the minute circumstances connected with the early adoption of this ever-memorable name.

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No. XXI.

 

Acts 12:17. “But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go show these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place.”

 

Ch. 21:17, 18. “And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.”

 

In the list of the apostles (Acts 1:13), James, the son of Zebedee, holds the second place, but the son of Alphaeus, the ninth only. Yet after the death of the elder James, and apparently even before, we find James the Less to have a local priority in the church of Jerusalem. Here Peter mentions him in distinction from the whole church, and is silent respecting the other apostles, though it is clear that Paul and Barnabas, at least, were present at the time. In the second passage, the fact is still more evident. It seems implied in the narrative of the council, where this apostle pronounces the final judgment. For this promotion no reason is given in the history, and even no allusion to the time and manner of its occurrence; although the fact is confirmed by a double state­ment.

 

Now if we turn to the Epistle to the Galatians, we meet an independent confirmation of the fact, and a possible reason, why this apostle received such a distinction.

 

Gal. 2:11, 12. “But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gen­tiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.”

 

It is here plain that, just as in the history, “We went in unto James,” denotes their public interview with the church at Jerusalem, so here “to come from James,” means to come from the same parent church at Jerusalem.    The correspon­dence is more striking from the contrast in the two passages.

 

Again, we have a reason for the distinction, which is not stated in the book of Acts, in these words of St. Paul (Gal. 1:19), “But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.”

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Νο. ΧΧII.

 

Acts 4:36, 37. “And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite of the country of Cyprus; having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”

 

This fact is singled out by the historian, as conspicuous among many instances of self-denying liberality. Barnabas, like a true Levite, though he was the owner of landed property, parted with all for the cause of Christ. No further notice of the fact occurs in the narrative, where he is after­wards commended for other excellences, but not for his generosity.

 

In the latest mention of him, however, in the epistles, the same feature appears once more. In 1 Cor. 9:1-7, St. Paul writes as follows: “Or I only and Barnabas, have we not power to forbear working?” Thus, after twenty years and more, we have a parting glimpse of this eminent servant of Christ, and he is still conspicuous for the same excellent grace of generosity, which marked him from the beginning. He appears, first, as a signal pattern of self-sacrifice, in parting with his landed possessions for Christ: and the last mention of him shows that, like St. Paul himself, he alone forbore his just claim to be supported by his converts, and chose rather to “labour, working with his own hands.” This is a har­mony, plainly undesigned, a unity of moral character, which speaks not only to the judgment, but to the heart.

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No. XXIII.

 

Acts 15:37, 38. “And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought it not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other.”

 

The history here records a temporary distrust and rejection of Mark, on the part of the apostle. No account is afterwards given of their reconciliation. Yet we find, from Philem. 23, 24, that Mark then held a high place among the apostle’s fellow-labourers at Rome. “There salute thee Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus; Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers.” And again, in 2 Tim. 4:11, we have still clearer proof of the high esteem in which he was held by St. Paul, just before his death. “Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.”

 

How, then, shall we reconcile this seeming discrepancy? Let us turn to Col. 4:10, and we shall see that a previous reconciliation had occurred, and that the apostle had formally notified his esteem for the evangelist to some of the Asiatic churches. “Aristarchus my fellow-prisoner saluteth you; and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him.”)

 

Here we have a very clear, though indirect coincidence, For the epistles make no mention of the dispute with Barnabas, or of the circumstances which made such a special charge necessary; while the history is silent about the relation of Mark to Barnabas, his reconciliation to the apostle, or any charge respecting him to the eastern churches.

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No. XXIV.

 

Acts 15:40. “And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.”

 

An able and ingenious writer* has lately started the hy­pothesis that Silas and Luke are only two names of the same person. This opinion must be sifted, before the force of the present and the following coincidence can be fully perceived.

 

The reasons urged are these. There is nothing to warrant the supposition that a new companion joined St. Paul at Troas. The resolve to go into Macedonia bears a relation to the previous purpose, to visit Bithynia, and must be under­stood of the same parties. And besides, if the writer first joined the apostle at Troas, this would not warrant him in speaking of himself as Divinely called to preach the gospel. The only persons to whom this could apply were Paul and Silas, who had been specially recommended by the brethren to the grace of God for that very work. Accordingly, in the epistles to Macedonia, only Paul, Silvanus, and Timotheus are joined in the salutation; while the writer of the history would not have been omitted, if really a different person. Silas parted from St Paul at Berea, and during the interval, till he rejoined at Corinth, the first person is not used. Leaving him at Corinth, Paul went to Jerusalem, and did not rejoin him till his next visit to Corinth, whence they proceeded to Philippi, and embarked for Troas. The resemblance of the names is urged also, Silas or Silvanus, from silva, a wood; and Lucas or Lucanus, from lucus, a grove; being of the same meaning and formation.

 

The following remarks appear, very decisively, to disprove this novel theory:—

 

First, the writer describes himself to have been the constant companion of the apostle throughout the nine latest chapters of the history; yet the name, Silas, never once appears, and he indicates his presence only by using the first instead of the third person. We may safely infer, by every rule of natural induction, that he follows the same practice in the earlier chapters.

 

Next, the two proofs of identity alleged above are both of them nugatory and deceptive. A Divine call to accompany Paul and Silas might be given in many ways, though the writer, observing his usual modesty, has not paused to acquaint us with the details. He might have come from Antioch, by a special intimation of the Spirit, to join them on their leaving Galatia, or he might have been already at Troas, and the apostle have been directed to take him for a companion, as he had done before with Timothy. Again, the absence of his name in the two letters to Thessalonica is no proof what­ever of his identity with Silas, since the history, by its use of the pronoun, implies clearly that he stayed at Philippi. How then could his name appear in the superscription to the Thes­salonians?

 

Thirdly, on this hypothesis, Luke or Silas was at Corinth when both letters to that church were written, and during the whole stay of Apollos. But this is refuted by the entire silence of both letters on the subject, and the absence of any allusion, however slight, to these long continued labours among them, apart from the apostle. His name is introduced once only as a companion of St. Paul in his first visit.    This fact is a clear proof that Silas did not remain at Corinth, as the hypothesis requires.

 

But there is another reason equally decisive. Silas or Sil­vanus having taken part with St. Paul from the first in preaching the gospel is joined with him in the superscription, and naturally takes precedence of Timothy. This occurs in three places, wherever Silas is mentioned in the epistles, 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:19. But whenever Luke is named in the epistles, though Timothy is twice named in the superscription of the same letters, the name of the evangelist appears only in the salutations at the close. No contrast could more plainly denote the entire distinctness of these two persons whom it has been sought, hastily and un­wisely, to confound together. And indeed the use of two names, so entirely distinct, for the same person, in composi­tions so exactly similar as the letters are to each other, is of itself highly improbable. It would turn the passages into an enigma of the most useless and perplexing kind. That Luke, then, is a different person from Silas or Silvanus, as it has been the constant opinion of the church, may also be viewed as capable of a strict internal demonstration.

 

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* Lit. Hist. New Test.

 

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No. XXV.

 

Acts 16:10. “And after he had seen the vision, imme­diately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.”

 

Here the writer of the history, by the change of persons, first indicates his own presence as a companion of the apostle. It is well known that this book of Acts, as well as the third Gospel, are ascribed to St. Luke by the universal tradition of the church; but it seems never to have been shown that the same conclusion may be reached, simply and rigidly, by the internal evidence alone. If this can be done, it may fairly be reckoned among the most curious examples of undesigned coincidence.

 

The writer then, so far as we can learn from the history, was present with the apostle from Troas to Philippi in his first visit to Europe; was absent from him, or not distinctly present, after his departure from Philippi, during his double stay at Corinth and Ephesus; and having joined him at Philippi, again continued his companion during his voyage from Greece to Palestine, his imprisonment at Cæsarea, his second voyage, and at least the earlier part of his imprison­ment at Rome.

 

None of St. Paul’s letters, we have seen already, were written until his arrival at Corinth, when the first separation had taken place. Six of them, the first and second to Thessalonica, the Epistle to the Galatians, the first and second to Corinth, and the Epistle to the Romans, were written during the interval of the writer’s apparent absence. His name could not then be expected to occur in these letters among the friends who were present with St. Paul, and who joined in the salutations.

 

Four other letters, to the Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians were written during the first imprisonment at Rome. Now since the writer had been a companion of the apostle for three whole years before that imprisonment, had attended him on the voyage with only one or two others, and had continued with him till his arrival at Rome, it is most improbable that he would leave him at once, and not cheer him by his presence and friendship, as in the previous long delay at Cæsarea. In these letters, therefore, if the helpers present with St. Paul are at all mentioned, his name will be likely to appear. And since he had been so intimate a com­panion, and attended him faithfully so long, it seems almost certain that the apostle, if he specified his chief helpers and friends who were with him, could not omit one so conspicuous. The writer, we may thus infer, was either Tychicus, Timothy, Epaphroditus, Epaphras, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Marcus, Jesus Justus, Luke, or Demas, the only persons whose names appear in the salutations of these four letters.

 

But this choice is scon reduced within narrower limits. Timothy, Tychicus, and Aristarchus could none of them be the writer, since they accompanied Paul and himself on the voyage from Greece (Acts 20:4, 5). Onesimus is excluded, since he was converted by St. Paul during his imprisonment at Rome (Philem. 10). Mark is also excluded, since he is mentioned repeatedly in the history, and was rejected by St. Paul as a companion in that very journey, in which the writer soon afterwards joined him. Epaphroditus clearly was not with the apostle when the imprisonment began, but was sent to him from Philippi when they heard tidings of his necessities.    Epaphras appears to have been a local pastor from Colosse, who arrived also at Rome after the imprisonment there had begun. Thus Jesus Justus, Luke, and Demas are the only three names which are not absolutely excluded by these texts.

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That Jesus Justus was not the writer may be gathered from two presumptions of considerable weight. First, he was of the circumcision, or a Jew by birth; while several indications in the book of Acts lead us to suppose that the writer was a Greek, and only a proselyte, rather than a native Jew. The title, barbarians, applied to the people of Miletus, is one token of the fact, and there seem to be others. And next, Jesus Justus is named only once, while the two others are mentioned three times in these epistles. Now the com­panion of the apostle for so many years, and through so many dangers, would not be likely to be left thus entirely in the background, compared with others.

 

The choice will now be confined to Luke and Demas, each of whom is mentioned three times, and always near together. In the last instance, however, there occurs a remarkable con­trast. In his second imprisonment, as we learn from 2 Tim. 4:10, 11, Demas forsook the apostle through love of the world, and only Luke continued with him, while every other helper was absent. It would be a high degree of moral in­congruity to suppose that this apostate, whether his apostasy were temporary or final, and not the companion who was faith­ful to the last, was the same with the faithful companion during shipwreck and imprisonment, and the honoured writer of two main books of the sacred canon. And thus, by internal evi­dence alone, we are led to the conclusion that Luke, and no other, was the real author of the Gospel and the book of Acts. The circumstantial evidence limits our choice to three names, while the moral evidence, hardly less forcible, confines it among these to St. Luke only.

 

Nothing can be more indirect and circuitous than this train of reasoning. The coincidence of the result thus obtained, with the unbroken testimony of external tradition, is a proof of reality of the most complete and unsuspicious kind. Like the agreement between the independent determinations of the velocity of light from phenomena totally distinct, the eclipses of Jupiter’s satellites, and sidereal aberration, it forms the most convincing evidence, that the tradition is accurate, and the letters and the history alike genuine.

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BOOK III.

 

THE APPLICATION TO THE GOSPEL HISTORY.

 

Introduction.

 

The extension of the argument from undesigned coincidence to the four gospels is attended with some difficulty, arising from their peculiar character. When a history is compared with a series of letters, or with another narrative, widely different in its general outline, the points of agreement will usually speak for themselves, and often exclude all suspicion of being the result of design. In the present instance, how­ever, we have four narratives, very similar in plan and pur­pose, which relate the same biography, and to a great extent record the same incidents, and were probably written by persons mutually acquainted, at no very great interval of time. Hence it becomes more difficult, where they coincide, to prove that the coincidence is spontaneous, and where they seem to differ, that the diversity is not a real contradiction. If they agree closely, they may be charged with merely copying one another; and if they diverge considerably, they are exposed to the opposite charge, that their statements are historically false, and mutually disproved. Indeed this has of late been the chosen battle-field of infidelity. It has been maintained that the gospels are late in their origin, and inconsistent in their testimony, and that they merely embody vague, floating ideas of the Messiah, which were prevalent in the early church, and are a series of mystical traditions rather than genuine histories. To unfold thoroughly the evidence which the gospels supply, in refutation of this wild and senseless theory, would require a distinct work, and an inquiry into many questions which have exercised critics and harmonists down to the present day. Meanwhile, apart from this deeper investigation, the argument in the Horæ Paulinæ admits, within narrower limits, of a useful and important application to the gospel history. For every part of the New Testament, of which the authenticity is clearly established, serves to reflect a part of its own evidence on all the rest. The epistles of St. Paul, and the Acts of the Apostles, will thus authenticate many leading events which are narrated in the gospels. There will also be found, on comparing the gospels among themselves, or with the rest of the New Testament, several coincidences like those in the letters of St. Paul, which are independent of questions fairly disputable, and are clear indications of their genuineness. The present book, therefore, will aim at establishing these three propositions.

 

I. That the epistles of St. Paul, which are proved to be genuine by their internal evidence, authenticate many leading facts in the four gospels.

 

II. That the book of Acts, which is also proved to be an authentic narrative by the same argument, authenticates the same facts, with several others, also contained in the gospel narratives.

 

III. That while the main outline of the gospels is thus con­firmed by the Acts and epistles, they exhibit, on comparison, many undesigned coincidences, which can arise only from their historical truth and reality.

 

One chapter will now be occupied with each of these pro­positions.

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CHAPTER I.

 

THE TESTIMONY OF ST. PAUL’S EPISTLES.

 

The letters of St. Paul, it results from the copious evidence already adduced, were actually addressed to the churches and individuals whose names they bear, between the apostle’s entrance into Europe and the time of his death. The date of the earliest may be placed about twenty two, and that of the latest about thirty-six years after the crucifixion. And since their main object is to enforce the great facts, the doctrines, and the duties of Christianity, their testimony with regard to the facts of the gospel history must be of the highest import­ance. It is a pledge to us of the opinions which prevailed among many thousands of Christians, within thirty years from the close of our Lord’s ministry. It will be convenient to present the testimony of these epistles in the order of time.

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No. I.

 

The two epistles to the Thessalonians were written from Corinth, and probably about twenty-two years after the date of the crucifixion. We gain from them the following leading facts concerning the history of our Lord.

 

First, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead was undoubtedly believed by the apostle and the Christians of Thessalonica.

 

1 Thessalonians 1:9, 10. “For they themselves show of us what entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God; and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”

 

The mention of the fact, as in a parenthesis, shows clearly with what unhesitating faith it was held by the writer, and the Christians to whom he wrote.

 

The same letter affirms, though indirectly as before, that the Lord Jesus had suffered a violent death by the malice of his own countrymen, the Jews.

 

1 Thessalonians 2:14,15. “For ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are con­trary to all men.”

 

The persecution and violent death of the Lord Jesus is here placed between two similar events; the persecution of the Jewish prophets, and the actual sufferings of the apostles, as equally historical and equally notorious.

 

Again, these two facts are brought together, as the common foundation of the hope of all Christians.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:13,14. “But I would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”

 

And again, 1 Thessalonians 5:9,10. “For God hath not ap­pointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.”

 

We have thus a distinct and repeated testimony, alike to the death and resurrection of Jesus, in this earliest epistle, almost within twenty years from the time when they occurred.

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No. II.

 

The Epistle to the Galatians was written, it seems most probable, about a year later than those to Thessalonica, or twenty-three years after the crucifixion. Its testimony is of great importance.

 

First, the apostle asserts, in the most solemn manner, that he had seen the Lord Jesus after the resurrection, that he was thus made a convert to the faith, and was commissioned to preach the gospel to the heathen.

 

Gal. 1:1. “Paul an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) and all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia.”

 

Ver. 11, 12. “But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

 

It is repeatedly affirmed, in the same letter, that our Lord’s death was by crucifixion, and that this fact was one stumbling­block, which repelled many from receiving the gospel

 

Gal. 2:20. “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

 

Ch. 3:1. “O foolish Galatians . . . before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you!”

 

Ch. 3:13. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”

 

Ch. 4:24. “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”

 

Ch. 5:11. “And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.”

 

Ch. 6:12. “As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.”

 

Ch. 6:14. “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”

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We are taught, further, that James, Cephas, and John were the names of three chief apostles, and that St. Paul had intercourse with the two former at Jerusalem, only three years after his conversion, or probably not more than ten years after the crucifixion, and that they all agreed in preaching the same gospel.

 

Gal. 1:18, 19. “Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother. Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not”

 

Ch. 2:9. “And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellow­ship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.”

 

It is further stated that our Lord was born of a human mother, while his pre-existence as the Son of God, is also evidently affirmed.

 

Gal. 4:4, 5. “But when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law; to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”

 

It is further implied that the apostle, in the exercise of his office, was known to have wrought miracles, and to have conferred miraculous gifts, among these churches of Galatia.

 

Gal. 3:2, 5. “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? . . He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”

 

There seems no doubt that the above is the true version, and that the writer refers to his own history while among them. The indirect nature of the assertion renders the tes­timony doubly important. In a series of condensed and earnest reasoning, the fact in question, that he had wrought miracles among them, is assumed as perfectly notorious, as well as the kindred fact, that they had received spiritual gifts at his hands.

 

The pre-existence of the Lord Jesus, his birth, his cru­cifixion, and his resurrection; the appointment of several apostles, including James, Cephas, and John; the miraculous appearance to St. Paul, his conversion, his intercourse with two of his brother apostles, and his exercise of miraculous powers, through the name of Jesus, are thus all attested within twenty-three or four years after the crucifixion oc­curred; and attested as matters of general notoriety among all Christians.

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No. III.

 

The first Epistle to the Corinthians was written from Ephesus, and probably twenty-seven years from the time of our Lord’s crucifixion. It yields a full and varied testimony to the great facts of the gospel history.

 

First, the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus is affirmed or implied in four or five places, and his death in several others; 1 Cor. 1:13, 17, 18, 23; 2:2, 8; 5:7; 8:11; 11:26; 15:3. But other particulars are also given, that he was betrayed to his enemies, and the same night instituted the Lord’s supper, in virtue of which institution it was observed in all the churches.

 

1 Cor. 11:23. “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. . . . For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.”

 

Again, we have here, within twenty-seven years from the resurrection, a very full statement of the evidence by which it was proved, with the important fact that several hundreds of the witnesses of it were still alive.

 

1 Cor. 15:3-8. “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures; and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.”

 

Here St. Paul not only affirms that the resurrection of Jesus was the foundation of Christianity, that it was preached alike by all the apostles, and firmly believed by all Christians, but he also states the distinct appearances which proved its reality. He includes himself last in order, among its eye witnesses. He specifies five other distinct appearances of Christ after his resurrection, one of which is not mentioned in the gospels, and therefore proves that the accounts are independent and unborrowed. What is still more important, he affirms that, in the third of these five appearances, more than five hundred witnesses were present, of whom the greater part were still actually alive. And this is in full agreement, after such an interval, with the natural result, as deduced from the best tables of mortality. Supposing the age of these wit­nesses to range from twenty to fifty years, three-fifths of the whole number would probably survive after twenty-seven years.

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It may be inferred, from the same epistle, that our Lord’s death took place at the time of the Jewish passover. Only on this view would the passage seem appropriate, in the ears of those who knew that the time of celebration was an essen­tial part of the ordinance. “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast.”

 

We are further taught, as in the Epistle to the Galatians, that St. Paul had seen the Lord after the resurrection, and had been commissioned by him to preach the gospel; and that Cephas and certain brethren of the Lord were included among the original apostles, with the further circumstance, that they were married men.

 

1 Cor. 9:1, 5. “Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord? . . . Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?”

 

It is also clearly affirmed that the apostle had miraculous gifts, and that these were very frequent in the church of Corinth, and in other places.

 

1 Cor. 12:28. “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers; after that miracles; then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet show I unto you a more excellent way.”

 

Ch. 14:18, 19. “I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all. Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.”

 

Here the indirect manner in which these gifts are mentioned and the whole character of the context, becomes a clear sign and pledge of their actual reality.

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No. IV.

 

The second Epistle to the Corinthians was written only a few months later than the first. The facts of the crucifixion and resurrection are affirmed, here also, with equal plainness.

 

2 Cor. 4:10. “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our body.”

 

Ch. 5:15. “And he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”

 

Ch. 13:4. “For though he was crucified through weak­ness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God towards you.”

 

The pre-existence of Christ in glory, with his actual poverty during his life on earth, are also evidently asserted in the same letter.

 

2 Cor. 8:9. “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”

 

The apostle also asserts plainly his own repeated experience of supernatural visions, and frequent exercise of miraculous powers.

 

2 Cor. 12:7. “And lest I should be exalted above mea­sure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.”

 

Ver. 12. “Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.”

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No. V.

 

The Epistle to the Romans was written from Corinth, a few months after the second letter had been addressed to that church, or within twenty-eight years from the crucifixion. The death of our Lord, though not the precise manner of his death, and his resurrection, are repeatedly asserted as before, Rom. 1:4; 3:25; 4:24, 25; 5:8; 6:4, 5, 8-11; 7:4; 8:3, 11, 32; 10:7, 9; 14:9, 15. In one place, however, it is plainly implied that his death was by crucifixion.

 

Rom. 6:6. “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that hence­forth we should not serve sin.”

 

It is further taught that our Lord was of Jewish descent, and of the race of David; that his life was one of great suf­fering, and of sinless obedience; and that he was specially sent to the Jewish nation, as an apostle or preacher of righteous­ness; and that he endured great reproach in the exercise of this Divine commission.

 

Rom. 9:5. “Whose are the fathers, and of whom as con­cerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.”

 

Ch. 1:3,4. “Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by resurrection from the dead.”

 

Ch. 8:17. “If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”

 

Ch. 5:18,19. “Therefore, as by the offence of one judg­ment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto jus­tification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

 

Ch. 15:8. “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the pro­mises made unto the fathers.”

 

Ch. 15:3. “For even Christ pleased not himself, but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.”

 

The apostle affirms, also, in this epistle, his own exercise of miraculous powers, derived from Christ, and extending through a wide circuit of apostolic labour, from Jerusalem to Illyrium.

 

Ch. 15:17-19. “I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, through mighty signs and wonders by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.”

 

This attestation is doubly important, when we remember that the letter was written from Corinth, with the salutations of several Corinthians, and that he had addressed a letter a few months before to that church, where he makes the same appeal to miracles, and these, wrought in the midst of them. “Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.”

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No. VI.

 

The Epistle to the Ephesians, the first of those from Rome, bears testimony to the same general facts, of the death, resur­rection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus, and adds the further statement, that the gifts bestowed on the apostles and pro­phets of the church were a direct consequence of his ascension. All these facts appear in the most indirect manner.

 

Eph. 1:19,20. “According to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.”

 

Ch. 1:7. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

 

Ch. 2:16. “And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.”

 

Ch. 4:9,10. (“Now that he ascended, what is it, but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up, far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.”

 

Ch. 5:2. “Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.”

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The same facts appear also in the Epistle to the Colossians, with a further allusion to our Lord’s circumcision, his burial, and the sufferings he had to endure.

 

Col. 1:14. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”

 

Ch. 1:18-20. “Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself.”

 

Ch. 1:23,24. “Whereof I Paul am made a minister; who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church.”

 

Ch. 2:11,12. “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”

 

Ch. 3:1. “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.”

 

In the Epistle to the Philippians, the same facts are pro­claimed with equal clearness.

 

Ch. 2:5-11. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

 

We have here the view respecting the person of Jesus, his life, death, and resurrection, which was familiar to Christians, both in Greece and Italy, within thirty-three years from the time when that death occurred. The facts are supposed to be so certainly known, that they may be assumed at once in the forefront of every practical exhortation.

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No. VII.

 

The remaining epistles, which may be placed from thirty-three to thirty-six years after the crucifixion, still assume everywhere the truth of the leading facts in the Gospel, with a few additional particulars.

 

First, that our Lord was of the race of Abraham, and of the royal tribe of Judah.

 

Heb. 2:16. “For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.”

 

Ch. 7:14. “For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.”

 

Secondly, that he took upon him our nature, and thence was exposed to temptation, while he maintained a perfect obedience.

 

Ch. 2:14,18. “Forasmuch then as the children are par­takers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death. . . . For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.”

 

Ch. 4:15. He “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

 

Ch. 5:8. “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obe­dience by the things which he suffered.”

 

That, while on earth, he offered up earnest prayers to God.

 

Ch. 5:7. “Who in the days of his flesh .... offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death.”

 

That, after becoming a sacrifice for sins, he entered into heaven.

 

Ch. 9:27, 28. “As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment; so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”

 

That the scene of his death lay without the gate of Jeru­salem.

 

Ch. 13:11, 12. “For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.”

 

That he made an open declaration of his kingly authority before Pontius Pilate.

 

1 Tim. 6:13. “I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession.” It is plain, from the context, that this confession related to the character of our Lord, as a true and rightful king.

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No. VIII.

 

From a review of this various evidence, it appears that the following main elements of the gospel history are all confirmed by the direct and indirect testimony of the Pauline epistles. The apostle, in the first place, had seen the Lord Jesus after the resurrection, and received from him a direct commission to the Gentiles (Gal. 1:1, 2, 11, 12; 1 Cor. 9:1, 15:7, 8; Eph. 3:2, 3; 1 Tim. 1:11-13; 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:10, 11). He affirms the resurrection, as the universal belief of the church, proclaimed by all the apostles, and confirmed, after nearly thirty years, by hundreds of living eye-witnesses (1 Thessalonians 1:9,10; 4:14; 1 Cor. 6:14; 2 Cor. 4:10, 11, 14; 5:14, 15; 13:3, 4; Rom. 1:3; 4:23-25; 5:10; 6:4, 8, 9; Eph. 1:18-21; 2:4, 5; Col. 1:18; Phil. 3:10; 2 Tim. 2:8; 1 Cor. 15:9-11; Heb. 2:2, 3). He states that our Lord was born of a human mother, of the tribe of Judah, and the race of David (Rom. 1:3; 9:4, 5; 15:12; 2 Tim. 2:8; Heb. 7:14; Gal. 4:4; Heb. 7:1-3); that he was circumcised, and obedient to the law of Moses (Col. 2:11, 12; Rom. 5:19; 8:3; Heb. 4:15; Phil. 2:8); that he endured reproach, temptation, and suffering (Rom. 15:3; 2Cor. 1:5; Col. 1:24; Heb. 12:3; 2:18; 4:15); that he was betrayed, and the same night instituted the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:23-26); that he was crucified, dead and buried (Gal. 2:20; 3:1, 13; 5:24; 6:14; 1 Cor. 1:13, 17, 18, 23; 2:2, 7, 8; 13:4; Rom. 6:6; Eph. 2:15, 16; Phil. 2:8; 3:18; Heb. 12:2; 1 Cor. 15:4; Col. 2:12; Rom. 6:4); that he suffered without the gate of Jerusalem (Heb. 13:12); that he offered fervent prayers, and under­went a bloody agony, before his death (Heb. 5:7; 12:2-4); that his resurrection took place on the third day (1 Cor. 15:4); that he ascended afterwards into heaven (Rom. 8:34; Eph. 1:19, 20; 4:8-10; Col. 3:1; Phil. 2:9; 1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 8:1; 9:24); that he appeared after his resur­rection, at least five times, and to more than five hundred wit­nesses (1 Cor. 15:5-7); that he appointed twelve apostles, to be messengers of the gospel (1 Cor. 4:9; 9:5; 12:28; 2 Cor. 11:5; Gal. 1:17; 12:11, 12; 1 Cor. 15:5, 7; Eph. 2:20); and that James, Cephas, and John were three of the most eminent (1 Cor. 15:5, 7; Gal. 2:9, 11, 12); and that these apostles, as well as St. Paul himself, were endued with miraculous powers, exercised in the name of the Lord Jesus (Heb. 2:3, 4; 1 Cor. 12:28, 29; 14:18; 2 Cor. 12:11, 12; Gal. 2:8; Rom. 15:18, 19.)

 

It has of late been objected to the Gospel history, by philo­sophical unbelievers, that the epistles are silent respecting the miracles of our Lord, and thus are negative witnesses against them. The objection betokens either great blindness, or utter insincerity. The epistles not only affirm, in more than fifty passages, the crowning miracles of our Lord’s resurrection and ascension, but repeatedly assert, as a notorious fact, the actual exercise of miraculous powers, by St. Paul himself and the other apostles, and even by many Christians far less distin­guished in the churches. This is taught in both letters to Corinth, and in those to the Galatians, the Romans, the Ephe­sians, and Colossians. Hence not even our Lord’s resurrection is more plainly a part of the apostle’s faith, than this actual presence of miraculous powers in the church. And it is equally plain that all these gifts and miracles are directly ascribed to the risen Saviour, as their true and secret author. Finally, it is declared that miracles were the signs of an apostle (2 Cor. 12:12), while this very title of apostle is directly applied to the Lord Jesus (Heb. 3:1). And hence, combining these particulars, it is as clear and certain that St. Paul recognised the fact, that miracles were wrought by the Lord Jesus during the course of his ministry in Palestine, as if he had stated his conviction in the most explicit form.

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CHAPTER II.

 

THE TESTIMONY OF THE BOOK OF ACTS.

 

The book of Acts, from its own internal evidence and a comparison with the epistles of St. Paul, has been shown already to be a faithful history, and in all its later chapters the production of an eye-witness. As a direct narrative, com­mencing more than twenty years earlier than the first of St. Paul’s letters, we might reasonably expect that it would furnish more copious information on the facts of the Gospel history. Such we find to be the case on actual investigation. It remains now to examine the amount of evidence thus obtained before we trace the internal coincidence of the gospels themselves. It will be convenient to arrange the whole under distinct articles as before.

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No. I.

 

First, the book of Acts confirms fully the assertion in the letters that St. Paul had personally seen the Lord Jesus after the resurrection, and all the other hints relative to his conver­sion and apostleship, while it adds more copious details of the place, time, and circumstances of these events.

 

There are three passages where these facts are stated in the history; once in the direct narrative (9:1-20); once in the defence before the Jews (22:1-21); and a third time before Festus and Agrippa, Acts 26:1-23. These passages may suggest a few general remarks.

 

1. The apostle asserts in the letters that he had seen the Lord Jesus, 1 Cor. 9:1; 15:3-8. This fact appears also in each of the above passages, but with many specific details; that he was on a journey to Damascus, and drew near to the city, that this first vision occurred at noon-day, that it was followed by a blindness of three days, that his companions saw the light and heard a voice, but did not see the person or distinguish the words of the Lord Jesus, and that the message was given in the Hebrew tongue,— “Saul, Saul, why perse­cutest thou me?”

 

2. The apostle states in the letters that he had been pre­viously “a blasphemer, a persecutor, and injurious.” The same truth appears in the history, but with fuller details; that his acts of persecution began at the death of Stephen, when he kept the raiment of them that slew him; that they were ex­ercised first at Jerusalem towards women as well as men; that they extended afterwards to the other cities of Judæa, and at length, that he persecuted them even to foreign cities, and his zeal led him to procure letters from the high priest for Damascus, where the vision occurred.

 

3. The apostle affirms in his letters that the Lord Jesus himself constituted him an apostle to the Gentiles. And this is taught with equal plainness in the defence before Agrippa, and also in the defence at Jerusalem. But the history shows us further that this commission was twice given, once at the time of his conversion, and again, in the temple at Jerusalem, 26:16-18; 22:17-21.

 

4. St. Paul affirms in the letters that the other apostles bore the same witness as himself to the resurrection of Jesus, of which they had been eye-witnesses much earlier, 1 Cor. 15:3-11. The same statement is given by him, according to the history, in his discourse at Antioch, “But God raised him from the dead: and he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.”

 

5. St. Paul in the letters affirms that he had repeated visions or revelations of the risen Saviour. The history repeats the statement with specific details. Four such visions are recorded in the course of the narrative; the first at his con­version, a second in the temple at Jerusalem on his first visit, a third during his stay at Corinth, and a fourth soon after his imprisonment at Jerusalem.

 

6. St. Paul in the letters asserts his own exercise of miraculous powers. The narrative asserts the same fact, but with more specific details. The letters affirm them to have been exercised in Galatia and at Corinth, and in the region round about unto Illyricum. The history, as if to show that it was no artificial accordance, does not specify any miracles either in Galatia, in Greece, or at Corinth. On the other hand, it gives specific details of blindness inflicted on Elymas at Paphos; of the cure of the impotent man at Lystra, with signs and wonders at Iconium; of various miracles at Ephesus, both of cures and dispossessions; of the recovery of Eutychus at Troas; of the vision of an angel during the voyage; of im­munity from the poison of serpents at Melita, and of other miraculous cures of disease, wrought during the presence and under the eye of the historian. Thus all the statements of the epistles are confirmed by the narrative, and ampler details are given.