It is possible to speak of "the Jesus of the Gospels" only if the Gospels are in essential agreement. If the features of the four portraits are so different that they never could have been united really in the same person, then there is no such thing as a Jesus of the Gospels, but only a Jesus of Matthew and a Jesus of Mark and a Jesus of Luke and a Jesus of John.
Among the Synoptic Gospels, at any rate, no such difference exists. Though every one of these Gospels possesses its own characteristics, the peculiarities are almost negligible in comparison with the underlying unity. There is certainly such a thing as "the Synoptic Jesus." His words and deeds are narrated in each of the Gospels in a different selection and in a different style, but the characteristic features are everywhere the same.
With regard to the Fourth Gospel, the matter is not quite so plain. The contrast between the Synoptists and John has already been noticed. It forces itself upon even the most casual reader. Difference, however, is not necessarily contradiction. It may be due to a difference in the point of view. Both the Synoptists and John give a true picture of Jesus; the same features appear very different when viewed from different angles.
At any rate, if there is a contradiction between the first three Gospels and the Gospel of John, the contradiction is by no means easy to formulate. It cannot be said, for example, simply that the Synoptists present a human Jesus and John a divine Jesus. Whatever the differences among the four Gospels, all four agree at least in two essential features. All four present Jesus, in the first place as a man, and in the second place as something more than a man.
(1)Humanity in the Synoptists.—The former feature is perhaps especially clear in the Synoptists. According to the first three Gospels, Jesus led a genuine human life from birth to death. As a child he grew not only in stature, but also in wisdom. He was subject to human parents and to the requirements of the Jewish law. Even after the inauguration of his ministry the human conditions of his life were not superseded. He was even tempted like other men. He grew weary and slept. He suffered hunger and thirst. He could rejoice and he could suffer sorrow. He prayed, like other men, and worshiped God. He needed strengthening both for body and for mind. No mere semblance of a human life is here presented, but a genuine man of flesh and blood.
(2)Humanity in John.—But if the Jesus of the Synoptists is a true man, how is it with the Jesus of John? Does the Fourth Gospel present merely a heavenly being who walked through the world untouched and unruffled by the sin and misery and weakness that surrounded him? Only a very superficial reading can produce such an impression. The Fourth Gospel indeed lays a supreme emphasis upon the majesty of Jesus, upon his "glory" as it was manifested in works of power and attested by God himself. But side by side with these features of the narrative, as though to prevent a possible misunderstanding, the author presents the humanity of Jesus with drastic touches that can scarcely be paralleled in the Synoptists themselves. It is John who speaks of the weariness of Jesus at the well of Samaria, ch. 4:6; of the human affection which he felt for Lazarus and Martha and Mary, ch. 11:3,5,36, and for an individual among the disciples, ch. 13:23; of his weeping, ch. 11:35; and indignant groaning, v. 38; and of his deadly thirst. Ch. 19:28. As clearly as the other evangelists John presents Jesus as a man.
(3)Divinity in John.—In the second place, all four Gospels, if they present Jesus as a man, also present him as something far more than a man. With regard to the Gospel of John, of course the matter is unmistakable. The very first verse reads: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Jesus according to John was plainly no product of the world, but God come in the flesh. John 1:14. The teaching of Jesus himself, as it is reported in the Fourth Gospel, is concerned with the relation of perfect unity that exists between the Father and the Son.
(4)Divinity in the Synoptists.—In the Synoptists the supernatural character of Jesus is somewhat less on the surface. His teaching, as the Synoptists report it, is largely concerned not directly with hisown person, but with the kingdom that he came to found. Even his Messiahship is often kept in the background; the demons are often commanded not to reveal it.
A closer examination, however, reveals the essential unity between the Synoptists and John. If the supernatural character of Jesus appears in the Synoptists less plainly on the surface, it is really no less pervasive at the center. It does not so often form the subject of direct exposition, but it is everywhere presupposed. The doing by Jesus of what only God can do, Mark 2:5,7; the sovereign way in which he legislates for the kingdom of God, Matt. 5:17-48; his unearthly holiness and complete lack of any consciousness of sin; the boundlessness of his demand for obedience, Luke 9:57-62; his expected freedom from limitations of time and place, Matt. 28:20; the absolutely central place which he claims for himself as ruler and judge; the substantiation of all his lofty claims by wonderful power over the forces of nature—these are only indications chosen almost at random of what is really plain upon every page of the Synoptic Gospels, that the Jesus who is there described is no mere human figure but a divine Saviour of the world. The invitation of Matt. 11:28-30, which is typical of the Synoptic teaching, would have been absurd on the lips of anyone but the Son of God.
Moreover, the divine nature of Jesus is not merely implied in the Synoptic Gospels; there are times when it even becomes explicit. The relation of perfect mutual knowledge that exists between Jesus and the Father, Matt. 11:27, reveals a perfect unity of nature. The Jesus of the Synoptists, as well as the Jesus of John, might say, "I and the Father are one."
The Synoptic Gospels, therefore, imply everywhere exactly the same Jesus who is more expressly presented in the Gospel of John. If, then, there is a contradiction between the Synoptists and John, it can be concerned only with the manner of Jesus' teaching. The Synoptists as well as John present Jesus as a supernatural person, it is said, but unlike John they represent him as keeping his own person in the background.
Even here, however, maturer consideration shows that the difference does not amount to anything like contradiction. May not the same person have spoken the discourses of the Fourth Gospel and also those of the Synoptists? It must be remembered that the ministry of Jesus was varied, and that the first three evangelistsconfine themselves almost exclusively to one phase of it. In the public Galilean ministry, which the Synoptists describe, it was necessary for Jesus to keep even his Messiahship for a time in the background. Publication of it, owing to the false political conception which the Jews had of the Messiah's work, would have been fatal to Jesus' plan. Here, as so often, the Fourth Gospel explains the other three. After the feeding of the five thousand, John tells us, the crowd wanted to take Jesus by force and make him a king. John 6:15. Popularity was dangerous. Jesus could not proclaim himself publicly as the Messiah, until by explaining the spiritual nature of the kingdom he had prepared the people for the kind of Messiah which it was his mission to be.
Of course, it is difficult for us to understand at every point just why Jesus acted as he did. All that we are now maintaining is that the considerations just adduced, and others like them, show that it is perfectly conceivable that Jesus, before his intimate disciples and in Jerusalem and at a special crisis, John, ch. 6, adopted a method of teaching which in the greater part of the Galilean ministry he considered out of place. There is room in a true narrative of Jesus' life both for the Synoptists and for John.
Jesus was many-sided. He was Lawgiver, he was Teacher, he was Healer, he was Ruler, he was Saviour. He was man and he was God. The Gospels have presented him in the richness of his mysterious person. Modern historians are less comprehensive. They have been offended at the manifoldness of the Gospel picture. They have endeavored to reduce Jesus to the level of what they can comprehend. But their effort has been a failure. After the supposed contradictions have been removed, greater contradictions remain; and the resulting figure is at any rate too small to account for the origin of Christianity. The partial Jesus of modern criticism, despite his comparative littleness, is a monstrosity; the comprehensive Jesus of the Gospels, though mysterious, is a self-evidencing and life-giving fact.
In the Library.—Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves, article on "Jesus Christ." Warfield, "The Lord of Glory," pp. 125-173. Robertson, "Epochs in the Life of Jesus." Stalker, "The Life of Jesus Christ." Denney, "Jesus and the Gospel." Andrews, "The Life of Our Lord."
The Epistle of James has been called the least Christian book in the New Testament. Superficially this judgment is true. The name of Jesus occurs only twice in the epistle, James 1:1; 2:1, and there is no specific reference to his life and death and resurrection. A close examination, however, reverses the first impression.
(1)James and the Synoptic Discourses.—In the first place, the ethical teaching of James is permeated by the spirit of Jesus. Even the form of the epistle displays a marked affinity for the discourses of the Synoptic Gospels, and the affinity in content is even more apparent. Many striking parallels could be cited; but what is more convincing than such details is the indefinable spirit of the whole. The way in which James treats the covetousness, the pride, the heartlessness, the formalism, the pettiness and the meanness of his readers, is strikingly similar to the way in which his Master dealt with the Pharisees. James does not indeed actually cite the words of Jesus; but the absence of citations makes the underlying similarity all the more significant. The writer of this epistle did not live at a time when the knowledge of the words of Jesus was derived from books; rather he had himself listened to the Master—even though he was not at first a disciple—and was living in a community where the impression of Jesus' teaching and Jesus' person was still fresh in the memory of those who had known him on earth.
(2)James and Christian Doctrine.—In the second place, moreover, the Christianity of James is religious as well as ethical. Of course it could not be like the teaching of Jesus if it were merely ethical; for everything that Jesus taught even about the simplest matters of human conduct was determined by the thought of the heavenly Father and by the significance of his own person. But by the religious character of the Epistle of James even more than this is meant. Like all the writers of the New Testament James was well aware of the saving significance of Jesus' death and resurrection. For him as well as for the others, Jesus was Lord, ch. 1:1, and a Lord who was possessed of a heavenly glory. Ch. 2:1. James, aswell as the others, was waiting for the second coming of Christ. Ch. 5:8. He does not directly refer to the saving events that form the substance of Christian faith; but he takes them everywhere for granted. The word of truth through which the disciples have been formed by God, ch. 1:18, the implanted word, v. 21, that needs ever to be received anew, can hardly be anything else than the apostolic gospel as it was proclaimed in the earliest speeches of Peter which are recorded in The Acts, and as it found its rich unfolding in the teaching of Paul. Just because that gospel in our epistle is presupposed, it does not need to be expounded in detail. The men to whom James was writing were not lacking in orthodoxy. If they had been, he would have set them right, and we should have had another exposition of the gospel. As a matter of fact their fault was in practice, not in theory; and it is in the sphere of practice that they are met by James. The epistle would be insufficient if it stood alone. It does not lay the foundation of Christian faith. But it shows how, upon that foundation, may be built not the wood, hay and stubble of a wordy orthodoxy, but the gold and silver and precious stones of an honest Christian life.
This epistle, then, might be misleading if taken by itself; but it becomes salutary if it is understood in its historical connections. Far from disparaging Christian doctrine—as the modern Church is tempted to suppose—it builds upon doctrine. In that it agrees with the whole of the Bible. Christianity, as has been finely said, is a life only because it is a doctrine. Only the great saving events of the gospel have rendered possible a life like that which is described in the Epistle of James. And where the gospel is really accepted with heart as well as mind, that life of love will always follow.
The view which will be held about the date of the Epistle of James will depend very largely upon the interpretation of the passage about faith and works. James 2:14-26. In that passage, some of the same terms appear as are prominent in connection with the great Judaistic controversy in which Paul was engaged from the time of the Apostolic Council to the time of the third missionary journey. Three views have been held with regard to the date of the Epistle of James. The epistle may be regarded as written (1) before the Judaistic controversy arose, (2) during that controversy or while it was still fresh in men's minds, or (3) long after the controversy had been settled.
(1)The Intermediate Date.—The second of these three views may be eliminated first. This intermediate view has the advantage of placing the epistle within the lifetime of James. It can treat the epistle as authentic. It has furthermore the advantage of explaining the coincidences between James 2:14-26 and Rom., ch. 4. For if the epistle was written at the very close of the lifetime of James—say about A. D. 62, or, following Hegesippus, A. D. 66—the author may have become acquainted with the Epistle to the Romans.
But the difficulties of this view far overbalance the advantages. If James was writing with Galatians and Romans before him, then apparently in ch. 2:24 he intends to contradict those epistles. As a matter of fact, however, as is shown in the Student's Text Book, he does not really contradict them, but is in perfect harmony with them. He has therefore gone out of his way in order to introduce a formal contradiction of the great apostle to the Gentiles although there is no real contradiction of meaning at all! What could he possibly gain by such useless trouble-making? If James really wanted to combat Paul's doctrine of justification by faith, he would have done so very differently; and if he did not want to combat it, he would certainly not have uselessly created the appearance of doing so.
Perhaps, however, James 2:14-26 is a refutation not of Paul but of a misunderstanding of Paul. This also is very improbable. If the passage was a refutation not of Paul but of a misunderstanding of Paul, why did James not say so? Why did he not distinguish Paul clearly from his misinterpreters? Instead he has indulged uselessly in a formal contradiction of Paul, and has in refutation of a misunderstanding of Paul not even used the abundant materials which Paul himself could offer! And where was such a misunderstanding of Paul possible in Jewish Christian circles of A. D. 62?
What makes every form of this intermediate dating impossible is the total absence from the epistle of any reference to the question of the conditions upon which Gentiles were to be received into the Church. In A. D. 62 this question had recently been the subject of bitter controversy. At that time no one could have touched upon the closely related topic of faith and works as James does and yet have ignored so completely the controversial question.
Evidently, therefore, the epistle was written either before the Judaistic controversy arose or else long after it was over.
(2)The Late Date.—The latter view makes the epistle a pseudonymous work—it assumes that an unknown author has here tried toenhance the influence of his work by putting it under the name of the first head of the Jerusalem church. This is of itself sufficient to refute the late dating. For the procedure of the supposed falsifier is quite incomprehensible. He has chosen James as the alleged author only because of the lofty position which James held, and yet he has designated him in the first verse merely as a simple Christian! The procedure of real forgers is very different.
There are also, however, other objections to the late dating. Would any writer in the second century, when the authority of Paul was well established, have ventured to introduce such an apparent contradiction of Paul as appears in James 2:24? In a writer of A. D. 150 we should have had formal agreement with Paul and material disagreement; in the Epistle of James we have formal disagreement and material harmony. Apparent contradiction of expression combined with perfect unity of thought is a sure sign of independence. The Epistle of James has made no use of the epistles of Paul.
Against this conclusion may be urged only the coincidence that James and Paul both use the example of Abraham, and cite the same verse, Gen. 15:6, with regard to him. But it must be remembered that to every Jew Abraham offered the most obvious example in all the Scriptures. It is possible, too, that the faith and works of Abraham had in pre-Christian Jewish circles already been the subject of controversy. Furthermore, James does not confine himself to Abraham, but introduces Rahab also, who is not mentioned by Paul. The coincidence between Paul and James is quite insufficient to overbalance the clear evidence of independence.
(3)The Early Date.—Only one hypothesis, then, suits the facts. The Epistle of James was clearly written before the Judaistic controversy became acute at the time of the Apostolic Council. In the second chapter of the epistle, James has used the same terms that became prominent in that controversy, but he has used them in refuting a practical, not a theoretical, error—an error that is related only indirectly to the great subject of Galatians and Romans.
At first sight the Epistle of James seems to possess very little unity. Topic follows topic often with little apparent connection. But the connection between the individual sections is closer than appears at first; and the epistle as a whole possesses at least a perfect unity of spirit.
(1)Reality in Religion.—The ruling tone of the epistle, which may be detected beneath all the varying exhortations, is a certain manly honesty, a certain fierce hatred of all sham and cant and humbug and meanness. James is a stern advocate of a practical religion.
(2)Supremacy of Religion.—It must be noticed, however, that the religion of this writer is none the less religious because it is practical. James is no advocate of a "gospel of street-cleaning." On the contrary he insists with characteristic vehemence upon personal piety. The same writer who has been regarded as emphasizing works at the expense of faith, who might be hailed as a leader of those who would make religion terminate upon man rather than God, who might be thought to disparage everything but "social service"—this same writer is one of the most earnest advocates of prayer. James 1:5-8; 4:2,3; 5:14-18. This apostle of works, this supposed disparager of faith, is almost bitter in his denunciation of unbelief! Ch. 1:6-8. God, not man, according to James, is the author of every perfect gift. V. 17. Prayer is the remedy both for bodily and for spiritual ills. Ch. 5:14-18. James lends no countenance to the modern disparagement of religious devotion. The same uncompromising severity with which he lashes an inactive religion is also applied just as mercilessly to an irreligious activity. Ch. 4:13-15. James does not attack religion in the interests of reality; he attacks unreality in the interests of religion.
The opening of the epistle, like that of the letters contained in Acts 15:23-29; 23:26-30, is constructed according to the regular Greek form.
After the opening, James speaks first of trials or temptations. Rightly used they will lead to perfection. If, however, there is still imperfection, it can be removed by prayer to God. The imperfection which is here especially in view is an imperfection in wisdom. Apparently the readers, like the Pharisees, had laid an excessive stress upon knowledge. The true wisdom, says James, can be obtained not by human pride, as the readers seem to think, but only by prayer. Prayer, however, must be in faith—there must be no wavering in it. Pride, indeed, is altogether blameworthy. If there is to be boasting, it should certainly be not in earthly wealth but in those spiritual blessings which often reverse earthly distinctions. Returning to the subject of temptations, James insists that in their evil they do not come from God, but from the depths ofman's own desires. From God comes no evil thing, but every perfect gift; and in the gospel God has bestowed upon us his richest blessing.
That gospel must be received with all diligence. It will exclude wrath and insincerity. True religion consists not merely in hearing but in doing; good examples of the exercise of it are the visitation of the fatherless and widows and the preservation of one's own personal purity of life.
Faith in Christ, James continues in similar vein, excludes all undue respect of persons. Indeed God in his choice of those who should be saved has especially favored the poor. The rich as a class are rather the oppressors of the Christians. Surely then the Christians should not favor rich men for selfish reasons. The law of love will exclude all such unworthy conduct.
That law of love requires an active life. Faith, if it be true faith, leads to works. Away with a miserable faith that is expressed only in words!
Words, indeed, are dangerous. The tongue is a prolific source of harm. Evil speech reveals the deep-seated corruption of the heart. The readers must be careful, therefore, about seeking the work of a teacher. The true wisdom, which fits a man to teach, is not of man's acquiring, but comes from God.
Quarreling—which was produced especially by the inordinate ambition among the readers to pose as teachers—must be counteracted by submission to God.
The constant thought of God excludes all pride in human planning. Especially the rich must reflect upon the transitoriness of earthly possessions and above all must be sure that their wealth is honestly gained.
Finally, patient waiting for the Lord, the example of the Old Testament saints, and the earnest practice of prayer will make effective all the exhortations of the epistle.
In the Library.—Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. 123-138. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Warfield, articles on "James" and "James, Epistle of." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 123-129. Knowling, "The Epistle of St. James." "The Cambridge Bible for Schools": Plumptre, "The General Epistle of St. James." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. i, pp. 73-151. The last-named work is intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others.
(1)The Tradition.—At Alexandria in the latter part of the second century Paul was thought to be the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews; but in North Africa a little later Tertullian attributed the epistle to Barnabas, and in other portions of the Church the Pauline authorship was certainly not accepted. In the west, the Pauline authorship was long denied and the inclusion of the epistle in the New Testament resisted. At last the Alexandrian view won universal acceptance. The Epistle to the Hebrews became an accepted part of the New Testament, and was attributed to Paul.
Clement of Alexandria, who had apparently received the tradition of Pauline authorship from Pantænus, his predecessor, himself declares that Hebrews was written by Paul in the "Hebrew" (Aramaic) language, and was translated by Luke into Greek. The notion of a translation by Luke was based upon no genuine historical tradition—Hebrews is certainly an original Greek work—but was simply an hypothesis constructed to explain the peculiarities of the epistle on the supposition that it was a work of Paul.
(2)The Value of the Tradition.—The tradition of Pauline authorship is clearly very weak. If Paul had been the author, it is hard to see why the memory of the fact should have been lost so generally in the Church. No one in the early period had any objection to the epistle; on the contrary it was very highly regarded. If, then, it had really been written by Paul, the Pauline authorship would have been accepted everywhere with avidity. The negative testimony of the Roman church is particularly significant. The epistle was quoted by Clement of Rome at about A. D. 95; yet at Rome as elsewhere in the West the epistle seems never in the early period to have been regarded as Pauline. In other words, just where acquaintance with the epistle can be traced farthest back, the denial of Pauline authorship seems to have been most insistent. If Clement of Rome had regarded Paul as the author, the history of Roman opinion about the epistle would have been very different.
On the other hand, on the supposition that there was originally no tradition of Pauline authorship, the subsequent prevalence of such a tradition is easily explained. It was due simply to the evident apostolic authority of the epistle itself. From the start, Hebrews was felt to be an authoritative work. Being authoritative, it would be collected along with other authoritative works. Since it was an epistle, and exhibited a certain Pauline quality of spirit and subject, it would naturally be associated with the other works of the greatest letter writer of the apostolic age. Being thus included in a collection of the Pauline Epistles, and being regarded as of apostolic authority, what was more natural than to attribute it to the apostle Paul? Such, very possibly, was the origin of the Alexandrian tradition.
This tradition did not win immediate acceptance, because the rest of the Church was still aware that the epistle was not written by Paul. What led to the final conquest of the Pauline tradition was simply the character of the book itself. The question of Pauline authorship, in the case of this book, became connected with the question of apostolic authority. The Church had to choose between rejecting the book altogether, and accepting it as Pauline. When she finally adopted the latter alternative, undoubtedly she chose the lesser error. It was an error to regard the epistle as the work of Paul; but it would have been a far greater error to exclude it from the New Testament. As a matter of fact, though the book was not written by Paul, it was written, if not by one of the other apostles, at least by an "apostolic man" like Mark or Luke. Scarcely any book of the New Testament bears clearer marks of true apostolicity.
(3)Internal Evidence.—The argument against Pauline authorship which is derived from tradition is strongly supported by the contents of the epistle itself. In the first place, it is exceedingly doubtful whether Paul could have spoken of himself as having had the Christian salvation confirmed to him by those who had heard the Lord. Heb. 2:3. Knowledge of the earthly life of Jesus was indeed conveyed to Paul by ordinary word of mouth from the eyewitnesses; but the gospel itself, as he insists with vehemence in Galatians, was revealed to him directly by Christ. In the second place, the style of the epistle is very different from that of Paul, being, as we shall see, far more carefully wrought. In the third place, the thoughts developed in Hebrews, though undoubtedly they are in perfect harmony with the Pauline Epistles, are by no means characteristically Pauline. It is a little hard to understand, forexample, how Paul could have written at such length about the law without speaking of justification by faith or the reception of Gentiles into the Church. This last argument, however, must not be exaggerated. Undoubtedly Paul would have agreed heartily to everything that Hebrews contains. Paul and the author of this epistle have developed merely somewhat different sides of the same great truth.
If Paul did not write the Epistle to the Hebrews, who did write it? Prodigious labor has been expended upon this question, but with very little result. In ancient times, Barnabas, Luke and Clement of Rome, were each regarded as the author. Of these three views the first is most probable; the second is exceedingly unlikely; and the last is clearly impossible. Whoever wrote the epistle, Clement certainly did not. The letter which we possess from his pen is immeasurably inferior to the apostolic writings to which Hebrews certainly belongs. Clement was a humble reader of Hebrews, not the author of it. Luther was inclined to regard Apollos as the possible author of Hebrews; and of all the many suggestions that have been made, this is perhaps the best. Undoubtedly the circumstances and training of Apollos were in a number of respects like those which might naturally be attributed to the author of the epistle. Apollos was closely associated with Paul, and perhaps at a later time with others of the apostles, just as might be expected of the author of an apostolic work such as Hebrews. On the other hand, like the author of the epistle, he was not an eyewitness of the life of Jesus. Compare Heb. 2:4. Like the author of the epistle he was no doubt acquainted with Timothy. Compare ch. 13:23. He was an "eloquent" or "learned" man, Acts 18:24, who might well have produced the splendid rhetoric of the epistle. He was a Jew and mighty in the Scriptures, as was also the author of Hebrews. He was a native of Alexandria, the university city of the period, and the seat of a large Jewish community, where just that combination of Greek rhetorical training with Scriptural knowledge which is exhibited in the epistle is most naturally to be sought.
These indications, however, can merely show that Apollos might conceivably have written the epistle; they do not show that he did write it. The authorship of this powerful work will always remain uncertain. How little we know, after all, of the abounding life of the apostolic Church!
In the Student's Text Book, it has been shown that the readers of the epistle were probably members of some rather narrowly circumscribed community. Where this community was is by no means clear. The one indication of place which the epistle contains is ambiguous. In ch. 13:24 it is said, "They of Italy salute you." These words may mean that the author is in Italy and sends greetings from the Christians of that country, or they may mean that the author is outside of Italy and sends greetings from Italian Christians who happened to be with him. In the latter case, probably the readers were in Italy; for otherwise they would have no special interest in the Italian Christians. All that we can say is then that the epistle was probably written either from Italy or to Italy. If it was written from Italy, then since the readers were Jews, it is natural to seek them in Palestine. The Palestinian Christians were "Hebrews" in the narrower, linguistic sense of the word, as well as in the broader, national sense. The ancient heading of the epistle thus comes to its full rights. On the other hand the Palestinian hypothesis faces some rather grave difficulties. If the readers are to be sought in Italy, then perhaps they formed a Jewish Christian community in Rome or in some other Italian city. The question cannot be settled with any certainty. The destination of the epistle is an even greater riddle than the authorship.
The Epistle to the Hebrews was certainly written before A. D. 95, for at about that time it was quoted by Clement of Rome. The mention of Timothy in ch. 13:23 perhaps does not carry us much farther, for Timothy, who was a grown man at about A. D. 50, Acts 16:1-3, may have lived till the end of the first century. The epistle, however, does not bear any of the marks of late origin. The question of date is closely connected with the question whether in the epistle the temple at Jerusalem is regarded as still standing. This question cannot be settled with certainty. But on the whole the continuance of the Levitical ceremonies seems to be assumed in the epistle, and at any rate there is no clear reference to their cessation. Probably therefore the Epistle to the Hebrews was written before the destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70.
The Epistle to the Hebrews is a product of conscious literary art.The rhetoric of Paul is unconscious; even such passages as the first few chapters of First Corinthians or the eighth chapter of Romans may have been composed with the utmost rapidity. The author of Hebrews probably went differently to work. Such sentences as Heb. 1:1-4, even in an inspired writer, can only be the result of diligent labor. By long practice the writer of Hebrews had acquired that feeling for rhythm and balance of phrase, that facility in the construction of smooth-flowing periods, which give to his epistle its distinctive quality among the New Testament books. Greek rhetoric of the Hellenistic age, freed from its hollow artificiality, is here laid under contribution for the Saviour's praise.
The presence of such a book in the New Testament is highly salutary. Devout Christians in their enthusiasm for the simplicity of the gospel are sometimes in danger of becoming one-sided. They are sometimes inclined to confuse simplicity with ugliness, and then to prize ugliness for its own sake. It is perfectly true that the value of the gospel is quite independent of æsthetic niceties, and that the language of the New Testament is for the most part very simple. But it is not true that the simplicity of the New Testament has anything in common with the bad taste of some modern phraseology, or that eloquence is of itself evil. The Epistle to the Hebrews shows by a noble example that there is such a thing as Christian art. The majestic sentences of this ancient masterpiece, with their exquisite clearness and liturgic rhythm and uplifting power, have contributed inestimably to the Christian conception of the Saviour. The art of Hebrews is not art for art's sake, but art for the sake of Christ. Literary perfection is here combined with profound genuineness and apostolic fervor; art is here ennobled by consecration.
In the Library.—Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. 164, 165, 265-267, 286-289. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves, article on "Hebrews, Epistle to the." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 116-122. Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. iii, pp. 275-348: Moulton, "The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews." Westcott, "The Epistle to the Hebrews." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. ii, pp. 293-366. The two last-named works are intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others.
The First Epistle of Peter is the epistle of separateness. The modern Church is in grave danger of forgetting the distinctiveness of her gospel and the glorious isolation of her position. She is too often content to be merely one factor in civilization, a means of improving the world instead of the instrument in creating a new world.
The first readers of the epistle were subject to a similar danger, though it arose from a somewhat different cause. To-day we are no longer subject to persecution; but the danger is fundamentally the same. The world's friendship may be even more disastrous than the world's hatred. The readers of First Peter were tempted to relinquish what was distinctive in their faith in order to avoid the hostility of their heathen neighbors; we are tempted to do the same thing because the superficial respectability of modern life has put a gloss of polite convention over the profound differences that divide the inner lives of men. We, as well as the first readers of the epistle, need to be told that this world is lost in sin, that the blood of Christ has ransomed an elect race from the city of destruction, that the high privileges of the Christian calling demand spotless purity and unswerving courage.
(1)The Character of the Persecution.—The character of the persecution to which the readers of the epistle were subjected cannot be determined with perfect clearness. It is not even certain that the Christian profession in itself was regarded officially as a crime. Apparently charges of positive misconduct were needed to give countenance to the persecutors. I Peter 2:12. The Christians needed to be warned that there is no heroism in suffering if the suffering is the just punishment of misdeeds. Chs. 2:20; 4:15. What particular charges were brought against the Christians it is of course difficult to determine. Perhaps they were sometimes charged with gross crimes such as murder or theft. But a more frequent accusation was probably "hatred of the human race," or the like. The Christians were thought to be busybodies. Insetting the world to rights they seemed to meddle in other people's affairs. In claiming to be citizens of a heavenly kingdom, they seemed indifferent or hostile to earthly relationships. As subjects of the emperor and of his representatives, the Christians were thought to be disloyal; as slaves, they seemed disobedient.
(2)Duties of Earthly Life.—In view of these accusations, Peter urges his readers to avoid all improper employment of their Christian freedom. Christian freedom does not mean license; Christian independence does not mean indifference. There is no reason why a good Christian should be a bad citizen, even of a heathen state, ch. 2:13-17, or an unprofitable servant, even of a harsh master, vs. 18-25, or a quarrelsome wife, even of an unconverted husband. Ch. 3:1-6. On the contrary, Christians must approve themselves not only in the spiritual realm, but also in the ordinary relationships of this life.
(3)Application to Modern Conditions.—Here again the lesson is important for the present day. Now as always fervent realization of the transcendent glory of Christianity tends sometimes to result in depreciation of ordinary duties. Men of exceptional piety sometimes seem to feel that civilization is unworthy of their attention, even if it is not actually a work of Satan. Of all such vagaries the First Epistle of Peter is the best corrective. Truth is here admirably guarded against the error that lurks at its root. The very epistle that emphasizes the separateness of the Church from the world, that teaches Christian people to look down upon earthly affairs from the vantage ground of heaven, is just the epistle that inculcates sober and diligent conduct in the various relationships of earthly life. In the effort at a higher morality, the simple, humble virtues that even the world appreciates should not be neglected; piety should involve no loss of common sense. Now as always the Christian should be ready to give a reason for the faith that is in him; now as always he should be able to refute the slanders of the world; now as always he should commend his Christianity by his good citizenship. Only so will the example of Christ be fully followed. Jesus was in possession of a transcendent message; but he lived the life of a normal man. The Christian, too, is a man with a divine mission; but like his Master he must exercise his mission in the turmoil of life. He must not be a spoilsport at feasts; his is no desert rôle like John the Baptist's. Christianity has a mission from without; but its mission is fulfilled in loving contact with the world of men.
(4)The Christian's Defense.—The Christians who suffered persecution should first of all, according to Peter, defend themselves to the very best of their ability. They should do their best to remove dishonor from the name of Christ. They should show the baselessness of the accusations which are brought against them. Then, if they still suffer, it will be clearly suffering for Christ's sake. Such suffering is glorious. It is a test from which faith emerges strong and sure, ch. 1:7; it is true conformity to the example of Christ. Chs. 2:21-24; 3:18; 4:1,13.
From the persecutions presupposed in First Peter no very certain conclusion can be drawn with regard to the date of the epistle. A late date has sometimes been inferred from such passages as I Peter 4:16. Christians were not punished as Christians, it is said, until the beginning of the second century, and especially no such persecution was carried out in the early period throughout the whole empire. Ch. 5:9.
This argument breaks down at a number of points. In the first place, as has already been observed, it is by no means clear that First Peter presupposes a persecution of the Christians simply as Christians. Apparently special charges of immorality were still in the foreground, though these charges were often mere pretexts in order to secure the punishment of members of the hated sect.
In the second place, it is not clear exactly when Christians first began to be punished as "Christians" by the Roman authorities. Undoubtedly the legal basis for such persecution was present as soon as Christianity began to be regarded as separate from Judaism. Judaism had a legal status; Christianity, strictly speaking, had none.
First Peter is clearly dependent upon a number of the Pauline Epistles, and apparently also upon the Epistle of James. The dependence, however, is by no means slavish; the epistle possesses marked characteristics of its own. As compared with Paul, for example, First Peter is somewhat simpler both in thought and in expression. No mere imitator, but a genuine personality, speaks to us from the noble simplicity of these pages.
It is interesting to compare this epistle with the early speeches of Peter that are recorded in The Acts. Part of the difference—similaritiesalso have been pointed out—no doubt, was due to the difference in the persons addressed. In those early speeches, Peter was preaching to unconverted Jews, and had to content himself with a few outstanding facts. In the epistle, he was addressing Christians, before whom he could lay bare the deep things of the faith. Nevertheless, the passing years had brought a change in Peter himself. Upon him as upon everyone else the mighty influence of Paul made itself felt; and even the revelation which came directly to him was progressive. The essence of the gospel was present from the beginning; but the rich unfolding of it which appears in First Peter was the product of long years spent in an ever-widening service.
The style of First Peter, though not at all rhetorical, like that of Hebrews, is smooth and graceful. It has often been considered strange that a fisherman of Galilee should have been so proficient in Greek. But probably we have an exaggerated notion of the poverty and roughness of the first disciples of Jesus. Undoubtedly they had not enjoyed a rabbinical education; in the technical Jewish sense they were "unlearned and ignorant men." Acts 4:13. Nevertheless, they clearly did not belong at all to the lowest of the population; Peter in particular seems to have been possessed of considerable property. Furthermore, it must be remembered that Greek culture in the first century was making itself felt very extensively in Galilee. No doubt Peter could use Greek even before he left Galilee, and in the course of his later life his linguistic attainments must have been very greatly improved. It is by no means impossible that he wrote First Peter entirely without assistance.
In order, however, to account for the linguistic excellence of this epistle, and in particular for the striking difference between it and Second Peter, a rather attractive hypothesis has been proposed. In I Peter 5:12, Peter says: "By Silvanus, our faithful brother, as I account him, I have written unto you briefly." Undoubtedly these words may designate Silvanus merely as the messenger who carried the letter to its destination. Compare Acts 15:23. It is also possible, however, that Peter meant to say that Silvanus had written the letter under his direction. In that case the thought would be due altogether to Peter; but the form, to some extentat least, would be the work of Silvanus. The hypothesis, of course, is only plausible, not necessary. There are other ways of accounting for the peculiarities of the epistle.
In all probability, the Silvanus of First Peter is the same as the Silvanus of the Pauline Epistles and the Silas of The Acts. If so, his association with Peter is altogether natural; he was originally a member of the Jerusalem church. If, in accordance with the hypothesis which has just been mentioned, Silvanus was really concerned in the composition of the epistle, the choice of such a man for the task was, as has been pointed out by the chief advocate of the hypothesis, exceedingly wise. Silvanus, who had been a companion of Paul and his associate in founding many of the churches of Asia Minor, would be just the man who could find the right tone in writing to the churches to which the epistle is addressed.
The appearance of Mark in I Peter 5:13 confirms the strong tradition which makes Mark a disciple of Peter and associates him with Peter in the production of the Second Gospel. The only two individuals whom Peter mentions in his First Epistle were both natives of Jerusalem, and both, during part of their lives, companions of Paul. The unity of the apostolic Church was preserved not only by a unity of spirit, but also by the changing associations of Christian workers.
The First Epistle of Peter has a varied message to the Church of to-day. Even in its exhortations to bravery and steadfastness it is very much needed. We are not subject to persecution by the state, but still there are a thousand circumstances of life in which we need to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, casting all our anxiety upon him, because he careth for us. Ch. 5:6,7.
In the Library.—Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. 267, 275-282. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Warfield (supplemented), article on "Peter." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 130-136. Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. iii, pp. 385-436: Mason, "The First Epistle of St. Peter." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. ii, pp. 134-194. The last-named work is intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others.
The Second Epistle of Peter and the Epistle of Jude are among the least known and most seriously questioned parts of the New Testament. Even in ancient times their authenticity was disputed; in the third and fourth centuries there were some at least who desired to exclude them from the New Testament. These ancient doubts have been continued in the modern Church. By very many scholars of the present day, Second Peter and Jude are assigned to second-century writers who falsely assumed the names of an apostle and of a brother of the Lord.
Against such views as these, a number of arguments might be employed. But the strongest argument of all is provided by the self-witness of the epistles themselves. Second Peter, in particular, not only lays claim to apostolic authorship in the address, but is written throughout in the name of an apostle. Either it was really written by an apostle or else it was a deliberate fraud. The latter alternative is excluded by the epistle itself. Second Peter does not look at all like a pseudonymous work, but is a weighty bit of writing, full of the sincerest moral earnestness. Both Second Peter and Jude ring true, with the genuine apostolic note.
Resemblances have often been pointed out among all three divisions of the New Testament material attributed to Peter. Second Peter has been shown to resemble not only First Peter, but also the speeches of Peter as they are reported in The Acts. Such similarities of course point to a common authorship. It cannot be denied, however, that differences stand side by side with the similarities. In the comparison of the epistles with the speeches, such differences are of course not surprising. The total differenceof subject and the wide interval of time provide an amply sufficient explanation. But how is it with the difference between Second Peter and First Peter?
(1)Difference of Purpose and Subject.—In the first place, the difference may be partly explained by the difference of purpose and subject. First Peter is a presentation of the glories of the faith in order to encourage Christians under trial and make them feel their separateness from the world; Second Peter is a solemn warning against dangerous perverters of the life of the Church.
(2)Difference of Time.—In the second place, a considerable interval of time may separate the two epistles. Here we find ourselves on uncertain ground. On the whole it is perhaps better to put the epistles near together at the close of Peter's life.
(3)Work of Silvanus.—In the third place, recourse may be had to the hypothesis, mentioned in the last lesson, which attributes a considerable share in the composition of First Peter to Silvanus.
(4)Conclusion.—Finally, there may be still further possibilities of explanation which cannot now be detected. The differences of style and of thought between the two epistles of Peter are far from sufficient to show diversity of authorship, and it must be remembered that similarities are to be balanced against the differences.
Although Second Peter and Jude are not so familiar as most of the New Testament, yet even these two brief epistles have entered deep into the mind and heart of the Church.
(1)Expressive Phrases.—Even the inimitably expressive phrases and sentences that have been derived from the epistles have produced no small enrichment of Christian life. The "exceeding great and precious promises," and the "partakers of the divine nature" of II Peter 1:4, the chain of virtues in vs. 5-7, the "make your calling and election sure" of v. 10, the "sure word of prophecy" of v. 19, the description of inspired prophecy in vs. 20, 21—"no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost"—the "vexed his righteous soul" of ch. 2:8, the "railing accusation" of v. 11; Jude 9, the "stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance" of II Peter 3:1, the "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" of v. 9, the "faith which was once delivered unto the saints" of Jude 3, the magnificent doxologyof vs. 24, 25—a review of these passages as they appear in the King James Version will bring some realization of the profound influence which even the most obscure books of the New Testament have exerted both upon the English language and upon the character of Christian men.
The influence of Second Peter and Jude, however, is not merely the influence of isolated phrases. The epistles as a whole have a distinctive message for the Church. That message is twofold. It embraces in the first place an emphasis upon authority, and in the second place an insistence upon holiness.
(2)The Emphasis Upon Authority.—The adversaries who are combated in Second Peter and Jude were impatient of restraint. Apparently they distinguished themselves, as possessing the Spirit, from the ordinary Christians, as being merely "natural." Jude 5, 19; II Peter 2:12. They appealed to their own deeper insight, instead of listening to what apostles and prophets had to say. In reply, Peter and Jude insisted upon the authority of the Old Testament prophets, and upon the authority of the apostles, which was ultimately the authority of Christ. See especially II Peter 3:2.
A similar insistence upon authority is greatly needed to-day. Again men are inclined to appeal to an inward light as justifying freedom from ancient restraints; the Christian consciousness is being exalted above the Bible. At such a time, renewed attention to Second Peter and Jude would be salutary. False notions are rife to-day with regard to apostolic authority. They can be corrected by our epistles. Peter as well as Paul exerts his authority not in an official or coldly ecclesiastical way, but with an inimitable brotherliness. The authority of the apostles is the authority of good news. Subjection to such authority is perfect freedom.
The authority which Peter and Jude urge upon their readers is a double authority—in the first place the authority of the Old Testament, and in the second place the authority of Christ exerted through the apostles. For us, however, the two become one. The apostles, like the Old Testament prophets, speak to us only through the Bible. We need to learn the lesson. A return to the Bible is the deepest need of the modern Church. It would mean a return to God.
(3)Insistence Upon Holiness.—The second characteristic of Second Peter and Jude is the insistence upon holiness. Religion is by no means always connected with goodness. In the Greco-Roman world, the two were often entirely separate. Many pagancults contained no ethical element whatever. The danger was therefore very great that Christianity might be treated in the same way. The early Christians needed to be admonished ever and again that their God was a God of righteousness, that no unclean thing could stand in his presence.
Insistence upon holiness is in itself no peculiarity of Second Peter and Jude. It runs all through the New Testament. But in these epistles it is directed more definitely perhaps than anywhere else against the opposite error. The opponents of Peter and Jude did not merely drift into immorality; they defended it on theoretical grounds. They were making a deliberate effort to reduce Christianity to the level of a non-ethical religion. Such theoretical defense of immorality appears, indeed, in a number of places in the apostolic Church. A certain party in Corinth, for example, made a wrong use of Christian freedom. But what is more or less incidental in First Corinthians forms the main subject of Second Peter and Jude. Christianity is here insisting upon its thoroughly ethical character.
At first sight the message might seem obsolete to-day. We always associate religion with morality; we can hardly understand how the two ever could have been separated. It is to be feared, however, that the danger is not altogether past. In our thoughts we preserve the ethical character of Christianity. But how is it with our lives? How is it with our religious observances? Are we not constantly in danger of making religion a mere cult, a mere emotional excitement, a mere means of gaining earthly or heavenly advantages, a mere effort to bribe God by our worship? The danger is always with us. We need always to remind ourselves that Christian faith must work itself out in holy living.
Peter in his second epistle has provided us with one important means to that end. It is the thought of Christ's coming. There can be no laxness in moral effort if we remember the judgment seat of Christ.
In the Library.—Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. 267-270, 282-285. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Warfield (supplemented), article on "Jude." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 137-143. Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. iii, pp. 437-463, 505-519: Plummer, "The Second Epistle of St. Peter" and "The Epistle of St. Jude." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. ii, pp. 194-293. The last-named work is intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others.
The First Epistle of John does not contain the name of its author. According to tradition, however, it was written by the apostle John, and tradition is here supported by the characteristics of the epistle itself. The author of the epistle was evidently the same as the author of the Fourth Gospel. The marked similarity in style can be explained in no other way. Even the careless reader observes that the style of the Fourth Gospel is very peculiar. Short sentences are joined to one another with the utmost simplicity; the vocabulary is limited, but contains expressions of extraordinary richness; the total effect is singularly powerful. These same characteristics, though they are so peculiar, appear also in the epistle. There is the same simplicity of sentence structure, the same use of such terms as "life" and "light" and "love," the same indescribable spirit and tone. Yet the epistle is no slavish imitation of the Gospel—differences stand side by side with the similarities. These two works are evidently related, not as model and copy, but as living productions of the same remarkable personality.
As in the Gospel, so also in the epistle the author presents himself clearly as an eyewitness of the life of Jesus, I John 1:1-3; 4:14; as in the Gospel he lays stress upon simple testimony. Even those things which have just been noticed as characteristic of his style are connected ultimately with the teaching of Jesus. In both Gospel and epistle, the beloved disciple has reproduced what he heard in Galilee and in Judea, though in both he has made the memory a living, spiritual fact.
The First Epistle of John is perhaps scarcely to be called an epistle at all. Practically all the characteristics of a letter are missing.There is no address; there is no greeting at the close; there are no personal details. The readers are indeed referred to in the second person; but preachers as well as letter-writers say, "you." First John is a sort of general address written probably to some extended group of churches.
These churches are probably to be sought in Asia Minor. Throughout the epistle the readers are addressed in a fatherly tone. See, for example, ch. 2:1. Evidently the writer was well known as a sort of patriarch throughout an extended region. Such conditions prevailed in Asia Minor after the apostle John had begun to reside at Ephesus. Trustworthy tradition as well as the New Testament informs us of a period in the apostle's life when he had outlived all or most of the other apostles and was revered as the head of the Asian church. At some time within this period—probably nearer the end than the beginning—the First Epistle of John was written.
The form of error against which the epistle is directed becomes clearest, perhaps in ch. 4:2,3. The false teachers had denied that Jesus Christ was come in the flesh. This may be interpreted in several different ways.
(1)Docetism.—In the first place, John may mean that the opponents simply denied the reality of the earthly life of Jesus. Such a form of error is by no means unknown in the history of the Church. It is called "Docetism." According to Docetism the Son of God did not really live a human life—with human sufferings and a human death—but only appeared to do so.
(2)Cerinthus.—In the second place, the meaning of the passage may be that the opponents denied the unity of the person of Jesus Christ. Compare ch. 2:22. Some persons in the early Church supposed that there were two separate persons in the figure that is described in the Gospels. A heavenly being, the Christ, it was thought, united himself with the man Jesus at the time when the dove descended after the baptism. Matt. 3:16,17. Such was the view of Cerinthus, who is declared by tradition to have been an opponent of the apostle John at Ephesus. It has been suggested, therefore, that it was actually Cerinthus, with his disciples, who is combated in the First Epistle of John.
(3)Denial of the Incarnation.—Both Cerinthus and the Docetists denied the reality of the incarnation—both denied that the Son ofGod actually assumed a human nature and lived a complete human life. According to Cerinthus and others like him, the Christ stood only in somewhat loose relation to the man Jesus. He was united with him only late in life, he left him before the crucifixion. On this view, it was not the Christ who lay in the manger at Bethlehem, it was not the Christ who suffered on the cross. Cerinthus, like the Docetists, kept the Son of God out of any close relation to the world and to us.
(4)John's Reply.—Against some such view as one of these, John was concerned to establish the reality of the incarnation—the truth that "the Word became flesh." In the Gospel, that truth underlies the whole of the narrative; in the First Epistle it is directly defended against the opposing error. It is defended first of all by an appeal to what the writer had seen and heard. "We knew Jesus in Palestine," says John in effect, "and we can testify that Jesus himself was none other than the Christ, the Son of God." I John, 1:1-4.
(5)John, the Opponents, and Cerinthus.—The false teachers who are combated in the epistle had apparently withdrawn from the Church and formed a separate sect. I John 2:19. Their separateness of mind and heart and life had found expression in open schism. Whether they are to be identified with disciples of Cerinthus is at least doubtful. False speculation about the person of Christ no doubt assumed many forms in the closing years of the first century.
In III John 9, the apostle tells Gaius that he had written "somewhat unto the church." This letter to the church may have been written at some previous time. It is also possible, however, that it was written together with the letter to Gaius. The Greek word for "I wrote" admits of that interpretation. If that interpretation be correct, then John perhaps means to say that although he has written a letter to the church he could not in that letter urge the hospitable reception of the missionaries. For the present, the influence of Diotrephes was too strong. The letter to the church had to be concerned with other matters.
If this view of the letter mentioned in III John 9 be adopted, then the Second Epistle of John corresponds to the description. The Second Epistle is addressed to a church, and it is written with some reserve. If "certain" of the children of "the elect lady" werewalking in truth, II John 4, the inference is that others were conducting themselves very differently. Evidently there was danger of false teaching among the readers. Hospitality to men like Demetrius and his companions could hardly be expected of such a church. If hospitality should be practiced, it was only too likely to be hospitality to men of a very different stamp. Vs. 10, 11.
Possibly, therefore, the Second Epistle of John is actually the letter that is referred to in III John 9, a letter to the church of which Gaius was a member. This hypothesis is supported by the striking formal similarity of the two letters. They are of almost exactly the same length; the openings and especially the conclusions, II John 12, 13; III John 13, 14, are couched in almost exactly the same terms. They look very much like twin epistles, written on two sheets of papyrus of the same size.
Of course the hypothesis is by no means certain. Perhaps the letter referred to in III John 9 was a previous letter bespeaking hospitality, which had failed of its effect. When the apostle saw, from the answer or lack of answer to the previous letter, that the church was ill disposed, he had recourse to an individual member of it. Even in this case, however, it remains probable that our two epistles were written at about the same time.
These last two epistles of John do not deserve the neglect which they have sometimes suffered. Despite their brevity—they are the shortest books of the New Testament—they are instructive in a number of ways.
(1)Historical.—It is exceedingly interesting, for example, to compare them with the private letters of the same period which have recently been discovered in Egypt—see Lesson III, Teacher's Manual, in this course. In form, the opening of the Third Epistle is very much in the manner of the papyrus letters. Compare, for example, with III John 1-4 the following opening of a letter of the second century after Christ: "Apion to Epimachus his father and lord heartiest greetings. First of all I pray that you are in health and continually prosper and fare well with my sister and daughter and my brother. I thank the lord Serapis...." (The translation is that of Professor Milligan. See p. 20 of Teacher's Manual, Part I, of this course.) The differences, however, are even more instructive than the resemblances. What was said in Lesson I about the epistles of Paul applies in full measure to the epistlesof John. Even the epistolary forms are here modified so as to be the vehicle of a new message and a new spirit.
Furthermore, the two epistles, especially Third John, cast a flood of light upon the internal development of the Church. In one respect indeed the historical significance of the Third Epistle has sometimes been exaggerated. It is not true that we have here the emergence of the monarchical episcopate—that is, the preëminence of one presbyter, called a "bishop," over his brother presbyters. Diotrephes does not appear clearly as a bishop. At about A. D. 110 in the epistles of Ignatius the episcopate is very prominent; but Third John belongs to an earlier period.
Nevertheless, this concrete picture of the internal affairs of a late first-century church is absolutely unique. The period is very obscure; these few brief lines illumine it more than pages of narrative. The traveling preachers of Third John are particularly interesting. Similar missionaries appear also in the "Didache," a sort of church manual which may probably be dated in the early part of the second century. In that later period, however, care had to be taken lest the hospitality of the churches should be abused. "But let every apostle," says the writer—the word "apostle" is used in a very broad sense to designate wandering preachers—"who comes to you be received as the Lord. He shall remain, however, no more than one day, or if necessary two. If he remains three days he is a false prophet." Such precautions, we may be sure, were not needed in the case of Demetrius and his companions.
(2)Practical.—Despite its individual address and private character, the Third Epistle of John is not an ordinary private letter. Like all the books of the New Testament, it has a message for the entire Church. The devout reader rises from the perusal of it with a more steadfast devotion to the truth and a warmer glow of Christian love.
In the Library.—Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. 272-274, 294-308. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves (supplemented), article on "John, Epistles of." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 144-149. Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. iii, pp. 467-502: Sinclair, "The Epistles of St. John." Westcott, "The Epistles of St. John." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. iii, pp. 355-384. The two last-named works are intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others.