THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. CHAPTER I. things which are most surely FORASMUCH as many have believed among us, taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those a Heb. 2, 3; 1 Pet. 5, 1; 2 Pet. 1, 16; 1 John 1, 1. PERIOD FIRST. INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. From chap. i, 1, to chap. ii, 52. The two former Gospels, says Van Oosterzee, show us who Jesus was; this informs us how he became what he was; pointing us successively to the unborn, (ii, 22,) the infant, (ii, 16,) the child, (ii, 27,) the boy, (ii, 40,) and the man, (iii, 22.) 2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the en. b Mark 1,1; John 15, 27. The Gospel.-See note commencing tory, but not of sufficient authority to Matt. i, 1. The Gospel here signifies become a standard gospel for the Christhe unwritten oral Christ-history pos- tian Church at large. Among these desessed by the Church which constitutes fective particulars of the many, the the subject-matter of the four written gospels of Matthew and Mark, even if gospels. According to-As shaped and written previous to the publication of recorded by. The ancient titles do not Luke's, are not to be included. Matsay The Gospel by Matthew or Luke; thew's gospel as yet was in the Hebrew for that would obscure the fact that the language, and Mark's was published body of gospel facts was accumulated in distant Italy, so that neither probbefore the gospel books were written. ably was yet in circulation in the locality where Luke was conversant. Have taken in hand-Have undertakThe phrase in itself expresses neither success nor failure; and so implies neither praise nor censure. The only terms, indeed, in which Luke implies censure are those in which he expresses the excellences he expected his own gospel to exhibit. These excellences will be found to consist in the earliness of the point at which his history begins, the care with which he had investigated everything to the bottom, and the certainty of his confirmation. 1. Forasmuch-Luke here informs us To set forth in order-To arrange. It that the many attempts made to reduce does not, therefore, seem that Luke repthe oral and documentary gospel mat-rehends any very great want of orderly ter to form had induced him to furnish a arrangement in the documents of these complete, orderly, and reliable Gospel. many. A declaration-A narrative or Many-The history of the doings and relation. Something less than a history, sayings of Jesus would necessarily con- yet constituting a summary of the matstitute a main amount of the preaching ter, however long or short. Things... of the apostles. Of this history so most surely believed among us-Things preached every Church, at any rate, if held as absolute facts, on the surest not many private Christians, would de-evidence, by the full faith of the sire to possess some sketch or summary. Church. § 1.-LUKE'S PREFACE, 1-4. These would be raw material for his- 2. Delivered them unto us-This de beginning were eyewitnesses, ing of all things from the very and ministers of the word; first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Thecphilus, 3 C It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understand d Acts 11, 4.-e Acts 1, 1. Having had perfect understanding-Hav. ing completely traced out by investigation to the utmost. Luke here writes in the true conscientious historical spirit. Though he had not studied in the schools of modern criticism, he had all the means of immediate investigation, of which the rules of modern criticism seek to supply the want. Conscientiousness and common sense, with facts and witnesses so near at hand, were incomparably superior to any critical apparatus of the modern professor. Besides, he had more than any secular historian can claim. He had a providential commission, a divine inspiring guidance, and the endowment of the discerning of spirits. He so wrote by order of the great Head of the Church, and his record was accepted by the Church in its gifted and blessed first age. From the very first―This refers to the early point to which Luke's investigations carried the beginning of his his c Acts 15, 19, 25, 28; 1 Cor. 7, 40. livery being previous to writing must have been oral. The us to whom they were delivered must be the Church and people contemporaneous with the aposles, and to whom they preached. The phrase 'handed down," therefore, is not a proper translation of the Greek term; for that would imply that the receiver belonged to a later generation. Luke, though after the apostles in rank, was probably their coeval in time. From the beginning-The beginning of the public ministry of Jesus. Eyewitnesses-To be "witnesses chosen before of God" of the doings and sayings of Jesus was the very essence and object of the apostolic office. Acts x, 41, and i, 8, 22; xxvi, 16. In accordance with this is the bold declaration of Peter at a later day: "We have not followed cunningly devised fables... but were eyewitnesses." On equally strong grounds does John, near the close of the first century, later, in fact, than the publication of this gospel, place his own test-tory back, namely, to the angel's animony: That which was from the be- nouncement to Zacharias in verse 5. ginning, which we have HEARD, which In order─Not a mere unarranged miswe have SEEN with our EYES, which we cellany, or series of sayings or doings, have looked upon, and our hands have but a narrative with a beginning, middle, handled declare we unto you." and end. This does not pledge Luke tc 1 John i, 1. Such declarations afford an absolutely accurate observance in no room, no interval of time, no chance details of chronological order; for of for the intervention of fabricators for that his documents may not have always forming traditions, legends, or myths. furnished him the means. Yet no evanOur gospels are the plain records of the gelist is so careful to connect his events statements of actual spectators. Minis- chronologically with contemporaneous ters of the word-The terms eyewitnesses secular history as Luke; no error, we and ministers are epithets for the same firmly believe, has ever been truly depersons. The apostles were to be eye-tected in his professed chronological witnesses of the facts, in order to be official rehearsers of the history. statements; and if the investigations of Wieseler be reliable, Luke has well sustained any professions of a chronological order which he can be supposed to have here made. Most excellent Theophilus-As the name Theophilus signifies a lover of God, some have supposed that it stands as a symbol to represent any Christian reader. But the literal 4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed. f John 20. 31. g Matt. 2. 1. writings of the New Testaments know no such use of symbolic names. The epithet most excellent indicates not affection simply for a friend, but respect for elevated character or rank. Theophilus, therefore, must be considered as a Christian of influential character; a convert, perhaps, of Luke. Of his residence we have but one indication. The Acts of the Apostles is also addressed by Luke to Theophilus, (Acts i, 1;) and it has been noted that Luke, when his narrative brings him into Italy and near Rome, mentions such minute places as Appii Forum and the Three Taverns (xxviii, 15) precisely as if they were known to Theophilus. The inference is that he was a resident of Rome. Although, however, the name of Theophilus is not symbolic, yet Theophilus himself stands as a representative man for every Christian reader. Neither the Gospel nor the Acts are to be viewed as a mere private letter to him. In a similar way, Cicero addressed his treatises on Old Age and on Friendship to Atticus; Horace addressed his Art of Poetry to the Pisoes; and Plutarch addressed his Treatise on Divine Delay to Cynius. This address, although it was usually attended with some personal references, yet, like a modern dedication of a book, was simply a token of respect for an honoured friend; and the composition itself was none the less a work for the public and posterity. 4. Mightest know the certainty-This was the great ultimate object; that the Christian laity, of whom Theophilus was a representative, might be fully assured of the perfect confirmation of the Christian history. This confirmation would arise from the profoundly reliable character of Luke, and from his perfect understanding of all things, even from the very first. Hast been instructed-The Greek word here used, kaτnxnons, is that from which the words catechise and VOL. II.--2 catechumen are derived. This probably refers not to the catechesis of Theophilus's childhood; for Theophilus was probably an adult when the apostolic ministry commenced. It more probably refers to the private oral instruction preparatory to baptism which the minister of the word bestowed on the young convert, over and above the preaching of the word. This catechetical instruction would embrace such documentary or traditional history of Jesus as his particular Church possessed. Luke now proposes to give this catechetical matter a more authentic substance and form. It is agreed among scholars that this brief preface of Luke's is written in the purest Greek style of any passage in the New Testament. $ 3.-ELISABETH'S CONCEPTION, i, 5–25. Luke now opens his gospel history with the striking scene which announced the approaching birth of John, the harbinger of Jesus. During the 400 years preceding the account now to be narrated, neither vision nor miracle had been vouchsafed by God to his people. As the old canon closed with the prediction by Malachi that the coming of Elijah should precede the advent of the Messiah, so the first action of the new is to announce the true Elijah's birth. God did but honour the ordinances of his own appointment when he made his temple the place, his priesthood the instrument, and his service the time of the initial movement. 5. Days of Herod-Herod, surnamed the Great. See note on Matt. ii, 1. Course of Abia-Abijah. See 1 Chron. xxiv, 3, 10, 19; also, Neh. xii, 1, 4, 17. When the sons of Aaron became too numerous, David divided them into twenty-four courses, or classes. Each class had supervision of the daily Abia and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. 7 And they had no child, be cause that Elisabeth was bar ren; and they both were now well stricken in years. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in 8 And it came to pass, that, all the commandments and while he executed the priest's ordinances of the Lord blame-office before God in the order less. of his course, i Gen. 7. 1, & 17. 1; 1 Kings 9. 4; 2 Kings 20. 3; Job 1. 1; Acts 23. 1, & 24. 16; Phil. 3. 6. service of the temple for a week. The priests for each day of the week were selected from the class by lot. On the return from the captivity but four courses were left, which were again divided into twenty-four. The course of Abia, being the eighth, it has been calculated officiated April 17-23, and in October 3-9. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron-Both John's parents were of priestly rank, the most honourable nobility among the Jews. It is a saying of R. Jochanan, "He that would be rich, let him join himself to the seed of Aaron; for so it is, that the law and the priesthood make rich. R. Idi bar Abin married a priestess, and from him proceeded those that were made doctors, namely, R. Shecheth, and R. Joshua." And so Josephus says, "As among different nations there are different sorts of nobility, so with us the sharing of the priesthood is token of illustrious rank." And so the learned Greek Jew of Alexandria, the celebrated Philo, a contemporary of Jesus, loftily said, "As far as God surpasses man in greatness, so far the high-priesthood surpasses the royalty; for the See note on John i, 39. former is the service of God, the latter THE GREAT ALTAR OF BURNT OFFERINGS. the care of men." The two illustrious births now about to be announced were to be from the daughters of the sacred history, let the reader compare our line of Aaron and the royal line of David. Temple Plan in vol. i, p. 247. At the 6. Commandments and ordinances-hour (probably of the Sabbath, when all Commandments refer to the moral law, the congregation of Israel attended) the ordinances to the ritual. Blameless people are in the Court of Israel, and Blameless even before God. Not blame- the Court of the Women, in front of the less, indeed, as tried by the Christless Great Altar, on which the bleeding law, which makes no allowance for in- lamb is about being placed. In the firmities; but blameless as living, through so-called HOLY PLACE is the Altur |