Reference: New Testament
Easton
(Lu 22:20), rather "New Covenant," in contrast to the old covenant of works, which is superseded. "The covenant of grace is called new; it succeeds to the old broken covenant of works. It is ever fresh, flourishing, and excellent; and under the gospel it is dispensed in a more clear, spiritual, extensive, and powerful manner than of old" (Brown of Haddington). Hence is derived the name given to the latter portion of the Bible. (See Testament.)
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Fausets
(See BIBLE; CANON; INSPIRATION.) hee kainee diatheekee. See Heb 9:15-17; 8:6-13. The Greek term diateeeekee combines the two ideas "covenant" and "testament," which the KJV gives separately, though the Greek is the same for both. "Covenant" expresses its obligatory character, God having bound Himself by promise (Ga 3:15-18; Heb 6:17-18). "Testament" expresses that, unlike other covenants, it is not a matter of bargaining, but all of God's grace, just as a testator has absolute power to do what he will with his own. Jesus' death brings the will of God in our favor into force. The night before His death He said "I appoint unto you by testamentary disposition (diatitheemi) a kingdom" (Lu 22:29). There was really only one Testament - latent in the Old Testament, patent in the New Testament. The disciples were witnesses of the New Testament, and the Lord's Supper was its seal. The Old and New Testament Scriptures are the written documents containing the terms of the will.
TEXT. The "Received Text" (i.e. the "Textus Receptus" or TR) is that of Robert Stephens' edition. Bentley (Letter to Wake in 1716 A.D.) said truly, "after the Complutenses and Erasmus, who had very ordinary manuscripts, the New Testament became the property of booksellers. R. Stephens' edition, regulated by himself alone, has now become as if an apostle were its compositor. I find that by taking 2,000 errors out of the Pope's Vulgate (i.e. correcting by older Latin manuscripts the edition of Jerome's Vulgate put forth by Sixtus V, A.D. 1590, with anathemas against any who should alter it 'in minima particula,' and afterwards altered by Clement VIII (1592) in 2,000 places in spite of Sixtus' anathema) and as many out of the Protestant pope Stephens' edition, I can set out an edition of each (Latin, Vulgate, and Greek text) in columns, without using any book under 900 years old, that shall so exactly agree word for word, and order for order, that no two tallies can agree better. ... These will prove each other to a demonstration, for I alter not a word of my own head."
The first printed edition of the Greek Testament was that in the Complutensian Polyglot, January, 10, 1514 A.D. Scripture was known in western Europe for many ages previously only through the Latin Vulgate of Jerome. F. Ximenes de Cisneros, of Toledo, undertook the work, to celebrate the birth of Charles V. Complutum (Alcala) gave the name. Lopez de Stunica was chief of its New Testament editors. The whole Polyglot was completed the same year that Luther affixed his 95 theses against indulgences to the door of the church at Wittenberg. Leo X lent the manuscripts used for it from the Vatican. It follows modern Greek manuscripts in all cases where these differ from the ancient manuscripts and from the oldest Greek fathers. The Old Testament Vulgate (the translation which is authorized by Rome) is in the central column, between the Greek Septuagint and the Hebrew (the original); and the editors compare the first to Christ crucified between the impenitent (the Hebrew) and the penitent (the Greek) thief!
Though there is no Greek authority for 1Jo 5:7, they supplied it and told Erasmus that the Latin Vulgate's authority outweighs the original Greek! They did not know that the oldest copies of Jerome's Vulgate omit it; the manuscript of Wizanburg of the eighth century being the oldest that contains it. Owing to the Complutensian Greek New Testament not being published, though printed, until the Polyglot was complete, Erasmus' Greek New Testament was the first published, namely, by Froben a printer of Basle, March 1516, six years before the Complutensian. The providence of God at the dawn of the Reformation thus furnished earnest students with Holy Scripture in the original language sanctioned by the Holy Spirit. Erasmus completed his edition in haste, and did not have the scruples to supply, by translating into Greek front the Vulgate, both actual hiatuses in his Greek manuscripts and what he supposed to be so, especially in the Apocalypse, for which he had only one mutilated manuscript.
To the outcry against hint for omitting the testimony of the three heavenly witnesses he replied, it is not omission but non-addition; even some Latin copies do not have it, and Cyril of Alexandria showed in his Thesaurus he did not know it; on the Codex Montfortianus (originally in possession of a Franciscan, Froy, who possibly wrote it, now in Trinity College, Dublin) being produced with it, Erasmus INSERTED it. So clumsily did the translator of the Vulgate Latin into Greek execute this manuscript that he neglects to put the necessary Greek article before "Father," "Word," and" Spirit." Erasmus' fifth edition is the basis of our "Received Text." In 1546 and 1549 R. Stephens printed two small editions at Paris, and in 1550 a folio edition, following Erasmus' fifth edition almost exclusively, and adding in the margin readings from the Complutensian edition and from 15 manuscripts collected by his son Henry, the first large collection of readings. The fourth edition at Geneva, 1551, was the first divided into modern verses. Beza next edited the Greek New Testament, generally following Stephens' text, with a few changes on manuscript authority.
He possessed the two famous manuscripts, namely, the Gospels and Acts, now by his gift in the university of Cambridge; "Codex Bezae" or "Cantabrigiensis," D; and the epistles of Paul, "Codex Clermontanus" (brought from Clermont), now in the Bibliotheque du Roi at Paris; both are in Greek and Latin. The Elzevirs, printers at Leyden, published two editions, the first in 1624, the second in 1633, on the basis of R. Stephens' third edition, with corrections from Beza's. The unknown editor, without stating his critical principles, gravely declares in the preface: "texture habes ab omnibus receptum, in quo nihil immutatum aut corruptum damus"; stranger still, the public for two centuries has accepted this so-called "Received Text" as if infallible. When textual criticism was scarcely understood, theological convenience accepted it as a compromise between the Roman Catholic Complutensian edition and the Protestant edition of Stephens and Beza. Mill (1707) has established Stephens' as the Received Text in England; on the continent the Elzevir is generally recognized.
Thus, an uncritical Greek text of publishers has been for ages submitted to by Protestants, though abjuring blind assent to tradition, and laughing at the claim to infallibility of the two popes who declared each of two diverse editions of the Vulgate to be exclusively authentic. (The council of Trent, 1545, had pronounced the Latin Vulgate to be the authentic word of God). Frequent handling and transmission soon destroyed the originals. If the autographs of the inspired writers had been preserved, textual criticism would not have been necessary. But the oldest MSS, existing, Codex Sinaiticus ('aleph) Codex Vaticanus (B), Codex Alexandrinus (A), are not older than the fourth century. Parchment was costly (2Ti 4:13). Papyrus paper which the sacred writers used (2Jo 1:12; 3Jo 1:13) was fragile. No superstitious or antiquarian interest was felt in the autographs which copies superseded. The Diocletian persecution (A.D. 303) attacked the Scriptures, and traditores (Augustine, 76, section 2) gave them up.
Constantine ordered 50 manuscripts to be written on fair skins for the use of the church. God has not seen fit (by a perpetual miracle) to preserve the text from transcriptional errors. Having by extraordinary revelation once bestowed the gift, He leaves its preservation to ordinary laws, yet by His secret providence furnishes the church, its guardian and witness, with the means to ensure its accuracy in all essentials (Ro 3:2). Criticism does not make variations, but finds them, and turns them into means of ascertaining approximately the original text. More materials exist for restoring the genuine text of New Testament than for that of any ancient work. Whitby attacked Mill for presenting in his edition 30,000 various readings found in manuscripts. Collins, the infidel, availed himself of Whitby's unsound argument that textual variations render Scripture uncertain.
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But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father.
But in the middle of the night there was a shout 'Here is the bridegroom! Come out and meet him!'
Then very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb, when the sun had just risen. And they said to one another, "Who will roll the stone back from the doorway of the tomb for us?" read more. And they looked up and saw that the stone had been rolled back, for it was very large. And when they went into the tomb they saw a young man in a white robe sitting at the right, and they were utterly amazed.
So just as my Father has conferred a kingdom on me
A great deal, from every point of view. In the first place, the Jews were intrusted with the utterances of God.
You senseless Galatians! Who has bewitched you, when you had Jesus Christ shown crucified right before your eyes?
To take an illustration, brothers, from daily life: even a human agreement, once ratified, no one annuls or alters. Now the promises were made to Abraham and his line. It does not say, "and to your lines," in the plural, but in the singular, "and to your line," that is, Christ. read more. My point is this: An agreement already ratified by God cannot be annulled and its promise canceled by the Law, which arose four hundred and thirty years later. If our inheritance rests on the Law, it has nothing to do with the promise. Yet it was as a promise that God bestowed it upon Abraham.
When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and the books, especially the parchments.
Therefore, God in his desire to make it perfectly clear to those to whom he made his promise, that his purpose was unalterable, bound himself with an oath, so that by these two unalterable things, which make it impossible for God to break his promise, we who have taken refuge with him may be greatly encouraged to seize upon the hope that is offered to us.
But, as it is, the priestly service to which Christ has been appointed is as much better than the old as the agreement established by him and the promises on which it is based are superior to the former ones. For if that first agreement had been perfect, there would have been no occasion for a second one. read more. But in his dissatisfaction with them he says, " 'See! the time is coming,' says the Lord, 'When I will conclude a new agreement with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, Not like the one that I made with their forefathers, On the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out from the land of Egypt, For they would not abide by their agreement with me, So I paid no attention to them,' says the Lord. 'For this is the agreement that I will make with the house of Israel, In those later days,' says the Lord; 'I will put my laws into their minds, And write them on their hearts, And they will have me for their God, And I will have them for my people. And they will not have to teach their townsmen and their brothers to know the Lord, For they will all know me, From the lowest to the highest. For I will be merciful to their misdeeds, And I will no longer remember their sins.' " Now when he speaks of a new agreement, he is treating the first one as obsolete; but whatever is obsolete and antiquated is almost ready to disappear.
how much more surely will the blood of the Christ, who with the eternal Spirit made himself an unblemished offering to God, purify our consciences from the old wrongdoing for the worship of the everliving God? And this is why he is the negotiator of a new agreement, in order that as someone has died to deliver them from the offenses committed under the old agreement, those who have been offered it may receive the unending inheritance they have been promised. read more. For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established, for a will is valid only in the case of a person who is dead; it has no force as long as the testator is alive.
For there are three that testify to it,
Though I have a great deal to write to you, I would rather not write it with paper and ink, but I hope to come to see you, and talk with you face to face, so that your happiness may be complete.
Hastings
Morish
For the general contents of the New Testament see BIBLE. See also COVENANT. The chronology of the principal events recorded in the New Testament is given in the following tables, with approximate dates. The dates of the Epistles of Peter, James, John, and Jude are according to the A.V. For the date of the crucifixion see SEVENTY WEEKS: other dates are reckoned from that.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.
B.C.
27 Augustus emperor of Rome
6 Census in Judaea. Birth of John the Baptist
5 Birth of Jesus (Four full years before A.D.) Presentation in the temple.
4 Visit of the magi. Flight into Egypt, Massacre of infants. Death of Herod;
Archelaus made ethnarch of Judaea, Samaria and Idumaea
Herod Antipas tetrarch of Peraea and Galilee. Philip tetrarch of Ituraea, Trachonitis. etc.
A.D.
6 Quirinis (Cyrenius) governor of Syria the second time
Archelaus banished, and Judaea made a province of Syria.
7 Enrolment, or taxation, under Cyrenius. Annas made high priest
8 Jesus at Jerusalem. Lu 2:42-46
Lu 2:14 Tiberias emperor of Rome: reigns alone
17 Caiaphas made high priest
26 Pontius Pilate procurator of Judaea
John commences his ministry. (See TIBERIUS.) Mr 1:1-11
Baptism of Jesus. The Temptation
Miracle of the water made wine at Cana. Joh 2:1-11
Jesus visits Capernaum
The first Passover. Jesus cleanses the temple. Joh 2:13-22
John cast into prison. Jesus preaches in Galilee Mr 1:14-15
Jesus at the synagogue at Nazareth: cast out of the city. Lu 4:16-30
Jesus visits the towns of Galilee Mr 1:38-39
Mr 1:27 Jesus visits Jerusalem (probably the second Passover). John 5. 1
The twelve Apostles chosen Mr 3:13-19
Sermon on the Mount. Matt. 5.- 7; Lu 6:17-49
Miracles in the land of the Gadarenes. Mr 5:1-20
The Jews offended at Jesus at Nazareth. Mr 6:1-5
Jesus again visits the villages around. Mr 6:6
Jesus sends forth the twelve. Mr 6:7-13
Death of John the Baptist. Mr 6:17-29
Feeding the five thousand. Mr 6:35-44
Miracles in Gennesaret. Mr 6:53-56
Mr 6:28 Approach of the third Passover Joh 6:4
Feeding the four thousand. Mr 8:1-9
The Transfiguration. Mr 9:2-10
Feast of Tabernacles. John 7.
Journey towards Jerusalem. Lu 9:51
The seventy disciples sent out. Lu 10:1-16
Feast of Dedication (winter). Joh 10:22-39
Jesus goes away beyond Jordan. Joh 10:40-42
The raising of Lazarus at Bethany. Joh 11:1-44
Jesus retires to Ephraim. Joh 11:54
Joh 11:29 Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. Cleanses the temple Mr 11:1-18
The Greeks visit Jesus. Voice from heaven. Joh 12:20-36
The last (fourth) Passover. The Lord's supper Mr 14:1-2
The Crucifixion. Ascension. Pentecost
30-34 The events from Pentecost to Stephen. Acts 2
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The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, "Here I send my messenger on before you; He will prepare your way; read more. Hark! Someone is shouting in the desert, 'Get the Lord's way ready, Make his paths straight,' " John the baptizer appeared in the desert, and preached repentance and baptism in order to obtain the forgiveness of sins. And all Judea and everybody in Jerusalem went out to him there, and accepted baptism from him in the Jordan River, acknowledging their sins. John's clothing was made of hair cloth, and the belt around his waist was leather, and he lived on dried locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: "After me there is coming one stronger than I am, one whose shoes I am not fit to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you in water, but he will baptize you in the holy Spirit." It was in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water he saw the heavens torn open and the Spirit coming down like a dove to enter into him, and out of the heavens came a voice: "You are my Son, my Beloved! You are my Chosen!"
After John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the good news from God, saying, "The time has come and the reign of God is near; repent, and believe this good news."
And they were all so amazed that they discussed it with one another, and said, "What does this mean? It is a new teaching! He gives orders with authority even to the foul spirits, and they obey him!"
He said to them, "Let us go somewhere else, to the neighboring country towns, so that I may preach in them, too, for that is why I came out here." So he went all through Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out the demons.
And he went up the hillside and summoned to him those whom he wanted, and they went to him. He appointed twelve of them, whom he called apostles, to be with him and to be sent out to preach, read more. with power to drive out the demons. These were the twelve he appointed: Peter, which was the name he gave to Simon, James the son of Zebedee, and John, James's brother (he named them Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alpheus, Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Then he went home.
So they reached the other side of the sea, and landed in the region of Gerasa. As soon as he got out of the boat, a man possessed by a foul spirit came out of the burial places near by to meet him. read more. This man lived among the tombs, and no one could any longer secure him even with a chain, for he had often been fastened with fetters and chains and had snapped the chains and broken the fetters; and there was no one strong enough to master him, and night and day he was always shrieking among the tombs and on the hills and cutting himself with stones. And catching sight of Jesus in the distance he ran up and made obeisance to him and screamed out, "What do you want of me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? In God's name, I implore you, do not torture me." For he was saying to him, "You foul spirit, come out of this man." He asked him, "What is your name?" He said, "My name is Legion, for there are many of us." And they begged him earnestly not to send them out of that country. Now there was a great drove of pigs feeding there on the hillside. And they implored him, "Send us among the pigs, let us go into them." So he gave them permission. And the foul spirits came out and went into the pigs, and the drove of about two thousand rushed over the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned. And the men who tended them ran away and spread the news in the town and in the country around, and the people came to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus and found the demoniac sitting quietly with his clothes on and in his right mind??he same man who had been possessed by Legion??hey were frightened. And those who had seen it told them what had happened to the demoniac, and all about the pigs. And they began to beg him to leave their district. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed begged to be allowed to go with him. And he would not permit it, but said to him, "Go home to your own people, and tell them all the Lord has done for you and how he took pity on you." And he went off and began to tell everybody in the Ten Towns all Jesus had done for him; and they were all astonished.
Leaving there he went, followed by his disciples, to his own part of the country. When the Sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue. And the people were astonished when they heard him, and said, "Where did he get all this? How does he come to have such wisdom? How are such marvelous things done through him? read more. Is he not the carpenter, Mary's son, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And do not his sisters live here among us?" And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, "A prophet is treated with honor everywhere except in his native place and among his relatives and at his home." He could not do any wonder there, except that he put his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he wondered at their want of faith. Then he went around among the villages teaching. And he called the Twelve to him and sent them off two by two, giving them power over the foul spirits. He forbade them to take anything for the journey except a staff??o bread, no bag, no small change even in their girdles; they were to go in sandals, and not to wear two shirts. And he said to them, "Whenever you go to stay at a house, remain in it till you leave that place. If any place refuses to receive you or to listen to you, when you leave it shake off the very dust from the soles of your feet as a warning to them." So they went out and preached that men should repent, and drove out many demons, and cured many sick people by anointing them with oil.
For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him and put him in prison, on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her. John said to Herod, "It is not right for you to be living with your brother's wife." read more. Herodias felt bitterly toward him and wanted him killed. But she could not bring it about, for Herod stood in awe of John, knowing that he was an upright and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him talk he was very much disturbed, and yet he liked to hear him. When a holiday came and Herod on his birthday gave a banquet to his courtiers and officers and to the leading men of Galilee, Herodias' own daughter came in and danced for them. And Herod and his guests were delighted, and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for anything you like and I will give it to you." And he made oath to her, "I will give you whatever you ask me for, up to half my kingdom." When she had left the room she said to her mother, "What shall I ask him for?" But she said, "The head of John the baptizer." And she hurried back at once to the king and asked him for it, saying, "I want you right away to give me John the Baptist's head on a platter." The king was exceedingly sorry, but on account of his oath and his guests he did not like to break his word to her, and he immediately sent one of his guard with orders to get John's head. And he went off and beheaded him in the prison and brought back his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.
And he went off and beheaded him in the prison and brought back his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it they came and took his body away and put it in a tomb.
When it grew late his disciples came up to him and said, "This is a lonely place and it is getting late. Send the people off to the farms and villages around to buy themselves something to eat." read more. But he answered, "Give them food yourselves." They said to him, "Can we go and buy forty dollars' worth of bread and give it to them to eat?" But he said to them, "How many loaves have you? Go and see." They looked, and told him. "Five, and two fish." And he directed them all to sit down in parties on the fresh grass. And they threw themselves down in groups, in hundreds and in fifties. Then he took the five loaves and the two fish and looked up to heaven and blessed the loaves and broke them in pieces and gave them to the disciples to pass to the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and had enough. And the pieces they gathered up filled twelve baskets, besides the pieces of the fish. There were five thousand men who ate the loaves.
They crossed over to the other side and came to Gennesaret and moored the boat. As soon as they came ashore, the people recognized Jesus, read more. and they hurried all over the countryside and began to bring the sick to him on their mats, wherever they heard he was. And whatever village or town or farm he went to, they would lay their sick in the market-place and beg him to let them touch just the tassel of his cloak, and all who touched it were cured.
In those days when a great crowd had gathered again and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, "I pity these people, for they have been staying with me three days now, and they have nothing left to eat. read more. And if I send them home hungry they will give out on the way, for some of them come from a distance." His disciples replied, "Where can anyone get bread enough, here in this solitude, to satisfy these people's hunger?" "How many loaves have you?" he asked. "Seven," they said. Then he ordered the people to take their places on the ground. And he took the seven loaves and gave thanks and broke them in pieces and gave them to his disciples to pass, and they passed them to the people. They had a few small fish, and he blessed them and told the disciples to pass them also to the people. And they ate and satisfied their hunger. And the pieces that they left, that were picked up, filled seven baskets. There were about four thousand of the people. And he dismissed them.
Six days after this Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him, and led them up on a high mountain, off by themselves. And his appearance underwent a change in their presence, and his clothes shone whiter than any earthly bleaching could make them. read more. And Elijah appeared to them, accompanied by Moses, and they talked with Jesus. Then Peter spoke, and said to Jesus, "Master, how good it is that we are here! Let us put up three huts, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." For he did not know what to say, they were so frightened. And a cloud came and overshadowed them, and from the cloud came a voice, "This is my Son, my Beloved. Listen to him," And suddenly, on looking around, they saw that there was now no one with them but Jesus alone. As they were going down the mountain, he cautioned them to let no one know what they had seen, until the Son of Man should rise from the dead. And they did not forget what he said, but discussed with one another what he meant by the rising from the dead.
When they were getting near Jerusalem, and had come to Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples on ahead, and said to them, "Go to the village that lies in front of you, and as soon as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. read more. And if anybody says to you, 'Why are you doing that?' say, 'The Master needs it, and will send it back here directly.' " And they set off and found a colt tied in the street at the door of a house, and they untied it. Some of the bystanders said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" But they answered them as Jesus had told them to do, and the men let them take it. So they brought the colt to Jesus, and they threw their coats over it and Jesus mounted it. And many of the people spread their coats in the road, and others cut straw from the fields and scattered it in his path. And those in front and those behind shouted, "God bless him! Blessed be he who comes in the Lord's name! Blessed be the reign of our father David which is coming! God bless him from on high!" And he came into Jerusalem and into the Temple, and looked it all over; then, as it was already late, he went out with the Twelve to Bethany. On the next day, after they had left Bethany, he felt hungry. And he saw in the distance a fig tree covered with leaves, and he went up to it to see if he could find any figs on it. When he reached it he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the time for figs. And he spoke to the tree and said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you any more!" And his disciples heard it. When they reached Jerusalem, he went into the Temple, and began to drive out of it those who were buying or selling things in it, and he upset the money-changers' tables and the pigeon-dealers' seats, and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the Temple. And he taught them, and said, "Does not the Scripture say, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a robbers' cave." The high priests and the scribes heard of this, and they cast about for a way of destroying him, for they were afraid of him, for all the people were amazed at what he taught.
It was now two days before the festival of the Passover and of Unleavened Bread. And the high priests and scribes were casting about for a way to arrest him by stealth and put him to death, for they said, "It must not be during the festival, or there may be a riot."
"Glory to God in heaven and on earth! Peace to the men he favors!"
And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual to the festival and made their customary stay. When they started back the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents' knowledge. read more. They supposed that he was somewhere in the party, and traveled until the end of the first day's journey, and then they looked everywhere for him among their relatives and acquaintances. As they could not find him, they went back to Jerusalem in search of him. And on the third day they found him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions,
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath he went to the synagogue, as he was accustomed to do, and stood up to read the Scriptures. And the roll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him, and he unrolled it and found the place where it says, read more. "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, For he has consecrated me to preach the good news to the poor, He has sent me to announce to the prisoners their release and to the blind the recovery of their sight, To set the down-trodden at liberty, To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor!" And he rolled up the roll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed upon him. And he began by saying to them, "This passage of Scripture has been fulfilled here in your hearing today!" And they all spoke well of him and were astonished at the winning words that fell from his lips, and they said, "Is he not Joseph's son?" He said to them, "No doubt you will quote this proverb to me: 'Doctor, cure yourself! Do the things here in your own country that we hear you did at Capernaum.' I tell you," said he, "no prophet is welcome in his own country. But, I tell you, there were plenty of widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was closed for three years and a half, and there was a great famine all over the land, and Elijah was not sent to one of them, but to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. And there were plenty of lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cured, but Naaman the Syrian." And when the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all very angry, and they got up and drove him out of the town and took him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, intending to throw him down from it. But he made his way through the midst of them and went on.
And he came down with them and took his stand on a level place with a great throng of his disciples, and a large number of people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and the seacoast district of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. And those who were troubled with foul spirits were cured. read more. And all the people tried to touch him, because power went forth from him and cured them all. Then he fixed his eyes on his disciples, and said, "Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours! "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied! "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh! "Blessed are you when people hate you and exclude you and denounce you and spurn the name you bear as evil, on account of the Son of Man. Be glad when that happens, and leap for joy, for you will be richly rewarded in heaven, for that is the way their forefathers treated the prophets. "But alas for you who are rich, for you have had your comfort! "Alas for you who have plenty to eat now, for you will be hungry! "Alas for you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep! "Alas for you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is the way their forefathers treated the false prophets! "But I tell you who hear me, love your enemies, treat those who hate you well, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To the man that strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from the man who takes away your coat, do not keep back your shirt either. Give to everyone that asks of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. And treat men just as you wish them to treat you. If you love only those who love you, what merit is there in that? For even godless people love those who love them. And if you help only those who help you, what merit is there in that? Even godless people act in that way. And if you lend only to people from whom you expect to get something, what merit is there in that? Even godless people lend to godless people, meaning to get it back again in full. But love your enemies, and help them and lend to them, never despairing, and you will be richly rewarded, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind even to the ungrateful and the wicked. You must be merciful, just as your Father is. Do not judge others, and they will not judge you. Do not condemn them, and they will not condemn you. Excuse others and they will excuse you. Give, and they will give to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, they will pour into your lap. For the measure you use with others they in turn will use with you." And he used a figure saying, "Can one blind man lead another? Will they not both fall into a hole? A pupil is not better than his teacher, but every pupil when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you keep looking at the speck in your brother's eye, and pay no attention to the beam that is in your own? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, just let me get that speck out of your eye,' when you cannot see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First get the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see to get out the speck in your brother's eye. For sound trees do not bear bad fruit, nor bad trees sound fruit. Every tree is known by its fruit. They do not pick figs off thorns, or gather grapes from brambles. A good man, out of the good he has accumulated in his heart, produces good, and a bad man, out of what he has accumulated that is bad, produces what is bad. For his mouth says only what his heart is full of. Why do you call me: 'Lord! Lord!' and not do what I tell you? If anyone comes to me and listens to this teaching of mine and acts upon it, I will show you whom he is like. He is like a man who was building a house, who dug deep and laid his foundation upon the rock, and when there was a flood the torrent burst upon that house and could not shake it, because it was well built. But the man who listens to it, and does not act upon it, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation. The torrent burst upon it, and it collapsed at once, and the wreck of that house was complete."
As the time approached when he was to be taken up to heaven, he set his face toward Jerusalem,
After this the Master appointed seventy-two others, and sent them on before him, two by two, to every town or place to which he intended to come. And he said to them, "The harvest is abundant enough, but the reapers are few. So pray to the owner of the harvest to send reapers to gather it. read more. Now go. Here I send you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse nor wallet nor shoes, and do not stop to exchange civilities with anyone on the way. Whenever you go to stay at a house, first say, 'Peace to this household!' If there is anyone there who loves peace, your blessing will rest upon him, but if there is not, it will come back to you. Stay at the same house, eating and drinking what they offer you, for the workman deserves his pay. Do not change from one house to another. Whenever you come to a town and they welcome you, eat what is offered you, and cure the sick there, and say to them, 'The Kingdom of God is close upon you!' But whenever you come to a town and they do not welcome you, go out into the open streets and say, 'The very dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off in protest. But understand this: the Kingdom of God is at hand!' I tell you, on that Day Sodom will fare better than that town! Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if the wonders that have been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes! But Tyre and Sidon will fare better than you at the Judgment! And you, Capernaum! Are you to be exalted to the skies? You will go down among the dead! Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever disregards you disregards me, and whoever disregards me disregards him who sent me."
Two days later there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and Jesus' mother was present. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. read more. The wine gave out, and Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine!" Jesus said to her, "Do not try to direct me. It is not yet time for me to act." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Now there were six stone water jars there, for the ceremonial purification practiced by the Jews, each large enough to hold twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, "Fill these jars with water." So they filled them full. And he said to them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast." And they did so. When the master of the feast tasted the water which had now turned into wine, without knowing where it had come from??hough the servants who had drawn the water knew??10 he called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone else serves his good wine first, and his poorer wine after people have drunk deeply, but you have kept back your good wine till now!"
This, the first of the signs of his mission, Jesus showed at Cana in Galilee. By it he showed his greatness, and his disciples believed in him.
Now the Jewish Passover was approaching, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the Temple he found the dealers in cattle, sheep, and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting at their tables. read more. And he made a lash out of rope, and drove them all, sheep and cattle, out of the Temple, and scattered the money-changers' coins on the ground, and overturned their tables. And he said to the pigeon-dealers, "Take these things away! Do not turn my Father's house into a market!" His disciples remembered that the Scriptures said, "My zeal for your house will consume me!" Then the Jews addressed him and said, "What sign have you to show us, for acting in this way?" Jesus answered, "Destroy this sanctuary, and I will raise it in three days!" The Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this sanctuary, and are you going to raise it in three days?" But he was speaking of his body as the sanctuary. So afterward when he had risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the passage of Scripture and what Jesus had said.
Now the Jewish festival of the Passover was coming.
That was the time of the Rededication Festival at Jerusalem. It was winter time and Jesus was walking up and down inside the Temple, in Solomon's Colonnade. read more. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How much longer are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are really the Christ, tell us so frankly!" Jesus answered, "I have told you so, and you will not believe it. The things I have been doing by my Father's authority are my credentials, but you do not believe it because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them and they follow me, and I give them eternal life, and they shall never be lost, and no one shall tear them out of my hands. What my Father has intrusted to me is of more importance than everything else, and no one can tear anything out of the Father's hands. The Father and I are one." The Jews again picked up stones to stone him with. Jesus answered, "I have let you see many good things from the Father; which of them do you mean to stone me for?" The Jews answered, "We are not stoning you for doing anything good, but for your impious talk, and because you, a mere man, make yourself out to be God." Jesus answered, "Is it not declared in your Law, 'I said, "You are gods" '? If those to whom God's message was addressed were called gods??nd the Scripture cannot be set aside??36 do you mean to say to me whom the Father has consecrated and made his messenger to the world, 'You are blasphemous,' because I said, 'I am God's Son'?
If I am not doing the things my Father does, do not believe me. But if I am doing them, then even if you will not believe me, believe the things I do, in order that you may realize and learn that the Father is in union with me, and I am in union with the Father." read more. In consequence of this they again tried to arrest him, and he withdrew out of their reach. He went across the Jordan again to the place where John used to baptize at first, and there he stayed. And people came to him in great numbers, and they said of him, "John did not show any sign in proof of his mission, but all that he said about this man was true." And many became believers in him in that place.
Now a man named Lazarus was sick; he lived in Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was the Mary who poured perfume upon the Master and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. read more. So the sisters sent this message to Jesus: "Master, your friend is sick." When Jesus received it he said, "This sickness is not to end in death, but is for the honor of God, that through it the Son of God may be honored." Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed on for two days in the place where he was, and then afterward said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea." The disciples said to him, "Master, the Jews have just been trying to stone you, and are you going back there again?" Jesus answered, "Is not the day twelve hours long? If a man travels by day he will not stumble, for he can see the light of this world; but if he travels at night he will stumble because he has no light." He told them this, and then he added, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him." The disciples said to him, "Master, if he has fallen asleep he will recover." Now Jesus had referred to his death. But they supposed that he meant a natural falling asleep. So Jesus then told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may learn to believe in me. But let us go to him." So Thomas the Twin said to his fellow-disciples, "Let us go also, and die with him." When Jesus arrived he found that Lazarus had been buried for four days. Now Bethany is only about two miles from Jerusalem, and a number of Jews had come out to see Mary and Martha, to condole with them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming she went out to meet him, but Mary remained at home. Martha said to Jesus, "Master, if you had been here, my brother would not have died! Even now I know that anything you ask God for, he will give you." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise at the resurrection, on the Last Day." Jesus said to her, "I myself am Resurrection and Life. He who believes in me will live on, even if he dies, and no one who is alive and believes in me will ever die. Do you believe that?" She said to him, "Yes, Master, I do indeed believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world." With these words she went and called her sister Mary, whispering to her, "Here is the Master, asking for you." When she heard it she sprang up and went to him,
When she heard it she sprang up and went to him, for Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. read more. The Jews who were sitting with her in the house, condoling with her, when they saw Mary spring up and go out, supposed that she was going to weep at the tomb, and followed her. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, and said, "Master, if you had been here, my brother would not have died!" When Jesus saw her weep and the Jews who had come with her weeping too, repressing a groan, and yet showing great agitation, he said, "Where have you laid him?" They answered, "Come and see, Master." Jesus shed tears. So the Jews said, "See how much he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not this man, who opened the eyes of that blind man, have kept Lazarus from dying?" Again repressing a groan, Jesus went to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid against the mouth of it. Jesus said, "Move the stone away." The dead man's sister, Martha, said to him, "Master, by this time he is decaying, for he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Have I not promised you that if you will believe in me you will see the glory of God?" So they moved the stone away. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for listening to me, though I knew that you always listen to me. But I have said this for the sake of the people that are standing around me that they may believe that you have made me your messenger." After saying this he called out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and with his face muffled with a handkerchief. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him and let him move."
In consequence of this, Jesus did not appear in public among the Jews any longer, but he left that neighborhood and went to the district near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and stayed there with his disciples.
There were some Greeks among those who had come up to worship at the festival, and they went to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and made this request of him: "Sir, we want to see Jesus." read more. Philip went and told Andrew, and Andrew and Philip went to Jesus and told him. Jesus answered, "The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it remains just one grain. But if it dies, it yields a great harvest. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me, and wherever I am found, my servant must be also. If anyone serves me, my Father will show him honor. Now my heart is troubled; what am I to say? Father, save me from this trial! And yet it was for this very purpose that I have come to this trial. Father, honor your own name!" Then there came a voice from the sky, "I have honored it, and I will honor it again!" The crowd of bystanders heard it and said it was thunder. Others said, "It was an angel speaking to him!" Jesus answered, "It was not for my sake that the voice came, but for yours. The judgment of this world is now in progress. Its evil genius is now to be expelled, and if I am lifted up from the ground, I will draw all men to myself." He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. The crowd answered, "We have learned from the Law that the Christ is to remain here forever. So how can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" Jesus said to them, "You will have the light only a little while longer. Go on while you still have the light, so that darkness may not overtake you, for those who go about in the dark do not know where they are going. While you have the light believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." With these words Jesus went away, and disappeared from them.
and dragged him out of the city and stoned him, the witnesses throwing down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they stoned Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" read more. Then falling on his knees, he cried out, "Lord, do not lay this sin up against them!" With these words he fell asleep.
And Saul entirely approved of his being put to death. A great persecution of the church in Jerusalem broke out that day, and they were all scattered over Judea and Samaria except the apostles. Some pious men buried Stephen and loudly lamented him. read more. But Saul harassed the church. He went into one house after another, and dragging out men and women, put them in prison. Those who were scattered went from place to place preaching the good news of the message.
As they went on along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "Here is some water! What is there to prevent my being baptized?"
When he reached Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, for they could not believe that he was really a disciple.
When he reached Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, for they could not believe that he was really a disciple. But Barnabas got hold of him and introduced him to the apostles, and he told them how on his journey he had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken to him, and how boldly he had spoken for the cause of Jesus at Damascus.
But Barnabas got hold of him and introduced him to the apostles, and he told them how on his journey he had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken to him, and how boldly he had spoken for the cause of Jesus at Damascus. After that, he associated with them freely in Jerusalem,
After that, he associated with them freely in Jerusalem, and spoke boldly for the Lord's cause, talking and debating with the Greek-speaking Jews. But they tried to kill him. read more. When the brothers found this out, they took him down to Caesarea, and sent him away to Tarsus.
But Peter put them all out of the room. Then he knelt down and prayed, and then turning to the body he said, "Tabitha, stand up!" She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.
There were some men from Cyprus and Cyrene among them, however, who when they reached Antioch spoke to the Greeks also, and told them the good news about the Lord Jesus.
and found him and brought him to Antioch. The result was that for a whole year they met with the church, and taught large numbers of people, and it was at Antioch that the disciples first came to be known as Christians.
and this they did, sending it to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
He had John's brother, James, beheaded, and when he saw that this gratified the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too, at the time of the festival of Unleavened Bread. read more. He had him seized and put in jail, with four squads of soldiers to guard him, meaning after the Passover to bring him out before the people. So Peter was kept in the jail, but the church was praying earnestly to God for him. The night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter was asleep between two soldiers, and fastened with two chains, and watchmen were at the door, guarding the jail, when an angel of the Lord stood at his side, and a light shone in the room, and striking Peter on the side, he woke him, and said to him, "Get up quickly!" The chains dropped from his hands, and the angel said to him, "Put on your belt and your sandals!" And he did so. Then he said to him, "Put on your coat and follow me!" So he followed him out without knowing that what the angel was doing was real, for he thought he was having a vision. They passed the first guard and then the second, and came to the iron gate that led into the city. It opened to them of itself, and they passed out and went along one street, when suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself, and he said, "Now I am certain that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from the power of Herod and all that the Jewish people were expecting." When he realized his situation, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where a number of people were gathered, praying. When he knocked at the outer door, a maid named Rhoda came to answer it, and when she recognized Peter's voice, in her joy she did not stop to open the door, but ran in and told them that Peter was standing outside. But they said to her, "You are crazy!" But she insisted that it was so. Then they said, "Then it is his guardian angel!" But Peter kept on knocking. And when they opened the door and saw him they were amazed. He motioned to them to be quiet, and then related to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. "Tell all this to James and the brothers," he said. Then he left them and went somewhere else. But when morning came, there was no little commotion among the soldiers as to what could have become of Peter. Herod had inquiries made for him, and when he could not find him, he examined the guards and ordered them to be put to death. Then he left Judea for Caesarea, and stayed there.
But the angel of the Lord struck him down immediately, because he did not give the honor to God; and he was eaten by worms and died.
This created a disturbance and a serious discussion between Paul and Barnabas and them, and it was agreed that Paul and Barnabas and some others of their number should go up to Jerusalem to confer with the apostles and elders about this question.
And this agrees with the predictions of the prophets which say,
So he settled there for a year and a half, and taught them God's message.
When he reached Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and paid his respects to the church, and then went on to Antioch.
He went to the synagogue there, and for three months spoke confidently, holding discussions and trying to persuade them about the Kingdom of God.
This went on for two years, so that everyone who lived in Asia, Greeks as well as Jews, heard the Lord's message.
Just at that time a great commotion arose about the Way.
After traveling through those districts and giving the people a great deal of encouragement, he went on to Greece
while we sailed from Philippi after the festival of Unleavened Bread, and joined them at Troas five days later. There we stayed a week. On the first day of the week, when we had met for the breaking of bread, Paul addressed them, as he was going away the next morning, and he prolonged his address until midnight.
Sailing from there, we arrived off Chios on the following day. On the next we crossed to Samos, and on the next we reached Miletus.
From Miletus he sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church.
So we looked up the disciples there and stayed a week with them. Instructed by the Spirit, they warned Paul not to set foot in Jerusalem.
The next day we left there and went on to Caesarea, where we went to the house of Philip the missionary, who was one of the Seven, and stayed with him.
When we reached Jerusalem, the brothers there gave us a hearty welcome.
The seven days were almost over when the Jews from Asia caught sight of him in the Temple, and stirred up all the crowd and seized him,
Then he called in two of his officers and said to them, "Get two hundred men ready to march to Caesarea, with seventy mounted men and two hundred spear-men, by nine o'clock tonight."
But when two whole years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, and as he wanted to gratify the Jews, Felix left Paul in prison.
After staying only eight or ten days there, he went down to Caesarea, and the next day took his place in the judge's chair, and ordered Paul brought in.
If I am guilty and have done anything that deserves death, I do not refuse to die; but if there is no truth in the charges that these men make against me, no one can give me up to them; I appeal to the emperor."
So the next day, Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and went into the audience-room attended by officers and the leading citizens of the town, and at the command of Festus Paul was brought in.
When it was decided that we were to sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were turned over to an officer of the Imperial regiment, named Julius.
When we reached Rome, Paul was given permission to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him. Three days later, he invited the leading Jews to come to see him, and when they came he said to them, "Brothers, I have done nothing against our people, or the customs of our forefathers, yet I was turned over to the Romans as a prisoner at Jerusalem.
but my mind could not rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.
And when God, who had set me apart from my birth and had called me in his mercy, saw fit to reveal his Son to me, so that I might preach the good news about him to the heathen, immediately, instead of consulting with any human being, read more. or going up to Jerusalem to see those who had been apostles before me, I went off to Arabia, and on my return came back to Damascus. Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem, to become acquainted with Cephas, and I spent two weeks with him;
Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem, to become acquainted with Cephas, and I spent two weeks with him;
Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem, to become acquainted with Cephas, and I spent two weeks with him;
As I asked you to do when I was on my way to Macedonia, stay on in Ephesus in order to warn certain people there not to teach strange views
I left you behind in Crete expressly to correct what defects there were, and to appoint elders in each town, as I directed you??6 men of irreproachable character, who have been married only once, whose children are Christians, free from any suspicion of profligacy or disobedience.
I prefer to appeal to you in the name of love, simply as what I am??aul, no less an envoy of Christ Jesus, though now a prisoner for him
Smith
New Testament.
It is proposed in this article to consider the text of the New Testament. The subject naturally divides itself into-- I. The history of the written text; II. The history of the printed text. I. THE HISTORY OF THE WRITTEN TEXT.--
1. The early history of the apostolic writings externally, as far as it can be traced, is the same as that of other contemporary books. St. Paul, like Cicero or Pliny often employed the services of an amanuensis, to whom he dictated his letters, affixing the salutation "with his own hand."
The original copies seem to have soon perished.
2. In the natural course of things the apostolic autographs would be likely to perish soon. The material which was commonly used for letters the papyrus paper, to which St. John incidentally alludes.
comp. 3Joh 1:13 was singularly fragile, and even the stouter kinds, likely to be used for the historical books, were not fitted to bear constant use. The papyrus fragments which have come down to the present time have been preserved under peculiar circumstances as at Herculaneum or in the Egyptian tombs.
3. In the time of the Diocletian persecution, A.D. 303, copies of the Christian Scriptures were sufficiently numerous to furnish a special object for persecutors. Partly, perhaps, owing to the destruction thus caused, but still more from the natural effects of time. no MS. of the New Testament of the first three centuries remains but though no fragment of the New Testament of the first century still remains, the Italian and Egyptian papyri, which are of that date give a clear notion of the caligraphy of the period. In these the text is written in columns, rudely divided, in somewhat awkward capital letters (uncials), without any punctuation or division of words; and there is no trace of accents or breathings.
4. In addition to the later MSS. the earliest versions and patristic quotations give very important testimony to the character and history of the ante-Nicene text; but till the last quarter of the second century this source of information fails us. Only are the remains of Christian literature up to that time extremely scanty, but the practice of verbal quotation from the New Testament was not yet prevalent. As soon as definite controversies arose among Christians, the text of the New Testament assumed its true importance.
5. Several very important conclusions follow from this earliest appearance of textual criticism. It is in the first place evident that various readings existed in the books of the New Testament at a time prior to all extant authorities. History affords a trace of the pure apostolic originals. Again, from the preservation of the first variations noticed, which are often extremely minute, in one or more of the primary documents still left, we may be certain that no important changes have been made in the sacred text which we cannot now detect.
6. Passing from these isolated quotations, we find the first great witnesses to the apostolic text in the early Syriac and Latin versions and in the rich quotations of Clement of Alexandria (cir. A.D. 220) and Origen (A.D. 1842~4). From the extant works of Origen alone no inconsiderable portion of the whole New Testament might be transcribed; and his writings are an almost inexhaustible store house for the history of the text. There can be no doubt that in Origen's time the variations in the New Testament MSS. were beginning to lead to the formation of specific groups of copies.
7. The most ancient MSS. and versions now extant exhibit the characteristic differences which have been found to exist in different parts of the works of Origen. These cannot have had their source later than the beginning of the third century, and probably were much earlier. Bengel was the first (1734) who pointed out the affinity of certain groups of MSS., which as he remarks, must have arisen before the first versions were made. The honor of carefully determining the relations of critical authorities for the New Testament text belongs to Griesbach. According to him two distinct recensions of the Gospels existed at the beginning of the third century-the Alexandrine and the Western.
8. From the consideration of the earliest history of the New Testament text we now pass to the era of MSS. The quotations of Dionsius Alex. (A.D. 264), Petrus Alex. (cir. A.D. 312), Methodius (A.D. 311) and Eusebius (A.D. 340) confirm the prevalence of the ancient type of tent; but the public establishment of Christianity in the Roman empire necessarily led to important changes. The nominal or real adherence of the higher ranks to the Christian faith must have largely increased the demand for costly MSS. As a natural consequence the rude Hellenistic forms gave way before the current Greek, and at the same time it is reasonable to believe that smoother and fuller constructions were substituted for the rougher turns of the apostolic language. In this way the foundation of the Byzantine text was laid. Meanwhile the multiplication of copies in Africa and Syria was checked by Mohammedan conquests.
9. The appearance of the oldest MSS. have been already described. The MSS. of the fourth century, of which Codex Vaticanus may be taken as a type present a close resemblance to these. The writing is in elegant continuous uncials (capitals), in three columns, without initial letters or iota subscript or adscript. A small interval serves as a simple punctuation; and there are no accents or breathings by the hand of the first writer, though these have been added subsequently. Uncial writing continued in general use till the middle of the tenth century. From the eleventh century downward cursive writing prevailed. The earliest cursive biblical MS, is dated 964 A.D. The MSS. of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries abound in the contractions which afterward passed into the early printed books. The oldest MSS. are written on the thinnest and finest vellum; in later copies the parchment is thick and coarse. Papprus was very rarely used after the ninth century. In the tenth century cotton paper was generally employed in Europe; and one example at least occurs of its use in the ninth century. In the twelfth century the common linen or rag paper came into use. One other kind of material requires notice --re-dressed parchment, called palimpsests. Even at a very early period the original text of a parchment MS. was often erased, that the material might be used afresh. In lapse of time the original writing frequently reappeared in faint lines below the later text, and in this way many precious fragments of biblical MSS. which had been once obliterated for the transcription of other works, have been recovered.
10. The division of the Gospels into "chapters" must have come into general use some time before the fifth century. The division of the Acts and Epistles into chapters came into use at a later time. It is commonly referred to Euthalius, who, however, says that he borrowed the divisions of the Pauline Epistles from an earlier father and there is reason to believe that the division of the Acts and Catholic Epistles which he published was originally the work of Pamphilus the martyr. The Apocalypse was divided into sections by Andreas of Caesarea about A.D. 500. The titles of the sacred books are from their nature additions to the original text. The distinct names of the Gospels imply a collection, and the titles of the Epistles are notes by the possessors, and not addresses by the writers.
11. Very few MSS. certain the whole New Testament --twenty-seven in all out of the vast mass of extant documents. Besides the MSS. of the New Testament, or of parts of it, there are also lectionaries, which contain extracts arranged for the church services.
12. The number of uncial MSS. remaining. though great when compared with the ancient MSS. extent of other writings, is inconsiderable. Tischendorf reckons forty in the Gospels. In these must be added Cod. Sinait., which is entire; a new MS. of Tischendorf, which is nearly entire; and Cod. Zacynth., Which contains considerable fragments of St. Luke. In the Acts there are nine: in the Catholic Epistles five; in th
See Verses Found in Dictionary
OMITTED TEXT
He said to them, "This kind of thing can be driven out only by prayer."
Now after he had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary of Magdala, from whom he had driven out seven evil spirits.
This farewell I, Paul, add in my own hand.
This farewell is in my own hand, from Paul. Remember that I am in prison. God bless you.
how much more surely will the blood of the Christ, who with the eternal Spirit made himself an unblemished offering to God, purify our consciences from the old wrongdoing for the worship of the everliving God?
Though I have a great deal to write to you, I would rather not write it with paper and ink, but I hope to come to see you, and talk with you face to face, so that your happiness may be complete.
I have a great deal to write to you, but I do not want to write it with pen and ink;