you. And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; 8 for they trembled, and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.

Now, when Jesus was risen early, the first day of the week, 9 he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast. seven devils. And she went and told them that had been with 10 him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard 11 that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. After that, he appeared in another form unto two of them, as 12 they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told 13 it unto the residue: neither believed they them. Afterward 14 he appeared unto the eleven, as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief, and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. And he 15 said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized, shall be 16 saved; but he that believeth not, shall be damned. And these 17 signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up 18 serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

So then, after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received 19 up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they 20 went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

brance and love, of his wronged Master.

"For angels soothe the pangs of woe

That swell, when contrite tears are shed."

8. This verse contains a graphic sketch of what we should naturally suppose would be the effect of the unexpected resurrection of Christ from the dead. It enables us to look, as with a key-hole glance, at those passions of fear, grief, and surprise, and joy, and incredulity, and glimmering hope, which were driving through the minds of the apostles and women with a rapid and shifting motion.

12. Luke xxiv. 13-35, contains a full account of this transaction. 14. Sat at meat. Rather, reclined together.

16. Damned. Condemned.

18. They shall take up serpents. For an illustration, see Acts xxviii. 5.

20. The book of Acts contains the history of which this verse is the text.

"As drink is pleasant to them that be dry, and meat to them that be hungry, so is the reading, hearing, searching, and studying of the Holy Scripture to those that be desirous to know God or themselves, and to do his will."

TO THE

GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE.

THE following history of Jesus Christ has been unanimously assigned, from the earliest Christian antiquity, to Luke as its author. In the Acts of the Apostles, i. 1, also composed by him, we have his own testimony to the genuineness of his Gospel; and the work of which he there speaks could have been no other than the one before us;-"the treatise of all that Jesus began both to do and teach."

The apostolic fathers allude to passages in Luke's Gospel; and the works of Justin Martyr, A. D. 141, and the Epistle of the churches of Vienne and Lyons, contain quotations from it. Tatian's Harmony, in the second century, was entitled Diatessaron, of the Four, showing that at that period so many Gospels were received as of established authority, of which four, Luke's was necessarily one. Irenæus says that "Luke, the companion of Paul, recorded the Gospel preached by him;" also, that “the Gospel according to Luke, being of a priestly character, begins with Zacharias the priest offering incense to God." Tertullian, the most ancient of the Latin fathers, has this declaration: "Among the apostles, John and Matthew form the faith within us. Among the companions of the apostles, Luke and Mark renovate it." In animadverting upon the Gospel of Luke, as altered by Marcion, an heresiarch, and vindicating the genuine one, he says, “I affirm, then, that in those churches, (specifying certain ones,) and not in those only which were founded by apostles, but in all which have fellowship with them, that Gospel of Luke which we so steadfastly defend, has been received from its first publication." Origen writes thus: "The Gospel of Luke, that which was praised by St. Paul, was the third, and . was composed for Gentile believers." The testimony of Eusebius is of like purport in respect to its authority.

The evangelist was not an apostle, but apostolical, a companion of the apostles. Little is known of his history. He is supposed to have been a native of Antioch, in Syria, and by profession a physician. Whether a Jew or Gentile in his origin is uncertain. His name Luke is a contraction of Lucanus. His writings manifest at the same time the elegance of a Grecian, and the peculiar knowledge of a Jew.

From scattered intimations in the Acts and Epistles, we learn that he was a fellow-laborer with Paul- a fact substantiated by the voice of the earliest Christian writers. Col. iv. 14; 2 Tim. iv. 11; Philem. 24. The use of the first person plural, in several places in the Acts of the Apostles, indicates, as by an undesigned disclosure, who was the author of the work, and, on the other hand, taken in connexion with Acts i. 1, shows us that Luke was

60

INTRODUCTION TO THE GOSPEL OF LUKE.

a companion with Paul in some of his journeys. Acts xvi. 10–17, xx., xxi., xxvii., xxviii.

He is supposed to have written his Gospel in Greece, about A. D. 63 or 64, and dedicated it to a distinguished Gentile convert, Theophilus. His age, and the circumstances and place of his death, are unknown. All that remains of him is the Gospel called by his name, and the Acts of the Apostles, comprising more than one quarter of the New Testament.

His order of events in his Gospel is inferior to that of Matthew, though the main outlines are correct. He differs from the other evangelists in commencing his work with a proem, chap. i. 1–4, and in addressing it to a particular individual, Theophilus. He has recorded many things of great interest and value not found in the other evangelists—the nativity of John the Baptist; the annunciation to Mary; the enrolment which carried Joseph and his wife to Bethlehem; various particulars in reference to the birth and youth of Jesus, and his age when he entered on his ministry; and many additional incidents, cures, discourses, and parables.

The individuality of Luke, as a writer and a man, appears in both his treatises, and leaves us no room to doubt his high integrity and veracity. His histories confirm us in the belief that the epithet of "the beloved physician," supposed to be given him by Paul, Col. iv. 14, was as appropriate as it was complimentary; that he was an amiable and intelligent man, fitted by his character, education, and circumstances, to record the life of Christ, and the deeds of his apostles.

His style of composition has greater variety, complexity, taste, and flow, than that of Mark or Matthew. His learning had brought him acquainted with the Greek masters, whose idioms more frequently appear in his writings than elsewhere in the Gospels, though he is by no means destitute of Hebraisms. He has oftener than the other evangelists expressed his own opinions in the narrative, which they have scarcely ever done. Hug remarks that, from his being a physician, his statements, respecting the miraculous cures wrought by Jesus, possess a peculiar value.

The two first chapters of this work, with the exception of the proem, chap. i. 1-4, have been called in question by some as spurious; but the learned of all parties have pretty generally settled down in favor of their genuineness. Chap. xxii. 43, 44, is viewed as an interpolation, by some, on account of both its external and internal authority.

THE

GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE.

CHAPTER I.

The Nativity of John the Baptist.

FORASMUCH as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed 2 among us, even as they delivered them unto us, which from the 3 beginning were eye-witnesses, and ministers of the word; it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most ex4 cellent Theophilus, that thou mightest know the certainty of those things wherein thou hast been instructed.

5

THERE was in the days of Herod the king of Judea, a certain

CHAPTER I.

1. Luke differs from the other evangelists in prefacing his Gospel with an introduction and dedication, thus conforming to classic models. -Many. Who these were, is totally unknown. But reference is probably made to various fragmentary accounts, circulating among the believers, which were rather defective than fabulous, and which are not now extant. To set forth in order a declaration. More simply, to compose a history. Which are most surely believed among us. Rather, which have been accomplished among us.

2. The statement here made implies, that the accounts to which he refers were derived from good sources; but he proposes to give a more complete and methodical history. - Eyewitnesses, i. e. of the facts. -Ministers of the word. Of the gospel.

3. Having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first. Having investigated or traced all things up to the source. Luke candidly admits that he was not an eyewitness, but that he arrived at a knowledge of the events by diligent inquiry. To write unto thee in order. Not necessarily the order of chron6

VOL. II.

ological arrangement, but the sense is rather, to write a methodical history, a complete, connected narrative.

Most excellent Theophilus. Nothing further is known of this individual, except that his name is mentioned in Acts i. 1. He was probably a distinguished Gentile convert, and a friend of the evangelist. The epithet given him is the same employed in Acts xxiii. 26, xxiv. 3, xxvi. 25, in addressing persons high in office and authority.

4. The object of his work is here declared, viz., to confirm his friend in the faith which had been taught him. The object of John's Gospel is announced in John xx. 31. — Instructed. The original of this word furnishes the root of our terms, catechumen, catechism, &c., and implies accurate and diligent instruction. No enterprise can be more worthy or important, than to confirm our fellowmen in the belief of those events of our Saviour's life, which are the foundation of our faith, and the anchor of our hope. For here is the very key of Christianity.

5. Herod. Herod the Great, an Idumean by birth, and a usurper of the Jewish throne. He was now in

priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And 6 they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had 7 no child, because that Elisabeth was barren; and they both were now well stricken in years. And it came to pass, that, while he 8 executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn 9 incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the 10 whole multitude of the people were praying without, at the time of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord, 11 standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when 12

his old age, worn out with ferocious passions and horrible diseases. — Of the course of Abia. Or Abijah. When the families of the Levites had grown very numerous, David arranged them in twenty-four courses or classes, for the more regular and systematic performance of the duties of the sanctuary. 1 Chron. xxiv. ; 2 Chron. viii. 14; Neh. xii. 17. Each class served one week. That of Abijah was the eighth. 1 Chron. xxiv. 10. Of the daughters of Aaron. i. e. She was of sacerdotal, Levitical descent; so that the forerunner of Christ was of the priestly line, both on the paternal and maternal side.

6. As the foregoing verse exhibits the sacred rank of John's parents, so this describes their personal excellence. They were eminently holy and righteous in all respects.

7. The writer still further enters into an account of their domestic condition, in elucidation of the history to follow.

8. In the order of his course, i. e. when it became his turn to officiate in the temple service. As the number of courses was twenty-four, and each one performed the duties for one week, it follows that the rotation came to each twice in a year.

text, and as stated by the Talmuds, it was customary for the priest to apportion their duties by lot. — To burn incense. Ex. xxx. 7, 8. The incense of the sanctuary was a mixture of aromatic and odoriferous substances-stacte, onycha, and galbanum. Ex. xxx. 34. This was burnt on the altar of incense, morning and evening, and diffused a smoke and sweet perfume through the place. The temple of the Lord. This does not mean the temple at large, but the sanctuary or holy place, in which the altar of incense was located, with the golden candlestick and the table of show-bread, and which was separated from the holy of holies by a large and splendid vail.

10. Without, i. e. in the courts of the temple. Whether this service was in the morning or evening, is not specified. Ps. cxli. 2; Rev. viii. 1, 3, 4. According to Lightfoot, the people prayed in deep silence.

11. On the right side. This was deemed by the ancients a good omen.

- The altar of incense. Ex. xxx. 1-6; 1 Chron. xxviii. 18; 1 Maccabees i. 21. This altar was a table, plated with gold, standing in the holy place, near the vail, opening into the holy of holies. To burn incense on 9. His lot was. As indicated in the this altar was one of the most honor