The Harmony Chronicle and Order of the New Testament, Part 1 · Section 55 – Section 58
SECTION LV.
| MARK Chap. IX. from V. 33. to the end of Chapt. | MATTH. Chap. XVIII. all the Chapter. | LUKE Chap. IX. from V. 46. to Ver. 51. |
A dispute who greatest: One casting out Devils, and yet not following Christ: Dic Ecclesiae, &c.
THe order needeth no demonstration: The seeming difference between Matthew and Mark in the beginning of the Section needeth animadversion rather: Mark saith their dispute who should be greatest, was as they went in the way towards Capernaum, and when Christ asked them at Aapernaum what their discourse had been, they held their peace. But Matthew saith, At the same time, namely while Christ was at Capernaum, the Disciples came to him and asked him, Who is the greatest, &c. in which relation he briefly coucheth the two stories that Mark speaketh of into one, namely, their talking by the way who should be greatest, and this question coming before Christ.
It may be Christs so lately taking Peter and Iames and Iohn into the mount apart from the rest, gave occasion to this debate, which he determineth by setting a childe in the middest, &c. They that have held this childe to have been Ignatius in his infancy, who was afterward the Martyr, [as see Nicoph. lib. 2. c. 3. Baron. ad Annum Christi 71. Marg. de la Bign. in Ignat. in Biblioth. Patr. tom. 1.] sure did not well observe his own words, if they be his own, in his Epistle to the Church of Smyrna, foreign. And I do not only know that Christ is come in the flesh, by his being born and being crucified, but I saw him in the flesh after his resurrection. For so the Latine renders it, Vidi cum in carne: or be it, I knew him in the flesh after his resurrection, it may seem very strange, that he that was so very a childe as Christ to take him in his arms this year almost at the feast of Tabernacles, and the next year at Easter, which was but within half a years space, to become so intelligent as to take notice of his being risen.
Upon Christs speaking of receiving those that come in his name, Iohn propounds a dubious case, of one that they had met with that went about indeed in his Name, and in his Name cast out devils, and yet would not own himself his Disciple, nor follow him: which raiseth to us a further scruple, How this man came to this miraculous power? for that it was so, and not Magicall exorcizing in the Name of Jesus, as divers enemies of the Gospel used afterward, may be gathered by Christs answer, who cals it doing a Miracle in his Name, and speaks of this man as not being against him but for him. Whether he did these Miracles in the Name of Messias or of Iesus we will not question: the originall of this power to him, we may resolve much into the same principle from whence Caiaphas prophesied, Ioh. 11.51. This he spake, not of himself, but being Highpriest that year he prophecied: There is an emphasis in That year: For now was the fulnesse of time, the year of expectation, and accomplishment of Vision and Prophesie, and the time of the powring out of the Spirit as never before: and if in that full meal of this provision that Christ had made for his own, some crums fell besides the table that others gathered up, or were partakers of, it doth the more magnifie the diffusion, and doth so much the more point out and give notice to observe the time. For Christ did so little leave himself without witnesse, and did give so clear evidence that this was the great and signall time spoken of by the Prophets in all generations, that Miracles wrought not only by himself and his Disciples, but even by the Jews own children, as Matth. 12.27. give abundant testimony to it.
Matthews text in this Section runs parallel with the other to ver. 10. and so farre the Reader may take them up together: then goeth he on with Christs speech and the story alone.
The number of a hundred divided into ninety nine and one, ver. 12. is according to the usuall and ordinary manner of the Jews speech, with whom this very division is very common.
Talm. in Peah. per. 4. halac. 1. & 2. When a man is dividing nuts among the poor, though ninety nine call on him to divide them, and one call on him to scatter them, to him they must hearken▪ With grapes and dates it is not so, though ninety nine call on him to scatter them, and one to divide them, to him they must hearken, &c.
Jerus. in Shab. fol. 14. col. 3. Rabh, and R. Chaiish Rabbah, both of them said, If ninety nine dye by an evil eye, and one by the hand of heaven. R. Chaninah and Samuel both of them said, If ninety nine die by cold and one by the hand of heaven, &c.
The rules that Christ giveth about dealing with an offending brother, were very well known in the Nation, and such as were practised, at least prescribed in their own Discipline.
1. Admonition privately betwixt the party offended and the party offending. Of such Maymony speaks in his Treatise Deah. per. 6.
2. Admonition, two witnesses being present. Jerus. in Joma fol. 45. col. 3. He that sinneth against his fellow, it is necessary that he say unto him, I have offended against thee. If he receive him, well: If not, he must bring two men and appease him before them, &c. Only Christ raiseth his lesson to a higher charity, namely for the offended party to try the amendment of the offending. So the jealous husband admonisht his wife before two. Setah. per. 1. and the Sanhedrin by two Scholars of the wife admonished an Israelitish City that fell to Idolatry, before they made warre upon it. Maym. in Avedah Zarah. per. 4.
3. If he will not hear them, tell the Church. They used the open proclaiming of an incorrigible person in the Synagogue, A woman that is rebellious against her husband, that she may vex him, and saies, Behold I will thus vex him because he did so and so to me: they send to her from the Iudicatory or Bench, and say to her, Know thou that if thou persist in thy rebelliousnesse, though thy Ioynture be a hundred pound, thou hast forfeited it; and afterward they make Proclamation concerning her in the Synagogues and in the Schooles every day for four Sabbaths together, saying, Such a woman rebels against her husband, &c. Maymony in foreign per. 14. And likewise Ibid. cap. 12. If a man will not provide for his children, they rebuke him, and shame him, and are urgent with him; and if yet he will not, they proclaim him in the Synagogue saying, Such a one is cruell and will not nourish his children, &c. Here was telling the Church, by open Proclamation.
SECTION LVI. JOHN Chap. VII. from Ver. 2. to Ver. 10. The Feast of Tabernacles.
CHRIST. XXXIII MATTHEW and MARK both relate that when Iesus had ended these sayings, which are contained in the preceding Section, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Iudea beyond Iordan, Matth. 19.1. Mark 10.1. which is not to be understood as if he departed thither presently, but they say no more of his actions till his departure thither: and so passe over almost half a years story in silence, which Luke and Iohn do make up. These bring Iesus out of Galilee beyond Iordan, and presently back to Ierusalem to his passion: but these as we shall see, bring him twice to Ierusalem, before his last coming up, namely this to the feast of Tabernacles, and another to the Feast of Dedication.
The Brethren, that is, the kinsmen of Iesus urge him to go up to the feast of Tabernacles, that his Disciples in Iudea might see his works, ver. 3. remember here Ioh. 3.22. & 4.1. His brethren themselves beleeved not on him, ver. 5. and that the rather, because they thought his privacy that he desired to keep in, was not answerable to the port and state of the Messias: therefore they desire that he would appear in the power of his miracles in Iudea the center of the Nation, that if he were the Messias, he might carry it out there, as they expected the Messias should do.
SECTION LVII. LUKE Chap. IX. from Ver. 51. to the end of the Chapter. JOHN Chap. VII. Ver. 10. CHRIST going toward the Feast of Tabernacles.
THat this journey of Christ toward Ierusalem that Luke speaketh of in this Section, is the same with this in Iohn, namely his going up to the Feast of Tabernacles, is plain by this, that Luke mentioneth two journeys of his to Ierusalem more; namely in Chap. 13.22. which was to the Feast of Dedication, and Chap. 17.11. which was to the Passeover and his Passion.
The words of Luke then, When the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Hierusalem, mean, that now being come within half a year of the time of his death, he resolved to be more constant at Ierusalem then he had been; having avoided the place and country, once and again, because the Jews sought to kill him.
The stories of severall men in this Section, that take upon them to follow Christ, but they had something else to do first, have been spoken to before, at Sect. 38.
SECTION LVIII. LUKE Chap. X. from the beginning to Ver. 17. The seventy Disciples sent forth.
AS to the order of this story, First, It is to be observed, that Luke saith, It was after these things mentioned in the former Section; that is, after Christ was set out from Galilee towards the feast of Tabernacles. Secondly, that it is said Ioh. 7.10. That Iesus went up to that Feast, not openly, but as it were in secret, whereupon it may be concluded, that he had dispatched the seventy Disciples away before he came there. He giveth them the same instructions that he had given the twelve, and the same power to heal the sick: only whereas the twelve went at large to any of the Cities of Israel, these were to go to those places where Christ himself should come, to make way for him, and to prepare the places for the receiving of him against he came: so that now Christ disposeth for the full revealing of himself for the Messias, the Seventy beforehand proclaiming him and preaching in his Name, and he afterward coming and shewing himself to be he of whom they preached. The numbers 12, and 70, cannot but recall to minde the twelve Tribes and the seventy Elders of Israel. These Seventy were but a little while abroad [for thirty five couples would soon dispatch a great deal of work:] and they return again to their Master before he departs from Ierusalem, Luk. 10.17, 38.
He again accuseth Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, which he had done before at Sect. 32. for having at any time occasion to speak of contempt of the Gospel, they may justly be introduced as having the most tender of it, and yet despised it.