The Harmony Chronicle and Order of the New Testament, Part 2 · 2 Corinthians
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS.
The proof that it was written and sent at this time and in this manner, is plain by these places and passages in it: Chap. 9.2, 3, 4. I know the forwardnesse of your minde▪ for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia: Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain; left haply they of Macedonia come with me, &c. Chap. 12.14. Behold the third time I am coming to you. Chap. 13.1. This is the third time I am coming to you. And Chap. 8.16. But thanks be unto God who put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you. 17. Being more forward of his own accord he went unto you. 18. And with him we have sent the brother whose praise is in the Gospel. 22. And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things, &c.
Who these two namelesse persons should be, will require some inquiry. The later I suppose was Erastus, both because his diligence had been approved before, Acts 19.22, &c. and also because it is said Erastus abode at Corinth, 2 Tim. 4. yet he not named among Pauls retinue when he set out for Asia, Act. 20.4. because he was gone to Corinth before.
As for the other brother whose praise is said to be in the Gospel, that very phrase and expression hath caused many to conceive, that it was Luke, and that the words mean, Who is famous in all the Churches for the Gospel he hath written: whereas [besides that groundlesse strictnesse that is put upon the words, limiting them to the writing of a Gospel, which according to that most usuall manner of speech, are rather to be understood of his renown in preaching the Gospel] it is apparent by the words of Luke himself, that he went not either before Paul to Corinth, as this brother spoken of did, nor did he go before Paul to Troas as the rest that are named by him did, but he went in Pauls company: for observe his speech, These tarried for us at Troas: And we sailed away from Philippi, &c. The words VsUs and We do plainly associate the penman himself with Paul at his setting out, and shew that he was none of those that were sent before.
Others therefore do guesse that this brother that went along with Titus, was Silas, because it is said, Who also was chosen by the Churches to travell with us, &c. Which very thing which they use for an argument to prove it Silas, proves against it, for Silas was not chosen by the Churches to go with Paul, any more then Timothy or Titus were; but he was chosen by Paul alone, as they also were. See Act. 15.40.
That clause then, Who was also chosen of the Churches to travell with us, doth deal the matter betwixt Barnabas and Mark, for none other can be named, to whom the words can be so properly applied as to one of them: and of the …wo, most properly to Mark; and he I doubt not, is the man that is here intended: For 1. the words with us, joyn Paul and Barnabas together in their travell, and the third man who was chosen to travell with them was none but Mark. For 2. he was chosen by the Church at Ierusalem for that purpose, Act. 12.25. and by the Church at Antioch, Act. 13 5. as these words he was chosen by the Churches do well explain those verses. 3. It is true indeed that Paul had taken distast at Mark, and so bitter, that Barnabas and he had parted upon it, Act. 15.39. yet in his second Epistle to Timothy he desires Timothy to bring Mark to him, for that he is profitable to him for the Ministry, 2 Tim. 4. by which it appears that he was not only reconciled to him, but also that he had made use of him and found him usefull▪ When it was that they knit into amity and imployment again, is not discoverable, but that they had done so, the passage newly alledged, doth make past deniall; and if his imployment of Mark were not now, or before, he can no more imploy him, before he himself become a prisoner. When we come to the time and order of the second Epistle to Timothy, we shall have occasion to speak to this matter again, and shall finde something there to help the confirmation of this assertion, nay to raise it higher then yet it hath spoken, namely, that Mark was not only sent by Paul to Corinth at this time, but also that he was at Corinth when Paul sent for him to come to him to Rome. And thus if these words, Whose praise is in the Gospel, were to be understood of one that had written a Gospel, here is a subject to apply them to in that sense, for this Mark wrote a Gospel as well as Luke.
The Apostle in this second Epistle to Corinth, doth first excuse his not coming to them according as he had promised in his first Epistle, 1 Cor. 16.5. clearing himself from all lightnesse in making, and from all unfaithfulnesse in breaking that promise, and pitching the main reason upon themselves and their present condition: because he had not yet intelligence when he went first into Macedonia, of any reformation among them of those enormities that he had reproved in his first Epistle, therefore he was unwilling to come to them in heavinesse, and with a scourge. This his failing to come according to his promise, had opened the mouths of divers in his disgrace, and false teachers took any other occasion to vilifie him, which he copiously satisfies and vindicates himself all along the Epistle.
His exceeding zealous plainnesse with them, and dealing so home and throughly against their misdemeanours as he did, was one advantage that false teachers and his ill-willers took to open their mouth against him, and to withdraw hearts from him: and withall and mainly, because he was so urgent against the works of the Law as to Justification, and those rites which the Jews, even the most that were converted to the Gospel, too much doted on. About the former, their taunt and scorn against him was, His Letters are weighty and powerfull, but his bodily presence is weak and speech contemptible, Chap. 10.10. A poor contemptible fellow [say they] to be so sharp and supercilious in his Letters, this is more then he durst speak if he were here! &c. But let such know, saies he, that what I am by Letters in absence, I will be by words and in deed in presence. Concerning both this and the latter named, they passed Festus his censure upon him, as Act. 26.24. that he was besides himself. This he mentions and answers, Chap. 5.13. Whether we are besides our selves it is for God, or whether we be sober it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge: that if one died for all, then were all dead, &c. Since Christ died for all, that is, for Jews and Gentiles both, he could not but conclude that all were dead, the Jew as well as the Gentile; therefore he could not but so urgently call upon the Jew to look off his own righteousnesse, and the works of the Law, and to look for Justification by faith in Christ. Another scandalous opinion and reproach they also took up of him, That he walked after the flesh [a strange slander of Paul] Chap. 10.2. but this was but an appendix to that before: because he was not Pharisaically precise about their triviall rites of the Law [which too many of them mixed with the Gospel,] but cried them down, therefore they cried him up for carnall. His answer to this is, that his Ministry may witnesse the contrary for him, ver. 3.4, 5. the end of which and the abundant effect of which was to beat down such carnall affections and actions as were such indeed: His expression of the weapons of his warfare being strong to pull down strong holds, expounds that Num. 24.17. of Christ smiting the corners of Moab, and destroying all the sons of Seth. And he gives this for a second answer, that if they would be but obedient, they should see how his Apostolick power was ready to avenge disobedience.
Since he hath such back friends and open enemies in this Church, it is no wonder if he write so doubtingly of them how he should finde them: and that he staid no longer with them when he came to them, as his stay was very little. His former Epistle, as it is apparent by severall passages in this, had wrought them into a reasonable good temper: but mischief now was crept on them again, at least there were some that were tampering to bring it on. In regard therefore of that vilifying that these false teachers, enemies of him and God, did set him at, and sought to make him odious and contemptible in the eyes of the Church, he is put to it to make his vindication, and that, as the matter required with much largenesse and earnestnesse. He therefore copiously discourseth, what God had done by him, what he had suffered for God, and what he had done for the Churches; in any of which things let any of these that reviled him, come near him if they could. In relating the passages of his life, he mentioneth many things, of which there is no mention in his story in the Acts of the Apostles: and frequenly in his discourse, he speaketh of his folly in boasting, as Chap. 11.1. Bear with me a little in my folly, and see ver. 16, 17. because indeed mans boasting of himself is folly, and they would be ready to censure his so, therefore he styles his by that title, though it were not folly in him, but a needfull and an holy vindication of himself and of his Ministry.
After he had sent away this Epistle, by Titus, Erastus and Mark, if our conjecture fail not, and had given notice to the Corinthians of his speedy coming to them, and warning to get their collections ready against he came, he provideth for his journey into Syria, which he had intended so long: partly to visit the Churches in these parts, and partly to bring up the collections that he had got for the poor of Iudea: which he had promised to the three Ministers of the Circumision, Peter, Iames and Iohn that he would be carefull of, Gal. 2.10.