TIBERIUS. taken up from their presence into the glories of Heaven. Our Lord ascended in the 36th year of His age, and the 19th of the reign of the Emperor Tiberius. Herod and his) 12. After the slaughter of the innocents, Herod began to feel the Divine vengeance. He was stricken with a strange and terrible distemper, and, after great torments, died in the 70th year of his age and 37th of his reign, about a year and a quarter after our Saviour's nativity. By his testament, which the Emperor Augustus ratified in its material points, he divided his kingdom among his three sons, giving Judæa, Samaria, and Idumea to Archelaus, with the title of Ethnarch ;* Batanæa, Ituræa, and Trachonitis to Philip; and Galilee and Peræa to Herod Antipas, with the title of Tetrarchs.† Archelaus in a short time made himself odious to the Jews, and Augustus banished him, in the 10th year of his government, to Vienne, in Gaul, where he died. His doA.D. 8. minions were reduced to the form of a Roman province, and ruled by a Roman officer, called a Procurator, subordinate to the President of Syria. The duties of the Procurator were for the most part of a fiscal nature, but he was concerned also in the administration of justice and the repression of tumults. He was generally stationed at Cæsarea, and the President of Syria resided at Antioch. *From e0vos, a nation, and ἀρχή, α goverment. It was a title inferior to βασιλεύς. From TeTpás, four, and apxn, a government; hence, a ruler over the fourth part of a former kingdom, and therefore a proper title for Philip and Herod Antipas, for Archelaus had half his father's kingdom, and the remaining half was divided between the other two. 12. How long did Herod the Great survive the birth of Christ? How was his kingdom divided after his death? What became of the kingdom of Archelaus? By whom was it governed at the time of our Saviour's crucifixion ? What were the duties of a Roman Procurator? Coponius, a Roman knight, was the first Procurator, and TIBERIUS. to him succeeded Ambivius, Annius Rufus, Valerius Gratus, and Pontius Pilate, who held the office at the time of our Saviour's crucifixion. His government lasted ten years; but in the year 36 his violent conduct towards some Samaritans led to his removal, and in the following year he was banished to Vienne, where he is said to have destroyed himself. Judæa and Samaria were now annexed to the presidentship of Syria, until the accession of Claudius, A.D. 41, when they were conferred upon Herod Agrippa the elder. Of the other divisions of Herod's kingdom, Philip retained his tetrarchy until his death, A.D. 34, when it was annexed to the presidentship of Syria; but Caligula, on his accession, A.D. 37, gave it also to Herod Agrippa the elder, who shortly afterwards received likewise the tetrarchy of Herod Antipas, so that his dominions were almost coextensive with those of his grandfather, Herod the Great. State of Judæa) in our Saviour's Time. 13. We have seen that at the death of Herod the Great, the Romans were politic enough to divide his territory into parts. Moreover, Judæa had already been included in the edict of Augustus that the whole empire should be taxed; but it was not till the deposition of Archelaus, A.D. 8, that the tax was levied, and the conquest of Judæa undisguisedly avowed. From this time for many years the Jews retained not a shadow of national independence: jurisdiction in capital cases was taken out of their hands; taxes were paid immediately to the Roman government; and a garrison of Roman soldiers occupied the tower of Antonia at Jerusalem, to overawe the inhabitants. In religious matters, 13. Give a sketch of the political state of Judæa at the time of our Saviour's crucifixion. TIBERIUS. however, the Romans interfered but little: the spiritual power of the High Priest and Sanhedrim remained undisturbed, although the conquerors had taken into their own hands the appointment of the former; the Roman Procurator, residing at Cæsarea, and visiting Judæa only upon extraordinary occasions, kept aloof from the religious disputes of the Jews, unless they affected state policy, and we find that he declined to give orders for the execution of our Lord until his jealousy of a temporal rival of the emperor was aroused. Associates of our Lord) A.D. 29. 14. About four months after our Lord's entrance upon His ministry, He made choice of twelve persons, according to the number of the tribes of Israel, to be witnesses of His actions and discourses, and after His departure out of the world to be propagators of His Gospel. These He called Apostles, which imports a special messenger or ambassador. They were plebeians, mostly fishermen, poor and illiterate; for He employed not the rich, the eloquent, or the learned, lest the success of their mission should be ascribed to human and natural causes. thus honoured by our Saviour were the following : The men : (1) Simon, named Peter, the eldest of all the Apostles, for which reason probably histories give him precedency. (2) Andrew, brother of Peter. (3) James, commonly called James the Great, son of Zebedee and Salome. (4) John, younger brother of James, and the youngest of all the Apostles. These two were surnamed by our Lord Boanerges or the Sons of Thunder, on account of their brave and resolute tempers. (5) Philip, who was called first by our Saviour. 14. When did our Lord choose His Apostles? What rank in life did they hold? Give their names. When were the Seventy chosen ? What has been conjectured from their number? What was their commission? (6) Bartholomew, probably the same with Nathanael. * Matthew, called also Levi, son to one Alpheus, a rich publican of Capernaum. (8) Thomas, called also Didymus, a Galilean, of mean parentage. (9) James, commonly distinguished by the name of James the Less, the son of Alpheus, or Cleopas, and Mary, sister to the blessed Virgin; upon which account, according to the Jewish custom, he is often called the brother of our Lord. (10) Simon, distinguished from Simon-Peter by the titles Cananite and Zealot. Whether he was that Simon who was brother to James the Less is uncertain. (11) Judas, commonly called Jude, and sometimes Thaddaeus and Lebbous, brother to James the Less. (12) Judas Iscariot, who betrayed our Lord. About eight months after their election, our Lord sent out these Apostles, two and two together, into all parts of Palestine inhabited by Jews, to preach the Gospel and work miracles. Sixteen months after the election of the twelve Apostles, our Lord thought fit to make a second choice of A.D. 31. Disciples; and as His first choice was of Twelve, according to the number of the tribes of Israel, this was of Seventy, † according to the number of senators composing the Sanhedrim. Hence, it is conjectured that Christ intended to admonish the Jews that the authority of their Sanhedrim was now at an end, and that all power in relation to religious matters was vested in Him alone. The commission of the Apostles was to go at large to any of the cities of Israel; but the Seventy were to go only to those particular places which Jesus Himself designed to visit, to make way for His preaching and reception. The appointment of the Seventy is mentioned by St. Luke (x. 1), and this is the only information concerning them that we get from the New Testament. The office was temporary, and therefore was not continued in the Church. *He wrote the Gospel under his name about the year 41, at the request of Jewish converts, for whose use it was principally designed. †There are two fictitious lists C of the Seventy Disciples now ex- TIBERIUS CHAPTER III. HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. TIBERIUS. Foundation of the 15. The foundation of the Christian Church may be dated from Christ's ascension, or more correctly perhaps from the day of Pentecost immediately succeeding His ascension. It is clear that when Christ began His preaching, the Church did not exist, for He proclaimed to the Jews that "the kingdom of Heaven," i.e. the Church of Christ (Daniel ii. 44; vii. 14), was "at hand” (Matt. iii. 2); He spake of it as that which then was not, but afterwards was to be; as when He also said to Peter, upon this rock I will build my Church" (Matt. xvi. 18), a future event being indicated. But when He ascended into Heaven, and the Holy Ghost came down upon the Apostles ten days afterwards, it is related that "the Lord added to the Church daily" (Acts ii. 47). The Church was then constituted, and its foundation may therefore be dated from the day upon which the Apostles received the Holy Spirit, or from the interval between that day and the Ascension. Effusion of the】 66 16. The twelve Apostles were men destitute of all human advantages-poor, friendless, neither eloquent nor learned, 15. Show from Scripture when the Christian Church was founded. 16. What was the promised aid which Christ gave to His Apostles after His ascension? Why was this aid peculiarly necessary to them? |