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JOHN XX.

23 ceive ye the Holy Ghost: whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

$ 168. JESUS APPEARS IN THE MIDST OF THE APOSTLES, THOMAS BEING PRESENT.

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Jerusalem.

Evening following the First Day of the Week next after the Resurrection.

JOHN XX. 24-29.

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when 25 Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my 26 hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being 27 shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28, 29 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.1

§ 169. THE APOSTLES GO AWAY INTO GALILEE. JESUS SHOWS HIMSELF TO NINE OF THEM AT THE SEA OF TIBERIAS.-Galilee.

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MATT. XXVIII. 16.

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee.

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JOHN XXI. 1-24.

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise 2 showed he himself. There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana 3 in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that 4 night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus 5 stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, 6 No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it 7 for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself 8 into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net 9 with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of 10 coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring 11 of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three and for all 12 there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? 13 knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and 14 giveth them, and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.

11 Pet. 1. 8.

This appearance of our Lord to the seven disciples at the Lake of Galilee, is shown to have preceded that upon the mountain, by John 21.14. It was his third appearance to the apostles, (see

§§ 167, 168,) but the seventh in all. (See Introductory Note to this Part.) They were now waiting the appointed time, to meet Jesus upen a certain mountain, Matt. 28. 16.

JOHN XXI.

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So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?! He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou 16 knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto 17 him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my 18 sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry 19 thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow 20 me. Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper,' and said, Lord, which is 21 he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what 22 shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, 23 what is that to thee? Follow thou me. Then went this saying abroad

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among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?

This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true,

§ 170. JESUS MEETS HIS APOSTLES AND ABOUT FIVE HUNDRED BRETHREN ON A

MOUNTAIN IN GALILEE.

MATT. XXVIII. 16-20.

16 Into a mountain where Jesus 6 17 had appointed them. And when

1 Comp. Matt. 26. 33.

The third time. There can be no doubt that our Lord sought Peter's confession thrice, because the denial had been thrice repeated. Peter appears in this beautiful and touching narrative as one fully restored in spirit by repentance, and as also fully and formally reinstated in the apostleship by his gracious Lord, "that great Shepherd of the sheep" (Heb. 13, 20). Here is a most striking illustration of the chastening and humbling effect of true repentance. Peter, before the hour of his trial and his fall, professed to have more love to his Master than the others had (Mark 14. 29; John 13. 37), but now he claims no pre-eminence nor institutes any comparison, being content simply to declare with meekness his sincere love.

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1 COR. XV. 6.

After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of

ed of our Lord for a solemn and more public interview, not only with the eleven, whom he had already met more than once, but with all his disciples in Galilee; and that therefore it was on this same occasion, when, according to Paul, “he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once." That the interview in Matthew was not confined to the eleven alone, seems evident from the fact that "some doubted;" for this could hardly be supposed true of any of the eleven, after what had already happened to them in Jerusalem and Galilee, and after having been appointed to meet their risen Lord at this very time and place. The appearance to the five hundred must at any rate be referred to Galilee; for even after our Lord's ascension, the number of the names in Jerusalem were together only about a hundred and twenty, Acts 1. 15. And further, Paul in enumerating the appearances of Jesus, in 1 Cor. 15. 5-8, specifies only those to apostles, with this single exception; which therefore seems of itself to imply, that the eleven also were here included. Robinson therefore, with many leading commentators, regards the interviews thus described by Matthew and Paul, as identical. It was a great and solemn occasion. Our Lord had directed, that the eleven, and all his disciples in Galilee, should thus be convened upon the mountain. It was the closing scene of his ministry in Galilee. Here his life had been spent. Here most of his mighty

MATT. XXVIII.

they saw him, they worshipped him: 18 but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in hea

1 COR. XV.

whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

19 ven and in earth.1 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,2 baptizing them 20 in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

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§ 171. OUR LORD IS SEEN OF JAMES; THEN OF ALL THE APOSTLES. 8.4-Jerusalem.

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1 COR. XV. 7.

After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

ACTS I. 3-8.

To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things per4 taining to the kingdom of God: and, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait 5 for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

For

John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy 6 Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the 7 kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the 8 times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

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§ 172. THE ASCENSION.-Bethany.

LUKE XXIV. 50-53.

And he led them out as far as to Bethany," and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.

works had been done, and his discourses held. Here his followers were as yet most numerous. He therefore here takes leave on earth of those among whom he had lived and laboured longest; and repeats to all his disciples in public the solemn charge which he had already given in private to the apostles: "Go ye therefore and teach all nations; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." It was doubtless the Lord's last interview with his disciples in that region; his last great act in Galilee.

Acts 2. 36; Phil. 2. 9, 10.

2 Comp. John 4. 1; Mark 16. 15, 16; Acts 2. 38-41.

3 Acts 2. 42.

Luke relates, in Acts 1. 3, that Jesus showed himself alive to the apostles "after his passion, by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." This would seem to imply interviews and communications as to which we have little more than this very general notice. One of these may have been the appearance to James, mentioned by Paul only (1 Cor. 15. 7), and subsequent to that to the five hundred brethren. It may be referred with most probability

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7 During the preceding discourse, Acts 1. 7, 8 (§ 171), or in immediate connexion with it, our Lord leads the apostles out as far as to Bethany (ἕως εἰς Βηθανίαν); and lifting up his hands he blessed them, Luke 24. 50. This act of blessing must be understood, by all the laws of language, as having taken place at or near Bethany." And it came to pass, WHILE he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven." Our Lord's ascension, then, took place at or near Bethany. Indeed, the sacred writer could hardly have found words to express the fact more definitely and fully; and a doubt on this point could never have suggested itself to the mind of any reader, but for the language of the same writer in Acts 1. 12, where he relates that after the ascension the disciples "returned unto Jerusalem from

MARK XVI. 19, 20.

19 So then after the 51

Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

LUKE XXIV.

And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.

ACTS I. 9-12.

9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out 10 of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men 11 stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

LUKE XXIV.

52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: 53 and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

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Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.

MARK XVI.

20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

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§ 173. CONCLUSION OF JOHN'S GOSPEL.

JOHN XX. 30, 31. XXI. 25.

And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, 31 which are not written in this book: but these are written,' that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

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JOHN XXI.

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

the mount called Olivet." Luke obviously did not mean to contradict himself; and the most that this expression can be made to imply, is, that from Bethany where their Lord had ascended, which lies on the eastern slope of the mount of Olives, a mile or more below the summit of the ridge, the disciples returned to Jerusalem by a path across the mount. Indeed, Bethany is described in the New Testament as connected with, or as a part of, the mount of Olives, as "at the mount of Olives," Mark 11. 1; Luke 19. 29. [See § 112.] And further, where Matthew and Mark speak of Jesus, during the week of his passion, as going out at evening from Jerusalem to lodge at Bethany, Luke says expressly that he spent the nights going out into the mount of Olives. See Matt. 21. 17; Mark 11. 11, 19, 20;

Luke 21. 37. This serves to show, that Luke, in chap. 24. 50 and Acts 1. 12, uses the terms Bethany and mount of Olives interchangeably, and almost as synonymous.

Yet from this remark in Acts there arose, probably early in the fourth century, the legend which fixed the place of the ascension on the reputed summit of the mount of Olives. If that was indeed the true spot, then our Lord ascended from it in full view of all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; a circumstance not hinted at by the sacred writers, nor at all in accordance with the life and character of the Saviour.

For a full discussion of this topic, see an article by Dr. Robinson in the American Bibliotheca Sacra for Feb. 1843, p. 176, sq.

Comp. Luke 1. 4.

APPENDIX.

NOTE TO § 7.

THE TIME OF THE NATIVITY.

THE precise year of our Lord's birth is uncertain. According to Matt. 2. 1-6, he was born during the lifetime of Herod the Great, and not long before his death. Herod died in the year of Rome (A. U.) 750, just before the passover; see Jos. Antiq. 17. 8. 1. ib. 17. 9. 3. This has been verified by calculating the eclipse of the moon, which happened just before his death; Jos. Ant. 17. 6. 4. Wurm in Bengel's Archiv. I. p. 26. Ideler Handb. der Chronol. II. p. 391, sq. If now we make an allowance of time for the purification, the visit of the Magi, the flight into Egypt, and the remaining there till Herod was dead -for all which not less than six months can well be required-it follows, that the birth of Christ cannot in any case be fixed later than the autumn of A. u. 749.

Another note of time occurs in Luke 3. 1, 2, where John the Baptist is said to have entered upon his ministry in the fifteenth year of Tiberius; and again in Luke 3. 23, where Jesus is said to have been "about thirty years of age at his baptism. Now, if

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both John and Jesus, as is quite probable, entered upon their ministry at the age of thirty, in accordance with the Levitical custom (Num. 4. 3, 35, 39, 43, 47), by reckoning_back thirty years we may ascertain the year of John's birth, and of course also that of Jesus. Augustus died Aug. 29, A. u. 767; and was succeeded by Tiberius, who had already been associated with him in the government for at least two years, and probably three. If now we reckon from the death of Augustus, the fifteenth year of Tiberius commenced Aug. 29th, A. U. 781; and going back thirty years, we find that John must have been born not earlier than August, A. u. 751, and our Lord of course not earlier than A. U. 752;—a result disagreeing with that obtained from Matthew by three years. If, on the other hand, we reckon from the time when Tiberius was admitted as co-regent of the empire, which is shown to have been certainly as early as A. U. 765, and probably in A. u. 764; then the fifteenth year of Tiberius began in a. U. 778, and it follows that John may have been born in A. U. 748, and our Lord in A. u. 749. In this way the results obtained from Matthew and Luke are more nearly coincident.

A third note of time is derived from John 2. 20, "Forty and six years was this temple in building." Josephus says, in one place, that Herod began to build the temple in the eighteenth year of his reign; while in another he specifies the fifteenth year; Ant. 15. 11. 1. B. J. 1. 21. 1. He also assigns the length of Herod's reign at thirty-seven or thirtyfour years; according as he reckons from his appointment by the Romans, or from the death of Antigonus; Ant. 17. 8. 1. B. J. 1. 33. 8. Herod was first declared king of Judea in A. U. 714; Jos. Ant. 14. 14. 4, 5. B. J. 1. 14.4. Comp. Ant. 14. 16.4. Ideler Handb. der Chron. II. p. 390. Hence the eighteenth year of his reign, when Herod began to rebuild the temple, would coincide with A. u. 732; and our Lord's first passover, in the fortyseventh year following, would fall in A. u. 779. If now our Lord at that time was thirty and a half years of age, as is probable, this would carry back the year of his birth to the autumn of A. u. 748.

Further, according to a tradition preserved by the Latin Fathers of the first five centuries, our Lord's death took place during the consulate of the two Gemini, C. Rubellius and C. Fufius, that is, in A. u. 782. So Tertullian, Lactantius, Augustine, &c. See Tertull. adv. Jud. § 8. Augustin. de Civ. Dei, XVIII. 54. If now the duration of his

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