The life and work of St. Paul

148 THE LIFE AND WORK OF ST. PAUL.
to one who was not only (as is probable) a Gentile by birth, but a eunuch by
condition, the rite of baptism. The law of Deuteronomy forbade him to
become a member of the Jewish Church, but Philip admitted him into that
Christian communion 1 in which there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither male
nor female, neither bond nor free. 2
The subsequent work of Philip in the towns of Philistia and the sea-coast,
as well as during his long subsequent residence at Csesarea, 3 was doubtless
fruitful, but for Christian history the main significance of his life lay in his
successful mission to detested Samaritans, and in that bold baptism of the
mutilated alien. Deacon though he was, he had not shrunk from putting into
effect the Divine intimation which foreshadowed the ultimate obliteration
of exclusive privileges. We cannot doubt that it was the fearless initiative
of Philip which helped to shape the convictions of St. Peter, just as it was the
avowed act of St. Peter which involved a logical concession of all those truths
that were dearest to the heart of St. Paul.
In the peaceful visitation of the communities which the undisturbed
prosperity of the new faith rendered both possible and desirable, Peter had
journeyed westward, and, encouraged by the many conversions caused by the
healing of JBneas and the raising of Tabitha, he had fixed his home at Joppa,
in order to strengthen the young but flourishing churches on the plain
of Sharon. That he lodged in the house of Simon, a tanner, is merely
mentioned as one of those incidental circumstances which are never wanting in
the narratives of writers familiar with the events which they describe. But
we may now see in it a remarkable significance. It shows on the one hand
how humble must have been the circumstances of even the chiefest of the
Apostles, since nothing but poverty could have induced the choice of such
a residence. But it shows further that Peter had already abandoned Rabbinic
scrupulosities, for we can scarcely imagine that he would have found it
impossible to procure another home, 4 and at the house of a tanner no strict and
uncompromising follower of the Oral Law could have been induced to dwell.
The daily contact with the hides and carcases of various animals necessitated
by this trade, and the materials which it requires, rendered it impure and
disgusting in the eyes of all rigid legalists. If a tanner married without
mentioning his trade, his wife was permitted to get a divorce. 6 The law of
St. Luke. It is moreover obvious that while there was to some a strong temptation to insert
something of the kind, there was no conceivable reason to omit it if it had been genuine.
1 The significance of the act on those grounds is probably the main if not the sole
reason for its narration ; and if tvvoCxos had merely meant chamberlain," there would
have been no reason to add the word Swatm^ in ver. 27. Dr. Plumptre (New Testament
Commentary, in loc.} adduces the interesting parallel furnished by the first decree of the
first (Ecumenical Council (Cone. Nic. Can. 1).
2 Gal. iii. 28. In Iron. Haer. iii. 12, Euseb. H. E. ii. 1, he is said to have evangelised
his own country.
a Acts. xxi. 8, 9. Observe the undesigned coincidence in his welcome of the Apostle
of the Gentiles. At this point he disappears from Christian history. The Philip wh
died at Hierapolis (Euseb. H. E. iii. 31) is probably Philip the Apostle.
4
Lydda and Joppa were thoroughly Judaic (Joa. B, J. ii. 19, 1),
KetubMth, f. 77, L