The life and work of St. Paul

5-iO *HE LIFB AND WORK OlT ST.
Tlie language has been censured as unbecoming in its violence, and has been
unfavourably compared with the meekness of Christ before the tribunal of his
"
enemies. Where," asks St. Jerome, " is that patience of the Saviour, who
as a lamb led to the slaughter opens not his mouth so gently asks the smiter,
'
If I have spoken evil, bear witness to the evil ; but if well, why smitest thou
mo P ' We are not detracting from the Apostle, but declaring the glory of
God, who, suffering in the flesh, reigns above the wrong and frailty of the
flesh." 1 Yet we need not remind the reader that not once or twice only did
Christ give the rein to righteous anger, and blight hypocrisy and insolence
with a flash of holy wrath. The bystanders seem to have been startled by the
boldness of St. Paul's rebuke, for they said to him, " Dost thou revile the
High Priest of God ? " The Apostle's anger had expended itself in that one
outburst, and he instantly apologised with exquisite urbanity and self-control.
" I did not know," he said, " brethren, that he is the High Priest ;
" adding
that, had he known this, he would not have addressed to him the opprobrious
name of "whited wall," because he reverenced and acted upon the rule of
Scripture, " 2
Thou shalt not ill speak of a ruler of thy people."
It has been thought very astonishing that St. Paul should not know that
Ananias was the High Priest, and all sorts of explanations have consequently
been foisted into his very simple words. These words cannot, however, mean
8
that he was unable to recognise the validity of Ananias's title or that he had
;
spoken for the moment without considering his office ;
* or that he could not
be supposed to acknowledge a high priest in one who behaved with such
illegal insolence.6 Considering the disrepute and insignificance into which
the high-priesthood had fallen during the dominance of men who would only,
as a rule, take it for a short time in order to " pass the chair; " 6
considering
that one of these worldly intruders took to wearing silk gloves that he might
not soil his hands with the sacrifices ; considering, too, that the Romans and
the Herods were constantly sotting up one and putting down another at their
own caprice, and that the people often regarded some one as the real high priest,
who was no longer invested with the actual office ; considering, too, that in
such ways the pontificate of these truckling Sadducees had sunk into a mere
simulacrum of what once it was, and that the real allegiance of the people had
been completely transferred to the more illustrious Rabbis it is perfectly
conceivable that St. Paul, after his long absence from Jerusalem, 7 had not,
1 Adv. Pelag. iii. 1.
2 Ex. xxii. 28, LXX. (cf. 2 Pet. ii. 10). Under the good breeding of the answer we
notice the admirable skill which enabled Paul thus to show at once his knowledge of and
his obedience to the Law, for the supposed apostasy from which he was impugned.
*
Lightfoot, Schoettgen, Kuinoel, Baumgarten.
4
Bengel (non veniebat mihi in mentem), Wetstein, Bp. Sanderson (non uoveram, non
satis attente consideravi), Bp. Wordsworth, &c.
* Calvin.
* The Jews themselves take this view of them. Qratz (iii. 322) refers to PesacMm^
57, 1, Joma, 23, 1, which speaks of their narrowness, envy, violence, love of precedence^
&c. ; Josephus (Antt. xx. 8, 8, 9, 4) speaks of their impudence and turbulence (see Life
of Christ, ii. 329342).
7 This is the view of Chryaostom.