Biblical commentary on the New Testament - The Christian ...

INTRODUCTION. 151
since all the three Evangelists (Matth. xvii. 1 ; Mark ix. 2 ; Luke
ix. 28) connect it witli what precedes by fieO' ijn^pag tf, after
six days. |The dKrcb inupai, in Luke are the same period, but
differently reckoned). Yet if, commencing at this point, we make
the attempt to arrange the events backwards and onwards, the
thread is soon lost. But if, with the events, it appears impossi-
ble to connect the statements of the Evangelists into an or-
derly whole, it is still more so with the discourses. What appears
in Matthew (v—vii., x., xiii., xxiii., and in several other places) as
spoken in connexion, Luke gives broken up and widely scattered ;
so that the very first attempt to restore the different parts of the
discourses of Jesus to their chronological connexion, demonstrates
the impossibility of so doing, at least if the compilation, instead of
ser\^ng merely a practical purpose, is to claim scientific certainty.
Thus Jolin alone remains, whose careful chronological arrangement
strikes the eye, and who seems, therefore, to afford very im-
portant materials for the chronological arrangement of the chief
events at least, in the first three Gospels. For though, now and
then, an indefinite ftera ravra, after this, occurs even in John (as
iii. 22 ; vi. 1 ; vii. 1, and elsewhere), he usually states exactly,
whether one day (i. 29, 35, 44 ; vi. 22 ; xii. 12), or two (iv. 40. 43),
or three (ii. 1), or several days, intervened between the events re-
corded. The discourses, also, are in John so connected with the
cccurrences mentioned, and are so complete in themselves, that they
acquire, in their full extent, a fixed chronological place. The chief
point, however, is that John gives us great divisions in the life of
our Lord, between which Ave can endeavour to arrange the separate
events. Besides the last passover (xiii. 1), which is mentioned by
the synoptical Evangelists also, he speaks distinctly of another passover,
at which Jesus was present (ii. 13) ; and between these two
fixed points at the beginning and end of the ministry of Jesus,
John mentions further two feasts which the Saviour celebrated at
Jerusalem—viz., the feast of the dedication of the temple (x. 22),
and the feast of tabernacles {\\\. 2). Besides these, mention is
made (v. 1) of another feast ; but its character is left midetermined.
If we possessed only the records of the first three Gospels, we should
know nothing certain of these journeys of Jesus to the feasts ; we
could only arrive at the probable conclusion, that he would cer-
tainly not have neglected the Old Testament command (Ex. xxiii.
17) to go up to Jerusalem at the three great feasts, since we find
him so scrupulous in the observance of the law in other points.
Yet there is no clear evidence, even from John, of the number of
journeys to the feasts, which took place during the ministry of
Jesus, and hence the relation of the occurrences to the chronology
of Christ's active ministry still remains obscure. What John nar-