CHAPTER VIII.

OUTLINE OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST.

Address by the Rev. Dr. Broadus-Harmonies of the GospelsIntancy of Jesus-His Childhood and Youth-Retirement and Preparation-Six Periods of His Public Ministry-Long Tours and Incessant Activity-Reasons for His Circuitous MovementsHelps to Study Recommended.

THE four Gospels are independent works. Each of them is a complete whole. Beware of superseding the text as we find it with harmonies. We must study those Gospels each in itself, and then mentally combine the impressions. Once in Mr. Story's studio in Rome some visitors asked him if he could make a bust of their father from photographs without seeing him. "Yes," he said, "with some difficulty, after a fashion. But you must let me have photographs of heads and busts from every point of view." If you take all the pictures of Christ in the Bible-by prophets, evangelists, apostles, and in the book of Revelation-you will get a far better conception of Him than if you had only one writer.

Why, then, should we attempt a harmony of the Gospels or a life of Christ at all? 1. Because we naturally wish to get a general historical outline of the life of Christ. We do not want to have merely vague and confused recollections derived from the different Gospels. 2. To explain discrepancies. Everybody notices, when he comes to compare the Gospels, apparent contradictions. A few years ago there was a school of German writers who lived on the discrepancies of the Gospels. Trial by jury was not introduced in Germany till after

the revolution of 1848. Had these writers been in the habit of judging different accounts of the same series of events, as every one is in this country, they would have seen that discrepancies are not only inevitable, but that they are positively necessary to authenticate any account. If four different witnesses should tell exactly the same story in all particulars, I wouldn't believe any of them-I would think they had put their heads together, or had been taught a lesson. It is necessary for belief in four different accounts of a long series of events, that there should be some things that at first don't seem to agree. Of course, if those discrepancies could be shown to be hopeless, downright, inexplicable contradictions, it would be another thing. But many things that at first were hard to explain, have been explained. Many apparent conflicts between one part of the Bible and another, that puzzled me during my early studies, have been cleared up while my hair is growing gray. Certain difficulties were the whole stock in trade of a large section of critical objectors fifty years ago, which you will scarcely ever hear a word about now. As to discrepancies, let me make a remark. I am not bound to show that my theory of explanation is the only right one. There may be several ways of explaining a difficulty. If I prefer one way, I have no call to attack another. It is enough that one is reasonable. 3. We naturally wish, in the practical use of the Gospels, to combine all the material in regard to any particular scene or discourse in the life of Jesus. If you take up some scene and read all the accounts, and put them together so as to get the whole effect, you are so far making a harmony of the Gospels. It is, therefore, convenient and desirable that this work should be done throughout. We must, however, expect difficulties in various points. We must learn to distinguish between

things where we can be certain, and things where we cannot be certain. Some points are certain; others are more or less probable. Two books I would recommend are: 1st. Robinson's "Harmony," either in English or Greek, Riddle's new edition, Hartford; 2d. G. W. Clark's "Harmony," which is better at some points. Where you find these agree, you can be pretty confident they are right; where they differ, there is room for difference.

Q. Have you examined "The Four Gospels in One"? Dr. Broadus-There are several books of that kind. One time in my life I was very fond of them. But the trouble is, they sink the individuality of the several Gospels the different stand-points and the different tone. I think it is a great deal better to have the extracts complete, and compare them yourself. Thus you will see the difference and the connection in each case. I should, therefore, upon the whole, not advise the use of books of that sort. The other way is more trouble, but you get better results, and you don't think you know so much, which is one great point.

[The lecturer used a wall-map of Palestine to illustrate the geography of the life of Christ, and proceeded to speak of its chronology.] The time of our Saviour's birth was certainly in the fifth year before the ordinary annus Domini, which was fixed in the fifth or sixth century by error. Herod died in the spring of 750, as is shown by Josephus's reference to an eclipse of the moon that occurred near the time of his death, and astronomy shows which year that was. So the birth of Christ must have been in the year 749=B.C. 5. The annus Domini cannot be changed as a chronological error now. We can only say it was a mistake, and that the birth of Christ was five years earlier-possibly a little more, but certainly that much.

Luke says that Jesus was about thirty years old when

He began His ministry. According to that He began Anno Domini 26. Now, His ministry lasted three years and a fraction, so far as we know, provided the feast of John v. I was a Passover, which it probably was. Otherwise we should only know of its lasting two years and a fraction-if that feast be not taken as a Passover. If you say the ministry was three years and a fraction, then it began at or in the latter part of A.D. 26, and ended at the Passover of A.D. 30—in the spring of that year, about our Easter.

Now, let us take up the leading periods in the life of our Lord. The first began with the birth and childhood of Jesus. You find introductory matter in each of the Gospels. Matthew begins with a genealogy reaching back to Abraham, and Luke with one reaching back to Adam. John goes back to eternity. Mark plunges in medias res. The introductory matter of Luke includes the annunciation, and the story of the birth of John and the birth of Jesus. By the way, the saying of Simeon is by most people incorrectly understood. It was not, "Now, do Thou let Thy servant depart in peace"; but, "Now, Thou lettest"-a recognition of the fact that now the event had come which the Lord had let him live to see. Then you have the story of the Magi, and of the flight into Egypt. I remember an illustration here. During the war, when the United States troops took possession of Beaufort, S. C., a great many wealthy families were living there temporarily. I heard as time went on that some of them had to part with their family jewels to get the plainest food, as was natural under the circumstances. The gifts of the Magi were a means of support to Joseph and his family in Egypt. We cannot conceive of the difficulty that must have been experienced by a little family in leaving home and going into another country and there trying to find something to do. Those

gifts may fairly be regarded as a Providential means of support. Then we come to the massacre of about five hundred little boys in Bethlehem, and the return of Joseph and his family northward from Jerusalem.

Where is Nazareth? Take a pear and slit it lengthwise, leaving a crooked stem. In the lower half of that pear you have exactly the shape of the valley of Nazareth. From the high western mountains the growing youth could have gained extensive views in all directions. To the south were the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim. On the east He could see the mountains beyond the Jordan. On the west lay the grand Mediter ranean—very blue and beautiful. On the north appeared the snow-clad range of Hermon.

I divide the public ministry of Jesus into six parts. We pass the quiet years of preparation, concerning which little is known, though much has been conjectured. Compare the apocryphal gospels and the silly stories that have gathered in connection with them, with the inspired narrative, and then see the grand simplicity of the Gospels themselves. The Jews had a foolish notion that a man was not grown until he was thirty-I don't dare to say that I sometimes think they were right. At all events the Deliverer of mankind was actually in the world, living retired, and never appeared till He was thirty years of age, although He foreknew that He was so soon to die. How we ought to be thrilled with the thought that the Saviour lived and died a young man! Though He knew His public career would be but a brief three years, still He lived on quietly preparing, and still He waited while John the Baptist was preparing too. These are the six divisions:

1. The introduction of our Lord's ministry: the work of John the Baptist, the baptism of Christ and His temptation. The localities of these events are not cer