Hellenism and Christianity. Cologne, 1865, p. 427-431. Schaff, Hist. of the Ancient Church to the end of the sixth century. Lps. 1867.

PART FIRST-FIRST CENTURY.

CHRIST AND THE APOSTOLIC AGE.

+*Döllinger, Christianity and the Church during her foundation. Ratisbon (2 ed.), 1869. The first book of this work contains a brief account of the Life of Christ and His Apostles; the second states the doctrine of Christ and His Apostles; the third treats the constitution, divine worship, and religious life. Schaff, Hist. of the Apostolic Church. Lps. 1854.

CHAPTER I.

THE LIFE AND LABORS OF JESUS CHRIST.1

"That believing in Jesus John xx. 31, cf. v. 13.

*"God Himself will come and will save you." Jes. xxxv. 4. the Christ, the Son of God, you may have life in his name."

Euseb. h. e., lib. I. *Tillemont, T. I., p. 1-108. (Hist. of Jesus Christ, of the B. V. M., St. Joseph, Joseph of Arimathea, and John the B.) To which are added notes et éclaircissements, etc. Hess, Biography of Jesus. Zurich (1747), 1823 sq. 3 pts. Neander, the Life of Jesus Christ (1837). 6 ed. 1862. +*Stolberg, Vol. V. †Bucher, the Life of Jesus Christ. Stuttg. 1858. †Sepp, the Life of Christ. 2 ed. Ratisbon, 1853 sq. 5 pts.

§ 33. Chronological Researches on the year of the Birth of Christ, and the Length of His Life.

Tillemont, Note IV. to the Life of Christ. Natal. Alex. h. e. I. saec. diss. II. Sepp, in 1. c., pt. I. Wieseler, Chronological Survey of the Four Gospels. Hambg. 1843. Seyfarth, Chronol. sacra. Lps. 1846. †Friedlieb, Hist. of the Life of Jesus. Breslau, 1855.

1Against the attempt of v. Strauss, in his "Life of Jesus," to change the Gospel narrative into a myth, confer †Mack, Account of the Life of Jesus, by v. Strauss, in the Tübing. Quarterly, 1837. †Hug, Criticism of the Life of Jesus, by Strauss, in the Freiburg Periodical for Theology, 1839 sq., and sep. ed. Ullman, Historical or Mythical? Hambg. 1838. Tholuck, Credibility of the Gospel History. Hambg. 1838. Krabbe, Lectures on the Life of Jesus. Hambg. 1839. Elster, John Christian Edelmann compared with Strauss. A hist. reminiscence. Clausthal, 1839. Tischendorf, When were our Gospels composed? Lps. 1865. For numerous works against Strauss' second attempt in his popularized Life of Jesus, as well as against Renan's Life of Jesus, and Schenkel's Historical Portrait of Jesus, conf. Literary Guide, by Hülskamp and Rump, years 1864 and 1865.

There have existed from the earliest times differences of opinion relative to the dates of the birth and death of Christ.

Irenaeus and Tertullian held that His birth occurred in the 41st year of the reign of Augustus, or the 751st of the building of the city. Clement of Alexandria, Eusebius, Epiphanius, and Orosius placed it in the 42d year of the same emperor; and at a still later date the Roman abbot Denys the Little, by an entirely independent computation, made about 530 A. D., arrived at the year 754 of the building of the city; but the latest researches seem to give the weight of authority to the year 747.2

3

1

The reason for the departure from the date given by Denys is based upon the undoubted truth of the assertion of Josephus Flavius, who says that Herod died in the spring of 750 or 751. Now, the account given by St. Matthew of the massacre of the Innocents renders it absolutely certain that Christ was born before the death of Herod occurred, and hence the date given by Denys is necessarily at least four years too late.

The only valuable hints bearing on this point to be found. in the Gospels are those contained in two passages of St. Luke, in the first of which he tells us that St. John the Baptist began his public life in the fifteenth year of the reign of the Emperor Tiberius; and in the second he states that the im

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1For the different opinions, see Fabricii bibliograph. antiquar, 2 ed., Hambg. 1716; and Münter, the Star of the Wise Men, concerning the year of the birth of Christ, Copenhagen, 1827.

2 Kepler, de nova stella in pede serpentarii, etc. Pragae, 1606. De Jesu Christi servatoris nostri anno natalitio. Francft. 1606. 4to. De vero anno, quo aeternus Dei filius humanam naturam in utero benedictae virginis Mariae assumpsit. Francft. 1614. 4to. He votes for 748 a. u. c. Sanclementii, de vulgar. aerae emendat. libb. IV., Rom. 1793, fol.; and Ideler, Chronol., Vol. II., p. 394 sq.; also *Sepp, on rather ingenious than convincing combinations, decides himself for 747 a. u. c. So, likewise, † Weigl, theol. chronol. essays on the true year of the birth and death of Jesus Christ. Sulzbach, 1849. . 2 pts. 4to. Palma, 1. c., T. I., p. 1–16. Delsignore, h. e., T. I., p. 107–120. The other copious works on this topic, see in Gams, Ch. H. by Moehler, Vol. I., p. 85-89; and in Zumpt, The year of the Birth of Christ. Lps. 1869.

3 Matt. ii. 16.

4 Luke iii. 1, 2.

5 Luke ii. 1, 2.

perial census was taken in Palestine while Quirinus was governor of Syria.

It would be easy to ascertain the year of the birth of Christ from the first of the statements, were it certain that the two years of the joint reign of Tiberius and Augustus, who died 767 A. u. c., are included in the fifteen, and this Wieseler1 seems to have now conclusively established. Hence, subtracting these two years, and adding the fifteen above mentioned, we arrive at the year 780 a. u. c. Now, Christ began his public life a little later than St. John the Baptist, and, according to St. Luke,2 when He was about thirty years of age. Subtracting this number from 780, we get 750, which was probably the year of the birth of Christ.

This opinion is strengthened by calculations made relative to the appearance of the star mentioned in St. Matthew, and particularly by the fact that, with the exception of the year 783 a. u. c., for a long time both before and after the coming of Christ, the Pasch did not fall on a Thursday. ·

Now, according to the commonly received opinion, Christ celebrated His Last Supper when He had exactly completed the thirty-third year of His life, which brings us back again to the year 750.*

Still it must be evident to all that there is a great deal of uncertainty in the various dates that form the basis of the last calculation, and should we attempt to determine the month and the day of the birth of Christ, this would be immeasurably increased and the task surrounded with insuperable difficulties. We may, however, infer with tolerable cer

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1 Wieseler, Contributions toward a just appreciation of the Gospels. Gotha, 1869.

2 Luke iii. 23.

3 Matt. ii. 2, 7, 9, 10.

4 This is likewise the conclusion of Wieseler, Chronological Synopsis. etc., pp. 131, 132. The singular opinion of St. Irenaeus that Christ reached the age of forty, stands quite isolated. Conf. Iren. ctr. haeres. II. 22., ed. Massuet. Par. 1710 f., p. 148.

5 Whilst even Hieronymus, sermo de nativitate, said, "Sive hodie Christus natus est, sive baptizatus est, diversa quidem fertur opinio in mundo, et pro traditionum varietate sententia est diversa;" yet Sepp., in l. c. pt. I., unhesitatingly affirms, on the strength of doubtful arguments, that the birth of Christ occurred the 25th day of December, 747, A. u. C.

tainty, from what is said in the Holy Gospels, that the public life of our Lord lasted through a period of three years.

§ 34. Object of the Incarnation of Christ.

According to a very ancient and ever memorable prophecy, which grew more precise as time went on, the Messiah was to come among the Jews for the purpose of destroying sin and regenerating mankind.

He was therefore exempt in His conception from the ordinary course of nature, and took upon Himself our manhood in a manner altogether supernatural. He was to be conceived in the womb of a virgin1 of the house of David, and to be born at Bethlehem, in the land of Judah.2 When the appointed time had come,3 the Virgin Mary of the line of David, and residing at Nazareth, was thus saluted by the angel Gabriel: "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee, and therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." 4

A Pagan government, though unconscious of the fact, contributed to execute the eternal decrees of God. When the time for the nativity of the Messiah had come, the Emperor Augustus ordered a census of the inhabitants of the empire.

The Blessed Virgin, in compliance with the decree, repaired to Bethlehem, whither she was accompanied by Joseph, her spouse, who, though only a poor carpenter, was of the royal house of David. Here, in a stable, she brought forth that marvelous child, whom the prophets had saluted from afar as the powerful God, the Father of the world to come, and the Prince of peace.

His birth was the beginning of a new era.

The Blessed Virgin never again conceived in her sacred

1 Jesai. vii. 14.

2 Mich. v. 1.

3 Gen. xlix. 10; Dan. ix. 24.

4 Luke i. 26 sq.; John i. 18.

5 Luke ii. 1-5.

womb.1 The occurrences accompanying the birth of Christ were no less extraordinary than those which preceded His coming. Angels appeared in the heavens, who gave expression to the joy of man at being no longer estranged from God and sunk in sin, but the object of divine love; and, in the name of the world, sitting in darkness and unconscious of the fact, thanked God that through His gracious kindness a Savior had come among men. They also announced that amid the general confusion, peace with God was once more established in the world, and the happy converse between Heaven and earth renewed.3

4

The song of the angels proclaiming these tidings of joy drew some Jewish shepherds to the side of the new-born Savior, while wise men from the East, inspired by love for the Father, came to pay divine honors to the Son," and thus both the Jew and the Gentile, the whole redeemable world, were represented at the cradle of the Son of God.

As it was fitting that the Son of God made man should in all things become like His brethren," He was circumcised on the eighth day, as prescribed by the law, and, by command of God, called Jesus.

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1 The brethren of Jesus mentioned in the N. T. (Matt. xii. 46, xiii. 55; Mark iii. 31, vi. 3; Luke viii. 19-21; John ii. 12; Acts i. 14), are, like the Hebrew

ach-to be taken as meaning ávé, i. e., relatives. Cf. Matt. xiii. 55, with Matt. xxvii. 56. The circumstance that Jesus, when about to die, recommended Mary to his beloved disciple John, with these words, also favors this interpretation, “Behold thy mother." John xix. 25-27. The word πρwrótokos, used with reference to Christ (Matt. i. 15), does not militate against this construction, but, like the word ĉws Matt. i. 25, non cognovit eam donec peperit primogenitum), is fully and satisfactorily explained by comparing 2 Kings vi. 23, with Genesis viii. 7. Conf. also Schleyer in the Freiburg Periodical for Theol., Vol. IV., p. 1–116. Köster, Illustration of the S. Scriptures by the Classics. Kiel, 1833. Conf. further on, ? 143. Blom, dissertatio de roïç ådeλpoïs toũ kvpíov. Lugd. Batav. 1839.

2 Luke ii. 9-12; Conf. Heb. i. 6.

3 John i. 52.

4 Luke ii. 16 sq.

5 Matt. ii. 10, 11.

6 Heb. ii. 17, 18.

7 Matt. i. 21.

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p. 88, n. 1.

-Joshuah, later form for -Jehoshuah, God's help. Conf.