and while on the way frequently impressed upon them the importance and reality of their mission, as when he said: "All power is given to Me in Heaven and on earth; go ye, therefore, and teach all nations; go ye into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." And when He had blessed them, He departed from them and ascended up into Heaven, going out of this world as mysteriously as He had come into it."

1

2

Christ had said to his Apostles, "But stay ye in the city till you have been endued with power from on High," and they, filled with wonder and reverence, returned to Jerusalem to await the promise.

He finally foretold that the Son of Man would not again return to the earth till the end of the world, when he would come in the clouds of Heaven, with great power and majesty, to judge all nations.*

1 Matt. xxviii. 20; Mark xvi. 15.

2 Luke xxiv. 51; Acts i. 9.

3 Luke xxiv. 49.

4 Matt. xxiv. 30 et seq. There are, besides the Four Gospels, other works that throw light upon the life of Jesus, some of which are of doubtful authenticity and others unquestionably apocryphal, among which may be mentioned: 1. The supposed correspondence between Christ and Abgar, King of Edessa, which, Eusebius informs us, was found in the archives of the Church of Edessa, and translated from the Syriac. Conf. his. Hist. Eccl. I. 13; also Assemani, bibl. Oriental. T. I., p. 554, T. III. pt. 2, p. 8. Natal. Alex., Hist Eccl. I. saec, diss. III. T. IV.; vide Welte in Tübing. Quarterly for 1842, p. 335-365, in which he makes an unsuccessful attempt to prove the authenticity of this correspondence. Also a Syriac letter written by Mara to his son Serapion, about the year 72, in which he praises Christ, calls Him a wise King, says He is worthy of being placed beside Socrates and Pythagoras, and deplores His murder by the Jews. It was first published in Cureton's Spicilegium Syriacum, London, 1855.

2. The apocryphal stories relative to the birth, youth, and life of Jesus are undoubtedly not authentic. They are to be found in Fabricii codex apocr. N. T., ed. II., Hamburg, 1719 sq., T. III., and in Thilo's codex apocr. N. T., Lps. 1832, T. I. Ejusd. Acta Thomae Apost., Lps. 1823. Evang. apocr. ed. Tischendorf, Lps. 1853. In German, N. T. Apocryphal Library, transl. and accompanied with introd. and annotations by Borberg, one pt. in 2 nos. Apocryphal Gospels and Histories of the Apostles, Stuttg. 1840 and 1841; and Life of Jesus after the Apocryphal Books, Lps. 1851.

3. The Acta Pilati, of which Justin the Martyr makes mention in his Apolog. I., c. 35, 48. Tertullian also speaks of them (Apolog., c. 5, 21), and they were known to both Pagans, Euseb. Hist. Eccl. IX. 5, and Christians, Epiphanius Haeres. L. c. I.; but these authors do not agree as to their contents. The Evangelium Nicodemi, a later work, is also based on these Acta. Cf. Thilo's Acta Thomae, p. xxx. et seq., and Braun, de Tiberii Christum in deorum numerum referendi consilio comment. Bonn, 1834. St. Chrysostom, Hom. 26, in 2 Cor., says that this decree was rejected by the interposition of God, "who would not allow His Son to have any fellowship with false gods." These acts must undoubtedly rest on some historical basis, since the emperors required of the procurators, in virtue of their office, such or similar reports. Moreover, if these acts had not been found in the imperial archives, the frequent appeals which the apologists make to them would have been without purpose or meaning.

4. We regard the testimony of the Jew, Josephus Flavius, relative to Christ, as authentic and entirely free from interpolation (Antiquities XVIII. 3, 3), for, apart from all extrinsic and intrinsic evidence, it is in perfect harmony both with the religious bias of his mind and his position at Rome. He affirms that the Messianic prophecies of the Jews were fulfilled in the Emperor Vespasian. He says: “Γίνεται δὲ κατὰ τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον Ἰησοῦς, σοφὸς ἀνήρ, (εἴγε ἄνδρα αὐτὸν λέγειν χρή. ἦν γὰρ) παραδόξων ἔργων ποιητής, (διδάσκαλος ἀνθρώπων τῶν σὺν ἡδονῇ τἀληθῆ δεχομένων). καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν τῶν Ἰουδαίων, πολλοὺς δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἑλληνικοῦ επηγάγετο. (Ο Χριστὸς οὗτος ἦν. Καὶ αὐτὸν ἐνδείξει τῶν πρώτων ἀνδρῶν παρ' ἡμῖν σταυρῷ ἐπιτετιμηκότος Πιλάτου οὐκ ἐξεπαύσαντο οἱ τὸ πρῶτον αὐτὸν ἀγαπήσαντες. (Εφάνη γὰρ αὐτοῖς τρίτην ἔχων ἡμέραν πάλιν ζῶν, τῶν θείων προφητῶν ταῦτά τε καὶ άλλα μυρία περὶ αὐτοῦ θαυμάσια εἰρηκότων.) Εισέτι τε νῦν τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἀπὸ τοῦδε ὠνομασμένων οὐκ ἐπέλιπε τὸ φῦλον.”There was at this time a wise man whose name was Jesus, if, indeed, he may be properly called a man, for he wrought wonderful works, taught the truth to those willing to hear Him, and had among His followers a great number of Jews and Gentiles. This was the Christ. When, at the suggestion of our leading men, Pilate condemned Him to death on the cross, those who had loved Him from the beginning did not forsake Him, and He appeared alive to them on the third day. All this and much more the prophets foretold concerning Him; and the Christians, who are named after Him, exist at this day.

Eusebius (Hist. Eccl. I. 11; Demonstratio Evang. III. 5) is, as far as known, the first Christian writer who makes mention of this passage. We can not admit with Gieseler and Routh, that the words of the above Greek quotation inclosed within brackets are interpolated, or that the reading of aλŋñ should be ἀηθῆ. The fact of Origen saying that Josephus had been ἀπιστῶν τῷ Ἰησοῦ ὡς Xplory, does not militate against the truth of his testimony, but rather strengthens it. Josephus, when he says that Vespasian was the Messiah, wishes simply to state the opinion of some of his contemporaries and countrymen, and not his own, concerning Jesus.

Cf. Matt. xvi. 14–16: Cf. Daubuz, libb. duo de testim. Jos. Flav. in opp. ejusd. ed. Havercamp, T. II. in the Appendix; Böhmert, on the testimony of Jos.

Flav. concerning Christ, Lps. 1823; Schoedel, Flavius Josephus de Jesu Christo testatus, vindiciae Flavianae, Lps. 1840; Langen in the Tübing. Quarterl.," 1864, p. 152 sq.; and Otto in the "Catholic," 1864, p. 152 sq. Against its genuineness, consult especially Eichstaedt, Flaviani de Jesu Christi testimonii avvɛvría, quo jure nuper defensa sit: quaestiones VI., Jenae, 1815-1841. Cf. Ruttenstock, institutiones hist. eccl., T. I., p. 146–154.

CHAPTER II.

THE HISTORY OF THE APOSTLES-THEIR LABORS IN PROPAGATING CHRISTIANITY AND ESTABLISHING A CHURCH AMONG THE JEWS

AND PAGANS.

"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Myself." John xii. 32. "And greater than these shall he do, because I go to the Father." John xiv. 12.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION.-Acts of the Apostles and their Epistles. The Apostolic Fathers and the contemporary Jewish and Pagan writers. Conf. works, ? 32.

DEVELOPMENTS OF THE SAME.- Tillemont, T. I., p. 108-415, and T. II., p. 1–148. †Stolberg, pt. VI. and VII. Doellinger, Christianity and the Church. +Hacke, Pragmatic and Systematic View of the Acts, Paderb. 1867. Sepp, History of the Apostles, Shaffh. 1866. Neander, The Propagation and Direction of the Christian Church by the Apostles, Hamb. 1832-33; 4 ed., 1847, 2 vols. Thiersch, The Church in the Apostolical Times, Frkf. 1852. Schaff, History of the Apostolical Church, Lps. 1854. Wieseler, Chronology of the Apostolical Age, Goett. 1848.

§ 43. Pentecost-Complete Organization of the Church of Christ.

2

The Apostles remained at Jerusalem, as Christ had commanded, where, persevering in prayer, they awaited the coming of the Holy Ghost.

After the deplorable defection of Judas,3 the college of the Apostles was incomplete, and St. Peter, knowing that it was the wish of our Lord to have their number correspond to that of the twelve tribes of Israel, counseled his brethren to select another, "who, beginning from the baptism of John until the day wherein the Lord Jesus was taken up, might be a witness of His resurrection."

They named two-Joseph, called Barnabas and surnamed the Just, and Matthias. And praying that the Lord might make known to them which was His choice, as they had not

1+Mack, Reflection on the events of the first Pentecost. Tüb. Quarterly, 1835. Dieringer, System of the divine operations (2 ed.), p. 588 sqq.

2

1

yet received the fullness of the Holy Ghost, they cast lots," and the choice fell upon Matthias, who was added to the other eleven Apostles. So also, after the death of James the Elder and James the Younger, Paul and Barnabas were chosen in their stead, that the collegiate number might be preserved.

Ten days after the ascension of our Lord, and when the Jews were opening the solemn feast of the Pentecost, a new era was ushered in amid the noise and conflict of the elements, on the same day that the Law had been promulgated of old, among the lightnings and thunders of Sinai. The Holy Ghost came down upon the Apostles and disciples in the form of fiery tongues, indicative of the gift of languages which they then received, as well of the divine fire which chastened them and strengthened them for their work.

4

3

The Apostles lost no time in announcing the Gospel of Heaven to the men of every nation whom the great festival had brought together at Jerusalem from all parts of the Roman empire. And then was wrought the miracle whereby each understood the Apostles in the language of his own country—a miracle prophetic of the scope of the Christian religion, which was to bring all peoples within the one fold of Christ. Three thousand, astounded at the miracle and subdued by the inspired language of St. Peter, declared themselves converts to the religion of Jesus Christ, made open profession of faith in His doctrine, did works of penance, and were baptized in the name of the Blessed Trinity."

Numbers of them returned to their homes in the distant

1 Nat. Alexander, hist. eccl. saec. I., dissert. VI. de usu sortium in sacris electionibus. Stronk, de Matthia in Apostolorum ordinem sorte cooptato. Dordrecht, 1852.

2 Acts i. 15-26.

3 ἅπαντες Acts ii. 4.

4

Hugo Grotius, following St. Chrysost. hom. II. in Pentecost, and hom. 35 in 1 Corinth., very happily says: "Poena linguarum dispersit homines (Gen. c. xi.), donum linguarum dispersos in unum populum redegit." (Annotatt. ad acta Apostolor. 2, 8.) Also St. Aug. sermo 268, n. 1 and 2: "Ideo Spiritus St. in omnium linguis gentium se demonstrare dignatus est, ut et ille se intelligat habere Spiritum St. qui in unitate (eccl.) continetur, quae linguis omnibus loquitur."

5 Matt. xxviii. 20.