Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1891-09-25
REVIEW OF THEQUA
LESSON XIII, THIRD QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, SEPT. 27.

The Gospel of St. John from the Begin
ming to and including the Tenth Chap
ter-speciac Objects of This Gospel.
Its Date and Authorship.
For the diligent student this Gospel is
full of interest. 1t is the final summary
of one who had personally known Jesus
among the first, had been an eye witness of
His ministry and then both a witness and
a partaker of the labors and sufferings of
the apostles who had seen Christianity
grow into living and truly missionary or
ganization, and had also been sorrowful
witness of the spread of many errors in the
infant church. With all these matters
present in his mind, he addressed himself
to the composition of n Gospel which
should at once confute the prevalent here
sizes and set the true mission and personal
ity of Jesus Christ clearly before the minds
of the converts.
Such being the object of this Gospel, it
was but natural that it should be subject
ed to the most merciless criticism. Every
word or phrase on which a doubt could
hang has been seized upon by the so called
critical school and every hint or quotation
of it by the early fathers has been stldied
by critics of all schools. The result has been
to prove to reasonable certainty that the
Gospel was generally known in the church
rs early as a. ID. 115-at least so well known
that Christian writers assumed a familiari-
ty with it on the part of converts. 1t is
also almost but not quite absolutely, proved
that it was the last book of the New Testa-
ment to be written.
As to the author, "The Beloved Disci-
ple," the testimony generally goes to show
that he was few years younger than
Jesus, and that he died at Ephesus about
100 A. d. at IA very advanced age. Also that
he was banished to Patmos in the year 95
during the persecution by the cruel Domi-
tian, that on the death of that emperor he
was released and lived in quiet during the
peaceful reign of Nerva, and died in the
reign of Tragan just before the lighter per-
secution Of that reign began. These facts
enable us to see why St. John began by as
Stunning general knowledge of the pre-
vious gospels, and of the commonest terms
of Greek philosophy on the part of the
Christians, and then goes on to treat of
the teachings of Christ.
The opening is singularly beautiful
! The first words are the same as those of
Genesis. The first verse contains in simple
yet sublime phrases the whole truth of
! God made manifest in the flesh There is
the eternity of the Word, there is the iden-
| tity of the Word with the Eternal Father
The Greek word "Logos" may be trans
lated Word or Wisdom. Among the Pla-
tonic philosophers it had n somewhat fan
ciful Specification, rs they held that the
material universe was created by an con
or emanation from an Eternal God. St.
John took their own word and recoined it.
He means by it all that they meant and a
great deal more. With him it means not
only the power of God, not only the Eter-
nal Thought, not only the Eternal Design
as to this world and mankind, but far be-
yond that the Essential Divine Personality.
Having declared this basis truth, he pro-
ceeds to the earthly ministry of Christ.
His Divine Being was without limit, but
the man Jesus had beginning in time
and an earthly career. In narrating this
St. John barely alludes to Galilee, and only
relates so much of the Judean travels of
Christ as is necessary to introduce His dis
courses. A very interesting episode is that
of an interview with John the Baptist by
committee of the Jewish Sandhedrim
We are plainly informed that the mission
of John attracted great attention, and that
the Pharisees were among the first to heal
of the claims of Jesus.
After the calling of five disciples and the
miracle at the marriage feast of Cana, We
are introduced to Nicodemus and through
him to the sublime doctrine of the new
birth. Mark the important words, Eek
cept" and "Ye must be-" They are abso
lutely exclusive. 1.-The natural man re
ceiveth not the things of the spirit of God >
Therefore He implicitly says to Nicodemus
take your place with the publican and sin
ner till you are spiritually renewed. 1t i.
a pleasure to hear of this Nicodemus twice
more, and each time more favorably. II
the Sanhedrim he insisted that Chris
should not be condemned unheard, and h,
assisted in laying away the body of Christ
The early fathers agree that he was bap
tized by Peter and lived and died faith
full Christian
Christ's authority over the Sabbath anC
the ordinances are next announced. TheI
after various teachings comes the all impor
tant doctrine of the resurrection. Tn
Pharisees then openly exhibited their hos
tility, which gives occasion for that pecu
liar expression in the seventh chapter
yet a little while am l with you and thel
| go unto Him that sent me. Ye shall
seek me and shall not find me, and where
am thither We cannot come" This wa
most curiously fulfilled almost immediate
ly after the crucifXion, and, strangel
enough, it is one of the very few fulfill
ments of prophecy as to the facts of whicl
there is no controversy whatever. 1t i
among the best established truths in his
tory that at that very time the Jews bega
to long passionately for Messiah. to cry
10 hereP' and 10 there" and to ru
after impostors of every variety. Nor di
this cease in Judea until the last vestig
of the Jewish community was destroys
and the remnant of the people was utter
scattered.
For the remainder of the quarter tn
minds of the disciples seem to have bee
generally prepared for broader view. 70
the extension of Gospel privileges to a
mankind, and for that glorious fullness Sc
forth in the Epistles of st. John.
What Is Art?
Augustus, the greatest of all parvenu.
II l.