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THE SHEPHERDS AT BETHLEHEM. BY RICHARD WHATELY, D.D. ARCHBISHOP OF DUBLIN.
to be recorded in the very brief histories of the New Testament writers, from the great multitude which they have left unnoticed, were selected, we may be assured, as containing some matter of instruction for us. The one I am now alluding to, is of a piece with the other parts of the Gospel-history; — with the very birth itself of Jesus, in a very humble station ;-^with His associating, by choice, with poor fishermen and peasants; — with his declarations that He came to '' preach the Gospel to the poor ;" — and with the conduct of His Apostles ; who^ under the guidance of his Spirit, addressed the same Gospel equally to Princes and People, — to Masters and Slaves; and declared that, in respect of * See Note at the end of this Sermon.
THE SHEPHERDS AT BETHLEHEM. 115 Gospel-privileges, *' there is neither Jew nor Greek, Barbarian, Scythian, Bond, or Free," but that '' if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." We know that this levelling system of the Gospel did not contain (what would, probably, have been the most popular,) a release of subjects and of slaves from obedience to their rulers or masters; or an overthrow of any of the distinctions of earthly rank and property. And it is no less plain that there was no exclusion either of the great and rich, or of the wise and learned, from a share in the good-tidings. But the revelation of God in his Son being something unconnected either with human greatness or human philosophy, it was necessary strongly to mark this, by causing the religion to take its origin among the lowly in station, in learning, and iii abilities ; to shew that, in respect of this religion, the low and the high were to be made equal in God's sight.
116 SERMON V. was no part of any human system of philosophy. The wise were not shut out from the knowledge thus revealed, unless, by pride and perversity, they shut out themselves; but, '' except ye be converted," said our Lord, '' and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." In humble docility, among other things, they were to imitate the example of children,* and to divest themselves of all confident trust, either in their knowledge, or their philosophical ingenuity, and *' receive with meekness the engrafted word, which was able to save their souls." It was not because they were not allowed, but because so many of them were not mlling, thus humbly to receive the light from heaven, — the revealed knowledge concerning things which Revelation alone can teach, — this was the cause why (as Paul remarks) ''not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, were called.'' The majority of such were like the Jewish Elders, who said, *' This People, which knoweth not the law^ are * See Essay v. First Series.
118 SERMON V. person of a babe lying in the manger, the reputed son of poor parents, — first visited by humble shepherds, — associating with men of low station, — proclaiming a ** Kingdom not of this world," and, above all, dying the most ignominious death, — all this was, to such men, a '' stumbling-block,'' or " offense ;'' i. e. something shocking and revolting to all their habits of thought, and expectations ; which were fixed on triumph over their oppressors,— dominion, and temporal greatness.
The " wisdom** (or rather philosophy, as the original cro^/a more properly might be rendered in modem English) which the Greeks sought after, was, something that should be regularly supported by arguments from the nature of things, and made demonstrably plain to human reason. It was not at the humiliation of Jesus, in his life and in his death, that they, like the Jews, took offence; but at the very notion of a Christ; — of any anointed Deliverer, sent from heaven, to enlighten and judge the world. To them, the expectations of the Jews were as much ''foolishness," as the preaching of the Christians.
120 SERMON V. Or had He^ even not at Jerusalem^ but elsewhere, — suppose at Rome, then the capital of the civilized world, founded, and transmitted to his successors, a temporal empire, possessing supreme control over all others, the natural ambition of most men, — probably even of the Jews themselves, — would have been satisfied, and the stumbling-block of the Gospel removed. On the other hand, had Jesus and his Apostles introduced a philosophical theology, — a system of tenets respecting the nature, and attributes, and works, of the Supreme Being, supported by metaphysical proofs, the *' foolishness" which the Greek philosophers complained of would have been removed. Even those who did not assent to what was taught, would at least, probably, have given it a respectful attention. The philosophers of the Stoic and Epicurean sects, which you read of in the Acts, besides many others, were accustomed to maintain disputations (generally friendly) with each other; but did not usually deride each other, as they did the Christians, or cast the reproach of " foolishness."
124 SERMON V. of whom they supposed to have been incarnate, and united with the human nature in the person of John the Baptist, and another, in Jesus Christ; with very many more extravagancies of the same kind which are recorded in some of the early Christian writers, and which I will not weary and disgust you by enumerating. But these obsolete absurdities, though utterly undeserving of attention in themselves, are yet not to be disregarded by a theological student, for three reasons : — First, Because, as I have said, several passages in the New Testament, and in other very ancient Christian writings, have such a reference to these that they cannot be understood without that reference ; as, for instance, (besides the part of John's Gospel just cited,) Paul's expressions, " it hath pleased the Father that in Him (Jesus) should all Fulness dwell," and '' in Him dwelleth all the Fulness of the Godhead bodily,'* and many other passages also, in various Epistles, contain allusions to parts of these theories. And again, the statement in one of the earliest uninspired compositions, — that called the Apostles' Creed, that God is the " Maker of heaven and earth,""
THE SHEPHERDS AT BETHLEHEM. 125 refers, undoubtedly, to one of these ancient systems, which attributed the Creation, not to the Supreme God, but to one of those subordinate Beings alluded to. Secondly, It is important, and instructive, to observe how very early and actively the taint of these daring speculations was introduced into Christianity; which they have continued, in various shapes, to corrupt, more or less, down to the present time. And, Thirdly, and lastly, it is well worth while to remark the manner in which each form of this " philosophy and vain deceit " is opposed by the sacred writers. They do not encounter it by abstruse metaphysical arguments of their own, or oppose one theoretical explanation by another. All their reasonings are reserved for the practical applications of Christian truths to our own hearts and lives ; but, as for the nature of God as He is in Himself,* and the reasons of his several proceedings, the Apostles simply deny and condemn all the speculative opinions on such ^ See Essay iv* First Series.
128 SERMON V. The restless spirit of philosophizing, however, was not easy to be subdued, or to be confined within its proper channel. I say, " its proper channel/* because Christianity is not at all opposed to philosophical speculation ; it does not condemn systems of astronomy or chemistry, — physiological or grammatical theories, — or moral and political philosophy, — or, in short, researches into any subject placed within the reach of our faculties ; but only speculations on matters beyond our faculties ; of which we can know nothing but by revelation ; which revelation God has thought fit to bestow, not on retired philosophers alone, absorbed in deep speculations, but equally on all who have such powers of understanding, and opportunities of gaining instruction, as may fall to the lot of ordinary men, occupied in the active business of life.
charity, and humility of the Christian-character, is at once pronounced hy his party to " know the Gospel/' in contradistinction to another, of perhaps greater knowledge of Scripture, and with far more of a Christian spirit as delineated in Scripture; but who is, perhaps, hardly allowed to be a Christian at all, by a party of uncharitable and arrogant pretenders.
THE SHEPHERDS AT BETHLEHEM. 131 warmth in animals^ philosophers are not even yet agreed on ; nor is it decided whether lights heat^ and electricity, are substances, or qualities of bodies. But as to the substance of the Supreme Being, and of the human soul, many men were (and are still) confident in their opinion, and dogmatical in maintaining them ; the more, inasmuch as in these subjects they could not be refuted by an appeal to experiment.
134 SERMON V. that the Arian theory of the incarnation^ for instance, is wrong for this reason, and the Nestorian for that, and the Eutychian for another, and ' so on: but they are all wrong alike, because they are theories, relative to niatters on which it / is vain, and absurd, and irreverent, to attempt forming any philosophical theories whatever. And the same, I think, may be said of the various schemes (devised either by those divines called the Schoolmen, or by others) on which it has been attempted, from time to time, to explain other religious mysteries also in the divine nature and dispensations. I would object, for instance, to the Pelagian theory, and to the Calvinistic theory, and the Arminian theory, and others, not for reasons peculiar to each one, but for such as apply, in common, to o//.* Philosophical Divines are continually prone to forget that the subjects on which they speculate, are, confessedly, and by their otrni account, beyond the reach of the human faculties. This is no reason, indeed, against our believing any thing clearly revealed in * See " Logic," Appendix, Art. " Person."
times of the sun's rising and setting at each period of the year, — ^the appearances of the it was granted that He had no connexion with the world. Now much of the speculation of the philosophers was directed to this object, that is, to the absolute nature of God. It was indeed the chief, because it seemed the more scientific inquiry, and the other was only incidental." — Hinds's History, vol. i. pp.81, 32.
THE SHEPHERDS AT BETHLEHEM. 143 ledge of the languages in which thie Prophets and Apostles spoke and wrote, which their hearers had had from the cradle, — let him have gained by diligent study, a knowledge of those countries, customs, nations, events, and other circumstances, with which they had been familiar from childhood, — and let him thus have enabled himself, by a diligent comparison of the several parts of Scripture with each other, to understand the true meaning of passages which were simple and obvious to men of ordinary capacity eighteen centuries ago, and he will be far more learned than it is possible for the generality of mankind to be now. He will also te a more learned theologian, in the proper sense, than any metaphysical speculator on things divine ; and what is more, such learning, in proportion as it is acquired, is profitable to him, not only as a Christian, but also as a Christian instructor. It will help him, not indeed to explain those things concerning God which the Scriptures omit^ but what they contain ; to lay before himself and his hearers, not what God has thought fit to keep secret, but what He has revealed.
NOTE TO PAGE 114. It is usually taken for granted that the visit of the Shepherds, and that of the Magi, took place about the same time. And this idea is rendered familiar to our minds by pictures representing them both together, in the stable at Bethlehem. And undoubtedly such a supposition is fayoured by the beginning (if we look to Matthew's Gospel above,) of the narrative — ** when Jesus was bom at Bethlehem ;" especially by the word " when** which does not correspond with any word in the original. But when we look to Luke's Gospel, we find it distinctly stated that when Joseph and Mary had performed all the rites of the Law, they departed " to iheir own dtyy Nazareth :" while Matthew as distinctly says, that on the departure of the Magi, Joseph and Mary being supernaturally warned, fled suddenly into Egypt, and remained there till the death of Herod. And even then, it seems to be hinted that they were designing to return into Judea, and turned aside to Nazareth only through fear of Archelaus, who reigned in Judea. It seems impossible to reconcile these two accounts unless we suppose two distinct departures from Bethlehem ; the first, recorded by Luke, and the second, by Matthew : and on that supposition the whole series of events may be explained. It seems very natural that Joseph and Mary should have designed to take up their residence at Bethlehem, the city of David, and the birth-place of the extraordinary person who was, emphatically, the Son of David. But with such a design, it would be obviously requisite that they should first return home " to their own city, Nazareth," to dispose of their property there, and make arrangements for finally leaving it. . In that case, they would have been likely to return to Bethlehem the following year.
THE SHEPHDRDS AT BETHLEHEM. 147 Divine Providence, however, having decreed that He shotdd be broaght up, not there, but in the despised city of Nazareth, the holy family were compelled to fly first into Egypt, and thence to return into Galilee. And the narrative even of Matthew favours the supposition that the visit of the Magi occurred in the second year of our Lord's age. For we are told that Herod ** inquired diligently" of the Magi the time of the star's appearing ; and afterwards slew all the children in Bethlehem '* from two years old and under, according to the tifne which he had diligently inquired,** (J)K^Lfiiatrtf accurately ascertained) " from the Wise men." Now if he had ascertained that the object of his apprehensions was only 2k few days or a few weeks old, he would have had no occasion to extend the slaughter to children up to the age of two years, any more than to all the inhabitants. Scruples indeed of humanity, he had none ; but it is plain he was acting not in the wantonness of pure gratuitous cruelty, but on some precise information which led him to fix on a particular age. And his procedure exactly tallies with the supposition that Jesus was then in his second year. It is worth while here to notice another error which painters have fostered, by representing John the Baptist and Jesus as living together when children : whereas, they were brought up far apart ; the one in Judea, the other in Galilee : John, in the midst of those who knew the extraordinary circumstances of his birth, and who, being thus prepared for his coming before the world as an extraordinary personage, readily flocked, with their friends and neighbours, to hear him, though *' John did no miracle ; *' while Jesus, on the contrary, grew up among those who were strangers to the circumstances of his birth ; and accordingly was unnoticed till He was first pointed out by John as *' the Lamb of God ;" and afterwards, by working his first miracle, " manifested his power, and his disciples believed on Him.

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