2

matured experience and manifold knowledge of human nature, together with the position he assumes towards his people and his disciples, forbid us to think of him as youthful. There is no prospect of our ever gaining further knowledge on this point.

It is equally vain to inquire exactly how Jesus began his work. Did he first address himself to a small circle of acquaintances, or did he teach in public from the first? The latter is more probable. It is not likely that Jesus began to work in secret among a few individuals; for, though we shall presently see how gladly he would toil to restore a single wanderer to the path of virtue, and how to the very last he devoted his thoughts and powers to the good of single indiriduals, yet, after all, his message was destined in the first instance for the whole people of Israel. We shall presently see that publicity was as much in keeping with the character of the age as with the purposes of Jesus; and he could not have been without opportunities of speaking to the people. At present we need only observe that the account of the calling of the disciples, which Matthew and Mark both of them place at the beginning of the ministry of Jesus, confirms us in the opinion we have expressed.

The account referred to is as follows:

Not long after Jesus had settled at Capernaum and begun to preach, he was walking, on a certain day, by the sea of Gennesareth, and saw Simon and Andrew, the sons of the fisherman Jona, busy at work. He stood still, and summoned them to join him, and leave their calling for a nobler task, "Come with me, and I will make you fishers of men!" They obeyed him at once, and left their nets to follow him. A little further on he saw two other fishermen, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, busy mending the nets with their father in his boat. He called them also, and they obeyed. Rising from the boat, and leaving their father with his hired assistants behind, they joined themselves to Jesus and the others.

The impression made upon us by this narrative certainly is that the connection between Jesus and these four disciples was formed on the spot, and without any thing to lead up to it. A similar representation is found in the Old Testament, with regard to Elijah and Elisha. But it stands to reason that they must really have had some mutual knowledge of 1 Matthew xiii. 12, 19 ff., et seq.

2 Matthew x. 24, 25, 37, xi. 16, xxiii. 8, 10.

31 Kings xix. 19-21.

each other, and that Jesus had already excited some attention. The words in which he summoned them are unmistakably genuine, and imply that he was already known to some extent as a public teacher. It was in this capacity, and this alone, that they joined him. We must also suppose that Jesus, on his side, had already noted these four men as likely to make earnest and zealous preachers of the kingdom of God. Such mutual acquaintance is most easily explained on the supposition that Jesus had already been living some time in Capernaum, as Matthew, but not Mark, informs us was It is also very possible that the Gospels make the calling of the sons of Zebedee follow too quickly upon that of the sons of Jona; but it is highly probable that these four were really the first disciples of Jesus.

the case.

This simple figure of speech about "catching men was afterwards elaborated into an emblematic account of the calling of the first disciples, which ran as follows:

Jesus was preaching by the edge of the sea, and the number of his hearers gradually increased until those behind pressed forward upon those in front, and compelled Jesus to look about for some more convenient place to sit in. Now it so happened that there were two boats lying empty on the strand, while the fishermen to whom they belonged were washing their nets. Jesus got into one of them, and calling its owner, Simon, begged him to push off a little. Then he sat down in the stern of the boat, and spoke to the people who stood upon the shore. When he had ended his address, he turned to Simon and told him to put out to sea and cast his net. "Master," he replied, "it will avail me nothing, for we have not caught any thing all the night; but if you wish it, we can try once more." But, behold! when he had cast the net it was filled so full that it began to break. Then they beckoned to their companions, James and John, in the second boat, to come to help them. They drew the net up cautiously to empty it, and the two boats were laden till they were ready to sink. Filled with dread by this overwhelming proof that Jesus was a messenger of God, Simon Peter fell down upon his knees and cried, " Depart from me, Lord! for I am a sinful man." He was afraid that the presence of Jesus would bring some fearful judgment upon him; for he was not one of the devout, but simply an ordinary man of the world. And both the other fishermen, and, indeed. all who were present, were filled with the same terror. But 2 Compare 1 Kings xvii. 18.

1 Compare Proverbs xi. 30 b.

Jesus quieted their fears. "Fear not," he said to Simon, henceforth thou shalt catch men." Then they gave up their occupation and every thing they had to follow Jesus.

We must certainly take this narrative as having a symbolical meaning. How far we can safely go in this direction is not so certain. This much is clear, however, that the unsuccessful fishing represents the natural incapacity of the disciples, and their marvellous subsequent success the fruits of their preaching as emissaries of Jesus. We are tempted to suppose that when the legend represents the disciples as casting their nets near the shore to no purpose, but finding abundant success in the open sea, it refers to the meagre results of the preaching to the Jews and the countless multitudes won among the heathen. Even if this is going too far, we may very well believe that the objection urged by Simon represents the Jewish narrowness which the Apostles had to overcome, and that the putting out into the deep waters, where they take such a marvellous draught of fish, typifies their mission to the whole world.1 But whatever may be thought of the details, it is quite certain that this story is an imitation or working up of the previous one. The calling of the four fishermen is the original, and the miraculous draught of fishes a copy. This belief is con firmed, if it needs confirmation, by the occurrence of a similar emblematic or miraculous story, of closely analogous meaning, in the fourth Gospel. Simon Peter and the sons of Zebedee are again the chief actors, but the time is changed. The event is placed after the resurrection of Jesus, when the Apostles had to begin their task as preachers of the kingdom of God.2

And here we must say a few words about these emblematic stories in general. They were very common among the Christian communities of the first century, and have left abundant traces in the Gospels. The consequence is that we are always coming across representations or accounts of things which excite our attention by their very singular character, and by invariably containing something marvellous, often something impossible. But when we examine them more closely, we discover that they are only intended to set forth some idea or some truth, and are in fact elaborated figures of speech or emblems. Such a mode of exposition strikes us as very strange, but it was common enough in the East; for these men could not deal with abstract ideas, bu 1 Acts x. 9 ff. 2 John xxi. 1-14.

always clothed their thoughts in some visible form, and drew pictures instead of arguing and proving. They endeavored to work upon the feelings through the imagination and not, as we generally do, through the intellect; and it was from the resources of a luxuriant imagination that they borrowed the colors with which to paint their pictures. No one will deny that this style of address or narrative is better calculated than any other to excite and fascinate the attention. The first preachers of Christianity, moreover, were specially led to adopt this mode of expression by the style of teaching usually selected by their Master. He generally taught in parables, and had, for instance, worked out this very image of the fishers of men" in the story of the great net that gathered in every kind of fish.' The extreme love of emblems and parables, which the believers of the first centuries so constantly displayed, dates from the earliest period of Christianity. The last book of the New Testament consists of one unbroken series of these emblematic pictures.

But we must be careful to distinguish, in this connection, between the original narrators and our Evangelists. The former were, of course, fully aware of the meaning of the figures they selected, but the latter had often lost their true significance and accepted them in the literal sense. Hence, in taking them up into their Gospels they often omitted some essential point, laid too great stress upon another, or even made incongruous additions. It may well be believed that it is no easy task to recover the true and ancient meaning of these stories.

While Jesus was thus drawing a few personal disciples round him, he lost no opportunity of addressing more numerous hearers. We still have an account of a certain Sabbath that he spent at Capernaum, and on which he went to the synagogue, accompanied by his four disciples, to address the people. The impression he made was overpowering. It was not the curiosity roused by an almost unknown preacher, or the simple eloquence with which he spoke, or the glorious future that formed his subject, so much as the glow of his intense conviction, the sacred passion of his inspiration, and his whole attitude towards the recognized authorities, that excited such amazement. Even the most eminent of the Scribes invariably appealed in confirmation of

1 Matthew xiii. 47, 48.

2 See, for example, 1 Corinthians v. 7; Revelation i. 13-16, &c.

their assertions to some passage of Scripture, to some traditional saying, or to the authority of some great teacher. But this new preacher seemed to speak on his own authority, as though he had a higher right than learring or study could confer; nay, as though he were the equal of those prophets of old who received their messages direct from the Most High.1

An example of the deep impression made by the presence and the words of Jesus is furnished by what follows. In the synagogue there happened to be a man possessed by a demon. He had not escaped the general excitement; and when Jesus had ended, and every one began to talk over what he had said, the evil spirit fell upon its victim, and he leaped up and shrieked, "Ha! what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Are you come to cast me and my fellow-demons into the fire of Gehenna? I know who you are! You are the Holy One of God!" All eyes were turned to the spot whence these words arose; but Jesus, looking steadily at the man, and addressing the demon in a tone of stern rebuke, said to him, "Silence! come out of him!" The man fell, shrieking and convulsed, upon the ground, and the evil spirit had gone out of him. Then he stood up, delivered from his tormentor and unharmed. The amazement of all present knew no bounds. What could it mean? Were ever such words of might heard before? Even the very devils obeyed when he commanded! And the news of what had taken place spread like fire through the whole country round.

It was but natural that Jesus should leave the synagogue as soon as possible after this event. Besides, the evening was already closing in. And so, accompanied by the four disciples, henceforth inseparably attached to him, he went to the house of Simon, who was a married man, and whose mother-in-law lived with him. It happened that this motherin-law was ill in bed at the time with fever, and as soon as Jesus heard it he went up to her, took her hand (Luke adds that he rebuked the fever, which was very violent) and raised her up. The fever left her at once, and in grateful joy she began to prepare the evening meal. But these two cures were not all; for as soon as the sun was set and the Sabbath over, a host of sick and possessed were brought to him. The whole city came out to see him, and a great crowd collected round the door. He healed many sufferers from various ailments, and expelled a number of evil spirits. The

1 Compare Matthew vii. 28, 29.