HISTORICAL GLIMPSES OF NEW TESTAMENT TIMES.
PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF OUR SAVIOR--BY MARCUS--BY JOSEPHUS--CONDITION
OF THE WORLD AT--THE BIRTH OF CHRIST--INFLUENCE OF JUDAISM
HEATHEN TRADITIONS CONCERNING THE SAVIOR'S ADVENT--CHARACTER OF
BARNABAS--APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER OF PAUL--PETER, THE LEADER OF
THE APOSTLES--CHARACTER OF JOHN AND JAMES--STATEMENT CONCERNING
MARY--HISTORY EPITOMIZED IN THE GOSPELS--DESCRIPTION OF THE
CATACOMBS--INSCRIPTIONS OF THEM.
The living or written testimony of those who have been actively
engaged in the great latter-day {115} work will ever have a weight far
superior to any given by inimical or disinterested parties. Still, the
descriptions given and the historical facts and incidents related by
such persons are often highly interesting as furnishing glimpses of
scenes and facts unmentioned by more prominent actors. For example, the
discourse delivered by Thomas L. Kane before the Historical Society of
Pennsylvania, throws a flood of light upon the manners and customs of
the Latter-day Saints and the scenes attending their expulsion from
Nauvoo, which no history of the Church has exceeded; and this is all
the more valuable as it corroborates many of the statements made by the
Saints. So in like manner there are many references made by secular
writers which throw light on New Testament history, and by this light
we see a new beauty and force in the language of the inspired writers.
No man of sense will for a moment hesitate to acknowledge the
superiority of the narratives written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John, to any merely human composition. The biographies of the Savior,
written by Fleetwood and others bear no comparison to the simple, yet
sublime records of the evangelists. But it does not militate against
the authority of the scriptures to read a description of the personal
appearance of the Savior as described by Marcus, a Roman lawyer who
resided at Jerusalem, and still preserved in the works of Origen:
{116}
"Jesus of Nazareth, sometimes called the Galilean, was a most
remarkable person. In stature He was above the medium hight, straight
and tall. His complexion was fair: His hair was of a brown color,
and fell in heavy curls upon His shoulders. His eyes were blue, and
possessed such a penetrating power that no man could meet His gaze. His
beard was of a deep wine color, fine and full: it is said that He was
never shaved. His countenance was majestic, calm and serene, bearing
the impress of wisdom, justice and love."
Again, we have the testimony of Josephus, the celebrated Jewish
historian who flourished between the thirty-seventh and ninety-eighth
year of the Christian era. He was a Jewish priest and had no connection
with the early saints; yet in the _History of the Antiquities of the
Jews, Book xviii_, he declares:
"Now there was about this time, Jesus, a wise man, if it
be lawful to call Him a man, for He was a doer of wonderful
works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with
pleasure. He drew over to Him, both many of the Jews, and many
of the Gentiles. He was the Christ. And when Pilate, at the
suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned
Him to the cross, those that loved Him at the first, did not
forsake Him, for He appeared to them alive on the third day:
as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand
other wonderful things concerning Him. And the tribe of
Christians, so named from Him, are not extinct at this day."
In the time of Christ, Palestine was in the very center of the then
known world. To the north and north-east lay the decaying remnants
of the Medo-Persian and still more ancient Babylonian and Assyrian
empires; on the east were the powerful tribes of Arabia, who, fearless
of any foreign power, had built their capital in the rugged defiles
{117} of Arabia-Petrea, the magnificent ruins of which astonish the
travelers of the present day.
On the south lay Egypt reposing in gloomy grandeur and already boasting
a hoary antiquity; yet even this ancient civilization was to a great
extent indebted to the founders of the Jewish commonwealth. On the west
lay the classic countries of Greece and Italy.
As is well known, after the Babylonish captivity, the Jews were
widely scattered. Comparatively few of them availed themselves of the
permission granted by Cyrus, to return to Palestine. The majority
remained in Babylonia or wandered into other lands. In Alexandria,
for example, at the time of Christ, fully one-half the inhabitants
were Jews, who by trading had become rich and powerful. At that
time the coasts of Arabia and even India were visited by Jewish
merchants. In Asia Minor and Greece there was scarcely a town without
its Jewish synagogue. In Rome the Jews possessed the greater part of
the Trastevere, or right bank of the Tiber. From the time of Julius
Caesar they were allowed to build synagogues and granted many other
privileges. All these Jews who lived outside of Palestine and formed
a majority of the whole nation were commonly called the Dispersion,
It was this class of persons to which the Jews referred, when in
speaking of Christ, they said, "Will He go unto the dispersed among
the Gentiles and teach the Gentiles?" (_John vii_, 25). Yet these Jews
still considered Jerusalem as their center, regarded the Sanhedrim (or
high council) {118} as their highest church court, sent yearly gifts of
money and sacrifices to the temple, and visited it from time to time at
the great festivals.
It is easy to see how this state of things aided the spread of the
gospel. The feasts of the Passover and of Pentecost brought many of
these dispersed Jews from the neighboring countries to Jerusalem. Thus
thousands, who were not residents of Palestine, had an opportunity
at these yearly feasts to become acquainted with the teachings and
miracles of Jesus. It was also at the time of the great feast of the
Passover, that the crucifixion took place. Fifty days later was the
feast of Pentecost at which time occurred those wonderful events
recorded in the second chapter of Acts.
Thus, we perceive, how it was that people from various nations had
gathered together; and how important the gift of tongues whereby each
could hear in his own language the wonderful works of God. (_See Acts
ii_, 5, 9-11.)
These men on their return carried the news of Christianity to their
homes. Then again the apostles in their missionary travels found
synagogues in all the principal towns and cities; likewise, devout
persons who were looking forward to the advent of the Messiah and
the redemption of Israel. Of these might be mentioned Dorcas, and
Cornelius, (_Acts ix_, 10.) Lydia (_Acts xvi_, 14.), Aquilla and
Priscilla, (_Acts xviii_), Eunice and Lois, the mother and grandmother
of Timothy, and many others.
{119} Every synagogue was, as it were, a missionary station in
readiness for them with friends and inquirers already there to welcome
them. The influence of the Jews had helped also to undermine heathenism
and thus to prepare the ground for Christianity. So much was this the
case that the Roman philosopher, Seneca, in speaking of the Jews, says,
"The conquered have given laws to the conquerors." Josephus, in his
Antiquities, Book 18, says, "Many of the Jews held high offices, and
lived at the courts of princes. Even the empress Poppea, wife of Nero
was a proselyte to Judaism." In his autobiography, he relates that,
when in Rome, he made the acquaintance of this empress through a Jewish
favorite of Nero, and at once received from her the release of some
imprisoned Jewish priests together with large presents. Through her
influence also was due much of that bitterness which characterized the
persecutions of the saints in the reign of Nero.
Juvenal, a Latin poet, ridicules the prevalence of Jewish customs;
also many of the Greeks, following the teachings of Socrates, believed
in the existence of an "unknown God." It is in the very nature of man
to believe in something. When the absurdities of heathenism became
apparent, men fell into other superstitions. More and more was felt
the want of a true religion. Even the Samaritans who were so carried
away by the sorceries of Simon Magus, as to call him "the great power
of God," readily received the preaching of the gospel. (_Act viii_,
5.) So also Sergius {120} Paulus, who, dissatisfied with heathenism,
had with him the Jewish sorcerer and false prophet Elymas, was won
to the Christian faith by the preaching of Paul (_Acts xiii_, 6-11).
Indeed the best feature of that age was a strong religious yearning.
Expectations of a coming Messiah, in various forms and degrees of
clearness, were at that time, by the political collision of the nations
and by their intellectual and religious contact, spread over all the
nations; and, like the first red streaks upon the horizon, announced
the approach of day. The Persians were looking for their Sosiosch, who
should conquer Ahriman and his kingdom of darkness. The Chinese sage,
Confucius, pointed his disciples to a Holy One who should appear in the
west. The wise men who came to worship the new-born king of the Jews,
we must look upon as representatives of the Messianic hopes of oriental
heathens.
The western nations, on the contrary, looked toward the east for the
dawn of a better day. The Roman historians, Suetonius and Tacitus, both
speak of a current saying in the Roman empire, that in the east, and
more particularly in Judea, a new universal empire would soon be set up.
Thus, in a time, the like of which history before or since has never
seen, appeared the Savior of men. Amid the dying and decaying forms of
ancient society, while those things that had been the objects of man's
enthusiastic love were withering away, Christ came that through Him
humanity should receive a new, youthful life.
{121} Impenitent Judaism, it is true, still wanders, ghost like through
all ages and countries: but only as an incontrovertible living witness
of the divinity of the Christian religion.
The Jews who were scattered through the various countries of the
east came in contact with the manners and customs of those various
countries, and this had a tendency to break down Jewish exclusiveness
and prepare the minds of many for broader and more liberal views. Hence
we find that several of the most useful men of the apostolic church,
such as Stephen, the martyr, Philip, the deacon, Paul and Barnabas were
of this class. Barnabas was, indeed one, of the most remarkable men of
the age in which he lived. He was born in the island of Cyprus, but
removed to Jerusalem where he became one of the active members of the
apostolic church.
After the martyrdom of Stephen and in consequence of the persecution
which followed, some of the disciples were scattered as far as Antioch,
whither Barnabas was sent to organize a church, and here the disciples
first received the name of Christians. (_Acts xi_, 26.) It was Barnabas
who first introduced Paul to the rest of the apostles and removed the
mistrust which was felt towards him. Afterwards, when Paul was living a
retired life in his native city of Tarsus, Barnabas sought him out and
brought him to Antioch. To win over this great reticent and susceptible
soul, to labor with him and even to take a subordinate place under him,
indicate both wisdom and {122} humanity; and this is what Barnabas did
for Paul.
Saul, afterwards Latinized into Paul, was born at Tarsus in Cilicia,
in the tenth or twelfth year of our era. Paul's father early intended
that he should become a religious teacher, but, according to the
customs of that age, taught him a trade also, by which he afterwards
supported himself without becoming a burden to the church. He came to
Jerusalem at an early age and entered the school of Gamaliel the elder.
This Gamaliel was one of the most learned men in Jerusalem, and the
youthful Paul soon became a leader in society. This is evident from the
position he held at the death of Stephen. Paul was short in stature,
somewhat stooping and at the middle age his hair was thin, inclining to
baldness. His countenance was pale and half hidden by a dark beard. His
nose was aquiline, his eyes piercing and his eyebrows heavy. It is said
that he possessed one of those strange visages which though plain, yet,
when lighted up by emotion, assumes a deep brilliancy and grandeur.
Paul was a man of great politeness and exquisite manners. His letters
show that he was a man of rare intelligence, who formed for his lofty
sentiments, expressions of great beauty. No correspondence exhibits
more careful attention, finer shades of meaning or more amiable
pleasantries. What animation! What a wealth of charming sayings! What
simplicity! It is easy to see that his character is that of a polite,
earnest and affectionate man.
{123} Simon, or Peter, as he was afterwards called, was a son of the
fisherman, Jonas. He resided at Capernaum, on the shore of the sea
of Galilee, where he followed his father's occupation. His brother,
Andrew, who had been a disciple of John the Baptist, first brought him
to Jesus by whom he was called to be a fisher of men. He was one of
the witnesses of the transfiguration on Mount Tabor, and the agony of
the Savior in the garden of Gethsemane. He was evidently the leader of
the ancient apostles. In the four places where a list of the twelve
is given, he is invariably placed at the beginning; and in many other
places he is mentioned as the leading speaker. In Peter's character we
have a remarkable combination of great natural talents and virtues,
with peculiar weaknesses. This apostle was distinguished from the other
eleven by an ardent, impulsive, sanguine temperament, and an open,
shrewd, practical nature. He was always ready to speak out his mind,
to resolve and to act. His excitable, impulsive disposition led him
sometimes to over-estimate his powers, to trust too much to himself,
and, in the hour of danger, to yield to opposite impressions. Thus
we find that, in spite of his usual firmness and joy in confessing
his faith, he actually denied the Savior when arraigned in the palace
of Caiphas. In learning he was inferior to Paul, and in loving
character, to John; but he possessed, in an eminent degree, the gift of
inspiration which enabled him to act with promptness and decision.
{124} The apostle and evangelist, John, was the son of Zebedee, and
the brother of the elder James. His mother was one of the women who
supported Jesus with their property, and brought spices to embalm Him.
John himself owned a house in Jerusalem, into which he received the
mother of the Savior after the crucifixion. He was the only one of
the apostles who was present at the cross, and to him Jesus committed
the care of his mother. (_John xix_, 26, 27.) Nicephorus states that
Mary continued to live with John until her death, which occurred
about fourteen years after the crucifixion. After this, John went
to preside over the church at Ephesus. Here he wrote the gospel and
epistle that bear his name. In the reign of Domitian, about the year
84, he was called to Rome where he was condemned to be put to death by
being thrust into a caldron of boiling oil. From this he miraculously
escaped, even as the three Hebrews who were cast into the fiery
furnace. Afterwards he was banished to the solitary, rocky island,
Patmos, where he received that wonderful prophetic history of the
conflicts and conquests of the church, which is called the Apocalypse,
or Revelation. In the opening chapter he says, "I, John, who also am
your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and
patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for
the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."
When Peter asked the manner of John's death, the Savior replied, "'If I
will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?'
{125} "Then went this saying abroad among the brethren that that
disciple should not die."
Peter, James and John were the chosen among the chosen, upon whom the
Savior bestowed special favor. Peter was a man of great energy, fitted
to be a leader in the church and in society. John possessed a deep,
affectionate nature, which made him the dearest of the Savior's three
chosen friends.
Of James we know very little. He seems to have been of a quiet,
earnest, meditative turn. He presided over the church at Jerusalem
until the year forty-four of our era, when he sealed his testimony with
his blood, being the first of that glorious band of apostolic martyrs.
Such were the chief actors in New Testament times. The great facts of
their lives are corroborated both by Jewish and heathen writers, and
admitted to be true by the most eminent of modern infidels, such as
Volney, Straus and Renan. Christianity did not take its rise in an
obscure corner of the earth. On the other hand, from the very first
it attracted the attention of the good, the wise and the learned, and
aroused the opposition of the wicked, though they were powerful kings
and potentates of the earth. Yet, in spite of all, it has won its way,
both in ancient times and at the present day among the honest in heart
by the simplicity, grandeur and harmony of its truths.
We must, therefore, accept the New Testament as a whole. We cannot
accept the writings of one, and say they are true, and reject the
writings of {126} another, teaching the same doctrine, and say it is
false. Neither can we accept the gospel and reject the epistles, for
there is not a doctrine of the gospel which is not taught in the very
first of them, that written by Matthew.
He who writes forgeries must needs be well posted in the matter of
names, dates and places, or else he will contradict some well-known
facts and so expose his forgery to the world. Men who write falsehoods
do not write as follows:
"Now, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius
Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee,
and his brother, Philip, tetrarch of Iturea and of the region of
Trachonitis, and Lysanius tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiphas being
high priests, the word of God came unto John, the son of Zacharias, in
the wilderness."
Here, in one sentence, are twenty historical, geographical, political
and family references, every one of which can be proven true by the
statements of cotemporaneous secular writers. Infidels have utterly
failed in their attempts to disprove one of the hundreds of such
statements in the New Testament.
Among the various historical evidences of primitive Christianity, none
seem more authentic or possess a deeper interest than those connected
with the catacombs of ancient Rome. These were subterraneous chambers
or excavations which were made in the soft, sandy rock which underlies
the hills on which stood ancient Rome. To these dreary vaults
the early saints were in the habit of retiring, in order to celebrate
their worship in times of persecution, and in them were buried many of
the saints and martyrs of the primitive church. They consist of long,
narrow galleries, {128} usually about eight feet high and five feet
wide, which twist and turn in all directions, very much resembling
mines. The graves were constructed by hollowing out a portion of the
rock at the side of the gallery, large enough to contain the body. The
entrance was then built up, and generally an inscription was placed
upon it.
{127} [ILLUSTRATION: SECTION OF THE CATACOMB OF CALIXTUS.]
{128} These excavations were first formed by quarrying the
volcanic, sandy rock, in order to supply the materials necessary for
the building of ancient Rome. They were afterwards increased in order
to procure the sand used for cement, until, at length, they formed an
area of very extensive dimensions. They are mentioned by the Roman
writers, Horace and Varro, by Cicero and Seutonius. Jerome, writing
about the middle of the fourth century, describes them as they existed
in his day, declaring that he "was accustomed, as a youth, when
studying in Rome, to visit these dark and dreary spots on Sundays, in
order to see the tombs of apostles and martyrs."
[ILLUSTRATION: BURIAL PLACE IN THE CATACOMBS.]
Among the many inscriptions which the museum of the Vatican has derived
from the catacombs is {129} the following. It relates to the reign of
Marcus Aurelius, or Antoninus, as he is sometimes called, about A. D.
150:
ALEXANDER MORTUUS NON EST SED
VIVIT SUPER ASTRA ET CORPUS IN HOC
TUMULO QUIESCIT. VITAM EXPLEVIT
SUB ANTONINO IMPO, QUI UBI MULTUM
BENEFITII ANTEVENIRE PRAEVIDERET
PRO GRATIA ODIUM REDDIDIT GENUA
ENIM FLECTENS VERO DEO
SACRIFICATURUS AD SUPPLICIA DUCITUR.
TEMPORA INFAUSTA! QUIBUS INTER SACRA
ET VOTA NE IN CAVERNIS QUIDEM
SALVARI POSSIMUS. QUID MISERIUS VITA
SED QUID MISERIUS IN MORTE CUM
AB AMICIS ET PARENTIBUS
SEPELIRI NEQUEANT TANDEM IN COELO
CORUSCANT PARUM VIXIT QUI VIXIT IN X.
TEM.
TRANSLATION:
"Alexander is not dead, but lives beyond the stars, and his
body rests in this tomb. He lived under the Emperor
Antoninus, who, foreseeing that great benefit would result from his
services, returned evil for good. For, while on his knees and
about to sacrifice to the true God, he was led away to
execution. O, sad times! in which sacred rites and prayers, even
in caverns, afford no protection to us. What can be more
wretched than such a life, and what than such a death, when
they could not be buried by their friends and relatives? At
length they are resplendent in heaven. He has scarcely lived
who has lived in Christian times."
Sometimes a victor's crown--one of laurel--is intended to mark that
the interred one has passed {130} through the agony and strife of his
Christian conflict, and was triumphant. At other times the simplest
words indicated a saint's last resting place. In some cases these
epitaphs are imperfectly spelled, indicating the humble class to which
the survivors belonged.
* * * * *