continues, "And he charged them that they should tell no man of him" (Mk. 8:27-33). But Matthew, following some other source of information, inserts,

And Jesus answered and said unto him:

"Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Then he returns to his copying, "And he charged them that they should tell no man of him," as in Mark (Mt. 16:17-20).

It may be that we owe also to the compiler of this gospel the uncommonly strong expressions which are used in it regarding everlasting punishment. The account of the Last Judgment (Mt. 25:31-46) may have been in the record which St. Matthew made; Jesus may have conditioned heaven and hell not on character but on the exercise of charity, and may have represented himself as saying to those on the left hand, "Depart, ye cursed"; but St. Luke did not quote it. It seems to come to us not from what the apostle Matthew heard Jesus say, but from what the compiler of the Gospel of Matthew found in some source of information about which we know nothing.

The fact that the report of a word or deed of Jesus appears in only one gospel does not of itself bring it into question; for this is the case, for example, with

the parable of the Prodigal Son. If, however, a question arises, as, for example, concerning such a miracle as the finding of a coin in the fish's mouth (Mt. 17:2427), then we may recognize the fact that the greater certainty attaches to those passages in which Matthew and Luke agree. Here we may be sure that we are listening to the words which Matthew heard.

XVI

THE WRITINGS OF ST. LUKE

I

TH

HE Gospel of St. Matthew may be described as a second edition of the Gospel of St. Mark, adding precious records of the teachings of Jesus, notably the Sermon on the Mount. The Gospel of St. Luke may be described as a third edition of the Gospel of St. Mark, adding not only the records of the teachings of Jesus which were written by St. Matthew but also the reports of other teachings; these are contained for the most part in nine chapters (Lk. 9:51-18:14).

The preface shows the author studying his sources, reading such lives of Christ as have already been written, gaining in this way a "perfect understanding" of his subject, and writing a gospel which he believes to be better than any which have preceded it.

Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, that thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

He took the Gospel of St. Mark, prefixed to it narratives of the nativity which are entirely different from those in the Gospel of St. Matthew, affixed narratives of the resurrection which are different from those in Matthew's gospel, and inserted into the framework of St. Mark many passages which are so like those in Matthew as to indicate their derivation from the same source, and many other passages whose difference from Matthew indicate a different source. The nine chapters which are peculiar to Luke begin with the refusal of Jesus to call down fire on an offending village of Samaritans (9:51-56). They include the account of the Samaritan who, alone of ten who had been healed, returned to give thanks (17:11-19). And they contain the parable of the Good Samaritan (10:25-37). In answer to the question, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus said:

"A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell

among the thieves?" And he said: "He that shewed mercy on him." Then said Jesus unto him:-"Go, and do thou likewise."

These chapters contrast a Pharisee with a publican, to the great advantage of the publican (18:9-14), and they are followed by an account of a visit of Jesus to Jericho, where he was the guest of a publican, to the scandal of all good churchmen.

Remembering how publicans and Samaritans were generally regarded at this time, the preservation of these incidents suggests that St. Luke was interested in the widening of the circle of Christian sympathy. It pleased him to find within that widening circle the neglected poor, whom Jesus blessed in the beatitudes, and of whom he spoke in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus:

"There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which) was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried: and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which