conscious of the wonderful redemption that is theirs, and waiting patiently for the coming of Christ. The apostle writes in the shadow of approaching trials and persecutions which are to befall the Christian community; and he is especially concerned that in the spirit of their Master they shall suffer not as evildoers but as righteous and inoffensive men (ii, 15, 19, 20; iii, 17; iv, 14-16), so vindicating a Christian character under such conditions as befell their Lord. Though evidently well on in age, and in a position of authority, St. Peter writes to the elders of the churches as a "fellow-elder" (v, I), putting himself by the side of them. The whole epistle shows in a notable way how the ministry and teachings of Jesus ripened in the heart of his most headstrong disciple into a beauty of steadfastness and suffering for righteousness' sake, which spirit he inculcates as the church's divine power against the wickedness and corruptions of the world. The Master's prayer for him before his denial that his "faith fail not" (Luke xxii, 31, 32) was abundantly answered. No other epistle in the Bible is so direct a reflection of the life and words of the Master. The Second St. Peter's second epistle, which, because it is so different in style and spirit from the first, many deny to him, is written when more troublous times have come upon the church, not only from without in the shape of persecutions but from within in the shape of false teachings, hurtful philosophies, and skepticism. The church is evidently coming into contact with the wave of gnostic intellectualism and lawless materialism which began to invade it in the latter part of the first century. Belief in the parousia was coming to be scoffed at by those who could not interpret it in spiritual terms; and the writer must needs remind them that dates for such an event cannot be set, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and that the event will come suddenly, apocalyptically, and without observation. The intuition of the epistle is thus upon the verge of the apocalyptic disclosure soon to come in the Revelation of John 1 (2 Pet. iii, 8-10; cf. Isa. lv, 11). The epistle purports to be a product of St. Peter's old age, when he is expecting soon to "strike his tent" (2 Pet. i, 13-15), and is arranging to leave such a remembrance of Jesus after his "decease" (2 Pet. i, 15; cf. Luke ix, 31) as shall be of needed service to the Christian world. It commends its readers also to the epistles of St. Paul (2 Pet. iii, 15, 16), whose wisdom, difficult to understand but harmonious with the other Christian teachings, is set beside the other scriptures as authoritative and weighty for instruction. St. Jude, who calls himself "a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James" (i, 1), was, like James, not one of The Epistle the original apostles, but a later convert. He of Jude writes to Christians who are in dangers similar to those described in Second Peter, urging them "to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). The danger which he confronts, however, presents itself not so much in the form of heresy and false doctrine as of impurity of life, the unspeakable animalism and greed against which the early church had so strenuously to contend in a heathen world. He shows himself a competent student of Scripture, not only of the accredited Old Testament writings but also of the apocalyptic writings which in the first century were so popular. He refers in one place to things mentioned in Daniel's visions and other works (Jude 9; cf. Dan. x, 13, 21; xii, 1), and in another to the Book of Enoch (Jude 14; cf. Enoch i, 9). The doxology with which the epistle closes (vss. 24, 25) is justly regarded as one of the most beautiful ascriptions to be found in its whole class of literature. It is a fitting end to the epistolary part of the New Testament canon. 1 See below, p. 664. レ IV. THE LEGACY OF THE BELOVED DISCIPLE In our consideration of the gospels as completed, it will be remembered that we confined ourselves to the synoptic gospels, reserving the fourth gospel to what was deemed its more fitting place in the literature of values. We now take up this gospel, with other writings of the same author, considering them as an old-age legacy of one who was an intimate disciple of Jesus; a legacy which, coming to men at a time when their spiritual need of it was greatest, may be regarded as the crown and culmination of the literature both of fact and of values. The writings of the beloved disciple are at once the simplest, the directest, and the profoundest in the whole range of Biblical literature. They consist of the fourth gospel, written as an eye-witness and ear-witness testimony, and three epistles, the first of which latter, being a kind of appendix to the gospel, has been aptly called the "Postscript Commendatory." 1 I Who was the Beloved Disciple? "This is the disciple that beareth witness of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his witness is true" (John xxi, 24). Thus is worded a certificate of authenticity attached to the end of the fourth gospel; and the disciple thus referred to is repeatedly called "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John xiii, 23; xix, 26; xx, 2, 3; xxi, 7, 20). He is nowhere mentioned by name; but in 2 John 1 and 3 John 1, which were written by the same person who wrote the gospel, he calls himself "the elder," and in the first epistle writes in the manner of a very old and revered man (cf. I John ii, 1, 12, 13, 18). The certificate speaks of him as still living and bearing witness, and yet as having written "these things" (namely, in the gospel). It seems most probable therefore that this 1 By Bishop Lightfoot. voucher was given after the gospel was written and before the first epistle. It is evidently the author himself who wishes his name withheld, and though his name and claims are well known his wish is respected. Who this author was has of late years been vigorously called in question; and this question, with accompanying problems of age and circumstances of writing, has made the so-called Johannine problem one of the most vexed enigmas of modern criticism. Let us consider what data we have for forming an opinion: data of tradition and of the Bible itself. I. Tradition has held since the last quarter of the second century that the author so obscurely referred to was John, one of the original twelve apostles; and accordingly the gospel and the epistles have come down to us with his name. Some facts of John's life make the ascription natural. John, the son of Zebedee, from some place on the Sea of Galilee, probably Bethsaida, was one of the earliest of Jesus' disciples (cf. Mark i, 19, for his call). His father, who carried on the fisher's trade, seems to have been a man in well-to-do circumstances (cf. Mark i, 20, "hired servants"). His mother, who is most probably identified with Salome (cf. Matt. xxvii, 56, and Mark xv, 40, with John xix, 25), seems to have been the sister of Jesus' mother; hence John and Jesus were first cousins. If so, John was also a kinsman of John the Baptist (cf. Luke i, 36); but whether he was ever a disciple of the Baptist is uncertain; our identification of the unnamed disciple in John i, 40, is all we have to go by. He was a younger brother of James; and the three, James and John and Peter, were the most intimate of Jesus' disciples. These were the ones chosen to witness the most solemn events of the Master's ministry: the raising of Jairus' daughter (Mark v, 37), the transfiguration (Luke ix, 28), and the midnight prayer in Gethsemane (Mark xiv, 33). Whenever John is mentioned he is associated with others, with James or Peter or both. Only one remark is recorded of him alone, when the Master corrects his mistaken zeal in forbidding the casting out of demons by one who is not a disciple (Mark ix, 38; Luke ix, 49). It is much the same when, after Jesus' ascension, he becomes one of the chief apostles. He and Peter begin the Jerusalem ministry together (Acts iii, iv); but Peter is always the speaker and man of action, while John is the companion. The two brothers James and John were surnamed Boanerges by Jesus, that is, sons of thunder" (Mark iii, 17), perhaps from their impetuous and vehement temperament, in which they seemed to be alike. That they had political ambitions is indicated by their request for high distinctions in the coming kingdom (Mark x, 35-37, but perhaps the original idea was their mother's; see Matt. xx, 20-21). These items are all that are given us of John the son of Zebedee, except by tradition. Whether the John of the Apocalypse (Rev. i, 1, 4, 9) is the same person is quite conjectural. 2. Other circumstances there are, however, about this mysterious "disciple whom Jesus loved," which make his identification with John uncertain. To enumerate all these is of course not in place here. He is first mentioned, as if introduced as a new member of the circle, in John xiii, 23, where his intimacy with Jesus is indicated by the circumstance of his reclining on Jesus' breast at table, the same circumstance being used again as his identifying token (xxi, 20) when he is last mentioned. This would seem a rather strange way of introducing one who had been a prominent. member of the circle from the beginning. It was to this disciple that Jesus on the cross committed the care of his mother (xix, 26); and the fact that "from that hour the disciple took her unto his own home (vs. 27) would indicate that his home was in or near Jerusalem, whereas John's, on the Sea of Galilee, was ninety miles away. The fact that he was known to the high priest and procured, admission for Peter to the court (xviii, 16), which it is hard to say of the |