Mr. the fact of the two Bethsaidas, the one near Capernaum, and the other Bethsaida Julias. This last has been held to have been situated at etTell, on the east of the Jordan, about two miles above its entrance into the lake, the identification being supported by Seetzen, Robinson, Porter, and others. This alleged site for Bethsaida Julias, however, has been seriously challenged. Bethsaida ( house of fish), it is affirmed, must have stood on the shores of the fish-teeming lake. Haskett Smith, in his latest edition of Porter's admirable Handbook, p. 253, says that the true site of Bethsaida is a village named Ms'aidiehname virtually identical in meaning-situated on the fertile plain of el-Batîheh, exactly opposite to Tell Hûm, which he identifies with Capernaum. The hills immediately behind this ruin are generally admitted to have been the most likely scene of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand. If this be the true site, as there is every reason to believe, then the narrative becomes quite clear. -a At the conclusion of the feeding of the five thousand then, Christ sent His disciples on board the ship with the intention of crossing with them to the other side. The disciples were to get ready for sailing, and wait for him a little off Ms'aîdieh or Bethsaida, where He would join them after having sent away the multitude (ews oû ảoλúσy). That this was the arrangement is borne out by the ἤρχοντο PXovтo of John vi. 17, "They were setting about going," and by the poάyew, the eis Tò Téрav (Matthew and Mark), the πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης εἰς Kareрvaouμ of John, which all denote the prospective end of the voyage, not the immediate purpose, and still more by the strong statement kai ouk (better οὔπω ἐληλύθει Ἰησοῦς πρὸς αὐτούς (John vi. 17), which certainly implies an expectation of the arrival of Jesus, and cannot be merely considered as having a prophetic signification, as Farrar sup poses. It is said, He "constrained them" to go on board. Why did He need to do so? Many say they too were carried away by the enthusiasm of the crowd, and would have liked to make Him a king (John vi. 15), and the supposition is probable, but it may further be that, experienced fishermen as they were, they knew the signs of an approaching storm, and marvelled that their Master should compel them to go on board at such a time. Before a tempest on the lake there is usually a great sultriness in the air, the sky is murky and filled with misty, indefinitely-shaped clouds, while the sun loses its brilliancy and appears of a paie sickly yellow. But Christ gave no reasons beyond the directions to pick Him up farther along the shore. Their ship (rò λotov) was anchored a little off the shore, and communication was kept up by means of a single "punt" or "skiff," λotápiov (John vi. 22). Having got on board, the disciples sent back the skiff, and waited for their Master. But the storm burst upon them, and blew them far out across the lake towards the west. It was my good fortune while in Galilee to witness one of the most violent tempests seen for many years. I am aware that the majority of squalls come down the Wady Hammâm and are westerly in character; but the storm I witnessed came from the south, and after blowing for half an hour in that direction changed to the north-east. I was assured by the boatmen on the lake, who had been in this tempest, that the only resource for a boat caught in such a squall is to let her drift, till the first violence is spent, when rowing may be attempted. Such was, no doubt, the case with the disciples. They simply had to "scud" before the seas and furious wind, till the initial fury had somewhat spent itself, when they took to the oars and began the weary work of rowing back to Bethsaida. This they continued till the fourth watch of the night, toiling against the heavy breakers and, perhaps, dashing rain. full moon we know, because the date was just before Passover, and that feast was always celebrated at the full of the moon; but we are told by John that it was dark (κατέλαβεν αὐτοὺς ἡ σKOтía), and we may well believe it was what sailors call " a dirty night." But their toil was in vain, they drifted more than they rowed, Christ saw them βασανιζομένους ἐν τῷ ἐλαύνειν, and came walking on the water to meet them. Why did they not see Jesus till He was "passing them by"? (Mark vi. 48.) Simply because, if our supposition is correct, their backs were turned towards Him as He was coming with the wind, while they were toiling at the oars against the wind. And then again our sympathy for Peter is increased when we remember that as he stepped out of the boat he was met in the face by the curling waves, the dashing spray and the wind as they came with a hiss from the east. It was Immediately on receiving Jesus into the boat, John tells us, "the ship was at the land whither they went" (vi. 21). This by many has been regarded as an additional miracle to the three previous ones, as Dr. Brown says in loco, "As the storm was suddenly calmed, so the little bark, propelled by the secret power of the Lord of Nature now sailing in it, glided through the now unruffled waters, and-while they were wrapped in wonder at what had happened, not heeding their rapid motion-was found at port, to their still further surprise." But the evangelist gives no indication that the incident is to be regarded as a miracle, nor need we necessarily suppose it to have been one. John says they had rowed 25 or 30 furlongs when they were met by Jesus. But as they were drifting more than they rowed, they were close on the other side when Christ appeared. From Ms'aidîeh to Capernaum is just about 28 furlongs, so that when they took Jesus into the boat, and the storm was hushed, it was straightway that their ship was èπì tôs yîs, i.e. touching the shelving, gravelly beach. (Winer, Gram. N. T. Diction, p. 392.) The shore had been obscured before, partly by the gloom of night and partly by the spray and spindrift, which is such a feature of these Galilean storms. Most commentators have based their supposition of this arrival being a miracle on Matthew's phrase, rò λoîον dŋ μéσov Tŷs Oadáσons, but this is merely a common expression for being in the open sea in deep water. It is only from Mejdel (Magdala) to Kersa (Gergesa) that the lake is seven miles wide; but we have no reason to suppose the disciples were anywhere so far south-not even a west wind would blow them there. This hypothesis of an easterly wind blowing the disciples away from Christ, has, I find, been favoured by only a very few commentators; Lightfoot, Gieseler (Chron. Syn., p. 249), Lange (Comm. on Matt. vol. ii. p. 68), are all I have been able to come across, though even these vary much in many of the details, and, in common with Godet (Comm. on John, vol. ii.), cling to the supposition of Bethsaida Julias as at et-Tell. In conclusion, I may say that the homiletic value of this exegesis appears to me greater than on the common view. The disciples in this case were not rowing away from Christ, but, filled with a strong love for their Master, and in apprehension at leaving Him alone on the desolate shore, were doing all they could to pull back to Jesus, even though at the expense of enormous labour to themselves. It is a splendid instance of devotion, and shows that the fishermen had risen much in moral courage since the time of their former craven fear when Jesus was on board, and when He stilled the tempest. Bearsden. G. A. FRANK KNIGHT. The Great Text Commentary. THE GREAT TEXTS OF ST. MATTHEW. MATT. xxii. 42. "What think ye of the Christ?" (R.V.) EXPOSITION. "What think ye of Christ?" is an unfortunate translation; but, strange to say, persistently holding its place in all the old English versions. In the original it is: What think ye concerning the Christ?-MORISON. The question is not: "What think ye of Me as the Christ?" but "What think ye of the Christ that is promised in your books? Whose son is he?"-PARKer. What they thought of Him, He does not ask them. Since He has been abundantly proven to be "the Christ," the question comes to us in this form, as an all-important one. One answer only can be correct.-SCHAFF AND RIDDLE. METHODS OF TREATMENT. CHRIST A SERIOUS DIFFICULTY TO By the Rev. John Pulsford. 1. Christ was a great perplexity in His own day. "He is Elijah;" ""He is one of the Prophets !" "He is John whom I beheaded," said consciencestricken Herod. All agreed He was exceptional. 2. Christ is a great perplexity still. The interest in Him has not abated. He is too human not to be interesting. Even men who give themselves to the study of nature come across Him-He is so natural. He called Himself the Son of Man-and man ever finds his path crossing His presence. Yet they cannot explain Him in terms of nature. Though the Son of Man, He is above man. He is "the Son of Man who is in heaven." 3. Christ Himself puts this question: "What think ye of Christ ?" And He puts it always in that direct, personal way. What think ye? (a) The natural mind finds Him an insoluble 'riddle. His claims are so high, and yet His sincerity, His performance are not lower. Rousseau compliments Him; Goethe thinks Him a gentleman of the first water; Renan extols His beautiful human attributes; "Ecce Homo" finds Him almost an ideal man. (b) Faith solves the riddle. He is Lord, says Faith; "Lord of all, to the glory of God the Father;" my Lord. He is Lord, because He is not man merely, but God also. (c) When Faith takes Him as Lord, the life of faith proves the truth and wisdom of the solution. II. WHO IS JESUS CHRIST? By the Rev. Henry Varley, B.A. Of the great questions of the Christian faith, this is the most important. What we think of Christ determines our attitude towards the entire range of Christian doctrine. Where you place your centre in describing a circle decides the relative position of every point of the circumference. And Christ is the centre of the Christian faith. Christ Himself recognised this fact. When He called men to be His disciples, the call He gave them was not a call to the acceptance of a theological system or a doctrinal scheme, but to faith in Himself. The apostles took the same view. St. Paul defines his Christian life as the life of Christ in him. The enemies and critics of the Early Church very soon perceived the importance of the Person of Christ to Christianity, and gave the disciples the name of Christians. And when we compare the place held by Christ in Christianity with the position of Buddha in Buddhism, or of Mohammed in Mohammedanism, we at once see that Christianity is the only personal religion, the only religion that circles round a Person. Buddha tells his followers to look for salvation not to him, but to his method; Mohammed pointed his followers to the Koran. Now there are just two possible answers to the question, "Who is Jesus Christ ?" Either He was simply a man, of purely human parentage, of merely earthly origin-a man whose life, no doubt, displayed many marks of goodness and moral excellence, and yet simply a man. Or, He was more than a man. His origin, if human on one side, was divine on the other, and His nature throughout exhibited this twofold character. Now, it is admitted that the Gospels represent Him as more than man. It is admitted that the Early Church believed Him to be more than man. It is well known that the Church Catholic has always and everywhere held Him to be more than man. Then there are many proofs. There is His sinlessness-sufficient of itself to bear the whole burden of proof. Sin is so characteristically human that sinlessness must be of directly divine origin. Following upon His sinlessness (which He claimed) is His further claim that He came into the world in a special way; that He had a personal existence before He came; that, in short, "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." And the final proof is the absolute need of men for such an Incarnation, and the absolute satisfaction of that need in the Incarnation of Christ. What think ye of Christ? Remember, now, that it is possible to think accurately of Him, and yet not do the things He said. "Many will say unto Me, Lord, Lord . . . and then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity." THOUGHTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. A PAPER was recently read by an American Unitarian. He did not hesitate to say-and it is hard to see how anybody can hesitate to say-that, so far as the authority of the Scripture goes, "The orthodox have the best of it." In other words, if you abide by the teaching of the New Testament, you must believe Christ to be what evangelical Christians believe Him to be-the Incarnate Son of God. But this is just what Unitarians do not, and will not, believe. They will not admit that everything stands or falls with the orthodox view of the Person of Christ. How, then, does this American Unitarian propose to get out of his difficulty? "The way now," says he, "to deal with the question at issue, is to throw over the authority" of Scripture "al together." We could not have a better proof of the fundamental importance of Christ to Christianity than this desperate shift to which a thorough-going Unitarian is reduced.-HENRY VARLEY. OR take one other instance in support of this momentous point. It shall be one drawn from the confessions of a man whose name stands among the foremost of the leaders of the world of thought. I mean John Stuart Mill. What does he say? In the "Essays on Religion," published after his death, he says: "Whatever else may be taken away from us by rational criticism, Christ is still left-a unique figure, not more unlike all His precursors than all His followers, even those who had the direct benefit of His personal teaching."HENRY VARLEY. THE first suggestion which comes out of this question"What think ye of Christ?"-is this: that Christianity challenges human thought. It is a system of thought; its very first impulse is to set mind at work, to set men to thinking.-BISHOP SIMPSON. WHEN Luther was summoned to attend the Pope's nuncio, on leaving Wurtemburg, his old students assembled to honour him with a farewell greeting. As soon as they saw him approach with his old threadbare coat on his back and his cap on his head, they immediately took off their hats, and cried aloud," Luther for ever! Luther for ever!" Luther became thoughtful and filled with emotion. Taking off his cap he shouted, "No; Christ for ever! the gospel for ever!"-JOHN WILLIAMS. IN the northern part of Maine there is a mountain which springs from the midst of the forest, unapproached by lesser heights, lifting its solitary peak into the clouds. Floating down the stream which flows by it, between the overhanging banks, suddenly at some turn of the river's course, I have seen Mount Katahdin, standing out from the interminable forests, its grand lines sharply defined, its single, sublime peak rising alone into the sky. Often that mountain vision seems repeated, as I am brought before the character of Christ. Above the interminable levels of common human nature, across the intervening distances of history, an image of solitary majesty stands out before the mind; and the view of that sublime character, rising from the midst of our low, monotonous human attainments, clearly outlined against the soul's horizon, in its wonderful elevation, is an inspiration and a joy, awakening the whole moral enthusiasm of our being-NEWMAN SMYTH. "I SAY, the acknowledgment of God in Christ BROWNING: A Death in the Desert. WHILE travelling in a coal-mine district, I noticed how very dingy the towns appeared. The coal-dust seemed to blacken buildings, trees, shrubs - everything. But as a foreman and I were walking near the mines, I noticed a beautiful white flower. Its petals were as pure as if it were blooming in a daisy field. "What care the owner of this plant must take of it," said I, "to keep it so free from dust and dirt!" "See here," said the foreman, and, taking up a handful of coal-dust, threw it over the flower. It immediately ran off, and left the flower as stainless as before. "It has an enamel," the foreman explained, "which prevents any dust from clinging to it. I think it must have been created for just such a place."-DR. CUYler. The Expository Times Build of Bible Study. THE Expository Times Guild of Bible Study seeks to encourage the systematic study, as distinguished from the mere reading of Scripture. A portion from the Old Testament and another from the New are selected every year, and the members of the Guild simply make the promise that they will study one or both of those portions with the aid of some Commentary, between the months of November and June. The promise constitutes membership in the Guild. Those who are once enrolled as members do not require to renew the promise every year; and it is always understood that it is not to be held binding if unforeseen circumstances prevent its being carried out. Names of new members should be sent to the Editor, Kinneff, Bervie, N.B. The parts of Scripture selected for the session 1892-93 are St. John's Gospel and Isaiah i.-xxxix. And the Commentaries recommended for St. John's Gospel are-(1) Reith's (T. & T. Clark, 2 vols., 25. each), or (2) Plummer's (Cambridge Press, 4s. 6d.), or (3) Westcott's (Murray, 12s. 6d.). And for those who wish to study the gospel in the original, Plummer's Greek edition is very satisfactory (Cambridge Press, 6s.). For Isaiah, Orelli (10s. 6d.) and Delitzsch (the fourth edition, 2 vols., 21s.) are the best. The Publishers (Messrs. T. & T. Clark, 38 George Street, Edinburgh) will send a copy of Orelli for 6s., and of Delitzsch for 12s., postage paid, to any Member of the Expository Times Guild who applies for it. Members of the Guild may send to the Editor from month to month, as the result of their study, short expository papers. The best of these will be published in THE EXPOSITORY TIMES; and the writers, seeing them there, will receive from the Publishers any volume they select out of the following list of books :— The Foreign Theological Library (about 180 vols. to select from). Meyer's Commentary on the New Testament, 20 vols. St. Augustine's Works, 15 vols. Macgregor's Apology of the Christian Religion. Stählin's Kant, Lotze, and Ritschl. Allen's Life of Jonathan Edwards. NOTE. Full particulars of the above-mentioned books in Messrs. Clark's catalogue, free on application. At the Literary Table. THE BOOKS OF THE MONTH. INTRODUCTION AU NOUVEAU TESTAMENT. PAR F. GODET. I. LES EPITRES DE SAINT PAUL. (Neuchatel: Attinger Freres, 8vo, pp. xv, 737.) More than any other continental theologian, Professor Godet speaks to Englishmen. His commentaries have circulated widely in England, and there is nothing one hears more frequently in such matters than the remark from some working English preacher that he has found Godet more fruitful than all the rest. He will be grudged to Introduction. It is probable that the working English preacher will doubt Godet's wisdom in spending his exegetical gifts upon outside questions of Introduction. But that can only be because the preacher does not himself feel the importance of such questions, not because he denies Godet the additional gift and fitness for dealing with them. There is no room for the denial. The special Introductions to the Gospels and Epistles which he has given us, proved long ago that he has the industry, the judgment, the insight, and, above all, the restraint. And now that the first volume of that work upon which he has spent so many patient years has reached us, we find that the promise of the Commentaries is fulfilled. The distinguishing merit of the book is its conservatism. Professor Godet has no passionate rhetoric with which to assail the inherited judgment of the centuries-inherited, yet ever by new research, tested, corrected, and strengthened. His conservatism is certainly neither bigoted nor blind. If he has no pet theory upon which to ride down the ages of the history of criticism, it is not because he is conservative; it is simply because his most thorough and independent research has left him on the side of "the whole world," and he is not ashamed to own it. THE PLACE OF CHRIST IN MODERN THEOLOGY. By A. M. FAIRBAIRN, M.A., D.D. (Hodder & Stoughton. 8vo, pp. xxiii, 556. I2S.) "Back to Christ" has been the cry for some time. Well, we have got back to Christ, says Dr. Fairbairn, and he has written this book to show us where we were before, how we got back, and what the new position may be to us. "Our discussion will fall into two main parts: one historical and critical, and one positive and constructive. The historical and critical will deal with two questions: first, the causes that have so often made theology, in the very process of interpreting Christ, move away from Him; and, secondly, the causes that have contributed to the modern return to Him. The positive and constructive will also be concerned with two questions: first, the interpretation of Christ given in the Christian sources; and, secondly, the theological significance of Christ as thus interpreted." But what does this cry, "Back to Christ," really |