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Untitled Article
Gemini were consuls . * It is a curious fact , that some of the early Christian writers speak of the death of Christ as occurring in that year ; and though it shews how little we can rely on their chronology , it also proves that they could not have entertained the opinion now prevalent as to the
interval between our Lord's baptism and his death . f In St . John's Gospel we find mentioned a Passover , ch . ii . 13 ; a festival which , may have been the succeeding Pentecost , ch , v . 1 ; a Passover approaching , ch . vi . 4 ; a Feast of Tabernacles , ch . vii . 2 ; a Feast of Dedication , ch . x . 22 ; and the last Passover , ch . xi . 55 . If this were the exact
chronological order , then the Passover spoken of in John vi . 4 , as approaching , could not have been the last Passover : and several able writers have been led , by this consideration , to extend the duration of our Lord ' s ministry to two years and some months , so as to include three Passovers . J Supposing this correct , we have still three national festivals , during which we nave no proof that our Lord was at Jerusalem . This fact presents some
difficulty ; but the chief objection to the hypothesis arises from the situation , in Matthew's Gospel , of the miracle recorded in John vi .: and this objection presses , against every hypothesis except that which supposes the Passover , near which the miracle occurred , to have been the last in our Lord's ministry . The portion of St . Matthew ' s Gospel which begins at ch . xiv . 13 , and ends with ch . xx . 34 , contains a regular , uninterrupted narrative of our Lord ' s transactions , apparently a short time before his sufferings af Jerusalem . This portion begins with the miracle of the Five Thousand ; and , from Matthew alone , we might reasonably infer , that the miracle was
performed a short time before the Passover at which our Lord suffered . A month is sufficient for all the events which are recorded by him between that
miracle and the crucifixion . —Now St . John says ( ch . vi . 4 ) , that the Passover was nigh at the period of this miracle ; and this agrees precisely with the narrative of St . Matthew . The succession of events as recorded by Mark , agrees , in this portion of the history , with that of Matthew ; and as their order materially differs in the preceding periods , their agreement in this is the more important . § The period shortly preceding our Lord's crucifixion is that in which , a priori , we mi g ht expect the greatest agreement in the order of events . Every thing must then have had a constantly increasing and intense interest , and the records would naturally be most in the order of occurrence .
The corresponding part of Luke's Gospel begins with ch . ix . 10 , and extends to ch . xix . 29 ; but this includes a remarkable portion which will hereafter be analyzed , consisting of a collection of precepts , parables , and
* Augustus died Aug . 19 , A . D . 14 . The 15 th year of Tiberius , therefore , began At * g . 19 , A . D . 29 . In the year 29 , the two Gemini were Consuls $ and though they
were succeeded , on the 1 st of July , by Pomponius Secundus and Sauguiuius Maximus , yet the Julian year iti which the 15 th of Tiberius began , received its designation , of course , from the Gemini . The 15 th of Tiberius is the only lloinau date that appears in the gospels . -f * How far the hypothesis entertained by various eminent men , that the
commencement of Tibenus ' s reign is to be reckoned from hit * proconsular government , is in itself well-founded , and agreeable to the chronology of the early fathers , will be considered in a subsequent article .
X Dr . Lardner , Dr . Benson , Mr . Cappe , and Mr . Benson , advance this opinion . § The portion of Christ ' s ministry beginning with the miracle of the Five Thousand , and ending with his last visit to Jerusalem , includes from ch . vi . 30 , to the end of the xth chapter of Mark ' s Gowpel .
Untitled Article
170 On the Chronology and Arrangement of the Gospel Narratives .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1831, page 170, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2595/page/26/
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