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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Untitled Article
article , all that we at present find requisite respecting the chronology of 'St . John ' s Gospel ; and we will only add here what respects its supplementary character . But for his inestimable record then , we should have known nothing of the circumstances connected with the Baptist ' s repeated testimony to our Lord ; the two miracles at Cana and Capernaum ; the transactions at the First Passover , including the conference with Nicodemus ; the conversation with the Woman of Samaria ; the cure of the Infirm Man at the Pool
of Beihesda , and the important discourse it occasioned , delivered probably in the presence of the Sanhedrim ; the transactions at the Tabernacles , so graphically described by the Apostle , together with the restoration of the Blind Man ; the transactions at the Feast of Dedication ; the Resurrection of Lazarus ; ( the Discourse in Capernaum after the miracle of the Five Thousand ;) the Washing of the Apostles' feet ; the Discourses of our Lord at the Last Supper , and his subsequent Prayer ; various interesting particulars connected wiih the Trial , Crucifixion , and Resurrection of Christ ;
and the subsequent circumstances at the Lake of Galilee , respecting Peter and John . This enumeration will recall abundant proof that the Gospel of John is peculiarly rich in those discourses and works of Christ which display at once tHe source , and the greatness and extent , of his power and authority ; which shew the spiritual union between himself , his Father , and his disciples ; and which introduce , so to speak , into the interior of Christian faith . The enumeration also gives abundant proof , that it was clearly St . John ' s object to make his records supplementary to some existing narrative ;
and considering that John himself wrote his Gospel at Ephesus , ( probably not long before the destruction of Jerusalem , ) and that Luke ' s Gospel was , from the circumstances of its origin and design , and of its author , most likely to be early known in that region , it does not appear unreasonable to suppose that Luke ' s Gospel was that other narrative . On this conjecture , however , we lay no stress ; nor do we expect to draw from it any inferences : but it would explain why John not only records the discourse of Christ at Capernaum , but also the preceding miracle . ( Comp . Luke ix . 10 — 17 , with John vi . 1—21 . )
One thing is certain , that Luke ' s Gospel was written for the instruction of a man of eminence , who , without doubt , was a Gentile convert ;* and the third of our Tables will shew how rich it is , not only in matter which it has , in part , in common with Matthew , but also in interesting facts , and especially in parables , which it contains exclusively . It is further clear , that Luke purposed to give Theophilus a regularly arranged account of all that he had learnt respecting the words and actions of Christ through his acquaintance with Apostles and other personal witnesses , and by his own
dili-111 . p . 59 , ) falls into the error of representing the first sir chapters as relating to a period preceding that with which Matthew , &c , began their account of Christ ' s miracles : though ch . vi . relates the miracle of the Five Thousand . * Suppose we had possessed no other instructions in the Gospel than the two histories of St . Luke—is there room for doubt , when we consider the purpose for which they were written , that we should have had all necessary guidance as to the nature and the requirements of the Christian dispensation—as to its faith and duty ?
The Unitarian cannot be far wrong , if he believes , respecting Christ and his salvation , all thai Luke , the companion of Paul , communicated to his friend concerning the work , the death , and the exaltation of our Lord , and concerning the instructions given by the Apostles when teaching the Gospel among Jews and among the Gentiles : nor need he be afraid of the decision of his Judge , if he have made the spiritual instructions contained in those two invaluable records his habitual guide , in heart and in life .
Untitled Article
On the Chronology and Arrangement of the Gospel Narratives . 313
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1831, page 313, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2597/page/25/
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