The Events of the Non-Catholic period of the Church after the Death of Christ, &c.

I.

"The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after that He through the Holy Ghost had given commandment unto the Apostles whom He had chosen; to whom also He showed himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."-Acts, i. 1-3.

If we refer to the first four verses of St. Luke's Gospel, we at once discover who the writer of the Acts of the Apostles was, namely, St. Luke. The former treatise,' which he speaks of in the first verse of my text, was his Gospel, which he addressed to some Christian friend by the name of Theophilus. He now addresses the history called the Acts of the Apostles to that same friend, taking up the Evangelic history where he had left it off in his Gospel, namely, at the Ascension of Christ.

My text contains references to the work of Christ; the time of His performing it; the high sanction which he had for it; His passion; His revival from the dead; His command to His chosen coadjutors; and His personal withdrawment from the whole scene of action.

As each of these particulars might be a subject for a separate discourse, we must necessarily be brief in our observations upon them. First, then

The Work of Christ.-'The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach:'-an expression which means, of all that Jesus both did and taught.' And not only the Gospel of St. Luke, but those of St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. John, with the Epistles of the Apostles, inform us of things which Jesus did and taught. And we can look nowhere else

B

for what He did, or for what He taught, except it be to Moses and David, and the other prophets, prophetically pointing out what the Messiah would do when He came, the proceedings of Christ and the statements of these confirming one another, and attesting, by their combined action, the truth of the whole. If any others state, in the way of tradition, that He said anything essential, or anything which had any binding influence upon His followers, which is not found in these writings, it is at once to be rejected as having no authority whatever, and as not being worth the paper upon which it is written. Nothing is to be viewed as having the influence of an authoritative injunction upon the followers of Christ which is not found in the sacred writings. And this should be regarded as a first principle with every one who may be desirous of ascertaining what is, and what is not, Christian truth.*

In referring then to the writings we have mentioned, we find Jesus did things, and taught things. His actions were benevolent and often miraculous. He sympathized with the state of those among whom he dwelt, compassionated the sorrows of the afflicted, and relieved in many instances their sufferings, never sending any away from Him who really desired and sought the exercise of His power, and, that power being miraculous, it at once attested whence He came, even from heaven; for 'no one,' as Nicodemus said to Him, 'can do these miracles which Thou doest except God be with him.' His opening the eyes of the blind, unstopping the ears of the deaf, untying the string of the tongues of those who could not speak plainly, raising to life the dead, curing the lame, cleansing the lepers, at once proved the truth of His mission, and showed whence He came- -that He came forth from God as the longpromised Messiah. His teaching also showed the same thing; for He taught as one having authority, and not as the Scribes; spake like no other man, and that both as to manner and matter. Hence the people, in the synagogue at Nazareth, it is stated, 'bare Him witness and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth,' and that, in accordance with the expression of the Psalmist,

"Nothing is to be believed as an article of the Christian faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation, but what may be proved by Holy Scripture."—Article vi. of the Church of England.

'Grace is poured into Thy lips;' and with that of Isaiah, "The Lord God hath given unto Me the tongue of the learned, that I might know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary. His work and teaching are beautifully pointed out by Himself where He said, in the synagogue of Nazareth, in quoting a prophecy in respect to Himself: The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor: He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.' But while His teaching was one of grace to those who accepted Him as the Lord their righteousness—was acceptable to those who possessed the spirit of those who waited for redemption in Jerusalemit was also faithful in its character. His personal mission to the Jews, (Mat. x. 5-6: xv. 24: Rom. xv. 8.) preparatory to the extension of the kingdom of God by the calling of the Gentiles, was pointed out by the prophets, and intimated by Himself. And in ministering to the circumcision to whom He was sent, He was faithful in His teaching towards them. Hence, in His communications with them, He called upon them to repent, assuring them, that, if they did not repent, they would perish, and, as a people and a nation, perish with violence, be utterly destroyed; since, while He had to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, to proclaim a message of love and mercy to those who received Him as the sent of God, He had also to proclaim the day of God's vengeance' upon those who disobeyed Him. And that day of vengeance came, as He told them it would, and it swept them away from their land as with the besom of destruction. He mourned over the prospect, and would have saved them from it; but they would not hear His words, neither see, nor understand, their day of merciful visitation. Lamenting the calamities which were coming upon the Jews, His own people, (John, i. 11.) He exclaimed in anticipation of their destruction, 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.'

But, not to dwell on the doings and speakings of Christ while He tabernacled in the flesh, let us turn to

The time of His thus being employed; The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until the day in which He was taken up.'

The prophet Daniel gives us a clue to the period in which He was employed in His ministry of acting and teaching. He informs us that, while seventy weeks, or 490 years, had to transpire, there would intervene sixtynine weeks, or 483 years, between the going forth of a command to restore and to build Jerusalem, and the coming of the Messiah. From that command going forth to the * time Jesus entered on His ministry at His baptism and his being anointed by the Holy Spirit sixty-nine weeks or 483 years elapsed. One week, or seven years, remained; and of Messiah it is stated, 'He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week,' that is, for seven years. 'In the midst of the week,' however; that is, at the end of three and a half years He was to be cut off, but not for Himself.' His personal ministry, therefore, was to last for three and a half years, or for the first half of the last week of the seventy weeks which were determined upon the people Israel; and being cut off in the middle of the week, and yet having to confirm the covenant for the week, or being cut off at the end of three and a half years from the time he entered on His ministry, and yet having to confirm the covenant for the week or seven years, the Apostles took His place, and confined their teaching to the circumcised for the second half week, or the second three and a half years, as Christ had confined His teaching for a half week, or three and a half years: and thus His half week and their half week, or His three and a half years and their three and a half years of confined and exclusive teaching to the circumcised made up the last week of the seventy weeks, or the last seven years of the 490 years. These seven years added to 483 years made up the 490 years which were determined upon Israel. And when these seventy weeks, or 490 years, ended, then came the great crisis when the Gentiles, or the uncircumcised were to have the gospel preached to them-when the kingdom of heaven was to be opened, not merely to the Jews, but to all who believed, whether Jew or Gentile, Barbarian, Scythian, male or female, bond or free,-when the Jew

was no longer to be favoured exclusively as he had been, but when both races were to be made one-when both Jew and Gentile were to have access by one Spirit unto the Father-when the Gentiles should become fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of God's promise in Christ by the gospel.' Then the Church became catholic or general-embraced persons of every race and blood; but before that, even from the entrance of Christ on His ministry seven years before, the gospel had been confined in its operation, was exclusively preached to the circumcised. We have next to notice

The high sanction which Christ had for His doings and teachings.The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach-through the Holy Spirit.' Every word, therefore, that He spake, and every act which He performed, had the sanction of heaven, was at the instance of His heavenly Father. Hence, on one occasion, He said to the Jews, 'My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me And again, 'He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him.'

On the day of His consecration to the hallowed work on which He was sent the Spirit descended upon Him: The heavens were opened, and John saw the Spirit of God descending on Him like a dove, and lighting upon Him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.' And set apart to His office on that memorable occasion as He was, He went forth and said, 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me.' The seal of Heaven was then and afterward stamped on all that He did and said. 'In Him,' saith St. Paul, dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.' And He said of Himself: 'The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of Myself, but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works;' and then He called upon those that heard Him to 'believe in Him for the very works' sake.' And His works testified of Him, and whence He came, and that He was full of grace and truth. Everything in connexion with Him as detailed in Scripture goes to show, that through the whole of His ministry He acted by the influence and power of the Holy Spirit, and as testified by prophecy that He should: There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots; and the