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Jesus Christ.

Cent. 1.

As soon as Christ began his public work, he called twelve disciples to be with him, whom he named Apostles. These he selected, not so much to aid him in the discharge of his mission, as to be witnesses of all that he came both to do and to teach; yet they were, notwithstanding, empowered to work miracles in the name of their Master, and to bear testimony to his Messiahship. He appointed other seventy also, whom he sent forth two and two into all the cities of Israel, to preach and to assert the coming of the kingdom of God, to heal the sick, and to cast out devils.

The labours of the Divine Saviour were confined chiefly to the land of the Jews, but his fame went out into all the regions round about; for by the application of the Gentiles, his power and wisdom were extended even unto them, and some believed in his name. The grand object of Messiah was, by his obedience, to bring in everlasting righteousness, and by his death to make atonement for sin. And we see, during the course of his ministry, that every thing conspired to accomplish so great an end. He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. The Jewish rulers plotted his death; as a prophet they declared him an impostor, as a priest a blasphemer, as a king an usurper: these things considered, no death was too cruel, too degrading: so they judged him to the cross, and he suffered upon Calvary between two malefactors.

The resurrection of Jesus, which followed on the third day after his crucifixion, proved his divine authority and mission; his disciples believed in him, his enemies were confounded, and, after forty days, he entered into his glory.

Tradition has added somewhat to the letter of Christ's history, but inasmuch as it discovers a departure from

Chap. 2.

St. Peter.

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the genuine spirit of it, little credit is due to it. Eusebius (who has been called the father of ecclesiastical history) has preserved in his writings a story of letters passing between Jesus and Agbarus king of Edessa; but as the whole is unnoticed, and most likely was unknown in the apostolic age, it appears fabulous, and therefore unworthy of detail. The testimony of Josephus is honourable, and collateral with scripture, but he records no additional matter.

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1.

CHAPTER II.

Lives and Acts of the Apostles and of the first Disciples of Christ.

On the death of Jesus the disciples were scattered; every one went to his own home, and to his occupation; but the event of the resurrection again brought them to one rallying point, and by the direction of their divine and risen Master, they abode waiting at Jerusalem till the day of pentecost. (Aets i. 4, 18.) From the period of Christ's death to the pentecost were fifty days, forty of which, after the resurrection, he spent with his apostles and others of their company. So great was the cloud of witnesses to his glory, that before his ascension he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once." And e when the day of pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place, and suddenly” the anxious solicitude of the apostles was relieved by the appearance and glory of the promised Spirit. This was on the first day of the week, called afterwards the LORD'S DAY: a

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St. Peter.

Cent. 1.

day to be had in everlasting remembrance. On this illustrious occasion,

PETER is first distinguished, standing up with the eleven in vindication of those gifts so miraculously conferred. We place Peter first, not as if first called to be an apostle, nor on account of any supremacy attached to his office above his fellows, but only because he first stands forward in the Acts of the Apostles. His acquaintance with Jesus was brought about by Andrew, during the ministry of John the Baptist. (John i. 41.) His call to the apostleship was a short time after, at the sea of Galilee. (Matt. iv. 18-21.) His character is well drawn by the incidents which form his history. In every instance (except in the matter of the denial) he manifests a bold, decided, affectionate regard to his Master; nor does that instance of his frailty exclude him from the most decided notice of the Saviour; no, nor yet does it argue any abatement in his real attachment to the cause he had embraced. He is among the foremost at the sepulchre, and the first to assert the honours of the Cross, before the wicked and unbelieving Jews at the pentecost. The labours of this apostle were more immediately exercised among his own kinsmen after the flesh, and it is evident, from several circumstances, that his prejudices in favour of his own nation militated, for a while, against the spirit of the gospel as addressed to all nations. This was in a measure, corrected by the heavenly vision, directing him to Cornelius the Roman centurion; and at length seeing that God had poured out his Spirit upon all flesh, he becomes an auxiliary in the service of the Gentiles also, by addressing his catholic expistles to all who were made partakers of like precious faith.

Superstition has made Peter bishop of Rome: the

Chap. 2.

St. John.

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New Testament says not a syllable about it, nor can it be gathered from any part of his history, that he so much as ever visited that place. Here fall to the ground all the pretensions of the Popes to be the successors of St. Peter. From the Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistles, (the only authentic records,)" his services appear to have been eminently useful in Judea and Samaria. We find him at Antioch, and probably through all Asia Minor he had preached to those to whom he had addressed his two epistles. It is highly probable that the East, (not the West.) was the great scene of his labours, where the remnant of the twelve tribes had left a numerous posterity." His Lord predicted his death by the hand of violence, and therefore we may assert he died a Martyr, but when, where, or how, or by whom, he fell, we have no authority to say.

JOHN, styled the beloved disciple, appears, from his writings, to have been a man of an amiable character, his natural temper gentle and serene, his conduct affectionate and engaging. He was most probably a disciple of John the Baptist, and called to the apostleship from the sea of Galilee, at the same time as Peter, (Matt. iv. 18-22.) John Baptist then being cast into prison. The life of the disciples, during the days of their Master, was comparatively inactive; their principal employ was to attend the Lord Jesus, in order to behold his miracles, to listen to his discourses, and to learn to imitate his moral example. In these particulars John excelled. He was one of the chosen number on the mount of Transfiguration, and he was suffered to approach "the more awful spectacle of the agony in the garden." He entered the high priest's palace with his Lord, while Peter followed afar off, and while the rest forsook him and fled. At the crucifixion he stood by the cross; at the sepulchre,

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St. James.

Cent. 4.

he saw and believed; at the pentecost, he was one of the first to assert his Master's cause, nor was he afraid to suffer. The last we hear of him in the book of the Acts is at Samaria, confirming the work of Philip the Evangelist. By his own writings we are informed of his banishment to Patmos, and from the saying of our Lord, together with some other circumstances, it seems pretty evident that he survived the destruction of Jerusalem, and died at a very advanced age, but where, and how, is uncertain: several traditions concerning him are extant, but little credit is due to most of them; without them, his life was illustrious, and his death glorious.

JAMES, the son of Zebedee, and brother of John, is distinguished rather by his death, than by his life and labours. Though little is said concerning him, yet his life and ministry rendered him obnoxious to Herod Agrippa, and by this tyrant was he put to the sword. Acts xii. 1, 2.

JAMES, the son of Alpheus, also called the Lord's brother, was the author of that epistle bearing his name. In church history he is distinguished by the title of the just. His communications, his writings, and even his enemies, contribute to prove him worthy of such marked approbation. Josephus records the circumstances of his death, in which the character of this holy disciple stands vindicated, while the abettors of his execution. are charged with cruelty and injustice.

ANDREW, PHILIP, BARTHOLOMEW, MATTHEW, THADDEUS, SIMON, and THOMAS. Concerning these, scripture has said but little, and there is no authentic tradition to supply the deficiency. Matthew has left us his gospel to show how he stood affected to the cross, and how he employed part of his time. The rest doubtless walked worthy of the high vocation wherewith they