Biblical Ellustrations.

PHILIPPIANS, ii. 25-30.

Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellow-soldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness (adnuovar, anguish,) because that ye had heard that he had been sick For, indeed, he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation: because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.

In this passage there are very palpable incongruities, which can be removed only by one delicate circumstance in the history of Epaphroditus. The Philippians might be allowed to say, that they were full of anguish to hear that Epaphroditus was sick, but it is an idle use of language to say that he, when now recovered, was full of anguish because they had heard he had been sick. Besides, if the Christians at Philippi felt such interest in Epaphroditus, was it necessary in the Apostle to advise them to receive him with gladness in the Lord, and to hold such in reputation? Does not this advice imply, that they were disposed to receive him with reluctance, or not to receive him at all in the Lord, and to hold such in contempt? How is this incoherence to be removed? At the first promulgation of the Gospel, those of the pagans who embraced it were expected to withdraw from their stations, which they had before occupied, especially if such stations were inconsistent with genuine piety and benevolence. Thus such converts as bore arms, or were engaged in any department of paganism in general, gave up their profession as inmoral; and thus with their opinions they changed their modes of living. It may be gathered from Suetonius and Dion, that Epaphroditus shewed his attachment

to the new religion, not by any profession, but by his conduct, having had the prudence to remain at his post.*

As the Emperor was at the head of the army, every man in his service was at least nominally a soldier; and his continuance in the court of so odious a monster as Nero, and in a profession so repugnant to the spirit of the Gospel, must have necessarily sunk him, as weak and timid in the estimation of his more ardent, but less prudent brethren. And it is highly interesting to observe that this is the point of light, in which he is placed and defended by the Apostle of the Gentiles. The original term means weakness, either in mind or in body; and the writer, after using it in the first of these senses, uses it again in the second; agreeably to a custom familiar to the Jewish and Christian writers, of employing the same word in the same place, in a literal and metaphorical acceptation.†

The Christians at Philippi had heard, that Epaphroditus had the weakness not to give up his connexion with the Emperor, and perhaps in words not to have made a public avowal of his faith such a report of him was doubtless propagated by some envious nominal believers; and this must have proved to that good man an unfeigned cause of sorrow, The clause therefore should be thus rendered, “ For he longs to see you, and is full of anguish, because ye have heard, that he has proved weak; and indeed he was weak, being by sickness nigh unto death." His sickness is explicitly said to have proceeded from the

* Suetonius, in his life of Domitian, c. 14, 19., speaking of Epaphroditus gives him the title of à libellis, meaning that he was employed by the Emperor in decyphering and answering such letters, addresses, or petitions as were made to him. Hence his office corresponded to that, which in modern language is styled a Secretary of State, and he has been called Master of Requests. He was originally, it appears, a man of education, made a slave by the chance of war ; but afterwards advanced to this high post of honour in the Emperor's service by his industry and talents. Hence Dion Cassius styles him, a freed-man of Nero. He was put to death by Domitian, in the fifteenth year of his reign.

The word which the Apostle here uses, he uses also in a metaphorical sense in Rom. iv. 19. nai un acbemoas on ice, meaning," though now in consequence of his age, Abraham was weak in body, he was nevertheless not weak in faith.” Instances of the same word being employed in a literal and metaphorical sense occur in 1 Cor. iv. 10. Matt. viii. 22. John, iv. 13, 14.

service of Christ, that is, from exposing his life to defend and supply the Apostle, while a prisoner of Nero. Epaphroditus must have naturally wished to visit the churches, in order to remove the prejudices which were cherished against him; and hence we perceive the propriety of the admonition to receive him with gladness in the Lord, and to hold such in estimation. At Rome, as in other places, there were men loud in their profession of the Gospel, while they had yet no danger or difficulty to encounter. These changed their tone, and left the Apostle to shift for himself, when the hour of trial arrived: Epaphroditus acted quite an opposite part. He made no profession, and continued in office, as if he had not been a believer; but when the season arrived, when he was called upon to honour, or to betray his faith, he stands forth and supports the Apostle at the hazard of his life. Touched with his generosity and firmness the Apostle bears him in return the most honourable testimony, rendering prominent his character as a man not of words, but of deeds, and recommending him, and such persons as resembled him, to reverence and admiration, in opposition to those pretenders, who were men not of deeds but of words. Such men hold in estimation, because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death.

As the Philippians had the temerity to denounce Epaphroditus for weakness, the Apostle scruples not to remind them that they had been deficient in liberality towards him now in bonds, and as such unable to supply his own wants; while he, whom they had injured, had supplied that deficiency at the risk of his life. To soften the odium, which attached to Epaphroditus as a nominal soldier under Nero, St. Paul calls him, my fellow-soldier; and in reference to his being a minister of the Emperor, he styles him a minister of my wants.

In his Epistle to the Colossians St. Paul has farther these words: "Epaphras, your countryman, a slave of Christ, saluteth you." (chap. iv. 12.) Grotius and some others have observed that Epaphras is but an abbreviation of Epaphroditus, not to mention that in this place some copies have the latter reading. Epaphroditus then was a native of Colossi, and at

this time a slave of the Emperor. To this circumstance the Apostle alludes; and he endeavours to do away the odium, which attached to him as a slave of Nero, by holding him forth as a slave of Christ: as though he had said, "do not have any prejudice against him for being engaged in the service of the Emperor for he is truly and faithfully the servant of him, whose service is perfect freedom.*

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LUKE xx.1-8.

And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him, with the elders. And spake unto him, saying, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority? And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me: the baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, if we shall say, from heaven; he will say, why then believed ye him not? But and if we say, of men; all the people will stone us; for they be persuaded that John was a prophet. And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was. And Jesus said unto them, neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

We have in this passage the narrative of a conversation between some of the priests and scribes, and our Saviour Christ,. relative to the authority of his mission. As the conduct of our Lord on this occasion, when properly understood, exemplifies, in a striking manner, the "wisdom with which he spake," we feel happy in being enabled to present our readers with the following illustration of the passage, from the pen of that distinguished prelate-Bishop Warburton.

"To the question proposed by the priests and scribes Jesus replies by another question, The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?' They answered they could not tell whence it was; neither,' says Jesus, tell I you by what authority I

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While the Apostle lived at Rome, Epaphroditus visited Colossi, probably as being his native place; whence he brought back an account of the church in that city. He a second time visited the Philippians, and carried with him the Epistle written by Paul to that people, which perhaps he took an opportunity to do, as sent by the Emperor on public duty to those parts. Jones's Ecclesiastical Researches, pp. 26-31.

do these things.' This is generally esteemed a mere evading the question, and taking advantage of their inability of answering him to refuse to answer them; a shift quite below the dignity of his divine character: it would have been more decent to have refused answering at first. But the fine address seems not to have been taken. The answer was a satisfactory one, on the chief priest's own principle. Observe how the case stands: the chief priests and scribes came to him as he was teaching in the temple.' They were without question a deputation from the Sanhedrim, who had, or were then universally allowed to have, the right of enquiring into the credentials of all who pretended to come from God: or to try the spirits of the prophets. Here then was the dilemma. Jesus professed to submit to the established authority, and yet it was too early to own his Messiahship. What was to be done? Why, with an address and presence of mind altogether divine, he asked them about the authority of John, who pretended to be a messenger from God, and his forerunner: but they not owning his authority, and yet for fear of the people, not daring expressly to disclaim it, answered, they could not tell whence his authority was.' This was the point Jesus wished for; and we are to suppose him answering them in this convincing manner :-If you come from the Sanhedrim, whose authority I acknowledge, to enquire into my mission, I apprehend that there is no necessity, even on the principles of the Sanhedrim, for that body to come to a determination on the points; for the mission of John who was before me, is, it seems, a question yet undetermined in that body; why then should not mine? Besides, John professed himself the forerunner of me: order and equity, therefore, require that his pretensions be first examined, if the examination be necessary; and till these two objections be removed, I may, without any disobedience to the authority of the Sanhedrim, decline telling by what authority I do these things."*

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* Nichols's Literary Anecdotes of the XVII. Century.