Prev | Current Page 374 | Next

Paley, William, 1743-1805

"Evidence of Christianity"

"
Now Saint Matthew was not only a Jew himself, but it is evident, from
the whole structure of his Gospel, especially from his numerous
references to the Old Testament, that he wrote for Jewish readers. The
above explanation, therefore, in him, would have been unnatural, as not
being wanted by the readers whom he addressed. But in Mark, who,
whatever use he might make of Matthew's Gospel, intended his own
narrative for a general circulation, and who himself travelled to
distant countries in the service of the religion, it was properly added.


CHAPTER IV.
IDENTITY OF CHRIST'S CHARACTER.
THE argument expressed by this title I apply principally to the
comparison of the first three Gospels with that of Saint John. It is
known to every reader of Scripture that the passages of Christ's history
preserved by Saint John are, except his passion and resurrection, for
the most part different from those which are delivered by the other
evangelists. And I think the ancient account of this difference to be
the true one, viz., that Saint John wrote after the rest, and to supply
what he thought omissions in their narratives, of which the principal
were our Saviour's conferences with the Jews of Jerusalem, and his
discourses to his apostles at his last supper.


Pages:
362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386