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18 INTRODUCTION TO THE HARMONY. CHAP. IV.

It is just with the harmonistic adjustment of this remainder of the Gospel—narrative up to
Christ's entry into Jerusalem that we meet with by far the greatest difficulties. It consists of:

a. John 10. 22–12. 1. b. The matter peculiar to Luke (page 15). C. Comp.—Chain No. 4.

Taking John as our guide, we obtain the following clear divisions of time for the period of
these last six months:

1. An interval of about two months, between the feast of Tabernacles (October, 7. 1–10. 21)
and the feast of the Dedication (December, 10. 21).

2. Christ's visit to Jerusalem, at this latter feast, 10. 22–39.

3. His retirement to Bethabara in Per----a (10. 40–42). January and February?

4. His journey to Bethany to raise Lazarus (11. 1–53). February?

5. A second withdrawal to Ephraim (11. 54–57). March ("The Passover nigh at hand’’).

6. His last journey to Bethany and Jerusalem (12. 1).

To sum up, we distinctly perceive:

Three different journeys of our Lord towards Jerusalem (No. 2. 4. 6).

Three intermediate seasons of labour elsewhere (No. 1. 3. 5).

It has been asserted that Jesus did not return to Galilee after the feast of Tabernacles (Oct.),
but most probably spent the intervening two months, up to December, in Jerusalem or its
neighbourhood, and this conclusion has been drawn from the absence of any contrary remark on
the part of John. This latter circumstance, however, can by no means be recognized as a valid
proof; for in 5.47 we likewise see a visit of Christ to Jerusalem terminating quite abruptly, and
without the least intimation of His return to Galilee the narrative in 6. 1 1) continues its course,
as though His sojourn in Galilee, as a rule, were quite a self-evident matter. We naturally
conclude this to hold good in the similar case before us and presume that John's silence about
localities, as regards the interval of those two months, implies Christ's return to the place,
from which He had started for the festival, viz. Galilee. The correctness of this inference is
corroborated by the additional fact, that when Christ subsequently left Jerusalem without
returning to Galilee, John expressly mentions the new abode, as in 10. 40 and 11. 54 (comp. 3. 22).

Now, to return to the above abstract of John's chronological indications with reference to
those last six months, —it seems a remarkable coincidence, that in the matter peculiar to Luke
and evidently referring to the approaching end of His ministry (Luke 9. 51) we meet with
exactly three passages, where Christ is represented as "stedfastly setting His face to go to
Jerusalem" (9. 51 2)), further as "going through cities and villages, teaching and journeying
towards Jerusalem" (13. 22) and lastly as "going to Jerusalem, passing in the midst between
Samaria and Galilee" (17. 11). Nothing prevents us from bringing these three passages into
connection with the three journeys toward Jerusalem mentioned by John, though according to
Luke Jesus actually reaches Jerusalem only on the third and last one (for the Passion—week).
But also on the first of these three journeys Luke takes us quite close to the walls of
Jerusalem (Bethany: "One thing needful" 10. 38–42), and as to the second, John himself tells
us, that it likewise terminated at Bethany, though the occasion was quite a different one (the
raising of Lazarus). At any rate Luke appears to furnish us with the incidents which marked
these three successive journeys recorded by John, and similar details are supplied by Compound—
Chain No. 4, which obviously refers to the events immediately preceding our Lord's entry into
Jerusalem.


1) That the Verb in 6. 1 ("àpēlthen" went away) cannot be referred to the departure of Jesus from Jeru—
salem, is acknowledged by most commentators. Alford says, that "àpēlthen ó Jesoùs" etc." if connected with
the preceding discourse, would be unintelligible and can only be understood by the fragmentary character of
John's Gospel as relates to more narration, and the well known fact being presupposed, that His ministry principally
took place in Galilee.

2) All attempts of declaring the journey in Luke 9. 51 to be parallel with the one mentioned in John 7. 10
(for the feast of Tabernacles), are utterly frustrated by the glaring discrepancy of the statements of John and
Luke. The former tells us that Christ "went up unto the feast not openly, but as it were in secret," whereas
according to Luke there was an unusual solemnity and publicity about this journey: messengers are sent be—
fore—hand to get a placo ready for Him in a Samaritan village; yea, seventy disciples are sent "two and two
before his face into every city and place whither he himself would come." How can this agree with the parti—
cular privacy and solitariness marked by John ?

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