Chapter LXXVII.—Of the Harmony Subsisting Between the Three Evangelists in Their
Narratives of the Discourse Which He Delivered on the Mount of Olives, When the Disciples
Asked When the Consummation Should Happen.
147. Matthew continues in the following strain: “And as He sat upon the mount of
Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be?
and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered,
and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you: for many shall come in my name,
saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many;” and so on, down to where we read, “And these
shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.” We have now,
therefore, to examine this lengthened discourse as it meets us in the three evangelists, Mat-
thew, Mark, and Luke. For they all introduce it in their narratives, and that, too, in the same
order.1189 Here, as elsewhere, each of these writers gives some matters which are peculiar
to himself, in which, nevertheless, we have not to apprehend any suspicion of inconsistency.
But what we have to make sure of is the proof that, in those passages which are exact parallels,
they are nowhere to be regarded as in antagonism with each other. For if anything bearing
the appearance of a contradiction meets us here, the simple affirmation that it is something
wholly distinct, and uttered by the Lord in similar terms indeed, but on a totally different
occasion, cannot be deemed a legitimate mode of explanation in a case like this, where the
narrative, as given by all the three evangelists, moves in the same connection at once of
subjects and of dates. Moreover, the mere fact that the writers do not all observe the same
order in the reports which they give of the same sentiments expressed by the Lord, certainly
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does not in any way affect either the understanding or the communication of the subject
itself, provided the matters which are represented by them to have been spoken by Him are
not inconsistent the one with the other.
148. Again, what Matthew states in this form, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come,”1190
is given also in the same connection by Mark in the following manner: “And the gospel
must first be published among all nations.”1191 Mark has not added the words, “and then
shall the end come;” but he indicates what they express, when he uses the phrase “first“ in
the sentence, “And the gospel must first be published among all nations.” For they had asked
Him about the end. And therefore, when He addresses them thus, “The gospel must first
be published among all nations,” the term “first” clearly suggests the idea of something to
be done before the consummation should come.
1189 Matt. xxiv. 3-xxv. 46; Mark xiii. 4–37; Luke xxi. 7–36.
1190 Matt. xxiv. 14.
1191 Mark xiii. 10.
Of the Harmony Subsisting Between the Three Evangelists in Their Narratives of the Discourse Which He Delivered on the Mount of Olives, When the Disciples Asked When the Consummation Should Happen.
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Of the Harmony Subsisting Between the Three Evangelists in Their Narratives…