CONTENTS PAGE PREFATORY 5 HINTS TO STUDENTS 7 HINTS TO TEACHERS 9 ... Read more

CONTENTS PAGE PREFATORY 5 HINTS TO STUDENTS 7 HINTS TO TEACHERS 9 THE COURSE DIVIDED INTO LESSONS 11 I. THE LAND OF PALESTINE 13 II. THE PEOPLE OF PALESTINE 19 III. THE LIFE OF CHRIST 25 IV. THE THIRTY YEARS OF PREPARATION 30 V. THE YEAR OF OBSCURITY 35 VI. THE YEAR OF POPULARITY 40 VII. THE YEAR OF OPPOSITION 48 VIII. THE WEEK OF THE PASSION 54 IX. THE DAY OF THE CRUCIFIXION 58 X. THE FORTY DAYS OF RESURRECTION 64 XI. THE NEW TESTAMENT WORLD 68 XII. THE SYNAGOGUE 73 XIII. THE CHURCH IN JUDEA 76 XIV. THE CHURCH IN TRANSITION 83 XV. THE CHURCH TWENTY YEARS AFTER THE ASCENSION 89 XVI. THE PREPARATION OF PAUL FOR HIS WORK 93 XVII. THE CHURCH AMONG THE GENTILES 99 XVIII. THE END OF THE AGE 106PREFATORYThere is no book in the world which repays earnest study so abundantlyas the Holy Bible. Even the cursory reader who possesses a candid mindcan gather many precious thoughts from its pages; and he who turns to itfor guidance in life, however ignorant he may be, will never be ledastray. But as the precious metal lies hidden in the mountains, and mustbe sought out by the miners, so the treasures in the Word of Life arefound only by those who search diligently for them. He who not onlyreads but _studies_ the Scriptures finds an abundant reward. There isneed in our age of searchers in the Bible, who shall bring out of itstreasure-house things new and old.In the old Bible the most important themes are those which gather aroundthe God-man, Jesus Christ. His coming to earth was the culmination ofall prophecy, the focus of all history, and the center of all doctrine;and the church which he founded has been for nineteen centuries theinspiration of the world's progress. There are two subjects in the NewTestament with which every follower of Christ should be thoroughlyacquainted, and they are its two most prominent themes: the life ofChrist on earth, and the growth of the early church. In the life ofChrist he should know the order of the leading events; he should graspits principles, and should enter into its spirit. Only as we apprehendChrist can we comprehend the truths taught and inspired by Christ.But our work as New Testament students must not end with the story ofChrist's ascension from earth. Jesus left behind him a little church, ofonly one hundred and twenty members, which in seventy years oversweptall the lands of the greatest empire then on the earth, and which nowcovers nearly all the world. Of that church we are members, inheritorsof its traditions, its doctrines, and--best of all--its spirit. Itshould be our delight to trace the steps of its early progress, to seehow its plans grew with the advancing years, and how an obscure companyof Jewish disciples became a church of world-wide reach.To enable a student to obtain this knowledge this book has beenprepared. The earlier studies on the life of Christ have been publishedas Studies in the Four Gospels, but have been carefully revised and, inthe author's judgment, improved. The studies on the early church are theoutgrowth of work begun many years ago, frequently revised, taught toclasses many times, and carefully restudied in the light of the mostrecent researches in the domain of early church history.These chapters are, as their titles indicate, _studies_; designed, notfor reading, but for study. This book does not undertake to be a life ofChrist, and a history of the early church, to be read. It simply extendsa helping hand, and holds out to the student a clue by means of which hecan form his own life of Christ and prepare for himself a history of theearly church. Wherever a fact can be learned by searching out aScripture reference the fact is not stated, but the reference is given.Every text referred to should be searched out, as these texts containthe essential facts of this book. Less