Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St Luke — John Shaqi
Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St LukeBurton, Henry
Religion
Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St Luke
Burton, Henry
Bible. Luke -- Commentaries
Where, then, it may be asked, is there room for inspiration? If the
genesis of the Gospel is so purely human, where is there room for the
touch of the Divine? Why should the Gospel of St. Luke be canonized,
incorporated into Holy Scripture, while the writings of others are
thrown back into an Apocrypha, or still farther back into oblivion? The
very questions will suggest an answer. That touch of the Divine which we
call inspiration is not always an equal touch. Now it is a pressure from
above that is overwhelming. The writer is carried out of himself, borne
up into regions where Sight and Reason in their loftiest flights cannot
come, as the prophet foretells events no human mind could foresee, much
less describe. In the case of St. Luke there was no need for this
abnormal pressure, or for these prophetic ecstasies. He was to record,
for the most part, facts of recent occurrence, facts that had been
witnessed, and could now be attested, by persons still living; and a
fact is a fact, whether it is inspired or no. Inspiration may record a
fact, while others are omitted, showing that this fact has a certain
value above others; but if it is true, inspiration itself cannot make it
more true. Nevertheless, there is the touch of the Divine even here.
What is the meaning of this new departure? for it is a new and a wide
departure. Why does not Thomas write a Gospel? or Philip, or Paul? Why
should the Evangelist-mantle be carried outside the bounds of the sacred
land, to be thrown around a Gentile, who cannot speak the sacred tongue
except with a foreign Shibboleth? Ah, we see here the movings of the
Holy Ghost! selecting the separate agents for the separate tasks, and
dividing to "every man severally as He will." And not only does the Holy
Spirit summon him to the work, He qualifies him for it, furnishing him
with materials, and guiding his mind as to what shall be omitted and
what retained. It is the same Spirit, who moved "holy men of old" to
speak and write the things of God, who now touches the mind and heart of
the four Evangelists, enabling them to give the four versions of the one
Story, in different language, and with sundry differences of detail, but
with no contradiction of thought, each being, in a sense, the complement
of the rest, the four quarters making one rounded and perfect whole.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account