Newspaper Page Text
2 (866) THE;
EATING THE FLESH OF THE SON OF MAN.
BY THOMAS E. CONVERSE, D. D.
The day after Jesus had fed the live thousand,
with the live loaves, a crowd of inquirers
gathered around hiin in the Synagogue at Capernaum.
On the day previous they had been
ready to take him by force and make him a
king, in order to drive the hated Romans out
of Palestine; now on this second day Jesus testified
that they were gathered with like sellish
thoughts, lie replied that he had not come to
offer them earthly advantages, but heavenly.
"Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but
for that which endureth unto everlasting life."
And then he pressed upon them the fact that
tneir need?and ours?is to feed upon Christ,
lie told them, "I am that bread of life. . . If
a man. eat of this bread, he shall live forever,
and the bread that 1 give is my liesk." "Verily,
verily 1 say unto you, except ye eat of the liesh
of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have
no life in you."
To the hearers of that day these were mysterious
words, and to us they carry much of
mystery; can we solve it?
The lirst step is to note the statement of Christ
in verse 63, that these words are to be taken in
their spiritual significance. "It is the Spirit
that quickeneth; the liesh proliteth nothing; the
words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit
and they are life. We may ask therefore what
was the idiom, the metaphorical usage of that
day concerning such an expression as this.
In the lirst volume of Dr. Thomson's work,
entitled "The Land and the Book," we find the
question raised, What do you understand by
such expressions as, "He drinketh up scorning
liUp watfir t'' 1 n ppnlv llr TKfimann oavo
"This idiom is very common in Arabic. It
sp" us natural to the Oriental mind, to conceive
\any operations under the idea of eating and
-ling, which we connect with some other
sense than that of taste, or else mention abstractly.
Thus, they very commonly speak of
'eating a great rain,' when they have been thoroughly
drenched in a shower. So also, they
eat a violent wind and a bitter cold. I frequently
hear them say of one who has been bastinadoed
on the soles of his feet, that he has 'eaten'
fifty or five hundred sticks, as the case may be.
"In like manner they drink many strange
potions, in their self-conceit, they will offer to
drink the whole course of scientific instruction
in three months. Persons not particularly encumbered
with modesty have assured me that
they could drink the entire system of evangelical
religion with even greater expedition."
Apply this to the language of Christ in the
sixth of John. "Except ye eat the flesh and
drink the blood" would then convey the idea
of becoming participants in the character and
work of Jesus. And this, we apprehend, is just
what the Master was trying to impress upon
them.
This is just the lesson which is needed by the
Christians of this day. Multitudes there are,
who would gladly be disciples of Christ, if only
they may simply wear his name, and attend the
Church services (when convenient), contribute
to his Church work, and enjoy his promises of
heaven without understanding more. But when
Jesus tells them that unless they can do far
more than this, unless they can participate fully
in his spirit of self-denial, in his work of love
for sinners, in his forgiveness of enemies?for
that is the idea of the phrase "except ye eat
the flesh of the Son of man"?t.Vipv Yinvo ?a
spiritual life in them, they are disappointed.
The sixth chapter of John tells us that on
that day when Jesus made his demand on their
faith and obedience many of his disciples '' went
PRESBYTERIAN OF THE SC
buck and walked no more with him." So long
us he gave them earthly blessings, they would
he disciples of his; when he demanded that they
enter on this life of consecration, they refused.
But happily the eleven did not refuse, hut replied,
"Thou hast the words of eternal life."
Be this our answer also.
Two other things in this connection impress
the careful reader One is that .Teono rJenKloo
the expression "eat my flesh." He does it by
adding the words "and drink my blood." It
is very emphatic. For during all their lives
they had been taught that the blood is the life.
Both in animal and in man, the blood is the
life, they must hold it sacred; they must not
eat the blood of an animal; they must not shed
the blood of a man. But now he says that we
must drink the blood of the Son of man. That
is, we must partake of his character in the most
thorough manner possible. Could it be more
forcibly expressed?
The other thing is that in this connection
Jesus should seem to digress widely with the
remark, "Have not I chosen you twelve, and
one of you is a devil ?'' Except as we enter into
the spirit of the occasion, this is a digression.
But when we understand that Jesus was demanding
a full partaking of himself and that
tlie disciples were professing to do it, we can
also understand how and why Jesus should add
that mere profession is not enough; that a man
(for example, Judas) might profess it and yet
not really possess it. Beware.
THE REVISION AND IMMERSION AGAIN.
A PINAL WORD.
BY REV. GEO. L. LEYBURN, D. D.
I have just read in your issue of July 12 Prof.
Ilogue's article on this subject, in which he
differs entirely from what I published two weeks
before, denying "the charge" that the American
Revisers showed an undue bias towards immersionists,
and giving hi!s reasons therefor.
I wish to thank the Professor not only for the
tone of his article, but especially because he has
thus again called attention to this subject, and
from a different standpoint?the other side. For
1 have no "call" to try and convert people to
my way of thinking about this, nor any intention
of "discussing" the matter with anybody.
I only desired to call attention to this subject,
and that the facts be fairly presented for the
consideration and decision of thoughtful students
of God's Word. This was, and is, my real
reason, my sole purpose in writing the first ar
ticle and now in adding a few remarks called
out by Prof. Hogue's article.
With this in view then I submit the following:
1. No true man wishes a translation made in
any interest save those of the truth?God's
Truth. And as all cannot be made to understand
Greek, the best thing if possible?,translators
should be exceedingly careful to use words
that will accurately convey to English readers
the thought in the writer's mind, indeed as far
as possible using the very words the writer himself
would have used had he been thinking in
English and using the English language. This
I think is "the next best thing" to a thorough acquaintance
with the original Greek. And just
this the Revisers did not always do, at least such
io my contention.
2. As to Rom, 6 :3-4. I still maintain that the
J LI- 1 i ' _ * ~
uuuuie uapusm spoaen 01 in verse ?1 refers directly
and primarily, not to baptism with water,
but to the baptism of the Holy Spirit: it is the
Spirit's work to put men "into Jesus Christ,"
and so to unite them to Him that with Him and
in I^im they are "dead to sin" and "alive unto
^
I
) 0 T H [ September 13, 1911 <
God." And he is bold, if not a reckless man who
will dare say that Christians are truly brought
' into Jesus Christ"?as all real Christians are?
by water baptism as the "eliicient cause," or by
any human agent or agency as the essential "instrumental
cause." This would be the rankest
"Campbellism," and liitualism almost run mad.
This being so, it is of the first importance that
the two definite Greek articles v. 4, should be
translated: for they are not only emphatic, but
tiiey both define and limit the baptism of this
verse as that mentioned and described in v.
3. "liuried with Christ by this baptism into
Christ's death." Who will say that this is not
exactly what the Greek means, as ir>dr
detei mined by the use of " ? \
articles 1 And yet neit
American revision! ^
Finally and most impc . >.; i'he facts stated
by me are facts beyond doubt or question. For
the learned Professor has not contradicted or
denied one of them, and simply, I am sure, because
they were true and could not be questioned.
And I am grateful to Professor Hogue for
this confirmation. ^
The facts are: First, that in the R. V. en and i
eis are always translated literally in and into.
Though the translators have not so dealt with
these prepositions in connection with any other fl
word or subject; and though these words do not
always necessarily bear this literal meaning, but
in some cases this translation carries an erroneous
idea to the English reader. Second, twice J
they have failed to indicate in any way that baptize
and baptism were used in the original.
Though this fact, in one case at least?the
VP?in T-T^ ? 1 1
.? una?, u-cujixuxues ueyona question,
that baptism according to the Scriptures could
be, and often was, actually administered by \
sprinkling. (And the Professor wisely "skip- j
ped" any attempted explanation, or apology, or 1
excuse for this omission in Heb. 9:10!) And
Third: These Reviewers failed to translate two
important and emphatic definite articles in Rom.
6:4:though the meaning of the passage is greatly
influenced, if not settled, by these two articles.
And though one avowed purpose of the Re- i
viewers was to "restore" the Greek definite article
to "its very important use,'' so often ignored
in the old version!
These are the facts undisputed and undisputable,
I think. For if this keen-eyed Professor of J
Greek and sturdy champion of the "Am. Re- j
vision" does not question them, they must be
true beyond peradventure.
Now whether these facts "make good the
charge, that "in this revision there is a decided
bias towards immersion," or whether "it is a
mistake to think that the Revisers were thus
biased"?this I submit to the sound common
sense of thoughtful, intelligent readers and students
of God's "Word. "I speak as to wise men:
judge ye what I say."
Arlington, Calif.
THE CLAIMS OF THE LIVING.
?
By Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
The days grow shorter, the nights grow longer; 1
The headstones thicken along the way; J
inil 1? *- *
uw 6iuns Bwiuei, out love grows stronger fl
For those who walk with us day by day. i
The tear comes quicker, the laugh comes slower; 1
The courage Is lesser to do and dare;
And the tide of Joy in the heart falls lower, H
And Beldom covers the reefs of care.
i; i' fl!' iri.p i.i * : .: Hi
But all true things in the world seem' truer.
And the better thlnsrs of ?*arth ?i?m? '
And friends are dearer, as friends are fewer, A
And lore Is all as our sun dips west.
rhen let us clasp hands as we walk together,
And let us speak softly in low sweet tone; V
For no man knows on the morrow whether 1
We two pass in?or but one alone.
I