Hechos 9:32-28

Chapter 20

EVANGELISTIC WORK IN THE PHILISTINES' LAND.

Hechos 8:26; Hechos 9:32

I HAVE; united these two incidents, the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch and the mission of St. Peter to the people of Lydda, Sharon, and Joppa, because they relate to the same district of country and they happened at the same period, the pause which ensued between the martyrdom of St. Stephen and the conversion of St. Paul. The writer of the Acts does not seem to have exactly followed chronological order in this part of his story.

He had access to different authorities or to different diaries. He selected as best he could the details which he heard or read, and strove to weave them into a connected narrative. St. Luke, when gathering up the story of these earliest days of the Church's warfare, must have laboured under great difficulties which we now can scarcely realise. It was doubtless from St. Philip himself that our author learned the details of the eunuch's conversion and of St.

Peter's labours. St. Luke and St. Paul tarried many days with St. Philip at Caesarea. Most probably St. Luke had then formed no intention of writing either his Gospel or his apostolic history at that period. He was urged on simply by that unconscious force which shapes our lives and leads us in a vague way to act in some special direction. A man born to be a poet will unconsciously display his tendency.

A man born to be a historian will be found, even when he has formed no definite project, note-book in hand, jotting down the impressions of the passing hour or of his current studies. So probably was it with St. Luke. He could not help taking notes of conversations he heard, or making extracts from the documents he chanced to meet; and then when he came to write he had a mass of materials which it was at times hard to weave into one continuous story within the limits he had prescribed to himself.

One great idea, indeed, to which we have often referred, seems to have guided the composition of the first portion of the apostolic history. St. Luke selected, under Divine guidance, certain representative facts and incidents embodying great principles, typical of future developments. This is the golden thread which runs through the whole of this book, and specially through the Chapter s concerning which we speak in this volume, binding together and uniting in one organic whole a series of independent narratives.

I. The two incidents which we now consider have several representative aspects. They may be taken as typical of evangelistic efforts and the qualifications for success in them. Philip the deacon is aggressive, manysided, flexible, and capable of adapting himself to diverse temperaments, whether those of the Grecian Jews at Jerusalem, the Samaritans in central Palestine, or the Jewish proselytes from distant Africa.

Peter is older, narrower, cannot so easily accommodate himself to new circumstances. He confines himself, therefore, to quiet work amongst the Jews of Palestine who have been converted to Christ as the result of the four years' growth of the Church. "As Peter went throughout all parts, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda." This incident represents to us the power and strength gained for the cause of Christ by intellectual training and by wider culture.

It is a lesson needed much in the great mission field. It has hitherto been too much the fashion to think that while the highest culture and training are required for the ministry at home, any half-educated teacher, provided he be in earnest, will suffice for the work of preaching to the heathen. This is a terrible mistake, and one which has seriously injured the progress of religion. It is at all times a dangerous thing to despise one's adversary, and we have fallen into the snare when we have despised systems like Buddhism and Hindooism, endeavouring to meet them with inferior weapons.

The ancient religions of the East are founded on a subtle philosophy, and should be met by men whose minds have received a wide and generous culture, which can distinguish between the chaff and the wheat, rejecting what is bad in them while sympathising with and accepting what is good. The notices of Philip and Stephen and their work, as contrasted with that of St. Peter, proclaimed the value of education, travel, and thought in this the earlier section of the Acts, as the labours of St.

Paul declare it in the days of Gentile conversion. The work of the Lord, whether among Jews or Gentiles, is done most effectually by those whose natural abilities and intellectual sympathies have been quickened and developed. A keen race like the Greeks of old or the Hindoos of the present, are only alienated from the very consideration of the faith when it is presented in a hard, narrow, intolerant, unsympathetic spirit.

The angel chose wisely when he selected the Grecian Philip to bear the gospel to the Ethiopian eunuch, and left Peter to minister to Aeneas, to Tabitha, and to Simon the tanner of Joppa; simple souls, for whom life glided smoothly along, troubled by no intellectual problems and haunted by no fearful doubts.

II. Again, we may remark that these incidents and the whole course of Church history at this precise moment show the importance of clear conceptions as to character, teaching, and objects. The Church at this time was vaguely conscious of a great mission, but it had not made up its mind as to the nature of that mission, because it had not realised its own true character, as glad tidings of great joy unto all nations.

And the result was very natural: it formed no plans for the future, and was as yet hesitating and undecided in action. It was with the Church then as in our everyday experience of individuals. A man who does not know himself, who has no conception of his own talents or powers, and has formed no idea as to his object or work in life, that man cannot be decided in action, he cannot bring all his powers into play, because he neither knows of their existence, nor where and how to use them.

This is my explanation of the great difference manifest on the face of our history as between the Church and its life before and after the conversion of Cornelius. It is plain that there was a great difference in Church life and activity between these two periods. Whence did it arise? The admission of the Gentiles satisfied the unconscious cravings of the Church. She felt that at last her true mission and her real object were found, and, like a man of vigorous mind who at last discovers the work for which nature has destined him, she flung herself into it, and we read no longer of mere desultory efforts, but of unceasing, indefatigable, skilfully-directed labour; because the Church had at last been taught by God that her great task was to make all men know the riches hidden in Christ Jesus.

We have in this fact a representative lesson very necessary for our time. Men are now very apt to mistake mistiness for profundity, and clearness of conception for shallowness of thought. This feeling intrudes itself into religion, and men do not take the trouble to form clear conceptions on any subject, and they lapse therefore into the very weakness which afflicted the Church prior to St. Peter's vision.

The root of practical, vigorous action is directly assailed if men have no clear conceptions as to the nature, the value, and the supreme importance of the truth. If, for instance, a man cherishes the notion, now prevalent in some circles, that Mahometanism is the religion suited for the natives of Africa, how will he make sacrifices either of time, of money, or of thought, to make the Gospel known to that great continent? I do not say that we should seek to have sharp and clear conceptions on all points.

There is no man harder, more unsympathetic with the weak, more intolerant of the slightest difference, more truly foolish and short-sighted, than the man who has formed the clearest and sharpest conceptions upon the profoundest questions, and is ready to decide offhand where the subtlest and deepest thinkers have spoken hesitatingly. That man does not, in the language of John Locke, recognise the length of his own tether.

He wishes to make himself the standard for every one else, and infallibly brings discredit on the possession of clear views on any topics. There are vast tracts of thought upon which we must be content with doubt, hesitancy, and mistiness; but the man who wishes to be a vigorous, self-sacrificing servant of Jesus Christ must seek diligently for clear, broad, strong conceptions on such great questions as the value of the soul, the nature of God, the person of Jesus Christ, the work of the Spirit, and all the other truths which the Apostles' Creed sets forth as essentially bound up with these doctrines.

Distinct and strong convictions alone on such points form for the soul the basis of a decided and fruitful-Christian activity; as such decided convictions energised the whole life and character of the blessed apostle of love when writing. "We know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in the evil one."

III. Now turning from such general considerations, we may compare the two incidents, St. Philip's activities and St. Peter's labours, in several aspects. We notice a distinction in their guidance. Greater honour is placed on Philip than upon Peter. An angel speaks to Philip, while St. Peter seems to have been left to that ordinary guidance of the Spirit which is just as real as any external direction, such as that given by an angel, but yet does not impress the human mind or supersede its own action, as the external direction does.

Dr. Goulburn, in an interesting work from which I have derived many important hints, suggests that the external message of the angel directing Philip where to go may have been God's answer to the thoughts and doubts which were springing up in His servant's mind. The incident of Simon Magus may have disturbed St. Philip. He may have been led to doubt the propriety of his action in thus preaching to the Samaritans and admitting to baptism a race hitherto held accursed.

He had dared to run counter to the common opinion of devout men, and one result had been that such a bad character as Simon Magus had crept into the sacred fold. The Lord who watches over His people and sees all their difficulties, comes therefore to his rescue, and by one of His ministering spirits conveys a message which assures His fainting servant of His approval and of His guidance. Such is Dr.

Goulburn's explanation, and surely it is a most consoling one, of which every true servant of God has had his own experience. The Lord even still deals thus with His people. They make experiments for Him, as Philip did; engage in new enterprises and in fields of labour hitherto untried; they work for His honour and glory alone; and perhaps they see nothing for a time but disaster and failure. Then, when their hearts are cast down and their spirits are fainting because of the way, the Lord mercifully sends them a message by some angelic hand or voice, which encourages and braces them for renewed exertion.

An external voice of an angel may, in the peculiar circumstances of the case, have directed St. Philip. But the text does not give us a hint as to the appearance or character of the messenger whom God used on this occasion. The Old and New Testament alike take broader views of Divine messengers, and of angelic appearances generally, than we do. A vision, a dream, a human agent, some natural circumstance or instrument, all these are in Holy Scripture or in contemporary literature styled God's angels or messengers.

Men saw then more deeply than we do, recognised the hand of a superintending Providence where we behold only secondary agents, and in their filial confidence spoke of angels where we should only recognise some natural power. Let me quote an interesting illustration of this. Archbishop Trench, speaking, in his "Notes on the Miracles," of the healing of the Impotent Man at Bethesda, and commenting on Juan 5:4, a verse which runs thus, "For an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole, with whatsoever disease he was holden," thus enunciates the principle which guided the ancient Christians, as well as the Jews, in this matter.

He explains the origin of this verse, and the manner in which it crept into the text of the New Testament. "At first, probably, a marginal note, expressing the popular notion of the Jewish Christians concerning the origin of the healing power which from time to time the waters of Bethesda possessed, by degrees it assumed the shape in which we now have it." The Archbishop then proceeds to speak of the Hebrew view of the world as justifying such expressions.

"For the statement itself, there is nothing in it which need perplex or offend, or which might not find place in St. John. It rests upon that religious view of the world which in all nature sees something beyond and behind nature, which does not believe that it has discovered causes when, in fact, it has only traced the sequence of phenomena, and which everywhere recognises a going forth of the immediate power of God, invisible agencies of His, whether personal or otherwise, accomplishing.

His will." The whole topic of angelic agencies is one that has been much confused for us by the popular notions about angels, notions which affect every one, no matter how they imagine themselves raised above the vulgar herd. When men speak or think of angelic appearances, they think of angels as they are depicted in sacred pictures. The conception of young men clad in long white and shining raiment, with beautiful wings dependent from their shoulders and folded by their sides, is an idea of the angels and angelic life derived from mediaeval painters and sculptors, not from Holy Writ.

The important point, however, for us to remember is that Philip here moved under external direction to the conversion of the eunuch. The same Spirit which sent His messenger to direct Philip, led Peter to move towards exactly the same southwestern quarter of Palestine, where he was to remain working, meditating, praying till the hour had come when the next great step should be taken and the Gentiles admitted as recognised members of the Church.

IV. This leads us to the next point. Philip and Peter were both guided, the one externally, the other internally; but whither? They were led by God into precisely the same southwestern district of Palestine. Peter was guided, by one circumstance after another, first to Lydda and Sharon, and then to Joppa, where the Lord found him when he was required at the neighbouring Caesarea to use the power of the keys and to open the door of faith to Cornelius and the Gentile world.

Our narrative says nothing, in St. Peter's case, about providential guidance or heavenly direction, but cannot every devout faithful soul see here the plain proofs of it? The book of the Acts makes no attempt to improve the occasion, but surely a soul seeking for light and help will see, and that with comfort, the hand of God leading St. Peter all unconscious, and keeping him in readiness for the moment when he should be wanted.

We are not told of any extraordinary intervention, and yet none the less the Lord guided him as really as He guided Philip, that his life might teach its own lessons, by which we should order our own. And has not every one who has devoutly and faithfully striven to follow Christ experienced many a dispensation exactly like St. Peter's? We have been led to places, or brought into company with individuals, whereby our future lives have been ever afterwards affected.

The devout mind in looking back over the past will see how work and professions have been determined for us, how marriages have been arranged, how afflictions and losses have been made to work for good.; so that at last, surveying, like Moses, life's journey from some Pisgah summit, when its course is well-nigh run, God's faithful servant is enabled to rejoice in Him because even in direct afflictions He has done all things well.

A view of life like that is strictly warranted by this passage, and such a view was, and still is, the sure and secret source of that peace of God which passeth all understanding. Nothing can happen amiss to him who has Almighty Love as his Lord and Master. St. Peter was led, by one circumstance after another, first to Lydda, which is still an existing village, then, farther, into the vale of Sharon, celebrated from earliest time for its fertility, and commemorated for its roses in the Song of Solomon, Cantares de los Cantares 2:1, Isaías 33:9 till finally he settles down at Joppa, to wait for the further indications of God's will.

But how about Philip, to whom the Divine messenger had given a heavenly direction? What was the message so imparted? An angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, "Arise, and go toward the south, unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza: the same is desert." Now we should here carefully remark the minute exactness of the Acts of the Apostles in this place, because it is only a specimen of the marvellous geographical and historical accuracy which distinguishes it all through, and is every year receiving fresh illustrations.

Gaza has always been the gateway, of Palestine. Invader after invader, when passing from Egypt to Palestine, has taken Gaza in his way. It is still the trade route to Egypt, along which the telegraph line runs. It was m the days of St. Philip the direct road for travellers like the Ethiopian eunuch, from Jerusalem to the Nile and the Red Sea. This man was seeking his home in Central Africa, which he could reach either by the Nile or by the sea, and was travelling therefore along the road from Jerusalem to Gaza.

The Acts, again, distinguishes one particular road. There were then, and there are still, two great roads leading from Jerusalem to Gaza, one a more northern road, which ran through villages and cultivated land, as it does to this day. The other was a desert road, through districts inhabited then as now by the wandering Arabs of the desert alone. Travellers have often, remarked on the local accuracy of the angel's words when directing Philip to a road which would naturally be taken only by a man attended by a considerable body of servants able to ward off attack, and which was specially suitable, by its lonely character, for those prolonged conversations which must have passed between the eunuch and his teacher.

Cannot we see, however, a still more suggestive and prophetic reason for the heavenly direction? In these early efforts of the Apostles and their subordinates we read nothing of missions towards the east. All their evangelistic operations lay, in later times, towards the north and northwest, Damascus, Antioch, Syria, and Asia Minor, while in these earlier days they evangelised Samaria, which was largely pagan, and then worked down towards Gaza and Caesarea and the Philistine country, which were the strongholds of Gentile and European influence, -the Church indicated in St. Luke's selection of typical events; the Western, the European destiny working strong within. It already foretold, vaguely but still surely, that, in the grandest and profoundest sense,

"Westward the course of Empire takes its way"

that the Gentile world, not the Jewish, was to furnish the most splendid triumphs to the soldiers of the Cross. Our Lord steadily restrained Himself within the strict bounds of the chosen people, because His teaching was for them alone. His Apostles already indicate their wider mission by pressing close upon towns and cities, like Gaza and Caesarea, which our Lord never visited, because they were the strongholds and chosen seats of paganism.

The providential government of God, ordering the future of His Church and developing its destinies, can thus be traced in the unconscious movements of the earliest Christian teachers. Their first missionary efforts in Palestine are typical of the great work of the Church in the conversion of Europe.

V. San Felipe fue traído de Samaria, en el centro, a la carretera de Gaza que va de Jerusalén a la costa; ¿y por qué? Simplemente para poder predicar el Evangelio a un hombre solitario, el eunuco que era tesorero de Candace, reina de los etíopes. Aquí nuevamente tenemos otro de esos hechos representativos que se nos presentan en la parte anterior de este libro. En el día de Pentecostés, judíos de todas partes del Imperio Romano y de los países limítrofes al este de ese Imperio, partos, medos, elamitas y árabes, entraron en contacto con el cristianismo.

Felipe había ministrado en Samaria a otra rama de la circuncisión, pero África, al menos fuera del Imperio, todavía no tenía ningún representante entre las primicias de la Cruz. Pero ahora la profecía del salmo sesenta y ocho se iba a cumplir, y "Etiopía debía extender sus manos a Dios". Tenemos la seguridad del mismo San Pablo de que el salmo sesenta y ocho fue una profecía de la ascensión de Cristo y el derramamiento del Espíritu Santo.

En Efesios 4:8 escribe, citando el versículo dieciocho: "Por tanto, dice que cuando subió a lo alto, llevó cautiva la cautividad y dio dones a los hombres". Y luego procede a enumerar los diversos oficios del ministerio apostólico, con sus benditas nuevas de paz y salvación, como los dones del Espíritu que Dios había otorgado mediante la ascensión de Jesucristo.

Y ahora, para que ninguna parte del mundo conocido quiera su representante judío, tenemos la conversión de este eunuco, quien, como proveniente de Etiopía, era considerado en aquellos tiempos como íntimamente asociado con la India.

Veamos, además, lo que se nos dice sobre este típico converso africano. Era etíope de nacimiento, aunque pudo haber sido de ascendencia judía, o quizás más probablemente un prosélito, y por lo tanto una evidencia del celo judío por Jehová. Era eunuco y tesorero de Candace, reina de los etíopes. Era como Daniel y los tres niños hebreos en la corte del monarca caldeo. Había utilizado su genio judío y su poder de adaptación tan bien que había ascendido a una posición alta.

La reina africana también pudo haber aprendido, como lo hizo Darío, a confiar en su fe judía y a depender de un hombre cuya conducta estaba regulada por la ley y los principios divinos. Este poder de la raza judía, que los llevó a un lugar alto entre naciones extranjeras y en cortes extranjeras, se ha manifestado en su historia desde los tiempos más remotos. Moisés, Mardoqueo y Ester, los judíos de Babilonia, eran tipos y profecías de la grandeza que aguardaba a sus descendientes esparcidos entre los gentiles en nuestro tiempo.

Este eunuco era tesorero de Candace, reina de los etíopes. Aquí nuevamente encontramos otra ilustración de la exactitud histórica y geográfica de los Hechos de los Apóstoles. Aprendemos de varios geógrafos contemporáneos que el reino de Meroe en África Central fue gobernado durante siglos por una línea de soberanas cuyo título común era Candace, como Faraón era el de los monarcas egipcios.

Como ya hemos señalado, había grandes colonias judías en las cercanías del sur de Arabia y a lo largo de la costa del Mar Rojo. Entonces, era muy natural que Candace hubiera obtenido la ayuda de un judío inteligente de uno de estos asentamientos. Se ha planteado una pregunta, de hecho, si el eunuco era judío en absoluto, y algunos lo han considerado como el primer converso gentil. Los Hechos de los Apóstoles, sin embargo, parecen bastante claros en este punto.

Cornelio se presenta claramente como el caso típico que decidió la cuestión de la admisión de los gentiles a los beneficios del pacto de gracia. Nuestra historia no da el más mínimo indicio de que tal cuestión estuvo involucrada, aunque fuera de manera remota, en la conversión y el bautismo del etíope. No, más bien, al decirnos que había venido a Jerusalén con el propósito de adorar a Dios, indica que se sintió obligado, en la medida de lo posible, a cumplir con el deber de visitar la Ciudad Santa y ofrecer adoración personal allí una vez al día. menos en su vida.

Luego, también, se nos dice de su empleo cuando Felipe lo encontró. "Él volvía, y sentado en su carro, leyó al profeta Isaías". Es posible que se le haya llamado la atención sobre esta porción de la Sagrada Escritura durante su visita al templo, donde pudo haber estado en contacto con los Apóstoles o con algunos otros adherentes de la Iglesia primitiva. En cualquier caso, estaba empleando su tiempo en actividades devotas, estaba haciendo un uso diligente de los medios de la gracia hasta donde los conocía; y luego Dios, en el curso de Su providencia, abrió nuevos canales de luz y bendición, de acuerdo con ese dicho fecundo del Señor: "Si alguno quiere hacer la voluntad de Dios, conocerá la doctrina".

"El alma que está en la perplejidad espiritual o en la oscuridad no necesita ni debe contentarse con la apatía, la desesperación o la ociosidad. Las dificultades nos asaltarán por todos lados mientras permanezcamos aquí abajo.

No podemos escapar de ellos porque nuestras mentes son finitas y limitadas. Y algunos están dispuestos a hacer de estas dificultades una excusa para posponer o descuidar todos los pensamientos relacionados con la religión. Pero aparte de las dificultades de la religión, hay abundantes temas sobre los que Dios nos da la luz más plena y clara. Que sea nuestro, como el eunuco etíope, practicar la voluntad de Dios en la medida en que Él la revele, y luego, a su debido tiempo, se otorgarán revelaciones más completas, y nosotros también experimentaremos, como lo hizo este etíope, la fidelidad de Dios. Su propia promesa: "Para los justos se levanta la luz en las tinieblas.

"El eunuco leyó al profeta Isaías mientras viajaba, de acuerdo con la máxima de los rabinos de que" el que está de viaje y sin compañero debe dedicar sus pensamientos al estudio de la ley ". También estaba leyendo las Escrituras en voz alta , a la manera de los orientales, y así procurando diligentemente conocer la voluntad divina, Dios le concedió por el ministerio de San Felipe esa luz más plena que todavía concede, de una forma u otra, a todo aquel que le sigue diligentemente.

Y luego hemos expuesto los resultados de la comunión del eunuco con el mensajero enviado del cielo. No hubo ningún milagro que obtuviera convicción. San Felipe simplemente mostró ese poder espiritual que todo siervo fiel de Cristo puede ganar en algún grado. Abrió las Escrituras y enseñó la doctrina salvadora de Cristo con tanta eficacia que el alma del eunuco, devoto por naturaleza y ansioso por la vida más profunda de Dios, reconoció la verdad de la revelación.

El cristianismo era para el etíope su mejor evidencia, porque sentía que respondía a las necesidades y anhelos de su espíritu. No se nos dice cuál fue el carácter del discurso de San Felipe. Pero se nos informa cuál fue el gran tema central de su revelación. Fue Jesús. Este tema no fue estrecho. Podemos deducir de otros pasajes de los Hechos cuál fue la sustancia de la enseñanza que los misioneros de la Cruz dieron a los convertidos por ellos.

Debe haber expuesto los hechos históricos que se incluyen en el Credo de los Apóstoles, la encarnación, los milagros, la muerte, resurrección y ascensión de Cristo, y la institución del sacramento del bautismo, como medio para entrar en la Iglesia. . Esto lo concluimos de la pregunta del eunuco a Felipe: "Mira, aquí hay agua; ¿qué me impide ser bautizado?" Seguramente Felipe debe haberle enseñado el nombramiento del bautismo por Cristo; si no, ¿qué habría llevado al eunuco a plantear tal petición? Habiendo sido concedido el bautismo en respuesta a esta petición, el eunuco prosiguió su viaje de regreso a casa, regocijándose en esa sensación de paz y gozo.

y satisfacción espiritual que imparte la verdadera religión; mientras Felipe es trasladado a otro campo de trabajo, donde Dios tiene otro trabajo para él. Evangelizó por todo el país filisteo, predicando en todas las ciudades hasta llegar a Cesarea, donde en años posteriores haría una obra de beneficio permanente para toda la Iglesia, proporcionando a San Lucas la información necesaria para la composición del libro. Hechos de los apóstoles.

VI. Para concluir, observemos otro punto. Nuestros lectores habrán notado que no hemos dicho nada acerca de la respuesta de Felipe a la pregunta del eunuco: "¿Qué impide que me bautice?" La versión autorizada luego inserta ver. 37 Hechos 8:37 , que dice así: “Y Felipe dijo: Si crees de todo corazón, bien puedes.

Y él respondió y dijo: Creo que Jesucristo es el Hijo de Dios. "Si bien si tomamos la Versión Revisada, encontraremos que los revisores han omitido este versículo en el texto, colocándolo en el margen, con una nota afirmando que algunas autoridades antiguas lo insertaron total o parcialmente. Este versículo ahora es abandonado por todos los críticos como parte integral del texto original, y sin embargo, es una interpolación muy antigua, que se encuentra en citas de los Hechos que se remontan a el segundo siglo.

Probablemente su inserción se produjo de alguna manera así, al igual que en el caso de Juan 5:4 , al que ya nos hemos referido en este capítulo. Fue escrito originalmente al margen de un manuscrito por algún estudioso diligente de esta historia primitiva. Los manuscritos no se copiaron de la manera que solemos pensar. Un escriba no colocó un manuscrito ante él y luego lo transcribió lentamente, sino que un solo lector recitó el original en un scriptorium o sala de copiado, mientras que varios escritores siguieron rápidamente sus palabras.

Por tanto, una nota marginal en un solo manuscrito podría incorporarse fácilmente en varias copias, encontrando un lugar permanente en un texto sobre el que originalmente era una mera reflexión piadosa. Sin embargo, con respecto a este versículo trigésimo séptimo, no como una parte del texto escrito por San Lucas, sino como el comentario o nota del texto del siglo II, nos muestra cuál era la práctica de la siguiente era después de los Apóstoles.

Las personas llevadas al bautismo hicieron una profesión de fe en Cristo, y probablemente estas palabras, "Creo que Jesucristo es el Hijo de Dios", fueron la forma local del credo bautismal, dondequiera que se escribió esta nota. Justino Mártir en su primera "Apología", cap. 61, da a entender que tal profesión de fe era una parte esencial del bautismo, y esta forma, "Creo que Jesucristo es el Hijo de Dios", puede haber sido la fórmula bautismal utilizada en el ritual designado para estas ocasiones.

De hecho, algunas personas han pensado que esta breve declaración representaba el credo de la Iglesia del siglo II. Esto plantea una cuestión que requeriría un tratamiento mucho más prolongado del que ahora podemos otorgarle. Caspari, un eminente teólogo sueco, ha discutido este punto extensamente en un trabajo que el estudiante de inglés encontrará revisado y analizado en un artículo del Dr. Salmon publicado en la Revista Contemporánea de agosto de 1878, donde ese erudito escritor llega a la Conclusión de que la esencia del Credo de los Apóstoles se remonta prácticamente a la época de los Apóstoles.

Y ahora, al concluir este libro, nos llega una confirmación interesante de este punto de vista desde un lugar inesperado. La "Apología" de Arístides fue una defensa del cristianismo compuesta incluso antes que las de Justino Mártir. Eusebio fija su fecha en el año 124 o 125 d.C. Fue en todo caso uno de los primeros escritos cristianos fuera del Canon. Hacía mucho que se había perdido para el mundo cristiano.

No sabíamos nada de su contenido, y solo sabíamos de su existencia anterior a partir de las páginas de la historia de la Iglesia de Eusebio. Hace dos años fue encontrado por el profesor J. Rendel Harris, en siríaco, en el Convento de Santa Catalina en el Monte Sinaí, y acaba de ser publicado este mes de mayo de 1891 por la Cambridge University Press. Es un documento muy interesante de los primeros tiempos cristianos, que nos muestra cómo los primeros apologistas defendieron la fe y atacaron las supersticiones del paganismo.

El profesor Harris le ha añadido notas que son de gran valor. Señala los puntos débiles del paganismo que los primeros cristianos utilizaron especialmente para atacar. La "disculpa" de Arístides tiene un valor peculiar en este aspecto. Nos muestra cómo la primera generación después del último Apóstol solía tratar con los dioses falsos de Grecia, Roma y Egipto. Sin embargo, es de especial importancia ya que establece de una fuente nueva e inesperada cómo los primeros cristianos consideraban su propia fe, cómo veían su propio cristianismo y en qué formularios encarnaban su creencia.

El profesor Harris confirma el argumento del Dr. Salmon expuesto en el artículo al que nos hemos referido. En la época de Arístides, los cristianos de Atenas, pues Arístides era un filósofo ateniense que había aceptado el cristianismo, era uno con los de Roma y con los seguidores del cristianismo católico desde entonces. Arístides escribió, según Eusebio, en 124 d. C.; pero aún podemos extraer de su "Apología" todas las declaraciones del Credo de los Apóstoles en forma formal. Así, el profesor Harris restaura el Credo tal como se profesaba en la época de Arístides, es decir, la generación posterior a San Juan, y lo expone de la siguiente manera:

"Creemos en un Dios Todopoderoso, Creador del cielo y de la tierra: y en Jesucristo su Hijo, nacido de la Virgen María. Fue traspasado por los judíos, murió y fue sepultado; al tercer día resucitó; ascendió a Cielo. Está a punto de venir a juzgar ".

Esta "Apología" de Arístides es una contribución sumamente valiosa a la evidencia cristiana y genera grandes esperanzas en cuanto a lo que aún podemos recuperar cuando se exploren los tesoros de Oriente. El "Diatessaron" de Taciano fue un hallazgo maravilloso, pero la recuperación de la perdida "Apología" de Arístides nos dota de un documento aún más antiguo, acercándonos a los mismos días de los Apóstoles. Como este descubrimiento sólo se publicó cuando estas páginas finalmente pasaron por la prensa, debo reservar un aviso adicional para el prefacio de este volumen.