428 Clarence Russell Williams, 



appearances of the risen Christ. But studied closely lines 2—12 show- 

 no necessary connection with their setting, save only that they imply 

 a time after the resurrection, as Gregory suggests. But, pushing his 

 argument further, we claim that though they seem to be an excuse 

 for unbelief, there is nothing in the words of the disciples, taken by 

 themselves, which implies that this unbelief was specifically the un- 

 belief of the apostles, and further that it was unbelief in the resurrec- 

 tion of their Master. If removed from the context in which we now 

 find them, these words would most naturally be interpreted to refer 

 to unbelief in the hearts of those to whom they were sent, which 

 hindered the success of the apostolic mission to the world, rather 

 than to unbelief in the hearts of the apostles themselves. 



The answer of Jesus seems to suit this interpretation. He replies 

 that the world is no longer under the power of Satan, and that he 

 has made it possible for sinners (not disciples) to "return to the 

 truth " and inherit the glory of righteousness. Such an interpretation 

 of the saying of Jesus brings it into close connection with the com- 

 mission which immediately follow^s. "But going into all the world, 

 etc." And this commission, with the promise of salvation to those 

 who believe, and the promise of miraculous power in the world (vs. 

 17, 18) for the further encouragement of the disciples, lends further 

 support to our suggestion that the words of the disciples in this 

 logion originally referred not to their own unbelief in the resurrection , 

 but to the unbelief of the world which refused their message. Further 

 this interpretation seems to suit the expression tTjV aAr^Osiy-v tou OsoD 

 y.v.-ccXcc^i'j^M better than the customary explanation. 



Our interpretation of this passage, therefore, leads us to adopt the 

 suggestion of Gregory that xaxsTvoi aizzkoyowzo >vEYovt£5 oiri is an 

 editorial insertion, framed to connect a logion of Jesus with v. 14, 

 (which would agree with the use of xaxsTvoi here) ; and that the in- 

 sertion of a)v>.a before xo-psuOsvTS? in v. 15, of which no trace has 

 been found in any other MS, is the work of the same editorial hand, 

 and for the same purpose. 



.a) This otlJ^o!. since it is not found in any other MSS is itself a 

 witness to an insertion here. 



b) The lack of a direct answer to the apostles' request for an 

 immediate revelation of the righteousness, which makes the words 

 seem superfluous here, seems to indicate that the answer of Jesus 

 originally contained some reply, and therefore that we have but a 

 portion of this answer here. 



c) In the Freer MS a space of about six letters is left before the 

 introduction of this section, which thus begins at the beginning of 



