252 LT.-COL. G. MACKINLAY^ ON THE EMPHASIS OF ST. LUKE. 



of teaching a spiritual truth, but what that truth may be is 

 not generally agreed. Other explanations have been given, as, 

 for instance, that Luke describes, throughout this long passage, 

 nothing but the last journey ; but this explanation will not bear 

 investigation. The arrangement of these chapters has hitherto 

 been an unsolved puzzle, all the greater because Luke distinctly 

 states in his opening sentence that he writes " in order " (i, 3). 



We noticed that the employment of the awkward word /jltivlv 

 at the beginning of the Iliad, so unlike Homer's usual diction, 

 gave a clue to the discovery of his hidden anagram. Is it not 

 likely, therefore, that the departure of Luke from his usual 

 method of ordinary historical narrative may also furnish a clue 

 to some cryptic plan which our Evangelist may have employed ? 



If we can find that these chapters contain two historical 

 retrogressions, making, with the account given before the end 

 of chapter x, three historical narratives, which all include a 

 common period, then we shall find that orderly chronology is 

 maintained, and that Luke has arranged his materials in his 

 characteristic fashion, as in the Acts, to give great emphasis, by 

 threefold repetition, to the prominent themes of his Gospel — 

 the Death and Eesurrection of our Lord. 



We now proceed to adduce a few of the many evidences of 

 the existence of the three parallel narratives. 



We find when reading Luke xi and xii that the chapters 

 contain very much of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew v-vii) ; 

 Luke vi, 20-49, also contains many quotations Irom it. In fact, 

 these two passages taken together contain practically the 

 w^hole of the Lukan reproductions of the Matthsean discourse 

 (91'5 p.c. of the verses); the remainder (8*o p.c.) consists of several 

 short sentences recorded by Luke as spoken at other times ; these 

 may well have been uttered, more than once, by our Lord. Hence it 

 appears that Luke has split up the Matthaiian Sermon into two 

 parts ; he has placed one fragment in chapters xi and xii, and the 

 other in chapter vi. In other words, there appears to be a 

 retrogression at Luke xi, 1, to the time of Luke vi. This 

 supposition is supported by many considerations ; for instance, 

 Luke vi, 20-49, was spoken at summer time, because ears of 

 corn had just been plucked (vi, 1) ; consistently with this fact 

 we have references in this passage to the products of summer, 

 to fruit, figs and grapes (vi, 43, 44). Luke xii also contains 

 references to products of the same season, to fruits, corn, lilies, 

 and grass (16-19, 24-28). Hence we conclude that the second 

 Lukan account of the Sermon was spoken at the same season 

 of the year. Now there was no summer in the Ministry 



