LIEUT.-COL. G. MACKINLAY, ON SOME LUCAN PROBLEMS. 203 



second year of His Ministry, and the Transfiguration (which Luke 

 has narrated in his ninth chapter) took place at the end of the third 

 year ; therefore, if Luke's account were consecutive from his tenth 

 to his eleventh chapters, we should have one disciple on behalf of 

 the rest (including the twelve) asking his Master how to pray nearly 

 two years after He had taught them how to do so, although they 

 had been in His company ever since. 



But by comparing Matthew's with Luke's story of the Sermon on 

 the Mount, we perceive that the Saviour first spent a whole night 

 in prayer high up on the mountain ; then at daybreak called His 

 disciples around Him, discoursed with them privately and chose 

 from among them His special witnesses, the twelve : and then 

 descended with them and the rest to a " level place," where He 

 preached to multitudes (c/. Matt, v, 1, 2; Luke vi, 17-20 et seq. ; 

 Luke vii, 1 ; Matt, vii, 28, 29). In His more private discourse 

 He uttered the blessings generically, " Blessed are the poor in 

 spirit, etc." ; in His fully public discourse, " lifting up His eyes upon 

 His disciples," and thus pointing them out to the multitude. He 

 said specifically, "Blessed are ye poor, etc." {cf. Matt, v, 2-12, with 

 Luke vi, 20-23). In the same way, as we may well conclude, one 

 of Christ's disciples, who had been standing near Him while He 

 was still at prayer at the close of that night on the mount, requested, 

 as soon as He called them around Him, that He would teach them 

 how to pray, even as John the Baptist had done for his disciples. 

 In response the Blessed One taught them His pattern of prayer, 

 and afterwards, when He went down with the disciples to the 

 level place. He repeated this pattern as a sequel to other counsel 

 regarding prayer. 



On the other hand, Mr. Rouse objected that the lament over 

 Jerusalem (Luke xiii, 34) and the parable of the great Supper 

 (Luke xiv, 16-24) could not have been spoken at the time of the 

 similar lament in Matthew xxiii, 37, and of the somewhat similar 

 parable of the Marriage of the king's son narrated in Matthew xxii, 

 1-14. Because the two latter were spoken after Christ's entry into 

 Jerusalem upon the colt (Matthew xxi, 1-11), while the two former 

 must have been spoken befrnx it ; for the Lucan Parable (spoken 

 after the Lucan lament) was on a Sabbath (Luke xiv, 1). It is 

 readily seen that the entry into Jerusalem must have been on a later 

 day than Christ's last Sabbath on earth (John xii, 1-12). 



