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The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848-1954) (about)
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Cite: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3802345
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SOME FRIENDS OF PAUL.
DYNAMIC ASSOCIATIONS.
By KENNETH HENDERSON.
Hie iiieiidship of a gi tat man la a high puvilcgc, but ii seven ouliiil Hie coull dence ol Paul of lui sus was wein bj fellowship in his ti lil« and the nulli itionn aie cleir that it was n sevil o test of min Ont tinnot help being eui oils about those who withstood that fieij ti mt Anstiichus for Hist une-the compinion of Pml in so man} ti lils "ft bivond the fait tint he wns i Mniidoniin of 1 liescilonun we know nothing ot the man St Luke in the Acts eonctntintes Ins mimi on tilling the stoi} of a glint piect of woil Person ii detnU plnv no pirt in his purpose vet sometimes lu- mipiessiblo dramatic instinct throws in nrcidenn! light on some personaht}
oi some subsidian source ot information
comos mu wu}
I \PI s II VCIII 1! GVMvLlLL.
In the strictest sect of our ichgion I lived a Phansie' si}s Paul At the foot of Gain ihel the gicatcst of them he learnt his enthusiasm for the things of God lo his djing da}, vvhenevet Paul began to utguo, his mind went batk to the I ecu atmosphere of discussion that inspired the giotip which sit cross legged aiouiid tho famous maslci Gamaliel m the temple In that cnclo Ins seal for the law took hie Gamaliel was the giealcst of contempoiai} teaehcis, one of thosu
whose name is lnsci.bcd in the list of the
'heads of the schools " 'Since Rabban Gamaliel the cider died ' ian the popular siijmg quoted by Schuici 'there has been no more revel euee foi tilt law, and purity and abstinente died out at the same time " Hie rabbi's tcmpcii "o far as we can nulgi fiom one glimpse was one of calm wisdom bul Ins inspiration took tho foi ni of fici} ardour in the pupil The ttathiug of Gamaliel remained with Ins voung disciple through his conversion and what is usually called specially "Pauline'
m Paul's thought (consists of the teiclnngs ol the rabbin of Ins time
Tram Gamaliel would prubabl} eunie the notion that it »as hy tho sm ol Adam that the human race was coimptcd Such an idea is not found in the Old I esta meut Most of the rabbis connected this corrupting ein with the worship ol the golden tali from lum, too, would onie the though! of offtnets ngnins1 the law ncicssuiil} exacting a penalty lins, re tnbutivc view of punishment is the loun dation ol Paul's theor} ol Hie Atonement, which lu elaboiatcfa lu the Epistle te the Romans explaining that the penal.v
Cluisl's death It is loreign to the thought ut Jesus, whose teacliin^ tbout Divine loigivoncea is contained m the parables of the Prodigal Son andullo Tor gi\en Dobtoi ill« view ol sm as cspeei ally connected with the flesh, the notion of sin as the tausO uf ph}snal death, ami the expectation that the end ol tin vv ji Id would be a sudden catastrophe with the Messiah coming on the clouds-these all come liom the faith ol Ins fathers lor mulatcd bv the gienl rabbi Those rabbinic teachers gave themselves consideiable libeity of speculation One personal glimpse is given us of Gamaliel in a s tua lion which would be the severest possible test ot the wisdom uf an old man conti out- ing a new movement Hie hely Peter is before the biinhcdtim toi the second time cliuigcd with endaugciing the publie peaic bj his leaching! It was a sei tous aunen lion for Rumt s htel was vcty heal} on such distm bailees, and this cxcitcmuil might nell hung the blood ot this Jesus upon the people Gamaliel lakes control ol the excited asscmbl}, the nt cased ino wtllidiaivn, and the old man calmly .
views the fanatical risings ol the past jems, all passed aw a} "And now 1 say unto ?on, icfiinu ii oin these men and Iel them alone, for if tins counsel oi this wutk be of men, it will bo oi et tin own, hut if it is of Gpd, }c will not he able to ovci
tino\v them, lest haply ji. be tunnel even to he lighting against Gutl " Pet hans the gtcat tcaihcr had some insight uno the inner sticngth of the new vin tine How ever that may be, lchgious lusloiy ¿unid hn\o been very diffcient if, m the sut reeding centuties, its moktis hid olnycd the calm wisdom ol the gicat Phausce
llAlt!\AB\S AND MARK
Paul's first comrade was a mau big in mind and body Hie Hist sight wo get of his poibonn! chin actcilstics is of the scene in ninth lit is with Paul among the half savagt tiibisnnu ot the wild mountains of Galatia The natives, familiar with injths of gods w liking the cal Hi, take the big, UnpuHsivc man for Jupitci and the clo queut, aident l'uni for Meicuiy, tho mes songer of the gods ] he imstnl e !» illu- minating lo a Wc8tcm mind, the man who tool, the lend in action would appear to be the Icadei 'lo the Oiicntal the gicat one was obMonsly the man who ic maiiicd impassive and let uthcts talk for linn Batnabis'e nickname--no man has ever won a finer-reveals moro of linn than an} incident ' Hie Son of Consolation' hail a genius for believing in his fellow men When Paul first tiled to entci Chustian circles aftei his conveision, people di civ bick from Ins tonibh rcpu tatton Was this another ruse of the per sccutoii It was Barnabas who took the iisk of holding out the hand of fellowship He took tlic new iccruit on Ins first de finite noik-caujing relief fiom Aiitiuch to the famine stucken Uinstinns of Jen-a lern logtthtr tiley shaied the tunis of the (list join ney into the Galntian nioim tains At this point vvc catch n glimpse of the wntci of the hist Christian gospel, Bainabas's nephew, John Maik At the sight of the flow nmg lange of the lanius, Mink, foi some leasnn, tunis back, to Paul's great indignation When the time eniuo to lepcat the dangerous join ne} which lind cost bo much buffering Mai li was anxious to go, but Paul would not have the man ' who had lcfiised to go with tliein to the nolle" Barnabas, with Ins power of believing m people insisted on giving his nephew another chance ' So shaip a con tention at oso between them that they
pal ted asunder, one fiom the other " Luke's lcpetitiun suggests the tiaguly The palt- ing was for cvci though Paul's Lpistlc to the Coiinthians suggests a i conciliation Barn tbas took Jink to Ins native place, Cvpius wlieie ttndition iclatcs Hint the eldir man was mai lu eil by stoning
Mark's st} le lu his guiñe! is ciiriouslv lmpusomil but behind tluit st}lt-'vin gat, culloijiual inilnih.shi.il monotonous' ab Kaw luisón descubes li-w hut a life la} hld1 liftccu )ti!Is oi so lulu wi lind Paul commending Muk who was with linn in Rome dilling Ins impnsuumeul to the Colossians commanding that tile} should leccive lum if In came lo tlitm H sums us if .Mail, is bung mutilated In the second epistle to lnnoth) written in the blindo» of certain death lie com
mauds Hint voung mau to bung .MaiIt with him tu Rome, lur he is useful lo me foi numslcinig' Ile who had tailed at Hie outset was summoned to sh ne the last da}s of Hie apostle m Hie tlungciuiis Rome of Neio At unothei time Aluik is with Pelel, so Pupius sais, acting ns Ins Hitit pietti, and wilting down Pttci's ron nu Siemes of the hfo of the Lotd, which he combined with othci somccs-the iosjiel nccoidme, to St Mark Ceittunly lie was qualified for that tusk His mother s house nt Jcinsalein was the Iii st head ¡nar tcis of the little Chiislnin commin ,tj
and in its uppei loum the Last «i.inpi.l
was jiiobabl} eaten 'li ach turn relates
tint Muk was the bo} who was uwul-iiiui fiom sleep b) the sein clung sohltet s- and Hucw n blanket lound himself as he ian nftet thom to watch the auest Jn spite of all the handicaps ol a wntcr paiutidl} tinushtting liom his Al mian thoughts into colloquial Gieek Mail is ii gil it «lui}
tellci eleni, illicit, fnieeful lils woik is a tiiiimph uf visual imagination
I UKI
In stiangc toutrii«t with the mutti ol fact wölk cf the Jew Mail, to whom he owed so much, is Hie ei«} bcnsitivi stile of the Ciieel Luke, whose «j inpallictic peisuuuhlv with its sluing diumatie in stuiel, iiilotus cvC1}thing he wiitin tim gh m neithci of his books-tho A< Is uf winch he edited the hist hall, and »iule tin second and Hie Gospel-docs he men tion hnnscll Ho also was a eonipauijii of Paul evidentl} ii Macedonian Gi eck wun b> Paul at hois wheic Luke s tiuvcls with the apostle began Some think that he was ii native ol Philippi is he exiiggcialts the lelatne importune, of that eil} ne coi ding to the minnel of the intense civic lichng ol a Ciieel foi Ins eitv lu ti iiuv little iliuiuiteiistiis he Kiells the duck He had a iintiual feeling fin the sia mi
tionuig tin hnili'iis nul tin winds i I the disiiiption of the bhipwiicl is still the m mi aiilhnut} fin the invitation of tin pound llamsiy noll« the slindv Mice dom in contempt fri the shall nv pitilla lind ixcileincul of the Uhoniins who lived in oi di i ') toll ii Inn si me ni ti thing Hw lum winship- ing tvi noti« sill h diluís is Puds list uf Ins lund,, in spelling mid the intcnsits of his eure His gispil is ii min I nilli fui Us uni] nhi with w min Diinn" Ins hist impiisiu mint Paul ninnis Lulo the lu luv ni phv
su inn"-what a wondiiful tille lint is-is one of his ti mpaniiins and his scion I lu toi to liniolh} wnttin hcfoie Ins hist ti ml, contains Hie gi tatest tubule to the evangelist -"Onlj Luke .s with me '