4. The New Testament consists of 3 parts—(a) The History, (b) The Epistles, (c) The Revelation of St John.
(a) S. Luke's History is in two volumes—the Gospel, which recounts our Lord's Life from His Birth to His Ascension (note here the number of His Parables): and the Acts of the Apostles, which continues the history from His Ascension to the (first) imprisonment of S. Paul at Rome. S. Matthew's Gospel corresponds to S. Luke's Gospel, recounting our Lord's Life from His Birth, with many of His sayings about the Kingdom of Heaven, and especially the Sermon on the Mount. S. Mark's Gospel is similar to the two former. It recounts particularly the details of the various scenes of our Lord's Life, {50} and shows how frequently He retired for meditation,—"a living picture of a living man[1]." S. John's Gospel, written long after the others, shows the three witnesses—the spirit and the water and the blood—that bear record that Jesus is the Son of God (1 S. John v. 8).
(b) The Epistles are not in chronological order. S. Paul's Epistles are placed first, then S. James, S. Peter, S. John and S. Jude. Of S. Paul's Epistles, those to Churches come before those to Timothy, Titus and Philemon. Of his Epistles to Churches, the order in the Bible is Rom., Cor., Cor., Gal., Ephes., Philip., Col., Thess., Thess. They fit into the History in the following groups: (I) Acts xvii.,—1 and 2 Thess,, (II) Acts xix. 22 to xx.,—1 and 2 Cor., Gal., Romans, (III) Acts xxviii.,—Philip., Col., Ephes., Philemon, (IV) after the imprisonment described in Acts xxviii.,—1 and 2 Tim. and Titus. The Epistles to Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon (a Colossian Christian) seem to have been sent by the same messenger. The Epistle to the Hebrews may have been written by S. Paul; but, as that is doubtful, it has been placed after those which are surely his. The Epistles which follow are called "General," because they are addressed to Christians scattered about in various countries. S. James and S. Peter have many references to the Sermon on the Mount. S. John dwells upon Love as the foundation upon which a Christian builds his life—the Love which God has shown us, and the Love which we have for Him and for one another.
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(c) The Revelation of S. John, written perhaps before the time when Jerusalem was besieged (A.D. 68-69), carries our thoughts away from the glories of the Jerusalem which was about to be destroyed, to the New Jerusalem and its glories, in Jesus Christ and His Church.
5. The Apocrypha supplies First Lessons for 21 days between Oct. 27 and Nov. 18; and also for the evenings of Innocents' Day and S. Luke's Day. Article VI. quotes S. Jerome's description of the Apocrypha, where he says "the other books the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners; but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine."
These notes will, we hope, prompt the reader to make a study of the Bible not only for the guidance of his life, but also for the amendment of the offering which he makes to God in the Services of the Church.
B. Lessons and Lectionaries.
Acts xv. 21. "Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the Synagogues every Sabbath Day." The reference is to the Mosaic regulations which were to a certain extent to be observed by all Christians, out of consideration for those Christians who were also Jews: be sure that thou eat not the blood, for the blood is the life was a precept which would create a difficulty in a Jewish Christian's mind if a Gentile Christian disregarded it. Similarly as to meats offered to idols (cf. 1 Cor. viii. 10-13).
There was then in the Synagogues of the first century a "First Lesson" from the Law.