The Acts of the Apostles

xxviii
INTRODUCTION
dogmatic postulate—unless he had been in personal
touch with the development of days gone by ?
But in far higher measure than for the statement
of this problem, St. Luke deserves recognition for
the manner in which he has answered it. It has,
of course, always been thought necessary to criticise
with especial rigour this aspect of St. Luke's narra-
tive ; here, however, the critics have both overlooked
points in his narrative which are undoubtedly correct,
and also have set themselves to assail historical
positions which upon closer investigation they neces-
sarily would have found to be unassailable. We have
in the first place to note what answers he has 7iot
given. He has ascribed the beginnings of the
mission to the Gentiles neither to St. Paul—as it
would have been so natural for him to do—nor to
the Twelve, nor to St. Peter, indeed he has expressly
described the course of events in such a way as to
show that St. Peter after receiving an isolated Divine
command to baptize a Gentile, did not for years
draw therefrom any further practical conclusion.
Therefore the representation which is given in the
Acts of the Apostles is not one that has been manufactured
in favour of the Apostles. Again, what
St. Luke tells us of the Christian Hellenists in Jerusalem
and their conflict with the Christian Hebrews;
of the Hellenist Stephen who prophesied the de-
struction of the Temple and the change of the
ordinances given by Moses ; of the Evangelist Philip
who first preached the Gospel among the Samaritans
and baptized the eunuch of the Queen of Ethiopia;
of the unnamed men of Cyprus and Cyrene who first