Encyclopedia of sacred theology - pagina 461

Chap.

SELF-TESTIMONY OF THE SCRIPTURE

II]

437

though there were merely a certain necessity and, in a certain sense, a typical parallelism between that which befell the faithful of the past and of the present, but that Jesus applies His rule with equal decision to that which is apparThus in Luke xxii. 37, when He says "I ently accidental. say unto you, that this which is written must be fulfilled :

for that me. And he was reckoned with transgressors which concerneth me hath fulfilment," here, indeed, Jesus points to a concrete and very special 'yeypafx/xevov, which exin

:

cept in a very rare instance did not intensify the bitterness

The simultaneous

of the martyr's death.

crucifixion with

inward necesJesus of two malefactors lacks, therefore, And yet of this very definite yeypafji/jievov Jesus pursity. all

it must be fulfilled in Him, and as a motive of thought He adds, that what has been prophesied concerning Him cannot rest before it has accomplished its end.i In Matt. xxvi. 54 Jesus declares that He does not exercise His omnipotence, nor invoke the legions of angels to save Him from His passion, since the prophecy of the Old Testament forbids Him doing this. Beyond all doubt it is certain that the prophetic program must be carried out, and

posely declares that

in case

be

He were to

fulfilled,

oppose

that thus

it

it,

"

how then should the Scriptures

must be ? "

Thus Jesus acknowledges

that in prophecy there lies before us a copy of the counsel of God concerning Him, and for this reason the realization

program could not remain wanting. Jesus expresses same thought even more strongly in John xiii. 18, where characterizes the betrayal by Judas not only as unavoida-

of this this

He

may be fulfilled, that he who ate bread should lift up his heel against Him, but even " From henceforth I tell you before it come to pass,

ble that the Scripture

with adds that,

Him :

when

it is

come

to pass, ye

may

believe that

I

am

he,"

have come to an end, which Meyer too it loses from view the reference of the tAos to reXead^uaL (2) because such a saying would have had sense in the general announcement of His death, not in the special indication of something that would accompany His deatii and (3) because it should have had That all things have an end is to read that the end was near or at hand. an argument all too weak to claim support. 1

The

defends,

exegesis

is

:

For

my

justly rejected

;

affairs

(1) because

;

;

:

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