CHAPTER VI.

EXAMINATION OF THE GOSPELS.

I Now turn to the New Testament. After the most careful examination, I am prepared to affirm without the fear of candid and successful contradiction, that there is not a single instance in which the word servant is used in the sense of slave.

In one place the expression, "servants under the yoke," occurs, but the very fact that the words "under the yoke" are added to qualify the word "servant," shows that without some such qualification, the idea of their real condition would not be conveyed.

In a single place also in the New Testament, the word "slaves" occurs, but in a connection by no means favourable to slavery, and where indeed the true signification is bodies, and not slaves. It is in Revelations xviii. 13, "slaves, and souls of men," meaning bodies and souls of men.' It is alluding to the merchandise

of the bodies and souls of men, by the merchants of the mystic Babylon; and of course whether "bodies" or "slaves," be a proper translation, the text, if it mean any thing, means a condemnation of the merchants of this Babylon, and cannot be quoted in justification of slavery itself.

It does not appear that our Saviour ever came in contact with slavery, except in the extended sense of an oppressive government under Imperial Rome. But no one will pretend that he ever gave the slightest sanction to national slavery or to any oppressive form of government. Whether he ever came in contact with individual slaveholding, so that an expression of his will on the subject would have been called for, cannot be made to appear from any thing in any of the four gospels. On the contrary, in those allusions to servants from which any safe inference may be drawn as to the kind of servants meant, it is sufficiently plain that they could not have been slaves. Now let us take these in their historical order.

Matthew vi. 24. Luke xvi. 13.

"No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other."

"No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

The allusion here is to masters, in the sense of lords, as one acquainted with Greek would readily understand, and not in the sense of ordinary proprietors of estates. It is the adhesion of a subject to a king or nobleman. The text itself shews that slaves cannot be intended, since the man is represented as making his choice, to which lord or master he should adhere.

Matthew viii. 5-13. Luke vii. 2-10.

"And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy,

grievously tormented.

And Jesus saith

unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof; but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me and I say to this man Go, and he goeth; and to another Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven: but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the self same hour."

"And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he

sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this. For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof. Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick."