r his wheat into the
garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."[734] The
fan was in operation, and much chaff was blown aside.

It appears that even the Twelve were unable to comprehend the deeper
meaning of these latest teachings; they were puzzled, though none
actually deserted. Nevertheless, the state of mind of some was such as
to evoke from Jesus the question: "Will ye also go away?" Peter,
speaking for himself and his brethren, answered with pathos and
conviction: "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal
life."[735] The spirit of the Holy Apostleship was manifest in this
confession. Though they were unable to comprehend in fulness the
doctrine, they knew Jesus to be the Christ, and were faithful to Him
while others turned away into the dark depths of apostasy.

While Peter spoke for the apostolic body as a whole, there was among
them one who silently revolted; the treacherous Iscariot, who was in
worse plight than an openly avowed apostate, was there. The Lord knew
this man's heart, and said: "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of
you is a devil?" The historian adds: "He spake of Judas Iscariot the son
of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the
twelve."

NOTES TO CHAPTER 21.

1. Jesus at Nazareth.--As no one of the Gospel-writers records two
occasions of our Lord's ministry in Nazareth, and as the separate
accounts appearing in the synoptic Gospels closely resemble one another
in a few particulars, some commentators hold that our Lord preached to
His townsmen in Nazareth and was rejected by them but once. Luke's
account (4:14-30) refers to an occasion immediately following the first
return of Jesus to Galilee after His baptism and temptations, and
directly preceding the preliminary call of the fishermen-disciples, who
afterward were numbered among the apostles. Matthew (13:53-58) and Mark
(6:1-6) chronicle a visit of Jesus to Nazareth later than the occasion
of the first teaching in parables, and the events immediately following
the same. We have good reason for accepting Luke's record as that of an
early incident, and the accounts given by Matthew and Mark as those of a
later visit.

2. Gentiles.--In a general way the Jews designated all other peoples as
Gentiles; though the same Hebrew word is rendered in the Old Testament
variously, as "Gentiles" (Gen. 10:5; Judg. 4:2, 13, 16; Isa. 11:10;
etc.), "nations" (Gen. 10:5, 20, 31, 32; 14:1, 9; etc