n the Saviour ascended into Heaven, John was still a young man, but
he lived to be older than all the other Apostles. By the time that St.
John wrote his Gospel, Jerusalem had been destroyed and her inhabitants
slain or scattered. He was able, therefore, to mention details, and
give the actual names of people and places, which, if told earlier,
might have endangered the lives of those of whom he wrote.

Many instances of this will be found by those who read carefully. He
alone mentions the name of the Apostle who struck off the ear of the
High Priest's servant, and the story of the raising of Lazarus is given
only by St. John as though it would have been dangerous to record it
earlier.

So filled with love was the Apostle John that before he died his spirit
became altogether one with Christ's spirit, and the sayings of Jesus,
which he had only half understood whilst his Master had walked this
earth, grew quite clear to him, so that he remembered them distinctly.

Therefore, that others might understand also, God's Spirit called John,
when he was an old man, to write out those precious words of Jesus
Christ's which were always echoing in his heart, and which the other
writers had not known, or had forgotten. It is in John's Gospel that
we learn most about the love of Christ.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John--let us thank God for them all.

[1] The name 'Bible' is derived from the Greek word 'Byblus,' i.e.
'Papyrus,' the paper reed on which the New Testament was written.

[2] The name 'Theophilus' means 'God's friend.' Most people believe
that he was a notable convert of those days, though unknown to history.

CHAPTER XII

SOME OTHER WRITERS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

[Illustration: (drop cap L) Ancient engraving of man reading scroll]

Let us now look at the rest of the books which make up the New
Testament. In the days when Paul preached at Athens, the old capital
of Greece, much of the ancient splendour and power of the Greek people
had passed away, for the Romans had conquered their country, and they
were no longer a free nation.

Yet, although the Greeks had been forced to yield to Rome, their
conquerors knew that the Grecian scholars and artists were far better
educated and more highly gifted than themselves, and Greek statues and
writings had therefore become the fashion throughout the Roman Empire.
Indeed, many of the Greek sculptors and authors are remembered and
admired to this day. Homer,