then, of course, we allow that the epithet "priest" is quite foreign not
only to the Fourth Gospel, but to every other book of the New Testament,
except the Epistle to the Hebrews; but if we look to the things implied
in the idea of Priesthood, such as Mediation and Intercession, in fact
Intervention between God and Man, then we find that the whole New
Testament is pervaded with the idea, and it culminates in the Fourth
Gospel.

The next assertion of the author of "Supernatural Religion" on the same
passage betrays still more ignorance of the contents of St. John's
Gospel, and a far greater eagerness to fasten on a seeming omission of
the letter, and to ignore a pervadence of the spirit. He asserts:--

"It is scarcely necessary to point out that this representation of
the Logos as Angel, is not only foreign to, but opposed to, the
spirit of the Fourth Gospel." (Vol. ii. p. 293)

Now just as in the former case we had to ask, "What is the
characteristic of the priest?" so in order to answer this we have only
to ask, "What is the characteristic of the angel?"

An angel is simply "one sent." Such is the meaning of the word both in
the Old and New Testament. The Hebrew word [Hebrew: mlakh] is applied
indifferently to a messenger sent by man (see Job i. 14; 1 Sam. xi. 3; 2
Sam. xi. 19-20), and to God's messengers the Holy Angels, that is, the
Holy Messengers, the Holy ones sent. And similarly, in the New
Testament, the word [Greek: angelos] is applied to human messengers in
Luke vii. 24, [Greek: apelthonton de ton angelon Ioannou], also in Luke
ix. 52, and James ii. 25. That the characteristic of the angel is to be
"sent" is implied in such common phrases as, "The Lord _sent_ His
Angel," "I will _send_ mine angel," "Are they not all ministering
spirits _sent_ forth to minister?" &c.

Now one of the characteristic expressions of the Fourth Gospel--we might
almost have said _the_ characteristic expression--respecting Jesus, is
that He is "sent." To use the noun instead of the verb, He is God's
special messenger, His [Greek: angelos], sent by Him to declare and to
do His will: but this does not imply that He has, or has assumed, the
nature of an angel; just as the application of the same word [Greek:
angelos] to mere human messengers in no way implies that they have any
other nature than human nature. Just as men sent their fellow-men as
their [Greek: angeloi], so God sends One Who, according to Justin, fully