! Woe to you that
are full now, for ye will hunger." The parable of Dives and Lazarus
illustrates concretely this view of the case, which is still further
corroborated by the account, given in both the first and the third
gospels, of the young man who came to seek everlasting life. Jesus here
maintains that righteousness is insufficient unless voluntary poverty be
superadded. Though the young man has strictly fulfilled the greatest of
the commandments,--to love his neighbour as himself,--he is required, as
a needful proof of his sincerity, to distribute all his vast possessions
among the poor. And when he naturally manifests a reluctance to perform
so superfluous a sacrifice, Jesus observes that it will be easier for a
camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to share
in the glories of the anticipated Messianic kingdom. It is difficult to
escape the conclusion that we have here a very primitive and probably
authentic tradition; and when we remember the importance which,
according to the "Acts," the earliest disciples attached to the
principle of communism, as illustrated in the legend of Ananias and
Sapphira, we must admit strong reasons for believing that Jesus himself
held views which tended toward the abolition of private property.
On this point, the testimony of the third evangelist singly is of
considerable weight; since at the time when he wrote, the communistic
theories of the first generation of Christians had been generally
abandoned, and in the absence of any dogmatic motives, he could only
have inserted these particular traditions because he believed them to
possess historical value. But we are not dependent on the third gospel
alone. The story just cited is attested by both our authorities, and is
in perfect keeping with the general views of Jesus as reported by the
first evangelist. Thus his disciples are enjoined to leave all, and
follow him; to take no thought for the morrow; to think no more of
laying up treasures on the earth, for in the Messianic kingdom they
shall have treasures in abundance, which can neither be wasted nor
stolen. On making their journeys, they are to provide neither money,
nor clothes, nor food, but are to live at the expense of those whom
they visit; and if any town refuse to harbour them, the Messiah, on his
arrival, will deal with that town more severely than Jehovah dealt with
the cities of the plain. Indeed, since the end of the world was to come
before the en