try, not by ordinary chronology, but by the
mention of various Jewish feasts. The dates of these feasts show that
His ministry lasted two years and a half. The absence of dates in the
Synoptists {28} has led to the opinion that they represent our Lord's
ministry as only extending over one year. This opinion may be
summarily dismissed. The mention of ripe corn in Mark ii. 23, and
green grass in vi. 39, implies two spring-times before the last
Passover. It is impossible to compress the teaching which the Synoptic
Gospels relate into the period of one year, and they show a hostility
towards Christ on the part of the ruling classes in Jerusalem which
could not have sufficiently fermented in the space of a few months. We
may also notice that there is a close agreement between the Synoptists
and St. John with regard to the points on which the conflict between
Christ and the Jews turned (cf. Matt. xvi. 1-4, Mark viii. 11-13, Luke
xi. 16, 29-32, with John ii. 18). The Jews specially charged Him with
being possessed by a devil (cf. Matt. xii. 24, Mark iii. 22, Luke xi.
15, with John viii. 48 and x. 19), and also with breaking the sabbath
(cf. Matt. xii. 9, Mark iii. 1, Luke vi. 6, xiii. 10, with John v. 10,
vii. 22, ix. 14).

The dates of two important incidents have been the subjects of much
discussion. A cleansing of the temple by our Lord is related by the
Synoptists at the close of our Lord's ministry (Mark xi. 15). John ii.
14 places a cleansing of the temple at the very beginning of our Lord's
ministry. If we have to choose between one record and the other, we
should perhaps be inclined to say that the narrative in John is the
more probable. But there is no good reason for making such a choice.
No one who is at all familiar with the history of the abuses which took
place in some mediaeval churches would find a difficulty in believing
that the temple needed a second cleansing by our Lord. The first
cleansing is the natural outcome of His righteous indignation in
beholding for the first time the holiest place in the world given up to
common traffic, the second cleansing is appropriate in Him who had then
openly proclaimed His divine authority and Messiahship.

The day of our Lord's death is a date about which there is an apparent
discrepancy between the Synoptists and St. John. {29} The discrepancy
has been elevated into momentous importance by the sceptics of the last
sixty years, and has been employed as one