Note 50 — Chapter II · BAPTISM AND TEMPTATION OF JESUS.

Few evangelical passages have undergone a more industrious criticism, or more completely run through the circle of all possible interpretations, than the history in question. For the personal appearance of the devil, which it seems to contain, was a thorn which would not allow commentators to repose on the most obvious interpretation, but incessantly urged them to new efforts. The series of explanations hence resulting, led to critical comparisons, among which those of Schmidt,50 Fritzsche,51 and Usteri,52 seem to have carried the inquiry to its utmost limits.