CHAPTER XX. THE RESURRECTION (John 20:1-18) At the request of the priests, Pilate sealed the door of the sepulcher with the Roman seal and placed. guard of sixteen Roman soldiers over it, lest "his disciples should steal away the body." There, upon the last seventh day Sabbath of the world, the to... [ Continue Reading ]
PETER... CAME TO THE SEPULCHER. As soon as Peter and John heard the story of Mary Magdalene they at once hurried out of the city to the sepulcher. They were intensely excited by the startling story, and ran with their utmost speed to the sepulcher. John seems to have been the swifter of the two and... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE... SAW THE LINEN CLOTHES LYING. Though John reached the sepulcher first he was so awed that he did not enter in, but through the open door he saw the tomb to be empty, but linen clothes that Joseph and Nicodemus had used for burial garments (see John 19:40) lying within. Peter, more impulsiv... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN WENT IN THAT OTHER DISCIPLE... AND HE SAW AND BELIEVED. When John entered in, saw the careful attention paid to the grave clothes, and knew that rude robbers could not have taken the body, it flashed upon his mind, for the first time, that the Lord had risen. So dull had they all been, accordi... [ Continue Reading ]
THE DISCIPLES WENT AWAY AGAIN TO THEIR OWN HOME. Probably to the house of John, which there is reason to believe was in Jerusalem. The tomb was empty; there was nothing more they could do but simply to await the developments that might come.... [ Continue Reading ]
MARY STOOD WITHOUT AT THE SEPULCHER WEEPING. She had followed Peter and John more slowly, and when all the other disciples departed she remained to weep at the place where the Lord had lain. She also stooped and gazed through her tears into the sepulcher, but without hope, when suddenly she SEETH TW... [ Continue Reading ]
SEETH TWO ANGELS, CLOTHED IN WHITE. It is not certain that she at first knew them to be angels; she was stupefied almost with grief, and they had the appearance of men, as did the angel seen by the other women whom she had not met since she ran for Peter and John. They asked her, WHY WEEPEST THOU?... [ Continue Reading ]
SHE TURNED HERSELF BACK, AND SAW JESUS STANDING. As she spoke of her Lord her Lord was there, though she did not recognize him. Her failure to do so was due probably in part to her preoccupation and excitement of mind and to the dimness of the light. She saw. man, and paid little heed at first to h... [ Continue Reading ]
WOMAN, WHY WEEPEST THOU? The same question is asked, first, by the Lord that had been by his angels in the tomb. Mary, still heedless of all but her sorrow, without looking, takes it for granted that it is the gardener who has charge of the garden in which the sepulchre was placed, for who else wou... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS SAITH UNTO HER, MARY.... RABBONI. Before she had been listless, but when she heard her name in the accents she remembered so well, she at once beheld her Lord, and crying out, _Rabboni, Master,_ she attempted to throw herself at his feet.... [ Continue Reading ]
TOUCH ME NOT, FOR. AM NOT YET ASCENDED TO MY FATHER. She, in her gladness, sought to grasp her Lord about the feet. There has been much conjecture as to the reasons underlying the Savior's prohibition. It seems to me that the explanation is about as follows: She desired to fling herself upon the Lo... [ Continue Reading ]
MARY MAGDALENE CAME AND TOLD THE DISCIPLES THAT SHE HAD SEEN THE LORD. The women were last at the cross; they followed the body to the tomb; they were first to see the open tomb; first to hear the story of the resurrection from an angel, and Mary was the first to see the Lord. Great is the faith an... [ Continue Reading ]
HE SHEWED UNTO THEM HIS HANDS AND HIS SIDE. The Lord showed his wounds to convince them beyond. doubt that it was not. fantasy or an apparition, but the crucified one arisen.. week later he shows his wounds to Thomas. The resurrected body still bore these proofs of his suffering and love. Sixty yea... [ Continue Reading ]
PEACE BE UNTO YOU: AS MY FATHER HATH SENT ME, EVEN SO SEND. YOU. Now that they know that he is their Master, he again repeats his blessing, and then reminds them of their work upon earth. As he had come to the world because the Father sent him, and represented the Father, so they, the apostles, are... [ Continue Reading ]
BREATHED ON THEM, AND SAID, RECEIVE YE THE HOLY GHOST. Breath is the symbol of life. God breathes into man the breath of life (Genesis 2:7), and Christ breathed upon his apostles as. symbol of the impartation of the Holy Spirit.. suppose that he imparted. measure of the Spirit at this time to guide... [ Continue Reading ]
WHOSE SOEVER SINS YE REMIT, THEY ARE REMITTED UNTO THEM, ETC. There is hardly. passage in the New Testament that has caused more discussion, which is more obscure, unless the proper key to its explanation is secured, or which is plainer from the right standpoint. It will be seen at once, by. compar... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THOMAS, ONE OF THE TWELVE, CALLED DIDYMUS, WAS NOT WITH THEM. Didymus, which means the Twin, is the Greek for the Hebrew name, Thomas. He was one of the Twelve, of whom history has recorded but little. It is reported by tradition that he carried the gospel to India and died there. He seems to h... [ Continue Reading ]
HE SAID UNTO THEM..... WILL NOT BELIEVE. At some time during the week they meet him and tell their joyful story, but he meets it with skepticism. He will believe no man, not even his eyes; he must feel the wounds as well as see them before he will believe. His language is not merely skepticism, but... [ Continue Reading ]
AFTER EIGHT DAYS AGAIN HIS DISCIPLES WERE WITHIN, AND THOMAS WITH THEM. It was on the second Sunday after the resurrection; the second Lord's day in the history of the world. Let it be noted: 1. On the seventh day the Lord was in the tomb and the hearts of his disciples buried with him. It was the... [ Continue Reading ]
REACH HITHER THY FINGER. The Lord suddenly appeared in their midst, as one week before, and uttered his salutation of peace. Then turning to the skeptical Thomas, he asks him to apply the tests that he had declared would be necessary before he could believe. His compassion for the unbelief of Thoma... [ Continue Reading ]
THOMAS ANSWERED,... MY LORD AND MY GOD. Thomas did not need to apply the test. Every shadow of doubt passed away, and from out of his full and astonished heart came forth the ejaculation, which was. confession of his faith: It is his Lord, and his divine Savior, God manifest in the flesh.... [ Continue Reading ]
BLESSED ARE THEY THAT HAVE NOT SEEN, AND YET HAVE BELIEVED. Thomas "saw" (he did not need to handle), and believed. We have not seen, but nevertheless, believe upon the same Lord. Upon us he pronounces. special blessedness, because we walk by faith instead of sight.... [ Continue Reading ]
MANY OTHER SIGNS TRULY DID JESUS. Not near all that occurred, either before or after the resurrection, is recorded. Each of the evangelists records some features that the others omit and they each reveal the fact that they only outline the wonderful story.... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THESE ARE WRITTEN, THAT YE MIGHT BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST, ETC. This is the object of all the gospel histories. They are to so reveal Christ as to produce faith in him. He is the one object of belief. He is the Christian's creed. Faith in him,. faith that takes him as the Christ, saves... [ Continue Reading ]