CHAPTER XXVIII. 1. In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. 2. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 3. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: 4. And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. A.D. 30. April 9. Sunday Morning. THE RESURRECTION AND APPEARANCES OF JESUS. JERUSALEM. 5. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 6. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. VARIATIONS IN THE NARRATIVE.-In the accounts of the different evangelists there are a number of variations and sometimes slight apparent contradictions, but all can be put together in one consistent story, as has often been done. However, we must remember that this is always true of independent histories of an event seen by different observers from different standpoints, and is a proof of the reliability of the story. If all had exactly agreed it would be proof of collusion. The same event presents a different aspect to each observer. Even if there were contradictions, which there are not, they would not discredit the fact. Thus, there was a real battle of Waterloo; although, as Chadwick says, "When the generals of Henry the Fourth strove to tell him what passed after he was wounded at Aumale, no two of them agreed in the course of events which gave them victory. Two armies beheld the battle of Waterloo, but who can tell when it began? At ten o'clock, said the Duke of Wellington. At half-past eleven, said General Alava, who rode beside him. At twelve, according to Napoleon and Drouet; and at one, according to Ney." Probably it began at different times in different parts. 1. AS IT BEGAN TO DAWN, ETC. CAME MARY MAGDALENE, 8. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. 9. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. 10. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me. A.D. 30. April 9. Sunday Morning. THE RESURRECTION AND APPEARANCES OF JESUS. JERUSALEM. MYRRH-BEARERS. Three women crept at break of day, Each in her throbbing bosom bore Spices, the purest, richest, best, Had they, with sorrow-riven hearts, Should the dead sepulchre imbue Christ did not need their gifts; and yet Did either Mary once forget Her offering? Did Salome fret Over those unused aloes? Nay! They did not count as waste that day What they had brought their Lord. The way Home seemed the path to heaven. They bear 11. Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. 12. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, 13. Saying, Say ye, his disciples came by night, and stole him away, while we slept. 14. And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. 15. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. So, ministering, as erst did these, Myrrh-bearers still, at home, abroad, Through tragic darkness, murk and dim, Of promise-all for sake of Him Who rose from Joseph's tomb. They hold To tell the tale the Marys told. Rare gifts whose chiefest worth was priced -Margaret J. Preston. Not she with traitorous kiss her Master stung; —Mrs. Browning. PICTURES.-The Resurrection, Albrecht Dürer (in the "Greater Passion"), Mantegna (Nat. Gallery, London), Naack, Fra. Bartolommeo (Pitti Palace, Florence), Luca della Robbia, Perugino (Vatican), Raphael (Vatican), Rembrandt (Munich); The Angel at the Sepulchre, Doré; The Three Marys at the Tomb, Plockhörst. "'Tis the spring of souls to-day; Christ hath burst his prison, As the sun, hath risen." A.D. 30. April 9. Sunday Morning. THE RESURRECTION AND APPEARANCES OF JESUS. JERUSALEM. IN THE DRAMA OF ALCESTIS, by Euripides, there is a vivid picture of Hercules, "half god, half man, encountering Thanatos (Death) in personal conflict and overcoming him at the tomb, and then restoring to life and light the pure, devoted, self-sacrificing Alcestis." THE PROOF OF IMMORTALITY.-The resurrection of Jesus is the proof of immortal life beyond the grave; that death does not end all, but the soul lives after the body dies. Tracks Into and Out. "A fox once came upon a cave, into which he saw many foxes had entered, the sand being full of footprints. He was about to pass in when his cunning eye detected that all the footprints pointed one way. All were turned inwards, and there were none leading out of the cave. We have come to a great cave-the grave-and its entrance is marked by many footprints. All lead in and none out. But Christ has set his feet the other way; and now, if we go into this cave, we shall follow him out again."-London Sunday-School Chronicle. "There was once a famous cape reputed to be the fatal barrier to the navigation of the ocean. Of all those whom the winds or the currents had drawn into its waters it was said that none Cape of had reappeared. A bold navigator determined to sur- Good Hope. mount the obstacles. He opened the route to the East Indies, acquired for his country the riches of the world, and changed the CAPE OF STORMS into the CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. So Christ has proved himself death's conqueror and made the grave to be the gate to life for us."—Christian Age. "Like ships that sailed from sunny isles, But never came to shore." LIFE, A FLITTING SPARROW.-Paulinus preached the gospel in Northumbria, England, in the early ages to King Edwin and his warriors. Edwin was silent, but one of his aged warrior-sages arose and said, “Around us lies the black land of Night." Then, "Athwart the room a sparrow Darts from the open door: "But if this pale Paulinus Have somewhat more to tell; Some news of Whence and Whither, The sun of hope may shine, He makes life worth the living: I take his God for mine." -Anon. A VISITING ANGEL.-If some angel from a distant star should come to this world in the winter, and we should show him the seeds and roots and bulbs which were to bloom the next spring, it would be hard for him, with no experience, to believe that such beautiful flowers could come from such unsightly objects. Then we could take him to a greenhouse and show him specimens, facts, which prove what would come from seeds and bulbs. So the resurrection of Jesus was a specimen of the resurrection, an incontrovertible proof of what is possible to us all. A TYPE OF OUR RESURRECTION BODIES.--The resurrection of Jesus is the assurance of our own resurrection, with spiritual bodies like his glorious body; all sickness, weakness, and pain gone; but new life, new powers, new joys, beyond our highest conception, and the assurance of the recognition of friends, as we recognize the plants that grow from each kind of seed. LIFE LIKE A SEED.-This life is like the seed; the resurrection life, like the plant that grows from the seed. Who would dream |
