THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

You shall have the testimony of the holy angels by the Scriptures,

to the resurrection of the Son of God. And first, in Mark 16: 3-7,

the words are these:

"And they said among themselves, Who shall roll away the stone?"

They had a good mind to see their Lord; but they could not, as they

thought, get away the stone which covered the mouth of the

sepulchre. "And when they had looked," that is, towards the

sepulchre, "they saw the stone rolled away, for it was great; and

entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man," that is, an

angel, "sitting on the right side, clothed with a long white

garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not

afraid," you have no cause for it; "you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who

was crucified; he is not here, he is risen: behold the place where

they laid him." What scripture can be plainer spoken than this? Here

is an angel of the Lord ready to satisfy the disciples of Jesus that

he was risen from the dead. And lest they should think it was not

the right Jesus he spoke of, Yes, saith he, it is the same Jesus

that you mean; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, do you not? Why, "he is

risen, he is not here." But do you speak seriously and in good

earnest? Yea, surely; if you will not believe me, "behold the place

where they laid him." This scripture is very clear to our purpose.

But again, in Matt. 28: 3-7, there is an angel as before bearing

witness of the resurrection of Jesus. "His countenance was like

lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him the

keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered

and said unto them," the women who came to seek Jesus, "Fear you

not; but let them that seek to keep the Lord in his grave fear if

they will, for you have no ground of fear who seek the Jesus that

was crucified: he is not here, he is risen; he cannot be here, in

body, and risen too: if you will not believe me, come, see where the

Lord lay. And go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen

from the dead; and behold, he goeth before you into Galilee, there

shall you see him." But shall we be sure of it? "Yea," saith the

angel; "lo, it is I that have told you." See how plainly this

scripture also doth testify of Christ's resurrection. "Here," saith

the angel, "you seek a Saviour, and none will content you but he,

even the same that was crucified: well, you shall have him, but he

is not here." Why, where is he then? "He is risen from the dead."

But are you sure it is the same that we look for? "Yea, it is the

same that was crucified." But where shall we find him? Why, "he

goeth before you into Galilee, where he used to be in his lifetime,

before he was crucified. And that you might be sure of it there to

find him, know that he is an angel of God that has told you."

The Riches of Bunyan: Selected from His Works · 第 87 / 283 题