THE RESURRECTION AND THE ASCENSION.
CHRIST IS RISEN.
Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, had passed, and the night preceding the
dawn of the most memorable Sunday in history was well nigh spent, while
the Roman guard kept watch over the sealed sepulchre wherein lay the
body of the Lord Jesus. While it was yet dark, the earth began to quake;
an angel of the Lord descended in glory, rolled back the massive stone
from the portal of the tomb, and sat upon it. His countenance was
brilliant as the lightning, and his raiment was as the driven snow for
whiteness. The soldiers, paralyzed with fear, fell to the earth as dead
men. When they had partially recovered from their fright, they fled from
the place in terror. Even the rigor of Roman discipline, which decreed
summary death to every soldier who deserted his post, could not deter
them. Moreover, there was nothing left for them to guard; the seal of
authority had been broken, the sepulchre was open, and empty.[1355]
At the earliest indication of dawn, the devoted Mary Magdalene and other
faithful women set out for the tomb, bearing spices and ointments which
they had prepared for the further anointing of the body of Jesus. Some
of them had been witnesses of the burial, and were conscious of the
necessary haste with which the corpse had been wrapped with spicery and
laid away by Joseph and Nicodemus, just before the beginning of the
Sabbath; and now these adoring women came early to render loving service
in a more thorough anointing and external embalmment of the body. On the
way as they sorrowfully conversed, they seemingly for the first time
thought of the difficulty of entering the tomb. "Who shall roll us away
the stone from the door of the sepulchre?" they asked one of another.
Evidently they knew nothing of the seal and the guard of soldiery. At
the tomb they saw the angel, and were afraid; but he said unto them:
"Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is
not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place 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 ye
see him: lo, I have told you."[1356]
The women, though favored by angelic visitation and assurance, left the
place amazed and frightened. Mary Magdalene appears to have been the
first to carry word to the disciples concerning the empty tomb. She had
failed to comprehend the gladsome meaning of the angel's proclamation
"He is risen, as he said"; in her agony of love and grief she remembered
only the words "He is not here," the truth of which had been so
forcefully impressed by her own hasty glance at the open and tenantless
tomb. "Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other
disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away
the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid
him."
Peter, and "that other disciple" who, doubtless, was John, set forth in
haste, running together toward the sepulchre. John outran his companion,
and on reaching the tomb stooped to look in, and so caught a glimpse of
the linen cerements lying on the floor; but the bold and impetuous Peter
rushed into the sepulchre, and was followed by the younger apostle. The
two observed the linen grave-clothes, and lying by itself, the napkin
that had been placed about the head of the corpse. John frankly affirms
that having seen these things, he believed, and explains in behalf of
himself and his fellow apostles, "For as yet they knew not the
scripture, that he must rise again from the dead."[1357]
The sorrowful Magdalene had followed the two apostles back to the garden
of the burial. No thought of the Lord's restoration to life appears to
have found place in her griefstricken heart; she knew only that the body
of her beloved Master had disappeared. While Peter and John were within
the sepulchre, she had stood without, weeping. After the men had left
she stooped and looked into the rock-hewn cavern. There she saw two
personages, angels in white; one sat "at the head, and the other at the
feet, where the body of Jesus had lain." In accents of tenderness they
asked of her: "Woman, why weepest thou?" In reply she could but voice
anew her overwhelming sorrow: "Because they have taken away my Lord, and
I know not where they have laid him." The absence of the body, which she
thought to be all that was left on earth of Him whom she loved so
deeply, was a personal bereavement. There is a volume of pathos and
affection in her words, "They have taken away my Lord."
Turning from the vault, which, though at that moment illumined by
angelic presence, was to her void and desolate, she became aware of
another Personage, standing near. She heard His sympathizing inquiry:
"Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?" Scarcely lifting her
tearful countenance to look at the Questioner, but vaguely supposing
that He was the caretaker of the garden, and that He might have
knowledge of what had been done with the body of her Lord, she
exclaimed: "Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast
laid him, and I will take him away." She knew that Jesus had been
interred in a borrowed tomb; and if the body had been dispossessed of
that resting place, she was prepared to provide another. "Tell me where
thou hast laid him," she pleaded.
It was Jesus to whom she spake, her beloved Lord, though she knew it
not. One word from His living lips changed her agonized grief into
ecstatic joy. "Jesus saith unto her, Mary." The voice, the tone, the
tender accent she had heard and loved in the earlier days lifted her
from the despairing depths into which she had sunk. She turned, and saw
the Lord. In a transport of joy she reached out her arms to embrace Him,
uttering only the endearing and worshipful word, "Rabboni," meaning My
beloved Master. Jesus, restrained her impulsive manifestation of
reverent love, saying, "Touch me not[1358] for I am not yet ascended to
my Father," and adding, "but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I
ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your
God."[1359]
To a woman, to Mary of Magdala, was given the honor of being the first
among mortals to behold a resurrected Soul, and that Soul, the Lord
Jesus.[1360] To other favored women did the risen Lord next manifest
Himself, including Mary the mother of Joses, Joanna, and Salome the
mother of the apostles James and John. These and the other women with
them had been affrighted by the presence of the angel at the tomb, and
had departed with mingled fear and joy. They were not present when Peter
and John entered the vault, nor afterward when the Lord made Himself
known to Mary Magdalene. They may have returned later, for some of them
appear to have entered the sepulchre, and to have seen that the Lord's
body was not there. As they stood wondering in perplexity and
astonishment, they became aware of the presence of two men in shining
garments, and as the women "bowed down their faces to the earth" the
angels said unto them: "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not
here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in
Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of
sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they
remembered his words."[1361] As they were returning to the city to
deliver the message to the disciples, "Jesus met them, saying, All hail.
And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said
Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into
Galilee, and there shall they see me."[1362]
One may wonder why Jesus had forbidden Mary Magdalene to touch Him, and
then, so soon after, had permitted other women to hold Him by the feet
as they bowed in reverence. We may assume that Mary's emotional approach
had been prompted more by a feeling of personal yet holy affection than
by an impulse of devotional worship such as the other women evinced.
Though the resurrected Christ manifested the same friendly and intimate
regard as He had shown in the mortal state toward those with whom He had
been closely associated, He was no longer one of them in the literal
sense. There was about Him a divine dignity that forbade close personal
familiarity. To Mary Magdalene Christ had said: "Touch me not; for I am
not yet ascended to my Father." If the second clause was spoken in
explanation of the first, we have to infer that no human hand was to be
permitted to touch the Lord's resurrected and immortalized body until
after He had presented Himself to the Father. It appears reasonable and
probable that between Mary's impulsive attempt to touch the Lord, and
the action of the other women who held Him by the feet as they bowed in
worshipful reverence, Christ did ascend to the Father, and that later He
returned to earth to continue His ministry in the resurrected state.
Mary Magdalene and the other women told the wonderful story of their
several experiences to the disciples, but the brethren could not credit
their words, which "seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them
not."[1363] After all that Christ had taught concerning His rising from
the dead on that third day,[1364] the apostles were unable to accept the
actuality of the occurrence; to their minds the resurrection was some
mysterious and remote event, not a present possibility. There was
neither precedent nor analogy for the stories these women told--of a
dead person returning to life, with a body of flesh and bones, such as
could be seen and felt--except the instances of the young man of Nain,
the daughter of Jairus, and the beloved Lazarus of Bethany, between
whose cases of restoration to a renewal of mortal life and the reported
resurrection of Jesus they recognized essential differences. The grief
and the sense of irreparable loss which had characterized the yesterday
Sabbath, were replaced by profound perplexity and contending doubts on
this first day of the week. But while the apostles hesitated to believe
that Christ had actually risen, the women, less skeptical, more
trustful, knew, for they had both seen Him and heard His voice, and some
of them had touched His feet.
A PRIESTLY CONSPIRACY OF FALSEHOOD.[1365]
When the Roman guardsmen had sufficiently recovered from fright to make
their precipitate departure from the sepulchre, they went to the chief
priests, under whose orders they had been placed by Pilate,[1366] and
reported the supernatural occurrences they had witnessed. The chief
priests were Sadducees, of which sect or party a distinguishing feature
was the denial of the possibility of resurrection from the dead. A
session of the Sanhedrin was called, and the disturbing report of the
guard was considered. In the spirit in which these deceiving hierarchs
had tried to kill Lazarus for the purpose of quelling popular interest
in the miracle of his restoration to life, they now conspired to
discredit the truth of Christ's resurrection by bribing the soldiers to
lie. These were told to say "His disciples came by night, and stole him
away while we slept"; and for the falsehood they were offered large sums
of money. The soldiers accepted the tempting bribe, and did as they were
instructed; for this course appeared to them the best way out of a
critical situation. If they were found guilty of sleeping at their
posts, immediate death would be their doom;[1367] but the Jews
encouraged them by the promise: "If this come to the governor's ears, we
will persuade him and secure you." It must be remembered that the
soldiers had been put at the disposal of the chief priests, and
presumably therefore were not required to report the details of their
doings to the Roman authorities.
The recorder adds that until the day of his writing, the falsehood of
Christ's body having been stolen from the tomb by the disciples was
current among the Jews. The utter untenability of the false report is
apparent. If all the soldiers were asleep--a most unlikely occurrence
inasmuch as such neglect was a capital offense--how could they possibly
know that any one had approached the tomb? And, more particularly, how
could they substantiate their statement even if it were true, that the
body was stolen and that the disciples were the grave-robbers?[1368] The
mendacious fiction was framed by the chief priests and elders of the
people. Not all the priestly circle were parties to it however. Some,
who perhaps had been among the secret disciples of Jesus before His
death, were not afraid to openly ally themselves with the Church, when,
through the evidence of the Lord's resurrection, they had become
thoroughly converted. We read that but a few months later "a great
company of the priests were obedient to the faith."[1369]
CHRIST WALKS AND TALKS WITH TWO OF THE DISCIPLES.[1370]
During the afternoon of that same Sunday, two disciples, not of the
apostles, left the little band of believers in Jerusalem and set out for
Emmaus, a village between seven and eight miles from the city. There
could be but one topic of conversation between them, and on this they
communed as they walked, citing incidents in the Lord's life, dwelling
particularly upon the fact of His death through which their hopes of a
Messianic reign had been so sadly blighted, and marveling deeply over
the incomprehensible testimony of the women concerning His reappearance
as a living Soul. As they went, engrossed in sorrowful and profound
discourse, another Wayfarer joined them; it was the Lord Jesus, "but
their eyes were holden that they should not know him." In courteous
interest, He asked: "What manner of communications are these that ye
have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?" One of the disciples,
Cleopas by name, replied with surprize tinged with commiseration for the
Stranger's seeming ignorance: "Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem,
and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these
days?" Intent on drawing from the men a full statement of the matter by
which they were so plainly agitated, the unrecognized Christ asked,
"What things?" They could not be reticent. "Concerning Jesus of
Nazareth" they explained, "which was a prophet mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people: and how the chief priests and our rulers
delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him." In
sorrowful mood they went on to tell how they had trusted that the now
crucified Jesus would have proved to be the Messiah sent to redeem
Israel; but alas! this was the third day since He had been slain. Then,
with brightening countenances, yet still perplexed, they told of certain
women of their company who had astonished them that morning by saying
that they had visited the sepulchre early and had discovered that the
Lord's body was not there, but, "that they had also seen a vision of
angels, which said that he was alive." Moreover, others beside the women
had gone to the tomb, and had verified the absence of the body but had
not seen the Lord.
Then Jesus, gently chiding His fellow travelers as foolish men and slow
of heart in their hesitating acceptance of what the prophets had spoken,
asked impressively, "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and
to enter into his glory?" Beginning with the inspired predictions of
Moses, He expounded to them the scriptures, touching upon all the
prophetic utterances concerning the Savior's mission. Having continued
with the two men to their destination Jesus "made as though he would
have gone further," but they urged Him to tarry with them, for the day
was already far spent. He so far acceded to their hospitable entreaty as
to enter the house, and, as soon as their simple meal was prepared, to
seat Himself with them at the table. As the Guest of honor, He took the
loaf, "blessed it and brake, and gave to them." There may have been
something in the fervency of the blessing, or in the manner of breaking
and distributing the bread, that revived memories of former days; or,
possibly, they caught sight of the pierced hands; but, whatever the
immediate cause, they looked intently upon their Guest, "and their eyes
were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight." In
a fulness of joyful wonderment they rose from the table, surprized at
themselves for not having recognized Him sooner. One said to the other,
"Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way,
and while he opened to us the scriptures?" Straightway they started to
retrace their steps and hastened back to Jerusalem to confirm by their
witness what, before, the brethren had been slow to believe.
RISEN LORD APPEARS TO THE DISCIPLES IN JERUSALEM AND EATS IN THEIR
PRESENCE.[1371]
When Cleopas and his companion reached Jerusalem that night, they found
the apostles and other devoted believers assembled in solemn and
worshipful discourse within closed doors. Precautions of secrecy had
been taken "for fear of the Jews." Even the apostles had been scattered
by the arrest, arraignment, and judicial murder of their Master; but
they and the disciples in general rallied anew at the word of His
resurrection, as the nucleus of an army soon to sweep the world. The two
returning disciples were received with the joyous announcement, "The
Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon." This is the sole
mention made by the Gospel-writers of Christ's personal appearance to
Simon Peter on that day. The interview between the Lord and His once
recreant but now repentant apostle must have been affecting in the
extreme. Peter's remorseful penitence over his denial of Christ in the
palace of the high priest was deep and pitiful; he may have doubted that
ever again would the Master call him His servant; but hope must have
been engendered through the message from the tomb brought by the women,
in which the Lord sent greetings to the apostles, whom for the first
time He designated as His brethren,[1372] and from this honorable and
affectionate characterization Peter had not been excluded; moreover, the
angel's commission to the women had given prominence to Peter by
particular mention.[1373] To the repentant Peter came the Lord,
doubtless with forgiveness and loving assurance. The apostle himself
maintains a reverent silence respecting the visitation, but the fact
thereof is attested by Paul as one of the definite proofs of the Lord's
resurrection.[1374]
Following the jubilant testimony of the assembled believers, Cleopas and
his fellow traveler told of the Lord's companionship with them on the
Emmaus road, of the things He had taught them, and of the manner in
which He had become known unto them in the breaking of bread. As the
little company communed together, "Jesus himself stood in the midst of
them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you." They were affrighted,
supposing with superstitious dread that a ghost had intruded amongst
them. But the Lord comforted them, saying "Why are ye troubled? and why
do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it
is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones,
as ye see me have." Then He showed them the wounds in His hands and feet
and side. "They yet believed not for joy," which is to say, they thought
the reality, to which they all were witnesses, too good, too glorious,
to be true. To further assure them that He was no shadowy form, no
immaterial being of tenuous substance, but a living Personage with
bodily organs internal as well as outward, He asked "Have ye here any
meat?" They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and other food,[1375]
which He took "and did eat before them."
These unquestionable evidences of their Visitant's corporeity calmed and
made rational the minds of the disciples; and now that they were
composed and receptive the Lord reminded them that all things that had
happened to Him were in accordance with what He had told them while He
had lived amongst them. In His divine presence their understanding was
quickened and enlarged so that they comprehended as never before the
scriptures--the Law of Moses, the books of the prophets and the
psalms--concerning Him. That His now accomplished death was a necessity,
He attested as fully as He had predicted and affirmed the same
aforetime. Then He said unto them: "Thus it is written, and thus it
behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and
that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name
among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these
things." Then were the disciples glad. As He was about to depart the
Lord gave them His blessing, saying "Peace be unto you: as my Father
hath sent me, even so send I you." This specification of men sent by
authority points directly to the apostles; "And when he had said this,
he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose
soever sins ye retain, they are retained,"[1376]
DOUBTING THOMAS.[1377]
When the Lord Jesus appeared in the midst of the disciples on the
evening of the Resurrection Sunday, one of the apostles, Thomas, was
absent. He was informed of what the others had witnessed, but was
unconvinced; even their solemn testimony, "We have seen the Lord,"
failed to awaken an echo of faith in his heart. In his state of mental
skepticism he exclaimed: "Except I shall see in his hands the print of
the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my
hand into his side, I will not believe." Caution and charity must attend
our judgment in any conclusion as to the incredulous attitude of this
man. He could scarcely have doubted the well attested circumstance of
the empty sepulchre, nor the veracity of Mary Magdalene and the other
women as to the presence of angels and the Lord's appearing, nor Peter's
testimony nor that of the assembled company; but he may have regarded
the reported manifestations as a series of subjective visions; and the
absence of the Lord's body may have been vaguely considered as a result
of Christ's supernatural restoration to life followed by a bodily and
final departure from earth. It was the corporeal manifestation of the
risen Lord, the exhibition of the wounds incident to crucifixion, the
invitation to touch and feel the resurrected body of flesh and bones, to
which Thomas demurred. He had no such definite conception of the
resurrection as would accord with a literal acceptance of the testimony
of his brethren and sisters who had seen, heard, and felt.
A week later, for so the Jewish designation, "after eight days," is to
be understood, therefore on the next Sunday, which day of the week
afterward came to be known to the Church as the "Lord's Day" and to be
observed as the Sabbath in place of Saturday, the Mosaic Sabbath,[1378]
the disciples were again assembled, and Thomas was with them. The
meeting was held within closed and, presumably, guarded doors, for there
was danger of interference by the Jewish officers. "Then came Jesus, the
doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands;
and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not
faithless, but believing."
The skeptical mind of Thomas was instantly cleansed, his doubting heart
was purified; and a conviction of the glorious truth flooded his soul.
In contrite reverence he bowed before his Savior, the while exclaiming
in worshipful acknowledgment of Christ's Deity: "My Lord and my God."
His adoration was accepted, and the Savior said: "Thomas, because thou
hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen,
and yet have believed."
AT THE SEA OF GALILEE.[1379]
The angel at the sepulchre and the risen Christ Himself had severally
sent word to the apostles to go into Galilee, where the Lord would meet
them as He had said before His death.[1380] They deferred their
departure until after the week following the resurrection, and then once
again in their native province, they awaited further developments. In
the afternoon of one of those days of waiting, Peter said to six of his
fellow apostles, "I go a fishing"; and the others replied, "We also go
with thee." Without delay they embarked on a fishing boat; and though
they toiled through the night, the net had been drawn in empty after
every cast. As morning approached they drew near the land, disappointed
and disheartened. In the early dawn they were hailed from the shore by
One who asked: "Children, have ye any meat?"[1381] They answered "No."
It was Jesus who made the inquiry, though none in the boat recognized
Him. He called to them again, saying: "Cast the net on the right side of
the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not
able to draw it for the multitude of fishes." They did as directed and
the result was so surprizing as to appear to them miraculous; it must
have aroused memories of that other remarkable draught of fishes, in the
taking of which their fishermen's skill had been superseded; and at
least three witnesses of the earlier miracle were now in the boat.[1382]
John, quick to discern, said to Peter, "It is the Lord"; and Peter,
impulsive as ever, hastily girt his fisher's coat about him and sprang
into the sea, the sooner to reach land and prostrate himself at his
Master's feet. The others left the vessel and entered a small boat in
which they rowed to shore, towing the heavily laden net. On the land
they saw a fire of coals, with fish broiling thereon, and alongside a
supply of bread. Jesus told them to bring of the fish they had just
caught, to which instruction the stalwart Peter responded by dashing
into the shallows and dragging the net to shore. When counted, the haul
was found to consist of a hundred and fifty-three great fishes; and the
narrator is careful to note that "for all there were so many, yet was
not the net broken."
Then Jesus said "Come and dine"; and as the Host at the meal, He divided
and distributed the bread and fish. We are not told that He ate with His
guests. Everyone knew that it was the Lord who so hospitably served; yet
on this, as on all other occasions of His appearing in the resurrected
state, there was about Him an awe-inspiring and restraining demeanor.
They would have liked to question Him, but durst not. John tells us that
this was the "third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples,
after that he was risen from the dead"; by which we understand the
occasion to have been the third on which Christ had manifested Himself
to the apostles, in complete or partial assembly; for, including also
the appearing to Mary Magdalene, to the other women, to Peter, and to
the two disciples on the country road, this was the seventh recorded
appearance of the risen Lord.
When the meal was finished, "Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of
Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?" The question, however tenderly
put, must have wrung Peter's heart, coupled as it was with the reminder
of his bold but undependable protestation, "Though all men shall be
offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended",[1383] followed
by his denial that he had ever known the Man.[1384] To the Lord's
inquiry Peter answered humbly, "Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love
thee." Then said Jesus, "Feed my lambs." The question was repeated; and
Peter replied in identical words, to which the Lord responded, "Feed my
sheep." And yet the third time Jesus asked, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me?" Peter was pained and grieved at this reiteration, thinking
perhaps that the Lord mistrusted him; but as the man had three times
denied, so now was he given opportunity for a triple confession. To the
thrice repeated question, Peter answered: "Lord, thou knowest all
things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him. Feed my
sheep."
The commission "Feed my sheep" was an assurance of the Lord's
confidence, and of the reality of Peter's presidency among the apostles.
He had emphatically announced his readiness to follow his Master even to
prison and death. Now, the Lord who had died said unto him: "Verily,
verily; I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and
walkedst whither thou wouldst: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt
stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee
whither thou wouldst not." John informs us that the Lord so spake
signifying the death by which Peter should find a place among the
martyrs; the analogy points to crucifixion, and traditional history is
without contradiction as to this being the death by which Peter sealed
his testimony of the Christ.
Then said the Lord to Peter, "Follow me." The command had both immediate
and future significance. The man followed as Jesus drew apart from the
others on the shore; yet a few years and Peter would follow his Lord to
the cross. Without doubt Peter comprehended the reference to his
martyrdom, as his writings, years later, indicate.[1385] As Christ and
Peter walked together, the latter, looking backward, saw that John was
following, and inquired: "Lord, and what shall this man do?" Peter
wished to peer into the future as to his companion's fate--was John also
to die for the faith? The Lord replied: "If I will that he tarry till I
come, what is that to thee? follow thou me." It was an admonition to
Peter to look to his own course of duty, and to follow the Master,
wherever the road should lead.
Concerning himself, John adds: "Then went this saying abroad among the
brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto
him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is
that to thee?" That John still lives in the embodied state, and shall
remain in the flesh until the Lord's yet future advent, is attested by
later revelation.[1386] In company with his martyred and resurrected
companions, Peter and James, the "disciple whom Jesus loved" has
officiated in the restoration of the Holy Apostleship in this the
dispensation of the fulness of times.
OTHER MANIFESTATIONS OF THE RISEN LORD IN GALILEE.[1387]
Jesus had designated a mountain in Galilee whereon He would meet the
apostles; and thither the Eleven went. When they saw Him at the
appointed place, they worshiped Him. The record adds "but some doubted,"
by which may be implied that others beside the apostles were present,
among whom were some who were unconvinced of the actual corporeity of
the resurrected Christ. This occasion may have been that of which Paul
wrote a quarter of a century later, concerning which he affirms that
Christ "was seen of above five hundred brethren at once," of whom,
though some had died, the majority remained at the time of Paul's
writing, living witnesses to his testimony.[1388]
To those assembled on the mount Jesus declared: "All power is given unto
me in heaven and in earth." This could be understood as nothing less
than an affirmation of His absolute Godship. His authority was supreme,
and those who were commissioned of Him were to minister in His name, and
by a power such as no man could give or take away.
FINAL COMMISSION AND THE ASCENSION.
Throughout the forty days following His resurrection, the Lord
manifested Himself at intervals to the apostles, to some individually
and to all as a body,[1389] and instructed them in "the things
pertaining to the kingdom of God."[1390] The record is not always
specific and definite as to time and place of particular events; but as
to the purport of the Lord's instructions during this period there
exists no cause for doubt. Much that He said and did is not
written,[1391] but such things as are of record, John assures his
readers, "are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his
name."[1392]
As the time of His ascension drew nigh, the Lord said unto the eleven
apostles: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that
believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with
new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly
thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and
they shall recover."[1393] In contrast with their earlier commission,
under which they were sent only "to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel,"[1394] they were now to go to Jew and Gentile, bond and free, to
mankind at large, of whatever nation, country, or tongue. Salvation,
through faith in Jesus the Christ, followed by repentance and baptism,
was to be freely offered to all; the rejection of the offer thenceforth
would bring condemnation. Signs and miracles were promised to "follow
them that believe," thus confirming their faith in the power divine; but
no intimation was given that such manifestations were to precede belief,
as baits to catch the credulous wonder-seeker.
Assuring the apostles anew that the promise of the Father would be
realized in the coming of the Holy Ghost, the Lord instructed them to
remain in Jerusalem, whither they had now returned from Galilee, until
they would be "endued with power from on high";[1395] and He added: "For
John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy
Ghost not many days hence."[1396]
In that last solemn interview, probably as the risen Savior led the
mortal Eleven away from the city toward the old familiar resort on the
Mount of Olives, the brethren, still imbued with their conception of the
kingdom of God as an earthly establishment of power and dominion, asked
of Him, "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to
Israel?" Jesus answered, "It is not for you to know the times or the
seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall
receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall
be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."[1397] Their duty was
thus defined and emphasized: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world. Amen."[1398]
When Christ and the disciples had gone "as far as to Bethany," the Lord
lifted up His hands, and blessed them; and while yet He spake, He rose
from their midst, and they looked upon Him as He ascended until a cloud
received Him out of their sight. While the apostles stood gazing
steadfastly upward, two personages, clothed in white apparel, appeared
by them; these spake unto the Eleven, saying: "Ye men of Galilee, why
stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from
you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go
into heaven."[1399]
Worshipfully and with great joy the apostles returned to Jerusalem,
there to await the coming of the Comforter. The Lord's ascension was
accomplished; it was as truly a literal departure of a material Being as
His resurrection had been an actual return of His spirit to His own
corporeal body, theretofore dead. With the world abode and yet abides
the glorious promise, that Jesus the Christ, the same Being who ascended
from Olivet in His immortalized body of flesh and bones, shall return,
descending from the heavens, in similarly material form and substance.
NOTES TO CHAPTER 37.
1. Precise Time and Manner of Christ's Emergence from the Tomb Not
Known.--Our Lord definitely predicted His resurrection from the dead on
the third day, (Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; Mark 9:31; 10:34; Luke 9:22;
13:32; 18:33), and the angels at the tomb (Luke 24:7), and the risen
Lord in Person (Luke 24:46) verified the fulfilment of the prophecies;
and apostles so testified in later years (Acts 10:40; 1 Cor. 15:4). This
specification of the third day must not be understood as meaning after
three full days. The Jews began their counting of the daily hours with
sunset; therefore the hour before sunset and the hour following belonged
to different days. Jesus died and was interred during Friday afternoon.
His body lay in the tomb, dead, during part of Friday (first day),
throughout Saturday, or as we divide the days, from sunset Friday to
sunset Saturday, (second day), and part of Sunday (third day). We know
not at what hour between Saturday sunset and Sunday dawn He rose.
The fact that an earthquake occurred, and that the angel of the Lord
descended and rolled the stone from the portal of the tomb in the early
dawn of Sunday--for so we infer from Matt. 28:1, 2--does not prove that
Christ had not already risen. The great stone was rolled back and the
inside of the sepulchre exposed to view, so that those who came could
see for themselves that the Lord's body was no longer there; it was not
necessary to open the portal in order to afford an exit to the
resurrected Christ. In His immortalized state He appeared in and
disappeared from closed rooms. A resurrected body, though of tangible
substance, and possessing all the organs of the mortal tabernacle, is
not bound to earth by gravitation, nor can it be hindered in its
movements by material barriers. To us who conceive of motion only in the
directions incident to the three dimensions of space, the passing of a
solid, such as a living body of flesh and bones, through stone walls, is
necessarily incomprehensible. But that resurrected beings move in
accordance with laws making such passage possible and to them natural,
is evidenced not only by the instance of the risen Christ, but by the
movements of other resurrected personages. Thus, in September, 1823,
Moroni, the Nephite prophet who had died about 400 A.D., appeared to
Joseph Smith in his chamber, three times during one night, coming and
going without hindrance incident to walls or roof, (see P. of G.P.,
Joseph Smith 2:43; also _The Articles of Faith_, i:15-17). That Moroni
was a resurrected man is shown by his corporeity manifested in his
handling of the metallic plates on which was inscribed the record known
to us as the Book of Mormon. So also resurrected beings possess the
power of rendering themselves visible or invisible to the physical
vision of mortals.
2. Attempts to Discredit the Resurrection Through Falsehood.--The
inconsistent assertion that Christ had not risen but that His body had
been stolen from the tomb by the disciples, has been sufficiently
treated in the text. The falsehood is its own refutation. Unbelievers of
later date, recognizing the palpable absurdity of this gross attempt at
misrepresentation, have not hesitated to suggest other hypotheses, each
of which is conclusively untenable. Thus, the theory based upon the
impossible assumption that Christ was not dead when taken from the
cross, but was in a state of coma or swoon, and that He was afterward
resuscitated, disproves itself when considered in connection with
recorded facts. The spear-thrust of the Roman soldier would have been
fatal, even if death had not already occurred. The body was taken down,
handled, wrapped and buried by members of the Jewish council, who cannot
be thought of as actors in the burial of a living man; and so far as
subsequent resuscitation is concerned, Edersheim (vol. 2, p. 626)
trenchantly remarks: "Not to speak of the many absurdities which this
theory involves, it really shifts--if we acquit the disciples of
complicity--the fraud upon Christ Himself." A crucified person, removed
from the cross before death and subsequently revived, could not have
walked with pierced and mangled feet on the very day of his
resuscitation, as Jesus did on the road to Emmaus. Another theory that
has had its day is that of unconscious deception on the part of those
who claimed to have seen the resurrected Christ, such persons having
been victims of subjective but unreal visions conjured up by their own
excited and imaginative condition. The independence and marked
individuality of the several recorded appearings of the Lord disprove
the vision theory. Such subjective visual illusions as are predicated by
this hypothesis, presuppose a state of expectancy on the part of those
who think they see; but all the incidents connected with the
manifestations of Jesus after His resurrection were directly opposed to
the expectations of those who were made witnesses of His resurrected
state.
The foregoing instances of false and untenable theories regarding the
resurrection of our Lord are cited as examples of the numerous abortive
attempts to explain away the greatest miracle and the most glorious fact
of history. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is attested by evidence
more conclusive than that upon which rests our acceptance of historical
events in general. Yet the testimony of our Lord's rising from the dead
is not founded on written pages. To him who seeks in faith and sincerity
shall be given an individual conviction which shall enable him to
reverently confess as exclaimed the enlightened apostle of old: "Thou
art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus, who is God the Son,
is not dead. "I know that my Redeemer liveth." (Job 19:25.)
3. Recorded Appearances of Christ Between Resurrection and Ascension.--
1. To Mary Magdalene, near the sepulchre (Mark 16:9, 10; John 20:14).
2. To other women, somewhere between the sepulchre and Jerusalem (Matt.
28:9).
3. To two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Mark 16:12; Luke 24:13).
4. To Peter, in or near Jerusalem (Luke 24:34; 1 Cor. 15:5).
5. To ten of the apostles and others at Jerusalem (Luke 24:36; John
20:19).
6. To the eleven apostles at Jerusalem (Mark 16:14; John 20:26).
7. To the apostles at the Sea of Tiberias, Galilee, (John 21).
8. To the eleven apostles on a mountain in Galilee (Matt. 28:16).
9. To five hundred brethren at once (1 Cor. 15:6); locality not
specified, but probably in Galilee.
10. To James (1 Cor. 15:7). Note that no record of this manifestation is
made by the Gospel-writers.
11. To the eleven apostles at the time of the ascension, Mount of
Olives, near Bethany (Mark 16:19; Luke 24:50, 51).
The Lord's manifestations of Himself to men subsequent to the ascension
will be considered later.
FOOTNOTES:
[1355] Matt. 28:1-4, see also verse 11.
[1356] Matt. 28:5-7; compare Mark 16:1-7; Luke 24:1-8; John 20:1-2.
[1357] John 20:1-10.
[1358] Revised version, "Take not hold on me" (margin).
[1359] John 20:11-17.
[1360] Mark 16:9.
[1361] Luke 24:3-8.
[1362] Matt. 28:9, 10.
[1363] Luke 24:9-11; compare Mark 16:9-13.
[1364] Note 1, end of chapter.
[1365] Matt. 28:11-15.
[1366] Matt. 27:65, 66; page 665 herein.
[1367] Compare Acts 12:19.
[1368] Note 2, end of chapter.
[1369] Acts 6:7; compare John 12:42.
[1370] Luke 24:13-32; compare Mark 16:12.
[1371] Luke 24:33-48; John 20:19-23.
[1372] Matt. 28:10; John 20:17.
[1373] Mark 16:7.
[1374] 1 Cor. 15:5.
[1375] The words "and of an honeycomb" (Luke 24:42) are omitted from the
revised version, and by many authorities are declared to be a spurious
addition to the original text.
[1376] John 20:21-23.
[1377] John 20:24-29; compare Mark 16:14.
[1378] Rev. 1:10; compare Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2.
[1379] John 21:1-23.
[1380] Matt 28:10; Mark 16:7; compare Matt. 26:32, Mark 14:28.
[1381] The noun of address, "Children" is equivalent to our modern use
of "Sirs," "Men" or "Lads." It was quite in harmony with the vernacular.
[1382] Luke 5:4-10; also page 198 herein.
[1383] Matt. 26:33; Mark 14:29; compare Luke 22:33; John 13:37; p. 600
herein.
[1384] Matt. 26:70, 72, 74; also page 629 herein.
[1385] Peter 1:14.
[1386] Doc. and Cov. Sec. 7; compare B. of M., 3 Nephi 28:1-12.
[1387] Matt. 28:16-18.
[1388] 1 Cor. 15:6.
[1389] Note 3, end of chapter.
[1390] Acts 1:3.
[1391] John 20:30; compare 21:25 remembering that the latter passage may
have reference to occurrences both before and after the Lord's death.
[1392] John 20:31.
[1393] Mark 16:15-18.
[1394] Matt. 10:5, 6.
[1395] "Clothed with power from on high" according to revised version,
Luke 24:49.
[1396] Acts 1:5; see also Luke 24:49; and compare John 14:16, 17, 26;
15:26; 16:7, 13.
[1397] Acts 1:7, 8; compare Matt. 24:36; Mark 13:32.
[1398] Matt. 28:19, 20.
[1399] Acts 1:9-11; see also Luke 24:50, 51.