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come them all. They needed the message “quickly” to lift them out of despair. H e goeth b efo re you into Galilee. This, too, was according to His promise (cf. 26:32 ). The risen Shepherd was leading His flock (cf. John 10:4). There shall ye see him. They saw Him elsewhere both before and after the occasion here referred to. The point seems to be that a special and great meeting was to be held on a certain moun tain in Galilee, where they would receive their final marching orders and instruc tions. V. 8. They departed quickly. Prompt obedience was soon rewarded (verse 7 ). With fe a r and great joy. Their fear, awakened by the earthquake or by the appearance of the angel, or both, had not wholly left them. Mark (16:8, R. V .) says “trembling and astonishment” had come upon them. To bring his disciples word. Mary Magdalene found Peter and John (John 20 :2 ). The rest of the dis ciples were evidently not with these two. Possibly they had retired to Bethany. III. Jesu s and the Women (9-10). V. 9. Jesu s met them. Such a sudden meeting was calculated to increase both their fear and their joy. Recognizing Him, they cast themselves down, taking hold of His feet and worshiping Him. V. 10. F ea r not. The message of the Resurrection always removes fear and gloom. Go tell my brethren. I f we think of the character of these men, and of their cowardly desertion of the Master shortly before, we may wonder that He calls them “my brethren.” Such a mes sage from Him would humiliate them and yet encourage them to believe that they still had a place in His heart. Depart into Galilee. Jesus confirmed the message of the angel concerning the appointed meeting-place. IV. The Great Commission (16-20). V. 16. Unto the mountain. The time of this meeting is not indicated by Matthew. By comparison with John (20:26) it is clear that it was at least more than a week after the Resurrection. It is usually taken for granted that the Great Commis sion was given shortly before the Ascen sion. The place of meeting is likewise un certain. It was perhaps a mountain where Jesus had gone frequently with His disciples. V. 17. They worshipped him. The word “worship” sometimes has the limited meaning of homage, as to a king (cf. 2: 2; 9:18 ; e tc.); but in this case it is quite certain that there was recognition that He was the Son of God. Thomas had already expressed himself on this point; and if he, the doubter, was convinced, doubtless the other disciples were also (cf. John 20:28). But som e doubted. The subject of their doubt must have been whether this was really their Lord come to life. Matthew’s account suggests that the doubters were among the Eleven, which perhaps is possible (cf. Lk. 24:41, R. V .). It indicates that the Apostles were slow to accept the fact o f the Resurrection and were convinced only after they had abundant and satisfactory evidence. This makes their testimony the more'valuable to us. V. 18. A ll authority. Authority im plies necessarily the possession of power to enforce its demands. The Lord Jésus claimed supreme dominion. Believing that, His ambassadors were sure of His protection, and had courage to face a hos tile world. In heaven. This expression
other Gospels seem to indicate that the women came to the tomb about sunrise on
cious, priceless salvation which He pur chased at such cost for all who will come to Him. He is grieved when a soul re fuses the Gift so freely offered. Shall we thank Him anew? As His wounded hand is held out to us, shall we put our own into it, and follow Him ? He will “set the joy-bells ringing” in our hearts! P rayer. , .June 22, 1930 re s o r r £ c -V\oivi The Risen Lord and the Great Commission Lesson : Matthew 28:1-20. (Lesson T e x t : Matthew 28:1-10, 16- 20.) Golden T e x t: “Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations” (Matt. 28:19). * * * L esson in O utlin e I. The Women at the Tomb (1-4). 1. The ministry of love (cf. Lk. 24: 1). 2. The earthquakes. 3. The angel’s ministry. 4. The fear of unbelievers. II. The M essage o f the Angel (5-8). 1. Fear not. 2. He is risen. (Note three great words—“come,” “go,” “tell.”) 3. He goeth before you into Galilee. III. JeSus and the Women (9-10). 1. They worshiped. 2. They rejoiced. 3. They went on His errand. IV . The Great Commission (16-20). (Note four great “alls”—all author ity, all nations, all the teaching, all the days.) * * * A pproach to t h e L esson 'T 'H E R E are a number of apparent dis crepancies in the accounts of the res urrection of Christ given in the four Gos pels and in First Corinthians 15 :l-8. The narratives are, however, in substantial agreement, the differences of detail being only such as would show each story to be independent. The variations really give added proof of the credibility of the wit nesses. In none of the records is there the slightest hint that there was any doubt of our Lord’s resurrection. In Matthew’s account there are certain details peculiar to his Gospel which fall within the design of his writing to prove that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the King of Israel. Notably is this true concerning the record of the final interview with the disciples when He uttered the words which we call the Great Commission. * * * H eart of t h e L esson I. The Women at the Tomb (1-4). V. 1. L ate on the sabbath day. This ex pression is not easily interpreted. The
the first day of the week. Perhaps the apparent d i s c r e p ancy can best be re moved by supposing t h a t Matthew de parts from the’Jew ish usage and rec kons the night fol
lowing the Sabbath as part of the Sab-, bath. Came Mary Magdalene. John (20: 1-18) gives a more complete story, which reveals that the woman who loved much received the first vision of the risen Lord. The other Mary. The mother of James the less and of Joses (cf. 27:56; Mk. 15:40). To see the sepulchre. The verb means to behold, or to view, as one views a spectacle (cf. 27:55). Mark (16: 1) adds the information that they came to “anoint” Him. Luke (24:1) states that they brought spices. Mark (16:3, R. V .) adds, also, that they were, concerned about who should roll away the stone from the door of the sepulcher. V. 2. A great earthquake. Evidently this was supernatural (cf. 27:51). An angel o f the Lord. Both the Hebrew and Greek words translated “angel” in the Scriptures, signify “messenger.” R olled away the stone. It was “a great stone” (27:60; cf. Mk. 16:4, R. V .). V. 3. Raim ent white as snow. This de scription of the angel recalls the Trans figuration (17:2). V. 4. Watchers did quake. The Greek root of the word translated “quake” is the same as in the word rendered “earth quake.” It indicates great disturbance of mind. The guard became as helpless as dead men. II. The M essage o f the Angel (5-8). V. 5. The angel answered. Here again there seems to be discrepancy between the Evangelists. Matthew speaks of one an gel; Luke says “two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.” There are other in stances in the Gospels where one person is mentioned in one narrative and two persons in another narrative of the same incident. F ea r not ye. The emphasis is on the pronoun. The Roman guard had good reason to be afraid (v. 4 ), but the faithful women had a right to rejoice. F o r I know. He understands the reason for their astonishment and has the rem edy. Y e seek Jesus. The angel recog nizes them as disciples of Him who had been crucified. Literally the expression may read, “Ye seek Jesus the crucified.” V. 6. H e is not here. They went to seek the body of a friend who had died. They found instead a Saviour who was risen. E ven as he said. During the last six months of His life He repeatedly fore told His death and resurrection. Why had they not believed it? Come, see the place. John (2 0 :5-7) minutely describes the appearance of the tomb as he and Peter saw it a little later. The position of the linen cloths and the napkin were to him proof that the dead body had not been removed by robbers or by friends. He believed that Christ was risen (John 20 : 8 ). V. 7. Go quickly. The good news should be told. Their joy would increase as they shared it with others. T ell his dis ciples. He had given repeated promises to His disciples that He would rise from the dead, but fear and unbelief had over
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