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was clear enough to change the notion of the disciples that He was to be a temporal ruler. H ath been given. The verb im plies also that it is still possessed. Jesus did not tell when this authority was given. He will retain this mediatorial position until all opposition is overcome;-then He will deliver up the Kingdom to the Father (cf. 1 Cor. 15:24-28). V. 19. Go ye therefore. These are the marching orders of the disciples, still binding upon every Christian. The word “therefore” links up with the preceding statement about His universal divine au thority. M ake disciples. That is, bring men to Christ in the relation of pupils to teacher, submitting to His yoke (cf. Matt. 11:28-30). A ll the nations. Luke (24:47) adds “beginning at Jerusalem.” The idea that a universal sway of Christ was pos sible would never have entered the minds of these disciples had they not accepted as fact our Lord’s statement that He had all authority. Baptizing them. There is a threefold idea in Christian baptism: (1) purification (cf. Acts 22:16, R. V .), (2) a symbolic representation of the spiritual death and resurrection of the believer in union with Christ (cf. Rom. 6:3, 4 ; Gal. 3 :27 ), (3) a public pledge of devotion to Christ. V. 20. Teaching them. The taking of the yoke of discipleship and the pledging of obedience in baptism are but the be ginning of a lifelong observance of all His commandments. V. 21. L o , I am with you. His unfail ing and sustaining grace is assured. A ll the days. Days of strength and weakness, joy and sorrow, until the day of death or translation. The end o f the world. Lit erally, the consummation of the age— looking toward His second coming. ♦ * * L esson Q uestions V. 1. At what time of day. did the women go to the sepulcher (cf. Mark 16:2) ? Who was Mary Magdalene? Who was the other Mary? For what purpose did the women come (cf. Mark 16:1) ? V. 2. What strange event happened (cf. 27:51)? What did the angel do? Had the women been concerned about who should roll away the stone (cf. Mark 16:3)? V. 3. How is the angel described (cf. 17:2) ? Are angels frequently mentioned in connection with the ministry of Jesus (Lk. 2:13; 22:43; Acts 1:10, 11)? V. 4. What was the effect upon “the keepers” ? Who had placed them there? For what purpose? V. 5. What did the angel say to the women? Does the resurrection of Christ always relieve the Christian from fear (cf. Heb. 2:14, 15) ? Vs. 6-7. What announcement did the angel make? What evidence of the Res urrection did he give the women? Why did he tell them to “go quickly” ? To whom were they to go? What were they to say? What meeting-place with Jesus was appointed? V. 8. Did the women obey promptly? What were their feelings? Why did they fear? What kind of fear was this? V. 9. Who met them as they went on their errand? Will we be likely to miss fellowship with Jesus if we disobey the command, “Go and tell” (cf. vs. 19, 20) ? When they recognized Jesus, what did the women do? V. 10. What new assurance removed fear? Why did Jesus repeat the command
BLACKBOARD LESSON 60 YE,-TEACH ALL NATIONS. F ill your
Mary Magdalene, Christ’s presence meant joy. Thomas, the doubter, burst forth with the confession, “My Lord and my God.” The backslider, Peter, was re stored to fellowship and made an under shepherd. Two perplexed disciples on the way to Emmaus had the Scriptures opened to them. Unsuccessful fishermen were appointed to fruitful service. ♦ * * G olden T ex t I llustration At the crisis of the battle of the Marne, General Foch sent these words to General Jo ffre : “My right wing has been driven back; my left has been turned; my center has been smashed. I have ordered an ad vance in all directions.” There spoke a man of faith and initiative. The result was what we all know to have been really the turning-point of the war. Let the friends of missions take pat tern after General Foch. With their forces diminished by the call to service in other parts of the field, with treasuries depleted, and with heavy burdens to be met, the Leader and Commander of the Christian army orders an “advance in all directions.” We are at the crisis of the war, but we have no doubt o f the final outcome. We are at the crisis of mission ary endeavor, and we have no doubt of the final outcome. In that faith let us “advance in all directions.”— Men and Missions. * * * Our M arching Orders Matt 28:1-10, 16-20 M emory V erse: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations” (Matt. 28:19). Approach. —“Earth’s saddest day and gladdest day are just one day apart 1” What a wonderful story the disciples had to tell, about Jesu s! Because they told
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of the angel that they should go and tell His brethren ? V. 16. To what place did the Eleven go? For what purpose? Had Jesus been seen by any of the Eleven before this occasion? V. 17. What did the disciples do when they saw Him? What is meant by the expression, “some doubted” ? Vs. 18-20. How much authority is given unto the Lord Jesus? In what spheres does He have this authority? To whom must disciples go? How are they to make disciples? Why should disciples be baptized ? How many things should disciples “observe” ? What great promise is given to obedient disciples? * * * P ractical P oints 1. I f the women had lingered to gaze at the angel or contemplate the empty tomb, they would have missed the meeting with the risen Lord. Do not become so preoc cupied with strange manifestations or experiences that you forget your obliga tion to give His message. 2. How frail and faithless the disci ples of Christ sometimes are. Yet He is not ashamed to call them “my brethren” (cf. Heb. 2:11, 12). 3. We can serve Christ by serving His brethren. 4. The guards at the tomb had fear with no recovery. The women had fear which changed to great joy. 5. The ambassadors of Christ are backed by His divine authority. Who can resist it? 6. To every disciple the Master says, “Go.” There is no discharge in this war fare. 7. The missionary program is to make disciples through the preaching of the Gospel (cf. Mark 16:15). 8. The Twelve were slow to obey the commission. For five or six years they lingered at Jerusalem after Pentecost un til persecution drove the Church out with a message to a wider circle. 9. The following proofs of the resur rection of Christ can be noted: (1) the empty tomb; (2) His frequent appear ances after the Resurrection ; (3) His free mingling with His disciples (cf. Lk. 24:18-51; Jno. 20:19-29; Acts 1:3-11); (4) the testimony of competent witnesses; (5) the transformed lives of the disciples cannot otherwise be accounted fo r; (6) the establishment of the Lord’s Day; (7) the continued observance of the Lord’s supper (cf. 1 Cor. 11:23-26) ; (8) the es tablishment of the Church—impossible unless He had risen (1 Cor. 15:17; Rom. 4 :25) ; (9) the ministry of Christ con tinued by the Spirit through the Church (Acts 1 :1). 10. The resurrection of Christ did won ders for the disciples. To the despondent
it we have received the message. B u t there are many who have never heard it, and He is depend ing upon us to tell them. “T h e first tw o l e t t e r s of Go-spel spell GO 1” L e s s o n $ tory. —P e t e r tells us t h e r e a s o n for C h r i s t’ s death:
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“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God” (1 Pet. 3 :18 ). To com plete the salvation He came to purchase, it was also necessary for Him to rise from the dead (Rom. 4:25 ; Luke 24: 40, 46). Jesus died about three o’clock Friday afternoon. He was buried in the new tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea, who ob tained permission from Pilate to place the body there. Jesus was in the grave Friday night,' Saturday and part of Sun day. A large stone was put at the en trance and the tomb was sealed. Soldiers were also placed there on guard. Early Sunday morning three women entered the garden where the tomb was, to anoint the body of Jesus. They wondered how they should remove the stone. But when they came near the tomb, they found the stone was rolled away and an angel was sitting upon i t ! There had been an earth quake, which, with the vision of the shin-
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