177
March 1928
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
in the presence of His disciples, ascended to Glory.' Ten days later the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles at Pentecost, en duing them with power from on high and enabling them to speak infallibly the Gospel o f the grace of God to. those who had, fifty days prior to that time, clamored for’ the death of Jesus the Son o f God. Beginning with Jerusalem, the apostles preached the Gospel and then moved out into the wider circle of the province of Judea, then to Samaria and then unto the uttermost parts o f the then known world. As the heralds o f the Cross went forth with the message of glad tidings, the Lord verified their messages by unmistakable signs and demonstrations of His Holy Spirit. Jesus Comes To Life Again. ■ Mark 16:1-8, 19,-20. Memory Verse. —“ He is risen, even as he said.” Matt. 28:6. Approach. —A few weeks ago I had Some little brown bulbs, that looked some thing like little dry onions. They did not seem to have any life whatever in them, in the brown bulbs, for now there is a green shoot peeping out o f the ground, and I know after a while there will be some pretty gladiolus blossoms. Lesson ¿’foryg-In our Story last week we learned how brave and courageous Jesus our Lord was. W e remember how He told His disciples that even though He was God’s Son, He must suffer and die. All that Je,sus told them really happened, and cruel and wicked men nailed Jesus to the cross, where He suffered and died. Do you. suppose He begged them to let Him go? No indeed, Jesus was never afraid of any suffering for Himself. He prayed God to forgive the men who nailed Him to the cross, and He spoke comfort ing words to His mother, and to His dis ciples.' All the friends o f Jesus were very sad after they had seen Him die on the cross. They took His body and lovingly wrapped linen cloths about it, and laid it in a cave or tomb in a garden. A great rock was rolled in front of the tomb, and around the tomb stood soldiers, sent by the wicked men who had killed Jesus. Many who had been healed by Jesus were saying in their hearts that Jesus would never heal people again, or bring the dead back to life, They would never see Him again, they thought, and their hearts were filled with grief. But listen, boys and girls! On the third morning very early, when there was just a faint streak o f light in the sky, and the garden was still in darkness, there was a bright shining light in front o f the tomb. The great rock had been rolled away, and by it stood an angel whose face was as bright as lightning and his clothing was white as snow- Some women who were friends o f Jesus had come to the tomb bringing sweet spices to put on His body. When they saw the empty .tomb and the but seemed dry and dead. I dug some lit tle holes in the warm, moist ground, and placed one o f these little brown bulbs in each hole and covered them up with earth. The soft earth and the sunshine has prov ed that there was life
ward the plans of God and bring eternal glory to His servant. V. 4. “And looking up, they see that the stone is rolled back : for it was exceeding great The 'Lord knows our way and just how to prepare for us that no harm or injury come to us. No stone is too great for God to remove. Let each one follow the instructions o f the Apostle Peter in casting his cares upon the Lord. V. 5. “And entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, arrayed in a white robe : and they were amazed/’ It was not idle curiosity ,that led these women into the tomb but pure de votion to Jesus. Upon entering, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, ar rayed in a white robe. Possibly it was upon her former visit to the sepulcher, before she joined the women, that she looked in and saw two angeis, one at the. head and one at the foot (Jno. 20:l|¿ 12). John’s statement and that of Mark’s clear ly refer to two different times, He who ap peared as a young man was doubtless the angel who .appeared as a man to com municate with her and to bring the glad announcement that the Saviour had risen from the dead. The white apparel which he wore was, a symbol of the purity and innocency of the angelic beings. In Rev. 19, where the picture o f the marriage supper o f the Lamb appears, the saints áre given white linen clothes which, John says, are righteous acts of the saints. Not realizing the import o f the events which had just transpired, and not- ex pecting Jesus to rise, they were amazed. , V. 6. “And He saith unto them, Be not amazed,', ye seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who hath been crucified: H e is risen ; H e is not here ; behold, the place where they laid-Him!” This message of the angel was the heart of the Gospel (cf. 1 Cor. 15:1,2; Rom. 1 :4 ). Christianity rests upon the solid rock o f the resurrection of Jesus. The body which had been laid in the tomb, by the power of the Eternal God was liter ally raised. The empty tomb proves con clusively that theré is a life o f blessed ness and happiness beyond this one of sorrow, sadness and disappointment. Vs. 7, 8. “ But go, tell His disciples and Peter, H e goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see Him, as H e said unto you. And they went out, and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them : and they said noth ing to any one; fo r they were afraid" Being instructed by the angel to report His resurrection to Peter and the other disciples, they in fear and trembling went forth from the tomb, saying nothing to anyone. .They were afraid. According to the latest researches o f modern psychol ogy, the resurrection narrative is correct because, according to mental phenomena, certain brain states precede certain others, bearing the relationship the one to the other of 'cause and effect. The state of mind and heart o f these women prior to and at the time of the events of the resur rection preclude the possibility o f an hal lucination and stamp the resurrection Story with the unmistakable seal of truth. Vs. 19, 20. “So then the Lord Jesus, after H e had spoken unto them, was re ceived up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand o f God. And they went forth, and preached, everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed,.” Forty days after the resurrection, according to Acts 1, Jesus, from the Mount of Olives,
on the sabbath. One day in seven should be set apart by each Christian as a day of rest, meditation and worship o f God. O f the women who came to show their love for Jesus, and devotion to Him, Mary Magdalene is listed first. •Knowing her former life, one at first glance is surjg prised to see that s.he is honored by being placed at the head o f the list since she it was from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons (Lk. 8 :2), but Jesus does not look at the former life after He has forgiven the past. Being convicted of her need of a Saviour and o f redemption, she came fo Him whole-heartedly, and loving much, was forgiven much and was given hon orable mention in the list. Her love for Him, together with the love o f the other women who had been blessed of Him, ex pressed itself in the purchase of precious spices in order* that they might anoint His body. Little did they realize the signifi cance of the prediction which He-had made concerning His resurrection. Their hopes in Him as the Redeemer o f Israel were buried in the tomb with Him that Friday afternoon, but their love for, and devo tion to, Him were only purified and inten sified by His cruel death. V. 2. “And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen." A comparison of Mt. 28:1; Mk. 16 :1; Lk. 24:1 and Jno., 20:1 yields the following probable data:,Mary Magdalene arose before day and went to the tomb and found the stone rolled away, and she returned; but on the return trip she met Peter and John, to whom she made the announcement that the stone, had been rolled away; the other women started after she did and when she was returning from, she met them going to, the tomb and turned around and accompanied them; and they started to the tomb about break of day but arrived there after the sun had risen. Instead of there being a disagree ment between the writers, there is perfect concord between them. The rise of the sun on that day might be thought o f as>a symbol of the rising of the Sun of Right eousness who came forth from the dead bringing life and immortality to light through the Gospel. Others prior to this time had died and were raised, either by a prophet of God or by Jesus Himself, but later passed again through the experience of death; Jesus, by His own power, laid down His life and took it up again, no more to die. V. 3. “ And they were saying among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door o f the tomb?” These women seemed to be worrying about whom they would get to remove the stone in order that they might enter the sepul cher. It is quite probable that they were unaware that a Roman guard had been placed at the tomb and that the tomb had been sealed. Frequently the people of God worry about difficulties which the angel of the Lord has already removed before their appearance on the scene. God has pledged His faithfulness that He will not allow any of His children to pass through a temptation that will be too se vere for their faith, but with every test will provide a way of escape. It is neces sary for the faithful child o f God to walk steadily forward in the path o f duty, not considering the *difficulties that MIGHT be in the road, trusting, however, that the Lord will remove all obstructions and will only allow such experiences to come into the life of His faithful child as will for
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