T HE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S fact th a t th e stone was rolled away. She had watched where they laid Him, m arked th e place, and was th e first to find h er way there. O thers m ight sleep, bu t she could not. She craved Himself. She could not be satisfied to be separ ated (1 Thess. 5 :6 ). Was it because she seemed possessed of th e deepest desire to find Him, to see Him, th a t He could not ascend to His F a th e r un til He had made H imself known to her? There is no sw eeter pic tu re in th e whole Bible th a n this. P eter and John run to th e tomb. John is th e younger and ou trun s P eter, bu t he is more reveren t and only stoops and looks in. P eter— the impetuous— rushes in. John follows and th e evi dence of the resu rrection of Jesus con fronts them ,—-th e grave clothes, o u t of which H is body had slipped, lying in order and th e napkin folded and lying in ano th er place. The resu rrection of our Lord is th e fundam ental fact of our faith, and was first comm itted to Mary. “ I am as cending— on my way to my F a th e r,”— th e High P riest on His way to th e Holy of Holies! “ Go, tell my b reth ren .” Only those who know th e resu rrected Lord are capable of telling th e story. The res urrection of Christ is established by 1. H is claim to Deity (Jo h n 8 :5 8 ). “ Jesu s said unto them , Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am .” 2. The P rediction of S crip tu re (Luke 24:44-46). “And he said unto them , These are th e words which I spake unto you, while I was w ith you, th a t all things m u st be fulfilled, which were w ritten in th e law of Moses, and in th e prophets, an d in th e psalms concerning me. Then opened he th e ir understanding, th a t they m ight understand th e Scrip tures. And said unto them , Thus it is w rit ten, and thu s it behooved Christ to
1147 suffer, and to rise from th e dead th e th ird day.” 3. The P rophecy o f C h rist to H is Own Pow er (John 2 :1 9 ). “ Jesu s answered and said unto them , Destroy th is temple, and in th ree days I will raise up.” (Also, John 10:18.) 4. The P erp etu ity of H is Body, "I will raise it up.” 5. The P erp etu ity of H is P erson al ity (John 11:25-26). “ Jesus said unto her, I am th e res u rrection and the life; he th a t believeth in me, though he were dead, yet sh a ll he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou th is ? ” 6 . The Position Accorded Believers (John 2 0 :1 7 ). “My God— your God; My F a th e r— your F a th e r.” 7. The P rom inence Given to th e Doc trin e in th e P reach ing o f th e Gospel (1 Cor. 15:3, 4). “ F o r Í delievered unto you first of all th a t which I also received, how th a t Christ died for our sins according to th e scriptures; And th a t he was buried, and th a t he rose again the th ird day according to th e scrip tu res.” (Acts 2:24 .) “Whom God h ath raised up, having loosed th e pains of death ; because it was not possible th a t he should be hold- en of it.” (1 Pet. 1:3, 4.) “ Blessed be th e God and F a th e r of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundan t mercy h ath begotten us again unto a lively hope by th e resu r rection of Jesus Christ from th e dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and th a t fadeth not away, re served in heaven for you.” 8 . T h e P roofs Given to th e World. F irs t— The Bible, God’s Word. Second— The Lord’s Day. T hird— The V isible Church, w ith its
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