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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
March, 1934
c A r.Day 0 / VISION
VICTORY
B y ALBERT HUGHES* Toronto, Ontario, Canada ‘ Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord” (John 20:20).
“ 'T p he same day at evening”—this was X the resurrection day, the greatest day in all history. The last week had been a very wild and bewildering one. Scene after scene had come afld gone, leaving the disciples more perplexed than ever. It had been three days since they had seen men kill Jesus Christ, and, assured that He was dead, they had begged His body and bor-J rowed a tomb and lovingly laid Him away. Everything seemed normal up to the close o f the second day. The tomb was closed and sealed, and it remained shut until the Jewish Sabbath was over. Then some one reported that the stone
and tax-gathering. They had expected much from the future, and it seemed really His fault that they looked forward so keenly to those golden opportunities. Through the events at Calvary, the disciples’ expectations had been dashed cruelly to the ground. They had forgotten much that He had told them and consequently entirely misun derstood the purpose o f these happenings. I have no criticism o f them. I am sure I should have been much worse than they were. Their minds and hearts had received a fearful shock, and recovery was going to be very difficult. A P lace of F ear
"Blessed be the God and Father o f our Lord Jesus Christ, who a ccord ing to his great mercy be gat us again unto a living hope by the r e su r r e c tion o f Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1 :3 ).
was rolled away and the body gone. The disciples were puzzled and worried. This was the evening o f that day, and events that had occurred throughout the hours of this first day o f the week had increased the mystery rather than helped to explain it. Little did these men realize that this first day was the beginning o f first days which would set millions worship ing and praising on that very day o f the week throughout
Their faithlessness to Him made them a bit fearful. Sirqon had much to be sorry for. Some had reported that they had seen the Lord. Doubtless Simon was torn between conflicting thoughts o f whether he wanted to see Him or not. Perhaps his soul-need made him long at times to meet his Lord, and then again his heart made him afraid. The other disciples too were not in a very admirable condition, for “ they all forsook him, and fled.” Then also they feared that
all generations. They were too close to the actual occurrences to realize all the wonder and glory that was wrapped up in them. The Tlace^ “ The disciples were assem bled”— somewhere in Jerusa lem. In all probability, they were met together in the upper room, that we have heard so much about before and will find prominent again. Here the first Communion had been cele brated. Here the church was born, for it was here the mother o f all churches came in to being. In this blessed place, the disciples now met. A P lace of R estlessness It is not possible for us to imagine all that passed through the disciples’ minds and hearts.
their lives were in peril. The tomb was empty. It was being reported around that they had stolen the body away-while the soldiers slept. O f course, there was no truth whatever in the charge, but it was going to be difficult to prove themselves in nocent. Any one connected^ with Jesus o f Nazareth would have a hard time proving any thing before those rulers and Pharisees who were blinded with rage.' The disciples ex pected that at any moment the fury which had . burst upon their Master would descend upon them. They were afraid too at thè thought o f what might have happened to the body o f their Loved One. The tomb was empty ; o f that they were sure. Certain folks had reported see ing Jesus alive, but these stor
Their experiences o f the days which had just passed are foreign to us. They undoubtedly felt that they had buried all that was worth living for, when they buried their Mas ter. Three years before, they had left their regular routine o f life, and through those years o f companionship they had just become adjusted to the new pathway' o f living and serving, when suddenly He left them, allowed men to take Him away and crucify Him. These men felt that it was going to be a most difficult task to go back to their fishing
ies were mere hearsay : “ Certain women . : . made us as tonished . . . saying. . .” ; “ they had also seen a vision o f angels, which said . . . ” How much truth there could be in these accounts, they were not sure. Such reports looked just like women’s stories and. dreams. But on the other hand, what had happened to the body ? Because they could not answer, they were afraid. The Lord had tried again and again to help them to grasp the glories o f resurrection truths, but it seemed as if they could never understand, and slowness to grasp the truth left their hearts open to fear.
*Home Pirector, Sudan Interior Mission.
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