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THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
APRIL 20, 1919 OUR RISEN LORD (Easter Lesson).
Golden Text: “He is risen, as he said.” Matt. 28:6. LESSON TEXT Matt. 28:1-10. (Read Lu. 24; 1 Cor. 15.)
(1) In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn tow ard the first day of the week, came M ary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. (2) And, behold, there was a g reat earthquake; for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone, from the door, . an d sa t upon it. (S) H is countenance w as like lightning, and his raim ent white as snow: (4) And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and be come as dead men. (5) And the angel answered and said unto the women, F e a r not ye: for I know th a t ye seek Jesus which was crucified. (6) He is not h e re : for he is risen as he That Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified, dead, and buried, rose from the dead is ■one of' the best attested facts in history. The purpose of today’s lesson is not to dis- LESSON cuss whether it oc- EXPOSITION curred, or how it John H. Hunter occurred; put what it means, what it teaches. I. It teaches that Jesus is the Son of God, the promised Messiah. For centuries before Jesus came to earth the Hebrew prophets had an nounced His coming. They foretold certain signs that He would do when He came by which He might be recog nized. Jesus appealed to these signs as proofs of His claim. See Matt. 11: 4, 5. The Jewish leaders wilfully rejected His claims, which they under stood, and delivered Him to the Roman governor to put Him to death. See Matt. 26:63-68; 27:1, 2, 17, 18. The charge on which the Jewish Sanhedrin con demned Him was that He was guilty of blasphemy in claiming to be the Son of God. Knowing that this would mean nothing to the heathen Roman gov ernor, the Jews charged Jesus, before Pilate, with claiming to be King of the Jews. Remember, however, that the
said. Come see where the Lord lay. (7) And go quickly, and tell his disciples, th a t he is risen from the dead; and, behold he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. (8) And they de parted quickly from the sepulchre with rear and g reat joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. (9) And as they w ent to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus m et them , saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. (10) Then said Jesus unto them , Be not afraid: Go tell my brethren th a t they go' into Galilee, and there shall they see me. real question at issue was whether Jesus was, or was not, the Son of God. He made no effort to defend Himself, or to deliver Himself from His enemies, even when challenged by them to do so in proof of His claim. Matt. 27:39- 44. He died ignominiously between two thieves and was buried in Joseph’s new tomb in the garden. Well might His friends give way to despair, and His enemies exult. Had He not been proved a deceiver? What else could be said about His claim that He was the Son of God? He had trusted in God, and God had remained passive, had not raised a hand to help Him. The end had come; that is it seemed so to friend and foe. Now read Matthew 28:1-1,0, and Romans 1:4 Revised Version. The San hedrin’s verdict was that Jesus was an impostor, guilty of blasphemy. God’s verdict was that Jesus was His Son, in proof of which God raised Him from the dead and set Him at His right hand in the heavenly places: Ephesians 1:19, 20. The chief priests (the reli gious leaders of their day) said: “The cross, .between two thieves, is where Jesus belongs.” God said: “At My right band, on My throne, is where Jesus be longs.”
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