The Resurrection of Jesus # 1

The Resurrection of Jesus # 1

"He is not here; for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay" (Matthew 28:6).

The celebrated Jonathan Edwards of America begins his history of redemption with an account of the Lord's visit to Adam and Eve at the cool of the day in Eden. All the wonderful works of God toward the children of men, since the seed of the woman was promised to bruise the serpent's head, are to be considered as so many parts of the same great harmony, though their thousand revolutions may seem to us discordant and confused. The chief design of all the Divine manifestations recorded in the Old Testament was to prepare the way for the Redeemer's appearance upon earth. Jehovah often suffered his people to be in great distress and perplexity; He lengthened the chain of satan and his angels, allowed a partial success of their infernal schemes, and permitted them to prevail for a season against His people, and pride themselves in their power and their skill, in order to make their defeat the more signal, and gather more glory to Himself from their final overthrow. During the engagement, the victory often seemed to be on the side of the enemy; but when the smoke of battle cleared away, the pillar of God was seen upon the camp of Israel. If His people are besieged between Pihahiroth and Baalzephon, He raises the siege by dividing the sea, and making a highway through the deep, while the waters rise up in a solid wall on the right and the left, and roll back in ruin on the pursuing foe. If an army comes to arrest Elisha on Carmel, the mountain is covered with celestial warriors, and the surrounding heavens teem with horsemen and chariots of fire, and the enemy art smitten with blindness, and taken captive by the prophet. If Goliath of Gath confronts the camp of Israel with his challenge, roaring like a lion, till the valley resounds with his voice, a little shepherd boy goes forth with his sling, and the vaunting blasphemer is smitten to the ground, and slain with his own sword. If the worshipers of the true God are cast into the fiery furnace, or the den of lions, to show the power and gratify the pride of an infamous tyrant, there is one among them "like unto the Son of man," and the violence of the fire is quenched, and the mouths of the lions are stopped.

But when Messiah was slain and buried, the enemies of God boasted more than ever in their crafty and malicious schemes. This was the great decisive engagement between Heaven and hell. The enemy imagined "the Captain of our salvation" vanquished and destroyed. But His fall was no defeat. He yielded to the powers of darkness apparently, that He might triumph over them openly. He suffered Himself to be taken prisoner by death, that He might seize the tyrant on his throne, demolish his empire, and deliver his captives. And if none of his friends on earth had courage to proclaim his resurrection, a preacher descended from heaven to announce the joyful fact: "He is not here; for He is risen, and He said, Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

Wonderful message, and wonderful messenger! On the morning of the third day after His crucifixion, Jesus revived in His tomb, and the sound of the earthquake reached the heaven of heavens, and a mighty angel, swifter than the light, descended straight to the new grave in Joseph's garden, calling on no one for the key, instantly rolled away the stone from the door, and sat upon it, and made it his pulpit, from which he preached to the women the doctrine of our Lord's resurrection.

Let us consider, first, the testimony by which this fact is sustained, secondly, the fact itself, as the sure basis of Christianity.

1. It appears from the record of the evangelist Luke, that the women were much perplexed at finding the stone rolled away from the mouth of the sepulchre, and the body of Jesus gone. They they were saluted by two angels in shining apparel, who said: "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen. Remember how he spake unto you while he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered His words."

Here is the testimony of two credible witnesses, a sufficient number to attest the truth of our Lord's resurrection; who testified to nothing but what they had personally witnessed, and knew to be fact; and delivered their testimony in simple and unambiguous language, that could not well be misunderstood.

While the women went to inform the disciples of what they had seen and heard, "behold, some of the watch came into the city, and showed unto the chief priests all the things that were done." And what was done? What can be the testimony of these enemies of Christ concerning His resurrection? That "an angel, whose countenance was like lightening, and his garments white as snow, descended from heaven, and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat upon it;" which so terrified them that they "became as dead men."

To confirm these testimonies, our blessed Lord Himself "appeared unto many after His resurrection, who were witnesses of all things which He did, both in the land of the Jews, and at Jerusalem; and how He was slain, and hanged on a tree; and how God raised Him up the third day, and showed Him openly; not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before of God; even to the disciples, who did eat and drink with Him after He rose from the dead; whom He commanded to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is He who is ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead to whom He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proof; being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."

~Christmas Evans~

(continued with # 2)