Passion Week

PASSION WEEK. SATURDAY, THE SIXTEENTH OF NISAN. (Afril 8th.) Love having done its part, hatred did its part also. The chief-priests and Pharisees, with Pilate's permission, set a watch over the tomb, "lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, he is risen from the dead." (Matt. XXVH: 62-66). SUNDAY, THE SEVENTEENTH OF NISAN. (Afril gth.J The Sabbath ended at six, on the evening of Nisan i6th. Early the next morning the resurrection of Jesus took place. Although he had lain in the grave for about thirty-six or forty hours, yet these formed part of three days, and thus by a mode of speaking not unusual to the Jews (Josephus fre- quently reckons years in this manner, the two extreme portions of a year reckoning as two years), the time of the dominion of death over him is spoken of as three days. The order of the events that follow is somewhat difficult to harmonize; for each Evangelist selects the facts which be- longs to his purpose. The exact hour of the resurrection is not mentioned by any of the Evangelists. But from Mark XVI 2-9, we infer that it was not long before the coming of the women; and from the time at which the guards went into the city to give the alarm the same inference arises (Matt. XXVII: 11). Of the great mystery itself, the resumption of life by him who was truly dead, we see but little: "There was a

736 IMPROVEMENT ERA great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow; and for fear of him the keepers did shake and become as dead men" (Matt). The women who had stood by the cross of Jesus, had prepared spices on the evening before, perhaps to complete the embalming of our Lord's body, already performed in haste by Joseph and Nicodemus. They came very early on the first day of the week to the sepulchre. The names of the women are differ- ently put by the several Evanglists, but with no real dis- crepancy. Matthew mentions the two Marys; Mark adds Salome to these two; Luke has the two Marys, Joanna, and others with them; and John mentions Mary Magdalene only. In thus citing such names as seemed good to him, each Evangelist was no doubt guided by some reason. John, from the especial share which Mary Magdalene took in the testi- mony to the fact of the resurrection, mentions her only. The women discuss with one another who should roll away the stone, that they might do their pious office on the body. But when they arrive they find the stone rolled away, and Jesus no longer in the sepulchre. He had risen from the dead. Mary Madgalene at this point goes back in haste; and at once, believing that the body has been removed by men, tells Peter and John that the Lord has been taken away. The other women, however, go into the sepulchre, and they see an angel (Matt., Mark), or two angels (Luke), in bright apparel, who declare to them that the Lord is risen, and will go before the disciples into Galilee. The two angels, mentioned by St. Luke, are probably two separate appear- ances to different members of the group; for he alone mentions an indefinite number of women. They now leave the sepulchre and go in haste to make known the news to the Apostles. As they were going, "Jesus met them, saying, all hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and wor- shipped him. Then said Jesus unto them. Be not afraid; go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me." The eleven do not believe the account when they receive it. In the meantime Peter and John came to the

PASSION WEEK. 737 sepulchre. They ran, in their eagerness, and John arrived first and looked in: Peter afterwards came up, and it is characteristic that the awe which had prevented the other disciple from going in, appears to have been unfelt by Peter, who entered at once and found the grave clothes lying, but not he who had worn them. This fact must have suggested that the removal was not the work of human hands. They then returned, wondering at what they had seen. Mary Magdalene, however, remained weeping at the tomb, and she, too, saw the two angels in the tomb, though Peter and John did not. They address her, and she answers, still, however, without any suspicion that the Lord is risen. As she turns away she sees Jesus, but in the tumult of her feelings does not even recognize him at his first address. But he calls her by name, and then she joyfully recognizes her Master, he says, "Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and to your Father, and to my God and your God." Space has been wanting to discuss the difficulties of arrangement which attach to this part of the narrative. The remainder of the appearances present less matter for dispute: in enumerating them the important passage in i Cor. XV, must be brought in. The third appearance of our Lord was to Peter (Luke, Paul); the fourth to the two disciples going to Emmaus in the evening (Mark, Luke); the fifth in the same evening to the eleven as they sat at meat (Mark, Luke, John). All of these occurred on the first day of the week, the very day of the resurrection. Exactly a week after, he appeared to the apostles and gave Thomas a convincing proof of his resurrection (John): this was the sixth appear- ance. The seventh was in Galilee, where seven of the apostles were assembled, some of them probably about to re- turn to their old trade of fishing (John). The eighth was to the eleven (Matt.), and probably to five hundred brethren assembled with them (Paul) on a mountain in Galilee. The ninth was to James (Paul): and the last to the Apostles at Jerusalem just before the ascension (Acts). Whether this be the exact enumeration, whether a single appearnce has been quoted twice, or two distinct ones identi- 54

738 IMPROVEMENT ERA. fied, it is clear that for forty days the Lord appeared to his disciples and to others at intervals. These disciples, accord- ing to the common testimony of all the evangelists, were by no means enthusiastic and prejudiced expectants of the resur- rection: They were sober-minded men. They were only too slow to apprehend the nature of our Lord's kingdom. Al- most to the last they shrank from the notion of his suffering death, and thought that such a calamity would be the ab- solute termination of all their hopes. But from the time of the ascension they went about preaching the truth, that Jesus was risen from the dead. Kings could not alter their convic- tion on this point: the fear of death could not hinder them from proclaiming it (see Acts II: 24, 32; IV: 8-13; III; X; XIII; I Cor. XV: 5; i Peter I: 21). Against this event no real objection has ever been brought, except that it is a mir- acle. So far as historical testimony goes, nothing is better established. Giving his disciples their commission, the Lord says, "All power is given unto me in heaven and earth. Go ye there- fore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matt. XXVIII: 18-20). The facts of the life that has been before us are the sub- stance of the apostolic teaching now as in all ages. That God and man were reconciled by the mission of the Redeemer into the world, and by his self-devotion even unto death (2 Cor. V: 18; Eph. I: 10; Col. I: 20); that this sacrifice has pro- cured for men the restoration of the divine love (Rom. V: 8; VIII: 32; I John IV: 9); that we are knit to him in bonds of love, instead of slaves under the bondage of the law (Rom. VIII: 15, 29; Gal. IV: I); these are the common ideas of the apostolic teaching. Brought into such a relation to Christ and his life, we see in all its acts and stages something that belongs to and instructs us. His birth, his baptism, temp- tation, lowliness of life and mind; his sufferings, death, burial, resurrection and ascension—all enter into the apostolic teach- ing, as furnishing motives, examples, and analogies for our