SUNDAY READING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 243, 13 April 1912, Page 6

SUNDAY READING.

THE RESURRECTION. (Preached by Rev. T. H. Roseveare in 'St. Andrew's . Presbyterian Church on Easter Sunday. "He rose again according to the Scriptures."—€or, 15-4. Paul declared, "If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain." Strauss said, "The resurrection of Jesus is the centre of the centre." The fact of the resurrection has always been of prime importance in the belief and teaching of the Christian Church. Let us first, then, try to summarise the SCRIPTURAL RECORD and arrange the narratives in chronological order.

(1) Grey dawn was streaking the eastern sky when Mary and the other women, now the quietude of the Sabbath was over, make their way to the tomb to pay their last respects to the body of their beloved Master. To their astonishment, they find the stone rolled away and the tomb empty except for an angel who tells them Jesus is risen. (2) Mary hastened to tell Peter and John, who run to the tomb, and, going in, find the body of Jesus gone, but the grave clothes wrapped in orderlv manner where the body had lain.

(3) Later, Mary again made her wayto the tomb and is standing there weeping when she espied a man whom she supposed to be the gardener, to whom she said, "Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him." It was Jesus, and he replied in one' word, "Mary." She, who had not recognised Him before, now cannot mistake the familiar tones, and answers "Master." (i) Two disciples, one called Cleopas, are on their way to Emmaus. When they come to .the cross roads, a stranger joins them and asks what is the reason of their sadness. Upon their telling | him of the death of their Master, Jesus —for it was he, as yet unknown to them -expounded to them the Scriptures. Their hearts warmed with a new hope as he talked with them, and they were ready to recognise Him when He revealed Himself in the house in Emmaus. (5) These two hastened back to Jerusalem, and, making their way back to the trysting place, told the disciples there assembled of what had taken place. While they were discussing .this, the doors being shut,' Jesus appeared in their midst and gave unmistakable evidence that he was the same Christ they had known and that he had risen from the dead. (6) Thomas only was absent, so a week later Jesus appeared again, the doors being shut, this time addressing Himself to Thomas, who had expressed [ his disbelief, but all his doubts are rei moved aitfl he is satisfied about the ob- | jective reality. There were some other appearances of j our Lord, but sufficient has been narrati ed to show thai the Gospel narratives j dearly indicate that Christ rose from the dead. GENUINENESS OF THE EVIDENCE. I The resurrection of one from the dead lis unknown within natural laws. We must therefore ask not, Could it take j,place? but. Did it take place as a matj ter of history? The Jews concocted a ! story that the disciples stole the body 1 of Jesus away; but they were not likely J to do such a thing to serve no good pur- | pose, but rather to bring only suffering j and persecution and even death upon ■ themselves.

I Others have tried to explain that Jesus merely swooned, and then revived in . the cool tomb. But is is clear that such a person, weak, emaciated, half-dead after all he had gone through, would not be the kind of person to revive hope in the disciples <ind to create in them the impression that he had risen from the dead. Nor is it a satisfactory explanation to say that the disciples were subject to an hallucination or a dream. If that were so, then Christianity, the power of righteousness, is built up on a huge fraud. Nor is it likely that "five hundred brethren at once"" would all have had the same vision and all have believed it reality. It must also be noted that the resurrection was contrary to the disciples' expectations, for they did not yet understand the Scriptures; and if Jesus did not actually rise, some account must yet be given as to what became of His body. It seems clear that the only theory that is worthy of belief is that Jesus actually rose, according to the Scriptures. IMPLICATION'S OF THE RESURRECTION. (1) In the first place, the resurrection implies that God set His seal of approval to the work of Christ. Jesus declared, "I came not to domino own will, but the will of Him Who sent me." He claimed to live the life that pleased God and to die the death that was appointed by Cod. So that the resurrection was the si<ni of God's acceptance of the only sinless life that ever was lived. At the same time, it was God's sign of disapproval of all imperfection and sin. But, further, it is Cod's seal of approval to the mediatorial work of Christ. It was the claim of Christ that He came to die "for us;" "on our behalf". When Cod raised Trim from the dead, it was an assurance that He was pleased to accept of the sacrifice, and so a way of approach to God has been made for sinful man. (2) Again, the resurrection of Christ is an assurance to us of the ever-present Christ. He said, "If Igo away I will send Him (the Comforter) unto you." : So Christ rose, and appeared to men in order to assure them that He is alive for evermore, ever present in spiritual form to carry on that same blessed work of saving, helping, cheering and blessing that he began in the days of His flesh. (3) The resurrection of Christ, our elder brother, is the assurance of our victory over death also. To Him, death was merely an "exodus," a passing out from limitation to liberty, and fulness of life. So. linked on to' Him bv faith, death no longer is a source of fear to but merely the entrance into fuller life and pure blessedness.