Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-01-27

that deception was out of the question in a
matter Of such publicity that under the cir
cumstances they could not palm of on the
people absurdties without being detected as de-
ceivers. Now TO the point II they testified
falsely, why was not their testimony refuted?
There was opportunity for this had they been
deceivers, for they testified openly and boldly
(these things we're not done in a corner,) aud
why were they not detected as imposters and
punished2 They manifested their sincerity
not only in openly and boldly testifying to
the truth, but also in choosing life Of much
suffering, deprivation and peril rather than
life Of ease, comfort and temporal advantages
Since therefore, they cOudnot have deceived
others, they were not deceived themselves for
they were eye-witnesses of the things they pub
lished. They did not testify to what othefssaw
and revealed to them-it was not hearsay tes-
timony-but to what they bcheld with their
own eyes. They not only saw and conversod
with their Lord and Master daily before his
resurrection, but they also saw him frequent
ly at different times aud under various circum-
stances for forty days subsequent to his res
direction. He wrought miracles before them
and conversed with them as he had done be-
fore his resurrection. He ate and drank in
their presence they handled his person and
felt his wounds, and when he ascended they
were present to behold his glorious ascension.
III hlA AllA lltg NDuAu uoA uhNt ubfll uttblNtus
Again, that they were not deceivers is fur
ther evident from the fact that they were dis
interested witnesses. The hope Of gain, the
prospect Of emolument, never influenced the
disciples Of Christ to become his followers.
This he never promised them as an induce
ment to be his disciples. This, therefore.
they did not expect So far was this from
being the motive, they ON the contrary re-
nounced lucrative interests, forsook all and
followed Christ. Whether brought up at the
feet Of Gamaliel, and taught according to the
perfect manner of the law OF the fathers, as
was PAUL. or a ruler Of the Jews, like Mic
odemus or a tax collector, like Matthew or
rich, like Joseph of Arimsthea yr tent-mak-
ers, or fishermen Of Galilee; they renounced
all for Christ and voluntarily enlisted in a
cause accompanied with necessity, privaton,
persecution and peril. Hear Paul testimony
Even unto this present hour, ve both hun
ger and thirst, and are naked, aud are buffet
ed, aud have no certain dwelling place; we
are made as the filth OF the world, and are
the offscouring Of all things unto this day"
In addition to this some OF then. submitted TO
death, rather than deny the GOD bat bought
them, and thus scaled their testimony with
their blood
We are now prepared to consider the vain
and hopeless attempt Of the enemies of the
the cross to overthrow the resurrection Of
Christ, first by physical force, tLen by fraud.
He was crucihed by cruel hands. By per-
mission his body was taken down from the
cross and laid in the tomb of Joseph. The
heart stricken disciples retire in pepsiye 81
lence and mourn over the awful catastrophe
Every precaution is taken by the enemies of
Christ to prevent an imposture and make il
appear that he was deceiver. Every such
effort failing only served to establish his res
urras,finn tsfrha Aaxy falloyufpo, ha IA, 81
preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees
came together unto PLATE, saying, Sir, we
remember that that deceiyer said, while he
was yet alive, After three days will rise
again. Command, therefore, that the sepul-
chre be made sure until the third day lest his
disciples come by night and steal him away,
and say unto the people, He is risen from the
dead so the last error shall be worse than
the first. Plate said unto them, Ye have a
watch; go your way, make it as sure as ye
can" Having received this charge they went
and made the sepulchre sure; they sealed the
stone with Pilates signet, and sixty armed
soldiers were set to guard the tomb. And
yet, on the morning OF the third day his body
was missing The oonqueror of earth, death
and he'll had risen triumphant over his enc
mics, death and the grave. No sooner had
he risen from the dead than did those holy
women, who came TO visit the sepuchre of
our Lord, weep there, aud embam his body,
quickly depart to bear the exultant intelli-
gence to his disciples. How cheering to them
must have been the tidings How it must
have revived their hope, which had almost e1.
pired with his death, and had well.nigh found
a grave with his burial But we're they the
only ones who told the story2 Did not the
guard see him rise, and was it not to them
that he appeared first? The keepers were so
terrified at the appearance Of the angel who
came and rolled away the stone from the
door, whose countenance was like lightning
and raiment white as snow that they were
shaken, fell to the ground and became as
dead men. And as soon as they arose from
the earth, part of the watch repaired 10 the
city and declGred-what? That his disciples
came by night and stole him away while they
slept3 No this they dare not do, for they
knew too well the penalty, according to Ro-
man military law. But they testified TO his
resurrection and its attendant circumstances.
They showed unto the chief priests all the
things that were done" As soon as the fact
of his resurrection was revealed to the jew
ish authorities, and they saw their purpose
utterly defeated, the chief priests and elders
met in council and for a large sum of mon.
ey prevailed on those soldiers to perjure
themselves; swear to the greatest lie that ev-
er fell from the lips of hell. Say We, His
disciples came by night, and stole him away
while we slept" Say ye"- as if they had |
said, We know the charge is false, that the |
disciples, from your own testimony, never
stole away his body but Say ye," swear
to the lie, and II we can only make the peo- |
pie believe it-if we can only palm it of on
the people as truth-we may save our cause. |
They were hired to testify to that, for which, |
under other circumstances, they would have |
been punished, or caused 10 be punished, by |
tha hxy uyhnn, hrfhal
And yet, in this case they solemnly pledged |
themselves to protect them from punishment |
if the thing reached the governor, by prevail |
ing on him TO unite in the deception. "And |
II this come to the governors ears, we will |
persuade him and secure you" But only |
look at the character of their testimony. |
They were hired to testify TO what took place |
while they were asleep. What sleepy testi- |
mony! How utterly devoid of weight 1t |
needs not argument TO disprove it, for the |
testimony refutes itself. How did they know |
what took place if they we're asleep? Sup |
pose person to come into a court Of justice |
and testify to what took place while he was
asleep; would you consider him sane, and |
his testimony valid or would you think him |
a proper subject for the insane asylum The |
disciples were not disposed to take away the
body of their Lord and our Lord, for their |
hearts were filled with grief and fear, and |
their faith was weak. But suppose they made
such daring attempt as to steal away the
body by night, what then9 Could not sixty
armed soldiers have prevented eleven peas
ants from taking away the body? If so, why
did they permit the disciples to take away his
body "Stole him away while We slept"
Here" says DR.. Adam Clark, sis whole
heap of Rbsurdities. LIST, Is it likely that 80
many mon would all fall asleep, in the open
air at onco I'd, Is it at all probable that a
Roman guard should be found of their watch,
much less asleep, when it was instant death,
according to the Roman military laws, to be
found in this state? Sd, Could they be so
sound asleep as not 10 awake with all tho
noise which must be necessarily made by re-
moving the great stone, and taking away the
body? 4th. Is it at all likely that the disci-
pies could have had time sufficient TO do all