The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1889-09-18
PRECIOUS WORDS.

PRECIOUS WORDS.
The Rich Promises Contained In the Lords
Declaration of Himself rs "The Resur-
rectiOn and the Life"
When Martha, the sister OF Lazarus
who had just died, and had also been
buried, heard that Jesus was on His
way to Bethany, she went out and met
Him before His arrival Word had
previously been sent to Jesus, inform
ing Him that Lazarus was sick; but
He did not go to Bethany at the time.
and did not exercise His power to heal
him. He waited until death had done
its work, that 1.-THE Son of God might
be glorified" by his resurrection. When
Martha met Him, after the death scene
was ended, she said to Him: Lord, If
Thou hadst been here, my brother had
not died" This language was not that
of complaint or reproach, because
Jesus had not sooner come, but rather
! that of confidence in Him. and lament
that He was not present to prevent the
fatal issue Of the sickness. 1t was i'm
mediately followed by an expression
of her confidence in these words: ."But
I~know that even non, whatsoever
Thou wilt ask of God, God win give it.
Thee"
Jesus in reply, said to Martha:
'Ihy brother shall rise again." She
understood this to refer to the final
resurrection at the last day, and hence
said: Il know that he will rise again
in the resurrection at the last day."
Jesus at once connected with this
answer words intended to draw forth
her faith in Him. whose truth, as He
then knew, the sequel would soon es-
tablish These are the words that fell
from His lips:
II am the resurrection and the life; he that
believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall
he live: and whatsoever liveth and believeth in
Me shall never die."--John XII, IS, 20.
These precious words, uttered by
Jesus to Martha as she met Him in the
street, have filled all the Christian
ages with shout of joy, and will con-
tinue to ring in the ear of piety to the
end of time. God be praised that
they are not among the unrecorded
sayings of Jesus. They fitted the &C.
casion of their original utterance, and
they fit every occasion in which hui
man thought looks into the grave and
ponders upon the scene. The world is
richer and clearer in its hopes, be-
cause Jesus spoke these words. and
left them as legacy to mankind.
When Jesus said: II am the resur-
rection and the life." He meant to say
and did say that the po,0er of raising
the dead and giving life to man was
lodged in Him. He assumed His own
prerogative; and in effect asserted His
own divinity, and hence spake as no
mere man ever spake, or should speak.
Such words never before fell from hu-
man lips. To raise the dead and give
life is the work OF God; and Jesus was
God manifested in the flesh" He
was the incarnated Word, or Logos, of
whom John speaks in the commence
ment of his Gospel, that was "in the
beginning" and was with God, land
was God" The words to Martha fit
His lips, and on His lips were true.
That which in mere man would be an
unwarrantable assumption. when ut
tered by Him in reference to Himself,
was the announcement of sublime
truth.
Jesus connects with this utterance
two promises, in some respects
parallel, and in others different The
first promise evidently relates to His
statement that He is ''the resurrec-
ton" II am the resurrection;" and
hence, The that believeth in Me.
though he were dead, yet
shall he live." The meaning
is that the dead believer is
dead only as to his body, and not at all
as to his soul, and that even the body
shall be raised again from the state of
death. This was the truth which was
to be established in the resurrection of
Lazarus. and in the final day will be
established in respect to all believers
by their resurrection from the dead
Though thoy die. they shall, never
theless, live. The great conqueror of
death and the grave is the guarantor
of this result He is Himself 1.-THE
resurrection" and Is moro than q
match for mans "last enemy" Let
I every Martha that mourns over pious
and sanity kindred dead sleeping in
the grave remember that Jesus has
announced Himself to the world as
1.-THE resurrection" that through His
power these believing and departed
ones are still living. and that He will
reanimate their sleeping dust, and give
ahem bodies like unto His glorious
bvu, in Heaven. They are not lost
forever. but only absent for the time
being, and will be met again in an
other and better cline. The same
Jesus that said to Lazarus: Come
forth" will say to them: Come forth.
He is 1.-The resurrection"
The other promise is evidently based
On the assertion that Jesus is also 1.-The
life." 1t relates to the believer. mo-