Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-06-21
JESUS RISEN.
LESSON XII, SECOND QUARTER, IN
TERNATlONAL SERIES, JUNE 20.

Text of the Lesson, Mark xvi, 1-13-Com-
init Verses O, 7-Golden Text, Cor. XIV,
30 Commentary by the Rev. ID. NJ.
stearns.
compiled from Lesson Helper Quarterly by per.
mission Of II. S. Hoffman, publisher, Philadel-
| phia.l
/. "And when the Sabbath was past"
After His death at o'clock on Friday after
noon, Joseph of Arimathea, who was also a
counselor, but good and just man waiting
for the kingdom of God, and had not con-
sented to the action of the council respecting
Jesus for he was secretly disciple of jesus,
went boldly to PLATE and begged the body Of
Jesus, and having received it, he and Nicode-
mus wrapped it in linen with about an hun
dred pounds of myrrh and aloes, and laid it
in his own new tomb hewn out in the rock,
wherein never man before was laid, and
rolled great stone to the door. The women
who came with Jesus from Galilee watched
these proceedings, then returned and pre-
pared spices and ointments and rested the
Sabbath day, according to the command
ment. Plate, at the request of the Jews,
caused the stone to be sealed, and set a watch
until after the third day, lest the disciples
should steal Him away, for they remembered
that He had said: after three days will
rise again" Matt. xvii, $780, Luke xiii,
$3.50; John xix, 3S-i2.) Is it no. strange
that the unbelieving Jews in thi, case re-
membered more than the disciples, for al
though He had repeatedly said that He would
rise again the third day, they seem not to
have believed it nor thought of it.
2. "And very early in the morning, the
first day of the week, they came unto the
sepulchre at the rising of the SUM-" What a
dark Sabbath it must have been to them
3. They said among themselves, Who shall
roll us away the stone from the door of the
sepulchrer They evidently expected to find
everything just as they saw Joseph and Nico-
demus leave it on the evening before the Sab
bath, and they seem not to have known of
the sealing of the stone nor of the watch that
had been set. How much better they kept
the Sabbath than Christians now keep the
day which we call Sabbath, for if anything
unusual has happened, our Monday papers
report that yesterday the place was visited
by thousands" and we all know that among
the thousands so called Christians were not
lacking.
4. And when they looked they saw that
the stone was rolled away; for it was very
great" The fact that they went on though
T,
us of the love that rises above all difficulties,
and the fact that the stone was gone when
they got there reminds us that difficulties
vanish as we go forward.
5. "And entering into the sepulchre they
saw young man sitting on the right side,
clothed in a long white garment; and they
were affrighted." In Luke xiv, 4, We read
of two men in shining garments. While in
pictures of angels which we are accustomed
see, they are always represented as women
with long flowing hair the Scriptures speak
of them as men Gen. xviii 9; xix, Is; xxi,
"a; Josh. V, ID; Judg xiii, 6, etc.
g. And He saith unto them, Be not af-
frighted." So said the angel to Hagar and
Mary, to Zacharias and the shepherds Gen.
xxi, II; Lu. i, 80, ID; ii, 10; and from the
first Fear not" to Abram, to the last to
John Gen. XIV, /; Rev. i, n, what comfort
indescribable this word from heaven brought
to sinful, trembling humanity; and today it
comes with as much power as ever to every
penitent soul who sincerely looks to Jesus,
saying, Fear not, for am with thee"
T. But so your way; tell His disciples and
Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee:
there shall ye see Him, as He said unto you. "
Everything always has been, is, and shall be
just as he says.
from the sepulchre," etc. In Matt. xviii, S,
it is written that with fear and great Joy
they did run to bring His disciples word. VI
Mark, in this verse, evidently implies that on
their way to the disciples they said nothing
to any one, but were filed with trembling
and amazement, fear and joy, as they fled
along; their unbelief now revealed to them
would cause them fear and amazement, while
the fact that Jesus was risen would fill them
with joy.
O. HE appeared first to Mary Magdalene "
The other women had seen the empty tomb,
and had been assured by the angels that He
was risen, but this Mary is the first to see
Himself and speak to Him and hear Him.
10. And she went and told them that had
been with Him, as they mourned and wept VI
Before she saw the Saviour that morning
she had been to the tomb, seen the empty
sepulchre, run and told Peter and John, and
then evidently returned, hoping to find some
trace of His body, like the others not looking
for His resurrection; but now she had seer
Him. He had spoken to her and said, &c
to my brethren and say unto them, ascend
unto my Father, and your Father; and to my
God and your God" John Xxx, ~; and this
is the message which she bears from Him
H. And they, when they had heard that
He was alive, and had been seen of her, be-
lieved not" In Luke xiv, II, it is written
that their words seemed to them as idle tales
and they believed them not. 1t may be that
their own unbelief on this occasion often re-
CURED TO them as in after days they had te
deal with the same dullness and slowness Of
heart in others.
II. After that lie appeared in another
form unto two of them, as they walked and
went into the country" After he appeared
to Mary Magdalene it would seem that H,
assembled to the Father, then quickly returned
and appeared to the other women Matt
xviii, 8, l0), after which he made the ap
pearance recorded in this verse to til,
two as they walked to Emmaus. Who
these two were we know not; inasmuch a
He appeared to Simon Peter some time dur
ing this first day luke xiv, "a; Cor, XIV
81 we might suppose that these two wer,
James and John; or since a special appear
ance to James is recorded Il Cor. XIV, y i
might be John and some other, for it woulC
seem strange indeed if He did not appear t,
John who stood by His cross and to whom
He committed Mary His mother; but we hav
no anti o,,f