The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1890-04-03
SUNDAY MEDITATION.

SUNDAY MEDITATION.
Practical Duties Taught by a Study of the Inter-
national Sunday school Lesson Appointed for
April IL. ST. Luke, lbs.
Zone reading these notes should first carefully
study the paragraph from the Holy Scriptures a.
indicated aboveI
SUBJECT: The RESURRECTION OF THE Son OF
THE WIDOW OF MAIN.
We now study our Saviors 18th miracle. 1t
was his first miracle of resurrection. 1t viii
DO fit Easter tide meditation.
l. Data.
St. Luke gives the only account Though
the Apostles Matthew and John probably wit
messed that strange deed. it remained for ST.
Luke who, in all likelihood, never saw Christ,
to give to the world the report. As the first mira
Gle of the kind by our Savior, it must have
created much discussion and have left deep
impression. We notice st. Luke the sole au-
thor of authoritative publicity of the event,
was physician, aud, therefore, competent to
deal with subject relating specially to the
physical. He wrote about 30 years after the
miracle. Meanwhile ne probably heard many
statements aud descriptions of the circum-
stances, and that quite probably from some OF
the ye-yitnesses. Not unlikely the person
raised from the dead was yet alive. Possibly
he and the author had met each other. ST.
Luke wrote at Achaia, Greece, about 81 a. ID.
2. Time.
This miracle may be dated May, A. ID. o.
Christ was in the 32d year Of his life and the
second of his ministry. THE day after" seems
| to refer to the next day after Jesus cured the
| Centurion's servant at CapeTnaum. The Tesur-
| rectiOn Of the widows must have taken
| place in the afternoon. This will appear when
| we consider that Jesus on the same day, and
| before this miracle, must have Travelled afoot
for about % miles. We study an event which
carries US back 1863 years
g. Place.
The miracle was effected just outside the
walls of the city of Main. Main was polls,
| that is to say a walled town. It was entered
by gates. 1t was walled to protect it from enc
mics. The funeral procession probably came
out from the east gate. The fact Jesus met it as
he was going down southwark from CaPernaum
| shows the procession was passing along north
east in direction. The traditional burying-
ground is about 10 minutes walk from the east
| ern city gate. Jesus met the procession before
it reached the cemetery.
The word Main means lovely, pleasant. II
is two miles from Mt. Tabor. 1t isOn the north
ern ridge of Little Mt. HermOn. II lies be-
tween Mt. Tabor and Little Mt. Hermon. The
! brook Kishon runs between Main and Mt. Ia
Dor. The city was in the tribe Of Issachar
| The only mention in the Bible of Main is in
our lesson. The modern name is Ncn. lt Il
now a small hamlet-a little MOslem village
The houses mainly Of mud and stone. II
is occupied by Jews, Mahometans and Chris
tians. The author Of the SchOn berg Gotta
Family, in Wanderings Over Bible Lands,
says, "a few poor cabins on the steep hillside
one olive among them, little below, wei
| with one green tree near it. and few ruins OF
scattered stOnes-and this is Nan."
Notice the word tout" in verse 12-out o
the city. Gentiles took dead bodies away from
the city for burial because of infection. Thu
| Jews had their cemeteries outside city walls
because they regarded corpses as unclean an'
| infectious. They allowed burial within cite
for only such as became very eminent in wealth
politics, culture etc, but specially for the Kings
Il Sam. 253; XII, p: Is; 2 CHI, 2i Is.
Christians introduced the custom of burial il
cities. churches, etc. The practice of sucl
inter-mural graves 10 subject TO criticism. Ly
cuTgus permitted burial within Sparta on puT
pose to drive out of minds superstitous exist
ing as TO dead bodies An act Of the Roma
laws-of the Twelve Ta6les-required burial
to be outside o. cities. AntOniu5 Plus an
Theodosius III forbade burial in cities A de
cree OF Hadrian fined one who buried in a cit
10 auree. Valerius, PublicOla. Tubertus an
Fabricus were buried within the city. TIL
Emperors and Vestal Virgins, as q speciI
honor, were inferred in under structure
within city walls SchOettgen says, "Othel
| were accustomed to bury their dead withoU
the city. We Christians not only bury thel
within our cities but receive them into OF
churches; hence many nearly lose their liv'
through the noxious effiuvia." ROsenmuell'
declared Both the Jews and other people hs
their burying-plaees without the city, and tn
l the health OF the public requires. which
greatly injured by the effiuvia from Il
\ graves" Nevins says Jerusalem was the onl
= Jewish city in which burial took place, or
!, which dead bodies were deposited, and he
= only in royal cases.
!, We may presume that Christ went into Ma
= after the miracle.
r 4. The Young Man.