The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1902-08-21
DIR. CHAPMAN'S SERMON
A SUNDAY DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
PASTOR.EvANcELlST.

STOR-EvANCELlST.
Subject: Rabboni-The Death OF Christ a
Help to All, For by 1t He Takes Away
From Us All the Sting and From the
Grave Its Victory.
New YORK CITY. - The following inn
pressive sermon has been prepared for
the press by the popular pastorevangel-
list, the Rev. DR.. j. Wilbur Chapman.
The subject of the discourse is "Rabboni,"
and it was preached from the text "Jesus
saith unto her, Mary She turned herself,
and saith unto Him, Rabboni which is to
say, Master!" John %: 10.
The burial of Christ lies between His
humiliation and His exhaltaton; it is one
OF the resting points in His history, and
the grave to Him as to us all was the gate
Of life. He passed through it into His
glorious resurrection. Ii the crucifxion
be represented as one mountain and the
ascension as another then the burial of
Christ is like valley, and since it is true
that IN every valley mentioned in the
Scriptures there is a well of water or a
spring, so strange as it may seem in this
valley which seems to be filed only with
shadows one stoops to drink at the well of
comfort, for the death of Christ is the
very. greatest possible comfort and help to
us all the sting and from the grave its VIC
tory, for the tomb of the Christian in all
the years this side of the burial of Christ
has been tenanted with angels, but we
have not so much to do with His burial
as with His resurrection. John gives no
narrative of the resurrection itself, but
rather an account of the manner in which
he himself was convinced that the resur-
rection had taken place. 1t is not so
much an argument, although on the basis
OF 1T the strongest arguments have been
presented; it is rather a beautiful testi-
mony and thrilling story When Mary
brought the startling intelligence that the
tomb was empty Peter and John made
for the spot at the top of their speed.
John outruns Peter, but naturally rever-
ence keeps him from entering the tomb
He looks in, however, to convince himself
that the body has not been removed by
the enemies of Christ, for the linen
clothes in which He had been wrapped
When Peter comes up they two enter the
tomb together, and their differences are
reached after they have carefully studied
the surroundings. This simple narrative
will be to many minds more convincing
than great argument. 1t is told clearly
by an eye witness of all the events. We
see Mary breathlessly giving out the
startling news, and we watch the hasty
springing up Of the two men and their
the gates to the garden. We behold John
standing painting at the rock-hewn sep
ulcher and we catch vision of Peter
tolhng up behind but not hesitating a mo-
ment. We see him entering and gazing at
this and that, till the articles in the
tomb have told their story and the two
men leave the sepulcher together awed
and convinced, and the eye witness who
thus beautifully relates what he knew of
that wonderful morning adds, "He saw
and believed"
Mary came after That as quickly as she
could, but exhausted with her rapid car
rylng of the news to Peter and John was
not able to keep pace with them as they
ran to the tomb, and before she arrived
they were gone. She may have missed
them IN the streets as she came out of
the city. AT any rate, finding the tomb
still empty, and no one present to ex-
plain the reason of it, she stands there
heart broken and pours out her distress
IN tears. The grave being empty the
whole earth is empty to her; the dead
Christ was more to her than living
world She can but stand and lay her
head upon the stone and let her tears
flow as from broken heart So absorb
ing IS her grief that the vision of angels
does not astonish her; she had but the
one thought, "They have taken away my
Lord" She supposed, too, that all about
her must know her loss and understand
what she is seeking, so that when she
sees the gardener as she supposes she
cries out, eff thou have borne Him
hence" She does not even mention Ills
name, for she cannot imagine that any
one is thinking of any other than He who
fills her whole mind and heart. John
20: l1-l3). "But Mary stood without at
the sepulcher weeping, and as she wept
she stopped down and looked into the sep
ulcher, and seeth two angels in white sit
ting, the one at the head and the other
at the feet, where the body of Jesus had
lain. And they say unto her, Woman,
why weepest thou? She saith unto them.
Because they have taken away my Lord,
and | know not where they have laid
HIM" As Mary answers the angels she
heard step behind her and the door of
the tomb is darkened by shadow, and
on turning discerns dimly through her
tears figure which naturally enough she
supposes to be the gardener. because he
was the hkeliest person to be going about
the garden at that early hour. John 20:
l4-l6).. And when she had thus said She
turned herself back and saw Jesus stand
ing and knew not that it was Jesus.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weep
est thou? Whom seekest thou? She,
suppcslng Him to be the gardener, saith
unto Him, Sir, if Thou have borne Him
hence. tell me where Thou hast laid Him,
and | will take Him away Jesus saith
unto her, Mary! She turned herself and
saith unto Him, Rabboni! which is to
say, Master!"
The utterance of her name was enough
to tell her it was some one who knew her
that was there. The voice seemed again
to command calm within her, for once
before that voice had banished from her
nature the evil spirits that had taken pos
session of her, but now again she steps
out of darkness into light, and from being
broken hearted she becomes the happiest
creature in the. world. Undoubtedly
there is very much more to the ministry
of angels than we imagine. Their at
tendance upon Jesus birth. their con-
slant presence during all His life, and
even the guarding of His dead body is
but an example of their service to each
Of us. All the providential dealings of
God are administered by angels, and in
the next dispensation we do not know
but that this may be our own ministry.
Hebrews 2: 5, "For unto the angels hath
He not put in subsection the world to
come, whereof we speak" There are
some special thoughts which ought to be