Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1906-09-13

~ uAAeO t1Au1 IuS Lu1rO time,
Lowest thou Me?'" Why was Peter
grleved? John offers no explana-
ton. But the Lords thought went
PACK 10 the court Of Annas and Gaia
phas, where three times Peter had
denied Him, and, if the narrative had
peen made up, this would have been
explained. Have you ever noticed
that the four Gospels insist upon the
fact that our Lord returned thanks
IN the breaking of bread? That is
something we do three times every
day, but do not think that any one.
in writing our lives. would put it on
record. We simply return thanks as
matter Of form, but when Jesus. In
the breaking of bread, lifted up His
heart and opened His lips, there was
sEch a real drawing into the presence
of God that no one at the table ever
forgot it. When, after the walk TO
Emmaus, Jesus returned thanks. al
though they had not recognized Him
+ before, Notwithstanding that their
hearts burned within them as He
talked, the disciples knew Him. In
moment their eyes were opened.
and they said: cit is the Lord: no.
body else ever. returned thanks that
way" Is this fiction? If one man
wrote the story OF the four Gospels.
why should he put in all of these de-
tails without explanation? It is In
credible; and that four Should do SO
is absolutely unbelievable. How
comes it? Because this is what oc-
Cured. and they told what they saw
without realizing the significance Of
what they put down. Still another
the story of the Resurrection, why
should he put in the fact that the
little napkin "was wrapped together
in place by itself?" Who cares
whether it was in place by itse.f or
not? I do not know whether John
= knew the significance Of it or not. but
there is significance in it that no
fiction would contain. 1t showed that
RS Jesus arose, triumphant over death
and the grave, in the supreme moment
Of the worlds history, there was no
hurry, no haste, no excitement, but
that, with the same majestic com.
posure, the same divine sublimity,
the same majestic calm that marked
Him In the storm On the Sea OF CAL
ilee. He rises from the grave. He
does not tear the handkerchief from
His face and fling 1t across the room,
but calmly unbinds His head and
face, lays 1t aside in a place by itself
and passes out OF the sepulchre. Ir
that made up, and put in without a
word OF explanation? Never. We
have read not picture, but facts,
with detail here and another there,
Of which the writer, apparently, had
no conception Of the meaning but
simply wrote what he saw.
We have a volume OF evidence on
the resurrection of that kind. First.
the apostles, beyond peradventure,
made the resurrection of Jesus the
cornerstone Of their preaching, and
they preached it in the very city
where He was crucified and before
the court that condemn ed him. Fur
tllermore, they gave their lives for
testimony. Men do not do that for
what they know to be false. Second
ly, the early church, which came out
OF the Jewish church, changed the
Sabbath observance from the seventh
day to the first day Of the week, aud
anyone who has studied Jewish his
tory knows the hardest thing In the
world is to change Jewish customs,
oil oOu1CLE1HS5 luuSL udRO
happened to make this change posi-
BILE, simply by common consent. The
third fact is most significant-the
moral transformation of the apostles
themselves. They we're pack of ut
terly demoralized towards, and few
days after we see that same company
filled with the most indomitable cour-
age that the world has ever seen.
What had happened? Jesus had risen
and they had seen Him. All inteNi-
gent men who deny the resurrection
admit that the apostles thought He
had risen. Straus says: eve admit
that they had seen something; may
not this appearance have been Wis
ionary?" That IS, they saw a vision.
Our answer is this: Whoever heard
Of eleven men having the same vision
at the same time; and of 500 men
having the same vision? An old ar
gument against the resurrection has
been revived within the last five
years, and it was that Jesus was not
really dead and was resuscitated, and
they appeal to a historic fact that
certain Jewish officer was taken down
from cross and brought back to
life We have five objections to this:
First, what preceded the crucifxion
the 1scourging, etc. Second, the
Jews and the Romans took special
precautions to prevent this. Third,
remember His broken heart. Fourth.