The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-06-30


ton with the subject. Now, when we
hearken to the Word of God. how
plain, how simple, how reasonable. are
Its teachings! The dead are dead aud
not alive. However, in view of Gods
plan that there shall be resurrection
of the dead sin due time" he speaks
of the dead not as extinct like the
brute, but as merely asleep. They
are waiting for the morning-the glo-
rious morning of Messiah's Kingdom,
when "the Sun of Righteousness shall
arise with healing in its beams" when
Satan shall be bound for n thousand
years and deceive the peoples no more
Instead of the reign of Sin and Death
the reign of Righteousness and Life
everlasting shall begin. How beauti-
fully the Scriptures answer the ques-
ton of where the dead sleep, MANY
Of them that sleep In the dust OF the
earth shall awake" Daniel xii, o.
Lazarus, Come Forth"
Jesus and his disciples turned their
steps toward Bethany. Poor Martha
and Mary meantime were sorely dis
appointed Not for moment did they
suppose that their mighty Friend
would allow this trouble to come upon
them-that he would neglect to come
or to use his power to save Lazarus
from dying. So grief-stricken and SO
heart-broken were they. that Martha
only came to meet the Master, and her
first words were those of gentle re-
proach reminding him Of their dis
appointment in him: Lord, II thou
hadst been here--df thou hadst come
when we sent thee word)-our broth
er had not died"
What message Of comfort did Jesus
express2 Did he say, Martha, Lazarus
Is far better Off in heaven! He Is with
the angels! He is singing and very
happy! Surely you would not bring
him back to earth againl Were these
the words of Jesus2 No. He merely
said, "Thy brother shall rise again"
He thus implied that her brother was
not alive but really dead How could he
rise again if he had not ceased to live2
Martha's reply indicates that she I'M
Jesus and of the prophets. She said,
II know that he shall rise again in the
resurrection at the last day" But Je-
sus wished to draw her attention to
the present and to have her ask him
even at this time to call Lazarus back
from the sleep of death. So he said,
81 am the resurrection and the life"
10 Eo
siah, the Son of God. You believe that
eventually when the resurrection does
take place, Gods resurrection power
will be exercised through me. And
now am here with you. Why do you
not ask me to exercise some of this
power in advance? Where have you
laid him?
Martha finally caught the thought,
but replied, No. no, Lord, 1t is too late
now. BY this time he stinketh. for he
has been dead four days. If you had
come when l sent you word, or even
had gotten here within a day or so,
there would have been some hope, but
now it has gone too far for that; for
decomposition has set in. No miracle
could possibly reorganize broken-down
tissues. But Jesus insisted that they
should show him the place. When he
came to the tomb, what did the Master
do? Did he command Lazarus to lay
aside his crown and harp In heaven
and bid the angels goodby and come
back to earth life? No! Did he call
for him to come up from Purgatory,
the location Of which nobody knows?
No! What did he say? Addressing
the tomb he said, Lazarus, come
forth" And what occurred? The
dead one came forth. He was not
alive at all! He was dead!
The Beloved Family.
We read again. Now Jesus loved
Martha and her sister, and Lazarus"
Some have thought that they discerned
Lazarus amongst later disciples of
Christ-possibly Barnabas. But any
way he was one whom Jesus loved,
even though he was not one of the
apostles who followed with the Lord.
And Martha has come down to us as
a synonym of bustling, energetic hos
pitality, "busied about many things"
Yet surely she was loving and loyal
to the Master Jesus loved Martha
and we may be sure therefore that he
loves all of similar character. But he
loved Mary also. And we do not for
get that when she gave up some of
her homework that she might sit Mt
the feet of Jesus and learn of him the
Master declared that she had chosen
the better part" This was the same
Mary who anointed the Master with
the precious spikenard ointment five
days before his burial Martha and
Mary both loved and were loved of the
Lord, yet evidently, Mary's love and
the form it took was specially approx
ed of the Master.
Finally we come TO John the loving
disciple of whom II is said that he was
that disciple whom Jesus loved"
What glorious testimony was John'sl
We remember that he and his brother
loved the Lord so dearly that they de-
Eired that in his Kingdom in the future
they might be next to him, one on his
right hand, the other on his left hand.
We remember that the Master answer
ed that only by drinking of his cup OF
shame and ignomlny, and by being
baptized into his sacrihcial death could
they hope to sit in his throne at all.
And we recall how Loyalty they agreed
TO these terms.