East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1913-03-26

third day" Until that be accom- |
plished, His disciples could have no
positive assurance that their debt to
the law had been discharged.
The eXaltation of Christ considered.
in part, in His being raised from the
dead on the third day. Had He not
arisen, all His claims to the Messiah
ship would have been disproved; but
the fact of His resurrection being es-
tablished, all that He claimed for
Himself must be true. The apostles
saw this. Hence the apostles testify
not only to the fact of Christs resur-
rection. but also to its necessity in or
der to the establishment of His
claims, and the attainment of the end
which He proposed.
At first His disciples entirely mis-
understood the nature of Christ's
Kingdom. His reference to His death
burial and resurrection, had but a
vague indefinite meaning to them.
His words, "a little while and We shall
! not see me- only perpleXed them. He
said, destroy this temple, and in
three days l will raise it up" and He
was thought to refer to the material
temple, which was so many years in
building. But when the eyes of their
| understanding were opened and the
light of revelation burst in upon their
| minds, they were ready not only to
testify to the fact of the resurrection.
but also to the fact that ii had been
( distinctly foretold in prophesy and
that it was the keystone of the arch
of the Christian religion. They rec
! ognized that the Christ could not be
held under the power of death; that
| His resurrection had been spoken of
beforehand both by the prophets and
| by Himself. Fearlessly they declared
| to the face of their enemies, This
same Jesus whom ye crucified hath
God raised up" So strong was their
conviction on this point, that, at every
| breath, they were ready to declare
His resurrection, although they knew
| that their testimony exposed them to
persecution and death. Why it was
a truth which their hope of blissful
immortality depended! To have
robbed them of the glorious truth of
the resurrection of Christ would have
left them without one ray of hope as
| far as a future state of blessedness is
| concerned.
1t is this glorious fact that we must
point as Gods seal of appreciation. 1t
is an attestation on the part of the
Almighty to the satisfactory nature
| of the sacrifice offered by Christ for
sin. The resurrection is a demon
stration of the fact that the atone
ment made by Christ was accepted.
| II is the evidence to us that our own
acquittal is effected; that our debt
has been discharged. He was deliv
cred for our offences, and was raised
again for our justification" Rom.
4:25.
! Moreover, in our Lords resurrec-
tion we have the pledge and guaran-
tee that our bodies shall be raised in
corruptable.
We all shall die, we know not how
soon. Yes. these bodies must shortly
be laid in the grave, banquet for
worms" but our bodies shall be rails
ed at the last day.
Sir Knights, are we reminded of
death? The thought of death should
be accompanied with solemn awe.
"Hark from the tomb doleful sound,
Mine ears, attend the cry,
Ye living men. come view the ground
Where ye must shortly lie"
Nor is death a respecter of per-
sons:
Princes, this clay must be your bed,
In spite of all your powers,
The tall, the wise, the reverend head,
Must lie as low as ours"
Within a few short years these bod
les of ours will have all been planted
beneath the sod; but as We contem-
plate the glorious truth that He that
raised up Jesus from the dead shall
also quicked our mortal bodies, we
can lay us down in death assured,
that when the last trumpet shall
sound We shall be raised incorrupt-
ible, if found in Him. Shall we not
say with the apostle, BLESSED be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who hath begotten us again
into lively hope by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead, etc"
1t is with this confidence, this as
surance, that He that believeth in
Me, though he were dead, yet shall
he live; and whosoever liveth and be-
lieveth in me shall never die" we may
say: AaRRli
mo longer must the mourner weep
Nor call departed Christians dead;
For death Is hallowed into sleep,
And ev'ry grave becomes bed.
Now once more:
Eden's door
Open stands to mortal eyes;
For Christ hath risen. and men shall
rise
Now at last,
All things past,
Hope, and joy, and peace begin,
For Christ hath won, and man shall