The Washington herald., 1914-12-12

l6) But the eleven disciples went INTO
Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus
had appointed them:
90 And when they saw him, they wor-
SHIPPED him but some doubted.
QS And Jesus came to them and spake
unto them, saying. All authority hath
been given unto me in heaven and on
earth.
u9 Go ye therefore. and make disciples
OF all the nations. baptizing them into the
name OF the Father and of the Son and
OF the Holy Ghost.
(20 Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever l commanded you: and 10.
am with you always, even unto the end
of the world.
CS6) And as they spake these things. he
himself stood in the midst Of them. and
saith unto them. Peace be unto you.
CD But they were terrified and alright
ed. and supposed that they beheld a
spirit.
C3S And he said unto them, Why are
We troubled? and wherefore do reason
ings arise in your heart?
(3e) See my hands and my feet. that II
is l myself: handle me, and see; for
spirit hath not flesh and bones. as ys
behold me having.
CIO And when he had said this. he
showed them his hands and his feet.
CiD And while they still disbelieved for
Joy, and wondered. he said unto them,
Have ye here anything to eat?
(49 And they gave him a piece OF a
broiled fish.
CIS) And he took 1t, and did eat before
them.
90 And he said unto them. These are
my words which I spake unto you, while
I was yet with you, how that all things
must needs be fulhlled, which are writ
ten in the law OF Moses. and the prophets,
and the psalms concerning me.
Cf6 Then opened he their mind, that
they might understand the Scriptures.
C46) And he said unto them. Thus it is
written. that the Christ should suffer.
and rise again from the dead the third
day.
90 And that repentance and remission
Of sins should be preached in his name
unto all the nations, beginning from
Jerusalem.
C4s) Ye are witnesses Of these things.
C4s) And bshold, ! send forth the prom
Use OF my Father upon you; but tarry ye
in the city, until ye be clothed with power
from on high.
The Narrative.
The title Of our lesson today. The
Great Commission must be amended.
As a matter OF fact. the lesson consists
OF two paragraphs, one from Matthew
and one from Luke. constituting either
two parts OF the great commission. or
two commissions, as We care to say. 1t
is OF real Importance to the understand
ing Of our missionary enterprises that
we should realize that these four Cos
pels give US four distinct accounts OF the
final commands Of Jesus to His disciples,
marking for US four phases Of our re-
sponsibility. II is not within the prov
ince OF this lesson TO deal with all OF
these, but two are before US. and these
must not be confused. Let it be care
fully observed that they were spoken
on different occasions. in different places.
in different terms. and that they describe
different responsibilities. In glancing at
them we will reverse the order OF the
reading. and thus We shall follow the true
sequence.
Let us first. then. take that recorded
by Luke These words were spoken on
the actual resurrection day, and in TIE
upper room where the eleven were gath
cred together. Much had alrady taken
place: the first appearance to the women
in the early morning. then somewhere
the private interview with Simon. and
the walk to Emmaus. Evidently the
evening was advanced into the night. for I
at Emmaus the two had said, Abide
with US: for it is toward evening and
since then had returned 10 Jerusalem.
While they were thus assembled. sud-
denly without the opening of door, He
stood in their midst. Although they had
heard the story of His appearing to
Simon and His walk with the two to
Emmaus. they were filled with fear; and /
He is seen in infinite grace demonstrate J
ing to them that il was lie Himself. as
He showed them His hands and His feet: /
and that in certain respects lie was un- /
as, asking them for food, He
ate before them.
He then proceeded to teach them. How I
long this lasted VIC cannot tell. There .
can be no question that ii was Won !
derful experience, for Luke declares that /
He opened their mind that they might |
the Scriptures. Thus show |
ing that His work had been in fulfill /
ment of those Scriptures, and that its pur- !
pose had been that repentance and re-
mission of sins should he preached in
His name to all nations, He commission
ed them, declaring that their RESPONSE
bility would be that OF being His wit
ness; and that in the coming OF the 1
Spirit they would be endued with power I
necessary for the fulfllment of their re-
sponsibility.
The story found in Matthew is of an
event which took place much later. The
first annunciation of the resurrection by
the angel indicated the fact that the
risen Lord would meet His disciples in
Galilee. That would appear to have
been a large gathering. for it is most
probable that II was this to which Paul
referred when he said that He appeared
to above FIVE hundred brethren at once.
II is quite true that Matthew declares
that the eleven went to the mountain
where Jesus had appointed them in Gal
lice. but this does not exclude the possi-
bility of the gathering there Of the larger
number
Matthews account is interesting II
read, in that It is evident that
when they saw Him He was at dis
tance from them; and vet the vision was
one which commanded their worship.
while some doubted. Then He drew near
TO them. and first uttered the superlative
claim that all authority had been given
to Him in heaven and on earth. Imme
diately following upon that claim. He
them to the work Of dis
cipling the nations.
The Teaching. I
Perhaps the first matter of value to
those of us who read these stories is
their revelation of the fact Of the per-
petual nearness of the risen Lord to our
ordinary human experiences; and His
lnwearied patience with those inflrmities
which make II hard for us to realize His
spiritual presence. 1t is we'll for us to
remind ourselves that He is no less pa
tent with us than He was with these
men.
OF course the supreme message OF the
esson is that of the immediate and per-
sistent responsibilities Of those whom He
,aves. His heart is ever set upon the
-aa ,bfno ~ otbars and as each new