The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1916-04-22

II teachers can impress indelibly
upon the minds of their scholars the
fact that Jesus rose from the dead and
ia as truly alive today as when walk
ing the hills of Galilee this repetition
Of the Easter story will not be in vain.
For the pupils to take notes Of the
points of the argument and to recite
upon those notes at the end of the
class hour would greatly help to fix
the facts in their minds. This account
considered today is perhaps the old
est written record we have of this
great fact, written about So A. D.,
hence the significance of verse six.
l. The Triumphant Fact Tvs. la. II
Christian workers would be more IA
miliar with this passage they would
more in~telligently understand what
the term Gospel" means. The fact Of
the resurrection doomed larger in
Paul's mind than the virgin birth; the
former was and is the greater miracle.
This, n Of the supreme chapters Of
the Bible, tells us what the Gospel is,
and what its results are to be. %
What it is. Not a new cure for tuber-
~culosis, nor a new social environment,
but the good news of one who was God
incarnate paul does not use his earth
ly name Jesus), Christ the Amounted
|nNa uuhA IfDl FOR N1,r g,,,z i,1Ct 90 thn
Scriptures had foretold, and was bur
led. On the third day, according to
the Scriptures" He rose again and is
now and ever shall be alive. Any Cos
pei that ignores the incarnation, pas
sion and resurrection of Jesus is false
to the Scriptures and a lie. (2) The
result of preaching or testifying to
this great program is twofold: first,
salvation, saved, restored to right
relations with Cod" and second, per-
severance, wherein We stand" The
"'God-story," good news, evangel or
tgospel-they are all the same-is the
power of God unto salvation" and the
strong doctrine of the resurrection
will cause men to walk straight, to
stand upright. Christ died for my
sins according to the Scriptures" Qso.
t53: $40.
II. Witnesses to the Fact Tvs. 5-12).
Paul ". 81 received the resurrection
truth from many witnesses, whom he
proceeds to enumerate, for it was not
"a matter of his own invention. The in
lcredulity of the disciples at the first
is frankly recorded luke PAID. Je-
'sus did not appear first to John, Plate
or the Sanhedrin, but to a woman, and
the change of the apostles from a
spirit of despair to that of confident,
Joyous certainty was most astonishing.
There are eleven recorded appear
ances of Jesus after his resurrection,
and not one of them was made to his
enemies. Paul does not mention all
of the appearances. He is probably
naming only those persons, witnesses
of his appearances, with whom he had
~sconversed, or at least a few from each
group. Q) Peter, referred to indirect,
1y in Luke 24:34; (2). the apostles, to
be exact, the first ten, Judas being
dead and Thomas absent; go the apos
ties with Thomas present; "a five
hundred, the only record of this great
company, though perhaps implied in
the brethren of Matt. 2S:10. Hall
a thousand witnesses are enough tc
establish any case" OF these the
greater number were alive twenty-five
years after the event; (5) James, prob
ably our Lords brother, the honoreC
head Of the Jerusalem church; co.
Then all the apostles" a larger cir
Gle than the twelve (see Luke 2S:4S
Acts 1863. This may have been thu
appearance in the morn at the Sea o
Galilee; CD me also" The winning
of the prosecutor who had looked
upon this wild tale Of a cruciied ant
risen teacher as a sacrilege and a dis
grace to his nation, is the most sigma
and significant triumph of the Chris
tian faith. The Damascus road vic
tory was far more p%ortentious thai
any other battle of history. That vi
sion converted Paul and supportet
him amidst the most astounding trial
and testings. "Out of due season,
like an abortive child, like a child o
untimely birth, Paul was unworthy o
the name of a child. He had seer tn.
martyr Stephen die, he had prosecute,
those who believed, and although fol
given by God, yet he was filled wit
q lifelong regret for his misused II
fiuence and misspent years. There
fore he terms himself, least of tn
apostles" But he Is saved an
through the grace Of God can el
claim, 81 am what / am" The ev
dence OF the resurrection is more pre-
%ponderant and definite than the his
toric evidence we have that Caesa
Augustus or Abraham Lincoln eve
lived. 1t is a greater strain upon hi
man intelligence not to believe thi
fact than it is to deny the evidence c
wireless telegraphy.
I'LL The Fact Applied. Tvs. 1920.
The Corinthians, to whom Paul wa
writing, did not deny Christ's immo
tality, but seemed to deny that tn
same power which had raised hil
could be applied to US who are onl
human. Paul answers this by presen
ing -four arguments:
ID The resurrection OF Chrii
proves the possibility of the resurre
tion frnm the dead IL onlV Of 1Aan