Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-04-15
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
For April 20, 1924-EaSter Lesson
BY DIR. MARION McH. HULL

Golden Text: "But now hath Christ
been raised from the dead and be-
come the first fruits of them that are
asleep."-I Cor. 1920.
The early Christians continued the
worship of God and the observance
or the seventh day of the week as
the Sabbath, the day of rest; but on
the first day of the week they began
to assemble themselves together, to
break bread, pray, and talk with
each other about the things of the
Christ, for it was on that day that
their Lord had risen from the dead
and made His first appearance to
them. Every first day of the week,
therefore, came to them to be an
Easter day; and every Sunday now
is Easter.
BY common consent and usage,
however, the whole world has come
to think of particular Sunday IN
the wear as Easter Sunday and as
particularly celebrating the day on
which our Lord Jesus Christ rose
, from the dead. Jesus was Cruclhed
on April and rose from the dead on
April 8; but these dates are not Kept
because the occasion which deter
mined them as such on that year is
not fixed date and varies from
wear to year. In this year OF grace
&924, they fall on April is and ~;
hence our lesson this Week,
""The First Fruits
Tt isstrange, indeed, to some that so
inonortant an event in the life of our
Lord and in the plan of God should
be so vigorously attacked as is the
case now with the truth of the ac-
tual resurrection of the body or
Jesus. But there are scores of min
listers today who are attacking it,
q from those who claim it to have been
nothing more than a pleasant nyth
to those who spiritualiZe it and thus
make it of no effect. The fact OF the
actual resurrection,s OF the oody OIL
Jesus is more cap8ble of proof by
the ordinary laws of evidence thah
any other fact in history, ancient or
modern. OF the many 'intalllble
proofs" spoken of by that very &C
curate medical writer Of His own
day, DR.. Luke, let us note only
three. -,
The complete change in the atti-
tude of His disciples is one OF these.
. Not one of them believed what lie
told them about His being ralsec
from the dead on the third day, al
though He had repeatedly told tnem
of it in the days Of His flesh. They
were every one respondent, discour'
aged. disheartened, when they saw
Him hang dead upon upon the cross,
and then buried in Joseph tomb
Not one of them looked ahead as
much as three days when He would
again be alive as He had repeatedly
told them.
When He appeared first to Mary
Macdalene. she thought He was the
gardener and pleaded with Him TO
tell her where tho lost body of her
loved One was. One word from Him
then convinced her.
When she and the other women
told the disciples, the eleven, not one
of them believed them. They laugh
ed at them, thinking they were tell
ing them but idle tales. Peter and
John had curiosity enough to go and
see for themselves; and when they
reached the empty tomb, they were
convinced.
The two going to Emmaus that
afternoon argued with Him the
strange story they had heard that
day, and when He, unrecognized by
them, opened the Scriptures from
Moses and the prophets and the
Psalms concerning the Messiah,
even though their hearts were agloW
with the wonderful words of the
Word of God, still they didn't be-
lieve it until He asked the blessing
at the table and they recognized
their old familiar friend--and He
was gone.
The ten in the upper room that
evening-mind you, Peter and John
were with them, and had seen won
derful things at the tomb; and Peter
had even talked with Him that day
did not believe the "rumor" that had
been shaking all classes at Jeru
salem that day. Peter and John
were not able to convince the 9th
ers. And suddenly, although the
door and windows were barred
Jesus Himself appeared in their
midst, and they believed.
But they couldn't convince Thorn
as. who happened to be away that
night. They talked to Him a whole
week and still he wouldn't believe
it. until the next first day evening
when they were all together again,
Jesus again appeared in their midst;
and to show that He was a real
body, told Thomas to put his fingers
in the nail prints and thrust his hand
in the spear jab and be not faithless
but believing-and then Thomas
/ Ws convinced.
A%Now their whole attitude changed;
their conviction was so strong that
they risked their all on the truth
Of 1t, and sealed their faith in it
with their lifes blood.
The second evidence OF its truth
is what Peter and John saw when
they reached the empty tomb. The
grave clothes were wrappings, like
roller bandages, all around the body
and conforming to the shape of the
body. When they looked in, there
were the grave clothes in the shape
OF the body still, but collapsed just
as though the body had evaporated