The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1928-04-12
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THE PROOF OF THE RESURREC.

THE PROOF OF THE RESURREC-
TON.
If we should take all the millions of
Bibles in the world and tear from
them every page upon which is men
toned the empty tomb and the Eas-
ter triumph, nevertheless the resur-
reetion of Christ would remain one of
the best attested facts of human his
tory. For the real proof that our
Savious conquered death and brought
Immortality to light is not found in
the Bible; it is found in the histori-
cal fact of the Christian Church.
Remember that the disciples of
Jesus expected that He was going to
Jerusalem to establish an earthly Mes
sianic Kingdom. That was why, on
the first Palm Sunday, they shouted,
'Hosanna! Blessed is the kingdom
that cometh, the kingdom of our
father David" And the apostles ex-
pected that they were going to have
a grand time in this new kingdom:
they were going to sit on His right
hand and on His left, judging the
twelve tribes of Israel.
Now, let us try to put ourselves in
their place and imagine the surprise,
the CONSERVATION, of those disciples
when their King, instead of being
seated upon a throne, was nailed to q
cross! Imagine the shock of their
disappointment. This Jesus has
proved not to be the Messiah; He is
only an impostor, or deluded fanatic.
God has condemned Him and repudi-
ated Him by allowing Him to be cru
Gifted, to die the ignominious death Of
slave. They were absolutely stunned
by the catastrophe. They lost all
faith in Jesus. They were scattered.
They fled in fear and abject disillu-
sionment.
The crucifxion completely put an
end to the Christian religion. That
was why the priests crucified Him.
And they accomplished their purpose.
Christianity died and was buried with
the body of Jesus in the sepulcher of
Joseph of Arimathea.
For a time there was no Christian
religion. And then-something hap
pened! Suddenly the disciples began
to gather together again in Jerusa-
lem. They organized themselves into
community, brotherhood so COM
plete that they shared all their prop
erty in common. They began to preach
that this crucifed Christ is the Saw
ious of the world. And they believed
it, They preached it with such su-
perhuman power that the Roman En-
pire was won to their message. They
who had lost their faith, now show
themselves imbued with a faith which
no danger can brighten. They who
fled like towards now are drawer than
lions. Christianity, which was dead,
suddenly came to life.
Something must have happened
Something did happen. Those disci-
Piles knew that Christ was not dead.
They knew that He had risen from
the grave; for He was with them,
Transforming their sorrow into joy,
their weakness into strength, their
fear into courage.
That is why say that the resurrec-
ton of Christ is one of the best at
tested facts of human history. The
resurrection of Christianity to be-
come the dominant religion of the
world, is the proof of the resurrec-
ton of Christ. If Jesus had not tri-
umphed over death and the grave,
there would be no Christian Church,
nor any of the philanthropic and edu-
cational institutions which trace their
origin to the Church. Every lofty
spire that we see piercing the hori
zon, like an uplifted finger directing
mems souls upward from the dust of
earth to heaven above, is proof of
the glorious ascension of our Saviour
from the darkness of the tomb to the
dwelling place of everlasting light.