The Risen Lord

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jun 2, 1898

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 24, No. 22.

Lesson XII.—Sunday, June 19, 1898.

The Risen Lord

Note.—Like many of the International Sunday-school lessons, this one begins so abruptly as to be almost unintelligible without some knowledge of what has gone before. The time was in the morning of the first day of the week, the third day after the crucifixion. It was after the women had gone to the tomb of Jesus to anoint His body. The lesson should commence with the beginning of the chapter.

Lesson Scripture, Matt. 28:8-20, R.V.

8 “And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and 9 great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. And behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and took 10 hold of His feet, and worshiped Him. Then saith Jesus unto them, Fear not; go tell My brethren that they depart into Galilee, and there shall they see Me. 11 “Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city, and told unto the chief priests all the things 12 that were come to pass. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto 13 the soldiers, saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and 14 stole Him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and rid you of care. So they took the money, and did as they were taught; and this 15 saying was spread abroad among the Jews, and continueth until this day. 16 “But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the moun- 17 tain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw 18 Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath 19 been given unto Me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the 20 name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you; and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”

Golden Text: “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore.” Rev. 1:18.

Suggestive Questions

(1) On what mission did two women depart from the sepulcher of Jesus? and what caused both fear and joy? V. 8. Note 1. (2) Whom did they meet on the way? V. 9. Note 2. (3) With what salutation did He greet them? Same v. Note 3. (4) How did they respond to His greeting? Same v. (5) What further assurance, and what commission, did Jesus give the women? V. 10. (6) About this time what occurred in the city? V. 11. (7) After taking counsel together, what did the priests and elders decide to do? Vs. 11, 12. (8) What instruction did they give the soldiers? V. 13. (9) How did they propose to secure the soldiers against punishment? V. 14. Note 4. (10) How did the soldiers respond to this proposition? V. 15. Note 5. (11) What was the effect of this report upon the Jews? Same v. (12) Then what did the eleven disciples do? V. 16. Note 6. (13) How did they regard Him when they met Him this time? V. 17. (14) What further assurance did He give them? V. 18. Note 7. (15) With what commission did He instruct them? Vs. 19, 20. Note 8. (16) What final promise did He give them? V. 20. Note 9.

Notes

1. The pronoun “they” in this verse refers to Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” (verse 1), who were sent by the angel at the sepulcher to tell the disciples that the Lord had “risen from the dead” (verse 7). “The other Mary” was evidently the mother of James and Joses. Mark 15:40. The appearance of the angels caused the women to fear, but the good news caused them to rejoice.

2. This was not the first meeting of Christ with Mary Magdalene, for His first appearance to any one was to her alone (Mark 16:9), and at that time He forbade her to touch Him (John 20:11-18).

3. “All hail.”—A common salutation, meaning to rejoice. The common English “all hail” is a change from “all health.”

4. The evidence of the resurrection of Jesus must have been deemed well-nigh irresistible in the minds of the chief priests, else they would not have felt obliged to resort to the dangerous project of bribing the soldiers to criminate themselves. If there had been any fraud in the matter of the reported resurrection, it ought not to have been a difficult matter to expose it by honest means.

5. The proposition to “persuade the governor” in case the soldiers were tried for sleeping on guard, showed that the priests now felt that they could do anything with Pilate. His subservient yielding to their demands to have Jesus crucified after he had declared Him innocent, gave them confidence that they could coerce him into anything else. Such is always the result of compromising with evil.

6. Christ appeared eleven times to men and women after His resurrection; that is, we have record of so many such occasions: (1) To Mary Magdalene. Mark 16:9; John 20:11-18. (2) To the two women, Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary.” Matt. 28:9, 10. (3) To Peter. Luke 24:34. (4) To the two disciples who journeyed to Emmaus. Luke 24:13-35; Mark 16:12. (5) To the disciples at their room that same night. Luke 24:36-45; John 20:19, 25. (6) To His disciples again, eight days after. John 20:26-29. (7) To seven disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. John 21. (8) To “five hundred brethren at once.” 1 Cor. 15:6. (9) To James. 1 Cor. 15:7. (10) To all the apostles, in Galilee. Same verse, also Matt. 28:16. (11) To all the apostles again, in Jerusalem and Bethany, on the day of His ascension. Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:4-11. Of these specific occasions, five occurred on the day of the resurrection (the first day of the week) and the night following. The next recorded appearance, being eight days after, was on the second day of the week. But as to the other meetings we have no means of knowing upon what days of the week they occurred. Nor do we know whether these were all the interviews He had with them. Luke makes the general statement that “He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” Acts 1:3.

7. “All power.”—The secret of Christ’s success over all opposition was the power which His faith commanded. He says to His disciples, “Go ye therefore,” indicating that “all power” is available to them through faith.

8. The teaching.—The disciples were to teach all things whatsoever Jesus had commanded them. We often hear that this or that instruction or ordinance was only for the apostles, or for the disciples of their day. But their commission is a complete refutation of all such ideas.

9. I am with you alway.—As Christ is with His disciples by means of the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-18, 26), this promise is an assurance of the presence of the Spirit in the church “even unto the end of the world.”