ing, he calls upon them to dismiss their fears; telling them, that, although the guards, who were placed at the tomb by the enemies of Jesus, and for a hostile purpose, had good reason to be alarmed, and had done well to depart as soon as they had in some degree recovered from their fright, yet there was no occasion for them to be terrified, who were the followers of Jesus, and came there from affection to their master, and with a view to do him honour.

6.

He is not here: for he is risen, as

he said;

Or, rather, he is raised up: for Christ did not raise himself from the dead, but was raised by the power of the Father: he had often told his disciples that, after he was crucified, he should rise again from the dead: but they did not understand his words; and none of them had any expectation of such an event. As he often spoke to them in figurative language, when he spoke of his death, they probably understood not a natural death, but his being overwhelmed with some great calamity, and by a resurrection, his emerging from it. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Not merely the spot upon which his body was laid: for to look at that would not confirm their faith in his resurrection, but to satisfy themselves that he is gone, or risen, by examining the sepulchre in which his body was laid, and the grave clothes which he has left behind, and the orderly manner in which they are folded up, which those who had stolen the body would have been in too much haste to do.

7. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead. And behold he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him.

Inform all his disciples immediately of this glorious event; that they may not any longer entertain a sus

1

picion of his being an impostor, which some might have been ready to conclude, when they saw him crucified. Tell them, moreover, that, in order to confirm their faith in his resurrection, he will give them all an opportunity of seeing him, not at Jerusalem, where many might be disposed to wait for that favour, for he does not mean to show himself openly to the Jews in that city, but in Galilee, as he has already told you, Matt. xxvi. 32. It was in Galilee, probably, that Jesus was seen by the five hundred brethren at once, whom Paul mentions, and whom he met by appointment. This message from the angel, directing them to go to Galilee, was addressed to the disciples of Christ in general, and not particularly to the apostles: for he appeared to them the same day.

Lo, I have told you.

Christ foretold it to you; and I, who am a messenger from God, foretel it again; that you may inform those who question the authority of what you say.

8. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre, or rather out of the tomb, for they went into it at the desire of the angel, with fear and great joy, and did run to bring his disciples word.

Their fear arose from their having seen an angel, an extraordinary sight, which was thought by the Jews to forebode evil to the person who was thus distinguished, and their joy from the intelligence which he gave them.

9. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold Jesus met them, saying, All hail! i. e. peace be unto you. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him, rather did him homage.

To infer hence that Mary Magdalene and the other women considered Jesus as God, and intended to pay him divine honours, or that they considered him as any

thing more than a man, would be a hasty conclusion: for we find the same respect paid to other prophets*. The word "worship" does not express supreme homage or respect, either in common life or in the language of Scripture: but it is a term that signifies civil respect as well as religious adoration t. For a person to fall down upon his knees, or to prostrate himself upon his face, in the presence of another, is a common token of respect, in eastern countries, to kings and great personages. This was the whole of what was done in the present instance; and no more was intended by it than a strong testimony of respect, proceeding from the discovery just made of the extraordinary character of Jesus.

10. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid, be not alarmed at meeting me, on this occasion; for it is not a spirit that you behold, but me, your master: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they meet me.

He calls his disciples brethren, to intimate to them that, notwithstanding the high honours which had been lately conferred upon him, by raising him from the dead, yet they were the common children of one Father, who intended the same privileges for all his offspring of the human race: he signifies the same direction to his disciples which had been sent them before by the angel, respecting their meeting him in Galilee.

The evangelists agree with each other in regard to the main fact of the resurrection of Jesus, on the first day of the week, but vary considerably with respect to particulars of time, of place and of other less circumstances relating to his own appearance, and that of the angels, to the women. I have not pointed out these variations, nor attempted to reconcile them, because I do not think them material: they are obvious to every one who will read the accounts given of the resurrection by the four evangelists, and compare them together. I shall only observe here, although the observation is appli

* 2 Kings, iv. 27. + 1 Chron. xxix. 20.

cable to many other parts of the gospel-history, that persons of the strictest fidelity, in giving a narration of a transaction to which they were witnesses, while they agree in respect to the main business, always differ in their account of particulars; the memory of some being more retentive than that of others; the minds of dif ferent persons being differently affected by the same events; and some attending most to one thing, others, to another. We have reason therefore to expect that there would be a like variation in the narrative of these women, in relating what they saw at the tomb of Jesus, or what occurred soon afterwards; especially when we recollect that they were now much terrified, which would prevent them from attending to particular circumstances so well as at another time. Hence, as the evangelists must take their accounts from different individuals, and each of them strictly adhered to his own authority, their histories necessarily vary in regard to particulars: but this variation is so far from destroying the credibility of the first witnesses, or, in consequence, that of those who wrote after them, that it tends to confirm their testimony, by showing that they did not combine to tell a common story, and that the variations are no greater than those which take place in what are deemed authentic accounts. It ought also to be remembered that the truth of our Lord's resurrection does not wholly, or principally, depend upon the testimony of these women, but upon that of the apostles, who all saw him alive.

REFLECTIONS.

1. Let us here notice the strong evidence, arising from the facts just mentioned, for the resurrection of Jesus: he is seen alive by those who were intimately acquainted with him, within three days after he died, while he was fresh in their memories, while a guard of soldiers was strictly watching his tomb, while his disci

ples were full of consternation at his death, and in no state of mind for planning any scheme of imposture: within this short period also he walks abroad, in perfect health, with all his wounds cured, and as well as if nothing had happened to him. What stronger evidence could we have of a miraculous interposition of divine power, than what these circumstances afford?

Some may perhaps regret that Jesus did not remain longer in the grave, and may imagine, in particular, that if he had continued there until putrefaction had taken place, his resurrection would have been rendered more striking: but the evidence we now have would have been impaired rather than strengthened by such a delay of the event. Wherever there is actual death, a resurrection is as much a proof of divine power at one period as at another, at the end of three days as at the end of three weeks. If, however, the resurrection of Jesus had been delayed, it might have been said that the disciples had time to recover from their consternation, and to contrive some scheme for removing the body, and that their design might be favoured by the negligence of the guard, who would relax their attention in the course of time. It might also be said that there would be time for him to recover from an apparent death. But the short interval which passed between the time of his death and that of his resurrection, leaves no room for any of these suppositions. For Jesus, after hanging several hours upon the cross on Friday, and appearing to be dead, both to his friends and enemies, was wrapt up in a linen cloth, and laid in a cold sepulchre on the evening of the same day, where he remained, strictly guarded by a company of soldiers: yet on Sunday morning he appears alive again, and is perfectly recovered from the effects of his crucifixion. Granting that he might not have been dead at first, yet it was impossible that in so short a time he should be so far recovered from the severe wounds which he received in his hands and in his feet, to say nothing of that in his side, without the miraculous interposition of divine power; and if we allow of a miracle in any case, we may as well admit it in regard to his being raised from the dead,