Christ's resurrection.
Luke xxiv. 33, 34. And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, The Lord is risen indeed.
AMONG the various proofs of the truth of Chris- tianity, that which arises from the credibility of the witnesses is by no means the least : nor is their cre- dibility established by any thing more than by their backwardness to believe the resurrection of Christ, upon which the whole of Christianity is founded. They had been repeatedly informed by our Lord, that he should die, and rise again on the third day ; yet upon his death they were totally confounded and disconsolate. Two of them conversing together in their way to Emmaus, were overtaken by a person whom they knew not, but who was none other than Jesus himself. He inquired into the subject of their conversation : upon which they told him what ex- pectations they had once formed concerning their
1591 .J Christ's resurrection. 169
deceased Master ; they once thought that it had been He who should have redeemed Israel ; but now their hopes were at an end. They had heard indeed that he was risen that morning from the grave ; that cer- tain women who were of their company had seen a vision of angels, who testified that he was alive ; that moreover some others had gone to the sepulchre, and found that it was even so as the women had said : but yet they could not credit these reports. After their conference, Jesus discovered himself to them, as he had already done to many others ; by this they were convinced ; and, notwithstanding the day was far spent, instead of staying, as they had intended, at Emmaus, they returned that same hour to Jerusalem, that they might acquaint the other Disciples with these joyful tidings, and bear their testimony to the truth of the things which had been reported. And when they came to Jerusalem, they found the Eleven gathered together, and others assembled with them, all overcome by the weight of evidence, and full of this wonderful event ; and heard them saying one to another, " The Lord is risen indeed."
From these words we shall take occasion to consider, The importance of Christ's Resurrection ; The proofs of it ; and The uses we should make of it.
I. The importance of Christ's Resurrection —
St. Paul, instructing his beloved Timothy what to do and teach, particularly gives him this advice, " Remember that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead." It was necessary that he should remember the resurrection of Christ, on many accounts ; partly for his own comfort, because all his hopes of salva- tion were founded on it ; but principally, that by endeavouring to establish this point, he might con- vince the ignorant, and confirm the enlightened. Whatever else he might omit, it was necessary that he should insist much on this, because it was a doc- trine of the utmost importance : For,