The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 458

or returning, nud hRd received the eummona qnito awRre thnt 1rnch an eved woal,l check- to Lell Lhe diecipl,·e thrut, he would seo them mnto thr.ir 8Uppored victory ovP.r n b11terl. lo 81\lilco. 'l'ho two disciples on their way rivnl. The Romo.n aoldiers were pled!5'ed in to Emma us hncl nt longth ,I iscovered that tho honour and by pride and pn~l!ion nnt. to nllow mysterious eLrn11gor who accosted them and themselves thus to be reduced to impotence. diecomsed so fully wne the Lord himself. Honce there is no explnnntinn of t,h., ri•" or 'l'hoy returned Lo J eruenlem to nffirm the beginning of such n legend (see H. W,,iss. foct, nod fo11n1l tl,o eleven rojoicing tlint the 'Life of JcRUS,' iii. pp. sa0-3fl!i), excor,t ti,., Lortl lm,I l'i~en indeed, nn<l thnt "ho hnd np- historiral fa.et. (3) By an a>Scrtion of the ponrod to Simon Pctor." H would certainly Mngdl\lene that she had seen tl,P, Lm-d, and seem, nod _ie nt _lengt_h nd.miLted by I\II, that thnt he had sent a special message to his tho 11urrat1vo given ID tho following verses brethren ns to the completion of hie glorifi- of events occurring on the Into evening of cntion in his ascent to the F'ather. (-1) By the Easter Dny could ho none other than the announcement, the details of whicl, are ~hat which Luke describes (xxiv. 36). This not recited, concerning an appear;ince to 1e rendered eomewho.t perplexing by the Peter: this fa.et stands on remarkably strong record of Mark xvi. 12, that the language evidence of Mark, Luke, and Panl. (5) Ily of tho two disciples was not o.ccepted by the immense excitement of the appearance To,, ho,1ro'i,, "the rest." Ilut it is obvious nnd disappel\rance of the Lord a.t Emmaus. from every one of the narrntive• how slow of This wa.s evincecl by the return of the t,;o heart oven tbo apostles themselves were to disciples to Jerusalem, chal'ged with new accept the assurance of such unexpected and idrns of the meaning of the Scripturea and wonderful phenomena. The c.:trcme dejec- of tile will a.nd power of God, and with fun- tion of the disciples, followed by their vigor- damentally new notions of the very no.tare ous o.nd invincible faith, is testified by each of spiritual body-body entirely and 11bso- evangelist; but from the nature of the case lutely under the power of the spirit. The the resurrection of Jesus was, during the apostles were prepared for the wonderful cow-se of tho entire day, doubteu. by some. manifestation of a new mode of being; but The nature of ihe doubt, and the method in they needed something more convincing than whic.h it was put to rest, is portrayed in some they had yet received. They were still suf- detail by John (see note on ver. I). fering from intellectnnl blindness anil slow- Vers. 10, 20.-( 3) The manifestation to the ness of spirit, nod were apparently i11cl\pab!e ten disciples, con·esponding with the second of accepting mere testimony. Mark's state- portion of the prayer, and followed by special ment (xvi. 14) embraces tbe special scene con/erence of privilege. which John describes in much more vivid Ver.19.-When therefore it was evening, and instructive ma.nner (vers. 26-29). Ilut on that day, being the first day of the week ; Luke expressly implies that far more than i:e. the close of the dlly on which the Lord the eleven had gathered together, either in bad risen; on " lhnt de.y" which bi.came the room" here the Pe.schal supper had betoa so memorable in the history of the Church. celebrated, or where the election of Matthias Consequently, after most astounding e.nd subsequently took place. Joseph and Nico- independent revelations had been made to demus, the women, and some of the seventy several individuals, about 8 p.m. there disciples were there ; nor can we conceive occurred that which John now proceeds to excluded from their fellowship Mary of describe. The note of time identifies it Bethany,or Lazarus,or Simon the Cyrenian, with the ecene nnd event described by Lnke or the " brothers of the Lord " so desig- (xxh-. 36-43); consequently John had the nated. We are told that after the arrival former nccouut before him in the record of of the Emmans disciples, the doors h.n.ving hiR own 1·cminiscences. To unu.erstand the been looked (shut) wl:!.e=e the disciplas were run force of the passage we must bring to it [assembled 1] because o! the (their) fea:;: cf the tire stalemeuts of Luke, l\Iark, and Paul. Jews. This expression is once a,,O'[lin repeated 'l'he ,lisci pies had been prepared, (I) by the (ver. 26), show-ing that, after the lap2e of repods of ihe women, thnt the grnve had seven clays, foe.1 and prec;mtions e.gai.ust sur- been opened and was empty, and that angelio prise still preffiiled. They were on both appenmnces had asserted the resuncction of occasions in ignorance of the purpose or Jesus. (2) By tlrn impression made on Peter meaning of the Sanhedrin, nor could they and John when they found it as Mary and the tell whether the malice of the world would other women had said. The disappearance 1 lvlf'll'Yµ•vos is not found in ~. B, I, A, D, of the body of Jesus, confil'med by the four independent Ii nee of testimony, is strangely 44, 95; and severnl versions and most modem difficult to account fo1· on any hypothesis editors omit, with R.T. The T.R. e.nd Balo except that ._of the Resunection. The dis- Revisers (margin) give it, with e. large ciples were evidently confounded by the number of later unciali!, i~cluding K, L, n, fact. The Plui1isees and priestly party were and versions.  1'1IE G<)SPEt AOOORDING TO BT. JOHlt. ton . .u. 1--31.