What Has Been May Be

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Oct 17, 1911

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 38, No. 41.

What Has Been May Be

But some one may ask, Has one ever risen from the dead?

Yes; one known among men as Jesus of Nazareth died, and rose again the third day. Both His friends and His enemies agreed that He was dead. He was crucified between two thieves. "They took Jesus, and led Him away. And He bearing His cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: where they crucified Him, and two other with Him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst." John 19:16-18. "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene." Verse 25. Besides these there was Joseph, the honorable counselor, with the centurion and his soldiers, who were in charge of the execution. These were all witnesses of the death of Jesus of Nazareth, as were also His enemies, the body of chief priests and of the Pharisees who came to Pilate after Jesus was laid in the grave, saying: "Sir, we remember that that Deceiver said, while He was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night, and steal Him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead. . . . So they went, and made the sepulcher sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch." Matt. 27:63-66.

Here, then, we have a cloud of witnesses. For "these were all witnesses," friends, enemies, and executioners, each testifying, according to his relation to Jesus, that He really was dead; while with the Roman seal on the great stone which closed the mouth of the cave, it was made as sure as this world could make it that He should not rise again.

But He did rise again, and "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. To Thomas, who would not believe the testimony of the other disciples who had seen the Lord, Jesus said, "Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God. . . . Many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name." John 20:25-31.

As there was an abundant proof, from the testimony of both friendly and unfriendly witnesses, of the death of Christ, so the disciples are not the only ones who saw Jesus after His resurrection. Paul, in summing up the evidences of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, says: "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received,

how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures: and that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; . . . after that, He was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all He was seen of me also." 1 Cor. 15:3-8.