2 "And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was as lightning, and his raiment white as snow; and for fear of him the watchers did quake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye; for I know that ye seek Jesus, which hath been crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, even as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell His disciples, He is risen from the dead; and lo, He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see Him; lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. And behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and took 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 that were come to pass. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and 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 saying was spread abroad among the Jews, and continueth until this day."
7 "But go, tell His disciples and Peter, He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see Him, as He said unto you."
9 "Now when He was risen early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven devils. She went and told them that had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they heard that He was alive, and had been seen of her, disbelieved."
12 "But Peter arose, and ran unto the tomb; and stooping and looking in, he seeth the linen cloths by themselves; and he departed to his house, wondering at that which was come to pass."
1 "Now on the first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, while it was yet dark, unto the tomb, and seeth the stone taken away from the tomb. She runneth therefore, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we know not where they have laid Him. Peter therefore went forth, and the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. And they ran both together; and the other disciple outran Peter, and came first to the tomb; and stooping and looking in, he seeth the linen cloths lying; yet entered he not in. Simon Peter therefore also cometh, following him, and entered into the tomb; and he beholdeth the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, that was upon His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself. Then entered in therefore the other disciple also, which came first to the tomb, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again unto their own home.
11 "But Mary was standing without at the tomb weeping; so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; and she beholdeth two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him. When she had thus said, she turned herself back, and beholdeth Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing Him to be the gardener, saith unto Him, Sir, if Thou hast borne Him hence, tell me where Thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turneth herself, and saith unto Him in Hebrew, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus saith to her, Touch Me not; for I am not yet ascended unto the Father; but go unto My brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and My God and your God. Mary Magdalene cometh and telleth the disciples, I have seen the Lord; and how that He had said these things unto her."
NOTE.—The texts inclosed in marks of parentheses, while not essential to the lesson study, will be found to throw much light upon the lesson, and are suggested for those who wish to study further.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
1. Describe the scene when the angel of the Lord visited the tomb of Jesus. Matt. 28:2, 3.
2. How did the accompanying glory affect the guards at the tomb? Verse 4. (Acts 12:7-10.)
3. When sufficiently recovered, what did members of the guard do? Verse 11.
4. What was done to keep the guards from revealing what they had seen? Verses 12-15.
5. Before it was yet fully light, who came to visit the sepulcher? John 20:1. (Mark 16:1, 2.)
6. Seeing the tomb unsealed, what did Mary do? Verse 5.
7. Upon receiving the word, what did Peter and John immediately do? Verses 3-8.
8. How did the view of the empty tomb affect Peter's mind? Luke 24:12.
1. EVIDENTLY the women were at first sight somewhat startled at the brightness of the Lord's messenger, but his assuring words gave them comfort. This incident well illustrates the surety of God's promise that when terror overtakes the wicked, it will not come nigh those who make the Lord their fortress. Ps. 91:1-8. This was especially true in the case of the women, to whom the angel said, "I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified."
2. AFTER Peter's cowardly denial of the Lord on the night of His betrayal, this word to send the message direct to Peter was an assurance that the Lord had already forgiven his wicked act. It is also one of the strong evidences of the Lord's long-suffering toward those who now commit folly under great temptation.
3. FROM this statement of the Saviour it is very evident that the thief did not ascend to the Father with Jesus on the day of the crucifixion. See Luke 23:43. The "to-day" of the promise must therefore refer to the time of making the promise, rather than to the time of its fulfilment. This would naturally be read from the text were the comma after the word "thee" to follow the next word, which might be done without violence to inspiration, since punctuation points are no part of inspiration, but a modern invention.
