THE MESSIAH'S DEATH AND RESURRECTION. 29. The theophanies that accompany the crucifixion of Jesus and his own resurrection in fulfilment of his predictions show him to be the everliving Messianic Son of God. The crucifixion of Jesus was accompanied with theophanic signs. MATT. xxvii. 45-54. LUKE Xxiii. 44-47. And it was now the sixth hour, and a darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, the sun's light failing: and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I and having said this, he gave up the ghost. MARK XV. 33-39. And when the Now from the sixth sixth hour was come, hour there was dark-about there was darkness ness over all the land over the whole land until the ninth hour. until the ninth hour. And about the ninth And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, a loud voice, Eloi, Eli, Eli, lama sabachEloi, lama sabach-thani? that is, My thani? which is, be- God, my God, why ing interpreted, My hast thou forsaken God, my God, why me? And some of hast thou forsaken them that stood me? And some of there, when they commend my spirit: them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elijah. And one ran, and filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let be; let us see whether Elijah cometh to take him down. And Jesus uttered a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. heard it, said, This And when the centurion, which stood by over against him, saw that he so gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God. and the rocks were | And when the cen- The three evangelists unite in reporting the darkness and the earthquake. The darkness at midday, from noon until three o'clock in the afternoon, or total eclipse. of the sun, was followed by an earthquake, that rent the rocks and tombs and the veil of the temple. Such transformations of nature are the usual accompaniment of theophanies. They are predicted in the Old Testament as accompaniments of the divine advent. They indicate the presence and power of God in nature. The presence and power of God were nowhere more to be expected than at the crucifixion of the Messiah. The rending of the veil of the temple was a sign that the temple at Jesusalem was rejected by God. His people had rejected their Messiah. God had likewise rejected them and theirs. The three evangelists also agree in the following account of the resurrection of Jesus: MARK XVI. 1-8. MATT. xxviii. 1-8. LUKE XXIV. 1-9. And when the Sab- Now late on the And on the sabbath bath was past, Mary sabbath day, as it be- they rested accordMagdalene, and Ma- gan to dawn toward ing to the commandry the mother of the first day of the ment. But on the James, and Salome, week, came Mary first day of the week, bought spices, that Magdalene and the at early dawn, they they might come and other Mary to see the came unto the tomb, anoint him. And sepulchre. And be- bringing the spices very early on the hold, there was a which they had prefirst day of the week, great earthquake; pared. And they they come to the for an angel of the found the stone tomb when the sun Lord descended from rolled away from the was risen. And they heaven, and came tomb. And they enwere saying among and rolled away tered in, and found themselves, Who the stone, and sat not the body of the shall roll us away upon it. His ap- Lord Jesus. And it the stone from the pearance was as came to pass, while door of the tomb? lightning, and his they were perplexed and looking up, they raiment white as thereabout, behold, see that the stone snow: and for fear two men stood by is rolled back: for of him the watch- them in dazzling apit was exceeding ers did quake, and parel: and as they great. And entering became as dead men. were affrighted, and into the tomb, they And the angel an- bowed down their saw a young man swered and said unto faces to the earth, sitting on the right the women, Fear not they said unto them, side, arrayed in a ye: for I know that Why seek ye the livwhite robe; and they ye seek Jesus, which ing among the dead? were amazed. And he hath been crucified. He is not here, but is saith unto them, Be He is not here; for risen: remember how not amazed: ye seek he is risen, even as he spake unto you Jesus, the Nazarene, he said. Come, see when he was yet in which hath been cru- the place where the Galilee, saying that cified he is risen; Lord lay. And go the Son of Man must he is not here: be- quickly, and tell his be delivered up into hold, the place where disciples, He is risen the hands of sinful they laid him! But from the dead; and men, and be crucigo, tell his disciples lo, he goeth_before fied, and the third and Peter, He goeth you into Galilee; day rise again. And before you into Gal- there shall ye see they remembered his ilee: there shall ye him: lo, I have told words, and returned see him, as he said you. And they de- from the tomb, and unto you. And they parted quickly from told all these things went out, and fled the tomb with fear to the eleven, and to from the tomb; for and great joy, and all the rest. trembling and aston- ran to bring his disishment had come ciples word. upon them. Mark and Luke tell us that the women found the stone door rolled away from the entrance of the tomb of Jesus. Matthew tells us that this was accomplished by a great earthquake and the descent of an angel from heaven, filling the watch with terror. The three agree in a report that an angel announced to the women the resurrection of Jesus. Matthew and Mark state that he showed them that the tomb was vacant, and told them to report to the disciples that they were to meet Jesus in Galilee. With this brief witness to the resurrection the Gospel of Mark comes to an end.' 1 The remaining verses of the sixteenth chapter are a later addition to the original Gospel, as critics agree. They are separated in the Revised Version by a space with a note stating that they are not found in the two oldest MSS. We shall compare them in a subsequent chapter in their parallelism with Matthew and Luke. CHAPTER IV. THE APOCALYPSE OF JESUS. The discourse of Jesus, given by the Synoptists in Matt. xxiv., Mark xiii., and Luke xxi., is an Apocalypse. It is intermediate between the Apocalypse of Daniel and the Apocalypse of John. As it depends upon the former and advances upon the Messianic idea contained therein, so it is the prelude to the latter and the key to its interpretation. The discourse is enlarged in Matt. xxiv. by the insertion of two sections: vers. 26-28, 37-41, that belong to another discourse given in a different connection in Luke,' and by the use of two parables, vers. 43–51, that are given by Luke' at an earlier date. Furthermore, Matthew adds chap. xxv., which contains two parables and a judgment scene which have no exact parallels in the other evangelists, although there are similar parables in Luke." These sections have all been added by Matthew in accordance with his custom to group the words of Jesus spoken at different times and under various circumstances, about a central theme. That which remains. after the elimination of these sections is, with few exceptions, essentially the same in the three Synoptists, and is a discourse complete in itself, a real apocalypse. 1 xvii. 22-37. 2 xii. 39-46. xii. 35, 36, xix. 11–27. |