Lu.xxiv. 28.

29.

And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they Jerusalem. went: and he made as though he would have gone farther.

But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for
it is towards evening, and the day is far spent. And he
went in to tarry with them.

30. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he
took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.

31.

32.

And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened unto us the Scriptures ?

SECTION XXVII.

Cleophas and his Companion return to Jerusalem, and
assure the Apostles that Christ had certainly risen.

MARK XVI. 13. LUKE Xxiv. 33-35.

Mar.xvi.13. And they went and told it unto the residue; neither believed they them.

Lu.xxiv.33.

34.

35.

John xx. 19.

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, and hath appeared to Simon 29.

And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.

SECTION XXVIII.

Christ appears to the assembled Apostles, Thomas only
being absent, convinces them of the identity of the Resur-
rection Body, and blesses them.

LUKE Xxiv. 36-43. JOHN XX. 19-23.

Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, came Jesus

Zech. xii. 10. But on the prophecies and types fulfilled in the
sufferings of Christ, see the sermon of Joseph Mede on Luke
xxiv. 32. Hale's Analysis, vol. ii. part 2. and West on the Re-
surrection.

29 It has been supposed that this verse ought to be read in-
terrogatively, for, in Mark xvi. 13. we learn that the apostles
did not believe the testimony of the two disciples from Em-
maus, while it is here asserted that they were saying, at the
very time when the disciples from Emmaus came into the room,
The Lord has risen, &c. This difficulty is removed, if we sup-
pose that our Lord had appeared to St. Peter, and they were
expressing their incredulity at the moment the disciples arrived
from Emmaus, in the language of this passage, Has the Lord
risen, and has he indeed appeared unto Simon?

Lu.xxiv.36. as they thus spake, and stood in the midst of them, and Jerusalem. saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

Lu.xxiv.37. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed

38.

39.

40.

that they had seen a spirit.

And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?

Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.

John xx. 20. and his side. Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord.

Lu.xxiv.41.

42.

43.

John xx. 21.

22.

23.

John xx.24.

25.

And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?

And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb.

And he took it, and did eat before them.

Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. JOHN XX. part of ver. 19, 20.

19 and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you,

20 And when he had so said, be shewed unto them his hands

SECTION XXIX.

Thomas is still incredulous.

JOHN XX. 24, 25.

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

SECTION XXX.

Christ appears to the Eleven, Thomas being present.
MARK XVI. 14. JOHN XX. 26-29.

Mar.xvi.14. 30 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at

30 This verse of St. Mark has generally been supposed to refer to our Lord's appearance to his disciples on the evening of his resurrection. But St. Luke and St. John both describe the first appearance of Christ to his disciples, and neither of them gives the least intimation of any thing like reproof, which

Mar.xvi.14. meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hard- Jerusalem. ness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

John xx. 26.

27.

28.

And after eight days" again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

Then saith he to Thomas, 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 32.

they then heard from the mouth of their affectionate Lord. The
whole of his discourse and behaviour to them was directed at
that time to the composing of their troubles, and the satisfying
of their doubts. Reprehension was reserved for the following
Sunday, when a whole week having been allowed to examine
and compare the proofs of his resurrection, and to call to mind
his own predictions and promises concerning it. They who
continued incredulous were become more worthy of blame. Then
if he said no more by way of reproof than what he said to St.
Thomas, it was reprehension of the rest of the company who
were in the same state of mind: and it is sufficient to justify
St. Mark's expression," He upbraided them with their unbe-
lief and hardness of heart." St. Mark says, "He appeared
unto the eleven," and it was of consequence to inform us that
he was seen by the apostles: but when he adds, " And he up-
braided them with their unbelief," he extends his view to all
those whom he had spoken of as incredulous in the preceding

verse.

31 The first appearances of our Lord to his apostles appear to have taken place uniformly on the first day of the week; and from their consequent observance of that day, originated the Christian sabbath.

32 The disbelief of the Apostles is the means of furnishing us with full and satisfactory demonstration of the resurrection of Christ. Throughout the divine dispensations, it is to be observed, that every doctrine, and every important truth, is gradually revealed, and here we have a conspicuous instance of this progressive system. An angel first declares the glorious event! The empty sepulchre confirms the women's report. Christ's appearance to Mary Magdalene shewed that he was alive-that to the disciples at Emmaus proved that it was at least the spirit of Christ, by expounding the prophecies, and breaking of bread-that to the eleven shewed the reality of his body, and the conviction given to St. Thomas, proved it the self same body that had been crucified. The resurrection was testified by the conviction of the senses. The ear heard it, and blessed-the eye saw it, and gave witness-the hand was satisfied with feeling-the intellect was fed upon the heavenly teaching, and the Holy Ghost descended in confirmation of the holy truth. The miracle of the draught of fishes gave evidence of the continued existence of the same divine and almighty nature, which had been displayed before the crucifixion, and the Spirit of God, was manifested in opening the Scriptures, till their hearts burned within them. Every possible demonstration was vouchsafed that man could receive, or God bestow. The wounds which had been inflicted upon the body

John xx. 29.

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen Jerusalem. me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

of Christ were still visible, bearing testimony to his identity,
unclosed, yet free from corruption. Credulity itself was satis-
fied, and the convinced apostle exclaims, in the joy of his heart,
"My Lord and my God."

The question whether St. Thomas, at the moment of his con-
viction, intended his address to our Lord as an act of religious
worship, must be decided by a consideration of the conclusions
from which it must have originated. St. Thomas had denied
the possibility of the resurrection. Our Lord convinced him of
his error, when he expressed himself in these remarkable words,
My Lord, and my God. So far, says Bishop Horsley, as the
disciples believed in Jesus as the Messiah, in the same degree
they understood and acknowledged his divinity. In the first
interview of Nathaniel with our Lord, when he proved to him
his omniscience, he exclaimed, "Thou art the Son of God,"
thou art the divine and expected king of Israel. When the
miraculous draught of fishes convinced St. Peter of the power
of Christ, he addressed him as his "Lord." When the Angel
Jehovah appeared to the patriarchs of old, they all worshipped
and paid their homage in the same manner, and with similar
expressions to those used by the Evangelists. It was some sud-
den proof of divinity in the mysterious personage who ad-
dressed them, which elicited the language of homage and ado-
ration.

The exclamation of the Apostle was ̔Ο Κύριος μοῦ, καὶ ὁ θεὸς μs, in the nominative, which is frequently put for the vocative, in pure, as well as in Hellenistic Greek. It seems, however, preferable to read the passage où el, understood, Thou art my Lord, even my God; or, as the word Kupios corresponds to the principal names, given in the Old Testament to the manifested God of Israel, it would be better to interpret the exclamation

or as the Jews were יהוה אלהים,accordingly, as if he had said

.אדוני אלהים place, he might have used only the latter

accustomed to omit the ineffable name, and substitute in its
It seems,
however, more probable, that on the present occasion he would
omit the substituted term, and express himself in the very lan-
guage of the Scriptures, :
. This was the name given
to the manifested God of the Old Testament, and the exclama-
tion of the apostle therefore may be more fully rendered-Thou
art the Lord Jehovah, the manifested God of my fathers.

It is true that the word πpookvviw, in the original, which is
rendered by our translators by the term worship, is used by the
Evangelist to denote civil respect, or the homage due to per-
sons of rank and dignity. But the word is one of general im-
port; and the cases in which it must be understood of religious
adoration on the one hand, or of civil homage on the other,
can be discriminated only by attending to the circumstances in
each instance. To assist in determining the true sense in the
examples under consideration, let the following remarks be
considered.

1. Out of sixty places in which this word occurs in the New Testament, there are only two or three in which it indisputably bears the inferior sense; there are forty-three in which it is manifestly to be understood of religious worship: and the remaining instances are those of application to Christ, the genuine import of which we are desirous of ascertaining.

2. Our Lord, during the whole of his public ministry, evi

Mt.xxviii16

SECTION XXXI.

Christ appears to a large number of his Disciples on a
mountain in Galilee.

MATT. xxviii. ver. 16, 17. and part of ver. 18.

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into Galilee. a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

17. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but
some doubted $3.

18.

John xxi. 1.

And Jesus came and spake with them ".

SECTION XXXII.

Christ appears again at the Sea of Tiberias-His conver-
sation with Peter 35,

JOHN XXI. 1-24.

After these things, Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.

dently made it a principle of his conduct, to disavow and refuse all earthly eminence. The repeated attempts which were made to invest him with the regal dignity, he inflexibly discountenanced. Even when he was accosted with an epithet which he might have accepted very inoffensively, he rebuked the person who gave it, because he perceived it was the language of compliment rather than of sincere conviction: "Why callest thou me good?" On the contrary, he never refused acknowledgments of spiritual supremacy. He openly claimed to be called Lord and Master, the Son of God, and the King of his Church.

A translation of the New Testament into Hebrew has been lately published by the London Society for Promoting the Conversion of the Jews; in this translation the words of St. Thomas are rendered literally This Hebrew tran slation, so far as I am able to judge, appears to be executed with ability and faithfulness.

Horsley's Letters in reply to Dr. Priestley, p. 239. Sermon on the Adoration of our Lord Jesus Christ, vindicated from the charge of Idolatry. By Dr. Pye Smith. 8vo. 1811.

33 Beza reads this passage de idioraoav, they did not doubt any longer. The Prussian version reads, pooεkývnoav avry, oi dè idioraσav, they worshipped him, even those who had doubted. In which sense it should be of TE. Grotius interprets it, but some had heretofore doubted. Bishop Pearce conjectures, that those who doubted did so because they might be at a greater distance from him than others; and therefore could not so well distinguish.

u Si. Matthew's words are καὶ προσελθὼν ὁ ̓Ιησοῦς ἐλάλησεν auroic; implying, that when our Lord first appeared to them it was at a distance: portov is rendered by Grotius accedens. -See Townson, p. 167. and Bowyer, p. 136.

35 The contents of this section are very curious, and important. So little did the apostles anticipate their future elevation, as the reformers of the religion of the world, that they had absolutely returned to their former occupation as fishermen of Galilee. Humble and unambitious, they appear to have as much forgotten all the splendid hopes and expectations of the past, as they were ignorant of their future high destinies.