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27. “He Is Risen!”
28. “I Know That He Lives”
That was the most memorable day in history. On that glorious day the sepulchre was opened, and Jesus rose from the dead. The “good news,” was first proclaimed by angelic proclamation, “He is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.” (Mark 16:6.)
The event, of course, was unprecedented. Others, such as Lazarus, had been brought back to life; but that was a restoration to mortality, not a resurrection to everlasting life. To Jesus was accorded the honor of becoming “the firstfruits of them that slept.” (1 Corinthians 15:20.) The fact that the event had not occurred before accounted for the incredulity among his own apostles that such a literal resurrection could be. But before the day of the resurrection was spent, Jesus had left infallible proof that he had indeed risen from the dead. Skepticism vanished as his disciples saw and felt the wounds in his hands, feet, and side. As noted by the chart below, at least five appearances took place on that day. These included visitations to Mary Magdalene; to the other women; to Cleopas and his companion on the road to Emmaus, to Peter alone; then to the ten apostles in the upper room, Thomas being absent. One week later Jesus made another appearance in that same room, with Thomas present. Jesus said to Thomas: “Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side.” (John 20:27.) And Thomas no longer doubted. Jesus ministered on the earth as a resurrected being for forty days—from resurrection day until the ascension. This was the period, according to Luke, when Jesus appeared to many of his disciples and spoke to them “of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3.)
On the night Jesus was betrayed, he had told his apostles that “after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.” (Matthew 26:32.) The angel at the tomb had told the women to tell the disciples that Jesus “goeth before you into Galilee; there ye shall see him.” (Matthew 28:7.) Thus we read in Matthew that “the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.” (Matthew 28:16.) This prearranged meeting (according to both Elders Talmage and McConkie) was probably a meeting where a great multitude of disciples were invited, and may have been the occasion of which Paul wrote later, “he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once.” (1 Corinthians 15:6.) Such a conference would have included the apostles, seventies, other leading brethren, and faithful women. (See McConkie, DNTC, 1:886.)
Though the records of it are fragmentary, the forty-day ministry that you will study in this last lesson was important for at least these reasons:
All doubt was removed from the apostles’ minds. They now had an absolute witness of the Savior’s literal resurrection. They were qualified to declare with certainty that Jesus lives! President David O. McKay has indicated that a transformation occurred in the lives of those eleven men during this forty-day period and that this transformation constitutes one of the significant evidences of the reality of the resurrection of our Lord.
“That the literal resurrection from the grave was a reality to the disciples who knew Christ intimately is a certainty. In their minds there was absolutely no doubt. They were witnesses of the fact. They knew, because their eyes beheld, their ears heard, their hands felt the corporeal presence of the Risen Redeemer.
“At Jesus’ death, the apostles were stricken with gloom. When he lay dead their hopes all but died. Their intense grief, the story of Thomas, the moral perplexity of Peter, the evident preparation for a permanent burial, combine to illustrate the prevalence of a fear that the redemption of Israel had failed.
“Notwithstanding the often-repeated assurances of Christ that he would return to them after death, the apostles did not seem fully to comprehend it. At the crucifixion, they were frightened and discouraged. For two and a half years they had been upheld and inspired by Christ’s presence. But now he was gone. They were left alone, and they seemed confused, fearful, helpless; only John stood by the cross.
“The world would never have been stirred by men with such wavering, doubting, despairing minds as the apostles possessed on the day of the crucifixion.
“What was it that suddenly changed these disciples to confident, fearless, heroic preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ? It was the revelation that Christ had risen from the grave. His promises had been kept, his Messianic mission fulfilled. In the words of an eminent writer, ‘The final and absolute seal of genuineness has been put on all his claims, and the indelible stamp of a divine authority upon all his teachings. The gloom of death had been banished by the glorious light of the presence of their Risen, Glorified Lord and Savior.’
“On the evidence of these unprejudiced, unexpectant, incredulous witnesses, faith in the resurrection has its impregnable foundation.” (McKay, Treasures of Life, pp. 15–16.)
As you read chapter 28, you will consider the testimonies of the witnesses of the former days as well as those in our modern times.
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THE WEEK OF THE ATONING SACRIFICE |
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SEVENTH DAY |
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THE RESURRECTED CHRIST APPEARS TO MEN |
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THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK |
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No event in all history compares in importance to the resurrection of Christ, for because of it all will come forth, each in his own order.
INTRODUCTIONIn Handel’s Messiah are found a tenor recitative and a chorus (no. 27, no. 28), both of which use one of the Psalms as a text: “All they that see Him, laugh Him to scorn; they shoot out their lips, and shake their heads, saying: He trusted in God that he would deliver him; let him deliver him, if he delight in him.” (See Psalm 22:7, 8.) Directly following these two oratorio numbers, in another recitative for tenor (no. 29), Handel uses as his text words of the sixty-ninth Psalm, pathos-filled words: “Thy rebuke hath broken His heart; He is full of heaviness, Thy rebuke hath broken His heart; He looked for some to have pity on Him, but there was no man, neither found He any to comfort Him.” (See Psalm 69:20.) After experiencing ridicule, an illegal hearing, and abuse at the hands of Herod and Pilate, Jesus was led away to be crucified at a place called Calvary, where those who passed by him reviled him by saying, “If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.” The chief priests mocked him, as did the scribes and the elders, by saying: “He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.” Even one of the thieves that was crucified with him “cast the same in his teeth.” Several hours later, in agony, he cried with a loud voice, asking why he had been forsaken by his Father; and not long thereafter, in relief, Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and he “yielded up the ghost.” It was finished. (See Matthew 27:35–50.) The prophecies of the psalmist were fulfilled. Many that saw him had laughed him to scorn, and few had demonstrated pity in his behalf. “Reproach [had] broken [his] heart; and [he was] full of heaviness: and [he] looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but [he] found none.” (Psalm 69:20. See also Talmage, Jesus the Christ, pp. 668–69.) The mortal body of the Savior was then laid in a garden tomb, which was then sealed shut. Your reading now permits you to contemplate the good news, the glorious message—the supreme fact that He is risen! You now have an opportunity to read about the events which took place on the day of the resurrection: the Lord’s triumph over death, the dramatic interview between the resurrected Jesus and Mary Magdalene, the Savior’s appearance to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. As you read about and ponder these events, as with Mary Magdalene and the disciples at Emmaus, you should come to know and feel that the Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. He lives who once was dead, and he is alive forever more. Before proceeding, read the following: |
“Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, had passed, and the night preceding the dawn of the most memorable Sunday in history was well nigh spent, while the Roman guard kept watch over the sealed sepulchre wherein lay the body of the Lord Jesus. While it was yet dark, the earth began to quake; an angel of the Lord descended in glory, rolled back the massive stone from the portal of the tomb, and sat upon it.
His countenance was brilliant as the lightning, and his raiment was as the driven snow for whiteness. The soldiers, paralyzed with fear, fell to the earth as dead men. When they had partially recovered from their fright, they fled from the place in terror. Even the rigor of Roman discipline, which decreed summary death to every soldier who deserted his post, could not deter them. Moreover, there was nothing left for them to guard; the seal of authority had been broken, the sepulchre was open, and empty.” (Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p. 678.)
“Our Lord definitely predicted His resurrection from the dead on the third day, (Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; Mark 9:31; 10:34; Luke 9:22; 13:32; 18:33), and the angels at the tomb (Luke 24:7), and the risen Lord in Person (Luke 24:46) verified the fulfillment of the prophecies; and apostles so testified in later years (Acts 10:40; 1 Cor. 15:4). This specification of the third day must not be understood as meaning after three full days. The Jews began their counting of the daily hours with sunset; therefore the hour before sunset and the hour following belonged to different days. Jesus died and was interred during Friday afternoon. His body lay in the tomb, dead, during part of Friday (first day), throughout Saturday, or as we divide the days, from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, (second day), and part of Sunday (third day). We know not at what hour between Saturday sunset and Sunday dawn He rose.” (Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p. 697.)
“Because Jesus came forth from the grave on the first day of the week, to commemorate that day and to keep in remembrance the glorious reality of the resurrection, the ancient apostles, as guided by the Spirit, changed the Sabbath to Sunday. That this change had divine approval we know from latter-day revelation, in which Deity speaks of ‘the Lord’s day’ as such and sets forth what should and should not be done on that day. (D. & C. 59:9–17.)” (McConkie, DNTC, 1:841.)
“Mary Magdalene became one of the closest friends Christ had among women; her devotion to Him as her Healer and as the One whom she adored as the Christ was unswerving; she stood close by the cross while other women tarried afar off in the time of His mortal agony; she was among the first at the sepulchre on the resurrection morning, and was the first mortal to look upon and recognize a resurrected Being—the Lord whom she had loved with all the fervor of spiritual adoration. To say that this woman, chosen from among women as deserving of such distinctive honors, was once a fallen creature, her soul seared by the heat of unhallowed lust, is to contribute to the perpetuating of an error for which there is no excuse. Nevertheless the false tradition, arising from early and unjustifiable assumption, that this noble woman, distinctively a friend of the Lord, is the same who, admittedly a sinner, washed and anointed the Savior’s feet in the house of Simon the Pharisee and gained the boon of forgiveness through contrition, has so tenaciously held its place in the popular mind through the centuries, that the name, Magdalene, has come to be a generic designation for women who fall from virtue and afterward repent. We are not considering whether the mercy of Christ could have been extended to such a sinner as Mary of Magdala is wrongly reputed to have been; man cannot measure the bounds nor fathom the depths of divine forgiveness; and if it were so that this Mary and the repentant sinner who ministered to Jesus as He sat at the Pharisee’s table were one and the same, the question would stand affirmatively answered, for that woman who had been a sinner was forgiven. We are dealing with the scriptural record as a history, and nothing said therein warrants the really repellent though common imputation of unchastity to the devoted soul of Mary Magdalene.” (Talmage, Jesus the Christ, pp. 264–65.)
“How much there is incident to the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord which ennobles and exalts faithful women. They wept at the cross, sought to care for his wounded and lifeless body, and came to his tomb to weep and worship for their friend and Master. And so it is not strange that we find a woman, Mary of Magdala, chosen and singled out from all the disciples, even including the apostles, to be the first mortal to see and bow in the presence of a resurrected being. Mary, who had been healed of much and who loved much, saw the risen Christ!”(McConkie, DNTC, 1:843.)
“One may wonder why Jesus had forbidden Mary Magdalene to touch Him, and then, so soon after, had permitted other women to hold Him by the feet as they bowed in reverence. We may assume that Mary’s emotional approach had been prompted more by a feeling of personal yet holy affection than by an impulse of devotional worship such as the other women evinced. Though the resurrected Christ manifested the same friendly and intimate regard as He had shown in the mortal state toward those with whom He had been closely associated, He was no longer one of them in the literal sense. There was about Him a divine dignity that forbade close personal familiarity. To Mary Magdalene Christ had said: ‘Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father.’ If the second clause was spoken in explanation of the first, we have to infer that no human hand was to be permitted to touch the Lord’s resurrected and immortalized body until after He had presented Himself to the Father. It appears reasonable and probable that between Mary’s impulsive attempt to touch the Lord, and the action of the other women who held Him by the feet as they bowed in worshipful reverence, Christ did ascend to the Father, and that later He returned to earth to continue His ministry in the resurrected state.” (Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p. 682.)
“Such careful choice of words was in keeping with his unvarying custom of maintaining a distinction between himself and other men. He was the Son of God, literally; other men had mortal fathers. Thus, for instance, he was careful to say. ‘I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God and your God’ (John 20:17), not unto our Father and our God.” (McConkie, DNTC, 1:413.)
“At the earliest indication of dawn, the devoted Mary Magdalene and other faithful women set out for the tomb, bearing spices and ointments which they had prepared for the further anointing of the body of Jesus. Some of them had been witnesses of the burial, and were conscious of the necessary haste with which the corpse had been wrapped with spicery and laid away by Joseph and Nicodemus, just before the beginning of the Sabbath; and now these adoring women came early to render loving service in a more thorough anointing and external embalmment of the body.” (Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p. 678.)
“Mary Magdalene and the other women told the wonderful story of their several experiences to the disciples, but the brethren could not credit their words, which ‘seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.’ After all that Christ had taught concerning His rising from the dead on that third day, the apostles were unable to accept the actuality of the occurrence; to their minds the resurrection was some mysterious and remote event, not a present possibility. There was neither precedent nor analogy for the stories these women told—of a dead person returning to life, with a body of flesh and bones, such as could be seen and felt—except the instances of the young man of Nain, the daughter of Jairus, and the beloved Lazarus of Bethany, between whose cases of restoration to a renewal of mortal life and the reported resurrection of Jesus they recognized essential differences. The grief and the sense of irreparable loss which had characterized the yesterday Sabbath, were replaced by profound perplexity and contending doubts on this first day of the week. But while the apostles hesitated to believe that Christ had actually risen, the women, less skeptical, more trustful, knew, for they had both seen Him and heard His voice, and some of them had touched His feet.” (Talmage, Jesus the Christ, pp. 682–83.)
“The inconsistent assertion that Christ had not risen but that His body had been stolen from the tomb by the disciples, has been sufficiently treated in the text. The falsehood is its own refutation. Unbelievers of later date, recognizing the palpable absurdity of this gross attempt at misrepresentation, have not hesitated to suggest other hypotheses, each of which is conclusively untenable. Thus, the theory based upon the impossible assumption that Christ was not dead when taken from the cross, but was in a state of coma or swoon, and that He was afterward resuscitated, disproves itself when considered in connection with recorded facts. The spear-thrust of the Roman soldier would have been fatal, even if death had not already occurred. The body was taken down, handled, wrapped and buried by members of the Jewish council, who cannot be thought of as actors in the burial of a living man; and so far as subsequent resuscitation is concerned, Edersheim (vol. 2, p. 626) trenchantly remarks: ‘Not to speak of the many absurdities which this theory involves, it really shifts—if we acquit the disciples of complicity—the fraud upon Christ Himself.’ A crucified person, removed from the cross before death and subsequently revived, could not have walked with pierced and mangled feet on the very day of his resuscitation, as Jesus did on the road to Emmaus. Another theory that has had its day is that of unconscious deception on the part of those who claimed to have seen the resurrected Christ, such persons having been victims of subjective but unreal visions conjured up by their own excited and imaginative condition. The independence and marked individuality of the several recorded appearings of the Lord disprove the vision theory. Such subjective visual illusions as are predicated by this hypothesis, presuppose a state of expectancy on the part of those who think they see; but all the incidents connected with the manifestations of Jesus after His resurrection were directly opposed to the expectations of those who were made witnesses of His resurrected state.
“The foregoing instances of false and untenable theories regarding the resurrection of our Lord are cited as examples of the numerous abortive attempts to explain away the greatest miracle and the most glorious fact of history. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is attested by evidence more conclusive than that upon which rests our acceptance of historical events in general. Yet the testimony of our Lord’s rising from the dead is not founded on written pages. To him who seeks in faith and sincerity shall be given an individual conviction which shall enable him to reverently confess as exclaimed the enlightened apostle of old: ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus, who is God the Son, is not dead. ‘I know that my Redeemer liveth.’ (Job 19:25.)” (Talmage, Jesus the Christ, pp. 698–99.)
“Why did the risen Lord take this means of appearing to Cleopas and his companion (perhaps Luke, since it is he who records the account)? Was it to quote and interpret the Messianic prophecies ‘beginning at Moses and all the prophets’; Such could have been done under more effective circumstances, and for that matter, Luke does not even record the explanations given. Why did Jesus keep his identity hidden? Why walk and talk, perhaps for hours, along the dusty lanes of Palestine?
“Obviously it was to show what a resurrected being is like. He was teaching the gospel as only he could, teaching a living sermon, a sermon that was to be climaxed shortly in an upper room in the presence of his apostles. See Luke 24:36–44.
“Jesus walked down a Judean lane, walked for hours and taught the truths of the gospel, exactly as he had during three and a half years of his mortal ministry. So much did he seem like any other wayfaring teacher, in demeanor, in dress, in speech, in physical appearance, in conversation, that they did not recognize him as the Jesus whom they assumed was dead. ‘Abide with us,’ they said, as they would have done to Peter or John. ‘Come in and eat and sleep; you must be tired and hungry.’ They thought he was a mortal man. Could anyone devise a more perfect way to teach what a resurrected being is like when his glory is retained within him? Men are men whether mortal or immortal, and there need be no spiritualizing away of the reality of the resurrection, not after this Emmaus road episode. See Mark 16:9–11.” (McConkie, DNTC, 1:850.)
Emmaus was threescore furlongs—about 7½ miles from Jerusalem. The site of the village of Emmaus has not yet been located. (See Smith, A Dictionary of the Bible, rev. ed., s.v. “Emmaus.”)
After the chief priests and the Pharisees obtained guards from Pilate, they went and “made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch” (Matthew 27:66), with the intent that the disciples might not come during the night, steal away the body of Jesus, and then say to the people that the Savior was risen from the dead. The Jewish leaders realized that such a witness of the resurrection would be more powerful than testimonies that were given while Jesus walked in mortality. They knew that if the disciples told the people that Jesus was risen from the dead, this would be a capstone to the Savior’s ministry and would draw men to him and to his gospel. To forestall just such a result, Roman guards were obtained from Pilate, and the sepulchre was made sure. (See Matthew 27:62–66.)
But the plans of God were not to be frustrated, for in the early hours of the morning, before it was light, two angels of the Lord descended from the heavens to roll away the stone from before the door of the sepulchre. (Matthew 28:2, 4, Inspired Version.) “And for fear of him [them] the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.” (Matthew 28:3, 4.)
“How much there is incident to the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord which ennobles and exalts faithful women. They wept at the cross, sought to care for his wounded and lifeless body, and came to his tomb to weep and worship for their friend and Master. And so it is not strange that we find a woman, Mary of Magdala, chosen and singled out from all the disciples, even including the apostles, to be the first mortal to see and bow in the presence of a resurrected being. Mary, who had been healed of much and who loved much, saw the risen Christ! . . .
“Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene and then to other women. To Mary the mother of Joses, to Joanna, to Salome the mother of James and John, and to other unnamed women, the two angels announced the resurrection, and sent them to tell Peter and the other disciples. As they went, Jesus appeared and greeted them with the familiar ‘All hail.’ And so again it was women who were honored with a visitation from their friend the resurrected Lord.” (McConkie, DNTC, 1:843, 846.)
“One day, two men were walking near Emmaus, a town not far from Jerusalem, and a man suddenly appeared by their side. They did not recognize him. After he left them, they said, ‘Did not our heart burn within us . . . ?’ (Luke 24:32.) Luke tells us about that incident, after he had inquired of many people who had had some intimacy with Jesus.
“I think that there are many in this congregation, and I hope many who have been listening over radio and television who have had their hearts ‘burn within them’ as they have listened not only to the inspirational singing, but to the sublime testimonies, and I hope as their hearts have burned within them, that they realized the message that went into their hearts. I hope they have an inkling, at least, of the divine truth that they are sons of God, and that that burning within them was just a touch of harmony between them and the infinite, the Spirit of God which will enlighten our minds, quicken our understandings, and bring all things to our remembrance.” (David O. McKay in CR, Apr. 1960, pp. 121–22. Italics added.)
“Never was her teaching so dynamic nor its impact more everlasting as one Sunday morning when she sadly announced to us the passing of a classmate’s mother. We had missed Billy that morning, but knew not the reason for his absence. The lesson featured the theme, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ Midway through the lesson, our teacher closed the manual and opened our eyes and our ears and our hearts to the glory of God. She asked, ‘How much money do we have in our class party fund?’
“Depression days prompted a proud answer: ‘Four dollars and seventy-five cents.’
“Then ever so gently she suggested: “Billy’s family is hard-pressed and grief-stricken. What would you think of the possibility of visiting the family members this morning and giving to them your fund?’
“Ever shall I remember the tiny band walking those three city blocks, entering Billy’s home, greeting him, his brother, sisters, and father. Noticeably absent was his mother. Always I shall treasure the tears which glistened in the eyes of all as the white envelope containing our precious party fund passed from the delicate hand of our teacher to the needy hand of a heartbroken father. We fairly skipped our way back to the chapel. Our hearts were lighter than they had ever been: our joy more full; our understanding more profound. A God-inspired teacher had taught her boys and girls an eternal lesson of divine truth. ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’
“Well could we have echoed the words of the disciples on the way to Emaeus [sic]: ‘Did not our hearts burn within us . . . while [she] opened to us the scriptures?’ (Luke 24:32.)” (Thomas S. Monson in CR, Apr. 1970, p. 99. Italics added.)
“I say, our mission is not only to proclaim, but to live as witnesses who have received the truth, and who love the truth. And if we live the truth, my brethren and sisters, no man can come within the circle of our influence without being impressed with the fact—somewhat after the same spirit as the disciples, when the Master met them on the way to Emmaus, and when they walked with him. The Scripture says, ‘Their eyes were holden,’ and when he came in and broke bread with them, then they beheld, and it was revealed unto them positively who it was. Then, in counseling with them, they said, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us?’ So it will be with you, so it will be with me, so it will be with every man who, having received the light, walks in the light.” (Alonzo A. Hinckley in CR, Apr. 1917, pp. 93–94. Italics added.)
“In our hearts we feel much the same as the two who walked unbeknown to them with the resurrected Christ, Cleopas and another, who, while walking to Emmaus at the time of the resurrection, were discussing Jesus as they journeyed. The Master joined them and opened the scriptures to their eyes. Impressed, they asked him to tarry with them as they stopped to be refreshed. . . .
“Later their eyes were open and they knew him, but he had vanished. Said they: ‘Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way. . . . ?’ (Luke 24:25, 32.)
“As we contemplate his life and mission, our hearts burn within us, for we know that he lives.” (Alvin R. Dyer in CR, Apr. 1966, p. 125. Italics added.)
“I bear witness to you that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world—the very Son of God.
“He was born the babe of Bethlehem.
“He lived and ministered among men.
“He was crucified on Calvary.
“His friends deserted him.
“His closest associates did not fully understand his mission, and they doubted. One of the most trusted denied knowing him.
“A pagan governor, struggling with his conscience after consenting to Jesus’ death, caused a sign to be erected over the cross proclaiming him ‘JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.’ (John 19:19.)
“He asked forgiveness for his tormentors and then willingly gave up his life.
“His body was laid in a borrowed tomb.
“An immense stone was placed over the opening.
“In the minds of his stunned followers over and over echoed some of his last words, ‘. . . be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (Ibid., 16:33.)
“On the third day there was a great earthquake. The stone was rolled back from the door of the tomb. Some of the women, among the most devoted of his followers, came to the place with spices ‘and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.’ (Luke 24:3.)
“Angels appeared and said simply, ‘Why seek ye the living among the dead?
“‘He is not here, but is risen.’ (Ibid., 24:5–6.)
‘There is nothing in history to equal that dramatic announcement: ‘He is not here, but is risen.’” (Ezra Taft Benson in CR, Apr. 1964, p. 119.)
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The resurrection of Jesus has been proclaimed as one of the best attested of all events in history. From what you have presently learned, identify five reasons why this is so. In what ultimate way is its attestation greater than any secular event? The empty tomb of our Savior is the most significant of all time, for it was death that died, not Jesus. The Prince of Peace, having fulfilled all things, is the Prince of life for all mankind and of eternal life to those who will follow him. |
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THE RESURRECTED CHRIST APPEARS TO MEN |
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THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK |
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APPEARANCES SUBSEQUENT TO THOSE OF THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK |
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Disciples Return to Jerusalem |
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John’s Concluding Words |
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The testimony of all the prophets of all the ages is that Jesus is our living Savior; all the Saints share that witness.
INTRODUCTIONOh, haughty Rome! and faithless Sanhedrin—you thought a mortared stone could seal the borrowed tomb and stay the power of God! A thousand stones, ten thousand guards, could not have secured that door. As well you might have piled dry leaves to stop Euroclydon!* On the first day of the week, at the rising of the sun, those devout, faithful women came to the sepulchre. As they approached that sacred, holy place, they wondered among themselves: “Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?” (Mark 16:3.) But there was a great earthquake, and angels whose countenances shone like lightning came down and rolled away the stone and announced the sacred, solemn truth that Christ had risen. (See Matthew 28:1–8; Mark 16:1–8; Luke 24:1–9.) No mortal man was pure enough
*Euroclydon was the Bible name for a tempestuous wind or hurricane on the Mediterranean, now called a levanter. (See Acts 27:14.) Those women, apparently the first to hear the glad and glorious news, were instructed by the angels to inform Peter and the other apostles. Thus by Jesus’ design was launched a series of tests for his disciples. Then as now, the truth was established first by testimony, then by confirmation. (See Mark 16:14.) And, oh, how that testing must have taxed their faith: they were invited to accept the concept of resurrection, when for them resurrection had no historical precedent! Little wonder that when first his disciples heard the gladsome news, they struggled to believe. But the seeds of hope and faith were planted in their hearts by the testimonies of the women and others. Difficult as it was, and although to them the concept of an actual resurrection defied all their logic and experience, yet they did not allow those seeds of faith and hope to die. And thus, after their faith had been sorely tried, they received the glorious witness they desired. (See Ether 12:6.) Jesus, their risen Lord and Master, appeared to the disciples! Before proceeding, read all of the scriptural references in the reading block. |
“This is the sole mention made by the Gospel-writers of Christ’s personal appearance to Simon Peter on that day. The interview between the Lord and His once recreant but now repentant apostle must have been affecting in the extreme. Peter’s remorseful penitence over his denial of Christ in the palace of the high priest was deep and pitiful; he may have doubted that ever again would the Master call him His servant; but hope must have been engendered through the message from the tomb brought by the women, in which the Lord sent greetings to the apostles, whom for the first time He designated as His brethren, and from this honorable and affectionate characterization Peter had not been excluded; moreover, the angel’s commission to the women had given prominence to Peter by particular mention. To the repentant Peter came the Lord, doubtless with forgiveness and loving assurance. The apostle himself maintains a reverent silence respecting the visitation, but the fact thereof is attested by Paul as one of the definite proofs of the Lord’s resurrection.” (Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p. 687.)
But Jesus’ appearance to Peter perhaps had additional significance. Earlier, during his mortal ministry, Jesus had announced that he would confer the “keys of the kingdom” upon Peter (Matthew 16:19). Peter, in conjunction with James and John, who would preside with him, received those keys on the Mount of Transfiguration (see Matthew 17:1–8; Luke 9:28–36), and thereafter “acted as the First Presidency of the Church in their day.” (Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3:152.) Those keys “belong always unto the Presidency of the High Priesthood” (D&C 81:2), and can be exercised in their fulness on the earth by only one man at a time; and that man in the period just after Jesus ascended into heaven was Peter. It may have been, then, that Jesus’ special appearance to Peter was associated in some way with the principle of keys. (See also McConkie, DNTC, 1:851.)
“The case of Thomas shows why the Lord went to such great lengths on the Emmaus road and in the upper room to show beyond peradventure of doubt exactly what his body was like. And so rather than point the finger of scorn at Thomas we might do well to look carefully at the modern disbelief in that holy being who with his Father reigns as a Holy Man in the heavens above.” (McConkie, DNTC, 1:860.)
“This is a very important question for each one of us. May I ask each of you, ‘Do you love the Lord?’ The answer almost without exception would be, ‘Yes.’ Let us place ourselves in the position of Peter. . . .
“Can you picture this great scene of that powerful Peter being asked these simple questions? And the Lord had a way of knowing how deep the love was within Peter and how to teach him the way to show his love for Jesus Christ.
“We show and prove our love by feeding the lambs and the sheep. There are over three billion people on the earth today, and at the present rate of teaching, over two and a half billion of God’s children will never be taught the gospel of Jesus Christ. What if you were to live on this earth and never had a chance to hear and be taught the true way of life?
“Our task is great. Teachers are needed. Every member of this Church that has a testimony and is converted is urgently needed. The lambs and the sheep are hungry for the bread of life, for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can show our love by following the prophet of God, ‘by every member being a missionary’ to bring one or more souls into the Church each year.” (Bernard P. Brockbank in CR, Oct. 1963, p. 66.)
“It is interesting to note that in the gospel account John specifies that he was promised that he should tarry until the Second Coming and not that he should escape death. From the account of the translation of the Three Nephite disciples we learn that this is exactly what takes place. A change is wrought in their bodies so they cannot die at this time, but when the Lord comes again they ‘shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality,’ and thus they ‘shall never taste of death.’ (3 Ne. 28:1–10, 36–40.) They will be like a person who lives during the millennium.” (McConkie, DNTC, 1:865.)
“Of all the recorded appearances of the risen Christ to his disciples in Palestine, this one is paramount; and yet of it the present Bible preserves only a most fragmentary account. This was an appearance by appointment, by prearrangement, to which probably a great multitude of disciples was invited. It is likely the occasion of which, as Paul wrote later, ‘he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once.’ (1 Cor. 15:6.) If so, the seventies and leading brethren of the Church would have been present, as also perhaps the faithful women who are inheritors of like rewards with obedient priesthood holders.
“We do not know when Jesus specified the location of the meeting, but on the night of his betrayal and arrest, he gave this promise: ‘After I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.’ (Matt. 26:32.) Then the angels at the tomb, as part of their announcement to the women that ‘he is risen,’ commanded them to tell his disciples: ‘He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him.’ (Matt. 28:7; Mark 16:7.) And then to confirm again their previously made appointment, and in so doing to reemphasize its importance, the risen Jesus himself said to the women, as they held him by the feet, and worshipped him: ‘Go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.’ (Matt. 28:9–10.)
“We may suppose that great preparation preceded this meeting; that it dealt with many things, perhaps being similar to his resurrected ministry to multitudes of Nephites; and that from it, by the mouths of many witnesses, the sure testimony of his divine Sonship went forth to the world.” (McConkie, DNTC, 1:866–67.)
Jesus rose from the dead. As a glorified, resurrected being, he appeared before his disciples. They saw him—saw the wounds which marked his crucifixion. They saw him eat and speak and move before them. He was alive! They saw that he lived, and they declared that witness before kings and nations and defended it by faithful testimony to the end of their lives. Others, apostles and prophets in this modern day, bear the same witness: that Jesus lives and is the Redeemer!
Centuries before his ministry, death, and resurrection, Jesus had commanded Moses that truth could be verified by the testimony of two or more witnesses. (See Deuteronomy 17:6; compare D&C 6:28.) Consistent with that requirement, between his resurrection and ascension disciples by the score became witnesses of the living Redeemer.
At a general conference, President Harold B. Lee prefaced his witness by these words: “I know, with a testimony more powerful than sight. . . .” (CR, Oct. 1972, p. 20.) No doubt many hundreds saw Jesus during his lifetime—even Pilate and the members of the Sanhedrin saw him. But they did not have the witness that Jesus was their Redeemer. Read these four passages carefully to see how this ‘‘second witness,” “more powerful than sight,” was a principle established by Jesus and well understood by his disciples.
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Read the following: Matthew 16:15–17; John 15:26; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Acts 2:32. How did these early disciples become witnesses of Christ? Is this avenue open to you? |
You have read the four Gospels, and you have had an opportunity to consider carefully the life and ministry of that being who is your Redeemer. Presumably you have been a good student. Hopefully you will pray often and earnestly for the Holy Spirit to enlighten and guide your study.
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When John wrote the final verses of his Gospel, which appropriately concludes the four, he bore testimony that the things he had written about Jesus were true. (See John 21:24, 25.) Do you know that they are true? Have you wanted to know? Read Matthew 13:44–46; 7:7, 8. Have you paid the price to know? |
In this last dispensation twelve prophets have stood at the fore of those whom God has called to bear special witness of Jesus. Each of these men has served as the president of the Church. They have borne a faithful testimony of Jesus to the Church and to the world.
Before you read their testimonies, however, there is something you should consider. These are special men—they bear special witness, but the words they use are nevertheless common words.
“There are those who hear testimonies borne in the Church, by those in high station and by members in the wards and branches, all using the same words—‘I know that God lives; I know that Jesus is the Christ,’ and come to question, ‘Why cannot it be said in plainer words? Why aren’t they more explicit and more descriptive? Cannot the apostles say more?’
“How like the sacred experience in the temple becomes our personal testimony. It is sacred, and when we are wont to put it into words, we say it in the same way—all using the same words. The apostles declare it in the same phrases with the little Primary or Sunday School youngster. ‘I know that God lives and I know that Jesus is the Christ.’
“We would do well not to disregard the testimonies of the prophets or of the children, for ‘he imparteth his words by angels unto men, yea, not only men but women also. Now this is not all; little children do have words given unto them many times which confound the wise and the learned.’ (Al. 32:23.)
“Some seek for a witness to be given in some new and dramatic and different way.
“The bearing of a testimony is akin to a declaration of love. The romantics and poets and couples in love, from the beginning of time, have sought more impressive ways of saying it, or singing it, or writing it. They have used all of the adjectives, all of the superlatives, all manner of poetic expression. And when all is said and done, the declaration which is most powerful is the simple, three-word variety.
“To one who is honestly seeking, the testimony borne in these simple phrases is enough, for it is the spirit that beareth record, not the words.” (Boyd K. Packer in CR, Apr. 1971, pp. 123–24.)
Now, keeping that in mind, read these testimonies of the prophets. Read them carefully and slowly: ponder them, and remember that “it is the spirit that beareth record, and not the words.” (Compare D&C 1:39.)
“And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
“For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father!
“That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.” (D&C 76:22–24.)
“My testimony is positive. I know that there are such cities as London, Paris, and New York—from my own experience or from that of others; I know that the sun shines, I know that I exist and have a being, and I testify that there is a God, and that Jesus Christ lives, and that he is the Savior of the world. Have you been to heaven and learned to the contrary? I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and that he had many revelations. Who can disprove this testimony? Any one may dispute it, but there is no one in the world who can disprove it. I have had many revelations; I have seen and heard for myself, and know these things are true, and nobody on earth can disprove them. The eye, the ear, the hand, all the senses may be deceived, but the Spirit of God cannot be deceived; and when inspired with that Spirit, the whole man is filled with knowledge, he can see with a spiritual eye, and he knows that which is beyond the power of man to controvert. What I know concerning God, concerning the earth, concerning government, I have received from the heavens, not alone through my natural ability, and I give God the glory and the praise.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, 1951 ed., p. 433.)
“As a God, He descended below all things, and made Himself subject to man in man’s fallen condition; as a man, He grappled with all the circumstances incident to His sufferings in the world. Anointed, indeed, with the oil of gladness above His fellows, He struggled with and overcame the powers of men and devils, of earth and hell combined; and aided by this superior power of the Godhead, He vanquished death, hell and the grave, and arose triumphant as the Son of God, the very eternal Father, the Messiah, the Prince of peace, the Redeemer, the Savior of the world; having finished and completed the work pertaining to the atonement, which His Father had given Him to do as the Son of God and the Son of man. As the Son of Man, He endured all that it was possible for flesh and blood to endure; as the Son of God He triumphed over all, and forever ascended to the right hand of God, to further carry out the designs of Jehovah pertaining to the world and to the human family.” (The Mediation and Atonement, pp. 147–48.)
“When our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, stepped forth into the world to occupy the position to which He had been ordained of God, there were but few individuals who had faith in Him, or who were looking for the coming of the Son of Man in fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus, all His life, it may be said, from the manger to the cross, was very unpopular with the mass of the human family, more particularly the inhabitants of Jerusalem. His history is before the world. He died an ignominious death upon the cross, and those of His own Father’s house, the High Priests, and the leading men of Jerusalem, were all in favor of His death. Yet the Savior possessed truth. He offered truth to the world; He offered life and salvation to the world. But the principles He taught were unpopular in His day. He gathered around Him a few followers; but the acceptance of His principles cost them their lives, as it did the life of the Savior Himself. I do not know of a man—except it was John the Revelator—who escaped. They all died violent deaths. They had to seal their testimony with their blood. Some were crucified; others were sawn asunder, beheaded, or in some way put to death for the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ. They were put to death for their religion. How is it to-day? What name has been more honored, or more held up as an ensample to the world than the name of Jesus Christ?” (JD, 25:5.)
“There is no man that knows the truth of this work more than I do. I know it fully; I know it distinctly. I know there is a God just as well as any man knows it, because God has revealed himself to me. I know it positively. I shall never forget the manifestations of the Lord; I never will forget them as long as memory endures. It is in me. There is something to labor for, there is something to sacrifice for. When the Elders go forth among the nations, they dare to say this; they dare to say that God has revealed himself. They dare to say that God has spoken to His sons and daughters as He did in former days, and they dare to say that He has heard the prayers of the house of Israel, He has heard the prayers of the honest in heart, and He has come down as He did in the days of Israel when they were in Egyptian bondage to deliver them; He has come down to relieve the distressed, and to confer upon them knowledge, intellectually, spiritually, and to place them in a country where they can be blessed and saved from that half-starvation in which many have been found where the Gospel reached them.” (CR, Oct. 1880, p. 32.)
“I bear my testimony, and surely it is of as much force and effect, if it be true, as the testimony of Job, the testimonies of the disciples of Jerusalem, the disciples on this continent, of Joseph Smith, or any other man who told the truth. All are of equal force and binding on the world. If no man had ever testified to these things upon the face of the globe, I want to say as a servant of God, independent of the testimonies of all men and of every book that has been written, that I have received the witness of the Spirit in my own heart, and I testify before God, angels and men, without fear of the consequences, that I know that my Redeemer lives, and I shall see him face to face, and stand with him in my resurrected body upon this earth, if I am faithful; for God has revealed this unto me. I have received the witness, and I bear my testimony, and my testimony is true.” (Gospel Doctrine, pp. 446–47.)
“I thank God for the knowledge I possess by the inspiration of his Spirit that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Redeemer of the world, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh. And I thank him that I do know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and the living God. . . . May God help me and every Latter-day Saint who has a testimony of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged to so live that our lives may proclaim the truth of this Gospel, is my humble prayer, and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.” (CR, Apr. 1930, p. 192.)
“In conclusion let me say: We are not out of the woods. This world is in for a housecleaning unless the sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father repent of their sins and turn to him. And that means the Latter-day Saints, or the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, along with all the rest, but we, first of all, ought to be setting the example. We have sent over seventy thousand of our sons and daughters into the world, paying their own expenses, to divide the gospel of Jesus Christ with his other children. Why? Because we know it is the only plan God has given to the children of men to earn a place in the celestial kingdom. That is why it is so important. In this great building that has been so sacred to all, after listening to the splendid choir and the organ, listening to the prayers that have been offered here, listening to the testimonies that have been borne, I want to leave my testimony with you and say to you: I know that God lives. I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of the Living God, and had restored to him the true gospel of Jesus Christ in these latter days. . . .
“So, realizing the seriousness of a testimony like that, realizing what it means, and with love unfeigned and a desire to be a blessing to all our Father’s children, I leave this witness with you that this is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the only power of God unto salvation in preparation for the celestial kingdom, into which kingdom we may all go if we will, but it will be on his terms, and I bear you that witness this day, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.” (CR, Oct. 1946, p. 153.)
“Brethren and sisters, I have cherished from childhood the truth that God is a personal being and is, indeed, our Father whom we can approach in prayer and receive answers thereto. My testimony of the risen Lord is just as real as Thomas’, who said to the resurrected Christ when he appeared to his disciples: ‘My Lord and my God.’ (John 20:28.) I know that he lives. He is God made manifest in the flesh; and I know that ‘there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ (Acts 4:12.)
“I know that he will confer with his servants who seek him in humility and in righteousness. I know because I have heard his voice, and I have received his guidance in matters pertaining to his kingdom here on earth.
“I know that his Father, our Creator, lives. I know that they appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and revealed to him the revelations which we now have recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants and in other Church works. This knowledge is as real to me as that which occurs in our daily lives. When we lay our bodies down at night, we know—we have an assurance—that the sun will rise in the morning and shed its glory over all the earth. So near to me is the knowledge of Christ’s existence and divinity of this restored Church.” (CR, Apr. 1968, pp. 9–10.)
“The Savior never committed any sin nor carried any troubled conscience. He hadn’t been under the necessity of repenting as you and I have; but in some way that I can not understand, he carried the weight of my transgressions and yours and the transgressions of every soul who comes into this Church from the days of Adam to our present time. He came and offered himself as a sacrifice to pay the debt for the things I have done that are wrong and that each of you individually have done that are wrong, and each other person who has been willing to repent of his sins and return to Jesus Christ and keep his commandments. He paid the price. Think of it if you can. Think of what one man can suffer for his wrongdoing. The Savior carried that burden in some way beyond our comprehension. But he carried it. I know that because I accept his word. And the great weight of the torment he went through to save us from the torment was so great that he plead with his Father that if it were possible he may not drink the bitter cup and shrink—‘but nevertheless thy will be done.’ The answer he got from his Father was, ‘You have to drink it.’
“Can I help loving him? No, I can’t. Do you love him? Then keep his commandments. If you don’t, you will have to answer for them yourselves. ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments.’” (Take Heed to Yourselves, pp. 281–82.)
“As one of the humblest among you, and occupying the station I do, I want to bear you my humble testimony that I have received by the voice and the power of revelation, the knowledge and an understanding that God is. It was a week following the conference, when I was preparing myself for a radio talk on the life of the Savior when I read again the story of the life, the crucifixion and, the resurrection of the Master—there came to me as I read that, a reality of that story, more than just what was on the written page. For in truth, I found myself viewing the scenes with a certainty as though I had been there in person. I know that these things come by the revelations of the living God.” (“Divine Revelation,” Speeches of the Year, 1952, p. 12. Italics added.)
“This is Easter week—a time when we solemnly remind each other of the unprecedented occurrence which took place in a small inner garden, in a rough-hewn tomb, in a caliche hill, outside the walls of Jerusalem. It happened there in an early morning and startled every soul who heard of it.
“Since it had never happened before on this earth, it must have been difficult for the people to believe, but how could they any longer doubt, when the resurrected Lord himself came to them and showed himself, and they felt the wounds in his hands and feet? Hundreds of his intimate believing friends bore witness.
“This was Jesus of Nazareth, born in a manger, reared in a small village, baptized in the Jordan River, crucified on Golgotha, buried in a stone-cold roomlet in the cliff, and his resurrection attested to in a small, pleasant garden near the tomb.
“His suffering before and on the cross and his great sacrifice can mean little or nothing to us unless we live his commandments. For he says:
“‘. . . why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?’ (Luke 6:46.)
“‘If ye love me, keep my commandments.’ (John 14:15.)
“Certainly if we fail to live his teachings, we lose communication with him. (CR, Apr. 1972, pp. 25–26.) . . .
“And eternal life again was made available to men in the earth, for does not the scripture say: ‘And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.’ (John 17:3.) And so we return to the promise made on the hill in Palestine. ‘Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8.)
“Men who know God and love him and live his commandments and obey his true ordinances may yet in this life, or the life to come, see his face and know that he lives and will commune with them.
“Our friends, I invite further inquiry. I testify to these truths, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.” (CR, Apr. 1964, pp. 98–99.)
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These are the testimonies of the prophets—twelve men who, among many others, know the Lord and know that he is a living Redeemer. How strong is your testimony? Has your study of the Gospels strengthened it? How? Have you raised your voice as a witness, as have the prophets? |
You are at the end of this lesson and at the end of your study of the Gospels. But the account about you is just beginning. You will write it—all the rest of it—throughout your life. Will you live and act and serve as one who loves the Lord?
Come back to the Gospels often—never get too far away from the sweet, quiet testimony that they contain: that Jesus lives and is your Redeemer.
“Members of the Church . . . are under obligation to make the sinless Son of Man their ideal—the one perfect being who ever walked the earth.
Sublimest Example of Nobility
God-like in nature
Perfect in his love
Our Redeemer
Our Savior
The immaculate Son of our Eternal Father
The Light, the Life, the Way
“I know he lives. . . .” (David O. McKay, “The Transforming Power of Faith in Jesus Christ,” Improvement Era, June 1951, p. 478.)
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