Part 4

So these women stood and waited near the cross all those long hours till the evening, to see what they would do with their Lord.

And when the evening had come, there came a rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph.

He was a counsellor and much respected among the Jews; and when the Lord had been condemned by them, he had not consented to what they had done. He was looking for the Kingdom of God, like many other godly Jews at that time.

So he brought fine linen to wrap the precious body of Jesus in; and sweet spices for His burial.

And he went boldly in to Pilate and begged him to give him the body of Jesus.

So Pilate gave him leave, and Joseph hastened back to take Jesus down from the cross, and to wrap Him in beautiful pure linen, and to carry Him away to his own new tomb which was in a garden close to Calvary.

We are told by those who have been there, that just beneath that hill outside Jerusalem called The Skull, there is a garden with a tomb in it, cut out of the rock. It is thought by some, that this is the tomb in which Jesus was laid; but no one can be quite certain that this is so.

At any rate, we are told in the Gospel of John that the garden was near at hand. And here they buried the body of our dear Lord, and rolled a great stone across the door of the sepulchre.

And Mary Magdalene and the other Mary saw where He was laid, and sat down over against the sepulchre to watch.

But the next day, the chief priests and Pharisees came to Pilate, to remind him that Jesus had said while He was alive, that He was going to rise again from the dead on the third day.

So they begged Pilate to command that the sepulchre should be made sure till the third day, lest Jesus' disciples should come in the night and steal His body away, and pretend that He had risen as He had said, which they thought would be a worse mistake than all!

And Pilate answered, "You have soldiers who can watch, go and make it as sure as you can."

So they went back, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting men to keep watch all night.

XXIV. The Resurrection

They had sealed the grave to make all sure, and they had set a watch that no one should come to steal the body of Jesus; and the women and those who loved Him and had followed Him, left the tomb at last, and went to their own homes.

[Illustration: SETTING MEN TO WATCH ALL NIGHT.]

They had forgotten that the Lord Jesus had told them, over and over again, that He would rise from the dead on the third day.

But it was impossible that the grave could hold the Son of God, when the time came for Him to rise.

He tasted death for all of us; but He also rose from the dead to show that God was satisfied that He had atoned for our sins.

Very early on the first day of the week, which is our Sunday, Mary Magdalene, and Salome, and "the other Mary," came to the grave with spices and sweet-smelling ointments to anoint the body of Jesus.

And as they went along, they said to each other, "Who shall roll away the stone for us?" For they knew that it was very large and heavy!

But when they got there, the stone was already rolled away.

So they entered into the tomb, and they saw a young man sitting there on the right side, clothed in a long, white garment, and they were very frightened.

But he said to them, "Do not be frightened; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified: He is risen; He is not here: look at the place where they laid Him. And go and tell His disciples, and Peter, that if they go into Galilee they shall see Him, as He said to them."

At first they were so frightened at the shining angel that they ran away, and did not tell any one. But very soon, while it was yet very early, Jesus met Mary Magdalene (out of whom, we read in the 8th of Luke, He had cast seven devils), and when she had seen Him and He had talked with her, she knew certainly that He was the Lord; and she ran and told His other disciples who were mourning and crying because they thought He was dead, and that they should never see Him again.

And do you not think, too, that Peter must have been very glad indeed of that special message which the Lord Jesus sent to him?

We read afterwards that the Lord also appeared to Peter; but we do not know what He said to His sorrowful disciple. All we do know is that Jesus forgave him.

And this is what He will do for us, children, if we ask Him to forgive us. He will comfort us with the assurance of His love and pardon, and He will help us to go on again like He did Peter.

Meanwhile the soldiers who were watching at the tomb were very frightened at all that had happened, and went and told the chief priests all about it.

So when they had consulted together, they gave the soldiers money, and told them to say that the disciples of Jesus had come in the night and had stolen His body.

So that saying was believed among the Jews from that time.

But Jesus was alive! He showed Himself over and over again to His own disciples; and so that there should be no mistake, He came one evening into the midst of the room where the disciples and those who were with them were assembled, and said, "Peace be unto you!"

They were all so frightened, thinking that they had seen a spirit, that Jesus told them to touch Him and to look at the marks of the nails in His hands and feet; and when they could hardly believe for joy, He asked them to give Him some food, and He sat down and ate it before them, explaining to them in loving words that it was necessary for Him to die, but also necessary for Him to rise again, that He might obtain eternal salvation for all who will obey Him.

XXV. On the Shore at Dawn

On the day of the resurrection, two of the disciples of the Lord Jesus were walking from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus, and as they went along they spoke of all that had happened, reasoning together about it.

And as they walked, Jesus Himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they did not know Him.

So He asked them what they were talking of, and why they were sad?

And Cleopas answered, that He must be a stranger in Jerusalem if He did not know what had so lately happened there.

And Jesus asked them, "What things?"

So they told Him it was about Jesus of Nazareth who had been a mighty prophet, but now had been crucified; and how they had hoped that He was to be their Saviour.

Then Jesus told them that if they had only believed, they would have understood that the Scriptures had foretold that Christ must suffer to atone for sin, and then to enter into His glory.

So He explained in all the Scriptures the things about Himself—but still they did not know Him.

Then they came to the village, and they pressed Him to abide with them; and while they sat at supper Jesus blessed the bread, and brake it, and gave to them.

Then their eyes were opened, and they knew Him, and He vanished out of their sight.

So they rose up the same hour and hurried back to Jerusalem, where they found the eleven disciples together, who were full of the joyful news that the Lord had risen indeed, and that He had appeared to Peter.

Then Cleopas and his companion told their great news, and as they did so, Jesus Himself stood in their midst, and said to them, "Peace be unto you!"

* * * * * * *

Now I must tell you how Jesus showed Himself to six of His disciples and Nathanael at the sea of Galilee, sometimes called Tiberias.

Peter had proposed one evening to go to fish on the lake, and the others had said they would go with him. But all that night they took nothing. When the morning dawned they were cold and hungry, and as the light came back they saw some one on the shore who seemed to be waiting for them.

They did not know that it was Jesus and even when His voice came to them across the water, asking if they had anything to eat, they did not recognize it.

But when the stranger called to them to cast their nets on the right side of the ship, and they found a lot of fish, John began to guess Who it must be, and he said to Peter, "It is the Lord!"

Then Peter threw on his fisher's coat and cast himself into the sea to get quickly to his beloved Lord, and the rest hastened to follow in a small boat, dragging the net full of great fishes.

When they landed on the beach, they found that Jesus had prepared for them. He knew that they were cold and hungry, and they saw a fire already lighted, with some fish being cooked on it, as well as bread to eat with it.

Then Jesus told them to bring some of the fish which they had caught; and He said to them, "Come and break your fast." But none of the disciples durst ask Him, "Who art Thou?" knowing that it was the Lord.

Jesus then came to them, and gave them fish and bread, and satisfied their hunger. But oh, what must it have been to have His presence, and to see Him once more, face to face!

You can picture them as they sat in that clear morning air with Jesus close to them and how they must have listened to every word that fell from His dear lips. And what do you think was the message that He wanted them to remember, above all, from that resurrection breakfast table?

When they had finished their meal, Jesus turned to Simon Peter—Peter who loved Him so truly, and yet who had denied Him,—and He said tenderly to him three times, "Simon, son of Jonas, do you love Me?"

And Peter answered each time, "Yes, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee!"

And Jesus said to him words like this: "Then, Peter, if you love Me, feed My lambs, and feed My sheep!"

Jesus did not mean, children, that Peter should turn into a shepherd. No; He wanted Peter to understand that among the people of God, whom God often calls His flock, there would be little lambs—children—who would want cherishing, and sheep who would want feeding, with the Bread of Life.

I think this was the message of that resurrection breakfast table: "If you love Me, tell others of My great love!"

XXVI. Going to the Father

At length the time came for the Lord Jesus to return to heaven, to be at His Father's right hand.

So one day He led His disciples out of Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives.

He did not tell them to wait for Him at Gethsemane that day! All sorrow and suffering were now past for Him. He had finished the work which His Father had given Him to do, and now He had only to bless His disciples, and ascend up above the clouds to live with His Father.

During the forty days since His resurrection, He had appeared to them many times, and had told them many things about the kingdom of God, and about the Holy Spirit who was soon to be sent to them to be their Comforter.

And now having led them out as far as Bethany, He blessed them, and while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

While they looked earnestly up to heaven, two angels stood by them in white clothes, and said to them, "Why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner, as ye have seen Him go into heaven."

Then they returned back to Jerusalem with great joy.

It was the thought of Jesus being in glory which gave them great joy; and His promise that He would come again some day, made them happy and hopeful.

They had lost His dear bodily presence here; but He said that though He was in heaven, He would be with them here too, even to the end of the world.

This is what He says to us, dear children, to-day! He says, "I am with you all the days, and I am coming again to receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

Jesus wants us all to set to work for Him. He has left us a charge to tell others about His love in dying for us, that they may come to Him to be blessed.

We may not be able to do very much, but we can try to please Him every day by being obedient, faithful and loving; and while we listen to His voice saying to us from the glory, "Surely I come quickly!" We can answer Him with adoring love,—

"Come, Lord Jesus!"

XXVII. When the Earth was made Beautiful

Long ago, before this earth was made ready for us to live on, if you had been able to look at it, you would have seen nothing but mist, and darkness, and water!

And as you think about it, you wonder very much how it all was.

If you were asked, you would say that the earth is a great round ball, and that it hangs up in the sky without anybody holding it up!

You cannot explain how that is, and you find it very difficult to understand how it can be.

Perhaps you wonder who made the earth? And how did it get hung up in the sky, and who keeps it there?

So I am going to tell you about it.

A very, very long time ago, a great deal longer ago than you or I can count, for the Bible tells us that it was "In the beginning," God made the heaven and the earth.

The earth on which we live now, where there are trees and beautiful flowers, and horses and cows, as well as men and women and children, was quite empty then. It was always dark there in those days, and all the ground was covered with water!

You can think how desolate it must have been: nothing to be seen but mist and darkness!

But God had not forgotten this earth of ours.

And we read another thing in the Bible about "In the beginning," and that is, that Jesus the Son of God was "in the beginning with God."

That is such a comforting thought! Before our world was prepared for us to live on, Jesus was with God in Heaven!

You children love your fathers and mothers very much; you like to go on their messages, and to do what you can to help them, do you not? The Lord Jesus loved to do God's will, and to carry out all His Father gave Him to do.

And what do you think God did give Him to do? Perhaps you have begun to guess!

God His Father gave Him the wonderful work of making our earth, and preparing it all for us to live on!

It says in the Bible "All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made."

So the first thing that happened when God began to prepare this earth for men to live on, was that God's Spirit came and "brooded" over the dark waters that covered the earth.

You wonder what that means? Perhaps you have seen a hen sitting day after day on the nest of eggs, and "brooding" over them till they get warmth and life?

Well, that is what the word means! God's Holy Spirit came near our earth, and surrounded it with His warmth and love.

And then God said, "Let there be light!" or "Let the light come!"

And lo! Instead of the dark waters and deep shadow, there came a shining over the earth; and God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.

Next to the day and night, God made the air and the sky and the clouds. And He told the sea to stay where it was, and the sky to stay above the earth, and He called the sky Heaven.

But still there was no land to be seen; so in His wonderful power, God told the sea to go back to a certain distance, and then the mountains and the hills and the plains stood out, and the earth was ready to be furnished for us men, who were to live on it.

So God our Father, and Jesus Christ our Saviour, and the Holy Spirit our Comforter, all prepared this beautiful earth for us.

It is God's power (by His wonderful laws) which holds the earth up in the sky, so that it does not tumble out of its place.

And it is His power which brought the trees and the grass, the flowers and the corn, the fruit and the vegetables to make us happy.

And now came something else.

God planned for us to have the beautiful sun to cheer us, and to tell us what time of day it is; and He gave us the moon to shine at night, and also to remind us what time of the month we have reached. He set them in the sky to make us happy, and to remind us every day of His love and power. Then God made the fishes and the birds, the cattle and the sheep, as well as the lions and tigers, the horses and the elephants.

And not only the large animals, but the little ants and bees and caterpillars—everything that lives on this earth.

But there were no men or women or children there, yet.

Then God talked to the Lord Jesus about it; for we are told in the first Chapter of Genesis that He said "Let us make man . . . after our likeness."

So God made Adam and Eve, and blessed them, and promised to give them some little children, and told them He had made everything on the earth to make them happy and to do them good.

And then God saw that His work was very good; nothing had been left out, it was perfect! Every leaf was perfect, every flower, every insect, every animal, every star; all were very good!

Thus the heavens and the earth were made, and God rested on the seventh day, and blessed the seventh day, because in it, He rested from all His work which He had done.

This is why we have Sunday; and we shall find that in keeping His day of Holy Rest, we too are promised a great blessing for "in keeping His Commandments there is great reward."

XXVIII. Adam and Eve

When God made the earth ready for men and women and children to live in, He made a beautiful garden called Eden, and there God put Adam and Eve who were the first man and the first woman.

[Illustration: THE GARDEN OF EDEN]

In this garden they were very good and happy. God himself used to come down and talk to them in the cool of the evening.

He told Adam and Eve that He had made everything for them, and that the trees with their sweet fruit were for their food.

But God gave them one command. He said they were not to eat the fruit of one particular tree in the garden. God knew the fruit of this tree would make Adam and Eve very unhappy, if they ate it.

Now I must explain to you that there were some of God's angels who had been very disobedient, and they had been shut out of heaven because they would not obey God.

Adam and Eve were very happy, as I said, and they did not think of disobeying God till Satan (that wicked angel who tries to make us do naughty things) hid himself in a serpent, and came to Eve and began to talk to her.

Eve was not surprised that a serpent could talk to her, for so many wonderful things were around her, that she listened to him, and answered him, without thinking it was any harm.

This is how temptation often comes to us, children!

Satan began by asking Eve a very clever question. He said, "Are you sure God has said that you may not eat of every tree in the garden?"

Then Eve said eagerly, "We may eat of every tree except one; but if we eat of that one we shall have to die!"

Then the serpent said to Eve, "You will not have to die! You will only be a great deal more wise than you are now!"

And so Eve looked longingly at the tree, and when she saw that the fruit looked so nice, and heard that it would make her clever, she forgot all about obeying God, and picked the fruit and ate it, and gave some to Adam her husband, and he ate it too.

[Illustration: PICKED THE FRUIT AND ATE IT.]

Oh, how sad was their disobedience, and what sorrow it brought on them and their children!

So the Lord God sent them out of the beautiful garden, because there was in the midst of the garden the Tree of Life, and God did not wish them to eat of that tree now.

So He put angels at the gate of Eden with a flaming sword, to keep the way of the Tree of Life.

Then Adam and Eve went out sorrowfully from their lovely garden, and Adam had to work very hard in digging the ground to plant things to grow for that food.

Eve was very sad too, and in the end they both had to die, as God had said.

But God is very pitiful, and when He was telling Eve how wrong she had been, and what a cruel enemy the Serpent was, He promised her that some day a Deliverer should come, who should destroy the serpent, Satan.

This Deliverer is Jesus Christ our Saviour, Who came to earth to live and to die for us, that He might undo all that Satan had done to hurt us, and make all who will trust Jesus, happy in heaven for ever.

And in the Revelation, we read a beautiful promise, which tells us something about Heaven that we never could have guessed when we saw poor Adam and Eve driven out of Eden—

"To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God!"

XXIX. Cain and Abel