And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: and, as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, and returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

John XX. I-18.

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he, stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie; and the napkin that was about his head, not Iying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own

home. But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre, and seeth two angels in white, sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

Jesus, after rising from the dead, appeared first to Mary Magdalene. This is expressly stated by St. Mark. She was called Mary Magdalene, or 'of Magdala,' to distinguish her from others of that name; as, for instance, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary the sister of Lazarus and Martha.

St. Paul, in his enumeration of those by whom Jesus was seen after his resurrection, begins with Peter. It is evident, however, that St. Paul did not intend to enumerate all the appearances of Jesus to his disciples, nor does he say that Peter was the first who saw him. He probably began with Peter, because he was the first of the appointed witnesses who saw

him; it being partly with a view to include himself among these, that he mentioned the subject.

To begin, then, with our Lord's appearance to Mary. Well acquainted, as she must have been, with the person of Jesus, she would seem not to have recognized him, at first; not, indeed, until she heard him address her. This is remarkable. We will take another occasion, however, of remarking on it. St. John further tells us, that on her suddenly recognizing him, and exclaiming 'Master,' Jesus said to her, ‘Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God.'

Why he forbad her to touch him, and what connexion there was between that prohibition and his not having yet ascended into Heaven, is not very obvious. West, in his excellent work on the Resurrection, explains it thus: 'I take Christ's forbidding Mary Magdalene to touch him, to have been meant as a signification of his intending to see her and his disciples again; just as in ordinary life, when one friend says to another, 'Don't take leave of me, for I am not going yet,' he means to let him know that he purposes to see him again before he sets out on his journey.'* But then our Lord's words to Mary, if this had been his meaning, would have been, 'I am not yet going to ascend;' instead of which he tells her,

*West On the Resurrection.

'I am not yet ascended.'

A more correct para

phrase would seem to be, 'Do not stop to assure yourself of my bodily presence by feeling and handling me. I am not, as you seem to suppose, revealing myself to you transiently from Heaven. I have not yet ascended thither. I am still in my sojourn on earth. Go, at once, to my brethren with this message concerning my ascension.'

JESUS APPEARS TO SOME OF THE WOMEN ON THEIR WAY FROM THE SEPULCHRE.

(Second appearance.)

Matt. xxviii. 9, 10.

And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid; go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

From a comparison of the several Gospel narratives, it would seem that Mary Magdalene, and other women with her, went, very early in the morning, to the sepulchre; and that, on finding the stone rolled away, Mary Magdalene must have quitted her companions, and hastened with the tidings to Peter and John; whilst they remained, entered the sepulchre, and saw the vision of angels. The effect of this vision on them was extreme terror and amazement. They fled; and, in order to reconcile the several narratives, we must conclude, that, in their flight and distraction, they parted company. Some of them went direct to

the apostles with the report of what they had seen and heard at the sepulchre. Others did not; and it is to these others that Jesus must have appeared, having previously shown himself to Mary after her return to the sepulchre with Peter and John, when left there alone by their departure.

These women, in their fright and excitement, held Jesus by the feet, and worshipped him; probably, as was suggested in Mary's case, to assure themselves that it was he in bodily substance, and to detain him, that he may not vanish from them. Much in the same strain as he addressed Mary, he dismissed them too, with a message to his disciples, 'Be not afraid ; go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.'

JESUS APPEARS TO PETER.

(Third appearance.)

Luke xxiv. 34; 1 Cor. XV. 5.

(See Ninth Appearance, p. 261.)

JESUS APPEARS TO TWO DISCIPLES ON THEIR WAY

TO EMMAUS.

(Fourth appearance.)

Mark xvi. 12, 13.

After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it unto the residue; neither believed they them.

Luke xxiv. 13-35.

And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore