NO. 3067<\/b><\/p>\n
PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST, 1907,<\/b><\/p>\n
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,<\/i><\/p>\n
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON,<\/b><\/p>\n
ON LORD\u2019S-DAY EVENING, MARCH 1ST, 1871.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who will, maketh intercession for us.\u201d \u2014 Romans 8:34?<\/i><\/p>\n
ALL through this very wonderful chapter the apostle seems to be piling up, in heaps upon heaps, the many marvels of divine grace. I might quote from the old classic fable of the giants who piled the mountains one upon the other, \u2014 Pelion upon Ossa, and I might say that, even so has Paul done here. He has piled mountain upon mountain of wondrous grace in his description of the way to heaven. and now he seems to have climbed to the top of them all, and to have transformed them into a kind of Tabor or Pisgah; and as he stands there, he exults in the Lord; he waves the palm-branch of triumph; he boasts with holy boasting; and he challenges all his enemies to attack him,: \u201cWho, <\/i>shall lay any thing to the charges of God\u2019s elect? It is God that, justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ, that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
I. <\/b>Here, first of all, is A Solemn Question, \u2014 a very solemn question if it were put by all here present: \u201cWho, <\/i>is, he that condemneth?\u201d \u2014 for I am afraid that some of my hearers, if they asked that, question, might, have a speedy answer; \u2014 \u201cIt is your own conscience that condemns you; it is the Word of God that condemns you; it is Christ himself\u2019 who, condemns you; it is God the Judge of all who condemns you because, you have not. fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope, set before, you in the, gospel: you have not believed in Jesus.\u201d But Paul is speaking as a believer in Christ, and for him to put the question, or for any other believer to put, it, is a very different thing: for he, may say what others must not, \u201cWho can lay anything to my charge? Who is he that can condemn<\/p>\n
Other Sermons by Mr. Spurgeon, upon this passage are as follows: \u2014 <\/i>The New Park Street Pulpit, No. 256. \u201cThe Believer\u2019s Challenge\u2019\u201d and Metropolitan Tabernacle -Pulpit, No. 1,223, \u201cJesus, the Substitute for his People\u201d (double number), and No. 2,240, \u201cA Challenge and a Shield.\u201d me, now that I have believed in Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior?\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, beloved, one answer that might be, given to this question, \u201cWho is he that condemneth?\u201d is that, there are many who would if they could; <\/i>for, probably, no believer in Christ. is without his enemies. There are few good men and women who are not slandered. The majority of God\u2019s people have been persecuted in some way or other, and some of them have had to lie in prison year after year. Many more have been condemned to die; and yet, inasmuch as slanderers and persecutors have no right to, condemn the man of God, he may challenge his slanderers and his persecutors, and say, \u201cYou may profess to condemn me if you please, but, I count your condemnation to be no more potent than the whistling of the wind. You would condemn me if you could, but you cannot really do, so.\u201d Satan, our arch-enemy, would condemn us if it were in his power. Only fancy him, for a moment,, sitting on the judgment-seat. If we had the devil to judge us, he would soon bring to our recollection our many faults, and follies, and failings, and condemn us for them. But, O thou fiend of hell, God has not made thee. the, judge, of his saints! Thou mayest cast foul insinuations against them; but the Lord says to them concerning each one of them, \u201cThe Lord rebuke thee, O Satan! Is not this a brand plucked out, of the fire?\u201d Satan has no right to, judge us, and no power to condemn us; so, when he speaks the worst he can about us, we laugh him to scorn, rejoicing that God will bruise him under our feet. shortly.<\/p>\n
But, beloved, sometimes our own conscience condemns us. The <\/i>best man here will, at times, have painful memories of the past; and to look at the past, except through the glass made red by our Savior\u2019s precious blood, is to look upon despair; for our past transgressions would drag us down to hell were it not for the stoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Ay, and we, need not look back far to have this sad view, for the sins of any one of the best, days we have ever lived might cause us to tremble,. The sins of our holy things are black enough to cause us great sorrow. Did you ever pray a prayer that you could not have wept over afterwards? Have you ever preached a sermon with which you could feel content? Is not, sin mixed with all that, we do? But, here is the mercy, <\/i>that. our conscience is not. set, upon God\u2019s throne to judge and to condemn us, although we do well to listen to the voice of conscience, <\/i>and to give heed to its admonitions. The apostle John reminds us that, \u201cif <\/i>our heart condemn us, God is greater than, our heart, and knoweth all things;\u201d and that, \u201cif <\/i>any man sin, we have an advocate, with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.\u201d With all our imperfections, and our consciousness of guilt, we rejoice that, \u2014<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a fountain fill\u2019d with blood,
Drawn from Emmanuel\u2019s veins;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
It looks a bold question for any man to put. so unreservedly, \u201cWho is ha that, condemneth?\u201d But there is really only One who can condemn. <\/i>Out\u2019 characters may have been pulled to pieces by a thousand tittle-tattlers, but they could not condemn us. When a prisoner stands in the: dock, he need not be afraid of anybody except the judge and jury. It does not signify what, you or I may believe about him; nobody but, the twelve men in the box can give the verdict against him or in his favor. These are the persons before whom he has cause to tremble; but, before none besides. So, whoever may pretend to condemn us, there is only One who can really do so, and that is the Judge; and what. is his name? O Christian, what a comforting fact is this to you! Your Judge is your Savior; and it is not possible to. conceive that he, who died and rose, again, and entered into, heaven, and every day pleads for us, over can use his blessed lips to. pronounce con-detonation upon any one of his own people. \u201cOh! \u201csay you, \u201cbut he must do it as he, is the Judge; he must not show any favor on the judgment-seat.\u201d That is a right remark, and I have been sorry whenever I have heard a preacher say that, it. is a consolation to think that the Judge will be our Friend. Why, beloved, we must not imagine that Jesus will judge partial]y, and give his verdict in our favor because we are his friends. No, but here is our comfort; he who is our Judge, beyond everybody else knows the whole, truth about us, and he would not, justify us at the last if we really ought to be condemned. Ah, no,! he is too just to do that; but he knows that every believer is so completely justified that he cannot be, condemned. He knows, as nobody else does, how the believer was justified:, what bleed it was that washed the believer white, and what righteousness it is that has made. the believer \u201caccepted in the Beloved.\u201d He knows his own, and he knows the way in which he has justified his own; and, therefore, as an omniscient, infallibly just Judge, he knows that the sentence which will be passed upon the believer, which is a sentence of acquittal, is the only one that could be passed. \u201cWho is he that condemneth? Christ that died.\u201d So the fact stands that, whatever there may be in store for others in connection with the coming day of final judgment, and the banishment of the condemned to hell, all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will never be condemned. Under no possible or conceivable circumstances can they ever be condemned, for they who are once forgiven and justified always shalt be forgiven and justified in time and throughout eternity. There, is no condemnation now to them who are in Christ Jesus, and there never shall be.<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
II. <\/b>Our second point, is, The, Ground Of This Holy Confidence. It was holy confidence that, made Paul ask, \u201cWho is he that. condemneth?\u201d and he has, given us the reasons for his confidence; but I shall first, call your attention to, what he has not <\/i>given as the ground of confidence.<\/p>\n
He does not say, \u201cWho <\/i>is he that condemneth? \u2014 for we have never sinned.\u201d That would be a very good ground of confidence if it were true; for, if we had never sinned, nobody could condemn us. God is not unrighteous, so he does not, condemn an innocent man; but there is not one glorifed person in heaven who, will ever dare to plead that he had never sinned, for \u201call have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.\u201d We have all gone astray from God like is sheep; every one of us has gone the downward road. By the works of the law we never can be justified, for the law only brings to us a knowledge, of sin, and proves to us that our fancied perfection can never be the ground of our confidence.<\/p>\n
Neither does the apostle, ground his confidence on the fact of his repentance. Some people seem to have a notion that, although sin is a very evil thing, yet, if repentance be sincere and deep:, it will suffice to wash out the sin. But Paul does not say, \u201cWho is he that condemneth? \u2014 for I have felt the plague of sin, and hated it, and wept over it,, and turned from it,.\u201d He, makes no mention whatever of his repentance as a ground of his. confidence. He had truly repented, yet. he never dreamed of relying upon his repentance as a reason for his justification in the sight of God.<\/p>\n
Nor does he say that he, puts any dependence upon a long life of holiness. From the tame of his conversion, Paul had been an example to all the flock, so that, he could even write, \u201cBe ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ;\u201d yet he does not say, \u201cWho is he that condemneth? \u2014 for I have lived a blameless life among you all, and none can convince me of sin.\u201d Not a word of that sort does he utter. I know that some of you seekers after salvation fancy that those good Christian people, whom you very much admire, must get a great deal of comfort out of the good lives that they lead; but I can assure you that this is not the case with any of them. They will all tell you that they have not, the, least. confidence in themselves, or in their own doings, but that their confidence is found in quite another direction.<\/p>\n
Paul does not say that his confidence was based upon the fact that he had practiced great, self-denial, and had been a most devoted missionary of the, cross of Christ. It is true, that he had been boatins, and stoned, and shut, up. in prison, and that he had been quite willing to lay down his life for his Lord, <\/i>but, he, makes no mention of all that as the reason why he felt that he could not, be, condemned. What, do you think was Paul\u2019s opinion of all the good works he had ever done, and of all that he had suffered for the name of Christ? This is what he says, \u201cI do count them but dung,\u201d (he could hardly haw.\u2019, used a more opprobrious word than that,) \u201cthat I may win Christ,, and be, found in him.\u201d A good man, when he. was dying, slid that he was gathering all his good works and his bad works together in one bundle, and flinging them all overboard; in his estimation, the one, set, was about as good as the other as a ground of confidence in the sight, of God, and he meant to be rid of the whole, and to put his trust, somewhere else. And believe me, dear hearer, as I stand here before you, I know whom I have believed, and I have not only a hope of eternal life; but, I know that. I have, eternal life within my own soul. But, if you ask me. whether I ground my confidence of my salvation upon the fact that, these many years, I have preached the gospel of Jesus Christ, I tell you, \u201cNo, I place no reliance upon my own preaching as any ground of merit in the sight of God.\u201d And if I am asked whether, having experienced much of the, grace of God, I build my confidence on my experience, I answer, \u201cNo, in no, wise. Infinitely better than anything within me or of me is the Rock upon which my soul rests; or else I should be resting upon a shifting quicksand which would be my destruction.\u201d On Christ and what, he has done, my soul hangs for time, and eternity; and if your soul also hangs there, it will be saved as surely as mine shall be; and if you are lost trusting in Christ, whoever you may be, I will be lost with you, and I will go to hell with you; I must do so, for I have nothing else to rely upon but the fact that, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, lived, and died, and was buried, and rose again, and went up to heaven, and still lives and pleads for sinners at the right hand of God.<\/p>\n
I have thus shown you that the apostle\u2019s confidence was not founded upon anything of himself. Now I want, to explain to you the reasons why he knew that he was not condemned, and never should be\u2019. He had four pillars to his confidence,.<\/p>\n
And the first great massive pillar was this, \u2014 \u201c It is Christ that died.\u201d <\/i>But,, Paul, you have broken God\u2019s law, so he, must, punish you. He replies, \u201cGod cannot, punish me; he cannot, even condemn me.\u201d But, Paul, you helped to put Stephen to death; your hands were red with the blood of the martyrs. You hunted the saints of God, and delighted to put them to death; and yet you say that God cannot, condemn you for that, and never will\u2019. \u201cAy,\u201d <\/i>says the apostle, \u201che <\/i>newer will; he never can.\u201d And why? \u201cBecause <\/i>Christ died.\u201d But, Paul, what has Christ\u2019s death to do with your guilt? His answer is, \u201cAll my sins, however many or however black they may have been, were laid upon Christ, and he stood in my stead in the sight of God, and in my place he suffered that which has rendered full satisfaction to, the law of God for all my evil deeds, and thoughts, and words. The sufferings of Jesus were the sufferings of my Substitute,. He Bore, that I might never bear, the wrath of God on account of my sin.\u201d Do, you see this, poor sin-burdened soul? If Jesus Christ died in your place, God cannot condemn you. If Jesus Christ did really suffer in your stead, as your Substitute, where would God\u2019s honor and justice, be, if he should punish the sinner for whom Jesus had died as Substitute? That can never be.<\/p>\n
The comfort, of the text lies here. Paul says, \u201cIt <\/i>is Christ <\/i>that died;\u201d that is to say, it is the Son of God that died, and there must be infinite merit in the atonement which was presented by the sufferings of so august a person. Paul says, \u201cIt. is Christ <\/i>that died.\u201d That, word signifies \u201cthe <\/i>anointed One,\u201d \u2014 the Divine Person who was sent by the Father, and anointed by the Holy Spirit., and who himself undertook to sifter in the stead of his people, lie did not do it of his own will alone; he was authorized to do it., appointed and anointed to do it. God put, his Son into that place, as the prophet Isaiah saw. \u201cAll <\/i>we like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the, iniquity of us all.\u201d Now, see, if Christ was Substitute, and if God appointed him and anointed him as my only Substitute, to suffer in my room, and place, and stead, where, in the whole Universe can there be found any reason why God should first punish Christ, and then punish me? The only question is, \u2014 Did he so die in my room, and place, and stead? The answer to that. question is this, \u2014 If I believe in Christ, I am one of those for whom he died as Substitute. If I trust, him with my whole, heart, if I rely alone, upon him as my Substitute, and Savior, I have the mark and sign upon me that he suffered in my stead, that I offered a. full and complete atonement for my sin; and, known this, I dare to say, as confidently as the apostle Paul said it, that Christ died for me. Who can ever condemn the sinner for whom Christ died as Substitute, and Savior? Is not this a good foundation to have under ray feet? May I not stand securely here; and, knowing that, Jesus died instead of me, may I not feel assured that I can never die, and that I can never be sent to hell, for Jesus, Christ has suffered all that I ought to have suffered?<\/p>\n
But the apostle had a second reason for feeling sure that he should not, be, condemned, and that was that Christ, had risen from the dead. \u201cYea rather,\u201d <\/i>saith he, \u201cis risen again.\u201d <\/i>Near, if Christ had not risen from the dead, he would have been proved to be an impostor. If he had not risen from the dead, it would have been clear that he was not God, or the Son of God; but his rising from the dead proved that he was both God and the appointed and anointed Savior. Christ\u2019s death paid the debt that his people owed to divine justice; and when he came out of the prison of death in which he had been detained for a while, it was, so to speak, God\u2019s receipt, by which he said to the whole universe, \u201cMy Son has paid the debts of all his people; therefore I let him go free.\u201d Jesus was the Hostage for all his chosen ones; and until the last farthing of the tremendous price of their redemption bad been paid. he must lie in the prison-house of the tomb. But when it had been certified by infallible, justice that, the great transaction was finished, and the redemption of his people, was fully accomplished, then Christ; was set free, and \u201che, <\/i>rein again the third day according to the Scriptures.\u201d Now see, believer, what is the effect of this glorious truth. How can God ever condemn you after he has accepted Christ, as your Substitute, \u2014 after he has publicly accepted him by raising him from the dead in the presence of men and angels? God cannot so belie himself; it is not possible that, after he has accepted the Substitute, he should afterwards condemn those for whom that, Substitute bled and died.<\/p>\n
Paul had those two pillars \u2014 the death and resurrection of Christ, \u2014 -but he added a third. He says that Christ is at the right hand <\/i>of God. This is another weighty reason for our feeling that we never can be condemned, for the right hand of God is the place of power and the place of majesty. Christ at the right, hand of God is. there as King; and, as King, he is able, to defend his people against all their adversaries. False accusers, therefore, shall be driven away by the power of his omnipotent arm. While Christ is King, at the right hand of God, what accuser shall dare to impeach us in the courts of heaven? Christ\u2019s sitting at the right hand of God proves that his great redeeming work is drone; if he had not completed it, he would not be sitting down. But, it is done; and done for ever. Finished in that matchless loom is the pro-feet robe. of righteousness that we are to wear for ever. The, last throw of the sacred shuttle of his untold agony has been made,. Dyed is: the wondrous garment that we are to wear, for it has been dipped in Ms precious blood; and when it was finished, the Divine, Worker \u201csat down on the right, hand of God; from. henceforth expecting till his enemies be made, ibis footstool.\u201d For Christ to. sit at the right hand of God is a continual certificate from the Father that he is satisfied with the substitution of his Son instead of us, and satisfied with us as we are represented in him. Every moment that Christ is at the right hand of God every believer is safe. For Christ to be in heaven, and for the people for whom he died to be in hell, is utterly impossible. For Christ to be there as our Representative, and yet for those whom he represents to be cast. out from the favor of God, would be a monstrosity, a blasphemy, which cannot be imagined for a single instant. The Head is glorified, so the members of his mystical body shall never be condemned. They must be eternally saved because he is at the, right hand of God. Look up, then, Christian! You looked down into the tomb, and saw him there paying your debts; you looked round to the garden whence he rose, and saw that your debts were all discharged; now look up to the heaven where he dwells with his Father, and see yourself \u201caccepted in the Beloved.\u201d<\/p>\n
The apostle had yet one more ground of confidence, for he says that Christ \u201calso maketh intercession for <\/i>us;\u201d and if any doubt could linger until now, surely this must expel it. When Jesus pleads for his people, his pleas are omnipotent, and God will nearer deny to his Son the reward of his soul-travail. I suppose that, in heaven. Christ pleads for his people, vocally, but it is not at all needful that he should; for his very presence there is an irresistible plea. If someone were pleading before an earthly court, and if he had been an old soldier, and had rendered valiant service to his country, if he were to bare his breast, and show the scars of the wounds that he received in battle, he would not have to say much, for his scars would plead better than any words could; and Jesus in heaven lifts his hand and feet., and shows his pierced side. His scarred person, still adorned with the marks of his: passion and death, is an everlasting and overwhelming plea. If Jesus pleads for me, can his Father reject me? If so, he must also reject his Son, he must refuse: the authoritative; requests of his only-begotten and well-beloved Son. he must deny to Jesus that which he well deserves; and that he never can do. O believer, if you still have any doubts about your acceptance in Christ, let them fly before this fourth mighty blear, \u201cwho <\/i>also maketh intercession for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
I am not going to keep you here much longer, but, I want just to remind you that the main difficulty with some of you seems to be that, you do believe these great truths, but you do not fully realize what, is contained in them. I am, speaking now only to you who really do believe in Jesus. You are resting upon him. Mean; you know you axe. Unless you are awfully deceived, each one of you can say, \u2014<\/p>\n
\u201cMy hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus\u2019 blood and righteousness.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Well, beloved, do not let me merely say this, and you simply hear it, but believe it, enjoy it, drink it in, live on it. You are not condemned by God; and, therefore, the opposite of that is true, you are accepted by God, you axe, beloved of God, you are dear to God; you are pure and precious in God\u2019s sight,. Let that blessed thought get into your brain; and, when it is there, pray to God to let it. get, down, deeper, even into your heart and soul, and then say, as Paul did, \u201cBeing justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;\u201d and \u201cthere is therefore now no condemnation to them which, are in Christ, Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit,.\u201d Why do I see you hang down your head, and look as gloomy as an owl? You might well look so if year were, condemned, or if there were any threat of your being condemned; but there is no. such fear if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
I sometimes bear preachers say that we are in a state of probation, but I should like to know who is in such a state as that. Certainly, the sinner is not, for he is lost already; and the saint is not, for he is saved, and never can be, lost. The, sinner is already condemned, and the saint, is already justified. We are not, waiting for the verdict., for it has already been given. It is recorded concerning every believer that, he is justified, and that, the claim he makes that he is a child of God is a, true one, and that all the glorious inheritance, in the land of the blessed is his, and he may claim it at once as his own, for it all belongs to him. So, up with you child of God! Up with you, bird of the, day! Eagle of God, will you sit, day after day, moping in the dark, when you might soar up, into the light, and gaze even at the, sun? Up with. you, son of the morning; up with you, child of light; away from all your gloomy doubts and fears! You have a million a year for spending-money, given to you by the God of grace, so will you go on spending a few pence, a day, like a beggar who. needs to be, careful even of his farthings? You are forgiven, man; then live as a forgiven man should. What, though God smites you every now and then with trouble? Can you not say, as one did long ago, \u201cSmite, <\/i>Lord, as hard as thou wilt, for there is no anger in thy blows now, and therefore I can bear them without complaining\u201d? Are you suffering severe losses, and carrying heavy crosses? They ought to seem very light to you now. As long as you are forgiven, what does anything else matter? Go to a man in Newgate, condemned to die, and take him a free, pardon; tell him that, by the favor of his sovereigns, he is to, live: and do you think he will begin murmuring because some: little, thing is. Not just as he would like it? Oh, no! he will say, \u201cIt <\/i>is enough for me that my life is spared.\u201d Now, you are forgiven; you are God\u2019s child; you are on the way to heaven; so, \u201cfret not thyself because of evil-doers.\u201d Murmur not against the Most High. Take thy harp down from the willows, and sing unto the Lord a new song, for he hath wrought marvels of mercy for thee.<\/p>\n
And then, in the light, of this wonderful love of God to you, so live, at home and abroad, that others shall ask, \u201cWhat makes this man so happy? What makes this woman so glad?\u201d I will not, say to you who are forgiven, \u2014 Sing with your voice all the day, though I would have you praise the Lord with joyful lips as much as you can,; but, let the bells of your hearts go on ringing all the day. Sometimes, when I think of what the Lord has done for me, I feel myself to be like a church steeple that I saw some fray months ago,. There had been a wedding in the place, and the bells were pealing out a merry chime; and, as they rang, I distinctly saw that steeple reel and roe-&, and the four pinnacles seemed to be tossing to and fro, and the whole tower seemed as though it must, come down as the, bells pealed out again and again. And sometimes. when my soul pulls the big bell, \u201cJesus loved thee, and gave himself for thee, and thou art accepted in him, thou art God\u2019s own child, and on <\/i>thy way to heaven, and a crown of eternal life is thine,,\u201d I f. eel as if this crazy steeple of my body would rock and reel beneath the excess of joy, and be scarcely able to hold the ecstatic bliss which the love of God creates within my soul; and then do I sing, \u2014<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the heavenly Lamb, thrice happy I am,
And my heart it doth leap at the sound of his name.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Oh, I would that every one of you had that joy! And, surely, everyone shall have it who will have it, in God\u2019s way. If thou believest in Jesus Christ, thou shalt, be absolved from all thy guilt. If thou wilt but, entrust thyself to him, whoever thou art. he will take thy sin, and lift it off from thee, and cause thee to be accepted, as all his people ace.<\/p>\n
God give to all of you the, grace to believe in Jesus, and to go. or your way rejoicing, for his name\u2019s sake! Amen.<\/p>\n
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON.<\/p>\n
JOHN 20:1-18.<\/b><\/p>\n
Verse 1. The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene ear\/y, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher.<\/i><\/p>\n
Her love for her Lord made her rise early, and helped her to overcome the fear which would have prevented many from going out \u201cwhen it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher.\u201d There are fears which some cannot shake off in the dark, and those fears would be apt to become intensified in going to a sepulcher in the dark; but love wakes early to try to find Christ, and love can see in the dark when looking for Jesus. Mary little expected to find the tomb of Jesus rifled, and the stone rolled away; she was so surprised at what she saw that she hurried away to tell the story to other friends of her Lord.<\/p>\n
2. 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 sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid him.<\/i><\/p>\n
This was the language of ignorance and unbelief. She had forgotten that the Lord had said that he would rise again, the third day; or else she had never understood the meaning of his words; so, instead of saying \u201cHe is risen,\u201d she said, \u201cThey have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid him.\u201d Unbelief often reads things wrongly; it reads sorrow into facts that should create joy. Nothing could have made Mary happier than to believe that her Lord had risen from the dead, and nothing ever made her more sorrowful than feeling that she must say, \u201cThey have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid him.\u201d<\/p>\n
3, 4. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulcher. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulcher.<\/i><\/p>\n
They wanted to know what had really happened, so they resolved that they would go and see. The woman\u2019s message surprised them, and troubled them: \u201cSo they ran both together.\u201d A good many people seemed to be running that morning. Had the disciples known the whole truth, they might have taken to dancing for joy, but their fears quickened their footsteps.<\/p>\n
5. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; \u2014<\/i><\/p>\n
So that he knew that they had not taken away the body of Jesus; for, if they had, they certainly would not have taken off the linen clothes. It would have been very difficult, and would have taken considerable time to unwrap the cold grave-clothes when they were bound to the body by the unguents that had been used: \u201cHe saw the linen clothes lying; \u201c \u2014<\/p>\n
5. Yet went he not in.<\/i><\/p>\n
Perhaps, out of reverence; or, possibly, out of deference to the older man, he would give him the preference, and let him enter first.<\/p>\n
6. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulcher, and seeth the linen clothes lie,<\/i><\/p>\n
They were evidently both struck with that sight. It indicated that there had been no haste, no hurry by thieves, but deliberate action of quite another kind.<\/p>\n
7. And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.<\/i><\/p>\n
As one has well said, there were the grave-clothes left as the furniture for the believer\u2019s last bed, and there was the napkin, \u201cin a place by itself,\u201d to wipe away the tears of mourners. The chief lesson is that this act had been done at leisure by someone who was in no hurry whatever. He had put together the linen clothes, and wrapped up the napkin, and laid it \u201cin a place by itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
8. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulcher, and he saw, and believed.<\/i><\/p>\n
That is a great deal for John to be able to say concerning himself, for Mary had not yet believed. Possibly, Peter had scarcely believed, but John had. He felt certain that the Lord had risen. He remembered his words, and he correctly interpreted the fact now before him: \u201che saw, and believed.\u201d<\/p>\n
9. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.<\/i><\/p>\n
They did not understand it; even John himself did not until then. The rest of the disciples had never put that interpretation upon our Lord\u2019s words which was the clear and simple meaning of them, namely, that he would rise from the dead. I should not wonder if there are other words of Scripture, with regard to the future, which we should comprehend if we took them exactly as they stand in the Word; but we have put other meanings upon them, and consequently see no further into them.<\/p>\n
10. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.<\/i><\/p>\n
Having ascertained that the body of Jesus was not there, and John having come to the conclusion that the Lord had indeed risen from the dead, he and Peter went away home prayerfully to wait and see what next would happen.<\/p>\n
11. But Mary stood, \u2014<\/i><\/p>\n
She was not going away home. Love cannot leave the place where it lost its object; it will continue to search there: \u201cBut Mary stood\u201d \u2014<\/p>\n
11. Without at the sepulcher weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked \u2014<\/i><\/p>\n
Some can weep, but never look. Do <\/i>not act so, beloved, but look for comfort even when your heart is breaking: \u201cAs she wept, she stooped down, and looked \u201c \u2014<\/p>\n
11, 12. into the sepulcher, and seeth two angels in white \u2014<\/i><\/p>\n
The resurrection color, the color of joy and gladness: \u201ctwo angels in white\u201d \u2014<\/p>\n
12. Sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.<\/i><\/p>\n
I have no doubt that the angel who sat at the feet was quite as content to sit there as the other was to sit at the head. If any two of you are sent upon the Lord\u2019s business, do not pick and choose as to where you shall be, or what you shall do. \u201cOne at the head, and the other at the feet.\u201d I am afraid that, if they had been men instead of angels, both would have wanted to sit at the head, and the feet would have been neglected. This sight seems to remind one of the mercy-seat, where the cherubim stood facing each other, and covering the mercy-seat with their outspread wings.<\/p>\n
13. 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.<\/i><\/p>\n
Grief has not many words. It is apt to repeat itself, as the Lord himself did in Gethsemane when he prayed three times, using the same words.<\/p>\n
14, 15. 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?<\/i><\/p>\n
Christ often repeats the words of his messengers, as if to endorse them. The angels said, \u201cWoman, why weepest thou?\u201d The angels\u2019 Master says the same. I pray him, to-night, not only to give me the right word to say, but also to say it himself to your hearts. But Jesus added another question to the angels\u2019 \u201cWoman, why weepest thou?\u201d<\/p>\n
15. Whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, \u2019if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.<\/i><\/p>\n
Did it occur to her that, possibly, the gardener objected to having a corpse in the garden, and that, therefore, he had come early in the morning, and taken it away? We can hardly imagine what she did think; but when people are in great grief, they often think a great many things which they would not think if they were quite in their right minds. What strange delusions, what singular chimeras of monstrous shape will pass through the heart of grief! God help us to be clear-minded, and not to think what we should not like to say! Still, Mary was a brave woman, for she said to the gardener, \u201cTell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.\u201d<\/p>\n
16. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.<\/i><\/p>\n
She said, \u201cMy Master, my Rabbi, my Teacher, my Leader, my deal Master;\u201d and I expect she said it with great exultation. She delighted to have her Master again, to have her Teacher again; for, to be without her Teac, her, and without her Lord, was a terrible bereavement to that gentle, teachable heart.<\/p>\n
I suppose she was about to lay hold upon Christ, to grasp him by the feet, lest he should again go away from her.<\/p>\n
17. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; \u2014<\/i><\/p>\n
Or, as the words may be read, \u201cHold me not; detain me not; \u201c \u2014<\/p>\n
17. For I am not yet ascended to my Father:<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cI have to go away from you, so do not imagine that you can hold me back. Nay, <\/i>the time for such communications with me is past, for I am now in another condition. I will communicate with you spiritually; but, for that, you must wait a little: \u2019 I am no; yet ascended to my Father.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
17. But go to my brethren, \u2014<\/i><\/p>\n
He had never called them that before. \u201cBrethren\u201d he had called them, but not with the emphatic \u201cmy.\u201d \u201cGo to my brethren,\u201d \u2014<\/p>\n
17. And say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.<\/i><\/p>\n
Thus Christ explained to them that the Father, who is God, was God to Christ, and God to them; the Father of Christ, and their Father also.<\/p>\n
18. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that site heed seen the Lord, That was a very different message from her first one. Then she came and said, \u201cHe is gone; the tomb is empty; the stone is rolled away;\u201d now she comes with the joyful tidings, \u201cI have seen our risen Lord.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
18. And that he had spoken these things unto her.<\/i><\/p>\n
Sometimes, we have to deliver the message of stern justice, which is one of doom to the guilty; but, oh, how sweet it is to be able to come with the message of the gospel!<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2019He lives; the great Redeemer lives.\u2019<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cHe lives to plead for sinners; so, sinners: come and trust him, for he will manifest himself to you as surely as he did to these disciples, though not in exactly the same form.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NO. 3067 PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST, 1907, DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD\u2019S-DAY EVENING, MARCH 1ST, 1871. \u201cWho is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who will, maketh intercession for us.\u201d … Continue reading “A BOLD CHALLENGE JUSTIFIED.”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4394\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}