it chanced to cross their Sabbath traditions, who had condemned to death the holiest man and godliest teacher the world had ever seen because he did not square with their heartless formalism,—­such men hardly had conscience enough to feel repentance or remorse for the cowardly injustice and crime with which of their own choice they had reddened their hands (Matt, xxvii. 25).  They doubtless kept their feast with satisfaction.  Not a few hearts, however, were heavy with grief and disappointed hope.  They had believed that Jesus “was he that should redeem Israel” (Luke xxiv. 21).  Stunned, they could not throw away the faith which he had kindled in their hearts.  Yet he was dead, and only faintly, if at all, did they recall his prediction of suffering and his certainty of triumph through it all (John xx. 9).  What remained for them was the last tender ministry to their dead Lord.

   Outline of Events after the Resurrection

   The day of the resurrection—­Sunday.  The visit of the women to the
   tomb—­Matt. xxviii. 1-8; Mark xvi. 1-8; Luke xxiv. 1-12; John xx. 1-10.

   Jesus’ first appearance; to Mary—­Matt. xxviii. 9 10; [Mark xvi. 9-11];
   John xx. 11-18.

   The report of the watch—­Matt. xxviii. 11-15.

   The appearance to Simon Peter—­I.  Cor. xv. 5.

   The walk to Emmaus—­[Mark xvi 12,13]; Luke xxiv. 13-35.

   The appearance to the ten in the evening—­[Mark xvi. 14]; Luke xxiv.
   36-43; John xx. 19-25; I. Cor. xv. 5.

   One week later—­Sunday.  The appearance to the eleven, with
   Thomas—­John xx. 26-29.

   Later appearances.  To seven disciples by the sea of Galilee—­John
   xxi. 1-24.

   To a company of disciples in.  Galilee—­Matt, xxviii. 16-20; [Mark xvi.
   15-18]; I. Cor. xv. 6.

   The appearance to James—­I.  Cor. xv. 7.

   To the disciples in Jerusalem, followed by the ascension—­Mark xvi. 19,
   20; Luke xxiv. 44-53; Acts i. 1-12; I. Cor. xv. 7.

IX

The Resurrection

209.  Christianity as a historic religious movement starts from the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  This is very clear in the preaching and writings of Paul.  The first distinctively Christian feature in his address at Athens is his statement that God had designated Jesus to be the judge of men by having “raised him from the dead” (Acts xvii. 31), and for him the resurrection was the demonstration of the divinity of Christ (Rom. i. 4), and the confirmation of the Christian hope (I.  Cor. xv.).  With him the prime qualification for an apostle was that he should have seen the risen Lord (I.  Cor. ix. 1).  The early preaching as recorded in Acts shows the same feature, for after repeated testimony to the fact that God had raised up Jesus, Peter summed up his address with the declaration, “Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified” (Acts ii. 36).  In fact the buoyancy of hope and confidence of faith which gave to the despised followers of the Nazarene their strength resulted directly from the experiences of the days which followed the deep gloom that settled over the disciples when Jesus died.