Zurich Herald, 1937-03-25, Page 6CUNDAY
LESSON XIII.
JOHN'S RECOLLECTIONS OF THE
et -RISEN LORD—John 20: 19.29;
21: 20.24.
GOLDEN TEXT ---I azn the first and
the last, and the Living one; and
I was dead, and behold, I am alive
for evermore. Revelation 1s 17,
'l8.
THE PLAN OF LESSON
TIME, — The resurrection itself
occurred on Sunday, April 9, A.A.
30. The appearance to Thomas oc-
curred the Sunday following, April
16, A.D. 30. The appearance at
the Sea of Galilee occurred within
thirty days after this, but we 'do not
know exactly when.
PLACE. — The resurrection of
Christ and his appearance to Mary
Magdalene tools place just outside
the city wall in tihe garden near the
tomb of Joseph of Arimataea; the
two appearances to the disciples
occurred in an upper room in Jer-
usalem. All the events recorded in
chapter 21 took place on the shore
of the Sea of Tiberias.
"When therefore it was evening,
on that day, the first day of the
week." Between the Lord's appear-
ance to Mary Magdalene early in
the morning and his appearance to
the ten disciples that evening, two
other appearances must be placed,
though they are not given in John's
Gospel, the appearance to Simon
Peter (Luke 24: 34; I. Cor. 15: 5),
and the memorable journey with
two disciples on the road to Em-
maus (l uke 24) "And when the
doors were shut where the discip-
les were." It is not said how many
were present. Judas was dead and
Thomas was absent. Probably the
other ton were present. "For fear
of the Jews." .(Cf. John 7:13.) Ru-
mors of the resurrection had been
spread and it was as yet uncertain
what noliey tho popular leaders
would adopt. "Jesus came and
stood in the midst". How the Lord
entered the room John does not tell
us; the record assumes that his
entran^e was miraculous, and that
it was not necessary for the doors
to be unlocked and opened to admit
him into their presence. Jesus
came among them in such a way as
to move that new laws now ruled
his -body. that the earthly no longer
was a limitation to it. - "And said
unto them, Peace be unto you." This
was the ordinary greeting of one
Jow to another; it was Christ's last
word co his disciples in their sor-
row berore his Passion (John 16:
33). Now they had a new peace,
in the confidence that many's great-
est
reatest enemy, death, had been defeat-
ed, and that the one who had the
keys of life and death was none
other than their friend, servant and
piaster.
"And when he had said this, he
showed into then his hands and his
side. 'lfhe disciples therefore were
glad, when they saw the Lord." Our
Lord did this to convince his dis-
ciples that he was the very same
person who had been crucified and
that he had risen with the same
body in which he had died, as the
parallel account in Luke (24: 39
indicates, It is I myself.
"Jesus therefore said to them
again. Peace be unto you: as the
Father bath sent me, even so send
I you." (See John 17: 3, 23,) Christ
had finished thework which the
Father had given him to do on earth
in his own person; henceforth he
would work through others. The new
comttrisshon is wider than the earlier
one. (Matt. 10: 1-42, etc.), for it
is not Limited to the apostolate; the
other -iisciples Who were present
are ineladed. and, with the eleven,
they represent the whole church.
"And when he had said this, be
breathed on them and said unto
then, !receive ye the Holy Spirit."
Christ's breathing' upon the discip-
les would be an emblem of the Holy
Spirit. This is, of course, a proph-
etic breathing, symbolic and sug-
gestive. They did not receive the
.Holy Spirit then. In the course of
theee Says, he told them to wait
until they received the Spirit (Acts
1:4). ile was indicating to them
their responsibility in view of the
' resoureee at their disposal, telling
them that they could not go . except
in one Plower, that' of the Holy
Spirit.
"Whose soever sins ye forgive,
they ars forgiven unto them; whose
soever sins ye retain, they are re-
tained. ' Has the church them the
powc,i° to remit or retain? The an-
swer is unquestionably, Yes, To any
man, to any woman, to any 'youth,
or maiden who, consciousof ebb,
repents towards God, and believes
on the Lord Jesus Christ.
"But Thomas, one of the twelve,
called I)idyinus„ was not with thein
When Jesus came." • Thomas 'saes ab -
tent because his was the nature that
preferred, to bury disappointment'
and desolation in solitude and sit-
once.
"The. other disciples therefore
bald unto hint, Wo have scan the
Lord.. Itht he said unto there, Ex-
cept 1 ;lull see in his hands the
print of the nails, and put my fin-
ger into the print of the nails, and
put my hand into his side, I will
not believe." Thomas certainly was
not afraid of being convinced that
his Lorcl had ariven; on the con-
trary, he sought to be convinced that
his Loid had ariQen; on the con-
trary, he sought to be convinced
of this and put himself in the way
of conviction, 11e had doubted be-
cause ee wished to believe. It is
this wh}ch distinguishes Thomas and
all right-minded doubters from
thorough -going and depraved unbe-
lievers.
"And after eignt days," That is,
the following Sunday night, Aril
16. "Again his disciples were with-
in, and Thomas with them. Jesus
cometh, the doors being shut, and
stood in the midst and said, Peace
be unto you." The fact that Thom-
as was present with the disciples in-
dicates that he did not deliberately
shun fellowship with those who were
confident that Christ had come forth
from the dead. -
"Then saith he to Thomas, Reach
hither my finger, and see my hands;
and reach hither thy hand, and put
it into my side; and be not faith-
less, but believing." The Lord is
always willing to convince doubters
of the reality of divine truth by
every legitimate means.
"Thomas answered and said unto
him, My Lord and my God." Most
commentators believe that Thomas
never accepted the invitation of
Christ to reach forth his hand and
put it into his side. He believed
at once. The confession that came
from the lips of Thomas was the
most advanced ever made by any
of the twelve during the time they
were with Jesus.
"Jesus saith unto him, Because
thou hast seen me, thou hast be-
lieved; blessed are they that have
not seers, and yet have believed. Such
conditions as Thomas required are
unnecessary in order to have true
and intelligent faith. Thomas him-
self ought to have believed in the
testimony of the rest, convinced by
all he had known and experienced
of Christ in past days. Our Lord
does not mean that faith has not
its solid reasons, for faithis not
blind acceptance of truth, nor the
opposite of reason, but faith is the
opposite of sight because it asserts
what is not seen.
"Peter, turning about, seeth the
disciple whom Jesus loved follow-
ing; who also leaned back on his,
breast at the supper, and said, Lord,
who is he that betrayeth thee? Peter
therefore seeing him saith to Jesus,
Lord, and what shall this man do?
The same irrepressible Peter was
not sobered into silence by the sug-
gestion of his own end. The ques-
tion indicates the natural wish to
know the future of a friend, all
the more natural after having been
told something about his own future.
"Jesus saith unto him, If T will
that he tarry till I come, what is
that to thee? follow thou me. This
saying therefore went forth among
the brethren, that that disciple
should not die; yet Jesus said not
unto him, that he should not die;
but, If I will that be tarry till I
come, what is that to thee?" Jesus
speaks as one who is Lord of life
and death, whose will is supreme in
earth and heaven. He also asserts
the fact of his Second Coming.
"This is the disciple that beareth
witness of these things, and wrote
these things." The phrase may re-
fer to the whole contents of the
Gospel. "And we know that Ms
witness is true." We probably re-
fers, to the Christians who surroun-
ded John at Ephesus, who, having
lived personally with John, know his
sincerity and declare him incapable
of relating anything false. The
Gospel ' closes with a simple state-
ment reminding us that its contents
cover only a small portion of all
the many things which Jesus did.
•
Shells Fe,; Britain
Made in Hamilton
Ottawa, --Manufacture of 50,000
shells for the new universal gun be-
ing adopted by the British .Amy,
and involving an expenditure of ap-
proximately '$1,000,000 will be.un-
dertaken by the National Steel Car
Co npauy of Hamilton, Ont., Major
IC. S. Mackenzie, of the Royal Artil-
lery, Woolwich, said here recently.
Major Mackenzie said he is in
Canada to inv,t•x•t the shdlg:. Three_I
civilians h:ui 1 ;,ti :; nt r:•9111 idrrg-
land on the s ame nti Sian and are
now in Hamilton,
Sall 8,399,006
U.S. • Unemployed
N1IIW YORK, -"Unemployed wor-
kers in the United States Iti. Decem-
ber, 1936, totalled 8,899,000, a de -
'crease of 7?,000 or 6.4 per eent from
November and a drop of 1,844,000 from
December, 1936, the Nationat fndest
rfal Conference Boaiel eel,hnated laet
Week.
Decorated By the King.
King George held the
ham Palace recently, con
honors 'list. This' picture'
R, D. Swain, noted for h'
who received the, Royal
Leader Baul at the Pelee
rst investiture of his reign at Bucking -
`ring hewers, awarded in the New Year
ows, left',to right, Squadron -Leader F.
record-breaking altitude night last year,
Force Cross, arriving with Squadron -
Monument To Power
J .4 Lens .Lor the woriu's nlg'uG'st vut.itge (lower line rise
like the temples of some strange sect in the switchyard at • Boulder
Dani. When circuit on line that carries power to Los Angeles is
broken, these oil breakers deaden flash of 287,00 volts.
boded Riders Unmask Horrors of Accidents
These macabre- "Four Horsemen" helped drive home the dangers of reckless motoring as they
rode, in front of the "Horror Parade," staged at Atlanta, Ga., by Junior Chamber of Commerce
to depict the frightful ' toll taken : in automobile accidents.
ueer3 Mary Attends St. Daid's Day Parade
eeparicd t,y thePin^•css Royal ((,ount :as of 1•larewood) and Lord II firewood,'Queen Mark
t+eeneedl the annual St. David's Day Parade of the '4veleh Guards at Wellington Barracks, Lender(.
he eserfoi'med the ceremony of presonttng a leek (the Welsh national emblem) to an officer of the
Welsh Guards, The Princess Royal and Lord Hare wood are seen behind Hee Majesty, •
There are 1,700 species of lizards
in the world. Only two of these are
poisonous and they are found only
in Mexico and the United States.
ovie-radio
gossip
By DOROTHY
Clark Gable, who thinks that Rob-
ert Taylor is a great romantic actor,
and Robert Taylor who thinks that
Clark Gaole is tops, have persuaded
Metro -Goldwyn -Mayer to let them
make a picture together. The story
selected is "Spurs of Pride," a mili-
tary story of Percival Wren.
There is a serious shortage of
beautiful chorus girls in Hollywood
right now, because all the studios
are making big musicals. Girls who
could not even get a few days extra
work while the studios were all busy
on dramatic pictures, are now sign-
ing ten -week contracts calling for
as much as $200 a week. Samuel
Goldwyn's chief complaint about the
beautifal girls who come to Holly-
wood seeking work is that they in-
variably try to look like some popu-
lar star instead of being. beautiful
in their own way. The one sure
way not to get an engagement in
one of his pictures is to have some-
one tell nim that you look just like
Virginia Bruce or Carole Lombard.
When Kathryn Witwer, popular
MBS prima donna, first came to
Chicago , to win
fame and fortune,
she had exactly $5
in her purse and
s. little secretarial
training rbich she
traded for music
lessons. First prize
in a National Music
Clubs Federation
contest won her a
chance to appear
Kathryn with Frederick
Witwer Stock and also with
Mary Carden at the Chicago Opera.
After her successful opera debut her
home town of leery. Ind. sent her to
Europe for further stud'.
,ODDS and ENDS: --Marlene Die-
trich has- confided to a few close
friends, who told several thousand
other people,. thet Merle Oberon is
:going to marry Brian Ahernesoon
in London. Remember love scenes
in • "Beloved Enemy"? Evidently
they weren't just acting. . . Ed
Bergen. ,the ventriloquist who has
made such an outstanding success on
the Vallee hour, has been put under
contract to make pictures for War-
ner Brothers, Barbara Stanwyck
has a huge new ruby ring, a gift
from Robert Taylor. Incidentally,
when handed her check for $5,000
for .a three-minute sketch on the
radio . t ecently, Barbara got the,
giggles. She suddenly recalled that
just. .12 years ago she was mightily
pleased i:o get n night chtb job at
. week.
A-3