Theme for this month: Jesus in the Four Gospels
Theme for this week: “Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew”
December 10, 2021 (Friday)
As we read the four gospel accounts of the discovery that Christ had been raised from the dead, we discover that the stories of the witnesses do not agree in every detail. The reason for this is the excitement among the witnesses who reported the absence of Jesus’ body and the presence of angels. In courtooms today a story from many witnesses that agrees on every point is looked upon with suspicion, because it would reveal that the witnesses had conspired to tell identical stories. But what we have in the four gospels are the reports of many eyewitnesses. When pieced together in a rational, reasonable way, the sequence of events are easily discovered. Keep in mind the confusion and emotional upheaval of a city filled with participants and spectators of the trial and execution of a man who claimed to be divine. There was a secret follower of Jesus who got permission from the Roman governor to bury the body of Jesus in his own tomb, and rolled a huge stone over the entrance, which was a customary procedure. Then the religious leaders asked for a guard because Jesus had predicted His own resurrection. The governor provided soldiers to guard the tomb and sealed the entrance with an official Roman seal so that no one would dare touch it. A group of women saw it all take place, and early Sunday morning returned to the tomb, when there was an earthquake and the appearance of an angel who rolled away the stone so that they could observe the absence of a body. Conversations between the women and other angels who also appeared within the tomb, cause the word of resurrection to be delivered to the disciples, two of whom came to see for themselves what had happened. The soldiers who guarded the tomb were bribed by the religious leaders to say Jesus’ disciples stole the body when they were sleeping. Now, years later, as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John tell the story, the testimonies of witnesses may seem contradictory, but that fact in itself testifies that what the gospel writers said represented what they were told by eyewitnesses, who remembered events from their own perspectives. Clearly, something amazing happened. People simply told what they knew and reported what they remembered.
Each of the gospels’ accounts of the resurrection is a little different from the others, but a reasonable study will reveal a central fact and that is that Jesus really died, was buried, but rose from the dead. He ascended to Heaven and lives today. Through the Holy Spirit He is active within his followers on earth. An objective comparison of the gospels will discover the sequence of events as shown above. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is the central belief of our faith as Christians.
Hear the Dallas Adult Christian Choir sing the hymn, “One Day:”
ONE DAY
Words, J. Wilbur Chapman (1859-1918)
Music, C. Howard Marsh (1886-1956)
1908
One day when heaven was filled with His praises,
One day when sin was as black as could be,
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin—
Dwelt among men, my example is He!
Chorus
Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;
Buried, He carried my sins far away;
Rising, He justified freely forever:
One day He’s coming—O glorious day!
One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain,
One day they nailed Him to die on the tree;
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected;
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He.
Chorus
One day they left Him alone in the garden,
One day He rested, from suffering free;
Angels came down o’er His tomb to keep vigil;
Hope of the hopeless, my Savior is He.
Chorus
One day the grave could conceal Him no longer,
One day the stone rolled away from the door;
Then He arose, over death He had conquered;
Now is ascended, my Lord evermore.
Chorus
One day the trumpet will sound for His coming,
One day the skies with His glory will shine;
Wonderful day, my beloved ones bringing;
Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine!
Chorus
Click here to listen to piano music and read the words
This hymn presents the real gospel.