“General Remarks on the Resurrection of Christ”
By
John A. Broadus
1. The fact cannot be set aside. Attempts are still made by men whose theories compel them to attempt it. They deny the supernatural, and yet they have to account for Christianity, as a great power in the world, as presenting the most beneficent ethical teachings and the unrivaled character of Christ, and as based by its first propagators of belief in a risen Saviour [sic]. All that the most gifted and learned skeptics have been able to suggest is either that Jesus did not really die, or that his resurrection was a mere imposture, or else a mere illusion on the part of the disciples. But the evidence stands, most varied and convincing. If we do not know that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, then do we know anything in all the history of mankind?
2. The resurrection of Christ establishes the divine origin of his mission and teachings, for it gives God’s sanction to all his claims, and he claimed to be Messiah, to speak by divine authority, ant to be one of God (Rom. 1:4; Acts 2: 36).
3. The resurrection of Christ completed his work of atonement, and stamped it with divine approval (Roman 4: 24, 25; II Corinthians 5: 15), “unto him who for their sakes died and rose again.” And so, to believe that God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead, is to believe the gospel (Romans 10: 9).
4. The resurrection of Christ is the ground and pledge of his people’s resurrection.
a. Of their spiritual resurrection to walk in newness of life (Romans 6: 4: Colossians 2: 12, 13; 3: 1-4). See Westcott, “The Gospel of the Resurrection.”
b. Of the resurrection of the body (I Corinthians 15: 20; I Thessalonians 4: 14: Philippians 3: 10, 11). See Candish, “Life in a Risen Saviour [sic].”
5. The burial and resurrection of Christ are symbolized by baptism (Roman 6: 4; Colossians 2: 12).
6. The resurrection of Christ is celebrated by the observance of the first day of the week as the Lord’s Day (Acts 20: 7; Revelation 1: 10).
[1] John A. Broadus, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publications Society, 1905; reprint, Forgotten Books), 141 (page citations are to the reprint edition). www.forgottenbooks.com. [2] It should be noted that this work was published posthumously.
댓글