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We Glory in the Resurrection of Christ, August 18
I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in
me shall never die.
John 11:25, 26
.
After the crucifixion of Christ, the priests and rulers did not feel the
sense of victory which they had expected. They did not rejoice at their
success in silencing the voice of the Great Teacher. They were afraid.
Already His death was calling attention to His life and character. The
priests were convicted that their attempts at revenge had failed; and they
dreaded a dead Christ more, far more, than they had ever feared a living
Christ....
The light of heaven encircled the tomb, and the whole heaven was
lighted by the glory of the angel. The angel approached the grave, and
rolling away the stone as if it had been a pebble, he sat upon it. Then his
voice was heard, Son of God, come forth; Thy Father calls Thee; and Jesus
came forth from the grave with the step of a mighty conqueror. There was
a burst of triumph, for the heavenly family were waiting to receive Him;
and the mighty angel, followed by the army of heaven, bowed in adoration
before Him as He, the Monarch of heaven, proclaimed over the rent tomb
of Joseph, “I am the resurrection, and the life.
All created beings live by the will and power of God. They are recipi-
ents of the life of the Son of God. However able and talented, however
large their capacities, they are replenished with life from the Source of
all life. He is the spring, the fountain, of life.... The life which He had
laid down in humanity, He again took up and gave to humanity. “I am
come,” He says, “that they might have life, and that they might have it
more abundantly.” ...
Christ became one with humanity, that humanity might become one
in Spirit and life with Him. By virtue of this union in obedience to the
Word of God, His life becomes their life. He says to the penitent, “I am
the resurrection, and the life.
[238]
36
The Youth’s Instructor, July 28, 1898
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37
The Youth’s Instructor, August 4, 1898
.
245