BOOK 7. THE RESURRECTION.
CHAPTER 1.
7.1.6. Of Christ's apparition to his ten Disciples.
Of Christ's apparition to his ten Disciples.
On this day, some reckon five apparitions, but of them five as we have seen the first, so I shall now only take notice of the last, "Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, "Peace be unto you, and when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his feet" John xx. 19, 20. In these words, we have the apparition of Christ in all its circumstances: as, 1. When he appeared 2. Where he appeared. 3. To whom he appeared. 4. How he appeared. So necessary was it to confirm this point, that not a needful circumstance must be wanting. And first is laid down the time, "then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week."
1. How exact is the evangelist in this circumstance of time? It was the same day, the same day at evening, and yet lest the day might be mistaken, it was the same day at evening, being the first day of the week.
(a). It was the same day, (i.e.) the very day of rising; he could not endure to keep them in long suspense: the sun must not go down before the Sun of righteousness would appear. The same day that he appeared to Peter, to the two disciples going to Emmaus, to the woman coming to the sepulchre, and to Mary Magdalene, as we have heard; the very same day he appears to the ten. Oh! what a blessed day was this? It was the day of his resurrection, and the day of these several apparitions.
(b). It was the same day at evening. Both at morn, noon, and evening, Christ showed himself alive by many infallible proofs. Early in the morning he appeared to Mary, and presently after to the three Marys, who touched his feet, and worshipped him: about noon he appeared to Simon Peter, in the afternoon he travelled with two of his disciples almost eight miles, to the castle of Emmaus; and, in the evening of the same day, he returned invisible from Emmaus to Jerusalem. At all times of the day, Christ is prepared, and preparing grace for his people.
(c). It was the same day at evening, "being the first of the week," (Te mia ton sabbaton,) that is one of the Sabbaths, but the Greek words are an hebraism, and the Hebrews use often by one to signify the first, as in Gen. i. 5. "The evening and the morning were one day," (i.e.) the first day. And whereas the Greeks found one of the Sabbaths, (ton sabbaton,) it must be understood either properly for Sabbaths; or else, figuratively signifying the whole week; and this acception was usual with the Jews, so the evangelist brings in the Pharisee speaking, Nestuo dis tou sabbatou, "I fast twice in the sabbath," Luke xviii. 12 (i.e.) in the week, for it is impossible to fast twice in one day; and hence the translators render it thus, prima die hebdomadis, on the first day of the week, in which is a discovery of his mercy: Christ took no long day to show himself to his apostles, nay, he took no day at all, but "the very first day." When Joseph showed himself unto his brethren, he would not do it at first, and yet he dealt kindly, and very kindly with them; O! but Christ's kindness is far above Joseph's, for on the first day of the week, the very same day that he arose from the dead, he appears unto them. Thus for the time.
2. For the place, it is laid down in this passage, "where the disciples were assembled." Now if we would know where that was, the evangelist Luke speaks expressly, it was in Jerusalem, Luke xxiv. 33. but in what house of Jerusalem it is unknown: only some conjecture that it was in the house of some disciple, wherein was an upper room. This upper room, according to the manner of their buildings at that time, was the most large and capacious of any other, and the most retired and free from disturbance, and next to heaven, as having no room above it. Mede (Mede of churches.) tells us expressly, this was the same room where Christ celebrated the passover, and instituted the Lord's supper, and where, on the day of his resurrection, he came and stood in the midst of his disciples, the doors being shut; and where, eight days after, "the disciples being within," John xx. 26, he appeared again to satisfy the incredulity of Thomas; and where the apostles met, after Christ was ascended, "Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, -- and when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and the rest," Acts i 12, 13. If this be true, it should seem then that this (uperoon) this upper room, first consecrated by Christ at his institution and celebration of the Lord's supper, (Nicephor. 1. 8. Ec. hist. cap. 30. Psal. lxxxvii. 2.) was thenceforth devoted to be a place of prayer and holy assemblies: and for certain the place (Jer. in Epitaphio. Paulae. epist. 27. ) of the (uperoon) was afterwards enclosed with a goodly church, known by the name of the church of Sion; to which Jerome made bold to apply that of the Psalmist, "the Lord loveth the gates of Sion more than all the dwellings of Jacob."
Now of this upper room the doors are said to be shut, and the reason, by way of adjunct, is "for fear of the Jews;" they were shut up as men environed and beleaguered with enemies; and here a question is raised, Whether Christ could enter, "the doors being shut?" The text is plain, that he came in suddenly, and because of his sudden presence, (the doors being shut) "they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit," Luke xxiv. 37. The ancients speaking of it, tells us, "That he entered while the doors were shut, and yet he was no phantasm, but he had a true body consisting of flesh and bones." (Aug. in Serm.59.) Now how such a body consisting of gross parts, should enter into the room, and no place at all open, is a great question; but it is generally answered, That it was by miracle. (Aug. in Serm. Pasch.) As by miracle, "he walked on the sea," Matt. x. 25. And as by miracle he vanished out of their sight, Luke xxiv. 31. so by miracle he came in, "the doors being shut." (Jest quest. 117. Qui intravit per ostia clausa non erat phantasma, etc. Chrys,). I know it is against the nature of a body, that one should pass through another, both bodies remaining entire; and it is an axiom in philosophy, "That penetration of bodies is merely impossible;" yet for my part, I shall not dispute the power of the Almighty; this answer is enough for me to all the objections either of Papists or Lutherans, "That the creature might yield to the Creator, and the Creator needed not to pass through the creature:" Christ came in when the doors were shut, either causing the doors to give place, the disciples not knowing how; or else altering the very substance of the doors, that his body might pass through them without destruction: I know not but he that thickened the waters to carry his body, might also attenuate the doors to make way for his body.
3. For the persons to whom he appeared, they were his disciples; they that were shut up in a conclave, not daring to step out of doors for fear of the Jews, to them now Christ appeared. It is Christ's usual course to appear to them who are full of fears, and griefs, and most in, dangers, "When thou passest through the waters I will be with thee, and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee," Isa, xliii. 2. -- "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil (saith David) for thou art with me," Psal. xxiii. 4. He was with Joseph in prison, with Jonas in the deep, with Daniel in the lion's den, with the three children in the fiery furnace. "Lo, I see four men (said Nebuchadnezzar) walking in the midst of the fire, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God," Dan. iii. 24. And thus he was with Paul, when he stood before Nero, "Though all men forsook me, yet Christ the Lord stood by me, and strengthened me," 2 Tim. iv. 16, 17. And do not his apparitions this day speak thus much? When Mary was full of grief, then Christ appeared to her; when the two disciples travelling towards Emmaus, talking together of all those things which had happened, and were sad, "then Christ appeared to them," Luke xxiv. 17. And when the apostles were afraid of the Jews, and therefore shut the doors that none might enter, when Christ appeared to them, they were his disciples, his sad, distracted, timorous disciples to whom Christ appeared.
4. For the manner how he appeared; it appears in these passages: (a). "He stood in the midst. (b). He said, Peace be unto you. (c). He showed unto them his hands and his side."
(a). "He stood in the midst." Herein he represents himself as a common good; things placed in the midst are common; and he stands in the midst as a common Saviour, and hence it is that our faith is called a common faith. "To Titus my son after the common faith," Tit. i. 4. And our salvation is called a common salvation, "I give all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation," Jude 3. And in that way as salvation is common, Christ Jesus is called a common Saviour, "Behold I bring you glad tidings of great joy which shall be to all people, for unto you, (unto all you) is born in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord," Luke ii. 10, 11. This posture of Christ (standing in the midst) declares that he despiseth none, but that he takes care of them all. Some observe, that all the while Christ was on earth, he most stood in this posture; at his birth he was found in a stable in the midst of beasts; in his childhood he was found in the temple, in the midst of the doctors, Luke ii. 46, in his manhood, John the Baptist told them, "There standeth one in the midst of you, whom ye know not," John i. 26, and he said of himself, "I am in the midst of you as one that serveth," Luke xxii. 27, at his death, that very place fell to his turn; for they crucified him in the midst betwixt two thieves, "One on the right hand, and the ether on the left," Luke xxiii. 33. And now at his rising, there we find him again, the disciples in the midst of the Jews, and he in the midst of his disciples. After this in Patmos, John saw him in heaven, "in the midst of the throne," Rev. vii. 17, and in the earth he saw him "in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks," Rev. i. 13, and in the Last day he shall be in the midst too, "of the sheep on his right hand, and of the goats on his left," Matt. xxv. 33.
But I find there is yet more in it, "that he stood in the midst," for the midst is Christ's place by nature, he is the second person in the Trinity; and the midst is Christ's place by office, he dealeth betwixt God and man: and the midst is Christ's place in respect of his person, he is God-man, one that hath interest in both parties; it was the middle person who was to be the middle one, that undertook this mediation betwixt God and us. We read in the Roman history, that the Romans and Sabines joining battle together, the women being daughters to the one side, and wives to the other, interposed themselves, and took up the quarrel: and by their mediation, who had a particular interest in either side, they, who before stood upon the highest terms of hostility, did now join themselves together into one body and state. God and we were enemies, but Christ stood in the midst to reconcile us unto God, and to slay this enmity; and to this purpose Christ is called (mesites) a Mediator, a term peculiar to the scriptures, not to be found among profane authors. O! what comfort is here to see Jesus Christ stand in the midst. Now may the disciples behold him as their blessed Peace-maker, their Mediator, as one that hath slain the enmity, Eph. ii. 16, not only that enmity betwixt men and men, Jews and Gentiles, but also betwixt God and men. This he did by his death, and now he declares it at his resurrection; for so the apostle there goes on, "Having slain the enmity by his cross, he came and preached peace," verse 17. and so the evangelist here goes on after his resurrection, "Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said unto them. Peace be unto you." You see how he stood.
(b). What he said, this is the next passage; "He said peace be unto you," a seasonable salutation; for now were the disciples in fear and trouble; they had no peace with God or man, or with their own consciences; and therefore a more welcome news could not have come; I suppose this peace refers to all these. As,--
(i) It speaks their peace with God: sin was it that brought a difference betwixt God and man, now this difference Jesus Christ had taken away by his death, "Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world," John i. 29. He hath taken it away in its condemning power, or as to its separating power betwixt God and them; this was the great design of Christ's coming to make peace betwixt God and man; his Father imposed this office upon him, and Jesus Christ undertook it, and discharged it, and now he proclaims it, in the first place to his disciples, "Peace be unto you."
(ii). It speaks their peace with man; I know no reason why we should exclude civil peace cut of Christ's wish, many, and many a promise and precept we have in the word scattered here and there to this purpose; "And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down and none shall make you afraid," Lev. xxvi. 6. And "thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field, and thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace," Job v. 23, 24, "And seek the peace of the city, -- and pray unto the Lord for it; for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace," Jer. xxix. 7. And "follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see God," Heb. xii. 14. Orbem pacatum, was ever a clause in the prayers of the primitive church, that "the world might be quiet;" I am sure it is Christ's command, "if it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men," Rom. xii. 18.
(iii). It speaks their peace among themselves, peace one with another. Such is, or should be the condition of the church, "Jerusalem is builded as a city, that is compact together, or at unity within itself," Psal. exxii. 3. The apostle dwells on this unity, "There is one body, and one spirit, and one hope, and one Lord, and one faith, and one baptism, and one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all," Eph. iv. 4, 5, 6. The church is a court, whose very pillars are peace; the building of Christianity knows no other materials to work upon; if we look upon the church itself, there is one body; if upon the very soul of it, there is one Spirit; if upon the endowment of it, there is one hope; if upon the head of it, there is one Lord; if upon the life of it, there is one faith; if upon the door of it, there is one baptism; if upon the father of it, "there is one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all:" it was sometimes Christ's command unto his apostles, "have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another," Mark ix. 50. And as a blessed effect of this salutation, (for I look upon them as words full of virtue,) the apostles and churches of Christ in primitive times, kept a most sweet harmony, "the multitude of them that believed were of one heart, and of one soul," Acts iv. 32.
(iv). It speaks peace within, peace of conscience; the apostles had exceedingly fallen from Christ: one betrayed him, and another denied him but all ran away, and left him alone in the midst of all his enemies; and yet to them he speaks this salutation. Peace be unto you; I know not a better ground for comfort of poor humble sinners, than this is; it may be you have dealt very unkindly with Jesus Christ, you have forsook him, denied him, forsworn him; O! but consider all this hindered not Christ's apparition to his apostles! He comes unexpected, and quiets their spirits; he stays not till they had sued to him for mercy or pardon, but of his mere love and free grace, he speaks kindly to them all, he stills the waves, and becalms their troubled spirits, working in them according to his words. Peace be unto you.
O the sweet of peace! It is all wishes in one: this little word is a breviary of all that is good: what can they have more than peace with God, and peace with men, and peace within? Sure there is much in it, because Christ is so much upon it; at his birth the angels sing, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace," Luke ii 14. At his baptism the form of a dove lighted upon him, and, what meant this? But peace. In his life the fort of integrity was his court, and what was here but peace? Near his death he gives peace as a legacy to his church, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you," John xiv. 27, at his resurrection his first salutation to his apostles is a wish of peace, "Peace be unto you;" what can I say more to make us in love with peace? Why, all Christ did, and all Christ suffered was for peace, he prayed for it, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me, -- that they all may be one, as thou. Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us," John xvii. 20, 21. And he wept for it, "If thou hadst known, even thou at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace‘" Luke xix. 42. And he died to purchase it, "But ye who sometimes were afar off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ, for he is our peace," Eph. ii. 13, 14. Of this we need no other proof or sign, but that of the prophet Jonas; and when the sea wrought and was tempestuous, "What shall we do unto thee, (said the mariners) that the sea may be calm unto us? And he said, take me up, and cast me forth into the sea, and so shall the sea be calm," Jonah i. 11, 12. When that great enmity was betwixt God and us. What shall I do (said God) that my justice may be satisfied, and my wrath appeased, and that there may be a calm? Why, take me, (said Christ,) and cast me forth unto the sea, let all thy waves and thy billows go over me, make me a peace-offering and kill me, that when I am dead there may be a calm, and when I am risen I may proclaim it, saying, "Peace be unto you." You hear what he said.
5. What he showed; this is the next passage, "He showed unto them his hands and his side." I look upon this as a true and real manifestation of his resurrection: and we find that without this, Thomas professed he would never have believed, "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into die print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe," John xx. 25. But a question or two is here raised. First, as whether those wounds and prints of the nails and spear, can possibly agree with a glorified body? And why Christ retained those wounds and prints.
(a). For the first, whether those prints could agree with a glorified body? Some affirm it with much boldness; and they say, That Christ not only retained those prints whilst he abode upon earth, but now that he is ascended into heaven, he still retains them, for my part I dare not go so far, because scripture is silent; but the day is coming when we shall see Christ face to face, and then we shall know the truth of this; only I conceive that Christ's body yet remaining on earth was not entered into that fulness of glory, as it is now in heaven, and therefore he might then retain some scars or blemishes, to manifest the truth of his resurrection unto his disciples, which are not agreeable to his state in heaven. But this I deliver, not as a matter of faith; reasons are produced both ways by the ancient writers, and I refer you to them.
(b). For the second. Why Christ retained these wounds and prints, many reasons are rendered, though l shall not close with all.
(i). Some think those scars or prints were as the trophies of his victory: nothing is more delightful to a lover, than to bear about the wounds undergone for his beloved; and nothing is more honourable for a soldier, than to show his wounds undergone for his country's good; what are they but as so many arguments of his valour, and trophies of his victory? This was Beda's sense, (Beda in Luc.) "Christ reserved his scars, not from any impotency of curing them, but to set out the glory and triumph of his victory over death and hell."
(ii). Others think those scars or prints were for the setting out of Christ's splendor and beauty, as in cut or pinkt garments the inward silks do appear more splendid, so in Christ's wounds there appears inwardly far more beauty. Aquinas affirms, "That in the very place of the wounds, there is a certain special comeliness in Christ." And Augustine thinks, "That the very martyrs may retain some scars of their wounds in glory, because there is no deformity, but dignity in them, and besides a certain beauty may shine in their bodies answerable to their virtues wherein they excelled." (Thom. 3. part q. 53. a cert. Ang. 22, de civit. Dei.)
(iii). Others think that Christ retains those scars, that he might by them intercede for us: and upon these very words, "We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous," 1 John ii. 2. They comment thus: "That God is appeased by Christ's representing to him the prints and scars of his human nature." (Thom, in 1. Joan. 1. 2.) Christ's wounds are as so many open mouths, which cry at the tribunal of his Father for mercy, as Abel's blood cried for revenge.
(iv). Others think that Christ retains those sears, that thereby in the day of judgment he might confound the Jews, and all the wicked in the world. It is Augustine's judgment, that as Christ showed Thomas his hands and his side, because otherwise he would not believe, so at the last day will he show those wounds to all his enemies, saying. Come, behold the man whom you have crucified, Come, see the print of the nails, and the print of the spear; these be the hands and the feet you nailed and clenched to a piece of wood; this is the side you pierced; by you and for you was it opened, but you would not enter in "that you might be saved." (Aug. 1. 2. de cymb. c. 8.) And for this opinion they allege this text, "Behold he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him, even so," Amen. Rev. i. 7.
(v). All think that Christ retained his scars, that he might convince the unbelieving disciples of his resurrection; hereby they are assured that Christ is raised, and that the same body of Christ is raised, that before was crucified; and to this we cannot but subscribe, "The scars of his wounds were for the healing of their doubts." Luke brings in Christ bespeaking his disciples thus, "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself, handle me and see," Luke xxiv. 39. q.d. "Come, let your fingers enter into these prints of the nails, and let your hands be thrust into the depths of this wound; come and open these holes in my hands, open this wound in my side; I will not deny that to my disciples for their faith, which I denied not to mine enemies in their rage, open and feel till thou come to the very bone, that so both bones and wounds may witness, That I am he that liveth, and was dead, and behold I am alive forever more. Amen," Rev. i. 18. (Aug. Tract. 121. in Johan.)
Use. What testimonies are here to convince the world of Christ's resurrection? Surely this argues the goodness of God that strives thus wonderfully with the weak faith of those that are his. At first he appeared to one, even to Mary Magdalene; and after he appeared to two, saith Matthew, "To Mary Magdelene, and the other Mary," Matt, xxviii. 1. or to three, saith Mark, "To Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome," Mark xvi. 1. But of this apparition he is seen of ten at least; and to confirm their faith, not a considerable circumstance must be wanting; here is time and place, and persons to whom he appears, and the manner how he appears, he stands in the midst to be seen of all, he speaks to them, breathes on them, eats with them, and shows them his hands and side; O the wonderful condescensions of Christ! what helps doth he continually afford to beget in us faith? if we are ignorant, he instructs us; if we err, he reduceth us; if we sin, he corrects us; if we stand, he holds us up; if we fall down, he lifts us up again; if we go, he leads us; if we come to him, he is ready to receive us; there is not a passage of Christ betwixt him and his, but it is an argument of love, and a mean either of begetting, or of increasing faith: O then believe in Christ, yea, believe thy part in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; considering that these apparitions were not only for the apostles sakes, but if Christ be thine, they were for thy sake, that thou mightest believe, and be saved. But I shall have occasion to speak more of this in the chapter following. So much of the second apparition as it is recorded by the evangelist John.