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So closed the day (21) Matthew and Mark were Jev/s. Luke is believed to have been an Italian. John, who wrote the fourth gospel, may have been John the Presbyter — and he may have been John, the son of Zebedee and Salome. This John, whoever he was, is the only person who makes any mention that the spear was thrust into Jesus ' side. Matthew, Luke and Mark know nothing about that spear. John says Jesus was crucified in a garden; and in that garden was the sepulcher where Jesus was laid (John 19, v. 41); and John makes no mention of a guard at the tomb; neither does Luke, neither does Mark. The whole story of the guard at the tomb depends on Matthew. (22) Neither Matthew, nor Luke, nor Mark seems to have heard of the myrrh and aloes (John 19:39 and 40). John is the only one inspired, on that point. 288 A QUESTION OF MIRACLES of preparation. 'i1ic next day, Saturday, being Pass- over, was a holy day with the Jews. Nobody all that Saturday is watching that tomb. A chain, let us observe, is only as strong as its weakest link. And a link in that chain, just here, is broken. Or to be more exact, there are here two ends of a chain; or, if you please, two chains with no connecting link. Now, let us see: Matt., ch. 27, says, "the next day that followed the day of preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came unto Pilate, saying, 'Sir, we re- member that deceiver said while he was yet alive, after three days I will rise again. Command there- fore that the sepulcher be made secure, until the third day ; lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people he is risen from the dead.'" (23) Pilate, it is said, told those Jews to go and set a watch and make the sepulcher secure. And w^e are told that they set a watch and sealed the sepulcher. But what hour the next day did they set the watch ? (24) Here is a great gap in the evidence; we are not told what time the next day, the chief priests and Pharisees visited Pilate; whether it was in the fore- noon, or in the afternoon. All that is a matter of guess and surmise. Meanwhile the tomb is unguarded. I have as much right to guess that it was in the (23) Matt. 27: v. 62 to 65. (24) Matt. 27, v. 62 to 66. A QUESTION OF MIRACLES 289 afternoon that the guard was set, as you have to say it was in the forenoon. It was not in the morning of the next day, or we probably would be so told. Nor was it in the evening. It was simply "the next day," and so the problem must remain forever un- solved. Syncope may have seized Jesus when suffer- ing on the cross. That counterfeit of death has mis- led many, and may have misled those watching the crucifixion. Moreover the soldiers on that watch were liars and bribe-takers, if the story told of them be true. They took a "large sum of money," it is said, and forged the lie that his "disciples came by night and stole him away while they slept." (25) Matthew makes no comment about this alleged bribery; and only adds, "this saying is conunonly reported among the Jews until this day." Neither Mark, nor Luke nor John seem to have ever heard of this interesting episode of the soldiers, and the stealing of the body. Now I am not going to assert, that as no guard was sent until "the next day," Jesus' body was meanwhile stolen. Nor am I going to insist that the body, before (25) This whole thing lacks probability. Those were Eoman soldiers, and for a Eoman soldier to sleep on guard brought the penalty of death. Moreover, the words, "until this day," and probably verses 62 to 66, are an accretion (Matt. ch. 27). This story about the sleeping soldiers is a clumsy invention. Pilate would probably have crucified those soldiers had they been found sleeping while on guard. Matthew says, ' * The soldiers took the money and did as they were taught, ' ' that is they reported that they slept while on guard! There is not an instance like this in all Eoman history! 290 A QUESTION OF MIRACLES the coming of the guard, regained consciousness and escaped. There is a possibihty that syncope, or faint- ing terminated his suspension on the cross. But I do assert, that if that mortal body ever re- gained consciousness and escaped from that tomb, there was plenty of time for it to escape between the hours that Joseph left it there, and the coming of the soldiers "the next day." Because there must have been from sixteen to twenty hours from the time the stone was rolled to the door of the tomb, and the arrival of the soldiers. And in those hours there was time enough for the disciples, if they saw fit, to remove the body, and to remove it without detection. Further- more, there was time enough for Jesus to recover from a syncope, if that had given him the appearance of death. He could then escape without assistance. Or those "two men'' which Luke mentions, may have assisted him. (26) The guard of the soldiers not having been men- tioned by either Mark, Luke or John, it looks like an accretion or interpolation. Or it may be that the others were not inspired just then, as to this particular matter. Moreover, it seems Jesus very shortly after being put in that tomb, made his escape from it and journeyed with some friends to Emmaus (2y) ; and on his return, being hungry, he ate some fish and honey- comb (28), and traveled to Galilee. (29) (26) Luke 24: v. 4. (27) Luke 24: v. 13 to 16. (28) Luke 24, v. 42. (29) Matt. 28, v. 10. A QUESTION OF MIRACLES 291 This Golgotha case is the only one in all history where it is alleged that three hours on the cross proved fatal to anyone. Jesus probably had only swooned, and in the evening revived and escaped. CHAPTER XXV. The Miracles of Jesus' Appearance to the Disciples. Section i. The resurrection was promised to take place the third day; though Mark says "after three days." But Jesus was not in the tomb three days. It may be that he got out the very night he was put there. No one has ever told, or ever can tell, just when he left that sepulcher. (i) He was put there on Friday afternoon or evening; and he was out very early Sunday morning; but how long had he been out when first seen? That is the question. Mark says, "J^^^^s was risen early the first day of the week." But Mark 8, v. 31, says he shall rise after three days. Who knows but that Joseph may have discovered some signs of life when wrap- ping him in that linen cloth ? But it seems that a few hours in that sepulcher had so changed him that Mag- dalen took him to be the gardener. (2) The farthest stretch of time that he was in that tomb was twenty to thirty hours. What virtue in having him stay there three days? Is not that a feeble copy of Jonah in the whale's belly? Even Mark himself, in (1) Matt. 17:23; Luke v. 22; Luke 8, v. 33; Mark 8, v. 31, Bays "after three days." (2) John 20:15. 292 A QUESTION OF MIRACLES 293 his vague statement, does not say that Jesus remained in the sepulchre three days. If he had power to lay down his life and take it up again, could he not resurrect himself at any time? (3) Matthew says: "There was a great earthquake and an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it." His countenance was like lightning and his rai- ment was white as snow. (4) That angel understood the Aramean tongue, for it was the language of Palestine ; and he spake to Mag- dalen and others, and told them to go quickly and tell the disciples that Jesus was risen and gone into Gali- lee, where they would find him. But Matthew was mistaken about that angel ; for Mark says "as Magda- len and those others approached the sepulchre, they began to question who should roll away the stone. They looked, and behold it was already rolled away. Whereupon they entered the sepulchre, and found a young man clothed in a long white garment," who, seeing that the women were affrighted, calmed their (3) John 10, V. 17 and 18. (4) Matt. 28, V. 2; Mark 16, v. 2, and Mark 16, v. 9. Mat- thew ought to have told us who informed him that an angel came down and rolled that stone away. Luke 24, v. 1, says they came "very early" to the tomb. John says "when it was yet dark Magdalen came," etc. John 20, v. 1. But John is always wild. Matt. 28, V. 1 to 7, ought to have given his authority about that angel.