The World's Great Sermons, Volume 05: Guthrie to Mozley
Religion
The World's Great Sermons, Volume 05: Guthrie to Mozley
Sermons
Now there is publicity for the transaction. It demanded public
investigation, it received it. There was not only the mental agony
united with the agony of crucifixion, but there was the voluntary
giving up of His life; yet, lest there might be some suspicion, to
all this was added the proof of the fact of His death. When the
limbs of the others were broken and He was perceived to be dead, the
soldier thrust the spear into His side and there came out of that
side both water and blood.
There is a peculiarity in the sacred writings. A little incident
that seems to be mentioned without care becomes the strongest
possible proof, not only of the fact of Christ's death, but of the
nature of His death. When that sentence was written the human frame
was not understood, the circulation of the blood was not understood.
Anatomists had not then, as they have now, unveiled the human
system; the great science of pathology had not yet been clearly
taught to man; and yet in that sentence we have almost a world of
meaning. For it is well attested now that where persons die from
violent mental emotion, by what is termed a broken heart, a crusht
spirit, there is always formed a watery secretion around the heart.
It was not known then to the soldier who lifted up the spear and
pierced the body; but so much of that water had secreted around the
heart that he saw it issuing forth from the pierced side, unstained
by blood, which showed that the great heart had been crusht by agony
within.
When taken from the cross He was put in the sepulcher. His friends
had given Him up, His disciples had forsaken Him; some of them saw
Him die; they knew that He was crucified and they abandoned Him.
They were returning to their former employments; but His enemies
remembered He had said He would rise the third day, and they put
a guard around Him. The Roman soldiers were there; the king's
seal was on the stone rolled over the mouth of the sepulcher; they
made everything secure. Here again God ordered that we should have
abundant proof of Christ's crucifixion.
He was crucified on Friday, which was to them the last day of the
week, resting in the grave on our Saturday, which is their Sabbath,
and then comes the first day of the week, our Sabbath morning, made
our Sabbath because of Christ's resurrection from the dead. There
came an humble visitant to the tomb, Mary Magdalene; she had been
healed of much, forgiven much and she loved Him. Mary, the mother of
James, came also and beheld the scenes that occurred; but there had
been strange commotions elsewhere.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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