(1.) It is incredible that the whole guard of sixty men, accustomed to the rigor of military discipline in the Roman army, should have been asleep while upon duty. The punishment of such an offense would have been death. The number of the guard, the responsibility of their charge, and especially the severity of the punishment of such an offense, preclude utterly the idea that they were all asleep. Had they really been asleep, and thus, through neglect of duty, permitted the disciples to steal away the body, they would have been much more likely to have feigned a miracle than to have made confession, had they not been bribed and protected by the Jewish priests and elders.

(2.) If the guards were really asleep, how did they know that the body was stolen at all? How could they, when asleep, recognize the persons who performed the robbery so readily and so clearly? It is a novel affair to bring men to testify to things that occurred while they were asleep! It is well that the fact that they were asleep should go along with and constitute a part of the testimony.

(3.) It is, again, utterly incredible that the guard, posted upon and around the tomb, should have slept so soundly that the tomb could be approached by several men, the seal broken, the great stone at the door rolled away, the tomb entered, and the dead body drawn up through the entrance and borne away—and all this with the trepidation and haste that would be inevitable-without awaking them; nay, without awaking a single one of them, who might have alarmed his companions!

(4.) But what motive had the disciples to steal him away, had it been possible to do so? What good could the dead body do them? What use could they make of it? Its resurrection could not be facilitated by being in their hands. And, indeed, they appear to have had no views or clear, distinct convictions concerning the resurrec

tion at all, but were rather overwhelmed with disappointment, terror, and despair.

(5.) But suppose the disciples had both a motive and a disposition to "steal him away," was it very likely they would dare to undertake it? Would a few weak and timid men, such as they were, confront a band of ruffian soldiers? Or, on the other hand, how should the disciples know that the guard were asleep, and thus venture to approach by stealth? How could they know that every one of them was asleep? and how could they be assured of the profoundness of their slumber?

(6.) But suppose, again, that the disciples had actually stolen away the body, why were they not immediately arrested, and made to surrender it up? Why were they not punished for breaking the seal? why not for burglary? They were still at Jerusalem; they do not hide themselves away; they travel the streets, walk abroad, and even visit, with astonishment and wonder, the vacant tomb of their Lord. And, indeed, these very disciples were afterward arrested on other charges. Why not arrested upon this? why not charged with stealing the body of Jesus? Nay, when arrested and brought before the council, why do we hear not a word of accusation upon this point?—the very point of difficulty, and which, if once settled against the disciples, would end forever all their hopes and prospects. It would utterly destroy the very foundation of the doctrines they preached, and present them before the public as vile and perjured men. The very silence of the Jews under such circumstances is convincing evidence in favor of the disciples of Christ.

8. The resurrection was established as a matter of faith in the age in which it occurred, and has ever since obtained credence. It was first preached where the event occurred, and among the very cotemporaries of our Lord. The Jews

were possessed of every means for its refutation had it been possible; nor were they wanting either in motive or disposition to refute it. But in their very midst, and in spite of all their efforts to prevent it, thousands were convinced of its truth and converted to Christianity. And from the very spot where the living witnesses of the event were found, and where the monuments to commemorate it were first established, it has gone forth, radiating like a new sun risen upon our earth, and sending forth its beams to bless all lands and all people.

Had the destruction of Jerusalem, the dissolution of the Jewish hierarchy, and the dispersion of the people immediately followed the alleged ascension of Christ, it might have been objected to this grand theme, that in the confusion of revolution and war, while men's hearts were failing them with fear, and earthquake, and pestilence and famine, pillage and flame, sword and bloodshed, were sweeping over and desolating the whole land—that the terrified and excited imaginations of the people would be liable to be led away by every wild delusion that might arise. But it was not so. For nearly forty years after the ascension of our Lord, the current of Jewish affairs continued to roll onward without serious interruption. It was a philosophic age. Every opportunity was given to sift the matter to its very bottom; and that, too, upon the very spot and among the very people where these glorious events transpired. Investigation was provoked-nay, absolutely challenged; for the resurrection of Christ was blended with all the preaching of the apostles, at all times and in every place, from the first moment that their tongues were touched with celestial fire upon the day of Pentecost, till, by martyrdom and death, they gave their final and glorious attestation to its truth. Before Jerusalem had been destroyed, it had been preached not only in the temple and in the places of public

resort in the Holy City, but throughout the entire land. It had spread into Asia Minor, into Macedonia and Greece. The assembled wisdom of Athens had listened to its proclamation by the great apostles to the Gentiles, in the midst of the Areopagus; and it had obtained foothold within the gates of the Imperial City, and numbered its converts in the very household of Cæsar. And all this had been achieved without force of authority or arms; nay, often in the face of both. The sage and the philosopher, convinced by the might of reason and the force of truth, had brought their trophies and laid them at the foot of the cross. down through all ages learning and wisdom have paid unceasing homage to the divine truth-heralded by the flaming messenger of heaven-that Jesus "is risen from the dead."

And

Let us now, in one broad survey, look over this field of collateral evidence, and sum up the circumstances connected with and going to confirm the direct testimony in the case. It is conceded that there was such a person as Jesus Christ, of whose life and actions the Gospels claim to be the history; that his teachings and works were so wonderful that his enemies could account for them only on the supposition of magic or of Satanic influence; that he predicted his own resurrection from the dead; that he was actually crucified, dead, and buried; that his body was guarded with the utmost care and in the strongest manner by his enemies; that on the third day it was missing from the tomb, and his enemies, who had charge of it, could give no rational account of its loss, but it was shown that the story they invented to account for it is utterly incredible and unsustained. It was further shown that the doctrine of his resurrection began immediately to be preached in the very place where the event transpired, that the evidence of his resurrection was received by thousands as satisfactory, and that the

doctrine spread and prevailed in spite of the most active and determined opposition on the part of his enemies, and that it has gained credence in every age of the world.

We think, then, that we have established the proposition, that there are circumstances connected with the case that can be satisfactorily accounted for on no other hypothesis than the actual resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

II. EVIDENCE DIRECT OF THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

We have already shown that, beyond all question, Christ was crucified, dead, and buried. Now, if it shall be shown that he was subsequently seen, conversed with, handled, gave and received communications, walked, eat, reproved and instructed, declared himself to be alive, and performed the functions of a living man; and if it shall be shown that the personal witnesses of these facts were competent witnesses, that the number of them was large, that they had opportunity to investigate and know the things whereof they affirmed, that their testimony was given at the time and in the place where the things occurred, and, finally, that it was given under such circumstances as attested, on the part of the witnesses, a full conviction and certainty of the fact; if all these facts shall be shown, then, we say, that, according to all the rules of evidence and the established laws of human belief, we must credit the actual resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead.

It is very justly remarked by Dr. Dwight, that "in the nature of the case, it is just as easy to determine, whether a person, once dead, is afterward alive, as to determine whether a man is living who has not been dead. Suppose a person who was an entire stranger to us, should come into the family, eat and drink, sleep and wake, converse and