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The Gospel of Jesus Christ According to
St. Matthew Pasquier
Quesnel Translated
by the Rev. Daniel Wilson, D.D., Vicar of Islington and now Bishop of Chapter XXVIII. Sect. I. Christ’s Resurrection. The Holy
Women At The Sepulchre. The Angel. 1. In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. Death and the grave cannot extinguish a
true love toward God. God inspires Mary Magdalene with this holy haste and earnestness,
because he designs to reward her with his first appearance. Her love of Jesus
leads her to the cross and to the sepulchre; and his love of her brings her,
by that means, to the joy of the resurrection. No person ever repents of having
been faithful to God, and of having sought him be times. 2. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 3. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: The angels, the ministers of light, and
the first evangelists of the resurrection, show, by the brightness of their
countenance, and the whiteness of their raiment, the news which they come to
declare. Would to God, that, after their example,
all pastors and ecclesiastical persons would make the purity of the mysteries
which they dispense, and the holiness of the truths which they preach,
evident in their external behaviour! In order to rise to the life of grace,
it is necessary to have the assistance of some visible angel of the Lord one whose
conversation is in heaven, who by a prudent condescension to the wants of
sinners may be said to descend from thence, who may approach them by his
charity, who may roll back the stone of their evil habits, and hinder them
from shut ting any more their hearts against grace. 4. And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. God can by one and the same means comfort
his servants and terrify his enemies. Let us here contemplate an emblem or
representation of the victory which Christ has just obtained over hell. This
is a mystery of majesty and greatness amiable to God’s children, and terrible
to slaves. 5. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. God gives consolation, and the spirit of
the new-raised life to those who seek Jesus Christ crucified. To seek him
thus, is to return to him by repentance, not to refuse the cross when he
presents it to us, not to quit the way of mortification how painful soever it may be to nature, to perform our duty notwithstanding
all the contradictions of men, and not to turn aside from the way of the
gospel through any fear of displeasing the world. This is a state which ought
to afford us confidence, because it is that wherein self-love is least to be
feared. 6. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. Happy the sinner who is faithful to his
promises, concerning whom one may say, He is risen,
as he said! It is by his heart, which was his sepulchre, that we are to judge
of this; and it is by his works that we are to judge of his heart, and to
assure ourselves that this sepulchre is become the mansion of the living
Jesus. 7. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. Let us make haste to publish both Christ’s
resurrection and our own, by works of a new and restored life. What joy is it
to a good pastor when a sinner tells him, by a life separated from the world
and sin, that he is risen with Christ, and that he
walks in the newness of his life! The first news of the resurrection, the
first appearance of Jesus, and this mission to the apostles, are the
recompense of the diligent attendance of Mary Magdalene and her companions at
the cross and sepulchre. Let us attend there with her. Let us imitate her fidelity,
if we desire to share in her grace. Sect. II. Christ’s Appearance To The
Women. The Watch Bribed. 8. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. Extraordinary communications of grace
ought to give fear and joy at the same time. Heavenly visits, revelations, or
apparitions, yield comfort to holy persons, and give them such an assurance
of their truth, as yet hinders them not from fearing their own unworthiness
and the danger of vanity, nor from submitting these graces to the examination
of the pastors to whom God sends them back. 9. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Christ bestows his graces and consolations
by degrees: first by his angels, and then by himself. He communicates not himself
to incredulous and disobedient souls; he appears not even to these women,
till he has tried their faith and obedience by his ministers. This kind
reception and comfortable greeting used by Jesus after his resurrection, is
the due recompense of the zeal of these persons, who were neither intimidated
by the rage of the Jews, nor discouraged by the death and burial of Christ. Whoever
is so happy as to find Jesus Christ after having
lost him, ought to embrace that which appears most abject in him, and to
adore that which is highest. 10. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me. The incredulity of the disciples hinders
not Christ from seeking, comforting, and showing himself to them. The love which he has for his flock makes him apply himself
immediately to strengthen and support the pastors of it. The term, “My
brethren,” is suitable to the state and condition of Christ risen from the dead. These are words of hope, which denote
that he looks on them as his coheirs in glory, that it is in that state that
we shall bear his resemblance, and have God for our Father by the perfection
of the Divine adoption, the absolute renunciation of Adam’s family, and a
full and complete union with the body of the Son of God. Christian hope! celestial inheritance! brethren
and joint heirs with Christ, about what do you amuse yourselves on earth? 11. Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. 12. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, 13. Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. 14. And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. The Jews, disappointed in their designs,
grow the more hardened, and crown their wickedness with a new crime. One sin
naturally draws on another. How great is the misfortune for a man to have
recourse to a lie to conceal his crime, rather than to repentance (to do what
he can) to expiate it! He ought proportionably in
other sins, to fear being detained by engagements, evil bashfulness,
wilfulness, or obstinacy. How often do men pay dearly for the vanity of not seeming
to be baffled in their undertakings! 15. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. Avarice and the love of false riches have
always persecuted Jesus Christ. The Avarice of the Jewish priests during his life,
that of an apostle at the time of his death, this of the soldiers after his
resurrection, and that of wicked clergymen to the end of the world. The most
ancient and most cruel persecutor of the church, is
money in corrupt ecclesiastics and men of the sword. One single lie, one
single calumny, may have dreadful consequences. A man is not less answer able
for them because he did not think of them. How many Jews, on the credit of
these priests and soldiers, have been lost, in not believing the resurrection
of Christ! Sect. III. Christ’s Appearance To The
Eleven Disciples. His Almighty Power And Continual Presence. 16. Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. Men are more ready to run to Jesus when risen from the dead, than to follow him when seized by his
enemies, and to accompany him dying under ignominy. They are not very constant
in attending at the foot of the cross; they never fail to seek all
opportunities of joy and comfort. But these are not to be sought but only
when obedience leads us to them, and when Christ himself goes before us in
them, calls us to them, and vouchsafes to be present with us. 17. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. Worship ought always to accompany the
sight which faith gives us of Jesus Christ and his mysteries. God permits doubts
to arise for the greater confirmation of the faith. We must not suffer
ourselves to be surprised or staggered at the doubtfulness and uncertainty of
the greatest men, since there were some who doubted
even among the apostles themselves. 18. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a
state of power, to which he was predestinated from
all eternity, of which he deprived himself during his mortal life, and into
the possession of which he entered by his resurrection. One fruit of this mystery
is the new right and power which he received both in heaven and in earth: in
heaven, to send the Holy Ghost from thence down on earth, to raise his
members up thither, and to crown his saints there: in earth, to bring all
nations into subjection to himself, to convert sinners, to sanctify, to protect,
and perfect his church, to judge mankind, and to con fine the devils and the
reprobate in hell. The absolute power of Christ over the hearts of men to
change them as he pleases, is the recompense of his labours, the fruit of his
cross, the right of his new life, the principle of the new heart, and the comfort
of sinners, as being the cause of the efficacy of his grace. 19. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Jesus Christ says to his apostles, “Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations,” to show that he can convert them all, and that
nothing can resist his almighty power when he intends to save sinners. The
mission of the apostles throughout all the world,
the calling of the Gentiles, the foundation of the church, and the purchase
of his elect, are the effects of his new power, and the reward of his past
sufferings. In baptism, the Christian is adopted by the Father, incorporated with
the Son, animated by the Holy Ghost, and consecrated to this adorable and
eternal mystery, to serve him in spirit and in truth by a life conformable to
the gospel. 20. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. The faithfulness of a preacher consists in
preaching nothing but what he has learned of Jesus Christ. His chief care
must be, not to render himself unworthy of having Christ present with him in
the exercise of his ministry. His confidence is, to be persuaded that he can
do nothing of himself, but that Christ can do all in him; that he is able
even of stones to raise up children unto Abraham; that it belongs to him to
put his law into the heart, and to perform whatever he has promised. Be thou
therefore with us always, Lord, to be our light, our strength, and our
consolation. Be with thy church, to be her steadfastness, her protection, and
her holiness. Amen. |
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