Matthew 28:6-7 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.… Mark the expression a "lively" or living hope. The expectation of perfected salvation which the believer cherishes is not contented with indifference or inactivity. It is a living, not a dying or dead thing, and it animates him to most earnest efforts after the attainment of the object to which it looks. A ship's crew have been forced to leave a sinking vessel and commit themselves in an open and frail boat to the mercy of She ocean. They do not know that they shall be picked up, but they have an intense desire to be delivered and a vague hope that they shall be. Day passes after day. Their scanty stock of provisions is almost exhausted, the water is entirely spent, and hope in them is all but dead, so that every energy within them is paralyzed. But lo! far away on the dim horizon a sail appears, and in a moment the hope that seemed ready to expire is quickened into activity, First they raise a faint but thankful cheer; then they uplift any sort of a flag they can extemporize as a signal of distress; then they take to the oars and summon up the remnant of their strength, if by any means they may near the vessel's course, and attract the attention of those who man her. What a difference one short hour has made in those worn and haggard men! A little while ago they were ready to perish, but now they are all activity, for the sight of that far-off sail has begotten them to a "living hope." So Christ's resurrection brings living hope to the sinner's heart. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.WEB: He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said. Come, see the place where the Lord was lying. |
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