7. _Caiaphas to Pilate._
8. _Pilate to Herod and Return._
9. _Pilate to Calvary._ (1.) Crucifixion. (2.) Death. (3.) Burial.
IX. PERIOD OF THE RESURRECTION.
The events of the forty days between the Resurrection and the Ascension of Jesus cannot be arranged as journeys, since his resurrection body moved from place to place by the will of his spirit. The student may therefore consult the Map of Palestine during the ministry of Jesus for the places referred to in the account of this period. Of the ten recorded appearances, five were on the day of the resurrection, the first Easter Sunday.
1. =At Jerusalem=, on Easter morning, to Mary Magdalene, after the other women had received from the angels the news that he was alive. (John 20:1-18.)
2. =At Jerusalem=, soon afterward, to the other women, when Jesus greeted them with the words "All hail!" (Matt. 28:1-10.)
3. =Near Emmaus=, on Easter afternoon, to two disciples, not apostles, to whom he unfolded the Scriptures concerning himself. (Luke 24:13-33.) Various locations have been proposed for Emmaus, of which we prefer _Kulonieyeh_, four miles west of Jerusalem.
4. =At Jerusalem=, on the afternoon of the same day, to Simon Peter.
(Luke 24:34.) No account of this appearance, more than the mention of the fact, has been preserved.
5. =At Jerusalem=, on Easter evening, to the ten disciples, Thomas being absent. (John 20:19-25.)
6. =At Jerusalem=, a week after the resurrection, to the eleven apostles, when Thomas received a tender rebuke for the slowness of his faith. (John 20:26-29.) Perhaps these last two appearances were at the place of the Supper, on Mount Zion.
7. =Near the Sea of Galilee=, to seven apostles, when Peter received a new commission. (John 21:1-23.)
8. =On a Mountain in Galilee=, perhaps _Kurn Hattin_, the place of the Sermon on the Mount. Here were gathered 500 disciples, and the final commands of Christ were given. (Matt. 28:16-20; 1 Cor. 15:6.)
9. =At Jerusalem= (?). To James, the Lord"s brother. Only a mention of this appearance is left on record. (1 Cor. 15:7.)
10. =Near Bethany.= Forty days after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to the eleven apostles, gave them his last charges, and ascended to heaven, from whence he has promised to come once more to earth. (Acts 1:9-12.)
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE VIA DOLOROSA.]
OUTLINE REVIEW OF NINTH PERIOD.
PERIOD OF THE RESURRECTION.
_The Ten Appearances of the Risen Christ:_
1. _Jerusalem._ Mary Magdalene.
2. _Jerusalem._ Other women.
3. _Emmaus._ Two disciples.
4. _Jerusalem._ Peter.
5. _Jerusalem._ Ten apostles.
6. _Jerusalem._ Eleven apostles.
7. _Sea of Galilee._ Seven apostles.
8. _Mountain in Galilee._ Five hundred disciples.
9. _Jerusalem(?)._ James.
10. _Bethany._ Apostles. [Ascension.]
OUTLINE FOR TEACHING AND REVIEW.
1. Let each period be given as a separate lesson.
2. Draw the map for the period on the blackboard, and show each place named in the period.
3. Let each scholar also draw the map, and locate the places upon it.
4. Draw the lines of the journeys in the period in colored chalk, naming the places and events of the journeys, and writing only initials or catch-syllables.
5. Review carefully and thoroughly each period, each journey under it, and each event of the journey.
6. Erase the map, and call upon the scholars to draw its different parts in turn; one the outlines, another the places, a third the journeys, a fourth the events, etc.
7. Review with each lesson the leading points in all the previous lessons, until the whole series is thoroughly understood and remembered.
[Ill.u.s.tration: EARLY APOSTOLIC HISTORY.
PHILIP"S JOURNEY.
PETER"S JOURNEY.]
EARLY APOSTOLIC HISTORY.
DURING the seven years following the ascension of the Saviour, the Christian church was entirely Jewish in its membership, and, so far as we can learn, limited to the city of Jerusalem and the surrounding villages. There was at that time no thought of the gospel for the Gentiles, and the conception of the apostles was that the only door into the church lay through the profession of Judaism and the rite of circ.u.mcision. Probably the first to attain to wider views of the gospel was Stephen, and the persecution in which he became the first martyr arose from the tendency of his teachings toward extending among the Gentiles the privileges of the new kingdom. This state of affairs was suddenly ended by the death of Stephen, and the scattering of the church at Jerusalem. The more liberally inclined of its members, when driven abroad, were led to preach the gospel, first to Samaritans; then to believers in the Jewish faith who had not yet submitted to circ.u.mcision, and hence were called "Proselytes of the Gate"; and at last to the general Gentile world. The period from the death of Stephen, A.D. 37, to the first missionary journey of the Apostle Paul, A.D. 45, may, therefore, be regarded as an age of transition from Jewish to Gentile Christianity.
This period requires us to notice two provinces, Palestine and Syria.
Palestine appears at this time under several forms of government in frequent succession. During the public life of Christ, Judaea and Samaria were under the direct rule of Rome, governed by a procurator, while Galilee and Peraea belonged to Herod Antipas, and the region north and east of the Sea of Galilee, anciently called Bashan, was held by Herod Philip, both of these having the t.i.tle of _tetrarch_, "ruler of a fourth part." In A.D. 37 Herod Agrippa received Philip"s tetrarchy, and in 41 he was made king of all Palestine. ("Herod the king," Acts 12.) In A.D.
44 he died, and his dominions were divided. Judaea, Samaria, Galilee and Peraea again became a procuratorship, under a succession of Roman rulers, until the final destruction of the Jewish state, A.D. 70. The princ.i.p.ality of Bashan was given to Herod Agrippa II. in A.D. 53, and held by him until A.D. 70. Syria, the great region north of Palestine, extending from Damascus to Antioch, was, during this time, a province of the Roman empire, governed by a prefect.
[Ill.u.s.tration: DAMASCUS.]
The events of this period gather around seven cities. 1. =Jerusalem.= This place has been already described. (See page 73.) 2. =Samaria= (Acts 8:5-25), the field of Philip"s early ministry, was the ancient capital of the Ten Tribes (see page 87), located 30 miles north of Jerusalem, and 6 miles northwest of Shechem. It had been rebuilt by Herod the Great, and named Sebaste, in honor of Augustus. It is now a village called _Sebastiyeh_. 3. =Caesarea= (Acts 10:1), the place where the Gentile Cornelius became a disciple, was the Roman capital of Palestine, and the residence of the procurators. It was called Caesarea Stratonis, to distinguish it from Caesarea Philippi, under Mount Hermon; and was located on the sea-coast, 47 miles northwest of Jerusalem; and is now a desolate, uninhabited ruin, called _Kaisarieyeh_. 4. =Joppa=, where Dorcas was raised to life, and Peter received a vision (Acts 9:36-43; 10:11), is one of the most ancient towns in the world, in all ages the princ.i.p.al seaport of Palestine. It lies 30 miles south of Caesarea, and 35 miles northwest of Jerusalem; and is now a flourishing city called _Yafa_, or _Jaffa_. 5. =Damascus=, the place where Saul was converted (Acts 9:1-25), is an ancient and famous city of Syria, 133 miles northeast of Jerusalem, beautifully situated in a plain at the foot of the Anti-Lebanon mountains. Recently it had a population of 150,000, but is rapidly decaying from the diversion of the Eastern trade through the Suez Ca.n.a.l. Its modern name is _el Shams_. 6. =Antioch=, seat of the first missionary church (Acts 11:19-30), was the metropolis of northern Syria, situated on the river Orontes, 16-1/2 miles from the Mediterranean, and 300 miles north of Jerusalem, in a deep pa.s.s between the Taurus and Lebanon ranges of mountains. It is now a mean village of 6,000 people, called _Antakia_. 7. =Tarsus=, the home of the apostle Paul, was the capital of Cilicia, in Asia Minor, and one of the leading cities of the Roman world. It was 12 miles from the Mediterranean, the same distance from Mount Taurus, and about 80 miles northwest of Antioch, across an arm of the sea. It is now a place of 30,000 inhabitants, called _Tersous_.