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THE COLBORNE EXPRESS, t.BORNE, THURSDAY, MARCH 25th, 1937 unday CHOOI fssqm LESSON XIII. JOHN'S RECOLLECTIONS OF THE --RISEN LORD--John 20: 19-29; 21; 20-24. GOLDEN TEXT--I am the first and the last, and the Living one; and 1 was dead, and behold, I am alive tor evermore. Revelation 1: 17, 18. THE PLAN OF LESSON TIME. -- The resurrection itself occurred on Sunday, April 9, A.D. 30. The appearance to Thomas occurred the Sunday following, April 16, A.D. 30. The appearance at the Sea of Galilee occurred within thirty days after this, but we do not know exactly when. PLACE. -- Tho resurrection of Christ and his appearance to Mary Magdalene took place just outside the city wall in the garden near the tomb of Joseph of Arimataea; the two appearances to the disciples occurred in an upper room in Jerusalem. All the events recorded in chapter 21 took place on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias. "When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first-day of the week." Between the Lord's appearance to Mary Magdalene early in the morning and his appearance to the ten disciples that evening, two other appearances must be placed, though they are not given in John's Gospel, the appearance to Simon Peter (Luke 24: 34; I. Cor. 15: 5), and the memorable journey with two disciples on the road to Em-maw (3 uke 24) "And when the doors were shut where the disciples were." It is not said how many were present. Judas was dead and Thomas was absent. Probably the other t^n were present. "For fear of the Jews." (Cf. John 7:13.) Rumors at the resurrection had been spread and it was as yet uncertain what rwjicy the popular leaders wouli adopt. . 'Jesus came and stood in the midst". How the Lord entered the room John does not tell us; the record assumes that his entrance was miraculous, and that it was not necessary for the doors to be unlocked and opened to admit him into their presence. Jesus came amon<? theoj in such a way as to prove that new laws now ruled his body that the earthly no longer was a limitation to it. "And said unto them, Peace be unto you." This Jew to another; it was Christ's last word co his disciples in their sorrow before his Passion (John 16: 38). Now they had a new peace, In the confidence that many's greatest enemy, death, had been defeated, and that the one who had the keys of life and death was none other *han their friend, servant and master. "And when he had said this, he showed r.nto them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord." Our Lord did this to convince his disciples that he was the very same person who had been crucified and that he had_ risen with the same body in which he- had died, as the parallel account in Luke (24: 39 indicates, It is T myself. "Jesus therefore said to them again. Peace be unto you: as the Father :iath sent me, even so send I you." (See John 17: 3, 23.) Christ had finished the work which the Father had given him to do on earth in his own person; henceforth he would work through others. The new commission is wider than the earlier one. (Matt. 10: 1-42, etc.), for it is not iimited to the apostolate; the other lisciples who were present are incLided and. with the eleven, they renrcsent the whole church. "And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit." Christ's breathing upon the disciples would be an emblem of the Holy Spirit. This is, of course, a prophetic breathing, symbolic and suggestive- They did not receive the Holy Spirit then. In the course of these 'ays, he told them to wait until tbev received the Spirit (Acts 1:4). He was indicating to thern their responsibility in view of the resources at their disposal, telling them that they could not go except in one power, that of the Holy Spirit. ■ "Whose soever sins ye forgive, they ar; forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. ' Has the church them the power to remit or retain? The answer is unquestionably, Yes. To a*y man, to any woman, to any youth, or maiden who, conscious of sin, repents towards God, and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. "But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Pidymus,, was not with them When J\ssus came." Thomas was absent because his was the nature that preferred to bury disappointment and desolation in solitude and sfl- "The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he sa;d unto them, Ex- cept 1 shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Thomas certainly was not afraid of being convinced that his Lord had ariven; on the contrary, he sought to be convinced that his Lord had arisen; on the contrary, he sought to be convinced of this and put himself in the way of conviction. He. had doubted because ne wished to believe. It is this which distinguishes Thomas and all right-minded doubters from thorough-going and depraved unbelievers. "And after eignt days." That is, the following Sunday night, April 16. "Again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said, Peace be unto you." The fact that Thomas was present with the disciples indicates that he did not deliberately shun fellowship with those who were confident that Christ had come forth from the dead. "Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither t.ny finger, and see my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and put it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing." The Lord is always willing to convince doubters of the reality of divine truth by every legitimate means. "Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God." Most commentators believe that Thomas never accepted the invitation of Christ to reach forth his hand and pufit into his side. He believed at once. The confession that came from the lips of Thomas was the most advanced ever made by any of the twelve during the time they were with Jesus. -"Jesus saith unto him, Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. Such conditions as Thomas required are unnecessary in order to have true and intelligent. faith. Thomas himself ought to have believed in the testimony of the rest, convinced by all he had known and experienced of Christ in past days. Our Lord does not mean that faith has not its solid reasons, for faith is not blind acceptance of truth, nor the opposite of reason, but faith is the opposite of sight because it asserts ;een. breast at the supper, and said, Lord, who is he that betrayeth thee? Peter therefore seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? The same irrepressible Peter was not sobered into silence by the suggestion of his own end. The question indicates the natural wish to know the future of a friend, all the more natural after hav been told something about his own futun "Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. This saying therefore went forth among the brethren, that that disciple should not die; yet Jesus said not unto him, that he should not die; but, If 1 will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" Jesus speaks as one who is Lord of life and death, whoss will is supreme in earth and heaven. He also asserts the fact, of his Second Coming. "This is the disciple that beareth witness of these things, and wrote these things." The phrase may refer to the whole contents of the Gospel. "And we know that his witness is true." We probably refers to the Christians who surrounded John at Ephesus, who, having lived personally with John, know his sincerity and declare him incapable of relating anything false. The Gospel closes with a simple statement reminding us that its contents cover only a small portion of all the many things which Jesus did. Shells For Britain Made in Hamilton Ottawa.--Manufacture of 50,000 shells for the new universal gun being adopted by the British Army, and involving an expenditure of approximately $1,000,000 will be undertaken by the National Steel Car Company of Hamilton, Ont, Major K. S. Mackenzie, of the Royal Artillery, Woolwich, said here recently. Still 8,399,000 U.S. Unemployed NEW YORK, -- Unemployed workers in the United States in December, 1936, totalled 8,399,000, a decrease of 77,000 or 5.4 per cent from November and a drop of 1,844,000 from December, 1935, the National Industrial Conference Board estimated last week. King George held the first investiture of his reign at Buckingham Palace recently, conferring honors awarded in the New Year honors list. This picture shows, left to right, Squadron-Leader F. R. D. Swain, noted for his record-breaking altitude flight last year, who received the Royal Air Force Cross, arriving with Squadron-Leader Baul at the Palace. Monument To Power like the temples of some strange sect in th Dam. When circuit on line that carries p broken, these oil breakers deaden flash of 2 Hooded Riders Unmask Horrors of Accidents i If These macabre "Four Horsemen" helped drive home the dangers of reckless motor: „ rode in front of the "Horror t'arade," staged at Atlanta, Ga., by Junior Chamber of Cor to depict the frightful .toll taken in automobile accidents. lecies of lizards wo of these are are found only nited States. ; By DOROTHY ; I) and ivjrd flarew at Wellington lia onal emblem) to an < behind Her Majesty. Clark Gable, who thinks that Robert^ Taylor is a great romantic actor, ^ it Taylor who thinks that Clark GaDle is tops, have persuaded Metro-Goldwyr-Mayer to let them make a picture together. The story selected is "Spurs of Pride," a military story of Percival Wren. There is a serious shortage of beautiful chorus girls in Hollywood right now, because all the studios are making big musicals. Girls who could not even get a few days extra work while the *tudios were all busy ing ten-week contracts calling for as much as $200 a week. Samuel Goldwyn's chief complaint about the beautiful, girls who come to Hollywood seeking work h that they invariably try to look like some popular star instead of being beautiful in their own way The one sure way not to get an engagement in one of his picture? is to have someone tell mm thai: you look just like Virginia Bruce or Carole Lomhard. When Kathryn Witwer, popular MBS irima donna, first came to Chicago . to win fame and fortune, she had exactly $5 in her purse and a little secretarial training >'hich she ,rade') for music lessons. First prize in a National Music Hubs Federation contest won her a chance to appear with Frederick •Stock and also with the Chicago Opera, sful opera debut her iwn of Gary Ind. sent her to Eurone for further stud^. ODDS and ENDS:-Marlene Dietrich has confided to a' few close friends, who told several thousand other people, th;.t Merle Oberon is ' pfoing to marry Brian Aherne soon in London. Remember love scenes H "Reloved Rnemy"? Evidently they "e'en't just acting. . . Ed Berren. he ventriloquist who has made such an outstanding success on the Vallee hour, has been put under contract tc- make pictures for Warner Brothers. Barbara Stanwyck has a huge new ruby ring, a gift from Robert Taylor. Incidentally, when handed her check for $5,000 for a three-minute sketch on* the radio i icently, Barbara got the giggles She suddenly recalled that i'"st 12 years ago she was mightily ^leased to get a night club job at