John 20:1-10 The first day of the week comes Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, to the sepulcher… (Children's Sermon): — There is always something the matter when grown-up people run. Boys and- girls hardly ever walk; men and women very seldom run. All young creatures love to run-kittens, puppies, calves, lambs. As we get older we grow more sedate, and the sign hat a boy has become a man is that he walks. But if there is an accident, or a fire, or if he has to catch a train then he runs. The text tells us of a race between two disciples who should get first to the Lord's sepulchre. John outran Peter on this occasion, but on that other in the next chapter, although John saw Christ first, Peter was the first ashore. So John did not always outrun Peter. I. THERE ARE SOME DISCIPLES WHO HAVE COME TO A STANDSTILL. When people take a voyage they never think about the machinery until it stops; then everybody is on deck to know what is the matter. Sometimes the long shaft which turns the propeller has to be screwed or "keyed" up, and the machinery has to be stopped. It is the same when a train stops and no station in sight. The windows go up, and people's heads go out. And when the machinery of the body is affected we begin to wonder what is the matter with us. We never know that we have a head till it aches, nor heart, nor lungs till they want keying up. There are a great many stoppages in life. Some stop being respectable — boys who loaf about street corners and taverns. Some stop being honest; they don't pay their bills, and need keying up in their morals. Many were once running disciples who walk in Christ's ways no longer. And then just as with the steamer, &c., there is something wrong with their souls. It's a dreadful thing to be a disciple who doesn't go at all like a stopped clock. You can't tell the Christian time of day by looking at their faces. Something is the matter inside. This was the case with the disciples when Jesus died; but when the Spirit came at Pentecost they became going Christians once more. It was like fresh steam to an engine, or the keying up of its shaft, or the winding up of a clock. And so when we have come to a standstill by loss of faith, love, zeal, let us pray for that Spirit to come to us with fresh impulses and desires to enable us to go on in His service again. Standing disciples will never reach heaven. II. THESE ARE WALKING DISCIPLES. The Bible says a good deal about "walk and conversation." You can tell a man's character by his walk. When a man rolls and swings his shoulders from side to side we know him to be a good humoured soul. A drunken man's walk reveals his character. When people go to a funeral they go in slow and solemn procession; but when we see one whom we love, and whom we have not seen for a long time, we hasten our steps. The two disciples walked from Jerusalem to Emmans, but I expect they ran from Emmaus to Jerusalem. It makes a great difference in our walks what motives we are led by. I knew a boy who was so slow that he was always late to everything but dinner, and we called him Sergeant Slowboots. And to this day there he goes sauntering along as if there were twenty-seven days to the week instead of seven. H we are going to the dentists we generally take our time about it; but if we are going out for a holiday we don't waste a moment. If we are trying to walk in the way of God's commandments we ought to pray, "Quicken me in Thy way." Just as we ought not to loiter when sent on errands or when father calls, so we must not be slow in God's work and when He calls. III. THESE ARE RUNNING DISCIPLES. Some get on faster than others; as John than Peter. He saw things before Peter did. He had a quicker eye and a quicker step. Some people when they enter a room see everything in it at once, while others seem to notice nothing. Some are lithe and active, and can run for a chair or book, while the rest are wondering what to do. It is this quick eye and step which make business men successful. When he was a young lieutenant the Duke of Wellington was asked how soon he could leave for India, "In fifteen minutes, sir." And sure enough in a quarter of an hour he was ready to go — which showed that he was a wide-awake running disciple of his country. God's angels are running disciples. They fly to do His will. When a person runs he must have some object in view which quickens his footsteps. In the boat or horse race those who do the driving are urged on by the desire of winning. "So run that ye may obtain." (Wilberforce Newton.) Parallel Verses KJV: The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. |
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