Matt. xxviii. Mark xvi. Luke xxiv. John xx, xxi. 1 Cor. xv. 4-8. absolute harmony of separate accounts would have been almost impossible. Thirdly as a matter of fact, we do have five separate accounts, each narrator having his own special purpose in view, and neither of them undertaking to give a complete recital; no wonder then that the narratives are in respect to minor details quite different; for so would be the sketches of Mount Washington taken from Conway and Gorham and Jefferson and Bethlehem and Franconia. Fourthly: the very diversity of these narratives is a sign of their truthfulness: forgers would have taken pains to seem consistent. Put five veracious witnesses on the stand to testify to a long and complex transaction; how different and apparently conflicting their testimonies will be touching minor details; their testimonies will be discrepant just because the testifiers are truthful, each testifying from his own view-point; yet under the seeming contradiction there will be real harmony; it is the diversity of tones which makes the gamut a melody. May the Risen Lord honor this book by making it the means of beholding Him in blessed, eternal Epiphany! |