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Show 1 he 1. Miracle I of Lazarus I Before 1 a Modern I Judge and Jury I THIS newspaper recently printed the evdience for the actuality of tho IB Jon'ah and the Whale incident as set forth by "The Blblo H Champion," a religious publication which is taking up th Mm Biblical miracles one by one and "proving" them on the very lines of the l higher criticism. "The Bible Champion" for March has just devoted Pgi 1 camPaiEn to the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus, and deals. Pr t. l w'ttl its credibility this time on the lines of permissible legal evi- Kj j l V dence. The defense is conducted by Judge Francis J. Lamb, a dis- y w tiuguished American jurist,, and is essentially as follows: t3 5 "We offer in evidence the Gospel of John as an Ancient Docu- IX WiVA ment especially parts thereof relevant to the tissue,' viz., as ffi il v Particular, subsidiary, evidentiary facts, and cite the verse or j WkWi verses in which the fact is recorded. VL Nil M "FACTS M s b "Lazarus was a man residing at Bethany, a village situated M jpl W a0out fifteen furlongs from Jerusalem. (John x!. 18.) : ' WM ffl. "Mary and Martha were sisters of Lazarus, and the three were i j fm m beloved by Jesus. (John xl. 5, 21, 32.) j ! "Lazarus was sick, and his malady became so serious that his Pjr ' : sisters became alarmed. A message was sent to Jesus, who was ; b P absent. (John xl. 3, 21, 23.) " J M "Jesus received the message, and, after receiving it, stayed 0 Mi two days in the place where he received it; during which time $'. fm Lazarus died. (John xl. 6.) JlT As? "Jesus then informed the disciples that accompanied him that Jitj Pjsl Lazarus wa3 dead. (John xl. 14.) mBL fy "Jesus announced to his disciples his determination to return jlftt. '0 sain to Judaea, where the home of Lazarus had been. (John xl. fug ml "Jesus and the flesciples returned to Bethany, and found that uBg MI the dead body of Lazarus had been burled and lain in the tomb fi , W four days. (Johnxi. 17.) Ci rf "When Jesus arrived at Bethany ho found many of the Jews Hi r attendant at the home .of Mary and Martha, met to mourn with mm the sisters over the death of Lazarus. (John xl. 19, 31.) BS "The sisters, Mary and Martha, each mot Jesus on his arrival at WM Bethany, and each said to Jesus, 'Lord, If thou hadst been here, my, H brother had not died.' (John xi. 21, U2.) fR "Jesus told Martha that Lazarus should rise again from death, which. Ha Martha said she believed would occur 'in the resurrection at the last WM day.' (John xi. 23, 24.) SH ' "The grief of Mary over the death of Lazarus and that of the Jews Wm also weeping with her, was manifested with such intensity that Jesus, fla sympathizing, wept also. (John xi. 35.) M "At Jesus' request, Mary and Martha and the friends in their com- mm pany conducted Jesus nnd his disciples to the tomb, in which lay the Mm dead body of Lazarus. ML was a cave, and a stone lay against it.' (John 1H xi. 38, Am. Rev.) ST "The document shows that, besides Jesus and his disciples and Mary flal and Martha, there was a considerable concourse of Jews met to sym- H& pathize with Mary and Martha over the death of Lazarus. (John xi. 19.) flR "In the presence of this considerable assembly, immediately at the- jH6 door of the tomb in which the dead body of Lazarus lay enshrouded in Rw grave-clothes, Jesus orderod the stone to be taken away. 'Martha, the Hf sister of him that was dead,' .protested against opening tho tomb. She fljijj said to Jesus, 'Lord, by this time the body decaycth; for he hath been K dead four days.' (John xi. 39, Am. Rev.) MSB "In obedience, however, to Jesus' command, those present removed mat the stone from the door of the tomb. (John xi. 41.) H "Then, after brief prayer, Jesus at the door of the tomb spoke with mm a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come forth.' Immediately 'he that was dead came Mm forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes; and his face was bound Bfl about with a napkin,' and Jesus said, 'Lose him, and let bun go.' (John Sja . si. 43, 44.) Judge Lamb then refers, for further evidence, to; (John xli. tt9 1. 2); (John xii. 9. Am. Rev.); (John xii. 10, 11); (John xii. 17); (John Ug xii. IS. He then continues: Hw ' "All these separate items, evidentiary facts, are ordinary testimony.- KX Mary and Martha were perfectly competent witnesses to know and to HrM testify to the sickness, death and burial of Lazarus, and that he had been II B dead and buried four days before Jesus had the tomb opened. The JS jjT neighbors of Mary and Martha were also competent witnesses to know V. j and testify to the death and sepulture of Lazarus. All of them, and John, . who wrote the document, were competent to observe and testify to the ', transactions detailed that took place at the tomb when Lazarus came j ;., forth from it alive, and that he continued alive. -Jj , "Each and all the items of evidence are of matters plain and simple ' ij ' in their nature, easily seen, and capable of being readily and accurately ii 4 observed, scrutinized, comprehended, and detailed in testimony by 5 V witnesses who are of ordinary capacity and observation. The amount of A . competent evidence is abundant, uniiupeached and uncontradicted. i ? "THE RESULT OF A TRIAL. '3 ; "The evidence would require, at tho hands of a jury, a verdict j embodying these facts: (1) That Lazarus was dead; (2) that Jesus ' spoke over thc dead body of Lazarus the words, 'Lazarus, come forth,' T'f- and immediately Lazarus' dead body was alive; and (3) that Lazarus IIU, A came forth from the tomb alive, and continued alive. tj "A juror would violate his oath if he refused to find a verdict on , Mil , that evidence. A contrary verdict would be set aside by a court as not 'Mi only contrary to the evidence, but perverse. In short, the miraclo is ' J proved by competent evidence. '?l's "The fact that Lazarus was dead, and at the fiat words of Jesus ho J was immediately alive and continued alive, establishes the transaction U h j a miracle as tested by any standard definition; nnd the proof is by human testimony. fi i "It is undoubtedly a law of nature that the dead body of a man remain dead. It at once commences to decompose, continues to decom- IflM! poBe, and returns to dust. But Lazarus' dead body did not remain dead, ) did not return to dust, but became alive and continued to live. These 3 ,ij 4-, facts, thwarting, frustrating the operation of the laws of nature, were S k J clearly and abundantly proved by a multitude of competent witnesses if 'i by human testimony. I lj "This review of the law and evidence on the issue' tried Justifies the J jtl i conclusion that the miracles of the Bibles are capable or being proved, and are proved, by existing- available evidence evidence competent, jj . i proper, admissible under the rules and standards of tho science of 11 jurisprudence as administered In courts of justice of enlightened nations C t . of the earth; also the miracles of the Bible are verities tested by the same if ; standards by which fact and truth are established onSalliiuestlons between M man and man in which fact and truth depend on and are ascertain 1 and are established through evidence.'-' M ft i |
