A Golden Chain

¹The second appearance was to Mary Magdalen and to the other Mary, as they were going from the grave to tell his disciples: at which time, Christ meeteth them, and bids them go tell his brethren that he is risen again. And whereas Christ sendeth women to his disciples, he purposed hereby to check them for their unbelief. For these women forsook him not at his death, but stood by and saw him suffer, and when he was buried they came to embalm him: but all this while what became of Christs disciples? Surely Peter denied him, and all the rest fled away, even James and John the sons of thunder, save that John stood aloof to behold his death. Hereupon Christ to make them ashamed of their fault, sendeth these women unto them to publish that to them which they by their calling ought above all other to have published. Secondly this teacheth, that whereas Christ buildeth his kingdom and publisheth his Gospel by Apostles, Evangelists, Pastors, teachers, he can if it so please him, perform the same by other means. In this his second appearance, he used weak and silly women to publish his resurrection, and thereby shows that he is not bound to the ordinary means, which now he useth. Thirdly, he sent them to his disciples, to show, that howsoever they had dealt unfaithfully with him by forsaking him and denying him, yet he had not quite forsaken them, but if they would repent and believe, he would receive them into his love and favour again, and therefore calleth them his brethren, saying, Go and tell my brethren. This teacheth us a good lesson, that howsoever our sins past are to humble us in regard of our selves, yet must they not cut us off or dismay us from seeking to Christ; yea even then when we are laden with the burden of them, we must come unto him, and he will ease us. Fourthly whereas silly women are sent to teach Christs disciples,² which were scholars brought up in his own school, we are admonished, that superiority in place and calling, must not hinder us sometime to hear and to be taught of our inferiors. Job saith, he never refused the counsel of his servant: and Naaman the Syrian obeyed the counsel of a silly maid which advised him to go to the Prophet of the Lord in Samaria to be cured of his leprosy:³

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