MR. BROWN 'S THIRD REPLY. 185 



The " day of rejoicing" understood. The " eighth" day. Townsend's commeut. 



witli them. Then came Jesus, the dobrs being shut, and 

 stood in the midst, and said, peace be unto you/' The 

 phrase " after eight days/' is supposed by W. B. T. to 

 designate one more day than a week. (p. 93.) But this is 

 contrary to Jewish usage, as well as Christian. As well might 

 he object to Christ's resurrection on the tliird day, from the 

 phrase " after ihree days I will rise again.^' (Matt. xxvii. 63, 

 64.) Yet the Jews themselves understood by this phrase 

 " the tliird day,^' and not the fourtli, as we would be apt to 

 do. The truth iSj in such phrases, a part of the day preceding 

 the point of reckoning is included. The " eighth day^' is a 

 well-known proverbial expression for the day following the 

 Jewish Sabbath, that is, for the first day of the week. So 

 this text has been understood from the beginning, unless I am 

 deceived. So Hammond, GtILL, Doddridge, and others un- 

 derstood it. Townsend, the learned Harmoni st, says on this 

 passage : " The first appearances of our Lord to his Apostles 

 appear to have tåken place uniformly on the first day of the 

 week ] and from their consequent observance of that day, ori- 

 ginated the Christian Sabbath." Such, also, is the opinion of 

 John Bunyan. But the context greatly strengthens this 

 opinion. It clearly indicates that Jesus did not appear after 

 the day of His resurrection until this day, and then chiefly to 

 remove the doubts of Thomas. But wliy wait a full loeek to 

 do this, unless to honor the weekly Sabbath, and to establish 

 the change of the day to commemorate His resurrection ? 

 This supposition, and this alone, harmoni zes with all the 

 previous evidence to the same point. On this First day, He 

 rode as King into Jerusalem ; on the First day, He rose from 

 the dead ; on the First day. He removed the last doubt from 

 the mind of His most incredulous Apostle. Thus was the 

 day made sacred. 



But a higher honor still was in store for this day. The day 

 of Pentecost, it is well known, was always on the First day of 

 the week. (^Lev. xxiii. 15 — 21.) To this day, the ascended 



16* 



