Redemption—The Teaching of Christ
4Red - Redemption: or the Teachings of Christ, the Anointed
One (1877)
NOTE TO THE READER.
THIS LITTLE
BOOK IS PRESENTED TO THE PUBLIC AS AN ASSISTANCE IN
STUDYING THE DIVINE TEACHINGS OF CHRIST AS CONTAINED IN THE BIBLE. THE WRITER,
HAVING SPENT MANY YEARS IN THE STUDY OF THOSE SACRED LESSONS, AIDED BY THE
SPECIAL ENLIGHTENMENT OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD, IS PECULIARLY QUALIFIED TO SET
FORTH THEIR GREAT TRUTHS, AND THEIR PRACTICAL APPLICATION TO THE SIMPLE DUTIES
OF LIFE.
PUBLISHERS.
The
Teachings of Christ.
-
Jesus at Nazareth.
Soon after the
temptation of Christ in the wilderness, and the victories he there gained over
Satan, he presented himself in his true character at Nazareth, where he was
known as an unpretending mechanic. He entered the synagogue upon the Sabbath.
As was customary, the elder read from the prophets, and exhorted the people to
continue to hope for the Coming One, who would bring in a glorious reign, and
subdue all oppression. He sought to animate the faith and courage of the Jews,
by rehearsing the evidences of Messiah's soon coming, dwelling especially upon
the kingly power and glorious majesty that would attend his advent. He kept
before his hearers the idea that the reign of Christ would be upon an earthly
throne in Jerusalem, and his kingdom would be a temporal one. He taught them
that Messiah would appear at the head of armies, to conquer the heathen and
deliver Israel from the oppression of their enemies. {4Red
3.1}
At the close
of the service, Jesus rose with calm dignity, and requested them to bring him
the book of the prophet Esaias. "And when he had
opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel
to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance
to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them
that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And
he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the
eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This
day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all bare
him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his
mouth." {4Red 3.2}
The scripture
which Jesus read was understood by all to refer to the coming Messiah and his
work. And when the Saviour explained the words he had read, and pointed out the
sacred office of the Messiah,--a reliever of the oppressed, a liberator of the
captives, a healer of the afflicted, restoring sight to the blind, and
revealing to the world the light of truth,--the people were thrilled with the
wisdom and power of his words and responded to them with fervent amens and praises to the Lord. Jesus had not been educated in the school of the
prophets, yet the most learned Rabbis could not speak with more confidence and
authority than did this young Galilean. {4Red 4.1}
His impressive
manner, the mighty import of his words, and the divine light that emanated from
his countenance, thrilled the people with a power they had never experienced
before, as Jesus stood before them, a living expositor of the prophet's words
concerning himself. But when he announced: "This
day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears," the minds of his hearers
were brought back to consider what were this man's claims to
the Messiahship--the highest position that man could
occupy. {4Red 4.2}
The interest
of the congregation had been thoroughly awakened, and their hearts had been
stirred with joy; but Satan was at hand to suggest doubts and unbelief, and
they remembered who it was that addressed them as the blind, and the captives
in bondage who needed special aid. Many of those present were acquainted with
the humble life of Jesus, as the son of a carpenter, working at his trade with
his father Joseph. He had made no claims to
distinction or greatness, and his home was among the poor and lowly. {4Red5.1}
In marked
contrast with this humble man was the expected Messiah of the Jews. They
believed that he would come with honor and glory, and set up, by power of arms,
the throne of David. And they murmured: This cannot be the One who is to redeem
Israel. Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? And they refused to believe him unless he gave them some
marked sign. They opened their hearts to
unbelief, and prejudice took possession of them, and blinded their judgment, so
that they made no account of the evidence already given when their hearts had
thrilled with the knowledge that it was their Redeemer who addressed them. {4Red 5.2}
But Jesus now showed
them a sign of his divine character by revealing the secrets of their minds.
"And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto
me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself; whatsoever we have heard done in
6
Capernaum, do also here in thy country. And he said,
Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell
you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias,
when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was
throughout all the land; but unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto
Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were
in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and
none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian." {4Red
5.3}
Jesus read the
inmost thoughts of those who were before him, and met their questioning with
this relation of events in the lives of the prophets. Those men whom God had chosen for a special and important
work were not allowed to labor for a
hard-hearted and unbelieving people. But those who had hearts to feel, and
faith to believe, were specially favored with evidences of God's power
displayed through his prophets. {4Red 6.1}
By the apostasy
of Israel in Elijah's day, Jesus illustrated the true state of the people whom
he was addressing. The unbelief and self-exaltation of the ancient Jewish
nation caused God to pass over the many widows in Israel, and the poor and
afflicted there, to find an asylum for his servant among a heathen people, and
to place him in the care of a heathen woman; but she who was thus especially favored had
lived in strict accordance with the light she possessed. God also passed over the many lepers of Israel, because their
unbelief and abuse of precious privileges placed them in a position where he
could not manifest his power in their behalf. On
the other hand, a heathen nobleman, who had lived faithful to his
7
convictions of right, and fully up to his highest privileges, but
who felt his great need of help, and whose heart opened to receive the lessons
of Christ, was, in the sight of God, more worthy of his special favors, and was cleansed from his leprosy, as well as
enlightened in regard to divine truth. {4Red 6.2}
Here Jesus
taught an important lesson that should be received by all who profess his name
to the end of time. It was this: That even
the heathen, who live according to the best light they have, doing right so far
as they are able to distinguish right from wrong, are regarded with greater
favor by God than those who, having great light, make high pretensions to
godliness, but whose daily lives contradict their profession. Thus Jesus stood before the Jews, calmly revealing their
secret thoughts, and pressing home upon them the bitter truth of their
unrighteousness. Every word cut like a knife as their corrupt lives and wicked
unbelief were laid before them. They now scorned the faith and reverence with
which Jesus had at first inspired them, and they refused to acknowledge that
this man, who had sprung from poverty and lowliness, was other than a common
man. They would own no king who came
unattended by riches and honor, and who stood not at the head of imposing
legions. {4Red
7.1}
Their unbelief
bred malice. Satan controlled their minds, and they cried out against the
Saviour with wrath and hatred. The assembly broke up, and the wicked people
laid hands upon Jesus, thrusting him from the synagogue, and out of their city,
and would have killed him if they had been able to do so. All seemed eager for
his destruction. They hurried him to
8
the brow of a steep precipice, intending to cast him
headlong from it. Shouts and maledictions filled the air. Some were casting
stones and dirt at him; but suddenly he disappeared out of their midst, they
knew not how, or when. Angels of God
attended Jesus in the midst of that infuriated mob, and preserved his life. The heavenly messengers were by his side in the
synagogue, while he was speaking; and they accompanied him when pressed and
urged on by the unbelieving, infuriated Jews. These angels blinded the eyes of
that maddened throng, and conducted Jesus to a place of safety. {4Red 7.2}
Nicodemus Comes to Christ
The great
authority Jesus had assumed in the temple, in condemning the practices of the
Jewish dignitaries, was freely commented upon by Pharisees, priests, and
elders. His appearance, and the tones of his voice, together
with the irresistible power he had exercised over the multitude, were
such as to lead many of them to believe that he was indeed the Messiah whom
they had so long expected and desired to see. {4Red
8.1}
A portion of
the Jews had ever been fearful of opposing one who seemed to possess any
remarkable power or seemed to be influenced by God's Spirit. Many messages had been given to Israel by the mouths of
prophets. Yet some of these holy men had been slain through the instigation of
the leaders in Israel, because they had denounced the sins of those in
authority. The captivity of the Jews to a heathen nation, was their punishment for
refusing to be reproved of their iniquities, slighting the warnings of God,
9
and folding their sins still closer to their hearts. {4Red 8.2}
The Jews, in
the days of Christ, lamented their humiliation to the Romans, and condemned the
acts of their fathers in stoning the prophets who were sent to correct them.
Yet their priests and elders cherished the spirit in their hearts which would
lead them to commit the same crimes. {4Red 9.1}
The
dignitaries of the temple consulted together in regard to the conduct of Jesus,
and what course was best for them to pursue. One of their number, Nicodemus,
advised moderation both in their feelings and acts. He argued that, if Jesus
was really invested with authority from God, it would be perilous to reject his
warnings, and the manifestations of his power. He could not look upon him as an
impostor, nor join the rest of the Pharisees in their derision of him. He himself
had seen and heard Jesus, and his mind was much disturbed in consequence. He anxiously perused the scrolls containing the
prophecies relating to the coming of the Messiah. He sought earnestly for clear
light upon the subject, and the more he searched the stronger was his
conviction that this man was the one described by the prophets. If he was indeed the Christ, then this was an eventful
epoch in the history of the world and especially of the Jewish nation. {4Red 9.2}
During the
entire day after Christ had cleansed the desecrated courts of the temple, he
was healing the sick and relieving the afflicted. Nicodemus had seen with what
pitying compassion he had received and ministered unto the poor and the
oppressed. With the demeanor of a loving father
toward his suffering children, he had
10
wrought cures and removed sorrow. No suppliant was sent
unrelieved from his presence. Mothers were made glad by the restoration of their
babes to health, and voices of thanksgiving had taken the
place of weeping and moans of pain. All day, Jesus had instructed the
restless, curious people, reasoning with the scribes and silencing the caviling of the haughty rulers by the wisdom of his words. Nicodemus, after seeing and hearing these wonderful
things, and after searching the prophecies that pointed to Jesus as the
looked-for Messiah, dared not disbelieve that he was sent of God. {4Red 9.3}
When night came on, Jesus, pale with the weariness of his
long-continued labors, sought for retirement and
repose in the Mount of Olives. Here Nicodemus found him and desired a
conference. This man was rich and honored of the Jews. He was famous throughout
Jerusalem for his wealth, his learning and benevolence, and especially for his
liberal offerings to the temple to carry out its sacred services. He was also
one of the prominent members of the national council. Yet when he came into the
presence of Jesus, a strange agitation and timidity assailed him, which he
essayed to conceal beneath an air of composure and dignity. {4Red 10.1}
He endeavored to appear as if it were an act of condescension
on the part of a learned ruler, to seek, uninvited, an audience with a young
stranger at that unseasonable hour of night. He began with a conciliating
address, "Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no man
can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be
with him." But instead of acknowledging this complimentary salutation,
Jesus bent his
11
calm and searching eye upon the speaker, as if reading his
very soul; then, with a sweet and solemn voice, he spoke and revealed the true
condition of Nicodemus. "Verily, verily I say unto you, Except
a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."{4Red 10.2}
The Pharisee
was surprised out of his self-possession by these words, the meaning of which
he partially comprehended; for he had heard John the Baptist preach repentance
and baptism, and also the coming of One who should baptize with the Holy Ghost.
Nicodemus had long felt that there was a want of spirituality among the Jews;
that bigotry, pride, and worldly ambition guided their actions in a great
measure. He had hoped for a better state of things when the Messiah should
come. But he was looking for a Saviour who would set up a temporal throne in
Jerusalem, and who would gather the Jewish nation under his standard, bringing
the Roman power into subjection by force of arms. {4Red
11.1}
This learned
dignitary was a strict Pharisee. He had prided himself upon his own good works
and exalted piety. He considered his daily
life perfect in the sight of God, and was startled to hear Jesus speak of a
kingdom too pure for him to see in his present state. His mind misgave him, yet
he felt irritated by the close application of the words to his own case, and he
answered as if he had understood them in the most literal sense, "How can
a man be born when he is old?" {4Red 11.2}
Jesus, with
solemn emphasis, repeated, "Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit, he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God." The words of Jesus could
12
no longer be misunderstood. His listener well knew that he referred to
water baptism and the grace of God. The power
of the Holy Spirit transforms the entire man. This change constitutes the new birth. {4Red 11.3}
Many of the
Jews had acknowledged John as a prophet sent of God, and had received baptism
at his hands unto repentance; meanwhile he had plainly taught them that his
work and mission was to prepare the way for Christ, who was the greater light,
and would complete the work which he had begun. Nicodemus had meditated upon
these things, and he now felt convinced that he was in the presence of that One
foretold by John. {4Red 12.1}
Said Jesus,
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye
must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the
sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is
every one that is born of the Spirit." Jesus
here seeks to impress upon Nicodemus the positive necessity of the influence of
the Spirit of God upon the human heart to purify it preparatory to the
development of a righteous and symmetrical character. "Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders,
adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies."
This fountain of the heart being purified, the stream thereof becomes pure. {4Red 12.2}
This new birth
looks mysterious to Nicodemus. He asks, "How can these things be?"
Jesus, bidding him marvel not, uses the wind as an illustration of his meaning.
It is heard among the branches of the trees, and rustling the leaves and
flowers, yet it is invisible to the eye, and
13
from whence it comes and whither it goeth, no man knoweth. So is the experience of every one who is born of the
Spirit. The mind is an invisible agent of God to produce tangible results. Its
influence is powerful, and governs the actions of men. If purified from all
evil, it is the motive power of good. The regenerating Spirit of God, taking
possession of the mind, transforms the life; wicked thoughts are put away, evil
deeds are renounced, love, peace, and humility take the place of anger, envy,
and strife. That power which no human eye can see, has
created a new being in the image of God. {4Red 12.3}
The necessity
of the new birth was not so strongly impressed upon Nicodemus as the manner of
its accomplishment. Jesus reproves him, asking if he, a master and teacher in
Israel, an expounder of the prophecies, can be ignorant of these things. Has he
read those sacred writings in vain, that he has failed to understand from them
that the
heart must be cleansed from its natural defilement by the Spirit of God before
it can be fit for the kingdom of Heaven? Christ
made no reference here to the resurrection of the body from the grave, when a
nation shall be born in a day, but he was speaking in regard to the inward work of grace upon the unregenerate heart. {4Red 13.1}
He had just
been engaged in cleansing the temple, by driving from its sacred courts those
who had degraded it to a place of traffic and extortion. Not one who had fled
that day from the presence of Jesus was fitted by the grace of God to be
connected with the sacred services of the temple. True, there were some
honorable men among the Pharisees, who deeply regretted the evils that were
corrupting the Jewish nation
14
and desecrating its religious rites. They also saw that
traditions and useless forms had taken the place of true holiness, but they
were powerless to prevent these growing evils. {4Red
13.2}
Jesus had
commenced his work by striking directly at the selfish, avaricious spirit of
the Jews, showing that while professing to be the children of Abraham they
refused to follow his example. They were zealous for an external appearance of
righteousness while they neglected internal holiness. They were sticklers
for the letter of the law, while they grossly transgressed its spirit every
day. The law forbade hatred and theft, yet Christ declared that the Jews had
made his Father's house a den of thieves. The great necessity of the people was a new
moral birth, a removal of the sins that polluted them, a renewal of true
knowledge and genuine holiness. {4Red 14.1}
This purifying
of the temple illustrates the work that must be accomplished in every one who
would rejoice secure eternal life. Patiently
Jesus unfolded the plan of salvation to Nicodemus, showing him how the Holy Spirit
brings light and transforming power to every soul that is born of the Spirit. Like the wind, which
is invisible-- yet the effects of which are plainly seen and felt--is the
baptism of the Spirit of God upon the heart, revealing
itself in every action of him who experiences its saving power. {4Red 14.2}
He explained
how Christ, the burden-bearer, lifts the burden from the oppressed soul, and
bids it in deliverance from bondage. Joy takes the place of sadness, and the
countenance reflects the light of Heaven. Yet no one sees the hand that lifts
the burden, nor beholds the light
15
descend from the courts of God. The
blessing comes when the soul, by faith, surrenders itself to the Lord. This
mystery exceeds human knowledge, yet he who thus passes from death to life
realizes that it is a divine truth. {4Red 14.3}
The conversion
of the soul through faith in Christ was but dimly comprehended by Nicodemus,
who had been accustomed to consider cold formality and rigid services as true
religion. The great Teacher explained that his mission upon earth was not to
set up a temporal kingdom, emulating the pomp and display of the world, but to
establish the reign of peace and love, to bring men to the Father through the
mediatorial agency of his Son. {4Red 15.1}
Nicodemus was
bewildered. Said Jesus, "If I have told you earthly things and ye believe
not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly
things?" If Nicodemus could not receive his teachings illustrating the work
of grace upon the human heart, as represented by the figure of the wind, how
could he comprehend the character of his glorious heavenly kingdom should he
explain it to him? Not discerning the nature of Christ's work on earth, he
could not understand his work in Heaven. Jesus referred Nicodemus to the
prophecies of David and Ezekiel:-- {4Red 15.2}
"And I
will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will
take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh;
that they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them; and
they shall be my people, and I will be their God." "And they shall
come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and
all the abominations thereof from thence."
16
"Therefore, I will judge you, O house of Israel,
every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions;
so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast
away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make
you a new heart and a new spirit." "Create in me a clean heart, O
God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence;
and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;
and uphold me with thy free Spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways;
and sinners shall be converted unto thee." "A new heart also will I
give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the
stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." {4Red 15.3}
The learned
Nicodemus had read these pointed prophecies with a clouded mind, but now he
began to comprehend their true meaning, and to understand that even a man as
just and honorable as himself must experience a new birth through Jesus Christ,
as the only condition upon which he could be
saved, and secure an entrance into the kingdom of God. Jesus spoke
positively that unless a man is born again he cannot discern the kingdom which
Christ came upon earth to set up. Rigid
precision in obeying the law would entitle no man to enter the kingdom of
Heaven. {4Red 16.1}
There must be a
new birth, a new mind through the operation of the Spirit of God, which
purifies the life and ennobles the character.
This connection with God fits man for the
glorious kingdom of Heaven. No human invention
17
can ever find a remedy for the sinning soul. Only by repentance and humiliation, a submission to the
divine requirements, can the work of grace be performed. Iniquity is so offensive in the sight of God, whom the sinner has so
long insulted and wronged, that a repentance
commensurate with the character of the sins committed often produces an agony
of spirit hard to bear. {4Red 16.2}
Nothing less
than a practical acceptance and application of divine truth opens the kingdom
of God to man. Only a pure and lowly heart, obedient and loving, firm in the
faith and service of the Most High, can enter there. Jesus also declares that as "Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
eternal life." The serpent in the
wilderness was lifted upon a pole before the people, that all who had been
stung unto death by the fiery serpent might look upon this brazen serpent, a
symbol of Christ, and be instantly healed.
But they must look in faith, or it would be of no avail. Just so must men look
upon the Son of Man as their Saviour unto eternal life.
Man had separated himself from God by sin. Christ brought his divinity to earth, veiled by
humanity, in order to rescue man from his lost condition. Human nature is
vile, and man's character must be changed before it can harmonize with the pure
and holy in God's immortal kingdom. This transformation is the new birth. {4Red 17.1}
If man by faith takes hold of the divine
love of God, he becomes a new creature through Christ Jesus. The world is
overcome, human nature is
18
subdued, and Satan is
vanquished. In this important sermon to
Nicodemus, Jesus unfolded before this noble Pharisee the whole plan of
salvation, and his mission to the world. In none of his subsequent discourses
did the Saviour explain so thoroughly, step by step, the work necessary to be
done in the human heart, if it would inherit the kingdom of Heaven. He traced
man's salvation directly to the love of the Father, which led him to give his
Son unto death that man might be saved. {4Red 17.2}
Jesus was
acquainted with the soil into which he cast the seeds of truth. For three years
there was little apparent fruit. Nicodemus
was never an enemy to Jesus, but he did not publicly acknowledge him. He
was weighing matters with an exactitude that accorded with his nature. He
watched the life-work of Jesus with intense interest. He pondered over his
teachings and beheld his mighty works. The raising of Lazarus from the dead was
an evidence of his Messiahship that could not be
disputed in the mind of the learned Jew. {4Red 18.1}
Once, when the
Sanhedrim council was planning the most effectual way of bringing about the
condemnation and death of Jesus, his authoritative voice was heard in protest,
" Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he
doeth?" This brought a sharp rebuff from the chief priest, "Art thou
also of Galilee? Search and look, for out of Galilee ariseth
no prophet." Yet the council dispersed, for they could not obtain a
unanimous assent to the condemnation of Jesus. {4Red
18.2}
The Jews
suspected both Joseph and Nicodemus of being in sympathy with the Teacher of
19
Galilee, and these men were not summoned when the council met
that decided the fate of Jesus. The words spoken at night to a single man in
the lonely mountain were not lost. When Nicodemus saw Jesus upon the cross,
hanging like a malefactor between heaven and earth, yet praying for his
murderers; when he witnessed the commotion of nature, in that awful hour when
the sun was hidden and the earth reeled in space, when the rocks were split in
sunder and the vail of the temple rent in twain; then he remembered the solemn
teaching in the mountain: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." {4Red 18.3}
The scales
fell from his eyes, and faith took the place of doubt and uncertainty. Beams of
light streamed from the secret interview in the mountain and illuminated the
cross of the Saviour. In that time of discouragement and danger, when the
hearts of the disciples were failing them through doubt and fear, Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus, came forward and
obtained the Lord's body from Pilate, and Nicodemus, who at the first came to
Jesus by night, brought a hundred pounds' weight of myrrh and aloes. These two
men with their own hands performed the last sacred rites, and laid the body of
the Saviour in a new sepulcher where never man lay before. These lofty rulers
of the Jews mingled their tears together over the sacred form of the dead. {4Red 19.1}
Now, when the
disciples were scattered and discouraged, Nicodemus came boldly to the front. He was rich, and he employed his wealth to sustain the
infant church of Christ, that the Jews thought would be blotted out with the
death of
20
Jesus. He who had been so cautious and questioning, now, in the
time of peril, was firm as the granite rock, encouraging the flagging faith of
the followers of Christ, and furnishing means to carry on the cause. He was defrauded, persecuted, and stigmatized by those
who had paid him reverence in other days. He became poor in this world's goods,
yet he faltered not in the faith that had its beginning in that secret night
conference with the young Galilean. {4Red 19.2}
Nicodemus
related to John the story of that interview, and his inspired pen recorded it
for the instruction of millions. The vital truths there taught are as important
today as they were that solemn night in the shadowy mountain, when the mighty
Jewish ruler came to learn the way of life from the lowly carpenter of Nazareth.
{4Red 20.1}
"When
therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and
baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus himself baptized not, but his
disciples), he left Judea, and departed again into Galilee." {4Red 20.2}
The prejudice
of the Jews was aroused because the
disciples of Jesus did not use the exact words of John in the rite of baptism. John baptized unto repentance, but the disciples of
Jesus, on profession of the faith, baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. The teachings of John were in perfect harmony with those of Jesus,
yet his disciples became jealous for fear his influence was diminishing. A
dispute arose between them and the disciples of Jesus in regard to the form of
words proper to use at baptism, and finally as to the right of the latter to
baptize at all. {4Red 20.3}
John's
disciples came to him with their
21
grievances, saying, "Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond
Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men
come to him." John possessed the common infirmities of human nature. In
this matter he was subjected to a severe trial. His influence as the prophet of
God had been greater than any other man's, until the ministry of Christ
commenced; but the fame of this new teacher was drawing the attention of all
people, and in consequence, the popularity of John was waning. His disciples
brought to him the true statement of the case, Jesus baptizeth, and all men
come to him. {4Red 20.4}
John stood in
a dangerous position; had he justified the jealousy of his disciples by a word
of sympathy or encouragement in their murmurings, a serious division would have
been created. But the noble and unselfish spirit of the prophet shone forth in
the answer he gave to his followers:-- {4Red 21.1}
"A man
can receive nothing, except it be given him from Heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am
sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of
the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of
the bridegroom's voice; this my joy therefore is
fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease."{4Red
21.2}
Had John
manifested disappointment or grief at being superseded by Jesus; had he allowed
his sympathies to be aroused in his own favor, when he perceived that his power
over the people was waning; had he for a moment lost sight of his mission in
this hour of temptation, the result would have been disastrous to the
establishment
22
of the Christian church. The seeds of dissension would have been sown,
anarchy would have sprung up, and the cause of God would have languished for
want of proper workers. {4Red 21.3}
But John,
irrespective of personal interest, stood up in defense of Jesus, testifying to
his superiority as the Promised One of Israel, whose way he had come to
prepare. He identified himself fully with the cause of Christ, and declared
that his greatest joy was in its success. Then, rising above all worldly
considerations, he gave this remarkable testimony--almost the counterpart of
that which Jesus had given to Nicodemus in their secret interview:-- {4Red 22.1}
"He that
cometh from above is above all; he that is of the earth is earthly,
and speaketh of the earth; he that cometh from Heaven is above all. And what he
hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man
receiveth his testimony. He that hath received his testimony hath set to his
seal that God is true. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God; for
God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and
hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath
everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the
wrath of God abideth on him." {4Red 22.2}
What a sermon
was this to the Pharisees, clearing the way for the ministry of Christ. The
same spirit that actuated Jesus, controlled the mind
of John the Baptist. Their testimony corresponded; their lives were given to the same
reformatory work. The prophet points to
the Saviour as the Sun of Righteousness rising with splendor,
and soon to eclipse his own light, then
23
growing pale and dim in the glory of a greater light. John, by
his unselfish joy in the successful ministry of Jesus, presents to the world
the truest type of nobility ever exhibited by mortal man. It carries a lesson
of submission and self-sacrifice to those whom God has placed in responsible
positions. It teaches them never to appropriate to themselves undue honor, nor
let the spirit of rivalry disgrace the cause of God. The true Christian should
vindicate the right at the expense of all personal considerations. {4Red 22.3}
The news that
had been carried to John concerning the success of Jesus, was also borne to
Jerusalem, and there created against him jealousy, envy, and hatred. Jesus knew
the hard hearts and darkened minds of the Pharisees, and that they would spare
no pains to create a division between his own disciples and those of John that
would greatly injure the work, so he quietly ceased to baptize and withdrew to Galilee. He knew that the
storm was gathering which was soon to sweep away the noblest prophet God had
ever given to the world. He wished to avoid all division of feeling in the
great work before him, and, for the time, removed from that region for the
purpose of allaying all excitement detrimental to the cause of God. {4Red 23.1}
Here is a
lesson to the followers of Christ, that they should take every proper
precaution to avoid disagreement; for in every division of interest, resulting
in disputation and unhappy differences in the church, souls are lost that might
have been saved in the kingdom of Heaven. In the occurrence of a religious
crisis, leading men who profess to be God's instruments should follow the
example of the great Master and that of
24
the noble prophet John. They should stand firm and united in
defense of the truth, while they carefully labor to avoid all injurious
dissensions. {4Red
23.2}
The Woman of Samaria
As Jesus
pursued his way to Galilee, his course lay through Samaria. He embraced every
opportunity to teach as he traveled on foot from place to place. The Saviour
was weary, and he sat on Jacob's well to rest, while his disciples went in
search of food with which to refresh themselves and their Master. As he sat
there alone, a woman of Samaria drew near as if unconscious of his presence;
but his eye was upon her, and after she had drawn the water he asked her to
give him a drink. {4Red 24.1}
The Samaritan
woman was surprised at this request from a Jew, and answered, "How is it
that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am
a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with
the Samaritans." Jesus answered, "If thou knewest the gift of God,
and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of
him, and he would have given thee living water." He here referred
to the divine grace which he alone could bestow, and which is as living water,
purifying, refreshing, and invigorating the soul. {4Red 24.2}
But the
woman's understanding did not comprehend the meaning of Christ; she supposed
that he was speaking of the well before them, and answered, "Sir, thou
hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; from whence then hast thou
that living water? Art thou greater than
25
our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof
himself?" She saw before her only a weary, thirsty traveler, wayworn and dusty; and her mind instinctively compared this
humble stranger with the great and worthy Jacob. {4Red
24.3}
Jesus did not
immediately satisfy the woman in regard to himself, but with solemn earnestness
said, "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall
thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water
that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him
shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." {4Red 25.1}
The woman looked
upon him with wondering attention; he had succeeded in arousing her interest
and inspiring respect for himself. She now perceived that it was not the water
of Jacob's well to which Jesus alluded, for of this she used continually,
drinking, and thirsting again. With
remarkable faith she asked him to give her the water of which he spoke, that
she might not thirst nor come to draw from the well. {4Red 25.2}
Jesus did not
intend to convey the idea that simply one draught of the water of life would satisfy
the receiver, but that whoever is united with Christ,
has within his soul a living fountain from which to draw strength and grace
sufficient for all emergencies. Words and deeds of righteousness flow from it
and refresh the hearts of others, as well as the soul from which it springs.
Jesus Christ, the never-failing source of this fountain, cheers the life and
brightens the path of all who come to him for aid. Love to God, the satisfying
hope of Heaven, springs up in good works unto eternal life. {4Red 25.3}
Jesus now
abruptly changed the subject of
26
conversation, and bade her call her husband. The woman answered
frankly that she had no husband. Jesus had now approached the desired point
where he could convince her that he had the power to read her life history,
although previously unacquainted with her. He addressed her thus: "Thou
hast well said, I have no husband; for thou hast had five husbands; and he whom
thou now hast is not thy husband; in that saidst thou truly." {4Red 25.4}
Jesus had a
double object in view; he wished to arouse her conscience as to the sin of her
manner of life, as well as to prove to her that a sight wiser than human eyes
had read the secrets of her life. But the woman, although not fully realizing
the guilt of her manner of living, was greatly astonished that this stranger
should possess such knowledge. With profound reverence she said, "Sir, I
perceive that thou art a prophet." Her personal feelings were now lost in
anxiety concerning religious matters. She proceeded, "Our fathers
worshiped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where
men ought to worship." {4Red 26.1}
Just in sight was Mount Gerizim, its temple demolished, and only the altar
remaining. The place of worship had been a subject of contention between the
Jews and Samaritans. The latter people had once belonged to Israel, but had
become divided from them because of their transgressions in neglecting to obey
the statutes of God. The Lord suffered them
to be overcome by an idolatrous nation, whose religion had gradually
contaminated their own. Still preserving
their reverence for the true God, they
27
represented him by images of wood and stone, before which they bowed
in worship. {4Red 26.2}
When the temple
was rebuilt at Jerusalem, the Samaritans wished to join the Jews in its
erection. This privilege was refused them, and, in consequence, a bitter
animosity sprang up between the two people, which resulted in the Samaritans
building a rival temple on Mount Gerizim, where they worshiped according to the
ceremonies that God gave unto Moses, but
mingled with their worship the taint of idolatry. But disasters attended the Samaritans, their temple was
destroyed by the enemy, and they seemed to be under a curse. {4Red 27.1}
They were
forced to believe that God was punishing them for their apostasy. They
determined to reform, and solicited teachers from the Jews to instruct them in
the true religion. Through this teaching, their views of God and his requirements
became clearer, and their religious service resembled more nearly that of the
Jews. But to a certain degree they still clung to their idolatry, and there was
a lack of harmony between them and the Jews. The Samaritans would not respect
the temple of worship at Jerusalem, and refused to admit that it was the true
place of worship. {4Red 27.2}
Jesus answered
the woman by saying that the time was at hand when they should neither worship
the Father in that mountain nor in Jerusalem. Said he, "Ye worship ye know
not what; we know what we worship; for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship
the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
God is a Spirit;
28
and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in
truth." {4Red 27.3}
This was a
plain statement that the Jews were more nearly correct in the principles of
their religion than any other nation. Jesus also alluded to the faith of the
Samaritans being amalgamated with the worship of graven images. True, they held that these idols were only to remind them
of the living God, the Ruler of the universe; but, nevertheless, the people
were led to reverence these inanimate figures. {4Red 28.1}
Jesus, who was
the foundation of the old dispensation, identified himself with the Jews,
sanctioning their views of God and his government. He opened great and
important truths before this woman. He declared to her that the time had
arrived when the true worshipers need not seek a holy mountain nor sacred temple, but were to worship the Father in spirit
and in truth. Religion was not to be
confined to external forms and ceremonies, but was to be throned
in the heart, purifying the life and actuating to good works.{4Red 28.2}
The words of
truth that fell from the lips of the divine Teacher stirred the heart of his
listener Never had she heard such sentiments, either
from the priests of her own people or the Jews. The impressive teachings of
this stranger carried her mind back to the prophecies concerning the promised
Christ; for the Samaritans as well as the Jews looked for his coming. "I
know that Messias cometh," said she; "when
he is come, he will tell us all things." Jesus answered, "I that
speak unto thee am he." {4Red 28.3}
Blessed woman
of Samaria! She had felt during the conference as if in the presence of
29
divinity; now she gladly acknowledged her Lord. She required of him no miracle, as did the Jews, to prove
his divine character. She accepted his assertion, feeling perfect confidence in
his words, and not questioning the holy influence that emanated from him. {4Red 28.4}
The disciples,
returning from their errand, were surprised to find their Master conversing
with a Samaritan woman; yet they did not inquire her errand, nor ask Jesus why
he talked with her. The woman left her water-pot, forgetting her errand to the
well, and went her way into the city, saying to all whom she met, and the men
of the city, "Come, see a man who told me all
things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ?" {4Red
29.1}
This woman,
though so sinful, was still in a more favorable
condition to become an heir of Christ's kingdom than those of the Jews who made
exalted professions of piety, yet trusted their salvation to the observance of
outward forms and ceremonies. They felt that they needed no Saviour and no teacher. But this poor woman
hungered and thirsted after righteousness. She was eager for instruction,
waiting for the consolation of Israel, and ready to accept the Saviour when he
was revealed. Jesus, who explained not his character to the proud and skeptical Pharisees and rulers, declared himself to this
humble person who was ready to believe on him.{4Red 29.2}
As yet he had
not taken the refreshing draught that he desired, nor tasted the food that his
disciples had brought him. The salvation of perishing souls so absorbed his
attention that his physical wants were forgotten. But his followers anxiously
entreated him to eat. Still
30
contemplating the great object of his mission, he answered them,
"I have meat to eat that ye know not of." His disciples were
surprised, and began to wonder among themselves who could have brought him food
in their absence. But Jesus explained, "My meat is to do the will of Him
that sent me, and to finish his work." {4Red
29.3}
It was not
temporal food alone that sustained him in his arduous life; but the
accomplishment of the work which he left the royal courts of Heaven to perform,
strengthened him for his labors, and lifted him above the necessities of humanity. To minister to a soul hungering and
thirsting for the truth was more satisfying to the Son of Man than eating or
drinking. He pitied sinners; his heart went out in sympathy for the poor Samaritans,
who felt their ignorance and wretchedness, and were eagerly looking for the
advent of Messiah, who would enlighten them and teach them the true religion. {4Red 30.1}
The Jews felt
secure in their self-righteousness, they desired no enlightenment; but they looked for a Saviour who would release them from
the bondage of the Roman yoke, and exalt them above their oppressors. They could not
receive one who reproved their sins and condemned their selfish, hypocritical
lives. They
looked for a Messiah who would reign with worldly power and glory, confound and
defeat the Romans, and exalt the Jews to a nation of princes. {4Red 30.2}
Jesus saw a
field of labor among the Samaritans. Before him lay the
fields of grain, their tender green lit by the golden sunlight. Viewing
the beautiful scene, he employed it as a symbol, "Say not ye there are yet four months, and then
31
cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and
look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." He here
referred to the gospel field, to the work of Christianity among the poor,
despised Samaritans. His hand reached out to gather them into the garner; they
were ready for the harvest. {4Red 30.3}
The Saviour
was above all prejudice of nation or people; he was willing to extend the
blessings and privileges of the Jews to all who would accept the light which he
came to the world to bring. It caused him great joy to behold even one soul
reaching out to him from the night of spiritual blindness. That which Jesus had
withheld from the Jews and enjoined upon his disciples to keep secret, was
distinctly opened before the inquiring woman of Samaria; for He who knew all things perceived that she would make
a right use of her knowledge and be the means of leading others to the true
faith. {4Red 31.1}
It was not
merely the fact that Jesus told her concerning the secrets of her life which
inspired the confidence of this woman in him, but it was also his look and his solemn
words that reached her soul and convinced her that he was a superior being. At the same time she
felt that he was her friend, pitying and loving her. This is the character
of the world's Redeemer; while he condemned her life of sin, he directed her to
his divine grace as the sure and perfect remedy. The pitying love of the
Saviour is not confined to sect or party. {4Red 31.2}
As the woman
of Samaria hastened back to her friends, publishing as she went the wonderful
news, many left the highway and the town to go and ascertain if she indeed
spoke the truth. Numbers of the citizens left their employments
32
and hastened to Jacob's well to see and hear this remarkable
man. They surrounded Jesus and listened attentively to his instruction. They
plied him with questions, and eagerly received his explanation of matters that
had perplexed their understandings. They were like a people in great darkness
tracing up a sudden ray that had pierced their gloom and which they were eager
to follow to its source, that they might bask in the
light and warmth of day. {4Red 31.3}
The Samaritans
were attracted and interested by the teachings of Jesus. But they were not
satisfied with this short conference; they were anxious to hear more and to
have their fellow-citizens also listen to this wonderful teacher. They begged
him to tarry with them and instruct them. For two days he remained in Samaria
teaching the people. Many believed on him and accepted his words. Jesus was a Jew, yet he mingled freely with these
Samaritans, setting at naught the custom and bigotry of his nation. He had
already commenced to break down the partition wall between Jew and Gentile, and
preach salvation to the world. {4Red 32.1}
These
Samaritan listeners were in darkness and superstition; but they were not
contented with their condition, and the words of Jesus relieved them of many
doubts and uncertainties that had harassed their minds. Many who had come from
curiosity to see and hear this remarkable person were convicted of the truth of
his teachings, and acknowledge him as their Saviour. Eagerly they listened to
the words he spoke in reference to the kingdom of God. In their new joy they
said unto the woman, "Now we believe, not because of thy saying; for we
33
have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the
Christ, the Saviour of the world." {4Red 32.2}
Christ, at the
very beginning of his ministry, openly rebuked the superficial morality and
ostentatious piety of the Jews. He did not conform his
life and his work to their customs and regulations. He was not influenced by
their unreasonable prejudices against the Gentiles. He, on the contrary,
sternly rebuked their conceit and selfish seclusion. The Pharisees rejected
Christ. They ignored his miracles and the truthful simplicity of his character.
They refused to recognize his pure and elevated spirituality and all evidences
of his divinity. They scornfully demanded of him a sign that they might know
that he was indeed the Son of God. {4Red 33.1}
But the Samaritans asked no sign, and Jesus performed no
miracles among them; yet they received his teachings, were convicted of their
great need of a Saviour, and accepted him as their Redeemer. They were therefore in a much more favorable
position before God than the Jewish nation, with its pride and vanity, blind
bigotry, narrow prejudice, and bitter hatred of every other people on the
earth. Jesus, in face of all these prejudices, accepted the hospitality of this
despised people, slept under their roofs, ate with them at their
tables--partaking of the food prepared and served by their hands--taught in their
streets, and treated them with the greatest kindness and courtesy. {4Red 33.2}
In the temple
at Jerusalem there was a partition wall separating the outer court from the
inner one. Gentiles were permitted to enter the outer court, but it was only
lawful for the Jews to penetrate to the inner inclosure.
Had a
34
Samaritan passed this sacred boundary, the temple would
have been desecrated, and his life would have paid the penalty of its
pollution. But Jesus, who was virtually the foundation and originator of the
temple--the services and ceremonies of which were but a type of his great
sacrifice, pointing to him as the Son of God--encircled the Gentiles with his
human arm of sympathy and association, while, with his divine arm of grace and
power, he brought to them the salvation which the Jews refused to accept. {4Red 33.3}
Jesus had
spent several months in Judea, giving the rulers of Israel a fair opportunity
of proving his character as the Saviour of the world. He had performed many
mighty works in their midst; but he was still treated by them with suspicion
and jealousy. In passing through Samaria on his way to Galilee, his reception
among the Samaritans, and the eagerness with which they listened to his
teachings, were in marked contrast with the incredulity of the Jews, who had
misinterpreted the prophecies of Daniel, Zechariah, and Ezekiel, confusing the
first advent of Christ with his second majestic and glorious appearing. {4Red 34.1}
Their
blindness was in consequence of their lofty pride and arrogance, looking only
for worldly station and emolument. They urged their interpretation of the
prophecies upon the Samaritans, who believed that Messiah was to come not only
as a Redeemer of the Jews, but of the world. This caused great bitterness
toward them from the Jews, who contended that Christ would come to exalt Israel
and to bring into subjection all other nations. This perversion of the
prophecies led the Samaritans to discard all the sacred
35
writings but those of Moses. But their minds were open to
enlightenment, and they received the Saviour's instruction joyfully and
accepted him as the promised Messiah. {4Red 34.2}
Choosing the Disciples.
The disciples
had not yet fully joined themselves to Jesus to be co-laborers with him. They
had witnessed many of his miracles, and their minds had been enlightened by the
discourses they had heard from his lips; but they had not entirely left their
employment as fishermen. Their hearts were filled with grief by the death of
John, and they were troubled with conflicting thoughts. If the life of John had
been permitted to end so ingloriously, what would be the fate of their Master,
when the scribes and Pharisees were so bitter against him? Amid their doubt and
fear, it was a relief for them to return once more to their fishing, and, for a
brief space, find in their old employment a diversion from their anxiety. {4Red 35.1}
Jesus
frequently dismissed them to visit their homes and rest; but he gently though
firmly resisted all their entreaties that he should himself rest. At night he
found the seasons of prayer for which he could not claim time during the day.
While the world he had come to save was wrapped in slumber, the Redeemer, in
the sanctuary of the mountains, would intercede for man with the Father. Often he spent entire nights in prayer and meditation,
going back in the morning to his active work. {4Red 35.2}
It was morning
on the Sea of Galilee, and the fishermen were in their boats, weary with
36
a
long night of fruitless toil. But, with the dawn, Simon discovered the form of
Jesus walking upon the beach. He directed the attention of his disciples to
their beloved Teacher, and they all pulled for the shore. It seemed impossible
for the Saviour to obtain any retirement. Already the crowd had gathered
thickly about him as he walked on the shore. The sick and afflicted were
brought for him to relieve. At length the people had pressed so closely about
him that they scarcely left him comfortable standing-room. It was just at this
time that the fishermen were nearing the shore. Jesus requested Peter to take
him in his boat, and, immediately, upon entering it, directed the disciple to
pull out a little from the land. Then, being removed a short distance from the
people, he was in a better position to be seen and heard by them, and from the
boat upon the lake he preached in regard to the mysteries of the kingdom of
God. His language was simple and earnest, appealing to the minds of the people
with convincing power. {4Red 35.3}
The discourse
ended, Jesus turned to Peter and bade him launch out into the deep, and let
down his net for a draught. But Peter was thoroughly disheartened; not only was
he sorrowful because of the death of John the Baptist, and his mind tortured
with unbelief in consequence of that event, but he was discouraged in regard to
his temporal prospects. He had been unsuccessful in his fishing, and the past
night had been spent in unavailing labor. It was therefore in a desponding tone
that he replied to the command of Jesus: "Master, we have toiled all
night, and have taken nothing; nevertheless, at thy word I will let down the
net."
37
{4Red 36.1}
He called his
brother to his aid, and together they let down the net into the deep water, as
Jesus had directed. When they came to draw in the net they were unable to do so
because of the great quantity of fish it contained, and they were obliged to summon
James and John to their aid before they could draw in the net and unload it.
When this was done the boat was so heavily laden that there was danger of its
sinking. {4Red 37.1}
Peter had seen
Jesus perform wonderful miracles, but none made so strong an impression upon
his mind as this miraculous draught of fish, after a night of disappointment.
The unbelief and discouragement that had been oppressing the disciples through
the long, weary night, now gave way to awe and amazement. Peter was thrilled
with a sense of the divine power of his Master. He felt ashamed of his sinful
unbelief. He knew that he was in the presence of the Son of God, and felt
unworthy to be in such companionship. He impulsively flung himself at the feet
of Jesus, crying, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"
But even as he spoke, he was clinging to the feet of Jesus, and would not have
been willing for the Saviour to take him at his word, even if he had attempted
to do so. {4Red 37.2}
But Jesus
understood the conflicting emotions of the impetuous disciple, and said to him,
"Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men." Similar words were
afterward addressed to the three other fishermen, when they were all upon the
shore. As they were busily employed in mending their nets, which had been
broken by the great weight of the fish they had taken, Jesus said to them,
"Follow me, and I will make
38
you fishers of men." Immediately after this they left
their nets and boats and followed the Saviour. These humble fishermen
recognized the divine authority of Jesus, and forthwith gave up their regular
occupation and left their worldly possessions in obedience to the command of
their Lord. {4Red 37.3}
These four
disciples were more closely associated with Jesus in his earthly life than any
of the others. Christ, the light of the world, was abundantly able to qualify
these unlearned fishermen of Galilee for the high commission he had chosen for them.
The words spoken to these lowly men were of mighty signification; they were to
influence the world through all time. It seemed a simple thing for Jesus to
call those poor, discouraged men to follow him; but it was an event productive
of tremendous results; it was to shake the world. The quickening power of God,
enlightening the minds of those illiterate fishermen, was to enable them to
spread the doctrines of Christ far and wide, and others were to take up the
task, until it would reach all lands, and be taught in all ages, winning many
to salvation. Thus would the poor fishermen of Galilee be, indeed,
"fishers of men." {4Red 38.1}
Jesus did not
oppose education. The highest culture, if sanctified by the love and fear of
God, receives his approbation. An objection is sometimes brought against
education because Jesus chose ignorant fishermen for his disciples. But these
men were subject to his refining influence for three years, and the Saviour was
the most perfect educator the world has ever known. The Prince of Life did not
choose the learned lawyers, the scribes and elders, for his disciples, because
39
they would not follow him. Therefore he chose the humble
peasants for his helpers. The rich and educated among the Jews were exalted by
their own worldly wisdom and self-righteousness, and felt all-sufficient in themselves, realizing no special need of a Redeemer. Their
characters were fixed, and they would not receive the teachings of Christ. But
the humble fishermen were rejoiced to be connected with the Saviour, and become
co-laborers with him. {4Red 38.2}
As Jesus
passed on his way to Jerusalem, he saw Matthew engaged in his business of
tax-gathering. He was a Jew, but when he became a publican his brethren
despised him. The Jewish people were continually irritated on account of the
Roman yoke. That a despised and heathen nation should collect tribute of them
was a constant reminder that their power and glory as an independent nation had
departed. Their indignation knew no bounds when one of their own people so far
forgot the honor of his exalted race as to accept the office of tax-gatherer. {4Red 39.1}
Those who thus
assisted to sustain the Roman authority were considered apostate. The Jews
regarded it as degrading to associate in any way with a publican. They
considered the office identical with oppression and extortion. But the mind of
Jesus was not molded after the prejudices of the Pharisees. He looked below the
surface and read the heart. His divine eye saw in Matthew one whom he could use
for the establishment of his church. This man had listened to the teachings of
Christ, and had been attracted to him. His heart was full of reverence for the
Saviour, but the thought had never entered the mind of Matthew that this great
Teacher would
40
condescend to notice him, much less choose him as a disciple.
Therefore his astonishment was great when Jesus addressed him with the words,
"Follow me." {4Red 39.2}
Without a
doubtful murmur, or question as to his consequent pecuniary loss, Matthew rose
up and followed his Master, and united his interest with the few disciples of
Jesus. The despised publican felt that the Saviour had bestowed upon him an
honor which he did not deserve. He gave no thought to the lucrative business he
had exchanged for poverty and fatigue. It was enough that he would be in the
presence of Christ, that he could learn wisdom and goodness from his lips,
behold his marvelous works, and be a co-laborer with him in his arduous toil. {4Red
40.1}
Matthew was
wealthy, but he was willing to sacrifice all for his Master. He had many friends and acquaintances whom he was anxious
should become followers of Jesus, and he was desirous that they should have an
opportunity to meet him. He felt certain that they would be charmed with his
pure and simple doctrine, taught without ostentation or display. {4Red 40.2}
He accordingly
made a feast at his own house and called together his friends and relatives,
among whom were a number of publicans. Jesus was invited as a guest, in whose
honor the feast was prepared. He, with his disciples, accepted the courteous
invitation, and graced the banquet with his presence. The envious scribes and
Pharisees, who were ever watching and following the movements of Jesus, did not
lose this opportunity of seeking to condemn the cause of Christ. {4Red 40.3}
They were
highly indignant that one who
41
called himself a Jew should mingle with publicans. Though they
refused to acknowledge him the Messiah, and would accept none of his teachings,
yet they could not shut their eyes to the fact that he had great influence over
the people; this being the case they were chagrined that he should, by his
example, ignore their prejudices and traditions. When Jesus called Matthew to
follow him their anger knew no bounds that he should thus honor a hated
publican. They openly attacked the disciples on the subject, and accused them
of eating with publicans and sinners. {4Red 40.4}
"And it
came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and
sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees
saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your
Master with publicans and sinners?" It was with bitter contempt that they
asked this question. Jesus did not wait for his disciples to answer this
scornful charge, but himself replied, "They that be
whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what
that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice;
for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." He
here explained his course by taking the case of a physician, whose work is not
among the well, but among those who are diseased. He who came to save the
sin-sick soul must go among those who most need his forgiving mercy and pitying
love. {4Red 41.1}
Those poor
publicans and sinners, although stained with guilt, felt their need of
repentance and pardon. It was the mission of Heaven to relieve just such want
as theirs. Although these persons apparently disregarded religious rites and
42
observances, yet in heart and life they were better fitted to become
sincere Christians than the Pharisees and priests who scorned them. Many of
them were possessed of noble integrity, and would not wrong their conscience by
rejecting a doctrine which their reason declared to be true. {4Red 41.2}
Jesus had come
to heal the wounds of sin among his own nation, but they refused his proffered
aid; they trampled upon his teachings and made light of his mighty works. The
Lord turned, therefore, to those who would hear his words. Matthew and his
associates obeyed the summons of the Master and followed him. The despised
publican became one of the most devoted evangelists. His unselfish heart was
drawn out for souls that needed the light. He
did not repulse sinners by magnifying his own piety,
and contrasting it with their sinfulness; but linked them to himself through
kindly sympathy, as he presented to them the precious gospel of Christ. His labors were attended with
marked success. Many of those who sat at that feast, and listened to the divine
instruction of Jesus, became instruments of enlightenment to the people. {4Red 42.1}
The pointed
words addressed by Jesus to the Pharisees on the occasion of this feast
silenced them, but did not remove their prejudice nor soften their hearts. They
went away and complained to the disciples of John concerning the practices of
Jesus and his followers. They dilated upon the dangerous influence that he
exerted over the people, setting at naught their ancient traditions, and
preaching a doctrine of mercy and love to the world. They sought to arouse dissatisfaction
in the minds of John's disciples by contrasting their austere piety and
rigorous fasting
43
with the example of Jesus in feasting with publicans and
sinners. {4Red 42.2}
The feelings
of John's disciples were stirred, and they complained to the disciples of Jesus
concerning the course of their Master, which was so contrary to the teachings
of John. If John was sent of God, and taught according to his Spirit, how could
the practices of Jesus be right? The followers of the Saviour, being unable to
answer these questions, brought the matter to their Master. "And they said
unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and
make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and
drink? And he said unto them, Can ye make
the children of the bridechamber fast, while the
bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be
taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days." {4Red 43.1}
Jesus had come
to the world, bringing the light of Heaven. He came as the Redeemer of mankind,
to limit the power of Satan and set the captive free. At his birth the heavenly
messengers had borne the glad tidings of great joy to the humble shepherds upon
the plains of Bethlehem, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,
good will toward men!" {4Red 43.2}
The greatest
gift of Heaven had been given to the world. Joy to the poor, for Christ has
come to make them heirs of his kingdom! Joy to the rich, for he will teach them
how to apply their earthly treasure that it may secure for them eternal riches
in Heaven! Joy to the ignorant, for he has come to give them wisdom unto
salvation! Joy to the learned, for he will open to their
44
understanding deeper mysteries than they have ever before fathomed! {4Red 43.3}
Said the
Saviour, "Blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.
For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to
see these things which ye see, and have not seen them, and to hear these things
which ye hear, and have not heard them." The mission of Christ opened to
the minds of men truths that had been hidden from the foundation of the world.
{4Red 44.1}
Every human
enterprise sinks into insignificance when compared with the advent of Christ
upon the earth. What occasion for joy had the disciples who were permitted to
walk and talk with the Majesty of Heaven! Happy were they who had the Prince of
Peace in their very midst, bestowing upon them daily new mercies and blessings.
Why should they mourn and fast? It was more fitting for them to mourn who
rejected the Saviour and closed their eyes and ears to his divine teachings, who turned from the peace and joy of infinite love and
truth. The treasure of Heaven was entrusted to them for a time, and they,
heedless of the gift, chose bondage and darkness rather than freedom and light
through Christ. {4Red 44.2}
In the
synagogue at Nazareth Jesus had announced himself the Redeemer of mankind. Said he, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me
to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised; to
preach the acceptable year of the Lord."
45
{4Red 44.3}
How could the
children of the bridechamber fast when the bridegroom
was yet with them? But when he should go back to Heaven, leaving his disciples
to meet alone the unbelief and darkness of the world, then it would be fitting
for the church to fast and mourn, until her absent Lord should return the
second time. {4Red 45.1}
The jealous
Pharisees misinterpreted all the actions of our Lord. The very deeds that
should have melted their hearts and won their admiration, only served as an
excuse to charge him with immorality. These self-righteous men had so often
been rebuked by Jesus for their iniquity, and exposed
in their evil purposes and wicked natures, that they did not dare to bring
their complaints to him, but carry them where they will be most likely to
create prejudice and unbelief. Had the disciples of Jesus listened to these
insinuations, they would have ceased from following their Master. But they
heeded not the base charges of impiety and evil associations against him by
those who were themselves filled with malice and hatred. {4Red
45.2}
The Saviour
ate with sinners, he spoke to them the words of life, and many accepted him as
their Redeemer. The feast of Christ was holy; but the fasting Pharisees will
have their portion with the hypocrites and unbelievers, when Christ shall come
in his glory, and those whom they scorned will be gathered into his kingdom. {4Red 45.3}
The Sabbath
Nothing so
distinguished the Jews from surrounding nations, and designated them as true
worshipers of the Creator, as the institution of
46
the Sabbath. Its observance was a continual visible token of
their connection with God, and separation from other people. All ordinary labor
for a livelihood or for worldly profit was forbidden upon the seventh day.
According to the fourth commandment the Sabbath was dedicated to rest and
religious worship. All secular employment was to be suspended; but works of
mercy and benevolence were in accordance with the purpose of the Lord. They
were not to be limited by time nor place. To relieve
the afflicted, to comfort the sorrowing is a labor of love that does honor to
God's holy day. {4Red 45.4}
The work of
the priests in connection with the sacrificial offerings was increased upon the
Sabbath, yet in their holy work in the service of God they did not violate the
fourth commandment of the decalogue.
As Israel separated from God, the true object of the Sabbath institution became
less distinct in their minds. They grew careless of its observance, and
unmindful of its ordinances. The prophets testified to them of God's
displeasure in the violation of his Sabbath. Nehemiah says: "In those days
saw I in Judah some treading wine-presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in
sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of
burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath-day, and I testified
against them in the day wherein they sold victuals."{4Red
46.1}
And Jeremiah
commands them: "Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath
day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; neither carry
forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, neither do ye any
47
work, but hallow ye the Sabbath day, as I commanded your
fathers." {4Red 46.2}
But they
heeded not the admonitions of the inspired prophets, and departed more and more
from the religion of their fathers. At length calamities, persecution, and
bondage came upon them in consequence of their disregard of God's requirements.
{4Red 47.1}
Alarmed at
these visitations of divine punishment, they returned to the strict observance
of all the outward forms enjoined by the sacred law. Not satisfied with this,
they made burdensome additions to those ceremonies. Their pride and bigotry led
them to the narrowest interpretation of the requirements of God. As time passed they gradually hedged themselves in with
the traditions and customs of their ancestors, till they regarded them with all
the sanctity of the original law. This confidence in themselves and their own
regulations, with its attendant prejudice against all other nations, caused
them to resist the Spirit of God, and separated them still farther from his
favor. {4Red 47.2}
Their
exactions and restrictions were so wearisome that Jesus declared: "They
bind heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's
shoulders." Their false standard of duty, their superficial tests of piety
and godliness, obscured the real and positive requirements of God. Heart
service was neglected in the rigid performance of outward ceremonies. The Jews
had so perverted the divine commandments, by heaping tradition upon tradition,
that, in the days of Christ, they were ready to accuse him of breaking the
Sabbath, because of his acts of mercy upon that day.
48
{4Red 47.3}
The grain was
ready for the sickle when Jesus and his disciples passed through the corn
fields on the Sabbath. The disciples were hungry, for their Master had extended
his work of teaching and healing to a late hour, and they had been without food
for a long time. They accordingly began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat,
rubbing them in their hands, in accordance with the law
of Moses, which provides that: "When thou comest
into the standing corn of thy neighbor, then thou mayest pluck the ears with
thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbor's
standing corn." {4Red 48.1}
But spies were
continually upon the track of Jesus, watching for some occasion to accuse and
condemn him. When they saw this act of the disciples, they immediately
complained to him, saying, "Behold thy disciples do that which is not
lawful to do upon the Sabbath day." In this they expressed their own
narrow views of the law. But Jesus defended his followers thus: "Have ye
never read what David did, when he had need, and was a hungered, he, and they
that were with him? how he went into the house of God
in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat
the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the
priests, and gave also to them which were with him? And he said unto them, The
Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man
is Lord also of the Sabbath." {4Red 48.2}
If excessive
hunger excused David for violating even the holiness of the sanctuary, and made
his act guiltless, how much more excusable was the simple act of the disciples
in plucking the grain and eating it upon the Sabbath day.
49
Jesus would teach his disciples and his enemies that the
service of God was first of all; and, if fatigue and hunger attended the work,
it was right to satisfy the wants of humanity, even upon the Sabbath day. That holy institution was not given to interfere with the
needs of our being, bringing pain, and discomfort, instead of blessings.
"The Sabbath was made for man," to give him rest and peace, and remind him of the work of his Creator, not to
be a grievous burden. {4Red 48.3}
The work done
in the temple upon the Sabbath was in harmony with the law; yet the same labor,
if employed in ordinary business, would be a violation of it. The act of
plucking and eating the grain to sustain the bodily strength, to be used in the
service of God, was right and lawful. Jesus then crowned his argument by
declaring himself the "Lord of the Sabbath,"--One above all question
and above all law. This Infinite Judge acquits the disciples from blame,
appealing to the very statutes they are accused of violating.{4Red 49.1}
But Jesus did
not let the matter drop without administering a rebuke to his enemies. He
declared that in their blindness they had mistaken the object of the Sabbath. Said he: "But if ye had known what this meaneth,
I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the
guiltless." He then contrasted their many heartless rites with the
truthful integrity, and tender love that should characterize the true
worshipers of God: "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the
knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings. But they like men have transgressed
the covenant; there have they dealt treacherously against me."
50
{4Red 49.2}
Jesus was
reared among this people, so marked with bigotry and prejudice; and he
therefore knew that in healing upon the Sabbath day, he would be regarded as a
transgressor of the law. He was aware that the Pharisees would seize upon such
acts with great indignation, and thereby seek to influence the people against
him. He knew that they would use these works of mercy as strong arguments to
affect the minds of the masses, who had all their lives been bound by the
Jewish restrictions and exactions. Nevertheless he was not prevented by this
knowledge from breaking down the senseless wall of superstition that barricaded
the Sabbath, and teaching men that charity and benevolence were lawful upon all
days. {4Red 50.1}
He entered the
synagogue, and saw there a man who had a withered hand. The Pharisees watched
him, eager to see what he would do with regard to this case--whether or not he
would heal the man upon the Sabbath day. Their sole object was to find cause
for accusation against him. Jesus looked upon the man with the withered hand,
and commanded him to stand forth. He then asked, "Is it lawful to do good
on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or
to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them
with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the
man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out; and his hand was
restored whole as the other." {4Red 50.2}
He justified
this work of healing the paralytic, as in perfect keeping with the principles
of the fourth commandment. But they questioned him: "Is it lawful to heal
on the Sabbath days?"
51
Jesus made them the clear and forcible answer, "What
man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a
pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much
then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the
Sabbath days." {4Red 50.3}
The spies upon
our Saviour's words dared not, in the presence of the multitude answer this
question for fear of involving themselves in difficulties. They knew that while
they would leave men to suffer and die rather than to violate their traditions
by relieving them upon the Lord's day, a brute which had fallen into danger
would be at once relieved, because of the loss that would accrue to the owner
if he was neglected. Thus the dumb animal was exalted above man, made in the
image of God. {4Red 51.1}
Jesus wished
to correct the false teachings of the Jews in regard to the Sabbath and also to
impress his disciples with the fact that deeds of mercy were lawful on that day.
In the matter of healing the withered hand he broke down the custom of the
Jews, and left the fourth commandment standing as God had given it to the
world. By this act he exalted the Sabbath, sweeping away the senseless
restrictions that encumbered it. His act of mercy did honor to the day, while
those who complained of him, were, by their many useless rites and ceremonies,
themselves dishonoring the Sabbath. {4Red 51.2}
There are
ministers today who teach that the Son of God broke the Sabbath and justified
his disciples in doing the same. They take the same ground as did the caviling Jews, although ostensibly
52
for another purpose, since they hold that Christ abolished
the Sabbath. {4Red 51.3}
Jesus in
turning upon the Pharisees with the question whether it was lawful to do good
upon the Sabbath day or evil, to save life or to kill, confronted them with
their own wicked purposes. They were following upon his track to find occasion
for falsely accusing him; they were hunting his life with bitter hatred and
malice, while he was saving life and bringing happiness to many hearts. Was it
better to slay upon the Sabbath, as they were planning to do, than to heal the
afflicted as he had done? Was it more righteous to have murder in the heart
upon God's holy day, than love to all men which finds expression in deeds of
charity and mercy? {4Red 52.1}
Sermon on the Mount
The Redeemer
of the world sought to make his lessons so simple that all could understand who
heard them. It was not his choice to teach within walls or temples. True, he
often did so in order to reach a class whom he would not be likely to meet
while speaking in the open air, but Jesus preferred the fields, the groves, and
the lake-sides for his temples. There were also his favorite resorts for
meditation and prayer. {4Red 52.2}
He had special
reasons for choosing these natural sanctuaries in which to give instruction to
the people. The landscape lay before him, rich in scenes and objects familiar
alike to the lofty and the humble. From these he drew illustrations that
simplified his teachings, and impressed them firmly upon the minds of his hearers.
The birds caroling in the leafy branches, the glowing
53
flowers of the valley, the spotless lily resting on the
bosom of the lake, the lofty trees, the fruitful lands, the waving grain, the
barren soil, the tree that bore no fruit, the mighty hills, the bubbling
brooks, the setting sun that tinted and gilded the heavens, all served as means
of instruction, or as emblems by which he taught the beauties of divine truth.
He connected the visible works of the Creator with the words of life which he
spoke, and thus led the mind from the contemplation of Nature unto Nature's
God. {4Red 52.3}
The malice of
the Jews was so great in consequence of the miracle of Jesus in healing the man
with the withered hand on the Sabbath day, that he
with his disciples withdrew to a more favorable field
of labor. They went to the seaside of Galilee, and great multitudes followed
him, for this new miracle wrought upon the Sabbath day was noised abroad
through all that region. As Jesus taught, many of the
sick, and those possessed with demons, were brought to him, and he made them
whole. His great heart of love was filled with divine pity for the poor
sufferers, many of whom sought only to draw near enough to touch him, believing
that in so doing they would be healed, and in this they were not disappointed,
for the touch of faith brought healing power from the great Physician, and
their distress and gloom were changed to joy and thanksgiving. He also cast out
many demons, who, in leaving their victims, acknowledged Christ, saying,
"Thou art the Son of God." {4Red 53.1}
The people of
Galilee were greatly aroused, and flocked to the presence of the Saviour. At
length the crowd so increased that he scarcely had room to stand, and therefore
entered a small ship
54
which was near the shore, and there preached to the crowd that
thronged upon the beach. So he labored uninterruptedly in teaching the people
and in healing the sick. But when the day was far spent he stole away and hid
himself in the solitude of the mountain, to commune with his Father in secret.
Jesus spent the entire night in prayer, while his disciples slept at the foot
of the mountain. About dawn he came and wakened them. The disciples were now
about to receive an office of sacred responsibility, second only to that of
Christ himself. They were to be set apart for the gospel work. They were to be
linked with Jesus, to be with him, to share his joys and trials, to receive his
teachings, and be faithful witnesses of his mighty works, that they might be
able to impart the instruction thus gained to the world. They were to be
qualified so that Jesus could at times send them forth alone to teach and work
even as he taught and worked. Jesus wished his disciples to gain an experience
in the gospel labor while he was on earth to comfort and direct them, so that
they would be able to successfully continue the work after his death, and lay
the foundation of the Christian church.{4Red 53.2}
While Jesus
was preparing his disciples for their ordination, and instructing them as to
the duties of the great work that lay before them, Judas urged his presence among them. This
man made great professions of devotion to Jesus, and proposed to become one of
his disciples. Said he, "Master,
I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." Jesus did not warmly receive
him, neither did he repulse him, but addressed him with these words of mournful
pathos, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have
55
nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his
head." Judas was selfish, and his main
object in seeking a connection with Christ was to obtain temporal advantages
through him; but Christ's reference to his own poverty, contrasting his
condition with that of the foxes and the birds, was designed to cut off any
hope Judas might cherish of securing earthly gain by becoming a follower of
Christ. Judas was a man of acknowledged
executive ability, and possessed of no small influence. For these reasons the
disciples were anxious that he should form one of their number.
They commended him in the highest terms to Jesus, as one who would greatly
assist him in his work. They were therefore surprised that he received him so
coolly; but the Saviour read the heart of Judas, and knew, even then, the part
he was to act in his future betrayal and execution. Still, Jesus wished to
connect this man with himself, that he might learn his divine mission, and gain
moral strength to overcome the defects in his character, and experience an
entire change of heart that would ensure his salvation. This it was possible
for him to do, through the help of Christ. {4Red
54.1}
Had Jesus
repulsed Judas, the disciples, who regarded him with such favor, would have
questioned, in their own minds, the wisdom of their Master. In receiving him,
Jesus avoided this, and also placed the selfish and avaricious Judas in the
most favorable position to develop qualities of mind
and heart that would eventually gain for him a place in the kingdom of Heaven.
But notwithstanding these precious opportunities Judas chose a course that
covered him with everlasting infamy.
56
{4Red 55.1}
Gathering his
disciples about him, Jesus bowed in their midst, and, laying his hands upon
their heads, offered a prayer, dedicating them to his sacred work. Thus were
the Lord's disciples ordained to the gospel ministry.
This being accomplished, Jesus with his companions returned to the sea-side,
where the multitudes were already gathering to hear him. Many of them were
there for the purpose of being relieved of various maladies. Here he healed the
sick and comforted the sorrowing, until the crowd increased so that there was
not room for them upon the narrow beach. Jesus therefore moved up the mountain
to a level space where the people could be accommodated. Here Jesus called his
disciples near him, that the great truths he uttered might not fail to be
indelibly impressed upon their minds, and that nothing might divert their
attention from his words. {4Red 56.1}
Though the
disciples were close about him, and his words seemed specially addressed to
them, yet they were also designed to reach the hearts and consciences of the
mixed crowd there assembled. At every large gathering of this kind, the people
still expected that Jesus would make some great display of power in regard to
the new kingdom of which he had spoken. The believing Jews looked for him to
free them from the yoke of bondage and reinstate them in their ancient glory.
But in his sermon on the mount Christ disappointed their hopes of earthly
glory. He opened his discourse by stating the principles that should govern his
kingdom of divine grace, as contained in the several beatitudes. {4Red 56.2}
"Blessed
are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven." The poor in spirit are
57
those who claim no personal merit, and boast of no virtue in
themselves. Realizing their utter helplessness, and deeply convicted of sin,
they put no faith in mere outward ceremonies, but cast themselves upon Jesus
who is all-righteous and all-compassionate. The
Christian can only rise through humility. The proud heart strives in vain to
earn salvation by good works; for though one
cannot be saved without good works, yet these alone will not suffice to win
eternal life. After he has done all he
can, Christ must impute to him his own righteousness. {4Red 56.3}
In Christ, God
has bestowed Heaven's best gift to redeem man, and, as the gift is full and
infinite, so is saving grace boundless and all-sufficient. This saying of
Christ struck at the very root of the self-righteousness of the Pharisees, who
felt themselves already rich in spiritual knowledge, and did not
realize their need to learn more. Such
characters could have no part in the kingdom of Christ.{4Red 57.1}
"Blessed
are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted." In pronouncing a
blessing upon those who mourn, Jesus did not design to teach that there is any
virtue in living under a perpetual cloud, nor that selfish sorrow and repining
has any merit of itself to remove a single stain of sin. The mourning spoken of
by Christ is a godly sorrow for sin, that works
repentance unto eternal life. Many grieve when their guilt is discovered,
because the result of their evil course has brought them into disagreeable
circumstances. It was thus that Esau mourned the sin of despising and selling
his birth-right; but it was the unexpected consequences of that sin which
caused his grief. So Pharaoh regretted his stubborn
58
defiance of God, when he cried for the plagues to be removed from
him; but his heart was unchanged, and he was ready to repeat his crime when
tempted. Such
mourning is not unto repentance. {4Red 57.2}
He who is
truly convicted of sin feels his whole life to have been one continued scene of
ingratitude. He feels that he has robbed his best friend of the time and
strength which was bought for him at an infinite price. His whole soul is
filled with unutterable sorrow that he has slighted and grieved his compassionate
Saviour. Such mourning is precious, for it will yield the peaceable fruits of
righteousness. The worldling, from his stand-point,
may pronounce this sorrow a weakness; but it is the strength which binds the
penitent to the Infinite One with links that cannot be broken. It reveals that
the angels of God are bringing back to his soul the graces which were lost
through hardness of heart and transgression. To confess and deplore one's errors evinces
an excellence of character capable of discerning and correcting them. The tears of the penitent are only the clouds and the
raindrops that precede the sunshine of holiness, the sorrow that heralds a joy
that will be a living fountain in the soul. Men are sowing in God's great field
with toil and tears, yet with patient expectation; and they will be blessed,
for the heavens will open and the rain will fall, insuring a bountiful harvest.
Then when the Reaper comes, he will return with joy bringing home his sheaves.
{4Red 58.1}
"Blessed
are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth." The difficulties that the Christian encounters may be very much
lessened by that
59
meekness of character
which hides itself in Christ. Jesus invites all the weary and heavy laden to come unto
him who is meek and lowly in heart, that they may find rest. If the Christian possesses the humility of his Master, he
will rise above the slights, the rebuffs, and annoyances to which he is daily
exposed, and they will cease to cast a gloom over his spirit. That meekness which Jesus blessed, operates amid the scenes of
domestic life; it makes the home happy, it provokes no quarrels, gives back no
angry answers, but soothes the irritated temper, and diffuses a gentleness
which is felt by all within its charmed circle. It calms the inflammable spirit
of retaliation, and mirrors forth the character of Christ. {4Red 58.2}
Far better would it be for Christians to suffer under
false accusations than to inflict upon themselves the torture of retaliation
against their enemies. Hatred and revenge
are instigated by Satan, and bring only remorse to him who cherishes them.
Lowliness of heart is the strength that gives victory to the Christian. His
reward is an inheritance of glory. {4Red 59.1}
"Blessed
are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be
filled." As the body feels the necessity for temporal food to supply the
waste of the system, and preserve the physical strength, so the soul should long for that spiritual nourishment
that increases the moral strength, and satisfies the cravings of the mind and
heart. As the body is continually receiving the nutriment that sustains life
and vigor, so should the soul constantly receive the heavenly food which gives
nerve and muscle to spirituality. As the weary
traveler eagerly seeks the spring in the desert, and, finding it, quenches his
60
burning thirst with its cool and sparkling water, so should the
Christian thirst for and seek the pure water of life, of which Christ is the
fountain. There the soul may be satisfied,
there the fever born of worldly strife is allayed, and the spirit is forever
refreshed. But a majority of those who listened to Jesus hungered only for
worldly advantages and honor. Especially did the self-exaltation of the
Pharisees prevent them from longing for any higher attainments than they had
already reached, for in their own estimation they were at the very pinnacle of
perfect righteousness. However, there were many who
heard thankfully the lessons of Jesus, and from that time, shaped their lives
according to his teachings. {4Red 59.2}
"Blessed
are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy." Here Jesus struck a blow
at the arrogance and cruel intolerance of the Jews. Both priests and people
were, as a rule, overbearing, quarreling with all who
opposed them, severely critical and resentful of any reflection cast upon their
own acts. Jesus said of the Pharisees, "Ye tithe mint, and rue, and all
manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God." The Saviour
desired to teach his followers a lesson of mercy that they should not be
wanting in that tender compassion which pities and aids the suffering and
erring, and avoids magnifying the faults of others. {4Red
60.1}
"Blessed
are the pure in heart; for they shall see God." The Jews were so exacting
in regard to ceremonial purity that their regulations were extremely
burdensome. Their minds were so occupied with rules and restrictions, and the
fear of outward defilement, that they lost sight.
61
of the necessity for purity of motive and nobility of action. They did
not perceive the stain that selfishness, injustice, and malice, leave upon the
soul. {4Red 60.2}
Jesus declared
that the pure in heart should see God. They would recognize him in the person
of his Son, who was sent to the world for the salvation of the human race.
Their minds, being cleansed and occupied with pure thoughts, would more clearly
discover the Creator in the works of his mighty hand, in the things of beauty
and magnificence which comprise the universe. They would live as in the visible
presence of the Almighty, in a world of his creation, during the time that he
apportions them here. They would also see God in the future immortal state, as
did Adam when he walked and talked with God in Eden. Even now the pure in heart
see God "through a glass darkly, but then face to face." {4Red 61.1}
"Blessed
are the peace-makers; for they shall be called the children of God." Our
Heavenly Father is a God of peace. When he created man he placed him in an
abode of peace and security. All was unity and happiness in the garden of Eden. Those who are partakers of the divine nature
will love peace and contentment; they will cultivate the virtues that insure
those results. They will seek to allay
wrath, to quiet resentment and fault finding, and all the evil passions that
foster quarrels and dissensions. The more
men unite with the world, and fall into its ways, the less they have of the
true elements of peace in their hearts, and the more they are leavened with the
bitterness of worldly strife, jealousy, and evil thoughts toward each other,
which only needs certain circumstances to
62
develop them into active agents for evil. Those whose anger kindles at slight provocations, and
those who watch the words and acts of others to secretly report them where they
will stir up enmity, are the direct opposite of the peace-makers who are called
the children of God. {4Red
61.2}
The true
Christian will in his intercourse with men suppress words that would tend to
produce unnecessary anger and strife. All
Heaven is at peace, and those who are closely connected with Christ will be in
harmony with Heaven. Jesus declared: "In the world ye shall have
tribulation; but in me ye shall have peace." Those who are in sympathy
with the Saviour will not be restless and dissatisfied. They will partake of
the nature of Christ, and their lives will emulate his example. {4Red 62.1}
The multitudes
were amazed at this doctrine, so at variance with the precepts and example of
the scribes and Pharisees. The people had imbibed the idea from them that
happiness consisted in the possession of the things of this world, and that
fame and the honor of men were much to be coveted. It was very pleasing to be
called "Rabbi," and to be extolled as very wise and religious, having
their virtues paraded before the public. This was considered the crown of
happiness. But Jesus, in the presence of that vast throng, declared that
earthly gain and honor was all the reward such persons would ever receive.
Jesus spoke with certainty, and a convincing power attended his words. The
people were silenced, and a feeling of fear crept over them. They looked at
each other doubtfully. Who of them would be saved if this man's teachings were
true? Many were deeply convicted that this
63
remarkable teacher was actuated by the Spirit of God, and that the
sentiments he uttered were divine. {4Red 62.2}
These lessons
of instruction were particularly calculated to benefit the disciples, whose
lives would be governed by the principles therein taught. It was to be their
work to impart the divine knowledge they derived from Jesus, to the world. It
was their task to spread the gospel far and wide among the people of all lands,
and it was very important that all the lessons of Jesus should be plain to
their minds, stamped upon their memories, and incorporated in their lives.
Every truth was to be stored away in their minds and hearts for future use. {4Red 63.1}
After Jesus had explained to the people what
constituted true happiness, and how it could be obtained, he more definitely
pointed out the duty of his disciples, as teachers chosen of God to lead others
into the path of righteousness and eternal life. He knew that they would often
suffer from disappointment and discouragement, that they would meet with
decided opposition, that they would be insulted, and
their testimony rejected. His penetrating eye looked down the coming years of
their ministry, and saw the sorrow and abuse that would attend their efforts to
lead men to salvation. Well he knew that the humble men who listened so
attentively to his words were to bear, in the fulfillment of their mission,
calumny, torture, imprisonment and death, and he continues:-- {4Red 63.2}
"Blessed
are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the
kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you,
and shall say all manner
64
of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding
glad; for great is your reward in Heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you." Jesus here shows them that at the very time when they
are experiencing great suffering in his cause, they have reason to be glad, and
recognize that their afflictions are profitable to them, having an influence to
wean their affections from the world and concentrate them upon Heaven. He
taught them that their losses and disappointments would result in actual gain,
that the severe trials of their faith and patience should be cheerfully
accepted, rather than dreaded and avoided. These afflictions were God's agents
to refine and fit them for their peculiar work, and would add to the precious
reward that awaited them in Heaven. He charged them, when persecuted by men,
not to lose confidence, nor become depressed and mourn over their hard lot, but
to remember that righteous men of the past had likewise suffered for their
obedience. Anxious to fulfill their duty to the world, fixing their desire upon
the approbation of God, they were calmly and faithfully to discharge every
duty, irrespective of the fear or favor of man. {4Red
63.3}
Those things
which seem to the Christian most grievous to be borne
often prove his greatest blessing. Reproach and falsehood have ever followed
those who were faithful in the discharge of duty. A righteous character, though
blackened in reputation by slander and falsehood, will preserve the purity of
its virtue and excellence. Trampled in the mire, or exalted to heaven, the
Christian's life should be the same, and the proud consciousness of innocence
is its own reward.
65
The persecution of enemies tests the foundation upon
which the reputation really rests. Sooner or later it is revealed to the world
whether or not the evil reports were true, or were the poisoned shafts of
malice and revenge. Constancy in serving God is the only safe manner of
settling such questions. Jesus would have his people use great care to give the
enemies of his cause no ground to condemn their holy faith. No wrong action
should cast a stigma upon its purity. When
all arguments fail, the slanderers frequently open their galling fire upon the
besieged servants of God; but their lying tongues eventually bring curses upon
themselves. God will finally vindicate the right, honor the guiltless, and hide
them in the secret of his pavilion from the strife of tongues. {4Red 64.1}
God's servants
have always suffered reproach; but the great work moves on, amid persecution,
imprisonments, stripes, and death. The
character of the persecution changes with the times, but the principle--the spirit
that underlies it--is the same that stoned and beat and slew the chosen of the
Lord centuries ago. {4Red 65.1}
There was
never one who walked a man among men more cruelly slandered than the Son of
God. He was met at every point with bitter reproaches. They hated him without a
cause. The Pharisees even hired men to
repeat from city to city the falsehoods which they themselves fabricated to
destroy the influence of Jesus. Yet he stood calmly before them declaring that
reproach was a part of the Christian's legacy, counseling
his followers how to meet the arrows of malice, bidding them not to faint under
persecutions, but, "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad;" "for so
persecuted
66
they the prophets which were before you." Jesus
continued to impress upon the minds of his disciples the responsibility of
their relation to the world. Said he:-- {4Red 65.2}
"Ye are
the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost its savor,
wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good
for nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men." The
people could see the white salt, glistening in the pathway, where it had been
cast out because it had lost its savor and was
therefore useless. Jesus used salt as an
illustration of the Christian's life and teachings upon the world. Were it not
for the few righteous who inhabit the earth, the wrath of God would not be
delayed a moment from punishing the wicked. But
the prayers and good works of the people of God preserve the world; they are
the savor of life. But if
Christians are only so in name, if they have not virtuous characters and godly
lives, they are like the salt that has lost its savor.
Their influence upon the world is bad; they are worse than unbelievers. {4Red 66.1}
Jesus took
objects in the view of his listeners as emblems by which to teach his truth.
The people had come together to hear him while it was yet early morning. The
glorious sun, climbing higher and higher in the blue sky, was chasing away the
shadows that lurked in the valleys and among the narrow defiles of the
mountains. The glory of the eastern heavens had not yet faded out. The sunlight
flooded the land with its splendor; the placid
surface of the lake reflected the golden light, and mirrored the rosy clouds of
morning. Every bud and flower and leafy spray glistened with dew-drops. Nature
smiled under the
67
benediction of a new day, and the birds sang sweetly among the spreading
trees. The Saviour looked upon the company before him, and then upon the rising
sun, and said to his disciples, "Ye are the light of the world." The
figure was peculiarly striking. As the sun lit up the landscape with his genial
rays and scattered the shades of night, so the disciples were to diffuse the
light of truth, and scatter the moral darkness that brooded over the world. In
the brilliant light of morning the towns and villages situated upon the
surrounding hills stood forth clearly and made an attractive feature of the
scene. Jesus, pointing to them said, "A city that is set on a hill can not be hid. Neither do men light a
candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth
light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that
they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven."
In these words Jesus taught his disciples that if they wished to direct others
in the path of righteousness, their own example should be correct, and their
acts reflect the light of truth. {4Red 66.2}
Moral disease
abounds, and darkness covers the earth; but the disciples
of Christ are represented as lights shining amid the gloom of night. Those rays
reveal the dangers that lie in the sinner's path, and point the true way to
righteousness and safety. If those who
profess to be Christ's followers, and to have the light of truth, are not
careful to present that truth to others in a proper manner, those who are in
the darkness of error will see no beauty in it. In carrying a lantern on a dark
night, to light the way for one who is following, the bearer sometimes becomes
careless,
68
and permits his person to interpose between the light and
the one whom he is guiding, and the darkness of the way is rendered more
intense to him from the temporary light that has been shed upon it. So with
many who essay to present the truth of God to others; they hide the precious
light with their own defective characters, which stand out darkly conspicuous
in their deformity, and turn many from the truth. The characters of the professed followers
of Christ should be so admirable, and their deeds so exemplary, that the world
will be attracted toward a religion that bears such fruits of righteousness. They will thus be led to investigate and embrace its
principles from the fact that the lives of its representatives shine forth with
such holiness that they are the beacon lights of the world.{4Red 67.1}
The Pharisees
shut themselves away from the world, and thereby made it impossible for them to
exert an influence over the people of the world; but Jesus names his disciples
the "light the world." Their teachings and example are to scatter the
clouds of error, and all nations and people are to feel their influence. The
religion of the Bible is not to be confined between two covers nor within the walls of a church. It is not to be brought
out only occasionally simply for our own benefit, and then carefully laid aside again, but it is to sanctify the daily life, to
manifest itself in every business transaction and in all the social relations
of life. Such a religion was in marked contrast with that of the Pharisees,
which consisted only in the hollow observance of rules and ceremonies, and shed
no ennobling influence over their lives. {4Red 68.1}
Jesus was
closely watched by spies, who were
69
ready to seize any unguarded word that might drop from his
lips. The Saviour was well aware of the prejudice existing in the minds of many
of his hearers. He said nothing to unsettle the faith of the Jews in the
religion and institutions of Moses. The same voice that declared the moral and
ceremonial law, which was the foundation of the whole Jewish system, also
uttered the words of instruction on the mount. It was because of his great
reverence for the law and the prophets that Jesus sought to break through the
wall of superstitious exactions that hemmed in the Jews. He wished them not
only to observe the law, but to develop the principles of that law and the
teachings of the prophets. {4Red 68.2}
Jesus severely
criticised the false interpretations which the Jews had given to the law, yet
he sufficiently guarded his disciples against the danger of yielding up the
vital truths given to the Hebrews. Jesus came not to destroy their confidence
in the instruction which he himself had given them through Moses in the
wilderness. But, while he taught them due reverence for that law, he desired to
lead them on to higher truths and a greater knowledge, that they might advance
into clearer light. {4Red 69.1}
As Jesus
explained the duty of his disciples in the works of righteousness, the Pharisees
saw that the doctrines taught condemned their course, and, in order to
prejudice the people against the great Teacher, whispered to one another that
the lessons of Jesus were in opposition to the law of
Moses, in that he made no mention of that law. In this way they designed to
arouse the indignation of the people against Christ. But Jesus, perceiving
their intent, in the presence of the
70
vast multitude, and in a clear and distinct voice, declared,
to the utter discomfiture of his enemies these words:-- {4Red
69.2}
"Think
not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to
destroy, but to fulfill. For verily, I say unto you, Till heaven and earth
pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be
fulfilled." Here Jesus refutes the charge of the Pharisees. His mission to
the world is to vindicate the claims of that sacred law which they charge him
with breaking. If the law of God could have been changed or abolished, then
Christ need not have come to a fallen world to suffer the consequence of man's
transgression. Jesus came to explain the relation of the law of God to man, and
to illustrate its precepts by his own example of obedience. He further declares
that, "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments,
and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of
Heaven." Thus did the Saviour declare the validity of the moral law. Those who disobey the commandments of God, and teach
others to do the same by their example and doctrine, are condemned by Christ.
They are the children of the wicked one, who was the first rebel against the
law of God. Having explicitly declared his reverence for his Father's law,
Jesus in these words condemns the practices of the Pharisees, who were strict
in their outward observance of that law while their hearts and lives were
corrupt:-- {4Red 70.1}
"For I
say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed
the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into
the kingdom of Heaven." The righteousness
71
here taught was conformity of the heart and life to the
revealed will of God. Jesus taught that the law of God should regulate the
thoughts and purposes of the mind. True godliness elevates the thoughts and
actions; then the external forms of religion accord with the Christian's
internal purity; then those ceremonies required in the service of God are not
meaningless rites, like those of the hypocritical Pharisees. {4Red 70.2}
Many religious
teachers of today are themselves breaking the commandments of God, and teaching
others to do so. In place of those holy commandments, they boldly teach the
customs and traditions of men, regardless of the direct testimony of Christ
that such ones should be "least in the kingdom of Heaven." Jesus
declared to the multitude assembled to hear him, to the Pharisees, who sought
to accuse him of lightly regarding the law, and to the people of all time, that
the precepts of Jehovah were immutable and eternal. {4Red
71.1}
The report had
been brought of murder and robbery in the wild region near Capernaum, and there
was a general expression of indignation and horror in consequence among those
who were assembled to hear Jesus. The divine Teacher took advantage of this circumstances to point an important lesson. Said he:-- {4Red 71.2}
"Ye have
heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever
shall kill shall be in danger of the Judgment. But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause
shall be in danger of the Judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; but whosoever
shall say, Thou fool, shall be
72
in danger of hell fire." Here Jesus describes murder as first
existing in the mind. That malice and revenge which would delight in deeds of
violence is of itself murder. Jesus goes further still, and says, "Whoever
is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the
Judgment." There is an anger that is
not of this criminal nature. A certain kind of indignation is justifiable,
under some circumstances, even in the followers of Christ. When they see God
dishonored, his name reviled, and the precious cause of truth brought into
disrepute by those who profess to revere it, when they see the innocent
oppressed and persecuted, a righteous indignation stirs their soul; such anger,
born of sensitive morals, is not a sin. Among
the listeners are those who congratulate themselves upon their righteousness
because they have committed no outward crime, while they are cherishing in
their hearts feelings of the same nature as that which prompts the assassin to
do his fearful deed. Yet these men make professions of piety, and conform to
the outward requirements of religion. To such Jesus addresses these words:-- {4Red 71.3}
"Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave
there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy
brother, and then come and offer thy gift." He thus shows that crimes
originate in the mind, and those who permit hatred and revenge to find a place
in their hearts have already set their feet in the path of the murderer, and
their offerings are not acceptable to God. The only remedy is to root out all
bitterness and animosity from the heart. But the Saviour even goes
73
further than this, and declares that if another has aught against us, we should endeavor to relieve his mind,
and, if possible, remove those feelings from it, before our offering can be
acceptable with God. This lesson is of special importance to the church at this
time. Many are zealous in religious services while unhappy differences exist
between them and their brethren which it is in their power to remove, and which
God requires them to remove before he will accept their services. Christ has so
clearly pointed out the Christian's course in this matter that there should be
no question in his mind as to his duty. {4Red 72.1}
While Jesus is
teaching, there are pleasure-boats upon the water, and it is evident to all
that the idlers who occupy them are disreputable characters. The listening
people expect Jesus to severely denounce this class, but are surprised when he
declares: "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt
not commit adultery. But I say unto you, That whosoever
looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already
in his heart." Those who have looked
upon the guilty characters who lead lives of sensual dissipation as sinners
above all others, are astonished to hear Jesus assert that those who cherish
lascivious thoughts are as guilty at heart as the shameless violators of the
seventh commandment. Jesus condemned the
custom then existing of a man putting away his wife for trivial offenses. This
practice led to great wretchedness and crime. Jesus strikes at the primary
cause of the laxness with which the marriage relation was held, when he
condemns the unholy passions which find the marriage institution a barrier to
the gratification of their
74
lust. Christ would have the marriage relation hedged about
with judicial restrictions, so that there could be no legal separation between
husband and wife, save for the cause of adultery. {4Red
73.1}
Many who had regarded the commandments as prohibiting actual
crime but reaching no farther, now perceive that the law of God should be
obeyed in spirit as well as in letter. In this manner Jesus takes up the
commandments separately and explains the depth and breadth of their
requirements, exposing the fatal mistake of the Jews in their merely outward
obedience. Jesus gives a lesson upon oath-taking, saying, "Let your communication be Yea,
yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." The
third commandment condemns the profane swearer, but the spirit of the precept
reaches farther still, and forbids that the name of God be introduced into the
conversation in a careless or irreverent manner. Many, even of the professed
followers of Christ, are in the habit of using lightly the name of God, and,
even in their prayers and exhortations, do not use the Supreme name with a
proper solemnity. {4Red 74.1}
A detachment
of the Roman troops was encamped near by, on the
sea-shore, and Jesus is now interrupted by the loud blast of the trumpet which
is the signal for the soldiers to assemble on the plain below. They form in the
regular order, bowing in homage to the Roman standard which is uplifted before
them. With bitterness the Jews look upon this scene which reminds them of their
own degradation as a nation. Presently messengers are dispatched from the army,
with orders to various distant posts. As they toil up the abrupt bank that
borders the shore,
75
they are brought near to the listening crowd that surrounds
Jesus, and they force some of the Jewish peasants to carry their burdens for
them up the steep ascent. The peasants resist this act of oppression, and
address their persecutors with violent language; but they are finally compelled
to obey the soldiers, and perform the menial task required of them. This
exhibition of Roman authority stirs the people with indignation, and they turn
eagerly to hear what the great Teacher will say of this cruel act of
oppression. With sadness, because of the sins which had brought the Jews into
such bondage, Jesus looks upon the shameful scene. He also notes the hatred and
revenge stamped upon the faces of the Jews, and knows how bitterly they long for
power to crush their oppressors. Mournfully he says:--
{4Red 74.2}
"Ye have
heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a
tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you, That ye resist
not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the
other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat,
let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go
with him twain. Give to him that asketh
thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away." {4Red 75.1}
The example of
Jesus was a practical illustration of the lesson here taught; contumely and
persecution never caused him to retaliate upon his enemies. But this was a hard
saying for the revengeful Jews, and they murmured against it among themselves.
Jesus now makes a still stronger declaration:-- {4Red 75.2}
"Ye have
heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine
enemy.
76
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that
curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully
use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is
in Heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil
and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love
them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your
brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?" {4Red
75.3}
The
manifestation of hatred never breaks down the malice of our enemies. But love and kindness beget love and kindness in return. Although God faithfully rewards virtue and punishes
guilt, yet he does not withhold his blessings from the wicked, although they
daily dishonor his name. He allows the sunshine and
the showers to fall upon the just and the unjust, bringing alike worldly
prosperity to both. If a holy God exercises such forbearance and benevolence
toward the rebellious and the idolatrous, how necessary it is that erring man
should manifest a like spirit toward his fellow-men. Instead of cursing those
who injure him, it is his duty to seek to win them from their evil ways by a
kindness similar to that with which Christ treated them who persecuted him.
Jesus taught his followers that they should exercise a Christian courtesy
toward all who came within their influence, that they should not be forgetful
in deeds of mercy, and that when solicited for favors,
they should show a benevolence superior to that of the
worldling. The children of God should represent the
spirit that rules in Heaven. Their
77
principles of action should not be of the same character with the
narrow, selfish spirit of the world. Perfection alone can meet the standard of
Heaven. As God himself is perfect in his exalted sphere, so should his children
be perfect in the humble sphere they occupy. Thus only can they be fit for the
companionship of sinless beings in the kingdom of Heaven. Christ addresses to
his followers these words that establish the standard of Christian character:
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father
which is in Heaven is perfect." {4Red 76.1}
Parable of the Sower
Jesus had
spent the entire night in prayer, and he came down to the beach in the early
morning to look for his disciples who were fishing near the shore. He could not
long remain undisturbed by the people. As soon as it was known that Christ was
by the sea-side, the multitude flocked to him. Their numbers increased so that
he was pressed upon all sides. As he stood teaching them, the crowd became so
dense that he stepped into a boat, and pulling out a little from the shore,
gave the people a better opportunity to see and hear him, as he continued his
discourse. {4Red 77.1}
He frequently
adopted this plan to escape from the eager throng that crowded upon each other
to get into his presence. In this way he could speak the things that he desired
them to hear without interruption. The Saviour, seated in the rude boat of a
fisherman, taught the words of life to the listening people upon the beach. He
was patient with those who were laboring under
78
temptation, tender and kind to the sorrowing and disheartened. His
words found a response in many hearts, and light from his divine instruction
poured in upon many darkened minds. {4Red 77.2}
What a scene
was this for angels to contemplate! Their glorious Commander, sitting in a
fisherman's boat, swayed to and fro by the restless water, and preaching
salvation to the listening crowd that are pressing down to the water's edge! He
who was the honored of Heaven teaches his grand doctrine of deliverance in the
open air to the common crowd. Yet he could have no more magnificent scene for
his labors. The lake, the mountains, the spreading
fields, the sunlight flooding the earth, all furnish subjects by which his
lessons can be impressed upon the human mind. {4Red
78.1}
In plain sight
are the sowers and the reapers, side by side, the one casting the seed, and the
other harvesting the early grain. The fruitful valleys,
and the hill-sides are clothed in beauty. The barren rocks are seen upon the
beach, and the birds make the air vocal with their music. The sea-fowls skim
upon the surface of the water. Jesus takes this opportunity to draw lessons
from nature that will sink into the minds of his listeners. He employs the
scenery about him to illustrate his doctrine, so that in the future, whenever
these objects are presented to their eyes, their thoughts will revert to the
lessons of truth drawn from them by Jesus. They will be daily reminders of the
precious instruction which they had received from him. {4Red
78.2}
Sitting thus,
and looking upon the animated scene before him, Jesus uttered the parable that
has been handed down to us through the ages, as
79
pure and beautiful today in its unadorned simplicity as
when it was given that morning on the Sea of Galilee more than eighteen hundred
years ago:-- {4Red 78.3}
"Hearken;
behold, there went out a sower to sow. And it came to pass, as he sowed, some
fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some
fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang
up, because it had no depth of earth; but when the sun was up, it was scorched;
and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and
the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on
good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased, and brought
forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an
hundred. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
{4Red 79.1}
This striking
illustration of the spreading abroad of the gospel of the Son of God engaged
the earnest attention of the people. The speaker carried with him the minds of
his hearers. Their souls were stirred, and many a heart throbbed with the
animation of a new purpose. They were charmed with a doctrine so ennobling in
its principles, yet so easily understood. The high spiritual attainments which
Jesus taught seemed then very desirable. But how soon the impressions there
received were to pass away from many minds, when they
again mingled with the world. The sins that had seemed so heinous under the
holy light of the Master's presence, would be clasped
again to their erring hearts. Unfavorable
surroundings, and worldly cares and temptations
80
would cause them to relapse again into indifference. {4Red 79.2}
But others who
listened commenced from that moment a holier life, carrying out daily the
principles of Christ's teachings. The subject matter of his discourse,
illustrated by the scene before them, would never be effaced from their minds.
The varied ground, some producing only thistles and noxious weeds, the ledges
of rock covered with a surface of earth, the sowers with their seed, all being
before their eyes, fastened his words in their minds as nothing else could have
done. {4Red 80.1}
The existing
state of things led Jesus to give the parable of the sower. The people who
followed Christ had been disappointed that he did not set up a new kingdom.
Long had they looked for a Messiah who would exalt and glorify them as a
nation, and now that their expectations were not realized, they refused to
receive him as their Redeemer. Even his chosen disciples were becoming
impatient that he did not assume temporal authority, and his relatives were disappointed in him and rejected
him. They had addressed him in these words:
"Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples may see the works
that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known
openly. If thou do these things, show thyself to the world." {4Red 80.2}
His followers
were mortified that the learned and wealthy were not the most willing to accept
Jesus as their Saviour. They felt the stigma that attached to their Master,
because it was the poor, the afflicted, and the humbler class generally who
became his disciples. Why, they asked
81
themselves, did not the scribes and Pharisees, the teachers in the
schools of the prophets, acknowledge that he was the long-looked-for Messiah?
It was to meet this doubt and discontent that Jesus spoke this parable. When
the multitude had departed, the twelve with the other believers gathered about
him, and asked him to explain it to them. "And he said unto them, Unto you
it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but unto them that are
without, all these things are done in parables; that seeing they may see, and
not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time
they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. And he said
unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will
ye know all parables?" In these words he explained that his illustrations
were to awaken thought in the minds of his hearers. If they desired a fuller
explanation of his words they could ask it of him, as the disciples had done,
and receive it. {4Red 80.3}
The Pharisees
understood the parable, but affected not to perceive its meaning. They closed
their eyes lest they should see and their ears lest they should hear; therefore
their hearts could not be reached. They were to suffer retribution for their willful ignorance and self-imposed blindness. One reason why he taught so much in parables was that the
spies of the Jews were ever watching to find cause for complaint against him.
Jesus designed to expose their hypocrisy and evil deeds without laying himself
liable to the danger of being arrested and imprisoned by them, and thus cut off
from the work which he came to do among the people. {4Red 81.1}
He could speak
cutting truths in parables,
82
reveal the iniquity that it was necessary to expose, without
any fear of their laws. They could make the application, for they could not
fail to recognize his meaning, yet they were powerless to condemn him for using
a simple illustration in his discourse. {4Red 81.2}
The words of
Jesus implied a reproof to his disciples, because of their dullness to
comprehend his meaning; for in the parable of the sower, he had illustrated the
doctrine he had come to the world to teach. If they could not discern things so
easily to be understood, how could they fathom greater truths that he would
declare to them in parables? He also said that he would reveal greater
mysteries concerning the kingdom of God unto them who followed him so closely
and obeyed him than unto those who were outside of his companionship. They must
open their minds to instruction and be ready to believe. {4Red
82.1}
Those who had
hardened their hearts to love pomp and ceremony did not wish to understand his
teachings nor desire the work of God's grace within their hearts. This class
would remain in ignorance of their own choosing. Those who connected with
Heaven, and received Christ, who is the source of light and truth, would
understand his words and gain practical knowledge concerning the kingdom of
God. But those who, for any reason, neglected their present opportunities of
acquaintance with the truth, and did not rightly use their powers of
comprehension, but refused to be convinced by what their eyes saw and their
ears heard, would be left in darkness; seeing, they
would not perceive, and hearing, they would not understand. The truths
83
of God involved too much self-denial and personal purity to attract
their carnal minds, and they closed their hearts with bigotry and unbelief. {4Red 82.2}
The great Teacher blessed his disciples because they both
saw and heard with eyes and ears that believed. Said he, "Many prophets and righteous men have
desired to see these things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear
the things which ye hear, and have not heard them." Jesus then explained to his disciples the different
classes represented in the parable he had given them. {4Red
83.1}
Christ, the
Sower, scatters the seed. There are the worldly ones, whose hearts are like the
hard-beaten highway, insensible to the teachings of divine wisdom. They love
not the requirements of God, and follow their natural impulses. Many are
convinced as they listen to the important lessons of Christ. They believe his
words, and resolve to lead holy lives, but when Satan comes with his evil
suggestions, they are overcome before the good seed has fairly sprung into
life. {4Red 83.2}
Had the soil
of the heart been broken up by deep repentance for sin, they would have seen
how wicked was their selfish love of the world, their pride and avarice, and
would have put them away. The seeds of truth would have struck deep into the
fallow ground prepared for them in the heart, and would have sprung up and
borne fruit. But evil habits had so long held sway over their lives that their
good resolutions had vanished before the voice of the tempter. "And these
are they by the wayside, where the word is sown; but when they have heard,
84
Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that
was sown in their hearts." {4Red 83.3}
There are those who receive the precious truth with joy;
they are exceedingly zealous, and express amazement that all cannot see the
things that are so plain to them. They urge others to embrace the doctrine that
they find so satisfying. They hastily condemn the hesitating and those who
carefully weigh the evidences of the truth and consider it in all its bearings.
They call such ones cold and unbelieving. But in the time of trial these
enthusiastic persons falter and fail. They did not accept the cross as a part
of their religious life, and they turn from it with dampened ardor, and refuse to take it up. {4Red 84.1}
If life moves
smoothly with this class, if their way is never crossed, if all things are in
harmony with their inclinations, they appear to be consistent Christians. But
they faint beneath the fiery test of temptation; they cannot endure reproach
for the truth's sake. The good seed that had sprung into so flourishing a plant, withers and dies because it has no root to sustain it
in the time of drought. The very thing which should have caused the fibers to strike down deeper and send up more vigorous growth, parches and kills the whole plant. Just so the hot
summer sun, that strengthens and ripens the hardy grain, withers and destroys
that which, though fresh and green, has no depth of root, because the tender fibers cannot pierce the hard and stony ground. {4Red 84.2}
These persons
could cultivate and enrich the soil of their hearts, if they would, so that the
truth would take deeper hold; but this involves too much patience and
self-denial. It costs them
85
too much effort to make a radical change in their lives.
They are easily offended by reproof, and ready to say with the disciples who
left Jesus, "This is a hard saying; who can hear it?" "And these
are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it
with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time;
afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for
the word's sake, immediately they are offended." {4Red 84.3}
Jesus
represents the seed as falling into neglected borders and patches covered with
rank weeds which choke the precious plants that spring up among them; they grow
sickly and perish. Many hearts respond to
the voice of truth, but they do not properly receive and cherish it. They give it a place in the soil of the natural heart,
without preparing the ground and rooting out the poisonous weeds that flourish
there, and watching every hour in order to destroy them should they again
appear. The cares of life, the fascination of riches, the longing for forbidden
things, crowd out the love of righteousness before the
good seed can bear fruit. Pride, passion, self-love, and love of the world,
with envy and malice, are no companions for the truth of God. As it is necessary thoroughly to cultivate the soil that has once
been overgrown with weeds, so it is necessary for the Christian to be diligent
in exterminating the faults that threaten his eternal ruin. Patient,
earnest effort in the name and strength of Jesus, can alone remove the evil
tendencies of the natural heart. But those who have allowed their faith to be
overcome by the growth of Satan's influences, fall into a worse
86
state than that which they occupied before they heard the
words of life. "And these are they
which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, and the cares of this
world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful." {4Red 85.1}
Few hearts are
like the good soil, well-cultivated, and receive the seeds of truth and bring
forth abundant fruit to the glory of God. But Jesus finds some earnest
Christians, rich in good works and sincere in their endeavors. "And these are they which are sown on good ground;
such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirty-fold,
some sixty, and some an hundred." {4Red 86.1}
Thus Christ
represents the characters of those whom he came to teach, in a brief and
comprehensive parable. The worldly-minded, the evil-disposed, the hard-hearted,
are all exhibited to the minds of his hearers. He thus answers the question
that we often hear today: Why was the work of Christ productive of such meager results, during his personal ministry upon earth?
Miracles of goodness and mercy marked his life; but while he healed the
afflicted, and cast out the demons that persecuted men, he left to themselves
the work of correcting the evils of their natures. He instructed them how to
unite their human efforts with his divine power, and triumph through his
strength over the sins that beset them. {4Red 86.2}
This
experience was necessary in order to give moral power to the Christian character
and fit it for the courts of Heaven. Jesus employed no miraculous agency to
compel men to believe in
87
him. They were left to choose or reject him, of their own
free will. No direct power was to force them into obedience, and destroy the
free moral agency that God has given to man. The parable of the sower plainly
sets forth the tendencies of the human heart, and the different classes with
which Christ had to deal, and also explains the reasons that his ministry was
not more successful in its immediate effects. {4Red
86.3}
The parables
of Jesus were designed to arouse a spirit of inquiry which would result in a
clearer exposition of the truth. As he was thus instructing his disciples in
the meaning of his words, the people again gathered about to listen, and his
teachings were received and cherished in the minds of many who heard them.
These discourses of Jesus were not merely to a class of inferior minds; but
there were intelligent and cultivated persons present who were capable of the
closest criticism. Scribes, Pharisees, doctors, rulers, lawyers, and the
representatives of all nations, were there to hear; yet there were none to
gainsay his words in all that vast assembly.{4Red
87.1}
Christ in the Synagogue
This interview
of Jesus with his disciples, in which they had received much precious
instruction, was interrupted by those who had been searching for him. As the
people began to flock about him, bringing their sick and afflicted, he repaired
to the synagogue. While he was teaching there, many others of those who had
left him on the other side of the lake came to the synagogue, and were
surprised to see Jesus and his disciples there before them, knowing that there
was
88
no boat by which he could pass to the other side. They began to inquire
how and when he had crossed the sea. They were astonished when the disciples
related to them the events of the preceding night. The fury of the storm and
the many hours of fruitless rowing against the fury of adverse winds, the
appearance of Christ walking upon the water, the fears thus aroused, his
reassuring words, the adventure of Peter and its result, with the sudden
stilling of the tempest and landing of the boat, were all faithfully recounted
to the wondering crowd, amid frequent interruptions and exclamations of
amazement. {4Red 87.2}
But their
attention was now directed to the lessons of Jesus, so full of solemn interest.
Many were deeply affected; but the minds of some were entirely engrossed with
curiosity regarding the wonderful relation they had heard. As soon as the
discourse was ended, they gathered around the Saviour, questioning him, hoping
to receive from his own lips a fuller account of his mighty work of the
previous night. But Jesus did not gratify their idle curiosity. He was also
beset by the Pharisees, to show them a sign from Heaven that he was the Son of
God. They asked an evidence of his miraculous power, such as had been given on
the other side of the sea. They importuned him to repeat his wonderful works
before them. {4Red 88.1}
Jesus declared
to them that they did not seek him from any worthy motive: that they did not
desire to learn how to please God in their daily lives; but they asked him to
work miracles, sometimes in a spirit of unbelief, and sometimes because they
hoped to be benefited by temporal favors which he
might thus bestow upon them.
89
He bade them not to labor for the meat which perishes,
but to seek for spiritual food, that wisdom which endures unto everlasting
life. This the Son of God alone could give, for he has the seal of the Father.
With solemn earnestness he sought to impress upon them that temporal favors are of little consequence compared with the heavenly
grace offered by the Son of God. {4Red 88.2}
"Then
said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might
work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This
is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom he hath sent. They said
therefore unto him, What sign showest
thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the
desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat." It was
Christ himself who conducted the Hebrews in their travels through the
wilderness. It was he who had daily fed them manna from heaven; yet they
blindly referred him to this miracle, wrought for their fathers, in a spirit of
caviling unbelief. Jesus declared to them that as God
had given them manna to preserve their lives, so he had sent to them this gift
of his Son, that through him they might eat of the bread of life and become
immortal. {4Red 89.1}
"Then
said Jesus unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that
bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from Heaven. For the
bread of God is He which cometh down from Heaven, and giveth life unto the
world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread." Jesus
used bread as a figure to illustrate the vitalizing power of his Spirit. The
one sustains physical
90
life, while the other satisfies the heart, and strengthens
the moral powers. Said he, "I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me
shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said
unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe
not." Those who experience the spiritual union with Christ never hunger
for higher enjoyment. All uncertainty is gone; the weary soul finds continual
refreshment in the Saviour. The feverish thirst for wealth and honor is gone.
He is in them a well of water springing up into everlasting life. {4Red 89.2}
Jesus assured
the Jews that they had seen him and his works yet believed not. He did not
refer to their seeing him with their natural eyes; but he meant that their
understanding had been convinced, while their proud and stubborn hearts refused
to acknowledge him as the Messiah. The Saviour had been doing in their midst
works that no man had ever done. The living evidences of his divine power had
been before them day after day; yet their hard and caviling
hearts asked for still another sign of his divinity before they would believe. Had this been given them they would still have remained
as unbelieving as before. If they were not
already convinced of his Messiahship by what they had
seen and heard, it was useless to show them more marvelous
works. The dignity of God's holy Son was not
to be compromised to gratify a questioning crowd. {4Red 90.1}
Said Jesus,
"For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of
hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with
their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their
91
heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." Unbelief will ever find cause to doubt and reason away
the most positive proof. The Jews stood
constantly upon guard, lest they should be forced by overwhelming evidence to
yield their prejudice and unbelief. Though their understanding was convinced,
they refused to surrender their pride and self-righteousness, admitting that
they, who had boasted of their wisdom over all the rest of the world, themselves needed a teacher. {4Red
90.2}
The Jews had
assembled to celebrate the passover.
In eating the flesh of the Lamb, they were to remember that it represented the
Lamb of God, and their protection when the first-born
of their enemies were slain in Egypt. The blood that the Hebrews
were commanded to have upon their door-posts, and which was a sign of safety to
them, also represented the blood of Christ, which was to be shed for the sins
of the world. The Saviour has power to finally raise from the dead all those
who, by faith, eat of his flesh and drink of his blood. This spiritual food
gives to the believers as well-founded hope of the resurrection to immortal
life in the kingdom of God. {4Red 91.1}
These precious
truths Jesus declared to the incredulous multitude, saying, "All that the
Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. For I came down from Heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of
him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all
which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at
the last day. And this is the will of Him that sent me, that every one which
seeth the Son, and believeth on him,
92
may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the
last day." {4Red 91.2}
He spoke of
his future sacrifice in these words: "And the bread which I will give you, is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the
world." He offered his salvation to all who would accept him, clothed in
humanity, as their Redeemer, having access to the Father, and being invested by
him with divine authority. {4Red 92.1}
But the Jews
were displeased that Jesus should claim to be the bread of life come down from Heaven. "And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and
mother we know? how is it, then, that he saith, I came
down from Heaven?" They so clung to
their bigotry and pride that it now seemed impossible for them to believe
evidence that was plain as the noonday sun.
Their jealousy was aroused that this man of humble birth was able to work
wonders that they could not explain away, and teach truths that could not be
contradicted. So they endeavored to awaken the
prejudice and unbelief of the people by referring scornfully to the lowly
origin of Jesus, and by reason of his mysterious birth, insinuating that he was
of doubtful parentage. They contemptuously alluded to his life as a Galilean laborer, and to his family as being poor and lowly. They
declared that the lofty claims of this uneducated carpenter should be at once
repudiated. {4Red 92.2}
But Jesus
heard their murmurings and reproved them. He again, in more forcible language,
declared his connection with the Father, and the necessity for the heart to be
enlightened by the Spirit of God before it can feel the need of a Saviour.
"No man can come to me, except
93
the Father which hath sent me draw him; and I will raise him
up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And
they shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore, that hath heard, and
hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me." He here refers to the
prophecy of Isaiah: "And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and
great shall be the peace of thy children." {4Red
92.3}
This was not a
new doctrine which Jesus taught. It was the fulfillment of prophecy, which, as
expounders of the word, the priests and elders should have thoroughly
understood. In declaring that none come to him unless the Father draws them,
the Saviour wished them to understand that God would never appear in person to
teach them concerning the way of life. Humanity could not endure the vision of
his glory for a moment; only through the Son could they come to him. In seeing
and hearing the Son, they saw and heard the Father. He is Mediator between God
and his disobedient children. The Jews claimed God as their teacher, but Christ
declared such profession vain, for, said he, "Every man, therefore, that
hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me." {4Red 93.1}
Jesus did not
attempt to answer the questions raised regarding his birth any more than he had
answered those concerning his crossing the sea. He did not desire to magnify
himself, nor the miracles that marked his life. The prejudice of the Pharisees
lay deeper than their questions would indicate, and had taken root in the
bitter perversity of their sinful hearts. His sayings and doings had not
created such feelings, but only called them into action, because his pure and
elevated doctrine was not in harmony with
94
their selfish hearts. Said he, "Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I
am that bread of life." There were conflicting views and much uncertainty
in regard to the resurrection of the dead. Aside from the dissension between
the Sadducees and Pharisees, the Jews were in great darkness concerning the
future life and the resurrection of the body. Jesus pitied them in their
benighted condition, and bade them accept him, who was their only hope, the
great Life-giver, even the "bread of life."{4Red
93.2}
They had
referred him to the manna which their fathers ate in the wilderness, as if the
furnishing of that food was a greater miracle than Jesus had wrought; but he
now declared unto them that the temporal food then given from Heaven was but a meager gift compared with the blessing of eternal life
which he now offered them. The food eaten then sustained the strength, but did
not prevent the approach of death, nor insure immortal life. The bread that the
Son of God offered to man was death-destroying, giving in the end immortal life
to the body. Said he, "Your fathers did eat manna in the
wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from
Heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which
came down from Heaven; if any man eat of this bread,
he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will
give for the life of the world." {4Red 94.1}
Our Lord here
points forward to his approaching death, the only true propitiation for the
sins of humanity. The Jews were about to celebrate with great display the feast
of the passover.
95
The Lamb to be eaten there, was a symbol of Christ's
body; yet the very person that it represented stood in their midst, presenting
himself as their Saviour, whose blood would preserve them from the wrath of a
sin-hating God, and they refuse his offers of mercy.{4Red 94.2}
The miracle
Jesus had performed in feeding the multitude, furnished him a forcible figure
by which to illustrate his work upon earth. He declared that, as temporal bread
imparts health and strength to the body, so
will faith in Christ, and obedience to his teachings, give spiritual vigor to
the soul, and life everlasting. But the
Jews, determined to misinterpret his words, now engaged in angry contention,
asking, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" They affected to
understand his words in the same literal sense as did Nicodemus, when he asked,
"How can a man be born when he is old?" They comprehended the meaning
of Jesus, but were not willing to acknowledge it. They thought it a favorable opportunity to prejudice the people against him,
by presenting his words to them in the most unfavorable
light. "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink
his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my
flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and
I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat
indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth
my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and
I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so he
that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is
that bread which came down from Heaven; not as your fathers did eat manna, and
are
96
dead; he that eateth of this bread
shall live forever." {4Red 95.1}
The Jews
appeared to be horrified at these sayings of Christ. Their law strictly forbade
them to taste blood, and they construed his language into a sacrilegious speech,
and contented and disputed over his words among themselves. Jesus gave his
disciples, and the people, lessons which they could not at the time fully
comprehend, because of their moral darkness. Many things which his followers
did not fully understand when he uttered them, were
made plain by subsequent events. His words were a stay to their hearts when he
walked no more with them. {4Red 96.1}
Even the
disciples murmured at these last words of Jesus. They said, "This is a
hard saying; who can hear it?" The Saviour heard their complaints and
answered them: "Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of
Man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth;
the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak
unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." Thus he instructed them
that it was not his human flesh that would give life eternal, but faith in his
words and in the efficacy of the sacrifice he was to make for the world. His
teaching and example, his life and death, were the heavenly food that was to
give them spiritual life and vigor. He reproved them because they had murmured
when he said that he had come down from Heaven. If they were not able to
receive this truth, how would it be when he ascended before their eyes to that
Heaven from whence he came? {4Red 96.2}
Jesus knew
that many followed him who hoped to receive temporal favors
thereby. They
97
looked for him to work some miracle that would benefit them;
but especially did they hope that he would eventually free them from the Roman
yoke. He also knew that there was one near who would betray him. He told them
that there were some among them who believed not. "And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me,
except it were given unto him of my Father."{4Red
96.3}
He wished them
to understand that their hearts must be open to the Spirit of God before they
could be drawn to him by faith. They must be willing to have their errors
reproved, to eschew evil, and lead holy lives. The
unbelief existing among the priests and rulers influenced the people to be
hesitating and doubtful. Jesus had given
them sufficient proof of his divinity; but their incredulous minds were ever
seeking to explain away his wonderful works. They reasoned that the disciples
might have been under a delusion when they saw him walking upon the water. {4Red 97.1}
True, they
could not but admit that he had performed many miraculous cures, and plentifully
fed a vast multitude from five loaves and two small fishes; but their
dissatisfied hearts queried, if he could do these wonders, why might he not
give health, strength, and riches to all his people, free them from their
oppressors, and exalt them to power and honor? Then they would believe on him
and glorify his name. Thus they allowed themselves to be bound by unbelief and
discontent. Their gross minds refused to comprehend the meaning of his words,
"I am the bread which came down from Heaven." His
98
doctrine was too pure and exalted to attract their carnal hearts.
{4Red 97.2}
This discourse
of Jesus cooled the enthusiasm of the people. If, by becoming his disciples,
they must live righteous lives, deny self, and suffer humiliation, they had no
desire to rally under his banner. Alas for Israel! They knew not the time of
their visitation! They refused their Saviour, because they longed for a
conqueror who would give them temporal power. They wanted the meat which
perishes, and not that which endures unto everlasting life. Their ambition was
for earthly riches and glory, and they had no relish for the words of Christ
that taught personal purity, and a thorough reformation of life. {4Red 98.1}
Many of the
words and dealings of Jesus appear mysterious to finite minds; but all his
purposes were clear to his divine understanding. His whole plan was mapped
before him, perfect in all its details. Every act was calculated to produce its
individual results. The history of the world from its creation to the end of
time was fully known to Christ. Were the
mind of man capable of understanding his dealings, every act of his earthly
life would stand forth important, complete, and in harmony with his divine
mission.{4Red
98.2}
The murmuring
of his followers grieved the heart of the Saviour. In openly rebuking their
unbelief before the multitude, he had increased their disaffection, and many of
them went back and walked no more with Jesus. He looked after these erring ones
with eyes of pitying tenderness. They were greatly displeased, and, wishing to
wound Jesus and gratify the malice
99
of the Pharisees, they turned their backs upon him and left him with
disdain. In doing this they made the fatal mistake of rejecting God's counsel
to them. It was such developments as these that made the Saviour a Man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief. The
consciousness that his kindness and compassion were unappreciated, his love
unrequited, his mercy slighted, his salvation rejected, filled his divine soul
with a grief that was inexpressible. Could
these ungrateful disciples have discerned how God viewed their behavior to his
dear Son, they would hardly have walked away so proudly and defiantly. They were choosing darkness rather than light, because
they were too vain and self-righteous to receive a merited rebuke, and too
worldly to accept a life of humility in order to secure salvation. In the face of all his wonderful works they turned away
from Him, who, by the beauty of his doctrine and his mercy and benevolence, had
called thousands to his side; who had relieved suffering humanity, so that
entire cities and villages were freed from disease, and there was no work for a
physician among them. {4Red 98.3}
When we view
the generosity of Christ to the poor and suffering, his patience with the rude
and ignorant, his self-denial and sacrifice, we are lost in admiration and
reverence. What a gift has God lavished upon man, alienated from him by sin and
disobedience! Well may the heart break and the tears flow in contemplation of
such inexpressible love! Christ abased himself to humanity that he might reach
man sunken into the depths of woe and degradation, and lift
him into a nobler life, give him moral strength to resist the power of Satan
and overcome sin in his name.
100
Sad was the recompense he met for his marvelous
condescension. {4Red 99.1}
The words of
Jesus were scorned because he declared that outward professions and observances
of forms would not avail; the work must reach the heart and bring forth fruit
meet for repentance. The words that he addressed to his disciples are also
spoken to the followers of Christ today. The
same necessity exists for a clean heart and a pure life. Yet how many reject
the warning of God, spoken by his servants, and the close, practical truths
pressed home to their hearts, because their lives are not in accordance with
the will of God, because they perceive that an entire reformation is necessary,
and are unwilling to take up the self-denying work, and are therefore angry
because their sins have been discovered. They go away offended, even as the
disciples left Jesus, murmuring, "This is a hard saying; who can hear
it?" {4Red
100.1}
Those who
profess godliness, yet do not heed the admonitions of the Lord, nor regulate
their lives in harmony with his holy will, fasten themselves more and more
firmly by chains of darkness. Many who now profess to
believe the truth of Christ, endure the test no better than those who turned
away from following him. Many, while
professing the faith, are so separated from Christ by hearts of unbelief, that
they reject the words and works of God shown through his servants. If the
divine revelation does not harmonize with their views, they feel at liberty to
turn from its teachings. If it rebukes their sins they are offended. Praise and
flattery would be grateful to their ears, but the truth is disagreeable, they
cannot hear it. When the crowds
101
follow, and the multitudes are fed, and the cries of triumph go
up, their voices are loud in praise; but
when the searching of God's Spirit reveals to them their sin and bids them
leave it, they turn their backs upon the truth, and "walk no more with
Jesus." {4Red
100.2}
God does not
propose to be called to account for his ways and works. It is for his glory to
conceal his purposes now; but by and by they will be revealed in their true
importance. But he has not concealed his great love, which lies at the
foundation of all his dealings with his children. He has revealed his love in
the gift of his Son, and in the many providences by which he manifests himself.
He who lives near to Jesus may understand much of the mystery of godliness, and
comprehend the love that administers merited reproof. Humanity, alienated from
God, can only be reconciled to him by partaking spiritually of the flesh and
blood of his dear Son.{4Red
101.1}
The Saviour did not attempt to prevent the disaffected
disciples from leaving him, but, turning to the twelve chosen ones, said
sorrowfully, "Will ye also go away?" Peter
promptly replied by asking in turn "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast
the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that thou art that
Christ, the Son of the living God." How full of meaning are these words,
"To whom shall we go?" The teachers of Israel were slaves to cold
formality. The Pharisees and Sadducees were in constant contention concerning
the doctrine of the resurrection and other points of difference. To leave Jesus
was to fall among sticklers for rites and ceremonies, and ambitious men who
sought their own glory. The disciples had felt more peace
102
and joy since they had accepted Christ than in all their
previous lives. They had looked back with horror upon their former course of
carelessness and iniquity. How could they, whose eyes had been opened to
discern the malice and bigotry of the Jews, go back to them who had scorned and
persecuted the Friend of sinners? Long had their faith sustained them in
looking for the Messiah, and now that he had come, they could not turn from his
presence to those who were hunting his life and had persecuted them for obeying
him.{4Red 101.2}
"To whom
shall we go?" Not from the doctrine of Christ, his lessons of love and
charity, to the darkness of unbelief, the wickedness of the world. While many
were turning from the Saviour who had witnessed his miraculous works, who had
seen him heal the sick and comfort the distressed, who had been electrified by
the heavenly majesty of his bearing, Peter expresses the faith of the
disciples, "Thou art that Christ." Never will they deny that he is
the world's Redeemer, the Son of God. The very thought of losing this anchor of
their souls thrilled their hearts with anguish. To be again destitute of a
Saviour, subject to fear and superstition, would be to be adrift upon a dark
and stormy sea. {4Red 102.1}
Some may
question the wisdom of Jesus in introducing a subject so easily misunderstood
as that which had turned so many from him on this occasion. But he had a
purpose in view. He saw that a most trying ordeal awaited his disciples in his
betrayal, his agony in Gethsemane, and his crucifixion. He knew who among his
followers were unbelieving and who were of weak faith. Had no test been given
them, Jesus would have had many among his followers who were
103
weak in character, and undecided. When the great trial came,
and their Lord was betrayed and condemned in the Judgment Hall; when he was
humiliated, and the multitude, who had hailed him as their king, hissed at him
and reviled him; when the cruel, jeering crowd cried, "Crucify
him!"--then these faint-hearted ones would have sunk beneath their fear
and disappointment. {4Red 102.2}
The apostasy
of these professed followers of Christ at such a time, would have been more
than the twelve could have endured in addition to their great grief and the
terrible ruin of their fondest hopes. The example of those who turned from him,
might, in that hour of horror, have carried all the rest with them. But Jesus
brought about this crisis while he was still present to comfort and strengthen
his chosen, and prepare them for what was to follow. When the hooting rabble
scorned Him who was doomed to the cross, the disciples were not overwhelmed
with surprise at this insult to their Master, for they had seen the fickleness
of those who had once followed him. When those who had professed to love the
Master turned from him in the time of his trouble, the disciples remembered
that the same thing had occurred before, for less reason. They had tested the
inconstant favor of the world, and hung not their faith upon the opinions of
others. Jesus wisely prepared the minds of his faithful few for the great trial
of his betrayal and death. {4Red 103.1}
Peter had
great faith in Jesus. From the first he had believed that he was the Messiah.
He had seen and heard John, who was the forerunner of Christ,
proclaim him to be the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. He
had been closely connected with Jesus, had
104
witnessed his miracles, listened to his teachings, and was
convinced that he was the Son of God. Many who had been convicted by the
preaching of John, and had accepted Christ, began to doubt as to the mission of
John, when he was imprisoned and put to death. They also doubted if Jesus was
really the Messiah, whom they had looked for so long. {4Red
103.2}
But the faith
of Peter never flagged; he followed his Master with unwavering devotion. When
those of the disciples who had ardently expected Jesus to make a great display
of power, and take his place on David's throne, left him because they perceived
that he had no such intention, Peter and his companions faltered not in their
allegiance. The vacillating course of those who praised yesterday, and
condemned today, did not affect the faith of the true follower of the Saviour.
Peter declares, "Thou art the Son of the living God." He waited not
for kingly honors to crown his Lord, but accepted him in his humiliation.
Peter, in his confession of Christ, expressed the faith of the disciples. But
notwithstanding this, Jesus knew that neither his believing followers nor any
of the Jews had any idea of associating humiliation, suffering and death, with
their Messiah. Compassionate Redeemer, who, in the full knowledge of the doom
that awaited him, tenderly smoothed the way for his disciples, prepared them
for their crowning trial, and strengthened them for the final test!
105
{4Red 104.1}
Mary's Offering
Six days
before the passover, Jesus
stopped at the house of Lazarus in Bethany. He was on his way from Jericho to
attend the feast of the passover
at Jerusalem, and chose this retreat for rest and refreshment. Crowds of people
passed on to the city, bearing the tidings that Jesus was on his way to the
feast, and that he would rest over the Sabbath at Bethany. This information was
received with great enthusiasm by the people; for the news had spread
everywhere of the wonderful works wrought by Jesus, the last and most
astonishing of which was the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. Many
flocked to Bethany, some from curiosity to see one who had been raised from the
dead, and others because their hearts were in sympathy
with Jesus, and they longed to look upon his face and hear his blessed words. {4Red 105.1}
They returned
with reports that increased the excitement of the multitude. All were anxious
to see and hear Jesus, whose fame as a prophet had spread over all the land.
There was a general buzz of inquiry as to who the wonderful Teacher was, from
whence he had come, if Lazarus who had been raised from the dead would
accompany him to Jerusalem, and if it was likely that the great prophet would
be crowned king at the feast. The attention of the people was entirely
engrossed in the subject of Jesus and his wondrous works. The priests and
rulers saw that they were losing their hold upon the minds of the people, and
their rage against Jesus was increased; they could hardly wait for him to
106
come and give them the desired opportunity of gratifying
their revenge and removing him forever from their way. As the time passed, they
became excited and restless, fearing that after all
Jesus might not come to Jerusalem. They were fearful that he had read their
purposes against him, and would therefore remain away. They remembered how
often he had divined their thoughts, exposed their hidden motives, and baffled
their murderous designs. They could illy conceal
their anxiety, and questioned among themselves, "What think ye, that he
will not come to the feast?" {4Red 105.2}
A hasty
council of the priests and Pharisees was called to determine how to proceed
with regard to Jesus, in view of the excitement and enthusiasm of the people on
his account. They decided that it would be dangerous to seize upon him openly
on any pretext, for since the raising of Lazarus the sympathies of the people
were greatly in favor of Jesus. So they determined to use craft and take him
secretly, avoiding all uproar or interference, carry on the mockery of a trial
as quietly as possible, and trust to the fickle tide of public opinion to set
in their favor when it was known that Jesus was condemned to death. {4Red 106.1}
But another
consideration came up: If they should execute Jesus, and Lazarus should remain
as a witness of his miraculous power to raise from the dead, the very fact that
a man existed who had been four days in the grave, and whose body had begun to
decay, yet had been called to life and health by a word from Jesus, would
sooner or later create a reaction and bring disaster upon themselves for
sacrificing the life of Him who could perform such a miracle for the benefit of
107
humanity. They therefore decided that Lazarus must also die. They
felt that if the people were to lose confidence in their rulers, the national
power would be destroyed. {4Red 106.2}
To such
lengths do envy and bitter prejudice lead their slaves.
In rejecting Christ, the Pharisees placed themselves where darkness and
superstition closed around them, until, continually increasing in hatred and
unbelief, they were ready to imbrue their hands in blood to accomplish their
unholy ends, and would even take the life of one whom Infinite power had
rescued from the grave. They placed themselves where no power, human or divine,
could reach them; they sinned against the Holy Spirit, and God had no reserve
power to meet their case. Their rebellion
against Christ was settled and determined; he was a stumbling-block and a rock
of offense to them; they would not have this man Jesus to reign over them.
While all this plotting was going on at Jerusalem, Jesus was quietly resting
from his labors at the house of Lazarus. Simon of
Bethany, whom Jesus had healed of leprosy, wishing to show his Master special
honor, made a supper and invited him and his friends as guests. The Saviour sat
at the table, with Simon, whom he had cured of a loathsome disease, on one
side, and Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead, on the other. Martha
served at the table, but Mary was earnestly listening to every word that fell
from the lips of Jesus. She saw that he was sad; she knew that immediately
after raising her brother from the dead, he was obliged to seclude himself in
order to escape the persecution of the leading Jews. As she looked upon her
brother in the strength of perfect health,
108
her heart went out in gratitude to Jesus who had restored
him to her from the grave. {4Red 107.1}
Jesus in his
mercy had pardoned the sins of Mary, which had been many and grievous, and her
heart was full of love for her Saviour. She had often heard him speak of his
approaching death, and she was grieved that he should meet so cruel a fate. At
great personal sacrifice she had purchased an alabaster box of precious
ointment with which to anoint the body of Jesus at his death. But she now heard
many express an opinion that he would be elevated to kingly authority when he
went to Jerusalem, and she was only too ready to believe that it would be so.
She rejoiced that her Saviour would no longer be despised and rejected, and
obliged to flee for his life. In her love and gratitude she wished to be the
first to do him honor, and, seeking to avoid observation, anointed his head and
feet with the precious ointment, and then wiped his feet with her long, flowing
hair. {4Red 108.1}
Her movements
had been unobserved by the others, but the odor
filled the house with its fragrance and published her act to all present. Some
of the disciples manifested displeasure at this act, and Judas boldly expressed
his disapprobation at such a wasteful extravagance. Simon the host, who was a
Pharisee, was influenced by the words of Judas, and his heart filled with
unbelief. He also thought that Jesus should
hold no communication with Mary because of her past life. Judas, the prime instigator of this disaffection among
those who sat at the table, was a stranger to the deep devotion and homage
which actuated Mary to her deed of love. He had been appointed treasurer of the
united funds
109
of the disciples, and had dishonestly appropriated to himself the means
which were designed for the service of God. {4Red
108.2}
He had
indulged a spirit of avarice until it had overpowered every good trait in his
character. This act of Mary was in such marked contrast with his selfishness
that he was ashamed of his avarice, and sought to attribute his objection to
her gift, to a worthier motive. Turning to the disciples he asked, "Why
was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the
poor?" Thus he sought to hide his covetousness under apparent sympathy for
the poor, when, in reality, he cared nothing for them. {4Red
109.1}
He longed to
have the avails of the expensive ointment in his own hands to apply to his own
selfish purposes. By his professed sympathy for the poor he deceived his
fellow-disciples, and by his artful insinuations caused them to look
distrustfully upon the devotion of Mary. Whispered hints of prodigality passed
round the table: "To what purpose is this waste? for
this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor." Mary
was abashed as the eyes of the disciples were bent sternly and reproachfully
upon her. She felt that her deed of devotion must have been wrong, and
tremblingly expected Jesus to condemn it also. {4Red
109.2}
But the
Saviour had observed all that had transpired, and knew the motives of all who
were there assembled. He read the object of Mary in her costly offering. Though
she had been very sinful, her repentance was sincere, and Jesus, while
reproving her guilt, had pitied her weakness and forgiven her. Mary's heart was
filled with gratitude at the compassion of Jesus. Seven
110
times she had heard his stern rebuke to the demons which then
controlled her heart and mind, and she had listened to his strong cries to his
Father in her behalf. She knew how offensive
everything impure was to the unsullied mind of Christ, and she overcame her sin
in the strength of her Saviour. She was transformed, a partaker of the divine
nature. {4Red
109.3}
Mary had
offered her gift in the grateful homage of her heart, and Jesus explained her
motive and vindicated her deed. "Let her alone," he said.
"Why," he asked, "trouble ye the woman? for
she hath wrought a good work upon me." He justified her work to all
present as evincing her gratitude to him for lifting her from a life of shame
to one of purity, and teaching her to believe in him. Said
he, "Against the day of my burying hath she kept this." The
ointment so sacredly kept to anoint the dead body of her Lord she had poured upon
his head in the belief that he was about to be lifted to a throne in Jerusalem.
{4Red 110.1}
Jesus might
have pointed out Judas to the disciples as the cause of such severe judgment
being passed on Mary. He might have revealed to them the hypocrisy of his
character; he might have made known his utter want of feeling for the poor, and
his embezzlement of money appropriated to their relief. He could have raised
their indignation against him for his oppression of the widow, the orphan, and
the hireling; but he refrained from exposing the true character of Judas. He
reproached him not, and thus avoided giving him an excuse for his future
perfidy. {4Red 110.2}
But he rebuked
the disciples, saying, "Ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good; but me ye have
111
not always. She hath done what she could. She is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. Verily, I say
unto you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world,
this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her."
Jesus, looking into the future, spoke with certainty concerning his gospel:
That it was to be preached throughout the whole world. Kingdoms would rise and
fall; the names of monarchs and conquerors would be forgotten; but the memory
of this woman's deed would be immortalized upon the pages of sacred history. {4Red 110.3}
Had the
disciples rightly appreciated the exalted character of their Master, they would
have considered no sacrifice too costly to offer to the Son of God. The wise
men of the East understood more definitely his true position, and the honor due
him, than his own followers, who had received his instruction and beheld his
mighty miracles. They brought precious gifts to the Saviour, and bent in homage
before him, while he was but a babe, and cradled in a manger. {4Red 111.1}
The look which
Jesus cast upon the selfish Judas convinced him that the Master penetrated his
hypocrisy and read his base, contemptible character. He was stirred with
resentment. His heart burned with envy that Jesus should be the recipient of an
offering suitable to the monarchs of earth. He went directly from that supper
to the chief priests, and agreed to betray him into their hands. The priests
were greatly rejoiced at this, and "they covenanted with him for thirty
pieces of silver, and from that time he sought opportunity to betray him."
112
{4Red 111.2}
In the case of Judas we see the fearful result of
covetousness and unholy anger. He begrudged
the offering made to Jesus, and although not personally rebuked, he was
irritated to combine revenge with his avarice, and sell his Lord for a few
pieces of silver. Mary showed how highly she prized the Saviour when she
accounted the most precious gift none too costly for him; but Judas valued
Jesus at the price for which he sold him; his niggardly soul balanced the life
of the Son of God against a paltry sum of money. The same cold, calculating, spirit is manifested by many who profess
Christ today. Their offerings to his cause are grudgingly bestowed or withheld
altogether under various plausible excuses. A
pretense of wide philanthropy, unlimited by church or
creed, is not unfrequently one of them, and they
plead, like Judas, It is better to give it to the poor. But the true Christian
shows his faith by investing in the cause of truth; he is known by his works,
for "faith without works is dead." {4Red
112.1}
Jesus read
Simon's heart, and knew how he had been influenced by the insinuations of
Judas, and that he had questioned in his mind, saying, "This man, if he
were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that
toucheth him; for she is a sinner." When Judas had left the house, Jesus
turned to his host and said, "Simon, I have somewhat to say unto
thee." Simon replied, "Master, say on." Then Jesus proceeded to
speak a parable, which illustrated the contrast between the gratitude of his
host, who had been healed of the leprosy, and that of Mary, whose sins had been
pardoned. Said he, "There was a certain creditor which
113
had two debtors; the one owed five hundred pence, and the
other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both.
Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most?" {4Red 112.2}
Simon did not
discern the application which Jesus designed to make, but he answered him,
"I suppose that he to whom he forgave most." Jesus replied,
"Thou hast rightly judged." This answer condemned Simon. He had been
a great sinner, and also a loathsome leper, avoided by all. He had come to
Jesus piteously imploring his help, and He who never turned a deaf ear to human
woe, had cleansed him from sin and from the terrible disease that was upon him.
Simon was humbled, but he had been a proud Pharisee, and he did not look upon
himself as being so great a sinner as he really was, and he had now become
self-sufficient and lifted up in his own estimation. He had exalted himself as
far superior to the poor woman who anointed the feet of her Lord. In
entertaining Jesus at his house, he thought he was paying him marked respect;
but the Saviour was lowered in his estimation when he permitted the devotion of
Mary, who had been so great a sinner. He overlooked the miracle which Jesus had
wrought upon him in saving him from a living death, and coldly reasoned with
himself if Jesus could be the Messiah, and yet stoop to receive the gift of
this woman. He thought that if he were the Christ, he would know that a sinner
had approached him and repel her. He did not
realize that he himself had been a greater sinner than she, and that Christ had
forgiven him as well as Mary. He was ready to doubt the divine character of his
Master
114
because he imagined that he detected in him a want of
discernment. {4Red
113.1}
On the other hand,
Mary was thoroughly penitent and humbled because of her sins. In her gratitude
for his pardoning mercy she was ready to sacrifice all for Jesus, and no doubt
as to his divine power troubled her mind for a moment. It was not the
comparative degrees of obligation which should be felt by the two persons,
which Jesus designed to illustrate by this parable, for both were unable to
cancel their debt of gratitude; but he took Simon on his own ground, as feeling
himself more righteous than the woman, and showed him that though the sins
which had been forgiven him were great, he had not repaid his Benefactor with
that respect and love which casts out all unbelief. His sense of obligation to
his Saviour was small, while Mary, prizing the gift of mercy bestowed upon her,
was filled with gratitude and love. {4Red 114.1}
Jesus drew the
contrast sharply between the two. Said he: "Seest thou
this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my
feet; but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of
her head. Thou gavest me no kiss; but this woman, since the time I came in,
hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint; but
this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment." {4Red
114.2}
The proud
Pharisee had considered that he had sufficiently honored Jesus by inviting him
to his house; and in his self-consequence had neglected to show him the proper
regard due to so exalted a guest, and to one who had wrought upon him a miracle
of mercy. Jesus encouraged
115
acts of heart-felt courtesy, and the woman, whose
gratitude and love was expressed in her act of attention, was highly commended
by the Saviour: "Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are
forgiven; for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth
little." {4Red 114.3}
Simon's eyes
were opened to his neglect and unbelief. He was touched by the kindness of
Jesus in not openly rebuking him before all the guests. He perceived that Jesus
did not wish to exhibit his guilt and his want of gratitude to others, but
desired to convince his mind by a true statement of his case, and to subdue his
heart by pitying kindness. Stern denunciation
would have closed the heart of Simon against repentance; but patient admonition
convinced him of his error and won his heart. He saw the magnitude of the debt
which he owed his Lord, and became a humble, self-sacrificing man. {4Red 115.1}
When we realize the full debt of obligation to our
Saviour, we are united to him by closer bonds, and our love will be expressed
in all our acts. Jesus will remember every
good work done by his children. The self-sacrificing and benevolent will live
in his memory and be rewarded. No act of devotion to his cause will be
forgotten by him. There is no sacrifice too costly to be offered on the altar
of our faith. {4Red 115.2}
Riding Into Jerusalem
On the first
day of the week, Jesus resumed his journey to Jerusalem to join in the feast of
the passover. Multitudes who
had flocked to Bethany to see him, accompanied him, eager to witness his entry
into Jerusalem. All nature
116
seemed to rejoice; the trees were clothed in verdure, and
blossoms which shed their delicate fragrance upon the air. Many people were on
their way to the city to keep the feast of the passover. These companies were continually joining
the multitude attending Jesus. He sent two of his disciples to bring "a
colt, the foal of an ass," that he might ride into Jerusalem. It was but a
short distance, and as he had always chosen to travel on foot, his disciples
were puzzled to know why he should prefer to ride. But hope brightened in their
hearts with the joyous thought that Jesus was about to enter the capital and
proclaim himself King of the Jews, and assert his royal power. While on their
errand, the disciples communicated their glowing anticipations to the friends
of Jesus, and the excitement spread far and near, raising the expectations of
the people to the highest pitch. {4Red 115.3}
Jesus selected
for his use a colt upon which never man had sat. The disciples in glad
enthusiasm spread their garments upon the colt and placed their Master upon
him. No sooner was he seated than a loud shout of triumph rent the air, and the
multitude hailed him as Messiah, their King. Jesus now accepted the homage
which he had never before permitted, and his disciples received this as a proof
that their glad hopes were to be realized by seeing him acknowledged at
Jerusalem as the King of Israel. All were happy and excited; the people vied
with each other in paying him homage. They could not display outward pomp and splendor, but they gave him the worship of happy hearts.
They were unable to present him with costly gifts, but they spread their outer
garments as a carpet in his path, and
117
they also strewed the leafy branches of the olive and palm in
the way. They could lead the triumphal procession with no royal standards, but
they cut down the spreading palm boughs, Nature's emblem of victory, and waved
them aloft, while their loud acclamations and hosannas rent the air. {4Red 116.1}
As they
proceeded, the multitude was continually increased by those who had heard of
the coming of Jesus and hastened to join the procession. Spectators were
constantly mingling with the throng and asking, Who is
this? What does all this commotion signify? They had all heard of Jesus and
were expecting him to go to Jerusalem, but they knew that he had heretofore
refused to receive kingly honors, and they were greatly astonished to learn
that this was he. They wondered what could have wrought this change in him who
had declared that his kingdom was not of this world. {4Red
117.1}
While they are
wondering and questioning, the eager crowd silence their queries with a shout
of triumph that is repeated again and again, and is echoed from the surrounding
hills and valleys. And now the joyful procession is joined by crowds from Jerusalem, that have heard of the grand demonstration, and
hasten to meet the Saviour and conduct him to Jerusalem. From the great
gathering of the Hebrews to attend the passover,
thousands go forth to welcome Jesus to the city. They greet him with the waving
of palm branches and a burst of sacred song. The priests at the temple sound
the trumpet for evening service, but there are few to respond, and the rulers
say to each other in alarm. "The world has gone after him."
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{4Red 117.2}
The Saviour
during his earthly life had hitherto refused to receive kingly honor, and had
resolutely discouraged all attempts to elevate him to an earthly throne; but
this occasion was intended by Jesus to call public attention to him as the
world's Redeemer. He was nearing the period when his life was to be offered a
ransom for guilty man. Although he was soon to be betrayed and to be hanged
upon the cross like a malefactor, yet he would enter Jerusalem, the scene of
his approaching sacrifice, attended by demonstrations of joy and the honor
belonging to royalty, to faintly prefigure the glory of his future coming to
the world as Zion's King.{4Red 118.1}
It was the
purpose of Jesus to draw attention to the crowning sacrifice that was to end
his mission to a fallen world. They were assembling at Jerusalem to celebrate
the passover, while he, the
antitypical Lamb, by a voluntary act set himself apart as an oblation. Jesus
understood that it was needful in all future ages that the church should make
his death for the sins of the world a subject of deep thought and study. Every
fact connected with it should be verified beyond a doubt. It was necessary,
then, that the eyes of all people should be directed to him, that the
demonstrations which preceded his great sacrifice should be such as to call the
attention of all to the sacrifice itself. After such an exhibition as that
attending his entry into Jerusalem, all eyes would follow his rapid progress to
the final end. {4Red 118.2}
The startling
events connected with this triumphal ride were calculated to be the talk of
every tongue, and bring Jesus before every mind. After his crucifixion these
events would be
119
connected with his trial and death; prophecies would be searched
and would reveal the fact that this was indeed the Messiah; and converts to the
faith of Jesus would be multiplied in all lands. In this one triumphant scene
of his earthly life, the Saviour might have appeared escorted by heavenly
angels and heralded by the trumps of God; but he remained true to the life of
humiliation he had accepted, bearing the burden of humanity till his life was
given for the life of the world. {4Red 118.3}
This day,
which seemed to the disciples the crowning day of their lives, would have been
shadowed with gloomy clouds had they known that this scene of rejoicing was but
a prelude to the suffering and death of their Master. Although he had
repeatedly told them of his certain sacrifice, yet in the glad triumph of the
present they forgot his sorrowful words, and looked forward to his prosperous
reign on the throne of David. New accessions were being made continually to the
procession, and, with few exceptions, all who joined it caught the glad
inspiration of the hour, and helped to swell the hosannas that echoed and
re-echoed from hill to hill and from valley to valley. The shouts went up
continually, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He that cometh in
the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" It was as if all that vast
multitude were seeking to excel one another in responding to the call from a
prophetic past.{4Red 119.1}
Many Pharisees
witnessed the scene, and, burning with envy and malice, sought to turn the
popular current. They exercised all the authority which they could command to
repress the
120
enthusiasm of the people; but all their appeals and threatenings were in vain. Fearful that this multitude, in
the strength of their numbers, would lift Jesus to the position of king, they,
as a last resort, pressed through the crowd and accosted him with reproving and
threatening words: "Master, rebuke thy disciples." They declared that
such noisy and excited demonstrations were unlawful and would not be permitted
by the authorities. But the reply of Jesus silenced their haughty commands:
"I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would
immediately cry out." {4Red 119.2}
God himself
had, in his special providence, arranged the order of the events then
transpiring, and if men had failed to carry out the divine plan, He would have
given a voice to the inanimate stones and they would have hailed his Son with
acclamations of praise. This scene had been revealed in prophetic vision to the
holy seers of old, and man was powerless to turn aside the purposes of Jehovah.
As the silenced Pharisees drew back, the words of Zechariah were taken up by
hundreds of voices: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O
daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, thy King cometh unto thee; he is just, and
having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of
an ass." {4Red 120.1}
The Pharisees were forced to desist from
their efforts to calm the enthusiasm of the people. All their expostulations
only served to increase their ardor. The world had
never before seen such a triumphal procession. It was not like that of the
earth's famous conquerors. No train of mourning captives, as trophies of kingly
valor,
121
made a feature of that imposing pageant. But about the
Saviour were the glorious trophies of his labors of
love for sinful man. There were the captives whom he had rescued from Satan's
cruel power, praising God for their deliverance. The blind to whom he had
restored sight pressed on, leading the way. The dumb, whose tongues he had
loosed, shouted the loudest hosannas. The cripples whom he had healed bounded
freely on, the most active in breaking the palm-branches and in waving them
before the Saviour. Widows and orphans were among the multitude exalting the
name of Jesus for his works of mercy to them. The lepers
who had been cleansed by a word from him, and rescued from a living death,
spread their untainted garments in his path and hailed him as the King of
Glory. Those who had been awakened by his magic voice from the sleep of death
were in that throng. Lazarus, whose body had seen corruption in the grave, now
restored to the full strength of glorious manhood, guided the humble beast upon
which his Liberator rode. {4Red 120.2}
When the
procession arrived at the summit of the hill and was about to descend into the
city, Jesus halted, and all the multitude with him
Jerusalem in all its glory lay before them, bathed in the light of the
declining sun. The temple attracted all eyes. In stately grandeur it towered
above all else, seeming to point toward Heaven as if directing the people
upward to the only true and living God. This temple in its splendid majesty had
long been the pride and glory of the Jewish nation. The Romans also prided
themselves in it as an unequaled monument of
magnificence. Their king had united
122
with the Jews in embellishing it, and together they had
spared no pains nor expense to furnish it with the most costly and beautiful
decorations both without and within. {4Red 121.1}
A portion of
the wall of the building had withstood the siege of armies, and, in its perfect
masonry, appeared like one solid stone dug entire from the quarry. While the westering sun was tinting and gilding the heavens, its
resplendent glory lit up the pure white marble of the temple and sparkled on
its gold-capped pillars. From the crest of the hill where Jesus and his
followers stood, it had the appearance of a massive structure of snow studded
with flashing jewels. At the entrance to the temple was a vine composed of gold
and silver, with green leaves and massive clusters of grapes, all executed at
an enormous expense by the most skillful artists.
This design represented Israel in the character of a prosperous vine. The gold,
silver, and living green were all combined with such rare taste and exquisite
workmanship, that, as it twined gracefully about the white and glistening
pillars, clinging with shining tendrils to their golden ornaments, it was a
wonderful thing of beauty, catching the splendor of
the setting sun, and shining as if with a glory borrowed from Heaven. {4Red 122.1}
Jesus gazes
upon the enchanting scene before him, and the vast multitude hush their shouts,
spell-bound by this sudden vision of beauty. All eyes turn instinctively upon
the Saviour, expecting to see in his countenance the admiration which they
themselves feel. But instead of this they behold a cloud of sorrow gathering upon
his countenance. They are surprised and disappointed to see the eyes of the
Saviour fill
123
with tears, and his body rock to and fro like a tree before
the tempest, while a wail of anguish bursts from his quivering lips as if from
the depths of a broken heart. What a sight was this for angels to behold! Their
loved Commander in an agony of tears! What a sight was this for that glad
throng who had accompanied him with shouts of triumph and waving of
palm-branches to that summit overlooking the glorious city where they fondly
hoped he would reign! Their acclamations were now
silenced, while many tears flowed in sympathy with the grief they could not
comprehend. {4Red 122.2}
Jesus had wept at the grave of Lazarus, but it
was in a God-like grief in harmony with the occasion. But this sudden sorrow is
like a note of wailing in a grand triumphal chorus. In the midst of a scene of rejoicing, where all were
paying him homage, Israel's King was in tears; not silent tears of gladness,
but tears and groans of insuppressible agony. The multitude are struck with a
sudden gloom while they look upon this grief which is incomprehensible to them.
The tears of Jesus were not in anticipation of
physical suffering as he contemplated his crucifixion, though just before him
was the garden of Gethsemane where he knew that soon the horror of a great
darkness would overshadow him. The sheep
gate was also in sight through which for centuries the beasts for sacrificial
offerings had been conducted. This gate was soon to open for him, the great
Antitype toward whose sacrifice for the sins of the world all these offerings
had pointed. Near by was Calvary, the scene of his
approaching agony. {4Red 123.1}
Yet it is not because of these reminders of his
124
cruel death that the Redeemer weeps and groans in anguish of
spirit. His is no selfish sorrow. The thought of physical pain does not
intimidate that noble, self-sacrificing soul. It is the sight of Jerusalem that
pierces the heart of Jesus with anguish,--Jerusalem that had rejected the Son
of God and scorned his love, who refused to be convinced by his mighty miracles
and is about to take his life. He sees what
she is in her guilt of rejecting her Redeemer, and what she might have been had
she accepted Him who alone could heal her wound. He had come to save her; how
can he give up the child of his care! {4Red 123.2}
He raised his
hand,--that had so often blessed the sick and suffering,--and waving it toward
the doomed city, in broken utterances of grief exclaimed: "If thou hadst known, even thou, in this thy day
the things which belong to thy peace--" Here the Saviour paused and left
unsaid what might have been the condition of Jerusalem had she accepted the
only help that God could give her,--the gift of his beloved Son. If Jerusalem had known what it was her privilege to
know, and had acted according to the light bestowed upon her by God, she might
have stood forth in the pride of prosperity, the queen of kingdoms, free in the
strength of her God-given power. There would then have been no armed soldiers
waiting at her gates, no Roman banners waving from her walls. The glorious
destiny which might have blessed Jerusalem, had she accepted her Redeemer, rose
before the Son of God. He saw that she might through him have been healed of
her grievous malady, liberated from bondage, and established as the mighty
metropolis of the earth. From her walls the dove
125
of peace would have gone forth to all nations. She would have been the
world's diadem of glory. {4Red 124.1}
But the bright
picture of what Jerusalem might have been had she accepted the Son of God,
fades from the Saviour's sight as he realizes what she is under the oppressive
Roman yoke, bearing the frown of God, doomed to his retributive justice. He
takes up the broken thread of his lamentations: "But
now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine
enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee
in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children
within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because
thou knewest not the time of thy visitation." {4Red 125.1}
Christ came to
save Jerusalem with her children from the consequences of her former sins; but
the unholy expectations of the Pharisees were not answered in the manner of his
appearing. Pharisaical pride, hypocrisy, jealousy, and malice had prevented him
from accomplishing his purpose. Jesus knew
the terrible retribution which would be visited upon the doomed city. He sees
Jerusalem encompassed with armies, the besieged inhabitants driven to
starvation and death, mothers making a repast on the dead bodies of their own
children, and both parents and children snatching the last morsel of food from
one another, natural affection being destroyed through the gnawing pangs of
hunger. He sees that the stubbornness of the Jews, as evinced in their
rejection of his salvation, will also lead them to refuse their only remaining
chance of safety, submission to the invading
126
armies. He sees the wretched inhabitants suffering torture on
the rack, and crucifixion, the beautiful palaces destroyed, the temple where
God had revealed his glory, in ruins, and of all its pure and spotless walls,
decorated with lofty pillars and gilded devices, not one stone left upon
another, while the city is plowed like a field. Well
may the Saviour weep in agony in view of such a fearful picture!{4Red 125.2}
Jerusalem had
been the child of his care, and as a tender father mourns over a wayward son,
so Jesus wept over Jerusalem. How can I give thee up! How can I see thee
devoted to destruction and desolation! Must I let thee go to fill up the cup of
thine iniquity! One soul is of such value that, in comparison with it, worlds
sink into insignificance; but here was a whole nation to be lost. When the fast
westering sun should pass from sight in the heavens,
Jerusalem's day of grace would be at an end. While that vast procession was halting
on the brow of Olivet, it was yet not too late for Jerusalem to repent and be
saved. The Angel of Mercy was then folding her wings to step down from the
golden throne and give place to Justice and swift-coming judgment. But Christ's
great heart of love still pleads for Jerusalem, which had scorned all his
mercies, despised his warnings, and was about to finish her iniquitous work by
imbruing her hands in his blood. If Jerusalem would but repent, it is not yet
too late. While the last rays of the setting sun are lingering on temple,
tower, and flashing minaret, will not some good angel lead her to the Saviour's
love, and avert the fearful doom that awaits her! Beautiful and unholy city,
that had stoned the
127
prophets, that had rejected the Son of God, that was locking
herself, by her impenitence, in fetters of bondage,--thy day of mercy is almost
spent! {4Red 126.1}
Here had lived
a favored people; God made their temple his habitation; it was "beautiful
for situation, the joy of the whole earth." The record of more than a
thousand years of Christ's guardian care and tender love, such as a father
bears his only child, was there. In that temple had the prophets uttered their
solemn warnings. There had the burning censers waved,
while incense, mingled with the prayers of the worshipers, had ascended to God.
There the blood of beasts had flowed, typical of the blood of Christ. There
Jehovah had manifested his glory above the mercy-seat. There the priests had
officiated in flowing robes and jeweled
breast-plates, and the pomp of symbol and ceremony had gone on for ages. But
all this must have an end; for Jerusalem has sealed her own doom, and her
destruction is at hand. {4Red 127.1}
Contemplating
the fate of the city he had loved, the soul of Jesus yearned over the child of
his care. Unrequited love broke the heart of
the Son of God. Little did the multitude
know of the grief that weighed upon the spirit of Him whom they worshiped. They saw his tears and heard his groans, and for
a brief space a mysterious awe interrupted their joyful demonstrations; but
they could not understand the meaning of his lamentation over Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, reports were brought to the rulers that Jesus was approaching the
city attended by a great concourse of people. In trepidation they go out to
meet him, hoping to disperse the crowd by means of their authority. As the
procession is about to descend the
128
Mount of Olives, it is
intercepted by the rulers. They inquire who and what is the cause of all this
tumultuous rejoicing. As they, with much authority, repeat their question,--Who
is this? the disciples, filled with a spirit of
inspiration, are heard above all the noise of the crowd, repeating in eloquent
strains the prophecies which answered this question. Adam will tell you, It is the seed of the woman that shall bruise the serpent's
head. Ask Abraham, he will tell you, It is
Melchizedek, King of Salem, King of Peace. Jacob will tell you, He is Shiloh of
the tribe of Judah. Isaiah will tell you, Immanuel, Wonderful, Counsellor, the
Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of
Peace. Jeremiah will tell you, The Branch of David, the Lord, our
righteousness. Daniel will tell you, He is the Messiah. Hosea will tell you, He
is the Lord God of Hosts, the Lord is his memorial. John the Baptist will tell
you, He is the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world. The great Jehovah has proclaimed from his throne, This is my beloved Son. We, his disciples, declare, This is Jesus, the Messiah, the Prince of Life, the Redeemer
of the world. And even the Prince of the powers of darkness acknowledges him,
saying, "I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God." {4Red 127.2}