 37 of the Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The first evangelist. The apostles were members of the family of Jesus, and they had accompanied him as he traveled on foot through Galilee. They had shared with him the toils and hardships that overtook them. They had listened to his discourses. They had walked and talked with the Son of God, and from his daily instruction they had learned how to work for the elevation of humanity. As Jesus ministered to the vast multitudes that gathered about him, his disciples were in attendance, eager to do his bidding and to lighten his labor. They assisted in arranging the people, bringing the afflicted ones to the Saviour, and promoting the comfort of all. They watched for interested hearers, explaining the scriptures to them, and in various ways worked for their spiritual benefit. They taught what they had learned of Jesus, and were every day obtaining a rich experience. But they needed also an experience in laboring alone. They were still in need of much instruction, great patience, and tenderness. Now while he was personally with them, to point out their errors and counsel and correct them, the Saviour sent them forth as his representatives. While they had been with him, the disciples had often been perplexed by the teaching of the priests and Pharisees, but they had brought their perplexities to Jesus. He had set before them the truths of scripture and contrast with tradition. Thus he had strengthened their confidence in God's Word, and in a great measure had set them free from their fear of the rabbis and their bondage to tradition. In the training of the disciples, the example of the Saviour's life was far more effective than any mere doctrinal instruction. When they were separated from him, every look and tone and word came back to them, often when in conflict with the enemies of the gospel, they repeated his words, and as they saw their effect upon the people, they rejoiced greatly. Calling the twelve about him, Jesus bade them go out two and two through the towns and villages. None were set forth alone, but brother was associated with brother, friend with friend. Thus they could help and encourage each other, counseling and praying together. Each one's strength supplementing the other's weakness. In the same manner he afterwards set forth the seventy. It was the Saviour's purpose that the messengers of the gospel should be associated in this way. In our own time evangelistic work would be far more successful if this example were more closely followed. The disciples' message was the same as that of John the Baptist and of Christ himself. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. They were to enter into no controversy with the people as to whether Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, but in his name they were to do the same works of mercy as he had done. He bade them, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils. Freely ye have received, freely give. During his ministry Jesus devoted more time to healing the sick than to preaching. His miracles testified to the truth of his words that he came not to destroy, but to save. His righteousness went before him, and the glory of the Lord was his rearward. Wherever he went the tidings of his mercy preceded him. Where he had passed the objects of his compassion were rejoicing in health and making trial of their newfound powers. Crowds were collecting around them to hear from their lips the works that the Lord had wrought. His voice was the first sound that many had ever heard. His name the first word they had ever spoken. His face the first they had ever looked upon. Why should they not love Jesus and sound his praise? As he passed through the towns and cities he was like a vital current diffusing life and joy wherever he went. The followers of Christ are to labor as he did. We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the suffering and afflicted. We are to minister to the despairing and inspire hope in the hopeless, and to us also the promise will be fulfilled. Thy righteousness shall go before thee. The glory of the Lord shall be thy reward. Isaiah 58.8. The love of Christ, manifested in an unselfish ministry, will be more effective in reforming the evildoer than will the sword or the court of justice. These are necessary to strike terror to the lawbreaker, but the loving missionary can do more than this. Often the heart will harden under reproof, but it will melt under the love of Christ. The missionary can not only relieve physical maladies, but he can lead the sinner to the great physician, who can cleanse the soul from the leprosy of sin. Through his servants, God designs that the sick, the unfortunate, those possessed of evil spirits, shall hear his voice, through his human agencies he desires to be a comforter such as the world knows not. The disciples on their first missionary tour were only to go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. If they had now preached the gospel to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, they would have lost their influence with the Jews. By exciting the prejudice of the Pharisees, they would have involved themselves in controversy which would have discouraged them at the outset of their labors. Even the apostles were slow to understand that the gospel was to be carried to all nations. Until they themselves could grasp this truth, they were not prepared for labor for the Gentiles. If the Jews would receive the gospel, God proposed to make them his messengers to the Gentiles. Therefore, they were first to hear the message. All over the field of Christ's labor there were souls awakened to their need, and hungering and thirsting for the truth. The time had come to send the tidings of his love to these longing hearts. To all these the disciples were to go as his representatives. The believers would thus be led to look upon them as divinely appointed teachers, and when the Savior should be taken from them, they would not be left without instructors. On this first tour the disciples were to go only where Jesus had been before them, and had made friends. Their preparation for the journey was to be of the simplest kind. Nothing must be allowed to divert their minds from their great work, or in any way excite opposition and close the door for further labor. They were not to adopt the dress of the religious teachers, nor use any guise and apparel to distinguish them from the humble peasants. They were not to enter into the synagogues and call the people together for public service. Their efforts were to be put forth in house to house labor. They were not to waste time in needless salutations, or in going from house to house for entertainment. But in every place they were to accept the hospitality of those who were worthy, those who would welcome them heartily, as if entertaining Christ himself. They were to enter the dwelling with the beautiful salutation, peace be to this house, Luke 10.5. That home would be blessed by their prayers, their songs of praise, and the opening of the scriptures in the family circle. These disciples were to be heralds of the truth, to prepare the way for the coming of their master. The message they had to bear was the word of eternal life, and the destiny of men depended upon their reception or rejection of it. To impress the people with its solemnity, Jesus bade his disciples, whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah and the day of judgment than for that city. Now the Saviour's eye penetrates the future. He beholds the broader fields in which, after his death, the disciples are to be witnesses for him. His prophetic glance takes in the experience of his servants through all the ages till he shall come the second time. He shows his followers the conflicts they must meet. He reveals the character and plan of the battle. He lays open before them the perils they must encounter, the self-denial that will be required. He desires them to count the cost, that they may not be taken unawares by the enemy. Their warfare is not to be waged against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 612, RV. They are to contend with supernatural forces, but they are assured of supernatural help. All the intelligences of heaven are in this army, and more than angels are in the ranks. The Holy Spirit, the representative of the captain of the Lord's host, comes down to direct the battle. Our infirmities may be many. Our sins and mistakes grievous. But the grace of God is for all who seek it with contrition. The power of omnipotence is enlisted in behalf of those who trust in God. Behold, said Jesus, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be, therefore, wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. Christ himself did not suppress one word of truth. But he spoke it always in love. He exercised the greatest tact and thoughtful kind attention in his intercourse with the people. He was never rude, never needlessly spoke a severe word, never gave needless pain to a sensitive soul. He did not sense your human weakness. He fearlessly denounced hypocrisy, unbelief, and iniquity. But tears were in his voice as he uttered his scathing rebukes. He wept over Jerusalem, the city he loved, that refused to receive him, the way, the truth, and the life. They rejected him, the Saviour. But he regarded them with pitying tenderness, and sorrowed so deep that it broke his heart. Every soul was precious in his eyes. While he always bore himself with divine dignity, he bowed with tenderest regard to every member of the family of God. In all men he saw fallen souls whom it was his mission to save. The serpents of Christ are not to act out the dictates of the natural heart. They need to have close communion with God, lest, under provocation, self rise up, and they pour forth a torrent of words that are unbefitting, that are not as due, or the still showers that refresh the withering plants. This is what Satan wants them to do. For these are his methods. It is the dragon that is wroth. It is the spirit of Satan that is revealed in anger and accusing. But God's servants are to be representatives of him. He desires them to deal only in the currency of heaven, the truth that bears his own image and superscription, the power by which they are to overcome evil as the power of Christ, the glory of Christ as their strength. They are to fix their eyes upon his loveliness. Then they can present the gospel with divine tact and gentleness, and the spirit that is kept gentle under provocation will speak more effectively in favour of the truth than will any argument, however forcible. Those who are broad in controversy with the enemies of truth have to meet not only men, but Satan and his agents. Let them remember the Saviour's words. Behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Luke 10.3. Let them rest in the love of God, and the spirit will be kept calm, even under personal abuse. The Lord will clothe them with the divine panoply. His Holy Spirit will influence the mind and heart so that their voices shall not catch the notes of the baying of the wolves. Continuing his instruction to his disciples, Jesus said, Beware of men. They were not to put implicit confidence in those who knew not God, and open to them their counsels, for this would give Satan's agents an advantage. Men's inventions often counterwork God's plans. Those who build the temple of the Lord are to build according to the pattern shown in the mount, the divine similitude. God is dishonored, and the gospel is betrayed when his servants depend on the counsel of men who are not under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Worldly wisdom is foolishness with God. Those who rely upon it will surely err. They will deliver you up to counsels, yea, and before governors and kings shall ye be brought for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. Persecution will spread the light. The servants of Christ will be brought before the great men of the world, who, but for this, might never hear the gospel. The truth has been misrepresented to these men. They have listened to false charges concerning the faith of Christ's disciples. Often their only means of learning its real character is the testimony of those who are brought to trial for their faith. Under examination, these are required to answer, and their judges to listen to the testimony borne. God's grace will be dispensed to his servants to meet the emergency. It shall be given you, says Jesus, in that same hour of what she shall speak, for it is not ye that speak, but the spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. As the spirit of God illuminates the minds of his servants, the truth will be presented in its divine power and preciousness. Those who reject the truth will stand to accuse and oppress the disciples. But under loss and suffering, even unto death, the Lord's children are to reveal the meekness of their divine example. Thus we'll be seeing the contrast between Satan's agents and the representatives of Christ. The Saviour will be lifted up before the rulers and the people. The disciples were not endowed with the courage and fortitude of the martyrs until such grace was needed. Then the Saviour's promise was fulfilled. When Peter and John testified before the Sanhedrin Council, men marveled, and they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4, 13. A Stephen it is written that all that sat in the Council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. Men were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. Acts 6, 15, 10. And Paul, writing of his own trial at the court of the Caesars, says, At my first defense no one took my part, but all forsook me. But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and that all the Gentiles might hear, and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. 2 Timothy 4, 16, 17, RV. The servants of Christ were to prepare no set speech to present when brought to trial. Their preparation was to be made day by day in treasuring up the precious truths of God's Word, and through prayer strengthening their faith. When they were brought into trial, the Holy Spirit would bring to their remembrance the very truths that would be needed. A daily earnest driving to know God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent would bring power and efficiency to the soul. The knowledge obtained by diligent searching of the Scriptures would be flashed into the memory at the right time, but if any had neglected to equate themselves with the words of Christ, if they had never tested the power of his grace in trial, they could not expect that the Holy Spirit would bring his words to their remembrance. They were to serve God daily with undivided affection, and then trust him. So bitter would be the enmity to the Gospel that even the tenderest earthly ties would be disregarded. The disciples of Christ would be betrayed to death by the members of their own households. Ye shall be hated of all men for my namesake, he added, but he that shall endure until the end, the same shall be saved. Mark 13, 13. But he bade them not to expose themselves unnecessarily to persecution. He himself often left one field of labor for another in order to escape from those who were seeking his life. When he was rejected at Nazareth, and his own townsmen tried to kill him, he went down to Capernaum. And there the people were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with power. So his servants were not to be discouraged by persecution, but to seek a place where they could still labor for the salvation of souls. The servant is not above his master. The Prince of Heaven was called Belzebub, and his disciples will be misrepresented in like matter. But whatever the danger, Christ's followers must avow their principles. They should scorn concealment. They cannot remain uncommitted until assured of safety in confessing the truth. They are said as watchmen to warn men of their peril. The truth received from Christ must be imparted to all, freely and openly. Jesus said, What I tell you in darkness, that's speaky in light, and what you hear in the ear, that preachy upon the housetops. Jesus himself never purchased peace by compromise. His heart overflowed with love for the whole human race, but he was never indulgent to their sins. He was too much their friend to remain silent while they were pursuing a course that would ruin their souls. The souls he had purchased with his own blood. He labored that man should be true to himself, true to his higher and eternal interest. The servants of Christ are called to the same work, and they should be wearlessed in seeking to prevent discord. They surrender the truth. They are to follow after the things which make for peace. Romans 14, 19. But real peace can never be secured by compromising principle. And no man can be true to principle without exciting opposition. A Christianity that is spiritual will be opposed by the children of disobedience, but Jesus bade his disciples fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Those who are true to God need not fear the power of men, nor the enmity of Satan. In Christ their eternal life is secure. Their only fear should be lest they surrender the truth, and thus betray the trust with which God has honored them. It is Satan's work to fill men's hearts with doubt. He leads them to look upon God as a stern judge. He tempts them to sin, and then to regard themselves as too vile to approach their Heavenly Father or to excite his pity. The Lord understands all this. Jesus assures his disciples of God's sympathy for them in their needs and weaknesses. Not a sigh is breathed, not a pain felt, not a grief pierces the soul, but the throb vibrates to the Father's heart. The Bible shows us God in his high and holy place, not in a state of inactivity, not in silence and solitude, but surrounded by ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of holy intelligences, all waiting to do his will. Through channels which we cannot discern, he is in active communication with every part of his dominion. But it is in this speck of a world, in the souls that he gave his only begotten Son to save, that his interest and the interest of all heaven is centered. God is bending from his throne to hear the cry of the oppressed. To every sincere prayer he answers, Here am I. He uplifts the distressed and downtrodden. In all our afflictions he is afflicted. In every temptation and every trial the angel of his presence is near to deliver. Not even a sparrow falls to the ground without the Father's notice. Satan's hatred against God leads him to hate every object of the Savior's care. He seeks to mar the handiwork of God, and he delights in destroying even the dumb creatures. It is only through God's protecting care that the birds are preserved to gladden us with their songs of joy. But he does not forget even the sparrows. Fear ye not, therefore, year of more value than many sparrows. Jesus continues, As ye confess me before men, so I will confess you before God and the holy angels, you are to be my witnesses upon earth, channels through which my grace can flow for the healing of the world, so I will be your representative in heaven. The Father beholds not your faulty character, but he sees you as clothed in my perfection. I am the medium through which heaven's blessings shall come to you, and everyone who confesses me by sharing my sacrifice for the lost shall be confessed as a sharer in the glory and joy of the redeemed. He who would confess Christ must have Christ abiding in him. He cannot communicate that which he has not received. The disciples might speak fluently on doctrines. They might repeat the words of Christ himself. But unless they possessed Christ-like meekness and love, they were not confessing him. A spirit contrary to the spirit of Christ would deny him whatever the profession. Men may deny Christ by evil speaking, by foolish talking, by words that are untruthful or unkind. They may deny him by shunning life's burdens, by the pursuit of sinful pleasure. They may deny him by conforming to the world, by uncourteous behavior, by the love of their own opinions, by justifying self, by cherishing doubt, borrowing trouble and dwelling in darkness, in all these ways they declare that Christ is not in them, and whosoever shall deny me before men, he says, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. The Savior bed his disciples not to hope that the world's enmity to the gospel would be overcome, and that after a time its opposition would cease. He said, I came not to send peace, but a sword. This creating of strife is not the effect of the gospel, but the result of opposition to it. Of all persecution the hardest to bear is variance in the home. The estrangement of dearest earthly friends. But Jesus declares, he that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me, and he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me. The mission of Christ's servants is a high honor and a sacred trust. He that receiveth you, he says, receiveth me, and he that receiveth me, he receiveth him that sent me. No acts of kindness shown to them in his name will fail to be recognized or rewarded. And in the same tender recognition he includes the feeblest and lowliest of the family of God. Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones, those who are his children in their faith and their knowledge of Christ, a cup of cold water only in the name of the disciple. Fairly I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. Thus the Saviour ended his instruction. In the name of Christ the chosen twelve went out as he had gone, to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, 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. Luke 4, 18, 19 End of chapter 37 Read by Donald Hines AVERAID OF TEXAS Chapter 38 of The Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Come rest awhile. On returning from their missionary tour the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus and told him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest awhile, for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. The disciples came to Jesus and told him all things. Their intimate relationship with him encouraged them to lay before him their favorable and unfavorable experiences, their joy at seeing results from their labours, and their sorrow at their failures, their faults, and their weaknesses. They had committed errors in their first work as evangelists, and as they frankly told Christ of their experiences he saw that they needed much instruction. He saw too that they had become weary in their labours and that they needed to rest. But where they then were they could not obtain the needed privacy, for there were many coming and going and they had no leisure so much as to eat. The people were thronging after Christ, anxious to be healed and eager to listen to his words. Many felt drawn to him, for he seemed to them to be the fountain of all blessings. Many of those who then thronged about Christ to receive the precious boon of health accepted him as their Saviour. Many others, afraid then to confess him because of the Pharisees, were converted at the descent of the Holy Spirit and before the angry priests and rulers acknowledged him as the Son of God. But now Christ longed for retirement, that he might be with his disciples, for he had much to say to them. In their work they had passed through the test of conflict and had encountered opposition in various forms. Hitherto they had consulted Christ in everything, but for some time they had been alone, and at times they had been much troubled to know what to do. They had found much encouragement in their work, for Christ did not send them away without a spirit, and by faith in him they worked many miracles. But they needed dow to feed on the bread of life. They needed to go to a place of retirement, where they could hold communion with Jesus and receive instruction for future work. And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile. Christ is full of tenderness and compassion for all in his service. He would show his disciples that God does not require sacrifice, but mercy. They had been putting their whole souls into labour for the people, and this was exhausting their physical and mental strength. It was their duty to rest. As the disciples had seen the success of their labours, they were in danger of taking credit to themselves, in danger of cherishing spiritual pride, and thus falling under Satan's temptations. A great work was before them, and first of all they must learn that their strength was not in self, but in God. Like Moses and the wilderness of Sinai, like David among the hills of Judah, or Elijah by the brook Cherith, the disciples needed to come apart from the scenes of their busy activity to commune with Christ, with nature, and with their own hearts. While the disciples had been absent on their missionary tour, Jesus had visited other towns and villages, preaching the gospel of the kingdom. It was about this time that he received tidings of the Baptist's death. This event brought vividly before him the end to which his own steps were tending. The shadows were gathering thickly about his path. Priests and rabbis were watching to compass his death. Spies hung upon his steps, and on every hand plots for his ruin were multiplying. News of the preaching of the apostles throughout Galilee reached Herod, calling his attention to Jesus and his work. This is John the Baptist, he said. He is risen from the dead, and he expressed the desire to see Jesus. Herod was in constant fear lest a revolution might be secretly carried forward with the object of unseeding him from the throne and breaking the Roman yoke from the Jewish nation. Among the people the spirit of discontent and insurrection was rife. It was evident that Christ's public labors in Galilee could not be long continued. The scenes of his suffering were drawing near, and he longed to be apart for a season from the confusion of the multitude. With saddened hearts the disciples of John had borne his mutilated body to its burial. Then they went and told Jesus. These disciples had been envious of Christ when he seemed to be drawing the people away from John. They had sided with the Pharisees in accusing him when he set with the publicans at Matthew's Feast. They had doubted his divine mission because he did not set the Baptist at liberty. But now that the teacher was dead and they longed for consolation in their great sorrow and for guidance as to their future work, they came to Jesus and united their interest with his. They too needed a season of quiet for communion with the Saviour. Near Biseda, at the northern end of the lake, was a lonely region, now beautiful with fresh green of spring, that offered a welcome retreat to Jesus and his disciples, for this place they set out, going in their boat across the water. Here they would be away from the thorough fares of travel and the bustle and agitation of the city. The scenes of nature were in themselves a rest, a change grateful to the senses. Here they could listen to the words of Christ without hearing the angry interruptions, the retorts and accusations of the scribes and Pharisees. Here they could enjoy a short season of precious fellowship in the society of their Lord. The rest which Christ and his disciples took was not self-indulgent rest. The time they spent in retirement was not devoted to pleasure-seeking. They talked together regarding the work of God and the possibility of bringing greater efficiency to the work. The disciples had been with Christ and could understand him. To them he need not talk in parables. He corrected their errors and made plain to them the right way of approaching the people. He opened more fully to them the precious treasure of divine truth. They were vitalized by divine power and inspired with hope and courage. Though Jesus could work miracles and had empowered his disciples to work miracles, he directed his warned servants to go apart into the country and rest. When he said that the harvest was great and the laborers were few, he did not urge upon his disciples the necessity of ceaseless toil, but said, Pray ye therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest, Matthew 9.38. God has appointed to every man his work, according to his ability, Ephesians 4.11-13, and he would not have a few weighted with responsibilities while others have no burden, no travail of soul. Christ's words of compassion are spoken to his workers today just as surely as they were spoken to his disciples. Come ye yourselves apart and rest awhile, he says, to those who are worn and weary. It is not wise to be always under the strain of work and excitement, even administering to men's spiritual needs, for in this way personal piety is neglected, and the powers of mind and soul and body are overtaxed. Self-denial is required of the disciples of Christ, and sacrifices must be made. But care must also be exercised lest through their overzeal Satan take advantage of the weaknesses of humanity and the work of God be marred. In the estimation of the rabbis it was the sum of religion to be always in a bustle of activity. They depended upon some outward performance to show their superior piety, thus they separated their souls from God and built themselves up in self-sufficiency. The same danger still exists. As activity increases and men become successful in doing any work for God, there is danger of trusting to human plans and methods. There is a tendency to pray less and to have less faith. Like the disciples we are in danger of losing sight of our dependence on God and seeking to make a saviour of our activity. We need to look constantly to Jesus, realizing that it is His power which does the work. While we are to labour earnestly for the salvation of the lost, we must also take time for meditation, for prayer, and for the study of the Word of God. Only the work accomplished with much prayer and sanctified by the merit of Christ will in the end prove to have been efficient for good. No other life was ever so crowded with labour and responsibility as was that of Jesus. Yet how often He was found in prayer. How constant was His communion with God. Again and again in the history of His earthly life are found records such as these. Rising up a great while before day He went out and departed into a solitary place and there prayed. Great multitudes came together to hear and to be healed by Him of their infirmities, and He withdrew Himself into the wilderness and prayed. And it came to pass in those days that He went out into a mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God. Mark 135, Luke 5.15, 16, 6.12. In a life wholly devoted to the good of others the saviour found it necessary to withdraw from the thoroughfares of travel and from the throng that followed Him day after day. He must turn aside from a life of ceaseless activity and contact with human needs to seek retirement and unbroken communion with His Father. As one with us, a sharer in our needs and weaknesses He was wholly depended upon God, and in the secret place of prayer He sought divine strength that He might go forth braced for duty and trial. In a world of sin Jesus endured struggles and torture of soul. In communion with God He could unburden the sorrows that were crushing Him. Here He found comfort and joy. In Christ the cry of humanity reached the Father of infinite pity. As a man He supplicated the throne of God till His humanity was charged with a heavenly current that should connect humanity with divinity. Through continual communion He received life from God, that He might impart life to the world. His experience is to be ours. Come ye yourselves apart, He bids us. If we would give heed to His word we should be stronger and more useful. The disciples sought Jesus and told Him all things, and He encouraged and instructed them. If today we would take time to go to Jesus and tell Him our needs we should not be disappointed. He would be at our right hand to help us. We need more simplicity, more trust and confidence in our Saviour. He whose name is called the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. He of whom it is written, the Government shall be upon His shoulder, is the wonderful Counselor. We are invited to ask wisdom of Him. He giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not. Isaiah 9.6. James 1.5 In all who are under the training of God is to be revealed a life that is not in harmony with the world, its customs or its practices, and every one needs to have a personal experience in obtaining a knowledge of the will of God. We must individually hear Him speaking to the heart. When every other voice is hushed and in quietness we wait before Him, the silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice of God. He bids us be still and know that I am God. Here alone can true rest be found, and this is the effectual preparation for all who labor for God. Amid the hurring throng and the strain of life's intense activities, the soul that is thus refreshed will be surrounded with an atmosphere of light and peace. The life will breathe out fragrance and will reveal a divine power that will reach men's hearts. Chapter 39 of The Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Give ye them to eat. Christ had retired to a secluded place with his disciples, but this rare season of peaceful quietude was soon broken. The disciples thought they had retired where they would not be disturbed, but as soon as the multitude missed the divine teacher they inquired, where is he? Some among them had noticed the direction at which Christ and his disciples had gone. Many went by land to meet them, while others followed in their boats across the water. The Passover was at hand, and, from far and near, bands of pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem gathered to see Jesus. Additions were made to their number, until they were assembled five thousand men, besides women and children. Before Christ reached the shore a multitude were waiting for him, but he landed unobserved by them and spent a little time apart with the disciples. From the hillside he looked upon the moving multitude, and his heart was stirred with sympathy. Interrupted as he was, and robbed of his rest, he was not impatient. He saw a greater necessity demanding his attention as he watched the people coming and still coming. He was moved with compassion toward them because they were a sheep not having a shepherd. Leaving his retreat he found a convenient place where he could minister to them. They received no help from the priests and rulers, but the healing waters of life flowed from Christ as he taught the multitude the way of salvation. The people listened to the words of mercy, flowing so freely from the lips of the Son of God. They heard the gracious words, so simple and so plain that they were as the balm of Gilead to their souls. The healing of his divine hand brought gladness and life to the dying, and ease and health to those suffering with disease. The day seemed to them like heaven upon earth, and they were utterly unconscious of how long it had been since they had eaten anything. At length the day was far spent. The Son was sinking in the West, and yet the people lingered. Jesus had labored all day without food or rest. He was pale from weariness and hunger, and the disciples besought him to cease from his toil. But he could not withdraw himself from the multitude that pressed upon him. The disciples finally came to him, urging that for their own sake the people should be sent away. Many had come from afar, and had eaten nothing since morning. In the surrounding towns and villages they might be able to buy food. But Jesus said, Give ye them to eat. And then, turning to Philip, questioned, When shall we buy bread, that these may eat? This he said to test the faith of the disciple. Philip looked over the sea of heads, and thought how impossible it would be to provide food to satisfy the wants of such a crowd. He answered that two hundred penny-worth of bread would not be nearly enough to divide among them, so that each might have a little. Jesus inquired how much food could be found among the company. There is a lad here, said Andrew, which hath five barley-loaves and two small fishes. But what are they among so many? Jesus directed that these be brought to him. Then he bade the disciples seek the people on the grass in parties of fifty or a hundred to preserve order, and that all might witness what he was about to do. When this was accomplished, Jesus took the food, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and break, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude, and they did all eat and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments and of the fishes. He who taught the people the way to secure peace and happiness was just as thoughtful of their temporal necessities as of their spiritual need. The people were weary and faint. There were mothers with babes in their arms, and little children clinging to their skirts. Many had been standing for hours. They had been so intensely interested in Christ's words that they had not once thought of sitting down, and the crowd was so great that there was danger of their trampling on one another. Jesus would give them a chance to rest, and he bade them sit down. There was much grass in the place, and all could rest in comfort. It never worked a miracle except to supply a genuine necessity. And every miracle was of a character to lead the people to the tree of life, whose leaves are for the healing of the nations. The simple food passed round by the hands of the disciples contained a whole treasure of lessons. It was humble fare that had been provided. The fishes and barley-loaves were the daily food of the fisherfolk about the Sea of Galilee. Christ could have spread before the people a rich repast, but food prepared merely for the gratification of appetite would have conveyed no lesson for their good. Christ taught them in this lesson that the natural provisions of God for man had been perverted, and never did people enjoy the luxurious feast prepared for the gratification of perverted taste as this people enjoyed the rest and the simple food which Christ provided, so far from human habitations. If men today were simple in their habits, living in harmony with nature's laws as did Adam and Eve in the beginning, there would be an abundant supply for the needs of the human family. There would be fewer imaginary wants and more opportunities to work in God's ways, but selfishness and the indulgence of unnatural taste have brought sin and misery into the world from excess on the one hand and from want on the other. Jesus did not seek to attract the people to him by gratifying the desire for luxury. To that great throng weary and hungry after the long, exciting day the simple fare was an assurance not only of his power, but of his tender care for them in the common needs of life. The Saviour has not promised his followers the luxuries of the world. Their fare may be plain and even scanty. Their lot may be shut in by poverty. But his word is pledged that their need shall be supplied, and he has promised that which is far better than worldly good, the abiding comfort of his own presence. In Feeding the Five Thousand Jesus lists the veil from the world of nature and reveals the power that is constantly exercised for our good. In the production of earth's harvest, God is working a miracle every day. Through natural agencies the same work is accomplished that was wrought in the Feeding of the multitude. Men prepare the soil and sow the seed. But it is the life from God that causes the seed to germinate. It is God's reign and air and sunshine that cause it to put forth. First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. It is God who is every day feeding millions from earth's harvest fields. Men are called upon to co-operate with God in the care of the grain and the preparation of the loaf, and because of this they lose sight of the divine agency. They do not give God the glory due unto his holy name. The working of his power is ascribed to natural causes, or to human instrumentality. Man is glorified in place of God, and his gracious gifts are perverted to selfish uses, and made a curse instead of a blessing. God is seeking to change all this. He desires that our dull senses shall be quickened to discern his merciful kindness and to glorify him for the working of his power. He desires us to recognize him and his gifts that they may be, as he intended, a blessing to us. It was to accomplish his purpose that the miracles of Christ were performed. After the multitude had been fed there was an abundance of food left. But he who had all the resources of infinite power, his command said, gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. These words meant more than putting the bread into the baskets. The lesson was twofold. Nothing is to be wasted. We are to let slip no temporal advantage. We should neglect nothing that will tend to benefit a human being. Let everything be gathered up that will relieve the necessity of earth's hungry ones. And there should be the same carefulness and spiritual things. When the baskets of fragments were collected, the people thought of their friends at home. They wanted them to share in the bread that Christ had blessed. The contents of the baskets were distributed among the eager throng and were carried away into all the region round about. So those who were at the feast were to give to others the bread that comes down from heaven, to satisfy the hunger of the soul. They were to repeat what they had learned of the wonderful things of God. Nothing was to be lost. Not one word that concerned their eternal salvation was to fall useless to the ground. The miracle of the Lowe's teaches a lesson of dependence upon God. When Christ fed the five thousand, the food was not nigh at hand. Apparently he had no means at his command. Here he was, with five thousand men, besides women and children, in the wilderness. He had not invited the large multitude to follow him. They came without invitation or command. But he knew that after they had listened so long to his instruction they would feel hungry and faint, for he was one with them in their need of food. They were far from home, and the night was close at hand. Many of them were without means to purchase food. He, who for their sake had fasted forty days in the wilderness, would not suffer them to return fasting to their homes. The providence of God had placed Jesus where he was, and he depended on his Heavenly Father for the means to relieve the necessity. And when we are brought into straight places, we are depended on God. We are to exercise wisdom and judgment in every action of life that we may not, by reckless movements, place ourselves in trial. We are not to plunge into difficulties, neglecting the means God has provided, and misusing the faculties he has given us. Christ's workers are to obey his instructions implicitly. The work is God's, and if we would bless others, His plans must be followed. Self cannot be made a center. Self can receive no honour. If we plan according to our own ideas, the Lord will leave us to our own mistakes. But when, after following His directions, we are brought into straight places, He will deliver us. We are not to give up in discouragement, but in every emergency we are to seek help from Him who has infinite resources at His command. Often we shall be surrounded with trying circumstances, and then, in the fullest confidence, we must depend upon God. He will keep every soul that is brought into perplexity through trying to keep the way of the Lord. Christ has bitten us, through the prophet, deal thy bread to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul, when thou see us the naked, that thou cover him, and bring the poor that are cast out into thy house. Isaiah 58, 7 to 10. He has bitten us, go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16, 15. But how often our hearts sink, and faith fails us, as we see how great is the need, and how small the means in our hands. Like Andrew, looking upon the five barley-lows and the two little fishes, we exclaim, What are they among so many? Often we hesitate, unwilling to give all that we have, fearing to spend, and to be spent for others. But Jesus has bitten us, give ye them to eat. His command is a promise, and behind it is the same power that fed the multitude beside the sea. In Christ's act of supplying the temporal necessities of a hungry multitude is wrapped up a deep spiritual lesson for all of his workers. Christ received from the Father, he imparted to the disciples. They imparted to the multitude, and the people to one another, so all who are united to Christ will receive from him the bread of life, the heavenly food, and impart it to others. In full reliance upon God, Jesus took the small store of loaves, and although there was but a small portion for his own family of disciples, he did not invite them to eat, but began to distribute to them, bidding them serve the people. The food multiplied in his hands, and the hands of the disciples reaching out to Christ himself, the bread of life, were never empty. The little store was sufficient for all. After the wants of the people had been supplied, the fragments were gathered up, and Christ and his disciples ate together the precious heaven-supplied food. The disciples were the channel of communication between Christ and the people. This should be a great encouragement to his disciples to-day. Christ is the great center, the source of all strength. His disciples are to receive their supply from him. The most intelligent, the most spiritually minded, can bestow only as they receive. Of themselves, they can supply nothing for the needs of the soul. We can impart only that which we receive from Christ, and we can receive only as we impart to others. As we continue imparting, we continue to receive, and the more we impart, the more we shall receive. Thus we may be constantly believing, trusting, receiving, and imparting. The work of building up the kingdom of Christ will go forward, though to all appearances it moves slowly and impossibilities seem to testify against advance. The work is of God, and he will furnish means and will send helpers, true, earnest disciples, whose hands also will be filled with food for the starving multitude. God is not unmindful of those who labor in love to give the word of life to perishing souls, who, in their turn, reach forth their hands for food for other hungry souls. In our work for God there is danger of relying too largely upon what man, with his talents and ability, can do. Thus we lose sight of the one master-worker. Too often the worker for Christ fails to realize his personal responsibility. He is in danger of shifting his burden upon organizations, instead of relying upon him who is the source of all strength. It is a great mistake to trust in human wisdom, or numbers, in the work of God. Successful work for Christ depends not so much on numbers or talent as upon pureness of purpose, the true simplicity of earnest, dependent faith. Personal responsibilities must be born. Personal duties must be taken up. Personal efforts must be made for those who do not know Christ. In the place of shifting your responsibility upon someone whom you think more richly endowed than you are, work according to your ability. When the question comes home to your heart, when shall we buy bread that these may eat? Let not your answer be the response of unbelief. When the disciples heard the Savior's direction, give ye them to eat, all the difficulties arose in their minds. They questioned, shall we go away into the villages to buy food? So now when the people are destitute of the bread of life, the Lord's children question, shall we send for someone from afar to come and feed them? But what said Christ? Make the men sit down, and he fed them there. So when you are surrounded by souls in need, know that Christ is there. Commune with him. Bring your barley-loaves to Jesus. The means in our possession may not seem to be sufficient for the work, but if we will move forward in faith, believing in the all-sufficient power of God, abundant resources will open before us. If the work be of God, he himself will provide the means for its accomplishment. He will reward honest, simple reliance upon him. The little that is wisely and economically used in the service of the Lord of Heaven will increase in the very act of imparting. In the hand of Christ the small supply of food remained undiminished until the famished multitude were satisfied. If we go to the source of all strength, with our hands of faith outstretched to receive, we shall be sustained in our work, even under the most forbidding circumstances, and shall be enabled to give to others the bread of life. The Lord says, Give, and it shall be given unto you. He that soeth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he that soeth with blessing shall reap also with blessings. And God is able to make all grace abound unto you, that ye, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good work, as it is written. He hath scattered abroad, he hath given to the poor. His righteousness abideth for ever. And he that supplyeth seed to the sower and bread for food shall supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness, ye being enriched in everything unto all liberality, which worketh through us thanksgiving to God. Chapter 40 of The Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White The sliver-box recording is in the public domain. A night on the lake. Seated upon the grassy plain, in the twilight of the spring evening, the people ate of the food that Christ had the words they had heard that day had come to them as the voice of God. The works of healing they had witnessed were such as only divine power could perform. But the miracles of the loaves appealed to everyone in that vast multitude. All were shares in its benefit. In the days of Moses God had fed Israel with manna in the desert. And who was this that had fed them that day, but he whom Moses had foretold? No human power could create from five barley loaves and two small fishes. Food sufficient to feed thousands of hungry people. And they said one to another. This is of a truth that profit that should come unto the world. All day the conviction has strengthened that crowning act is assurance that the long looked for deliver is among them. The hopes of the people rise higher and higher. This is he who will make Judea an earthly paradise, a land flowing with milk and honey. He can satisfy every desire. He can break the power of the hated Romans. He can deliver Judea and Jerusalem. He can heal the soldiers who are wounded in battle. He can supply whole armies with food. He can conquer the nations and give to Israel the long sought dominion. In their enthusiasm the people are ready at once to crown him king. They see that he makes no effort to attract attention or secure honor to himself. In this he is essentially different from the priests and rulers. And they fear that he will never urge his claim to David's throne. Consulting together they agree to take him by force and proclaim him the king of Israel. The disciples unite with the multitude in declaring the throne of David the rightful inheritance of their master. It is the modesty of Christ, they say, that causes him to review such honor. Let the people exalt their deliverer. Let the arrogant priests and rulers be forced to honor him who comes clothed with the authority of God. They eagerly arrange to carry out their purpose. But Jesus sees what is on foot, and understands, as they cannot, what would be the result of such a movement. Even now the priests and rulers are hunting his life. They accuse him of drawing the people away from them. Violence and insurrection would follow an effort to place him on the throne. And the work of the spiritual kingdom would be hindered. Without delay the movement must be checked. Calling his disciples, Jesus bids him take the boat and return at once to Capernaum, leaving him to dismiss the people. Never before had a command from Christ seem so impossible a fulfillment. The disciples had long hoped for a popular movement to place Jesus on the throne. They could not endure the thought that all this enthusiasm should come to nothing. The multitudes that were assembling to keep the Passover were anxious to see the new prophet. To his followers this seemed the golden opportunity to establish their beloved master on the throne of Israel. In the glow of this new ambition it was hard for them to go away by themselves and lead Jesus alone upon that desolate shore. They protested against the arrangement. But Jesus now spoke with an authority he had never before assumed towards him. They knew that further opposition on their part would be useless, and in silence they turned toward the sea. Jesus now commands a multitude to disperse, and his manner is so decisive that they dare not disobey. The words of praise and exaltation die on their lips. In the very act of advancing to seize him, their steps are strayed, and the glad, eager look fades from their countenances. In that throng are men of strong mind and firm determination, but the kingly bearing of Jesus and his few quiet words of command quell the tumult and frustrate their designs. They recognize in him a power above all earthly authority, and without a question they submit. When left alone, Jesus went up into a mountain apart to pray. For hours he continued pleading with God, not for himself, but for men with those prayers. He prayed for power to reveal to men the divine character of his mission, that Satan might not blind their understanding and pervert their judgment. The Saviour knew that his days of personal ministry on earth were nearly ended, and that few would receive him as a redeemer. In travail and conflict of soul he prayed for his disciples. They were to be grievously tried. Their long cherished hopes, based on a popular delusion, were to be disappointed in a most painful and humiliating manner. In the place of his exaltation to the throne of David they were to witness his crucifixion. This was to be indeed his true coronation, but they did not discern this, and in consequence strong temptations would come to them, which it would be difficult for them to recognize as temptations. Without the Holy Spirit to enlighten the mind and enlarge the comprehension, the faith of the disciples would fail. It was painful to Jesus that their conceptions of his kingdom were, to so great a degree, limited to worldly aggrandizement and honor. For them the burden was heavy upon his heart, and he poured out his supplications with bitter agony and tears. The disciples had not put off immediately from the land as Jesus directed them. They waited for a time, hoping that he would come to them. But as they saw that darkness was fast gathering, they entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. They had left Jesus with dissatisfied hearts, more impatient with him than ever before since acknowledging him as their Lord. They murmured because they had not been permitted to proclaim him king. They blamed themselves for yielding so readily to his command. They reasoned that they had been more persistent. They might have accomplished their purpose. Unbelief was taking possession of their minds and hearts. Love of honor had blinded them. They knew that Jesus was hated by the Pharisees, and they were eager to see him exalted as they thought he should be. To be united with a teacher who could work mighty miracles, and yet to be reviled as deceivers, was a trial they could ill endure. Were they always to be accounted followers of a false prophet? Would Christ never assert his authority as king? Why did not he who possessed such power reveal himself in his true character, and make their way less painful? Why had he not saved John the Baptist from a violent death? Thus the disciples reasoned until they brought upon themselves great spiritual darkness. They questioned, could Jesus be an imposter as the Pharisees asserted? The disciples had that day witnessed the wonderful works of Christ. It had seemed that heaven had come down to earth. The memory of that precious glorious day should have filled them with faith and hope. Had they, out of the abundance of their hearts, been conversing together in regard to these things, they would not have entered into temptation. But their disappointment had absorbed their thoughts. The words of Christ, gather up the fragments that nothing be lost, were unheeded. Those were hours of large blessings to the disciples. But they had forgotten it all. They were in the midst of troubled waters. Their thoughts were stormy and unreasonable, and the Lord gave them something else to afflict their souls and occupy their minds. God often does this when men create burdens and troubles for themselves. The disciples had no need to make trouble. Already danger was fast approaching. A violent tempest had been stealing upon them, and they were unprepared for it. It was a sudden contrast, for the day had been perfect, and when the gales struck them they were afraid. They forgot their disaffection, their unbelief, their impatience. Everyone worked to keep the boat from sinking. It was but a short distance by sea from Bethsaida to the point where they expected to meet Jesus, and in ordinary weather the journey required but a few hours. But now they were driven farther and farther from the point they sought. Till the fourth watch of the night they toiled at the oars, then the weary men gave themselves up for lost. In storm and darkness the sea had taught them their own helplessness, and they longed for the presence of their master. Jesus had not forgotten them. The watcher on the shore saw those fierce-trickin' men battling with the tempest. Not for a moment did he lose sight of his disciples. With deepest solicitude his eyes followed the storm-tossed boat with its precious burden, for these men were to be the light of the world. As a mother in tender love watches her child, so the compassionate master watched his disciples. When their hearts were subdued, their unholy ambition quelled, and in humility they prayed for help. It was given them. At the moment when they believed themselves lost, a gleam of light reveals a mysterious figure approaching them upon the water. But they know not that it is Jesus. The one who has come for their help, they count as an enemy. Terror overpowers them. The hands that have grasped the oars with muscles like iron let go their hold. The boat rocks with the will of the waves. All eyes are riveted on this vision of a man walking upon the white-capped billows of the foaming sea. They think it a phantom that omens their destruction, and they cry out for fear. Jesus advances as if he would pass them, but they recognize him, and cry out, in treating his help. Their beloved master turns, his voice silences their fear. Be a good cheer. It is I. Be not afraid. As soon as they could credit the wondrous fact, Peter was almost beside himself with joy, as if he could scarcely yet believe he cried out, Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. Looking unto Jesus, Peter walks securely, but as in self-satisfaction he glances back towards his companions in the boat. His eyes are turned from the Saviour. The wind is boisterous. The waves roll high and come directly between him and the master, and he is afraid. For a moment Christ is hidden from his view, and his faith gives way. He begins to sink. But while the billows talk with death, Peter lifts his eyes from the angry waters, and fixing them upon Jesus cries, Lord, keep me. Immediately Jesus grasps the outstretched hand, saying, O Thou of little faith, wherefore did Thou doubt? Walking side by side, Peter's hand in that of his master, they stepped into the boat together. But Peter was now subdued and silent. He had no reason to boast over his fellows, for through unbelief and self-exaltation he had very nearly lost his life. When he turned his eyes from Jesus, his footing was lost, and he sank amid the waves. When trouble comes upon us, how often we are like Peter. We look upon the waves, instead of keeping our eyes fixed upon the Saviour. Our footsteps slide, and the proud waters go over our souls. Jesus did not bid Peter come to him that he should perish. He does not call us to follow him, and then forsake us. Fear not, he says, for I have redeemed me. I have called thee by thy name. Thou art mine. When Thou pass us through the waters, I will be with thee. And through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee. When Thou walkest through the fire, Thou shalt not be burned. Neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour. Isaiah 43.1-3. Jesus read the character of his disciples. He knew how sorely their faith was to be tried. In this incident on the sea, he desired to reveal to Peter his own weakness to show that his safety was in constant dependence upon divine power. Amid the storms of temptation he could walk safely only as in utter self-distrust he should rely upon the Saviour. It was on the point where he thought himself strong that Peter was weak. And not until he discerned his weakness could he realize his need of dependence upon Christ. Had he learned the lesson that Jesus sought to teach him in that experience on the sea, he would not have failed when the great test came upon him. Day by day God instructs his children. By the circumstances of the daily life he is preparing them to act their part upon the wider stage to which his providence has appointed them. It is the issue of the daily test that determines their victory or defeat in life's great crisis. Those who fail to realize their constant dependence upon God will be overcome by temptation. We may now suppose that our feet stand secure and that we shall never be moved. We may say with confidence, I know in whom I have believed. Nothing can shake my faith in God and his word. But Satan is planning to take advantage of our hereditary and cultivated traits of character and to blind our eyes to our own necessities and defects, only through realizing our own weakness and looking steadfastly unto Jesus can we walk securely. No sooner had Jesus taken his place in the boat than the wind ceased and immediately the ship was at the land where they went. The night of whore was succeeded by the light of dawn. The disciples and others who also were on board bowed at the feet of Jesus with thankful heart, saying, Of a truth, thou art the Son of God. Chapter 41 of The Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The Crisis in Galilee. When Christ forbade the people to declare him king, he knew that a turning point in his history was reached. Multitudes who desired to exalt him to the throne today would turn from him to-morrow. Disappointment of their selfish ambition would turn their love to hatred and their praise to curses. Yet knowing this he took no measures to avert the crisis. From the first he had held out to his followers no hope of earthly rewards. To one who came desiring to be his disciple he had said, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nest, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head. Matthew 8.20 If men could have had the world with Christ, multitudes would have proffered him their allegiance. But such service he could not accept. Of those now connected with him there were many who had been attracted by the hope of a worldly kingdom. These must be undeceived. The deep spiritual teaching in the miracle of the loaves had not been comprehended. This was to be made plain, and this new revelation would bring with it a closer test. The miracle of the loaves was reported far and near, and very early next morning the people flocked to Bethsaida to see Jesus. They came in great numbers by land and sea. Those who had left him the preceding night returned, expecting to find him still there, for there had been no boat by which he could pass to the other side. But their search was fruitless, and many repaired to Capernaum, still seeking him. Meanwhile he had arrived at Ganesaret, after an absence of but one day. As soon as it was known that he had landed the people ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was. Mark 655. After a time he went to the synagogue. And there those who had come from Bethsaida found him. They learned from his disciples how he had crossed the sea, the fury of the storm, and the many hours of fruitless rowing against 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 wandering crowd. Not contempt with this, however, many gathered about Jesus questioning. Rabbi, when came as thou hither? They hoped to receive from his own lips a further account of the miracle. Jesus did not gratify their curiosity. He sadly said, You seek me, not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled. They did not seek him from any worthy motive. But as they had been fed with the loaves, they hoped still to receive temporal benefit by attaching themselves to him. The Saviour bade them. Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life. Seek not merely for material benefit. Let it not be the chief effort to provide for the life that now is, but seek for spiritual food, even that wisdom which will endure unto everlasting life. This the Son of God alone can give. For him hath God the Father sealed. For the moment the interest of the hearers was awakened, they exclaimed, What shall we do that we might work the works of God? They had been performing many and burdensome works in order to recommend themselves to God, and they were ready to hear of any new observance by which they could secure greater merit. Their question meant, What shall we do that we may deserve heaven? What is the price we are required to pay in order to obtain the life to come? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him who he hath sent. The price of heaven is Jesus. The way to heaven is through faith in the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. John 1.29 But the people did not choose to receive this statement of divine truth. Jesus had done the very work which prophecy had foretold that the Messiah would do, but they had not witnessed what their selfish hopes had pictured as his work. Christ had indeed once fed the multitude with barley loaves, but in the days of Moses Israel had been fed with manna forty years, and far greater blessings were expected from the Messiah. Their dissatisfied hearts queried why, if Jesus could perform so many wondrous works as they had witnessed, could he not give health, strength and riches to all his people, free them from their oppressors and exalt them to power and honour? The fact that he claimed to be the scent of God, and yet refused to be Israel's king, was a mystery which they could not fathom. His refusal was misinterpreted. Many concluded that he dared not assert his claims because he himself doubted as to the divine character of his mission. Thus they opened their hearts to unbelief, and the seed which Satan had sown bore fruit of its kind, in misunderstanding and defection. Now, half mockingly, a rabbi questioned, What signs shall with 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. The Jews honoured Moses as the giver of the manna, ascribing praise to the instrument, and losing sight of him by whom the work had been accomplished. Their fathers had murmured against Moses, and had doubted and denied his divine mission. Now in the same spirit the children rejected the one who bore the message of God to themselves. Then said Jesus unto them, Fairly, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven. The giver of the manna was standing among them. It was Christ himself who had led the Hebrews through the wilderness, and had daily fed them with the bread from heaven. That food was a type of the real bread from heaven. The life-giving spirit flowing from the infinite fullness of God is the true manna. Jesus said, The bread of God is that which cometh down out of heaven, and giveth life unto the world. John 6.33, RV. Still thinking that it was temporal food to which Jesus referred, some of his hearers exclaimed, Lord, ever more give us this bread! Jesus then spoke plainly, I am the bread of life. The figure which Christ used was a familiar one to the Jews. Moses, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, had said, Man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord. And the prophet Jeremiah had written, Thy words were found and I did eat them, and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart. Deuteronomy 8.3, Jeremiah 15.16. The rabbis themselves had a saying, that the eating of bread in its spiritual significance was the study of the law and the practice of good works. And it was often said that at the Messiah's coming all Israel would be fed. The teachings of the prophets made plain the deep spiritual lesson and the miracle of the loaves. This lesson Christ was seeking to open to his hearers in the synagogue. Had they understood the scriptures, they would have understood his words when he said, I am the bread of life. Only the day before, the great multitude, when faint and weary, had been fed by the bread which he had given. As from that bread they had received physical strength and refreshment, so from Christ they might receive spiritual strength unto eternal life. He that cometh to me, he said, shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But he added, he also have seen me, and believe not. They had seen Christ by the witness of the Holy Spirit, by the revelation of God to their souls. The living evidence of his power had been before them day after day, yet they asked for still another sign. Had this been given, they would have remained as unbelieving as before. If they were not convinced by what they had seen and heard, it was useless to show them more marvelous works. Unbelief will ever find excuse for doubt, and will reason away the most positive proof. Again Christ appealed to those stubborn hearts, him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. All who received him in faith, he said, should have eternal life. Not one could be lost. No need for Pharisees and Sadducees to dispute concerning the future life. No longer need men more in hopeless grief over their dead. This is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day. But the leaders of the people were offended, 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 tried to arouse prejudice by referring scornfully to the lowly origin of Jesus. They contemptuously alluded to his life as a Galilean laborer, and to his family as being poor and lowly. The claims of this uneducated carpenter, they said, were unworthy of their attention. And on account of his mysterious birth, they insinuated that he was a doubtful parentage, thus representing the human circumstances of his birth as a blot upon his history. Jesus did not attempt to explain the mystery of his birth. He made no answer to the questionings in regard to his having come down from heaven, as he had made none to the questions concerning his crossing the sea. He did not call attention to the miracles that marked his life. Voluntarily he had made himself of no reputation, and taken upon him the form of a servant. But his words and works revealed his character. All whose hearts were open to divine illumination would recognize in him the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1.14 The prejudice of the Pharisees laid deeper than their questions would indicate. It had its roots in the perversity of their hearts. Every word and act of Jesus aroused antagonism in them, for the spirit which they cherished could find in him no answering cord. No man can come to me except 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. None will ever come to Christ save those who respond to the drawing of the Father's love, for God is drawing all hearts unto him, and only those who resist his drawing will refuse to come to Christ. In the words they shall be all taught of God, Jesus referred to the prophecy of Isaiah, all thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children, Isaiah 54-13. This scripture the Jews appropriated to themselves. It was their boast that God was their teacher. But Jesus showed how vain is his claim, for he said, every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Only through Christ could they receive a knowledge of the Father. Humanity could not endure this vision of his glory. Those who had learned of God had been listening to the voice of his Son, and in Jesus of Nazareth they would recognize him who, through nature and revelation, has declared the Father. Fairly, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. Through the beloved John who listened to these words, the Holy Spirit declared to the churches, this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son, he that hath the Son hath life. 1 John 5, 11, 12. And Jesus said, I will raise him up at the last day. Christ became one flesh with us in order that we might become one spirit with him. It is by virtue of this union that we are to come forth from the grave, not merely as a manifestation of the power of Christ, but because through faith his life has become ours. Those who see Christ in his true character and receive him into the heart have everlasting life. It is through the spirit that Christ dwells in us, and the spirit of God received into the heart by faith is the beginning of the life eternal. The people had referred Christ to the manna which their fathers ate in the wilderness, as if the furnishing of that food was a greater miracle than Jesus had performed, but he shows how meager was that gift when compared with the blessings he had come to bestow. The manna could sustain only this earthly existence. It did not prevent the approach of death, nor ensure immortality, but the bread of heaven would nourish the soul unto everlasting life. The Savior said, I am that bread of life. 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. To this figure Christ now adds another. Only through dying could he impart life to men. And in the words that follow he points to his death as the means of salvation. He says, The bread that I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews were about to celebrate the Passover at Jerusalem in commemoration of the night of Israel's deliverance when the destroying angels smote the homes of Egypt. In the Paschal Lamb God desired them to behold the Lamb of God and through the symbol received him who gave himself for the life of the world. But the Jews had come to make the symbol all-important while its significance was unnoticed. They discerned not the Lord's body. The same truth that was symbolized in the Paschal service was taught in the words of Christ. But it was still undeserned. Now the rabbis exclaimed angrily, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? They effected 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? John 3.4. To some extent they comprehended the meaning of Jesus, but they were not willing to acknowledge it. By misconstruing his words they helped to prejudice the people against him. Christ did not soften down his symbolical representation. He reiterated the truth in yet stronger language. Fairly, 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. To eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ is to receive him as a personal saviour, believing that he forgives our sins, and that we are complete in him. It is by beholding his love, by dwelling upon it, by drinking it in, that we are to become partakers of his nature. What food is to the body? Christ must be to the soul. Food cannot benefit us unless we eat it, unless it becomes a part of our being. So Christ is of no value to us if we do not know him as a personal saviour. A theoretical knowledge will do us no good. We must feed upon him, receive him into the heart, so that his life becomes our life. His love, his grace, must be assimilated. But even these figures fail to present the privilege of the believer's relation to Christ. Jesus said, As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. As the Son of God lived by faith in the Father, so are we to live by faith in Christ. So fully was Jesus surrendered to the will of God, that the Father alone appeared in his life. Although tempted in all points like as we are, he stood before the world untainted by the evil that surrounded him. Thus we also are to overcome as Christ overcame. Are you a follower of Christ? Then all that is written concerning the spiritual life is written for you, and may be attained through uniting yourself to Jesus. Is your zeal languishing? Has your first love grown cold? Except again of the proffered love of Christ. Eat of his flesh, drink of his blood, and you will come one with the Father and with the Son. The unbelieving Jews refuse to see any except the most literal meaning in the Saviour's words. By the ritual law they were forbidden to taste blood, and they now construed Christ's language into a sacrilegious speech and disputed over it among themselves. Many, even of the disciples, said, This is an hard saying. Who can hear it? The Saviour answered them. Let 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, and the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life. The life of Christ that gives life to the world is in his word. It was by his word that Jesus healed disease and cast out demons. By his word he stilled the sea and raised the dead, and the people bore witness that his word was with power. He spoke the word of God as he had spoken through all the prophets and teachers of the Old Testament. The whole Bible is a manifestation of Christ, and the Saviour desired to fix the faith of his followers on the word. When his visible presence should be withdrawn, the word must be their source of power. Like their master they were to live by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God, Matthew 4.4. As our physical life is sustained by food, so our spiritual life is sustained by the word of God, and every soul is to receive life from God's word for himself. As we must eat for ourselves in order to receive nourishment, so we must receive the word for ourselves. We are not to obtain it merely through the medium of another's mind. We should carefully study the Bible, asking God for the aid of the Holy Spirit, that we may understand his word. We should take one verse and concentrate the mind on the task of ascertaining the thought which God has put in that verse for us. We should dwell upon the thought, until it becomes our own, and we know what set the Lord. In his promises and warnings, Jesus means me. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that I, by believing in him, might not perish, but have everlasting life. The experiences related in God's word are to be my experiences. Prayer and promise, precept and warning, are mine. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith that the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2 20. As faith thus receives and assimilates the principles of truth, they become a part of the being in the moded power of the life. The word of God, received into the soul, molds the thoughts, and enters into the development of character. By looking constantly to Jesus with the eye of faith, we shall be strengthened. God will make the most precious revelations to his hungering, thirsting people. They will find that Christ is a personal savior. As they feed upon his word, they find that it is spirit and life. The word destroys the natural, earthly nature, and imparts a new life in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes to the soul as a comforter. By the transforming agency of his grace, the image of God is reproduced in the disciple. He becomes a new creature. Love takes a place of hatred, and the heart receives a divine similitude. This is what it means to live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. This is eating the bread that comes down from heaven. Christ had spoken a sacred eternal truth regarding the relation between himself and his followers. He knew the character of those who claimed to be his disciples, and his words tested their faith. He declared that they were to believe and act upon his teaching. All who received him would partake of his nature and be conformed to his character. This involved the relinquishment of their cherished ambitions. It required the complete surrender of themselves to Jesus. They were called to become self-sacrificing, meek and lowly in heart. They must walk in the narrow path traveled by the man of Calvary, if they would share in the gift of life and the glory of heaven. The test was too great. The enthusiasm of those who had sought to take him by force and make him king grew cold. This discourse in the synagogue, they declared, had opened their eyes. Now they were undeceived. In their minds his words were a direct confession that he was not the Messiah, and that no earthly rewards were to be realized from connection with him. They had welcomed his miracle working power. They were eager to be freed from disease and suffering, but they would not come into sympathy with his self-sacrificing life. They cared not for the mysterious spiritual kingdom of which he spoke. The insincere, the selfish who had sought him, no longer desired him. If he would not devote his power and influence to obtaining their freedom from the Romans, they would have nothing to do with him. Jesus told them plainly, There are some of you that believe not, adding, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my father. He wished them to understand that if they were not drawn to him, it was because their hearts were not open to the Holy Spirit. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2.14 It is by faith that the soul beholds the glory of Jesus. This glory is hidden until, through the Holy Spirit, faith is kindled in the soul. By the public rebuke of their unbelief these disciples were still further alienated from Jesus. They were greatly displeased, and wishing to wound the Savior and gratify the malice of the Pharisees, they turned their backs upon him and left him with disdain. They had made their choice, had taken the form without the Spirit, the husk without the colonel. Their decision was never afterwards reversed, for they walked no more with Jesus, whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor and gather his wheat into the garner. This was one of the times of purging. By the words of truth the shaft was being separated from the wheat, because they were too vain and self-righteous to receive reproof, too world-loving to accept a life of humility, many turned away from Jesus. Many are still doing the same thing. Souls are tested today, as were those disciples in the synagogue at Capernaum. When truth is brought home to the heart, they see that their lives are not in accordance with the will of God. They see the need of an entire change in themselves, but they are not willing to take up the self-denying work. Therefore they are angry when their sins are discovered. They go away offended, even as the disciples left Jesus murmuring. This isn't hard saying. Who can hear it? Praise and flattery would be pleasing to their ears, but the truth is unwelcome. They cannot hear it. When the crowds follow and the multitudes are fed and the shouts of triumph are heard, their voices are loud and praise. But when the searching of God's spirit reveals their sin and bids them leave it, they turn their backs upon the truth and walk no more with Jesus. As those disaffected disciples turned away from Christ, a different spirit took control of them. They could see nothing attractive in him whom they had once found so interesting. They sought out his enemies, for they were in harmony with their spirit and work. They misinterpreted his words, falsified his statements, and impugned his motives. They sustained their course by gathering up every item that could be turned against him, and such indignation was stirred up by these false reports that his life was in danger. The news spread swiftly that by his own confession Jesus of Nazareth was not the Messiah, and thus in Galilee the current a popular feeling was turned against him as the year before it had been in Judea. Alas for Israel! They rejected 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. With a yearning heart Jesus saw those who had been his disciples departing from him, the life and the light of men. The consciousness that his compassion was unappreciated, his love unrequited, his mercy slighted, his salvation rejected, filled him with sorrow, that was inexpressible. It was such developments as these that made him a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Without attempting to hinder those who were leaving him, Jesus turned at the twelve and said, We ye also go away? Peter replied by asking, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, he added, and we believe and are sure that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. To whom shall we go? The teachers of Israel's were slaves to formalism, the Pharisees and Sadducees were in constant contention. To leave Jesus was to fall among sticklers for rites and ceremonies, and ambitious men who sought their own glory. The disciples had found more peace and joy since they had accepted Christ than in all their previous lives. How could they go back to those who had scored and persecuted the friend of sinners? They had long been looking for the Messiah. Now he had come, and they could not turn from his presence to those who were hunting his life, and had persecuted them for becoming his followers. To whom shall we go? Not from the teaching of Christ, his lessons of love and mercy to the darkness of unbelief, the wickedness of the world. While the Saviour was forsaken by many who had witnessed his wonderful works, Peter expressed the faith of the disciples. Thou art that Christ. The very thought of losing this anchor of their souls filled them with fear and pain. To be destitute of a Saviour was to be adrift on a dark and stormy sea. Many of the words and acts of Jesus appeared mysterious to finite minds, but every word and act had its definite purpose in the work for our redemption. Each was calculated to produce its own result. If we were capable of understanding his purposes, all would appear important, complete, and in harmony with his mission. While we cannot now comprehend the works and ways of God, we can discern his great love which underlies all his dealings with men. He who lives near to Jesus will understand much of the mystery of godliness. He will recognize the mercy that administers reproof that tests the character and brings to light the purpose of the heart. When Jesus presented the testing truth that caused so many of his disciples to turn back, he knew what would be the result of his words. But he had a purpose of mercy to fulfill. He foresaw that in the hour of temptation every one of his beloved disciples would be severely tested. His agony and gasimony, his betrayal and crucifixion, would be to them a most trying ordeal. Had no previous test been given, many who were actuated by merely selfish motives would have been connected with them. When their Lord was condemned in the judgment hall, when the multitude who had hailed him as their king hissed at him and reviled him, when the jeering crowd cried, Crucify him! When their worldly ambitions were disappointed, these self-seeking ones would, by renouncing their allegiance to Jesus, have brought upon the disciples a bitter, heart-burdening sorrow. In addition to their grief and disappointment, in the ruin of their fondest hopes, in that hour of darkness the example of those who turned from him might have carried others with them. But Jesus brought about this crisis while by his personal presence he could still strengthen the faith of his true followers. Compassionate redeemer, who in the full knowledge of the doom that awaited him, tenderly smoothed the way for the disciples, prepared them for their crowning trial, and strengthened them for the final test. CHAPTER XIV the desire of ages by Ellen G. White This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The scribes and Pharisees, expecting to see Jesus at the Passover, had laid a trap for him. But Jesus, knowing their purpose, had absented himself from this gathering, then came together unto him the Pharisees and certain of the scribes. As he did not go to them they came to him. For a time it had seemed that the people of Galilee would receive Jesus as the Messiah, and that the power of the hierarchy in that region would be broken. The mission of the Twelve, indicating the extension of Christ's work, and bringing the disciples more directly into conflict with the rabbis, had excited anew the jealousy of the leaders of Jerusalem. The spies they sent to Capernaum in the early part of his ministry, who had tried to fix on him the charge of Sabbath-breaking, had been put to confusion. But the rabbis were bent on carrying out their purpose. Now another deputation was sent to watch his movements, and find some accusation against him. As before, the ground of complaint was his disregard of the traditional precepts that encumbered the law of God. These were professedly designed to guard the observance of the law. But they were regarded as more sacred than the law itself, when they came in collision with the commandments given from Sinai, preference was given to the rabbinical precepts. Among the observances most strenuously enforced was that of ceremonial purification. A neglect of the forms to be observed before eating was accounted a heinous sin, to be punished both in this world and in the next, and it was regarded as a virtue to destroy the transgressor. The rules in regard to purification were numberless. The period of a lifetime was scarcely sufficient for one to learn them all. The life of those who tried to observe the rabbinical requirements was one long struggle against ceremonial defilement, an endless round of washings and purifications. While the people were occupied with trifling distinctions and observances which God had not required, their attention was turned away from the great principles of his law. Christ and his disciples did not observe these ceremonial washings, and the spies made this neglect the ground of their accusation. They did not, however, make a direct attack on Christ, but came to him with criticism of his disciples. In the presence of the multitude they said, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. Whenever the message of truth comes home to souls with special power Satan stirs up his agents to start at his spute over some minor question. Thus he seeks to attract attention from the real issue. Whenever a good work is begun, there are cavaliers ready to enter into dispute over forms or technicalities to draw minds away from the living realities. When it appears that God is about to work in a special manner for his people, let them not be enticed into a controversy that will work only ruin of souls. The questions at most concern us are, Do I believe with saving faith on the Son of God? Is my life in harmony with the Divine Law? He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, and hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." John 3.36, 1 John 2.3. Jesus made no attempt to defend himself or his disciples. He made no reference to the charges against him, but proceeded to show the spirit that actuated these sticklers for human rights. He gave them an example of what they were repeatedly doing, and had done just before coming in search of him. Full well ye reject the commandment of God, he said, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother, and whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, it is corpsman. That is to say, a gift. By whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me. He shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother. They set aside the fifth commandment as of no consequence, but were very exact in carrying out the traditions of the elders. They taught the people that the devotion of their property to the temple was a duty more sacred than even the support of their parents, and that, however great the necessity, it was sacrilege to impart to father or mother any part of what had been thus consecrated. An undutiful child had only to pronounce the word Corbin over his property, thus devoting it to God, and he could retain it for his own use during his lifetime, and after his death it was to be appropriated to the temple service. Thus he was at liberty, both in life and in death, to dishonor and defraud his parents under cover of a pretended devotion to God. However by word or deed did Jesus lessen man's obligation to present gifts and offerings to God. It was Christ who gave all the directions of the law in regard to tithes and offerings. When on earth he commended the poor woman who gave her all to the temple treasury. But the apparent zeal for God on the part of the priests and rabbis was a pretense to cover their desire for self-aggrandizement. The people were deceived by them. They were bearing heavy burdens which God had not imposed. Even the disciples of Christ were not wholly free from the yoke that had been bound upon them by inherited prejudice and rabbinical authority. Now by revealing the true spirit of the rabbis, Jesus sought to free from the bondage of tradition all who were really desirous of serving God. He hypocrites, he said, addressing the wily spies. Well, the desious prophesy of you saying, This people draw up nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. The words of Christ were an arraignment of the whole system of Phariseeism. He declared that by placing their requirements above the divine precept the rabbis were setting themselves above God. The deputies from Jerusalem were filled with rage. They could not accuse Christ as a violator of the law given from Sinai, for he spoke as its defender against their traditions. The great precepts of the law, which he had presented, appeared in striking contrast to the petty rules that men had devised. To the multitude, and afterwards more fully to his disciples, Jesus explained that defilement comes not from without, but from within. Purity and impurity pertain to the soul. It is the evil deed, the evil word, the evil thought, the transgression of the law of God, not the neglect of external man-made ceremonies that defiles a man. The disciples noted the rage of the spies as their false teaching was exposed. They saw the angry looks, and heard the half-muttered words of dissatisfaction and revenge, forgetting how often Christ had given evidence that he read the heart as an open book. They told him of the effect of his words, hoping that he might conciliate the enraged officials. They said to Jesus, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying? He answered, Every plant which my Heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. The customs and traditions so highly valued by the rabbis were of this world, not from heaven. However great their authority with the people they could not endure the testing of God. Every human invention that has been substituted for the commandments of God will be found worthless in that day when God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. The substitution of the precepts of men for the commandments of God has not ceased. Even among Christians are found institutions and usages that have no better foundation than the traditions of the fathers. Such institutions, resting upon mere human authority, have supplanted those a divine appointment. Men cling to their traditions and revere their customs and cherish hatred against those who seek to show them their error. In this day, when we are bidden to call attention to the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, we see the same enmity as was manifested in the days of Christ. Of the remnant people of God it is written, the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelation 12.17 But every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. In place of the authority of the so-called fathers of the church God bids us accept the word of the Eternal Father, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, here alone is truth unmixed with error. David said, I have more understanding than all my teachers, for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. Psalms 199-100. Let all who accept human authority, the customs of the church, or the traditions of the fathers, take heed to the warning conveyed in the words of Christ. In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Chapter 43 of The Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White The sliver-vox recording is in the public domain. Barriers broken down. After the encounter with the Pharisees, Jesus withdrew from Capernaum and crossing Galilee, repaired to the hill-country on the borders of Phoenicia. Looking westward, he could see spread out upon the plain below the ancient cities of Tyre and Sidon, with their heathen temples, their magnificent palaces and marts of trade, and the harbors filled with shipping. Beyond was the blue expanse of the Mediterranean, over which the messengers of the Gospel were to bear its glad tidings to the centers of the world's great empire. But the time was not yet. The work before him now was to prepare his disciples for their mission. In coming to this region he helped to find the retirement he had failed to secure at Bethsaida. Yet this was not his only purpose in taking this journey. Behold, a Canaanite-ish woman came out from those borders and cried, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Thou Son of David. My daughter is grievously vexed with a devil, Matthew 1522, RV. The people of this district were of the old Canaanite race. They were idolaters, and were despised and hated by the Jews. To this class belonged the woman who now came to Jesus. She was a heathen, and was therefore excluded from the advantages which the Jews daily enjoyed. There were many Jews living among the Phoenicians, and the tidings of Christ's work had penetrated to this region. Some of the people had listened to his words, and had witnessed his wonderful works. This woman had heard of the prophet, who, it was reported, healed all manner of diseases. As she heard of his power, hope sprang up in her heart. Inspired by a mother's love, she determined to present her daughter's case to him. It was her resolute purpose to bring her affliction to Jesus. He must heal her child. She had sought help from the heathen gods, but it obtained no relief. And at time she was tempted to think, What can this Jewish teacher do for me? But the word had come. He heals all manner of diseases, whether those who come to him for help are rich or poor. She determined not to lose her only hope. Christ knew this woman's situation. He knew that she was longing to see him, and he placed himself in her path. By ministering to her sorrow he could give a living representation of the lesson he designed to teach. For this he had brought his disciples into this region. He desired them to see the ignorance existing in cities and villages close to the land of Israel. The people who had been given every opportunity to understand the truth were without a knowledge of the needs of those around them. No effort was made to help souls in darkness. The partition wall which Jewish pride had erected shut even the disciples from sympathy with the heathen world, but these barriers were to be broken down. Christ did not immediately reply to the woman's request. He received this representative of a despised race as the Jews would have done. In this he designed that his disciples should be impressed with the cold and heartless manner in which the Jews would treat such a case, as evinced by his reception of the woman, and the compassionate manner in which he would have them deal with such distress as manifested by his subsequent granting of her petition. But although Jesus did not reply, the woman did not lose faith. As he passed on, as if not hearing her, she followed him, continuing her supplications. Annoyed by our importunities, the disciples asked Jesus to send her away, they saw that their master treated her with indifference, and they therefore supposed that the prejudice of the Jews against the Canaanites was pleasing to him. But it was a pitying savior to whom the woman made her plea, and in answer to the request of the disciples Jesus said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Although this answer appeared to be in accordance with the prejudice of the Jews, it was an implied rebuke to the disciples, which they afterwards understood as reminding them of what he had often told them, that he came to the world to save all who would accept him. The woman urged her case with increased earnestness, bowing at Christ's feet and crying, Lord, help me! Jesus, still apparently rejecting her in treaties, according to the unfeeling prejudice of the Jews, answered, It is not meat to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs. This was virtually asserting that it was not just to lavish the blessings brought to the favored people of God upon strangers and aliens from Israel. This answer would have utterly discouraged a less earnest seeker, but the woman saw that her opportunity had come. Beneath the apparent refusal of Jesus she saw a compassion that he could not hide. Truth, Lord! she answered, Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. While the children of the household eat at the father's table, even the dogs are not left unfed. They have a right to the crumbs that fall from the table abundantly supplied. So while there were many blessings given to Israel, was there not also a blessing for her? She was looked upon as a dog, and had she not then a dog's claim to a crumb from his bounty? Jesus had just departed from his field of labor because the scribes and Pharisees were seeking to take his life. They murmured and complained. They manifested unbelief and bitterness, and refused the salvation so freely offered them. Here Christ meets one of an unfortunate and despised race that has not been favored with the light of God's word. Yet she yields at once to the divine influence of Christ and has implicit faith in his ability to grant the favor, she asks. She begs for the crumbs that fall from the master's table. If she may have the privilege of a dog, she is willing to be regarded as a dog. She has no national or religious prejudice or pride to influence her course, and she immediately acknowledges Jesus as the Redeemer and is being able to do all that she asks of him. The Saviour is satisfied. He has tested her faith in him. By his dealings with her he has shown that she who has been regarded as an outcast from Israel is no longer an alien, but a child in God's household. As a child it is her privilege to share in the Father's gifts. Christ now grants her a quest and finishes the lesson to the disciples. Turning to her with the look of pity and love, he says, Oh woman, great is thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt. From that hour her daughter became whole, the demon troubled her no more, the woman departed, acknowledging her Saviour, and happy in the granting of her prayer. This was the only miracle that Jesus wrought while on this journey. It was for the performance of this act that he went to the borders of Tyre and Sidon. He wished to relieve the afflicted woman, and at the same time to leave an example in his work of mercy towards one of a despised people for the benefit of his disciples when he should no longer be with them. He wished to lead them from their Jewish exclusiveness to be interested in working for others besides their own people. Jesus longed to unfold the deep mysteries of the truth which had been hid for ages, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs with the Jews, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel. Ephesians 3-6 This truth the disciples were slow to learn, and the Divine Teacher gave them lesson upon lesson. In rewarding the faith of the Centurion at Capernaum and preaching the Gospel to the inhabitants of Sychar, he had already given evidence that he did not share the intolerance of the Jews. But the Samaritans had some knowledge of God, and the Centurion had shown kindness to Israel. Now Jesus brought the disciples in contact with a heathen whom they regarded as having no reason above any of her people to expect favor from him. He would give an example of how such a one should be treated. The disciples had thought that he dispensed to freely the gifts of his grace. He would show that his love was not to be circumscribed to race or nation. When he said, I am not sent, but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel, he stated the truth. And in his work for the Canaanite woman he was fulfilling his commission. This woman was one of the lost sheep that Israel should have rescued. It was their appointed work, the work which they had neglected, that Christ was doing. This act opened the minds of the disciples more fully to the labor that lay before them among the Gentiles. They saw a wide field of usefulness outside of Judea. They saw souls bearing sorrows unknown to those more highly favored. Among those whom they had been taught to despise were souls longing for help from the mighty healer, hungering for the light of truth which had been so abundantly given to the Jews. Afterward, when the Jews turned still more persistently from the disciples, because they declared Jesus to be the savior of the world, and when the partition wall between Jew and Gentile was broken down by the death of Christ, this lesson, and similar ones which pointed to the gospel work unrestricted by customer nationality, had a powerful influence upon the representatives of Christ in directing their labors. The Saviors' visit to Phoenicia and the miracle there performed had a yet wider purpose, not alone for the afflicted woman, nor even for his disciples and those who received their labors, was the work accomplished, but also that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through his name, John 2031. The same agencies that barred men away from Christ eighteen hundred years ago are at work today. The spirit which built up the partition wall between Jew and Gentile is still active. Pride and prejudice have built strong walls of separation between different classes of men. Christ and his mission have been misrepresented, and multitudes feel that they are virtually shut away from the ministry of the gospel, but let them not feel that they are shut away from Christ. There are no barriers which man or Satan can erect, but that faith can penetrate. In faith the woman of Phoenicia flung herself against the barriers that had been piled up between Jew and Gentile. Against discouragement, regardless of appearances that might have led her to doubt, she trusted the Saviors' love. It is thus that Christ desires us to trust in him. The blessings of salvation are for every soul. Nothing but his own choice can prevent any man from becoming a partaker of the promise in Christ by the gospel. Christ is hateful to God. He ignores everything of this character. In his sight the souls of all men are of equal value. He hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation, that they should seek the Lord, if happily they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us. Without distinction of age or rank or nationality or religious privilege, all are invited to come unto him and live. Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed, for there is no difference. There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither bond nor free. The rich and poor meet together. The Lord is the maker of them all. The same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Acts 17, 26, 27 Galatians 3, 28 Proverbs 22, 2 Romans 10, 11 to 13. End of chapter 43 Read by Donald Hines Avarado, Texas