 Chapter 50 of The Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Among Snares All the while Jesus was at Jerusalem during the feast he was shadowed by spies. Day after day new schemes to silence him were tried. The priests and rulers were watching to entrap him. They were planning to stop him by violence, but this was not all. They wanted to humble this Galilean rabbi before the people. On the first day of his presence the feast the rulers had come to him demanding by what authority he thought they wished to divert attention from him to the question of his right to teach and thus to their own importance and authority. My teaching is not mine, said Jesus, but his that sent me. If any man willeth to do his will he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God or whether I speak from myself. John 7.16.17.R.V. The question of these cavalers Jesus met not by answering the caval, but by opening up truth vital to the salvation of the soul. The perception and appreciation of truth, he said, depends less upon the mind than upon the heart. Truth must be received into the soul. It claims the homage of the will. If truth could be submitted to the reason alone, pride would be no hindrance in the way of its reception. But it is to be received through the work of grace in the heart, and its reception depends upon the renunciation of every sin that the Spirit of God reveals. Man's advantages for obtaining a knowledge of the truth, however great these may be, will prove of no benefit to him unless the heart is open to receive the truth, and there is a conscientious surrender of every habit and practice that is opposed to its principles. To those who thus yield themselves to God, having an honest desire to know and to do his will, the truth is revealed as the power of God for their salvation. These will be able to distinguish between him who speaks for God, and him who speaks merely from himself. The Pharisees had not put their will on the side of God's will. They were not seeking to know the truth, but to find some excuse for evading it. Christ showed that this was why they did not understand his teaching. He now gave them a test by which the true teacher might be distinguished from the deceiver. He that speaketh from himself seeketh his own glory, but he that seeketh the glory of him that sent him, the same is true, and no one righteousness is in him. John 7, 18, RV. He that seeketh his own glory is speaking only from himself. The spirit of self-seeking betrays its origin. But Christ was seeking the glory of God. He spoke the words of God. This was the evidence of his authority as a teacher of the truth. Jesus gave the rabbis an evidence of his divinity by showing that he read their hearts ever since the healing at Bethsaida they had been plotting his death. Thus they were themselves breaking the law which they professed to be defending. Did not Moses give you the law, he said, and yet none of you keep it the law? Why go ye about to kill me? Like a swift flash of light these words revealed to the rabbis the pit of ruin into which they were about to plunge. For an instant they were filled with terror. They saw that they were in conflict with infinite power. That they would not be warned. In order to maintain their influence with the people, their murderous designs must be concealed. Evading the question of Jesus they exclaimed, thou hast a devil who go with about to kill thee. They insinuated that the wonderful works of Jesus were instigated by an evil spirit. To this insinuation Christ gave no heed. He went on to show that his work of healing at Bethsaida was in harmony with the Sabbath law, and that it was justified by the interpretation which the Jews themselves put upon the law. He said, Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision, and ye on the Sabbath day circumcise a man. According to the law every child must be circumcised on the eighth day. Should the appointed time fall upon the Sabbath, the right must then be performed. How much more must it be in harmony with the spirit of the law to make a man every whit whole on the Sabbath day? And he warned them to judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. The rulers were silenced, and many of the people exclaimed, Is not this he whom they seek to kill? But lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? Many among Christ-heirs, who were dwellers at Jerusalem and who were not ignorant of the plots of the rulers against him, felt themselves drawn to him by an irresistible power. The conviction pressed upon them that he was the Son of God. But Satan was ready to suggest doubt, and for this the way was prepared by their own erroneous ideas of the Messiah and his coming. It was generally believed that Christ would be born at Bethlehem, but that after a time he would disappear, and at his second appearance none would know whence he came. There were not a few who held that the Messiah would have no natural relationship to humanity, and because the popular conception of the glory of the Messiah was not met by Jesus of Nazareth, many gave heed to the suggestion, how be it we know this man whence he is, but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is. While they were thus wavering between doubt and faith, Jesus took up their thoughts and answered them, you both know me, and you know whence I am, and I am not come of myself, but he that sit me is true, whom ye know not. They claimed a knowledge of what the origin of Christ should be, but they were in utter ignorance of it. If they had lived in accordance with the will of God, they would have known his Son when he was manifest to them. The hearers could not but understand Christ's words. Clearly they were a repetition of the claim he had made in the presence of the Sanhedrin many months before when he declared himself the Son of God. As the rulers then tried to compass his death, so now they sought to take him, but they were prevented by an unseen power which put a limit to their rage, saying to them, thus far shall thou go, and no further. Among the people many believed on him, and they said, when Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man have done? The leaders of the Pharisees, who were anxiously watching the course of events, caught the expressions of sympathy among the throng. Hurring away to the chief priest, they laid their plans to arrest him. They arranged, however, to take him when he was alone, for they dared not seize him in the presence of the people. Again Jesus made it manifest that he read their purpose. He had little while I am with you, he said, and then I go unto him that sent me, ye shall seek me, and shall not find me, and where I am, thither ye cannot come. Soon he would find a refuge beyond the reach of their scorn and hate. He would ascend to the Father, to be again the adored of the angels, and thither his murderers could never come. Steeringly the rabbi said, whither will he go, that we shall not find him? Will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles? Little did these cavalers dream that in their mocking words they were picturing the mission of the Christ. All day long he had stretched forth his hand unto a disobedient and gainsaying people, yet he would be found of them that sought him not. Among a people that had not called upon his name he would be manifest. Romans 10, 20, 21. Many who were convinced that Jesus was the Son of God were misled by the false reasoning of the priests and rabbis. These teachers had repeated with great effect the prophecies concerning the Messiah that he would reign in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before his ancients gloriously, that he would have dominion also from sea to sea and from the river unto the ends of the earth, Isaiah 24, 23, Psalm 72, 8. Then they made contemptuous comparisons between the glory here pictured and the humble appearance of Jesus. The very words of prophecy were so perverted as to sanction error. Had the people in sincerity steadied the word for themselves they would not have been misled. The 61st chapter of Isaiah testifies that Christ was to do the very work he did. Chapter 53 sets forth his rejection and sufferings in the world, and chapter 59 describes the character of the priests and rabbis. God does not compel men to give up their unbelief. Before them are light and darkness, truth and error. It is for them to decide which they will accept. The human mind is endowed with power to discriminate between right and wrong. God designs that men shall not decide from impulse but from weight of evidence, carefully comparing scripture with scripture. Had the Jews laid by their prejudice and compared written prophecy with the facts characterizing the life of Jesus they would have perceived a beautiful harmony between the prophecies and their fulfillment in the life and ministry of the lowly Galilean. Many are deceived today in the same way as were the Jews. Religious teachers read the Bible in the light of their own understanding and traditions, and the people do not search the scriptures for themselves and judge for themselves as to what is truth, but they yield up their judgment and commit their souls to their leaders. The preaching and teaching of his word is one of the means that God has ordained for diffusing light, but we must bring every man's teaching to the test of scripture. Whoever will prayerfully study the Bible, desiring to know the truth that he may obey it, will receive divine enlightenment. He will understand the scriptures. If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching. John 7.17, RV. On the last day of the feast the officers sent out by the priests and rulers to arrest Jesus, returned without him. They were angrily questioned, why have you not brought him? With solemn countenance they answered, Never man spake like this man. Hardened as were their hearts, they were melted by his words. While he was speaking in the temple court, they had lingered near to catch something that might be turned against him, but as they listened, the purpose for which they had been sent was forgotten. They stood as men entranced. Christ revealed himself to their souls. They saw that which priests and rulers would not see. Humanity flooded with the glory of divinity. They returned, so filled with his thought, so impressed by his words, that to the inquiry, why have you not brought him? They could only reply, Never man spake like this man. The priests and rulers, on first coming into the presence of Christ, had felt the same conviction. Their hearts were deeply moved, and the thought was forced upon them. Never man spake like this man. But they had stifled the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Now enraged that even the instruments of the law should be influenced by the hated Galilean, they cried. Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed. Those to whom the message of truth is spoken sell to the mask, is it true? But by whom is it advocated? Multitudes estimate it by the numbers who accept it. And the question is still asked. Have any of the learned men or religious leaders believed? Men are no more favourable to real godliness now than in the days of Christ. They are just as intently seeking earthly good to the neglect of eternal riches. And it is not an argument against the truth that large numbers are not ready to accept it, or that it is not received by the world's great men, or even by the religious leaders. Again the priests and rulers proceeded to lay plans for arresting Jesus. It was urged that if he were longer left at liberty he would draw the people away from the established leaders, and the only safe course was to silence him without delay. In the full tide of their discussion they were suddenly checked. Nicodemus questioned. Doth our law judge any man before it hear him and know what he doeth? The priests fell on the assembly. The words of Nicodemus came home to their consciences. They could not condemn a man unheard. But it was not for this reason alone that the haughty rulers remained silent, gazing at him who had dared to speak in favour of justice. They were startled, and chagrined, that one of their own number had been so far impressed by the character of Jesus as to speak a word in his defence. Recovering from their astonishment they addressed Nicodemus with cutting sarcasm. Art thou also of Galilee? Search and look, for out of Galilee arises no profit. Yet the protest resulted in staying the proceedings of the council. The rulers were unable to carry out their purpose and condemn Jesus without a hearing. Defeated for the time every man went unto his own house, Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives. From the excitement and confusion of the city, from the eager crowds and the treacherous rabbis Jesus turned away to the quiet of the olive groves, where he could be alone with God. But in the early morning he returned to the temple, and as the people gathered about him he sat down and taught them. He was soon interrupted. A group of Pharisees and scribes approached him, dragging with them a terror-stricken woman, whom with hard, eager voices they accused of having violated the seventh commandment. Having pushed her into the presence of Jesus, they said to him, with a hypocritical show of respect, Moses and the law commanded us that such should be stoned. But what sayeth thou? Their pretended reverence veiled a deep-laid plot for his ruin. They had seized upon this opportunity to secure his condemnation, thinking that whatever decision he might make they would find occasion to accuse him. Should he acquit the woman, he might be charged with despising the law of Moses. Should he declare her worthy of death, he could be accused to the Romans as one who was assuming authority that belonged only to them. Jesus looked for a moment upon the scene, the trembling victim in her shame, the hard-faced dignitaries devoid of even human pity. His spirit of stainless purity shrank from the spectacle. Well he knew for what purpose this case had been brought to him. He read the heart, and knew the character and life history of everyone in his presence. These would-be guardians of justice had themselves led their victim into sin, that they might lay a snare for Jesus, giving no sign that he had heard their question. He stooped, and fixing his eyes upon the ground, began to write in the dust. Impatient at his delay in apparent indifference, the accusers drew near, urging the matter upon his attention. But as their eyes, following those of Jesus, fell upon the pavement at his feet, their countenances changed. There, traced before them, were the guilty secrets of their own lives. The people looking on saw the sudden change of expression, and pressed forward to discover what it was that they were regarding with such astonishment and shame. With all their professions of reverence for the law, these rabbis, in bringing the charge against the woman, were disregarding its provisions. It was the husband's duty to take action against her, and the guilty parties were to be punished equally. The action of the accusers was wholly unauthorized. Jesus, however, met them on their own ground. The law specified that in punishment by stoning, the witness in the case should be the first to cast a stone. Now rising and fixing his eyes upon the plodding elders, Jesus said, He that is without sin among you. Let him first cast a stone at her. And stooping down he continued writing on the ground. He had not set aside the law given through Moses, nor infringed upon the authority of Rome. The accusers had been defeated. Now their robe of pretended holiness torn from them, they stood, guilty and condemned, in the presence of infinite purity. They trembled lest the hidden iniquity of their lives should be laid open to the multitude, and one by one, with bowed heads and downcast eyes, they stole away, leaving their victim with the pitying savior. Moses arose, and looking at the woman said, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Have no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. The woman had stood before Jesus, cowering with fear. His words, he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone, had come to her as a death sentence. She dared not lift her eyes to the Savior's face, but silently awaited her doom. In astonishment she saw her accusers depart speechless and confounded. Then those words of hope fell upon her ear. Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. Her heart was melted, and she cast herself at the feet of Jesus sobbing out her grateful love, and with bitter tears confessing her sins. This was to her, the beginning of a new life, a life of purity and peace, devoted to the service of God. In the uplifting of this fallen soul, Jesus performed a greater miracle than in healing the most grievous physical disease. He cured the spiritual malady which is unto death everlasting. This penitent woman became one of his most dead fast followers. With self-sacrificing love and devotion, she repaid his forgiving mercy. In his act of pardoning this woman and encouraging her to live a better life, the character of Jesus shines forth in the beauty of perfect righteousness. While he does not palliate sin, nor lessen the sense of guilt, he seeks not to condemn but to save. The world had, for this airing woman, only contempt and scorn. But Jesus speaks words of comfort and hope. The sinless one pities the weakness of the sinner and reaches to her a helping hand. While the hypocritical Pharisees denounce, Jesus bids her, go and sin no more. It is not Christ's follower that, with averted eyes, turns from the airing, leaving them unhindered to pursue their downward course. Those who are forward in accusing others, and zealous in bringing them to justice, are often in their own lives more guilty than they. Men hate the sinner, while they love the sin. Christ hates a sin, but loves the sinner. This will be the spirit of all who follow him. Christian love is slow to censure, quick to discern penitence, ready to forgive, to encourage, to set the wanderer in the path of holiness and to stay his feet therein. Chapter 51 of the Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White The Light of Life Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. When he spoke these words, Jesus was in the court of the temple, specially connected with the services of the Feast of the Tabernacles. In the center of this court rose two lofty standards supporting lampstands of great size. After the evening sacrifice all the lamps were kindled, shedding their light over Jerusalem. This ceremony was in commemoration of the pillar of light that guided Israel in the desert, and was also regarded as pointing to the coming of the Messiah. At evening when the lamps were lighted, the court was a scene of great rejoicing. Gray-haired men, the priests of the temple and the rulers of the people, united in the festive dances to the sound of instrumental music and the chants of the Levites. In the illumination of Jerusalem the people expressed their hope of the Messiah's coming to shed his light upon Israel. But to Jesus the scene had a wider meaning, as the radiant lamps of the temple lighted up all about them, so Christ, the source of spiritual light, illumines the darkness of the world. Yet the symbol was imperfect. The great light which his own hand had set in heavens was a truer representation of the glory of his mission. It was morning. The sun had just risen above the Mount of Olives, and its rays fell with dazzling brightness on the marble palaces, and lighted up the gold of the temple walls, when Jesus, pointing to it, said, I am the light of the world. By one who listened to these words they were long afterwards re-echoed in that sublime passage. In him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness apprehended it not. That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world, John 1, 4, 5, RV 9. And long after Jesus had ascended to heaven, Peter also, writing under the illumination of the Divine Spirit, recalled the symbol Christ had used. We have also a more sure word of prophecy, for unto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star riseth in your heart. 2 Peter 1, 19 In the manifestation of God to his people, light had ever been a symbol of his presence. At the creative word in the beginning, light had shown out of darkness. Light had been enshrouded in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, leading the vast armies of Israel. Light blazed with awful grandeur about the Lord on Mount Sinai. Light rested over the mercy-seat in the Tabernacle. Light filled the temple of Solomon at its dedication, light shown on the hills of Bethlehem when the angels brought the message of redemption to the watching shepherds. God is light. And in the words, I am the light of the world, Christ declared his oneness with God, and his relation to the whole human family. It was he who at the beginning had caused the light to shine out of darkness, 2 Corinthians 4-6. He is the light of the sun and moon and star. He was the spiritual light that in symbol and type and prophecy had shown upon Israel. But not to the Jewish nation alone was the light given. As the sunbeams penetrate to the remotest corners of the earth, so does the light of the sun of righteousness shine upon every soul. That was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. The world has had its great teachers, men of giant intellect and wonderful research, men whose utterances have stimulated thought and opened to view vast fields of knowledge, and these men have been honoured as guides and benefactors of their race. But there is one who stands higher than they. As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. No man hath seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him, John 1-12-18. We can trace the line of the world's great teachers as far back as human records extend, but the light was before them. As the moon and the stars of the solar system shine by the reflected light of the sun, so, as far as their teaching is true, do the world's great thinkers reflect the rays of the sun of righteousness? Every gem of thought, every flash of the intellect, is from the light of the world. In these days we hear much about higher education. The true higher education is that imparted by him in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. Colossians 2-3, John 1-4, he that followeth me, said Jesus, shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. In the words, I am the light of the world, Jesus declared himself the Messiah. The aged Simeon, in the temple where Christ was now teaching, had spoken of him as a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people, Israel, Luke 2-32. In these words he was applying to him a prophecy familiar to all Israel. By the prophet Isaiah the Holy Spirit had declared, it is too light a thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved visual. I will also give thee light, for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. Isaiah 49-6, RV. This prophecy was generally understood as spoken of the Messiah, and when Jesus said, I am the light of the world, the people could not fail to recognize his claim, to be the promised one. To the Pharisees and rulers his claim seemed an arrogant assumption, that a man like themselves should make such pretensions they could not tolerate, seeming to ignore his words they demanded, Who art thou? They were bent upon forcing him to declare himself the Christ. His appearance and his work were so at variance with the expectations of the people that, as his wily enemies believed, a direct announcement of himself as the Messiah would cause him to be rejected as an imposter. But to their question, Who art thou? Jesus replied, Even that which I have also spoken unto you from the beginning. John 8.25, RV. That which has been revealed in his words was revealed also in his character. He was the embodiment of the truths he taught. I do nothing on myself, he continued. But as my father hath taught me, I speak these things, and he that sent me is with me. The father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please him. He did not attempt to prove his messianic claim, but showed his unity with God. If their minds had been open to God's love, they would have received Jesus. Among his hearers many were drawn to him in faith, and to them he said, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. These words offended the Pharisees. The nation's long subjugation to a foreign yoke they disregarded, and angrily exclaimed, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man, How sayest thou ye shall be made free? Jesus looked upon these men. The slaves of Malus, whose thoughts were bent upon revenge, and sadly answered, Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever committed sin is the servant of sin. They were in the worst kind of bondage, ruled by the spirit of evil. Every soul that refuses to give himself to God is under the control of another power. He is not his own. He may talk of freedom, but he is in the most abject slavery. He is not allowed to see the beauty of truth, for his mind is under the control of Satan. While he flatters himself that he is following the dictates of his own judgment, he obeys the will of the Prince of Darkness. Christ came to break the shackles of sin-slavery from the soul. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus sets us free from the law of sin and death, Romans 8-2. In the work of redemption there is no compulsion. No external force is employed. Under the influence of the spirit of God man is left free to choose whom he will serve. In the chains it takes place when the soul surrenders to Christ, there is the highest sense of freedom. The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself. True, we have no power to free ourselves from Satan's control, but when we desire to be set free from sin, and in our great need cry out for a power out of and above ourselves, the powers of the soul are imbued with the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, and they obey the dictates of the will in fulfilling the will of God. The only condition upon which the freedom of man is possible is out of becoming one with Christ. The truth shall make you free, and Christ is the truth. Sin can triumph only by enfeebling the mind and destroying the liberty of the soul. Subjugation to God is restoration to oneself, to the true glory and dignity of man. The divine law, to which we are brought into subjugation, is the law of liberty, James 2.12. The Pharisees had declared themselves the children of Abraham. Jesus told them that this claim could be established only by doing the works of Abraham. The true children of Abraham would live, as he did, a life of obedience to God. They would not try to kill one who was speaking the truth that was given him from God. In plotting against Christ, the rabbis were not doing the works of Abraham. A mere lineal descent from Abraham was of no value. Without a spiritual connection with him, which would be manifested in possessing the same spirit and doing the same works, they were not his children. This principle bears with equal weight upon a question that has long agitated the Christian world. The Question of Apostolic Succession Descent from Abraham was proved not by name and lineage, but by likeness of character. So the apostolic succession rests not upon the transmission of ecclesiastical authority, but upon spiritual relationship, a life actuated by the apostle spirit, the belief and teaching of the truth they taught. This is the true evidence of apostolic succession. This is what constitutes men, the successors of the first teachers of the gospel. Jesus denied that the Jews were children of Abraham. He said, You do the deeds of your father. In mockery they answered, We be not born of fornication. We have one father, even God. These words, in allusion to the circumstances of his birth, were intended as a thrust against Christ in the presence of those who were beginning to believe on him. Jesus gave no heed to the base insinuation, but said, If God were your father, he would love me, for I proceeded forth and came from God. Their works testified of their relationship to him who was a liar and a murderer. Year of your father the devil, said Jesus, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and stood not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Because I say the truth, he believed me not. John 8, 44, 45, R.V. The fact that Jesus spoke the truth, and that with certainty, was why he was not received by the Jewish leaders. It was the truth that offended these self-righteous men. The truth exposed the fallacy of error. They condemned their teaching and practice, and it was unwelcome. They would rather close their eyes to the truth, and humble themselves to confess that they had been in error. They did not love the truth. They did not desire it, even though it was truth. Which of you convicteth, Revised Version, me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me? Day by day for three years his enemies had been following Christ, trying to find some stain in his character, Satan and all of the confederacy of evil had been seeking to overcome him. But they had found nothing in him by which to gain an advantage. Even the devils were forced to confess, Thou art the Holy One of God. Mark 1, 24. Jesus lived the law in the sight of heaven, in the sight of unfallen worlds, and in the sight of sinful men. Before angels, men, and demons, he had spoken unchallenged words that from any other lips would have been blasphemy. I do always those things that please him. The fact that although they could find no sin in Christ, the Jews would not receive him, proved that they themselves had no connection with God, they did not recognize his voice in the message of his son. They thought themselves passing judgment on Christ, but in rejecting him they were pronouncing sentence upon themselves. He that is of God, said Jesus, heareth God's words. Ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. The lesson is true for all time. Many a man who delights to quibble, to criticize, seeking for something to question in the word of God, thinks that he is thereby giving evidence of independence of thought and mental acuteness. He supposes that he is sitting in judgment on the Bible, when in truth he is judging himself. He makes it manifest that he is incapable of appreciating truths that originate in heaven and that compass eternity. In presence of the great mountain of God's righteousness his spirit is not odd. He busies himself with hunting for sticks and straws, and in this betrays a narrow and earthly nature, a heart that is fast losing its capacity to appreciate God. His heart has responded to the divine touch, will be seeking for that which will increase his knowledge of God, and will refine and elevate the character. As a flower turns to the sun, that the bright rays may touch it with tense of beauty, so will the soul turn to the sun of righteousness, that heaven's light may beautify the character with the graces of the character of Christ. Jesus continued, drawing a sharp contrast between the position of the Jews and that of Abraham. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it, and was glad. Abraham had greatly desired to see the promised Saviour. He offered up the most earnest prayer that before his death he might behold the Messiah, and he saw Christ. A supernatural light was given him, and he acknowledged Christ's divine character. He saw his day, and was glad. He was given a view of the divine sacrifice for sin. Of this sacrifice he had an illustration in his own experience. The command came to him, Take now thy Son, thine only Isaac, whom thou lovest, and offer him for a burnt offering. Genesis 22 2 Upon the altar of sacrifice he laid the son of promise, the son in whom his hopes were centered. Then as he waited beside the altar with the knife upraised to obey God, he heard a voice from heaven saying, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him, for now I know that thou fearst God, seeing that thou hast not withheld thy Son, thine only Son for me. Genesis 22 12 This terrible ordeal was imposed upon Abraham that he might see the day of Christ, and realize the great love of God for the world, so great that to raise it from its degradation he gave his only begotten Son to a most shameful death. Abraham learned of God the greatest lesson ever given to mortal. His prayer that he might see Christ before he should die was answered. He saw Christ. He saw all that mortal can see and live. By making an entire surrender he was able to understand the vision of Christ which had been given him. He was shown that in giving his only begotten Son to save sinners from eternal ruin God was making a greater and more wonderful sacrifice than ever man could make. Abraham's experience answered the question, Wherewith shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn from my transgressions the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? Micah 6, 6, and 7. In the words of Abraham, My Son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering And in God's provision of a sacrifice instead of Isaac it was declared that no man could make expiation for himself. The pagan system of sacrifice was wholly unacceptable to God. No father was to offer up his son or his daughter for a sin offering. The Son of God alone can bear the guilt of the world. Through his own suffering Abraham was enabled to behold the Saviour's Bition of sacrifice, but Israel would not understand that which was so unwelcome to their proud hearts. Christ's words concerning Abraham conveyed to his hearers no deep significance. The Pharisees saw in them only fresh ground for caviling. They retorted with a sneer, as if they would prove Jesus to be a madman. Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? With solemn dignity Jesus answered, Verily, verily I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. God's fell upon the vast assembly. The name of God, given to Moses to express the idea of the eternal presence, had been claimed as his own by this Galilean rabbi. He had announced himself to be the self-existent one, he who had been promised to Israel, whose goings forth had been from of old, from the days of eternity, Micah 5.2, margin. Again the priests and rabbis cried out against Jesus as a blasphemer. His claim to be one with God had before stirred them to take his life, and a few months later they plainly declared, For a good work we stonely not, but for blasphemy, and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God, John 10.33, because he was, and avowed himself to be, the Son of God, they were bent on destroying him. Now many of the people, siding with the priests and rabbis, took up stones to cast at him. But Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. The light was shining in darkness, but the darkness apprehended it not. John 1.5, RV. As Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth, and his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him, Go wash in the pool of Siloam, which is by interpretation, sent. He went his way, therefore, and washed, and came seeing. It was generally believed by the Jews that sin is punished in this life. Every affliction was regarded as the penalty of some wrongdoing, either of the sufferer himself, or of his parents. It is true that all suffering results from the transgression of God's law, but this truth had become beverted. Satan, the author of sin and all its results, had led men to look upon disease and death as proceeding from God, as punishment arbitrarily inflicted on account of sin, hence one upon whom some great affliction or calamity had fallen had the additional burden of being regarded as a great sinner. Thus the way was prepared for the Jews to reject Jesus. Weweth borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows, was looked upon by the Jews as stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted, and they hid their faces from him, Isaiah 53, 4, 3. God had given a lesson designed to prevent this. The history of Job had shown that suffering is inflicted by Satan, and is overruled by God for purposes of mercy, but Israel did not understand the lesson. The same error for which God had reproved the friends of Job was repeated by the Jews in their rejection of Christ. The belief of the Jews in regard to the relation of sin and suffering was held by Christ's disciples. While Jesus corrected their error, he did not explain the cause of the man's affliction, but told them what would be the result. Because of it the works of God would be made manifest. As long as I am in the world, he said, I am the light of the world. Then having anointed the eyes of the blind man, he sent him to wash in the pool of Siloam. Then the man's sight was restored. Thus Jesus answered the question of the disciples in a practical way, as he usually answered questions put to him from curiosity. The disciples were not called upon to discuss the question, as to who had sinned or had not sinned, but to understand the power and mercy of God in giving sight to the blind. It was evident that there was no healing virtue in the clay, or in the pool wherein the blind man was sent to wash, but that the virtue was in Christ. The Pharisees could not but be astonished at the cure, yet they were more than ever filled with hatred, for the miracle had been performed on the Sabbath day. The neighbors of the young man, and those who knew him before in his blindness, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? They looked upon him with doubt, for when his eyes were opened his countenance was changed and brightened, and he appeared like another man, from one to another the question passed. Some said, This is he, others, he is like him. But he who had received the great blessing settled the question by saying, I am he. He then told them of Jesus, and by what means he had been healed, and they inquired, Where is he? He said, I know not. Then they brought him before Council of the Pharisees. Again the man was asked how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon my eyes, and I washed and do see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. The Pharisees hoped to make Jesus out to be a sinner, and therefore not the Messiah. They knew not that it was he who had made the Sabbath, and knew all its obligations, who had healed the blind man. They appeared wonderfully zealous for the observance of the Sabbath, yet were planning murder on that very day. But many were greatly moved at hearing of this miracle, and were convicted that he who had opened the eyes of the blind was more than a common man. In answer to the charge that Jesus was a sinner because he kept not the Sabbath day, they said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? Again the rabbis appealed to the blind man, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened nine eyes? He said, He is a prophet. The Pharisees then asserted that he had not been born blind and received his sight. They called for his parents and asked them, Saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? There was the man himself, declaring that he had been blind, and had had his sight restored. But the Pharisees would rather deny the evidence of their own senses than admit that they were in error, so powerful as prejudice, so distorting as farceical righteousness. The Pharisees had one hope left, and that was to intimidate the man's parents. With the parents' sincerity they asked, How then doth he now see? The parents feared to compromise themselves, for it had been declared that whoever should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ should be put out of the synagogue. That is, should be excluded from the synagogue for thirty days, during this time no child could be circumcised, nor dead be lamented in the offender's home. The sentence was regarded as a great calamity, and if it failed to produce repentance, a far heavier penalty followed. The great work wrought for their son had brought conviction to the parents, yet they answered, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind, but by what means he now seeeth we know not, or who hath opened his eyes we know not, he is of age, ask him, he shall speak for himself. Thus they shifted all responsibility from themselves to their son, for they dare not confess Christ. The dilemma in which the Pharisees were placed, their questioning and prejudice, their unbelief in the facts of the case, were opening the eyes of the multitude, especially of the common people. Jesus had frequently wrought his miracles in the open street, and his work was always of a character to relieve suffering. The question in many minds was, Would God do such mighty works through an imposter? As the Pharisees insisted that Jesus was, the controversy was becoming very earnest on both sides. The Pharisees saw that they were giving publicity to the work done by Jesus. They could not deny the miracle. The blind man was filled with joy and gratitude. He beheld the wondrous things of nature, and was filled with delight at the beauty of earth and sky. He freely related his experience, and again they tried to silence him saying, Give God the praise. We know that this man is a sinner. That is, do not say again that this man gave you sight. It is God who has done this. The blind man answered, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not. One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see. Then they questioned again, What did he to thee? How opened he thine eyes? With many words they tried to confuse him, so that he might think himself deluded. Satan and his evil angels were on the side of the Pharisees, and united their energies in subtlety with man's reasoning in order to counteract the influence of Christ. They blunted the convictions that were deepening in many minds. Angels of God were also on the ground to strengthen the man who had had his sight restored. The Pharisees did not realize that they had to deal with any other than the uneducated man who had been born blind. They knew not him with whom they were in controversy, divine light shone into the chambers of the blind man's soul, as these hypocrites tried to make him disbelieve. God helped him to show, by the vigor and pointedness of his replies, that he was not to be ensnared. He answered, I have told you already, and ye did not hear. Wherefore would ye hear it again? Will ye also be his disciples? Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple, but we are Moses's disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses. As for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. The Lord Jesus knew the ordeal through which the man was passing, and he gave him grace and utterance, so that he became a witness for Christ. He answered the Pharisees in words that were a cutting rebuke to his questioners. They claimed to be the expositors of Scripture, the religious guides of the nation, and yet here was one performing miracles, and they were confessedly ignorant as to the source of his power, and as to his character and claims. Why, herein is a marvelous thing, said the man, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened my eyes. Now we know that God here hath not sinners, but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. The man had met his inquisitors on their own ground. His reasoning was unanswerable. The Pharisees were astonished, and they held their peace, spellbound before his pointed, determined words. For a few moments there was silence. And the frowning priests and rabbis gathered about them their robes, as though they feared contamination from contact with him. They shook off the dust from their feet, and hurled denunciations against him. Thou wasst altogether born in sins, and thus thou teach us." And they excommunicated him. Jesus heard what had been done, and finding him soon after he said, "'Thus thou believe on the Son of God?' For the first time the blind man looked upon the face of his restore. Before the council he had seen his parents troubled and perplexed. He had looked upon the frowning faces of the rabbis. Now his eyes rested upon the loving, peaceful countenance of Jesus. Already at great cost to himself he had acknowledged him as a delegate of divine power. Now a higher revelation was granted him. To the Saviour's question, "'Thus thou believe on the Son of God?' The blind man replied by asking, "'Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?' And Jesus said, "'Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.' The man cast himself at the Saviour's feet in worship. Not only had his natural sight been restored, but the eyes of his understanding had been opened. Christ had been revealed to his soul, and he received him as the scent of God. A group of Pharisees had gathered near, and the sight of them brought to the mind of Jesus the contrast ever manifest in the effects of his words and works. He said, "'For judgment I am coming to this world, that they which see not might see, and that they which see might be made blind.' Christ had come to open the blind eyes, to give light to them that sit in darkness. He had declared himself to be the light of the world, and the miracle just performed was in attestation of his mission. The people who beheld the Saviour at his advent were favoured with a fuller manifestation of the divine presence than the world had ever enjoyed before. The knowledge of God was revealed more perfectly, but in this very revelation judgment was passing upon men. Their character was tested, their destiny determined. The manifestation of divine power that had given to the blind man both natural and spiritual sight had left the Pharisees in yet deeper darkness. Some of his hearers, feeling that Christ's words applied to them, inquired, "'Are we blind also?' Jesus answered. If you were blind, he should have no sin. But God had made it impossible for you to see the truth. Your ignorance would involve no guilt. But now you say, we see. You believe yourselves able to see, and reject the means through which alone you could receive sight, to all who realize their need. Christ came with infinite help. But the Pharisees would confess no need. They refused to come to Christ, and hence they were left in blindness. A blindness for which they were themselves guilty, Jesus said, "'Your sin remaineth.'" Chapter 52 The Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White The Slippervox courting is in the public domain. The Divine Shepherd I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. Again Jesus found access to the minds of his hearers by the pathway of their familiar associations. He had likened the Spirit's influence to the cool, refreshing water. He had represented himself as the light, the source of life and gladness to nature and to man. Now in a beautiful pastoral picture he represents his relation to those that believe on him. No picture was more familiar to his hearers than this, and Christ's words linked it for ever with himself. Never could the disciples look on the shepherds tending their flocks without recalling the Saviour's lesson. They would see Christ in each faithful shepherd. They would see themselves in each helpless and dependent flock. This figure the prophet Isaiah had applied to the Messiah's mission. In the comforting words, O Zion that bringeth good tidings, lift thee up into the high mountain. O Jerusalem that bringeth good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength. Lift it up. Be not afraid. Say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arms, and carry them in his bosom. Isaiah 49-11 David had sung, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Psalms 23-1 And the Holy Spirit, through Ezekiel, had declared, I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick, and I will make with them a covenant of peace, and they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. Ezekiel 34-23, 16-25-28 Christ applied these prophecies to himself, and he showed the contrast between his own character and that of the leaders in Israel. The Pharisees had just driven one from the fold because he dared to bear witness to the power of Christ. They had cut off a soul whom the true shepherd was drawing to himself. In this, they had shown themselves ignorant of the work committed to them, and unworthy of their trust as shepherds of the flock. Jesus now set before them the contrast between them and the good shepherd, and he pointed to himself as the real keeper of the Lord's flock. Before doing this, however, he speaks of himself under another figure. He said, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way. The same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. The Pharisees did not discern that these words were spoken against them. When they reason in their hearts as to the meaning, Jesus told them plainly, I am the door, by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. Christ is the door to the fold of God. Through this door all his children, from the earliest times, have found entrance. In Jesus, as shown in types, as shadowed in symbols, as manifested in the revelation of the prophets, as unveiled in the lessons given to his disciples, and in the miracles wrought for the sons of men, they have beheld the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. John 1.29 And through him they are brought within the fold of his grace. Many have come presenting other objects for the faith of the world. Ceremonies and systems have been devised by which men hope to receive justification and peace with God, and thus find entrance to his fold. But the only door is Christ, and all who have interposed something to take the place of Christ, all who have tried to enter the fold in some other way are thieves and robbers. The Pharisees had not entered by the door. They had climbed into the fold by another way than Christ, and they were not fulfilling the work of the true shepherd. The priests and the rulers, the scribes and Pharisees, destroyed the living pastors, and defiled the wellsprings of the water of life. Faithfully do the words of inspiration describe those false shepherds. The diseased have ye not strengthened. Neither have ye healed that which was sick. Neither have ye bound up that which was broken. Neither have ye brought again that which was driven away. But with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. Ezekiel 34.4 In all ages philosophers and teachers have been presenting to the world theories by which to satisfy the soul's need. Every heathen nation has had its great teachers and religious systems offering some other means of redemption than Christ, turning the eyes of men away from the Father's face, and filling their hearts with fear of him who has given them only blessing. The trend of their work is to rob God of that which is his own, both by creation and by redemption, and these false teachers rob man as well. Millions of human beings are bound down under false religions, in the bondage of slavish fear, of stolid indifference, toiling like beast of burdens, bereft of hope or joy or aspirations here, and with only a dull fear of the hereafter. It is the gospel of the grace of God alone that can uplift the soul. The contemplation of the love of God manifested in his Son will stir the heart and arouse the powers of the soul as nothing else can. Christ came that he might recreate the image of God and man, and whoever turns men away from Christ is turning them away from the source of true development. He is defrauding them of the hope and purpose and glory of life. He is a thief and a robber. He that entereth in by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. Christ is both the door and the shepherd. He enters in by himself. It is through his own sacrifice that he becomes the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out, and when he puteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Of all creatures the sheep is one of the most timid and helpless, and in the east the shepherd's care for his flock is untiring and incessant. Only as now there was little security outside of the walled towns. Marauders from the roving border tribes, or beasts of prey from their hiding places in the rocks, lay in wait to plunder the flocks. The shepherd watched his charge, knowing that it was at the peril of his own life. Jacob, who kept the flocks of Laban in the pasture grounds of Heron, describing his own unwearyed labor, said, in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes—Genesis 3140—and it was while guarding his father's sheep that the boy David, single-handed, encountered the lion and the bear, and rescued from their teeth the stolen lamb. As the shepherd leads his flock over the rocky hills, through forest and wild ravines, to grassy nooks by the riverside, as he watches them on the mountains through the lonely night, shielding from robbers, caring tenderly for the sickly and feeble, his life comes to be one with theirs, a strong and tender attachment unites him to the object of his care, however large the flock, the shepherd knows every sheep, every one has its name, and responds to the name at the shepherd's call. As an earthly shepherd knows his sheep, so does the divine shepherd know his flock that are scattered throughout the world. Ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God. Jesus says, I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine. I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands. Ezekiel 34, 31, Isaiah 43, 1, 49, 16. Jesus knows us individually, and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He knows us all by name. He knows the very house in which we live, the name of each occupant. He has at times given directions to his servants to go to a certain street in a certain city to such a house to find one of his sheep. Every soul is as fully known to Jesus as if he were the only one for whom the Savior died. The distress of every one touches his heart. The cry for aid reaches his ear. He came to draw all men unto himself. He bids them, follow me, and his spirit moves upon their hearts to draw them to come to him. Many refuse to be drawn. Jesus knows who they are. He also knows who gladly hear his call, and are ready to come under his pastoral care. He says, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. He cares for each one as if there were not another on the face of the earth. He calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. The Eastern shepherd does not drive his sheep. He depends not upon force or fear, but going before he calls them. They know his voice, and obey the call. So does the Savior shepherd with his sheep. The Scripture says, Thou letst thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Through the prophet Jesus declares, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. He compels none to follow him. I drew them, he says, with cords of a man, with bands of love. Psalm 7720, Jeremiah 31.3, Hosea 11.4. It is not the fear of punishment, or the hope of everlasting reward that leads the disciples of Christ to follow him. They behold the Savior's matchless love, revealed throughout his pilgrimage on earth, from the manger of Bethlehem to Calvary's cross, and the sight of him attracts, it softens and subdues the soul. Love awakens in the heart of the beholders. They hear his voice, and they follow him. As a shepherd goes before his sheep, himself first encountering the perils of the way. So does Jesus with his people. When he put forth his own sheep, he goeth before them. The way to heaven is consecrated by the Savior's footprints. The path may be steep and rugged, but Jesus has traveled that way. His feet have pressed down the cruel thorns to make the pathway easier for us. Every burden that we are called to bear, he himself is born. Though now he is ascended to the presence of God, and shares the throne of the universe, Jesus has lost none of his compassionate nature. Today the same tender sympathizing heart is open to all the woes of humanity. Today the hand that was pierced has reached forth to bless more abundantly his people that are in the world, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. The soul that has given himself to Christ is more precious in his sight than the whole world. The Savior would have passed through the agony of Calvary that one might be saved in his kingdom. He will never abandon one for whom he has died, unless his followers choose to leave him. He will hold them fast. Through all our trials we have a never-failing helper. He does not leave us alone to struggle with temptation, to battle with evil, and be finally crushed with burdens and sorrow. Though now he is hidden from mortal sight, the ear of faith can hear his voice saying, Fear not, I am with you. I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. I have endured your sorrows, experienced your struggles, encountered your temptations. I know your tears. I also have wept. The griefs that lie too deep to be breathed into any human ear. I know. Think not that you are desolate and forsaken. Though your pain touched no responsive cord in any heart on earth, look unto me and live. The mountains shall depart, and the hills shall be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee. Neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, set the Lord that hath mercy on thee. Isaiah 5410. However much a shepherd may love his sheep, he loves his sons and daughters more. Jesus is not only our shepherd. He is our everlasting Father, and he says, I know my own, and my own know me, even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father. John 10. 14. 15. RV. What a statement is this! Begotten Son. He who is in the bosom of the Father, he whom God has declared to be the man that is my fellow, Zachariah 13.7. The communion between him and the eternal God is taken to represent the communion between Christ and his children on the earth. Because we are the gift of his Father and the reward of his work, Jesus loves us. He loves us as his children. Reader, he loves you. Heaven itself can bestow nothing greater, nothing better. Therefore trust. Jesus thought upon the souls all over the earth who were misled by false shepherds. Those whom he longed together as the sheep of his pasture were scattered among wolves, and he said, Other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and they shall become one flock, one shepherd. John 10. 16. RV. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again. That is, my Father has so loved you, that he even loves me more for giving my life to redeem you. In becoming your substitute and surety, by surrendering my life, by taking your liabilities, your transgressions, I am endeared to my Father. I lay down my life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down on myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. While as a member of the human family he was mortal. As God he was the fountain of life for the world. He could have withstood the advances of death and refused to come under its dominion, but voluntarily he laid down his life, that he might bring life and immortality to light. He bore the sin of the world, endured its curse, yielded up his life as a sacrifice, that men might not eternally die. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chest-tiesment of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Chapter 53 of The Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White The last journey from Galilee. As the clothes of his ministry drew near, there was a change in Christ manner of labour. Here to fore he had sought to shun excitement and publicity. He had refused the homage of the people, and had passed quickly from place to place, when the popular enthusiasm in his favour seemed kindling beyond control. Again and again he had commanded that none should declare him to be the Christ. At the time of the Feast of Tabernacles his journey to Jerusalem was made swiftly and secretly. When urged by his brothers to present himself publicly as the Messiah, his answer was, My time is not yet come. John 7.6. He made his way to Jerusalem, unobserved, and entered the city unannounced, and unhonoured by the multitude. But not so with his last journey. He had left Jerusalem for a season because of the malice of the priest and their abys, but he now set out to return, travelling in the most public manner by a circuitous route, and proceeded by such an announcement of his coming as he had never made before, he was going forward to the scene of his great sacrifice, and to this the attention of the people must be directed. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, John 3.14, as the eyes of all Israel had been directed to the uplifted serpent, the symbol appointed for their healing, so all eyes must be drawn to Christ, the sacrifice that brought salvation to the lost world. It was a false conception of the Messiah's work, and a lack of faith in the divine character of Jesus that had led his brothers to urge him to present himself publicly to the people at the Feast of Tabernacles. Now, in a spirit akin to this, the disciples would have prevented him from making the journey to Jerusalem. They remembered his words concerning what was to befall him there, they knew the deadly hostility of the religious leaders, and they would feign have dissuaded their master from going thither. To the heart of Christ it was a bitter task to press his way against the fears, disappointment, and unbelief of his beloved disciples. It was hard to lead them forward to the anguish and despair that awaited them in Jerusalem, and Satan was at hand to press his temptations upon the Son of Man. Why should he now go to Jerusalem, to certain death? All around him were souls hungering for the bread of life. On every hand were suffering ones waiting for his word of healing. The work to be wrought by the gospel of his grace was but just begun, and he was full of the vigor of manhood's prime. Why not go forward to the vast fields of the world with the words of his grace, the touch of his healing power? Why not take to himself the joy of giving light and gladness to those darkened and sorrowing millions? Why leave the harvest gathering to his disciples, so weak in faith, so dull of understanding, so slow to act? Why face death now and leave the work in its infancy? The foe who in the wilderness had confronted Christ assailed him now with fierce and subtle temptations. Had Jesus yielded for a moment, had he changed his course in the least particular to save himself, Satan's agencies would have triumphed, and the world would have been lost. But Jesus had steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem. The one law of his life was the Father's will. In the visit to the temple, in his boyhood, he had said to Mary, Wish ye not that I must be about my Father's business? Luke 2.49. At Cana, when Mary desired him to reveal his miraculous power, his answer was, Mine hour is not yet come, John 2.4. With the same words he replied to his brothers when they urged him to go to the feast. But in God's great plan the hour had been appointed for the offering of himself for the sins of men, and that hour was soon to strike. He would not fail nor falter. His steps a-turned toward Jerusalem, where his foes have long plotted to take his life. Now he will lay it down. He set his face dead fastly to go to persecution, denial, rejection, condemnation, and death. And he sit messengers before his face, and they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him. But the people refused to receive him, because he was on his way to Jerusalem. This they interpreted as meaning that Christ showed a preference for the Jews, whom they hated with intense bitterness. Had he come to restore the temple and worship upon Mount Gerizim, they would gladly have received him, but he was going to Jerusalem, and they would show him no hospitality. Little did they realize that they were turning from their doors the best gift of heaven. Jesus invited men to receive him. He asked favors at their hands, that he might come near to them, to bestow the richest blessings, for every favor manifested toward him. He required a more precious grace, but all was lost to the Samaritans because of their prejudice and bigotry. James and John, Christ messengers, were greatly annoyed at the insults showed to their Lord. They were filled with indignation because he had been so rudely treated by the Samaritans, whom he was honoring by his presence. They had recently been with him on the Mount of Transfiguration, and had seen him glorified by God, and honored by Moses and Elijah. This manifest dishonor on the part of the Samaritans should not, they thought, be passed over without marked punishment. Coming to Christ they reported to him the words of the people, telling him that they had even refused to give him a night's lodging. They thought that a grievous wrong had been done him, and seeing Mount Carmel in the distance, where Elijah had slain the false prophets. They said, Will thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, even as Elias did? They were surprised to see that Jesus was pained by their words, and still more surprised as his rebuke fell upon their ears. Ye know not what man or a spirit ear of, for the Son of Man has not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And he went to another village. It is no part of Christ's mission to compel men to receive him. It is Satan, and men actuated by his spirit, to seek to compel the conscience. Under a pretence of zeal for righteousness, men who are confederate with evil angels bring suffering upon their fellow men in order to convert them to their ideas of religion. But Christ is ever showing mercy, ever seeking to win by the revealing of his love. He could admit no rival in the soul, nor accept of partial service, but he desires only voluntary service, the willing surrender of the heart under the constraint of love. There can be no more conclusive evidence that we possess the spirit of Satan than the disposition to hurt and destroy those who do not appreciate our work, or who act contrary to our ideas. Every human being in body, soul, and spirit is the property of God. Christ died to redeem all. Nothing can be more offensive to God than for men through religious bigotry, to bring suffering upon those who are the purchase of the Saviour's blood. And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coast of Judea by the farther side of Jordan, and the people resort unto him again, and, as he was wont, he taught them again, Mark 10.1. A considerable part of the closing months of Christ's ministry was spent in Peria, the province on the farther side of Jordan from Judea. Here the multitude thronged his steps, as in his earlier ministry in Galilee, and much of his former teaching was repeated. As he had sent out the twelve, so he appointed seventy others and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whether he himself was about to come. Luke 10.1. RV. These disciples had been for some time with him, in training for their work. When the twelve were sent out on their first separate mission, other disciples accompanied Jesus in his journey through Galilee. Thus they had the privilege of intimate association with him, and direct personal instruction. Now this larger number also were to go forth on a separate mission. The directions to the seventy were similar to those that had been given to the twelve, but the command to the twelve, not to enter into any city of the Gentiles or of the Samaritans, was not given to the seventy. Though Christ had just been repulsed by the Samaritans, his love toward them was unchanged. When the seventy went forth in his name, they visited, first of all, the cities of Samaria. The saviours own visit to Samaria, and later the commendation of the good Samaritan and the grateful joy of that leper, a Samaritan, who alone of the ten returned to give thanks to Christ, were full of significance to the disciples. The lessons sank deep into their hearts. In his commission to them, just before his ascension, Jesus mentioned Samaria with Jerusalem and Judea as the places where they were first to preach the gospel. This commission, his teaching, had prepared them to fulfill. When in their master's name they went to Samaria, they found the people ready to receive them. The Samaritans had heard of Christ's words of commendation and his works of mercy for men of their nation. They saw that notwithstanding their rude treatment of him, he had only thoughts of love toward them, and their hearts were one. After his ascension they welcomed the saviours' messengers, and the disciples gathered a precious harvest from among those who had once been their bitterest enemies. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the dimly burning flak shall he not quench. He shall bring forth judgment unto truth, and in his name shall the Gentiles trust Isaiah 42-3, margin Matthew 12-21. In sending out the seventy, Jesus bade them, as he had bidden the twelve, not to urge their presence where they were unwelcome. Into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, he said, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you. Notwithstanding, be ye sure of this, that the Kingdom of God has come nigh unto you. They were not to do this for motives of resentment, or through wounded dignity, but to show how grievous a thing it is to refuse the Lord's message, or his messengers. To reject the Lord's servants, is to reject Christ himself. I say unto you, Jesus added, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city, than his mind reverted to the Galilean towns where so much of his ministry had been spent, in deeply sorrowful accents he exclaimed, woe unto the Chorazin, woe unto the Bethsaida, for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which had been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you, and thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shall be thrust down to hell. To those busy towns about the Sea of Galilee heaven's richest blessings had been freely offered. Day after day the Prince of Life had gone in and out among them. The glory of God, which prophets and kings had longed to see, had shown upon the multitudes that throng the Saviour's steps, yet they had refused the heavenly gift. With a great show of prudence the rabbis had warned the people against receiving the new doctrines taught by this new teacher. For his theories and practices were contrary to the teachings of the Fathers. The people gave credence to what the priests and Pharisees taught. In place of seeking to understand the Word of God for themselves, they honoured the priests and rulers instead of honouring God, and rejected the truth that they might keep their own traditions. Many had been impressed and almost persuaded, but they did not act upon their convictions, and were not reckoned on the side of Christ. Satan presented his temptations until the light appeared as darkness. Thus many rejected the truth that would have proved the saving of the soul. The true witness says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock, 320. Every warning, reproof, and entreaty in the Word of God or through his messengers is a knock at the door of the heart. It is the voice of Jesus asking for entrance. With every knock unheeded the disposition to open becomes weaker. The impressions of the Holy Spirit, if disregarded today, will not be as strong tomorrow. The heart becomes less impressible, and lapses into a perilous unconsciousness of the shortness of life, and of the great eternity beyond. Our condemnation in the judgment will not result from the fact that we have been in error, but from the fact that we have neglected heaven-sent opportunities for learning what is truth. Like the apostles, the seventy had received supernatural endowments as a seal of their mission. When their work was completed, they returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. Jesus answered, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. The scenes of the past and of the future were presented to the mind of Jesus. He beheld Lucifer as he was first cast out from the heavenly places. He looked forward to the scenes of his own agony, when before all the worlds the character of the deceiver should be unveiled. He heard the cry, it is finished, John 1930, announcing that the redemption of the lost race was for ever made certain that heaven was made eternally secure against the accusations, the pretensions that Satan would instigate. Beyond the cross of Calvary, with its agony and shame, Jesus looked forward to the great final day when the prince of the power of the air will meet his destruction in the earth so long marred by his rebellion. Jesus beheld the work of evil for ever ended, and the peace of God filling heaven and earth. Henceforward Christ's followers were to look upon Satan as a conquered foe. Beyond the cross Jesus was to gain the victory for them, that victory he desired them to accept as their own. Behold, he said, I give unto you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. The omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit is the defense of every contrite soul, not one that impenitence and faith has claimed his protection, will Christ permit to pass under the enemy's power. Saviour is by the side of his tempted and tried ones. With him there can be no such thing as failure, loss, impossibility or defeat. We can do all things through him who strengthens us. When temptations and trials come, do not wait to adjust all the difficulties, but look to Jesus, your helper. There are Christians who think and speak altogether too much about the power of Satan. They think of their adversary. They pray about him. They talk about him, and he looms up greater and greater in their imagination. It is true that Satan is a powerful being, but thank God we have a mighty Saviour who cast out the evil one from heaven. Satan is pleased when we magnify his power. Why not talk of Jesus? Why not magnify his power and his love? The rainbow of promise encircling the throne on high is an everlasting testimony that God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. It testifies to the universe that God will never forsake his people in their struggle with evil. It is an assurance to us of strength and protection as long as a throne itself shall endure. Jesus added, notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. Rejoice not in the possession of power, lest you lose sight of your dependence upon God. Be careful lest self-sufficiency come in, and you work in your own strength, rather than in the spirit and strength of your master. Self is ever ready to take the credit, if any measure of success attends the work. Self is flattered and exalted, and the impression is not made upon other minds that God is all and in all. The Apostle Paul says, When I am weak, then I am strong. II. XII. When we have a realization of our weakness, we learn to depend upon a power not inherent. Nothing can take so strong a hold on the heart as the abiding sense of our responsibility to God. Nothing reaches so fully down to the deepest motives of conduct as a sense of the pardoning love of Christ. We are to come in touch with God. Then we shall be imbued with His Holy Spirit. That enables us to come in touch with our fellow men. Then rejoice that through Christ you have become connected with God, members of the heavenly family, while you look higher than yourself, you will have a continual sense of the weakness of humanity. The less you cherish self, the more distinct and full will be your comprehension of the excellence of your Saviour. The more closely you connect yourself with the source of light and power, the greater light will be shed upon you, and the greater power will be yours to work for God. Rejoice that you are one with God, one with Christ, and with the whole family of Heaven. As the Seventy listened to the words of Christ, the Holy Spirit was impressing their minds with living realities and writing truth upon the tablets of the soul, though multitudes surrounded them, they were as though shut in with God. Knowing that they had caught the inspiration of the hour, Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, that thou has hid these things from the wise and prudent, and has revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father, and no man knoweth who the Son is but the Father, and who the Father is but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. The honoured men of the world, the so-called great and wise men, with all their boasted wisdom, could not comprehend the character of Christ. They judged him from outward appearance, from the humiliation that came upon him as a human being, but to fishermen and publicans it had been given to see the invisible. Even the disciples failed of understanding all that Jesus desired to reveal to them, but from time to time, as they surrendered themselves to the Holy Spirit's power, their minds were illuminated. They realized that the mighty God, clad in the garb of humanity, was among them. Jesus rejoiced that though this knowledge was not possessed by the wise and prudent, it had been revealed to these humble men. Often as he had presented the Old Testament scriptures and showed their application to himself in his work of atonement, they had been awakened by his spirit and lifted into a heavenly atmosphere. Of the spiritual truths spoken by the prophets, they had a clear understanding than had the original writers themselves. Hereafter they would read the Old Testament scriptures, not as the doctrines of the scribes and Pharisees, not as the utterances of wise men who were dead, but as a new revelation from God. They beheld him whom the world cannot receive, because it seeeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." 1417 The only way in which we can gain a more perfect apprehension of truth is by keeping the heart tender and subdued by the spirit of Christ. The soul must be cleansed from vanity and pride, and vacated of all that is held it in possession. And Christ must be enthroned within. Human science is too limited to comprehend the atonement. The plan of redemption is so far reaching that philosophy cannot explain it. It will ever remain a mystery that the most profound reasoning cannot fathom. The science of salvation cannot be explained, but it can be known by experience. Only he who sees his own sinfulness can discern the preciousness of the Saviour. Full of instruction were the lessons which Christ taught as he slowly made his way from Galilee towards Jerusalem. Eagerly the people listened to his words. In Piraeus, as in Galilee, the people were less under the control of Jewish bigotry than in Judea, and his teaching found a response in their hearts. During these last months of his ministry, many of Christ's parables were spoken. The priests and rabbis pursued him with ever-increasing bitterness, and his warnings to them he veiled in symbols. They could not mistake his meaning, yet they could find in his words nothing on which to ground an accusation against him. In the parable of the Pharisees and the publican, the self- sufficient prayer, God, I think thee that I am not as the rest of men, stood out in sharp contrast to the penitence plea, be merciful to me, the sinner. Thus Christ rebuked the hypocrisy of the Jews, and under the figures of the barren fig-tree and the great supper he foretold the doom about to fall upon the impenitent nation. Those who had scornfully rejected the invitation to the gospel-feast heard his warning words, I say unto you that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper. Luke 14.24 Very precious was the instruction given to the disciples. The parable of the important widow, and the friend asking for bread at midnight, gave new force to his words. Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Luke 11.9 And often their wavering faith was strengthened by the memory that Christ had said, shall not God do justice for his elect, which cried to him day and night, and he is long suffering over them? I say unto you that he will do them justice speedily. Luke 18.7.8 RV Margin The beautiful parable of the lost sheep Christ repeated, and he carried its lesson still farther, as he told of the lost piece of silver and the prodigal son. The force of these lessons the disciples could not then fully appreciate. But after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as they saw the ingathering of the Gentiles and the envious anger of the Jews, they better understood the lesson of the prodigal son, and could enter into the joy of Christ's words, it was meat that we should make merry and be glad. For this my son was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found, Luke 15.32.24. And as they went out in their master's name, facing reproach and poverty and persecution, they often strengthened their hearts by repeating his injunction. Spoken on this last journey, fear not, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that you have, and give alms. Provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Luke 12.32.34. End of chapter 53. Recording by Donald Hines, Alvarado, Texas. Chapter 54 of The Desire of Ages by Alan G. White. The Slibervox recording is in the public domain. The Good Samaritan In the story of the Good Samaritan, Christ illustrates the nature of true religion. He shows that it consists not in systems, creeds, or rites, but in the performance of loving deeds, in bringing the greatest good to others, in genuine goodness. As Christ was teaching the people, a certain lawyer stood up and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? With breathless attention the large congregation awaited the answer. The priests and rabbis had thought to entangle Christ by having the lawyer ask this question. But the Saviour entered into no controversy. He required the answer from the questioner himself. What is written in the law? He said, How readest thou? The Jews still accuse Jesus of lightly regarding the law given to Sinai, but he turned the question of salvation upon the keeping of God's commandments. The lawyer said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as I self. Jesus said, Thou has answered right. This too, and thou shalt live. The lawyer was not satisfied with the position and works of the Pharisees. He had been studying the scriptures with the desire to learn their real meaning. He had a vital interest in the matter, and had asked in sincerity. What shall I do? In his answer, as to the requirements of the law, he passed by all the mass of ceremonial and ritualistic precepts. For these he claimed no value, but presented the two great principles on which hang all the law and the prophets. This answer, being commended by Christ, placed the Saviour on vantage ground with the rabbis. They could not condemn him for sanctioning that which had been advanced by an expositor of the law. This too, and thou shalt live, Jesus said. He presented the law as a divine unity, and in this lesson taught that it is not possible to keep one precept and break another, for the same principle runs through them all. Man's destiny will be determined by his obedience to the whole law. Supreme love to God and impartial love to man are the principles to be wrought out in the life. The lawyer found himself a lawbreaker. He was convicted under Christ's searching words. The righteousness of the law, which he claimed to understand, he had not practiced. He had not manifested love towards his fellow man. Repentance was demanded. But instead of repenting, he tried to justify himself. Rather than acknowledge the truth, he sought to show how difficult to fulfilment the commandment is. Thus he hoped both to parry conviction and to vindicate himself in the eyes of the people. The Saviour's words had shown that his question was needless, since he had been able to answer it himself, yet he put another question, saying, Who is my neighbour? Among the Jews this question caused endless dispute. They had no doubt as to the heathen and the Samaritans. These were strangers and enemies. But where should the distinction be made among the people of their own nation, and among the different classes of society? Whom should the priest, the rabbi, the elder, regard as neighbour? They spent their lives in a round of ceremonies to make themselves pure. Contact with the ignorant and careless multitude, they taught, would cause defilement that would require weary some effort to remove. Were they to regard the unclean as neighbours? Again, Jesus refused to be drawn into controversy. He did not denounce the bigotry of those who were watching to condemn him. But by a simple story he held up before his hearer such a picture of the outflowing of heaven-born love as touched all hearts, and drew from the lawyer a confession of the truth. The way to dispel darkness is to admit light. The best way to deal with error is to present truth. It is the revelation of God's love that makes manifest the deformity and sin of the heart centred in self. A certain man, said Jesus, was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, which both stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half-dead. And by chance a certain priest was going down that way, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. And in like manner, a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side, Luke 10, 30 to 32, RV. This was no imaginary scene, but an actual occurrence, which was known to be exactly as represented. The priests and the Levite who had passed by on the other side were in the company that listened to Christ's words. In journeying from Jerusalem to Jericho, the traveller had to pass to a portion of the wilderness of Judea. The road led down a wild rocky ravine, which was infested by robbers, and was often the scene of violence. It was here that the traveller was attacked, stripped of all that was valuable, wounded and bruised, and left half-dead by the wayside. As he lay thus, the priest came that way. But he merely glanced towards a wounded man. Then the Levite appeared. Curious to know what had happened, he stopped and looked at the sufferer. He was convicted of what he ought to do. But it was not an agreeable duty. He wished that he had not come that way, so that he need not have seen the wounded man. He persuaded himself that the case was no concern of his. Both these men were in sacred office, and professed to expound the scriptures. They were of the class specially chosen to be representatives of God to the people. They were to have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way, Hebrews 5-2, that they might lead men to understand God's great love toward humanity. The work they were called to do was the same that Jesus had described as his own, when he said, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set it liberty, them that are bruised, Luke 4-18. The angels of heaven look upon the distress of God's family upon the earth, and they are prepared to cooperate with men in relieving the oppression and suffering. God and His providence had brought the priest and the Levite along the road, where the wounded sufferer lay, that they might see his need, a mercy, and help. All heaven watched to see if the hearts of these men would be touched with pity for human woe. The Saviour was the one who had instructed the Hebrews in the wilderness, from the pillar of the cloud and a fire, he had taught a very different lesson from that which the people were now receiving, from their priest and teachers. The merciful provisions of the law extended even to the lower animals, which cannot express in words their want and suffering. Directions had been given to Moses, for the children of Israel, to this effect. If thou meet thine enemies ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hated thee, lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him. Existus 23.4.5. But in the man wounded by robbers, Jesus presented the case of a brother in suffering. How much more should their hearts have been moved with pity for him than for a beast of burden? The message had been given them through Moses that the Lord their God, a great God, a mighty and a terrible, doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger. Wherefore, he commanded, Love ye therefore the stranger. Thou shalt love him as thyself. Deuteronomy 10.17-19, Leviticus 19.34. Job had said, The stranger did not lodge in the street, but I opened my doors to the traveller. And when the two angels and the guys of men came to Sodom, Lot bowed himself with his face towards the ground, and said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night. Job 31.32. Genesis 19.2. With all these lessons the priest and the Levite were familiar, but they had not brought them into practical life. Trained in the school of national bigotry, they had become selfish, narrow, and exclusive. When they looked upon the wounded man, they could not tell whether he was of their nation or not. They thought he might be of the Samaritans, and they turned away. In their action, as Christ had described it, the lawyer saw nothing contrary to what he had been taught concerning the requirements of the law. But now another scene was presented. A certain Samaritan, in his journey, came where the sufferer was, and when he saw him, he had compassion on him. He did not question whether the stranger was a Jew or a Gentile. If a Jew the Samaritan well knew that, were their conditions reversed, the man would spit in his face and pass him by with contempt. But he did not hesitate on account of this. He did not consider that he might himself be in danger of violence by tearing in the place. It was enough that there was before him a human being in need and suffering. He took off his own garment with which to cover him. The oil and wine provided for his own journey. He used to heal and refresh the wounded man. He lifted him on his own beast, and moved slowly along with even pace so that the stranger might not be jarred and made to suffer increasing pain. He brought him to an inn and cared for him through the night, watching him tenderly. In the morning, as a sick man had improved, the Samaritan ventured to go on his way. But before doing this he placed him in the care of the innkeeper, paid the charges, and left the deposit for his benefit, and not satisfied even with this. He made provision for any further need, saying to the host, Take care of him. And whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again I will repay thee. The story ended. Jesus fixed his eyes upon the lawyer, in a glance that seemed to read his soul, and said, Which of these three thinkest thou? Proved neighbor unto him that fell among the robbers, Luke 10.36 R.V. The lawyer would not even now take the name Samaritan upon his lips. He made an answer. He that showed mercy on him. Jesus said, Go, and do thou likewise. Thus the question, Who is my neighbor, is forever answered. Christ has shown that our neighbor does not mean merely one of the church, or faith, to which we belong. It is no reference to race, color, or class distinction. Our neighbor is every person who needs our help. Our neighbor is every soul who is wounded and bruised by the adversary. Our neighbor is every one who is the property of God. In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus gave a picture of himself and his mission. Man had been deceived, bruised, robbed, and ruined by Satan, and left to perish. But the Saviour had compassion on our helpless condition. He left his glory to come to our rescue. He found us ready to die, and he undertook our case. He healed our wounds. He covered us with his robe of righteousness. He opened to us a refuge of safety, and made complete provision for us at his own charges. He died to redeem us. Pointing to his own example, he says to his followers, These things I command you, that ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. John 15, 17, 13, 34. The Lawyer's question to Jesus had been, What shall I do? And Jesus, recognizing love to God and man as the sum of righteousness, had said, This do, and thou shalt live. The Samaritan had obeyed the dictates of a kind and loving heart, and in this had proved himself a doer of the law. Christ bade the Lawyer, Go and do thou likewise. Doing, and not saying merely, is expected of the children of God. He that set he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. 1 John 2, 6. The lesson is no less needed in the world today than when it fell from the lips of Jesus. Selfishness and cold formality have well nigh extinguished the fire of love, and dispelled the graces it should make fragrant the character. Many who profess his name have lost sight of the fact that Christians are to represent Christ, unless there is practical self-sacrifice for the good of others, in the family circle, in the neighborhood, in the church, and wherever we may be, than whatever our profession, we are not Christians. Christ has linked his interest with that of humanity, and he asks us to become one with him for the saving of humanity. Freely he ever received, he says. Freely give, Matthew 10.8. Sin is the greatest of all evils, and it is ours to pity and help the sinner. There are many who err, and who feel their shame in their folly. They are hungry for words of encouragement. They look upon their mistakes and errors until they are driven almost to desperation. These souls we are not to neglect. If we are Christians, we shall not pass by on the other side, keeping as far as possible from the very ones who most need our help. When we see human beings in distress, whether through affliction or through sin, we shall never say, This does not concern me. You which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness. Galatians 6.1. By faith and prayer press back the power of the enemy. Speak words of faith and courage that will be as a healing bossam to the bruised and wounded one. Many many have fainted and become discouraged in the great struggle of life, when one word of kindly cheer would have strengthened them to overcome. Never should we pass by one suffering soul without seeking to impart to him of the comfort wherewith we are comforted of God. All this is but a fulfillment of the principle of the law, the principle that is illustrated in the story of the Good Samaritan, and made manifest in the life of Jesus. His character reveals a true significance of the law, and shows what is meant by loving our neighbor as ourselves. And when the children of God manifest mercy, kindness, and love toward all men, they also are witnessing to the character of the statutes of heaven. They are bearing testimony to the fact that the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul, psalms 19.7, and whoever fails to manifest this love is breaking the law which he professes to revere. For the spirit we manifest toward our brethren declares, What is our spirit towards God? The love of God in the heart is the only spring of love toward our neighbor. If a man say, I love God, and hateeth his brother, he is a liar, for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? We love it. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. CHAPTER XVII. Some of the Pharisees had come to Jesus demanding when the kingdom of God should come. More than three years had passed since John the Baptist gave the message that like a trumpet call had sounded through the land, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, Matthew 3.2, and as yet these Pharisees saw no indication of the establishment of the kingdom. Many of those who rejected John and at every step had opposed Jesus were insinuating that his mission had failed. Jesus answered, The kingdom of God cometh not with outward show, margin. Neither shall they say lo here or lo there, for behold the kingdom of God is within you. The kingdom of God begins in the heart. What not here or there for manifestations of earthly power to markets coming? The days will come, he said, turning to his disciples, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and ye shall not see it. Because it is not attended by worldly pomp, you are in danger of failing to discern the glory of my mission. You do not realize how great is your present privilege in having among you, though veiled in humanity, him who is the life and the light of men. The days will come when ye will look back with longing upon the opportunities ye now enjoy to walk and talk with the Son of God. Because of their selfishness and earthliness, even the disciples of Jesus could not comprehend the spiritual glory which ye sought to reveal unto them. It was not until after Christ's ascension to his Father and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the believers that the disciples fully appreciated the Saviour's character and mission. After they had received the baptism of the Spirit, they began to realize that they had been in the very presence of the Lord of Glory. As the sayings of Christ were brought to their remembrance, their minds were opened to comprehend the prophecies and to understand the miracles which he had wrought, the wonders of his life passed before them, and they were as men awakened from a dream. They realized that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, John 1.14. Christ had actually come from God to a sinful world to save the fallen sons and daughters of Adam. The disciples now seemed to themselves of much less importance than before they realized this. They never wearyed of rehearsing his words and works. His lessons, which they had but dimly understood, now came to them as a fresh revelation. The scriptures became to them a new book. As the disciples searched the prophecies that testified of Christ, they were brought into fellowship with the deity, and learned of him who had ascended to heaven to complete the work he had begun on earth. They recognized the fact that in him dwelt knowledge which no human being, unaided by divine agency, could comprehend. They needed the help of him whom kings, prophets, and righteous men had foretold. With amazement they read and reread the prophetic delineations of his character and work. How dimly had they comprehended the prophetic scriptures. How slow they had been in taking in the great truths which testified of Christ, looking upon him in his humiliation, as he walked a man among men. They had not understood the mystery of his incarnation, the dual character of his nature. Their eyes were holding so that they did not fully recognize divinity and humanity, but after they were illuminated by the Holy Spirit, how they longed to see him again, and to place themselves at his feet, how they wished that they might come to him and have him explain the scriptures which they could not comprehend. How attentively would they listen to his words. What did Christ meant when he said, I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now? John 1612. How eager they were to know it all. They grieved that their faith had been so feeble, that their ideas had been so wide of the mark, that they had so failed of comprehending the reality. A herald had been sent from God to proclaim the coming of Christ and to call the attention of the Jewish nation and of the world to his mission that men might prepare for his reception. The wonderful personage whom John had announced had been among them for more than thirty years, and they had not really known him as the one sent from God. Remorse took hold of the disciples because they had allowed the prevailing unbelief to leaven their opinions and be cloud their understanding. The light of this dark world had been shining amid its gloom, and they had failed to comprehend whence were its beams. They asked themselves why they had pursued a course that made it necessary for Christ to reprove them. They often repeated his conversations, and said, Why did we allow earthly considerations in the opposition of priests and rabbis to confuse our senses, so that we did not comprehend that a greater than Moses was among us, that one wiser than Solomon was instructing us? How dull were our ears! How feeble was our understanding! Thomas would not believe until he had thrust his finger into the wound made by the Roman soldiers. Peter denied him in his humiliation and rejection. These painful remembrances came before them in distinct lines. They had been with him, but they had not known or appreciated him. But how these things had stirred their hearts as they recognized their unbelief. As priests and rulers combined against them, and they were brought before councils and thrust into prison, the followers of Christ rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name—Acts 541. They rejoiced to prove before men and angels that they recognized the glory of Christ, and chose to follow him at the loss of all things. It is as true now as in apostolic days that without the illumination of the Divine Spirit humanity cannot discern the glory of Christ. The truth and the work of God are unappreciated by a world-loving and compromising Christianity. Not in the ways of ease, or earthly honor, or worldly conformity, are the followers of the Master found. They are far in advance, in the paths of toil and humiliation and reproach, in the front of the battle against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places—Ephesians 612, RV. And now, as in Christ's day, they are misunderstood and reproached and oppressed by the priests and Pharisees of their time. The Kingdom of God comes not with outward show. The Gospel of the Grace of God, with its spirit of self-abnegation, can never be in harmony with the spirit of the world. The two principles are antagonistic. 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. But today in the religious world there are multitudes who, as they believe, are working for the establishment of the Kingdom of Christ as an earthly and temporal dominion. They desire to make our Lord the ruler of the kingdoms of this world, the ruler in its courts and camps, its legislative halls, its palaces and marketplaces, they expect him to rule through legal enactments. Enforced by human authority, since Christ is not now here in person, they themselves will undertake to act in his stead to execute the laws of his kingdom. The establishment of such a kingdom is what the Jews desired in the days of Christ. They would have received Jesus, had he been willing to establish a temporal dominion, to enforce what they regarded as the laws of God, and to make them the expositors of his will and the agents of his authority. But he said, My kingdom is not of this world, John 1836. He would not accept the earthly throne. The government under which Jesus lived was corrupt and oppressive. On every hand were crying abuses, extortion, intolerance, and grinding cruelty. Yet the Savior attempted no civil reforms. He attacked no national abuses, nor condemned the national enemies. He did not interfere with the authority or administration of those in power. He who was our example kept aloof from earthly governments. Not because he was indifferent to the woes of men, but because the remedy did not lie in merely human and external measures to be efficient. The cure must reach men individually, and must regenerate the heart. Not by the decisions of courts or councils or legislative assemblies, not by the patronage of worldly great men, is the kingdom of Christ established, but by the implanting of Christ nature and humanity through the work of the Holy Spirit. As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1, 12, 13 Here is the only power that can work the uplifting of mankind, and the human agency for the accomplishment of this work is the teaching and practicing of the Word of God. When the Apostle Paul began his ministry in Corinth, that populous, wealthy, and wicked city polluted by the nameless vices of heathenism, he said, I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified, 1 Corinthians 2, 2. Writing afterward to some of those who had been corrupted by the foulest sins, he could say, But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the spirit of our God, I think my God always on your behalf for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians 6, 11, 1, 4. Now, as in Christ's day, the work of God's kingdom lies not with those who are clamoring for recognition and support by earthly rulers and human laws, but with those who are declaring to the people in his name those spiritual truths that will work in the receivers the experience of Paul. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, Galatians 2, 20. Then they will labor as did Paul for the benefit of men. He said, Now that we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's dead, be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5, 20. End of chapter 55. Read by Donald Hines, Alvarado, Texas.