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21 - The Desire of Ages - Ellen Gould · Sacred Texts Archive

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Bethseda and the Sanhedron. Now there is at Jerusalem, by the sheep market,
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a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Beseta, having five
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porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk. A blind halt
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withered, waiting for the moving of the water. At certain seasons, the
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waters of this pool were agitated, and it was commonly believed that this was
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the result of supernatural power, and that whoever, first, after the troubling
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of the pools, stepped into the waters would be healed of whatever disease he
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had. Hundreds of sufferers visited the place, but so great was the crowd
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when the water was troubled, that they rushed forward, trampling under foot men,
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women and children weaker than themselves. Many could not get near the pool.
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Many who had succeeded in reaching it died upon its brink. Shelters had
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been erected about the place that the sick might be protected from the heat by
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day. In the chillness of the night, there were some who spent the
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night in these porches, creeping to the edge of the pool day after day
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in the vain hope of relief. Jesus was again at Jerusalem. Walking alone
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in apparent meditation and prayer, he came to the pool. He saw the
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wretched sufferers watching for that which they supposed to be their only chance of cure.
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He longed to exercise his healing power and make every sufferer whole. But
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it was the Sabbath day, multitudes were going to the temple for worship,
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and he knew that such an act of healing would so excite the prejudice of
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the Jews as to cut short his work. But the Savior saw one case
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of supreme wretchedness. It was that of a man who had been a helpless
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cripple for thirty eight years. His disease was in a great degree the result
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of his own sin, and was looked upon as a judgment from God.
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Alone and friendless, feeling that he was shut out from God's mercy, the
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sufferer had passed long years of misery. At the time when it was expected
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that the waters would be troubled, those who pitied his helplessness would bear him
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to the porches. But at the favored moment he had no one to help
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him in. He had seen the rippling of the water, but had never
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been able to get farther than the edge of the pool, others stronger than
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he would plunge in before him. He could not contend successfully with the selfish,
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scrambling crowd. His persistent efforts toward the one object, and his anxiety
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and continual disappointment were fast wearing away the remnant of his strength. The sick
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man was lying on his mat and occasionally lifting his head to gaze the pool,
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when a tender, compassionate face bent over him, and the words wilt
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thou be made whole arrested his attention. Hope came to his heart. He
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felt that in some way he was to have help, But the glow of
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encouragement soon faded. He remembered how often he had tried to reach the pool,
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and now he had little prospect of living till it should again be troubled.
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He turned away wearily, saying, Sir, I have no man when
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the water is troubled to put me into the pool. But while I am
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coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus does not ask to sufferer to
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exercise faith in him. He simply says, rise, take up thy bed,
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and walk. But the man's faith takes hold upon that word every nerve
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and muscle thrills with new life and healthful action comes to his crippled limbs without
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question. He sets his will to obey the command of Christ, and all
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his muscles respond to his will. Springing to his feet, he finds himself
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an active man. Jesus had given him no assurance of divine help. The
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man might have stopped to doubt and lost his one chance of healing. But
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he believed Christ's word, and in acting upon it, he received strength.
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Through the same faith, we may receive spiritual healing. By sin. We
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have been severed from the life of God. Our souls are palsied of ourself.
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We are no more capable of living a whole life than was the impotent
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man capable of walking. There are many who realize their helplessness, and who
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long for that spiritual life which will bring them into harmony with God. They
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are vainly striving to obtain it. In despair, they cry, O,
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wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death
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Romans seven twenty four margin. Let these desponding, struggling ones look up.
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The Savior is bending over the purchase of his blood, saying with inexpressible tenderness
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and pity. Wilt thou be made whole? He bids you arise in health
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and peace. Do not wait to feel that you are made whole. Believe
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his word and it will be fulfilled. Put your will on the side of
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Christ, will to serve him, and in acting upon his word you will
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receive strength, whatever may be the evil practice the master passion, which through
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long indulgence binds both soul and body. Christ is able and longs to deliver.
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He will impart life to the soul that is dead and trespass Ephesians to
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want. He will set free the captive that is held by weakness and misfortune
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and the chains of sin. The restored paralytics stooped to take up his bed,
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which was only a rug in a blanket, And as he straightened himself
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again with a sense of delight, he looked around for his deliverer, but
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Jesus was lost in the crowd. The man feared that he would not know
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him if he should see him again. As he hurried on his way with
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firm, free step, praising God and rejoicing in his newfound strength, he
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met several of the Pharisees and immediately told them of his cure. He was
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surprised at the coldness with which they listened to his story with lowering brows.
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They interrupted him, asking why he was carrying his bed on the Sabbath day.
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They sternly reminded him that it was not lawful to bear burdens on the
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Lord's day. In his joy, the man had forgotten that it was the
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Sabbath. Yet he felt no condemnation, and for obeying the command of one
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who had such power from God, he answered boldly, he that made me
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whole. The same said, unto me, take up thy bed and walk.
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They asked who it was that had done this, but he could not
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tell. These rulers knew well that only one had shown himself able to perform
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this miracle. But they wished for direct proof that it was Jesus, that
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they might condemn him as a Sabbath breaker. In their judgment, he had
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not only broken the law and healing the sick man on the Sabbath, but
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had committed sacrilege in bidding him bear way as bed. The Jews had so
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perverted the law that they made it a yoke of bondage. Their meaningless requirements
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had become a byword among other nations. Especially was the Sabbath hedged in by
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all manner of senseless restrictions. It was not to them a delight, the
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holy of the Lord and honorable. The scribes and Pharisees had made its observance
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an intolerable burden. A Jew was not allowed to kindle a fire, nor
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even light a candle on the Sabbath. As a consequence, the people were
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dependent upon the gentiles for many services which their rules forbade them to do for
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themselves. They did not reflect that if these acts were sinful, those who
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employed others to perform them were as guilty as if they had done the work
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themselves. They thought that salvation was restricted to the Jews, and that the
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condition of all others, being already hopeless, could be made no worse.
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But God had given no commandments which cannot be obeyed by all his laws,
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sanctioned no unreasonable or selfish restrictions. In the temple, Jesus met the man
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who had been healed. He had come to bring a sin offering and also
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a thank offering for the great mercy he had received. Finding him among the
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worshippers, Jesus made himself known with the warning words behold thou art made whole,
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said no more lest a worse thing come unto thee. The healed man
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was overjoyed at meeting his deliverer. Ignorant of the enmity towards Jesus, he
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told the Pharisees who had questioned him that this was he who had performed the
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cure. Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus and sought to slay him because he
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had done these things. On the Sabbath day, Jesus was brought before the
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Sanhedron to answer the charge of sabbath breaking. Had the Jews at this time
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been an independent nation, such a charge would have served their purpose for putting
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him to death. This, their subjugation to the Romans prevented. The Jews
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had not the power to inflict capital punishment, and the accusations brought against Christ
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would have no weight in a Roman court. There were other objects, however,
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which they hoped to secure. Notwithstanding their efforts to counteract his work,
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Christ was gaining, even in Jerusalem an influence over the people greater than their
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own. Multitudes who were not interested in the harangues of the rabbis were attracted
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by his teachings. They could understand his words, and their hearts were warmed
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and comforted. He spoke of God not as an avenging j judge, but
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as a tender father, and he revealed the image of God as mirrored in
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himself. His words were like balm to the wounded spirit. Both by his
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words and by his works of mercy, he was breaking the oppressive power of
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the old traditions and man made commandments, and presenting the love of God in
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its exhaustless fullness. In one of the earliest prophecies of Christ, it is
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written, the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between
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his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto him shall the gathering of the
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people be Genesis forty nine ten. The people were gathering to Christ. The
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sympathetic hearts of the multitude accepted lessons of love and benevolence in preference to the
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rigid ceremonies required by the priests. If the priests and rabbis had not interposed,
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his teaching would have brought such a reformation as this world as never witnessed.
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But in order to maintain their own power. These leaders determined to break
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down the influence of Jesus His arraignm before the Sanhedrin, and an open condemnation
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of his teachings would aid in effecting this. For the people still had great
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reverence for their religious leaders. Whoever dared to condemn the rabbinical requirements or attempt
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to lighten the burdens they had brought upon the people was regarded as guilty not
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only a blasphemy, but of treason. On this grounds, the rabbis hoped
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to excite suspicion of Christ. They represented him as trying to overthrow the established
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customs, thus causing division among the people and preparing the way for complete subjugation
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by the Romans. But the plans which these rabbis were working so zealously to
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fulfill originated in another council than that of the Sanhedrin. After Satan had failed
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to overcome Christ in the Wilderness, he combined his forces to oppose him in
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his ministry, and, if possible, to thwart his work. What he
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could not accomplish by direct personal effort, he determined to effect by strategy.
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No sooner had he withdrawn from the convent in the Wilderness, then, in
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council with his confederate Angels, he matured his plans for still further blinding the
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minds of the Jewish people that they might not recognize their redeemer. He planned
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to work through his human agencies in the religious world by imbuing them with his
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own enmity against the champion of truth. He would lead them to reject Christ
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and to make his life as bitter as possible, hoping to discourage him in
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his mission, and the leaders in Israel became instruments of Satan in warring against
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the Savior. Jesus had come to magnify the law and make it honorable.
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He was not to lessen its dignity, but to exalt it. The scripture
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says he shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgment in the
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earth Isaiah forty two, twenty one four. He had come to free the
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Sabbath from those burdensome requirements that had made it a curse instead of a blessing.
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For this reason he had chosen the Sabbath upon which to perform the act
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of healing at thesis. He could have healed the sick man as well on
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any other day of the week, or he might simply have cured him without
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bidding him bear way his bed, But this would not have given him the
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opportunity he desired. A wise purpose underlay every act of Christ's life on earth.
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Everything he did was important in itself and in its teaching. Among the
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afflicted ones at the pool, he selected the worst case upon whom to exercise
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his healing power, and bade the man carry his bed through the city in
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order to publish the great work that had been wrought upon him. This would
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raise the question of what it was lawful to do on the Sabbath, and
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would open the way for him to denounce the restrictions of the Jews in regard
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to the Lord's Day, and to declare their traditions void. Jesus stated to
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them that the work of relieving the afflicted was in harmony with the Sabbath law.
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It was in harmony with the work of God's angels, who are ever
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descending and ascending between Heaven and Earth to minister to suffering humanity. Jesus declared,
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my Father worketh hitherto, and I work all days are gods in which
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to carry out his plans for the human race. If the Jew's interpretation of
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the law was correct, Then Jehovah was at fault, whose work has quickened
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and upheld every living thing since first he laid the foundations of the earth.
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Then he who pronounced his work good and instituted the Sabbath to commemorate its completion,
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must put a period to his labor and stop the never ending routine of
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the universe. Should God forbid the Sun to perform its office upon the Sabbath,
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cut off its genial rays from warming the earth and nourishing vegetation. Must
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the system of world stand still through that holy day? Should He command the
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brooks to stay from watering the fields and forests, and bid the waves of
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the sea still their ceaseless ebbing and flowing. Must the wheat and corn stop
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growing, and the ripening cluster defer its purple bloom. Must the trees and
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flowers put forth no bud nor blossom on the Sabbath. In such a case,
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men would miss the fruits of the earth and the blessings that make life
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desirable. Nature must continue her unvarying course. God could not for a moment
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stay his hand, or man would faint and die. And man also has
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a work perform on this day. The necessities of life must be attended to.
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The sick must be cared for. The wants of the need he must
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be supplied. He will not be held guiltless who neglects to relieve suffering on
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the Sabbath. God's holy rest day was made for man and acts of mercy,
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or in perfect harmony with its intent. God does not desire his creatures
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to suffer an hour's pain that may be relieved upon the Sabbath or any other
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day. The demands upon God are even greater upon the Sabbath than upon other
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days. His people then leave their usual employment and spend the time in meditation
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and worship. They ask more favors of Him on the Sabbath than upon other
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days. They demand his special attention. They crave his choicest blame. God
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does not wait for the Sabbath to pass before he grants his request. Heaven's
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work never ceases, and men should never rest from doing good. The Sabbath
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is not intended to be a period of useless inactivity. The law forbids secular
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labor on the rest day of the Lord. The toil that gains a livelihood
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must cease. No labor for worldly pleasure or prophet is lawful upon that day.
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But as God ceased his labor of creating and rested upon the Sabbath and
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blessed it, so man is to leave the occupations of his daily life and
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devote those sacred hours to healthful rest, to worship, and to holy deeds.
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The work of Christ and healing the sick was in perfect accord with the
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law. It honored the Sabbath. Jesus claimed equal rights with God in doing
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a work equally sacred and of the same character with that which engaged the Father
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in heaven. But the Pharisees were still more incensed. He had not only
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broken the law, according to their understanding, but in calling God his own
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father, had declared himself equal with God John five eighteen RVE. The whole
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nation of the Jews called God their father. Therefore, they would not have
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been so enraged if Christ had represented himself as standing in the same relation to
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God. But they accused him of blasphemy, showing that they understood him as
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making this claim in the highest sense. These adversaries of Christ had no arguments
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with which to meet the truths he brought home to their consciences. They could
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only cite their custom and traditions, and these seemed weak and vapid when compared
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with the arguments Jesus had drawn from the Word of God and the unceasing round
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of nature. Had the rabbis felt any desire to receive light, they would
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have been convinced that Jesus spoke the truth. But they had evaded the points
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he made concerning the Sabbath, and sought to stir up anger against him because
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he claimed to be equal with God. The fury of the rulers knew no
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bounds. Had they not feared the people, the priests and rabbis would have
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slain Jesus on the spot. But the popular sentiment in his favor was strong.
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Many recognized in Jesus the friend who had healed their diseases and comforted their
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sorrows, and they justified his healing of the sufferer at Beseda. So for
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the time the leaders were obliged to restrain their hatred. Jesus repelled the charge
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of blasphemy. My authority, he said, for doing the work of which
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you accuse me, is that I am the Son of God, one with
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Him in nature, in will, and in purpose in all his works of
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creation and providence. I cooperate with God. The Son can do nothing of
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himself, but what he seeth the Father do. The priests and rabbis were
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taking the Son of God to task for the very work he had been sent
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into the world to do. By their sins, they had separated themselves from
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God, and in their pride were moving independently of him. They felt sufficient
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in themselves for all things, and realized no need of a higher wisdom to
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direct their acts. But the Son of God was surrendered to the Father's will
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and depended upon his power. So utterly was Christ emptied of self that he
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made no plans for himself. He accepted God's plans for him, and day
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by day the Father unfolded his plans. So should we depend upon God that
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our lives may be the simple outworking of his will. When Moses was about
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to build the sanctuary as a dwelling place for God, he was directed to
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make all things according to the pattern shown him in the Mount. Moses was
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full of zeal to do God's work. The most talented, skillful men were
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at hand to carry out his suggestions. Yet he was not to make a
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bell a pomegranate, a tassel, a fringe, a curtain, or any
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other vessel of the sanctuary, except according to the pattern shown him. God
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called him into the mount and revealed to him the heavenly things. The Lord
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covered him with his own glory that he might see the pattern. And according
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to it all things were made. So to Israel, whom he desired to
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make his dwelling place, he had revealed his glorious idea of character. The
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pattern was shown them in the mount when the law was given from Sinai,
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and when the Lord passed by before Moses and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord
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God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
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keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin Exodus thirty four,
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six and seven. Israel had chosen their own ways. They had not
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builded according to the pattern. But Christ, the true temple for God's indwelling,
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molded every detail of his earthly life in harmony with God's ideal. He
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said, I delight to do thy will, O my God. YEA,
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Thy law is within my heart Psalms forty eight. So our characters are to
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be builded for inhabitation of God through the spirit Esians two twenty two. And
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we are to make all things according to the pattern, even Him who suffered
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for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps. Hebrews
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eight five one Peter two twenty one. The words of Christ teach that we
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should regard ourselves as inseparably bound to our Father in Heaven. Whatever our position,
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we are dependent upon God, who holds all destinies in his hands.
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He has appointed us our work and has endowed us with faculties and means for
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that work. So long as we surrender the will to God and trust in
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his strength and wisdom, we shall be guided in safe paths to fulfill our
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appointed part in his great plan. But the one who depends upon his own
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wisdom and power is separating himself from God. Instead of working in unison with
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Christ, he is fulfilling the purpose of the enemy of God and man.
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The Savior continued, what thingsoever he the Father doeth, these also doeth the
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Son. Likewise, as the Father raises up the dead and quickeneth them,
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even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. The Sadducees held that there would
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be no resurrection of the body. But Jesus tells them that one of the
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greatest works of his father is raising the dead, and that he himself has
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power to do the same work. The hour is coming, and now is
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when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they
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that here shall live. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead.
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Christ declares that even now the power which gives life to the dead is among
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them, and they are to behold its manifestation. This same resurrection power is
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that which gives life to the soul dead in trespasses and sins. Ephesians to
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one that spirit of life in Christ, Jesus. The power of his resurrection
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sets men free from the law of sin and death. Philippians three ten,
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Romans eight two. The dominion of evil is broken, and through faith the
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soul is kept from sin. He who opens his heart to the spirit of
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Christ becomes a partaker of that mighty power which shall bring forth his body from
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the grave. The humble Nazarene asserts his real nobility. He rises above humanity,
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throws off the guise of sin and shame, and stands revealed the honored
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of the angels, the Son of God, one with the creator of the
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universe. His hearers are spellbound. No man has ever spoken words like his,
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or borne himself with such a kingly majesty. His utterances are clear and
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plain fully declaring his mission and the duty of the world. For the Father
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judgeth no man. But hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all
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men should honor the Son, even as he honor the Father. He that
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honoreth, not the Son, honoreth not the Father, which hath sent him.
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For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to
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the Son to have life in himself, and hath given him authority to execute
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judgment, also because he is the son of Man. The priests and rulers
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had set themselves up as judges to condemn Christ's work, but he declared himself
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their judge and the judge of all the earth. The world has been committed
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to Christ, and through him has come every blessing from God to the fallen
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race. He was the redeemer before as after his incarnation. As soon as
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there was sin, there was a savior. He has given light and life
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to all, and according to the measure of light given each is to be
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judged. And he who has given the light, he who has followed the
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soul with tenderest entreaty, seeking to win it from sin to holiness, is
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in one its advocate and judge. From the opening of the great controversy in
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heaven, Satan has maintained his cause through deception, and Christ has been working
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to unveil his schemes and to break his power. It is he who has
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encountered the deceiver, and who, through all the ages has been seeking to
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wrest the captives from his grasp, who will pass judgment upon every soul.
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And God hath given him authority to execute judgment also because he is the son
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of Man, because he has tasted the very dregs of human affliction and temptation,
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and understands of frailties and sins of men. Because in our behalf,
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he is victoriously withstood the temptations of Satan, and will deal justly and tenderly
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with the souls that his own blood has been poured out to save. Because
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of this, the son of Man is appointed to execute the judgment. But
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Christ's mission was not for judgment. Before salvation. God sent not his son
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into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might
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be saved John three seventeen. And before the Sanhedrin, Jesus declared, he
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that heareth my word and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life,
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and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life.
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John five twenty four r V. Bidding his hear marvel not Christ opened before
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them in still wider view the mysteries of the future. The hour cometh,
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he said, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice
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and shall come forth, they that have done good unto the resurrection of life,
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and they that have done ill unto the resurrection of judgment. John five
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twenty eight twenty nine r V. This assurance of the future life was that
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for which Israel had so long waited, and which they had hoped to receive
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at the Messiah's advent. The only light that can lighten the gloom of the
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grave was shining upon them, But self will is blind. Jesus had violated
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the traditions of the rabbis and disregarded their authority, and they would not believe
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the time, the place, the occasion, the intensity of the feeling that
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pervaded the assembly all combined to make the words of Jesus before the Sanhedrin the
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more impressive. The highest religious authorities of the nation were seeking the life of
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him who declared himself self the restore of Israel, the Lord of the Sabbath.
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Was a reigned before an earthly tribunal to answer the charge of breaking the
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Sabbath law. When he so fearlessly declared his mission, his judges looked upon
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him with astonishment and rage. But his words were unanswerable. They could not
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condemn him. He denied the right of the priest and rabbis to question him
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or to interfere with his work. They were invested with no such authority.
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Their claims were based upon their own pride and arrogance. He refused to plead
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guilty of their charges or to be catechized by them. Instead of apologizing for
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the act of which they complained or explaining his purpose in doing it, Jesus
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turned upon the rulers, and the accused became the accuser. He rebuked them
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for the hardness of their hearts and their ignorance of the scriptures. He declared
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that they had rejected the word of God, inasmuch as they had rejected him
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whom God had sent. Ye searched the scriptures because he think that in them
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ye have eternal life. And these are they which bear witness of me.
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John five thirty nine r V. In every page, whether history or precept
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or prophecy, the Old Testament Scriptures are irradiated with the glory of the Son
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of God. So far as it was a divine institution, the entire system
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of Judaism was a compacted prophecy of the Gospel to Christ. Give all the
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prophets witness Acts ten forty three, from the promise given to Adam down through
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the patriarchal line and the legal economy. Heaven's glorious light made plain the footsteps
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of the Redeemer. Seers beheld, the Star of Bethlehem, the Shiloh to
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come as future things swept before them in mysterious procession. In every sacrifice,
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Christ's death was shown in every cloud of incense, his righteousness ascended by every
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jubilee trumpet. His name was sounded in the awful mystery of the Holy of
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Holies. His glory dwelt. The Jews had the scripture and their possession,
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and supposed that in their mere outward knowledge of the Word they had eternal life.
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But Jesus said, ye have not his word abiding in you. Having
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rejected Christ in his word, they rejected him in person. Ye will not
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come to me. He said that ye might have life. The Jewish leaders
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had studied the teachings of the prophets concerning the kingdom of the Messiah, but
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they had done this not with a sincere desire to know the truth, but
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with the purpose of finding evidence to sustain their ambitious hopes. When Christ came
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in a manner contrary to their expectations, they would not receive him, and
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in order to justify themselves, they tried to prove him a deceiver. When
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once they had set their feet on this path, it was easy for Satan
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to strengthen their opposition to Christ. The very words it should have been received
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as evidence of his divinity were interpreted against him. Thus they turned the truth
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of God into allow and the more directly the Savior spoke to them in his
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works of mercy, the more determined they were in resisting the light. Jesus
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said, I received not honor from men. It was not the influence of
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the Sanhedron. It was not their sanction he desired. He could receive no
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honor from their approbation. He was invested with the honor and authority of Heaven.
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Had he desired it, angels would have come to do him homage.
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The Father would again have testified to his divinity. But for their own sake,
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for the sake of the nation whose leaders they were, he desired the
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Jewish rulers to discern his character and receive the blessings he came to bring them.
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I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me. Not
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if another shall come in his own name, him, ye will receive.
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Jesus came by the authority of God, bearing his image, fulfilling his word,
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and seeking his glory. Yet he was not accepted by the leaders in
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Israel. But when others should come, assuming the character of Christ, but
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actuated by their own will and seeking their own glory, they would be received.
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And why, because he who is seeking his own glory appeals to the
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desire for self exaltation in others. To such appeals, the Jews could respond,
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they would receive the false teacher, because he flattered their pride by sanctioning
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their cherished opinions and traditions. But the teaching of Christ did not coincide with
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their ideas. It was spiritual and demanded the sacrifice of self. Therefore they
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would not receive it. They were not acquainted with God, and to them,
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his voice through Christ was the voice of a stranger. Is not the
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same thing? Repeated and nar They are there not many, even religious leaders,
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who are hardening their hearts against the Holy Spirit, making it impossible for
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them to recognize the voice of God? Are they not rejecting the word of
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God that they may keep their own traditions. Had you believed Moses, said
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Jesus, you would have believed me, for he wrote of me. But
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if you believe not his writings, how should you believe my words? It
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was Christ who had spoken to Israel through Moses. If they had listened to
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the divine voice that spoke through the Great Leader, they would have recognized it
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in the teachings of Christ. Had they believed Moses, they would have believed
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him of whom Moses wrote, Jesus knew that the priests and rabbis were determined
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to take his life, Yet he clearly explained to them his unity with the
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Father and his relation to the world. They saw that their opposition to him
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was without excuse, Yet their murderous hatred was not quenched. Fears seized them
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as they witnessed the convincing power that attended his ministry, but they resisted his
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appeals and locked themselves in darkness. They had signally failed to subvert the authority
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of Jesus or to alienate the respect and attention of the people, many of
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whom were convicted by his words. The rulers themselves had felt deep condemned nation,
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as he had pressed their guilt home upon their consciences. Yet this only
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made them the more bitter against him. They were determined to take his life.
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They set messengers all over the country to warn the people against Jesus as
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an impostor. Spies were set to watch him and report what he said and
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did. The precious Savior was now most surely standing under the shadow of the
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cross. End of chapter twenty one