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33 - The Desire of Ages - Ellen Gould · Philosophy and Faith

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  Who are my brethren. The sons of Joseph were far from being in sympathy
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  with Jesus and his work. The reports that reached them in regard to his
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  life and labors filled them with astonishment and dismay. They heard that he devoted
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  entire nights to prayer, that through the day he was thronged by great companies
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  of people, and did not give himself time so much as to eat.
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  His friends felt that he was wearing himself out by his incessant labor. They
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  were unable to account for his attitude towards the Pharisees, and there were some
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  who feared that his reason was becoming unsettled. His brothers heard of this,
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  and also of the charge brought by the Pharisees that he cast out devils through
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  the power of Satan. They felt keenly the reproach that came upon them through
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  their relation to Jesus. They knew what a tumult his words and works created,
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  and were not only alarmed at his bold statements, but indignant at his
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  denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees. They decided that he must be persuaded or
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  constrained to cease this manner of labor, and they induced Mary to unite with
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  them, thinking that through his love for her, they might prevail upon him
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  to be more prudent. It was just before this that Jesus at a second
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  time performed the miracle of healing a man possessed blind and dumb, and the
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  Pharisees had reiterated the charge he casteth out devils through the Prince of devils Matthew
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  nine thirty four. Christ told them plainly that in attributing the work of the
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  Holy Spirit to Satan, they were cutting themselves off from the fountain of blessing.
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  Those who had spoken against Jesus himself, not discerning his divine character,
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  might receive forgiveness, for through the Holy Spirit they might be brought to see
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  their error and repent whatever the sin. If the soul repents and believes,
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  the guilt is washed away in the blood of Christ. But he who rejects
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  the work of the Holy Spirit is placing himself for repentance, and faith cannot
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  come to him. It is by the Spirit that God works upon the heart.
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  When men wilfully reject the Spirit and declare it to be from Satan,
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  they cut off the channel by which God can communicate with them. When the
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  Spirit is finally rejected, there is no more that God can do for the
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  soul. The pharisees to whom Jesus spoke this warning did not themselves believe the
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  charge they brought against him. There was not one of those dignitaries, but
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  had felt drawn toward the Savior. They had heard the Spirit's voice in their
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  own hearts, declaring him to be the Anointed of Israel and urging them to
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  confess themselves his disciples. In the light of his presence, they had realized
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  their unholiness and had longed for a righteousness which they could not create. But
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  after their rejection of him, it would be too humiliating to receive him as
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  the Messiah. Having set their feet in the path of unbelief, they were
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  too proud to confess their error, and in order to avoid acknowledging the true
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  truth, they tried with desperate violence to dispute the Saviour's teaching. The evidence
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  of his power and mercy exasperated them. They could not prevent the Savior from
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  working miracles, they could not silence his teaching, but they did everything in
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  their power to misrepresent him and to falsify his words. Still, the convicting
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  spirit of God followed them, and they had to build up many barriers in
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  order to withstand its power. The mightiest agency that can be brought to bear
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  upon the human heart was striving with them, but they would not yield.
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  It is not God that blinds the eyes of men or hardens their hearts.
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  He sends them light to correct their errors and to lead them in safe paths.
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  It is by the rejection of this light that the eyes are blinded and
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  the hearts hardened. Often the process is gradual and almost imperceptible. Light comes
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  to the soul through God's word, through his servants, or by the direct
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  agency of his spirit. But when one ray of light is disregarded, there
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  is a partial benumbing of the spiritual perceptions, and the second revealing of light
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  is less clearly discerned. So the darkness increases, until it is night in
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  the soul. Thus it had been with these Jewish leaders. They were convinced
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  that a divine power attended Christ, but in order to resist the truth,
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  they attributed the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan. In doing this,
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  they deliberately chose deception. They yielded themselves to Satan, and henceforth they were
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  controlled by his power. Closely connected with Christ's warning in regard to the sin
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  against the Holy Spirit is a warning against idle and evil words. The words
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  are an indication of that which is in the heart. Out of the abundance
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  of the heart, the mouth speaketh. But the words are more than an
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  indication of character. They have power to react on the character. Men are
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  influenced by their own words, often under a momentary impulse prompted by Satan.
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  They give utterance to jealousy or evil surmising, expressing that which they do not
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  really believe. But the expression reacts on the thoughts. They are deceived by
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  their words and come to believe that true which was spoken at Satan's instigation.
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  Having once expressed an opinion or decision, they are often too proud to retract
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  it and try to prove themselves in the right until they come to believe that
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  they are. It is dangerous to utter a word of doubt, dangerous to
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  question and criticize divine light. The habit of careless and irreverent criticism reacts upon
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  the character in fostering irreverence and unbelief. Many a man indulging this habit has
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  gone on unconscious of danger. Until he was ready to criticize and reject the
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  work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, every idle word that men shall
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  speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by
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  thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
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  Then he added a warning to those who had been impressed by his words,
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  who had heard him gladly, but who had not surrendered themselves for the
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  indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is not only by resistance, but by
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  neglect, that the soul is destroyed. When the unclean spirit is gone out
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  of a man, said Jesus, he walketh through dry places seeking rest,
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  and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from
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  whence I came out, And when he is come, he findeth it empty,
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  swept and garnished. Then goeth he and taketh with himself seven other spirits,
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  more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there. There
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  were many in Christ's day, as there are to day, over whom the
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  control of Satan for the time seemed broken. Through the grace of God.
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  They were set free from the evil spirits that had held dominion over the soul.
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  They rejoiced in the love of God, but like the stony ground hearers
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  of the Parable, they did not abide in His love. They did not
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  surrender themselves to God daily that Christ might dwell in the heart. And when
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  the evil spirit returned with seven other spirits more wicked than himself, they were
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  wholly dominated by the power of evil. When the soul surrenders itself to Christ,
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  a new power takes possession of the new heart. A change is wrought
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  which man can never accomplish for himself. It is a supernatural work, bringing
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  a supernatural element into human nature. The soul that is yielded to Christ becomes
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  his own fortress, which he holds in a revolted world, and he intends
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  that no authority shall be known in it but his own. A soul,
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  thus kept in possession by the heavenly agencies, is impregnable to the assaults of
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  Satan. But unless we do yield ourselves to the control of Christ, we
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  shall be dominated by the wicked one. We must in evidently be under the
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  control of one or the other of the two great powers. That are contending
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  for the supremacy of the world. It is not necessary for us deliberately to
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  choose the service of the Kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion.
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  We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the Kingdom of light.
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  If we do not cooperate with the heavenly agencies, Satan will take possession of
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  the heart and will make it his abiding place. The only defense against evil
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  is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness. Unless
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  we become vitally connected with God, we can never resist the unhallowed effects of
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  self love, self indulgence, and temptation to sin. We may leave off
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  many bad habits for the time. We may part company with Satan, but
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  without a vital connection with God through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by
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  moment, we shall be overcome. Without a personal acquaintance with Christ and a
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  continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall do
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  his bidding in the end. The last state of that man is worse than
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  the first, Even so said Jesus. Shall it be also unto this wicked
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  generation. There are none so hardened as those who have slighted the invitation of
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  mercy and done despite to the spirit of Grace. The most common manifestation of
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  the sin against the Holy Spirit is in persistently slighting Heaven's invitation to repent.
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  Every step in the rejection of Christ is a step toward the rejection of salvation
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  and toward the sin against the Holy Spirit. In rejecting Christ, the Jewish
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  people committed the unpardonable sin, and by refusing the invitation of mercy, we
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  may commit the same error. We offer insult to the Prince of Life and
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  put him to shame before the Synagogue of Satan and before the heavenly universe when
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  we refuse to listen to his delegate messengers and instead listened to the agents of
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  Satan, who would draw the soul away from Christ. So long as one
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  does this, he can find no hope or pardon, and he will finally
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  lose all desire to be reconciled to God. While Jesus was still teaching the
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  people, his disciples brought the message at his mother, and his brothers were
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  without and desired to see him. He knew what was in their hearts,
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  and he answered and said unto them that told him, who is my mother,
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  and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his
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  disciples, and said, behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall
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  do the will of my Father, which is in heaven, the same as
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  my brother and sister and mother. All who would receive Christ by faith were
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  united to him by a tie closer than that of human kinship, they would
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  become one with him as he was one with the Father. As a believer
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  and doer of his words. His mother was more nearly and savingly related to
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  him than through her natural relationship. His brothers would receive no benefit from their
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  connection with him unless they accepted him as their personal savior. What a support
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  Christ would have found in his earthly relatives if they had believed in him as
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  one from heaven and had co operated with him in doing the work of God.
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  Their unbelief cast a shadow over the earthly life of Jesus. It was
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  a part of the bitterness of that cup of woe which he drained for us.
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  The enmity kindled in the human heart against the Gospel was keenly felt by
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  the Son of God, and it was most painful to him in his home,
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  for his own heart was full of kindness and love, and he appreciated
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  tender regard in the family relation. His brothers desired that he should concede to
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  their ideas, when such a course would have been utterly out of harmony with
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  his divine mission. They looked upon him as in need of their counsel.
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  They judged him from their human point of view, and thought that if he
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  would speak only such things as would be acceptable to the scribes and Pharisees,
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  he would avoid the disagreeable controversy that his words aroused. They thought that he
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  was beside himself in claiming divine authority and in placing himself before the rabbis as
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  a reprover of their sins. They knew that the Pharisees were seeking occasion to
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  accuse him, and they felt that he had given them sufficient occasion. With
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  their short measuring line, they could not fathom the mission which he came to
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  fulfill, and therefore could not sympathize with him in his trials. Their coarse,
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  unappreciative words showed that they had no true perception of his character and did
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  not discern that the divine blended with the human. They often saw him full
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  of grief, but instead of comforting him, their spirit and words only wounded
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  his heart. His sensitive nature was tortured, his motives were misunderstood, his
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  work was uncomprehended. His brothers often brought forth the philosophe of the Pharisees,
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  which was threadbare and hoary with age, and presumed to think that they could
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  teach him, who understood all truth and comprehended all mysteries. They freely condemned
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  that which they could not understand. Their reproaches probed him to the quick,
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  and his soul was wearied and distressed. They avowed faith in God and thought
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  they were vindicating God, when God was with them in the flesh, and
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  they knew him not. These things made his path a thorny one to travel.
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  So pained was Christ by the misapprehension in his own home that it was
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  a relief to him to go where it did not exist. There was one
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  home that he loved to visit, the home of Lazarus and Mary and Martha,
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  for in the atmosphere of faith and love his spirit had rest. Yet
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  there were none on earth who could comprehend his divine mission or know the burden
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  which he bore in behalf of humanity. Often he could find relief only in
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  being alone and communing with his heavenly Father. Those who are called to suffer
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  for Christ's sake, who have to endure misapprehension and distrust even in their own
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  home, may find comfort in the thought that Jesus has endured the same.
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  He is moved with compassion for them. He bids some fine companionship in him
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  and relief where he founded in communion with the Father. Those who accept Christ
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  as their personal savior are not left as orphans to bear the trials of life
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  alone. He receives them as members of the heavenly family. He bids them
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  call his Father their father. They are his little ones, dear to the
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  heart of God, bound to him by the most tender and abiding ties.
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  He has towards them, an exceeding tenderness, as far surpassing what our father
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  or mother has felt towards us and our helplessness. As the divine is above
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  the human of Christ's relation to his people. There is a beautiful illustration in
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  the laws given to Israel, when through poverty, a Hebrew had been forced
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  to part with his patrimony and to sell himself as a bond servant. The
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  duty of redeeming him and his inheritance fell to the one who was nearest of
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  kin see Leviticus twenty five, twenty five forty seven to forty nine, Ruth
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  two twenty. So the work of redeeming us and our inheritance lost through sin
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  fell upon him who is near of kin, unto us. It was to
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  redeem us that he became our kinsman, closer than father, mother, brother,
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  friend, or lover. Is the Lord our savior. Fear not,
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  he says, for I have redeemed THEE. I have called THEE by thy
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  name. Thou art mine, since thou wast precious in my sight. Thou
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  hast been honorable, and I have loved THEE. Therefore will I give men
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  for THEE and people for thy life. Isaiah forty three one four. Christ
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  loves the heavenly beings that surround his throne. But what shall account for the
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  great love wherewith He has loved us? We cannot understand it, but we
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  can know it true in our own experience. And if we do hold the
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  relation of kinship to Him with what tenderness should we regard those who are brethren
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  and sisters of our Lord. Should we not be quick to recognize the claims
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  of our divine relationship adopted into the family of God, Should we not honor
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  our father and our kindred end of Chapter thirty three.