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

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The foreshadowing of the Cross. The work of Christ on earth was hastening to
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a close. Before him, in vivid outline lay the scenes whither his feet
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were tending. Even before he took humanity upon him, he saw the whole
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length of the path he must travel in order to save that which was lost.
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Every pang that rent his heart, every insult that was heaped upon his
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head, every privation that he was called to endure, was open to his
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view. Before he laid aside his crown and royal robe and stepped down from
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the throne to clothe his divinity with humanity, the path from the manger to
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cavalry was all before his eyes. He knew the anguish that would come upon
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him. He knew it all, And yet he said, lo I come.
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In the volume of the book it is written of me. I delight
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to do thy will, O my God, YEA, Thy law is within
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my heart Psalms. Forty seventy eight. Ever before him he saw the result
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of his mission. His earthly life, so full of toil and self sacrifice,
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was cheered by the prospect that he would not have all this travail for
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naught. By giving his life for the life of men. He would win
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back the world to its loyalty to God, although the baptism of blood must
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first be received, Although the sins of the world were to weigh upon his
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innocent soul, although the shadow of an unspeakable woe was upon him, Yet
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for the joy that was set before him, he chose to endure the cross,
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and despised the shame from the chosen companions of his ministry. The scenes
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that lay before him were as yet hidden, but the time was near when
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they must behold his agony. They must see him whom they had loved and
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trusted, delivered into the hands of his enemies, and hung upon the cross
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of cavalry. Soon he must leave them to face the world without the comfort
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of his visible presence. He knew how bitter hate and unbelief would persecute them,
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and he desired to prepare them for their trials. Jesus and his disciples
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had now come into one of the towns about Cesarea Philippi. They were beyond
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the limits of Galilee, in a region where idolatry prevailed. Here, the
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disciples were withdrawn from the controlling influence of Judaism and brought it a closer contact
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with the Heathen worship. Around them were represented forms of superstition that existed in
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all parts of the world. Jesus desired that a view of these things might
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lead them to feel the responsibility to the Heathen. During his stay in this
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region, he endeavored to withdraw from teaching the people and to devote himself more
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fully to his disciples. He was about to tell them of the suffering that
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awaited him, but first he went away alone and prayed that their hearts might
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be prepared to receive his words. Upon joining them, he did not at
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once communicate that which he desired to impart. Before doing this, he gave
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them an opportunity of confessing their faith in him, that they might be strengthened
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for the coming trial. He asked, whom do men say that I the
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son of man Am. Sadly, the disciples were forced to acknowledge that Israel
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had failed to recognize their messiah. Some indeed, when they saw as miracles,
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had declared him to be the son of David. The multitudes that had
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been fed at Bethsedah had desired to proclaim him king of Israel. Many were
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ready to accept him as a prophet, but they did not believe him to
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be the Messiah. Jesus now put a second question, relating to the disciples
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themselves. But whom say ye that I am? Peter answered, thou Art
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the Christ, the Son of the Living God. From the first Peter had
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believed Jesus to be the Messiah. Many others who had been convicted by the
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preaching of John the Baptist and had accepted Christ, began to doubt as to
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John's mission when he was imprisoned and put to death, And they now doubted
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that Jesus was the Messiah for whom they had looked so long. Many of
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the disciples, who had ardently expected Jesus to take his place on David's throne
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left him when they proceeded that he had no such intention. But Peter and
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his companions turned not from their allegiance. The vacillating course of those who praised
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yesterday and condemned to day did not destroy the faith of the true follower of
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the Savior. Peter declared thou Art the Christ, the Son of the Living
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God. He waited not for kingly honors to crown his lord, but accepted
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him in his humiliation. Peter expressed the faith of the Twelve. Yet the
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disciples were still far from understanding Christ's mission. The opposition and misrepresentation of the
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priests and rulers, while it could not turn them away from Christ, still
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caused them great perplexity. They did not see their way clearly. The influence
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of their early training, the teaching of the rabbis, the power of tradition,
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still intercepted their view of truth. From time to time, precious rays
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of light from Jesus shone upon them. Yet often they were like men groping
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among shadows. But on this day before the they were brought face to face
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with the great trial of their faith. The Holy Spirit rested upon them in
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power. For a little time. Their eyes were turned away from the things
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which are seen, to behold the things which are not seen. Second Corinthians
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four eighteen. Beneath the guise of humanity they discern the glory of the Son
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of God. Jesus answered Peter, saying, blessed art thou Simon Barjona,
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For flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father,
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which is in heaven. The truth which Peter had confessed is the foundation of
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the believer's faith. It is that which Christ himself has declared to be eternal
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life. But the possession of this knowledge was no ground for self glorification,
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through no wisdom or goodness of his own had it been revealed to Peter.
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Never can humanity of itself attain to a knowledge of the divine. It is
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as high as heaven. What canst thou do? Deeper than Hell? What
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canst thou know? Job eleven eight. Only the spirit of adoption can reveal
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to us the deep things of God, which I hath not seen nor ear
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heard, neither have entered into the heart of man. God hath revealed them
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unto us by his spirit. For the spirit searcheth all things, yea the
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deep things of God Firs. Corinthians two nine and ten. The secret of
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the Lord is with them that fear Him. And the fact that Peter discerned
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the glory of Christ was an evidence that he had been taught of God Psalms
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twenty five fourteen, John six forty five. Ah, indeed, blessed art
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thou Simon Barjona, For flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee.
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Jesus continued, I say, also unto thee that thou art, Peter,
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and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell
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shall not prevail against it. The word Peter signifies a stone, a rolling
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stone. Peter was not the rock upon which the church was founded. The
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gates of Hell did prevail against him when he denied his Lord with cursing and
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swearing. The church was built upon one against whom the gates of Hell could
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not prevail. Centuries before the Saviour's Advent, Moses had pointed to the Rock
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of Issrael Salvation. The Psalmists had sung, of the Rock of my strength.
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Isaiah had written, thus seth the Lord God behold, I lay in
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Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner
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stone, a sure foundation Deuteronomy thirty two fourth, Psalm sixty two seven,
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Isaiah twenty eight sixteen. Peter himself, writing by inspiration, applies this prophecy
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to Jesus. He says, if ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious,
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unto whom coming a living stone rejected indeed of men, but with God
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elect precious ye also as living stones, are built up a spiritual house.
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First Peter two three to five. Are y other foundation can no man lay
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than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ first Corinthians three eleven. Upon
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this rock, said Jesus, I will build my church in the presence of
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God and all the heavenly intelligences, in the presence of the unseen army of
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Hell. Christ founded his church upon the living rock that roc is himself,
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his own body. For us broken and bruised against the Church built upon this
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foundation, the gates of Hell shall not prevail. How feeble the church appeared
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when Christ spoke these words, there were only a handful of believers, against
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whom all the power of demons and evil men would be directed. Yet the
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followers of Christ were not to fear. Built upon the rock of their strength,
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they could not be overthrown. For six thousand years faith has builded upon
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Christ for six thousand years. The floods and tempests of satanic wrath have beaten
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upon the Rock of our salvation, but it stands unmoved. Peter, it
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expressed the truth which is the foundation of the Church's faith, and Jesus now
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honored him as the representative of the whole body of believers. He said,
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I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. And whatsoever
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thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt
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loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven. The keys of the Kingdom
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of Heaven are the words of Christ. All the words of holy Scripture are
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His, and are here included. These words have power to open and to
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shut heaven. They declare the conditions upon which men are received or rejected.
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Thus, the work of those who preach God's word is a savor of life
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unto life, or of death unto death. Theirs is a mission weighted with
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eternal results. The Savior did not commit the work of the Gospel to Peter
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individually. At a later time, repeating the words that were spoken to Peter,
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he applied them directly to the Church, and the same in substance was
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spoken also to the Twelve as representatives of the body of believers. If Jesus
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had delegated any special authority to one of the disciples above the others, we
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should not find them so often contending as to who should be the greatest.
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They would have submitted to the wish of their master and honored the one whom
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he had chosen instead of appointing one to be their head. Christ said to
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the disciples, be not ye called rabbi, neither be ye called masters,
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For one is your master, even Christ Matthew twenty three, eight ten.
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The head of every man is Christ. God, who put all things under
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the Saviour's feet, gave him to be the head over all things to the
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Church, which is his body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in
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all First Corinthians eleven three, Ephesians one, twenty two, twenty three.
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The Church is built upon Christ as its foundation. It is to obey Christ
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as its head. It is not to depend upon man or be controlled by
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man. Many claim that a position of trust in the Church gives them authority
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to dictate what other men shall believe and what they shall do. This claim
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God does not sanction. The Savior declares, all ye are brethren, All
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are exposed to temptation and are liable to error. Upon no finite being can
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we depend for guidance. The rock of faith is the living presence of Christ
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in the Church. Upon this the weakest may depend, and those who think
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themselves the strongest will prove to be the weakest unless they make Christ their efficiency.
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Cursed be the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm.
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The Lord is the roc, his work is perfect. Blessed are all they
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that put their trust in Him. Jeremiah seventeen five, Deuteronomy thirty two four,
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Psalms two twelve. After Peter's confession, Jesus charged the disciples to tell
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no man that he was the Christ. This charge was given because of the
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determined opposition of the scribes and Pharisees. More than this, the people and
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even the disciples had so false a conception of the Messiah that a public announcement
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of him would give them no true idea of his character or his work.
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But day by day he was revealing himself to them as the Savior, and
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thus he desired to give them a true conception of him as the Messiah.
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The disciples still expected Christ to reign as a temporal prince, although he had
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so long concealed his design. They believed that he would not always remain in
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poverty and obscurity. The time was near when he would establish his kingdom,
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that the hatred of the priests and rabbis would never be overcome, that Christ
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would be rejected by his own nation, condemned as a deceiver, and crucified
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as a male factor. Such a thought the disciples had never entertained. But
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the hour of the power of darkness was drawing on, and Jesus must open
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to his disciples the conflict before them. He was sad as he anticipated the
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trial. Hitherto he had refrained from making known to them anything relative to his
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sufferings and death. In his conversation with Nicodemus, he had said, as
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Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of
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Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
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have eternal life. John three, fourteen and fifteen. But the disciples did
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not hear this, and had they heard, would not have understood. But
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now they have been with Jesus, listening to his words, beholding his works,
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until, notwithstanding the humility of his surroundings and the opposition of priests and
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people, they can join in the testimony of Peter thou Art, the Christ,
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the son of the Living God. Now the time has come for the
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veil that hides the future to be withdrawn. From that time forth began Jesus
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to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem and suffer
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many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and
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be raised again the third day, speechless with grief and amazement, the disciples
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listened. Christ had accepted Peter's acknowledgment of him as the son of God,
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and now his words pointing to his suffering and death seemed incomprehensible. Peter could
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not keep silent. He laid hold upon his master, as if to draw
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him back from his impending doom, exclaiming, be it far from thee Lord,
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this shall not be unto thee Peter loved his Lord, but Jesus did
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not commend him for thus manifesting the desire to shield him from suffering. Peter's
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words were not such as would be a help and solace to Jesus in the
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great trial before him. They were not in harmony with God's purpose of grace
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towards a lost world, nor with the lesson of self sacrifice that Jesus had
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come to teach by his own example. Peter did not desire to see the
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cross in the work of Christ, the impression which his words would make was
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directly opposed to that which Christ desired to make on the minds of his followers,
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and the Savior was moved to utter one of the sternest rebukes that ever
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fell from his lips. Get thee behind me, Satan, Thou art an
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offense unto me. For thou savorest not the things that be of God,
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but those that be of men. Satan was trying to discourage Jesus and turn
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him from his mission, and Peter, in his blind love, was giving
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voice to the temptation. The prince of evil was the author of the thought.
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His instigation was behind that impulsive appeal. In the wilderness, Satan had
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offered Christ the dominion of the world on condition of forsaking the path of humiliation
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and sacrifice. Now he was presenting the same temptation to the disciple of Christ.
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He was seeking to fix Peter's gaze upon the earthly glory, that he
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might not behold the cross to which Jesus desired to turn his eyes. And
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through Peter, Satan was again pressing the temptation upon Jesus. But the Savior
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heeded it. Not His thought was for his disciple. Satan had interposed between
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Peter and his master, that the heart of the disciple might not be touched
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at the vision of Christ's humiliation for him. The words of Christ were spoken
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not to Peter, but to the one who is trying to separate him from
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his redeemer. Get thee behind me, Satan, no longer interpose between me
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and my erring servant. Let me come face to face with Peter, that
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I may reveal to him the mystery of my love. It was to Peter
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a bitter lesson, and one which ye learned but slowly, that the path
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of Christ on earth lay through agony and humiliation. The disciples shrank from fellowship
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with his Lord in suffering, But in the heat of the furnace fire he
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was to learn its blessing. Long afterward, when his active form was bowed
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with the burden of years and labors, he wrote, Beloved, think it
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not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some
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strange thing happened unto you. But rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's
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suffering, that when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also
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with exceeding joy. First, Peter four, twelve and thirteen. Jesus now
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explained to his disciples that his own life of self abnegation was an example of
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what theirs should be. Calling about him with the disciples, the people who
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had been lingering near, he said, if any man will come after me,
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let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
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The cross was associated with the power of Rome. It was the instrument of
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the most cruel and humiliating form of death. The lowest criminals were required to
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bear the cross to the place of execution, and often as it was about
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to be laid upon their shoulders, they resisted with desperate violence until they were
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overpowered and their instrument of torture was bound upon them. But Jesus bade his
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followers take up the cross and bear it after him. To the disciples,
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his words, though dimly comprehended, pointed to their submission to the most bitter
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humiliation, submission even unto death, for the sake of Christ. No more
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complete self surrender could the Saviour's words have pictured All this he had accepted for
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them. Jesus did not count heaven a place to be desired. While we
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were lost. He left the heavenly courts for a life of reproach and insult,
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and a death of shame. He who was rich in Heaven's priceless treasure,
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became poor, that through his poverty we might be rich. We are
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to follow in the path he trod. Love for souls for whom Christ died
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means crucifixion of self. He, as a child of God, should henceforth
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look upon himself as a link in the chain let down to save the world,
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one with Christ and his plan of mercy, going forth with him to
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seek and save the lost. The Christian is ever to realize that he has
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consecrated himself to God, and that in character he is to reveal Christ to
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the world. The self sacrifice, the sympathy, the love manifested in the
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life of Christ are to reappear in the life of the Worker for God.
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Whosoever will save his life shall lose it, But whosoever shall lose his life
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for My sake and the Gospels, the same shall save it Selfishness is death.
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No organ of the body could live should it confine its service to itself.
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The heart failing to send its life blood to the hand, and the
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head would quickly lose its power as our life blood. So is the love
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of Christ diffused through every part of his mystical body. We are members one
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of another, and the soul that refuses to impart will perish. And what
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is man profited, said Jesus, if he shall gain the whole world and
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lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his
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soul? Beyond the poverty and humiliation of the present. He pointed the disciples
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to his coming in glory, not in the splendor of an earthly throne,
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but with the glory of God in the host of heaven. And then he
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said, he shall reward every man according to his works. Then for their
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encouragement he gave the promise. Verily, I say unto you, there be
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some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of
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Man in his kingdom. But the disciples did not comprehend his words. The
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glory seemed far away. Their eyes were fixed upon the nearer view, the
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earthly life of poverty, humiliation, and suffering. Must their glowing expectations of
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the Messiah's kingdom be relinquished were they not to see their Lord exalted to the
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throne of David. Could it be that Christ was to live a humble,
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homeless wanderer, to be despised, rejected, and put to death. Sadness
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oppressed their hearts, for they loved their master. Doubt also harassed their minds,
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for it seemed incomprehensible that the Son of God should be subjected to such
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cruel humiliation. They questioned why he should voluntarily go to Jerusalem to meet the
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treatment which he had told them he was there to receive. How could he
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resign himself to such a fate and leave them in greater darkness than that in
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which they were groping before he revealed himself to them In the region of Cesarea
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Philippi, Christ was out of the reach of Herod and Caiaphus, the disciples
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reasons, and he had nothing to fear from the hatred of the Jews or
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from the power of the Romans. Why not work there at a distance from
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the Pharisees. Why need he give himself up to death? If he was
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to die, how was it that his kingdom was to be established so firmly
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that the gates of hell should not prevail against it. To the Disciples,
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this was indeed a mystery. They were even now journeying along the shores of
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the Sea of Galilee towards the city where all their hopes were to be crushed.
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They dared not remonstrate with Christ, but they talked together in low,
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sorrowful tones in regard to what the future would be. Even amid their questionings,
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they clung to the thought that some unforeseen circumstance might avert the doom which
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seemed to await their Lord. Thus they sorrowed and doubted, hoped and feared
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for six long, gloomy days. End of Chapter forty five.