EGW WritingsJohn 12

Conflict and Courage

A Gift of Love, October 26

CC 305.1

She hath done what she could. Mark 14:8.

CC 305.2

Simon of Bethany was accounted a disciple of Jesus. He was one of the few Pharisees who had openly joined Christ’s followers. He acknowledged Jesus as a teacher, and hoped that He might be the Messiah, but he had not accepted Him as a Saviour. His character was not transformed; his principles were unchanged.

CC 305.3

Simon had been healed of the leprosy, and it was this that had drawn him to Jesus. He desired to show his gratitude, and at Christ’s last visit to Bethany he made a feast for the Saviour and His disciples.... At the table the Saviour sat with Simon ... on one side, and Lazarus ... on the other. Martha served at the table, but Mary was earnestly listening to every word from the lips of Jesus. In His mercy, Jesus had pardoned her sins, He had called forth her beloved brother from the grave, and Mary’s heart was filled with gratitude. She had heard Jesus speak of His approaching death, and in her deep love and sorrow she had longed to show Him honor. At great personal sacrifice she had purchased an alabaster box of “ointment of spikenard, very costly,” with which to anoint His body. But now many were declaring that He was about to be crowned king. Her grief was turned to joy, and she was eager to be first in honoring her Lord. Breaking her box of ointment, she poured its contents upon the head and feet of Jesus; then, as she knelt weeping, moistening them with her tears, she wiped His feet with her long, flowing hair....

CC 305.4

Judas looked upon this act with great displeasure.... He asked, “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?” ... The murmur passed round the table, “To what purpose is this waste? ...” Mary heard the words of criticism.... She was about to shrink away, when the voice of her Lord was heard, “Let her alone; why trouble ye her?” ... Lifting His voice above the murmur of criticism, He said, “She hath wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always. She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.” 45The Desire of Ages, 557-560.

The Desire of Ages

Chapter 62—The Feast at Simon’s House

DA 557.1

Simon of Bethany was accounted a disciple of Jesus. He was one of the few Pharisees who had openly joined Christ’s followers. He acknowledged Jesus as a teacher, and hoped that He might be the Messiah, but he had not accepted Him as a Saviour. His character was not transformed; his principles were unchanged.

DA 557.2

Simon had been healed of the leprosy, and it was this that had drawn him to Jesus. He desired to show his gratitude, and at Christ’s last visit to Bethany he made a feast for the Saviour and His disciples. This feast brought together many of the Jews. There was at this time much excitement at Jerusalem. Christ and His mission were attracting greater attention than ever before. Those who had come to the feast closely watched His movements, and some of them with unfriendly eyes.

DA 557.3

The Saviour had reached Bethany only six days before the Passover, and according to His custom had sought rest at the home of Lazarus. The crowds of travelers who passed on to the city spread the tidings that He was on His way to Jerusalem, and that He would rest over the Sabbath at Bethany. Among the people there was great enthusiasm. Many flocked to Bethany, some out of sympathy with Jesus, and others from curiosity to see one who had been raised from the dead.

DA 557.4

Many expected to hear from Lazarus a wonderful account of scenes witnessed after death. They were surprised that he told them nothing. He had nothing of this kind to tell. Inspiration declares, “The dead know not anything.... Their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished.” Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6. But Lazarus did have a wonderful testimony to bear in regard to the work of Christ. He had been raised from the dead for this purpose. With assurance and power he declared that Jesus was the Son of God.

DA 558.1

The reports carried back to Jerusalem by the visitors to Bethany increased the excitement. The people were eager to see and hear Jesus. There was a general inquiry as to whether Lazarus would accompany Him to Jerusalem, and if the prophet would be crowned king at the Passover. The priests and rulers saw that their hold upon the people was still weakening, and their rage against Jesus grew more bitter. They could hardly wait for the opportunity of removing Him forever from their way. As time passed, they began to fear that after all He might not come to Jerusalem. They remembered how often He had baffled their murderous designs, and they were fearful that He had now read their purposes against Him, and would remain away. They could ill conceal their anxiety, and questioned among themselves, “What think ye, that He will not come to the feast?”

DA 558.2

A council of the priests and Pharisees was called. Since the raising of Lazarus the sympathies of the people were so fully with Christ that it would be dangerous to seize upon Him openly. So the authorities determined to take Him secretly, and carry on the trial as quietly as possible. They hoped that when His condemnation became known, the fickle tide of public opinion would set in their favor.

DA 558.3

Thus they proposed to destroy Jesus. But so long as Lazarus lived, the priests and rabbis knew that they were not secure. The very existence of a man who had been four days in the grave, and who had been restored by a word from Jesus, would sooner or later cause a reaction. The people would be avenged on their leaders for taking the life of One who could perform such a miracle. The Sanhedrin therefore decided that Lazarus also must die. To such lengths do envy and prejudice lead their slaves. The hatred and unbelief of the Jewish leaders had increased until they would even take the life of one whom infinite power had rescued from the grave.

DA 558.4

While this plotting was going on at Jerusalem, Jesus and His friends were invited to Simon’s feast. At the table the Saviour sat with Simon, whom He had cured of a loathsome disease, on one side, and Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead, on the other. Martha served at the table, but Mary was earnestly listening to every word from the lips of Jesus. In His mercy, Jesus had pardoned her sins, He had called forth her beloved brother from the grave, and Mary’s heart was filled with gratitude. She had heard Jesus speak of His approaching death, and in her deep love and sorrow she had longed to show Him honor. At great personal sacrifice she had purchased an alabaster box of “ointment of spikenard, very costly,” with which to anoint His body. But now many were declaring that He was about to be crowned king. Her grief was turned to joy, and she was eager to be first in honoring her Lord. Breaking her box of ointment, she poured its contents upon the head and feet of Jesus; then, as she knelt weeping, moistening them with her tears, she wiped His feet with her long, flowing hair.

DA 559.1

She had sought to avoid observation, and her movements might have passed unnoticed, but the ointment filled the room with its fragrance, and published her act to all present. Judas looked upon this act with great displeasure. Instead of waiting to hear what Christ would say of the matter, he began to whisper his complaints to those near him, throwing reproach upon Christ for suffering such waste. Craftily he made suggestions that would be likely to cause disaffection.

DA 559.2

Judas was treasurer for the disciples, and from their little store he had secretly drawn for his own use, thus narrowing down their resources to a meager pittance. He was eager to put into the bag all that he could obtain. The treasure in the bag was often drawn upon to relieve the poor; and when something that Judas did not think essential was bought, he would say, Why is this waste? why was not the cost of this put into the bag that I carry for the poor? Now the act of Mary was in such marked contrast to his selfishness that he was put to shame; and according to his custom, he sought to assign a worthy motive for his objection to her gift. Turning to the disciples, he asked, “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.” Judas had no heart for the poor. Had Mary’s ointment been sold, and the proceeds fallen into his possession, the poor would have received no benefit.

DA 559.3

Judas had a high opinion of his own executive ability. As a financier he thought himself greatly superior to his fellow disciples, and he had led them to regard him in the same light. He had gained their confidence, and had a strong influence over them. His professed sympathy for the poor deceived them, and his artful insinuation caused them to look distrustfully upon Mary’s devotion. The murmur passed round the table, “To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.”

DA 560.1

Mary heard the words of criticism. Her heart trembled within her. She feared that her sister would reproach her for extravagance. The Master, too, might think her improvident. Without apology or excuse she was about to shrink away, when the voice of her Lord was heard, “Let her alone; why trouble ye her?” He saw that she was embarrassed and distressed. He knew that in this act of service she had expressed her gratitude for the forgiveness of her sins, and He brought relief to her mind. Lifting His voice above the murmur of criticism, He said, “She hath wrought a good work on Me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but Me ye have not always. She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint My body to the burying.”

DA 560.2

The fragrant gift which Mary had thought to lavish upon the dead body of the Saviour she poured upon His living form. At the burial its sweetness could only have pervaded the tomb; now it gladdened His heart with the assurance of her faith and love. Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus offered not their gift of love to Jesus in His life. With bitter tears they brought their costly spices for His cold, unconscious form. The women who bore spices to the tomb found their errand in vain, for He had risen. But Mary, pouring out her love upon the Saviour while He was conscious of her devotion, was anointing Him for the burial. And as He went down into the darkness of His great trial, He carried with Him the memory of that deed, an earnest of the love that would be His from His redeemed ones forever.

DA 560.3

Many there are who bring their precious gifts for the dead. As they stand about the cold, silent form, words of love are freely spoken. Tenderness, appreciation, devotion, all are lavished upon one who sees not nor hears. Had these words been spoken when the weary spirit needed them so much, when the ear could hear and the heart could feel, how precious would have been their fragrance!

DA 560.4

Mary knew not the full significance of her deed of love. She could not answer her accusers. She could not explain why she had chosen that occasion for anointing Jesus. The Holy Spirit had planned for her, and she had obeyed His promptings. Inspiration stoops to give no reason. An unseen presence, it speaks to mind and soul, and moves the heart to action. It is its own justification.

DA 560.5

Christ told Mary the meaning of her act, and in this He gave her more than He had received. “In that she hath poured this ointment on My body,” He said, “she did it for My burial.” As the alabaster box was broken, and filled the whole house with its fragrance, so Christ was to die, His body was to be broken; but He was to rise from the tomb, and the fragrance of His life was to fill the earth. Christ “hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.” Ephesians 5:2.

DA 563.1

“Verily I say unto you,” Christ declared, “Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.” Looking into the future, the Saviour spoke with certainty concerning His gospel. It was to be preached throughout the world. And as far as the gospel extended, Mary’s gift would shed its fragrance, and hearts would be blessed through her unstudied act. Kingdoms would rise and fall; the names of monarchs and conquerors would be forgotten; but this woman’s deed would be immortalized upon the pages of sacred history. Until time should be no more, that broken alabaster box would tell the story of the abundant love of God for a fallen race.

DA 563.2

Mary’s act was in marked contrast with that which Judas was about to do. What a sharp lesson Christ might have given him who had dropped the seed of criticism and evil thinking into the minds of the disciples! How justly the accuser might have been accused! He who reads the motives of every heart, and understands every action, might have opened before those at the feast dark chapters in the experience of Judas. The hollow pretense on which the traitor based his words might have been laid bare; for, instead of sympathizing with the poor, he was robbing them of the money intended for their relief. Indignation might have been excited against him for his oppression of the widow, the orphan, and the hireling. But had Christ unmasked Judas, this would have been urged as a reason for the betrayal. And though charged with being a thief, Judas would have gained sympathy, even among the disciples. The Saviour reproached him not, and thus avoided giving him an excuse for his treachery.

DA 563.3

But the look which Jesus cast upon Judas convinced him that the Saviour penetrated his hypocrisy, and read his base, contemptible character. And in commending Mary’s action, which had been so severely condemned, Christ had rebuked Judas. Prior to this, the Saviour had never given him a direct rebuke. Now the reproof rankled in his heart. He determined to be revenged. From the supper he went directly to the palace of the high priest, where he found the council assembled, and he offered to betray Jesus into their hands.

DA 564.1

The priests were greatly rejoiced. These leaders of Israel had been given the privilege of receiving Christ as their Saviour, without money and without price. But they refused the precious gift offered them in the most tender spirit of constraining love. They refused to accept that salvation which is of more value than gold, and bought their Lord for thirty pieces of silver.

DA 564.2

Judas had indulged avarice until it overpowered every good trait of his character. He grudged the offering made to Jesus. His heart burned with envy that the Saviour should be the recipient of a gift suitable for the monarchs of the earth. For a sum far less than the box of ointment cost, he betrayed his Lord.

DA 564.3

The disciples were not like Judas. They loved the Saviour. But they did not rightly appreciate His exalted character. Had they realized what He had done for them, they would have felt that nothing bestowed upon Him was wasted. The wise men from the East, who knew so little of Jesus, had shown a truer appreciation of the honor due Him. They brought precious gifts to the Saviour, and bowed in homage before Him when He was but a babe, and cradled in a manger.

DA 564.4

Christ values acts of heartfelt courtesy. When anyone did Him a favor, with heavenly politeness He blessed the actor. He did not refuse the simplest flower plucked by the hand of a child, and offered to Him in love. He accepted the offerings of children, and blessed the givers, inscribing their names in the book of life. In the Scriptures, Mary’s anointing of Jesus is mentioned as distinguishing her from the other Marys. Acts of love and reverence for Jesus are an evidence of faith in Him as the Son of God. And the Holy Spirit mentions, as evidences of woman’s loyalty to Christ: “If she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.” 1 Timothy 5:10.

DA 564.5

Christ delighted in the earnest desire of Mary to do the will of her Lord. He accepted the wealth of pure affection which His disciples did not, would not, understand. The desire that Mary had to do this service for her Lord was of more value to Christ than all the precious ointment in the world, because it expressed her appreciation of the world’s Redeemer. It was the love of Christ that constrained her. The matchless excellence of the character of Christ filled her soul. That ointment was a symbol of the heart of the giver. It was the outward demonstration of a love fed by heavenly streams until it overflowed.

DA 565.1

The work of Mary was just the lesson the disciples needed to show them that the expression of their love for Him would be pleasing to Christ. He had been everything to them, and they did not realize that soon they would be deprived of His presence, that soon they could offer Him no token of their gratitude for His great love. The loneliness of Christ, separated from the heavenly courts, living the life of humanity, was never understood or appreciated by the disciples as it should have been. He was often grieved because His disciples did not give Him that which He should have received from them. He knew that if they were under the influence of the heavenly angels that accompanied Him, they too would think no offering of sufficient value to declare the heart’s spiritual affection.

DA 565.2

Their afterknowledge gave them a true sense of the many things they might have done for Jesus expressive of the love and gratitude of their hearts, while they were near Him. When Jesus was no longer with them, and they felt indeed as sheep without a shepherd, they began to see how they might have shown Him attentions that would have brought gladness to His heart. They no longer cast blame upon Mary, but upon themselves. Oh, if they could have taken back their censuring, their presenting the poor as more worthy of the gift than was Christ! They felt the reproof keenly as they took from the cross the bruised body of their Lord.

DA 565.3

The same want is evident in our world today. But few appreciate all that Christ is to them. If they did, the great love of Mary would be expressed, the anointing would be freely bestowed. The expensive ointment would not be called a waste. Nothing would be thought too costly to give for Christ, no self-denial or self-sacrifice too great to be endured for His sake.

DA 565.4

The words spoken in indignation, “To what purpose is this waste?” brought vividly before Christ the greatest sacrifice ever made,—the gift of Himself as the propitiation for a lost world. The Lord would be so bountiful to His human family that it could not be said of Him that He could do more. In the gift of Jesus, God gave all heaven. From a human point of view, such a sacrifice was a wanton waste. To human reasoning the whole plan of salvation is a waste of mercies and resources. Self-denial and wholehearted sacrifice meet us everywhere. Well may the heavenly host look with amazement upon the human family who refuse to be uplifted and enriched with the boundless love expressed in Christ. Well may they exclaim, Why this great waste?

DA 565.5

But the atonement for a lost world was to be full, abundant, and complete. Christ’s offering was exceedingly abundant to reach every soul that God had created. It could not be restricted so as not to exceed the number who would accept the great Gift. All men are not saved; yet the plan of redemption is not a waste because it does not accomplish all that its liberality has provided for. There must be enough and to spare.

DA 566.1

Simon the host had been influenced by the criticism of Judas upon Mary’s gift, and he was surprised at the conduct of Jesus. His Pharisaic pride was offended. He knew that many of his guests were looking upon Christ with distrust and displeasure. Simon said in his heart, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him: for she is a sinner.”

DA 566.2

By curing Simon of leprosy, Christ had saved him from a living death. But now Simon questioned whether the Saviour were a prophet. Because Christ allowed this woman to approach Him, because He did not indignantly spurn her as one whose sins were too great to be forgiven, because He did not show that He realized she had fallen, Simon was tempted to think that He was not a prophet. Jesus knows nothing of this woman who is so free in her demonstrations, he thought, or He would not allow her to touch Him.

DA 566.3

But it was Simon’s ignorance of God and of Christ that led him to think as he did. He did not realize that God’s Son must act in God’s way, with compassion, tenderness, and mercy. Simon’s way was to take no notice of Mary’s penitent service. Her act of kissing Christ’s feet and anointing them with ointment was exasperating to his hardheartedness. He thought that if Christ were a prophet, He would recognize sinners and rebuke them.

DA 566.4

To this unspoken thought the Saviour answered: “Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee.... There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell Me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And He said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.”

DA 566.5

As did Nathan with David, Christ concealed His home thrust under the veil of a parable. He threw upon His host the burden of pronouncing sentence upon himself. Simon had led into sin the woman he now despised. She had been deeply wronged by him. By the two debtors of the parable, Simon and the woman were represented. Jesus did not design to teach that different degrees of obligation should be felt by the two persons, for each owed a debt of gratitude that never could be repaid. But Simon felt himself more righteous than Mary, and Jesus desired him to see how great his guilt really was. He would show him that his sin was greater than hers, as much greater as a debt of five hundred pence exceeds a debt of fifty pence.

DA 567.1

Simon now began to see himself in a new light. He saw how Mary was regarded by One who was more than a prophet. He saw that with keen prophetic eye Christ read her heart of love and devotion. Shame seized upon him, and he realized that he was in the presence of One superior to himself.

DA 567.2

“I entered into thine house,” Christ continued, “thou gavest Me no water for My feet;” but with tears of repentance, prompted by love, Mary hath washed My feet, and wiped them with the hair of her head. “Thou gavest Me no kiss: but this woman,” whom you despise, “since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss My feet.” Christ recounted the opportunities Simon had had to show his love for his Lord, and his appreciation of what had been done for him. Plainly, yet with delicate politeness, the Saviour assured His disciples that His heart is grieved when His children neglect to show their gratitude to Him by words and deeds of love.

DA 567.3

The Heart Searcher read the motive that led to Mary’s action, and He saw also the spirit that prompted Simon’s words. “Seest thou this woman?” He said to him. She is a sinner. “I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.”

DA 567.4

Simon’s coldness and neglect toward the Saviour showed how little he appreciated the mercy he had received. He had thought he honored Jesus by inviting Him to his house. But he now saw himself as he really was. While he thought himself reading his Guest, his Guest had been reading him. He saw how true Christ’s judgment of him was. His religion had been a robe of Pharisaism. He had despised the compassion of Jesus. He had not recognized Him as the representative of God. While Mary was a sinner pardoned, he was a sinner unpardoned. The rigid rule of justice he had desired to enforce against her condemned him.

DA 567.5

Simon was touched by the kindness of Jesus in not openly rebuking him before the guests. He had not been treated as he desired Mary to be treated. He saw that Jesus did not wish to expose his guilt to others, but sought by a true statement of the case to convince his mind, and by pitying kindness to subdue his heart. Stern denunciation would have hardened Simon against repentance, but patient admonition convinced him of his error. He saw the magnitude of the debt which he owed his Lord. His pride was humbled, he repented, and the proud Pharisee became a lowly, self-sacrificing disciple.

DA 568.1

Mary had been looked upon as a great sinner, but Christ knew the circumstances that had shaped her life. He might have extinguished every spark of hope in her soul, but He did not. It was He who had lifted her from despair and ruin. Seven times she had heard His rebuke of the demons that controlled her heart and mind. She had heard His strong cries to the Father in her behalf. She knew how offensive is sin to His unsullied purity, and in His strength she had overcome.

DA 568.2

When to human eyes her case appeared hopeless, Christ saw in Mary capabilities for good. He saw the better traits of her character. The plan of redemption has invested humanity with great possibilities, and in Mary these possibilities were to be realized. Through His grace she became a partaker of the divine nature. The one who had fallen, and whose mind had been a habitation of demons, was brought very near to the Saviour in fellowship and ministry. It was Mary who sat at His feet and learned of Him. It was Mary who poured upon His head the precious anointing oil, and bathed His feet with her tears. Mary stood beside the cross, and followed Him to the sepulcher. Mary was first at the tomb after His resurrection. It was Mary who first proclaimed a risen Saviour.

DA 568.3

Jesus knows the circumstances of every soul. You may say, I am sinful, very sinful. You may be; but the worse you are, the more you need Jesus. He turns no weeping, contrite one away. He does not tell to any all that He might reveal, but He bids every trembling soul take courage. Freely will He pardon all who come to Him for forgiveness and restoration.

DA 568.4

Christ might commission the angels of heaven to pour out the vials of His wrath on our world, to destroy those who are filled with hatred of God. He might wipe this dark spot from His universe. But He does not do this. He is today standing at the altar of incense, presenting before God the prayers of those who desire His help.

DA 568.5

The souls that turn to Him for refuge, Jesus lifts above the accusing and the strife of tongues. No man or evil angel can impeach these souls. Christ unites them to His own divine-human nature. They stand beside the great Sin Bearer, in the light proceeding from the throne of God. “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Romans 8:33, 34.

From Heaven With Love

Chapter 62—Mary Anoints Jesus

HLv 371.1

Simon of Bethany was one of the few Pharisees who had openly joined Christ’s followers. He hoped that Jesus might be the Messiah, but had not accepted Him as a Saviour. His character was not transformed; his principles were unchanged.

HLv 371.2

Simon had been healed of leprosy, and he desired to show his gratitude. At Christ’s last visit to Bethany he made a feast for the Saviour and His disciples. This feast brought together many of the Jews who closely watched His movements, some with unfriendly eyes.

HLv 371.3

According to His custom the Saviour had sought rest at the home of Lazarus. Many of the people flocked to Bethany, some out of sympathy with Jesus, and others from curiosity to see one who had been raised from the dead. With assurance and power, Lazarus declared that Jesus was the Son of God.

HLv 371.4

The people were eager to see whether Lazarus would accompany Jesus to Jerusalem and whether the prophet would be crowned king at the Passover. The priests and rulers could hardly wait for the opportunity of removing Him forever from their way. They remembered how often He had baffled their murderous designs, and were fearful that He would remain away. They questioned among themselves, “What think ye, that He will not come to the feast?”

HLv 371.5

A council was called. Since the raising of Lazarus the sympathies of the people were so fully with Christ that it would be dangerous to seize Him openly. So the authorities determined to take Him secretly and carry on the trial as quietly as possible. They hoped that when His condemnation became known, the fickle tide of public opinion would set in their favor.

HLv 372.1

But so long as Lazarus lived, the priests and rabbis knew they were not secure. The existence of a man who had been four days in the grave and had been restored by a word from Jesus would cause a reaction. The people would be avenged on their leaders for taking the life of One who could perform such a miracle. The Sanhedrin therefore decided that Lazarus also must die.

HLv 372.2

While this plotting was going on at Jerusalem, Jesus and His friends were invited to Simon’s feast. At the table Simon sat on one side of the Saviour, and Lazarus, on the other. Martha served, but Mary was earnestly listening to every word from the lips of Jesus. In His mercy, Jesus had pardoned her sins and called forth her brother from the grave, and Mary’s heart was filled with gratitude. She had heard Jesus speak of His approaching death, and she had longed to show Him honor.

HLv 372.3

At great personal sacrifice she had purchased an alabaster box of “ointment of spikenard, very costly,” with which to anoint His body. But now many were declaring that He was about to be crowned king. Her grief was turned to joy, and she was eager to be first in honoring her Lord. Breaking her box of ointment, she poured its contents on the head and feet of Jesus; then, as she knelt weeping, moistening them with her tears, she wiped His feet with her long, flowing hair. Her movements might have passed unnoticed, but the ointment filled the room with its fragrance and published her act to all present.

HLv 372.4

Judas looked upon this act with great displeasure. He began to whisper his complaints to those near him, throwing reproach on Christ for suffering such waste. Judas, treasurer for the disciples, had secretly drawn from their little store for his own use, thus narrowing their resources to a pittance. He was eager to put into the bag all he could obtain. When something that he did not think essential was bought, he would say, Why was not the cost of this put into the bag that I carry for the poor?

HLv 373.1

The act of Mary was in such marked contrast to his selfishness that he was put to shame. He sought to assign a worthy motive for his objection to her gift: “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief.” Had Mary’s ointment been sold and the proceeds fallen into his possession, the poor would have received no benefit.

HLv 373.2

As a financier Judas thought himself greatly superior to his fellow disciples, and he had gained a strong influence over them. His professed sympathy for the poor deceived them. The murmur passed round the table, “To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.”

HLv 373.3

Mary heard the criticism. Her heart trembled within her. She feared that her sister would reproach her for extravagance. The Master, too, might think her improvident. She was about to shrink away, when the voice of her Lord was heard, “Let her alone; why trouble ye her?” He knew that in this act she had expressed her gratitude for the forgiveness of her sins. Lifting His voice above the murmur of criticism, He said, “She has wrought a good work on Me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but Me ye have not always. She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint My body to the burying.”

HLv 373.4

The fragrant gift which Mary had thought to lavish upon the dead body of the Saviour she poured upon His living form. At the burial its sweetness could only have pervaded the tomb; now it gladdened His heart. Pouring out her love while the Saviour was conscious of her devotion, she was anointing Him for the burial. As He went down into the darkness of His great trial, He carried with Him the memory of that deed, an earnest of the love that would be His from His redeemed ones forever.

HLv 374.1

Mary knew not the full significance of her deed of love. She could not explain why she had chosen that occasion for anointing Jesus. The Holy Spirit had planned for her, and she had obeyed His promptings. Inspiration stoops to give no reason. An unseen presence, it moves the heart to action. It is its own justification.

HLv 374.3

“Verily I say unto you,” Christ declared, “Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.” The Saviour spoke with certainty concerning His gospel that was to be preached throughout the world. And as far as the gospel extended, Mary’s gift would shed its fragrance, and hearts would be blessed through her unstudied act. Kingdoms would rise and fall, the names of conquerors would be forgotten, but this woman’s deed would be immortalized on the pages of sacred history. Until time should be no more, that broken alabaster box would tell the story of the abundant love of God for a fallen race.

HLv 374.4

What a sharp lesson Christ might have given Judas! He who reads the motives of every heart might have opened before those at the feast dark chapters in the experience of Judas. Instead of sympathizing with the poor, he was robbing them of the money intended for their relief. But had Christ unmasked Judas, this would have been urged as a reason for the betrayal. Judas would have gained sympathy, even among the disciples. The Saviour avoided giving him an excuse for his treachery.

HLv 375.1

But the look which Jesus cast on Judas convinced him that the Saviour penetrated his hypocrisy and read his contemptible character. And in commending Mary’s action, Christ rebuked Judas. The reproof rankled in his heart, and he went directly to the palace of the high priest and offered to betray Jesus into their hands.

HLv 375.2

The leaders of Israel had been given the privilege of receiving Christ as their Saviour, without money and without price. But they refused the precious gift and bought their Lord for thirty pieces of silver.

HLv 375.3

Judas grudged Mary’s gift of costly ointment to Jesus. His heart burned with envy that the Saviour should be the recipient of a gift suitable for the monarchs of the earth. For far less than the ointment cost, he betrayed his Lord.

HLv 375.4

The disciples were not like Judas. They loved the Saviour but did not rightly appreciate His character. The wise men from the East, who knew so little of Jesus, had shown a truer appreciation of the honor due Him.

HLv 375.5

Christ values acts of heartfelt courtesy. He did not refuse the simplest flower plucked by the hand of a child and offered to Him in love. He accepted the offerings of children, and blessed the givers. In the Scriptures, Mary’s anointing of Jesus is mentioned as distinguishing her from the other Marys. Acts of love and reverence for Jesus are an evidence of faith in Him as the Son of God.

HLv 376.1

Christ accepted Mary’s wealth of pure affection which His disciples did not, would not, understand. It was the love of Christ that constrained her. That ointment was a symbol of the heart of the giver, the outward demonstration of a love fed by heavenly streams until it overflowed.

HLv 376.2

The loneliness of Christ, living the life of humanity, was never appreciated by the disciples as it should have been. He was often grieved. He knew that if they were under the influence of the heavenly angels that accompanied Him, they too would think no offering of sufficient value to declare the heart’s affection.

HLv 376.3

When Jesus was no longer with them and they felt as sheep without a shepherd, they began to see how they might have brought gladness to His heart. They no longer cast blame on Mary, but on themselves. Oh, if they could have taken back their censure, presenting the poor as more worthy of the gift than Christ! They felt the reproof keenly as they took from the cross the bruised body of their Lord.

HLv 376.4

Today, few appreciate all that Christ is to them. If they did, the great love of Mary would be expressed. Nothing would be thought too costly to give for Christ, no self-denial or self-sacrifice too great to be endured for His sake.

HLv 376.5

The words spoken in indignation, “To what purpose is this waste?” brought vividly before Christ the greatest sacrifice ever made—the gift of Himself as the propitiation for a lost world. From a human point of view, the plan of salvation is a wanton waste of mercies and resources. Well may the heavenly host look with amazement on the human family who refuse to be enriched with the boundless love expressed in Christ. Well may they exclaim, Why this great waste?

HLv 376.6

But the atonement for a lost world was to be full, abundant, and complete. Christ’s offering could not be restricted so as not to exceed the number who would accept the Gift. The plan of redemption is not a waste because it does not accomplish all that its liberality has provided for. There must be enough and to spare.

HLv 377.1

Simon the host was surprised at the conduct of Jesus, and he said in his heart: “This Man, if He were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him: for she is a sinner.”

HLv 377.2

Because Christ allowed this woman to approach Him, because He did not indignantly spurn her as one whose sins were too great to be forgiven, because He did not show that He realized she had fallen, Simon was tempted to think that Christ was not a prophet. But it was Simon’s ignorance of God and of Christ that led him to think as he did.

HLv 377.3

He did not realize that God’s Son must act in God’s way, with compassion, tenderness, and mercy. Simon’s way was to take no notice of Mary’s penitent service. Mary’s act of kissing Christ’s feet and anointing them with ointment was exasperating to his hard-heartedness. He thought that Christ should recognize sinners and rebuke them.

HLv 377.4

To this unspoken thought the Saviour answered: “Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee... . There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell Me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And He said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.”

HLv 377.5

As did Nathan with David (2 Samuel 12:1-7), Christ threw upon His host the burden of pronouncing sentence on himself. Simon had led into sin the woman he now despised. She had been deeply wronged by him. By the two debtors of the parable, Simon and the woman were represented. Jesus did not design to teach that different degrees of obligation should be felt by the two persons, for each owed a debt of gratitude that never could be repaid. But Jesus desired to show Simon that his sin was as much greater than hers as a debt of five hundred pence exceeds a debt of fifty pence.

HLv 378.1

Simon now began to see himself in a new light. He saw how Mary was regarded by One who was more than a prophet. Shame seized upon him, and he realized that he was in the presence of One superior to himself.

HLv 378.2

“I entered into thine house,” Christ continued, “thou gavest Me no water for My feet,” but with tears of repentance Mary has washed My feet and wiped them with the hair of her head. “Thou gavest Me no kiss: but this woman,” whom you despise, “since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss My feet.” Christ recounted the opportunities Simon had had to show his appreciation of what his Lord had done for him.

HLv 378.3

The Heart Searcher read the motive that led to Mary’s action; He saw also the spirit that prompted Simon’s words. “Seest thou this woman?” He said to him. “I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.”

HLv 378.4

Simon had thought he honored Jesus by inviting Him to his house. But he now saw himself as he really was. He saw that his religion had been a robe of Pharisaism. He had despised the compassion of Jesus. He had not recognized Him as the representative of God. Mary was a sinner pardoned; he was a sinner unpardoned.

HLv 378.5

Simon was touched by the kindness of Jesus in not openly rebuking him before the guests. He had not been treated as he desired Mary to be treated. He saw that Jesus sought by pitying kindness to subdue his heart. Stern denunciation would have hardened him against repentance, but patient admonition convinced him of his error. He saw the magnitude of the debt he owed his Lord. He repented, and the proud Pharisee became a lowly, self-sacrificing disciple.

HLv 379.1

Christ knew the circumstances that had shaped Mary’s life. He might have extinguished every spark of hope in her soul, but He did not. He had lifted her from despair and ruin. Seven times she had heard Him rebuke the demons that controlled her heart and mind. She had heard His strong cries to the Father in her behalf. She knew how offensive is sin to His unsullied purity, and in His strength she had overcome.

HLv 379.2

When to human eyes her case seemed hopeless, Christ saw in Mary capabilities for good. The plan of redemption has invested humanity with great possibilities, and in Mary these were to be realized. Through His grace she became a partaker of the divine nature. The one who had fallen, whose mind had been a habitation of demons, was brought near to the Saviour in fellowship and ministry. Mary sat at His feet and learned of Him; Mary poured on His head the precious anointing oil and bathed His feet with her tears; Mary stood beside the cross and followed Him to the sepulcher; Mary was first at the tomb after His resurrection; Mary first proclaimed a risen Saviour.

HLv 379.3

Jesus knows the circumstances of every soul. You may say, I am sinful, very sinful. You may be; but the worse you are, the more you need Jesus. He turns no weeping, contrite one away. He freely pardons all who come to Him for forgiveness and restoration.

From Heaven With Love

Mary Had Obeyed the Holy Spirit’s Promptings

HLv 374.2

Christ told Mary the meaning of her act: “In that she hath poured this ointment on My body, she did it for My burial.” As the alabaster box was broken and filled the house with fragrance, so Christ’s body was to be broken; but He was to rise from the tomb, and the fragrance of His life was to fill the earth. “Christ hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.” Ephesians 5:2.

From Heaven With Love

How Simon’s Pride Was Humbled

HLv 379.4

The souls that turn to Him for refuge, Christ unites to His own divine-human nature. No man or evil angel can impeach them. They stand beside the great Sin Bearer in the light proceeding from the throne of God. “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Romans 8:33, 34.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 20 [Nos. 1420-1500]

MR No. 1452—Judas, the Self-centered, Unconverted Disciple

20MR 146.1

“Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom He raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served; but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment” [John 12:1-3].

20MR 148.2

The honor showed to Jesus exasperated the scribes and Pharisees. They consulted that they might also put Lazarus to death; “because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus” [John 12:11]. The testimony of Lazarus was so clear and convincing that the priests could not resist its argument. It was a painful ordeal for them to be unable to say anything. They could not deny it, for he who had been dead four days was before them in the vigor of manhood, showing forth the praise of the great Restorer.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 47, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 47, 1897, par. 1

“Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper, and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.” [John 12:1-3.]

12LtMs, Ms 47, 1897, par. 2

Mary’s act displeased Judas. “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?” he asked angrily. “This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.” [Verses 4-6.] He put a price upon all his actions, and paid himself according to his own selfish estimate.

12LtMs, Ms 47, 1897, par. 5

“Then said Jesus, Let her alone; against the day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always have ye with you, but me ye have not always.” [Verses 7, 8.] Her act is a prophetic anticipation of My death and burial; and the record of it will be repeated to the ends of the earth. This was a more direct reproof than Judas had before received. He was provoked by it, and thus a door was opened through which Satan entered to control his thoughts. Avarice poisoned the life-current of his spirituality.

12LtMs, Ms 47, 1897, par. 12

The honor showed to Jesus exasperated the scribes and Pharisees. They consulted that they might also put Lazarus to death; “because that by reason of him, many of the Jews went away and believed on Jesus.” [John 12:10, 11.] The testimony of Lazarus was so clear and convincing that the priests could not resist its argument. It was a painful ordeal for them to be unable to say anything. They could not deny it, for he who had been dead four days was before them, in the vigor of manhood, showing forth the praise of the great Restorer. They could not prevent the effect of this miracle upon the people, therefore they laid their plans to put Lazarus to death. They thought that if he continued to bear his testimony the number of Christ’s followers would be largely increased. They purposed to remove Lazarus secretly, and thus less publicity would be given to Christ’s death. The end, they argued, would justify the means, but they must not summon Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathaea to their councils; for then their murderous designs would be opposed.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 40, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 40, 1897, par. 15

The four apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, all bear record that Jew and Gentile, rulers, kings, and governors, priests and people, all classes and tongues, were represented in rejecting and crucifying Christ, the Son of God, a man who was innocent, and against whom they could find no proof. The synagogue of Satan, the prince of darkness and his evil agents, united in a desperate companionship with disloyal, evil men. They resolved to put the whole power of their corrupt energies to work to put out of the world the light of truth.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 15 (1900)

Lt 53, 1900

15LtMs, Lt 53, 1900, par. 4

In our Bible, we might ask, Why need Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the Gospels, why need the Acts of the Apostles, and the variety of writers in the Epistles, go over the same thing?

15LtMs, Lt 53, 1900, par. 6

We are not to feel that we must speak the very same things, giving the same representation in the same words, and yet there is to be unity in the diversity. All the different testimonies unite to form one whole, as the books of the Bible are brought together, and bound under one cover. But should Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John go off on some tangent, contradicting each other’s testimony, then there would be confusion. In the presentation of truth by different minds, there is to be unity in diversity.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 91, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 91, 1903, par. 15

Why do we need a Matthew, a Mark, a Luke, a John, a Paul, and all these other writers who have borne their testimony in regard to the life of the Saviour during His earthly ministry? Why could not one of the disciples have written a complete record, and thus have given us a connected account of Christ’s life and work? The Gospels differ. One writer brings in points that another does not bring in. If these points are essential, why did not all these writers mention them? It is because the minds of men differ and do not comprehend all things in exactly the same way. Some Scripture truths appeal much more strongly to the minds of certain persons than to others; some points appear to be much more important to some than to others. The same principle applies to speakers. Some speakers dwell at considerable length on points that others would pass by quickly or not mention at all. Thus the whole truth is presented more clearly by several than by one. In the Gospels the records blend in one harmonious whole.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 20 (1905)

Ms 175, 1905

20LtMs, Ms 175, 1905, par. 2

I awoke at twelve o’clock, and my prayers are ascending to God that He would show me my duty distinctly: Shall I journey to Washington, D.C., to attend conference? I am speaking in the night season before large assemblies, bring up chapters of old experiences. I was presenting the words of Christ on one occasion just before His betrayal and death. John 12.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)

Lt 70, 1910

25LtMs, Lt 70, 1910, par. 18

In the closing days of Christ’s ministry, the traitorous disciple disputed about the ointment that Mary used in anointing Christ. It was Judas who raised the inquiry, “Why was not this ointment sold, and the proceeds given to the poor?” [John 12:5.] He cared not for the welfare of the poor. Jesus overheard the remark and spoke in approval of that which had been condemned.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Lt 166a, 1897

12LtMs, Lt 166a, 1897, par. 5

Last night we had a meeting, and I laid out his course plainly before them all. I asked Brother Lawrence how much he paid Brother McCann for girdling the trees for Brother Craig. He said he did not remember. “I understand one pound was your price for girdling the trees. You gave Brother McCann ten shillings. You were getting one dollar and a half per day working for me. I consider this sharp practice to thus rob a poor man of the money you took, and kept the ten shillings yourself.” Well, he said, it took his time. But he was working at the same time for me, getting the six shillings per day. I told him this was just the course Judas pursued. He would do some little service and pay himself out of the treasury, and Jesus called him a thief. [John 12:6.] Well, our meeting lasted until [late]; it was after ten o’clock when we reached home. Brother Hare talked nobly in the meeting. He was the only one to sustain me, because the others, I think, did not know what to say. He puts things before them in strong terms, but truth.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Lt 167, 1897

12LtMs, Lt 167, 1897, par. 5

I have done what I could to show him what he was doing, but it makes no impression upon him, I think. He has cultivated this spirit until it is second nature to him. Brother Craig gave him one pound for girdling the trees that were on his allotment. He hired a grayheaded man, Brother McCann, and gave him ten shillings, and when I presented this to him he said he had to stake out the land and show him where to work; “my time is worth something.” I told him if I should count my time for every favor I did a brother or neighbor it would swell into a large sum. Here were several poor families we had felt it our duty to help. How much had he done to help them? Christ said, “The poor always ye have with you.” [John 12:8.] I said, I am writing on the case of Judas. It is stated he was a thief. [Verse 6.] He cared not for the poor, but took the money for his own benefit, to help himself. In doing the little essential things in connection with Christ and His brethren he exacted to the last penny for every act of his. None of us should do as Judas did.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 24 (1909)

Lt 189, 1909

24LtMs, Lt 189, 1909, par. 3

Jesus accepted the gift of Mary in anointing Him, showing her appreciation of His work for her. Judas remarked on the expense as he saw the costly ointment poured upon the Lord Jesus Christ by Mary. Martha’s character in some respects was different from that of Mary. Mary’s sins had been forgiven by the sin-pardoning Saviour, and in return she, in a most appreciative manner, poured the costly ointment, very precious, upon Christ’s feet and the perfume filled the house. Judas suggested he might have had this ointment sold and the money given to the poor, then that money would come into his hands to handle as he pleased. Judas’ remarks were not genuine. Jesus does not condemn Mary’s anointing His feet. “Let her alone, she has done this with a prophetic anticipation of My burial. The poor ye have always with you; Me ye have not always.” [John 12:7, 8.] This action in that company was a distinction of a class.

A Call To Stand Apart

Chapter 15—Social Justice

CSA 62.9

All may find something to do. “The poor always ye have with you,” (John 12:8), Jesus said, and none need feel that there is no place where they can labor for Him. Millions upon millions of human souls ready to perish, bound in chains of ignorance and sin, have never so much as heard of Christ’s love for them. Were our condition and theirs to be reversed, what would we desire them to do for us? All this, so far as lies in our power, we are under the most solemn obligation to do for them. Christ’s rule of life, by which every one of us must stand or fall in the judgment, is, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” Matthew 7:12. 90The Desire of Ages, 640.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 2, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 2, 1903, par. 10

All may find something to do. “The poor always have ye with you,” Jesus said [John 12:8], and none need feel that there is no place where they can labor for Him. Millions upon millions of souls ready to perish, bound in chains of ignorance and sin, have never so much as heard of Christ’s love for them. Were our condition and theirs reversed, what would we desire them to do for us? All this, so far as lies in our power, we are under the most solemn obligation to do for them. Christ’s rule of life, by which every one of us must stand or fall in the judgment, is, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” [Matthew 7:12.]

The Desire of Ages

Chapter 70—“The Least of These My Brethren”

DA 640.3

All may find something to do. “The poor always ye have with you,” (John 12:8), Jesus said, and none need feel that there is no place where they can labor for Him. Millions upon millions of human souls ready to perish, bound in chains of ignorance and sin, have never so much as heard of Christ’s love for them. Were our condition and theirs to be reversed, what would we desire them to do for us? All this, so far as lies in our power, we are under the most solemn obligation to do for them. Christ’s rule of life, by which every one of us must stand or fall in the judgment, is, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” Matthew 7:12.

This Day With God

In His Steps, February 29

TDG 68.6

All may find something to do. “The poor always ye have with you” (John 12:8), Jesus said, and none need feel that there is no place where they can labor for Him....

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 10 (1895)

Ms 4, 1895

10LtMs, Ms 4, 1895, par. 3

We do not have to hunt up cases; they hunt us up. These things are forced upon our notice; we cannot be Christian and pass them by, and say, “Be ye warmed and clothed,” and do not those things that will warm and clothe them. [James 2:16.] The Lord Jesus says, “The poor ye have always with you.” [John 12:8.] They are God’s legacy to us.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 11 (1896)

Ms 58, 1896

11LtMs, Ms 58, 1896, par. 22

Christ’s words in regard to our duty to the poor show the spirit in which all work for God is to be done, and open a field where all may find something to do. “The poor always ye have with you” (John 12:8), said Jesus, and none need complain that there is no place where they can labor for Christ. As long as there are hungry ones in God’s world to be fed, naked ones to be clothed, perishing souls that need the bread of life, there is work for us to do. Every comfort we have, every gracious gift of God to us, every piece of money needlessly expended, pleads for the poor and the naked.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 60, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 60, 1897, par. 14

For the rich to give gifts to those who have abundance is not God’s plan at all. It is the distressed, the down-trodden, the discouraged, the hungry, the suffering, the naked, the poor, whom Christ says, “ye have always with you.” [John 12:8.] We need to take more close views of God’s Word and of eternity. This will not disqualify anyone for the duties of this life or to act a Christlike part in society. The gospel of Christ is not only to be believed but to be acted. We are to be doers of the Word. We are daily determining our destiny in the future life by the character we develop in this.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Lt 3, 1897

12LtMs, Lt 3, 1897, par. 4

This was the gospel which Christ came to preach by His words and His works. The poor were His heritage. “The poor,” He declared, “ye have with you always.” [John 12:8.] God has given men talents as He gave to this ruler, to the end that they may be the agents of God, that they may be faithful stewards of their entrusted capital of means, that they may help the poor, the needy, and the suffering ones, and thus represent His own character. The Christian is always to be the representative of the Master whom he serves. He is to follow Christ in the development of love, revealed in works for his neighbor. Those who have been blessed with abundance are to see in their poor fellow man a needy brother, and they are to help and encourage him, that he may have evidence that God has not forgotten him, that the Lord has him in mind, and has imparted to his brother the means to supply his needs. They should also encourage him to help himself, providing ways by which he can do this.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Lt 111, 1898

13LtMs, Lt 111, 1898, par. 11

Christ declared, “The poor have ye always with you.” [John 12:8.] Oh, how I long to do more than I am now doing. May the Lord strengthen me, is my prayer, that I may be able to do all He has appointed me to do. Yesterday a box of clothing was sent to a poor, but intelligent and industrious family. The father is a fine workman, a coachmaker by trade. He works when he can get work. This is now the third box of clothing we have sent him. Souls are coming into the truth through the influence of this family, and Brother Starr is going to Sydney to baptize several who have been converted to the truth.

Christ’s Object Lessons

Chapter 21—“A Great Gulf Fixed”

COL 265.1

“If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” These words were proved true in the history of the Jewish nation. Christ’s last and crowning miracle was the raising of Lazarus of Bethany, after he had been dead four days. The Jews were given this wonderful evidence of the Saviour’s divinity, but they rejected it. Lazarus rose from the dead and bore his testimony before them, but they hardened their hearts against all evidence, and even sought to take his life. (John 12:9-11.)

This Day With God

Christ’s Crowning Miracle, May 20

TDG 149.1

Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. John 12:9.

TDG 149.6

The honor showed to Jesus exasperated the scribes and Pharisees. They consulted that they might also put Lazarus to death; “because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus” (John 12:11). The testimony of Lazarus was so clear and convincing that the priests could not resist its argument.... Therefore they laid their plans to put Lazarus to death.... They purposed to remove Lazarus secretly, and thus less publicity would be given to Christ’s death. The end, they argued, would justify the means, but they must not summon Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathaea to their councils, for then their murderous designs would be opposed.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 103, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 103, 1897, par. 11

The angels heard this challenge, and with one word of permission, they would speedily have answered the taunting priests. But no sign was given them to do this. If Christ had come down from the cross, would this have made any difference to the blasphemers? The raising of Lazarus was the strongest evidence that could be given them, but had no weight with them. Not only did they plan the death of the Saviour, but they “consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death, because that by reason of him, many of the Jews went away, believed on Jesus.” [John 12:10, 11.] They had resisted evidence upon evidence. They had fought against the impressions of the Holy Spirit till they brought upon themselves eternal night. By their hatred and envy they showed that they were not one with God, that they did not know Him whom to know aright is life and peace and assurance forever.

The Desire of Ages

Chapter 63—“Thy King Cometh”

DA 569.1

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” Zechariah 9:9.

DA 569.2

Five hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Zechariah thus foretold the coming of the King to Israel. This prophecy is now to be fulfilled. He who has so long refused royal honors now comes to Jerusalem as the promised heir to David’s throne.

DA 569.3

It was on the first day of the week that Christ made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Multitudes who had flocked to see Him at Bethany now accompanied Him, eager to witness His reception. Many people were on their way to the city to keep the Passover, and these joined the multitude attending Jesus. All nature seemed to rejoice. The trees were clothed with verdure, and their blossoms shed a delicate fragrance on the air. A new life and joy animated the people. The hope of the new kingdom was again springing up.

DA 569.4

Purposing to ride into Jerusalem, Jesus had sent two of His disciples to bring to Him an ass and its colt. At His birth the Saviour was dependent upon the hospitality of strangers. The manger in which He lay was a borrowed resting place. Now, although the cattle on a thousand hills are His, He is dependent on a stranger’s kindness for an animal on which to enter Jerusalem as its King. But again His divinity is revealed, even in the minute directions given His disciples for this errand. As He foretold, the plea, “The Lord hath need of them,” was readily granted. Jesus chose for His use the colt on which never man had sat. The disciples, with glad enthusiasm, spread their garments on the beast, and seated their Master upon it. Heretofore Jesus had always traveled on foot, and the disciples had at first wondered that He should now choose to ride. But hope brightened in their hearts with the joyous thought that He was about to enter the capital, proclaim Himself King, and assert His royal power. While on their errand they communicated their glowing expectations to the friends of Jesus, and the excitement spread far and near, raising the expectations of the people to the highest pitch.

DA 570.1

Christ was following the Jewish custom for a royal entry. The animal on which He rode was that ridden by the kings of Israel, and prophecy had foretold that thus the Messiah should come to His kingdom. No sooner was He seated upon the colt than a loud shout of triumph rent the air. The multitude hailed Him as Messiah, their King. Jesus now accepted the homage which He had never before permitted, and the disciples received this as proof that their glad hopes were to be realized by seeing Him established on the throne. The multitude were convinced that the hour of their emancipation was at hand. In imagination they saw the Roman armies driven from Jerusalem, and Israel once more an independent nation. All were happy and excited; the people vied with one another in paying Him homage. They could not display outward pomp and splendor, but they gave Him the worship of happy hearts. They were unable to present Him with costly gifts, but they spread their outer garments as a carpet in His path, and they also strewed the leafy branches of the olive and the palm in the way. They could lead the triumphal procession with no royal standards, but they cut down the spreading palm boughs, Nature’s emblem of victory, and waved them aloft with loud acclamations and hosannas.

DA 570.2

As they proceeded, the multitude was continually increased by those who had heard of the coming of Jesus and hastened to join the procession. Spectators were constantly mingling with the throng, and asking, Who is this? What does all this commotion signify? They had all heard of Jesus, and expected Him to go to Jerusalem; but they knew that He had heretofore discouraged all effort to place Him on the throne, and they were greatly astonished to learn that this was He. They wondered what could have wrought this change in Him who had declared that His kingdom was not of this world.

DA 571.1

Their questionings are silenced by a shout of triumph. Again and again it is repeated by the eager throng; it is taken up by the people afar off, and echoed from the surrounding hills and valleys. And now the procession is joined by crowds from Jerusalem. From the multitudes gathered to attend the Passover, thousands go forth to welcome Jesus. They greet Him with the waving of palm branches and a burst of sacred song. The priests at the temple sound the trumpet for evening service, but there are few to respond, and the rulers say to one another in alarm. “The world is gone after Him.”

DA 571.2

Never before in His earthly life had Jesus permitted such a demonstration. He clearly foresaw the result. It would bring Him to the cross. But it was His purpose thus publicly to present Himself as the Redeemer. He desired to call attention to the sacrifice that was to crown His mission to a fallen world. While the people were assembling at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, He, the antitypical Lamb, by a voluntary act set Himself apart as an oblation. It would be needful for His church in all succeeding ages to make His death for the sins of the world a subject of deep thought and study. Every fact connected with it should be verified beyond a doubt. It was necessary, then, that the eyes of all people should now be directed to Him; the events which preceded His great sacrifice must be such as to call attention to the sacrifice itself. After such a demonstration as that attending His entry into Jerusalem, all eyes would follow His rapid progress to the final scene.

DA 571.3

The events connected with this triumphal ride would be the talk of every tongue, and would bring Jesus before every mind. After His crucifixion, many would recall these events in their connection with His trial and death. They would be led to search the prophecies, and would be convinced that Jesus was the Messiah; and in all lands converts to the faith would be multiplied.

DA 571.4

In this one triumphant scene of His earthly life, the Saviour might have appeared escorted by heavenly angels, and heralded by the trump of God; but such a demonstration would have been contrary to the purpose of His mission, contrary to the law which had governed His life. He remained true to the humble lot He had accepted. The burden of humanity He must bear until His life was given for the life of the world.

DA 571.5

This day, which seemed to the disciples the crowning day of their lives, would have been shadowed with gloomy clouds had they known that this scene of rejoicing was but a prelude to the suffering and death of their Master. Although He had repeatedly told them of His certain sacrifice, yet in the glad triumph of the present they forgot His sorrowful words, and looked forward to His prosperous reign on David’s throne.

DA 572.1

New accessions were made continually to the procession, and, with few exceptions, all who joined it caught the inspiration of the hour, and helped to swell the hosannas that echoed and re-echoed from hill to hill and from valley to valley. The shouts went up continually, “Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest.”

DA 572.2

Never before had the world seen such a triumphal procession. It was not like that of the earth’s famous conquerors. No train of mourning captives, as trophies of kingly valor, made a feature of that scene. But about the Saviour were the glorious trophies of His labors of love for sinful man. There were the captives whom He had rescued from Satan’s power, praising God for their deliverance. The blind whom He had restored to sight were leading the way. The dumb whose tongues He had loosed shouted the loudest hosannas. The cripples whom He had healed bounded with joy, and were the most active in breaking the palm branches and waving them before the Saviour. Widows and orphans were exalting the name of Jesus for His works of mercy to them. The lepers whom He had cleansed spread their untainted garments in His path, and hailed Him as the King of glory. Those whom His voice had awakened from the sleep of death were in that throng. Lazarus, whose body had seen corruption in the grave, but who now rejoiced in the strength of glorious manhood, led the beast on which the Saviour rode.

DA 572.3

Many Pharisees witnessed the scene, and, burning with envy and malice, sought to turn the current of popular feeling. With all their authority they tried to silence the people; but their appeals and threats only increased the enthusiasm. They feared that this multitude, in the strength of their numbers, would make Jesus king. As a last resort they pressed through the crowd to where the Saviour was, and accosted Him with reproving and threatening words: “Master, rebuke Thy disciples.” They declared that such noisy demonstrations were unlawful, and would not be permitted by the authorities. But they were silenced by the reply of Jesus, “I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” That scene of triumph was of God’s own appointing. It had been foretold by the prophet, and man was powerless to turn aside God’s purpose. Had men failed to carry out His plan, He would have given a voice to the inanimate stones, and they would have hailed His Son with acclamations of praise. As the silenced Pharisees drew back, the words of Zechariah were taken up by hundreds of voices: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”

DA 575.1

When the procession reached the brow of the hill, and was about to descend into the city, Jesus halted, and all the multitude with Him. Before them lay Jerusalem in its glory, now bathed in the light of the declining sun. The temple attracted all eyes. In stately grandeur it towered above all else, seeming to point toward heaven as if directing the people to the only true and living God. The temple had long been the pride and glory of the Jewish nation. The Romans also prided themselves in its magnificence. A king appointed by the Romans had united with the Jews to rebuild and embellish it, and the emperor of Rome had enriched it with his gifts. Its strength, richness, and magnificence had made it one of the wonders of the world.

DA 575.2

While the westering sun was tinting and gilding the heavens, its resplendent glory lighted up the pure white marble of the temple walls, and sparkled on its gold-capped pillars. From the crest of the hill where Jesus and His followers stood, it had the appearance of a massive structure of snow, set with golden pinnacles. At the entrance to the temple was a vine of gold and silver, with green leaves and massive clusters of grapes executed by the most skillful artists. This design represented Israel as a prosperous vine. The gold, silver, and living green were combined with rare taste and exquisite workmanship; as it twined gracefully about the white and glistening pillars, clinging with shining tendrils to their golden ornaments, it caught the splendor of the setting sun, shining as if with a glory borrowed from heaven.

DA 575.3

Jesus gazes upon the scene, and the vast multitude hush their shouts, spellbound by the sudden vision of beauty. All eyes turn upon the Saviour, expecting to see in His countenance the admiration they themselves feel. But instead of this they behold a cloud of sorrow. They are surprised and disappointed to see His eyes fill with tears, and His body rock to and fro like a tree before the tempest, while a wail of anguish bursts from His quivering lips, as if from the depths of a broken heart. What a sight was this for angels to behold! their loved Commander in an agony of tears! What a sight was this for the glad throng that with shouts of triumph and the waving of palm branches were escorting Him to the glorious city, where they fondly hoped He was about to reign! Jesus had wept at the grave of Lazarus, but it was in a godlike grief in sympathy with human woe. But this sudden sorrow was like a note of wailing in a grand triumphal chorus. In the midst of a scene of rejoicing, where all were paying Him homage, Israel’s King was in tears; not silent tears of gladness, but tears and groans of insuppressible agony. The multitude were struck with a sudden gloom. Their acclamations were silenced. Many wept in sympathy with a grief they could not comprehend.

DA 576.1

The tears of Jesus were not in anticipation of His own suffering. Just before Him was Gethsemane, where soon the horror of a great darkness would overshadow Him. The sheepgate also was in sight, through which for centuries the beasts for sacrificial offerings had been led. This gate was soon to open for Him, the great Antitype, toward whose sacrifice for the sins of the world all these offerings had pointed. Near by was Calvary, the scene of His approaching agony. Yet it was not because of these reminders of His cruel death that the Redeemer wept and groaned in anguish of spirit. His was no selfish sorrow. The thought of His own agony did not intimidate that noble, self-sacrificing soul. It was the sight of Jerusalem that pierced the heart of Jesus—Jerusalem that had rejected the Son of God and scorned His love, that refused to be convinced by His mighty miracles, and was about to take His life. He saw what she was in her guilt of rejecting her Redeemer, and what she might have been had she accepted Him who alone could heal her wound. He had come to save her; how could He give her up?

DA 576.2

Israel had been a favored people; God had made their temple His habitation; it was “beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth.” Psalm 48:2. The record of more than a thousand years of Christ’s guardian care and tender love, such as a father bears his only child, was there. In that temple the prophets had uttered their solemn warnings. There had the burning censers waved, while incense, mingled with the prayers of the worshipers, had ascended to God. There the blood of beasts had flowed, typical of the blood of Christ. There Jehovah had manifested His glory above the mercy seat. There the priests had officiated, and the pomp of symbol and ceremony had gone on for ages. But all this must have an end.

DA 576.3

Jesus raised His hand,—that had so often blessed the sick and suffering,—and waving it toward the doomed city, in broken utterances of grief exclaimed: “If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!—” Here the Saviour paused, and left unsaid what might have been the condition of Jerusalem had she accepted the help that God desired to give her,—the gift of His beloved Son. If Jerusalem had known what it was her privilege to know, and had heeded the light which Heaven had sent her, she might have stood forth in the pride of prosperity, the queen of kingdoms, free in the strength of her God-given power. There would have been no armed soldiers standing at her gates, no Roman banners waving from her walls. The glorious destiny that might have blessed Jerusalem had she accepted her Redeemer rose before the Son of God. He saw that she might through Him have been healed of her grievous malady, liberated from bondage, and established as the mighty metropolis of the earth. From her walls the dove of peace would have gone forth to all nations. She would have been the world’s diadem of glory.

DA 577.1

But the bright picture of what Jerusalem might have been fades from the Saviour’s sight. He realizes what she now is under the Roman yoke, bearing the frown of God, doomed to His retributive judgment. He takes up the broken thread of His lamentation: “But now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”

DA 577.2

Christ came to save Jerusalem with her children; but Pharisaical pride, hypocrisy, jealousy, and malice had prevented Him from accomplishing His purpose. Jesus knew the terrible retribution which would be visited upon the doomed city. He saw Jerusalem encompassed with armies, the besieged inhabitants driven to starvation and death, mothers feeding upon the dead bodies of their own children, and both parents and children snatching the last morsel of food from one another, natural affection being destroyed by the gnawing pangs of hunger. He saw that the stubbornness of the Jews, as evinced in their rejection of His salvation, would also lead them to refuse submission to the invading armies. He beheld Calvary, on which He was to be lifted up, set with crosses as thickly as forest trees. He saw the wretched inhabitants suffering torture on the rack and by crucifixion, the beautiful palaces destroyed, the temple in ruins, and of its massive walls not one stone left upon another, while the city was plowed like a field. Well might the Saviour weep in agony in view of that fearful scene.

DA 577.3

Jerusalem had been the child of His care, and as a tender father mourns over a wayward son, so Jesus wept over the beloved city. How can I give thee up? How can I see thee devoted to destruction? Must I let thee go to fill up the cup of thine iniquity? One soul is of such value that, in comparison with it, worlds sink into insignificance; but here was a whole nation to be lost. When the fast westering sun should pass from sight in the heavens, Jerusalem’s day of grace would be ended. While the procession was halting on the brow of Olivet, it was not yet too late for Jerusalem to repent. The angel of mercy was then folding her wings to step down from the golden throne to give place to justice and swift-coming judgment. But Christ’s great heart of love still pleaded for Jerusalem, that had scorned His mercies, despised His warnings, and was about to imbrue her hands in His blood. If Jerusalem would but repent, it was not yet too late. While the last rays of the setting sun were lingering on temple, tower, and pinnacle, would not some good angel lead her to the Saviour’s love, and avert her doom? Beautiful and unholy city, that had stoned the prophets, that had rejected the Son of God, that was locking herself by her impenitence in fetters of bondage,—her day of mercy was almost spent!

DA 578.1

Yet again the Spirit of God speaks to Jerusalem. Before the day is done, another testimony is borne to Christ. The voice of witness is lifted up, responding to the call from a prophetic past. If Jerusalem will hear the call, if she will receive the Saviour who is entering her gates, she may yet be saved.

DA 578.2

Reports have reached the rulers in Jerusalem that Jesus is approaching the city with a great concourse of people. But they have no welcome for the Son of God. In fear they go out to meet Him, hoping to disperse the throng. As the procession is about to descend the Mount of Olives, it is intercepted by the rulers. They inquire the cause of the tumultuous rejoicing. As they question, “Who is this?” the disciples, filled with the spirit of inspiration, answer this question. In eloquent strains they repeat the prophecies concerning Christ:

DA 578.3

Adam will tell you, It is the seed of the woman that shall bruise the serpent’s head.

DA 578.4

Ask Abraham, he will tell you, It is “Melchizedek King of Salem,” King of Peace. Genesis 14:18.

DA 578.5

Jacob will tell you, He is Shiloh of the tribe of Judah.

DA 578.6

Isaiah will tell you, “Immanuel,” “Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 7:14; 9:6.

DA 578.7

Jeremiah will tell you, The Branch of David, “the Lord our Righteousness.” Jeremiah 23:6.

DA 579.1

Daniel will tell you, He is the Messiah.

DA 579.2

Hosea will tell you, He is “the Lord God of hosts; the Lord is His memorial.” Hosea 12:5.

DA 579.3

John the Baptist will tell you, He is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29.

DA 579.4

The great Jehovah has proclaimed from His throne, “This is My beloved Son.” Matthew 3:17.

DA 579.5

We, His disciples, declare, This is Jesus, the Messiah, the Prince of life, the Redeemer of the world.

DA 579.6

And the prince of the powers of darkness acknowledges Him, saying, “I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God.” Mark 1:24.

From Heaven With Love

Chapter 63—Jesus Acclaimed as Israel’s King

HLv 380.1

Five hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Zechariah foretold the coming of the King to Israel: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” Zechariah 9:9. He who had so long refused royal honors now came to Jerusalem as the promised heir to David’s throne.

HLv 380.2

On the first day of the week Christ made His triumphal entry. Multitudes who had flocked to see Him at Bethany accompanied Him. Many on their way to keep the Passover joined the multitude. All nature seemed to rejoice. The trees were clothed with verdure, and their blossoms shed a delicate fragrance. The hope of the new kingdom was again springing up.

HLv 380.3

Jesus had sent two disciples to bring Him an ass and its colt. Although “the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10) are His, He was dependent on a stranger’s kindness for an animal on which to enter Jerusalem as its King. But again His divinity was revealed, even in the minute directions given. As He foretold, the plea, “The Lord hath need of them,” was readily granted. The disciples spread their garments on the beast and seated their Master on it. Jesus had always traveled on foot, and the disciples wondered that He should now choose to ride. But hope brightened in their hearts with the thought that He was about to enter the capital, proclaim Himself King, and assert His royal power. Excitement spread far and near, raising the expectations of the people to the highest pitch.

HLv 381.1

Christ was following the Jewish custom for a royal entry. Prophecy had foretold that thus the Messiah should come to His kingdom. No sooner was He seated on the colt than the multitude hailed Him as Messiah, their King. The disciples and the multitude in imagination saw the Roman armies driven from Jerusalem and Israel once more an independent nation. All vied with one another in paying Him homage. Unable to present Him with costly gifts, they spread their outer garments as a carpet in the path and strewed the leafy branches of the olive and the palm in the way. With no royal standards to wave, they cut down the spreading palm boughs, Nature’s emblem of victory, and waved them aloft.

HLv 381.2

Spectators mingling with the throng asked, Who is this? What does all this commotion signify? They knew that Jesus had discouraged all effort to place Him on the throne, and were astonished to learn that this was He. What wrought this change in Him who had declared that His kingdom was not of this world?

HLv 381.3

From the multitudes gathered to attend the Passover, thousands greeted Him with the waving of palm branches and a burst of sacred song. The priests at the temple sounded the trumpet for evening service, but few responded, and the rulers said to one another in alarm, “The world has gone after Him.”

HLv 381.4

Never before had Jesus permitted such a demonstration. He clearly foresaw the result. It would bring Him to the cross. But He desired to call attention to the sacrifice that was to crown His mission to a fallen world. He, the antitypical Lamb, by a voluntary act set Himself apart as an oblation. His church in all succeeding ages must make His death a subject of deep thought and study. Every fact connected with it should be verified beyond a doubt. The events which preceded His great sacrifice must call attention to the sacrifice itself. After such a demonstration as that attending His entry into Jerusalem, all eyes would follow His rapid progress to the final scene. This triumphal ride would be the talk of every tongue and bring Jesus before every mind. After His crucifixion, many would recall these events and be led to search the prophecies. They would be convinced that Jesus was the Messiah.

HLv 382.1

This day, which seemed to the disciples the crowning day of their lives, would have been shadowed with clouds had they known it was but a prelude to the death of their Master. He had repeatedly told them of His sacrifice, yet in the glad triumph they had forgotten His sorrowful words.

HLv 382.2

With few exceptions, all who joined the procession caught the inspiration of the hour. The shouts went up continually, “Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”

HLv 382.3

Never had the world seen such a triumphal procession. About the Saviour were the glorious trophies of His labors of love for sinful man. These were the captives rescued from Satan’s power. The blind He had restored to sight led the way. The dumb whose tongues He had loosed, shouted the loudest hosannas. Cripples whom He had healed bounded with joy. Lepers He had cleansed spread their untainted garments in His path. Awakened from the sleep of death, Lazarus led the beast on which the Saviour rode.

HLv 382.4

Many Pharisees, burning with envy, tried to silence the people, but their appeals and threats only increased the enthusiasm. As a last resort they accosted the Saviour with reproving and threatening words: “Master, rebuke Thy disciples.” They declared that such noisy demonstrations were unlawful. But they were silenced by the reply of Jesus, “I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” That scene of triumph had been foretold by the prophet. Had men failed to carry out the plan, God would have given voice to inanimate stones, and they would have hailed His Son with praise. As the silenced Pharisees drew back, the words of Zechariah were taken up by hundreds of voices: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, upon a colt the foal of an ass.”

HLv 383.1

When the procession reached the brow of the hill, Jesus and all the multitude halted. Before them lay Jerusalem in its glory, bathed in the light of the declining sun. In stately grandeur the temple towered above all else, long the pride and glory of the Jewish nation. The Romans also prided themselves in its magnificence. Its strength and richness had made it one of the wonders of the world.

HLv 383.2

While the westering sun was gilding the heavens, its resplendent glory lighted up the pure white marble of the temple walls and sparkled on its gold-capped pillars. From the hill where Jesus stood, it had the appearance of a massive structure of snow, set with golden pinnacles, shining as if with glory borrowed from heaven.

HLv 383.3

Jesus gazed upon the scene, and the multitude hushed their shouts, spellbound by the sudden vision of beauty. All eyes turned upon the Saviour. They were surprised and disappointed to see His eyes fill with tears and His body rock to and fro like a tree before the tempest. A wail of anguish burst from His quivering lips, as if from a broken heart. What a sight for angels to behold! What a sight for the glad throng that were escorting Him to the glorious city, where they hoped He was about to reign! This sudden sorrow was like a note of wailing in a grand triumphal chorus. Israel’s King was in tears; not silent tears of gladness, but of insuppressible agony. The multitude were struck with a sudden gloom. Many wept in sympathy with a grief they could not comprehend.

HLv 384.1

Just before Jesus was Gethsemane, where soon the horror of a great darkness would overshadow Him. The sheepgate also was in sight, through which for centuries the beasts for sacrificial offerings had been led. This gate was soon to open for Him, the great Antitype, toward whose sacrifice all these offerings had pointed. Nearby was Calvary, the scene of His approaching agony. Yet His was no selfish sorrow. The thought of His own agony did not intimidate that noble, self-sacrificing soul. It was the sight of Jerusalem that pierced the heart of Jesus—Jerusalem that had rejected the Son of God, scorned His love, and was about to take His life. He saw what she might have been had she accepted Him who alone could heal her wound. How could He give her up?

HLv 384.2

Israel had been a favored people; God had made their temple His habitation; it was “beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth.” Psalm 48:2. In it Jehovah had manifested His glory, the priests had officiated, and the pomp of symbol and ceremony had gone on for ages. But all this must have an end. Jesus waved His hand toward the doomed city, and in grief exclaimed, “If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!” The Saviour left unsaid what might have been the condition of Jerusalem had she accepted the help that God desired to give her—the gift of His Son. Jerusalem might have stood forth in the pride of prosperity, the queen of kingdoms, free in the strength of her God-given power, no Roman banners waving from her walls. The Son of God saw that she might have been liberated from bondage and established as the mighty metropolis of the earth. From her walls the dove of peace would have gone forth to all nations. She would have been the world’s diadem of glory.

HLv 384.3

But the Saviour realized she now was under the Roman yoke, doomed to God’s retributive judgment: “But now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”

HLv 385.1

Jesus saw the doomed city encompassed with armies, the besieged inhabitants driven to starvation and death, mothers feeding on the dead bodies of their children, and parents and children snatching the last morsel of food from one another—natural affection destroyed by the gnawing pangs of hunger. He saw that the stubbornness of the Jews would lead them to refuse submission to the invading armies. He beheld Calvary set with crosses as thickly as forest trees. He saw the beautiful palaces destroyed, the temple in ruins, and of its massive walls not one stone left on another, while the city was plowed like a field.

HLv 385.2

As a tender father mourns over a wayward son, so Jesus wept over the beloved city. How can I give thee up? How can I see thee devoted to destruction? When the westering sun should pass from sight, Jerusalem’s day of grace would be ended. While the procession was halting on Olivet, it was not yet too late for Jerusalem to repent. While the last rays of the setting sun were lingering on temple, tower, and pinnacle, would not some good angel lead her to the Saviour’s love? Beautiful, unholy city, that had stoned the prophets and rejected the Son of God—her day of mercy was almost spent!

HLv 385.3

Yet again the Spirit of God would speak to Jerusalem. Before the day was done, another testimony would be borne to Christ. If Jerusalem would receive the Saviour entering her gates, she might yet be saved!

HLv 385.4

But the rulers in Jerusalem had no welcome for the Son of God. As the procession was about to descend the Mount of Olives, they intercepted it, inquiring the cause of the tumult. As they questioned, “Who is this?” the disciples, filled with the spirit of inspiration, repeated the prophecies concerning Christ:

HLv 386.1

Adam will tell you: It is the seed of the woman that shall bruise the serpent’s head. See Genesis 3:15.

HLv 386.2

Abraham will tell you: It is Melchizedek, King of Salem, King of Peace. See Genesis 14:18.

HLv 386.3

Isaiah will tell you: “Immanuel,” “Wonderful Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 7:14; 9:6.

HLv 386.4

Jeremiah will tell you: The Branch of David, “the Lord our Righteousness.” Jeremiah 23:6.

HLv 386.5

Daniel will tell you: He is the Messiah (“the Anointed One”). See Daniel 9:24-27.

HLv 386.6

John the Baptist will tell you: He is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29.

HLv 386.7

The great Jehovah has proclaimed: “This is My beloved Son.” Matthew 3:17.

HLv 386.8

We, His disciples, declare: This is Jesus, the Messiah, the Prince of life, the Redeemer of the world.

HLv 386.9

And the prince of the powers of darkness acknowledges Him: “I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God.” Mark 1:24.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 94, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 94, 1897, par. 4

The world without a Christ made an impression that a living Christ could not have made. People came from far and near to hear of the man of whom the priests and rulers had declared, “The world is gone after him.” [John 12:19.] The recital of the deeds done by the priests shocked the people. They would not have allowed Christ to be thus treated, for had He not shown compassion to their sick. Never had He turned one away with the harsh denunciations used by the Pharisees.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Ms 150, 1899

14LtMs, Ms 150, 1899, par. 4

The ruling powers at Jerusalem were amazed at John’s testimony concerning the One whom they had condemned to death. The life and character of Christ had stood out before the world in sharp contrast with the life and character of the professedly religious rulers of the nation. His life of purity condemned their lives of selfishness and iniquity. And their jealousy and hatred of Him was intense. “The world is gone after him,” they declared, and they determined to rid themselves of Him. [John 12:19.] At His condemnation they hired false witnesses to witness against Him, and the representations of these men stirred the lawless mob to a pitch of frenzy.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 272a, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 272a, 1903, par. 3

Such exertions were exhausting to the physical powers of Christ. With great anxiety His friends and relations looked upon His pale face and wearied countenance. They besought Him to hide Himself for a time from the multitudes which continually pressed around Him. So great was the multitude that sought to hear Him that the Pharisees exclaimed, “The whole world is gone after Him.” [John 12:19.] As with compassion He beheld the needs of the people who flocked to Him, it seemed to Him impossible to withhold from them the healing leaves of the tree of life. Apparently there was no respite for Him.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 12 [Nos. 921-999]

MR No. 999—Christ as Sacrifice and High Priest

12MR 389.1

Previously when the Sanhedrin had been called together, to lay plans for waylaying Christ, and putting Him to death, Caiaphas said, Cannot ye see that the world is gone after Him? [See John 12:19.] The voices of some members of the council were heard, pleading with the others to check their passion and hatred against Christ. They wished to save Him from being put to death. In reply to them, Caiaphas said, “Ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us (He might have said, a corrupted priesthood), that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not” [John 11:49, 50].

12MR 407.4

Not long before this, He said, “Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour” [John 12:27]. What melting, heart-stirring words. “Father, glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee.” The Father responded to this request. “Then came a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again” [verse 28].

12MR 419.3

Nicodemus, a chief ruler and a rabbi, was also a disciple of Christ. He had come to the Saviour by night, as if afraid to have it known that his heart was troubled. That night he listened to the most important discourse that ever fell from the lips of man. The words he heard had penetrated his soul. He had been enlightened by them, but still he had not identified himself with Christ. He had been among the number spoken of by John: “Among the chief rulers also many believed on Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue” [John 12:42]. But Nicodemus had endeavored, as far as he could, to defend Christ. On one occasion he had asked the priests, “Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?” [John 7:51]. “Art thou also of Galilee?” was the retort. “Search, and look; for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet” [verse 52].

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Ms 165, 1899

14LtMs, Ms 165, 1899, par. 1

“And there were certain Greeks among them, that came up to worship at the feast; the same came therefore to Philip, ... and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew, and again Andrew telleth Jesus.” [John 12:20-22.]

14LtMs, Ms 165, 1899, par. 3

“If any man serve me, let him follow me, and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then there came a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people, therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered; others said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.” [Verses 23-32.]

14LtMs, Ms 165, 1899, par. 4

Soon was to be offered the great Sacrifice to which all the Jewish offerings pointed. When with the cross before Him, the Saviour uttered the sublime prediction, “Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up, shall draw all men unto me.” [Verses 31, 32.] He saw that the great apostate, who had been expelled from heaven, was the central power in the earth. Looking for Satan’s throne, He found it set up where God’s throne should have been. He saw all men worshiping the apostate, who inspired them with rebellion. The inhabitants of this world had prostrated themselves at Satan’s feet.

From Heaven With Love

Chapter 68—When the Greeks Wished to “See Jesus”

HLv 416.1

“Among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, ... and said to him, Sir, we wish to see Jesus... . Andrew went with Philip and they told Jesus.” RSV.

HLv 416.2

At this time Christ’s work bore the appearance of cruel defeat. He had been victor in the controversy with the priests and Pharisees, but it was evident that He would never be received by them as the Messiah. The final separation had come. The case seemed hopeless. But the great event which concerned the whole world was about to take place. When Christ heard the eager request, “We wish to see Jesus,” echoing the hungering cry of the world, His countenance lighted up, and He said, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.”

HLv 416.3

These men came from the West to find the Saviour at the close of His life. The wise men had come from the East at the beginning. These Greeks represented the nations, tribes, and peoples of the world. People of all lands and all ages would be drawn by the Saviour’s cross.

HLv 416.4

The Greeks longed to know the truth in regard to Christ’s mission. When they said, “We wish to see Jesus,” He was in that part of the temple from which all except Jews were excluded, but He went out to the Greeks in the outer court and had a personal interview with them.

HLv 416.5

The inquiry of the Greeks showed Christ that the sacrifice He was about to make would bring many sons and daughters to God. He knew that the Greeks would soon see Him in a position they did not then dream of. They would see Him placed beside Barabbas, a robber and a murderer. To the question, “What shall I do ... with Jesus?” the answer would be given, “Let Him be crucified.” Matthew 27:22. By making this propitiation for sin Christ knew that His kingdom would be perfected and would extend throughout the world. He would work as the Restorer, and His Spirit would prevail.

HLv 417.1

For a moment He heard voices proclaiming in all parts of the earth, “Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. In these strangers He saw the pledge of a great harvest. The anticipation of this, the consummation of His hopes, was expressed in His words, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.” But the way in which this glorification must take place was never absent from Christ’s mind. Only by His death could the world be saved. Like a grain of wheat, the Son of man must be cast into the ground and die, and be buried out of sight; but He was to live again.

HLv 417.2

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” When the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it springs up, and bears fruit. So the death of Christ would result in fruit for the kingdom of God. In accordance with the law of the vegetable kingdom, life was to be the result of His death.

HLv 417.3

Year by year man preserves his supply of grain by apparently throwing away the choicest part. For a time it must be hidden under the furrow, to be watched over by the Lord. Then appears the blade, then the ear, and then the corn in the ear.

HLv 417.4

The seed buried in the ground produces fruit, and in turn this is planted. Thus the harvest is multiplied. So the death of Christ on the cross will bear fruit unto eternal life. Contemplation of this sacrifice will be the glory of those who, as the fruit of it, live through eternal ages.

HLv 418.1

Christ could, if He chose, save Himself from death. But should He do this, He must “abide alone.” Only by falling into the ground to die could He become the seed of that vast harvest—the great multitude redeemed to God.

HLv 418.2

This lesson of self-sacrifice all should learn: “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal:” The life must be cast into the furrow of the world’s need. Self-love, self-interest, must perish. And the law of self-sacrifice is the law of self-preservation. To give is to live. The life that will be preserved is the life freely given in service to God and man.

HLv 418.3

The life spent on self is like the grain that is eaten. There is no increase. A man may gather all he can; he may live, think, and plan for self; but his life passes away, and he has nothing. The law of self-serving is the law of self-destruction.

HLv 418.4

“If any man serve Me,” said Jesus, “let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honor.” All who have borne with Jesus the cross of sacrifice will be sharers with Him of His glory. They are workers together with Christ, and the Father will honor them as He honors His Son.

HLv 418.5

The message of the Greeks brought to the mind of Jesus the work of redemption from the time when in heaven the plan was laid, to the death now so near at hand. A mysterious cloud seemed to enshroud the Son of God. He sat rapt in thought. At last the silence was broken by His mournful voice, “Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour.” Christ’s humanity shrank from the hour of abandonment, when all would see Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. He shrank from being treated as the worst of criminals, from a shameful, dishonored death. A sense of the awful burden of human transgression and the Father’s wrath because of sin caused the spirit of Jesus to faint, and the pallor of death to overspread His countenance.

HLv 419.1

Then came divine submission to His Father’s will. “For this cause,” He said, “came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name.” Only through the death of Christ could Satan’s kingdom be overthrown, man be redeemed, and God be glorified. Jesus accepted the sacrifice; He consented to suffer as the Sin Bearer. A response came from the cloud which hovered above His head: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” In the coming trial Christ’s divine-human sufferings would indeed glorify His Father’s name.

HLv 419.2

As the voice was heard, a light encircled Christ, as if the arms of Infinite Power were thrown about Him like a wall of fire. No one dared to speak. All stood with eyes fixed on Jesus. The testimony of the Father having been given, the cloud lifted, and scattered in the heavens.

HLv 419.3

The inquiring Greeks saw the cloud, heard the voice, comprehended its meaning, and discerned Christ indeed; to them He was revealed as the Sent of God. The voice of God had been heard at the baptism of Jesus and again at His transfiguration. Now it was heard for the third time by a larger number of persons. Jesus had just made His last appeal and pronounced the doom of the Jews. Now God again recognized the One whom Israel had rejected. “This voice came not because of Me,” said Jesus, “but for your sakes.” It was the signal from the Father that Jesus had spoken the truth, and was the Son of God.

HLv 419.4

“Now is the judgment of this world,” Christ continued; “now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto Me. This He said, signifying what death He should die.” If I become the propitiation for the sins of men, the world will be lighted up. Satan’s hold upon men will be broken. The defaced image of God will be restored in humanity, and a family of believing saints will finally inherit the heavenly home. The Saviour saw the cross, the cruel, ignominious cross, with all its attending horrors, blazing with glory.

HLv 420.1

But human redemption is not all that is accomplished by the cross. The love of God is manifested to the universe. The reproach Satan has cast on heaven is forever removed. Angels as well as men are drawn to the Redeemer. “I, if I be lifted up from the earth,” He said, “will draw all unto Me.”

HLv 420.2

Many people were round about Christ as He spoke these words. But “though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him.” Innumerable signs had been given, but they had closed their eyes and hardened their hearts. Now that the Father Himself had spoken, and they could ask for no further sign, they still refused to believe.

HLv 420.3

“Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.” To save themselves from reproach and shame, they denied Christ, and rejected the offer of eternal life.

HLv 420.4

Alas for those who knew not the time of their visitation! Slowly and regretfully Christ left forever the precincts of the temple.

The Desire of Ages

Chapter 68—In the Outer Court

DA 621.1

“And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: the same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.”

DA 621.2

At this time Christ’s work bore the appearance of cruel defeat. He had been victor in the controversy with the priests and Pharisees, but it was evident that He would never be received by them as the Messiah. The final separation had come. To His disciples the case seemed hopeless. But Christ was approaching the consummation of His work. The great event which concerned not only the Jewish nation, but the whole world, was about to take place. When Christ heard the eager request, “We would see Jesus,” echoing the hungering cry of the world, His countenance lighted up, and He said, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.” In the request of the Greeks He saw an earnest of the results of His great sacrifice.

DA 621.3

These men came from the West to find the Saviour at the close of His life, as the wise men had come from the East at the beginning. At the time of Christ’s birth the Jewish people were so engrossed with their own ambitious plans that they knew not of His advent. The magi from a heathen land came to the manger with their gifts, to worship the Saviour. So these Greeks, representing the nations, tribes, and peoples of the world, came to see Jesus. So the people of all lands and all ages would be drawn by the Saviour’s cross. So shall many “come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 8:11.

DA 622.1

The Greeks had heard of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Some supposed, and had circulated the report, that He had driven the priests and rulers from the temple, and that He was to take possession of David’s throne, and reign as king of Israel. The Greeks longed to know the truth in regard to His mission. “We would see Jesus,” they said. Their desire was granted. When the request was brought to Jesus, He was in that part of the temple from which all except Jews were excluded, but He went out to the Greeks in the outer court, and had a personal interview with them.

DA 622.2

The hour of Christ’s glorification had come. He was standing in the shadow of the cross, and the inquiry of the Greeks showed Him that the sacrifice He was about to make would bring many sons and daughters to God. He knew that the Greeks would soon see Him in a position they did not then dream of. They would see Him placed beside Barabbas, a robber and murderer, who would be chosen for release before the Son of God. They would hear the people, inspired by the priests and rulers, making their choice. And to the question, “What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?” the answer would be given, “Let Him be crucified.” Matthew 27:22. By making this propitiation for the sins of men, Christ knew that His kingdom would be perfected, and would extend throughout the world. He would work as the Restorer, and His Spirit would prevail. For a moment He looked into futurity, and heard the voices proclaiming in all parts of the earth, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. In these strangers He saw the pledge of a great harvest, when the partition wall between Jew and Gentile should be broken down, and all nations, tongues, and peoples should hear the message of salvation. The anticipation of this, the consummation of His hopes, is expressed in the words, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.” But the way in which this glorification must take place was never absent from Christ’s mind. The gathering in of the Gentiles was to follow His approaching death. Only by His death could the world be saved. Like a grain of wheat, the Son of man must be cast into the ground and die, and be buried out of sight; but He was to live again.

DA 623.1

Christ presented His future, illustrating it by the things of nature, that the disciples might understand. The true result of His mission was to be reached by His death. “Verily, verily, I say unto you,” He said, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” When the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it springs up, and bears fruit. So the death of Christ would result in fruit for the kingdom of God. In accordance with the law of the vegetable kingdom, life was to be the result of His death.

DA 623.2

Those who till the soil have the illustration ever before them. Year by year man preserves his supply of grain by apparently throwing away the choicest part. For a time it must be hidden under the furrow, to be watched over by the Lord. Then appears the blade, then the ear, and then the corn in the ear. But this development cannot take place unless the grain is buried out of sight, hidden, and to all appearance, lost.

DA 623.3

The seed buried in the ground produces fruit, and in turn this is planted. Thus the harvest is multiplied. So the death of Christ on the cross of Calvary will bear fruit unto eternal life. The contemplation of this sacrifice will be the glory of those who, as the fruit of it, will live through the eternal ages.

DA 623.4

The grain of wheat that preserves its own life can produce no fruit. It abides alone. Christ could, if He chose, save Himself from death. But should He do this, He must abide alone. He could bring no sons and daughters to God. Only by yielding up His life could He impart life to humanity. Only by falling into the ground to die could He become the seed of that vast harvest,—the great multitude that out of every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, are redeemed to God.

DA 623.5

With this truth Christ connects the lesson of self-sacrifice that all should learn: “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” All who would bring forth fruit as workers together with Christ must first fall into the ground and die. The life must be cast into the furrow of the world’s need. Self-love, self-interest, must perish. And the law of self-sacrifice is the law of self-preservation. The husbandman preserves his grain by casting it away. So in human life. To give is to live. The life that will be preserved is the life that is freely given in service to God and man. Those who for Christ’s sake sacrifice their life in this world will keep it unto life eternal.

DA 624.1

The life spent on self is like the grain that is eaten. It disappears, but there is no increase. A man may gather all he can for self; he may live and think and plan for self; but his life passes away, and he has nothing. The law of self-serving is the law of self-destruction.

DA 624.2

“If any man serve Me,” said Jesus, “let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honor.” All who have borne with Jesus the cross of sacrifice will be sharers with Him of His glory. It was the joy of Christ in His humiliation and pain that His disciples should be glorified with Him. They are the fruit of His self-sacrifice. The outworking in them of His own character and spirit is His reward, and will be His joy throughout eternity. This joy they share with Him as the fruit of their labor and sacrifice is seen in other hearts and lives. They are workers together with Christ, and the Father will honor them as He honors His Son.

DA 624.3

The message of the Greeks, foreshadowing as it did the gathering in of the Gentiles, brought to the mind of Jesus His entire mission. The work of redemption passed before Him, from the time when in heaven the plan was laid, to the death that was now so near at hand. A mysterious cloud seemed to enshroud the Son of God. Its gloom was felt by those near Him. He sat rapt in thought. At last the silence was broken by His mournful voice, “Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour?” In anticipation Christ was already drinking the cup of bitterness. His humanity shrank from the hour of abandonment, when to all appearance He would be deserted even by God, when all would see Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. He shrank from public exposure, from being treated as the worst of criminals, from a shameful and dishonored death. A foreboding of His conflict with the powers of darkness, a sense of the awful burden of human transgression, and the Father’s wrath because of sin caused the spirit of Jesus to faint, and the pallor of death to overspread His countenance.

DA 624.4

Then came divine submission to His Father’s will. “For this cause,” He said, “came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name.” Only through the death of Christ could Satan’s kingdom be overthrown. Only thus could man be redeemed, and God be glorified. Jesus consented to the agony, He accepted the sacrifice. The Majesty of heaven consented to suffer as the Sin Bearer. “Father, glorify Thy name,” He said. As Christ spoke these words, a response came from the cloud which hovered above His head: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” Christ’s whole life, from the manger to the time when these words were spoken, had glorified God; and in the coming trial His divine-human sufferings would indeed glorify His Father’s name.

DA 625.1

As the voice was heard, a light darted from the cloud, and encircled Christ, as if the arms of Infinite Power were thrown about Him like a wall of fire. The people beheld this scene with terror and amazement. No one dared to speak. With silent lips and bated breath all stood with eyes fixed upon Jesus. The testimony of the Father having been given, the cloud lifted, and scattered in the heavens. For the time the visible communion between the Father and the Son was ended.

DA 625.2

“The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to Him.” But the inquiring Greeks saw the cloud, heard the voice, comprehended its meaning, and discerned Christ indeed; to them He was revealed as the Sent of God.

DA 625.3

The voice of God had been heard at the baptism of Jesus at the beginning of His ministry, and again at His transfiguration on the mount. Now at the close of His ministry it was heard for the third time, by a larger number of persons, and under peculiar circumstances. Jesus had just spoken the most solemn truth regarding the condition of the Jews. He had made His last appeal, and pronounced their doom. Now God again set His seal to the mission of His Son. He recognized the One whom Israel had rejected. “This voice came not because of Me,” said Jesus, “but for your sakes.” It was the crowning evidence of His Messiahship, the signal from the Father that Jesus had spoken the truth, and was the Son of God.

DA 625.4

“Now is the judgment of this world,” Christ continued; “now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto Me. This He said, signifying what death He should die.” This is the crisis of the world. If I become the propitiation for the sins of men, the world will be lighted up. Satan’s hold upon the souls of men will be broken. The defaced image of God will be restored in humanity, and a family of believing saints will finally inherit the heavenly home. This is the result of Christ’s death. The Saviour is lost in contemplation of the scene of triumph called up before Him. He sees the cross, the cruel, ignominious cross, with all its attending horrors, blazing with glory.

DA 626.1

But the work of human redemption is not all that is accomplished by the cross. The love of God is manifested to the universe. The prince of this world is cast out. The accusations which Satan has brought against God are refuted. The reproach which he has cast upon heaven is forever removed. Angels as well as men are drawn to the Redeemer. “I, if I be lifted up from the earth,” He said, “will draw all unto Me.”

DA 626.2

Many people were round about Christ as He spoke these words, and one said, “We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever: and how sayest Thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man? Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.”

DA 626.3

“But though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him.” They had once asked the Saviour, “What sign showest Thou then, that we may see, and believe Thee?” John 6:30. Innumerable signs had been given; but they had closed their eyes and hardened their hearts. Now that the Father Himself had spoken, and they could ask for no further sign, they still refused to believe.

DA 626.4

“Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.” They loved the praise of men rather than the approval of God. To save themselves from reproach and shame, they denied Christ, and rejected the offer of eternal life. And how many through all the centuries since have been doing the same thing! To them all the Saviour’s warning words apply: “He that loveth his life shall lose it.” “He that rejecteth Me,” said Jesus, “and receiveth not My words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” John 12:48.

DA 626.5

Alas for those who knew not the time of their visitation! Slowly and regretfully Christ left forever the precincts of the temple.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Ms 187, 1898

13LtMs, Ms 187, 1898, par. 22

At the Sabbath school and morning meeting a goodly number were present. At the morning meeting Elder Haskell spoke from the words “We would see Jesus.” [John 12:21.] These were Greeks who were deeply in earnest. His discourse was excellent, and the best of attention was paid.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Ms 151, 1898

13LtMs, Ms 151, 1898, par. 14

At the Sabbath School, and morning meeting, a goodly number was present. At the morning meeting, Elder Haskell spoke from the words “We would see Jesus.” [John 12:21.] These were Greeks who were deeply in earnest. His discourse was excellent, and the best of attention was paid.

The Upward Look

The Harvest of the Cross, April 6

UL 110.1

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. John 12:24.

UL 110.3

At the time when Christ’s work bore only the appearance of cruel defeat, when to the disciples the case seemed hopeless, certain Greeks came to the disciples, saying, “We would see Jesus” (John 12:21). This inquiry showed Christ, who was then standing in the shadow of the cross, that the sacrificial offering of Himself would bring all who believe into perfect harmony with God. By making this propitiation of man’s sins, Christ’s kingdom would be perfected and extended throughout the world. He would work as the Restorer. His Spirit would prevail everywhere.

UL 110.5

Christ heard the eager, hungering cry, “We would see Jesus.” These Greeks represented the nations and tribes and peoples who would awake to their great need of a power out of and above finite power. For a moment Christ looked into futurity, and heard voices proclaiming in all places of the earth, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (chap. 1:29). This anticipation, the consummation of His hopes, is expressed in His words, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified” (chap. 12:23). But the way and manner that this glorifying was to take place was never absent from Christ’s mind. Only by His death could the world be saved. As the grain of wheat, the Son of man must be cast into the earth, and die, and be buried out of sight; but He was to live again!

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 33, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 33, 1897, par. 4

At the time when Christ’s work bore only the appearance of cruel defeat, when to the disciples the case seemed hopeless, certain Greeks came to the disciples, saying, “We would see Jesus.” [John 12:21.] This inquiry showed Christ, who was then standing in the shadow of the cross, that the sacrificial offering of Himself would bring all who believe into perfect harmony with God. By making this propitiation of man’s sins, Christ’s kingdom would be perfected, and extended throughout the world. He would work as the Restorer. His Spirit would prevail everywhere.

12LtMs, Ms 33, 1897, par. 6

Christ gave them lessons which they could in no wise comprehend. But after His crucifixion, Jew and Greek, barbarian and Scythian, bond and free, would be able to have a clear comprehension of His work and of the words which upon this occasion He addressed to them. “The hour is come,” He said, “that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” [Verses 23, 24.]

12LtMs, Ms 33, 1897, par. 7

Christ heard the eager, hungering cry, “We would see Jesus.” [Verse 21.] These Greeks represented the nations and tribes and peoples who would awake to their great need of a power out of and above finite power. For a moment Christ looked into futurity, and heard the voices proclaiming in all places of the earth, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” [John 1:29.] This anticipation, the consummation of His hopes, is expressed in His words, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.” [John 12:23.] But the way and manner that this glorifying was to take place was never absent from Christ’s mind. Only by His death could the world be saved. As the grain of wheat, the Son of man must be cast into the earth, and die, and be buried out of sight; but He was to live again.

12LtMs, Ms 33, 1897, par. 9

With this lesson Christ connects the self-sacrifice we must practice. “He that loveth his life, shall lose it,” He declared, “and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor.” [Verses 25, 26.]

12LtMs, Ms 33, 1897, par. 11

“Now is my soul troubled,” said Christ—stirred to its very depths. “And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour.” [Verse 27.] This is the cry of the humanity of Christ, as He contemplated the future. He was about to enter upon the hour of His humiliation. But glory was to come out of His humiliation. Life was to be given to man through His death. Life and immortality were to be brought to light through His soul-anguish.

12LtMs, Ms 33, 1897, par. 13

While in the presence of His disciples, Christ seemed to them as one who saw things afar, things which were unseen to them. A faint glimpse of his anguish of soul is given in the words spoken by Him after the inquiry made by the Greeks: “Now is my soul troubled: and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour.” [Verse 27.] These words were spoken in anticipation of the future. In anticipation He was already drinking the cup of bitterness. His humanity shrunk from this hour of abandonment, to all appearances, even by God, when all would see Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

12LtMs, Ms 33, 1897, par. 15

Then comes divine submission to God’s will. “For this cause,” He added, “came I into this world. Father, glorify thy name.” [Verses 27, 28.] A cloud seemed to enwrap the Son of God, and there came a voice from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” Christ’s life, from the manger to the time when He spoke these words, had glorified God, and His future human and divine sufferings would glorify His Father’s name.

12LtMs, Ms 33, 1897, par. 16

Some present, beholding the revelation of God, said that thundered. Others, the Greek inquirers and the disciples, catching the words of the voice said, “An angel spake to him.” Jesus answered and said, “The voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.” [Verses 29-33.] This is the crisis of the world. If I become the propitiation for the world, it will be lighted up. The defaced image of God will be reproduced and restored, and a family of believing saints will finally inhabit the heavenly home.

12LtMs, Ms 33, 1897, par. 18

“And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.” [John 12:32.] The question is asked, Why then, are not all drawn to Christ? It is because they do not choose to die to self, because they wish, as did Judas, to retain their own individuality, their own natural and cultivated traits of character. Although they are given every opportunity and privilege, they do not desire to give up those traits of character which, if not cut away from the character, will separate them from Christ. If, continuing to cherish these traits of character, they were admitted to heaven, they would create a second apostasy. God has graciously given man a probation, to see if they will, through Christ, obtain that power that will constitute them sons of God.

12LtMs, Ms 33, 1897, par. 19

Many people were round about Christ as He spoke these words, and one said, “We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man? Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.” [Verses 34, 35.] This is verily true in the case of the two brethren in Adelaide. God gave them light, but by confederating together, they were walking away from the light. These words of Christ come to us sounding down the line to our time.

12LtMs, Ms 33, 1897, par. 20

“While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of the light. These things spake Jesus and departed, and did hide himself from them.” [Verse 36.] A conspiracy for the purpose of putting Him to death has already been formed. The Jews wished to provoke a controversy with Him there and then.

12LtMs, Ms 33, 1897, par. 21

Notice the power of unbelief. “Though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him.” Christ had worked many miracles before the Jews. As an evidence of His true mission as the Son of God, He had just performed a most wonderful miracle; Lazarus had been raised from the dead. But the men who witnessed this miracle had set their hearts against believing in Him. Nothing would affect the darkness that encompassed them. “Though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him. That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report, and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory (in prophetic vision), and spake of him.” [Verses 37-41.]

12LtMs, Ms 33, 1897, par. 22

“Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” [Verses 42, 43.] They had not moral power to separate from those who did not receive Christ, who were denying and crucifying Him. They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

12LtMs, Ms 33, 1897, par. 23

Today Jesus reads hearts and knows the sentiments of every soul. At the very close of this earth’s history His voice is speaking to us. “He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, and whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.” [Verses 44-46.]

Christ’s Object Lessons

Chapter 6—Other Lessons from Seed-Sowing

COL 86.2

By the casting of the grain into the soil, Christ represents the sacrifice of Himself for our redemption. “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die,” He says, “it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” John 12:24. So the death of Christ will result in fruit for the kingdom of God. In accordance with the law of the vegetable kingdom, life will be the result of His death.

Education

Life Through Death

Ed 110.2

By the casting of grain into the earth, the Saviour represents His sacrifice for us. “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die,” He says, “it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” John 12:24. Only through the sacrifice of Christ, the Seed, could fruit be brought forth for the kingdom of God. In accordance with the law of the vegetable kingdom, life is the result of His death.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Ms 25, 1898

13LtMs, Ms 25, 1898, par. 9

“Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground, and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” [John 12:24.]

Selected Messages Book 1

Chapter 8—Willing to Spend and Be Spent

1SM 86.2

Every true, self-sacrificing worker for God is willing to spend and be spent for the sake of others. Christ says, “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal” (John 12:25). By earnest, thoughtful efforts to help where help is needed, the true Christian shows his love for God and for his fellow beings. He may lose his life in service. But when Christ comes to gather His jewels to Himself, he will find it again.

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9

God’s Almoners

9T 56.3

Every true, self-sacrificing worker for God is willing to spend and be spent for the sake of others. Christ says: “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” John 12:25. By earnest, thoughtful efforts to help where help is needed, the true Christian shows his love for God and for his fellow beings. He may lose his life in service; but when Christ comes to gather His jewels to Himself, he will find it again.

This Day With God

Danger of Doublemindedness, August 19

TDG 240.5

“He that loveth his life shall lose it” (John 12:25). When a man loses the shield of a good conscience, he knows that he has lost the cooperation of heavenly angels. God is not working in him. Another spirit inspires him. And to be an apostate, a traitor to the cause of God, is much more serious than death; it means the loss of eternal life.—Manuscript 87, August 19, 1897, “All That Will Live Godly in Christ Jesus Shall Suffer Persecution.”

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 2 (1869 - 1875)

Lt 2a, 1872

2LtMs, Lt 2a, 1872, par. 22

My fears are that you will fail to discern your defects and the mistakes of your life, fail to repent with all your heart [so] that your misspent life may not arise before you in the judgment to fasten guilt upon you when it is too late for wrongs to be righted. You, my son, must fall upon the Rock and be broken or the Rock will fall upon you and prove your hopeless ruin, for it will grind you to powder. He that seeketh to save his life shall lose it; but he that loseth his life for Christ’s sake shall preserve it unto life eternal. See John 12:25; Luke 17:33.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 11 (1896)

Lt 116, 1896

11LtMs, Lt 116, 1896, par. 11

Temptations came to Moses to dissemble in this great interest and enterprise of delivering his brethren from slavery, and to think that when he should be exalted to the throne, he would have power to do as he would. As far as outward reasoning was correct, appearance would have said, “Wait; be reasonable.” But Moses did not receive such counsellors. How many today would enlist in the army of Christ provided they could take their own choice, and follow their own way? But “he that loveth his life shall lose it.” [John 12:25.] He who chooses his own course of action in order to avoid unpleasantness, reproach, or inconvenience, loses the shield of God, and, left to his own planning, will not receive the protection and favor of God in his selfish course of action. He will eventually lose the influence he was so anxious to retain, and the life he was so anxious to save will be lost. A traitor and an apostate, he will have gained nothing, and lost everything.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 87, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 87, 1897, par. 9

“He that loveth his life shall lose it.” [John 12:25.] When a man loses the shield of a good conscience, he knows that he has lost the co-operation of heavenly angels. God is not working in him. Another spirit inspires him. And to be an apostate, a traitor to the cause of God, is much more serious than death; it means the loss of eternal life.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)

Ms 24, 1904

19LtMs, Ms 24, 1904, par. 18

Every true, self-sacrificing worker for God is willing to spend and be spent for the sake of others. Christ says, “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” [John 12:25.] By earnest, thoughtful efforts to help where help is needed, the true Christian shows his love for God and for his fellow beings. He may lose his life in service. But when Christ comes to gather His jewels to Himself, he will find it again.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 22 (1907)

Lt 190, 1907

22LtMs, Lt 190, 1907, par. 12

This is our period of stewardship, when we are to trade with our Lord’s goods. Our means, our speech, our influence—all are talents to be used in the Master’s service and to be multiplied by wise investment. We must increase our capabilities for service. If God has entrusted us with three talents, He will not accept two in return. If we have but one talent, but with it gain yet another, we have a place in Christ’s service and will finally hear the blessed words of approval from the lips of the Saviour. It is a terrible mistake for a professed Christian to devote his time and means and energies to the service of self. We are to deny self, that we may follow Christ. Many souls have not refrained from accepting martyrdom for the sake of Christ. For such is the blessed promise, “He that loseth his life for My sake shall find it unto life eternal.” [Matthew 10:39; John 12:25.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 22 (1907)

Lt 170, 1907

22LtMs, Lt 170, 1907, par. 17

What a terrible mistake for a professed Christian to devote to himself all his time and means and energies! All are to deny themselves, that they may follow Christ. Many souls have not refrained from accepting martyrdom for the sake of Christ. For them is the blessed promise, “He that loseth his life for My sake shall save it unto life eternal.” [Matthew 10:39; Mark 8:35; John 12:25.]

The Upward Look

Eternal Vigilance, July 5

UL 200.2

Christ has laid down the conditions of acceptable service. “He that loveth his life shall lose it,” He says; “and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour” (John 12:25, 26).

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 140, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 140, 1903, par. 16

Christ has laid down the conditions of acceptable service. “He that loveth his life shall lose it,” He says; “and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be; if any man serve Me, him will My Father honor.” [John 12:25, 26.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 7 (1891-1892)

Lt 59, 1892

7LtMs, Lt 59, 1892, par. 1

I awoke this morning before five o’clock with a prayer in my heart and upon my lips for you. “Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.” John 12:35. Why? Because if he does not walk in the light of the Sun of Righteousness he is following another leader. He may have the best of resolutions. His purposes may be ever so strong. He may plan just the course he will pursue and flatter himself there will be a good result. But there is one who devises that as soon as he shall cease to make God his trust, and follow a course of his own choosing, he will obtain the position of leadership, and he leads him into by and forbidden paths. “He walketh in darkness” and “knoweth not whither he goeth,” but flatters himself that he is walking in safe paths.

7LtMs, Lt 59, 1892, par. 2

Jesus speaks, “While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of the light.” Verse 36. It is for your present and future eternal interest that you heed these words of counsel. The Lord has not left you in uncertainty and in darkness, to stumble your way along not knowing whither your steps are tending. If the power of darkness can afflict my soul and weigh down my heart with anxiety and distress through the very ones who are dear unto me, linked to me by the ties of relationship—the strongest natural ties—he will work with every device he can command. He will seek to weaken my influence, to make of none effect the counsel of God through your mother. That counsel shall—through your neglect, through your indifference and disregard—lose its force and influence upon the minds of others, and the light God shall impart to them through your mother will be of none effect.

7LtMs, Lt 59, 1892, par. 4

Christ was giving His last lessons to His disciples. Through the ministration of the Holy Spirit, which is the promised Comforter, all these sayings of Jesus would be brought to their remembrance. “He that loveth his life shall lose it.” That is, he that is constantly planning to benefit himself, to walk in paths where Christ does not lead the way. “And he that hateth his life”—refuseth to follow the impulse of his own natural heart—“shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor.” [Verses 25, 26.]

7LtMs, Lt 59, 1892, par. 6

“Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of myself.” John 12:44-49.

Our Father Cares

Matchless Love, September 16

OFC 271.2

O what love, what matchless love! Fallen human beings may become so closely united with Christ that they are glorified with Him. On this earth they have followed in His footsteps, laboring as He labored for the souls for whom He died, and when He comes to claim His own, they enter in to His joy, sitting with Him at His table in His kingdom. “Where I am,” He says, “there shall also my servant be” (John 12:26)....

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 15 (1900)

Ms 75, 1900

15LtMs, Ms 75, 1900, par. 9

What did Christ say to His disciples?—“If any man serve me, let him follow me.” [John 12:26.] This is the rule given in the Word of God. By studying the life of Christ, let the workers find out how He lived and worked. Let them strive each day to live the life of Christ, seeking to know the way of the Lord. The one rule they are to follow is to live as Jesus lived, daily looking to Him by faith. As they wear His yoke and learn His meekness and lowliness they are in the path that leads heavenward.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Lt 55, 1902

17LtMs, Lt 55, 1902, par. 23

Remember that for our sake the Commander of the heavenly hosts clothed His divinity with humanity. The Highest stooped to be the servant of all, that He might beautify the meek with salvation and be the wisdom of all who learn of Him. “Where I am, there shall also my servant be.” [John 12:26.] He giveth grace to the humble and to the contrite in heart.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 92, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 92, 1903, par. 20

Eternal life means more than we can estimate. It is Christ’s gift to the world. Christ is the bread of life and the water of salvation, which we are to eat and drink. Thus we become partakers of the divine nature. Thus we receive grace that enables us to trade upon our talents and to bring a harvest of souls to the Master. “If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am there shall also My servant be. If any man serve Me, him will My Father honor.” [John 12:26.] Spiritual individualism, which leads man to make self a center, is common in our world today, but it has no endorsement in the Word of God. It is selfishness and can produce no good fruit.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 144, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 144, 1903, par. 10

O what love, what matchless love! Fallen human beings may become so closely united with Christ that they are glorified with Him. On this earth they have followed in his footsteps, laboring as He labored for the souls for whom He died, and when He comes to claim His own, they enter into his joy, sitting with Him at His table in His kingdom. “Where I am,” He says, “there shall also my servant be.” [John 12:26.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 232, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 232, 1903, par. 54

Those who in this life love God and cherish the thought of Him will employ their faculties and their talents as faithful stewards, making the very best use of them, but not claiming any reward as their due. As they deny self and follow Jesus, lifting the cross, they will find that the cross is light, and that it is a pledge, as they bear it, that they will one day be given a crown of everlasting life. What will be the glory and the gain and the enjoyment of that eternal life that is to be given to those only for whom it has been prepared? The great joy of the overcomer will be that he is in the presence of Christ. “Where I am, there shall also My servant be,” He declared. [John 12:26.] And He prayed, “Father, I will that they also whom Thou hast given Me be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory.” [John 17:24.] Christ is speaking of the glory of His Father’s presence and His Father’s house. The glory that is to be revealed to all who are saved is the glory which Christ had with His Father before the world was—the unapproachable splendor of their converse together. The angels were not admitted to the interviews between the Father and the Son when the plan of salvation was laid. Those human beings who seek to intrude into the secrets of the Most High, who inhabiteth eternity, show their ignorance of spiritual and eternal things. Far better might they, while mercy’s voice is still heard, humble themselves in the dust and plead with God to teach them His ways.

Prayer

Chapter 3—God Hears Prayer

Pr 34.1

God Hears and Answers Prayer—God hears prayer. Christ has said, “If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it.” Again He says, “If any man serve Me, him will My Father honor.” John 14:14; John 12:26. If we live according to His word, every precious promise He has given will be fulfilled to us. We are undeserving of His mercy, but as we give ourselves to Him, He receives us. He will work for and through those who follow Him.—(The Ministry of Healing, 226, 227.)

Prayer

Chapter 5—God’s Promises Concerning Prayer

Pr 47.4

God hears prayer. Christ has said, “If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it.” Again He says, “If any man serve Me, him will My Father honor.” John 14:14; John 12:26. If we live according to His word, every precious promise He has given will be fulfilled to us. We are undeserving of His mercy, but as we give ourselves to Him, He receives us. He will work for and through those who follow Him.—(The Ministry of Healing, 226, 227.)

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6

Chapter 37—The Reward of Service

6T 312.5

“Where I am, there shall also My servant be.” John 12:26.

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6

Chapter 52—Young Men in the Ministry

6T 415.4

“If any man serve Me,” Christ says, “let him follow Me.” John 12:26. By studying the life of Christ let the workers learn how He lived and worked. Let them strive each day to live His life.

The Ministry of Healing

Chapter 16—Prayer for the Sick

MH 226.3

And God hears prayer. Christ has said, “If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it.” Again He says, “If any man serve Me, him will My Father honor.” John 14:14; 12:26. If we live according to His word, every precious promise He has given will be fulfilled to us. We are undeserving of His mercy, but as we give ourselves to Him, He receives us. He will work for and through those who follow Him.

This Day With God

Matchless Love, July 12

TDG 202.2

O what love, what matchless love! Fallen human beings may become so closely united with Christ that they are glorified with Him. On this earth they have followed in His footsteps, laboring as He labored for the souls for whom He died, and when He comes to claim His own, they enter in to His joy, sitting with Him at His table in His kingdom. “Where I am,” He says, “there shall also my servant be” (John 12:26)....

Testimony Treasures, vol. 1

How to Pray

1TT 214.3

All that can be done in praying for the sick is to earnestly importune God in their behalf, and in perfect confidence rest the matter in His hands. If we regard iniquity in our hearts the Lord will not hear us. He can do what He will with His own. He will glorify Himself by working in and through them who wholly follow Him, so that it shall be known that it is the Lord and that their works are wrought in God. Said Christ: “If any man serve Me, him will My Father honor.” John 12:26. When we come to Him we should pray that we may enter into and accomplish His purpose, and that our desires and interests may be lost in His. We should acknowledge our acceptance of His will, not praying Him to concede to ours. It is better for us that God does not always answer our prayers just when we desire, and in just the manner we wish. He will do more and better for us than to accomplish all our wishes, for our wisdom is folly.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 77, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 77, 1897, par. 4

Christ will accept and give grace and power to all who will do His will irrespective of consequences. But He asks none of you to serve Him unless you give your whole heart to do His will. “If any man serve me,” He says, “let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be.” [John 12:26.]

12LtMs, Ms 77, 1897, par. 8

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die. The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man? Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.” [John 12:27-36.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 20 (1905)

Ms 164, 1905

20LtMs, Ms 164, 1905, par. 1

“If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be. If any man serve Me, him will My Father honor. Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” [John 12:26-28.]

20LtMs, Ms 164, 1905, par. 12

“Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you. While ye have the light believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. For he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.” [John 12:35, 36.] We have these lessons before us. Those who array themselves decidedly against Christ are under the control of the father of lies. “Though He had done so many miracles among them, yet believed they not on Him.” [Verse 37.] If the great works that Christ did failed to convince the Jews of the divinity of His mission, we cannot suppose that the words spoken today by the ministers of Christ will convince of the importance of present truth those who have set their hearts to disobey or lead them in humble contrition of soul to confess their sins and become as God’s little children.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 7 (1891-1892)

Ms 45, 1892

7LtMs, Ms 45, 1892, par. 17

The suffering of the martyr’s was far less than the suffering of Christ. Though they died in the flames, on the rack, and amid dreadful pains, yet they suffered not as did our Saviour, for God was with them in their hour of trial, while from Christ the face of the Father was turned away, and He was hidden from His beloved Son. It was this that brought from the trembling lips of Christ, “Now is my soul troubled,” “O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” [John 12:27; Matthew 26:39.] Again He prays, willing to do just as His Father would have Him, saying, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.” [Verse 42.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 112, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 112, 1897, par. 38

In anticipation of this ordeal Christ had prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, “What shall I say then? Father, save me from this hour?” He Himself answers the question, “But for this cause came I unto this hour.” [John 12:27.] And when accosted by Pilate He said, “For this cause was I born (for this cause I came in human form) and to this end came I into the world, that I might bear witness to the truth.” [John 18:37.] In anticipation He had borne the present crisis all His life. Who can take in or even make an approach to, the sacrifice made by Christ in the change from the heavenly world to the world that was marred and seared by the curse of sin. The suffering of Christ was a lifetime of protracted anticipation.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 20 (1905)

Ms 134, 1905

20LtMs, Ms 134, 1905, par. 8

Christ had spoken to His disciples of the experience awaiting Him. “I have a baptism to be baptized with,” He said, “and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!” [Luke 12:50.] He could not but feel a dread as He thought of what that hour would bring to Him. Fear came upon Him as He thought of the strain that His humanity would have to bear, and the prayer came from His lips, “Father, save Me from this hour.” Then He added, “But for this cause came I unto this hour.” [John 12:27.] He had pledged Himself to bear the penalty of sin. He had entered into a covenant to offer a sacrifice that would make possible the salvation of every repentant sinner.

20LtMs, Ms 134, 1905, par. 9

Only through the death of Christ could Satan’s kingdom be overthrown. Only thus could man be redeemed and God be glorified. Jesus consented to the agony, He accepted the sacrifice. The Majesty of heaven consented to suffer as the sin-bearer. “Father, glorify Thy name,” He said. As Christ spoke these words, a response came from the cloud which hovered above His head: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” [Verse 28.] Christ’s whole life, from the manger to the time when these words were spoken, had glorified God; and in the coming trial, His divine-human sufferings would indeed glorify His Father’s name. Christ bore the sin of the whole world. He was the second Adam. Taking upon Himself human nature, He passed over the ground where Adam stumbled and fell. Having taken humanity, He had an intense interest in human beings. He felt keenly the sinfulness, the shame of sin. He is our Elder Brother. He came to prove that human beings could, through the power of God, live sinless lives.

Homeward Bound

Jesus Came to Glorify God, February 20

HB 67.1

For this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.—John 12:27, 28.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 111, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 111, 1897, par. 24

Not long before this, He said, “Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour.” What melting, heart-stirring words. “Father, glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.” The Father respond to this request. “There came a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” [John 12:27, 28; 17:1.]

12LtMs, Ms 111, 1897, par. 61

Nicodemus, a chief ruler and a rabbi, was also a disciple of Christ. He had come to the Saviour by night, as if afraid to have known that his heart was troubled. That night he listened to the most important discourse that ever fell from the lips of man. The words he heard had penetrated his soul. He had been enlightened by them, but still he had not identified himself with Christ. He had been among the number spoken of by John. “Among the chief rulers many believed on him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.” [John 12:42.] But Nicodemus had endeavored, as far as he could, to defend Christ. On one occasion he had asked the priests, “Doth our law judge any man before it hear him, and know what he doeth?” “Art thou also of Galilee?” was the retort. “Search, and look; for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.” [John 7:50-52.]

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8

Christ’s Victory Over Unbelief

8T 202.5

On another occasion Christ made the request: “Father, glorify Thy name.” And in answer there came “a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” John 12:28.

The Desire of Ages

Chapter 44—The True Sign

DA 409.3

The religion of Christ is sincerity itself. Zeal for God’s glory is the motive implanted by the Holy Spirit; and only the effectual working of the Spirit can implant this motive. Only the power of God can banish self-seeking and hypocrisy. This change is the sign of His working. When the faith we accept destroys selfishness and pretense, when it leads us to seek God’s glory and not our own, we may know that it is of the right order. “Father, glorify Thy name” (John 12:28), was the keynote of Christ’s life, and if we follow Him, this will be the keynote of our life. He commands us to “walk, even as He walked;” and “hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” 1 John 2:6, 3.