EGW WritingsMatthew 16

The Review and Herald

May 4, 1911

RH May 4, 1911, par. 16

At times in his ministry in Galilee where he had been driven by the opposition at Jerusalem, emissaries from the religious leaders came to him seeking to entangle him in some way, and to engage him in a controversy. One such instance is recorded in the fifteenth chapter of Matthew. After he had spoken to these opposers plain truths that would naturally arouse feelings of resentment in their unconverted hearts, and lead them to take steps against him, the simple record is that “Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.” Verse 21. After his return, once more the pharisees came, “tempting” him. Matthew 16:1. After a straight reply to their questions, “he left them, and departed.” On another occasion, he “departed, and did hide himself from them.” John 12:36.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 6 (1889-1890)

Ms 55, 1890

6LtMs, Ms 55, 1890, par. 4

The miracles Christ performed were the manifestation of divine power to testify to the authority of the work and mission of Christ. This was something in God’s arrangement to sweep away their prejudice and inspire faith. Did it do this? No. They had entrenched themselves in impregnable walls, forming a confederacy that they would not yield. The appeals made for them to believe, and the exhortations to repentance, were met with, “Show us a miracle.” [Matthew 16:1.] When Christ and the apostles presented convincing arguments of truth, the Jews would not hear; they would not receive the truth. They clamored for signs and miracles. This was not that they might obtain clearer views of the truth, but to divert the minds of the hearers from the clearest evidences of truth which had been presented. The Saviour had performed many miracles before them, but these were no longer the medium of convincing them of truth. If they could not turn the minds of the hearers away [by other means] they would say, “He works these remarkable signs through Beelzebub, the prince of devils.” [Matthew 12:24.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 7 (1891-1892)

Ms 13a, 1891

7LtMs, Ms 13a, 1891, par. 24

I have been shown that there will need to be a thorough reorganizing in the Echo Office, and amid the cares and perplexities that result from the errors of the past, the essential changes cannot be made without the special guidance of God. I know this, for the matter has been presented to me in clear lines that unless the converting power of God shall work upon the hearts of all connected with the office many will feel bruised and wounded. But when the Holy Spirit shall work upon the heart, their self-sufficiency will be seen as it is, and they will become as teachable as a child. Then they will see the necessity of unity, all standing shoulder to shoulder as in perfect accord. If we would but learn the wonderful lessons which Jesus taught His disciples (Matthew 16:1-7), what a change there would be in our Christian characters. Many things that now appear as insurmountable difficulties would wholly disappear.

The Desire of Ages

Chapter 44—The True Sign

DA 404.1

“Again He went out from the borders of Tyre, and came through Sidon unto the Sea of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Decapolis.” Mark 7:31, R. V.

DA 404.2

It was in the region of Decapolis that the demoniacs of Gergesa had been healed. Here the people, alarmed at the destruction of the swine, had constrained Jesus to depart from among them. But they had listened to the messengers He left behind, and a desire was aroused to see Him. As He came again into that region, a crowd gathered about Him, and a deaf, stammering man was brought to Him. Jesus did not, according to His custom, restore the man by a word only. Taking him apart from the multitude, He put His fingers in his ears, and touched his tongue; looking up to heaven, He sighed at thought of the ears that would not be open to the truth, the tongues that refused to acknowledge the Redeemer. At the word, “Be opened,” the man’s speech was restored, and, disregarding the command to tell no man, he published abroad the story of his cure.

DA 404.3

Jesus went up into a mountain, and there the multitude flocked to Him, bringing their sick and lame, and laying them at His feet. He healed them all; and the people, heathen as they were, glorified the God of Israel. For three days they continued to throng about the Saviour, sleeping at night in the open air, and through the day pressing eagerly to hear the words of Christ, and to see His works. At the end of three days their food was spent. Jesus would not send them away hungry, and He called upon His disciples to give them food. Again the disciples revealed their unbelief. At Bethsaida they had seen how, with Christ’s blessing, their little store availed for the feeding of the multitude; yet they did not now bring forward their all, trusting His power to multiply it for the hungry crowds. Moreover, those whom He fed at Bethsaida were Jews; these were Gentiles and heathen. Jewish prejudice was still strong in the hearts of the disciples, and they answered Jesus, “Whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?” But obedient to His word they brought Him what they had,—seven loaves and two fishes. The multitude were fed, seven large baskets of fragments remaining. Four thousand men, besides women and children, were thus refreshed, and Jesus sent them away with glad and grateful hearts.

DA 405.1

Then taking a boat with His disciples, He crossed the lake to Magdala, at the southern end of the plain of Gennesaret. In the border of Tyre and Sidon His spirit had been refreshed by the confiding trust of the Syrophoenician woman. The heathen people of Decapolis had received Him with gladness. Now as He landed once more in Galilee, where His power had been most strikingly manifested, where most of His works of mercy had been performed, and His teaching given, He was met with contemptuous unbelief.

DA 405.2

A deputation of Pharisees had been joined by representatives from the rich and lordly Sadducees, the party of the priests, the skeptics and aristocracy of the nation. The two sects had been at bitter enmity. The Sadducees courted the favor of the ruling power in order to maintain their own position and authority. The Pharisees, on the other hand, fostered the popular hatred against the Romans, longing for the time when they could throw off the yoke of the conqueror. But Pharisee and Sadducee now united against Christ. Like seeks like; and evil, wherever it exists, leagues with evil for the destruction of the good.

DA 406.1

Now the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Christ, asking for a sign from heaven. When in the days of Joshua Israel went out to battle with the Canaanites at Bethhoron, the sun had stood still at the leader’s command until victory was gained; and many similar wonders had been manifest in their history. Some such sign was demanded of Jesus. But these signs were not what the Jews needed. No mere external evidence could benefit them. What they needed was not intellectual enlightenment, but spiritual renovation.

DA 406.2

“O ye hypocrites,” said Jesus, “ye can discern the face of the sky,”—by studying the sky they could foretell the weather,—“but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” Christ’s own words, spoken with the power of the Holy Spirit that convicted them of sin, were the sign that God had given for their salvation. And signs direct from heaven had been given to attest the mission of Christ. The song of the angels to the shepherds, the star that guided the wise men, the dove and the voice from heaven at His baptism, were witnesses for Him.

DA 406.3

“And He sighed deeply in His spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign?” “There shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.” As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, Christ was to be the same time “in the heart of the earth.” And as the preaching of Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so Christ’s preaching was a sign to His generation. But what a contrast in the reception of the word! The people of the great heathen city trembled as they heard the warning from God. Kings and nobles humbled themselves; the high and the lowly together cried to the God of heaven, and His mercy was granted unto them. “The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation,” Christ had said, “and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” Matthew 12:40, 41.

DA 406.4

Every miracle that Christ performed was a sign of His divinity. He was doing the very work that had been foretold of the Messiah; but to the Pharisees these works of mercy were a positive offense. The Jewish leaders looked with heartless indifference on human suffering. In many cases their selfishness and oppression had caused the affliction that Christ relieved. Thus His miracles were to them a reproach.

DA 406.5

That which led the Jews to reject the Saviour’s work was the highest evidence of His divine character. The greatest significance of His miracles is seen in the fact that they were for the blessing of humanity. The highest evidence that He came from God is that His life revealed the character of God. He did the works and spoke the words of God. Such a life is the greatest of all miracles.

DA 407.1

When the message of truth is presented in our day, there are many who, like the Jews, cry, Show us a sign. Work us a miracle. Christ wrought no miracle at the demand of the Pharisees. He wrought no miracle in the wilderness in answer to Satan’s insinuations. He does not impart to us power to vindicate ourselves or to satisfy the demands of unbelief and pride. But the gospel is not without a sign of its divine origin. Is it not a miracle that we can break from the bondage of Satan? Enmity against Satan is not natural to the human heart; it is implanted by the grace of God. When one who has been controlled by a stubborn, wayward will is set free, and yields himself wholeheartedly to the drawing of God’s heavenly agencies, a miracle is wrought; so also when a man who has been under strong delusion comes to understand moral truth. Every time a soul is converted, and learns to love God and keep His commandments, the promise of God is fulfilled, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.” Ezekiel 36:26. The change in human hearts, the transformation of human characters, is a miracle that reveals an ever-living Saviour, working to rescue souls. A consistent life in Christ is a great miracle. In the preaching of the word of God, the sign that should be manifest now and always is the presence of the Holy Spirit, to make the word a regenerating power to those that hear. This is God’s witness before the world to the divine mission of His Son.

DA 407.2

Those who desired a sign from Jesus had so hardened their hearts in unbelief that they did not discern in His character the likeness of God. They would not see that His mission was in fulfillment of the Scriptures. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus said to the Pharisees, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” Luke 16:31. No sign that could be given in heaven or earth would benefit them.

DA 407.3

Jesus “sighed deeply in His spirit,” and, turning from the group of cavilers, re-entered the boat with His disciples. In sorrowful silence they again crossed the lake. They did not, however, return to the place they had left, but directed their course toward Bethsaida, near where the five thousand had been fed. Upon reaching the farther side, Jesus said, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” The Jews had been accustomed since the days of Moses to put away leaven from their houses at the Passover season, and they had thus been taught to regard it as a type of sin. Yet the disciples failed to understand Jesus. In their sudden departure from Magdala they had forgotten to take bread, and they had with them only one loaf. To this circumstance they understood Christ to refer, warning them not to buy bread of a Pharisee or a Sadducee. Their lack of faith and spiritual insight had often led them to similar misconception of His words. Now Jesus reproved them for thinking that He who had fed thousands with a few fishes and barley loaves could in that solemn warning have referred merely to temporal food. There was danger that the crafty reasoning of the Pharisees and the Sadducees would leaven His disciples with unbelief, causing them to think lightly of the works of Christ.

DA 408.1

The disciples were inclined to think that their Master should have granted the demand for a sign in the heavens. They believed that He was fully able to do this, and that such a sign would put His enemies to silence. They did not discern the hypocrisy of these cavilers.

DA 408.2

Months afterward, “when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another,” Jesus repeated the same teaching. “He began to say unto His disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” Luke 12:1.

DA 408.3

The leaven placed in the meal works imperceptibly, changing the whole mass to its own nature. So if hypocrisy is allowed to exist in the heart, it permeates the character and the life. A striking example of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, Christ had already rebuked in denouncing the practice of “Corban,” by which a neglect of filial duty was concealed under a pretense of liberality to the temple. The scribes and Pharisees were insinuating deceptive principles. They concealed the real tendency of their doctrines, and improved every occasion to instill them artfully into the minds of their hearers. These false principles, when once accepted, worked like leaven in the meal, permeating and transforming the character. It was this deceptive teaching that made it so hard for the people to receive the words of Christ.

DA 408.4

The same influences are working today through those who try to explain the law of God in such a way as to make it conform to their practices. This class do not attack the law openly, but put forward speculative theories that undermine its principles. They explain it so as to destroy its force.

DA 409.1

The hypocrisy of the Pharisees was the product of self-seeking. The glorification of themselves was the object of their lives. It was this that led them to pervert and misapply the Scriptures, and blinded them to the purpose of Christ’s mission. This subtle evil even the disciples of Christ were in danger of cherishing. Those who classed themselves with the followers of Jesus, but who had not left all in order to become His disciples, were influenced in a great degree by the reasoning of the Pharisees. They were often vacillating between faith and unbelief, and they did not discern the treasures of wisdom hidden in Christ. Even the disciples, though outwardly they had left all for Jesus’ sake, had not in heart ceased to seek great things for themselves. It was this spirit that prompted the strife as to who should be greatest. It was this that came between them and Christ, making them so little in sympathy with His mission of self-sacrifice, so slow to comprehend the mystery of redemption. As leaven, if left to complete its work, will cause corruption and decay, so does the self-seeking spirit, cherished, work the defilement and ruin of the soul.

DA 409.2

Among the followers of our Lord today, as of old, how widespread is this subtle, deceptive sin! How often our service to Christ, our communion with one another, is marred by the secret desire to exalt self! How ready the thought of self-gratulation, and the longing for human approval! It is the love of self, the desire for an easier way than God has appointed that leads to the substitution of human theories and traditions for the divine precepts. To His own disciples the warning words of Christ are spoken, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.”

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.

From Heaven With Love

Chapter 44—The True Sign

HLv 271.1

In Decapolis, where the demoniacs of Gergesa had been healed, the people had constrained Jesus to depart. But they had listened to the messengers He left behind. As He came again into that region, a crowd gathered, and a deaf, stammering man was brought to Him. Taking him apart from the multitude, Jesus put His fingers in his ears and touched his tongue. He sighed at thought of the ears that would not be open to the truth, the tongues that refused to acknowledge the Redeemer. At the word, “Be opened,” the man’s speech was restored.

HLv 271.2

Jesus went up into a mountain, and there the multitude flocked to Him, bringing their sick and lame. He healed them all; and the people, heathen as they were, glorified the God of Israel. For three days they thronged about the Saviour, sleeping at night in the open air, and through the day pressing to hear the words of Christ and see His works.

HLv 271.3

At the end of three days their food was spent. Jesus would not send them away hungry, and He called on His disciples to give them food. At Bethsaida they had seen how their little store availed for feeding the multitude; yet they did not now bring forward their all, trusting His power to multiply it for the hungry crowds. Again the disciples revealed their unbelief. Those He fed at Bethsaida were Jews; these were Gentiles and heathen. Jewish prejudice was still strong in the hearts of the disciples. “Where are we to get bread enough in the desert to feed so great a crowd?” RSV.

HLv 271.4

But obedient to His word they brought Him what they had—seven loaves and two fishes. The multitude were fed, seven large baskets of fragments remaining. Four thousand men, besides women and children, were thus refreshed.

HLv 272.1

Then with His disciples, Jesus crossed the lake to Magdala. In the border of Tyre and Sidon His spirit had been refreshed by the confiding trust of the Syrophoenician woman. The heathen people of Decapolis had received Him with gladness. Now as He landed once more in Galilee, where most of His works of mercy had been performed, He was met with contemptuous unbelief.

HLv 272.2

The two sects—Pharisees and Sadducees—had been at bitter enmity, but now they united against Christ, asking for a sign from heaven. When Israel went out to battle with the Canaanites at Bethhoron, the sun had stood still at Joshua’s command. Some such sign was demanded of Jesus. But no mere external evidence could benefit them.

HLv 272.3

“O ye hypocrites,” said Jesus, “ye can discern the face of the sky,”—by studying the sky they could foretell the weather—“but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” Christ’s own words, spoken with the power of the Holy Spirit, were the sign God had given. The song of the angels to the shepherds, the star that guided the wise men, the voice from heaven at His baptism were witnesses for Him.

HLv 272.4

“And He sighed deeply in His spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign?” “There shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.” As the preaching of Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so Christ’s preaching was a sign to His generation. But what a contrast in the reception of the word! The people of the great heathen city humbled themselves; the high and lowly together cried to the God of heaven, and His mercy was granted them. “The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation,” Christ had said, “and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” Matthew 12:41.

HLv 273.1

Every miracle Christ performed was a sign of His divinity, but to the Pharisees these works of mercy were a positive offense. The Jewish leaders looked with heartless indifference on human suffering. In many cases their oppression had caused the affliction that Christ relieved. Thus His miracles were to them a reproach.

HLv 273.2

That which led the Jews to reject the Saviour was the highest evidence of His divine character: His miracles were for the blessing of humanity. His life revealed the character of God. He did the works and spoke the words of God. Such a life is the greatest of all miracles.

HLv 273.3

Many in our day, like the Jews, cry, Show us a sign; work a miracle. Christ does not impart to us power to vindicate ourselves or satisfy the demands of unbelief and pride. But is it not a miracle that we can break from the bondage of Satan? Enmity against Satan is not natural to the human heart. It is implanted by the grace of God. When one who has been controlled by a stubborn, wayward will yields himself to the drawing of God’s heavenly agencies, a miracle is wrought. So also when a man who has been under strong delusion comes to understand moral truth. The change in human hearts, the transformation of human characters, is a miracle that reveals an ever-living Saviour. In preaching the Word of God, the sign that should be manifest now and always is the presence of the Holy Spirit, to make the Word a regenerating power to those that hear.

HLv 274.1

Turning from the group of cavilers, Jesus reentered the boat with His disciples. In sorrowful silence they again crossed the lake. On reaching the farther side, Jesus said, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” The Jews had been taught to regard leaven as a type of sin. In their sudden departure from Magdala the disciples had forgotten to take bread. They understood Christ as warning them not to buy bread of a Pharisee or Sadducee. Their lack of spiritual insight often led to misconception of His words.

HLv 274.2

Now Jesus reproved them for thinking that He who had fed thousands with a few fishes and barley loaves could have referred in that solemn warning to merely temporal food. There was danger that the crafty reasoning of the Pharisees and Sadducees would leaven His disciples with unbelief.

HLv 274.4

Leaven works imperceptibly, changing the meal to its own nature. So if hypocrisy is allowed in the heart, it permeates the character and life. A striking example was the practice of Corban, by which a neglect of filial duty was concealed under a pretense of liberality to the temple. The scribes and Pharisees concealed the real tendency of their doctrines, instilling them artfully into the minds of their hearers. This deceptive teaching made it hard for the people to receive the words of Christ.

HLv 274.5

The same influences are working through those who try to explain the law of God to make it conform to their practices. This class do not attack the law openly, but put forward speculative theories that undermine its principles. They explain it so as to destroy its force.

HLv 275.1

The hypocrisy of the Pharisees was the product of self-seeking. This led them to pervert and misapply the Scriptures. This subtle evil even the disciples of Christ were in danger of cherishing. The followers of Jesus were influenced in a great degree by the reasoning of the Pharisees, often vacillating between faith and unbelief. Even the disciples had not in heart ceased to seek great things for themselves. This spirit prompted the strife as to who should be greatest. This made them so little in sympathy with Christ’s mission of self-sacrifice. As leaven will cause corruption, so the self-seeking spirit, cherished, works the defilement and ruin of the soul.

HLv 275.2

Today, as of old, how widespread is this subtle, deceptive sin! How often our service to Christ is marred by the secret desire to exalt self! How ready the thought of self-gratulation and the longing for human approval! The love of self, the desire for an easier way than God has appointed, leads to the substitution of human theories and traditions for the divine precepts.

From Heaven With Love

The True Evidence That Christ Came From God

HLv 273.4

Those who desired a sign from Jesus had hardened their hearts. They would not see that His mission was in fulfillment of the Scriptures. “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” Luke 16:31.

HLv 274.3

The disciples were inclined to think that their Master should have granted the demand for a sign in the heavens. He was able to do this, and such a sign would put His enemies to silence. They did not discern the hypocrisy of the cavilers. Months afterward, Jesus repeated the same teaching. “Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” Luke 12:1.

From Heaven With Love

Self-Deception of Egocentric Motivation

HLv 275.3

The religion of Christ is sincerity itself. Zeal for God’s glory is the motive implanted by the Holy Spirit, and 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.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 15 [Nos. 1136-1185]

MR No. 1182—A Caution Against Heavy Investment in Food Manufacture

15MR 321.3

All are to hear the last message of warning. The prophecies in the book of Revelation, chapters 12 to 18, are being fulfilled. In the eighteenth chapter is recorded the very last call to the churches. This call is now to be given. In the nineteenth chapter, the time is pictured when the beast and the false prophet are taken and cast into the lake of fire. The dragon, who was the instigator of the great rebellion against heaven, is bound and cast into the bottomless pit for a thousand years. Then follows the resurrection of the wicked and the final destruction of Satan and all the wicked, and the final triumph and reign of Christ in this earth.

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 11 (1896)

Lt 81, 1896

11LtMs, Lt 81, 1896, par. 13

The spirit that has been shown to others by some in positions of trust in our institutions does not harmonize with these words. The wrong spirit they have manifested has been caught by others, and if zeal and wisdom were shown in setting the heads of our institutions right, so many would not be turned out of the way. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees,” said Christ, guard against the influence which they exert. [Matthew 16:6.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 11 (1896)

Lt 97, 1896

11LtMs, Lt 97, 1896, par. 48

Jesus said to His disciples, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” [Matthew 16:6.] His voice comes sounding down the lines to our time, “Beware of that misrepresenting tongue, which is not content unless leagued with the disaffected, with those who are tempted to think that they have been misused.” Self, self, self, is their theme. They have become envious and jealous, and Satan has helped them, putting his magnifying glass before their eyes, until a mote looks to them like a mountain, and they think themselves the most abused persons in the world. With a beam in their own eye, they are very much interested in pulling the mote out of their brother’s eye.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 11 (1896)

Ms 68, 1896

11LtMs, Ms 68, 1896, par. 10

Jesus said to His disciples, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” [Matthew 16:6.] His voice comes sounding down the lines to our time, “Beware of that misrepresenting tongue, which is not content unless leagued with the disaffected, with those who are tempted to think that they have been misused.” Self, self, self is their theme. They have become envious and jealous, and Satan has helped them, putting his magnifying glass before their eyes, until a mote looks to them like a mountain, and they think themselves the most abused persons in the world. With a beam on their own eye, they are very much interested in pulling the mote out of their brother’s eye.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 24 (1909)

Ms 130, 1909

24LtMs, Ms 130, 1909, par. 5

He walked from place to place and the multitudes followed Him as He walked, until thousands were added to His congregation, and then He pitied them and He said to them: “Now,” He says to His disciples, “these people are weary, they have been listening to the teachings I have been giving and they are weary and they are hungry.” “Well, what shall we do?” “What have you here to eat?” “Well, we have a few loaves and two small fishes.” “Well, bring them along.” And they brought them. There they divided this little food and He says, “Give to the multitude that they may eat.” And after they were all satisfied He says, “Gather up the fragments that nothing be lost,” and they gathered up, I think it was, five or seven bushels. [Mark 6:38; John 6:5-13; Matthew 16:9, 10.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 24 (1909)

Ms 124, 1909

24LtMs, Ms 124, 1909, par. 21

We want the simplicity of true godliness. We want to lead our children along. We want to educate them how to know God. And just think of Christ going from place to place on foot, and multitudes following Him all along, till they are so weary and hungry, five thousand that are on His track besides women and children, without anything to eat. Well, what are they going to do? But Christ knows. So He leads them along until He sees they are hungry. “What have you got for them to eat?” “Well, we have only a few loaves, and a few fishes, and what are they among so many?” “Well, bring them along,” He says. So they brought them along, divided them, scattered them to the multitudes. Well, after that He said, “Are all fed?” “Yes.” “How many baskets full did you take up after?” “Now,” said Christ, “gather up the fragments, let nothing be lost.” [Mark 6:38; John 6:5-13; Matthew 16:9, 10.] Now there was a miracle acted out right before them.

Conflict and Courage

Peter Speaks Up, November 1

CC 311.1

He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Matthew 16:15, 16.

CC 311.2

From the first, Peter had believed Jesus to be the Messiah. Many others who had been convicted by the preaching of John the Baptist, and had accepted Christ, began to doubt as to John’s mission when he was imprisoned and put to death; and they now doubted that Jesus was the Messiah, for whom they had looked so long.... But Peter and his companions turned not from their allegiance. The vacillating course of those who praised yesterday and condemned today did not destroy the faith of the true follower of the Saviour....

CC 311.3

Peter had expressed the faith of the twelve. Yet the disciples were still far from understanding Christ’s mission. The opposition and misrepresentation of the priests and rulers, while it could not turn them away from Christ, still caused them great perplexity.... From time to time precious rays of light from Jesus shone upon them, yet often they were like men groping among shadows. But on this day, before they were brought face to face with the great trial of their faith, the Holy Spirit rested upon them in power. For a little time their eyes were turned away from “the things which are seen,” to behold “the things which are not seen” (2 Corinthians 4:18). Beneath the guise of humanity they discerned the glory of the Son of God....

CC 311.4

The truth which Peter had confessed is the foundation of the believer’s faith. It is that which Christ Himself has declared to be eternal life. But the possession of this knowledge was no ground for self-glorification. Through no wisdom or goodness of his own had it been revealed to Peter. Never can humanity, of itself, attain to a knowledge of the divine. “It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?” (Job 11:8). Only the spirit of adoption can reveal to us the deep things of God, which “eye hath not seen, not ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man.” “God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:9, 10).1The Desire of Ages, 411, 412.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Ms 202, 1899

14LtMs, Ms 202, 1899, par. 1

“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea-Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.” [Matthew 16:13, 14.] Centuries before, Isaiah had written, “Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far: The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name, and he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; and said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” [Isaiah 49:1-3.]

14LtMs, Ms 202, 1899, par. 3

“But whom say ye that I am?” Christ asked the disciples. And Simon Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” [Matthew 16:15, 16.] Peter did not speak these words in an ordinary tone, but with inspired fervor, as if he indeed beheld the glory of Christ. He expressed the sentiments of the other disciples, but he was the only one who was at this time inspired to put his faith into words. Peter might have said, The learned teachers, the scribes and Pharisees, the ruler of the people, are perplexed over this subject, and shall we, unlettered fishermen, venture to decide the question? But Peter felt the glory of God shining into his soul. His heart burned with him. He could not keep silent, and in language of adoration said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” It was as though the veil were removed, and God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, was shining into the hearts of the disciples, to give them the light of his knowledge.

14LtMs, Ms 202, 1899, par. 4

“And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee; but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock, (the Son of the living God) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” [Verses 17, 18.] The church was not built upon Peter; for the gates of hell did prevail against him. He denied his Lord with cursing and swearing. It is built upon One against whom the gates of hell cannot prevail.

14LtMs, Ms 202, 1899, par. 5

“And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind in earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.” [Verses 19, 20.] This charge was given because of the determined opposition of the scribes and Pharisees.

14LtMs, Ms 202, 1899, par. 6

“From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord; this shall not be unto thee.” [Verses 21, 22.] Peter had just been told that his acknowledgment of Jesus as the Son of God was inspired from above, and it was a great shock to him to be told of Christ’s approaching suffering and death. The Son of God to be thus treated? Peter was filled with opposition. His whole being rose up against the thought. “Be it far from thee, Lord,” he said vehemently; “this shall not be unto thee.”

The Desire of Ages

Chapter 45—The Foreshadowing of the Cross

DA 410.1

The work of Christ on earth was hastening to a close. Before Him, in vivid outline, lay the scenes whither His feet were tending. Even before He took humanity upon Him, He saw the whole length of the path He must travel in order to save that which was lost. Every pang that rent His heart, every insult that was heaped upon His head, every privation that He was called to endure, was open to His view before He laid aside His crown and royal robe, and stepped down from the throne, to clothe His divinity with humanity. The path from the manger to Calvary was all before His eyes. He knew the anguish that would come upon Him. He knew it all, and yet He said, “Lo, I come: in the volume of the Book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart.” Psalm 40:7, 8.

DA 410.2

Ever before Him He saw the result of His mission. His earthly life, so full of toil and self-sacrifice, was cheered by the prospect that He would not have all this travail for nought. By giving His life for the life of men, He would win back the world to its loyalty to God. Although the baptism of blood must first be received; although the sins of the world were to weigh upon His innocent soul; although the shadow of an unspeakable woe was upon Him; yet for the joy that was set before Him, He chose to endure the cross, and despised the shame.

DA 410.3

From the chosen companions of His ministry the scenes that lay before Him were as yet hidden; but the time was near when they must behold His agony. They must see Him whom they had loved and trusted, delivered into the hands of His enemies, and hung upon the cross of Calvary. Soon He must leave them to face the world without the comfort of His visible presence. He knew how bitter hate and unbelief would persecute them, and He desired to prepare them for their trials.

DA 411.1

Jesus and His disciples had now come into one of the towns about Caesarea Philippi. They were beyond the limits of Galilee, in a region where idolatry prevailed. Here the disciples were withdrawn from the controlling influence of Judaism, and brought into closer contact with the heathen worship. Around them were represented forms of superstition that existed in all parts of the world. Jesus desired that a view of these things might lead them to feel their responsibility to the heathen. During His stay in this region, He endeavored to withdraw from teaching the people, and to devote Himself more fully to His disciples.

DA 411.2

He was about to tell them of the suffering that awaited Him. But first He went away alone, and prayed that their hearts might be prepared to receive His words. Upon joining them, He did not at once communicate that which He desired to impart. Before doing this, He gave them an opportunity of confessing their faith in Him that they might be strengthened for the coming trial. He asked, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?”

DA 411.3

Sadly the disciples were forced to acknowledge that Israel had failed to recognize their Messiah. Some indeed, when they saw His miracles, had declared Him to be the Son of David. The multitudes that had been fed at Bethsaida had desired to proclaim Him king of Israel. Many were ready to accept Him as a prophet; but they did not believe Him to be the Messiah.

DA 411.4

Jesus now put a second question, relating to the disciples themselves: “But whom say ye that I am?” Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

DA 411.5

From the first, Peter had believed Jesus to be the Messiah. Many others who had been convicted by the preaching of John the Baptist, and had accepted Christ, began to doubt as to John’s mission when he was imprisoned and put to death; and they now doubted that Jesus was the Messiah, for whom they had looked so long. Many of the disciples who had ardently expected Jesus to take His place on David’s throne left Him when they perceived that He had no such intention. But Peter and his companions turned not from their allegiance. The vacillating course of those who praised yesterday and condemned today did not destroy the faith of the true follower of the Saviour. Peter declared, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” He waited not for kingly honors to crown his Lord, but accepted Him in His humiliation.

DA 412.1

Peter had expressed the faith of the twelve. Yet the disciples were still far from understanding Christ’s mission. The opposition and misrepresentation of the priests and rulers, while it could not turn them away from Christ, still caused them great perplexity. They did not see their way clearly. The influence of their early training, the teaching of the rabbis, the power of tradition, still intercepted their view of truth. From time to time precious rays of light from Jesus shone upon them, yet often they were like men groping among shadows. But on this day, before they were brought face to face with the great trial of their faith, the Holy Spirit rested upon them in power. For a little time their eyes were turned away from “the things which are seen,” to behold “the things which are not seen.” 2 Corinthians 4:18. Beneath the guise of humanity they discerned the glory of the Son of God.

DA 412.2

Jesus answered Peter, saying, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven.”

DA 412.3

The truth which Peter had confessed is the foundation of the believer’s faith. It is that which Christ Himself has declared to be eternal life. But the possession of this knowledge was no ground for self-glorification. Through no wisdom or goodness of his own had it been revealed to Peter. Never can humanity, of itself, attain to a knowledge of the divine. “It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?” Job 11:8. Only the spirit of adoption can reveal to us the deep things of God, which “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man.” “God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:9, 10. “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him;” and the fact that Peter discerned the glory of Christ was an evidence that he had been “taught of God.” Psalm 25:14; John 6:45. Ah, indeed, “blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee.”

DA 412.4

Jesus continued: “I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” The word Peter signifies a stone,—a rolling stone. Peter was not the rock upon which the church was founded. The gates of hell did prevail against him when he denied his Lord with cursing and swearing. The church was built upon One against whom the gates of hell could not prevail.

DA 413.1

Centuries before the Saviour’s advent Moses had pointed to the Rock of Israel’s salvation. The psalmist had sung of “the Rock of my strength.” Isaiah had written, “Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.” Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 62:7; Isaiah 28:16. Peter himself, writing by inspiration, applies this prophecy to Jesus. He says, “If ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious: unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious, ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house.” 1 Peter 2:3-5, R. V.

DA 413.2

“Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:11. “Upon this rock,” said Jesus, “I will build My church.” In the presence of God, and all the heavenly intelligences, in the presence of the unseen army of hell, Christ founded His church upon the living Rock. That Rock is Himself,—His own body, for us broken and bruised. Against the church built upon this foundation, the gates of hell shall not prevail.

DA 413.3

How feeble the church appeared when Christ spoke these words! There was only a handful of believers, against whom all the power of demons and evil men would be directed; yet the followers of Christ were not to fear. Built upon the Rock of their strength, they could not be overthrown.

DA 413.4

For six thousand years, faith has builded upon Christ. For six thousand years the floods and tempests of satanic wrath have beaten upon the Rock of our salvation; but it stands unmoved.

DA 413.5

Peter had expressed the truth which is the foundation of the church’s faith, and Jesus now honored him as the representative of the whole body of believers. He said, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

DA 413.6

“The keys of the kingdom of heaven” are the words of Christ. All the words of Holy Scripture are His, and are here included. These words have power to open and to shut heaven. They declare the conditions upon which men are received or rejected. Thus the work of those who preach God’s word is a savor of life unto life or of death unto death. Theirs is a mission weighted with eternal results.

DA 414.1

The Saviour did not commit the work of the gospel to Peter individually. At a later time, repeating the words that were spoken to Peter, He applied them directly to the church. And the same in substance was spoken also to the twelve as representatives of the body of believers. If Jesus had delegated any special authority to one of the disciples above the others, we should not find them so often contending as to who should be the greatest. They would have submitted to the wish of their Master, and honored the one whom He had chosen.

DA 414.2

Instead of appointing one to be their head, Christ said to the disciples, “Be not ye called Rabbi;” “neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.” Matthew 23:8, 10.

DA 414.3

“The head of every man is Christ.” God, who put all things under the Saviour’s feet, “gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.” 1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 1:22, 23. The church is built upon Christ as its foundation; it is to obey Christ as its head. It is not to depend upon man, or be controlled by man. Many claim that a position of trust in the church gives them authority to dictate what other men shall believe and what they shall do. This claim God does not sanction. The Saviour declares, “All ye are brethren.” All are exposed to temptation, and are liable to error. Upon no finite being can we depend for guidance. The Rock of faith is the living presence of Christ in the church. Upon this the weakest may depend, and those who think themselves the strongest will prove to be the weakest, unless they make Christ their efficiency. “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm.” The Lord “is the Rock, His work is perfect.” “Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.” Jeremiah 17:5; Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 2:12.

DA 414.4

After Peter’s confession, Jesus charged the disciples to tell no man that He was the Christ. This charge was given because of the determined opposition of the scribes and Pharisees. More than this, the people, and even the disciples, had so false a conception of the Messiah that a public announcement of Him would give them no true idea of His character or His work. But day by day He was revealing Himself to them as the Saviour, and thus He desired to give them a true conception of Him as the Messiah.

DA 415.1

The disciples still expected Christ to reign as a temporal prince. Although He had so long concealed His design, they believed that He would not always remain in poverty and obscurity; the time was near when He would establish His kingdom. That the hatred of the priests and rabbis would never be overcome, that Christ would be rejected by His own nation, condemned as a deceiver, and crucified as a malefactor,—such a thought the disciples had never entertained. But the hour of the power of darkness was drawing on, and Jesus must open to His disciples the conflict before them. He was sad as He anticipated the trial.

DA 415.2

Hitherto He had refrained from making known to them anything relative to His sufferings and death. In His conversation with Nicodemus He had said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:14, 15. But the disciples did not hear this, and had they heard, would not have understood. But now they have been with Jesus, listening to His words, beholding His works, until, notwithstanding the humility of His surroundings, and the opposition of priests and people, they can join in the testimony of Peter, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Now the time has come for the veil that hides the future to be withdrawn. “From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.”

DA 415.3

Speechless with grief and amazement, the disciples listened. Christ had accepted Peter’s acknowledgment of Him as the Son of God; and now His words pointing to His suffering and death seemed incomprehensible. Peter could not keep silent. He laid hold upon his Master, as if to draw Him back from His impending doom, exclaiming, “Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee.”

DA 415.4

Peter loved his Lord; but Jesus did not commend him for thus manifesting the desire to shield Him from suffering. Peter’s words were not such as would be a help and solace to Jesus in the great trial before Him. They were not in harmony with God’s purpose of grace toward a lost world, nor with the lesson of self-sacrifice that Jesus had come to teach by His own example. Peter did not desire to see the cross in the work of Christ. The impression which his words would make was directly opposed to that which Christ desired to make on the minds of His followers, and the Saviour was moved to utter one of the sternest rebukes that ever fell from His lips: “Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art an offense unto Me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”

DA 416.1

Satan was trying to discourage Jesus, and turn Him from His mission; and Peter, in his blind love, was giving voice to the temptation. The prince of evil was the author of the thought. His instigation was behind that impulsive appeal. In the wilderness, Satan had offered Christ the dominion of the world on condition of forsaking the path of humiliation and sacrifice. Now he was presenting the same temptation to the disciple of Christ. He was seeking to fix Peter’s gaze upon the earthly glory, that he might not behold the cross to which Jesus desired to turn his eyes. And through Peter, Satan was again pressing the temptation upon Jesus. But the Saviour heeded it not; His thought was for His disciple. Satan had interposed between Peter and his Master, that the heart of the disciple might not be touched at the vision of Christ’s humiliation for him. The words of Christ were spoken, not to Peter, but to the one who was trying to separate him from his Redeemer. “Get thee behind Me, Satan.” No longer interpose between Me and My erring servant. Let Me come face to face with Peter, that I may reveal to him the mystery of My love.

DA 416.2

It was to Peter a bitter lesson, and one which he learned but slowly, that the path of Christ on earth lay through agony and humiliation. The disciple shrank from fellowship with his Lord in suffering. But in the heat of the furnace fire he was to learn its blessing. Long afterward, when his active form was bowed with the burden of years and labors, he wrote, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” 1 Peter 4:12, 13.

DA 416.3

Jesus now explained to His disciples that His own life of self-abnegation was an example of what theirs should be. Calling about Him, with the disciples, the people who had been lingering near, He said, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” The cross was associated with the power of Rome. It was the instrument of the most cruel and humiliating form of death. The lowest criminals were required to bear the cross to the place of execution; and often as it was about to be laid upon their shoulders, they resisted with desperate violence, until they were overpowered, and the instrument of torture was bound upon them. But Jesus bade His followers take up the cross and bear it after Him. To the disciples His words, though dimly comprehended, pointed to their submission to the most bitter humiliation,—submission even unto death for the sake of Christ. No more complete self-surrender could the Saviour’s words have pictured. But all this He had accepted for them. Jesus did not count heaven a place to be desired while we were lost. He left the heavenly courts for a life of reproach and insult, and a death of shame. He who was rich in heaven’s priceless treasure, became poor, that through His poverty we might be rich. We are to follow in the path He trod.

DA 417.1

Love for souls for whom Christ died means crucifixion of self. He who is a child of God should henceforth look upon himself as a link in the chain let down to save the world, one with Christ in His plan of mercy, going forth with Him to seek and save the lost. The Christian is ever to realize that he has consecrated himself to God, and that in character he is to reveal Christ to the world. The self-sacrifice, the sympathy, the love, manifested in the life of Christ are to reappear in the life of the worker for God.

DA 417.2

“Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.” Selfishness is death. No organ of the body could live should it confine its service to itself. The heart, failing to send its lifeblood to the hand and the head, would quickly lose its power. As our lifeblood, so is the love of Christ diffused through every part of His mystical body. We are members one of another, and the soul that refuses to impart will perish. And “what is a man profited,” said Jesus, “if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

DA 417.3

Beyond the poverty and humiliation of the present, He pointed the disciples to His coming in glory, not in the splendor of an earthly throne, but with the glory of God and the hosts of heaven. And then, He said, “He shall reward every man according to his works.” Then for their encouragement He gave the promise, “Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in His kingdom.” But the disciples did not comprehend His words. The glory seemed far away. Their eyes were fixed upon the nearer view, the earthly life of poverty, humiliation, and suffering. Must their glowing expectations of the Messiah’s kingdom be relinquished? Were they not to see their Lord exalted to the throne of David? Could it be that Christ was to live a humble, homeless wanderer, to be despised, rejected, and put to death? Sadness oppressed their hearts, for they loved their Master. Doubt also harassed their minds, for it seemed incomprehensible that the Son of God should be subjected to such cruel humiliation. They questioned why He should voluntarily go to Jerusalem to meet the treatment which He had told them He was there to receive. How could He resign Himself to such a fate, and leave them in greater darkness than that in which they were groping before He revealed Himself to them?

DA 418.1

In the region of Caesarea Philippi, Christ was out of the reach of Herod and Caiaphas, the disciples reasoned. He had nothing to fear from the hatred of the Jews or from the power of the Romans. Why not work there, at a distance from the Pharisees? Why need He give Himself up to death? If He was to die, how was it that His kingdom was to be established so firmly that the gates of hell should not prevail against it? To the disciples this was indeed a mystery.

DA 418.2

They were even now journeying along the shores of the Sea of Galilee toward the city where all their hopes were to be crushed. They dared not remonstrate with Christ, but they talked together in low, sorrowful tones in regard to what the future would be. Even amid their questionings they clung to the thought that some unforeseen circumstance might avert the doom which seemed to await their Lord. Thus they sorrowed and doubted, hoped and feared, for six long, gloomy days.

From Heaven With Love

Chapter 45—The Foreshadowing of the Cross

HLv 276.1

Even before Christ took humanity upon Him, He saw the whole length of the path He must travel to save that which was lost. Every pang that rent His heart, every insult heaped on His head, every privation He was called to endure was open to His view before He laid aside His crown and royal robe and stepped down from the throne to clothe His divinity with humanity. He knew the anguish that would come upon Him, and yet He said, “Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart.” Psalm 40:7, 8.

HLv 276.2

His earthly life, so full of toil and self-sacrifice, was cheered by the prospect that by giving His life, He would win back the world to its loyalty to God. Although the baptism of blood must first be received; although the sins of the world were to weigh upon His innocent soul; although the shadow of an unspeakable woe was upon Him; yet for the joy set before Him, He chose to endure the cross.

HLv 276.3

The time was near when the chosen companions of His ministry must see Him whom they loved and trusted hung upon the cross of Calvary. Soon He must leave them to face the world without the comfort of His visible presence. Bitter hate and unbelief would persecute them, and He desired to prepare them for their trials.

HLv 276.4

Jesus and His disciples had now come into one of the towns about Caesarea Philippi. They were beyond Galilee, in a region where idolatry prevailed. Around them were represented forms of superstition that existed in all parts of the world. Jesus desired that a view of these things might lead the disciples to feel their responsibility to the heathen.

HLv 277.1

He was about to tell them of the suffering that awaited Him. But first He prayed that their hearts might be prepared to receive His words. He did not at once communicate that which He desired to impart, but gave them opportunity to confess their faith in Him. He asked, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?”

HLv 277.2

Sadly the disciples acknowledged that Israel had failed to recognize their Messiah. The multitudes at Bethsaida had desired to proclaim Him king of Israel. Many were ready to accept Him as a prophet, but they did not believe Him to be the Messiah.

HLv 277.3

Jesus now put a second question, relating to the disciples themselves: “But whom say ye that I am?” Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

HLv 277.4

From the first, Peter had believed Jesus to be the Messiah. Many others who had accepted Christ began to doubt as to John’s mission when he was imprisoned and put to death, and they now doubted that Jesus was the Messiah. Many who had expected Jesus to take His place on David’s throne left Him when they perceived that He had no such intention. But the vacillating course of those who praised yesterday and condemned today did not destroy the faith of the true follower of the Saviour. Peter declared, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” He waited not for kingly honors to crown his Lord, but accepted Him in His humiliation.

HLv 277.5

Peter had expressed the faith of the Twelve. Yet the opposition of the priests and rulers still caused them great perplexity. They did not see their way clearly. Their early training, the teaching of the rabbis, the power of tradition, still intercepted their view of truth. Precious rays of light shone on them, yet often they were like men groping among shadows. But on this day, the Holy Spirit rested on them in power. Beneath the guise of humanity they discerned the glory of the Son of God.

HLv 278.1

Jesus answered Peter, saying, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven.”

HLv 278.2

The truth which Peter had confessed is the foundation of the believer’s faith. But through no wisdom or goodness of his own had it been revealed to Peter. The fact that Peter discerned the glory of Christ was an evidence that he had been “taught of God.” See Psalm 25:14; John 6:45.

HLv 278.3

Jesus continued: “I say also unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” The word Peter signifies a stone—a rolling stone. Peter was not the rock on which the church was founded. The gates of hell did prevail against him when he denied his Lord with cursing and swearing. The church was built on One against whom the gates of hell could not prevail.

HLv 278.4

Moses had pointed to the Rock of Israel’s salvation. See Deuteronomy 32:4. The psalmist had sung of “the rock of my strength.” Psalm 62:7. Isaiah had written, “Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, ... a sure foundation.” Isaiah 28:16. Peter himself applies this prophecy to Jesus: “For you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. Come to Him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God’s sight chosen and precious; and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house.” 1 Peter 2:3-5, RSV. “Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:11. “Upon this rock,” said Jesus, “I will build My church.” Christ founded His church on the living Rock—Himself, His own body, for us broken and bruised. Against the church built on this foundation, the gates of hell shall not prevail.

HLv 279.1

How feeble the church appeared when Christ spoke these words! There was only a handful of believers, against whom the power of demons and men would be directed, yet they were not to fear; they could not be overthrown.

HLv 279.2

Peter had expressed the truth which is the foundation of the church’s faith, and Jesus now honored him as the representative of the body of believers. “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

HLv 279.3

“The keys of the kingdom of heaven” are the words of Christ. All the words of Holy Scripture are His. These words have power to open and to shut heaven. The work of those who preach God’s Word is a savor of life unto life or of death unto death.

HLv 279.4

The Saviour did not commit the work of the gospel to Peter individually. Later, repeating the words spoken to Peter, He applied them to the church, and also to the Twelve as representatives of the body of believers. If Jesus had delegated any special authority to one disciple above the others, we should not find them so often contending as to who should be the greatest. They would have honored the one chosen. Instead of appointing one to be their head, Christ said, “Be not ye called Rabbi.” “Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.” Matthew 23:8, 10.

HLv 279.5

“The head of every man is Christ.” God, who put all things under the Saviour’s feet, “gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.” 1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 1:22, 23. The church is built on Christ as its foundation. It is not to depend on man or be controlled by man. Many claim that a position of trust in the church gives them authority to dictate what other men shall believe and do. The Saviour declares, “All ye are brethren.” Matthew 23:8. Upon no finite being can we depend for guidance. The Rock of faith is the living presence of Christ in the church. Those who think themselves the strongest will prove to be the weakest, unless they make Christ their efficiency. See Jeremiah 17:5; Psalm 2:12.

HLv 280.1

Jesus charged the disciples to tell no man that He was the Christ. The people, and even the disciples, had so false a conception of the Messiah that a public announcement would give them no true idea of His character or work.

HLv 280.2

The disciples still expected Christ to reign as a temporal prince. They believed that He would not always remain in obscurity and that the time was near when He would establish His kingdom. That Christ would be rejected by His own nation, condemned as a deceiver, and crucified as a malefactor—such a thought the disciples had never entertained. Jesus must open to His disciples the conflict before them. He was sad as He anticipated the trial.

HLv 280.4

Speechless with grief and amazement, the disciples listened. Christ had accepted Peter’s acknowledgment of Him as the Son of God, and now His words pointing to His suffering and death seemed incomprehensible. Peter could not keep silent. He laid hold on his Master, as if to draw Him back from His impending doom: “Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee.”

HLv 281.1

Peter loved his Lord; but Jesus did not commend him for the desire to shield Him from suffering. Peter’s words were not a help and solace to Jesus in the great trial before Him. They were not in harmony with God’s purpose of grace toward a lost world, nor with the lesson of self-sacrifice that Jesus had come to teach by His own example. The impression which his words would make was directly opposed to that which Christ desired to make on the minds of His followers, and the Saviour was moved to utter one of the sternest rebukes that ever fell from His lips: “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a hindrance to Me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men.” RSV.

HLv 281.2

Satan was trying to discourage Jesus and turn Him from His mission, and Peter was giving voice to the temptation. The prince of evil, the author of the thought, was behind that impulsive appeal. Satan had offered Christ the dominion of the world on condition of forsaking the path of humiliation and sacrifice. Now he was seeking to fix Peter’s gaze on earthly glory, that he might not behold the cross. Through Peter, he was again pressing the temptation on Jesus.

HLv 281.3

But the Saviour heeded it not; His thought was for His disciple. Satan had interposed between Peter and his Master. The words of Christ were spoken to the one trying to separate him from his Redeemer: “Get behind Me, Satan.” Let Me come face to face with Peter, that I may reveal to him the mystery of My love.

HLv 282.1

Jesus now explained to His disciples that His own life of self-abnegation was an example of what theirs should be: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” The cross, associated with the power of Rome, was the most cruel and humiliating form of death. Criminals were required to bear the cross to the place of execution. Often as it was laid on their shoulders, they resisted with desperate violence, until they were overpowered. To the disciples Jesus’ words, though dimly comprehended, pointed to their submission to death for the sake of Christ.

HLv 282.2

No more complete self-surrender could the Saviour’s words have pictured. But all this He had accepted for them. He left the heavenly courts for a life of reproach and insult, and a death of shame. He who was rich in heaven’s priceless treasure, became poor, that through His poverty we might be rich. We are to follow in the path He trod.

HLv 282.3

Love for souls means crucifixion of self. He who is a child of God should look on himself as a link in the chain let down to save the world, one with Christ, going forth with Him to seek and save the lost. The Christian has consecrated himself to God, and in character he is to reveal Christ to the world.

HLv 282.4

“Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.” Selfishness is death. The heart, failing to send its lifeblood to the hand and the head, would quickly lose its power. So is the love of Christ diffused through every part of His mystical body. We are members one of another, and the soul that refuses to impart will perish. “What is a man profited,” said Jesus, “if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

HLv 282.5

Christ pointed the disciples to His coming in glory with the hosts of heaven. Then He said, “He shall reward every man according to his works.” And for their encouragement He promised, “Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in His kingdom.”

HLv 283.1

But the disciples did not comprehend His words. Their eyes were fixed on the poverty, humiliation, and suffering. Were they not to see their Lord exalted to the throne of David? Could it be that Christ was to be despised, rejected, and put to death? Sadness oppressed their hearts, for it seemed incomprehensible that the Son of God should be subjected to such cruel humiliation. Why should He voluntarily go to Jerusalem to meet the treatment He was there to receive? How could He resign Himself to such a fate, and leave them in greater darkness than they were groping in before He revealed Himself to them?

HLv 283.2

In the region of Caesarea Philippi, the disciples reasoned that Christ had nothing to fear from the hatred of the Jews or from the power of the Romans. Why not work there? Why give Himself up to death? If He was to die, how could His kingdom be established so firmly that the gates of hell should not prevail against it? This was indeed a mystery.

HLv 283.3

They were even now journeying toward the city where all their hopes were to be crushed. They talked together in low, sorrowful tones in regard to the future. Perhaps some unforeseen circumstance might avert the doom which seemed to await their Lord. Thus they doubted, hoped, and feared for six long, gloomy days.

From Heaven With Love

The Disciples Had Not Envisioned a Cross to Come

HLv 280.3

Hitherto He had refrained from making known to them anything relative to His sufferings and death. In His conversation with Nicodemus He had said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:14, 15. But the disciples did not hear this. Now the time had come for the veil that hid the future to be withdrawn: “From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His disciples, how He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.”

From Heaven With Love

Satan Was Trying to Get at Christ

HLv 281.4

It was a bitter lesson, which Peter learned but slowly: the path of Christ lay through agony and humiliation. But in the heat of the furnace fire the disciple was to learn its blessing. Long afterward he wrote, “Rejoice in so far as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed.” 1 Peter 4:13, RSV.

Lift Him Up

A Decided Reformation Needed, October 14

LHU 301.5

“Verily, verily, I say unto you,” Christ declared, “He that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47). Oh, how few there are who reveal in their lives the principles of this life! They profess to believe the most sacred truth ever given to mortals, but in their lives they dishonor God. He that “eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him” (verses 54-56) ... It behooves us to live in the fear and love of God. God is supreme, and He cooperates with those who represent Christ in life and character, those who are kind, thoughtful, self-denying, and self-sacrificing. Christ says, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:14) (Letter 63, 1903).

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 4 (1883 - 1886)

Ms 26, 1885

4LtMs, Ms 26, 1885, par. 32

God sent a word of comfort to the bereaved mothers of Bethlehem that the weeping Rachels should see their children coming from the land of the enemy. Christ took little children in His arms and blessed them and rebuked the disciples who would send away the mothers, saying, “Suffer little children and forbid them not, to come unto Me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 16:14. Christ blessed the children brought to Him by the faithful mothers. He will do this now, if mothers will do their duty to their children and teach their children and educate them in obedience and submission. Then they will bear the test and will be obedient to the will of God, for parents stand in the place of God to their children.

That I May Know Him

Our Perfect Pattern, April 15

TMK 111.1

He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Matthew 16:15, 16.

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

MR No. 999—Christ as Sacrifice and High Priest

12MR 403.1

At this time, none of the disciples dared open their lips to acknowledge Christ as the Messiah so long expected. When asked if he was one of the disciples, Peter denied, and when again charged with being Christ’s follower, he denied with cursing and swearing. On one occasion Jesus asked His disciples, “Whom say ye that I am?” The light of the Saviour’s glory flooded Peter’s soul, and with inspired earnestness, he broke out into no prosaic acknowledgment, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Christ commended him, saying, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven” [Matthew 16:15-17]. Is this the same Peter that now denies his Lord with cursing?

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 111, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 111, 1897, par. 11

At this time, none of the disciples dared open their lips to acknowledge Christ as the Messiah so long expected. When asked if he was one of the disciples, Peter denied, and when again charged with being Christ’s follower, he denied with cursing and swearing. On one occasion Jesus asked His disciples, “Whom say ye that I am?” The light of the Saviour’s glory flooded Peter’s soul, and with inspired earnestness, he broke out into no prosaic acknowledgment, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Christ commended him saying, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father, which is in heaven.” [Matthew 16:15-17.] Is this the same Peter that now denies his Lord with cursing?

The Upward Look

Laborers Needed for the Harvest, February 13

UL 58.6

Christ’s divinity is to be steadfastly maintained. When the Saviour asked His disciples the question, “Whom say ye that I am?” Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:15, 16). Said Christ, “Upon this rock,” not on Peter, but on the Son of God, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (verse 18).

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Ms 102, 1898

13LtMs, Ms 102, 1898, par. 11

When Christ asked His disciples, “Whom say ye that I am?” Peter answered, “Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter (which by interpretation means a stone) and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” [Matthew 16:15-18.]

13LtMs, Ms 102, 1898, par. 12

Here Christ referred to the words Peter had spoken: “Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God;” and He said, “And I say unto thee, upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” [Verses 16, 18.] The Truth, the Light, the Life of the world was to be the foundation of the Christian church.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 20 (1905)

Lt 65, 1905

20LtMs, Lt 65, 1905, par. 9

Christ’s divinity is to be steadfastly maintained. When the Saviour asked His disciples the question, “Whom say ye that I am?” Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Said Christ, “Upon this Rock,” not on Peter, but on the Son of God, “will I build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” [Matthew 16:15-18.]

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

MR No. 944—Luther Warren and Work in New York City

12MR 100.1

We turn to Peter, and he declares of his Master: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). We ask Christ Himself who He is, and He replies: [John 8:58; 5:22 quoted.] We ask Paul. With strength and assurance comes the answer: [1 Timothy 3:16; Philippians 2:6-11; Colossians 1:14-17 quoted.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Lt 104, 1902

17LtMs, Lt 104, 1902, par. 12

We turn to Peter, and he declares of his Master: “Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.” [Matthew 16:16.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 21 (1906)

Ms 34, 1906

21LtMs, Ms 34, 1906, par. 23

When many of Christ’s disciples forsook Him, when He declared Himself to be the bread of life, Christ asked His twelve disciples their opinion of His character. Said Peter, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:16. Christ’s reply was, “Upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Verse 18. It was not Peter that was specified as the Rock, but Christ. “And upon this rock I will build My church.”

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 3 (1876 - 1882)

Lt 24, 1882

3LtMs, Lt 24, 1882, par. 11

“Flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, Peter, but my Father which is in heaven.” [Matthew 16:17.] It is the close connection with God which opens and makes quick and sharp the understanding.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 1 [Nos. 19-96]

MR No. 65—Materials for General Use

1MR 303.4

Should not the words of Christ have any weight? “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15). “Lo here and lo there is Christ,” will be multiplied. Let the believers heed the voice of the angel who has said to the church, “Press together.” In unity is your strength. Love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous. God hath a church, and Christ hath declared, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). The messengers the Lord sends bear the divine credentials. Letter 16, 1893, pp. 1-7. (ToW. F. Caldwell, June 11, 1893.)

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 6 (1889-1890)

Ms 42, 1890

6LtMs, Ms 42, 1890, par. 93

The Lord declares that the gates of hell shall not prevail against His church. [Matthew 16:18.] Every sincere member of the church may include himself in these promises and say, “I am the Lord’s. In His strength I am invincible.” Then do not put on a doleful attitude and misrepresent my Lord, and act as though He had insulted you by giving you promises that He does not fulfill, as though you are having a hard time and are left alone to battle against the powers of darkness.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 8 (1893)

Lt 16, 1893

8LtMs, Lt 16, 1893, par. 25

Should not the words of Christ have any weight? “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” [Matthew 7:15.] “Lo here and lo there is Christ,” will be multiplied. [Mark 13:21.] Let the believers heed the voice [of] the angel [who has] said to the church, “Press together.” In unity is your strength. Love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous, God hath a church, and Christ hath declared, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” [Matthew 16:18.] The messengers the Lord sends bear the divine credentials. I have tender feelings toward you, but come to the light, I beseech of you.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 15, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 15, 1897, par. 11

But the presence of God is guaranteed to the Christian. This Rock of faith is the living presence of God. The weakest may depend upon it. Those who think themselves the strongest may become the weakest, unless they depend on Christ as their efficiency, their worthiness. This is the Rock upon which the church may build successfully. God is near in Christ’s atoning sacrifice, in His intercession, His loving, tender ruling power over the church. Seated by the eternal throne, He watches them with intense interest. As long as the members of the church shall through faith draw sap and nourishment from Jesus Christ, and not from man’s opinions and devisings and methods; if having a conviction of the nearness of God in Christ, they put their entire trust in Him, they will have a vital connection with Christ as the branch has connection with the parent stock. The church is established not on theories of men, on long drawn out plans and forms; it depends upon Christ their righteousness. It is built on faith in Christ, “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” [Matthew 16:18.]

Jesus, Name Above All Names

Rock of Israel’s Salvation, November 2

JNN 323.1

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church.”—Matthew 16:18

Manuscript Releases, vol. 1 [Nos. 19-96]

MR No. 81—God’s Rebuke to Laodicea

1MR 363.3

You complain of being treated coldly in Battle Creek. Did you go with a humble spirit to those who are spiritual and say, “Will you examine the Scriptures with me? Shall we pray over this matter? I have not the light, I want it; for error will never sanctify the soul.” Can you be surprised that they would not give you all that confidence you might think they should, after the experience they have passed through? Should not the words of Christ have any weight? “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15). “Lo here and lo there is Christ,” will be multiplied. Let the believers heed the voice of the angel who has said to the church, “Press together.” In unity is your strength. Love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous. God hath a church, and Christ hath declared, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). The messengers the Lord sends bear the divine credentials. I have tender feelings toward you, but come to the light, I beseech of you.—Letter 16, 1893, pp. 1-7. (To a brother in Australia, June 11, 1893.)

Maranatha

The Church Will Not Fall, January 24

Mar 32.1

Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18.

Prophets and Kings

Chapter 48—“Not by Might, nor by Power”

PK 595.3

Human power and human might did not establish the church of God, and neither can they destroy it. Not on the rock of human strength, but on Christ Jesus, the Rock of Ages, was the church founded, “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18. The presence of God gives stability to His cause. “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man,” is the word that comes to us. Psalm 146:3. “In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.” Isaiah 30:15. God’s glorious work, founded on the eternal principles of right, will never come to nought. It will go on from strength to strength, “not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” Zechariah 4:6.

Selected Messages Book 2

Chapter 7—The Divine Credentials

2SM 69.4

You complain of being treated coldly in Battle Creek. Did you go with a humble spirit to those who are spiritual and say, “Will you examine the Scriptures with me? Shall we pray over this matter? I have not the light, I want it; for error will never sanctify the soul.” Can you be surprised that they would not give you all that confidence you might think they should, after the experience they have passed through? Should not the words of Christ have any weight? “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15). “Lo here and lo there is Christ” will be multiplied. Let the believers heed the voice of the angel who has said to the church, “Press together.” In unity is your strength. Love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous. God hath a church, and Christ hath declared, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). The messengers the Lord sends bear the divine credentials. I have tender feelings toward you, but come to the light, I beseech of you.—Letter 16, 1893.

The Faith I Live By

Built on the Rock, October 31

FLB 310.1

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18.

The Remnant Church; Its Organization, Authority, Unity, and Triumph

The Church Not to Be Broken Up

MR311 7.3

Let the believers heed the voice of the angel who has said to the church, “Press together.” In unity is your strength. Love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous. God hath a church, and Christ hath declared, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). The messengers the Lord sends bear the divine credentials. I have tender feelings toward you, but come to the light, I beseech of you.—Letter 16, 1893. (Published in Selected Messages 2:66-69.)

From Splendor to Shadow

Man’s Way Contrasted With God’s Way

SS 307.3

Human power did not establish the church of God. Not on the rock of human strength, but on Christ Jesus, the Rock of Ages, was the church founded, “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18. God’s glorious work will never come to nought. It will go on “not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” Zechariah 4:6.

Homeward Bound

The Keys of Heaven, January 9

HB 24.1

And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.—Matthew 16:19.

HB 24.2

Jesus continued: “I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18.) The word Peter signifies a stone—a rolling stone. Peter was not the rock upon which the church was founded. The gates of hell did prevail against him when he denied his Lord with cursing and swearing. The church was built upon One against whom the gates of hell could not prevail. . . .

HB 24.5

For six thousand years, faith has builded upon Christ. For six thousand years the floods and tempests of satanic wrath have beaten upon the Rock of our salvation; but it stands unmoved. Peter had expressed the truth which is the foundation of the church’s faith, and Jesus now honored him as the representative of the whole body of believers. He said, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Verse 19.)

From Heaven With Love

Chapter 48—Who Is the Greatest?

HLv 299.2

We are not to make the wrong a matter of comment and criticism among ourselves, nor to repeat it to others. While we seek to correct the errors of a brother, we will shield him as far as possible from the criticism of his own brethren, and how much more from the censure of the unbelieving world. As we wish Christ to deal with us, He bids us deal with one another. “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19. The issues of your work are for eternity!

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 1 (1844 - 1868)

Ms 6, 1862

1LtMs, Ms 6, 1862, par. 11

I was directed to Matthew 16:19. “Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” I was shown that the action of the church and their business matters has been rather disgusting in the eyes of some, and looked foolish and of no account. No importance has been attached to the course they deemed proper to pursue. God has attached importance, the greatest importance, to the actions of His church. They are the light of the world. He will instruct His people and guide them, yet these things have looked very inferior in the minds of Sister Benedict, Diantha, Sister Lewis, Sister Bacheller, Roxanna, and some others. That which the church deemed of the highest importance has at times been made a matter of ridicule. At the same time, if one is sharply reproved and censured for his wrong course and feels distressed over the matter, Sister Benedict and Diantha would attach the highest importance to the feelings of such and take a special burden on account of it. It is made of greater account than all the moves and actions of the church. This is the work of Satan. It is a misplaced, unsanctified sympathy. God frowns upon such a course.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 3 (1876 - 1882)

Ms 9, 1879

3LtMs, Ms 9, 1879, par. 8

These words of the apostle are applicable to [Carlsbadt]: “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God.” Hebrews 5:12. He now stands in his own light, whereas he might have been an able man in Christ Jesus and be anchored firm as a rock upon every point of present truth. He carries himself too independently to be advised or counseled by any living being, and also sets aside the voice of the church to whom Christ said, “Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19. Thus the voice of the church is placed as the highest authority God has upon the earth, and those who move out independently of that voice place themselves in a position where God cannot correct their wrongs and give them warnings. Therefore they are confirmed in their own deceptions and blinded in their own errors.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 7 [Nos. 419-525]

MR No. 455—Letter to the Crew of the “Pitcairn”

7MR 200.1

Please read Matthew 16:21-23. “From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savourest not of the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 9 (1894)

Lt 65, 1894

9LtMs, Lt 65, 1894, par. 4

Please read Matthew 16:21. “From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders, and priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savorest not of the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” [Verses 21-23.] Peter was not pleased to listen to the words of Christ, for what he said was contrary to the expectation of the Jewish nation. They had been instructed that Christ was to reign as a temporal prince on David’s throne, and break from off them the Roman yoke which brought them into subjection as a people to a nation which they despised.

9LtMs, Lt 65, 1894, par. 6

Those who received the words of their teachers in stead of the words of God, were misled and deluded in their expectations, and when Christ came they would not receive Him. Although the disciples themselves had been taught by the divine Teacher, they were unprepared to receive the words which they interpreted as meaning defeat and disappointment of their expectations of a temporal victory over their enemies. When Christ opened before them how He should be denied and rejected, how He should be condemned and die, Peter was stirred in his soul, and opposed any such idea. What did Jesus see? He saw that which Peter did not see. He saw that Satan had placed himself between Peter and His Saviour, and He said, “Get thee behind me Satan, Thou art an offence unto me: Thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” [Matthew 16:23.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 9 (1894)

Ms 16, 1894

9LtMs, Ms 16, 1894, par. 33

Christ said, “I will be taken up to Jerusalem and mocked and crucified.” Peter did not want to hear any such story. He thought that God would raise Him up on a temporal throne, and that He would be a ruler over Israel and deliver them up from their bondage. He forgot himself and taking Christ, he rebuked Him. “No,” he said, “it shall not be thus unto thee.” Christ said, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” [Matthew 16:21-23.] Where was Satan? Right between Christ and Peter, and there he stood, gracing Peter with all his doubts and unbelief. Christ said, “Get thee behind me, Satan. Stand back. Satan hath desired thee that he might sift thee as wheat, but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not.” [Luke 22:31, 32.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 9 (1894)

Ms 14, 1894

9LtMs, Ms 14, 1894, par. 15

See what the Lord said to Peter. Here was Peter, disputing with his Lord. We would not agree with his mind. And so disputers will ever be found. [He was] disputing with [his] Lord when He told the [disciples] that He was going to suffer and be crucified. They did not believe Him and Peter took Him and began to reprove Him. “Be it far from thee.” What did the Lord say? He said, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” [Matthew 16:21-23.] What was Satan doing? He came right up face to face with Peter and between the Lord and Peter so that Peter even took it upon him to reprove the Lord. But the Lord came close to Peter and Satan was put behind Christ. The Lord told Peter that Satan had desired him that he might sift him as wheat, but He says, “I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not.” [Luke 22:32.] If Peter had learned the lessons he ought to have learned, if he had stood right with God at the time of his trial, he would have stood then. If he had not been indifferent to the lessons Christ taught, he would never have denied his Lord.

9LtMs, Ms 14, 1894, par. 19

All the heavenly intelligences may be working to bring us into relationship with God, and yet we won’t be drawn. The whole world is being drawn; and why do they not respond? It is because they choose the service of Satan rather than the service of God. But we want to know who is on the Lord’s side; we want to know who will stand by those that are in responsible positions that are seeking to draw you to God. Now Satan is not going to let go his hold of you very easily. It was divinity that flashed through humanity when Christ said, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” [Matthew 16:23.] It is for you to be partakers of the living Vine so that you will be able to voice the Spirit of God, “Get thee behind me, Satan,” and will not yield to his commands.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 115, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 115, 1897, par. 10

Christ had spoken to them in regard to His future. “From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders, and chief priests and scribes and be killed.” If he had left the matter there, there would have indeed been cause for the disciples to be hopeless. But He continued, “And be raised the third day.” [Matthew 16:21.] But instead of listening to every word spoken by the divine Teacher, Peter allowed his feelings to be stirred at the thought at such a chapter in the Saviour’s history. He took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, “Be it far from thee, Lord; this shall not be unto thee.” [Verse 22.] The disciples had not yet given up the idea so long cherished that Christ would reign on David’s throne as a temporal prince, but Christ said, “Get thee behind me, Satan:” for it was Satan, “for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” [Verse 23.] He would have Peter understand that Satan originated his speech, and that he rebuked Satan. “Get thee behind me.” No longer interpose between Me and My disciple.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 22 (1907)

Lt 244, 1907

22LtMs, Lt 244, 1907, par. 6

When Christ revealed to Peter the time of trial and suffering that was just before Him, and Peter replied, “Be it far from Thee, Lord; this shall not be unto Thee,” the Saviour commanded, “Get thee behind Me, Satan.” [Matthew 16:21-23.] Satan was speaking through Peter, making him act the part of the tempter. Satan’s presence was unsuspected by Peter, but Christ could detect the presence of the deceiver; and in His rebuke to Peter, He addressed the real foe. On one occasion, speaking to the twelve, and referring to Judas, Christ declared, “One of you is a devil.” [John 6:70.] Often in the days of His earthly ministry the Saviour met His adversary in human form, when Satan as an unclean spirit took possession of men. Satan takes possession of the minds of men today. In my labors in the cause of God, I have again and again met those who have been thus possessed, and in the name of the Lord I have rebuked the evil spirit.

Conflict and Courage

Under Satan’s Power, November 2

CC 312.1

But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Matthew 16:23.

CC 312.2

Satan is ever intruding himself between the soul of man and God.... This lesson in regard to Peter needs to be studied carefully.2Letter 65, 1894.

CC 312.3

Peter did not desire to see the cross in the work of Christ. The impression which his words would make was directly opposed to that which Christ desired to make on the minds of His followers, and the Saviour was moved to utter one of the sternest rebukes that ever fell from His lips....

CC 312.4

Satan was trying to discourage Jesus, and turn Him from His mission; and Peter, in his blind love, was giving voice to the temptation. The prince of evil was the author of the thought. His instigation was behind that impulsive appeal.... He was seeking to fix Peter’s gaze upon the earthly glory, that he might not behold the cross to which Jesus desired to turn his eyes. And through Peter, Satan was again pressing the temptation upon Jesus. But the Saviour heeded it not; His thought was for His disciple. Satan had interposed between Peter and his Master, that the heart of the disciple might not be touched at the vision of Christ’s humiliation for him. The words of Christ were spoken, not to Peter, but to the one who was trying to separate him from his Redeemer. “Get thee behind Me, Satan.” No longer interpose between Me and My erring servant. Let Me come face to face with Peter, that I may reveal to him the mystery of My love.

CC 312.5

It was to Peter a bitter lesson, and one which he learned but slowly, that the path of Christ on earth lay through agony and humiliation. The disciple shrank from fellowship with his Lord in suffering. But in the heat of the furnace fire he was to learn its blessing. Long afterward, when his active form was bowed with the burden of years and labors, he wrote, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy” (1 Peter 4:12, 13).3The Desire of Ages, 415, 416.

Education

From Weakness to Strength

Ed 88.3

Often Jesus, the burden heavy upon His own heart, sought to open to the disciples the scenes of His trial and suffering. But their eyes were holden. The knowledge was unwelcome, and they did not see. Self-pity, that shrank from fellowship with Christ in suffering, prompted Peter’s remonstrance, “Pity Thyself, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee.” Matthew 16:22, margin. His words expressed the thought and feeling of the Twelve.

Reflecting Christ

Trials Educate, Purify, and Strengthen, December 14

RC 362.6

There had been a time in Peter’s experience when he was unwilling to see the cross in the work of Christ. When the Saviour made known to the disciples His impending sufferings and death, Peter exclaimed, “Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee” (Matthew 16:22). Self-pity, which shrank from fellowship with Christ in suffering prompted Peter’s remonstrance. It was to the disciple a bitter lesson, and one which he learned but slowly, that the path of Christ on earth lay through agony and humiliation. But in the heat of the furnace fire he was to learn its lesson. Now, when his once-active form was bowed with the burden of years and labors, he could write, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you.... But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings.”—The Acts of the Apostles, 524, 525.

From Trials to Triumph

Chapter 51—The Apostle Peter, a Faithful Undershepherd

TT 276.2

There had been a time when Peter was unwilling to see the cross in the work of Christ. When the Saviour made known His impending sufferings and death, Peter exclaimed, “God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” Matthew 16:22, RSV. It was a bitter lesson, which he learned but slowly, that the path of Christ on earth lay through agony and humiliation. Now, when his once active form was bowed with the burden of years, he could write, “Beloved, ... rejoice in so far as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed.”

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 72, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 72, 1897, par. 2

Had the Jews preserved their piety and purity, they would by searching the Scriptures have seen that they had been entirely misled by the rabbis. This misapplication of the Scriptures was the foundation of the desire of the disciples to be first. Notwithstanding the lessons Christ had given them, the desire for self-exaltation appeared whenever circumstances were favorable. Christ’s instruction did not effectually subdue or change their spirit. For this reason, as the hour of his trial drew near, Christ thought that the time had come to open before them His future suffering, shame, and death. Peter was so stirred at the revelation that he rebuked his Master, whom he had just acknowledged as the Son of God. “Be it far from thee, Lord,” he said, “this shall not be unto thee.” [Matthew 16:22.]

Jesus, Name Above All Names

Chief Shepherd, May 31

JNN 162.3

There had been a time in Peter’s experience when he was unwilling to see the cross in the work of Christ. When the Saviour made known to the disciples His impending sufferings and death, Peter exclaimed, “Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee” (Matthew 16:22). Self-pity, which shrank from fellowship with Christ in suffering, prompted Peter’s remonstrance. It was to the disciple a bitter lesson, and one which he learned but slowly, that the path of Christ on earth lay through agony and humiliation. But in the heat of the furnace fire he was to learn its lesson. Now, when his once active form was bowed with the burden of years and labors, he could write, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

Selected Messages Book 2

How to Be Preserved From Deceptive Influences

2SM 353.1

When Christ revealed to Peter the time of trial and suffering that was just before Him, and Peter replied, “Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee” (Matthew 16:22), the Saviour commanded, “Get thee behind me, Satan” (Matthew 16:23). Satan was speaking through Peter, making him act the part of the tempter. Satan’s presence was unsuspected by Peter, but Christ could detect the presence of the deceiver, and in His rebuke to Peter He addressed the real foe.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 5 (1887-1888)

Lt 32, 1888

5LtMs, Lt 32, 1888, par. 9

Jesus told His disciples that were about Him what would be done to Him. “Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished, for he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and he shall be mocked and spitefully entreated and spitted on; and they shall scourge him and put him to death, and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things; this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.” [Luke 18:31-34.] “Then Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee Lord, this shall not be unto you. But he turned and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me Satan, thou are an offense unto me, for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” [Matthew 16:22, 23.] The words spoken by Peter were prompted by affection. How did Jesus regard them? Did He welcome them as a solace to His troubles? No, He rebuked the disciple because all this affection expressed was opposed to the mind and will of God and as such was offensive to the world’s Redeemer. Without giving the least excuse for Peter’s love that prompted him to speak as he did, the rebuke, most severe, came from the lips of Christ to Peter that he should, through his own human wishes, turn aside the purposes of God. Jesus addressed Peter as He had on a certain occasion addressed Satan when he asked Jesus to fall down and worship him. He then said, “Get thee behind me, Satan.”

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 11 (1896)

Lt 49a, 1896

11LtMs, Lt 49a, 1896, par. 18

Just before Christ left His disciples, He gave them important lessons. These lessons they did not comprehend, because they were not in accordance with their own ideas and plans. He told them what He must pass through, and how He must suffer many things, and then be crucified. But Peter rebuked Him, saying, “Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.” Peter had yet to learn that Christ, the Son of God, was the rejected stone, disallowed indeed of men, though chosen of God and precious. Christ exclaimed, “Get thee behind me, Satan; for thou savorest not the things which be of God, but the things which be of men.” [Matthew 16:22, 23.] These words were a rebuke to the tempter. “Get thee behind me, Satan,” Christ said. “Let Me come close to Peter. He must hear My voice.”

The Acts of the Apostles

Chapter 51—A Faithful Under-Shepherd

AA 523.2

The lesson applies to believers in every age. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” Matthew 7:20. The inward adorning of a meek and quiet spirit is priceless. In the life of the true Christian the outward adorning is always in harmony with the inward peace and holiness. “If any man will come after Me,” Christ said, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Matthew 16:24. Self-denial and sacrifice will mark the Christian’s life. Evidence that the taste is converted will be seen in the dress of all who walk in the path cast up for the ransomed of the Lord.

AA 525.1

There had been a time in Peter’s experience when he was unwilling to see the cross in the work of Christ. When the Saviour made known to the disciples His impending sufferings and death, Peter exclaimed, “Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee.” Matthew 16:22. Self-pity, which shrank from fellowship with Christ in suffering, prompted Peter’s remonstrance. It was to the disciple a bitter lesson, and one which he learned but slowly, that the path of Christ on earth lay through agony and humiliation. But in the heat of the furnace fire he was to learn its lesson. Now, when his once active form was bowed with the burden of years and labors, he could write, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Lt 102a, 1897

12LtMs, Lt 102a, 1897, par. 7

When Jesus began to open the future to His disciples, and showed that He must bear suffering, endure scoffing, mocking, [and] the crown of thorns; that He must be scourged and crucified, the picture was unpleasant to Peter. He rebuked his Lord for holding up such a picture. “Be it far from thee, Lord,” he said. [Matthew 16:22.] Wesley translates this, “Favor thyself, Lord.” Our Saviour’s words to Peter seem to be very severe. “Get thee behind me, Satan,” He said, “thou art an offence unto me.” [Verse 23.] These words were not directed, as is supposed, to Peter, but to Satan, who was implanting his insinuations in the mind of Peter. The words were understood by the wily foe: “Get thee behind Me, Satan. Why interpose yourself between My servant and Me? Let Me come to Peter with My words, not your suggestions.” “Thou savorest,” said Christ to tempted Peter: “not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.” [Mark 8:33.]

12LtMs, Lt 102a, 1897, par. 8

Christ continued the lesson: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever shall save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with the angels: and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” [Matthew 16:24-27.]

Manuscript Releases, vol. 13 [Nos. 1000-1080]

MR No. 1010—Counsel to those in Authority

13MR 65.2

The Lord gave him the truth, but he did not practice it. The universe of heaven said to the king of Babylon, “Thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men” [cf. Matthew 16:23]. The ways of men are opposed to the ways of God. The Lord Jesus gave lessons to His disciples to show to us all that it is through His grace alone that we shall be able to discern spiritual truths. “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” [John 14:15-17]. To us who believe have been committed the oracles of God. The books of Daniel and Revelation are full of matter which concerns every one of us. We should study these books, and let the Lord God of Israel communicate truth to us, so that we may be able to communicate the truth to others who live in these last days. The Lord would have His people learn of Jesus. God forbid that those for whom He has wrought shall become highminded and be left to their own way as was the king of Babylon.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Ms 82, 1901

16LtMs, Ms 82, 1901, par. 31

Sister White: I know that. He did not fully in Peter. But He did in Peter until the great trial came. Peter was submissive to the Lord until his great trial came. There was nothing in John. When He reproved John for proposing to call down fire from heaven, and all these things, John repented, and so did Peter. Christ knew the awful trial was coming, and He told Peter all about how it would come; and Peter had a pretty sore time of it, I assure you, in carrying out his own way. Of course Jesus did not force him. He let Judas have the whole education—but we have no need to bring up those things. Christ rebuked them severely. You know He again and again did it. He rebuked John, and rebuked Peter. He said, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” He had been trying to prepare Peter for the great trial. Satan was influencing the mind of Peter. Christ said the rebuke Peter gave Him came from Satan. Said He, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me.” [Matthew 16:23.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 70, 1902

17LtMs, Ms 70, 1902, par. 25

Satan is determined to destroy the servants of God, but the Lord is engaged in making His grace effectual in their behalf. He rebukes Satan with the words, “The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan.” [Verse 2.] On one occasion, when Peter disputed His word, Christ said, “Get thee behind me, Satan. Let me come close to my zealous, tempted disciple.” [See Matthew 16:23.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 20 (1905)

Lt 367, 1905

20LtMs, Lt 367, 1905, par. 16

Let all be as cheerful as possible, while willing to endure the cross and despise the shame. Avoid the danger of a censorious spirit and bitterness as you contemplate the injustice and the wickedness of those who are imbued with the spiritualistic science of Satan. The work of God needs to be advanced in the spirit of Christ. It needs not the devil’s wisdom or the devil’s roughness—denunciation of sin may be and should be called by the right name. “Get thee behind me, Satan.” [Matthew 16:23.] Yet seek to do all possible to reform.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 9 (1894)

Lt 32, 1894

9LtMs, Lt 32, 1894, par. 8

I am sure that these words will comfort and strengthen you to hope and to have courage in the Lord. I do hope that in your trial you have not lost sight of Jesus; for if you have there is nothing that I can say to strengthen, settle and stablish you. The crafty deceiver has been found to be an accuser, a liar, a tormenter and a murderer; but whatever he may have led others to say concerning you, the Lord can say to him as he said to Peter, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” [Matthew 16:23.] He can say to him, “You shall not come in between this soul and me. You shall not interpose yourself between me and the soul for whom I died a ransom.” It is for you, my tempted sister, to dismiss Satan with his temptations, and to take Jesus. Press close to Jesus, and place your hand in His, and He will firmly hold your hand, and never let go of the soul who maintains His faith in Him. Believe He is “able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by Him.” [Hebrews 7:25.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 11 (1896)

Ms 15, 1896

11LtMs, Ms 15, 1896, par. 17

The Lord gave him the truth, but he did not practice it. The universe of heaven said to the king of Babylon, “Thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” [Matthew 16:23.] The ways of men are opposed to the ways of God. The Lord Jesus gave lessons to His disciples to show to us all that it is through His grace alone that we shall be able to discern spiritual truths. “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” [John 14:15-17.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Lt 50a, 1897

12LtMs, Lt 50a, 1897, par. 4

Satan is a masterly worker, and he will lose no opportunity to make the most of his chances to work for those who are left in a very disagreeable situation. There are those who make grave mistakes, but they seldom see the aggravated character of their own faults or their more disagreeable results. But if another passes over the ground and does no worse, and perhaps not nearly as bad, how easy for the brother who first sinned to bear down on his brother with an unsparing hand. There are men who are severely tempted and tried, and who meet their temptations, at times feeling desperately, because they know not what to do in an emergency. Jesus pities them. He sees them meeting their temptations with a noble purpose, and wrestling with the devil, foot to foot, breast to breast; and He says to them as He said to Peter, “Get thee behind Me, Satan. Let Me come close to My tempted one. Satan hath desired thee, that he might sift thee as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” [Matthew 16:23; Luke 22:31, 32.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Lt 50, 1897

12LtMs, Lt 50, 1897, par. 4

Satan is a masterly worker, and he will lose no opportunity to make the most of his chances to work for those who are left in a very disagreeable situation. There are those who make grave mistakes, but they seldom see the aggravated character of their own faults or their more disagreeable results. But if another passes over the ground and does no worse, and perhaps not nearly as bad, how easy for the brother who first sinned to bear down on his brother with an unsparing hand. There are men who are severely tempted and tried, but who meet their temptations, at times feeling desperately, because they know not what to do in an emergency. Jesus pities them. He sees them meeting their temptations with a noble purpose, and wrestling with the devil, foot to foot, breast to breast; and He says to them as He said to Peter, “Get thee behind Me, Satan. Let Me come close to My tempted one. Satan hath desired thee, that he might sift thee as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” [Matthew 16:23; Luke 22:31, 32.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Ms 198, 1898

13LtMs, Ms 198, 1898, par. 28

It is the abundant knowledge of the Word which enables the striving one to stand against the onslaught of the adversary. This ability enlarges and develops by exercise and improvement. Every temptation resisted places you on vantage ground. You remember how Peter rebuked Jesus when He told him of His expected sufferings. But the Lord said, “Get thee behind me Satan.” [Matthew 16:23.] Satan had stepped right in between Peter and his Master. His presence was as a wall between them and so Jesus commanded him, Get thee behind me so that I can address Peter. When Satan is allowed to interpose between us and God, the Word of God must come to us through Him, and we hear as He emphasizes it, as He interprets it. Therefore let us take can that our attitude shall not invite the father of lies to act as the translator of truth.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Ms 82a, 1901

16LtMs, Ms 82a, 1901, par. 34

Sister White: I know that. He did not in Peter. But He did in Peter until the great trial came. Peter was submissive to the Lord until the great trial came. There was nothing in John. When He reproved John for proposing to call down fire from heaven, and all these things, John repented, and so did Peter. Christ knew the awful trial was coming, and He told Peter all about how it would come; and Peter had a pretty sore time of it, I assure you, in carrying out his way. Of course Jesus did not force him. He let Judas have the whole education—but we have no need to bring up those things. Christ rebuked them severely. You know He again and again did it. He rebuked John, and rebuked Peter. He said, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” He had been trying to prepare Peter for the great trial. Satan was influencing the mind of Peter. Christ said the rebuke Peter gave Him, came from Satan. Said He, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me.” [Matthew 16:23.]

Counsels on Health

Simplicity and Economy

CH 319.1

In the establishment and carrying forward of the work, the strictest economy is ever to be shown. Workers are to be employed who will be producers as well as consumers. In no case is money to be invested for display. The gospel medical missionary work is to be carried forward in simplicity, as was the work of the Majesty of heaven, who, seeing the necessity of a lost, sinful world, laid aside His royal robe and kingly crown and clothed His divinity with humanity, that He might stand at the head of humanity. He so conducted His missionary work as to leave a perfect example for human beings to follow. “If any man will come after Me,” He declared, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Matthew 16:24. Every true medical missionary will obey these words. He will not strain every nerve to follow worldly customs and make a display, thus thinking to win souls to the Saviour. No, no. If the Majesty of heaven could leave His glorious home to come to a world all seared and marred by the curse, to establish correct methods of doing medical missionary work, we His followers ought to practice the same self-denial and self-sacrifice.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 8 [Nos. 526-663]

MR No. 596—Encouragement for the Sick

8MR 266.3

We are to bear the yoke of Christ that we may be placed in complete union with Him. “Take my yoke upon you,” He says. When God’s requirements are in direct opposition to the will and purposes of the human agent, what is to be done? Hear what God says. “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24.) The yoke and the cross are symbols which represent the same thing—the giving up of the will to God. Wearing the yoke unites finite man in companionship with the dearly beloved Son of God. We cannot follow Christ without lifting the cross and bearing it after Him. If our will is not in accordance with the divine requirements, we are to deny our inclinations, give up our darling desires, and step in Christ’s footprints.—Manuscript 147, 1899, 1. (“The Yoke of Restraint and Obedience,” October 9, 1899.)

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Lt 46, 1901

16LtMs, Lt 46, 1901, par. 13

It is not right for you to use money in making a display and it is not right for your mother to supply the deficiency caused by your extravagance. When she does this, she is not pleasing the Lord; for He has lessons for you to learn. Christ says, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me.” [Matthew 16:24.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Ms 102, 1901

16LtMs, Ms 102, 1901, par. 35

We do not talk half enough about the infinite sacrifice of Christ. He who has given Himself for us is saying, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” [Matthew 16:24.] He does not say, “Let him indulge himself in worldly pleasures, let him go to the theater and to horse races, let him engage in the worldly games and pleasures.” Those who make a covenant with Him must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Ms 147, 1901

16LtMs, Ms 147, 1901, par. 27

Why are some of you so afraid to trust the Lord? He had not where to lay His head, and yet He was the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory. My heart is drawn out in sympathy for you. I greatly desire that you shall feel that you can take hold of Jesus Christ. I want you to be co-laborers with Him in the work of saving souls. As you work with means and voice to sustain the cause of God, you may know that you are following in the footsteps of your Redeemer. He says, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” [Matthew 16:24.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Lt 73, 1901

16LtMs, Lt 73, 1901, par. 12

Jesus, the Son of God, our Sin-bearer, the Giver of eternal life, speaks to His disciples. Hear what He says: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” [Matthew 16:24.] He understands every temptation. He can turn the cross into a means of eternal happiness. We must live His life. We must be co-laborers with Him. He calls upon His followers to tread in His footsteps of self-denial and self-sacrifice. The character of the Christian is to be a re-production of Christ. The same love, the same grace, the same unselfish benevolence, that characterized the life of the Redeemer, is to characterize the lives of His followers.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 121, 1902

17LtMs, Ms 121, 1902, par. 6

The Son of God came to convince the world of sin. He came to present the claims of God, that men might be convicted of sins which, although professed Christians, they are committing every day. He came to teach all men that tread the soil of this world, His home for thirty-three years, how to walk as He walked. He lived a life which is to be the example for all to follow in their own lives, if they expect ever to enter the kingdom of God. He declared, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.] Thus we may become His disciples.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 15, 1902

17LtMs, Ms 15, 1902, par. 1

“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” [Matthew 16:24.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 115, 1902

17LtMs, Ms 115, 1902, par. 34

To us Christ’s message is, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up the cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 94, 1902

17LtMs, Ms 94, 1902, par. 7

The closing words of this Scripture contain a lesson for all teachers and ministers. Christ says, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” [Matthew 16:24.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 61, 1902

17LtMs, Ms 61, 1902, par. 17

Then said Jesus unto His disciples, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” [Matthew 16:24.] “Let him deny himself”—abstain from all selfish indulgences, which are a snare to the soul, leading away from the path of righteousness. “And take up his cross,” resisting every inclination to gratify wrong desires.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Lt 4a, 1902

17LtMs, Lt 4a, 1902, par. 5

In order to become acquainted with the disappointments and trials and griefs that come to human beings, Christ reached to the lowest depths of woe and humiliation. He has traveled the path that He asks His followers to travel. He says to them, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” [Matthew 16:24.] But professing Christians are not always willing to practice the self-denial that the Saviour calls for. They are not willing to bind about their wishes and desires in order that they may have more to give to the Lord. One says, “My family is expensive in its tastes, and it costs much to keep it.” This shows that he and they need to learn the lessons of economy taught by the life of Christ.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 8 [Nos. 526-663]

MR No. 643—Faith and Works

8MR 408.1

Christ said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24.) I feel such an intense interest that every soul shall see, and understand, and be charmed with the consistency of the truth. The evidence of our love to Christ is not pretension; but practice. My brother, it is hard for the mind to comprehend this point, and do not confuse any mind with ideas that will not harmonize with the Word. Please to consider that under the teaching of Christ many of the disciples were lamentably ignorant; but when the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised came upon them and made the vacillating Peter the champion of faith, what a transformation in his character! But do not lay one pebble, for a soul that is weak in the faith to stumble over, in overwrought presentations or expressions. Be ever consistent, calm, deep, and solid. Do not go to any extreme in anything, but keep your feet on solid rock. O precious, precious Saviour. “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21.)

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Lt 130, 1902

17LtMs, Lt 130, 1902, par. 25

Sow the seeds of truth wherever you have opportunity. In establishing the work in new places, economize in every possible way. Gather up the fragments, let nothing be lost. The work of soul-saving must be carried on in the way that Christ has marked out. He declares, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” [Matthew 16:24.] Only by obeying this word can we be His disciples. We are striving for a kingdom and a crown. We shall obtain both by wearing Christ’s yoke and learning of Him. “Follow my example,” He says. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, and ye shall find rest unto your souls; for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” [Matthew 11:29, 30.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 66, 1902

17LtMs, Ms 66, 1902, par. 7

Christianity means more than making good resolutions, more than a fitful, spasmodic experience. Our thoughts are to be brought into captivity to Christ. There must be a steady, persevering cultivation of Christlike thoughts. There must be earnest prayer. Weaken the hands of the enemy by wrestling with God in prayer. Pray in the name of Christ for what you need, and then answer your prayer by bringing your actions into harmony with it. Remember that unless you follow Christ in self-denial, your prayers will not reach the throne of God. Christ points you to the path of self-sacrifice, saying, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” [Matthew 16:24.] He has made abundant provision for the efficiency of those who will to do His requirements. As soon as He sees a child of His in contrite, persevering prayer, He comes to him with the words, “Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me, and he shall make peace with me.” [Isaiah 27:5.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 124, 1902

17LtMs, Ms 124, 1902, par. 22

Listening to the words of Christ, we are safe. Whatever your calling, whatever your hope, listen! “If any man will come after Me,” He says, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.] Obeying these words, in entire dependence on the Saviour, go forth to give to the world an example of what it means to be a Christian. Yoke up with Christ. This is the only bond of the gospel. Learn daily how to carry out more acceptably the instruction Christ has given. Live as becomes the subjects of His kingdom. To carry out the words “Thy will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven”—this is our lifework. [Matthew 6:10.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Lt 15, 1902

17LtMs, Lt 15, 1902, par. 13

I know you will have some trials, but do not get discouraged. Think of the trials Christ bore for us, and press forward, brave and courageous. Remember Christ’s word: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” [Matthew 16:24.] We do Christ service when we deny self for His sake.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Lt 20, 1902

17LtMs, Lt 20, 1902, par. 20

Remember that Satan has come down with great power to take possession of minds and to hold them captive under his sway. Neither of you can do anything acceptably to God, unless you follow the Saviour, who says, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” [Matthew 16:24.] In all things Christ is our example.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 19, 1902

17LtMs, Ms 19, 1902, par. 1

What evidence are we to give to angels and men that we are Christ’s disciples? “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” [Matthew 16:24.] If self-denial and cross-bearing are the sign that we are walking in the footsteps of Jesus, let us zealously deny self, and keep our eyes fixed on our Leader, bearing the cross after Him. Be sure to behold Christ; for thus you will be changed into His image.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Lt 155, 1902

17LtMs, Lt 155, 1902, par. 17

Judge Arthur, I see no other way for us than to heed the words of Christ, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.] These words we must obey if we gain eternal life. The Majesty of heaven came to this world to teach us this lesson by a life of constant self-denial. Shall we not heed His instruction?

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 158, 1902

17LtMs, Ms 158, 1902, par. 31

Christ came to this world in humility. He was of lowly birth. He might have chosen the highest parentage, for He was the Prince of heaven, but He choose to come in poverty and humiliation. The Owner of the world, He had not where to lay His head. Unrecognized and unhonored, He walked in and out among the people for whom He had done so much. Of Himself He said, “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head.” [Luke 9:58.] And to His followers He says, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 19, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 19, 1903, par. 3

Men have written to me saying that they must have high wages, and pleading as an excuse an expensive family. And at the same time the institution with which they were connected was obliged to figure closely to meet running expenses. Why should any one plead an expensive family as a reason for demanding high wages? Is not the lesson that Christ has given sufficient? He says, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 2, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 2, 1903, par. 4

The Lord does not accept the service of those who live an inefficient, do-nothing life. They exert not a high, holy influence, but an influence that leads away from Christ. Self-denial, humility of mind, nobility of purpose, marked the Saviour’s life. He declares that as He lived, so we are to live. He has prepared for us opportunities and has marked out the path in which we may safely follow. His footprints lead along the pathway of self-sacrifice. To His disciples He says, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 3a, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 3a, 1903, par. 16

It requires holy, consistent living to give a man that wisdom that enables him to do the right thing at the right time. Every work is to be brought into judgment, to pass under the scrutiny of the great I Am. O we need to humble our hearts before God. Holiness of character, pure, upright principles, are obtained by diligent watching and earnest, sincere prayer. “If any man will come after Me,” Christ declares, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.] As we obey this instruction, we walk in the footsteps of the Saviour.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 63, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 63, 1903, par. 11

It behooves us to live in the fear and love of God. God is supreme, and He co-operates with those who represent Christ in life and character, those who are kind, thoughtful, self-denying, and self-sacrificing. Christ says, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 117, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 117, 1903, par. 4

Christ came to this earth and lived for us the life that every one must live who is granted entrance into the city of God. He says, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.] “So shall he be My disciple.” [John 15:8.] Your failure to obey this word is the great hindrance to your success in God’s work. I dare not say to the workers at the Sanitarium that it would be advisable for you to connect with the Sanitarium. Should you do this, you would, unless you are greatly changed, exert an influence that is counter to the influence that the Lord would have exerted in the institution.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 39, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 39, 1903, par. 14

It is not necessary for us to know the results of our course of action before we surrender wholly to God. We do not need to see the way or to know what the future will be. One thing we do know, because God has said it—the man that fears God and works righteousness will be accepted by Him. This is enough for us to know. Day by day walk before the Lord in humility and contrition. Your future destiny depends on your own course of action. “Choose ye this day whom ye will serve.” [Joshua 24:15.] “If the Lord be God, then serve Him; but if Baal, then serve him.” [1 Kings 18:21.] Be one thing or the other. “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” [Matthew 6:24.] Your present happiness and your future well-being depend on your own choice. If you choose to follow Jesus, you must obey the Word, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 22, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 22, 1903, par. 17

The question has been asked, “Would it not be well to pay men of ability wages that are in accordance with their experience and ability, so as to secure the very best talent?” The most valuable workers that can be secured for service in the cause of God are those who understand and obey the Word, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.] Justice, mercy, and the love of God are to be brought more decidedly into our work.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 166, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 166, 1903, par. 8

What does the great Medical Missionary say?—“If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.] It is Satan’s work to tempt men to tempt their fellow men. He strives to induce men to be laborers together with him in his work of destruction. He strives to lead them to give themselves so wholly to the indulgence of appetite and to the exciting amusements and follies which human nature naturally craves, but which the Word of God decidedly forbids, that they can be ranked as his helpers—working with him to destroy the image of God in man.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 64, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 64, 1903, par. 6

Shall this continue to be the condition of the people claiming to be Seventh-day Adventists? No one need remain in this condition, which makes men so abhorrent to the Saviour that He cannot take their names on His lips. God is weighing the actions of men. Will His people continue to slight His messages of mercy. Will those who claim to be leaders of His people mistake the path that He wants them to follow? Christ says, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 76, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 76, 1903, par. 27

Christ’s life was one of perfect obedience. Constantly He followed the pathway of obedience, that He might set an example that all could follow. He says, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 4, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 4, 1903, par. 5

In order to become acquainted with the disappointments and trials and griefs that come to human beings, Christ reached to the lowest depths of woe and humiliation. He has traveled the path that He asks His followers to travel. He says to them, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.] But professing Christians are not always willing to practice the self-denial that the Saviour calls for. They are not willing to bind about their wishes and desires in order that they may have more to give to the Lord. One says, “My family are expensive in their tastes, and it costs much to keep them.” This shows that he and they need to learn the lessons of economy taught by the life of Christ

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 47, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 47, 1903, par. 2

We came to Oakland last Monday to attend the General Conference. The Conference proper does not open until Friday, but the preliminary councils had already begun when we arrived. In this meeting there will be many important questions to consider. We shall require the wisdom that God alone can give. We have been praying that the Lord will richly bestow His grace upon us. We need His leadership at every step. We must follow closely in the footprints of Jesus. He says, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.] I have been deeply impressed that there must be much less talk, much less criticism, and much more earnest soul-hunger for the words of Bible truth.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 9 [Nos. 664-770]

MR No. 685—The Work of Reconversion Cannot Be Hidden

9MR 38.2

The growth of the soul demands spiritual exercise. “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). Thousands more might be Christ’s disciples, if they would only exercise their spiritual endowments, and thus grow to the full stature of men and women in Christ Jesus. When reconversion begins with the worker, the one for whom he labors will catch the spirit.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 232, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 232, 1903, par. 52

There is a knowledge of God and of Christ which all who are saved must have. “This is life eternal,” Christ says, “that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” [John 17:3.] And He says again, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.] To all who receive Him as their Redeemer, He gives power to become the sons of God. Every one who truly believes in Him will be inspired by faith and raised by the arm of Omnipotence.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 103, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 103, 1903, par. 9

We are engaged in a great work—the saving of souls ready to perish. We cannot devote our God-given time to a people who have been given the light of the Scriptures and the testimonies. Let God’s people walk in the light that He has given them. Let them believe the message and be converted. Let them use their knowledge and ability in the work for this time. Then their doubts and unbelief will disappear, and they will walk and work in the path that Christ has traversed. He declares, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)

Lt 271, 1904

19LtMs, Lt 271, 1904, par. 19

It does not make a man a Christian to have his name on the church books. Christ says of His people, “Ye are the light of the world.” [Matthew 5:14.] But the light does not originate with themselves. Their light comes from heaven. “God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” [2 Corinthians 4:6.] This light is a heavenly principle, to be carried out in every phase of the religious experience. Love for God is definite and positive in its action and puts into the heart of men an unselfish love for his fellow beings. It leads him to set a noble, Christlike example. It is a heavenly gift, and is always at work, leading its possessor to pattern after Christ. This love is shown in discipleship. “If any man will come after Me,” said Jesus, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.] “So shall he be My disciple.” [See John 15:8.] Christ’s love was enduring. It came from God and enabled Him to endure sacrifice and privation that God might be glorified.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)

Lt 249, 1904

19LtMs, Lt 249, 1904, par. 4

Every true Christian will follow Christ. Clear and distinct the Saviour’s voice is heard, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.] “So shall he be My disciple.” [See John 15:8.] The natural appetites and inclinations crave earthly pleasures. But those who love Jesus will bring these appetites and inclinations into harmony with His will. They have chosen to be on the Lord’s side, and their lives are to stand out in vivid contrast to the self-seeking of worldlings. The tempter will come to them with his blandishments and bribes, saying, “All this will I give thee if thou wilt worship me.” [Matthew 4:9.] But they know that he has nothing worth receiving, and they refuse to yield to his temptations. Through the grace of God, they are enabled to keep their purity of principle unsullied. Holy angels are close beside them, and Christ is revealed in their steadfast adherence to the truth. They are Christ’s minute men, bearing, as true witnesses, a decided testimony in favor of His truth. They show that there is a spiritual power that can enable men not to swerve an inch from truth and justice for all the gifts men can bestow.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)

Ms 50, 1904

19LtMs, Ms 50, 1904, par. 26

These words apply to halfhearted Christians who are not willing to follow Christ, but desire to follow the fashions of the world. The Saviour says, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.] “So shall he be My disciple.” [See John 15:8.] Deny yourself. Take up the cross that hinders you from perfecting a Christian character. Look to Him whose life was one of constant self-denial and self-sacrifice.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)

Ms 52, 1904

19LtMs, Ms 52, 1904, par. 8

Thus the Son of God gave Himself for us—the sinless for the sinful—that we might not perish. Let us think of the suffering that He endured for us; and as we think of it, let us remember that we are to be partakers of this suffering, that we may finally share in His glory. “If any man will come after Me,” He says, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)

Lt 145, 1904

19LtMs, Lt 145, 1904, par. 14

In the establishment and carrying forward of the work, the strictest economy is ever to be shown. Workers are to be employed who will be producers as well as consumers. In no case is money to be invested for display. The gospel medical missionary work is to be carried forward in simplicity, as was the work of the Majesty of heaven, who, seeing the necessities of a lost, sinful world, laid aside His royal robe and kingly crown and clothed His divinity with humanity, that He might stand at the head of humanity. He so conducted His missionary work as to leave a perfect example for human beings to follow. “If any man will come after Me,” He declared, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.] Every true medical missionary will obey these words. He will not strain every nerve to follow worldly customs and make a display, thus thinking to win souls to the Saviour. No, no. If the Majesty of heaven could leave His glorious home to come to a world all seared and marred by the curse, to establish correct methods of doing medical missionary work, we His followers ought to practice the same self-denial and self-sacrifice.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)

Ms 22, 1904

19LtMs, Ms 22, 1904, par. 27

We are not to be satisfied with a low standard. “if any man will come after Me,” Christ says, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.] May God help fathers and mothers to purify their souls that they may stand before Him and before the world as those who are keeping the way of the Lord.