Lessons from the Christ-Life

«I can of mine own self do nothing,» Christ continued; «as I hear, judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which He witnesseth of me is true.

«Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.» John had declared, «He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand.» «Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before Him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all; he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth; He that cometh from heaven is above all. And what He hath seen and heard, that He testifieth; and no man receiveth His testimony. He that hath received His testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.»

Speaking of John to the Pharisees, Christ said, «He was a burning and a shining light; and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.» At first the Jewish teachers were greatly moved by the message of John, but it meant too much to practice his teachings. They rejected him because he pointed out the inconsistencies of their course.

«I have greater witness than that of John,» Christ said; «for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.»

«Ye shall know them by their fruits.» If the Jewish leaders had had no other testimony than the works of Christ, they would have been without excuse. They were not ignorant of the miracles which He wrought, but these works were a testimony against them; therefore they rejected them.

«And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me.» At the baptism the Holy Spirit had descended on Christ, and God’s voice had said, «This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.» But the Pharisees heard not the voice; they saw not the Spirit of God as a dove hovering over the Saviour. «Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape,» Christ declared.

As at different times during Christ’s work divinity flashed through humanity, and He stood transfigured before the people, the Jewish leaders were deeply impressed. But as they talked it over with one another, their unbelief strengthened, and the evidence that should have convinced them was rejected. The strongest evidence was no evidence to them, while the weakest, most superficial arguments, if against the truth which the Saviour brought, were sound in their estimation. They had started upon a path leading to eternal ruin.

«Ye have not His word abiding in you,» Christ said; «for whom He hath sent, Him ye believe not. Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.» They had in their possession the word of God, and they supposed that they knew its teachings. They were indignant that this new teacher should tell them to search the Scriptures.

Christ saw that the Jewish teachers misinterpreted the word of God, and He urged upon them a more diligent study of its precepts. In Him were fast being fulfilled the types and shadows of the Jewish economy. If they searched the Scriptures as they should, they would find that He claimed nothing which was not rightfully His.

Had the Jews searched God’s word as they should, they would have seen that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. But they searched with proud, selfish ambition as a guide, and they found a Messiah of their own imagination. Therefore when the Saviour came, a humble man, bringing to naught by His teaching long-established theories and traditions, presenting truth entirely opposite to their practices, they said, Who is this invader that dares to set aside our authority? Christ did not come as they had expected; therefore they refused to receive Him, and called Him a deceiver and an impostor. Instead of listening to Him that they might learn the truth, they listened with evil intent, that they might find something over which to cavil. And when once they had set their feet in the path of the great leader in rebellion, it was an easy matter for Satan to strengthen them in opposition. Christ’s wonderful works, which God meant to be heaven-sent evidence to them, Satan caused them to interpret against Him. The more marked the way in which God spoke to them by His works of mercy and love, the more confirmed did they become in their resistance. Blinded by prejudice, they refused to acknowledge that Jesus is divine.

«I receive not honor from men,» Christ said. It was not the influence or sanction of the Sanhedrim that Christ desired. He wished not for human honor or approbation. He was invested with power from above. Had He desired honor, how quickly would the heavenly angels have come to His side! How quickly would the Father again have testified to the divinity of His Son! From no human source did Christ crave honor. He could not have been rendered more honorable if the whole school of the rabbis had lent Him their influence.

«I know you,» Christ declared to the Pharisees, «that ye have not the love of God in you.» He spoke to them thus plainly because they could not discern His divinity under the veil of humanity. He was God in human flesh, and He could not but work the works of God. Unbelief, prejudice, and jealousy beat about Him, and if His humanity had not been united with divinity, He would have failed and become discouraged. At times His divinity flashed through humanity, and He stood forth as the Son of God, His veil of flesh too transparent to hide His majesty. But the men who claimed to be the expositors of the prophecies refused to believe that He was the Christ. Satan had control of their minds, and they utterly refused to acknowledge the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth.

Since Christ was treated thus, can we be surprised when those to whom He has given His message are rejected and scorned by men whose resistance of light is even less excusable than was the resistance of the Jews?

Christ did not frame His words to accommodate the pretentious pride of a deceived, self-righteous people. «I know you,» He said, «that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.» Jesus came by the authority of God, bearing His image, seeking His glory, fulfilling His word. His mission bore the divine credentials. But His work failed to convince the hearts that were steeled by prejudice. Yet when others should come, assuming the title of Christ without giving genuine evidence that they were sent by God, speaking on the authority of their own finite judgment, acting for their own glory, they would be received because their theories agreed with cherished ideas and opinions.

«How can ye believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only?» Christ asked. «Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?»

Moses spoke only the words which the Great Teacher, enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, bade him speak. The writings of Moses presented types of the Messiah and promises of His coming. All these would condemn the Jews, because they professed to believe Moses. Had they really believed him, they would have welcomed the One of whom he wrote.

As Christ spoke, the scribes and Pharisees listened to words such as they had never heard before. But instead of receiving the speaker as the long-expected Messiah, they angrily rejected His claims. He questioned their doctrine, and this was regarded by them as a sin never to be forgiven. They were determined to stand by their traditions and commandments. They would teach them just as strenuously as if no counter-influence had been exerted to correct their errors and deceptions.

What a contrast to the reception given to Christ by the Jewish leaders was the reception given to Him by Simeon! The Jews lived in daily expectation of seeing the long-looked-for Messiah. They talked of His coming, and with proud ambition built hopes of worldly greatness on the prospect. But when He came, meek and lowly, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, they hid their faces from Him.

Simeon no sooner saw the infant in the priest’s arms than he was divinely impressed. Taking Him in his arms, he blessed Him, and said, «Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.»

Simeon realized that he held in his arms One who was the Way, the Truth, and the Life. There was at this time nothing in Christ’s outward appearance to give him this assurance, but Simeon had lived in the atmosphere of heaven. The bright beams of the Sun of righteousness gave him spiritual discernment. His one desire had been to see Christ. The purity of his life corresponded to the light he had received, and he was prepared for the revelation of the great truth that this helpless infant was the Lord’s anointed, even the Messiah. Joy and exultation transfigured his face as he held in his arms God’s most precious gift to men. His illumined mind received the light flowing from the Source of all light. He saw that Christ was to be the hope of the Gentiles as well as of the Jews. The walls of tradition built up by Jewish prejudice did not exist in his mind. He realized that the Messiah was to bring redemption to all.

Turning to the Jews, we see the other side. The scribes and Pharisees had separated themselves from God by their national pride. There were in Judea schools of learning, and the leaders of these schools were filled with self-exaltation. They thought that they had all the light that had ever been given to the world. They looked for the Messiah to come as a temporal prince, to exalt the Jewish nation above all other nations on the earth. As their self-confidence increased, their dependence on God decreased. They walked in their own ways, and were filled with self-sufficiency and self-righteousness. They professed to be the expositors of Scripture, but they misinterpreted and misapplied its teachings. Instead of reflecting light to the people, they cast a shadow upon them. The voice of God speaking to them through His Son was to them the voice of a stranger.

The least difference of opinion expressed by Christ was an occasion for the Jews to resist and denounce Him. At times they charged Him with working miracles through Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. The least mention of Christ as a light to lighten the Gentiles roused to fury the national prejudice. The worst passions of the heart were stirred; for the Pharisees had taught the Jewish people to despise and hate the Gentiles. Were their commands and traditions to be treated with indifference, and, worse still, to be brushed away as error? Was this man, the son of a carpenter, to be accepted as knowing more than the priests and rulers? They would show him that he could not take the people from them. They determined to put him to death.

Why should there be such a difference between the reception of Christ by the Jewish teachers and His reception by Simeon?—Because the spiritual condition of the two was different. The Jews were guided and controlled by pride and selfishness. Simeon revered God, and walked in the way of the Lord. He listened constantly for the voice of God, and he was enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Those who wait on the Lord will, like Simeon, receive divine illumination.

Simeon and the priests represent two classes,—those who are guided by the Spirit of God because they are willing to be instructed, and those who, refusing to receive the light which would lead them into all truth, are guided by the spirit of the power of darkness, and are daily being led into deeper darkness.

By divine illumination Simeon understood Christ’s mission. The Holy Spirit impressed his heart. But the priests and rulers were imbued with the spirit of the enemy of God; and to-day the same spirit influences human minds, controlling with power the hearts of men, and making of none effect the appeals of the Spirit.

The Jewish leaders claimed to be the expositors of prophecy; but while their hearts were filled with envy, evil-surmisings, and selfish pride, they could not distinguish between the voice of the true Shepherd and the voice of a stranger. They strengthened one another in resistance. The same thing is done in our day. The same resistance of truth will be shown by those who stubbornly refuse to receive the cautions and reproofs which the Lord sends. But those who reject the word of God for tradition will not be able to stand amid the perils of the last days.

The Jews virtually said, as did Pharaoh, «Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice?» The same power that had made itself felt all over the land of Egypt was striving with the Jews. But they refused to bow before it, and their hearts grew harder. The same voice is speaking to men and women to-day. We are in danger of falling into the error into which the Jews fell. God warns us not to do as they did.

If our hearts are open to receive the light of truth, we shall see what Jesus is to our world. But too often that which would be to the people of God the very light and blessing they need is rejected because of blindness of mind and hardness of heart. Many walk in darkness, and can see no light. To them truth seems to be error. The voice of One coming in the name of the Father is ignored. They prepare the way for Satan to bring them strong delusions, that they may believe a lie. God’s word declares, «Of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.»

God stands ready to bestow rich blessings upon men; but few will bend from their selfishness to receive the gracious gift. From age to age there is acted over the same rejection of light that grieved the heart of Christ when He was on earth. There is seen the same refusal to hear the voice of God through His appointed agencies, because the message borne does not sanction human theories. Christ is as really rejected today by the rejection of His messages of warning and reproof as when He stood in this world a man among men. —