He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. John 5:24.
The sayings of Christ are to be valued not merely in accordance with the measure of our understanding; they are to be considered in the important bearing which Christ Himself gave them. He took the old truths, of which He Himself was the originator, and placed them before His hearers in heaven's own light. And how different was their representation! What a flood of meaning and brightness and spirituality was brought in by their explanation! ...
The rich treasures of truth, opened before the people, attracted and charmed them. They were in marked contrast with the spiritless, lifeless expositions of the Old Testament Scriptures by the rabbis. And the miracles which Jesus wrought kept constantly before His hearers the honor and glory of God. He seemed to them a messenger direct from heaven, for He spoke not to their ears only, but to their hearts. As He stood forth in His humility, yet in dignity and majesty, as one born to command, a power attended Him; hearts were melted into tenderness. An earnest desire was created to be in His presence, to listen to the voice of Him who uttered truth with such solemn melody....
Every miracle wrought by Christ convinced some of His true character. Had someone in the common walks of life done the same works that Christ did, all would have declared that person to be working by the power of God. But there were those who did not receive the light of heaven, and they set themselves more determinedly against this evidence....
It was not the absence of external honor and riches and glory that caused the Jews to reject Jesus. The Sun of Righteousness, shining amid the moral darkness in such distinct rays, revealed the contrast between sin and holiness, purity and defilement, and such light was not welcome to them....
The teachings of Christ, in precept and example, were the sowing of the seed afterward to be cultivated by His disciples. The testimony of these fishermen was to be referred to as the highest authority by all the nations of the world.—The Review and Herald, July 12, 1898.
From From the Heart - Page 94
From the Heart