Jesus at Bethesda
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judgment upon them. Therefore, the Father has given this work into
the hands of his Son, knowing that He who victoriously withstood
the temptations of Satan, in behalf of man, will be all-wise, just, and
gracious in his dealing with him.
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The words of Jesus were more impressive because the controversy
had risen very high. He was virtually summoned before the dignitaries
of the Jews to be tried for his life. He, the Lord of the Sabbath,
was arraigned before an earthly tribunal, to answer to the charge of
breaking the Sabbath law. When he so boldly made known his mission
and work, his judges looked upon him with mingled astonishment and
rage, but his words were unanswerable and they could not condemn
him.
He denied the right of the Pharisees to question him or to interfere
with his business. The Jewish system invested them with no such
authority; their claims were based upon their own pride and arrogance.
He refused to plead guilty to any wrong or submit to being catechised
by them.
After presenting before them these grand truths concerning his
work in connection with the Father, he binds his assertions with the
testimonies that have been borne of him: “I can of mine own self do
nothing; as I hear, I 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. But I
receive not testimony from man; but these things I say, that ye might
be saved. He was a burning and a shining light; and ye were willing
for a season to rejoice in his light.” From his sublime height he reads
the secrets of their hearts and reminds them that for a time they had
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accepted John as a prophet of God and rejoiced in the message that
he brought them. He affirms that the mission of John was solely to
prepare the way of himself, whom the prophet testified was the Christ,
the Redeemer of the world.
But no man could witness concerning the mysterious connection
of Jesus with the Father; human knowledge cannot reach the courts
of Heaven. Jesus assures them that he does not refer to the testimony
of John in order to sustain his claims, but only that his persecutors
may be convinced of their blindness and inconsistency in defiantly