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The Spirit of Prophecy Volume 2
Jesus, with startling emphasis, denied that the Jews were following
the example of Abraham. Said he, “Ye do the deeds of your father.” The
Pharisees, partly comprehending his meaning, said, “We be not born
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of fornication; we have one Father, even God.” But Jesus answered
them: “If God were your Father, ye would love me; for I proceeded
forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.”
The Pharisees had turned from God, and refused to recognize his Son.
If their minds had been open to the love of God, they would have
acknowledged the Saviour who was sent to the world by him. Jesus
boldly revealed their desperate condition:—
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye
will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the
truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he
speaketh of his own; for he is a liar; and the father of it. And because I
tell you the truth, ye believe me not.” These words were spoken with
sorrowful pathos, as Jesus realized the terrible condition into which
these men had fallen. But his enemies heard him with uncontrollable
anger; although his majestic bearing, and the mighty weight of the
truths he uttered, held them powerless. Jesus continued to draw the
sharp contrast between their position and that of Abraham, whose
children they claimed to be:—
“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it,
and was glad.” The Jews listened incredulously to this assertion, and
said, sneeringly, “Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen
Abraham?” Jesus, with a lofty dignity that sent a thrill of conviction
through their guilty souls, answered, “Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Before Abraham was, I am.” For a moment, silence fell upon all the
people, as the grand and awful import of these words dawned upon
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their minds. But the Pharisees, speedily recovering from the influence
of his words, and fearing their effect upon the people, commenced to
create an uproar, railing at him as a blasphemer. “Then took they up
stones to cast at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple,
going through the midst of them, and so passed by.”
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