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The Desire of Ages
that salvation was restricted to the Jews, and that the condition of all
others, being already hopeless, could be made no worse. But God has
given no commandments which cannot be obeyed by all. His laws
sanction no unreasonable or selfish restrictions.
In the temple Jesus met the man who had been healed. He had
come to bring a sin offering and also a thank offering for the great
mercy he had received. Finding him among the worshipers, Jesus
made Himself known, with the warning words, “Behold, thou art made
whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.”
The healed man was overjoyed at meeting his Deliverer. Ignorant
of the enmity toward Jesus, he told the Pharisees who had questioned
him, that this was He who had performed the cure. “Therefore did the
Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay Him, because He had done
these things on the Sabbath day.”
Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin to answer the charge of
Sabbathbreaking. Had the Jews at this time been an independent na-
tion, such a charge would have served their purpose for putting Him
to death. This their subjection to the Romans prevented. The Jews
had not the power to inflict capital punishment, and the accusations
brought against Christ would have no weight in a Roman court. There
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were other objects, however, which they hoped to secure. Notwith-
standing their efforts to counteract His work, Christ was gaining, even
in Jerusalem, an influence over the people greater than their own. Mul-
titudes who were not interested in the harangues of the rabbis were
attracted by His teaching. They could understand His words, and their
hearts were warmed and comforted. He spoke of God, not as an aveng-
ing judge, but as a tender father, and He revealed the image of God as
mirrored in Himself. His words were like balm to the wounded spirit.
Both by His words and by His works of mercy He was breaking the
oppressive power of the old traditions and man-made commandments,
and presenting the love of God in its exhaustless fullness.
In one of the earliest prophecies of Christ it is written, “The scepter
shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be.”
Genesis 49:10
. The people were gathering to Christ. The sympathetic
hearts of the multitude accepted lessons of love and benevolence in
preference to the rigid ceremonies required by the priests. If the priests
and rabbis had not interposed, His teaching would have wrought such