Bethesda and the Sanhedrin
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The words of Christ teach that we should regard ourselves as in-
separably bound to our Father in heaven. Whatever our position, we
are dependent upon God, who holds all destinies in His hands. He has
appointed us our work, and has endowed us with faculties and means
for that work. So long as we surrender the will to God, and trust in
His strength and wisdom, we shall be guided in safe paths, to fulfill
our appointed part in His great plan. But the one who depends upon
his own wisdom and power is separating himself from God. Instead
of working in unison with Christ, he is fulfilling the purpose of the
enemy of God and man.
The Saviour continued: “What things soever He [the Father] doeth,
these also doeth the Son likewise.... As the Father raiseth up the dead,
and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will.” The
Sadducees held that there would be no resurrection of the body; but
Jesus tells them that one of the greatest works of His Father is raising
the dead, and that He Himself has power to do the same work. “The
hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the
Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” The Pharisees believed in
the resurrection of the dead. Christ declares that even now the power
which gives life to the dead is among them, and they are to behold its
manifestation. This same resurrection power is that which gives life
to the soul “dead in trespasses and sins.”
Ephesians 2:1
. That spirit
of life in Christ Jesus, “the power of His resurrection,” sets men “free
from the law of sin and death.”
Philippians 3:10
;
Romans 8:2
. The
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dominion of evil is broken, and through faith the soul is kept from sin.
He who opens his heart to the Spirit of Christ becomes a partaker of
that mighty power which shall bring forth his body from the grave.
The humble Nazarene asserts His real nobility. He rises above
humanity, throws off the guise of sin and shame, and stands revealed,
the Honored of the angels, the Son of God, One with the Creator of
the universe. His hearers are spellbound. No man has ever spoken
words like His, or borne himself with such a kingly majesty. His
utterances are clear and plain, fully declaring His mission, and the
duty of the world. “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed
all judgment unto the Son: that all men should honor the Son, even as
they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the
Father which hath sent Him.... For as the Father hath life in Himself;
so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself; and hath given