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The Desire of Ages
mission, he yielded himself to God for life or for death, as should best
serve the interests of the cause he loved.
After the messengers had departed, Jesus spoke to the people
concerning John. The Saviour’s heart went out in sympathy to the
faithful witness now buried in Herod’s dungeon. He would not leave
the people to conclude that God had forsaken John, or that his faith
had failed in the day of trial. “What went ye out into the wilderness to
see?” He said. “A reed shaken with the wind?”
The tall reeds that grew beside the Jordan, bending before every
breeze, were fitting representatives of the rabbis who had stood as
critics and judges of the Baptist’s mission. They were swayed this
way and that by the winds of popular opinion. They would not humble
themselves to receive the heart-searching message of the Baptist, yet
for fear of the people they dared not openly oppose his work. But God’s
messenger was of no such craven spirit. The multitudes who were
gathered about Christ had been witnesses to the work of John. They
had heard his fearless rebuke of sin. To the self-righteous Pharisees,
the priestly Sadducees, King Herod and his court, princes and soldiers,
publicans and peasants, John had spoken with equal plainness. He was
no trembling reed, swayed by the winds of human praise or prejudice.
In the prison he was the same in his loyalty to God and his zeal for
righteousness as when he preached God’s message in the wilderness.
In his faithfulness to principle he was as firm as a rock.
Jesus continued, “But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed
in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously appareled, and
live delicately, are in kings’ courts.” John had been called to reprove
the sins and excesses of his time, and his plain dress and self-denying
life were in harmony with the character of his mission. Rich apparel
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and the luxuries of this life are not the portion of God’s servants, but
of those who live “in kings’ courts,” the rulers of this world, to whom
pertain its power and its riches. Jesus wished to direct attention to the
contrast between the clothing of John, and that worn by the priests
and rulers. These officials arrayed themselves in rich robes and costly
ornaments. They loved display, and hoped to dazzle the people, and
thus command greater consideration. They were more anxious to gain
the admiration of men than to obtain the purity of heart which would
win the approval of God. Thus they revealed that their allegiance was
not given to God, but to the kingdom of this world.