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The Desire of Ages
made their choice,—had taken the form without the spirit, the husk
without the kernel. Their decision was never afterward reversed; for
they walked no more with Jesus.
“Whose fan is in His hand, and He will throughly purge His floor,
and gather His wheat into the garner.”
Matthew 3:12
. This was one of
the times of purging. By the words of truth, the chaff was being sepa-
rated from the wheat. Because they were too vain and self-righteous
to receive reproof, too world-loving to accept a life of humility, many
turned away from Jesus. Many are still doing the same thing. Souls
are tested today as were those disciples in the synagogue at Caper-
naum. When truth is brought home to the heart, they see that their
lives are not in accordance with the will of God. They see the need
of an entire change in themselves; but they are not willing to take up
the self-denying work. Therefore they are angry when their sins are
discovered. They go away offended, even as the disciples left Jesus,
murmuring, “This is an hard saying; who can hear it?”
Praise and flattery would be pleasing to their ears; but the truth
is unwelcome; they cannot hear it. When the crowds follow, and the
multitudes are fed, and the shouts of triumph are heard, their voices
are loud in praise; but when the searching of God’s Spirit reveals their
sin, and bids them leave it, they turn their backs upon the truth, and
walk no more with Jesus.
As those disaffected disciples turned away from Christ, a differ-
ent spirit took control of them. They could see nothing attractive in
Him whom they had once found so interesting. They sought out His
enemies, for they were in harmony with their spirit and work. They
misinterpreted His words, falsified His statements, and impugned His
motives. They sustained their course by gathering up every item that
could be turned against Him; and such indignation was stirred up by
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these false reports that His life was in danger.
The news spread swiftly that by His own confession Jesus of
Nazareth was not the Messiah. And thus in Galilee the current of
popular feeling was turned against Him, as, the year before, it had
been in Judea. Alas for Israel! They rejected their Saviour, because
they longed for a conqueror who would give them temporal power.
They wanted the meat which perishes, and not that which endures unto
everlasting life.