44
Daughters of God
we have, and is offered from love to Him.—
The Review and Herald,
December 9, 1890
.
The priest went through the ceremony of his official work. He took
the child in his arms, and held it up before the altar. After handing it
back to its mother, he inscribed the name “Jesus” on the roll of the
firstborn. Little did he think, as the babe lay in his arms, that it was
the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory. The priest did not think that
this babe was the One of whom Moses had written, “A prophet shall
the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me;
him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.”
Acts
3:22
. He did not think that this babe was He whose glory Moses had
asked to see. But One greater than Moses lay in the priest’s arms; and
when he enrolled the child’s name, he was enrolling the name of One
who was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy.—
The Desire
of Ages, 52 (1898)
.
[From the first] Mary looked forward to the Messiah’s reign on
David’s throne, but she saw not the baptism of suffering by which it
must be won. Through Simeon [at Christ’s dedication as a baby in
the temple] it is revealed that the Messiah is to have no unobstructed
passage through the world. In the words to Mary, “A sword shall
pierce through thy own soul also,” God in His tender mercy gives to
the mother of Jesus an intimation of the anguish that already for His
sake she had begun to bear.—
The Desire of Ages, 56 (1898)
.
The child Jesus did not receive instruction in the synagogue
schools. His mother was His first human teacher. From her lips
and from the scrolls of the prophets, He learned of heavenly things.
The very words which He Himself had spoken to Moses for Israel He
[51]
was now taught at His mother’s knee. As He advanced from child-
hood to youth, He did not seek the schools of the rabbis. He needed
not the education to be obtained from such sources; for God was His
instructor.—
The Desire of Ages, 70 (1898)
.
Among the Jews the twelfth year was the dividing line between
childhood and youth. On completing this year a Hebrew boy was
called a son of the law, and also a son of God. He was given special
opportunities for religious instruction, and was expected to participate
in the sacred feasts and observances. It was in accordance with this
custom that Jesus in His boyhood made the Passover visit to Jerusalem.
Like all devout Israelites, Joseph and Mary went up every year to attend