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them, they had not understood the mystery of His incarnation. They
did not fully recognize divinity in humanity. But after the Holy
Spirit shed light into their minds, how they longed to see Him again!
And how they wished they could have Him explain the Scriptures
that they could not comprehend! What had Christ meant when He
said, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear
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them now”?
John 16:12
. They grieved that their faith had been so
feeble, that they had so failed of comprehending the reality.
The wonderful Person whom John had announced had been
among them for more than thirty years, and they had not really
known Him as the One sent from God. The disciples had allowed
the prevailing unbelief to cloud their understanding. They often
repeated His conversations and said, “Why did we allow the oppo-
sition of the priests and rabbis to confuse our senses so that we did
not comprehend that Someone greater than Moses was among us,
that One wiser than Solomon was instructing us? How dull were our
ears!”
When they were brought before councils and put into prison,
the followers of Christ rejoiced “that they were counted worthy to
suffer shame for His name.”
Acts 5:41
. They recognized the glory
of Christ, and they chose to follow Him even if it meant losing all
things.
The kingdom of God does not come with outward show. The
gospel, with its spirit of self-denial, can never be in harmony with
the spirit of the world. But today many people want to make our
Lord the ruler of the kingdoms of this world, the ruler in its courts,
legislative halls, palaces, and marketplaces. They expect Him to
rule through legal enactments, enforced by human authority. Since
Christ is not here in person now, they themselves will act in His
place. Such a kingdom is what the Jews wanted in the days of Christ.
But He said, “My kingdom is not of this world.”
John 18:36
.
The government under which Jesus lived was corrupt and oppres-
sive. Everywhere were terrible abuses—extortion, intolerance, and
grinding cruelty. Yet the Savior attempted no civil reforms, attacked
no national abuses, nor condemned the national enemies. He did
not interfere with the authority of those in power. He who was our
example kept His distance from earthly governments, not because
He was indifferent to human woe, but because the remedy did not lie