Signs of the Times, Vol. 3, No. 9. (2/22/1877)

Signs of the Times

Feb 22, 1877

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Feb 22, 1877

Jesus at Capernaum

By Ellen G. White

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

After the work of healing that Jesus had performed upon the Sabbath at the Pool of Bethesda, the malice of the leading Jews was so kindled against him that they plotted against his life, and it was no longer safe for him to remain in Jerusalem. Therefore he repaired to Galilee, making Capernaum the scene of his labors. At this place he taught; and upon the Sabbaths, multitudes gathered to listen to his doctrine. Here his way seemed to be unobstructed, although spies were upon his track, watching for something whereof they might accuse him.

The hearts of the common people were open to receive his divine instruction. His heart was overflowing with sympathy for suffering humanity, and it was with joy that he saw men respond to his teachings of love and benevolence. His hearers were charmed with the eloquent simplicity with which he preached the truth. His illustrations were drawn from scenes transpiring in their every-day lives. He adapted his language to all classes and conditions of men.

Jesus did not go to Capernaum to avoid society nor to find rest from his labors. Capernaum was a great thoroughfare of travel; people from many countries passed through the city, or tarried there for rest in their journeyings to and fro. Here the great Teacher could meet all nations and all ranks. He could give lessons that would not only be received by those present, but would be carried to other countries and into many households. Investigations of the prophecies would thus be excited, notice would be directed to the Saviour, and his work and mission would be brought before the world.

Here he had a better opportunity than elsewhere of meeting the representatives of all classes, as they mingled together, every one intent upon his own errand. The rich who were counted for their wealth could here be reached by his ministrations, as well as the poor and needy. Christ presented himself to the people as the Saviour of the world. As soon as it was known that he was in Capernaum, multitudes crowded to hear his words of heavenly wisdom. Jesus had taken his disciples up into a mountain for a little season of retirement, but when he saw the people flocking to him he had not the heart to turn them away.

The feast of the Jews was near, and many had come in from the region about Jerusalem, seeking Jesus, of whose wonderful miracles they had heard. The sick and the afflicted were brought to him, and he healed their maladies. As he witnessed the joy of those whom he had relieved, his own heart of love rejoiced with those who had received his blessing. He made many families happy by restoring their suffering ones to health. He caused light to dawn upon households that had been plunged into the shadows of affliction. The sorrowing were comforted, the ignorant instructed, and hope was awakened in the hearts of the despairing.

The people received the message that he brought them, and believed his words. None were more willing to accept the truth than the poor and humble, who were not separated from their Saviour by vanity and pride, the treasures of this world, or the praise of men. They found in him a consolation for all their toil and privations. He turned none away. He was touched with tender pity for the distress of those who sought his aid, and they left his presence, bearing evidence in their own persons of his healing and life-giving power. The hearts of the people went out in reverential love for their Benefactor, and he was a partaker of their joy. His labors while in Capernaum resulted in great good, and many were led to believe on him. His acts of matchless mercy won the hearts of the multitudes.

The scribes and Pharisees were confounded; their purposes in regard to Jesus were defeated. They had listened to his teachings in order to catch him in his words, and turn the minds of the people from him to themselves. They knew that since the ministry of Jesus had commenced, their own influence over the people had greatly decreased. The sympathetic hearts of the multitude accepted lessons of love and kindly benevolence in preference to the cold forms and rigid ceremonies enacted by the priests.

Although the Pharisees were astonished by the miracles that Jesus wrought, they were all the more anxious to remove one, who, by his great power, was most dangerous to their claims and pretensions.

Bodily diseases, however aggravated and apparently hopeless, were met and baffled by his divine power; but the disease of the soul, fastened in unbelief and blind prejudice, took firmer hold upon those who closed their eyes against the light. The most powerful evidence that could be produced only strengthened their opposition. Leprosy and palsy were not so terrible as bigotry and unbelief. Jesus turned from the teachers of Israel, and their chains of darkness and skepticism tightened about them.

The inhabitants of Capernaum had been greatly astonished by the sudden and effectual cure of the ruler's son at a word from Jesus, when he was more than twenty miles distant from the sufferer. They were rejoiced to learn that he who possessed such miraculous power was in their own city. On the Sabbath day, the synagogue where he spoke was packed with people, and yet many who desired to enter were unable to do so. As usual, a great number came through curiosity, but there were many who earnestly desired to learn regarding the gospel of God's kingdom.

All who heard him were astonished, “for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” His words were a demonstration of the Spirit of God, and they struck home to the souls of men with divine power. The teachings of the scribes and elders was cold and formal, like a lesson learned by rote. They explained the law as a matter of custom, but no authority from God sanctified their utterances, no holy inspiration stirred their own hearts and those of their hearers.

Jesus had nothing to do with the various subjects of dissension among the Jews. His words were so simple that a child could understand them, yet lofty enough in their grand simplicity to charm the highest mind with their noble truths. He spoke of a new kingdom which he came to set up among them, in opposition to the kingdom of this world, and of his power to wrest from Satan his dominion, and deliver the captives bound by his power.

There was a man in the synagogue who was possessed of the spirit of Satan. He broke in upon the discourse of Jesus with a piercing shriek, that chilled the blood of the hearers with a nameless terror. “Let us alone!” he cried. “What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee, who thou art, the Holy One of God!”

Devils even believed and trembled, but the Israel of God had closed their eyes and ears to divine evidences, and knew not the time of their visitation. Satan’s object in leading his wretched victim to the synagogue, was to distract the attention of the people from Jesus to the paroxysms of the poor sufferer and prevent the words of truth from reaching the heart of the people. But the darkened understanding of the man comprehended that the teachings of Jesus were from Heaven. The power of divinity aroused the terror of the demon which controlled his mind, and a conflict ensued between it and his remnant of reason.

As the victim realized that the Healer was near to release him, his heart was aroused to long for freedom from Satan’s power. The demon resisted this power and held control over the poor wretch who was wrestling against him. The sufferer tried to appeal to Jesus for help, but when he opened his lips, the demon put words in his mouth so that he shrieked out in an agony of fear, “Let us alone! what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth?” The darkened reason of the poor man partially comprehended that he was in the presence of one who could free him from the bondage that had so long enslaved him; but when he sought to come within reach of that mighty hand, another’s will held him back, another’s words found utterance through him.

By his own sinful course, this man had placed himself on the enemy’s ground, and Satan had taken possession of all his faculties, so that when the gloom of his understanding was pierced by feeble rays of light from the Saviour’s presence, the conflict between his desire for freedom and the devil’s power threw him into terrible contortions, and drew from him unearthly cries. The demon exerted all his hellish power to retain the control of his victim. To lose ground here would be to give Jesus a victory. He who had in his own person, conquered the prince of the power of darkness in the wilderness of temptation, was now again brought face to face with his enemy.

It seemed that the tortured man must lose his life in the terrible struggle with the demon that had been the ruin of his manhood. Only one power could break this cruel tyranny. Jesus spoke with a voice of authority and set the captive free. The demoniac spirit made a last effort to rend the life from his victim before he was forced to depart. Then the man who had been possessed stood before the wondering people happy in the freedom of self-possession. In the synagogue on the Sabbath day, before the assembled congregation, the prince of darkness was again met and conquered. And even the demon had testified to the divine power of the Saviour, crying, “Thou Jesus of Nazareth! Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee, who thou art, the Holy One of God!”

The man whose reason was thus suddenly restored praised God for his deliverance. The eye that had so lately glared with the fire of insanity, now beamed with intelligence and overflowed with grateful tears. The people were dumb with amazement. As soon as they recovered speech they marveled one with another, saying, “What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out!”

It was not according to the will of God that this man should be visited with so terrible an affliction as to be delivered wholly into the hands of Satan. The secret source of his calamity, which had made him a fearful spectacle to his friends and a burden to himself, was in his own life. The pleasures of sin had fascinated him, the path of dissipation had looked bright and tempting, he had thought to make life a grand carnival. He did not dream of becoming a disgust and terror to the world and the reproach of his family. He thought his time could be spent in innocent folly; but once on the downward path, his feet rapidly descended till he had broken the laws of health and morality. Intemperance and frivolity chained his senses, the fine qualities of his mind were perverted, and Satan stepped in and took absolute control of him.

But he who conquered the arch-enemy in the wilderness, wrested this writhing captive from the grasp of Satan. Jesus well knew that, although assuming another form, this demon was the same evil spirit that had tempted him in the wilderness. Satan seeks by various devices to gain his object. The same spirit that saw and recognized the Saviour, and cried out to him, “Let us alone! What have we to do with thee?” possessed the wicked Jews who rejected Christ and scorned his teachings. But with them he assumed an air of piety and learning, seeking to deceive them as to their real motives in refusing the Saviour.

Jesus then retired from the synagogue while the people were still spell-bound with wonder and admiration. This miracle was then followed by another quite as wonderful. Jesus sought the house of Peter for a little rest; but there was no rest for the Son of man. He was told that the mother of Peter’s wife was sick with a fever. His sympathetic heart was at once called out to relieve the suffering woman. He rebuked the disease, and it was at once removed from her. She rose from the bed, filled with joy and gratitude, and ministered with willing hands to the wants of the master and his disciples.

These miracles and works of healing were spread abroad throughout the city. Yet, these acts of mercy only made the bitterness of the Pharisees more intense. They closely watched all the movements of Jesus, seeking for cause to accuse him. Their influence prevented many from applying to Jesus for relief from their infirmities upon the Sabbath day. They feared being stigmatized as transgressors of the law. But no sooner had the sun passed out of sight in the west than a great commotion ensued. The diseased flocked to Jesus from every quarter. Those who had sufficient strength came by themselves, but a much larger number were borne by their friends to the great Physician.

They were in every condition of helplessness and approaching death. Some were burning with fevers, others were paralyzed, stricken with dropsy, blind, deaf, and lame. And in the distance was heard the pitiful cry of the leper, Unclean! Unclean! as he stretched his decaying hands toward the Healer. The work of Jesus commenced when the first afflicted one was brought before him. The supplicants were healed by a word from his lips or a touch of his hand. With gratitude and rejoicing they returned to gladness with their enlightened minds and healthy bodies the homes that they had so recently left as helpless invalids.

Those who had carefully borne them from their couches to the presence of Jesus returned with them, weeping tears of joy, and shouting the praises of the Saviour. Little children were not overlooked, but the puny sufferers were handed back to their happy mothers rosy with life and health. These living evidences of the divine power of Jesus created a great excitement in all that region. Never before had Capernaum witnessed a day like this. The air was filled with the voice of triumph and shouts of deliverance.

The heart of the blessed Saviour, who had worked so great cures, was joyful in the joy he had awakened in the hearts of suffering humanity. He had healed every one who had applied to him for help. His great love for man was stirred to its very depths as he witnessed the suffering of those who had come to him, and he rejoiced in his power to restore them to health and happiness.

Think No Evil.

By Rebekah Smith

If by our words or acts none suffer wrong, To us ’tis thought no blame can e’er belong. But this meets not Heaven’s high and searching test; That looks at thoughts as well as words expressed.

The rule is given that we must think no ill; If any wrong us, we must love them still, Must do them good, and for them ever pray, That truth may lead them all from error’s way.

To think no evil when we are betrayed, When e’en a subject of reproach we’re made, When we are falsely charged, traduced, reviled— This needs a heart that’s pure and undefiled.

Thus to forgive when we are wronged, abused, To render good when thus unjustly used— This is to reach on earth perfection’s height, Whence we can scatter beams of heavenly light.

A Heaven on earth is then by us begun; This way alone the Christian race is run. And all who thus unto the end endure, Possess a hope of Heaven that’s bright and sure.

REBEKAH SMITH.

God’s Goodness, Power, and Grace

The greater your wants, the greater God's goodness in supplying them; the greater your enemies, the greater the display of God's power in subduing them; the greater your unworthiness, the greater his grace in saving you.

CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.

By James White

When all was lost in Adam, the plan of redemption through Jesus Christ was immediately instituted, hence he is represented as the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Rev. 13: 8. In the Patriarchal and Jewish ages Christ was slain in figure. In the Christian age he is slain in fact. The Scriptures reveal but one plan by which fallen man may be saved. It is true that in the development of the plan of grace through Christ there has been in each dispensation an increase of light. But there is no intimation in all the Bible of three plans, one for the Patriarchal age, one for the Jewish, and one for the Christian age.

Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of sinners in all the ages of human probation. “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4: 12. We protest, in the name of reason and revelation, against the vague heresy that the law of the Father and the gospel of the Son are opposed to each other, the one designed to take the place of the other; as if the men of former dispensations were saved by the law without the gospel, and those of the present dispensation are saved by the gospel while disregarding the moral law. It was not possible for sinful man in the ages past to secure a fitness for the inheritance of the saints in light by the divine law alone. There is no ability in law to redeem the transgressor. It is not the province of law, human or divine, to pardon the transgressor of law. The moral law is a rule of right action, condemning the transgressor, and holding him as such until he shall suffer the penalty. The divine law can do no more for the sinner. It is the gospel alone that offers pardon and salvation. And without the gospel of the Son of God none of the men of the Patriarchal and Jewish ages could be saved.

The gospel is the joyful message of redemption through Jesus Christ. We inquire, How early in the sad history of the fallen race was the gospel proclaimed? Was it first given in the days of Christ? of Moses? of Abraham? or of Adam? We distinctly trace the faith and hope of the gospel of the Son of God in that early denunciation of wrath upon Satan, that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head. Gen. 3: 15. In this decree against the author of sin and death, we hear the gospel of the Redeemer as verily as in the song of the angels over the plains of Bethlehem, to the shepherds as they watched their flocks by night. Luke 2: 8–14.

And when the first sons of Adam brought their offerings to the Lord, Cain in unbelief brought of the first-fruits of the ground. But Abel, in faith of the great Sacrifice for sin to be manifested in the distant future, brought of the firstlings of his flock. Through that lamb Abel saw the Lamb of God, the Redeemer of the world, and set his hope upon him. In the blood of that firstling, Abel saw the blood of Jesus Christ as truly as we see the dying Saviour in the broken bread and the fruit of the vine at the Lord’s supper. In these emblems we see Christ shedding his blood for our sins on the cross. Abel saw the same in the bleeding, dying firstling which he offered.

“And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering; but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.” Gen. 4: 4, 5. The sacred narrative shows that while Abel’s act of faith in the Redeemer to come sealed his righteous character, cost him his life, and placed him at the head of the holy martyrs of Jesus, Cain’s infidelity was regarded as sinful, and was the stepping stone to the high crime of the murder of his brother, which sealed his character as a vagabond in the earth.

The eleventh chapter of Hebrews places Abel at the head of the faithful worthies. Paul speaks of his righteous act of faith in offering to the Lord in sacrifice the type of the Redeemer to come in these emphatic words: “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying to his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.” Abel laid hold of the hope that was set before him of the Redeemer to come, and in type embraced Christ. And, as he set the seal to his faith, in presenting before the Lord the most fitting emblem of the dying Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, high Heaven bestowed the signal witness that he was righteous. And for nearly six thousand years this eminent preacher of the gospel, though dead, has been speaking of his faith in Christ.

The beloved John, in contrasting the infidelity and murderous spirit of Cain with the confiding faith, pure love and obedience of those who revere the commandments of God, and lay hold of the faith of Jesus Christ, says, “Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.” Abel formed a righteous character, not only in laying hold of the Redeemer to come, by faith through the figure of the firstling of his flock, but by perfecting that saving faith in the act of presenting the sacrifice before the Lord his God.

We pass down the sacred record of the fallen race to Abraham, and there we find the joyful news of redemption through Jesus Christ, to be extended to the nations of the earth, proclaimed to the trusting, obedient patriarch. Paul speaks of it thus: “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” Gal. 3: 8. The apostle here quotes from Gen. 12: 3. See verse 7, Chap. 13: 14, 15; 17: 7, 8; 26: 3; 28: 13, where this promise is extended to Abraham’s seed.

The gospel of the Son of God was proclaimed to Abraham in this promise, in that it is really a promise of Christ, as argued by the apostle in Gal. 3: 16: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ.” The promise to Abraham that in him all the families of the earth should be blessed, embraces Jesus Christ as the only hope of salvation for men from all the nations, as stated by the apostle in verse 14: “That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ.” The faith of Abraham embraces Christ as its glorious object. This is seen in Christ’s reply to the Jews, who boasted in Abraham as their father. “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and saw it, and was glad.” John 8: 56.

The gospel was preached to the children of Israel in the days of Moses. In his epistle to the Hebrews, Paul states: “Unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them; but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” Heb. 4: 2. That the gospel was preached to their fathers in a former dispensation the apostle treats as a well known fact, and states that it was preached in his day as well as then, making it appear that the gospel of the Son of God was alike common in both the Jewish and Christian ages. He also testifies of the Hebrews in the wilderness, that they “were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.” 1 Cor. 10: 2–4.

Moses and the believing Jews had the faith and hope of the gospel. Through the blood of the sacrificial offerings, they saw Christ, and by faith embraced him. Their hopes of the future life were not in the law, but in Christ. The typical system was but the shadow of good things to come, of which Christ, as a sacrifice and mediator, is the center. These good things are the body that casts its shadow back into the Jewish age. The bleeding sacrifices of the former ages were but the shadow, while Christ bleeding on the cross was the great reality. The blood of beasts offered by the Jews, understandingly, and in faith, as clearly pointed forward to the blood of Christ, as the Lord’s supper and baptism point back to his sufferings, death, and resurrection.

The church of all the ages is the church of Jesus Christ. He is the world’s only Redeemer. Those who shut themselves up to the New Testament, and have the foundation of the church laid at the resurrection, or at pentecost, are building too narrow a structure. The apostle states the foundation of the true church in these words: “Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” Eph. 2: 19, 20. J. W.

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