And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.—1 John 3:5

When Stephen was questioned as to the truth of the charges against him, he began his defense in a clear, thrilling voice, which rang through the council hall. In words that held the assembly spellbound, he proceeded to rehearse the history of the chosen people of God. He showed a thorough knowledge of the Jewish economy and the spiritual interpretation of it now made manifest through Christ. He repeated the words of Moses that foretold of the Messiah: “A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear.” He made plain his own loyalty to God and to the Jewish faith, while he showed that the law in which the Jews trusted for salvation had not been able to save Israel from idolatry. He connected Jesus Christ with all the Jewish history. He referred to the building of the temple by Solomon, and to the words of both Solomon and Isaiah: “Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool: what house will ye build Me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of My rest? …”

When Stephen reached this point, there was a tumult among the people. When he connected Christ with the prophecies and spoke as he did of the temple, the priest, pretending to be horror-stricken, rent his robe. To Stephen this act was a signal that his voice would soon be silenced forever. He saw the resistance that met his words and knew that he was giving his last testimony. Although in the midst of his sermon, he abruptly concluded it.

Suddenly breaking away from the train of history that he was following, and turning upon his infuriated judges, he cried: “Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.”

At this, priests and rulers were beside themselves with anger…. In the cruel faces about him the prisoner read his fate; but he did not waver.—The Acts of the Apostles, 99, 100.

Further Reflection: Why don’t I face more opposition for my faith in Jesus Christ?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

“This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”—John 6:14

Many educated and influential people had come to hear the Prophet of Galilee. Some of these looked with curious interest upon the multitude that had gathered about Christ as He taught by the sea. In this great throng all classes of society were represented. There were the poor, the illiterate, the ragged beggar, the robber with the seal of guilt upon his face, the maimed, the dissipated, the merchant and the person of leisure, high and low, rich and poor, all crowding upon one another for a place to stand and hear the words of Christ. As these cultured people gazed upon the strange assembly, they asked themselves, Is the kingdom of God composed of such material as this? Again the Saviour replied by a parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.”

Among the Jews leaven was sometimes used as an emblem of sin. At the time of the Passover the people were directed to remove all the leaven from their houses as they were to put away sin from their hearts. Christ warned His disciples, “Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1). And the apostle Paul speaks of the “leaven of malice and wickedness” (1 Corinthians 5:8). But in the Saviour’s parable, leaven is used to represent the kingdom of heaven. It illustrates the quickening, assimilating power of the grace of God.

None are so vile, none have fallen so low, as to be beyond the working of this power. In all who will submit themselves to the Holy Spirit a new principle of life is to be implanted; the lost image of God is to be restored in humanity.

But persons cannot transform themselves by the exercise of the will. He or she possesses no power by which this change can be effected. The leaven—something wholly from without—must be put into the meal before the desired change can be wrought in it. So the grace of God must be received by the sinner before he can be fitted for the kingdom of glory. All the culture and education which the world can give will fail of making a degraded child of sin a child of heaven. The renewing energy must come from God. The change can be made only by the Holy Spirit.—Christ’s Object Lessons, 95-97.

Further Reflection: How has the leaven of God’s grace changed my attitude and behavior?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.—Psalm 18:2

I am thankful that the Lord has not left us in ignorance of how to gain His blessing. Read the eighth and ninth chapters of Second Corinthians, and you will find the whole matter outlined in a few words. Read how the believers came to the apostles and laid their offerings at their feet, praying with much entreaty that they would receive the gift. When God by His Spirit stirs the hearts of His people, leading them to see the necessities of this work, there will be a denying of self, and gifts will flow into the treasury for the proclamation of the message for this time.

If there are those who think they are making large sacrifices for the work, let them consider the sacrifice that Christ made in their behalf. The human race was under sentence of death, but the Son of God clothed His divinity with humanity and came to this world to live and die in our behalf. He came to stand against the host of fallen angels. We must have a Defender, and when our Defender came, He was clothed with humanity; for He must be subject to the temptations wherewith humanity is beset, that He might understand how to deliver the godly out of temptation. He took His stand at the head of the fallen race, that men and women might be enabled to stand on vantage ground.

Christ did not come to this world with a legion of angels. Laying aside His royal robes and kingly crown, He stepped down from His high command, and for our sake became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich. This was the plan laid in the heavenly courts. The Redeemer of humanity was to be born in poverty, and He was to be a worker with His hands. He labored with His father at the carpenter’s trade, and into all that He did He brought perfection. His companions sometimes found fault with Him because He was so thorough. What is the use of being so particular? they said. But He would work till He had brought what He was doing as near perfection as He could, and then He would look up with the light of heaven shining from His face, and those who had criticized Him would turn away ashamed of themselves. Instead of retaliating when found fault with, He would begin to sing one of the psalms, and before those who had found fault with Him realized it, they, too, were singing.—Manuscript 58, 1905.

Further Reflection: Jesus willingly became humanity’s Defender, choosing even to share our weaknesses. For what other reasons did He volunteer to come to our sin-cursed planet?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.—Psalm 25:12

The apostle exalted Christ before his friends as the One by whom God had created all things and by whom He had wrought out their redemption. He declared that the hand that sustains the worlds in space, and holds in their orderly arrangements and tireless activity all things throughout the universe of God, is the hand that was nailed to the cross for them. “By Him were all things created,” Paul wrote, “that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” …

The Son of God stooped to uplift the fallen. For this He left the sinless worlds on high, the ninety and nine that loved Him, and came to this earth to be “wounded for our transgressions” and “bruised for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). He was in all things made like unto His brethren. He became flesh, even as we are. He knew what it meant to be hungry and thirsty and weary. He was sustained by food and refreshed by sleep. He was a stranger and a sojourner on the earth—in the world, but not of the world; tempted and tried as men and women of today are tempted and tried, yet living a life free from sin. Tender, compassionate, sympathetic, ever considerate of others, He represented the character of God. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, … full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Surrounded by the practices and influences of heathenism, the Colossian believers were in danger of being drawn away from the simplicity of the gospel, and Paul, in warning them against this, pointed them to Christ as the only safe guide. “I would that ye knew,” he wrote, “what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; that their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”—The Acts of the Apostles, 471-473.

Further Reflection: Why was Paul so bold in his witness about Jesus? Does my fear prevent me from talking to others about Jesus?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.—Psalm 16:11

Of all the features of an education to be given in our school homes, the religious exercises are the most important. They should be treated with the greatest solemnity and reverence, yet all the pleasantness possible should be brought into them. They should not be prolonged till they become wearisome, for the impression thus made upon the minds of the youth will cause them to associate religion with all that is dry and uninteresting; and many will be led to cast their influence on the side of the enemy, who, if properly taught, would become a blessing to the world and to the church. The Sabbath meetings, the morning and evening service in the home and in the chapel, unless wisely planned and vitalized by the Spirit of God, may become the most formal, unpleasant, unattractive, and to the youth the most burdensome, of all the school exercises. The social meetings and all other religious exercises should be so planned and managed that they will be not only profitable, but so pleasant as to be positively attractive. Praying together will bind hearts to God in bonds that will endure; confessing Christ openly and bravely, exhibiting in our characters His meekness, humility, and love, will charm others with the beauty of holiness.

On all these occasions Christ should be set forth as “the chiefest among ten thousand,” the One “altogether lovely” (Song of Solomon 5:10, 16). He should be presented as the Source of all true pleasure and satisfaction, the Giver of every good and perfect gift, the Author of every blessing, the One in whom all our hopes of eternal life are centered. In every religious exercise let the love of God and the joy of the Christian experience appear in their true beauty. Present the Saviour as the restorer from every effect of sin.

To accomplish this result all narrowness must be avoided. Sincere, earnest, heartfelt devotion will be needed. Ardent, active piety in the teachers will be essential. But there is power for us if we will have it. There is grace for us if we will appreciate it. The Holy Spirit is waiting our demand if we will only demand it with that intensity of purpose which is proportionate to the value of the object we seek.—Testimonies for the Church 6:174, 175.

Further Reflection: What do I find most meaningful in my private devotional time with God? What do I enjoy most about worshiping God at church?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names