The Desire of Ages
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 84: "Peace Be Unto You"
This chapter is based on Luke 24:33-48; John 20:19-29.
On reaching Jerusalem the two disciples enter at the eastern
gate, which is open at night on festal occasions. The houses are dark and
silent, but the travelers make their way through the narrow streets by the
light of the rising moon. They go to the upper chamber where Jesus spent the
hours of the last evening before His death. Here they know that their brethren
are to be found. Late as it is, they know that the disciples will not sleep
till they learn for a certainty what has become of the body of their Lord. They
find the door of the chamber securely barred. They knock for admission, but no
answer comes. All is still. Then they give their names. The door is carefully
unbarred, they enter, and Another, unseen, enters with them. Then the door is
again fastened, to keep out spies. {DA 802.1}
The travelers find all in surprised excitement. The voices
of those in the room break out into thanksgiving and praise, saying, "The
Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon." Then the two travelers,
panting with the haste with which they have made their journey, tell the
wondrous story of how Jesus has appeared to them. They have just ended, and
some are saying that they cannot believe it, for it is too good to be true,
when behold, another Person stands before them. Every eye is fastened upon the
stranger. No one has knocked for entrance. No [803]
footstep has been heard. The disciples are startled, and wonder what it means.
Then they hear a voice which is no other than the voice of their Master. Clear
and distinct the words fall from His lips, "Peace be unto you." {DA 802.2}
"But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed
that they had seen a spirit. And He said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and
why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I
Myself: handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me
have. And when He had thus spoken, He showed them His hands and His feet."
{DA 803.1}
They beheld the hands and feet marred by the cruel nails.
They recognized His voice, like no other they had ever heard. "And while
they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, He said unto them, Have ye here
any meat? And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And
He took it, and did eat before them." "Then were the disciples glad,
when they saw the Lord." Faith and joy took the place of unbelief, and
with feelings which no words could express they acknowledged their risen
Saviour. {DA 803.2}
At the birth of Jesus the angel announced, Peace on earth,
and good will to men. And now at His first appearance to the disciples after
His resurrection, the Saviour addressed them with the blessed words,
"Peace [804] be unto you." Jesus is ever
ready to speak peace to souls that are burdened with doubts and fears. He waits
for us to open the door of the heart to Him, and say, Abide with us. He says,
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and
open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with
Me." Revelation 3:20. {DA
803.3}
The resurrection of Jesus was a type of the final
resurrection of all who sleep in Him. The countenance of the risen Saviour, His
manner, His speech, were all familiar to His disciples. As Jesus arose from the
dead, so those who sleep in Him are to rise again. We shall know our friends,
even as the disciples knew Jesus. They may have been deformed, diseased, or
disfigured, in this mortal life, and they rise in perfect health and symmetry;
yet in the glorified body their identity will be perfectly preserved. Then
shall we know even as also we are known. 1 Corinthians 13:12. In the face
radiant with the light shining from the face of Jesus, we shall recognize the
lineaments of those we love. {DA
804.1}
When Jesus met with His disciples, He reminded them of the
words He had spoken to them before His death, that all things must be fulfilled
which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalm
concerning Him. "Then opened He their understanding, that they might
understand the Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is [805]
written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the
third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His
name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these
things." {DA 804.2}
The disciples began to realize the nature and extent of
their work. They were to proclaim to the world the wonderful truths which
Christ had entrusted to them. The events of His life, His death and
resurrection, the prophecies that pointed to these events, the sacredness of
the law of God, the mysteries of the plan of salvation, the power of Jesus for
the remission of sins,—to all these things they were witnesses, and
they were to make them known to the world. They were to proclaim the gospel of
peace and salvation through repentance and the power of the Saviour. {DA 805.1}
"And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and
saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are
remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained."
The Holy Spirit was not yet fully manifested; for Christ had not yet been
glorified. The more abundant impartation of the Spirit did not take place till
after Christ's ascension. Not until this was received could the disciples
fulfill the commission to preach the gospel to the world. But the Spirit was
now given for a special purpose. Before the disciples could fulfill their
official duties in connection with the church, Christ breathed His Spirit upon
them. He was committing to them a most sacred trust, and He desired to impress
them with the fact that without the Holy Spirit this work could not be
accomplished. {DA 805.2}
The Holy Spirit is the breath of spiritual life in the soul.
The impartation of the Spirit is the impartation of the life of Christ. It
imbues the receiver with the attributes of Christ. Only those who are thus
taught of God, those who possess the inward working of the Spirit, and in whose
life the Christ-life is manifested, are to stand as representative men, to
minister in behalf of the church. {DA 805.3}
"Whosesoever sins ye remit," said Christ,
"they are remitted; . . . and whosesoever sins ye retain, they
are retained." Christ here gives no liberty for any man to pass judgment
upon others. In the Sermon on the Mount He forbade this. It is the prerogative
of God. But on the church in its organized capacity He places a responsibility
for the individual members. Toward those who fall into sin, the church has a
duty, to warn, to instruct, and if possible to restore. "Reprove, rebuke,
exhort," the Lord says, "with all long-suffering and doctrine."
2 Timothy 4:2. Deal [806] faithfully with wrongdoing. Warn
every soul that is in danger. Leave none to deceive themselves. Call sin by its
right name. Declare what God has said in regard to lying, Sabbathbreaking,
stealing, idolatry, and every other evil. "They which do such things shall
not inherit the kingdom of God." Galatians 5:21. If they persist in sin,
the judgment you have declared from God's word is pronounced upon them in
heaven. In choosing to sin, they disown Christ; the church must show that she
does not sanction their deeds, or she herself dishonors her Lord. She must say
about sin what God says about it. She must deal with it as God directs, and her
action is ratified in heaven. He who despises the authority of the church despises
the authority of Christ Himself. {DA 805.4}
But there is a brighter side to the picture.
"Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted." Let this thought be
kept uppermost. In labor for the erring, let every eye be directed to Christ.
Let the shepherds have a tender care for the flock of the Lord's pasture. Let
them speak to the erring of the forgiving mercy of the Saviour. Let them
encourage the sinner to repent, and believe in Him who can pardon. Let them
declare, on the authority of God's word, "If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9. All who repent have the assurance, "He
will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast
all their sins into the depths of the sea." Micah 7:19. {DA 806.1}
Let the repentance of the sinner be accepted by the church
with grateful hearts. Let the repenting one be led out from the darkness of
unbelief into the light of faith and righteousness. Let his trembling hand be
placed in the loving hand of Jesus. Such a remission is ratified in heaven. {DA 806.2}
Only in this sense has the church power to absolve the
sinner. Remission of sins can be obtained only through the merits of Christ. To
no man, to no body of men, is given power to free the soul from guilt. Christ
charged His disciples to preach the remission of sins in His name among all
nations; but they themselves were not empowered to remove one stain of sin. The
name of Jesus is the only "name under heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved." Acts 4:12. {DA 806.3}
When Jesus first met the disciples in the upper chamber,
Thomas was not with them. He heard the reports of the others, and received
abundant proof that Jesus had risen; but gloom and unbelief filled his heart.
As he heard the disciples tell of the wonderful manifestations of the risen
Saviour, it only plunged him in deeper despair. If Jesus had [807]
really risen from the dead, there could be no further hope of a literal earthly
kingdom. And it wounded his vanity to think that his Master should reveal
Himself to all the disciples except him. He was determined not to believe, and
for a whole week he brooded over his wretchedness, which seemed all the darker
in contrast with the hope and faith of his brethren. {DA 806.4}
During this time he repeatedly declared, "Except I
shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print
of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe." He
would not see through the eyes of his brethren, or exercise faith which was
dependent upon their testimony. He ardently loved his Lord, but he had allowed
jealousy and unbelief to take possession of his mind and heart. {DA 807.1}
A number of the disciples now made the familiar upper
chamber their temporary home, and at evening all except Thomas gathered here.
One evening Thomas determined to meet with the others. Notwithstanding his
unbelief, he had a faint hope that the good news was true. While the disciples
were taking their evening meal, they talked of the evidences which Christ had
given them in the prophecies. "Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and
stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you." {DA 807.2}
Turning to Thomas He said, "Reach hither thy finger,
and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side: and
be not faithless, but believing." These words showed that He was
acquainted with the thoughts and words of Thomas. The doubting disciple knew
that none of his companions had seen Jesus for a week. They could not have told
the Master of his unbelief. He recognized the One before him as his Lord. He
had no desire for further proof. His heart leaped for joy, and he cast himself
at the feet of Jesus crying, "My Lord and my God." {DA 807.3}
Jesus accepted his acknowledgment, but gently reproved his
unbelief: "Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed
are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." The faith of Thomas
would have been more pleasing to Christ if he had been willing to believe upon
the testimony of his brethren. Should the world now follow the example of
Thomas, no one would believe unto salvation; for all who receive Christ must do
so through the testimony of others. {DA 807.4}
Many who are given to doubt excuse themselves by saying that
if they had the evidence which Thomas had from his companions, they would
believe. They do not realize that they have not only that evidence, but [808]
much more. Many who, like Thomas, wait for all cause of doubt to be removed,
will never realize their desire. They gradually become confirmed in unbelief.
Those who educate themselves to look on the dark side, and murmur and complain,
know not what they do. They are sowing the seeds of doubt, and they will have a
harvest of doubt to reap. At a time when faith and confidence are most
essential, many will thus find themselves powerless to hope and believe. {DA 807.5}
In His treatment of Thomas, Jesus gave a lesson for His
followers. His example shows how we should treat those whose faith is weak, and
who make their doubts prominent. Jesus did not overwhelm Thomas with reproach,
nor did He enter into controversy with him. He revealed Himself to the doubting
one. Thomas had been most unreasonable in dictating the conditions of his faith,
but Jesus, by His generous love and consideration, broke down all the barriers.
Unbelief is seldom overcome by controversy. It is rather put upon self-defense,
and finds new support and excuse. But let Jesus, in His love and mercy, be
revealed as the crucified Saviour, and from many once unwilling lips will be
heard the acknowledgment of Thomas, "My Lord and my God." {DA 808.1}
Click here to read the next chapter:
"By the Sea Once More"
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