Early Writings
by Ellen G. White
The Disciples of Christ
With mighty power the disciples preached a crucified and
risen Saviour. Signs and wonders were wrought by them in the name of Jesus; the
sick were healed; and a man who had been lame from his birth was restored to
perfect soundness and entered with Peter and John into the temple, walking and
leaping and praising God in the sight of all the people. The news spread, and
the people began to press around the disciples. Many ran together, greatly
astonished at the cure that had been wrought. {EW 192.1}
When Jesus died, the priests thought that no more miracles
would be performed among them, that the excitement would die out and the people
would again turn to the traditions of men. But lo! right among them the
disciples were working miracles, and the people were filled with amazement.
Jesus had been crucified, and they wondered where His followers had obtained
this power. When He was alive, they thought that He imparted power to them; but
when He died, they expected the miracles to cease. Peter understood their
perplexity and said to them, "Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or
why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had
made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God
of our fathers, hath glorified His Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied
Him in the presence of Pilate, when he [193] was
determined to let Him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired
a murderer to be granted unto you; and killed the Prince of life, whom God hath
raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. And His name through faith in
His name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know." {EW 192.2}
The chief priests and elders could not bear these words, and
at their command Peter and John were seized and put in prison. But thousands
had been converted and led to believe in the resurrection and ascension of
Christ by hearing only one discourse from the disciples. The priests and elders
were troubled. They had slain Jesus that the minds of the people might be
turned to themselves; but the matter was now worse than before. They were
openly accused by the disciples of being the murderers of the Son of God, and
they could not determine to what extent these things might grow or how they
themselves would be regarded by the people. They would gladly have put Peter
and John to death, but dared not, for fear of the people. {EW 193.1}
On the following day the apostles were brought before the
council. The very men who had eagerly cried for the blood of the Just One were
there. They had heard Peter deny his Lord with cursing and swearing when
charged with being one of His disciples, and they hoped again to intimidate
him. But Peter had been converted, and he now saw an opportunity to remove the
stain of that hasty, cowardly denial and to exalt the name which he had
dishonored. With holy boldness, and in the power of the Spirit, he fearlessly
declared unto them, "By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye
crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by Him doth this man stand here
before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders,
which is become the head of the [194] corner. Neither is there
salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among
men, whereby we must be saved." {EW 193.2}
The people were astonished at the boldness of Peter and John
and took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus; for their noble,
fearless conduct was like that of Jesus when before His enemies. Jesus, by one
look of pity and sorrow, reproved Peter when he had denied Him, and now as he
boldly acknowledged his Lord, Peter was approved and blessed. As a token of the
approbation of Jesus, he was filled with the Holy Spirit. {EW 194.1}
The priests dared not manifest the hatred which they felt
toward the disciples. They commanded them to go aside out of the council, and
then conferred among themselves, saying, "What shall we do to these men?
for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all
them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it." They were afraid to
have the report of this good deed spread among the people. Should it become
generally known, the priests felt that their own power would be lost, and they
would be looked upon as the murderers of Jesus. Yet all that they dared to do
was to threaten the apostles and command them to speak no more in the name of
Jesus, lest they die. But Peter declared boldly that they could but speak the
things which they had seen and heard. {EW 194.2}
By the power of Jesus the disciples continued to heal the
afflicted and the sick who were brought to them. Hundreds enlisted daily under
the banner of a crucified, risen, and ascended Saviour. The priests and elders,
and those particularly engaged with them, were alarmed. Again they put the
apostles in prison, hoping that the excitement would subside. Satan and his
angels exulted; but the angels of God opened the [195] prison
doors, and, contrary to the command of the high priests and elders, bade the
apostles, "Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words
of this life." {EW
194.3}
The council assembled and sent for their prisoners. The
officers unclosed the prison doors; but those whom they sought were not there.
They returned to the priests and elders and said, "The prison truly found
we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but
when we had opened, we found no man within." "Then came one and told
them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple,
and teaching the people. Then went the captain with the officers, and brought
them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been
stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and
the high priest asked them, saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye
should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your
doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us." {EW 195.1}
Those Jewish leaders were hypocrites; they loved the praise
of men more than they loved God. Their hearts had become so hardened that the
most mighty works wrought by the apostles only enraged them. They knew that if
the disciples preached Jesus, His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, it
would fasten guilt upon them as His murderers. They were not as willing to
receive the blood of Jesus as when they vehemently cried, "His blood be on
us, and on our children." {EW 195.2}
The apostles boldly declared that they ought to obey God
rather than men. Said Peter, "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom
ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a
Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance [196] to
Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses of these things; and
so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him." At
these fearless words those murderers were enraged, and determined to imbrue
their hands again in blood by slaying the apostles. They were planning to do
this, when an angel from God moved upon the heart of Gamaliel to counsel the
priests and rulers: "Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if
this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: but if it be of
God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against
God." Evil angels were moving upon the priests and elders to put the
apostles to death; but God sent His angel to prevent it by raising up among the
Jewish leaders themselves a voice in favor of His servants. The work of the
apostles was not finished. They were to be brought before kings to witness to
the name of Jesus and to testify of the things which they had seen and heard. {EW 195.3}
The priests unwillingly released their prisoners, after
beating them and commanding them to speak no more in the name of Jesus.
"And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they
were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and
in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." Thus
the word of God grew and multiplied. The disciples boldly testified to the
things which they had seen and heard, and through the name of Jesus they
performed mighty miracles. They fearlessly charged the blood of Jesus upon
those who had been so willing to receive it when they were permitted to have
power over the Son of God. {EW
196.1}
I saw that angels of God were commissioned to guard with
special care the sacred, important truths which were to serve as an anchor to
the disciples of [197] Christ through every generation.
The Holy Spirit especially rested upon the apostles, who were witnesses of our
Lord's crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension— important truths
which were to be the hope of Israel. All were to look to the Saviour of the
world as their only hope, and walk in the way which He had opened by the
sacrifice of His own life, and keep God's law and live. I saw the wisdom and
goodness of Jesus in giving power to the disciples to carry on the same work
for which He had been hated and slain by the Jews. In His name they had power
over the works of Satan. A halo of light and glory centered about the time of
Jesus' death and resurrection, immortalizing the sacred truth that He was the
Saviour of the world. {EW
196.2}
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