Bible Study Guides – The Suffering Servant

February 15, 2009 – February 21, 2009

Key Text

“He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5.

Study Help: The Desire of Ages, 741–757; “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 974.

Introduction

“We must not shrink from the depths of humiliation to which the Son of God submitted in order to raise us from the degradation and bondage of sin to a seat at His right hand.” That I May Know Him, 65.

1 What did John the Baptist understand about the promised Messiah? How was God’s glory revealed? Isaiah 40:5; John 1:14.

Note: “Alone in the silent night he [John the Baptist] read God’s promise to Abraham of a seed numberless as the stars. The light of dawn, guilding the mountains of Moab, told of Him who should be as ‘the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds.’ II Samuel 23:4. And in the brightness of noontide he saw the splendor of His manifestation, when ‘the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.’ Isaiah 40:5.

“With awed yet exultant spirit he searched in the prophetic scrolls the revelations of the Messiah’s coming—the promised seed that should bruise the serpent’s head; Shiloh, ‘the peace giver,’ who was to appear before a king should cease to reign on David’s throne. Now the time had come. A Roman ruler sat in the palace upon Mount Zion. By the sure word of the Lord, already the Christ was born.” The Desire of Ages, 102, 103.

2 How did Christ reveal the Father? John 1:18; 17:25, 26.

Note: “By coming to dwell with us, Jesus was to reveal God both to men and to angels. He was the Word of God—God’s thought made audible. In His prayer for His disciples He says, ‘I have declared unto them Thy name’—‘merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth’—‘that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.’ [John 17:26; Exodus 34:6; John 17:26.] But not alone for His earthborn children was this revelation given. Our little world is the lesson book of the universe. God’s wonderful purpose of grace, the mystery of redeeming love, is the theme into which ‘angels desire to look,’ [I Peter 1:12] and it will be their study throughout endless ages. Both the redeemed and the unfallen beings will find in the cross of Christ their science and their song. It will be seen that the glory shining in the face of Jesus is the glory of self-sacrificing love. In the light from Calvary it will be seen that the law of self-renouncing love is the law of life for earth and heaven; that the love which ‘seeketh not her own’ [I Corinthians 13:5] has its source in the heart of God; and that in the meek and lowly One is manifested the character of Him who dwelleth in the light which no man can approach unto.” The Desire of Ages, 19, 20.

3 How did Christ respond to the abuse heaped upon Him by sinful men? Isaiah 50:4–6; 52:14; 53:3–7.

Note: “It was to bring the bread of life to His enemies that our Saviour left His home in heaven. Though calumny and persecution were heaped upon Him from the cradle to the grave, they called forth from Him only the expression of forgiving love.” Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, 71.

4 How did the prophecy of Isaiah 53:12 meet its fulfillment? Luke 22:37; 23:33. What effect does this have upon each one of us? John 3:14–16; 12:32.

Note: “Christ on the cross, not only draws men to repentance toward God for the transgression of His law—for whom God pardons He first makes penitent—but Christ has satisfied justice; He has proffered Himself as an atonement. His gushing blood, His broken body, satisfy the claims of the broken law, and thus He bridges the gulf which sin has made. He suffered in the flesh that with His bruised and broken body He might cover the defenseless sinner. The victory gained at His death on Calvary broke forever the accusing power of Satan over the universe, and silenced his charges that self-denial was impossible with God and therefore not essential in the human family.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 974.

5 What encouraged Christ to endure the torments of His trial and crucifixion? Isaiah 53:11.

Note: “What sustained the Son of God in His betrayal and trial? He saw of the travail of His soul and was satisfied. He caught a view of the expanse of eternity and saw the happiness of those who through His humiliation should receive pardon and everlasting life. He was wounded for their transgressions, bruised for their iniquities. The chastisement of their peace was upon Him, and with His stripes they were healed. His ear caught the shout of the redeemed. He heard the ransomed ones singing the song of Moses and the Lamb.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 43, 44.

6 How should Christ’s suffering and death affect our lives on a practical, daily basis? Romans 6:10, 13; Galatians 6:14.

Note: “The cross of Calvary appeals in power, affording a reason why we should love Christ now, and why we should consider Him first, and best, and last, in everything. We should take our fitting place in humble penitence at the foot of the cross. We may learn the lessons of meekness and lowliness of mind as we go up to Mount Calvary, and, looking upon the cross, see our Saviour in agony, the Son of God dying, the Just for the unjust. Behold Him who could summon legions of angels to His assistance with one word, a subject of jest and merriment, of reviling and hatred. He gives Himself a sacrifice for sin. When reviled, He threatened not; when falsely accused, He opened not His mouth. He prays on the cross for His murderers. He is dying for them. He is paying an infinite price for every one of them.” That I May Know Him, 65.

7 What is one of the greatest needs of every individual? Isaiah 26:3; 48:18; Psalm 40:7, 8.

Note: “Those who take Christ at His word, and surrender their souls to His keeping, their lives to His ordering, will find peace and quietude. Nothing of the world can make them sad when Jesus makes them glad by His presence. In perfect acquiescence there is perfect rest. The Lord says, ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.’ Isaiah 26:3. Our lives may seem a tangle; but as we commit ourselves to the wise Master Worker, He will bring out the pattern of life and character that will be to His own glory. And that character which expresses the glory—character—of Christ will be received into the Paradise of God. A renovated race shall walk with Him in white, for they are worthy.” The Desire of Ages, 331.

8 How did Jesus fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 26:3 for us? Matthew 11:28–30.

Note: “As through Jesus we enter into rest, heaven begins here. We respond to His invitation: Come, learn of Me, and in thus coming we begin the life eternal. Heaven is a ceaseless approaching to God through Christ. The longer we are in the heaven of bliss, the more and still more of glory will be opened to us; and the more we know of God, the more intense will be our happiness. As we walk with Jesus in this life, we may be filled with His love, satisfied with His presence. All that human nature can bear, we may receive here.” The Desire of Ages, 331, 332.

9 What is the position of Jesus Christ in our spiritual building? Isaiah 28:16; I Corinthians 3:10, 11; Ephesians 2:20.

Note: “Human power and human might did not establish the church of God, and neither can they destroy it. Not on the rock of human strength, but on Christ Jesus, the Rock of Ages, was the church founded, ‘and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it’ Matthew 16:18. The presence of God gives stability to His cause. … God’s glorious work, founded on the eternal principles of right, will never come to nought.” Prophets and Kings, 595, 596.

10 What does Christ, the Rock, do to us if we accept Him, and what does He do to us if we reject Him? Luke 20:17, 18.

Note: “To those who believe, Christ is the sure foundation. These are they who fall upon the Rock and are broken. Submission to Christ and faith in Him are here represented. To fall upon the Rock and be broken is to give up our self-righteousness and to go to Christ with the humility of a child, repenting of our transgressions, and believing in His forgiving love. And so also it is by faith and obedience that we build on Christ as our foundation. … Without this connection, no man can be saved. Without the life of Christ in us, we cannot withstand the storms of temptation. Our eternal safety depends upon our building upon the sure foundation.” The Desire of Ages, 599.

“Christ is coming, and Christ is to be revealed in you, if you will only allow His image to be revealed in you. Fall on the Rock and be broken. … You want to break in pieces before God your pride, yourself, your folly, your wickedness, your dishonesty, your corruption of heart, your licentiousness, your impurity.” Sermons and Talks, vol. 1, 212.

“And on ‘whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.’ [Matthew 21:44.] The people who rejected Christ were soon to see their city and their nation destroyed. Their glory would be broken, and scattered as the dust before the wind. And what was it that destroyed the Jews? It was the rock which, had they built upon it, would have been their security. It was the goodness of God despised, the righteousness spurned, the mercy slighted. Men set themselves in opposition to God, and all that would have been their salvation was turned to their destruction.” The Desire of Ages, 600.

Additional Reading

“Christ has left us a perfect, sinless example. His followers are to walk in His footsteps. If they are not transformed in character, they can never dwell with Him in His kingdom. Christ died to elevate and ennoble them, and those who retain hereditary tendencies to wrong can not dwell with Him. He suffered all that it is possible for human flesh to suffer and endure, that we might pass triumphantly through all the temptations Satan may invent to destroy our faith.

“In Christ is our only hope. God has daily victories for His people to gain. … By His heavenly gifts the Lord has made ample provision for His people. An earthly parent can not give his child a sanctified character. He cannot transfer his character to his child. God alone can transform us. Christ breathed on His disciples, and said, ‘Receive ye the Holy Ghost.’ [John 20:22.] This is the great gift of heaven. Christ imparted to them through the Spirit His own sanctification. He imbued them with His power, that they might win souls to the gospel. Henceforth Christ would live through their faculties, and speak through their words. They were privileged to know that hereafter He and they were to be one. They must cherish His principles and be controlled by His Spirit. They were no longer to follow their own way, to speak their own words. The words they spoke were to proceed from a sanctified heart, and fall from sanctified lips. No longer were they to live their own selfish life; Christ was to live in them. … He would give to them the glory that He had with the Father, that He and they might be one in God.

“Young men and young women should realize that to be one with Christ is the highest honor to which they can attain. … Consecrate all that there is of you—soul, body, and spirit—to the Lord. Yield every power you have to the control of the Holy Spirit.” Sons and Daughters of God, 294.

“Isaac was a figure of the Son of God, who was offered a sacrifice for the sins of the world. God would impress upon Abraham the gospel of salvation to man. In order to do this, and make the truth a reality to him as well as to test his faith, He required him to slay his darling Isaac. All the sorrow and agony that Abraham endured through that dark and fearful trial were for the purpose of deeply impressing upon his understanding the plan of redemption for fallen man. He was made to understand in his own experience how unutterable was the self-denial of the infinite God in giving His own Son to die to rescue man from utter ruin. To Abraham no mental torture could be equal to that which he endured in obeying the divine command to sacrifice his son.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 369.

©2005 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

A Root out of Dry Ground

God’s Word contains the word of life. When Jesus was in the wilderness, He said to the tempter, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4. Every word of the Bible is pure and true, but there are some portions that we are especially admonished to memorize. One such chapter is Isaiah 53. In this chapter we see a picture of Christ, the Lamb of God, and His great sacrifice for us.

It begins with these words: “Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” Isaiah 53:1. A news report that is unbelievable is in this chapter. Here the story is told of the manifestation of the power of God to save humanity. And this unleashing of God’s power through humanity is unbelievable! The arm of the Lord is a symbol of His power. He said, “My arm is not shortened that it cannot save. Neither is My ear heavy that it cannot hear. But your sins have separated between Me and you so that I cannot reach out and save you.” (See Isaiah 59:1, 2.)

In this chapter, Isaiah gives a description of this Person and the qualifications He has that allow the power of God to work through Him. The first one is tenderness: “For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant.” Verse 2. Are we tender? Are our hearts soft towards each other? Jesus’ heart was tender. He was not hardhearted. His heart was touched with the feelings of others.

How did people respond to Christ’s tenderheartedness? Isaiah says He was “as a root out of a dry ground.” Ibid. Jesus did not fit in. He was misplaced like roots growing on top of the ground.

“He hath no form nor comeliness and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.” Verse 3.

Jesus lived on this earth with people like you and me. He went to a synagogue, He worked in a carpenter’s shop and He worked and talked with people. But, despite all that He had in common with these people, He was not accepted. They rejected Him and scorned Him. (See The Desire of Ages, 84–92.)

What is so very amazing is that the Scripture says, “He hath borne our grief and carried our sorrows.” Verse 4. He carried the grief and sorrows of the very ones who mocked and derided Him. And what did He receive in return? “Yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” Ibid. Seeing Him burdened with the heavy load of our sins, we looked at Him and scoffed, saying that God must have given Him this heavy burden to carry to punish Him! But it was not His burden; it was ours.

“He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes, we are healed.” Verse 5. I need to be healed from the scars of sin, and there is healing through His stripes. That is a promise that each one of us can claim. I do not understand the working of the divine agency, but I know it works because I have experienced it. He heals the broken hearted and brings comfort and joy.

“All we like sheep have gone astray.” Verse 6. Who is this chapter written to? It is written to all of us, because we have all gone astray. Do not let the devil tempt you into thinking that you are in such a bad condition that Christ’s stripes cannot heal your sins. His stripes can bring each one healing and joy—no matter how low we have fallen. What wonderful news!

“We have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth.” Verse 6, 7. When you are oppressed and ridiculed do you give a quick and angry reply? Whenever you are tempted to do this, think of Jesus before His persecutors. He did not open His mouth to speak a word in retaliation.

“He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare His generation? for He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was He stricken. And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death.”Verses 8, 9. How was this Scripture fulfilled? The wicked was the thief on the cross who never repented. The rich is described in a beautiful passage in The Acts of the Apostles, 104: “At this time of peril, Nicodemus came forward in fearless avowal of his faith in the crucified Saviour. Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin and with others had been stirred by the teaching of Jesus. As he had witnessed Christ’s wonderful works, the conviction had fastened itself upon his mind that this was the Sent of God. Too proud to openly acknowledge himself in sympathy with the Galilean Teacher, he had sought a secret interview.” Nicodemus asked for a secret interview because he was proud. He did not want anyone to see him, one of the top leaders in the nation, associated with Jesus. “But when at last Christ had been uplifted on the cross, Nicodemus remembered the words that He had spoken to him in the night interview on the Mount of Olives . . . and he saw in Jesus the world’s Redeemer.” Ibid.

Another man, who before Christ’s death had been too proud to associate with Him, was Joseph of Arimathea. “With Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus had borne the expenses of the burial of Jesus. The disciples had been afraid to show themselves openly as Christ’s followers, but Nicodemus and Joseph came boldly to their aid. The help of these rich and honored men was greatly needed in this hour of darkness. They had been able to do for their dead Master what it would have been impossible for the poor disciples to do; and their wealth and influence had protected them, in a great measure from the malice of the priests and rulers. Now, when the Jews were trying to destroy the infant church, Nicodemus came forward in its defense. No longer cautious and questioning he encouraged the faith of the disciples and he used his wealth in helping to sustain the church at Jerusalem and advancing the work of the gospel. Those who in other days had paid him reverence, now scorned and persecuted him.” Ibid.

Nicodemus was experiencing the steps in Isaiah 53. He, too, became a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And besides being scorned and persecuted, “he became poor in this world’s goods, yet he faltered not in defense of his faith.” Ibid.

All the prophecies about the life of Christ were fulfilled just as the prophets gave them. “And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death; because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth.” Isaiah 53:9.

The next phrase stuns your mind. It is the type of passage that I often feel that the angels should read, because it is far above mortal humans to understand the great love of God it portrays. It reads: “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him.” How can this be? The Father and Son were closer than any human beings have ever been on this earth. They loved more because they had more to love with. And yet, the Lord loves you and me so much that it delighted Him to send His Son to save us. He made a way of escape for us through the only way possible—the death of His precious Son. This is what our Redeemer did to save us.

“Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.” Isaiah 53:10.

What is the pleasure of the Lord? Jesus said, “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32. In other words, in His hand there is all the power that is needed to bring you and me into a condition to inherit His kingdom.

“He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall My righteous servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:11, 12.

What a touching representation of Christ’s love is given to us in this chapter. No wonder inspiration tells us: “This chapter should be studied. It presents Christ as the Lamb of God. Those who are lifted up with pride, whose souls are filled with vanity, should look upon this picture of their Redeemer, and humble themselves in the dust. The entire chapter should be committed to memory. Its influence will subdue and humble the soul defiled by sin and uplifted by self-exaltation.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Volume 4, 1147.

If you are struggling to follow the meek and lowly Savior, then memorize this chapter and let your mind contemplate it word by word. If the truth it contains becomes a part of your life, your heart will be melted and changed into the likeness of our meek and lowly Savior.

Water From a Different Source

In the remainder of this article I would like to focus on just one phrase from this chapter. It is found in verse 2. It says that Christ was as “a root out of a dry ground.” Consider this carefully. When you pull up a weed, throw it on the ground and leave it in the sun for a few hours, it wilts. Why does it wilt? Because, it no longer has a water supply, and the cells in the plant begin to wither and die.

Jesus was looked upon as a root out of dry ground because He did not draw His nourishment from earthly sources. Jesus’ source of nourishment was streams of heavenly origin. Streams that those who were blinded by worldliness did not want to see. Because they could not see, they could not understand where He derived His strength. To them He was as “a root out of a dry ground.”

What characteristics did Christ have that showed that His nourishment did not come from earthly sources? “Our Redeemer did not come to our world with outward display.” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, July 19, 1887. He was not trying to dress, eat, live or to speak so as to draw attention to Himself. The people who rejected Him saw nothing of heaven in His appearance. “They could not see hidden beneath the humble disguise of humanity the world’s Redeemer. They saw before them a ‘Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.’” Ibid. And that is not what they wanted to see.

What is it that they wanted to see? Luke 17:20, 21, records a conversation that Jesus had with the Pharisees on this very subject. “And when He was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation (outward show, margin), neither shall they say, Lo, here! or lo, there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” These people were looking for something on the outside of Him, but Jesus came to do something to the inside of us. He said, “My kingdom is not with outward show.”

“The afflicted, suffering ones who saw Christ as their helper, were charmed with the divine perfection, and beauty of holiness, that shone forth in His character. But the Pharisees could see no beauty in Him that they should desire Him. His simple attire, and humble life, devoid of outward show, rendered Him to them as a root out of dry ground.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1111.

They wanted a king, dressed with the latest and the most expensive clothing as they were. But this was not Christ’s way. “Through all the lowly experiences of life He consented to pass, walking among the children of men, not as a king to demand homage, but as One whose mission it was to serve others.” The Mount of Blessing, 14.

Unless you accept in your own life the principle of self-sacrificing love, you cannot know God. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14. “The kingdom of God comes not with outward show. The gospel of the grace of God with its spirit of self-abnegation can never be in harmony with the spirit of the world. The two principles are antagonistic.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 14.

Each one of us will have only one of these two principles (roots) operating in our lives. The root is the foundation of a plant. From the root, moisture and nutrition are gathered for the plant to give it life. While the plant is growing, you cannot see the root, you can only see the leaves and the fruit. But it is the root that determines the character of the plant. Each one of us will be one of two kinds of roots. We have our choice. Either we will be self-denying and thinking of the good of others or we will be self-serving.

The Tie of Worldly Associations

There was another reason why the Jewish people rejected Jesus, and the same influence causes many today to reject Him. “Worldly associations attract and dazzle the senses so that piety, the fear of God, faithfulness, and loyalty hath not power to keep them steadfast. The humble, unassuming life of Christ seems altogether unattractive.” Adventist Home, 461. If our lives are knit with worldly associations, the life of Christ will not appear attractive to us. It does not make any difference what theory we claim to believe. If we associate with those who love the world, His life of self-abnegation will be to us as a root out of dry ground. We will not want Him, because the people we are associating with have not accepted His invitation. They love the things of this world just as the Pharisees loved pomp, power, fancy clothes, and the admiration of other people. They have the root of the Pharisees instead of the root of Christ.

What is the root of the Pharisees? Evangelism, 633 says, “There is nothing that so much retards and cripples the work in its various branches as jealousy and suspicion and evil surmisings. These reveal that disunion prevails among the workers for God. Selfishness is the root of all evil.” The root of the Pharisees produced a plant with lots of pretty leaves. But that root built up self at the expense of others.

Christ’s own disciples were influenced by this root of selfishness. Inspiration tells us: “Even His disciples were so blinded by the selfishness of their hearts that they were slow to understand Him Who had come to manifest to them the Father’s love.” The Mount of Blessing, 25.

They could not understand the nature of Christ because they still had the root of selfishness in their hearts. With this mindset it was easy for them to accept the theory of the Pharisees that told of a great kingdom where they would rule the earth. This should be a warning to us. We cannot understand the Word of God in its fullness until selfishness is rooted out. If it has not been, then we can interpret any part of the Bible to build ourselves up.

Roots and Their Fruits

How deceptive the devil’s kingdom can be. Since the root is buried, how do you know the root of the situation? “For if the first fruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.” Romans 11:16.

You cannot have a holy root that grows thorns and thistles. If the root is holy, then the fruit is holy.

How can we know for certain what is good fruit and what is bad? Have we been told exactly what Jesus’ root is, so that there can be no mistake? In Christ’s Object Lessons, 128 we read: “Many who claim to believe and to teach the gospel are in a similar error. They set aside the Old Testament Scriptures, of which Christ declared, ‘They are they which testify of Me.’ John 5:39. In rejecting the Old, they virtually reject the New; for both parts are of an inseparable whole. No man can rightly present the law of God without the gospel, or the gospel without the law. The law is the gospel embodied, and the gospel is the law unfolded. The law is the root.”

With the law as the root, the gospel is the fruit. In the new covenant, Jesus said, “I will write them [My laws] in their hearts.” Hebrews 8:10. “I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26.

If the law is written in our heart and is the foundation of our life, then the fruit will be humility and meekness. David said, “Oh, how I love thy law. It is my meditation all the day.” Psalm 119:97. If we want the root of selfishness and pride uprooted from our hearts, we must love God’s law as David did and allow it to purify us completely.

John the Baptist told the Pharisees how the root of selfishness could be removed from their hearts. He said, “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” Matthew 3:10.

A tree cannot be changed by picking off its bad fruit. The axe of God’s Word needs to be laid to the root of the problem. (See Hebrews 4:12.) The root of selfishness needs to be removed. There is no reformation program for the Pharisees plan of action that will make it acceptable to God; a total change must be made.

John the Baptist told the Pharisees, “And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father.” Matthew 3:9. They claimed to be the heirs of His kingdom. Let us call them the Seventh-day Adventists of their day. When these leaders came to John he looked them straight in the eye and he said, Do not even think of calling yourselves Seventh-day Adventists. Until the root is taken out, you can call yourself whatever you want, but profession is nothing. It all depends on the fruit.

John the Baptist continued: “For I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now, also, the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.” Matthew 3:9–11.

Here is a promise you can claim if you want the root of selfishness taken out of your heart. This prophecy of Christ says, “Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:12.

Get down on your knees with this verse under your fingers and say, “Lord, I want the floor of my heart clean. I want the axe laid at the root of selfishness. I want selfishness, covetousness and the love of money pulled out.” God will answer your prayer. However, when you surrender your sinful self to God you must understand that you will be treated as Jesus was. Do not look for worldly acclaim, for it will not come to you.

On the hills of Palestine, our heavenly Father planted a goodly vine and He Himself was the husbandman. He had no remarkable form that would at first sight give an impression of its value. It appeared to come up as a root out of dry ground and attracted but little attention. But when attention was called to the plant, it was by some declared to be of heavenly origin. The men of Nazareth stood entranced as they saw its beauty. But when they received the idea that it would stand more gracefully and attract more attention than they could, they wrestled to uproot the precious plant and cast it over the wall.

The men of Jerusalem bruised the plant and trampled it under their unholy feet. Their thought was to destroy it forever. But the Heavenly Husbandman never lost sight of His plant. After men thought that they had killed it, He replanted it on the other side of the wall and hid it from the view of men. May you be as humble as Jesus was, and may you have joy as Jesus did. And when you are persecuted, may you endure it as Jesus did, and someday may your future be as glorious as His.