Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)


Ms 100, 1897

The Arrest of Christ


September 15, 1897

Portion of this manuscript are published in TDG 267.

The arrest of Christ was altogether too important a matter to the plotters of His death to be trusted to any but the wily, scheming priests and their officials. Some of the chief priests and elders joined the leaders of the temple police, in their satanic inspiration, to be led by Judas to Gethsemane. What a scene those dignitaries of the temple mingled with—a mob that was wild to be in any excitement, and armed with all kinds of implements as if in pursuit of a wild animal. 12LtMs, Ms 100, 1897, par. 1

Christ was in the hands of the mob, and turning to these dignitaries of which association they ought to have been ashamed, He fixed upon them His searching glance, and spoke words to them that they would never forget as long as life should last. They were as the sharp arrows of the Almighty. “Be ye come out,” He said, “as against a thief, with swords and staves? When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hand against me; but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” [Luke 22:52, 53.] 12LtMs, Ms 100, 1897, par. 2

It was in the power of Christ to deliver Himself. When He spoke the words, “I am he,” immediately angels surrounded Him, and that throng had all the evidence they could or would have that Christ was the power of God. [John 18:6.] When that murderous throng was sent reeling, catching the air as for support, and falling heavily to the ground, it would have been an easy matter for Christ to have kept them helpless and prostrate, and pass out of their midst unharmed. By the flashing forth of His brightness and glory He could have extinguished them. Judas expected this, for many a time Christ had escaped; and he said to His enemies, “Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and hold him fast.” [Matthew 26:48.] 12LtMs, Ms 100, 1897, par. 3

It is not a marvel that Judas even then should hold on to his hatred and his purpose to the last. If then he had repented, if he had confessed at this last moment, if his traitor’s heart had broken, he would have received pardon. But satanic resistance increases in proportion to the light given and resisted. The appeals, the warnings of dangers and perils to come, did not change the purpose of Judas, because his heart was unchanged. In the face of light and evidence he determined to follow his own course, and do his own will. The longsuffering of Christ, the reproof kindly given, come to him at last from the divine lips, does not break his stubborn heart. He hardens his heart by his long resistance. He sees where his footsteps are tending, but satanic agencies are all around him, and he has no power to save himself from their snare. The human attributes so long held, the refusal to yield to the light, now makes him blind to all consequences. 12LtMs, Ms 100, 1897, par. 4

Judas is not the only man who has passed over this ground, notwithstanding his case has been given as a warning that others may not follow in his steps. His example is set before our churches, that we may not take the first step in the road where we shall be driven on by Satan’s temptations to the bitter end. Yet this very same influence is at work today. Having yielded to satanic impulses, the entreaties, the appeals, the warnings, the reproofs given to hedge up the way to ruin are in vain. Every word and action is magnified into a grave offense. 12LtMs, Ms 100, 1897, par. 5

Judas was not, in speech, in conduct, or appearance, a specimen of great wickedness. But he is a specimen of what man will become under the ambitious love of money. Avarice, or any species of selfishness, will lead a man whither he knows not. Judas was a man who possessed valuable qualities. But he was not teachable. He cherished passion because his parsimonious spirit was not exalted as wisdom. His ideas were often presented so as to bring the disciples to consider that a saving was the great evidence of godliness. This spirit of avarice grew as it was indulged until he appropriated to himself the very treasure entrusted to him to defray the expenses of the church. 12LtMs, Ms 100, 1897, par. 6

Faults that seems small at first, just a little deviation to satisfy selfish greed, grow as they are indulged. How vexed was Judas to see the box of spikenard, which he said might have been sold for three hundred pence, poured upon the head and feet of Christ. It seemed to him an unnecessary waste. And when his Master rebuked the disciples for their condemnation of the woman, Judas was vexed. 12LtMs, Ms 100, 1897, par. 7

When one has had connection with those who bear the message from heaven, and hears but does not practice the truth, that truth is brought down to mean nothing worthy of attention to them. Thus it was with Judas. 12LtMs, Ms 100, 1897, par. 8

Man must believe the truth; he must change his own course of action, coming into harmony with the light shining upon him, or he will refuse to be acted upon by the Holy Spirit. His love of money will become all-absorbing. Step by step the attributes of the one who will not be transformed by the grace of Christ strengthen into habits firm as steel. Those who use their faculties, as did Judas, to increase their own financial prospects, will so manage their buying and their selling to profit themselves that the commandment, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” has no weight with them. [Leviticus 19:18.] There will be dishonest trading. They will allow a man to cheat himself, to make bargains that are not for his own interest. The greedy, avaricious man pursues a course of action to lead him to do this. 12LtMs, Ms 100, 1897, par. 9

Of some whom the Lord has warned, petty dishonesty and increasing pilfering from their neighbors have become a part of their very being. They have educated their perceptive faculties, until their love for truth, their powers of being, seem chained to the one purpose. And when a crisis comes, they act their part in word and deportment. They brace themselves as did Judas to go through at all hazards, rather than break the destroying habits that are binding them in chains they will have no power to break. When the time of temptation comes, it is found that they will not change. Their predetermined habits carry them along. While to all intents and purposes they salute Jesus with a kiss, they will betray their Lord as they have betrayed the trusts reposed in them. 12LtMs, Ms 100, 1897, par. 10