The sons of Joseph were far from being in sympathy with Jesus in His work. The reports about His life and labors filled them with concern. They heard that He devoted entire nights to prayer, that through the day He was surrounded by people and did not even take time to eat. His friends felt He was wearing Himself out. They were unable to find a reason for His attitude toward the Pharisees. Some even feared that He might be losing His mind.3TC 203.2

His brothers keenly felt the disapproval that came on them through their relation to Jesus. They were offended and angry that He denounced the Pharisees. They thought someone must persuade Him to stop working in this way, and they got Mary to unite with them, thinking that through His love for her they might succeed in getting Him to be more cautious.3TC 203.3

The Pharisees had repeated the charge, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.” Matthew 9:34. Christ told them that those who spoke against Him, not recognizing His divine character, could receive forgiveness; through the Holy Spirit they might see their error and repent. But those who reject the work of the Holy Spirit are placing themselves where repentance cannot come to them. When people willfully reject the Spirit and declare it to be from Satan, they cut off the channel by which God can communicate with them.3TC 204.1

The Pharisees did not actually believe the charge they brought against Jesus. Those religious leaders had heard the Spirit’s voice in their own hearts declaring Him to be the Anointed One of Israel. In His presence, they had realized their unholiness and longed for righteousness. But after rejecting Him, it would be too humiliating to receive Him as the Messiah. To avoid acknowledging truth, they tried to dispute the Savior’s teaching. They could not prevent Him from working miracles, but they did everything in their power to misrepresent Him. Still the convicting Spirit of God followed them, and they had to build up barriers to withstand the mightiest Agency that God can bring to bear on the human heart.3TC 204.2

God does not blind people’s eyes or harden their hearts. He sends them light to correct their errors. Rejecting this light blinds the eyes and hardens the heart. Often the process is almost imperceptible. But when we disregard one ray of light, we numb our spiritual perceptions a little and don’t recognize as clearly the second revealing of light. So the darkness increases, until it is night in the heart. This is what had happened with these Jewish leaders. They credited the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan. In doing this, they deliberately chose deception, and from that time on, they were controlled by Satan’s power.3TC 204.3

Closely connected with Christ’s warning about the sin against the Holy Spirit is a warning against idle and evil words. Words are an indication of character. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Words also have power to react on the character. People are influenced by their own words. Often under a sudden prompting by Satan, they say something that they do not really believe. But the expression reacts on the thoughts, and they come to believe what they spoke at Satan’s prompting. Having once expressed an opinion or decision, often they are too proud to retract it. They try to prove themselves right, until they believe that they are.3TC 205.1

It is dangerous to speak a word of doubt, dangerous to question and criticize light. Careless and irreverent criticism reacts on the character, strengthening irreverence and unbelief. Many people have gone on until they were ready to criticize and reject the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “For every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Then Jesus added a warning to those who had been impressed by His words but had not surrendered themselves for the Holy Spirit to live in them. “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.3TC 205.2

Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there.”3TC 205.3

Like today, through the grace of God many in Christ’s day were set free from evil spirits that controlled their being. They rejoiced in the love of God, but then they did not surrender themselves to God daily to allow Christ to live in the heart. When the evil spirit returned, with “seven other spirits more wicked than himself,” they were completely dominated by the power of evil.3TC 205.4

A New Power Takes Possession

When anyone surrenders to Christ, a new power takes possession of the heart. A change takes place that we can never accomplish for ourselves. The life that is yielded to Christ becomes His own fortress, which He holds in a world that has revolted, and He intends no authority to rule in it but His own. A life that heaven’s agencies keep in this way cannot be conquered by Satan’s assaults.3TC 206.1

But unless we yield ourselves to the control of Christ, the wicked one will dominate us. It is not necessary to choose the kingdom of darkness deliberately in order to come under its rule. We can simply neglect to unite ourselves with the kingdom of light. If we do not cooperate with heavenly agencies, Satan will make the heart his home. The only defense against evil is to have Christ living in the heart through faith in His righteousness. If we are not vitally connected with God, we can never resist self-love and temptation to sin. We may leave off bad habits for a time, but without moment-by-moment surrender to Christ and a continual relationship with Him, we are at the mercy of the enemy and will do what he says in the end.3TC 206.2

“The last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.” There are none so hardened as those who have scorned the invitations of mercy. The most common evidence of the sin against the Holy Spirit is in persistently ignoring Heaven’s invitation to repent.3TC 206.3

In rejecting Christ, the Jewish people committed the unpardonable sin; and by refusing the invitation of mercy, we may commit the same error. We put the Prince of life to shame before Satan and before the heavenly universe when we refuse to listen to His appointed messengers, and instead listen to people who would draw our hearts away from Christ. As long as people do this, they can find no pardon, and they will finally lose all desire to be reconciled to God.3TC 206.4

Christ’s Real Brethren

While Jesus was still teaching the people, His disciples brought the message that His mother and brothers were outside and wanted to see Him. “But He answered and said to the one who told Him, ‘Who is My mother and who are My brothers?’ And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.’”3TC 207.1

All who receive Christ by faith are united to Him by a tie closer than human family connections. As someone who believed and acted on His words, His mother was more nearly and savingly related to Him than she was through her natural relationship. His brothers would receive no benefit from their connection with Him unless they accepted Him as their personal Savior.3TC 207.2

Their unbelief was a part of the bitterness of the cup of woe that He drank for us.3TC 207.3

The opposition kindled in the human heart against the gospel was most painful to Jesus in His home. His brothers looked on Him as needing their counsel. They thought that if He would speak things that the Pharisees could accept, He would avoid disagreeable controversy. They thought He was mentally unbalanced in claiming divine authority. They knew that the Pharisees were looking for an opportunity to accuse Him, and they felt that He had given it to them.3TC 207.4

They could not grasp the mission He came to fulfill, and so they could not sympathize with Him in His trials. Their coarse, unappreciative words showed that they had no true understanding of His character. Instead of comforting Him, their spirit and words wounded His heart. His sensitive nature was tortured, His motives misunderstood, His work uncomprehended.3TC 207.5

His brothers often presumed to think that they could teach Him who understood all truth. They freely condemned things that they could not understand. They thought they were vindicating God, when God was with them in the flesh, and they did not recognize Him.3TC 207.6

These things made Jesus’ path thorny. Christ was so pained by being misunderstood in His own home that it was a relief to go where such misunderstanding did not exist. He loved to visit the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, because in the atmosphere of faith and love, His spirit had rest. Yet often He could find relief only in being alone and communicating with His Father.3TC 208.1

Those who are called to endure misunderstanding and distrust in their own homes for Christ’s sake may find comfort in the thought that Jesus endured the same. He invites them to find companionship in Him and relief in sharing their hearts’ concerns with the Father.3TC 208.2

Those who accept Christ are not left as orphans, to bear trials alone. He invites them as members of the heavenly family to call His Father their Father. He has great tenderness for them, far more than what our father or mother felt toward us in our helplessness.3TC 208.3

When a Hebrew had been forced to sell himself as a slave because of poverty, the duty of redeeming him fell to his nearest relative. See Leviticus 25:25, 47-49; Ruth 2:20. So the work of redeeming us fell on Him who is a “close relative” to us. Christ became our “redeeming relative.” Closer than father, mother, brother, friend, or lover is the Lord our Savior. We cannot understand this love, but we can know it to be true in our own experience.3TC 208.4

An Army Officer Asks Help for His Servant

His Yoke Is Easy and His Burden Light