| The Christian Life | May 1943 |
“What Hast Thou Done?”
“Jesus answered, My Kingdom is not of this world: if My Kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is My Kingdom not from hence.”—John 18:36
ORDINARILY when an innocent person is brought before a judge and accused of wrong-doing, he is quick to deny the charge. If asked, as Jesus was, “What hast Thou done?” human wisdom dictates that the answer should be, “I have done nothing.” Jesus did not reply thus to Pilate, however, because He was not there to defend Himself; and besides He could not truthfully say that He had done nothing. Jesus had done much! He had spent three and a half years doing things, which had at last aroused the hatred of Israel’s religious leaders against Him, and now they had brought Him before Pilate and demanded that He be crucified.
True, Jesus had committed no crimes that could be justly charged against Him, but He had been active in doing good. He had healed the sick; cleansed the lepers; cast out demons; opened blind eyes, raised the dead; and equally praiseworthy, the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth had helped to loose the shackles of superstition that had been fastened upon Israel by their hypocritical leaders. These works of grace and goodness were appreciated by many of the common people who heard Him gladly. Indeed, His popularity rose to the point where the Pharisees became fearful that if He were left alone the whole world would become His followers.—Matt. 4:23-25; John 11:47,48; 12:19
This is why Jesus was hated by those whose position of power and authority in the nation was jeopardized by His teachings and works of righteousness. As members of the fallen race, motivated by selfishness and unrighteous ambitions, they were utterly unable to understand—much less appreciate—the Master’s selfless viewpoint and untiring zeal for the blessing of others. To them, Jesus was a misfit, one whose precepts and example exposed their unrighteousness and in time might prevent their grasping practices of devouring widows’ houses. They wanted to put a stop to His going about doing good because they selfishly desired to continue their practice of doing evil, so they cried, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him.”
The Leper Cleansed
While Pilate probably knew in a general way something of the Master’s activities throughout Judea, yet his question, “What hast Thou done?” was no doubt a sincere effort on his part to get a better understanding of just what it was that had caused the religious leaders of Israel to rise up against Him and demand His death. As for the priests and Pharisees themselves, however, there was no need for them to seek information concerning the details of Jesus’ life, because He had seen to it that they were made acquainted with His activity. As evidence of this we have the account of Matthew 8:1-4, telling us of the cleansing of a leper. After Jesus had performed this outstanding miracle, He said, “See thou tell no man, but go thy way, show thyself to the priests, and. offer the gift that Moses commanded for a testimony unto them.”
From this we see that while the Master was not interested in promoting Himself in the eyes of the public, He did desire that those who sat in Moses’ seat should be aware of what He was doing, and that His benefactions were to be reported to the priest in keeping with the spirit of the law given through Moses. In this, as in the other miracles performed by Jesus, there is revealed an utter lack of any desire or effort on His part to be personally benefited. Jesus was not willing to use the divine power at His command on behalf of Himself, but on all appropriate occasions He was glad of the opportunity to bless others.
The first suggestion made to the Master that He perform a miracle came from Satan. Jesus had been fasting for forty days, and of course would be virtually famished for food. Satan appeared, and suggested that the Master use the power now at His command to turn stones into bread, that He might have that with which He could satisfy His hunger. As no one would be benefited but Himself, and in addition it would reveal a lack of faith in the manner in which God was caring for all of His interests, Jesus turned down this suggestion. But when the leper came to Him, saying, “Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean,” we read that Jesus said unto him, “I will; be thou clean: And immediately His leprosy was cleansed.”
If the scribes and Pharisees could discover that in any way Jesus was seeking to promote or benefit Himself by the good He was doing, they might have found a way to appeal to His selfishness and make arrangements to cooperate with Him in a way to serve their own selfish interests as well as His. But what selfish compromise could they suggest to a man who was willing to devote His whole life purely in the interests of others? There was only one way to deal with one like this, and that was to put Him out of the way.
Simplicity in Service
The spirit of selfishness which motivated Israel’s leaders was further manifested in their planned effort that what little good they selfishly did should be seen and heard of men. But not so with Jesus. The spirit of God which was in Him promised a beautiful simplicity and straight-forwardness in what He did that was calculated to divert attention from Himself and to direct it toward God, the Giver of every good and perfect gift.
When the centurion came to Jesus, informing Him that his servant was “at home sick of the palsy,” Jesus’ simple reply was, “I will come and heal him.” (Matt. 8:6,7) There was no bargaining, no request that the miracle be publicized, no hint that the centurion, by accepting this favor, would be placed under obligation, nor any attempt to wrest from him a pledge of future support. All tactics by which a selfish world, through aggrandizement, has perverted charity into gainful exploitation, were utterly lacking in Jesus.
Matthew 8:14 reads, “And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever.” Again, there is no show or unnecessary ado. Here was a human being who needed help, and Jesus helped her. After all, the Master had come into the world that through Him all might have health and life, and why should the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law be anything extraordinary for Him to do? It wasn’t, for Him, and so we read that “He touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose.”
In Matthew 8:16,17, we read that “When the even was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” It would seem that in spite of the fact that Jesus made no effort to acquaint the people with His miracle-working powers, His fame spread, and by the close of this day He found Himself the center of attraction, and His popularity increasing. That the Master was not seeking this result from the good He was doing is apparent from the 18th verse, which reads, “Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave commandment to depart unto the other side.”
The plan of God reveals that in due time all men will be drawn to Jesus, that He is the true light which yet is to enlighten every man that cometh into the world. But Jesus was not desirous that the multitudes at that time be drawn to Him, nor that they should be attracted merely because of the temporary good He was able to bestow upon them. The drawing of all men in His Father’s due time was to be based, as Jesus explained, upon the fact that He would be lifted up as man’s Redeemer and sin-bearer, even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. This supreme example of love that does good, even the sacrificing of His life that the world through Him might have forgiveness of sin, must be the real drawing power for those who come unto God through Jesus, and in so coming it is necessary that one not only appreciate the unselfish sacrifice of the Master, but that he himself partake of the spirit of unselfish love that prompted it.
Jesus recognized that the crowd which followed Him for the loaves and the fishes and the benefits of His miracle-working power, were not ready to recognize their need of sin atonement, In much less were they willing to follow His example of unselfishness, by laying down their own lives for others. They were glad to obtain all they could from Him, but few of them were willing to sacrifice their lives for the unselfish cause which He represented.
When Jesus arranged to cross to the other side of the lake to get away from the multitude that was singing His praises as long as they could receive of His benefits, we are told that “a certain scribe came, and said unto Him, Master, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest.” (Matt. 8:19) Most religious leaders would have been flattered and pleased with this expression of devotion and pledge of support, but not Jesus. His reply to the scribe was calculated to cause the would-be disciple to change his mind unless he had, indeed, caught the spirit of the Master’s teachings and example, and was ready to follow in His steps of self-sacrifice unto death. Jesus said, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head.” (Matt. 8:20.) The scribe could get no other implication from these words except that if he followed Jesus he, too, would have no place to lay his head, and from the world’s standpoint would be homeless and an outcast. Such is the cost of a life of doing good in this present evil world.
Untiring Benevolence
The good works of the Master were not occasional incidents, but His life’s habits. He was never too occupied to give heed to the needs of those who came to Him for help. Not only did He use the miracle-working power of God which was at His command to heal the sick and raise the dead, but He gave all His own strength as well. So unselfishly and generously did He thus give, that His perfect human body was practically worn out in His short ministry of three and a half years.
Jesus’ ministry was along the line later suggested by the Apostle Paul as being proper during this Gospel age, namely, that of doing good unto all men, but devoted His special care and attention to His own disciples who were in training to carry on as the household of faith following His return to heaven. “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household, of faith.”—Gal. 6:10
Matthew 9:18-38 gives us an interesting cross-section view of the Master’s life, showing how He spent His time, and His unselfish interest in the people for whom He was laying down His life. Verse 18 tells of a ruler whose daughter had died, and of his request that Jesus lay His hand upon her that she might live. In response to this plea for help we read that, “Jesus arose, and followed him.” Ordinarily, one going on such an important mission as that of raising the dead, would not wish to be interfered with or delayed by matters less important. But Jesus was not like ordinary fallen men, who often become so impressed with the importance of their immediate undertakings that they lose sight of the human needs with which they are surrounded.
While on His way to raise the ruler’s daughter from the dead, a woman who had been diseased for twelve years came behind Him and touched the hem of His garment. Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.” (Matt. 9:22) Then He went on to the ruler’s house, and despite the derision heaped upon Him by the “minstrels and the people,” He proceeded with the work in hand, and awakened the maid from the sleep of death.
The fame of this miracle went abroad into all the land, we are told, with the result that, first, two blind men followed Him, asking to have their sight restored, then a dumb man possessed with a devil sought help. These good works by the Master were gaining too much popularity for Him, so the Pharisees began discounting the value of the miracles by claiming that He was casting out devils through the power of Beelzebub, the prince of devils. But their effort failed. The hour for Jesus’ death had not come. He was still to enjoy a season of measurable popularity with the people, during which He could continue to preach the Kingdom message, and to give illustrations by His miracles of the blessings that were to come to all mankind in God’s due time. And so we read that, “Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.”—Matt. 9:35
What a following Jesus could have obtained for Himself, and what power in Israel He could have wielded, had He so desired! It would be even so today. Individuals even now who profess ability to heal the sick, always have large crowds at their meetings. Were these “miracles” genuine, as were those of the Master’s, the whole world would soon be following any man, or group of men, who could thus heal diseases, and especially so if they could raise the dead.
Jesus knew that this would be true in His case. Indeed, it became true to the limited extent that the Master permitted it. But He was not then undertaking to convert the world, nor had the time come for restitution blessings to be dispensed to all mankind. He rejoiced in the privilege of distributing samples of Kingdom blessings, but it was not time for the floodgates of the River of Life to be thrown open for the healing of the nations. However, in the miracles He did perform, and His attitude toward the people displayed in connection therewith, we see manifested the real spirit of Christ, and His genuine interest, not alone in those He was specially instructing as apostles, but also in the larger number who had no deeper interest in Him than the material blessings He was able to give them. We read, “But when He saw the multitude, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith He unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest.”—Matt. 9:36-38
In His Steps
The Master’s request of His disciples to pray that the Lord of the harvest should send forth reapers, reveals that those who truly follow Him are invited to join in His works of grace and love. In John 14:12 we read, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall He do also; and greater works than these shall He do; because I go unto My Father.” Those who are filled with the Master’s spirit of self-sacrifice and are faithful in following Him into death by laying down their lives for others, will, in the Kingdom, share with Him in the work of healing all the sick and raising all the dead. The healing of the people in that day will be permanent, and those who are awakened from the sleep of death will have the opportunity of living forever if they will. Thus, all the true followers of the Master will truly share with Him in doing works far greater than those which He performed at His first advent.
But even now, and in order that we may demonstrate the spirit by which we are controlled, God gives us the opportunity, as ministers of His Word, to do all we can toward opening spiritually blind eyes, and unstopping spiritually deaf ears. We also now may use the Word of reconciliation to cleanse away the leprosy of sin. Those dead in trespasses and sins may even now, by accepting the Gospel message as proclaimed by the feet members of the body of Christ, be awakened to righteousness and have their mortal bodies quickened by the spirit to serve the living God.
And now, even as in the days of Jesus, those who zealously lay down their lives in thus seeking to bless their fellowmen, will not be held in high esteem by the religiously influential of our time. But it is far better that the servant of God have heaped upon him the reproaches of the world on account of his going about doing good, than to be placed in a position where he would need to confess that while called out of darkness into the marvelous light of the Gospel, he had done nothing about it so far as the blessing of others was concerned!
Jesus was before Pilate because He had spent His life doing good in the Father’s way. He had preached unpopular truth, and had exposed popular error, and now the pent-up animosity of Israel’s leaders was being heaped upon Him, and He was rushed to Calvary, not because He had refrained from doing wrong, nor yet because He had done nothing, but because He had spent His life doing good.
It would be a tragedy indeed, for any followers of Christ to suffer on account of his own wrong-doing. While persecution and Christian suffering are evidences of God’s favor upon the Christian, constituting important witnesses of the Spirit that we are the children of God, yet let us not be so concerned merely with the desire to be persecuted that we will be induced to do foolhardy or wrong things in order to elicit the opposition of the powers that be. The Gospel accounts of the Master’s life indicate clearly that while the religious rulers of that day finally were successful in causing Him to be put to death, yet there were long periods of His ministry during which He was comparatively free from opposition and persecution.
It would be equally tragic for a Christian, in order to avoid the ill-will of the world, or to maintain a respectable standing in his community, to refrain from faithfulness in proclaiming the glad tidings of the Kingdom. As followers of the Master, there is no other course that will have God’s approval except that of emulating His example. His example is pre-eminently that of interest in others, at the cost of sacrifice to Himself. Jesus was consumed by the zeal of His Father’s house, a zeal for doing good, for manifesting the spirit of divine love which prompted His Father to send Him into the world, that the world through Him might have life. For us not to be interested in this viewpoint, and not to be concerned for the well-being of others, especially in connection with their understanding of God, would manifest a lack of the divine spirit by which we will be conformed more and more into the image of God’s dear Son.
The Apostle Peter, who while in a moment of supreme test, and without the aid of the Holy Spirit, denied the Lord, nevertheless, through his association with the Master, and by observing the unselfishness of His example and the wisdom of His methods, learned well the lesson of love which leads to the laying down of life for others. Years later, Peter expressed himself on the subject, saying, “For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your, faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when yea do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow in His steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.”—I Peter 2:20-22
We should all note well the many Scriptural declarations that if we suffer with Christ we shall also reign with Him; but let us also remember the only basis for true Christian suffering, namely, not for doing evil, nor for doing nothing, but for doing good. When we suffer for this cause, and take it patiently and rejoicingly, and faithfully, even unto death, we are thereby demonstrating our wholehearted devotion to God, and to the spirit of divine love which must rule supreme in all those who will be blessed with life everlasting.
It will be the church’s privilege, during the Kingdom period, to instruct the world of mankind in the advantages of this way of life. Hence, all its members must qualify in advance to share in such a glorious program of education, a program by which the knowledge of the glory of God will be caused to fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.
While the world of mankind, when restored to human perfection, will not be called upon to suffer for doing good, they will, of necessity, need to learn and to practice the love principle in their dealings with others. This is revealed in the Master’s explanation to the restored world, as we find it in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. To those who are invited to inherit the Kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world, Jesus explains that the basis of their acceptableness is the fact that they had manifested their interest in others.
They had not busied themselves in acts of kindness with the hope of receiving a reward therefore, but had cooperated in the restitution project because they had imbibed the spirit of God who planned it. They had been so whole-hearted in the manifestation of the love which ruled their hearts that they were surprised to learn they had done that which merited their inheritance of the restored paradise. Like the church of this age, they entered into eternal life, not because they had refrained from doing evil, nor because, like the goats, they had done nothing, but because they had visited and cared for their brethren.
May Pilate’s question to Jesus, “What hast Thou done?” serve as a reminder to us that there is indeed something good for us to do, and that by doing it we may prove worthy to suffer and reign with Christ.