365 Days in the Gospels and Spirit of Prophecy
March
March 1
Bible discovery
7 But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea, 365DGSP 61.2
8 And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him. 365DGSP 61.3
9 And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him. 365DGSP 61.4
10 For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues. 365DGSP 61.5
11 And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. 365DGSP 61.6
12 And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known. 365DGSP 61.7
13 And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. 365DGSP 61.9
14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, 365DGSP 61.10
15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils: 365DGSP 61.11
16 And Simon he surnamed Peter; 365DGSP 61.12
17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: 365DGSP 61.13
18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite, 365DGSP 61.14
19 And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house. 365DGSP 61.15
12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 365DGSP 61.17
13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; 365DGSP 61.18
14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, 365DGSP 61.19
15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, 365DGSP 61.20
16 And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor. 365DGSP 61.21
Spirit of Prophecy Reading
The Desire of Ages pp.290-293: 365DGSP 61.22
This chapter is based on Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16. 365DGSP 61.23
“And He goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto Him whom He would: and they came unto Him. And He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach.” 365DGSP 61.24
It was beneath the sheltering trees of the mountainside, but a little distance from the Sea of Galilee, that the twelve were called to the apostolate, and the Sermon on the Mount was given. The fields and hills were the favorite resorts of Jesus, and much of His teaching was given under the open sky, rather than in the temple or the synagogues. No synagogue could have received the throngs that followed Him; but not for this reason only did He choose to teach in the fields and groves. Jesus loved the scenes of nature. To Him each quiet retreat was a sacred temple. 365DGSP 61.25
It was under the trees of Eden that the first dwellers on earth had chosen their sanctuary. There Christ had communed with the father of mankind. When banished from Paradise, our first parents still worshiped in the fields and groves, and there Christ met them with the gospel of His grace. It was Christ who spoke with Abraham under the oaks at Mamre; with Isaac as he went out to pray in the fields at the eventide; with Jacob on the hillside at Bethel; with Moses among the mountains of Midian; and with the boy David as he watched his flocks. It was at Christ's direction that for fifteen centuries the Hebrew people had left their homes for one week every year, and had dwelt in booths formed from the green branches “of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook.” Leviticus 23:40. 365DGSP 61.26
In happy contrast to Philip's unbelief was the childlike trust of Nathanael. He was a man of intensely earnest nature, one whose faith took hold upon unseen realities. Yet Philip was a student in the school of Christ, and the divine Teacher bore patiently with his unbelief and dullness. When the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples, Philip became a teacher after the divine order. He knew whereof he spoke, and he taught with an assurance that carried conviction to the hearers. 365DGSP 61.27
While Jesus was preparing the disciples for their ordination, one who had not been summoned urged his presence among them. It was Judas Iscariot, a man who professed to be a follower of Christ. He now came forward, soliciting a place in this inner circle of disciples. With great earnestness and apparent sincerity he declared, “Master, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest.” Jesus neither repulsed nor welcomed him, but uttered only the mournful words: “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head.” Matthew 8:19, 20. Judas believed Jesus to be the Messiah; and by joining the apostles, he hoped to secure a high position in the new kingdom. This hope Jesus designed to cut off by the statement of His poverty. 365DGSP 61.28