Ellen G. White and Her Critics

Lesson From Activity of Disciples

Let us look at the disciples during the years of Christ’s ministry. They were with Him for about three and a half years. Did he distribute them over the various countries round about Jewry? No. He told them to go only to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” This seemed natural and reasonable to the disciples. They were astonished beyond words when Christ even conversed with the Samaritan woman by the well. Nor did the disciples see anything strange in our Lord’s words to the Syrophoenician woman who pleaded with Him to heal her daughter. Christ inquired of her as to whether it was right to take the children’s food and give it to the dogs. EGWC 235.2

We hear someone quickly coming to the defense of our Lord and the disciples—though no defense is needed—and explaining that Christ wisely sought to have the disciples focus first on their own people, who had much in common with them in their belief as to what all the prophets did say should come. Further, that the disciples needed to have their own eyes opened to a larger understanding of Scripture with regard to Christ before it would be wise to send them out to the world. Did not our Lord explain to them, on the resurrection day, the true meaning of many texts? The record says, “Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.” Luke 24:45. Certainly they needed a larger conception of the range of God’s plan of salvation before they could be prepared to go to the four corners of the earth, EGWC 235.3

We agree fully that this is an entirely satisfactory explanation of why our Lord, during His ministry on earth, sent His disciples only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. EGWC 236.1

But the fact remains that the nations round about Israel received little or no preaching of the gospel during all the years of all the Old Testament prophets and during the years that Christ was on earth. Yet no indictment do we bring against the Old Testament prophets or Christ or His disciples. We view all of them as men of God, spokesmen for God. EGWC 236.2