Because of the wicked departure of the Jews from God, he had allowed them to come under the power of a heathen nation. Only a certain limited power was granted the Jews; even the Sanhedrim was not allowed to pronounce final judgment upon any important case which involved the infliction of capital punishment. A people controlled, as were the Jews, by bigotry and superstition, are most cruel and unrelenting. The wisdom of God was displayed in sending his Son to the world at a time when the Roman power held sway. Had the Jewish economy possessed full authority, we should not now have a history of the life and ministry of Christ among men. The jealous priests and rulers would have quickly made away with so formidable a rival. He would have been stoned to death on the false accusation of breaking the law of God. The Jews put no one to death by crucifixion; that was a Roman method of punishment; there would therefore have been no cross upon Calvary. Prophecy would not then have been fulfilled; for Christ was to be lifted up in the most public manner on the cross, as the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness. {3SP 180.2}

Herren havde tilladt, at jøderne blev overvundet af en hedensk nation, fordi de i deres ugudelighed vandrede bort fra ham. Jøderne havde kun en vis begrænset magt. Selv det jødiske råd fik ikke lov til at afsige en endelige dom i sådanne vigtige sager, der havde med dødsstraf at gøre. Når at folk lader sig beherske af skinhellighed og overtro, således som tilfældet var med jøderne, bliver det omsider grusomt og ubarmhjertigt. (181) Gud åbenbarede sin visdom derved, at han sendte sin søn til verden på en tid, da den romerske magt regerede. Hvis det jødiske folk havde haft uindskrænket myndighed, så ville man nu ikke have haft en beretning om Kristi liv og virksomhed blandt menneskene. De misundelige præster og ældste ville snart have skaffet en så frygtet medarbejder af vejen. Man ville have stenet ham til døde, fordi, som man falskelig påstod, han overtrådte Guds lov. Jøderne henrettede ingen ved korsfæstelse; dette var den måde hvorpå romerne straffede forbrydere. Man ville derfor ikke have haft noget kors på Golgatha. Profetierne ville da heller ikke have gået i opfyldelse; thi Kristus skulle ophøjes på korset øjensynlig for enhver, ligesom man ophøjede slangen i ørknen.