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Urantia Book Paper 142 The Passover At Jerusalem
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Subjects Archive The Urantia Book Urantia Book PART IV: The Life and Teachings
of Jesus : The Bestowal Of Michael On Urantia The Times Of Michael's Bestowal
Birth And Infancy Of Jesus The Early Childhood Of Jesus The Later Childhood Of
Jesus Jesus At Jerusalem The Two Crucial Years The Adolescent Years Jesus'
Early Manhood The Later Adult Life Of Jesus On The Way To Rome The World's
Religions The Sojourn At Rome The Return From Rome The Transition Years John
The Baptist Baptism And The Forty Days Tarrying Time In Galilee Training The
Kingdom's Messengers The Twelve Apostles The Ordination Of The Twelve Beginning
The Public Work The Passover At Jerusalem Going Through Samaria At Gilboa And
In The Decapolis Four Eventful Days At Capernaum First Preaching Tour Of
Galilee The Interlude Visit To Jerusalem Training Evangelists At Bethsaida The
Second Preaching Tour The Third Preaching Tour Tarrying And Teaching By The
Seaside Events Leading Up To The Capernaum Crisis The Crisis At Capernaum Last
Days At Capernaum Fleeing Through Northern Galilee The Sojourn At Tyre And
Sidon At Caesarea-philippi The Mount Of Transfiguration The Decapolis Tour
Rodan Of Alexandria Further Discussions With Rodan At The Feast Of Tabernacles
Ordination Of The Seventy At Magadan At The Feast Of Dedication The Perean
Mission Begins Last Visit To Northern Perea The Visit To Philadelphia The
Resurrection Of Lazarus Last Teaching At Pella The Kingdom Of Heaven On The Way
To Jerusalem Going Into Jerusalem Monday In Jerusalem ...
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Paper 142 The Passover At Jerusalem
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Introduction
THE month of April Jesus and the apostles worked in Jerusalem, going out of the
city each evening to spend the night at Bethany. Jesus himself spent one or two
nights each week in Jerusalem at the home of Flavius, a Greek Jew, where many
prominent Jews came in secret to interview him.
The first day in Jerusalem Jesus called upon his friend of former years, Annas,
the onetime high priest and relative of Salome, Zebedee's wife. Annas had been
hearing about Jesus and his teachings, and when Jesus called at the high
priest's home, he was received with much reserve. When Jesus perceived Annas's
coldness, he took immediate leave, saying as he departed: "Fear is man's chief
enslaver and pride his great weakness; will you betray yourself into bondage to
both of these destroyers of joy and liberty?" But Annas made no reply. The
Master did not again see Annas until the time when he sat with his son-in-law
in judgment on the Son of Man.
1. TEACHING IN THE TEMPLE
Throughout this month Jesus or one of the apostles taught daily in the temple.
When the Passover crowds were too great to find entrance to the temple
teaching, the apostles conducted many teaching groups outside the sacred
precincts. The burden of their message was:
1. The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
2. By faith in the fatherhood of God you may enter the kingdom of heaven, thus
becoming the sons of God.
3. Love is the rule of living within the kingdom--supreme devotion to God while
loving your neighbor as yourself.
4. Obedience to the will of the Father, yielding the fruits of the spirit in
one's personal life, is the law of the kingdom.
The multitudes who came to celebrate the Passover heard this teaching of Jesus,
and hundreds of them rejoiced in the good news. The chief priests and rulers of
the Jews became much concerned about Jesus and his apostles and debated among
themselves as to what should be done with them.
Besides teaching in and about the temple, the apostles and other believers were
engaged in doing much personal work among the Passover throngs. These
interested men and women carried the news of Jesus' message from this Passover
celebration to the uttermost parts of the Roman Empire and also to the East.
This was the beginning of the spread of the gospel of the kingdom to the
outside world. No longer was the work of Jesus to be confined to Palestine.
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2. GOD'S WRATH
There was in Jerusalem in attendance upon the Passover festivities one Jacob, a
wealthy Jewish trader from Crete, and he came to Andrew making request to see
Jesus privately. Andrew arranged this secret meeting with Jesus at Flavius's
home the evening of the next day. This man could not comprehend the Master's
teachings, and he came because he desired to inquire more fully about the
kingdom of God. Said Jacob to Jesus: "But, Rabbi, Moses and the olden prophets
tell us that Yahweh is a jealous God, a God of great wrath and fierce anger.
The prophets say he hates evildoers and takes vengeance on those who obey not
his law. You and your disciples teach us that God is a kind and compassionate
Father who so loves all men that he would welcome them into this new kingdom of
heaven, which you proclaim is so near at hand."
When Jacob finished speaking, Jesus replied: "Jacob, you have well stated the
teachings of the olden prophets who taught the children of their generation in
accordance with the light of their day. Our Father in Paradise is changeless.
But the concept of his nature has enlarged and grown from the days of Moses
down through the times of Amos and even to the generation of the prophet
Isaiah. And now have I come in the flesh to reveal the Father in new glory and
to show forth his love and mercy to all men on all worlds. As the gospel of
this kingdom shall spread over the world with its message of good cheer and
good will to all men, there will grow up improved and better relations among
the families of all nations. As time passes, fathers and their children will
love each other more, and thus will be brought about a better understanding of
the love of the Father in heaven for his children on earth. Remember, Jacob,
that a good and true father not only loves his family as a whole--as a
family--but he also truly loves and affectionately cares for each individual
member."
After considerable discussion of the heavenly Father's character, Jesus paused
to say: "You, Jacob, being a father of many, know well the truth of my words."
And Jacob said: "But, Master, who told you I was the father of six children?
How did you know this about me?" And the Master replied: "Suffice it to say
that the Father and the Son know all things, for indeed they see all. Loving
your children as a father on earth, you must now accept as a reality the love
of the heavenly Father for you--not just for all the children of Abraham, but
for you, your individual soul."
Then Jesus went on to say: "When your children are very young and immature, and
when you must chastise them, they may reflect that their father is angry and
filled with resentful wrath. Their immaturity cannot penetrate beyond the
punishment to discern the father's farseeing and corrective affection. But when
these same children become grown-up men and women, would it not be folly for
them to cling to these earlier and misconceived notions regarding their father?
As men and women they should now discern their father's love in all these early
disciplines. And should not mankind, as the centuries pass, come the better to
understand the true nature and loving character of the Father in heaven? What
profit have you from successive generations of spiritual illumination if you
persist in viewing God as Moses and the prophets saw him? I say to you, Jacob,
under the bright light of this hour you should see the Father as none of those
who have gone before ever beheld him. And thus seeing him, you should rejoice
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to enter the kingdom wherein such a merciful Father rules, and you should seek
to have his will of love dominate your life henceforth."
And Jacob answered: "Rabbi, I believe; I desire that you lead me into the
Father's kingdom."
3. THE CONCEPT OF GOD
The twelve apostles, most of whom had listened to this discussion of the
character of God, that night asked Jesus many questions about the Father in
heaven. The Master's answers to these questions can best be presented by the
following summary in modern phraseology:
Jesus mildly upbraided the twelve, in substance saying: Do you not know the
traditions of Israel relating to the growth of the idea of Yahweh, and are you
ignorant of the teaching of the Scriptures concerning the doctrine of God? And
then did the Master proceed to instruct the apostles about the evolution of the
concept of Deity throughout the course of the development of the Jewish people.
He called attention to the following phases of the growth of the God idea:
1. Yahweh--the god of the Sinai clans. This was the primitive concept of Deity
which Moses exalted to the higher level of the Lord God of Israel. The Father
in heaven never fails to accept the sincere worship of his children on earth,
no matter how crude their concept of Deity or by what name they symbolize his
divine nature.
2. The Most High. This concept of the Father in heaven was proclaimed by
Melchizedek to Abraham and was carried far from Salem by those who subsequently
believed in this enlarged and expanded idea of Deity. Abraham and his brother
left Ur because of the establishment of sun worship, and they became believers
in Melchizedek's teaching of El Elyon--the Most High God. Theirs was a
composite concept of God, consisting in a blending of their older Mesopotamian
ideas and the Most High doctrine.
3. El Shaddai. During these early days many of the Hebrews worshiped El
Shaddai, the Egyptian concept of the God of heaven, which they learned about
during their captivity in the land of the Nile. Long after the times of
Melchizedek all three of these concepts of God became joined together to form
the doctrine of the creator Deity, the Lord God of Israel.
4. Elohim. From the times of Adam the teaching of the Paradise Trinity has
persisted. Do you not recall how the Scriptures begin by asserting that "In the
beginning the Gods created the heavens and the earth"? This indicates that when
that record was made the Trinity concept of three Gods in one had found
lodgment in the religion of our forebears.
5. The Supreme Yahweh. By the times of Isaiah these beliefs about God had
expanded into the concept of a Universal Creator who was simultaneously
all-powerful and all-merciful. And this evolving and enlarging concept of God
virtually supplanted all previous ideas of Deity in our fathers' religion.
6. The Father in heaven. And now do we know God as our Father in heaven. Our
teaching provides a religion wherein the believer is a son of God. That is the
good news of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven. Coexistent with the Father
are the Son and the Spirit, and the revelation of the nature and ministry
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of these Paradise Deities will continue to enlarge and brighten throughout the
endless ages of the eternal spiritual progression of the ascending sons of God.
At all times and during all ages the true worship of any human being--as
concerns individual spiritual progress--is recognized by the indwelling spirit
as homage rendered to the Father in heaven.
Never before had the apostles been so shocked as they were upon hearing this
recounting of the growth of the concept of God in the Jewish minds of previous
generations; they were too bewildered to ask questions. As they sat before
Jesus in silence, the Master continued: "And you would have known these truths
had you read the Scriptures. Have you not read in Samuel where it says: `And
the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, so much so that he moved
David against them, saying, go number Israel and Judah'? And this was not
strange because in the days of Samuel the children of Abraham really believed
that Yahweh created both good and evil. But when a later writer narrated these
events, subsequent to the enlargement of the Jewish concept of the nature of
God, he did not dare attribute evil to Yahweh; therefore he said: `And Satan
stood up against Israel and provoked David to number Israel.' Cannot you
discern that such records in the Scriptures clearly show how the concept of the
nature of God continued to grow from one generation to another?
"Again should you have discerned the growth of the understanding of divine law
in perfect keeping with these enlarging concepts of divinity. When the children
of Israel came out of Egypt in the days before the enlarged revelation of
Yahweh, they had ten commandments which served as their law right up to the
times when they were encamped before Sinai. And these ten commandments were:
"1. You shall worship no other god, for the Lord is a jealous God.
"2. You shall not make molten gods.
"3. You shall not neglect to keep the feast of unleavened bread.
"4. Of all the males of men or cattle, the first-born are mine, says the Lord.
"5. Six days you may work, but on the seventh day you shall rest.
"6. You shall not fail to observe the feast of the first fruits and the feast
of the ingathering at the end of the year.
"7. You shall not offer the blood of any sacrifice with leavened bread.
"8. The sacrifice of the feast of the Passover shall not be left until morning.
"9. The first of the first fruits of the ground you shall bring to the house of
the Lord your God.
"10. You shall not seethe a kid in its mother's milk.
"And then, amidst the thunders and lightnings of Sinai, Moses gave them the new
ten commandments, which you will all allow are more worthy utterances to
accompany the enlarging Yahweh concepts of Deity. And did you never take notice
of these commandments as twice recorded in the Scriptures, that in the first
case deliverance from Egypt is assigned as the reason for Sabbath keeping,
while in a later record the advancing religious beliefs of our forefathers
demanded that this be changed to the recognition of the fact of creation as the
reason for Sabbath observance?
"And then will you remember that once again--in the greater spiritual
enlightenment of Isaiah's day--these ten negative commandments were changed
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into the great and positive law of love, the injunction to love God supremely
and your neighbor as yourself. And it is this supreme law of love for God and
for man that I also declare to you as constituting the whole duty of man."
And when he had finished speaking, no man asked him a question. They went, each
one to his sleep.
4. FLAVIUS AND GREEK CULTURE
Flavius, the Greek Jew, was a proselyte of the gate, having been neither
circumcised nor baptized; and since he was a great lover of the beautiful in
art and sculpture, the house which he occupied when sojourning in Jerusalem was
a beautiful edifice. This home was exquisitely adorned with priceless treasures
which he had gathered up here and there on his world travels. When he first
thought of inviting Jesus to his home, he feared that the Master might take
offense at the sight of these so-called images. But Flavius was agreeably
surprised when Jesus entered the home that, instead of rebuking him for having
these supposedly idolatrous objects scattered about the house, he manifested
great interest in the entire collection and asked many appreciative questions
about each object as Flavius escorted him from room to room, showing him all of
his favorite statues.
The Master saw that his host was bewildered at his friendly attitude toward
art; therefore, when they had finished the survey of the entire collection,
Jesus said: "Because you appreciate the beauty of things created by my Father
and fashioned by the artistic hands of man, why should you expect to be
rebuked? Because Moses onetime sought to combat idolatry and the worship of
false gods, why should all men frown upon the reproduction of grace and beauty?
I say to you, Flavius, Moses' children have misunderstood him, and now do they
make false gods of even his prohibitions of images and the likeness of things
in heaven and on earth. But even if Moses taught such restrictions to the
darkened minds of those days, what has that to do with this day when the Father
in heaven is revealed as the universal Spirit Ruler over all? And, Flavius, I
declare that in the coming kingdom they shall no longer teach, `Do not worship
this and do not worship that'; no longer shall they concern themselves with
commands to refrain from this and take care not to do that, but rather shall
all be concerned with one supreme duty. And this duty of man is expressed in
two great privileges: sincere worship of the infinite Creator, the Paradise
Father, and loving service bestowed upon one's fellow men. If you love your
neighbor as you love yourself, you really know that you are a son of God.
"In an age when my Father was not well understood, Moses was justified in his
attempts to withstand idolatry, but in the coming age the Father will have been
revealed in the life of the Son; and this new revelation of God will make it
forever unnecessary to confuse the Creator Father with idols of stone or images
of gold and silver. Henceforth, intelligent men may enjoy the treasures of art
without confusing such material appreciation of beauty with the worship and
service of the Father in Paradise, the God of all things and all beings."
Flavius believed all that Jesus taught him. The next day he went to Bethany
beyond the Jordan and was baptized by the disciples of John. And this he did
because the apostles of Jesus did not yet baptize believers. When Flavius
returned to Jerusalem, he made a great feast for Jesus and invited sixty of his
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friends. And many of these guests also became believers in the message of the
coming kingdom.
5. THE DISCOURSE ON ASSURANCE
One of the great sermons which Jesus preached in the temple this Passover week
was in answer to a question asked by one of his hearers, a man from Damascus.
This man asked Jesus: "But, Rabbi, how shall we know of a certainty that you
are sent by God, and that we may truly enter into this kingdom which you and
your disciples declare is near at hand?" And Jesus answered:
"As to my message and the teaching of my disciples, you should judge them by
their fruits. If we proclaim to you the truths of the spirit, the spirit will
witness in your hearts that our message is genuine. Concerning the kingdom and
your assurance of acceptance by the heavenly Father, let me ask what father
among you who is a worthy and kindhearted father would keep his son in anxiety
or suspense regarding his status in the family or his place of security in the
affections of his father's heart? Do you earth fathers take pleasure in
torturing your children with uncertainty about their place of abiding love in
your human hearts? Neither does your Father in heaven leave his faith children
of the spirit in doubtful uncertainty as to their position in the kingdom. If
you receive God as your Father, then indeed and in truth are you the sons of
God. And if you are sons, then are you secure in the position and standing of
all that concerns eternal and divine sonship. If you believe my words, you
thereby believe in Him who sent me, and by thus believing in the Father, you
have made your status in heavenly citizenship sure. If you do the will of the
Father in heaven, you shall never fail in the attainment of the eternal life of
progress in the divine kingdom.
"The Supreme Spirit shall bear witness with your spirits that you are truly the
children of God. And if you are the sons of God, then have you been born of the
spirit of God; and whosoever has been born of the spirit has in himself the
power to overcome all doubt, and this is the victory that overcomes all
uncertainty, even your faith.
"Said the Prophet Isaiah, speaking of these times: `When the spirit is poured
upon us from on high, then shall the work of righteousness become peace,
quietness, and assurance forever.' And for all who truly believe this gospel, I
will become surety for their reception into the eternal mercies and the
everlasting life of my Father's kingdom. You, then, who hear this message and
believe this gospel of the kingdom are the sons of God, and you have life
everlasting; and the evidence to all the world that you have been born of the
spirit is that you sincerely love one another."
The throng of listeners remained many hours with Jesus, asking him questions
and listening attentively to his comforting answers. Even the apostles were
emboldened by Jesus' teaching to preach the gospel of the kingdom with more
power and assurance. This experience at Jerusalem was a great inspiration to
the twelve. It was their first contact with such enormous crowds, and they
learned many valuable lessons which proved of great assistance in their later
work.
6. THE VISIT WITH NICODEMUS
One evening at the home of Flavius there came to see Jesus one Nicodemus, a
wealthy and elderly member of the Jewish Sanhedrin. He had heard much
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about the teachings of this Galilean, and so he went one afternoon to hear him
as he taught in the temple courts. He would have gone often to hear Jesus
teach, but he feared to be seen by the people in attendance upon his teaching,
for already were the rulers of the Jews so at variance with Jesus that no
member of the Sanhedrin would want to be identified in any open manner with
him. Accordingly, Nicodemus had arranged with Andrew to see Jesus privately and
after nightfall on this particular evening. Peter, James, and John were in
Flavius's garden when the interview began, but later they all went into the
house where the discourse continued.
In receiving Nicodemus, Jesus showed no particular deference; in talking with
him, there was no compromise or undue persuasiveness. The Master made no
attempt to repulse his secretive caller, nor did he employ sarcasm. In all his
dealings with the distinguished visitor, Jesus was calm, earnest, and
dignified. Nicodemus was not an official delegate of the Sanhedrin; he came to
see Jesus wholly because of his personal and sincere interest in the Master's
teachings.
Upon being presented by Flavius, Nicodemus said: "Rabbi, we know that you are a
teacher sent by God, for no mere man could so teach unless God were with him.
And I am desirous of knowing more about your teachings regarding the coming
kingdom."
Jesus answered Nicodemus: "Verily, verily, I say to you, Nicodemus, except a
man be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Then replied
Nicodemus: "But how can a man be born again when he is old? He cannot enter a
second time into his mother's womb to be born."
Jesus said: "Nevertheless, I declare to you, except a man be born of the
spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the
flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. But you should
not marvel that I said you must be born from above. When the wind blows, you
hear the rustle of the leaves, but you do not see the wind--whence it comes or
whither it goes--and so it is with everyone born of the spirit. With the eyes
of the flesh you can behold the manifestations of the spirit, but you cannot
actually discern the spirit."
Nicodemus replied: "But I do not understand--how can that be?" Said Jesus: "Can
it be that you are a teacher in Israel and yet ignorant of all this? It
becomes, then, the duty of those who know about the realities of the spirit to
reveal these things to those who discern only the manifestations of the
material world. But will you believe us if we tell you of the heavenly truths?
Do you have the courage, Nicodemus, to believe in one who has descended from
heaven, even the Son of Man?"
And Nicodemus said: "But how can I begin to lay hold upon this spirit which is
to remake me in preparation for entering into the kingdom?" Jesus answered:
"Already does the spirit of the Father in heaven indwell you. If you would be
led by this spirit from above, very soon would you begin to see with the eyes
of the spirit, and then by the wholehearted choice of spirit guidance would you
be born of the spirit since your only purpose in living would be to do the will
of your Father who is in heaven. And so finding yourself born of the spirit and
happily in the kingdom of God, you would begin to bear in your daily life the
abundant fruits of the spirit."
Nicodemus was thoroughly sincere. He was deeply impressed but went away
bewildered. Nicodemus was accomplished in self-development, in self-restraint,
and even in high moral qualities. He was refined, egoistic, and altruistic; but
he did not know how to submit his will to the will of the divine Father as a
little
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child is willing to submit to the guidance and leading of a wise and loving
earthly father, thereby becoming in reality a son of God, a progressive heir of
the eternal kingdom.
But Nicodemus did summon faith enough to lay hold of the kingdom. He faintly
protested when his colleagues of the Sanhedrin sought to condemn Jesus without
a hearing; and with Joseph of Arimathea, he later boldly acknowledged his faith
and claimed the body of Jesus, even when most of the disciples had fled in fear
from the scenes of their Master's final suffering and death.
7. THE LESSON ON THE FAMILY
After the busy period of teaching and personal work of Passover week in
Jerusalem, Jesus spent the next Wednesday at Bethany with his apostles,
resting. That afternoon, Thomas asked a question which elicited a long and
instructive answer. Said Thomas: "Master, on the day we were set apart as
ambassadors of the kingdom, you told us many things, instructed us regarding
our personal mode of life, but what shall we teach the multitude? How are these
people to live after the kingdom more fully comes? Shall your disciples own
slaves? Shall your believers court poverty and shun property? Shall mercy alone
prevail so that we shall have no more law and justice?" Jesus and the twelve
spent all afternoon and all that evening, after supper, discussing Thomas's
questions. For the purposes of this record we present the following summary of
the Master's instruction:
Jesus sought first to make plain to his apostles that he himself was on earth
living a unique life in the flesh, and that they, the twelve, had been called
to participate in this bestowal experience of the Son of Man; and as such
coworkers, they, too, must share in many of the special restrictions and
obligations of the entire bestowal experience. There was a veiled intimation
that the Son of Man was the only person who had ever lived on earth who could
simultaneously see into the very heart of God and into the very depths of man's
soul.
Very plainly Jesus explained that the kingdom of heaven was an evolutionary
experience, beginning here on earth and progressing up through successive life
stations to Paradise. In the course of the evening he definitely stated that at
some future stage of kingdom development he would revisit this world in
spiritual power and divine glory.
He next explained that the "kingdom idea" was not the best way to illustrate
man's relation to God; that he employed such figures of speech because the
Jewish people were expecting the kingdom, and because John had preached in
terms of the coming kingdom. Jesus said: "The people of another age will better
understand the gospel of the kingdom when it is presented in terms expressive
of the family relationship--when man understands religion as the teaching of
the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, sonship with God." Then the
Master discoursed at some length on the earthly family as an illustration of
the heavenly family, restating the two fundamental laws of living: the first
commandment of love for the father, the head of the family, and the second
commandment of mutual love among the children, to love your brother as
yourself. And then he explained that such a quality of brotherly affection
would invariably manifest itself in unselfish and loving social service.
Following that, came the memorable discussion of the fundamental
characteristics of family life and their application to the relationship
existing between
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God and man. Jesus stated that a true family is founded on the following seven
facts:
1. The fact of existence. The relationships of nature and the phenomena of
mortal likenesses are bound up in the family: Children inherit certain parental
traits. The children take origin in the parents; personality existence depends
on the act of the parent. The relationship of father and child is inherent in
all nature and pervades all living existences.
2. Security and pleasure. True fathers take great pleasure in providing for the
needs of their children. Many fathers are not content with supplying the mere
wants of their children but enjoy making provision for their pleasures also.
3. Education and training. Wise fathers carefully plan for the education and
adequate training of their sons and daughters. When young they are prepared for
the greater responsibilities of later life.
4. Discipline and restraint. Farseeing fathers also make provision for the
necessary discipline, guidance, correction, and sometimes restraint of their
young and immature offspring.
5. Companionship and loyalty. The affectionate father holds intimate and loving
intercourse with his children. Always is his ear open to their petitions; he is
ever ready to share their hardships and assist them over their difficulties.
The father is supremely interested in the progressive welfare of his progeny.
6. Love and mercy. A compassionate father is freely forgiving; fathers do not
hold vengeful memories against their children. Fathers are not like judges,
enemies, or creditors. Real families are built upon tolerance, patience, and
forgiveness.
7. Provision for the future. Temporal fathers like to leave an inheritance for
their sons. The family continues from one generation to another. Death only
ends one generation to mark the beginning of another. Death terminates an
individual life but not necessarily the family.
For hours the Master discussed the application of these features of family life
to the relations of man, the earth child, to God, the Paradise Father. And this
was his conclusion: "This entire relationship of a son to the Father, I know in
perfection, for all that you must attain of sonship in the eternal future I
have now already attained. The Son of Man is prepared to ascend to the right
hand of the Father, so that in me is the way now open still wider for all of
you to see God and, ere you have finished the glorious progression, to become
perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect."
When the apostles heard these startling words, they recalled the pronouncements
which John made at the time of Jesus' baptism, and they also vividly recalled
this experience in connection with their preaching and teaching subsequent to
the Master's death and resurrection.
Jesus is a divine Son, one in the Universal Father's full confidence. He had
been with the Father and comprehended him fully. He had now lived his earth
life to the full satisfaction of the Father, and this incarnation in the flesh
had enabled him fully to comprehend man. Jesus was the perfection of man; he
had attained just such perfection as all true believers are destined to attain
in him and through him. Jesus revealed a God of perfection to man and presented
in himself the perfected son of the realms to God.
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Although Jesus discoursed for several hours, Thomas was not yet satisfied, for
he said: "But, Master, we do not find that the Father in heaven always deals
kindly and mercifully with us. Many times we grievously suffer on earth, and
not always are our prayers answered. Where do we fail to grasp the meaning of
your teaching?"
Jesus replied: "Thomas, Thomas, how long before you will acquire the ability to
listen with the ear of the spirit? How long will it be before you discern that
this kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, and that my Father is also a spiritual
being? Do you not understand that I am teaching you as spiritual children in
the spirit family of heaven, of which the fatherhead is an infinite and eternal
spirit? Will you not allow me to use the earth family as an illustration of
divine relationships without so literally applying my teaching to material
affairs? In your minds cannot you separate the spiritual realities of the
kingdom from the material, social, economic, and political problems of the age?
When I speak the language of the spirit, why do you insist on translating my
meaning into the language of the flesh just because I presume to employ
commonplace and literal relationships for purposes of illustration? My
children, I implore that you cease to apply the teaching of the kingdom of the
spirit to the sordid affairs of slavery, poverty, houses, and lands, and to the
material problems of human equity and justice. These temporal matters are the
concern of the men of this world, and while in a way they affect all men, you
have been called to represent me in the world, even as I represent my Father.
You are spiritual ambassadors of a spiritual kingdom, special representatives
of the spirit Father. By this time it should be possible for me to instruct you
as full-grown men of the spirit kingdom. Must I ever address you only as
children? Will you never grow up in spirit perception? Nevertheless, I love you
and will bear with you, even to the very end of our association in the flesh.
And even then shall my spirit go before you into all the world."
8. IN SOUTHERN JUDEA
By the end of April the opposition to Jesus among the Pharisees and Sadducees
had become so pronounced that the Master and his apostles decided to leave
Jerusalem for a while, going south to work in Bethlehem and Hebron. The entire
month of May was spent in doing personal work in these cities and among the
people of the surrounding villages. No public preaching was done on this trip,
only house-to-house visitation. A part of this time, while the apostles taught
the gospel and ministered to the sick, Jesus and Abner spent at Engedi,
visiting the Nazarite colony. John the Baptist had gone forth from this place,
and Abner had been head of this group. Many of the Nazarite brotherhood became
believers in Jesus, but the majority of these ascetic and eccentric men refused
to accept him as a teacher sent from heaven because he did not teach fasting
and other forms of self-denial.
The people living in this region did not know that Jesus had been born in
Bethlehem. They always supposed the Master had been born at Nazareth, as did
the vast majority of his disciples, but the twelve knew the facts.
This sojourn in the south of Judea was a restful and fruitful season of labor;
many souls were added to the kingdom. By the first days of June the agitation
against Jesus had so quieted down in Jerusalem that the Master and the apostles
returned to instruct and comfort believers.
top of page - 1606
Although Jesus and the apostles spent the entire month of June in or near
Jerusalem, they did no public teaching during this period. They lived for the
most part in tents, which they pitched in a shaded park, or garden, known in
that day as Gethsemane. This park was situated on the western slope of the
Mount of Olives not far from the brook Kidron. The Sabbath week ends they
usually spent with Lazarus and his sisters at Bethany. Jesus entered within the
walls of Jerusalem only a few times, but a large number of interested inquirers
came out to Gethsemane to visit with him. One Friday evening Nicodemus and one
Joseph of Arimathea ventured out to see Jesus but turned back through fear even
after they were standing before the entrance to the Master's tent. And, of
course, they did not perceive that Jesus knew all about their doings.
When the rulers of the Jews learned that Jesus had returned to Jerusalem, they
prepared to arrest him; but when they observed that he did no public preaching,
they concluded that he had become frightened by their previous agitation and
decided to allow him to carry on his teaching in this private manner without
further molestation. And thus affairs moved along quietly until the last days
of June, when one Simon, a member of the Sanhedrin, publicly espoused the
teachings of Jesus, after so declaring himself before the rulers of the Jews.
Immediately a new agitation for Jesus' apprehension sprang up and grew so
strong that the Master decided to retire into the cities of Samaria and the
Decapolis.
top of page - 1607
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Subjects Archive The Urantia Book Urantia Book PART IV: The Life and Teachings
of Jesus : The Bestowal Of Michael On Urantia The Times Of Michael's Bestowal
Birth And Infancy Of Jesus The Early Childhood Of Jesus The Later Childhood Of
Jesus Jesus At Jerusalem The Two Crucial Years The Adolescent Years Jesus'
Early Manhood The Later Adult Life Of Jesus On The Way To Rome The World's
Religions The Sojourn At Rome The Return From Rome The Transition Years John
The Baptist Baptism And The Forty Days Tarrying Time In Galilee Training The
Kingdom's Messengers The Twelve Apostles The Ordination Of The Twelve Beginning
The Public Work The Passover At Jerusalem Going Through Samaria At Gilboa And
In The Decapolis Four Eventful Days At Capernaum First Preaching Tour Of
Galilee The Interlude Visit To Jerusalem Training Evangelists At Bethsaida The
Second Preaching Tour The Third Preaching Tour Tarrying And Teaching By The
Seaside Events Leading Up To The Capernaum Crisis The Crisis At Capernaum Last
Days At Capernaum Fleeing Through Northern Galilee The Sojourn At Tyre And
Sidon At Caesarea-philippi The Mount Of Transfiguration The Decapolis Tour
Rodan Of Alexandria Further Discussions With Rodan At The Feast Of Tabernacles
Ordination Of The Seventy At Magadan At The Feast Of Dedication The Perean
Mission Begins Last Visit To Northern Perea The Visit To Philadelphia The
Resurrection Of Lazarus Last Teaching At Pella The Kingdom Of Heaven On The Way
To Jerusalem Going Into Jerusalem Monday In Jerusalem Tuesday Morning In The
Temple The Last Temple Discourse Tuesday Evening On Mount Olivet Wednesday, The
Rest Day Last Day At The Camp The Last Supper The Farewell Discourse Final
Admonitions And Warnings In Gethsemane The Betrayal And Arrest Of Jesus Before
The Sanhedrin Court The Trial Before Pilate Just Before The Crucifixion The
Crucifixion The Time Of The Tomb The Resurrection Morontia Appearances Of Jesus
Appearances To The Apostles And Other Leaders Appearances In Galilee Final
Appearances And Ascension Bestowal Of The Spirit Of Truth After Pentecost The
Faith Of Jesus
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