682 lines
40 KiB
Plaintext
682 lines
40 KiB
Plaintext
Urantia Book Paper 142 The Passover At Jerusalem
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SPIRITWEB ORG, PROMOTING SPIRITUAL CONSCIOUSNESS ON THE INTERNET.
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Subjects Archive The Urantia Book Urantia Book PART IV: The Life and Teachings
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of Jesus : The Bestowal Of Michael On Urantia The Times Of Michael's Bestowal
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Birth And Infancy Of Jesus The Early Childhood Of Jesus The Later Childhood Of
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Jesus Jesus At Jerusalem The Two Crucial Years The Adolescent Years Jesus'
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Early Manhood The Later Adult Life Of Jesus On The Way To Rome The World's
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Religions The Sojourn At Rome The Return From Rome The Transition Years John
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The Baptist Baptism And The Forty Days Tarrying Time In Galilee Training The
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Kingdom's Messengers The Twelve Apostles The Ordination Of The Twelve Beginning
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The Public Work The Passover At Jerusalem Going Through Samaria At Gilboa And
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In The Decapolis Four Eventful Days At Capernaum First Preaching Tour Of
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Galilee The Interlude Visit To Jerusalem Training Evangelists At Bethsaida The
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Second Preaching Tour The Third Preaching Tour Tarrying And Teaching By The
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Seaside Events Leading Up To The Capernaum Crisis The Crisis At Capernaum Last
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Days At Capernaum Fleeing Through Northern Galilee The Sojourn At Tyre And
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Sidon At Caesarea-philippi The Mount Of Transfiguration The Decapolis Tour
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Rodan Of Alexandria Further Discussions With Rodan At The Feast Of Tabernacles
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Ordination Of The Seventy At Magadan At The Feast Of Dedication The Perean
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Mission Begins Last Visit To Northern Perea The Visit To Philadelphia The
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Resurrection Of Lazarus Last Teaching At Pella The Kingdom Of Heaven On The Way
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To Jerusalem Going Into Jerusalem Monday In Jerusalem ...
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Paper 142 The Passover At Jerusalem
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Introduction
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THE month of April Jesus and the apostles worked in Jerusalem, going out of the
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city each evening to spend the night at Bethany. Jesus himself spent one or two
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nights each week in Jerusalem at the home of Flavius, a Greek Jew, where many
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prominent Jews came in secret to interview him.
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The first day in Jerusalem Jesus called upon his friend of former years, Annas,
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the onetime high priest and relative of Salome, Zebedee's wife. Annas had been
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hearing about Jesus and his teachings, and when Jesus called at the high
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priest's home, he was received with much reserve. When Jesus perceived Annas's
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coldness, he took immediate leave, saying as he departed: "Fear is man's chief
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enslaver and pride his great weakness; will you betray yourself into bondage to
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both of these destroyers of joy and liberty?" But Annas made no reply. The
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Master did not again see Annas until the time when he sat with his son-in-law
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in judgment on the Son of Man.
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1. TEACHING IN THE TEMPLE
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Throughout this month Jesus or one of the apostles taught daily in the temple.
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When the Passover crowds were too great to find entrance to the temple
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teaching, the apostles conducted many teaching groups outside the sacred
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precincts. The burden of their message was:
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1. The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
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2. By faith in the fatherhood of God you may enter the kingdom of heaven, thus
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becoming the sons of God.
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3. Love is the rule of living within the kingdom--supreme devotion to God while
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loving your neighbor as yourself.
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4. Obedience to the will of the Father, yielding the fruits of the spirit in
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one's personal life, is the law of the kingdom.
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The multitudes who came to celebrate the Passover heard this teaching of Jesus,
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and hundreds of them rejoiced in the good news. The chief priests and rulers of
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the Jews became much concerned about Jesus and his apostles and debated among
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themselves as to what should be done with them.
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Besides teaching in and about the temple, the apostles and other believers were
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engaged in doing much personal work among the Passover throngs. These
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interested men and women carried the news of Jesus' message from this Passover
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celebration to the uttermost parts of the Roman Empire and also to the East.
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This was the beginning of the spread of the gospel of the kingdom to the
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outside world. No longer was the work of Jesus to be confined to Palestine.
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top of page - 1597
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2. GOD'S WRATH
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There was in Jerusalem in attendance upon the Passover festivities one Jacob, a
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wealthy Jewish trader from Crete, and he came to Andrew making request to see
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Jesus privately. Andrew arranged this secret meeting with Jesus at Flavius's
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home the evening of the next day. This man could not comprehend the Master's
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teachings, and he came because he desired to inquire more fully about the
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kingdom of God. Said Jacob to Jesus: "But, Rabbi, Moses and the olden prophets
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tell us that Yahweh is a jealous God, a God of great wrath and fierce anger.
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The prophets say he hates evildoers and takes vengeance on those who obey not
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his law. You and your disciples teach us that God is a kind and compassionate
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Father who so loves all men that he would welcome them into this new kingdom of
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heaven, which you proclaim is so near at hand."
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When Jacob finished speaking, Jesus replied: "Jacob, you have well stated the
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teachings of the olden prophets who taught the children of their generation in
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accordance with the light of their day. Our Father in Paradise is changeless.
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But the concept of his nature has enlarged and grown from the days of Moses
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down through the times of Amos and even to the generation of the prophet
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Isaiah. And now have I come in the flesh to reveal the Father in new glory and
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to show forth his love and mercy to all men on all worlds. As the gospel of
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this kingdom shall spread over the world with its message of good cheer and
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good will to all men, there will grow up improved and better relations among
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the families of all nations. As time passes, fathers and their children will
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love each other more, and thus will be brought about a better understanding of
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the love of the Father in heaven for his children on earth. Remember, Jacob,
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that a good and true father not only loves his family as a whole--as a
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family--but he also truly loves and affectionately cares for each individual
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member."
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After considerable discussion of the heavenly Father's character, Jesus paused
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to say: "You, Jacob, being a father of many, know well the truth of my words."
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And Jacob said: "But, Master, who told you I was the father of six children?
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How did you know this about me?" And the Master replied: "Suffice it to say
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that the Father and the Son know all things, for indeed they see all. Loving
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your children as a father on earth, you must now accept as a reality the love
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of the heavenly Father for you--not just for all the children of Abraham, but
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for you, your individual soul."
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Then Jesus went on to say: "When your children are very young and immature, and
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when you must chastise them, they may reflect that their father is angry and
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filled with resentful wrath. Their immaturity cannot penetrate beyond the
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punishment to discern the father's farseeing and corrective affection. But when
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these same children become grown-up men and women, would it not be folly for
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them to cling to these earlier and misconceived notions regarding their father?
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As men and women they should now discern their father's love in all these early
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disciplines. And should not mankind, as the centuries pass, come the better to
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understand the true nature and loving character of the Father in heaven? What
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profit have you from successive generations of spiritual illumination if you
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persist in viewing God as Moses and the prophets saw him? I say to you, Jacob,
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under the bright light of this hour you should see the Father as none of those
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who have gone before ever beheld him. And thus seeing him, you should rejoice
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top of page - 1598
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to enter the kingdom wherein such a merciful Father rules, and you should seek
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to have his will of love dominate your life henceforth."
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And Jacob answered: "Rabbi, I believe; I desire that you lead me into the
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Father's kingdom."
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3. THE CONCEPT OF GOD
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The twelve apostles, most of whom had listened to this discussion of the
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character of God, that night asked Jesus many questions about the Father in
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heaven. The Master's answers to these questions can best be presented by the
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following summary in modern phraseology:
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Jesus mildly upbraided the twelve, in substance saying: Do you not know the
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traditions of Israel relating to the growth of the idea of Yahweh, and are you
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ignorant of the teaching of the Scriptures concerning the doctrine of God? And
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then did the Master proceed to instruct the apostles about the evolution of the
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concept of Deity throughout the course of the development of the Jewish people.
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He called attention to the following phases of the growth of the God idea:
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1. Yahweh--the god of the Sinai clans. This was the primitive concept of Deity
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which Moses exalted to the higher level of the Lord God of Israel. The Father
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in heaven never fails to accept the sincere worship of his children on earth,
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no matter how crude their concept of Deity or by what name they symbolize his
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divine nature.
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2. The Most High. This concept of the Father in heaven was proclaimed by
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Melchizedek to Abraham and was carried far from Salem by those who subsequently
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believed in this enlarged and expanded idea of Deity. Abraham and his brother
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left Ur because of the establishment of sun worship, and they became believers
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in Melchizedek's teaching of El Elyon--the Most High God. Theirs was a
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composite concept of God, consisting in a blending of their older Mesopotamian
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ideas and the Most High doctrine.
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3. El Shaddai. During these early days many of the Hebrews worshiped El
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Shaddai, the Egyptian concept of the God of heaven, which they learned about
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during their captivity in the land of the Nile. Long after the times of
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Melchizedek all three of these concepts of God became joined together to form
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the doctrine of the creator Deity, the Lord God of Israel.
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4. Elohim. From the times of Adam the teaching of the Paradise Trinity has
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persisted. Do you not recall how the Scriptures begin by asserting that "In the
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beginning the Gods created the heavens and the earth"? This indicates that when
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that record was made the Trinity concept of three Gods in one had found
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lodgment in the religion of our forebears.
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5. The Supreme Yahweh. By the times of Isaiah these beliefs about God had
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expanded into the concept of a Universal Creator who was simultaneously
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all-powerful and all-merciful. And this evolving and enlarging concept of God
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virtually supplanted all previous ideas of Deity in our fathers' religion.
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6. The Father in heaven. And now do we know God as our Father in heaven. Our
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teaching provides a religion wherein the believer is a son of God. That is the
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good news of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven. Coexistent with the Father
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are the Son and the Spirit, and the revelation of the nature and ministry
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top of page - 1599
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of these Paradise Deities will continue to enlarge and brighten throughout the
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endless ages of the eternal spiritual progression of the ascending sons of God.
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At all times and during all ages the true worship of any human being--as
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concerns individual spiritual progress--is recognized by the indwelling spirit
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as homage rendered to the Father in heaven.
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Never before had the apostles been so shocked as they were upon hearing this
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recounting of the growth of the concept of God in the Jewish minds of previous
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generations; they were too bewildered to ask questions. As they sat before
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Jesus in silence, the Master continued: "And you would have known these truths
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had you read the Scriptures. Have you not read in Samuel where it says: `And
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the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, so much so that he moved
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David against them, saying, go number Israel and Judah'? And this was not
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strange because in the days of Samuel the children of Abraham really believed
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that Yahweh created both good and evil. But when a later writer narrated these
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events, subsequent to the enlargement of the Jewish concept of the nature of
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God, he did not dare attribute evil to Yahweh; therefore he said: `And Satan
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stood up against Israel and provoked David to number Israel.' Cannot you
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discern that such records in the Scriptures clearly show how the concept of the
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nature of God continued to grow from one generation to another?
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"Again should you have discerned the growth of the understanding of divine law
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in perfect keeping with these enlarging concepts of divinity. When the children
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of Israel came out of Egypt in the days before the enlarged revelation of
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Yahweh, they had ten commandments which served as their law right up to the
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times when they were encamped before Sinai. And these ten commandments were:
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"1. You shall worship no other god, for the Lord is a jealous God.
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"2. You shall not make molten gods.
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"3. You shall not neglect to keep the feast of unleavened bread.
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"4. Of all the males of men or cattle, the first-born are mine, says the Lord.
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"5. Six days you may work, but on the seventh day you shall rest.
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"6. You shall not fail to observe the feast of the first fruits and the feast
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of the ingathering at the end of the year.
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"7. You shall not offer the blood of any sacrifice with leavened bread.
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"8. The sacrifice of the feast of the Passover shall not be left until morning.
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"9. The first of the first fruits of the ground you shall bring to the house of
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the Lord your God.
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"10. You shall not seethe a kid in its mother's milk.
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"And then, amidst the thunders and lightnings of Sinai, Moses gave them the new
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ten commandments, which you will all allow are more worthy utterances to
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accompany the enlarging Yahweh concepts of Deity. And did you never take notice
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of these commandments as twice recorded in the Scriptures, that in the first
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case deliverance from Egypt is assigned as the reason for Sabbath keeping,
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while in a later record the advancing religious beliefs of our forefathers
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demanded that this be changed to the recognition of the fact of creation as the
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reason for Sabbath observance?
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"And then will you remember that once again--in the greater spiritual
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enlightenment of Isaiah's day--these ten negative commandments were changed
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top of page - 1600
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into the great and positive law of love, the injunction to love God supremely
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and your neighbor as yourself. And it is this supreme law of love for God and
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for man that I also declare to you as constituting the whole duty of man."
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And when he had finished speaking, no man asked him a question. They went, each
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one to his sleep.
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4. FLAVIUS AND GREEK CULTURE
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Flavius, the Greek Jew, was a proselyte of the gate, having been neither
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circumcised nor baptized; and since he was a great lover of the beautiful in
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art and sculpture, the house which he occupied when sojourning in Jerusalem was
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a beautiful edifice. This home was exquisitely adorned with priceless treasures
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which he had gathered up here and there on his world travels. When he first
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thought of inviting Jesus to his home, he feared that the Master might take
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offense at the sight of these so-called images. But Flavius was agreeably
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surprised when Jesus entered the home that, instead of rebuking him for having
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these supposedly idolatrous objects scattered about the house, he manifested
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great interest in the entire collection and asked many appreciative questions
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about each object as Flavius escorted him from room to room, showing him all of
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his favorite statues.
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The Master saw that his host was bewildered at his friendly attitude toward
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art; therefore, when they had finished the survey of the entire collection,
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Jesus said: "Because you appreciate the beauty of things created by my Father
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and fashioned by the artistic hands of man, why should you expect to be
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rebuked? Because Moses onetime sought to combat idolatry and the worship of
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false gods, why should all men frown upon the reproduction of grace and beauty?
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I say to you, Flavius, Moses' children have misunderstood him, and now do they
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make false gods of even his prohibitions of images and the likeness of things
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in heaven and on earth. But even if Moses taught such restrictions to the
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darkened minds of those days, what has that to do with this day when the Father
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in heaven is revealed as the universal Spirit Ruler over all? And, Flavius, I
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declare that in the coming kingdom they shall no longer teach, `Do not worship
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this and do not worship that'; no longer shall they concern themselves with
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commands to refrain from this and take care not to do that, but rather shall
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all be concerned with one supreme duty. And this duty of man is expressed in
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two great privileges: sincere worship of the infinite Creator, the Paradise
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Father, and loving service bestowed upon one's fellow men. If you love your
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neighbor as you love yourself, you really know that you are a son of God.
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"In an age when my Father was not well understood, Moses was justified in his
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attempts to withstand idolatry, but in the coming age the Father will have been
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revealed in the life of the Son; and this new revelation of God will make it
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forever unnecessary to confuse the Creator Father with idols of stone or images
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of gold and silver. Henceforth, intelligent men may enjoy the treasures of art
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without confusing such material appreciation of beauty with the worship and
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service of the Father in Paradise, the God of all things and all beings."
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Flavius believed all that Jesus taught him. The next day he went to Bethany
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beyond the Jordan and was baptized by the disciples of John. And this he did
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because the apostles of Jesus did not yet baptize believers. When Flavius
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returned to Jerusalem, he made a great feast for Jesus and invited sixty of his
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top of page - 1601
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friends. And many of these guests also became believers in the message of the
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coming kingdom.
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5. THE DISCOURSE ON ASSURANCE
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One of the great sermons which Jesus preached in the temple this Passover week
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was in answer to a question asked by one of his hearers, a man from Damascus.
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This man asked Jesus: "But, Rabbi, how shall we know of a certainty that you
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are sent by God, and that we may truly enter into this kingdom which you and
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your disciples declare is near at hand?" And Jesus answered:
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"As to my message and the teaching of my disciples, you should judge them by
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their fruits. If we proclaim to you the truths of the spirit, the spirit will
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witness in your hearts that our message is genuine. Concerning the kingdom and
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your assurance of acceptance by the heavenly Father, let me ask what father
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among you who is a worthy and kindhearted father would keep his son in anxiety
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or suspense regarding his status in the family or his place of security in the
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affections of his father's heart? Do you earth fathers take pleasure in
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torturing your children with uncertainty about their place of abiding love in
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your human hearts? Neither does your Father in heaven leave his faith children
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of the spirit in doubtful uncertainty as to their position in the kingdom. If
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you receive God as your Father, then indeed and in truth are you the sons of
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God. And if you are sons, then are you secure in the position and standing of
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all that concerns eternal and divine sonship. If you believe my words, you
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thereby believe in Him who sent me, and by thus believing in the Father, you
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have made your status in heavenly citizenship sure. If you do the will of the
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Father in heaven, you shall never fail in the attainment of the eternal life of
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progress in the divine kingdom.
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"The Supreme Spirit shall bear witness with your spirits that you are truly the
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children of God. And if you are the sons of God, then have you been born of the
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spirit of God; and whosoever has been born of the spirit has in himself the
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power to overcome all doubt, and this is the victory that overcomes all
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uncertainty, even your faith.
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"Said the Prophet Isaiah, speaking of these times: `When the spirit is poured
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upon us from on high, then shall the work of righteousness become peace,
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quietness, and assurance forever.' And for all who truly believe this gospel, I
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will become surety for their reception into the eternal mercies and the
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everlasting life of my Father's kingdom. You, then, who hear this message and
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believe this gospel of the kingdom are the sons of God, and you have life
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everlasting; and the evidence to all the world that you have been born of the
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spirit is that you sincerely love one another."
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The throng of listeners remained many hours with Jesus, asking him questions
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and listening attentively to his comforting answers. Even the apostles were
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emboldened by Jesus' teaching to preach the gospel of the kingdom with more
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power and assurance. This experience at Jerusalem was a great inspiration to
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the twelve. It was their first contact with such enormous crowds, and they
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learned many valuable lessons which proved of great assistance in their later
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work.
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6. THE VISIT WITH NICODEMUS
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One evening at the home of Flavius there came to see Jesus one Nicodemus, a
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wealthy and elderly member of the Jewish Sanhedrin. He had heard much
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top of page - 1602
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about the teachings of this Galilean, and so he went one afternoon to hear him
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as he taught in the temple courts. He would have gone often to hear Jesus
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teach, but he feared to be seen by the people in attendance upon his teaching,
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for already were the rulers of the Jews so at variance with Jesus that no
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member of the Sanhedrin would want to be identified in any open manner with
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him. Accordingly, Nicodemus had arranged with Andrew to see Jesus privately and
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after nightfall on this particular evening. Peter, James, and John were in
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Flavius's garden when the interview began, but later they all went into the
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house where the discourse continued.
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In receiving Nicodemus, Jesus showed no particular deference; in talking with
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him, there was no compromise or undue persuasiveness. The Master made no
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attempt to repulse his secretive caller, nor did he employ sarcasm. In all his
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dealings with the distinguished visitor, Jesus was calm, earnest, and
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dignified. Nicodemus was not an official delegate of the Sanhedrin; he came to
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see Jesus wholly because of his personal and sincere interest in the Master's
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teachings.
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Upon being presented by Flavius, Nicodemus said: "Rabbi, we know that you are a
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teacher sent by God, for no mere man could so teach unless God were with him.
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And I am desirous of knowing more about your teachings regarding the coming
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kingdom."
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Jesus answered Nicodemus: "Verily, verily, I say to you, Nicodemus, except a
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man be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Then replied
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Nicodemus: "But how can a man be born again when he is old? He cannot enter a
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second time into his mother's womb to be born."
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Jesus said: "Nevertheless, I declare to you, except a man be born of the
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spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the
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flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. But you should
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not marvel that I said you must be born from above. When the wind blows, you
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hear the rustle of the leaves, but you do not see the wind--whence it comes or
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whither it goes--and so it is with everyone born of the spirit. With the eyes
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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
|
||
|
||
top of page - 1603
|
||
|
||
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
|
||
|
||
top of page - 1604
|
||
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
top of page - 1605
|
||
|
||
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
|
||
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
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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