543 lines
35 KiB
Plaintext
543 lines
35 KiB
Plaintext
Urantia Book Paper 173 Monday In Jerusalem
|
||
SPIRITWEB ORG, PROMOTING SPIRITUAL CONSCIOUSNESS ON THE INTERNET.
|
||
|
||
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 ...
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
Paper 173 Monday In Jerusalem
|
||
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
Introduction
|
||
|
||
EARLY on this Monday morning, by prearrangement, Jesus and the apostles
|
||
assembled at the home of Simon in Bethany, and after a brief conference they
|
||
set out for Jerusalem. The twelve were strangely silent as they journeyed on
|
||
toward the temple; they had not recovered from the experience of the preceding
|
||
day. They were expectant, fearful, and profoundly affected by a certain feeling
|
||
of detachment growing out of the Master's sudden change of tactics, coupled
|
||
with his instruction that they were to engage in no public teaching throughout
|
||
this Passover week.
|
||
|
||
As this group journeyed down Mount Olivet, Jesus led the way, the apostles
|
||
following closely behind in meditative silence. There was just one thought
|
||
uppermost in the minds of all save Judas Iscariot, and that was: What will the
|
||
Master do today? The one absorbing thought of Judas was: What shall I do? Shall
|
||
I go on with Jesus and my associates, or shall I withdraw? And if I am going to
|
||
quit, how shall I break off?
|
||
|
||
It was about nine o'clock on this beautiful morning when these men arrived at
|
||
the temple. They went at once to the large court where Jesus so often taught,
|
||
and after greeting the believers who were awaiting him, Jesus mounted one of
|
||
the teaching platforms and began to address the gathering crowd. The apostles
|
||
withdrew for a short distance and awaited developments.
|
||
|
||
1. CLEANSING THE TEMPLE
|
||
|
||
A huge commercial traffic had grown up in association with the services and
|
||
ceremonies of the temple worship. There was the business of providing suitable
|
||
animals for the various sacrifices. Though it was permissible for a worshiper
|
||
to provide his own sacrifice, the fact remained that this animal must be free
|
||
from all "blemish" in the meaning of the Levitical law and as interpreted by
|
||
official inspectors of the temple. Many a worshiper had experienced the
|
||
humiliation of having his supposedly perfect animal rejected by the temple
|
||
examiners. It therefore became the more general practice to purchase
|
||
sacrificial animals at the temple, and although there were several stations on
|
||
near-by Olivet where they could be bought, it had become the vogue to buy these
|
||
animals directly from the temple pens. Gradually there had grown up this custom
|
||
of selling all kinds of sacrificial animals in the temple courts. An extensive
|
||
business, in which enormous profits were made, had thus been brought into
|
||
existence. Part of these gains was reserved for the temple treasury, but the
|
||
larger part went indirectly into the hands of the ruling high-priestly
|
||
families.
|
||
|
||
This sale of animals in the temple prospered because, when the worshiper
|
||
purchased such an animal, although the price might be somewhat high, no more
|
||
|
||
top of page - 1889
|
||
|
||
fees had to be paid, and he could be sure the intended sacrifice would not be
|
||
rejected on the ground of possessing real or technical blemishes. At one time
|
||
or another systems of exorbitant overcharge were practiced upon the common
|
||
people, especially during the great national feasts. At one time the greedy
|
||
priests went so far as to demand the equivalent of the value of a week's labor
|
||
for a pair of doves which should have been sold to the poor for a few pennies.
|
||
The "sons of Annas" had already begun to establish their bazaars in the temple
|
||
precincts, those very merchandise marts which persisted to the time of their
|
||
final overthrow by a mob three years before the destruction of the temple
|
||
itself.
|
||
|
||
But traffic in sacrificial animals and sundry merchandise was not the only way
|
||
in which the courts of the temple were profaned. At this time there was
|
||
fostered an extensive system of banking and commercial exchange which was
|
||
carried on right within the temple precincts. And this all came about in the
|
||
following manner: During the Asmonean dynasty the Jews coined their own silver
|
||
money, and it had become the practice to require the temple dues of one-half
|
||
shekel and all other temple fees to be paid with this Jewish coin. This
|
||
regulation necessitated that money-changers be licensed to exchange the many
|
||
sorts of currency in circulation throughout Palestine and other provinces of
|
||
the Roman Empire for this orthodox shekel of Jewish coining. The temple head
|
||
tax, payable by all except women, slaves, and minors, was one-half shekel, a
|
||
coin about the size of a ten cent piece but twice as thick. By the times of
|
||
Jesus the priests had also been exempted from the payment of temple dues.
|
||
Accordingly, from the 15th to the 25th of the month preceding the Passover,
|
||
accredited money-changers erected their booths in the principal cities of
|
||
Palestine for the purpose of providing the Jewish people with proper money to
|
||
meet the temple dues after they had reached Jerusalem. After this ten-day
|
||
period these money-changers moved on to Jerusalem and proceeded to set up their
|
||
exchange tables in the courts of the temple. They were permitted to charge the
|
||
equivalent of from three to four cents commission for the exchange of a coin
|
||
valued at about ten cents, and in case a coin of larger value was offered for
|
||
exchange, they were allowed to collect double. Likewise did these temple
|
||
bankers profit from the exchange of all money intended for the purchase of
|
||
sacrificial animals and for the payment of vows and the making of offerings.
|
||
|
||
These temple money-changers not only conducted a regular banking business for
|
||
profit in the exchange of more than twenty sorts of money which the visiting
|
||
pilgrims would periodically bring to Jerusalem, but they also engaged in all
|
||
other kinds of transactions pertaining to the banking business. Both the temple
|
||
treasury and the temple rulers profited tremendously from these commercial
|
||
activities. It was not uncommon for the temple treasury to hold upwards of ten
|
||
million dollars while the common people languished in poverty and continued to
|
||
pay these unjust levies.
|
||
|
||
In the midst of this noisy aggregation of money-changers, merchandisers, and
|
||
cattle sellers, Jesus, on this Monday morning, attempted to teach the gospel of
|
||
the heavenly kingdom. He was not alone in resenting this profanation of the
|
||
temple; the common people, especially the Jewish visitors from foreign
|
||
provinces, also heartily resented this profiteering desecration of their
|
||
national house of worship. At this time the Sanhedrin itself held its regular
|
||
meetings in a chamber surrounded by all this babble and confusion of trade and
|
||
barter.
|
||
|
||
top of page - 1890
|
||
|
||
As Jesus was about to begin his address, two things happened to arrest his
|
||
attention. At the money table of a near-by exchanger a violent and heated
|
||
argument had arisen over the alleged overcharging of a Jew from Alexandria,
|
||
while at the same moment the air was rent by the bellowing of a drove of some
|
||
one hundred bullocks which was being driven from one section of the animal pens
|
||
to another. As Jesus paused, silently but thoughtfully contemplating this scene
|
||
of commerce and confusion, close by he beheld a simple-minded Galilean, a man
|
||
he had once talked with in Iron, being ridiculed and jostled about by
|
||
supercilious and would-be superior Judeans; and all of this combined to produce
|
||
one of those strange and periodic uprisings of indignant emotion in the soul of
|
||
Jesus.
|
||
|
||
To the amazement of his apostles, standing near at hand, who refrained from
|
||
participation in what so soon followed, Jesus stepped down from the teaching
|
||
platform and, going over to the lad who was driving the cattle through the
|
||
court, took from him his whip of cords and swiftly drove the animals from the
|
||
temple. But that was not all; he strode majestically before the wondering gaze
|
||
of the thousands assembled in the temple court to the farthest cattle pen and
|
||
proceeded to open the gates of every stall and to drive out the imprisoned
|
||
animals. By this time the assembled pilgrims were electrified, and with
|
||
uproarious shouting they moved toward the bazaars and began to overturn the
|
||
tables of the money-changers. In less than five minutes all commerce had been
|
||
swept from the temple. By the time the near-by Roman guards had appeared on the
|
||
scene, all was quiet, and the crowds had become orderly; Jesus, returning to
|
||
the speaker's stand, spoke to the multitude: "You have this day witnessed that
|
||
which is written in the Scriptures: `My house shall be called a house of prayer
|
||
for all nations, but you have made it a den of robbers.'"
|
||
|
||
But before he could utter other words, the great assembly broke out in hosannas
|
||
of praise, and presently a throng of youths stepped out from the crowd to sing
|
||
grateful hymns of appreciation that the profane and profiteering merchandisers
|
||
had been ejected from the sacred temple. By this time certain of the priests
|
||
had arrived on the scene, and one of them said to Jesus, "Do you not hear what
|
||
the children of the Levites say?" And the Master replied, "Have you never read,
|
||
`Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings has praise been perfected'?" And all
|
||
the rest of that day while Jesus taught, guards set by the people stood watch
|
||
at every archway, and they would not permit anyone to carry even an empty
|
||
vessel across the temple courts.
|
||
|
||
When the chief priests and the scribes heard about these happenings, they were
|
||
dumfounded. All the more they feared the Master, and all the more they
|
||
determined to destroy him. But they were nonplused. They did not know how to
|
||
accomplish his death, for they greatly feared the multitudes, who were now so
|
||
outspoken in their approval of his overthrow of the profane profiteers. And all
|
||
this day, a day of quiet and peace in the temple courts, the people heard
|
||
Jesus' teaching and literally hung on his words.
|
||
|
||
This surprising act of Jesus was beyond the comprehension of his apostles. They
|
||
were so taken aback by this sudden and unexpected move of their Master that
|
||
they remained throughout the whole episode huddled together near the speaker's
|
||
stand; they never lifted a hand to further this cleansing of the temple. If
|
||
this spectacular event had occurred the day before, at the time of Jesus'
|
||
triumphal arrival at the temple at the termination of his tumultuous procession
|
||
through the gates of the city, all the while loudly acclaimed by the multitude,
|
||
they would
|
||
|
||
top of page - 1891
|
||
|
||
have been ready for it, but coming as it did, they were wholly unprepared to
|
||
participate.
|
||
|
||
This cleansing of the temple discloses the Master's attitude toward
|
||
commercializing the practices of religion as well as his detestation of all
|
||
forms of unfairness and profiteering at the expense of the poor and the
|
||
unlearned. This episode also demonstrates that Jesus did not look with approval
|
||
upon the refusal to employ force to protect the majority of any given human
|
||
group against the unfair and enslaving practices of unjust minorities who may
|
||
be able to entrench themselves behind political, financial, or ecclesiastical
|
||
power. Shrewd, wicked, and designing men are not to be permitted to organize
|
||
themselves for the exploitation and oppression of those who, because of their
|
||
idealism, are not disposed to resort to force for self-protection or for the
|
||
furtherance of their laudable life projects.
|
||
|
||
2. CHALLENGING THE MASTER'S AUTHORITY
|
||
|
||
On Sunday the triumphal entry into Jerusalem so overawed the Jewish leaders
|
||
that they refrained from placing Jesus under arrest. Today, this spectacular
|
||
cleansing of the temple likewise effectively postponed the Master's
|
||
apprehension. Day by day the rulers of the Jews were becoming more and more
|
||
determined to destroy him, but they were distraught by two fears, which
|
||
conspired to delay the hour of striking. The chief priests and the scribes were
|
||
unwilling to arrest Jesus in public for fear the multitude might turn upon them
|
||
in a fury of resentment; they also dreaded the possibility of the Roman guards
|
||
being called upon to quell a popular uprising.
|
||
|
||
At the noon session of the Sanhedrin it was unanimously agreed that Jesus must
|
||
be speedily destroyed, inasmuch as no friend of the Master attended this
|
||
meeting. But they could not agree as to when and how he should be taken into
|
||
custody. Finally they agreed upon appointing five groups to go out among the
|
||
people and seek to entangle him in his teaching or otherwise to discredit him
|
||
in the sight of those who listened to his instruction. Accordingly, about two
|
||
o'clock, when Jesus had just begun his discourse on "The Liberty of Sonship," a
|
||
group of these elders of Israel made their way up near Jesus and, interrupting
|
||
him in the customary manner, asked this question: "By what authority do you do
|
||
these things? Who gave you this authority?"
|
||
|
||
It was altogether proper that the temple rulers and the officers of the Jewish
|
||
Sanhedrin should ask this question of anyone who presumed to teach and perform
|
||
in the extraordinary manner which had been characteristic of Jesus, especially
|
||
as concerned his recent conduct in clearing the temple of all commerce. These
|
||
traders and money-changers all operated by direct license from the highest
|
||
rulers, and a percentage of their gains was supposed to go directly into the
|
||
temple treasury. Do not forget that authority was the watchword of all Jewry.
|
||
The prophets were always stirring up trouble because they so boldly presumed to
|
||
teach without authority, without having been duly instructed in the rabbinic
|
||
academies and subsequently regularly ordained by the Sanhedrin. Lack of this
|
||
authority in pretentious public teaching was looked upon as indicating either
|
||
ignorant presumption or open rebellion. At this time only the Sanhedrin could
|
||
ordain an elder or teacher, and such a ceremony had to take place in the
|
||
presence of at least three persons who had previously been so ordained. Such an
|
||
ordination conferred the title of "rabbi" upon the teacher and also qualified
|
||
him to act as a judge, "binding and loosing such matters as might be brought to
|
||
him for adjudication."
|
||
|
||
top of page - 1892
|
||
|
||
The rulers of the temple came before Jesus at this afternoon hour challenging
|
||
not only his teaching but his acts. Jesus well knew that these very men had
|
||
long publicly taught that his authority for teaching was Satanic, and that all
|
||
his mighty works had been wrought by the power of the prince of devils.
|
||
Therefore did the Master begin his answer to their question by asking them a
|
||
counter-question. Said Jesus: "I would also like to ask you one question which,
|
||
if you will answer me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these
|
||
works. The baptism of John, whence was it? Did John get his authority from
|
||
heaven or from men?"
|
||
|
||
And when his questioners heard this, they withdrew to one side to take counsel
|
||
among themselves as to what answer they might give. They had thought to
|
||
embarrass Jesus before the multitude, but now they found themselves much
|
||
confused before all who were assembled at that time in the temple court. And
|
||
their discomfiture was all the more apparent when they returned to Jesus,
|
||
saying: "Concerning the baptism of John, we cannot answer; we do not know." And
|
||
they so answered the Master because they had reasoned among themselves: If we
|
||
shall say from heaven, then will he say, Why did you not believe him, and
|
||
perchance will add that he received his authority from John; and if we shall
|
||
say from men, then might the multitude turn upon us, for most of them hold that
|
||
John was a prophet; and so they were compelled to come before Jesus and the
|
||
people confessing that they, the religious teachers and leaders of Israel,
|
||
could not (or would not) express an opinion about John's mission. And when they
|
||
had spoken, Jesus, looking down upon them, said, "Neither will I tell you by
|
||
what authority I do these things."
|
||
|
||
Jesus never intended to appeal to John for his authority; John had never been
|
||
ordained by the Sanhedrin. Jesus' authority was in himself and in his Father's
|
||
eternal supremacy.
|
||
|
||
In employing this method of dealing with his adversaries, Jesus did not mean to
|
||
dodge the question. At first it may seem that he was guilty of a masterly
|
||
evasion, but it was not so. Jesus was never disposed to take unfair advantage
|
||
of even his enemies. In this apparent evasion he really supplied all his
|
||
hearers with the answer to the Pharisees' question as to the authority behind
|
||
his mission. They had asserted that he performed by authority of the prince of
|
||
devils. Jesus had repeatedly asserted that all his teaching and works were by
|
||
the power and authority of his Father in heaven. This the Jewish leaders
|
||
refused to accept and were seeking to corner him into admitting that he was an
|
||
irregular teacher since he had never been sanctioned by the Sanhedrin. In
|
||
answering them as he did, while not claiming authority from John, he so
|
||
satisfied the people with the inference that the effort of his enemies to
|
||
ensnare him was effectively turned upon themselves and was much to their
|
||
discredit in the eyes of all present.
|
||
|
||
And it was this genius of the Master for dealing with his adversaries that made
|
||
them so afraid of him. They attempted no more questions that day; they retired
|
||
to take further counsel among themselves. But the people were not slow to
|
||
discern the dishonesty and insincerity in these questions asked by the Jewish
|
||
rulers. Even the common folk could not fail to distinguish between the moral
|
||
majesty of the Master and the designing hypocrisy of his enemies. But the
|
||
cleansing of the temple had brought the Sadducees over to the side of the
|
||
Pharisees in perfecting the plan to destroy Jesus. And the Sadducees now
|
||
represented a majority of the Sanhedrin.
|
||
|
||
top of page - 1893
|
||
|
||
3. PARABLE OF THE TWO SONS
|
||
|
||
As the caviling Pharisees stood there in silence before Jesus, he looked down
|
||
on them and said: "Since you are in doubt about John's mission and arrayed in
|
||
enmity against the teaching and the works of the Son of Man, give ear while I
|
||
tell you a parable: A certain great and respected landholder had two sons, and
|
||
desiring the help of his sons in the management of his large estates, he came
|
||
to one of them, saying, `Son, go work today in my vineyard.' And this
|
||
unthinking son answered his father, saying, `I will not go'; but afterward he
|
||
repented and went. When he had found his older son, likewise he said to him,
|
||
`Son, go work in my vineyard.' And this hypocritical and unfaithful son
|
||
answered, `Yes, my father, I will go.' But when his father had departed, he
|
||
went not. Let me ask you, which of these sons really did his father's will?"
|
||
|
||
And the people spoke with one accord, saying, "The first son." And then said
|
||
Jesus: "Even so; and now do I declare that the publicans and harlots, even
|
||
though they appear to refuse the call to repentance, shall see the error of
|
||
their way and go on into the kingdom of God before you, who make great
|
||
pretensions of serving the Father in heaven while you refuse to do the works of
|
||
the Father. It was not you, the Pharisees and scribes, who believed John, but
|
||
rather the publicans and sinners; neither do you believe my teaching, but the
|
||
common people hear my words gladly."
|
||
|
||
Jesus did not despise the Pharisees and Sadducees personally. It was their
|
||
systems of teaching and practice which he sought to discredit. He was hostile
|
||
to no man, but here was occurring the inevitable clash between a new and living
|
||
religion of the spirit and the older religion of ceremony, tradition, and
|
||
authority.
|
||
|
||
All this time the twelve apostles stood near the Master, but they did not in
|
||
any manner participate in these transactions. Each one of the twelve was
|
||
reacting in his own peculiar way to the events of these closing days of Jesus'
|
||
ministry in the flesh, and each one likewise remained obedient to the Master's
|
||
injunction to refrain from all public teaching and preaching during this
|
||
Passover week.
|
||
|
||
4. PARABLE OF THE ABSENT LANDLORD
|
||
|
||
When the chief Pharisees and the scribes who had sought to entangle Jesus with
|
||
their questions had finished listening to the story of the two sons, they
|
||
withdrew to take further counsel, and the Master, turning his attention to the
|
||
listening multitude, told another parable:
|
||
|
||
"There was a good man who was a householder, and he planted a vineyard. He set
|
||
a hedge about it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower for the
|
||
guards. Then he let this vineyard out to tenants while he went on a long
|
||
journey into another country. And when the season of the fruits drew near, he
|
||
sent servants to the tenants to receive his rental. But they took counsel among
|
||
themselves and refused to give these servants the fruits due their master;
|
||
instead, they fell upon his servants, beating one, stoning another, and sending
|
||
the others away empty-handed. And when the householder heard about all this, he
|
||
sent other and more trusted servants to deal with these wicked tenants, and
|
||
these they wounded and also treated shamefully. And then the householder sent
|
||
his favorite servant, his steward, and him they killed. And still, in patience
|
||
and with forbear-
|
||
|
||
top of page - 1894
|
||
|
||
ance, he dispatched many other servants, but none would they receive. Some they
|
||
beat, others they killed, and when the householder had been so dealt with, he
|
||
decided to send his son to deal with these ungrateful tenants, saying to
|
||
himself, `They may mistreat my servants, but they will surely show respect for
|
||
my beloved son.' But when these unrepentant and wicked tenants saw the son,
|
||
they reasoned among themselves: `This is the heir; come, let us kill him and
|
||
then the inheritance will be ours.' So they laid hold on him, and after casting
|
||
him out of the vineyard, they killed him. When the lord of that vineyard shall
|
||
hear how they have rejected and killed his son, what will he do to those
|
||
ungrateful and wicked tenants?"
|
||
|
||
And when the people heard this parable and the question Jesus asked, they
|
||
answered, "He will destroy those miserable men and let out his vineyard to
|
||
other and honest farmers who will render to him the fruits in their season."
|
||
And when some of them who heard perceived that this parable referred to the
|
||
Jewish nation and its treatment of the prophets and to the impending rejection
|
||
of Jesus and the gospel of the kingdom, they said in sorrow, "God forbid that
|
||
we should go on doing these things."
|
||
|
||
Jesus saw a group of the Sadducees and Pharisees making their way through the
|
||
crowd, and he paused for a moment until they drew near him, when he said: "You
|
||
know how your fathers rejected the prophets, and you well know that you are set
|
||
in your hearts to reject the Son of Man." And then, looking with searching gaze
|
||
upon those priests and elders who were standing near him, Jesus said: "Did you
|
||
never read in the Scripture about the stone which the builders rejected, and
|
||
which, when the people had discovered it, was made into the cornerstone? And so
|
||
once more do I warn you that, if you continue to reject this gospel, presently
|
||
will the kingdom of God be taken away from you and be given to a people willing
|
||
to receive the good news and to bring forth the fruits of the spirit. And there
|
||
is a mystery about this stone, seeing that whoso falls upon it, while he is
|
||
thereby broken in pieces, shall be saved; but on whomsoever this stone falls,
|
||
he will be ground to dust and his ashes scattered to the four winds."
|
||
|
||
When the Pharisees heard these words, they understood that Jesus referred to
|
||
themselves and the other Jewish leaders. They greatly desired to lay hold on
|
||
him then and there, but they feared the multitude. However, they were so
|
||
angered by the Master's words that they withdrew and held further counsel among
|
||
themselves as to how they might bring about his death. And that night both the
|
||
Sadducees and the Pharisees joined hands in the plan to entrap him the next
|
||
day.
|
||
|
||
5. PARABLE OF THE MARRIAGE FEAST
|
||
|
||
After the scribes and rulers had withdrawn, Jesus addressed himself again to
|
||
the assembled crowd and spoke the parable of the wedding feast. He said:
|
||
|
||
"The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a certain king who made a marriage
|
||
feast for his son and dispatched messengers to call those who had previously
|
||
been invited to the feast to come, saying, `Everything is ready for the
|
||
marriage supper at the king's palace.' Now, many of those who had once promised
|
||
to attend, at this time refused to come. When the king heard of these
|
||
rejections of his invitation, he sent other servants and messengers, saying:
|
||
`Tell all those who were bidden, to come, for, behold, my dinner is ready. My
|
||
oxen and my fatlings
|
||
|
||
top of page - 1895
|
||
|
||
are killed, and all is in readiness for the celebration of the forthcoming
|
||
marriage of my son.' But again did the thoughtless make light of this call of
|
||
their king, and they went their ways, one to the farm, another to the pottery,
|
||
and others to their merchandise. Still others were not content thus to slight
|
||
the king's call, but in open rebellion they laid hands on the king's messengers
|
||
and shamefully mistreated them, even killing some of them. And when the king
|
||
perceived that his chosen guests, even those who had accepted his preliminary
|
||
invitation and had promised to attend the wedding feast, had finally rejected
|
||
his call and in rebellion had assaulted and slain his chosen messengers, he was
|
||
exceedingly wroth. And then this insulted king ordered out his armies and the
|
||
armies of his allies and instructed them to destroy these rebellious murderers
|
||
and to burn down their city.
|
||
|
||
"And when he had punished those who spurned his invitation, he appointed yet
|
||
another day for the wedding feast and said to his messengers: `They who were
|
||
first bidden to the wedding were not worthy; so go now into the parting of the
|
||
ways and into the highways and even beyond the borders of the city, and as many
|
||
as you shall find, bid even these strangers to come in and attend this wedding
|
||
feast.' And then these servants went out into the highways and the
|
||
out-of-the-way places, and they gathered together as many as they found, good
|
||
and bad, rich and poor, so that at last the wedding chamber was filled with
|
||
willing guests. When all was ready, the king came in to view his guests, and
|
||
much to his surprise he saw there a man without a wedding garment. The king,
|
||
since he had freely provided wedding garments for all his guests, addressing
|
||
this man, said: `Friend, how is it that you come into my guest chamber on this
|
||
occasion without a wedding garment?' And this unprepared man was speechless.
|
||
Then said the king to his servants: `Cast out this thoughtless guest from my
|
||
house to share the lot of all the others who have spurned my hospitality and
|
||
rejected my call. I will have none here except those who delight to accept my
|
||
invitation, and who do me the honor to wear those guest garments so freely
|
||
provided for all.'"
|
||
|
||
After speaking this parable, Jesus was about to dismiss the multitude when a
|
||
sympathetic believer, making his way through the crowds toward him, asked:
|
||
"But, Master, how shall we know about these things? how shall we be ready for
|
||
the king's invitation? what sign will you give us whereby we shall know that
|
||
you are the Son of God?" And when the Master heard this, he said, "Only one
|
||
sign shall be given you." And then, pointing to his own body, he continued,
|
||
"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." But they did not
|
||
understand him, and as they dispersed, they talked among themselves, saying,
|
||
"Almost fifty years has this temple been in building, and yet he says he will
|
||
destroy it and raise it up in three days." Even his own apostles did not
|
||
comprehend the significance of this utterance, but subsequently, after his
|
||
resurrection, they recalled what he had said.
|
||
|
||
About four o'clock this afternoon Jesus beckoned to his apostles and indicated
|
||
that he desired to leave the temple and to go to Bethany for their evening meal
|
||
and a night of rest. On the way up Olivet Jesus instructed Andrew, Philip, and
|
||
Thomas that, on the morrow, they should establish a camp nearer the city which
|
||
they could occupy during the remainder of the Passover week. In compliance with
|
||
this instruction the following morning they pitched their tents in the hillside
|
||
ravine overlooking the public camping park of Gethsemane, on a plot of ground
|
||
belonging to Simon of Bethany.
|
||
|
||
top of page - 1896
|
||
|
||
Again it was a silent group of Jews who made their way up the western slope of
|
||
Olivet on this Monday night. These twelve men, as never before, were beginning
|
||
to sense that something tragic was about to happen. While the dramatic
|
||
cleansing of the temple during the early morning had aroused their hopes of
|
||
seeing the Master assert himself and manifest his mighty powers, the events of
|
||
the entire afternoon only operated as an anticlimax in that they all pointed to
|
||
the certain rejection of Jesus' teaching by the Jewish authorities. The
|
||
apostles were gripped by suspense and were held in the firm grasp of a terrible
|
||
uncertainty. They realized that only a few short days could intervene between
|
||
the events of the day just passed and the crash of an impending doom. They all
|
||
felt that something tremendous was about to happen, but they knew not what to
|
||
expect. They went to their various places for rest, but they slept very little.
|
||
Even the Alpheus twins were at last aroused to the realization that the events
|
||
of the Master's life were moving swiftly toward their final culmination.
|
||
|
||
top of page - 1897
|
||
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
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
|
||
|
||
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ
|
||
<EFBFBD> // <20> <20> <20> <20> <20>
|
||
<EFBFBD> Going Into <20> Tuesday <20> Urantia Book <20> Search <20> SiteMap! <20>
|
||
<EFBFBD> Jeru... <20> Morning... <20> PA... <20> <20> <20>
|
||
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
|
||
//
|
||
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ
|
||
<EFBFBD> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> SPIRITWEB ORG (info@spiritweb.org), <20> <20>
|
||
<EFBFBD> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> http://www.spiritweb.org <20> <20>
|
||
<EFBFBD> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> Webmaster <webmaster@spiritweb.org> <20> <20>
|
||
<EFBFBD> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20>
|
||
<EFBFBD> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> ONLINE SINCE 1993. MAINTAINED IN SWITZERLAND. <20> <20>
|
||
<EFBFBD> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> DISTRIBUTED TO CALIFORNIA, SPAIN, ITALY, SOUTH AFRICA, <20> <20>
|
||
<EFBFBD> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> AUSTRALIA <20> <20>
|
||
<EFBFBD> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20>
|
||
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
|