518 lines
33 KiB
Plaintext
518 lines
33 KiB
Plaintext
Urantia Book Paper 174 Tuesday Morning In The Temple
|
|
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 Tuesday Morning In The
|
|
Temple
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Paper 174 Tuesday Morning In The Temple
|
|
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Introduction
|
|
|
|
ABOUT seven o'clock on this Tuesday morning Jesus met the apostles, the women's
|
|
corps, and some two dozen other prominent disciples at the home of Simon. At
|
|
this meeting he said farewell to Lazarus, giving him that instruction which led
|
|
him so soon to flee to Philadelphia in Perea, where he later became connected
|
|
with the missionary movement having its headquarters in that city. Jesus also
|
|
said good-bye to the aged Simon, and gave his parting advice to the women's
|
|
corps, as he never again formally addressed them.
|
|
|
|
This morning he greeted each of the twelve with a personal salutation. To
|
|
Andrew he said: "Be not dismayed by the events just ahead. Keep a firm hold on
|
|
your brethren and see that they do not find you downcast." To Peter he said:
|
|
"Put not your trust in the arm of flesh nor in weapons of steel. Establish
|
|
yourself on the spiritual foundations of the eternal rocks." To James he said:
|
|
"Falter not because of outward appearances. Remain firm in your faith, and you
|
|
shall soon know of the reality of that which you believe." To John he said: "Be
|
|
gentle; love even your enemies; be tolerant. And remember that I have trusted
|
|
you with many things." To Nathaniel he said: "Judge not by appearances; remain
|
|
firm in your faith when all appears to vanish; be true to your commission as an
|
|
ambassador of the kingdom." To Philip he said: "Be unmoved by the events now
|
|
impending. Remain unshaken, even when you cannot see the way. Be loyal to your
|
|
oath of consecration." To Matthew he said: "Forget not the mercy that received
|
|
you into the kingdom. Let no man cheat you of your eternal reward. As you have
|
|
withstood the inclinations of the mortal nature, be willing to be steadfast."
|
|
To Thomas he said: "No matter how difficult it may be, just now you must walk
|
|
by faith and not by sight. Doubt not that I am able to finish the work I have
|
|
begun, and that I shall eventually see all of my faithful ambassadors in the
|
|
kingdom beyond." To the Alpheus twins he said: "Do not allow the things which
|
|
you cannot understand to crush you. Be true to the affections of your hearts
|
|
and put not your trust in either great men or the changing attitude of the
|
|
people. Stand by your brethren." And to Simon Zelotes he said: "Simon, you may
|
|
be crushed by disappointment, but your spirit shall rise above all that may
|
|
come upon you. What you have failed to learn from me, my spirit will teach you.
|
|
Seek the true realities of the spirit and cease to be attracted by unreal and
|
|
material shadows." And to Judas Iscariot he said: "Judas, I have loved you and
|
|
have prayed that you would love your brethren. Be not weary in well doing; and
|
|
I would warn you to beware the slippery paths of flattery and the poison darts
|
|
of ridicule."
|
|
|
|
And when he had concluded these greetings, he departed for Jerusalem with
|
|
Andrew, Peter, James, and John as the other apostles set about the
|
|
establishment of the Gethsemane camp, where they were to go that night, and
|
|
where they made their headquarters for the remainder of the Master's life in
|
|
the flesh. About half-
|
|
|
|
top of page - 1898
|
|
|
|
way down the slope of Olivet Jesus paused and visited more than an hour with
|
|
the four apostles.
|
|
|
|
1. DIVINE FORGIVENESS
|
|
|
|
For several days Peter and James had been engaged in discussing their
|
|
differences of opinion about the Master's teaching regarding the forgiveness of
|
|
sin. They had both agreed to lay the matter before Jesus, and Peter embraced
|
|
this occasion as a fitting opportunity for securing the Master's counsel.
|
|
Accordingly, Simon Peter broke in on the conversation dealing with the
|
|
differences between praise and worship, by asking: "Master, James and I are not
|
|
in accord regarding your teachings having to do with the forgiveness of sin.
|
|
James claims you teach that the Father forgives us even before we ask him, and
|
|
I maintain that repentance and confession must precede the forgiveness. Which
|
|
of us is right? what do you say?"
|
|
|
|
After a short silence Jesus looked significantly at all four and answered: "My
|
|
brethren, you err in your opinions because you do not comprehend the nature of
|
|
those intimate and loving relations between the creature and the Creator,
|
|
between man and God. You fail to grasp that understanding sympathy which the
|
|
wise parent entertains for his immature and sometimes erring child. It is
|
|
indeed doubtful whether intelligent and affectionate parents are ever called
|
|
upon to forgive an average and normal child. Understanding relationships
|
|
associated with attitudes of love effectively prevent all those estrangements
|
|
which later necessitate the readjustment of repentance by the child with
|
|
forgiveness by the parent.
|
|
|
|
"A part of every father lives in the child. The father enjoys priority and
|
|
superiority of understanding in all matters connected with the child-parent
|
|
relationship. The parent is able to view the immaturity of the child in the
|
|
light of the more advanced parental maturity, the riper experience of the older
|
|
partner. With the earthly child and the heavenly Father, the divine parent
|
|
possesses infinity and divinity of sympathy and capacity for loving
|
|
understanding. Divine forgiveness is inevitable; it is inherent and inalienable
|
|
in God's infinite understanding, in his perfect knowledge of all that concerns
|
|
the mistaken judgment and erroneous choosing of the child. Divine justice is so
|
|
eternally fair that it unfailingly embodies understanding mercy.
|
|
|
|
"When a wise man understands the inner impulses of his fellows, he will love
|
|
them. And when you love your brother, you have already forgiven him. This
|
|
capacity to understand man's nature and forgive his apparent wrongdoing is
|
|
Godlike. If you are wise parents, this is the way you will love and understand
|
|
your children, even forgive them when transient misunderstanding has apparently
|
|
separated you. The child, being immature and lacking in the fuller
|
|
understanding of the depth of the child-father relationship, must frequently
|
|
feel a sense of guilty separation from a father's full approval, but the true
|
|
father is never conscious of any such separation. Sin is an experience of
|
|
creature consciousness; it is not a part of God's consciousness.
|
|
|
|
"Your inability or unwillingness to forgive your fellows is the measure of your
|
|
immaturity, your failure to attain adult sympathy, understanding, and love. You
|
|
hold grudges and nurse vengefulness in direct proportion to your ignorance of
|
|
the inner nature and true longings of your children and your fellow beings.
|
|
Love is the outworking of the divine and inner urge of life. It is founded on
|
|
understanding, nurtured by unselfish service, and perfected in wisdom."
|
|
|
|
top of page - 1899
|
|
|
|
2. QUESTIONS BY THE JEWISH RULERS
|
|
|
|
On Monday evening there had been held a council between the Sanhedrin and some
|
|
fifty additional leaders selected from among the scribes, Pharisees, and the
|
|
Sadducees. It was the consensus of this meeting that it would be dangerous to
|
|
arrest Jesus in public because of his hold upon the affections of the common
|
|
people. It was also the opinion of the majority that a determined effort should
|
|
be made to discredit him in the eyes of the multitude before he should be
|
|
arrested and brought to trial. Accordingly, several groups of learned men were
|
|
designated to be on hand the next morning in the temple to undertake to entrap
|
|
him with difficult questions and otherwise to seek to embarrass him before the
|
|
people. At last, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and even the Herodians were all
|
|
united in this effort to discredit Jesus in the eyes of the Passover
|
|
multitudes.
|
|
|
|
Tuesday morning, when Jesus arrived in the temple court and began to teach, he
|
|
had uttered but few words when a group of the younger students from the
|
|
academies, who had been rehearsed for this purpose, came forward and by their
|
|
spokesman addressed Jesus: "Master, we know you are a righteous teacher, and we
|
|
know that you proclaim the ways of truth, and that you serve only God, for you
|
|
fear no man, and that you are no respecter of persons. We are only students,
|
|
and we would know the truth about a matter which troubles us; our difficulty is
|
|
this: Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar? Shall we give or shall we
|
|
not give?" Jesus, perceiving their hypocrisy and craftiness, said to them: "Why
|
|
do you thus come to tempt me? Show me the tribute money, and I will answer
|
|
you." And when they handed him a denarius, he looked at it and said, "Whose
|
|
image and superscription does this coin bear?" And when they answered him,
|
|
"Caesar's," Jesus said, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and
|
|
render to God the things that are God's."
|
|
|
|
When he had thus answered these young scribes and their Herodian accomplices,
|
|
they withdrew from his presence, and the people, even the Sadducees, enjoyed
|
|
their discomfiture. Even the youths who had endeavored to entrap him marveled
|
|
greatly at the unexpected sagacity of the Master's answer.
|
|
|
|
The previous day the rulers had sought to trip him before the multitude on
|
|
matters of ecclesiastical authority, and having failed, they now sought to
|
|
involve him in a damaging discussion of civil authority. Both Pilate and Herod
|
|
were in Jerusalem at this time, and Jesus' enemies conjectured that, if he
|
|
would dare to advise against the payment of tribute to Caesar, they could go at
|
|
once before the Roman authorities and charge him with sedition. On the other
|
|
hand, if he should advise the payment of tribute in so many words, they rightly
|
|
calculated that such a pronouncement would greatly wound the national pride of
|
|
his Jewish hearers, thereby alienating the good will and affection of the
|
|
multitude.
|
|
|
|
In all this the enemies of Jesus were defeated since it was a well-known ruling
|
|
of the Sanhedrin, made for the guidance of the Jews dispersed among the gentile
|
|
nations, that the "right of coinage carried with it the right to levy taxes."
|
|
In this manner Jesus avoided their trap. To have answered "No" to their
|
|
question would have been equivalent to inciting rebellion; to have answered
|
|
"Yes" would have shocked the deep-rooted nationalist sentiments of that day.
|
|
The Master did not evade the question; he merely employed the wisdom of making
|
|
a double reply. Jesus was never evasive, but he was always wise in his dealings
|
|
with those who sought to harass and destroy him.
|
|
|
|
top of page - 1900
|
|
|
|
3. THE SADDUCEES AND THE RESURRECTION
|
|
|
|
Before Jesus could get started with his teaching, another group came forward to
|
|
question him, this time a company of the learned and crafty Sadducees. Their
|
|
spokesman, drawing near to him, said: "Master, Moses said that if a married man
|
|
should die, leaving no children, his brother should take the wife and raise up
|
|
seed for the deceased brother. Now there occurred a case where a certain man
|
|
who had six brothers died childless; his next brother took his wife but also
|
|
soon died, leaving no children. Likewise did the second brother take the wife,
|
|
but he also died leaving no offspring. And so on until all six of the brothers
|
|
had had her, and all six of them passed on without leaving children. And then,
|
|
after them all, the woman herself died. Now, what we would like to ask you is
|
|
this: In the resurrection whose wife will she be since all seven of these
|
|
brothers had her?"
|
|
|
|
Jesus knew, and so did the people, that these Sadducees were not sincere in
|
|
asking this question because it was not likely that such a case would really
|
|
occur; and besides, this practice of the brothers of a dead man seeking to
|
|
beget children for him was practically a dead letter at this time among the
|
|
Jews. Nevertheless, Jesus condescended to reply to their mischievous question.
|
|
He said: "You all do err in asking such questions because you know neither the
|
|
Scriptures nor the living power of God. You know that the sons of this world
|
|
can marry and are given in marriage, but you do not seem to understand that
|
|
they who are accounted worthy to attain the worlds to come, through the
|
|
resurrection of the righteous, neither marry nor are given in marriage. Those
|
|
who experience the resurrection from the dead are more like the angels of
|
|
heaven, and they never die. These resurrected ones are eternally the sons of
|
|
God; they are the children of light resurrected into the progress of eternal
|
|
life. And even your Father Moses understood this, for, in connection with his
|
|
experiences at the burning bush, he heard the Father say, `I am the God of
|
|
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' And so, along with Moses, do
|
|
I declare that my Father is not the God of the dead but of the living. In him
|
|
you all do live, reproduce, and possess your mortal existence."
|
|
|
|
When Jesus had finished answering these questions, the Sadducees withdrew, and
|
|
some of the Pharisees so far forgot themselves as to exclaim, "True, true,
|
|
Master, you have well answered these unbelieving Sadducees." The Sadducees
|
|
dared not ask him any more questions, and the common people marveled at the
|
|
wisdom of his teaching.
|
|
|
|
Jesus appealed only to Moses in his encounter with the Sadducees because this
|
|
religio-political sect acknowledged the validity of only the five so-called
|
|
Books of Moses; they did not allow that the teachings of the prophets were
|
|
admissible as a basis of doctrinal dogmas. The Master in his answer, though
|
|
positively affirming the fact of the survival of mortal creatures by the
|
|
technique of the resurrection, did not in any sense speak approvingly of the
|
|
Pharisaic beliefs in the resurrection of the literal human body. The point
|
|
Jesus wished to emphasize was: That the Father had said, "I am the God of
|
|
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," not I was their God.
|
|
|
|
The Sadducees had thought to subject Jesus to the withering influence of
|
|
ridicule, knowing full well that persecution in public would most certainly
|
|
create further sympathy for him in the minds of the multitude.
|
|
|
|
top of page - 1901
|
|
|
|
4. THE GREAT COMMANDMENT
|
|
|
|
Another group of Sadducees had been instructed to ask Jesus entangling
|
|
questions about angels, but when they beheld the fate of their comrades who had
|
|
sought to entrap him with questions concerning the resurrection, they very
|
|
wisely decided to hold their peace; they retired without asking a question. It
|
|
was the prearranged plan of the confederated Pharisees, scribes, Sadducees, and
|
|
Herodians to fill up the entire day with these entangling questions, hoping
|
|
thereby to discredit Jesus before the people and at the same time effectively
|
|
to prevent his having any time for the proclamation of his disturbing
|
|
teachings.
|
|
|
|
Then came forward one of the groups of the Pharisees to ask harassing
|
|
questions, and the spokesman, signaling to Jesus, said: "Master, I am a lawyer,
|
|
and I would like to ask you which, in your opinion, is the greatest
|
|
commandment?" Jesus answered: "There is but one commandment, and that one is
|
|
the greatest of all, and that commandment is: `Hear O Israel, the Lord our God,
|
|
the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and
|
|
with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.' This is the
|
|
first and great commandment. And the second commandment is like this first;
|
|
indeed, it springs directly therefrom, and it is: `You shall love your neighbor
|
|
as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these; on these two
|
|
commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
|
|
|
|
When the lawyer perceived that Jesus had answered not only in accordance with
|
|
the highest concept of Jewish religion, but that he had also answered wisely in
|
|
the sight of the assembled multitude, he thought it the better part of valor
|
|
openly to commend the Master's reply. Accordingly, he said: "Of a truth,
|
|
Master, you have well said that God is one and there is none beside him; and
|
|
that to love him with all the heart, understanding, and strength, and also to
|
|
love one's neighbor as one's self, is the first and great commandment; and we
|
|
are agreed that this great commandment is much more to be regarded than all the
|
|
burnt offerings and sacrifices." When the lawyer answered thus discreetly,
|
|
Jesus looked down upon him and said, "My friend, I perceive that you are not
|
|
far from the kingdom of God."
|
|
|
|
Jesus spoke the truth when he referred to this lawyer as being "not far from
|
|
the kingdom," for that very night he went out to the Master's camp near
|
|
Gethsemane, professed faith in the gospel of the kingdom, and was baptized by
|
|
Josiah, one of the disciples of Abner.
|
|
|
|
Two or three other groups of the scribes and Pharisees were present and had
|
|
intended to ask questions, but they were either disarmed by Jesus' answer to
|
|
the lawyer, or they were deterred by the discomfiture of all who had undertaken
|
|
to ensnare him. After this no man dared to ask him another question in public.
|
|
|
|
When no more questions were forthcoming, and as the noon hour was near, Jesus
|
|
did not resume his teaching but was content merely to ask the Pharisees and
|
|
their associates a question. Said Jesus: "Since you ask no more questions, I
|
|
would like to ask you one. What do you think of the Deliverer? That is, whose
|
|
son is he?" After a brief pause one of the scribes answered, "The Messiah is
|
|
the son of David." And since Jesus knew that there had been much debate, even
|
|
among his own disciples, as to whether or not he was the son of David, he asked
|
|
this further question: "If the Deliverer is indeed the son of David, how is it
|
|
that,
|
|
|
|
top of page - 1902
|
|
|
|
in the Psalm which you accredit to David, he himself, speaking in the spirit,
|
|
says, `The Lord said to my lord, sit on my right hand until I make your enemies
|
|
the footstool of your feet.' If David calls him Lord, how then can he be his
|
|
son?" Although the rulers, the scribes, and the chief priests made no reply to
|
|
this question, they likewise refrained from asking him any more questions in an
|
|
effort to entangle him. They never answered this question which Jesus put to
|
|
them, but after the Master's death they attempted to escape the difficulty by
|
|
changing the interpretation of this Psalm so as to make it refer to Abraham
|
|
instead of the Messiah. Others sought to escape the dilemma by disallowing that
|
|
David was the author of this so-called Messianic Psalm.
|
|
|
|
A short time back the Pharisees had enjoyed the manner in which the Sadducees
|
|
had been silenced by the Master; now the Sadducees were delighted by the
|
|
failure of the Pharisees; but such rivalry was only momentary; they speedily
|
|
forgot their time-honored differences in the united effort to stop Jesus'
|
|
teachings and doings. But throughout all of these experiences the common people
|
|
heard him gladly.
|
|
|
|
5. THE INQUIRING GREEKS
|
|
|
|
About noontime, as Philip was purchasing supplies for the new camp which was
|
|
that day being established near Gethsemane, he was accosted by a delegation of
|
|
strangers, a group of believing Greeks from Alexandria, Athens, and Rome, whose
|
|
spokesman said to the apostle: "You have been pointed out to us by those who
|
|
know you; so we come to you, Sir, with the request to see Jesus, your Master."
|
|
Philip was taken by surprise thus to meet these prominent and inquiring Greek
|
|
gentiles in the market place, and, since Jesus had so explicitly charged all of
|
|
the twelve not to engage in any public teaching during the Passover week, he
|
|
was a bit perplexed as to the right way to handle this matter. He was also
|
|
disconcerted because these men were foreign gentiles. If they had been Jews or
|
|
near-by and familiar gentiles, he would not have hesitated so markedly. What he
|
|
did was this: He asked these Greeks to remain right where they were. As he
|
|
hastened away, they supposed that he went in search of Jesus, but in reality he
|
|
hurried off to the home of Joseph, where he knew Andrew and the other apostles
|
|
were at lunch; and calling Andrew out, he explained the purpose of his coming,
|
|
and then, accompanied by Andrew, he returned to the waiting Greeks.
|
|
|
|
Since Philip had about finished the purchasing of supplies, he and Andrew
|
|
returned with the Greeks to the home of Joseph, where Jesus received them; and
|
|
they sat near while he spoke to his apostles and a number of leading disciples
|
|
assembled at this luncheon. Said Jesus:
|
|
|
|
"My Father sent me to this world to reveal his loving-kindness to the children
|
|
of men, but those to whom I first came have refused to receive me. True,
|
|
indeed, many of you have believed my gospel for yourselves, but the children of
|
|
Abraham and their leaders are about to reject me, and in so doing they will
|
|
reject Him who sent me. I have freely proclaimed the gospel of salvation to
|
|
this people; I have told them of sonship with joy, liberty, and life more
|
|
abundant in the spirit. My Father has done many wonderful works among these
|
|
fear-ridden sons of men. But truly did the Prophet Isaiah refer to this people
|
|
when he wrote: `Lord, who has believed our teachings? And to whom has the Lord
|
|
been revealed?' Truly have the leaders of my people deliberately blinded their
|
|
eyes that they see not,
|
|
|
|
top of page - 1903
|
|
|
|
and hardened their hearts lest they believe and be saved. All these years have
|
|
I sought to heal them of their unbelief that they might be recipients of the
|
|
Father's eternal salvation. I know that not all have failed me; some of you
|
|
have indeed believed my message. In this room now are a full score of men who
|
|
were once members of the Sanhedrin, or who were high in the councils of the
|
|
nation, albeit even some of you still shrink from open confession of the truth
|
|
lest they cast you out of the synagogue. Some of you are tempted to love the
|
|
glory of men more than the glory of God. But I am constrained to show
|
|
forbearance since I fear for the safety and loyalty of even some of those who
|
|
have been so long near me, and who have lived so close by my side.
|
|
|
|
"In this banquet chamber I perceive there are assembled Jews and gentiles in
|
|
about equal numbers, and I would address you as the first and last of such a
|
|
group that I may instruct in the affairs of the kingdom before I go to my
|
|
Father."
|
|
|
|
These Greeks had been in faithful attendance upon Jesus' teaching in the
|
|
temple. On Monday evening they had held a conference at the home of Nicodemus,
|
|
which lasted until the dawn of day, and thirty of them had elected to enter the
|
|
kingdom.
|
|
|
|
As Jesus stood before them at this time, he perceived the end of one
|
|
dispensation and the beginning of another. Turning his attention to the Greeks,
|
|
the Master said:
|
|
|
|
"He who believes this gospel, believes not merely in me but in Him who sent me.
|
|
When you look upon me, you see not only the Son of Man but also Him who sent
|
|
me. I am the light of the world, and whosoever will believe my teaching shall
|
|
no longer abide in darkness. If you gentiles will hear me, you shall receive
|
|
the words of life and shall enter forthwith into the joyous liberty of the
|
|
truth of sonship with God. If my fellow countrymen, the Jews, choose to reject
|
|
me and to refuse my teachings, I will not sit in judgment on them, for I came
|
|
not to judge the world but to offer it salvation. Nevertheless, they who reject
|
|
me and refuse to receive my teaching shall be brought to judgment in due season
|
|
by my Father and those whom he has appointed to sit in judgment on such as
|
|
reject the gift of mercy and the truths of salvation. Remember, all of you,
|
|
that I speak not of myself, but that I have faithfully declared to you that
|
|
which the Father commanded I should reveal to the children of men. And these
|
|
words which the Father directed me to speak to the world are words of divine
|
|
truth, everlasting mercy, and eternal life.
|
|
|
|
"But to both Jew and gentile I declare the hour has about come when the Son of
|
|
Man will be glorified. You well know that, except a grain of wheat falls into
|
|
the earth and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies in good soil, it springs up
|
|
again to life and bears much fruit. He who selfishly loves his life stands in
|
|
danger of losing it; but he who is willing to lay down his life for my sake and
|
|
the gospel's shall enjoy a more abundant existence on earth and in heaven, life
|
|
eternal. If you will truly follow me, even after I have gone to my Father, then
|
|
shall you become my disciples and the sincere servants of your fellow mortals.
|
|
|
|
"I know my hour is approaching, and I am troubled. I perceive that my people
|
|
are determined to spurn the kingdom, but I am rejoiced to receive these
|
|
truth-seeking gentiles who come here today inquiring for the way of light.
|
|
Nevertheless, my heart aches for my people, and my soul is distraught by that
|
|
which lies just before me. What shall I say as I look ahead and discern what is
|
|
about to befall me? Shall I say, Father save me from this awful hour? No! For
|
|
this
|
|
|
|
top of page - 1904
|
|
|
|
very purpose have I come into the world and even to this hour. Rather will I
|
|
say, and pray that you will join me: Father, glorify your name; your will be
|
|
done."
|
|
|
|
When Jesus had thus spoken, the Personalized Adjuster of his indwelling during
|
|
prebaptismal times appeared before him, and as he paused noticeably, this now
|
|
mighty spirit of the Father's representation spoke to Jesus of Nazareth,
|
|
saying: "I have glorified my name in your bestowals many times, and I will
|
|
glorify it once more."
|
|
|
|
While the Jews and gentiles here assembled heard no voice, they could not fail
|
|
to discern that the Master had paused in his speaking while a message came to
|
|
him from some superhuman source. They all said, every man to the one who was by
|
|
him, "An angel has spoken to him."
|
|
|
|
Then Jesus continued to speak: "All this has not happened for my sake but for
|
|
yours. I know of a certainty that the Father will receive me and accept my
|
|
mission in your behalf, but it is needful that you be encouraged and be made
|
|
ready for the fiery trial which is just ahead. Let me assure you that victory
|
|
shall eventually crown our united efforts to enlighten the world and liberate
|
|
mankind. The old order is bringing itself to judgment; the Prince of this world
|
|
I have cast down; and all men shall become free by the light of the spirit
|
|
which I will pour out upon all flesh after I have ascended to my Father in
|
|
heaven.
|
|
|
|
"And now I declare to you that I, if I be lifted up on earth and in your lives,
|
|
will draw all men to myself and into the fellowship of my Father. You have
|
|
believed that the Deliverer would abide on earth forever, but I declare that
|
|
the Son of Man will be rejected by men, and that he will go back to the Father.
|
|
Only a little while will I be with you; only a little time will the living
|
|
light be among this darkened generation. Walk while you have this light so that
|
|
the oncoming darkness and confusion may not overtake you. He who walks in the
|
|
darkness knows not where he goes; but if you will choose to walk in the light,
|
|
you shall all indeed become liberated sons of God. And now, all of you, come
|
|
with me while we go back to the temple and I speak farewell words to the chief
|
|
priests, the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, and the
|
|
benighted rulers of Israel."
|
|
|
|
Having thus spoken, Jesus led the way over the narrow streets of Jerusalem back
|
|
to the temple. They had just heard the Master say that this was to be his
|
|
farewell discourse in the temple, and they followed him in silence and in deep
|
|
meditation.
|
|
|
|
top of page - 1905
|
|
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
������������������������������������������������������������������������������Ŀ
|
|
� // � � � � �
|
|
� Monday In � The Last � Urantia Book � Search � SiteMap! �
|
|
� Jerus... � Temple... � PA... � � �
|
|
��������������������������������������������������������������������������������
|
|
//
|
|
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
������������������������������������������������������������������������������Ŀ
|
|
� � � � � � � SPIRITWEB ORG (info@spiritweb.org), � �
|
|
� � � � � � � http://www.spiritweb.org � �
|
|
� � � � � � � Webmaster <webmaster@spiritweb.org> � �
|
|
� � � � � � � � �
|
|
� � � � � � � ONLINE SINCE 1993. MAINTAINED IN SWITZERLAND. � �
|
|
� � � � � � � DISTRIBUTED TO CALIFORNIA, SPAIN, ITALY, SOUTH AFRICA, � �
|
|
� � � � � � � AUSTRALIA � �
|
|
� � � � � � � � �
|
|
��������������������������������������������������������������������������������
|