The Urantia Book
PAPER 147
THE INTERLUDE VISIT TO JERUSALEM
147:0.1 JESUS and the apostles arrived in
Capernaum on Wednesday, March 17, and spent two weeks at the
Bethsaida headquarters before they departed for Jerusalem. These
two weeks the apostles taught the people by the seaside while
Jesus spent much time alone in the hills about his Father's
business. During this period Jesus, accompanied by James and John
Zebedee, made two secret trips to Tiberias, where they met with
the believers and instructed them in the gospel of the kingdom.
147:0.2 Many of the household of Herod believed
in Jesus and attended these meetings. It was the influence of
these believers among Herod's official family that had helped to
lessen that ruler's enmity toward Jesus. These believers at
Tiberias had fully explained to Herod that the "kingdom" which
Jesus proclaimed was spiritual in nature and not a political
venture. Herod rather believed these members of his own household
and therefore did not permit himself to become unduly alarmed by
the spreading abroad of the reports concerning Jesus' teaching and
healing. He had no objections to Jesus' work as a healer or
religious teacher. Notwithstanding the favorable attitude of many
of Herod's advisers, and even of Herod himself, there existed a
group of his subordinates who were so influenced by the religious
leaders at Jerusalem that they remained bitter and threatening
enemies of Jesus and the apostles and, later on, did much to
hamper their public activities. The greatest danger to Jesus lay
in the Jerusalem religious leaders and not in Herod. And it was
for this very reason that Jesus and the apostles spent so much
time and did most of their public preaching in Galilee rather than
at Jerusalem and in Judea.
1. THE CENTURION'S SERVANT
147:1.1 On the day before they made ready to go
to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, Mangus, a centurion,
or captain, of the Roman guard stationed at Capernaum, came to the
rulers of the synagogue, saying: "My faithful orderly is sick and
at the point of death. Would you, therefore, go to Jesus in my
behalf and beseech him to heal my servant?" The Roman captain did
this because he thought the Jewish leaders would have more
influence with Jesus. So the elders went to see Jesus and their
spokesman said: "Teacher, we earnestly request you to go over to
Capernaum and save the favorite servant of the Roman centurion,
who is worthy of your notice because he loves our nation and even
built us the very synagogue wherein you have so many times
spoken."
147:1.2 And when Jesus had heard them, he said,
"I will go with you." And as he went with them over to the
centurion's house, and before they had entered his yard, the Roman
soldier sent his friends out to greet Jesus, instructing them to
say: "Lord, trouble not yourself to enter my house, for I am not
worthy that you should come under my roof. Neither did I think
myself worthy to come to you; wherefore I sent the elders of your
own people. But I know that you can speak the word where you stand
and my servant will be healed. For I am myself under the orders of
others, and I have soldiers under me, and I say to this one go,
and he goes; to another come, and he comes, and to my servants do
this or do that, and they do it."
147:1.3 And when Jesus heard these words, he
turned and said to his apostles and those who were with them: "I
marvel at the belief of the gentile. Verily, verily, I say to you,
I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." Jesus,
turning from the house, said, "Let us go hence." And the friends
of the centurion went into the house and told Mangus what Jesus
had said. And from that hour the servant began to mend and was
eventually restored to his normal health and usefulness.
147:1.4 But we never knew just what happened on
this occasion. This is simply the record, and as to whether or not
invisible beings ministered healing to the centurion's servant,
was not revealed to those who accompanied Jesus. We only know of
the fact of the servant's complete recovery.
2. THE JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM
147:2.1 Early on the morning of Tuesday, March
30, Jesus and the apostolic party started on their journey to
Jerusalem for the Passover, going by the route of the Jordan
valley. They arrived on the afternoon of Friday, April 2, and
established their headquarters, as usual, at Bethany. Passing
through Jericho, they paused to rest while Judas made a deposit of
some of their common funds in the bank of a friend of his family.
This was the first time Judas had carried a surplus of money, and
this deposit was left undisturbed until they passed through
Jericho again when on that last and eventful journey to Jerusalem
just before the trial and death of Jesus.
147:2.2 The party had an uneventful trip to
Jerusalem, but they had hardly got themselves settled at Bethany
when from near and far those seeking healing for their bodies,
comfort for troubled minds, and salvation for their souls, began
to congregate, so much so that Jesus had little time for rest.
Therefore they pitched tents at Gethsemane, and the Master would
go back and forth from Bethany to Gethsemane to avoid the crowds
which so constantly thronged him. The apostolic party spent almost
three weeks at Jerusalem, but Jesus enjoined them to do no public
preaching, only private teaching and personal work.
147:2.3 At Bethany they quietly celebrated the
Passover. And this was the first time that Jesus and all of the
twelve partook of the bloodless Passover feast. The apostles of
John did not eat the Passover with Jesus and his apostles; they
celebrated the feast with Abner and many of the early believers in
John's preaching. This was the second Passover Jesus had observed
with his apostles in Jerusalem.
147:2.4 When Jesus and the twelve departed for
Capernaum, the apostles of John did not return with them. Under
the direction of Abner they remained in Jerusalem and the
surrounding country, quietly laboring for the extension of the
kingdom, while Jesus and the twelve returned to work in Galilee.
Never again were the twenty-four all together until a short time
before the commissioning and sending forth of the seventy
evangelists. But the two groups were co-operative, and
notwithstanding their differences of opinion, the best of feelings
prevailed.
3. AT THE POOL OF BETHESDA
147:3.1 The afternoon of the second Sabbath in
Jerusalem, as the Master and the apostles were about to
participate in the temple services, John said to Jesus, "Come with
me, I would show you something." John conducted Jesus out through
one of the Jerusalem gates to a pool of water called Bethesda.
Surrounding this pool was a structure of five porches under which
a large group of sufferers lingered in quest of healing. This was
a hot spring whose reddish-tinged water would bubble up at
irregular intervals because of gas accumulations in the rock
caverns underneath the pool. This periodic disturbance of the warm
waters was believed by many to be due to supernatural influences,
and it was a popular belief that the first person who entered the
water after such a disturbance would be healed of whatever
infirmity he had.
147:3.2 The apostles were somewhat restless
under the restrictions imposed by Jesus, and John, the youngest of
the twelve, was especially restive under this restraint. He had
brought Jesus to the pool thinking that the sight of the assembled
sufferers would make such an appeal to the Master's compassion
that he would be moved to perform a miracle of healing, and
thereby would all Jerusalem be astounded and presently be won to
believe in the gospel of the kingdom. Said John to Jesus: "Master,
see all of these suffering ones; is there nothing we can do for
them?" And Jesus replied: "John, why would you tempt me to turn
aside from the way I have chosen? Why do you go on desiring to
substitute the working of wonders and the healing of the sick for
the proclamation of the gospel of eternal truth? My son, I may not
do that which you desire, but gather together these sick and
afflicted that I may speak words of good cheer and eternal comfort
to them."
147:3.3 In speaking to those assembled, Jesus
said: "Many of you are here, sick and afflicted, because of your
many years of wrong living. Some suffer from the accidents of
time, others as a result of the mistakes of their forebears, while
some of you struggle under the handicaps of the imperfect
conditions of your temporal existence. But my Father works, and I
would work, to improve your earthly state but more especially to
insure your eternal estate. None of us can do much to change the
difficulties of life unless we discover the Father in heaven so
wills. After all, we are all beholden to do the will of the
Eternal. If you could all be healed of your physical afflictions,
you would indeed marvel, but it is even greater that you should be
cleansed of all spiritual disease and find yourselves healed of
all moral infirmities. You are all God's children; you are the
sons of the heavenly Father. The bonds of time may seem to afflict
you, but the God of eternity loves you. And when the time of
judgment shall come, fear not, you shall all find, not only
justice, but an abundance of mercy. Verily, verily, I say to you:
He who hears the gospel of the kingdom and believes in this
teaching of sonship with God, has eternal life; already are such
believers passing from judgment and death to light and life. And
the hour is coming in which even those who are in the tombs shall
hear the voice of the resurrection."
147:3.4 And many of those who heard believed the
gospel of the kingdom. Some of the afflicted were so inspired and
spiritually revivified that they went about proclaiming that they
had also been cured of their physical ailments.
147:3.5 One man who had been many years downcast
and grievously afflicted by the infirmities of his troubled mind,
rejoiced at Jesus' words and, picking up his bed, went forth to
his home, even though it was the Sabbath day. This afflicted man
had waited all these years for somebody to help him; he was
such a victim of the feeling of his own helplessness that he had
never once entertained the idea of helping himself which proved to
be the one thing he had to do in order to effect recovery -- take
up his bed and walk.
147:3.6 Then said Jesus to John: "Let us depart
ere the chief priests and the scribes come upon us and take
offense that we spoke words of life to these afflicted ones." And
they returned to the temple to join their companions, and
presently all of them departed to spend the night at Bethany. But
John never told the other apostles of this visit of himself and
Jesus to the pool of Bethesda on this Sabbath afternoon.
4. THE RULE OF LIVING
147:4.1 On the evening of this same Sabbath day,
at Bethany, while Jesus, the twelve, and a group of believers were
assembled about the fire in Lazarus's garden, Nathaniel asked
Jesus this question: "Master, although you have taught us the
positive version of the old rule of life, instructing us that we
should do to others as we wish them to do to us, I do not fully
discern how we can always abide by such an injunction. Let me
illustrate my contention by citing the example of a lustful man
who thus wickedly looks upon his intended consort in sin. How can
we teach that this evil-intending man should do to others as he
would they should do to him?"
147:4.2 When Jesus heard Nathaniel's question,
he immediately stood upon his feet and, pointing his finger at the
apostle, said: "Nathaniel, Nathaniel! What manner of thinking is
going on in your heart? Do you not receive my teachings as one who
has been born of the spirit? Do you not hear the truth as men of
wisdom and spiritual understanding? When I admonished you to do to
others as you would have them do to you, I spoke to men of high
ideals, not to those who would be tempted to distort my teaching
into a license for the encouragement of evil doing."
147:4.3 When the Master had spoken, Nathaniel
stood up and said: "But, Master, you should not think that I
approve of such an interpretation of your teaching. I asked the
question because I conjectured that many such men might thus
misjudge your admonition, and I hoped you would give us further
instruction regarding these matters." And then when Nathaniel had
sat down, Jesus continued speaking: "I well know, Nathaniel, that
no such idea of evil is approved in your mind, but I am
disappointed in that you all so often fail to put a genuinely
spiritual interpretation upon my commonplace teachings,
instruction which must be given you in human language and as men
must speak. Let me now teach you concerning the differing levels
of meaning attached to the interpretation of this rule of living,
this admonition to `do to others that which you desire others to
do to you':
147:4.4 "1. The level of the flesh. Such
a purely selfish and lustful interpretation would be well
exemplified by the supposition of your question.
147:4.5 "2. The level of the feelings.
This plane is one level higher than that of the flesh and implies
that sympathy and pity would enhance one's interpretation of this
rule of living.
147:4.6 "3. The level of mind. Now come
into action the reason of mind and the intelligence of experience.
Good judgment dictates that such a rule of living should be
interpreted in consonance with the highest idealism embodied in
the nobility of profound self-respect.
147:4.7 "4. The level of brotherly love.
Still higher is discovered the level of unselfish devotion to the
welfare of one's fellows. On this higher plane of wholehearted
social service growing out of the consciousness of the fatherhood
of God and the consequent recognition of the brotherhood of man,
there is discovered a new and far more beautiful interpretation of
this basic rule of life.
147:4.8 "5. The moral level. And then
when you attain true philosophic levels of interpretation, when
you have real insight into the rightness and wrongness
of things, when you perceive the eternal fitness of human
relationships, you will begin to view such a problem of
interpretation as you would imagine a high-minded, idealistic,
wise, and impartial third person would so view and interpret such
an injunction as applied to your personal problems of adjustment
to your life situations.
147:4.9 "6. The spiritual level. And then
last, but greatest of all, we attain the level of spirit insight
and spiritual interpretation which impels us to recognize in this
rule of life the divine command to treat all men as we conceive
God would treat them. That is the universe ideal of human
relationships. And this is your attitude toward all such problems
when your supreme desire is ever to do the Father's will. I would,
therefore, that you should do to all men that which you know I
would do to them in like circumstances."
147:4.10 Nothing Jesus had said to the apostles
up to this time had ever more astonished them. They continued to
discuss the Master's words long after he had retired. While
Nathaniel was slow to recover from his supposition that Jesus had
misunderstood the spirit of his question, the others were more
than thankful that their philosophic fellow apostle had had the
courage to ask such a thought-provoking question.
5. VISITING SIMON THE PHARISEE
147:5.1 Though Simon was not a member of the
Jewish Sanhedrin, he was an influential Pharisee of Jerusalem. He
was a half-hearted believer, and notwithstanding that he might be
severely criticized therefor, he dared to invite Jesus and his
personal associates, Peter, James, and John, to his home for a
social meal. Simon had long observed the Master and was much
impressed with his teachings and even more so with his
personality.
147:5.2 The wealthy Pharisees were devoted to
almsgiving, and they did not shun publicity regarding their
philanthropy. Sometimes they would even blow a trumpet as they
were about to bestow charity upon some beggar. It was the custom
of these Pharisees, when they provided a banquet for distinguished
guests, to leave the doors of the house open so that even the
street beggars might come in and, standing around the walls of the
room behind the couches of the diners, be in position to receive
portions of food which might be tossed to them by the banqueters.
147:5.3 On this particular occasion at Simon's
house, among those who came in off the street was a woman of
unsavory reputation who had recently become a believer in the good
news of the gospel of the kingdom. This woman was well known
throughout all Jerusalem as the former keeper of one of the
so-called high-class brothels located hard by the temple court of
the gentiles. She had, on accepting the teachings of Jesus, closed
up her nefarious place of business and had induced the majority of
the women associated with her to accept the gospel and change
their mode of living; notwithstanding this, she was still held in
great disdain by the Pharisees and was compelled to wear her hair
down -- the badge of harlotry. This unnamed woman had brought with
her a large flask of perfumed anointing lotion and, standing
behind Jesus as he reclined at meat, began to anoint his feet
while she also wet his feet with her tears of gratitude, wiping
them with the hair of her head. And when she had finished this
anointing, she continued weeping and kissing his feet.
147:5.4 When Simon saw all this, he said to
himself: "This man, if he were a prophet, would have perceived who
and what manner of woman this is who thus touches him; that she is
a notorious sinner." And Jesus, knowing what was going on in
Simon's mind, spoke up, saying: "Simon, I have something which I
would like to say to you." Simon answered, "Teacher, say on." Then
said Jesus: "A certain wealthy moneylender had two debtors. The
one owed him five hundred denarii and the other fifty. Now, when
neither of them had wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which
of them do you think, Simon, would love him most?" Simon answered,
"He, I suppose, whom he forgave the most." And Jesus said, "You
have rightly judged," and pointing to the woman, he continued:
"Simon, take a good look at this woman. I entered your house as an
invited guest, yet you gave me no water for my feet. This grateful
woman has washed my feet with tears and wiped them with the hair
of her head. You gave me no kiss of friendly greeting, but this
woman, ever since she came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet. My
head with oil you neglected to anoint, but she has anointed my
feet with precious lotions. And what is the meaning of all this?
Simply that her many sins have been forgiven, and this has led her
to love much. But those who have received but little forgiveness
sometimes love but little." And turning around toward the woman,
he took her by the hand and, lifting her up, said: "You have
indeed repented of your sins, and they are forgiven. Be not
discouraged by the thoughtless and unkind attitude of your
fellows; go on in the joy and liberty of the kingdom of heaven."
147:5.5 When Simon and his friends who sat at
meat with him heard these words, they were the more astonished,
and they began to whisper among themselves, "Who is this man that
he even dares to forgive sins?" And when Jesus heard them thus
murmuring, he turned to dismiss the woman, saying, "Woman, go in
peace; your faith has saved you."
147:5.6 As Jesus arose with his friends to
leave, he turned to Simon and said: "I know your heart, Simon, how
you are torn betwixt faith and doubts, how you are distraught by
fear and troubled by pride; but I pray for you that you may yield
to the light and may experience in your station in life just such
mighty transformations of mind and spirit as may be comparable to
the tremendous changes which the gospel of the kingdom has already
wrought in the heart of your unbidden and unwelcome guest. And I
declare to all of you that the Father has opened the doors of the
heavenly kingdom to all who have the faith to enter, and no man or
association of men can close those doors even to the most humble
soul or supposedly most flagrant sinner on earth if such sincerely
seek an entrance." And Jesus, with Peter, James, and John, took
leave of their host and went to join the rest of the apostles at
the camp in the garden of Gethsemane.
147:5.7 That same evening Jesus made the
long-to-be-remembered address to the apostles regarding the
relative value of status with God and progress in the eternal
ascent to Paradise. Said Jesus: "My children, if there exists a
true and living connection between the child and the Father, the
child is certain to progress continuously toward the Father's
ideals. True, the child may at first make slow progress, but the
progress is none the less sure. The important thing is not the
rapidity of your progress but rather its certainty. Your actual
achievement is not so important as the fact that the direction
of your progress is Godward. What you are becoming day by day is
of infinitely more importance than what you are today.
147:5.8 "This transformed woman whom some of you
saw at Simon's house today is, at this moment, living on a level
which is vastly below that of Simon and his well-meaning
associates; but while these Pharisees are occupied with the false
progress of the illusion of traversing deceptive circles of
meaningless ceremonial services, this woman has, in dead earnest,
started out on the long and eventful search for God, and her path
toward heaven is not blocked by spiritual pride and moral
self-satisfaction. The woman is, humanly speaking, much farther
away from God than Simon, but her soul is in progressive motion;
she is on the way toward an eternal goal. There are present in
this woman tremendous spiritual possibilities for the future. Some
of you may not stand high in actual levels of soul and spirit, but
you are making daily progress on the living way opened up, through
faith, to God. There are tremendous possibilities in each of you
for the future. Better by far to have a small but living and
growing faith than to be possessed of a great intellect with its
dead stores of worldly wisdom and spiritual unbelief."
147:5.9 But Jesus earnestly warned his apostles
against the foolishness of the child of God who presumes upon the
Father's love. He declared that the heavenly Father is not a lax,
loose, or foolishly indulgent parent who is ever ready to condone
sin and forgive recklessness. He cautioned his hearers not
mistakenly to apply his illustrations of father and son so as to
make it appear that God is like some overindulgent and unwise
parents who conspire with the foolish of earth to encompass the
moral undoing of their thoughtless children, and who are thereby
certainly and directly contributing to the delinquency and early
demoralization of their own offspring. Said Jesus: "My Father does
not indulgently condone those acts and practices of his children
which are self-destructive and suicidal to all moral growth and
spiritual progress. Such sinful practices are an abomination in
the sight of God."
147:5.10 Many other semiprivate meetings and
banquets did Jesus attend with the high and the low, the rich and
the poor, of Jerusalem before he and his apostles finally departed
for Capernaum. And many, indeed, became believers in the gospel of
the kingdom and were subsequently baptized by Abner and his
associates, who remained behind to foster the interests of the
kingdom in Jerusalem and thereabouts.
6. RETURNING TO CAPERNAUM
147:6.1 The last week of April, Jesus and the
twelve departed from their Bethany headquarters near Jerusalem and
began their journey back to Capernaum by way of Jericho and the
Jordan.
147:6.2 The chief priests and the religious
leaders of the Jews held many secret meetings for the purpose of
deciding what to do with Jesus. They were all agreed that
something should be done to put a stop to his teaching, but they
could not agree on the method. They had hoped that the civil
authorities would dispose of him as Herod had put an end to John,
but they discovered that Jesus was so conducting his work that the
Roman officials were not much alarmed by his preaching.
Accordingly, at a meeting which was held the day before Jesus'
departure for Capernaum, it was decided that he would have to be
apprehended on a religious charge and be tried by the Sanhedrin.
Therefore a commission of six secret spies was appointed to follow
Jesus, to observe his words and acts, and when they had amassed
sufficient evidence of lawbreaking and blasphemy, to return to
Jerusalem with their report. These six Jews caught up with the
apostolic party, numbering about thirty, at Jericho and, under the
pretense of desiring to become disciples, attached themselves to
Jesus' family of followers, remaining with the group up to the
time of the beginning of the second preaching tour in Galilee;
whereupon three of them returned to Jerusalem to submit their
report to the chief priests and the Sanhedrin.
147:6.3 Peter preached to the assembled
multitude at the crossing of the Jordan, and the following morning
they moved up the river toward Amathus. They wanted to proceed
straight on to Capernaum, but such a crowd gathered here they
remained three days, preaching, teaching, and baptizing. They did
not move toward home until early Sabbath morning, the first day of
May. The Jerusalem spies were sure they would now secure their
first charge against Jesus -- that of Sabbath breaking -- since he
had presumed to start his journey on the Sabbath day. But they
were doomed to disappointment because, just before their
departure, Jesus called Andrew into his presence and before them
all instructed him to proceed for a distance of only one thousand
yards, the legal Jewish Sabbath day's journey.
147:6.4 But the spies did not have long to wait
for their opportunity to accuse Jesus and his associates of
Sabbath breaking. As the company passed along the narrow road, the
waving wheat, which was just then ripening, was near at hand on
either side, and some of the apostles, being hungry, plucked the
ripe grain and ate it. It was customary for travelers to help
themselves to grain as they passed along the road, and therefore
no thought of wrongdoing was attached to such conduct. But the
spies seized upon this as a pretext for assailing Jesus. When they
saw Andrew rub the grain in his hand, they went up to him and
said: "Do you not know that it is unlawful to pluck and rub the
grain on the Sabbath day?" And Andrew answered: "But we are hungry
and rub only sufficient for our needs; and since when did it
become sinful to eat grain on the Sabbath day?" But the Pharisees
answered: "You do no wrong in eating, but you do break the law in
plucking and rubbing out the grain between your hands; surely your
Master would not approve of such acts." Then said Andrew: "But if
it is not wrong to eat the grain, surely the rubbing out between
our hands is hardly more work than the chewing of the grain, which
you allow; wherefore do you quibble over such trifles?" When
Andrew intimated that they were quibblers, they were indignant,
and rushing back to where Jesus walked along, talking to Matthew,
they protested, saying: "Behold, Teacher, your apostles do that
which is unlawful on the Sabbath day; they pluck, rub, and eat the
grain. We are sure you will command them to cease." And then said
Jesus to the accusers: "You are indeed zealous for the law, and
you do well to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; but did
you never read in the Scripture that, one day when David was
hungry, he and they who were with him entered the house of God and
ate the showbread, which it was not lawful for anyone to eat save
the priests? and David also gave this bread to those who were with
him. And have you not read in our law that it is lawful to do many
needful things on the Sabbath day? And shall I not, before the day
is finished, see you eat that which you have brought along for the
needs of this day? My good men, you do well to be zealous for the
Sabbath, but you would do better to guard the health and
well-being of your fellows. I declare that the Sabbath was made
for man and not man for the Sabbath. And if you are here present
with us to watch my words, then will I openly proclaim that the
Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."
147:6.5 The Pharisees were astonished and
confounded by his words of discernment and wisdom. For the
remainder of the day they kept by themselves and dared not ask any
more questions.
147:6.6 Jesus' antagonism to the Jewish
traditions and slavish ceremonials was always positive. It
consisted in what he did and in what he affirmed. The Master spent
little time in negative denunciations. He taught that those who
know God can enjoy the liberty of living without deceiving
themselves by the licenses of sinning. Said Jesus to the apostles:
"Men, if you are enlightened by the truth and really know what you
are doing, you are blessed; but if you know not the divine way,
you are unfortunate and already breakers of the law."
7. BACK IN CAPERNAUM
147:7.1 It was around noon on Monday, May 3,
when Jesus and the twelve came to Bethsaida by boat from Tarichea.
They traveled by boat in order to escape those who journeyed with
them. But by the next day the others, including the official spies
from Jerusalem, had again found Jesus.
147:7.2 On Tuesday evening Jesus was conducting
one of his customary classes of questions and answers when the
leader of the six spies said to him: "I was today talking with one
of John's disciples who is here attending upon your teaching, and
we were at a loss to understand why you never command your
disciples to fast and pray as we Pharisees fast and as John bade
his followers." And Jesus, referring to a statement by John,
answered this questioner: "Do the sons of the bridechamber fast
while the bridegroom is with them? As long as the bridegroom
remains with them, they can hardly fast. But the time is coming
when the bridegroom shall be taken away, and during those times
the children of the bridechamber undoubtedly will fast and pray.
To pray is natural for the children of light, but fasting is not a
part of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven. Be reminded that a
wise tailor does not sew a piece of new and unshrunk cloth upon an
old garment, lest, when it is wet, it shrink and produce a worse
rent. Neither do men put new wine into old wine skins, lest the
new wine burst the skins so that both the wine and the skins
perish. The wise man puts the new wine into fresh wine skins.
Therefore do my disciples show wisdom in that they do not bring
too much of the old order over into the new teaching of the gospel
of the kingdom. You who have lost your teacher may be justified in
fasting for a time. Fasting may be an appropriate part of the law
of Moses, but in the coming kingdom the sons of God shall
experience freedom from fear and joy in the divine spirit." And
when they heard these words, the disciples of John were comforted
while the Pharisees themselves were the more confounded.
147:7.3 Then the Master proceeded to warn his
hearers against entertaining the notion that all olden teaching
should be replaced entirely by new doctrines. Said Jesus: "That
which is old and also true must abide. Likewise, that which
is new but false must be rejected. But that which is new and also
true, have the faith and courage to accept. Remember it is
written: `Forsake not an old friend, for the new is not comparable
to him. As new wine, so is a new friend; if it becomes old, you
shall drink it with gladness.'"
8. THE FEAST OF SPIRITUAL GOODNESS
147:8.1 That night, long after the usual
listeners had retired, Jesus continued to teach his apostles. He
began this special instruction by quoting from the Prophet Isaiah:
147:8.2 "`Why have you fasted? For what reason
do you afflict your souls while you continue to find pleasure in
oppression and to take delight in injustice? Behold, you fast for
the sake of strife and contention and to smite with the fist of
wickedness. But you shall not fast in this way to make your voices
heard on high.
147:8.3 "`Is it such a fast that I have chosen
-- a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head
like a bulrush, to grovel in sackcloth and ashes? Will you dare to
call this a fast and an acceptable day in the sight of the Lord?
Is not this the fast I should choose: to loose the bonds of
wickedness, to undo the knots of heavy burdens, to let the
oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share my
bread with the hungry and to bring those who are homeless and poor
to my house? And when I see those who are naked, I will clothe
them.
147:8.4 "`Then shall your light break forth as
the morning while your health springs forth speedily. Your
righteousness shall go before you while the glory of the Lord
shall be your rear guard. Then will you call upon the Lord, and he
shall answer; you will cry out, and he shall say -- Here am I. And
all this he will do if you refrain from oppression, condemnation,
and vanity. The Father rather desires that you draw out your heart
to the hungry, and that you minister to the afflicted souls; then
shall your light shine in obscurity, and even your darkness shall
be as the noonday. Then shall the Lord guide you continually,
satisfying your soul and renewing your strength. You shall become
like a watered garden, like a spring whose waters fail not. And
they who do these things shall restore the wasted glories; they
shall raise up the foundations of many generations; they shall be
called the rebuilders of broken walls, the restorers of safe paths
in which to dwell.'"
147:8.5 And then long into the night Jesus
propounded to his apostles the truth that it was their faith that
made them secure in the kingdom of the present and the future, and
not their affliction of soul nor fasting of body. He exhorted the
apostles at least to live up to the ideas of the prophet of old
and expressed the hope that they would progress far beyond even
the ideals of Isaiah and the older prophets. His last words that
night were: "Grow in grace by means of that living faith which
grasps the fact that you are the sons of God while at the same
time it recognizes every man as a brother."
147:8.6 It was after two o'clock in the morning
when Jesus ceased speaking and every man went to his place for
sleep.
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