The Urantia Book
PAPER 169
LAST TEACHING AT PELLA
169:0.1 LATE on Monday evening, March 6, Jesus
and the ten apostles arrived at the Pella camp. This was the last
week of Jesus' sojourn there, and he was very active in teaching
the multitude and instructing the apostles. He preached every
afternoon to the crowds and each night answered questions for the
apostles and certain of the more advanced disciples residing at
the camp.
169:0.2 Word regarding the resurrection of
Lazarus had reached the encampment two days before the Master's
arrival, and the entire assembly was agog. Not since the feeding
of the five thousand had anything occurred which so aroused the
imagination of the people. And thus it was at the very height of
the second phase of the public ministry of the kingdom that Jesus
planned to teach this one short week at Pella and then to begin
the tour of southern Perea which led right up to the final and
tragic experiences of the last week in Jerusalem.
169:0.3 The Pharisees and the chief priests had
begun to formulate their charges and to crystallize their
accusations. They objected to the Master's teachings on these
grounds:
169:0.4 1. He is a friend of publicans and
sinners; he receives the ungodly and even eats with them.
169:0.5 2. He is a blasphemer; he talks about
God as being his Father and thinks he is equal with God.
169:0.6 3. He is a lawbreaker. He heals disease
on the Sabbath and in many other ways flouts the sacred law of
Israel.
169:0.7 4. He is in league with devils. He works
wonders and does seeming miracles by the power of Beelzebub, the
prince of devils.
1. PARABLE OF THE LOST SON
169:1.1 On Thursday afternoon Jesus talked to
the multitude about the "Grace of Salvation." In the course of
this sermon he retold the story of the lost sheep and the lost
coin and then added his favorite parable of the prodigal son. Said
Jesus:
169:1.2 "You have been admonished by the
prophets from Samuel to John that you should seek for God --
search for truth. Always have they said, `Seek the Lord while he
may be found.' And all such teaching should be taken to heart. But
I have come to show you that, while you are seeking to find God,
God is likewise seeking to find you. Many times have I told you
the story of the good shepherd who left the ninety and nine sheep
in the fold while he went forth searching for the one that was
lost, and how, when he had found the straying sheep, he laid it
over his shoulder and tenderly carried it back to the fold. And
when the lost sheep had been restored to the fold, you remember
that the good shepherd called in his friends and bade them rejoice
with him over the finding of the sheep that had been lost. Again I
say there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than
over the ninety and nine just persons who need no repentance. The
fact that souls are lost only increases the interest of the
heavenly Father. I have come to this world to do my Father's
bidding, and it has truly been said of the Son of Man that he is a
friend of publicans and sinners.
169:1.3 "You have been taught that divine
acceptance comes after your repentance and as a result of all your
works of sacrifice and penitence, but I assure you that the Father
accepts you even before you have repented and sends the Son and
his associates to find you and bring you, with rejoicing, back to
the fold, the kingdom of sonship and spiritual progress. You are
all like sheep which have gone astray, and I have come to seek and
to save those who are lost.
169:1.4 "And you should also remember the story
of the woman who, having had ten pieces of silver made into a
necklace of adornment, lost one piece, and how she lit the lamp
and diligently swept the house and kept up the search until she
found the lost piece of silver. And as soon as she found the coin
that was lost, she called together her friends and neighbors,
saying, `Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece that was
lost.' So again I say, there is always joy in the presence of the
angels of heaven over one sinner who repents and returns to the
Father's fold. And I tell you this story to impress upon you that
the Father and his Son go forth to search for those who are
lost, and in this search we employ all influences capable of
rendering assistance in our diligent efforts to find those who are
lost, those who stand in need of salvation. And so, while the Son
of Man goes out in the wilderness to seek for the sheep gone
astray, he also searches for the coin which is lost in the house.
The sheep wanders away, unintentionally; the coin is covered by
the dust of time and obscured by the accumulation of the things of
men.
169:1.5 "And now I would like to tell you the
story of a thoughtless son of a well-to-do farmer who
deliberately left his father's house and went off into a
foreign land, where he fell into much tribulation. You recall that
the sheep strayed away without intention, but this youth left his
home with premeditation. It was like this:
169:1.6 "A certain man had two sons; one, the
younger, was lighthearted and carefree, always seeking for a good
time and shirking responsibility, while his older brother was
serious, sober, hard-working, and willing to bear responsibility.
Now these two brothers did not get along well together; they were
always quarreling and bickering. The younger lad was cheerful and
vivacious, but indolent and unreliable; the older son was steady
and industrious, at the same time self-centered, surly, and
conceited. The younger son enjoyed play but shunned work; the
older devoted himself to work but seldom played. This association
became so disagreeable that the younger son came to his father and
said: `Father, give me the third portion of your possessions which
would fall to me and allow me to go out into the world to seek my
own fortune.' And when the father heard this request, knowing how
unhappy the young man was at home and with his older brother, he
divided his property, giving the youth his share.
169:1.7 "Within a few weeks the young man
gathered together all his funds and set out upon a journey to a
far country, and finding nothing profitable to do which was also
pleasurable, he soon wasted all his inheritance in riotous living.
And when he had spent all, there arose a prolonged famine in that
country, and he found himself in want. And so, when he suffered
hunger and his distress was great, he found employment with one of
the citizens of that country, who sent him into the fields to feed
swine. And the young man would fain have filled himself with the
husks which the swine ate, but no one would give him anything.
169:1.8 "One day, when he was very hungry, he
came to himself and said: `How many hired servants of my father
have bread enough and to spare while I perish with hunger, feeding
swine off here in a foreign country! I will arise and go to my
father, and I will say to him: Father, I have sinned against
heaven and against you. I am no more worthy to be called your son;
only be willing to make me one of your hired servants.' And when
the young man had reached this decision, he arose and started out
for his father's house.
169:1.9 "Now this father had grieved much for
his son; he had missed the cheerful, though thoughtless, lad. This
father loved this son and was always on the lookout for his
return, so that on the day he approached his home, even while he
was yet afar off, the father saw him and, being moved with loving
compassion, ran out to meet him, and with affectionate greeting he
embraced and kissed him. And after they had thus met, the son
looked up into his father's tearful face and said: `Father, I have
sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no more worthy to be
called a son' -- but the lad did not find opportunity to complete
his confession because the overjoyed father said to the servants
who had by this time come running up: `Bring quickly his best
robe, the one I have saved, and put it on him and put the son's
ring on his hand and fetch sandals for his feet.'
169:1.10 "And then, after the happy father had
led the footsore and weary lad into the house, he called to his
servants: `Bring on the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat
and make merry, for this my son was dead and is alive again; he
was lost and is found.' And they all gathered about the father to
rejoice with him over the restoration of his son.
169:1.11 "About this time, while they were
celebrating, the elder son came in from his day's work in the
field, and as he drew near the house, he heard the music and the
dancing. And when he came up to the back door, he called out one
of the servants and inquired as to the meaning of all this
festivity. And then said the servant: `Your long-lost brother has
come home, and your father has killed the fatted calf to rejoice
over his son's safe return. Come in that you also may greet your
brother and receive him back into your father's house.'
169:1.12 "But when the older brother heard this,
he was so hurt and angry he would not go into the house. When his
father heard of his resentment of the welcome of his younger
brother, he went out to entreat him. But the older son would not
yield to his father's persuasion. He answered his father, saying:
`Here these many years have I served you, never transgressing the
least of your commands, and yet you never gave me even a kid that
I might make merry with my friends. I have remained here to care
for you all these years, and you never made rejoicing over my
faithful service, but when this your son returns, having
squandered your substance with harlots, you make haste to kill the
fatted calf and make merry over him.'
169:1.13 "Since this father truly loved both of
his sons, he tried to reason with this older one: `But, my son,
you have all the while been with me, and all this which I have is
yours. You could have had a kid at any time you had made friends
to share your merriment. But it is only proper that you should now
join with me in being glad and merry because of your brother's
return. Think of it, my son, your brother was lost and is found;
he has returned alive to us!'"
169:1.14 This was one of the most touching and
effective of all the parables which Jesus ever presented to
impress upon his hearers the Father's willingness to receive all
who seek entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
169:1.15 Jesus was very partial to telling these
three stories at the same time. He presented the story of the lost
sheep to show that, when men unintentionally stray away from the
path of life, the Father is mindful of such lost ones and
goes out, with his Sons, the true shepherds of the flock, to seek
the lost sheep. He then would recite the story of the coin lost in
the house to illustrate how thorough is the divine searching
for all who are confused, confounded, or otherwise spiritually
blinded by the material cares and accumulations of life. And then
he would launch forth into the telling of this parable of the lost
son, the reception of the returning prodigal, to show how complete
is the restoration of the lost son into his Father's house
and heart.
169:1.16 Many, many times during his years of
teaching, Jesus told and retold this story of the prodigal son.
This parable and the story of the good Samaritan were his favorite
means of teaching the love of the Father and the neighborliness of
man.
2. PARABLE OF THE SHREWD STEWARD
169:2.1 One evening Simon Zelotes, commenting on
one of Jesus' statements, said: "Master, what did you mean when
you said today that many of the children of the world are wiser in
their generation than are the children of the kingdom since they
are skillful in making friends with the mammon of
unrighteousness?" Jesus answered:
169:2.2 "Some of you, before you entered the
kingdom, were very shrewd in dealing with your business
associates. If you were unjust and often unfair, you were
nonetheless prudent and farseeing in that you transacted your
business with an eye single to your present profit and future
safety. Likewise should you now so order your lives in the kingdom
as to provide for your present joy while you also make certain of
your future enjoyment of treasures laid up in heaven. If you were
so diligent in making gains for yourselves when in the service of
self, why should you show less diligence in gaining souls for the
kingdom since you are now servants of the brotherhood of man and
stewards of God?
169:2.3 "You may all learn a lesson from the
story of a certain rich man who had a shrewd but unjust steward.
This steward had not only oppressed his master's clients for his
own selfish gain, but he had also directly wasted and squandered
his master's funds. When all this finally came to the ears of his
master, he called the steward before him and asked the meaning of
these rumors and required that he should give immediate accounting
of his stewardship and prepare to turn his master's affairs over
to another.
169:2.4 "Now this unfaithful steward began to
say to himself: `What shall I do since I am about to lose this
stewardship? I have not the strength to dig; to beg I am ashamed.
I know what I will do to make certain that, when I am put out of
this stewardship, I will be welcomed into the houses of all who do
business with my master.' And then, calling in each of his lord's
debtors, he said to the first, `How much do you owe my master?' He
answered, `A hundred measures of oil.' Then said the steward,
`Take your wax board bond, sit down quickly, and change it to
fifty.' Then he said to another debtor, `How much do you owe?' And
he replied, `A hundred measures of wheat.' Then said the steward,
`Take your bond and write fourscore.' And this he did with
numerous other debtors. And so did this dishonest steward seek to
make friends for himself after he would be discharged from his
stewardship. Even his lord and master, when he subsequently found
out about this, was compelled to admit that his unfaithful steward
had at least shown sagacity in the manner in which he had sought
to provide for future days of want and adversity.
169:2.5 "And it is in this way that the sons of
this world sometimes show more wisdom in their preparation for the
future than do the children of light. I say to you who profess to
be acquiring treasure in heaven: Take lessons from those who make
friends with the mammon of unrighteousness, and likewise so
conduct your lives that you make eternal friendship with the
forces of righteousness in order that, when all things earthly
fail, you shall be joyfully received into the eternal habitations.
169:2.6 "I affirm that he who is faithful in
little will also be faithful in much, while he who is unrighteous
in little will also be unrighteous in much. If you have not shown
foresight and integrity in the affairs of this world, how can you
hope to be faithful and prudent when you are trusted with the
stewardship of the true riches of the heavenly kingdom? If you are
not good stewards and faithful bankers, if you have not been
faithful in that which is another's, who will be foolish enough to
give you great treasure in your own name?
169:2.7 "And again I assert that no man can
serve two masters; either he will hate the one and love the other,
or else he will hold to one while he despises the other. You
cannot serve God and mammon."
169:2.8 When the Pharisees who were present
heard this, they began to sneer and scoff since they were much
given to the acquirement of riches. These unfriendly hearers
sought to engage Jesus in unprofitable argumentation, but he
refused to debate with his enemies. When the Pharisees fell to
wrangling among themselves, their loud speaking attracted large
numbers of the multitude encamped thereabouts; and when they began
to dispute with each other, Jesus withdrew, going to his tent for
the night.
3. THE RICH MAN AND THE BEGGAR
169:3.1 When the meeting became too noisy, Simon
Peter, standing up, took charge, saying: "Men and brethren, it is
not seemly thus to dispute among yourselves. The Master has
spoken, and you do well to ponder his words. And this is no new
doctrine which he proclaimed to you. Have you not also heard the
allegory of the Nazarites concerning the rich man and the beggar?
Some of us heard John the Baptist thunder this parable of warning
to those who love riches and covet dishonest wealth. And while
this olden parable is not according to the gospel we preach, you
would all do well to heed its lessons until such a time as you
comprehend the new light of the kingdom of heaven. The story as
John told it was like this:
169:3.2 "There was a certain rich man named
Dives, who, being clothed in purple and fine linen, lived in mirth
and splendor every day. And there was a certain beggar named
Lazarus, who laid at this rich man's gate, covered with sores and
desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's
table; yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came
to pass that the beggar died and was carried away by the angels to
rest in Abraham's bosom. And then, presently, this rich man also
died and was buried with great pomp and regal splendor. When the
rich man departed from this world, he waked up in Hades, and
finding himself in torment, he lifted up his eyes and beheld
Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. And then Dives cried
aloud: `Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send over Lazarus
that he may dip the tip of his finger in water to cool my tongue,
for I am in great anguish because of my punishment.' And then
Abraham replied: `My son, you should remember that in your
lifetime you enjoyed the good things while Lazarus in like manner
suffered the evil. But now all this is changed, seeing that
Lazarus is comforted while you are tormented. And besides, between
us and you there is a great gulf so that we cannot go to you,
neither can you come over to us.' Then said Dives to Abraham: `I
pray you send Lazarus back to my father's house, inasmuch as I
have five brothers, that he may so testify as to prevent my
brothers from coming to this place of torment.' But Abraham said:
`My son, they have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.'
And then answered Dives: `No, No, Father Abraham! but if one go to
them from the dead, they will repent.' And then said Abraham: `If
they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be
persuaded even if one were to rise from the dead.'"
169:3.3 After Peter had recited this ancient
parable of the Nazarite brotherhood, and since the crowd had
quieted down, Andrew arose and dismissed them for the night.
Although both the apostles and his disciples frequently asked
Jesus questions about the parable of Dives and Lazarus, he never
consented to make comment thereon.
4. THE FATHER AND HIS KINGDOM
169:4.1 Jesus always had trouble trying to
explain to the apostles that, while they proclaimed the
establishment of the kingdom of God, the Father in heaven was
not a king. At the time Jesus lived on earth and taught in the
flesh, the people of Urantia knew mostly of kings and emperors in
the governments of the nations, and the Jews had long contemplated
the coming of the kingdom of God. For these and other reasons, the
Master thought best to designate the spiritual brotherhood of man
as the kingdom of heaven and the spirit head of this brotherhood
as the Father in heaven. Never did Jesus refer to his
Father as a king. In his intimate talks with the apostles he
always referred to himself as the Son of Man and as their elder
brother. He depicted all his followers as servants of mankind and
messengers of the gospel of the kingdom.
169:4.2 Jesus never gave his apostles a
systematic lesson concerning the personality and attributes of the
Father in heaven. He never asked men to believe in his Father; he
took it for granted they did. Jesus never belittled himself by
offering arguments in proof of the reality of the Father. His
teaching regarding the Father all centered in the declaration that
he and the Father are one; that he who has seen the Son has seen
the Father; that the Father, like the Son, knows all things; that
only the Son really knows the Father, and he to whom the Son will
reveal him; that he who knows the Son knows also the Father; and
that the Father sent him into the world to reveal their combined
natures and to show forth their conjoint work. He never made other
pronouncements about his Father except to the woman of Samaria at
Jacob's well, when he declared, "God is spirit."
169:4.3 You learn about God from Jesus by
observing the divinity of his life, not by depending on his
teachings. From the life of the Master you may each assimilate
that concept of God which represents the measure of your capacity
to perceive realities spiritual and divine, truths real and
eternal. The finite can never hope to comprehend the Infinite
except as the Infinite was focalized in the time-space personality
of the finite experience of the human life of Jesus of Nazareth.
169:4.4 Jesus well knew that God can be known
only by the realities of experience; never can he be understood by
the mere teaching of the mind. Jesus taught his apostles that,
while they never could fully understand God, they could most
certainly know him, even as they had known the Son of Man.
You can know God, not by understanding what Jesus said, but by
knowing what Jesus was. Jesus was a revelation of God.
169:4.5 Except when quoting the Hebrew
scriptures, Jesus referred to Deity by only two names: God and
Father. And when the Master made reference to his Father as God,
he usually employed the Hebrew word signifying the plural God (the
Trinity) and not the word Yahweh, which stood for the progressive
conception of the tribal God of the Jews.
169:4.6 Jesus never called the Father a king,
and he very much regretted that the Jewish hope for a restored
kingdom and John's proclamation of a coming kingdom made it
necessary for him to denominate his proposed spiritual brotherhood
the kingdom of heaven. With the one exception -- the declaration
that "God is spirit" -- Jesus never referred to Deity in any
manner other than in terms descriptive of his own personal
relationship with the First Source and Center of Paradise.
169:4.7 Jesus employed the word God to designate
the idea of Deity and the word Father to designate the
experience of knowing God. When the word Father is employed to
denote God, it should be understood in its largest possible
meaning. The word God cannot be defined and therefore stands for
the infinite concept of the Father, while the term Father, being
capable of partial definition, may be employed to represent the
human concept of the divine Father as he is associated with man
during the course of mortal existence.
169:4.8 To the Jews, Elohim was the God of gods,
while Yahweh was the God of Israel. Jesus accepted the concept of
Elohim and called this supreme group of beings God. In the place
of the concept of Yahweh, the racial deity, he introduced the idea
of the fatherhood of God and the world-wide brotherhood of man. He
exalted the Yahweh concept of a deified racial Father to the idea
of a Father of all the children of men, a divine Father of the
individual believer. And he further taught that this God of
universes and this Father of all men were one and the same
Paradise Deity.
169:4.9 Jesus never claimed to be the
manifestation of Elohim (God) in the flesh. He never declared that
he was a revelation of Elohim (God) to the worlds. He never taught
that he who had seen him had seen Elohim (God). But he did
proclaim himself as the revelation of the Father in the flesh, and
he did say that whoso had seen him had seen the Father. As the
divine Son he claimed to represent only the Father.
169:4.10 He was, indeed, the Son of even the
Elohim God; but in the likeness of mortal flesh and to the mortal
sons of God, he chose to limit his life revelation to the
portrayal of his Father's character in so far as such a revelation
might be comprehensible to mortal man. As regards the character of
the other persons of the Paradise Trinity, we shall have to be
content with the teaching that they are altogether like the
Father, who has been revealed in personal portraiture in the life
of his incarnated Son, Jesus of Nazareth.
169:4.11 Although Jesus revealed the true nature
of the heavenly Father in his earth life, he taught little about
him. In fact, he taught only two things: that God in himself is
spirit, and that, in all matters of relationship with his
creatures, he is a Father. On this evening Jesus made the final
pronouncement of his relationship with God when he declared: "I
have come out from the Father, and I have come into the world;
again, I will leave the world and go to the Father."
169:4.12 But mark you! never did Jesus say,
"Whoso has heard me has heard God." But he did say, "He who has
seen me has seen the Father." To hear Jesus' teaching is not
equivalent to knowing God, but to see Jesus is an
experience which in itself is a revelation of the Father to the
soul. The God of universes rules the far-flung creation, but it is
the Father in heaven who sends forth his spirit to dwell within
your minds.
169:4.13 Jesus is the spiritual lens in human
likeness which makes visible to the material creature Him who is
invisible. He is your elder brother who, in the flesh, makes
known to you a Being of infinite attributes whom not even the
celestial hosts can presume fully to understand. But all of this
must consist in the personal experience of the individual
believer. God who is spirit can be known only as a spiritual
experience. God can be revealed to the finite sons of the material
worlds, by the divine Son of the spiritual realms, only as a
Father. You can know the Eternal as a Father; you can worship
him as the God of universes, the infinite Creator of all
existences.
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