The Urantia Book
PAPER 191
APPEARANCES TO THE APOSTLES AND OTHER
LEADERS
191:0.1 RESURRECTION Sunday was a terrible day
in the lives of the apostles; ten of them spent the larger part of
the day in the upper chamber behind barred doors. They might have
fled from Jerusalem, but they were afraid of being arrested by the
agents of the Sanhedrin if they were found abroad. Thomas was
brooding over his troubles alone at Bethpage. He would have fared
better had he remained with his fellow apostles, and he would have
aided them to direct their discussions along more helpful lines.
191:0.2 All day long John upheld the idea that
Jesus had risen from the dead. He recounted no less than five
different times when the Master had affirmed he would rise again
and at least three times when he alluded to the third day. John's
attitude had considerable influence on them, especially on his
brother James and on Nathaniel. John would have influenced them
more if he had not been the youngest member of the group.
191:0.3 Their isolation had much to do with
their troubles. John Mark kept them in touch with developments
about the temple and informed them as to the many rumors gaining
headway in the city, but it did not occur to him to gather up news
from the different groups of believers to whom Jesus had already
appeared. That was the kind of service which had heretofore been
rendered by the messengers of David, but they were all absent on
their last assignment as heralds of the resurrection to those
groups of believers who dwelt remote from Jerusalem. For the first
time in all these years the apostles realized how much they had
been dependent on David's messengers for their daily information
regarding the affairs of the kingdom.
191:0.4 All this day Peter characteristically
vacillated emotionally between faith and doubt concerning the
Master's resurrection. Peter could not get away from the sight of
the grave cloths resting there in the tomb as if the body of Jesus
had just evaporated from within. "But," reasoned Peter, "if he has
risen and can show himself to the women, why does he not show
himself to us, his apostles?" Peter would grow sorrowful when he
thought that maybe Jesus did not come to them on account of his
presence among the apostles, because he had denied him that night
in Annas's courtyard. And then would he cheer himself with the
word brought by the women, "Go tell my apostles -- and Peter." But
to derive encouragement from this message implied that he must
believe that the women had really seen and heard the risen Master.
Thus Peter alternated between faith and doubt throughout the whole
day, until a little after eight o'clock, when he ventured out into
the courtyard. Peter thought to remove himself from among the
apostles so that he might not prevent Jesus' coming to them
because of his denial of the Master.
191:0.5 James Zebedee at first advocated that
they all go to the tomb; he was strongly in favor of doing
something to get to the bottom of the mystery. It was Nathaniel
who prevented them from going out in public in response to James's
urging, and he did this by reminding them of Jesus' warning
against unduly jeopardizing their lives at this time. By noontime
James had settled down with the others to watchful waiting. He
said little; he was tremendously disappointed because Jesus did
not appear to them, and he did not know of the Master's many
appearances to other groups and individuals.
191:0.6 Andrew did much listening this day. He
was exceedingly perplexed by the situation and had more than his
share of doubts, but he at least enjoyed a certain sense of
freedom from responsibility for the guidance of his fellow
apostles. He was indeed grateful that the Master had released him
from the burdens of leadership before they fell upon these
distracting times.
191:0.7 More than once during the long and weary
hours of this tragic day, the only sustaining influence of the
group was the frequent contribution of Nathaniel's characteristic
philosophic counsel. He was really the controlling influence among
the ten throughout the entire day. Never once did he express
himself concerning either belief or disbelief in the Master's
resurrection. But as the day wore on, he became increasingly
inclined toward believing that Jesus had fulfilled his promise to
rise again.
191:0.8 Simon Zelotes was too much crushed to
participate in the discussions. Most of the time he reclined on a
couch in a corner of the room with his face to the wall; he did
not speak half a dozen times throughout the whole day. His concept
of the kingdom had crashed, and he could not discern that the
Master's resurrection could materially change the situation. His
disappointment was very personal and altogether too keen to be
recovered from on short notice, even in the face of such a
stupendous fact as the resurrection.
191:0.9 Strange to record, the usually
inexpressive Philip did much talking throughout the afternoon of
this day. During the forenoon he had little to say, but all
afternoon he asked questions of the other apostles. Peter was
often annoyed by Philip's questions, but the others took his
inquiries good-naturedly. Philip was particularly desirous of
knowing, provided Jesus had really risen from the grave, whether
his body would bear the physical marks of the crucifixion.
191:0.10
Matthew was highly confused; he listened to the discussions of his
fellows but spent most of the time turning over in his mind the
problem of their future finances. Regardless of Jesus' supposed
resurrection, Judas was gone, David had unceremoniously turned the
funds over to him, and they were without an authoritative leader.
Before Matthew got around to giving serious consideration to their
arguments about the resurrection, he had already seen the Master
face to face.
191:0.11 The Alpheus twins took little part in
these serious discussions; they were fairly busy with their
customary ministrations. One of them expressed the attitude of
both when he said, in reply to a question asked by Philip: "We do
not understand about the resurrection, but our mother says she
talked with the Master, and we believe her."
191:0.12 Thomas was in the midst of one of his
typical spells of despairing depression. He slept a portion of the
day and walked over the hills the rest of the time. He felt the
urge to rejoin his fellow apostles, but the desire to be by
himself was the stronger.
191:0.13 The Master put off the first morontia
appearance to the apostles for a number of reasons. First, he
wanted them to have time, after they heard of his resurrection, to
think well over what he had told them about his death and
resurrection when he was still with them in the flesh. The Master
wanted Peter to wrestle through with some of his peculiar
difficulties before he manifested himself to them all. In the
second place, he desired that Thomas should be with them at the
time of his first appearance. John Mark located Thomas at the home
of Simon in Bethpage early this Sunday morning, bringing word to
that effect to the apostles about eleven o'clock. Any time during
this day Thomas would have gone back to them if Nathaniel or any
two of the other apostles had gone for him. He really wanted to
return, but having left as he did the evening before, he was too
proud to go back of his own accord so soon. By the next day he was
so depressed that it required almost a week for him to make up his
mind to return. The apostles waited for him, and he waited for his
brethren to seek him out and ask him to come back to them. Thomas
thus remained away from his associates until the next Saturday
evening, when, after darkness had come on, Peter and John went
over to Bethpage and brought him back with them. And this is also
the reason why they did not go at once to Galilee after Jesus
first appeared to them; they would not go without Thomas.
1. THE APPEARANCE TO PETER
191:1.1 It was near half past eight o'clock this
Sunday evening when Jesus appeared to Simon Peter in the garden of
the Mark home. This was his eighth morontia manifestation. Peter
had lived under a heavy burden of doubt and guilt ever since his
denial of the Master. All day Saturday and this Sunday he had
fought the fear that, perhaps, he was no longer an apostle. He had
shuddered at the fate of Judas and even thought that he, too, had
betrayed his Master. All this afternoon he thought that it might
be his presence with the apostles that prevented Jesus' appearing
to them, provided, of course, he had really risen from the dead.
And it was to Peter, in such a frame of mind and in such a state
of soul, that Jesus appeared as the dejected apostle strolled
among the flowers and shrubs.
191:1.2 When Peter thought of the loving look of
the Master as he passed by on Annas's porch, and as he turned over
in his mind that wonderful message brought him early that morning
by the women who came from the empty tomb, "Go tell my apostles --
and Peter" -- as he contemplated these tokens of mercy, his faith
began to surmount his doubts, and he stood still, clenching his
fists, while he spoke aloud: "I believe he has risen from the
dead; I will go and tell my brethren." And as he said this, there
suddenly appeared in front of him the form of a man, who spoke to
him in familiar tones, saying: "Peter, the enemy desired to have
you, but I would not give you up. I knew it was not from the heart
that you disowned me; therefore I forgave you even before you
asked; but now must you cease to think about yourself and the
troubles of the hour while you prepare to carry the good news of
the gospel to those who sit in darkness. No longer should you be
concerned with what you may obtain from the kingdom but rather be
exercised about what you can give to those who live in dire
spiritual poverty. Gird yourself, Simon, for the battle of a new
day, the struggle with spiritual darkness and the evil doubtings
of the natural minds of men."
191:1.3 Peter and the morontia Jesus walked
through the garden and talked of things past, present, and future
for almost five minutes. Then the Master vanished from his gaze,
saying, "Farewell, Peter, until I see you with your brethren."
191:1.4 For a moment, Peter was overcome by the
realization that he had talked with the risen Master, and that he
could be sure he was still an ambassador of the kingdom. He had
just heard the glorified Master exhort him to go on preaching the
gospel. And with all this welling up within his heart, he rushed
to the upper chamber and into the presence of his fellow apostles,
exclaiming in breathless excitement: "I have seen the Master; he
was in the garden. I talked with him, and he has forgiven me."
191:1.5 Peter's declaration that he had seen
Jesus in the garden made a profound impression upon his fellow
apostles, and they were about ready to surrender their doubts when
Andrew got up and warned them not to be too much influenced by his
brother's report. Andrew intimated that Peter had seen things
which were not real before. Although Andrew did not directly
allude to the vision of the night on the Sea of Galilee wherein
Peter claimed to have seen the Master coming to them walking on
the water, he said enough to betray to all present that he had
this incident in mind. Simon Peter was very much hurt by his
brother's insinuations and immediately lapsed into crestfallen
silence. The twins felt very sorry for Peter, and they both went
over to express their sympathy and to say that they believed him
and to reassert that their own mother had also seen the Master.
2. FIRST APPEARANCE TO THE APOSTLES
191:2.1 Shortly after nine o'clock that evening,
after the departure of Cleopas and Jacob, while the Alpheus twins
comforted Peter, and while Nathaniel remonstrated with Andrew, and
as the ten apostles were there assembled in the upper chamber with
all the doors bolted for fear of arrest, the Master, in morontia
form, suddenly appeared in the midst of them, saying: "Peace be
upon you. Why are you so frightened when I appear, as though you
had seen a spirit? Did I not tell you about these things when I
was present with you in the flesh? Did I not say to you that the
chief priests and the rulers would deliver me up to be killed,
that one of your own number would betray me, and that on the third
day I would rise? Wherefore all your doubtings and all this
discussion about the reports of the women, Cleopas and Jacob, and
even Peter? How long will you doubt my words and refuse to believe
my promises? And now that you actually see me, will you believe?
Even now one of you is absent. When you are gathered together once
more, and after all of you know of a certainty that the Son of Man
has risen from the grave, go hence into Galilee. Have faith in
God; have faith in one another; and so shall you enter into the
new service of the kingdom of heaven. I will tarry in Jerusalem
with you until you are ready to go into Galilee. My peace I leave
with you."
191:2.2 When the morontia Jesus had spoken to
them, he vanished in an instant from their sight. And they all
fell on their faces, praising God and venerating their vanished
Master. This was the Master's ninth morontia appearance.
3. WITH THE MORONTIA CREATURES
191:3.1 The next day, Monday, was spent wholly
with the morontia creatures then present on Urantia. As
participants in the Master's morontia-transition experience, there
had come to Urantia more than one million morontia directors and
associates, together with transition mortals of various orders
from the seven mansion worlds of Satania. The morontia Jesus
sojourned with these splendid intelligences for forty days. He
instructed them and learned from their directors the life of
morontia transition as it is traversed by the mortals of the
inhabited worlds of Satania as they pass through the system
morontia spheres.
191:3.2 About midnight of this Monday the
Master's morontia form was adjusted for transition to the second
stage of morontia progression. When he next appeared to his mortal
children on earth, it was as a second-stage morontia being. As the
Master progressed in the morontia career, it became, technically,
more and more difficult for the morontia intelligences and their
transforming associates to visualize the Master to mortal and
material eyes.
191:3.3 Jesus made the transit to the third
stage of morontia on Friday, April 14; to the fourth stage on
Monday, the 17th; to the fifth stage on Saturday, the 22nd; to the
sixth stage on Thursday, the 27th; to the seventh stage on
Tuesday, May 2; to Jerusem citizenship on Sunday, the 7th; and he
entered the embrace of the Most Highs of Edentia on Sunday, the
14th.
191:3.4 In this manner did Michael of Nebadon
complete his service of universe experience since he had already,
in connection with his previous bestowals, experienced to the full
the life of the ascendant mortals of time and space from the
sojourn on the headquarters of the constellation even on to, and
through, the service of the headquarters of the superuniverse. And
it was by these very morontia experiences that the Creator Son of
Nebadon really finished and acceptably terminated his seventh and
final universe bestowal.
4. THE TENTH APPEARANCE (AT PHILADELPHIA)
191:4.1 The tenth morontia manifestation of
Jesus to mortal recognition occurred a short time after eight
o'clock on Tuesday, April 11, at Philadelphia, where he showed
himself to Abner and Lazarus and some one hundred and fifty of
their associates, including more than fifty of the evangelistic
corps of the seventy. This appearance occurred just after the
opening of a special meeting in the synagogue which had been
called by Abner to discuss the crucifixion of Jesus and the more
recent report of the resurrection which had been brought by
David's messenger. Inasmuch as the resurrected Lazarus was now a
member of this group of believers, it was not difficult for them
to believe the report that Jesus had risen from the dead.
191:4.2 The meeting in the synagogue was just
being opened by Abner and Lazarus, who were standing together in
the pulpit, when the entire audience of believers saw the form of
the Master appear suddenly. He stepped forward from where he had
appeared between Abner and Lazarus, neither of whom had observed
him, and saluting the company, said:
191:4.3 "Peace be upon you. You all know that we
have one Father in heaven, and that there is but one gospel of the
kingdom -- the good news of the gift of eternal life which men
receive by faith. As you rejoice in your loyalty to the gospel,
pray the Father of truth to shed abroad in your hearts a new and
greater love for your brethren. You are to love all men as I have
loved you; you are to serve all men as I have served you. With
understanding sympathy and brotherly affection, fellowship all
your brethren who are dedicated to the proclamation of the good
news, whether they be Jew or gentile, Greek or Roman, Persian or
Ethiopian. John proclaimed the kingdom in advance; you have
preached the gospel in power; the Greeks already teach the good
news; and I am soon to send forth the Spirit of Truth into the
souls of all these, my brethren, who have so unselfishly dedicated
their lives to the enlightenment of their fellows who sit in
spiritual darkness. You are all the children of light; therefore
stumble not into the misunderstanding entanglements of mortal
suspicion and human intolerance. If you are ennobled, by the grace
of faith, to love unbelievers, should you not also equally love
those who are your fellow believers in the far-spreading household
of faith? Remember, as you love one another, all men will know
that you are my disciples.
191:4.4 "Go, then, into all the world
proclaiming this gospel of the fatherhood of God and the
brotherhood of men to all nations and races and ever be wise in
your choice of methods for presenting the good news to the
different races and tribes of mankind. Freely you have received
this gospel of the kingdom, and you will freely give the good news
to all nations. Fear not the resistance of evil, for I am with you
always, even to the end of the ages. And my peace I leave with
you."
191:4.5 When he had said, "My peace I leave with
you," he vanished from their sight. With the exception of one of
his appearances in Galilee, where upward of five hundred believers
saw him at one time, this group in Philadelphia embraced the
largest number of mortals who saw him on any single occasion.
191:4.6 Early the next morning, even while the
apostles tarried in Jerusalem awaiting the emotional recovery of
Thomas, these believers at Philadelphia went forth proclaiming
that Jesus of Nazareth had risen from the dead.
191:4.7 The next day, Wednesday, Jesus spent
without interruption in the society of his morontia associates,
and during the midafternoon hours he received visiting morontia
delegates from the mansion worlds of every local system of
inhabited spheres throughout the constellation of Norlatiadek. And
they all rejoiced to know their Creator as one of their own order
of universe intelligence.
5. SECOND APPEARANCE TO THE APOSTLES
191:5.1 Thomas spent a lonesome week alone with
himself in the hills around about Olivet. During this time he saw
only those at Simon's house and John Mark. It was about nine
o'clock on Saturday, April 15, when the two apostles found him and
took him back with them to their rendezvous at the Mark home. The
next day Thomas listened to the telling of the stories of the
Master's various appearances, but he steadfastly refused to
believe. He maintained that Peter had enthused them into thinking
they had seen the Master. Nathaniel reasoned with him, but it did
no good. There was an emotional stubbornness associated with his
customary doubtfulness, and this state of mind, coupled with his
chagrin at having run away from them, conspired to create a
situation of isolation which even Thomas himself did not fully
understand. He had withdrawn from his fellows, he had gone his own
way, and now, even when he was back among them, he unconsciously
tended to assume an attitude of disagreement. He was slow to
surrender; he disliked to give in. Without intending it, he really
enjoyed the attention paid him; he derived unconscious
satisfaction from the efforts of all his fellows to convince and
convert him. He had missed them for a full week, and he obtained
considerable pleasure from their persistent attentions.
191:5.2 They were having their evening meal a
little after six o'clock, with Peter sitting on one side of Thomas
and Nathaniel on the other, when the doubting apostle said: "I
will not believe unless I see the Master with my own eyes and put
my finger in the mark of the nails." As they thus sat at supper,
and while the doors were securely shut and barred, the morontia
Master suddenly appeared inside the curvature of the table and,
standing directly in front of Thomas, said:
191:5.3 "Peace be upon you. For a full week have
I tarried that I might appear again when you were all present to
hear once more the commission to go into all the world and preach
this gospel of the kingdom. Again I tell you: As the Father sent
me into the world, so send I you. As I have revealed the Father,
so shall you reveal the divine love, not merely with words, but in
your daily living. I send you forth, not to love the souls of men,
but rather to love men. You are not merely to proclaim the
joys of heaven but also to exhibit in your daily experience these
spirit realities of the divine life since you already have eternal
life, as the gift of God, through faith. When you have faith, when
power from on high, the Spirit of Truth, has come upon you, you
will not hide your light here behind closed doors; you will make
known the love and the mercy of God to all mankind. Through fear
you now flee from the facts of a disagreeable experience, but when
you shall have been baptized with the Spirit of Truth, you will
bravely and joyously go forth to meet the new experiences of
proclaiming the good news of eternal life in the kingdom of God.
You may tarry here and in Galilee for a short season while you
recover from the shock of the transition from the false security
of the authority of traditionalism to the new order of the
authority of facts, truth, and faith in the supreme realities of
living experience. Your mission to the world is founded on the
fact that I lived a God-revealing life among you; on the truth
that you and all other men are the sons of God; and it shall
consist in the life which you will live among men -- the actual
and living experience of loving men and serving them, even as I
have loved and served you. Let faith reveal your light to the
world; let the revelation of truth open the eyes blinded by
tradition; let your loving service effectually destroy the
prejudice engendered by ignorance. By so drawing close to your
fellow men in understanding sympathy and with unselfish devotion,
you will lead them into a saving knowledge of the Father's love.
The Jews have extolled goodness; the Greeks have exalted beauty;
the Hindus preach devotion; the far-away ascetics teach reverence;
the Romans demand loyalty; but I require of my disciples life,
even a life of loving service for your brothers in the flesh."
191:5.4 When the Master had so spoken, he looked
down into the face of Thomas and said: "And you, Thomas, who said
you would not believe unless you could see me and put your finger
in the nail marks of my hands, have now beheld me and heard my
words; and though you see no nail marks on my hands, since I am
raised in the form that you also shall have when you depart from
this world, what will you say to your brethren? You will
acknowledge the truth, for already in your heart you had begun to
believe even when you so stoutly asserted your unbelief. Your
doubts, Thomas, always most stubbornly assert themselves just as
they are about to crumble. Thomas, I bid you be not faithless but
believing -- and I know you will believe, even with a whole
heart."
191:5.5 When Thomas heard these words, he fell
on his knees before the morontia Master and exclaimed, "I believe!
My Lord and my Master!" Then said Jesus to Thomas: "You have
believed, Thomas, because you have really seen and heard me.
Blessed are those in the ages to come who will believe even though
they have not seen with the eye of flesh nor heard with the mortal
ear."
191:5.6 And then, as the Master's form moved
over near the head of the table, he addressed them all, saying:
"And now go all of you to Galilee, where I will presently appear
to you." After he said this, he vanished from their sight.
191:5.7 The eleven apostles were now fully
convinced that Jesus had risen from the dead, and very early the
next morning, before the break of day, they started out for
Galilee.
6. THE ALEXANDRIAN APPEARANCE
191:6.1 While the eleven apostles were on the
way to Galilee, drawing near their journey's end, on Tuesday
evening, April 18, at about half past eight o'clock, Jesus
appeared to Rodan and some eighty other believers, in Alexandria.
This was the Master's twelfth appearance in morontia form. Jesus
appeared before these Greeks and Jews at the conclusion of the
report of David's messenger regarding the crucifixion. This
messenger, being the fifth in the Jerusalem-Alexandria relay of
runners, had arrived in Alexandria late that afternoon, and when
he had delivered his message to Rodan, it was decided to call the
believers together to receive this tragic word from the messenger
himself. At about eight o'clock, the messenger, Nathan of Busiris,
came before this group and told them in detail all that had been
told him by the preceding runner. Nathan ended his touching
recital with these words: "But David, who sends us this word,
reports that the Master, in foretelling his death, declared that
he would rise again." Even as Nathan spoke, the morontia Master
appeared there in full view of all. And when Nathan sat down,
Jesus said:
191:6.2
"Peace be upon you. That which my Father
sent me into the world to establish belongs not to a race, a
nation, nor to a special group of teachers or preachers. This
gospel of the kingdom belongs to both Jew and gentile, to rich and
poor, to free and bond, to male and female, even to the little
children. And you are all to proclaim this gospel of love and
truth by the lives which you live in the flesh. You shall love one
another with a new and startling affection, even as I have loved
you. You will serve mankind with a new and amazing devotion, even
as I have served you. And when men see you so love them, and when
they behold how fervently you serve them, they will perceive that
you have become faith-fellows of the kingdom of heaven, and they
will follow after the Spirit of Truth which they see in your
lives, to the finding of eternal salvation.
191:6.3 "As the Father sent me into this world,
even so now send I you. You are all called to carry the good news
to those who sit in darkness. This gospel of the kingdom belongs
to all who believe it; it shall not be committed to the custody of
mere priests. Soon will the Spirit of Truth come upon you, and he
shall lead you into all truth. Go you, therefore, into all the
world preaching this gospel, and lo, I am with you always, even to
the end of the ages."
191:6.4 When the Master had so spoken, he
vanished from their sight. All that night these believers remained
there together recounting their experiences as kingdom believers
and listening to the many words of Rodan and his associates. And
they all believed that Jesus had risen from the dead. Imagine the
surprise of David's herald of the resurrection, who arrived the
second day after this, when they replied to his announcement,
saying: "Yes, we know, for we have seen him. He appeared to us day
before yesterday."