PAPER 166
LAST VISIT TO NORTHERN PEREA
166:0.1
FROM February 11 to 20, Jesus and the twelve made a
tour of all the cities and villages of northern
Perea where the associates of Abner and the members
of the women's corps were working. They found these
messengers of the gospel meeting with success, and
Jesus repeatedly called the attention of his
apostles to the fact that the gospel of the kingdom
could spread without the accompaniment of miracles
and wonders.
166:0.2
This entire mission of three months in Perea was
successfully carried on with little help from the
twelve apostles, and the gospel from this time on
reflected, not so much Jesus' personality, as his
teachings.
But his followers did not long follow his
instructions, for soon after Jesus' death and
resurrection they departed from his teachings and
began to build the early church around the
miraculous concepts and the glorified memories of
his divine-human personality.
1. THE PHARISEES AT RAGABA
166:1.1
On Sabbath, February 18, Jesus was at Ragaba, where
there lived a wealthy Pharisee named Nathaniel; and
since quite a number of his fellow Pharisees were
following Jesus and the twelve around the country,
he made a breakfast on this Sabbath morning for all
of them, about twenty in number, and invited Jesus
as the guest of honor.
166:1.2
By the time Jesus arrived at this breakfast, most of
the Pharisees, with two or three lawyers, were
already there and seated at the table. The Master
immediately took his seat at the left of Nathaniel
without going to the water basins to wash his hands.
Many of the Pharisees, especially those favorable to
Jesus' teachings, knew that he washed his hands only
for purposes of cleanliness, that he abhorred these
purely ceremonial performances; so they were not
surprised at his coming directly to the table
without having twice washed his hands. But Nathaniel
was shocked by this failure of the Master to comply
with the strict requirements of Pharisaic practice.
Neither did Jesus wash his hands, as did the
Pharisees, after each course of food nor at the end
of the meal.
166:1.3
After considerable whispering between Nathaniel and
an unfriendly Pharisee on his right and after much
lifting of eyebrows and sneering curling of lips by
those who sat opposite the Master, Jesus finally
said: "I had thought that you invited me to this
house to break bread with you and perchance to
inquire of me concerning the proclamation of the new
gospel of the kingdom of God; but I perceive that
you have brought me here to witness an exhibition of
ceremonial devotion to your own self-righteousness.
That service you have now done me; what next will
you honor me with as your guest on this occasion?"
166:1.4
When the Master had thus spoken, they cast their
eyes upon the table and remained silent. And since
no one spoke, Jesus continued: "Many of you
Pharisees are here with me as friends, some are even
my disciples, but the majority of the Pharisees are
persistent in their refusal to see the light and
acknowledge the truth, even when the work of the
gospel is brought before them in great power. How
carefully you cleanse the outside of the cups and
the platters while the spiritual-food vessels are
filthy and polluted! You make sure to present a
pious and holy appearance to the people, but your
inner souls are filled with self-righteousness,
covetousness, extortion, and all manner of spiritual
wickedness. Your leaders even dare to plot and plan
the murder of the Son of Man. Do not you foolish men
understand that the God of heaven looks at the inner
motives of the soul as well as on your outer
pretenses and your pious professions? Think not that
the giving of alms and the paying of tithes will
cleanse you from unrighteousness and enable you to
stand clean in the presence of the Judge of all men.
Woe upon you Pharisees who have persisted in
rejecting the light of life! You are meticulous in
tithing and ostentatious in almsgiving, but you
knowingly spurn the visitation of God and reject the
revelation of his love. Though it is all right for
you to give attention to these minor duties, you
should not have left these weightier requirements
undone. Woe upon all who shun justice, spurn mercy,
and reject truth! Woe upon all those who despise the
revelation of the Father while they seek the chief
seats in the synagogue and crave flattering
salutations in the market places!"
166:1.5
When Jesus would have risen to depart, one of the
lawyers who was at the table, addressing him, said:
"But, Master, in some of your statements you
reproach us also. Is there nothing good in the
scribes, the Pharisees, or the lawyers?" And Jesus,
standing, replied to the lawyer: "You, like the
Pharisees, delight in the first places at the feasts
and in wearing long robes while you put heavy
burdens, grievous to be borne, on men's shoulders.
And when the souls of men stagger under these heavy
burdens, you will not so much as lift with one of
your fingers. Woe upon you who take your greatest
delight in building tombs for the prophets your
fathers killed! And that you consent to what your
fathers did is made manifest when you now plan to
kill those who come in this day doing what the
prophets did in their day -- proclaiming the
righteousness of God and revealing the mercy of the
heavenly Father. But of all the generations that are
past, the blood of the prophets and the apostles
shall be required of this perverse and
self-righteous generation. Woe upon all of you
lawyers who have taken away the key of knowledge
from the common people! You yourselves refuse to
enter into the way of truth, and at the same time
you would hinder all others who seek to enter
therein. But you cannot thus shut up the doors of
the kingdom of heaven; these we have opened to all
who have the faith to enter, and these portals of
mercy shall not be closed by the prejudice and
arrogance of false teachers and untrue shepherds who
are like whited sepulchres which, while outwardly
they appear beautiful, are inwardly full of dead
men's bones and all manner of spiritual
uncleanness."
166:1.6
And when Jesus had finished speaking at Nathaniel's
table, he went out of the house without partaking of
food. And of the Pharisees who heard these words,
some became believers in his teaching and entered
into the kingdom, but the larger number persisted in
the way of darkness, becoming all the more
determined to lie in wait for him that they might
catch some of his words which could be used to bring
him to trial and judgment before the Sanhedrin at
Jerusalem.
166:1.7
There were just three things to which the Pharisees
paid particular attention:
1. The practice of strict tithing.
2. Scrupulous observance of the laws of
purification.
3. Avoidance of association with all non-Pharisees.
166:1.8
At this time Jesus sought to expose the spiritual
barrenness of the first two practices, while he
reserved his remarks designed to rebuke the
Pharisees' refusal to engage in social intercourse
with non-Pharisees for another and subsequent
occasion when he would again be dining with many of
these same men.
2. THE TEN LEPERS
166:2.1
The next day Jesus went with the twelve over to
Amathus, near the border of Samaria, and as they
approached the city, they encountered a group of ten
lepers who sojourned near this place. Nine of this
group were Jews, one a Samaritan. Ordinarily these
Jews would have refrained from all association or
contact with this Samaritan, but their common
affliction was more than enough to overcome all
religious prejudice. They had heard much of Jesus
and his earlier miracles of healing, and since the
seventy made a practice of announcing the time of
Jesus' expected arrival when the Master was out with
the twelve on these tours, the ten lepers had been
made aware that he was expected to appear in this
vicinity at about this time; and they were,
accordingly, posted here on the outskirts of the
city where they hoped to attract his attention and
ask for healing. When the lepers saw Jesus drawing
near them, not daring to approach him, they stood
afar off and cried to him: "Master, have mercy on
us; cleanse us from our affliction. Heal us as you
have healed others."
166:2.2
Jesus had just been explaining to the twelve why the
gentiles of Perea, together with the less orthodox
Jews, were more willing to believe the gospel
preached by the seventy than were the more orthodox
and tradition-bound Jews of Judea. He had called
their attention to the fact that their message had
likewise been more readily received by the
Galileans, and even by the Samaritans. But the
twelve apostles were hardly yet willing to entertain
kind feelings for the long-despised Samaritans.
166:2.3
Accordingly, when Simon Zelotes observed the
Samaritan among the lepers, he sought to induce the
Master to pass on into the city without even
hesitating to exchange greetings with them. Said
Jesus to Simon: "But what if the Samaritan loves God
as well as the Jews? Should we sit in judgment on
our fellow men? Who can tell? if we make these ten
men whole, perhaps the Samaritan will prove more
grateful even than the Jews. Do you feel certain
about your opinions, Simon?" And Simon quickly
replied, "If you cleanse them, you will soon find
out." And Jesus replied: "So shall it be, Simon, and
you will soon know the truth regarding the gratitude
of men and the loving mercy of God."
166:2.4
Jesus, going near the lepers, said: "If you would be
made whole, go forthwith and show yourselves to the
priests as required by the law of Moses." And as
they went, they were made whole. But when the
Samaritan saw that he was being healed, he turned
back and, going in quest of Jesus, began to glorify
God with a loud voice. And when he had found the
Master, he fell on his knees at his feet and gave
thanks for his cleansing. The nine others, the Jews,
had also discovered their healing, and while they
also were grateful for their cleansing, they
continued on their way to show themselves to the
priests.
166:2.5
As the Samaritan remained kneeling at Jesus' feet,
the Master, looking about at the twelve, especially
at Simon Zelotes, said: "Were not ten cleansed?
Where, then, are the other nine, the Jews? Only one,
this alien, has returned to give glory to God." And
then he said to the Samaritan, "Arise and go your
way; your faith has made you whole."
166:2.6
Jesus looked again at his apostles as the stranger
departed. And the apostles all looked at Jesus, save
Simon Zelotes, whose eyes were downcast. The twelve
said not a word. Neither did Jesus speak; it was not
necessary that he should.
166:2.7
Though all ten of these men really believed they had
leprosy, only four were thus afflicted. The other
six were cured of a skin disease which had been
mistaken for leprosy. But the Samaritan really had
leprosy.
166:2.8
Jesus enjoined the twelve to say nothing about the
cleansing of the lepers, and as they went on into
Amathus, he remarked: "You see how it is that the
children of the house, even when they are
insubordinate to their Father's will, take their
blessings for granted. They think it a small matter
if they neglect to give thanks when the Father
bestows healing upon them, but the strangers, when
they receive gifts from the head of the house, are
filled with wonder and are constrained to give
thanks in recognition of the good things bestowed
upon them." And still the apostles said nothing in
reply to the Master's words.
3. THE SERMON AT GERASA
166:3.1
As Jesus and the twelve visited with the messengers
of the kingdom at Gerasa, one of the Pharisees who
believed in him asked this question: "Lord, will
there be few or many really saved?" And Jesus,
answering, said:
166:3.2
"You have been taught that only the children of
Abraham will be saved; that only the gentiles of
adoption can hope for salvation. Some of you have
reasoned that, since the Scriptures record that only
Caleb and Joshua from among all the hosts that went
out of Egypt lived to enter the promised land, only
a comparatively few of those who seek the kingdom of
heaven shall find entrance thereto.
166:3.3
"You also have another saying among you, and one
that contains much truth: That the way which leads
to eternal life is straight and narrow, that the
door which leads thereto is likewise narrow so that,
of those who seek salvation, few can find entrance
through this door. You also have a teaching that the
way which leads to destruction is broad, that the
entrance thereto is wide, and that there are many
who choose to go this way. And this proverb is not
without its meaning. But I declare that salvation is
first a matter of your personal choosing. Even if
the door to the way of life is narrow, it is wide
enough to admit all who sincerely seek to enter, for
I am that door. And the Son will never refuse
entrance to any child of the universe who, by faith,
seeks to find the Father through the Son.
166:3.4
"But herein is the danger to all who would postpone
their entrance into the kingdom while they continue
to pursue the pleasures of immaturity and indulge
the satisfactions of selfishness: Having refused to
enter the kingdom as a spiritual experience, they
may subsequently seek entrance thereto when the
glory of the better way becomes revealed in the age
to come. And when, therefore, those who spurned the
kingdom when I came in the likeness of humanity seek
to find an entrance when it is revealed in the
likeness of divinity, then will I say to all such
selfish ones: I know not whence you are. You had
your chance to prepare for this heavenly
citizenship, but you refused all such proffers of
mercy; you rejected all invitations to come while
the door was open. Now, to you who have refused
salvation, the door is shut. This door is not open
to those who would enter the kingdom for selfish
glory. Salvation is not for those who are unwilling
to pay the price of wholehearted dedication to doing
my Father's will. When in spirit and soul you have
turned your backs upon the Father's kingdom, it is
useless in mind and body to stand before this door
and knock, saying, `Lord open to us; we would also
be great in the kingdom.' Then will I declare that
you are not of my fold. I will not receive you to be
among those who have fought the good fight of faith
and won the reward of unselfish service in the
kingdom on earth. And when you say, `Did we not eat
and drink with you, and did you not teach in our
streets?' then shall I again declare that you are
spiritual strangers; that we were not fellow
servants in the Father's ministry of mercy on earth;
that I do not know you; and then shall the Judge of
all the earth say to you: `Depart from us, all you
who have taken delight in the works of iniquity.'
166:3.5
"But fear not; every one who sincerely desires to
find eternal life by entrance into the kingdom of
God shall certainly find such everlasting salvation.
But you who refuse this salvation will some day see
the prophets of the seed of Abraham sit down with
the believers of the gentile nations in this
glorified kingdom to partake of the bread of life
and to refresh themselves with the water thereof.
And they who shall thus take the kingdom in
spiritual power and by the persistent assaults of
living faith will come from the north and the south
and from the east and the west. And, behold, many
who are first will be last, and those who are last
will many times be first."
166:3.6
This was indeed a new and strange version of the old
and familiar proverb of the straight and narrow way.
166:3.7
Slowly the apostles and many of the disciples were
learning the meaning of Jesus' early declaration:
"Unless you are born again, born of the spirit, you
cannot enter the kingdom of God." Nevertheless, to
all who are honest of heart and sincere in faith, it
remains eternally true: "Behold, I stand at the
doors of men's hearts and knock, and if any man will
open to me, I will come in and sup with him and will
feed him with the bread of life; we shall be one in
spirit and purpose, and so shall we ever be brethren
in the long and fruitful service of the search for
the Paradise Father." And so, whether few or many
are to be saved altogether depends on whether few or
many will heed the invitation: "I am the door, I am
the new and living way, and whosoever wills may
enter to embark upon the endless truth-search for
eternal life."
166:3.8
Even the apostles were unable fully to comprehend
his teaching as to the necessity for using spiritual
force for the purpose of breaking through all
material resistance and for surmounting every
earthly obstacle which might chance to stand in the
way of grasping the all-important spiritual values
of the new life in the spirit as the liberated sons
of God.
4. TEACHING ABOUT ACCIDENTS
166:4.1
While most Palestinians ate only two meals a day, it
was the custom of Jesus and the apostles, when on a
journey, to pause at midday for rest and
refreshment. And it was at such a noontide stop on
the way to Philadelphia that Thomas asked Jesus:
"Master, from hearing your remarks as we journeyed
this morning, I would like to inquire whether
spiritual beings are concerned in the production of
strange and extraordinary events in the material
world and, further, to ask whether the angels and
other spirit beings are able to prevent accidents."
166:4.2
In answer to Thomas's inquiry, Jesus said: "Have I
been so long with you, and yet you continue to ask
me such questions? Have you failed to observe how
the Son of Man lives as one with you and
consistently refuses to employ the forces of heaven
for his personal sustenance? Do we not all live by
the same means whereby all men exist? Do you see the
power of the spiritual world manifested in the
material life of this world, save for the revelation
of the Father and the sometime healing of his
afflicted children?
166:4.3
"All too long have your fathers believed that
prosperity was the token of divine approval; that
adversity was the proof of God's displeasure. I
declare that such beliefs are superstitions. Do you
not observe that far greater numbers of the poor
joyfully receive the gospel and immediately enter
the kingdom? If riches evidence divine favor, why do
the rich so many times refuse to believe this good
news from heaven?
166:4.4
"The Father causes his rain to fall on the just and
the unjust; the sun likewise shines on the righteous
and the unrighteous. You know about those Galileans
whose blood Pilate mingled with the sacrifices, but
I tell you these Galileans were not in any manner
sinners above all their fellows just because this
happened to them. You also know about the eighteen
men upon whom the tower of Siloam fell, killing
them. Think not that these men who were thus
destroyed were offenders above all their brethren in
Jerusalem. These folks were simply innocent victims
of one of the accidents of time.
166:4.5
"There are three groups of events which may occur in
your lives:
166:4.6
"1. You may share in those normal happenings which
are a part of the life you and your fellows live on
the face of the earth.
166:4.7
"2. You may chance to fall victim to one of the
accidents of nature, one of the mischances of men,
knowing full well that such occurrences are in no
way prearranged or otherwise produced by the
spiritual forces of the realm.
166:4.8
"3. You may reap the harvest of your direct efforts
to comply with the natural laws governing the world.
166:4.9
"There was a certain man who planted a fig tree in
his yard, and when he had many times sought fruit
thereon and found none, he called the vinedressers
before him and said: `Here have I come these three
seasons looking for fruit on this fig tree and have
found none. Cut down this barren tree; why should it
encumber the ground?' But the head gardener answered
his master: `Let it alone for one more year so that
I may dig around it and put on fertilizer, and then,
next year, if it bears no fruit, it shall be cut
down.' And when they had thus complied with the laws
of fruitfulness, since the tree was living and good,
they were rewarded with an abundant yield.
166:4.10
"In the matter of sickness and health, you should
know that these bodily states are the result of
material causes; health is not the smile of heaven,
neither is affliction the frown of God.
166:4.11
"The Father's human children have equal capacity for
the reception of material blessings; therefore does
he bestow things physical upon the children of men
without discrimination. When it comes to the
bestowal of spiritual gifts, the Father is limited
by man's capacity for receiving these divine
endowments. Although the Father is no respecter of
persons, in the bestowal of spiritual gifts he is
limited by man's faith and by his willingness always
to abide by the Father's will."
166:4.12
As they journeyed on toward Philadelphia, Jesus
continued to teach them and to answer their
questions having to do with accidents, sickness, and
miracles, but they were not able fully to comprehend
this instruction. One hour of teaching will not
wholly change the beliefs of a lifetime, and so
Jesus found it necessary to reiterate his message,
to tell again and again that which he wished them to
understand; and even then they failed to grasp the
meaning of his earth mission until after his death
and resurrection.
5. THE CONGREGATION AT PHILADELPHIA
166:5.1
Jesus and the twelve were on their way to visit
Abner and his associates, who were preaching and
teaching in Philadelphia. Of all the cities of
Perea, in Philadelphia the largest group of Jews and
gentiles, rich and poor, learned and unlearned,
embraced the teachings of the seventy, thereby
entering into the kingdom of heaven. The synagogue
of Philadelphia had never been subject to the
supervision of the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem and
therefore had never been closed to the teachings of
Jesus and his associates. At this very time, Abner
was teaching three times a day in the Philadelphia
synagogue.
166:5.2
This very synagogue later on became a Christian
church and was the missionary headquarters for the
promulgation of the gospel through the regions to
the east. It was long a stronghold of the Master's
teachings and stood alone in this region as a center
of Christian learning for centuries.
166:5.3
The Jews at Jerusalem had always had trouble with
the Jews of Philadelphia. And after the death and
resurrection of Jesus the Jerusalem church, of which
James the Lord's brother was head, began to have
serious difficulties with the Philadelphia
congregation of believers. Abner became the head of
the Philadelphia church, continuing as such until
his death. And this estrangement with Jerusalem
explains why nothing is heard of Abner and his work
in the Gospel records of the New Testament. This
feud between Jerusalem and Philadelphia lasted
throughout the lifetimes of James and Abner and
continued for some time after the destruction of
Jerusalem. Philadelphia was really the headquarters
of the early church in the south and east as Antioch
was in the north and west.
166:5.4
It was the apparent misfortune of Abner to be at
variance with all of the leaders of the early
Christian church. He fell out with Peter and James
(Jesus' brother) over questions of administration
and the jurisdiction of the Jerusalem church; he
parted company with Paul over differences of
philosophy and theology. Abner was more Babylonian
than Hellenic in his philosophy, and he stubbornly
resisted all attempts of Paul to remake the
teachings of Jesus so as to present less that was
objectionable, first to the Jews, then to the
Greco-Roman believers in the mysteries.
166:5.5
Thus was Abner compelled to live a life of
isolation. He was head of a church which was without
standing at Jerusalem. He had dared to defy James
the Lord's brother, who was subsequently supported
by Peter. Such conduct effectively separated him
from all his former associates. Then he dared to
withstand Paul. Although he was wholly sympathetic
with Paul in his mission to the gentiles, and though
he supported him in his contentions with the church
at Jerusalem, he bitterly opposed the version of
Jesus' teachings which Paul elected to preach. In
his last years Abner denounced Paul as the "clever
corrupter of the life teachings of Jesus of
Nazareth, the Son of the living God."
166:5.6
During the later years of Abner and for some time
thereafter, the believers at Philadelphia held more
strictly to the religion of Jesus, as he lived and
taught, than any other group on earth.
166:5.7
Abner lived to be 89 years old, dying at
Philadelphia on the 21st day of November, A.D. 74.
And to the very end he was a faithful believer in,
and teacher of, the gospel of the heavenly kingdom.
*
|