Ch. 17, Training the Kingdom’s Messengers
“Son of Man: Urantia,” 2nd edition
Training the Kingdom’s Messengers
The afternoon after Jesus gave his sermon on the kingdom of God, he explained his plan to the apostles: they were going to start right where they were at with the cities around the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had decided that he was not going to include any of his close relatives as apostles, so Jude and James who had been part of Jesus’ inner circle with the other six were not invited to this meeting. The two brothers were offended at being excluded, and this event along with what appeared to Jesus’ family as coolness around his mother since Cana initiated a separation between Jesus and his family that would continue throughout his time on Earth.
The family’s feelings of personal slight and their lack of understanding became so bad that they almost rejected Jesus, and they did not resolve their doubts about him until after his death and resurrection. Mary was the worst in this regard, and she was always wavering between faith and despair. The only family member that held true to Jesus throughout his entire life was little Ruth, who never once waivered in her loyalty to her brother-father. If a prophet is not without honor except in his own country, he is not without understanding appreciation except in his own family.
Final Instructions
The next day was Sunday, June 23, A.D. 26. Jesus called his six apostles together and gave them their final instructions before they began the Father’s work. Jesus told them that they were to work in pairs as they went out and taught the joys of the kingdom of God. They were not allowed to baptize people, and Jesus strongly advised them not to preach in public. He said later, yes, they would speak to the masses, but in the beginning Jesus wanted them to gain experience dealing with people one on one. This first time out teaching was supposed to be entirely personal. All of these restrictions were a disappointment for the apostles but they understood.
At the end of his instructions, Jesus told the apostles that he wanted to ordain six more men to carry on the kingdom’s work after he left them. He gave each of the original six the right to select one man out of the people they would meet on their mission. John spoke up, and asked Jesus if these new men were going to be equal in status to the original six, hinting that they should not be because he and the others had been with Jesus since the start. But Jesus said that yes, everyone was going to hold equal status and that they, the original six, were going to teach the new men what they needed to know to catch up, just like he, Jesus, had taught them. Then before ending the meeting Jesus told John and James to go to Kheresa; Peter and Andrew to go to Capernaum, and Philip and Nathanial to go to Tarichea. They all agreed to meet at Zebedee’s house in two weeks.
After Jesus left, the apostles discussed his instructions to bring six more men into their group; they were perturbed that they were going to be equals. Finally, Andrew won everyone over by reminding them that the Master was entrusting them to pick these six new men, and as such he was showing tremendous confidence in his original six apostles. Still, they were all depressed as they left on their first two-week mission: they were timid and scared and this was not what they thought they would be doing. Jesus meanwhile, headed over to Nazareth to visit his family: he did all he could to keep their love and faith in him. John the Baptist, who was still stuck in prison, was also on Jesus’ mind. He wanted to use his powers to get John out but again he decided to wait on his Father’s will.
Choosing the Six
The apostles returned wiser men from their first couple of weeks working one on one with the people. They now better understood that true religion was completely a personal experience with God. They sensed the common people’s need to hear words of spiritual joy and religious comfort. Once they had gathered around Jesus, Andrew took charge and let each of them present their experiences and submit their nomination for a new apostle. Jesus in turn had the six vote on each of the men that they nominated, and in this way each new man was formally accepted by all of the original apostles. He then said that in the morning they would call each of these nominees to service.
The six chosen men were Matthew Levi, the customs collector for Capernaum who had his office just to the east of the city near the borders of Batanea: he was selected by Andrew; Thomas Didymus, a fisherman from Tarichea who had been a carpenter and stone mason in Gadara: he was selected by Philip; James Alpheus, a farmer and fisherman from Kheresa: he was selected by James Zebedee; Judas Alpheus, the twin brother of James Alpheus and also a fisherman: he was selected by John Zebedee; Simon Zelotes, before a merchant and then a high officer in the Jewish patriotic group the Zealots, a position that he gave up to join Jesus’ apostles: he was selected by Peter, and Judas Iscariot, the only son of wealthy Jewish parents who lived in Jericho. When Judas had joined John the Baptist, his parents who were Sadducees disowned him. Judas was looking for a job when Jesus’ apostles found him, and it was mostly because of his accounting experience that Nathaniel invited him to join the group. Judas Iscariot was the only Judean of the twelve apostles.
Calling on Matthew and Simon
The next morning they all first went to Matthew’s office. He was the tax man: the customs collector. By the time that Jesus and the six arrived, Matthew had already balanced his books and prepared them to hand over to his brother. Jesus and Andrew went up to Matthew, and looking into his eyes Jesus said “Follow me.” Then they all went to Matthew’s house for lunch where he asked Jesus if he could hold a dinner party that night in his honor, to which Jesus agreed. The second nominee they called on was Simon the Zealot, Peter’s choice. When Jesus met Simon all he said was, “Follow me.” Then they all went back to Matthew’s house and talked about religion and politics until it was time for dinner.
Many of Matthew’s friends were what the Pharisees called sinners and publicans. At the time, feasts given for important people were not private events: the custom was to allow the common people to cluster around the table and listen in on the conversations that took place, even though they had not been formally invited. Because of this, most of the Pharisees in Capernaum showed up at this somewhat unusual event to listen to Jesus.
As the evening wore on the guests enjoyed themselves: everyone, including Jesus, became carefree and lighthearted. When the Pharisees saw Jesus and the guests having such a good time, in their hearts they began to turn against Jesus. Eventually, one of them took Peter aside and chastised him saying “How dare you to teach that this man is righteous when he eats with sinners and publicans, and enjoys such scenes of careless pleasure.”
Peter then told Jesus what the Pharisee had said. Later, at the end of the evening just before Jesus gave blessed those at the party, he said “In coming here tonight to welcome Simon and Matthew to our fellowship, I am glad to witness your social good cheer and lightheartedness. But you should rejoice even more because many of you will find entrance into the coming kingdom of the spirit wherein you will more abundantly enjoy the good things of the kingdom of heaven. And to those of you who stand about criticizing me in your hearts because I have come here to enjoy myself with these friends, let me say that I have come to announce joy to the socially downtrodden and spiritual liberty to the moral captives. Do I have to remind you that it is not healthy people who need a doctor, but rather those who are sick? I have not come to call the righteous, but rather the sinners.”
It was a strange night for everyone in attendance. Jews who were considered to be holy or righteous did not associate with the common people, and especially not with irreligious pleasure seeking sinners and publicans. And when these people left the house that night, all they could talk about was Jesus and how friendly he had been.
Calling the Twins
The next morning the nine took a boat and went to Kheresa to call the next two apostles to service. These two brothers, Judas and James, were the twin sons of Alpheus; they had been nominated by John and James Zebedee. They were also fishermen and were both waiting on the shore when Jesus and the eight apostles beached their boat. James introduced the twins to Jesus, and he just nodded to them saying “Follow me.”
Later that afternoon Jesus spoke to the apostles about how to handle events like had occurred the night before at Matthew’s dinner party. Ending his talk, Jesus said “All people are my brothers. My Father in heaven does not despise any creature of our making. The kingdom of heaven is open to all men and women. No person can close the door of mercy in the face of any hungry soul who seeks to gain entrance. We will sit at meat with everyone who desires to hear about the kingdom. As our Father in heaven looks down on people, they are all alike. Therefore do not refuse to break bread with a sinner or Pharisee, publican or Sadducee, Jew or Roman, rich or poor, free or bond. The door of the kingdom is wide open for all who desire to find God and know the truth.
After dinner that night—they were staying at the twin’s house—Jesus gave the apostles their first lesson on the origin, nature, and destiny of unclean spirits. But none of them grasped the importance of what he said. While the apostles found it easy to love and admire Jesus, they had a difficult time understanding him.
Calling Judas and Thomas
In the morning Jesus and the ten rowed to Tarichea. Thomas the fisherman and Judas the wanderer met them at the boat landing. From there Thomas led them to his home close by. After arriving at Thomas’ house, Philip presented him to Jesus as his nominee for apostleship. Jesus looked Thomas in the eye and said “Thomas, you lack faith; nevertheless, I receive you. Follow me.” Nathaniel then brought Judas Iscariot to Jesus as his choice to be the final apostle. Jesus looked at Judas and said “Judas, we are all of one flesh, and as I receive you into our midst I pray that you will always be loyal to your Galilean brethren. Follow me.”
After the group had eaten, Jesus gathered them together for another talk about his mission and the nature of the Holy Spirit. Again the apostles did not understand. They each grasped parts of his lesson, but none of them could put aside their lifelong beliefs about the coming messiah. They could not comprehend that Jesus had come to announce a new gospel of salvation and to establish a new way of finding God: they did not realize that it was Jesus himself who was the new revelation of the Father in heaven.
The next day Jesus left the apostles to themselves to become acquainted. After dinner he taught them about angels and their role in the kingdom. Zebedee and his wife, Salome, had moved out of their home so that Jesus and the twelve could use it. That Saturday they spent a quiet day in the house discussing how to announce the coming kingdom of God. In his instructions, Jesus emphasized that they were not to argue with the authorities, telling them “If the civil rulers are to be challenged, leave that task to me. See that you make no denunciations of Caesar or his servants.”
Later that night Judas Iscariot took Jesus aside and asked him why he was not doing anything to get John released from prison. It is not known exactly what Jesus said to Judas, but he was not satisfied with Jesus’ attitude or his answer.
The Week of Intensive Training
Jesus devoted the next week to teaching the new apostles. They worked in pairs with the original six each teaching the new apostle he had selected. In the evenings they met in Zebedee’s garden where Jesus would instruct them all together. It was during this week of intense training that Jesus established the weekly routine for the remainder of his mission, which included taking off every Wednesday so the apostles could relax and enjoy themselves. On these days Jesus would usually go off by himself telling his apostles, “My children, go for a day of play. Rest yourselves from the hard labors of the kingdom, and enjoy your former lives or find something new to do.” Even though Jesus himself did not need to rest one day a week, he knew that humans did. Jesus was the teacher, the Master; his associates were his pupils, the disciples.
Jesus spoke much about the difference between his gospel and teaching the people about him, Jesus the man-God. Jesus insisted that the primary focus of their message had to be the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, not stories about him: he emphasized that they were to show the people through their lives his revelation of God the Father. They were not to get sidetracked into creating legends about him, or building up a cult of beliefs and teachings about his beliefs and teachings. But again the apostles did not understand and none dared to question him.
In these first lessons Jesus did not worry about most of their mistakes, except when it came to clarifying their ideas about God the Father. In these cases he was direct and absolutely clear: his reason for remaining on the Earth after he had been baptized by John was singular—to demonstrate to humanity through his life on Earth the higher truths about God and the path of faith and love we have to follow to become one with him. Jesus always told his apostles, “Go seek for the sinners; comfort the anxious and find the downhearted.”
Jesus knew his apostles were confused, and he knew that he had unlimited power to do whatever he desired to ensure that his message reached the world. But Jesus let the apostles work things out for themselves despite their human failings. While Jesus’ mission had huge and dramatic possibilities, he insisted on doing his Father’s will in the quietest and most undramatic way possible. He was intent on not using his powers to win over humanity. For the next several months they all kept a low profile as they worked with the people around the Sea of Galilee.
Another Disappointment
Jesus had planned for the apostles to work quietly in the immediate area for about five months to gain experience for the mission ahead. He had not yet told the apostles his plan when on the morning he was going to do so Simon Peter, James Zebedee, and Judas Iscariot asked to talk with him. After the three took Jesus aside, Peter said “Master, we come at the behest of our associates to inquire whether the time is not now ripe to enter into the kingdom. And will you announce the kingdom at Capernaum, or are we to move on to Jerusalem? And when will we learn the positions that each of us are to occupy with you in the establishment of the kingdom…”
Jesus held up his hand and stopped Peter from speaking further. Looking over at the rest of the apostles standing close by, he waved them over. When everyone had gathered around, Jesus said “My little children, how long will I bear with you! Have I not made it plain to you that my kingdom is not of this world? I have told you many times that I have not come to sit on David’s throne, and now you are asking me what place each of you will occupy in the Father’s kingdom? Can you not see that I have called you as ambassadors of a spiritual kingdom? Do you not understand that soon, very soon, you will represent me in the world and announce the kingdom of God, even as I now represent my Father who is in heaven? Can it be that I have chosen and instructed you as messengers of the kingdom, and yet you do not comprehend the nature and significance of this coming kingdom of divine pre-eminence in the hearts of humanity? My friends, hear me once more: get out of your minds this idea that my kingdom is a rule of power or a reign of glory. Indeed, all power in heaven and on Earth will soon be mine, but it is not the Father’s will that we use this divine ability to glorify ourselves here and now. In another age you will indeed sit with me in power and glory, but it is best for us right now to submit to the Father’s will and to go forth humbly obedient to that will on Earth.”
And again they apostles were stunned. Jesus paired them up and sent them off to pray, telling them to come back and meet with him at noon. This they did, each in his own way seeking for God and each trying to support his partner.
At noon when they had all gathered back around Jesus, he was serious as he reminded them of many events in their recent past: the coming of John, the baptism in the Jordan, the marriage feast at Cana, the recent choosing of the original six, not letting his own brothers in the flesh become apostles, and his warning that God’s enemies would try and take them from him. After Jesus spoke, all of the apostles stood up; then under Peter’s leadership they declared their undying devotion to Jesus and pledged their loyalty to the kingdom—or as Thomas put it, “To this coming kingdom no matter what it is and even if I do not understand it.” The apostles all believed in Jesus, even though they could not understand his lessons.
Jesus asked how much money the apostles had between themselves, and if they had made plans to care of their families while they were out working with the people. As it turned out, they only had enough money for the next two weeks. Jesus said it was not his Father’s will that they start out broke, so he told them they were staying on the coast for a couple of weeks to fish or take whatever other work they could find. He told Andrew to organize the twelve and their finances so they had what they needed for both their present personal work and for later when they would be out by themselves. This was the first direct statement by Jesus that they were going to be more assertive when speaking to the people.
The apostles spent the rest of the day preparing to fish in the morning. Over the next several years many of the boats they would use had been built by Jesus when he was working in Zebedee’s shop. For the next five months, right up until the end of this year A.D. 26, they fished for two weeks to support themselves and then went out and worked with the people for two weeks—or as Jesus put it, they went forth to become fishers of men. The apostles fished in three boats and Jesus went out with a different group each night. These were fun and exciting times for Jesus and the twelve: he was not only a good fisherman, Jesus was a cheerful and inspiring friend. The more they all worked with Jesus the more they all loved him. One day Matthew even said “The more you understand some people the less you admire them, but with this man, the less I understand him the more I love him.”
The Twelve’s First Work
Judas Iscariot was chosen to be the treasurer for the twelve. After money for everyone’s family had been set aside he divided the remainder into six equal portions. It was the middle of August, and Andrew assigned each of the pairs their area to work around the Sea of Galilee. For the first two weeks Jesus went out with Peter and Andrew, for the second two weeks he went with John and James, and so on in the same order that they had all come into the group. In this way Jesus was able to spend time with each of them before they began their later public work.
The Jews taught that sins were forgiven through so-called good works. Jesus taught that sins are forgiven simply through faith in God; that there is no need for sacrifice or for someone to pay a debt for their sins. God the Father in heaven loves all his children with the same eternal love. Faith, and the rebirth of the person’s mind that comes with it, is the only admission into the kingdom of heaven. Where John had taught them “repentance—to flee from the wrath to come,” Jesus taught them “Faith is the open door for entering into the perfect, present, and eternal love of God.”
Jesus told the twelve apostles that they were not to discuss three things. The first was John the Baptist, his work, or his imprisonment. Second, the spiritual voice that was heard when he was baptized in the Jordan River: regarding that event, Jesus said that only the people who were actually there and heard the voice were allowed to speak of it. Jesus went on and cautioned his apostles to only teach people what they had heard directly from him, nothing else. And third, Jesus forbid them from telling anyone about him turning the water into wine at the wedding in Cana.
The people were amazed with Jesus and his apostles. The rabbis had always insisted that common people with no formal education could not be so devoted to God, or live such righteous lives. Yet right here in front of them were the twelve apostles, all happily ignorant of what the rabbis knew but at the same time each one of them was completely devoted to God and righteous in his life and work.
Jesus did not speak like a prophet, one who comes to declare the word of God: he spoke with the actual authority to speak the word of God. Rather than looking for God in miracles, Jesus taught people to find him through the real and personal spirit of love and saving grace that was then and there in their minds. Jesus showed deep respect and sympathy for everyone he met, regardless of their age, gender, or status in life: he gave no one preference. When it came to women his manner shocked the apostles, but Jesus made it clear that women were to be accorded equal rights with men in the kingdom. He always made the individual the absolute focus of his efforts. Jesus would pause a meeting to play with a little child that interrupted the group, or to cheer a woman passing by carrying too much on her body and soul. Jesus was more than just a master and teacher—he was also a friend, a neighbor, and an understanding confidant. While Jesus taught the people with parables and short stories, he educated the apostles through his question and answer sessions.
Five Months of Testing
As the five months wore on the monotony stressed all twelve of the apostles. They were human, and tended to have doubts and grumble and get depressed at times like everyone else, but they survived and they all remained loyal to Jesus and their vows. It was this period of actually being in contact with Jesus—experiencing his love and devotion—that held them together all the way through the darkest hours of his trial and crucifixion, except in the end for Judas Iscariot. During this five months Jesus became the best friend of each of his apostles. It was not logic, reason, or his teachings that held the apostles together through the darkest hours of his death, but rather their tremendous love for Jesus the man.
This period of little public activity around the Sea of Galilee was also difficult on Jesus’ family. By the time he and the apostles were ready to start their work in public, his entire family (except Ruth) had practically given up on him. They only tried to contact Jesus a few times after this, and it was always to try and get him to come home. They were close to thinking he was crazy: his own flesh and blood family could not understand him or his mission.
Organizing the Twelve
Andrew, the first chosen apostle, was designated chairman and director general. John, Peter, and James were appointed Jesus’ personal companions: their job was to take care of him day and night, and accompany him when he would go off by himself to pray and have his mysterious conversations with our Father in heaven. Philip was made steward of the group: it was his duty to keep everyone fed and ensure that the crowds that came to hear Jesus had something to eat. Nathaniel took care of the twelve’s families: he received regular reports on their needs and after getting the money from Judas had it sent to them each week. Matthew was in charge of the budget and keeping money in the treasury; if there was not enough funds and donations were low, Matthew had the authority to order the twelve back to their nets until the treasury was full. But he never had to do this: Matthew always had enough money to handle their needs. Thomas managed the itinerary: he arranged for places to stay and teach, and made sure the schedule went smoothly. Judas and James, the Alpheus twins, were assigned to direct the crowds: it was their job to deputize helpers to keep order during the sermons. Simon Zelotes was in charge of rest and recreation, and managed the apostles’ activities on Wednesdays. Judas Iscariot was appointed treasurer: he held the money, paid all expenses, and kept the books giving Matthew weekly budget estimates so he could report them to Andrew.
On Sunday, January 12, A.D. 27 Jesus called the twelve together and formally ordained them as his apostles—ambassadors of the kingdom and preachers of its good news. Then they prepared to go to Judea and Jerusalem for their first public preaching tour.