Ch. 21, The Passover at Jerusalem
“Son of Man: Urantia,” 2nd edition
The Passover at Jerusalem
Throughout the month of April, Jesus and the apostles spent their nights in Bethany and went into Jerusalem during the day. A couple of nights each week Jesus would stay over in Jerusalem with a friend named Flavius, a Greek Jew. There at his house many other prominent Jews came in secret to meet and talk with Jesus.
The first day that they were all in Jerusalem Jesus visited his old friend, Annas. This was the relative of Salome, Zebedee’s wife, who had at one time been the high priest of Jerusalem. Annas had become worried about Jesus over the years since he had last seen him, and he was reserved when Jesus showed up at his house to visit. Jesus immediately sensed his coolness and decided to leave, but before doing so he looked at Annas and told him that fear is people’s primary enslaver and that pride is their greatest downfall. Jesus then asked Annas if he wanted to enslave himself to these destroyers of joy and liberty, but Annas remained quiet and made no reply. Jesus left and he did not see Annas again until the trial when Annas and his son-in-law judged the Son of Man.
Teaching in the Temple
Every day either Jesus or one of the apostles would teach in the temple, and when there were too many people to fit inside the building they set up camps outside. Their message was simple: the kingdom of heaven is here. Having faith in the fatherhood of God makes you sons of God, and you can then enter the kingdom. The rule for living in the kingdom is complete devotion to God and loving your neighbor as yourself. The people were taught that by choosing God’s will they would demonstrate the joys of the Spirit in their lives, and that was the law of the kingdom of heaven. The large crowds who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover were thrilled to hear Jesus’ message, but the rabbis were concerned about all the commotion and they started discussing how to handle Jesus and his apostles. This month-long period of people from distant lands celebrating the Passover initiated the spread of the gospel to the outside world when they took it back to their home countries.
God’s Wrath
Attending the Passover was a wealthy Jewish trader from Crete named Jacob. He was confused about Jesus’ gospel and wanted to talk with him, so Andrew set up a secret meeting with Jesus at Flavius’ house. Jacob started the conversation, and said “But rabbi, Moses and the prophets tell us that Yahweh is a jealous God, a God of fierce anger and immense wrath. The prophets say he hates evildoers and takes vengeance on those who do not obey his law. But you and your disciples teach us that God is a kind and compassionate Father who loves everyone so much that he would welcome them into this new kingdom of heaven that you tell us is so near at hand.”
Jesus told Jacob he was correct. The old prophets had taught people to fear God because that was all they knew about God. Jesus said that our Father in Paradise is changeless but our understanding of God does change, like how it grew from Moses’ time to that of the prophet Isaiah. And now he, Jesus, had come in the flesh to teach people even more—to reveal God the Father in new glory and to show his love and mercy to all mortals on Earth and on all other worlds.
As the gospel of this kingdom spreads across the world with its message of goodwill for all people, relations among nations will improve. With time fathers and their children will love each other more and thus we will better understand the love our Father in heaven has for us. Jesus told Jacob to remember that a good father not only loves his family as a whole, but he also loves and cares for each person in that family without favor.
After Jesus and Jacob had talked for quite a while, Jesus said “You Jacob, being a father of many children know my words are true.” That comment startled Jacob, and he asked Jesus who it was that had told him he was a father of six children? Jesus just said it is enough to know that the Father and the Son see and know all things. Jesus continued, and told Jacob that since he had the experience of loving each of his children as a mortal father, he now had to accept the reality of the heavenly Father loving him—not just the family of Abraham—but him, Jacob, the eternal and individual soul. Furthermore, Jesus explained that when young children are scolded for doing something wrong that they may think their parents will hold their errors against them, and they think that way because they are immature children but as adults they know that in the past you guided them out of love. Jesus said it is the same with humanity: that over the centuries we were expected to mature as a race and better understand our relationship with God. We gain nothing from holding on to the old ideas that Moses and the prophets taught. Jesus told Jacob that in light of this new knowledge of God he should see God differently than any of the prophets did in the past: that he should rejoice in entering the kingdom and allow God’s love to dominate his life forever. Jacob said that he believed, and that he wanted Jesus to lead him into the kingdom of heaven.
The Concept of God
Most of the apostles were present when Jesus spoke to Jacob about God. Afterwards they had many questions. Jesus scolded them for not already knowing the Jewish traditions of Yahweh’s evolution and the past scriptures on God’s doctrine, then he continued. First, there was the idea of Yahweh: this was the primitive god of the Sinai clans. Moses elevated Yahweh to the higher level of Lord God of Israel. Jesus told the apostles that the Father always accepts the sincere worship of his mortal children, no matter how crude it may be or by what name they call him.
Then came The Most High, the enlarged idea of deity that Melchizedek gave to Abraham and that he carried far and wide from Salem. Abraham and his brother had left Ur because the people worshiped the sun, and instead they became believers in Melchizedek’s teaching of El Elyon—the Most High God. This was a patched together concept that blended older Mesopotamian ideas of God with Melchizedek’s doctrine of the Most High. Third was El Shaddai. This was the Egyptian God that the Jews learned about during their captivity. Long after Melchizedek these three concepts blended to form the doctrine of the creator Deity, the Lord God of Israel.
The fourth evolutionary stage of God was Elohim. The teachings about the Paradise Trinity have been around since Adam’s time. Jesus had his apostles remember that the scriptures open with, “In the beginning the Gods created the heavens and the Earth.” He said this indicates that when those words were written the Trinity concept of three Gods in one was already part of their ancestor’s religion. The next evolution of God was The Supreme Yahweh. By the times of Isaiah the Jewish concept of God expanded to a Universal Creator who was simultaneously all-powerful and all-merciful. This more evolved idea of God replaced all previous beliefs. The final stage in understanding God is The Father in heaven. This new teaching provides a religion where the believer is in fact a son of God, and that is the good news of the gospel. Existing along with the Father are the Son and the Spirit, and the revelation of these Paradise Deities will continue to enlarge over time. At any point in the past or the future true worship relates to the honor the person gives to the Father in heaven.
Jesus’ recounting of the Jewish God shocked the apostles. They were too bewildered to even ask questions. They sat quietly as Jesus continued. “And you would have known these truths if you had read the scriptures. Did you read in Samuel where it says ‘And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel so much that he moved David against them, saying go number Judah and Israel? And this was not wrong because in the days of Samuel, Abraham’s children believed that Yahweh created both good and evil. But when a later writer told of these events after the Jews had a better understanding of God, he did not dare attribute evil to Yahweh and instead wrote, ‘And Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number Israel.’ You should be able to see that the scriptures clearly show the idea of God continuing to grow from one generation to another. Furthermore, when the Jews came out of Egypt they had ten commandments serving as their law right up to the time when they were camped at Sinai.”
Those ten commandments were: you will worship no other god, for the Lord is a jealous God; you will not make molten gods; you will not neglect to keep the feast of unleavened bread; of all the males of men or cattle, the first-born are mine, says the Lord; six days you may work, but on the seventh day you will rest; you will not fail to observe the feast of the first fruits, and the feast of the ingathering at the end of the year; you will not offer the blood of any sacrifice with leavened bread; the sacrifice of the feast of the Passover will not be left until morning; the first of the first fruits of the ground you will bring to the house of the Lord your God; you will not seethe a kid in its mother’s milk.
Jesus then recounted that in the middle of the thunder and lightning of Sinai, Moses gave the Jews ten new commandments more worthy of their better understanding of God. And Jesus asked the apostles if they had ever noticed that these commandments were recorded twice in the scriptures? That in the first case deliverance from Egypt was assigned as the reason for keeping the Sabbath, while in a later record it was changed to recognize the fact of creation, a higher understanding of God’s nature. Furthermore, in the greater spiritual enlightenment of Isaiah’s day those ten negative commandments were changed into the positive and illustrious law of love: the injunction to love God with all of your might and your neighbor as yourself. And it is that supreme law to love God and your neighbor that constitutes a person’s whole duty.
Flavius and Greek Culture
Flavius, the Greek Jew, was a proselyte of the gate: in other words, someone from outside the community living with the Jews and following some of their customs although he had never been baptized or circumcised. Flavius was the kind of person that loved beautiful art, and he had a large priceless collection from around the world in his luxurious house. When he invited Jesus to his home, Flavius was worried that he would take offense at the sight of these so-called graven images, or idols. But he was happy to learn that instead, Jesus was impressed and asked many questions as Flavius showed him his favorite statues.
Jesus could tell that Flavius was confused with his reaction to art, and said “Flavius, why do you expect to be criticized for appreciating beauty created by our Father through a person’s artistic hands? Just because Moses fought the worship of false gods does not mean people should look down on the reproduction of grace and beauty. I am telling you Flavius that Moses’ children have misunderstood this issue so badly that now their prohibitions against art are in and of themselves false gods. Even if Moses taught those laws to the ignorant minds of his day, what does that have to do with us now after the Father in heaven has been revealed as the universal Spirit Ruler over all?’
“Flavius, in the coming kingdom people will no longer teach ‘Do not worship this and do not worship that. People will not worry anymore about rules governing their conduct. Instead, everyone will have only one supreme duty: the dual privilege of loving service to humanity and worshiping God the Paradise Father. If you love other people as you love yourself, you know that you are a son of God.” Jesus said Moses was justified trying to stop the worship of false gods back when no one understood about the Father. But in the future people will not confuse our Creator Father with gold or silver idols. Instead, wise people will appreciate material art and beauty without confusing it with our Father in Paradise, the God of all things and all beings.
Flavius believed Jesus. The next day, since the apostles were not yet baptizing people, he went to Bethany past the Jordan and was baptized by John’s disciples. Then on his return to Jerusalem Flavius held a large dinner party for Jesus and sixty of his friends, many who also became believers in the kingdom.
The Talk on Assurance
A man from Damascus said “But rabbi, how can we be certain that you are sent by God and that we will enter this kingdom that you say is at hand?”
Jesus replied “Judge my message and my disciple’s teachings by their fruits. If what we are telling you is true, the spirit of God in your hearts will confirm that our message is genuine. As for your question about how you can be sure that you will be accepted by the heavenly father and allowed into the kingdom of heaven, let me ask you ‘What worthy and kindhearted father would keep his children anxious about their status in the family or about the love of their father?’
“Do you Earth fathers take pleasure torturing your children by keeping them unsure of your love? No. And God does not keep his children unsure of his love either. If you receive God as your Father then you are in truth the sons of God; if you are sons then you have no worries about your divine and eternal sonship. If you believe me it means you believe in God who sent me, and by believing in the Father you have secured your heavenly citizenship. If you choose the will of the Father you will not fail to gain your eternal soul. The Supreme Spirit will bear witness along with the spirits inside of you that you are truly a child of God, and if you are sons of God then you have been born of the spirit of God: you have the power in yourself to overcome all problems or lack of faith.”
Jesus reminded everyone that when the Prophet Isaiah spoke of these times, he said “When the spirit is poured on us from on high, then the work of righteousness will become peace and assurance forever.” Jesus is the guarantee that everyone who believes this gospel will achieve eternal life in the kingdom of heaven, and the evidence that someone has been born of the spirit is that they sincerely love their neighbors.
The crowd stayed for several hours asking Jesus questions. This time in Jerusalem inspired the twelve apostles and this talk emboldened them to go out and preach with even more power and faith. This was their first time working with large groups of people and the lessons they learned helped them in their later ministries.
The Visit with Nicodemus
Nicodemus was an older wealthy member of the Sanhedrin. He had heard Jesus in the temple once and was interested in his ideas, but already the Jewish rulers were upset enough with Jesus that no one in the Sanhedrin dared to associate with him. So instead Nicodemus arranged with Andrew to set up a secret meeting with Jesus at Flavius’ house that night.
Jesus was calm, earnest, and dignified. He did not show Nicodemus any undue respect because of his status, and when they talked Jesus did not compromise his beliefs or try to persuade Nicodemus to believe him.
Nicodemus said “Rabbi we know that you are a teacher sent by God because no mere mortal could teach like you unless God was present. I want to know more about your teachings of the coming kingdom.”
Jesus replied “The truth is that unless a man is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus asked “But how can a man be born again when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb again to be born.”
Jesus said “Regardless, I am telling you that unless people are born of the spirit they cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the spirit is spirit. But Nicodemus, it should not surprise you that I said you must be born from above. When the wind blows you hear the rustle of the leaves but you do not see the wind, not from where it comes or where it goes. It is the same with everyone born of the spirit. With the eyes of the flesh you can see the results of the spirit but you cannot actually see the spirit itself.”
Nicodemus did not understand. Jesus continued, saying “How can you be a teacher in Israel and still not know all of this? Because of this confusion it is the duty of the people who know the spirit to teach it to others who only see the material world. But the question is, will you believe us? Do you have the courage Nicodemus to believe in me, the Son of Man who has descended from heaven?”
Nicodemus asked how he was supposed to receive this spirit that would prepare him to enter the kingdom. Jesus said that the spirit of the Father was already in him: that if he allowed himself to be led by this spirit that he would soon see with the eyes of the spirit. Then by choosing to follow his spirit’s guidance he would be born of the spirit because at that point his only will is to do the will of God in heaven. From there, he and others would begin to see the fruits of the spirit in their daily lives.
Nicodemus was impressed by what Jesus said, but he left Flavius’ house bewildered. He was refined, egoistic, and altruistic; Nicodemus was well versed in self-restraint and self-development and he even had high moral qualities. But at the time he did not know how to submit his will to the will of God his Father in the same way that a little child is willing to submit to the guidance of a wise human father. Eventually Nicodemus did manage enough faith to enter the kingdom. When his colleagues in the Sanhedrin wanted to condemn Jesus without a hearing he only gave a half-hearted protest. But later with Joseph of Arimathea he boldly stated his faith when they claimed Jesus’ body even though most of the disciples had run away in fear from their masters’ final suffering.
The Lesson on the Family
After the Passover week in Jerusalem, Jesus and the apostles went to Bethany and spent Wednesday resting. That afternoon Thomas brought up the rules that Jesus had earlier given the apostles for their personal lives when he ordained them as kingdom ambassadors. Now he wanted to know what rules they were supposed to teach the people to frame their lives: should Jesus’ disciples own slaves? Should people embrace poverty and give up material things, and would mercy somehow take over so we will no longer need laws and justice?
First, Jesus made clear that he was living a different life on Earth than everyone else, and because of that there were certain rules that he was supposed to follow. Likewise, the apostles they had an obligation to follow many of those same rules. Jesus explained that the kingdom of heaven was something that we first enter into, and then work our way through until we graduate as eternal souls in perfection with God: it is an evolutionary experience that begins during this first life on Earth and then progresses through many lifetimes on many future training worlds.
Jesus told the apostles that the kingdom idea was not the best way to describe humanity’s relationship with God, but he was using it for two reasons: first, because the Jews were expecting it, and second, because John the Baptist had preached about it. But in the future when people understand that his religion is the fatherhood of God and the subsequent brotherhood of humanity, they will better understand the concept in terms of the family unit. The earthly family represents the heavenly family. The two fundamental laws of either one are first loving the father, and second loving your brother as yourself. Jesus explained that this level of brotherly love eventually results in loving and unselfish social service.
A true family is based on the following seven facts: First, our existence: the inherent relationship between child and father across nature. Children originate from their parents and acquire some of their traits; the existence of our personality depends on the acts of our parents. Second, security and pleasure: true fathers take pleasure from not only providing what a child needs to live, but also from what it needs to be happy. Third, education and training: wise fathers prepare their children for life’s responsibilities by planning for their training and education. Fourth, restraint and discipline: astute fathers know the need for guidance, discipline, and at times restraining their children. Fifth, loyalty and companionship: an affectionate father is loving and friendly with his children, always open to hearing their needs and problems, and above all interested in helping them grow-up. Sixth, love and mercy: a compassionate father freely forgives his children and never holds grudges against his them. Parents are not supposed to be judges, enemies, or creditors: real families are built on patience, tolerance, and forgiveness. Seventh, providing for the future: human fathers like to leave something for their children so the family can continue from one generation to another. Death ends a person’s life, but not necessarily the family’s existence.
In conclusion, Jesus said “This entire relationship between a son and the Father I know perfectly. All that you have to attain for eternal sonship I have already achieved. I, the Son of Man, am prepared to rise to the right hand of the Father so the way for humanity is clearer and you can become perfect as is your father in heaven.”
The apostles remembered John’s pronouncement when he baptized Jesus, and much later long after Jesus’ death and resurrection they remembered this talk as well. Jesus had been with God and he had the Universal Father’s confidence. He had now lived his earth life to the satisfaction of the Father and because of that he now understood humanity. Jesus attained the perfection of humanity the same as all believers will achieve through him. Jesus revealed a perfect God, and presented himself the perfect son of God.
Thomas was still confused, and said “But Master, in our experience the Father in heaven is not always kind and merciful. We suffer much on Earth and our prayers are not always answered. What are we missing?”
Jesus replied “Thomas, Thomas, how long is it going to be before you can hear with the ear of the spirit? When are you going to realize that this is a spiritual kingdom, and that God our Father is a spiritual being? Why can you not see that I am teaching you as spirits in the spiritual family of heaven, and that the head of that family is an eternal and infinite spirit? Can you not see that I am using the earth family only as an example to explain spiritual realities? I am speaking in the language of the spirit, but you are translating my words into the language of the flesh just because I am using material problems to illustrate spiritual ideas. You are not separating the spiritual realm from the material world of social, economic, and political problems.’
“My children, I am begging you to quit equating the teachings of the spirit with the dirty dealings of slavery, poverty, material wealth, and the problems of human rights and justice. These are the concerns the of the people of the world.’
“You have been called as spiritual ambassadors of a spiritual kingdom to represent me in the world, even as I am here to represent our Father. Do I have to speak to you like children forever? By this time I should be able to teach you like adults of the spirit kingdom. When are you going to grow up and be able to see the spirit? Regardless, I love you and I will bear with you for as long as we are together on Earth, and after I have left my spirit will go before you into all the world.’
In Southern Judea
By the end of April the Pharisees and Sadducees were so hostile toward Jesus that he and his apostles went south to work in Hebron and Bethlehem. They spent May working house to house teaching the gospel and ministering to the sick instead of preaching in public. On occasion, Jesus and Abner visited the Nazarite colony at Engedi. It was from there that John the Baptist had gone forth to announce the coming messiah when Abner was leading the group. Many of the Nazarite brotherhood eventually followed Jesus, but the majority still believed in extreme acts of abstinence and self-discipline; since Jesus did not require fasting and self-denial they refused to accept him as a teacher from heaven. Most of the people living in this region did not know that Jesus had been born in Bethlehem, and instead assumed that he was from Nazareth. This excursion to southern Judea brought many souls into the kingdom. By the first week in June the situation in Jerusalem had quieted down so they returned to the city to continue their work. Still, Jesus asked the twelve to refrain from any public preaching.
All of the month of June they camped in tents in Gethsemane, a shaded garden park on the western slope of the Mount Olives not far from the Kidron stream. Jesus only went into Jerusalem a few times but many people came out to the encampment to see him. One Friday evening even Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea went to see Jesus, but they only got as far as his tent flap before they became afraid and returned home. Jesus of course was aware they had come even if Nicodemus and Joseph did not realize it. On Saturdays, Jesus and the apostles would go to Bethany and spend the day with Lazarus and his sisters.
When the Jewish rulers learned that Jesus had returned to Jerusalem, they decided to arrest him. But when they saw that he was not preaching in public they decided that he was afraid of them and had learned his lesson. In the beginning they let Jesus continue to teach in private, and this worked out well up until the end of June. Then a member of the Sanhedrin named Simon publicly announced his belief in Jesus. This caused such an immediate uproar among the Jewish rulers that Jesus and the apostles had to move to Samaria and the Decapolis to continue working.