Ch. 22, Going Through Samaria
“Son of Man: Urantia,” 2nd edition
Going Through Samaria
At the end of June, A.D. 27 Jesus and the apostles stored their gear at Lazarus’ house in Bethany and then went to Thamna and Arimathea where they taught the Jews and Samaritans living there. They were well received by the people and the apostles—with the exception of Judas Iscariot—managed to drop much of their prejudice against the Samaritans. For the first half of August they based their work out of two Greek cities, Archelais and Phasaelis. This was the apostles’ first time working with people that were not mostly Jewish: almost everyone in these cities was Greek, Roman, and Syrian. The apostles were met with new objections to their message and found new problems delivering it.
Preaching at Archelais
One evening Philip told Jesus that the Greeks and Romans were making fun of their message: they said it was only fit for slaves and weaklings; that the heathens had a better religion because it built strong and aggressive men, and that your gospel would make all men feeble pacifists that would be wiped off the face of the Earth. Even though they agree that your teaching is the ideal way to live, they do not take us seriously. They say people cannot live like you want them to and that your gospel is not for this world. How do we answer these objections, they asked?
Jesus replied “I have come to Earth to do the will of my Father and to reveal his loving character to all humanity. That, my apostles, is my mission and I will do this even if my teachings are misunderstood by the Jews or gentiles today or in the future.’
“Do not overlook the fact that even divine love has its restraints and requires discipline. Out of love a father often has to restrain the foolish acts of his children, even if they do not understand the love behind his discipline. I am telling you now, that in fact, my Father does rule a universe of universes with love.’
“Love is the noblest of all spirit realities. Truth liberates when it is revealed; love is the supreme relationship. No matter how badly the people today mismanage the Earth, in a coming age my gospel will rule this world. The ultimate goal of human progress is to worship God as Father and to bring forth the brotherhood of humanity on Earth.’
“Furthermore, who said anything about my gospel being only for slaves and weaklings? Do you, my chosen apostles, look like weaklings? Did John look like a weakling? Do you see me enslaved by fear?’
“It is true that we were preaching to the poor and the oppressed of this age, and that is because in the past the religions of this world excluded them. But my Father is no respecter of persons regardless if they are rich or poor. Besides, it is the poor people today who are the first ones that are heeding our call to repent and who are first accepting their sonship with God.’
“My apostles, the gospel of the kingdom is to be preached to all men: Jew and gentile, Greek and Roman, rich and poor, free and bond and equally to young and old, male and female. But just because my Father is a God of love and delights in practicing mercy, do not fool yourselves into thinking that serving in the kingdom will be easy. The ascent to Paradise is the most supreme adventure of all time: it is the rugged achievement of eternal life. Serving the kingdom of heaven on Earth will require all the courage that you and your coworkers can muster.’
“Many of you will be killed for your loyalty to this gospel of the kingdom. It is easy to die in the line of physical battle when your courage is strengthened by the presence of your fighting comrades, but when all alone it requires a higher type of human courage to lay down your life for the truth enshrined in your mortal heart. Today the unbelievers may mock you preaching a gospel of nonresistance and living lives of nonviolence, but you are the first volunteers of a long line of sincere believers in the gospel of the kingdom who will astonish all humanity by their heroic devotion to these teachings.’
“No armies in history have ever displayed more courage and bravery than you and your loyal successors will when you go out into the world announcing the good news: the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of humanity. Physical courage is the lowest form of bravery; mental courage is yet higher, but the most heroic form of courage is uncompromising loyalty to profound spiritual realities. That is the type of courage behind the heroism of a God-knowing person, and you are all God-knowing men because you are in truth the friends of the Son of Man.”
It was evident that Jesus felt strongly about his message that night: this was one of the most emotional and passionate talks he ever had with the twelve apostles, and the effect was immediate. From that day forward the apostles grew in positive aggression and courageous dominance when they preached the new gospel of the kingdom.
The Lesson on Self-Mastery
Jesus had perfected self-control. He did not return insult for insult or threaten those who harmed him: instead, he simply submitted himself to God’s judgement. During one of their evening talks, Andrew asked Jesus about John’s instructions on self-denial and how those lessons were different from Jesus’ teachings on self-control. He wanted to know what they, the apostles, were supposed to do.
Jesus said that John had taught his disciples as he had been taught: that to be righteous according to the laws of his fathers a person had to follow a religion of self-denial and self-examination. But he, Jesus, was there to give people a new religion with a new way of life, one of self-control and self-forgetfulness: a new way of life as taught to him by his Father in heaven.
Jesus said “It is the truth when I tell you that people who rule themselves are greater than those who capture a city. Self-mastery is the measure of people’s moral nature, and it is the indicator of their spiritual development. In the old days you were taught to fast and pray, but those laws are past. Now you are new creatures reborn of the spirit, and I am teaching you to believe and rejoice and how things will again be made new. By your love for one another you will show the world that you have passed from bondage to freedom and from death into eternal life.’
“The old ways taught you to obey certain rules to live a good life. But in the new way of life that I am bringing you are first transformed by the Spirit of Truth: you are first strengthened in your soul by the spiritual renewing of your mind and this empowers you with the certainty that you will eventually, and joyfully, embrace the perfect will of God.’
“Do not forget that it is your faith in God that ensures your entrance to the kingdom. Thus by your faith and the spirit’s transformation of your mind you in reality become a temple of God because an actual entity of God is living in your mind. If the spirit of God is living in you, then you are no longer slaves to the flesh but rather free and liberated sons of the spirit. My new law of the spirit empowers you with the freedom to master yourself instead of enslaving you with the olden way of fear and self-denial.’
“Many times when people do wrong they blame the devil when in actuality it was just them being led astray by their own tendencies. The Prophet Jeremiah told you a long time ago that the human heart was more deceitful than anything else, and that sometimes it is even downright wicked. It is easy for people to deceive themselves; to become afraid of foolish things and addicted to sex and drugs and to find themselves envious, malicious, and vengeful. Entering the kingdom of heaven—being saved by God’s grace—comes from rejuvenating your spirit, not by anything that you actually do in this world. Your faith is the justification for you to receive God’s grace, not your fear or denying yourself pleasure. But that said, God’s children are still masters of themselves and controlling their desires.’
“When you know that it is your faith in God that brings you into the kingdom of God, then you have real peace with God and are blessed to eternal service with the advancing sons of God. At this point in your journey it is not a duty to try and perfect your mind and body to better serve God, it is a privilege. Your sonship is grounded in your faith and you have no need to fear. Joy comes from trusting God’s word; not doubting his love and mercy. It is God’s goodness that leads people to repent.’
“The secret to mastering yourself is linked to your faith that a spirit of God is inside of you, and that that spirit gift of God always works through love. This is the essence of self-mastery and the way to become a liberated son of God spontaneously showing the fruits of the spirit in your daily lives, and those fruits are the essence of true mortal self-mastery.”
Diversion and Relaxation
The tension between the apostles and John’s disciples and the stress from working so closely with the gentiles and Samaritans had become almost unbearable. Everyone was having a difficult time getting along. Furthermore, Jesus’ recent lessons had the twelve confused. The situation became so bad that Andrew, who was at his limit, went to Jesus with these problems. After listening to the chief of his apostles Jesus again refused to become involved with the social problems between them and the people. But he did tell Andrew that when there are so many people involved and when everyone is so set in their feelings, that there is no way to talk them out of their beliefs. That said, Jesus told Andrew that it would help for him and the other eleven apostles to take a three-day break up on Mount Sartaba, and that he, too wanted a rest.
Jesus instructed Andrew to talk to each of the apostles in private. He was to tell the person that Jesus wanted all of the apostles to go with him up to Mount Sartaba, and for each of them to agree to not bring up any of their problems while they were together on this short vacation.
The hike up the mountain was a wonderful experience that none of the apostles ever forgot. Hardly any word was mentioned of the problems they had left behind. Once they reached the summit Jesus had them all gather around. He said that everyone has to learn the value of taking a break from their troubles: that when life’s problems take over the best thing is to set them aside for a time. Then when we return to them with our mind and body refreshed we find that many times they have shrunk in size.
The next morning Jesus gave each of the twelve a topic to discuss and for the whole day they talked about anything but their religious work. At noon when Jesus took out the bread for their lunch and started eating his food without saying a prayer, they were all a bit shocked. This was the first time they had ever seen him neglect the Jewish formalities about eating.
When they had headed up the mountain each of the apostles was dealing with his own personal problems as well as being confused about how to get along with John’s disciples. Andrew’s mind—because he was the chief of the twelve—was consumed with the relations between them and the others. John’s heart was confused, and James’ soul was badly troubled. Matthew’s worries were all about money, and Peter was touchier and more uptight than normal. Judas was more selfish and sensitive than usual, and Simon was perplexed trying to fit his patriotism with the brotherhood of humanity. Thomas was depressed, Philip did not know what to think, and Nathaniel had lost his sense of humor after dealing with the gentiles. The only ones who were their normal selves were the two Alpheus twins.
By the third day a huge change had come over all of them. They discovered that most problems are nonexistent and others are the result of exaggerated fear. By putting their problems aside for a time they had worked themselves out, and after returning from the mountain their dealings with John’s disciples went smoother. Most of the apostles even started having fun and joking with one another when they realized how relaxed everyone had become. They learned that there is always the danger that monotony will set in when we are around the same people for too long.
The apostles did not win many believers in the two Greek cities of Archelais and Phasaelis. Still, it was a valuable learning experience working with just gentiles in the crowd. It was mid-month on a Monday morning when Jesus told Andrew, “We are going into Samaria” and immediately they all set out for Sychar close by Jacob’s well.
The Jews and the Samaritans
About seven hundred years before Jesus’ time, Sargon, the king of Assyria put down a revolt in central Palestine. He took captive over twenty-five thousand Jews from the northern part of the kingdom of Israel and hauled them away. He then replaced them with the same number of people from the Cuthites, Sepharvites, and Hamathites. Later, Ashurbanipal sent even more groups of people to live in Samaria.
During Jesus and the apostles’ era the ill will between the Jews and Samaritans was still strong. When the Jews returned to Palestine, the Samaritans tried to stop them from rebuilding Jerusalem and then later they helped Alexander the Great as he conquered the land. Alexander in return for that friendship let the Samaritans build a temple on Mount Gerizim where they worshiped Yahweh and their tribal gods and gave sacrifices like the Jews did in their temple services. This continued up until the Maccabees formed and John Hyrcanus led them to destroy the temple. Philip taught at this site many times after the resurrection when he was working there with the Samaritans.
Throughout their history the feud between the Jews and the Samaritans had been honored by both sides and over the years the two groups continued to separate. The apostles had been agreeable to preaching in the gentile cites of Syria and the Decapolis, but when Jesus all of the sudden said that they were going into Samaria it tested them to the breaking point. It was their loyalty to Jesus their friend, and not so much their faith in his teachings, that held them together.
The Woman of Sychar
When they arrived at Jacob’s well Jesus decided to stay there and rest while Philip and the others went into Sychar for food and tents; they were planning on working in this area for a while. Peter and the Zebedee sons wanted to remain behind with Jesus, but he told them “Do not worry about me; the Samaritans will be friendly. It is only our fellow Jews who want to hurt us.”
It was almost six o’clock that summer evening when Jesus sat down by Jacob’s well to wait for the apostles to return. There was less mineral content in this well than in the others around Sychar, and because of that it had the best tasting water in the area. Jesus was thirsty and he wanted a drink but he did not have anything to scoop out the water. When a woman from Sychar showed up with her pitcher, Jesus told her to give him a drink.
The young pretty woman’s name was Nalda, and she could tell Jesus was a Jew by the way he dressed; from his accent she knew he was from Galilee. Nalda was surprised when Jesus asked her for a drink because back then it was not proper for a man to speak to a woman in public—much less for a Jewish man to talk with a Samaritan woman.
Nalda asked “Why are you, a Jew, asking me a Samaritan woman for a drink?”
Jesus replied “It is true, I asked you for water. But if you could only understand, you would ask me for a drink of the living water.”
Nalda said “But sir, you have nothing to scoop out the water and the well is deep, so just where are you going to get this living water? Are you more illustrious than our father Jacob who gave us this well and who himself drank here with his sons and his cattle?”
Jesus said “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but those people who drink the water of the living spirit will never again be thirsty. And this living water will be there to refresh them all the way to eternal life.”
Nalda said “Give me this water even if I am not thirsty for it, and even if I did not come all this way to get it. Besides, anything that a Samaritan woman could receive from such a commendable Jew would be a pleasure.”
Nalda had been confused about how to take Jesus’ willingness to talk with her. She could tell in his face that he was a holy and upright man, but she mistook his friendliness and thought he was flirting with her. Nalda had been promiscuous in the past and returned what she thought were Jesus’ advances. But Jesus just looked straight into her eyes and with a commanding voice said “Woman, go get your husband and bring him here.”
Jesus’ command shocked Nalda to her senses. She realized that she had misjudged Jesus’ kindness and mistook his words. Nalda was scared and confused; she was standing in the presence of an unusual man, and at a loss for words said “But Sir, I cannot call my husband because I do not have one.”
Jesus replied “You have spoken the truth because while you did have a husband once, the man you are living with now is not your husband. Nalda, it would be best for you to quit questioning my words and ask for the living water I offered you earlier.”
By this time Nalda had come to her senses. She was not living the life she was wholly by choice: she had been unjustly cast aside by her husband and in those dire straits agreed to live with a Greek man even though they were not married. Nalda was now ashamed by how she had talked to Jesus and said “My Lord, I am sorry for how I spoke to you. I can see now that you are a holy man or maybe even a prophet.” Then, just as she was about to ask Jesus to help her, she did what many other people do—she dodged the question of her own personal salvation and instead changed the topic to a philosophical discussion. Pointing to Mount Gerizim she said “Our fathers worshiped on that mountain, and yet you come and say that we are supposed to worship in Jerusalem. So which is it then? Where is the right place to worship God?”
Jesus knew that Nalda had changed the subject so that she, personally, was not the topic. But he also sensed that she had a sincere desire to live a better life. Jesus was patient and said “Nalda, the day is coming when you will not worship our Father either in Jerusalem or on this mountain. Right now you and your people do not even know who you worship. Your religion is made up of a bunch of pagan Gods mixed in with human philosophy. At least the Jews know who they worship. They did away with the confusion and focused their efforts on one God, Yahweh. But the time is coming, it is already here, when people will worship the Father in truth and in spirit. God is spirit, and must be worshiped in spirit. Your salvation does not come from worrying about how or where other people worship, but rather by accepting in your heart the living water I am now offering you.”
Nalda was still not ready to face the embarrassment of her personal life and her status as a soul before God. Again she changed the topic to religion, and said “Yes sir, I know that. John preached about the coming of the Converter who will be called the Deliverer, and that when he comes he will tell us many things…”
Jesus interrupted her before she could go on, and said “That person is me.” That was the first time Jesus specifically declared that he was divine: that he was the coming Deliverer. And he made that statement to a Samaritan woman who at the time everyone else thought had a questionable character.
Jesus could tell that Nalda’s life was more from having been sinned against, than from having sinned herself. He saw that she sincerely wanted salvation and that was enough. But just as she was about to tell this to Jesus the apostles returned. To say the least, they were stunned to see Jesus talking to a young pretty Samaritan woman. But they held their peace and said nothing: they did not have the courage to challenge Jesus. Instead, they stowed the supplies from town and then went off a short distance to wait.
While the apostles were busying themselves, to Nalda Jesus said “Woman, go on your way; God has forgiven you. From here on out you will live a new life. You have been given the living water, and now new joy will spring up in your soul and you will become a daughter of the Most High.” When Jesus was done speaking, Nalda who could tell the apostles were furious, ran back to the city leaving her water pot behind in her haste. As soon as she returned to town she told everyone she met to “Go out to Jacob’s well and go there now, and you will see a man who told me all I ever did. Is he the Converter?” Before the sun had set a large crowd was gathered at Jacob’s well wanting to hear Jesus speak, and he spoke to them about the water of life—our gift of the indwelling spirit inside of us.
The apostles never ceased to be shocked by Jesus’ willingness to talk with women, even those that others thought were of low character. Jesus had a difficult time teaching his apostles that women, including the ones with so-called low moral standards, also had souls and could also become daughters of God with eternal life. And even nineteen centuries later many people are unwilling to accept Jesus’ teaching. Even the Christian religion was built around the fact of the Jesus’ death, instead of his life and teachings. The world should be more concerned with Jesus’ life—how happy and God revealing he lived—than with his tragic death.
Nalda recounted her talk with Jesus to John the next day, but he never repeated all of it to the other apostles. Neither did Jesus ever tell the twelve the details of his conversation with her. Nalda told John that Jesus had told her everything she ever did. John wanted to ask Jesus about this but never got around to it. Jesus had verbally only told Nalda one thing about her life; he never told her that he knew about the other four men she lived with after her first husband had left her. But when Jesus looked into Nalda’s eyes her entire checkered life immediately came into panoramic view and she associated that moment of clarity with Jesus.
The Samaritan Revival
The apostles had returned to Jacob’s well with food and they were hungry. They urged Jesus to send the people from Sychar away so they could eat their supper but Jesus wanted to speak to the them before it was dark. Andrew tried to get Jesus to at least eat a snack, but Jesus just said “I have meat to eat that you do not know about.”
The apostles were now confused, and started to ask each other who had brought Jesus something to eat or if maybe the woman from Sychar had given him food as well as water. Jesus overheard them talking, and before going in front of the people he turned to his apostles and said “The food that sustains me is doing the will of the Father and accomplishing his work. We are not waiting for the harvest anymore: it is here. Look at all of these people coming out of a Samaritan city to listen to us. The fields are white with wheat that is ready to harvest right now. Those who harvest this wheat receive their wages in eternal life, and both those who sowed the field and those who reap the harvest will then rejoice together. It is true that ‘One sows and another reaps.’
“Now I am sending you to reap the harvest that you have not sown so you can enter into the work of another who came before you.” Jesus was speaking of course about John the Baptist. Jesus and the apostles preached in Sychar for two days before building their camp on Mount Gerizim. Many of the people from Sychar believed the gospel and asked to be baptized, but the apostles were still not yet baptizing people.
The first night that they were back in camp on Mount Gerizim, the apostles thought that Jesus was going to scold them because of their attitude toward Nalda. But Jesus did not say anything about the matter. Instead, he gave them a memorable talk on certain realities that are central to the kingdom of God. Jesus explained that in any religion it is easy for people to confuse what is most important and to let facts take the place of the essential truths of their faith. For example, with Christianity the fact of the cross became people’s focus instead of the truths they were supposed to get from Jesus’ life and teachings. Jesus wanted people to see God as a Father and friend, just like he was a brother and a friend to the apostles. Jesus repeatedly emphasized that love is the greatest relationship in the universe and that truth is the ultimate fact observed in those divine unions. Jesus did not hold back telling the Samaritans exactly who he was because it was safe for him to do so. Jesus also knew that he would never again be in the heart of Samaria to teach the gospel.
Jesus and the apostles camped on Mount Gerizim until the end of August teaching in the cities during the day and discussing their mission at night. Many souls were brought into the kingdom during this time, and they prepared the way for Philip’s work there after the resurrection.
Teachings about Prayer and Worship
Jesus taught the apostles that true religion is the personal relationship a person has with the Creator, and organized religion is the attempt to socialize those people into worshiping together. He explained that worship—the contemplation of God—has to be alternated with service: actually dealing with the material world. Just like work needs to be balanced with play, religion needs to be balanced with humor and deep philosophical matters need to be relieved with poetry. The fear that can arise from a sense of loneliness in the universe is best relieved by contemplating the Father.
Prayer does not increase knowledge, but it does expand insight: it is designed to help people think less and realize more. Worship is anticipating a better future ahead, and then reflecting those insights back into the life we live now. Prayer is sustaining where worship is divinely creative. Prayer is working on one’s self; worship is forgetting one’s self. Worship is looking to the One for inspiration in how to serve the many; it is a son’s personal communion with the Father and it qualifies the extent that a soul is detached from the material world and secure in its embrace of spiritual realities. Worship is an effortless form of restful spiritual exertion for the human soul-spirit.
And again the apostles only grasped a part of what Jesus said, but many people on other worlds did understand Jesus’ words as will later generations on Earth.