Ch. 23, At Gilboa and in the Decapolis

“Son of Man: Urantia,” 2nd edition

At Gilboa and in the Decapolis

In September Jesus and the twelve set up camp on Mount Gilboa located on the borders of Samaria and the Decapolis. The Decapolis was a semi-political group of ten ancient Greek cities and the land between Damascus to the north and Philadelphia to the south. They spent this month alone and Jesus taught them more of the finer truths of the kingdom.

Jesus knew that they were about to enter the final chapter of his trials on Earth, and he had reasons for isolating all of them for a while. First, the Jewish leaders were now hostile toward anything to do with him or the apostles. Second, Herod Antipas still had John in prison. Herod did not know what to do about John—whether to kill him or to let him go—and he suspected that John and Jesus were working together in some way. These two factors made the situation dangerous for Jesus and the twelve to work in public. Furthermore, there was a third reason: the tension between the apostles and John’s disciples had reached the breaking point and it was being made worse daily as more people became involved.

Jesus did not know what was going to happen to John and he did not want his actions to in any way embarrass him or make his life in prison more difficult. Until Herod either made the decision to kill John or to release him, Jesus decided to wait and prepare the apostles for the days ahead.

The Gilboa Camp

With every passing day each of the twelve apostles became more devoted to Jesus and more committed to their work. But that does not mean they understood his lessons. None of them was clear on who Jesus was, or why he had come to Earth. In other words, their loyalty was personal not intellectual.

Jesus told the apostles that they were secluding themselves on Mount Gilboa for three reasons. First, he wanted to ensure that they knew and had faith in the gospel of the kingdom. Next, he wanted to give the Jewish leaders time to calm down and third, they had to wait until Herod made a decision about John the Baptist. While in camp on Gilboa, Jesus told the apostles about his childhood and what had occurred on Mount Hermon. He also told them some of what happened during his forty days in the hills right after his baptism by John, but he asked them to not to tell anybody else about that until after he was gone. This was an enjoyable time and the apostles recalled many of their memories with Jesus since being called to service. They all sensed that this was going to be their last chance to rest until events played out to the end.

The apostles realized that the next time they went out to preach it was going to be their final effort teaching the people about the coming kingdom, even though not one of them knew what that kingdom would be like. John and Andrew thought that the kingdom had already come, while Peter and James were still waiting for it. Judas did not say anything, Thomas and Nathaniel admitted they did not know, the twins did not even realize there was a question about it, and Simon, Philip, and Matthew kept going back and forth on what they thought.

Many times during the month Jesus went off by himself to pray, and sometimes he took Peter, John, and James along with him. But to be clear, at this point in Jesus’ life—after being baptized by John and spending the forty days in the Perean hills—we cannot call what Jesus was doing either prayer or worship, but we can say that these were periods of one-on-one contact with God our Father.

One afternoon three weeks into their seclusion on Gilboa and after spending several days discussing the idea of worship, Thomas asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. John had taught his followers a prayer of salvation—a prayer for them to be saved in the coming kingdom. Although Jesus never told anyone not to use John’s prayer, the apostles knew he did not approve of rote worship—the mindless repetition of selfish appeals to God. But the people wanted a prayer, and because of that Jesus eventually agreed to teach the twelve a suggestive form of prayer.

The Talk about Prayer

Jesus explained that John’s simple prayer—‘O Father, cleanse us from sin, show us your glory, reveal your love, and let your spirit sanctify our hearts forevermore, Amen!’—was for the masses, not them. He said that true prayer is a sincere effort to contact heaven that leads to meaningful worship: the direct personal attempt by the soul to speak as a son to his father in a way that enhances the person’s spiritual progress.

Jesus said “Prayer is the breath of the soul and should help you to persist in trying to know the Father’s will. If you have a neighbor and you go to his house at midnight and say ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread because someone traveling through town has come to see me and I do not have any food to feed him,’ and if your neighbor tells you it is late and the children are in bed and yet you keep knocking on the door, he will eventually get up and give it to you; not out of friendship but because you are a pest. So if human persistence can get you what you want from an unfriendlyperson, imagine what spiritual persistence will get you with a friendly Father in heaven.’

“Again I am telling you—ask and it will be given; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened. Because everyone who asks, receives; those who seek, find, and to those who knock the door of salvation will be opened.’

“Those of you who are fathers, do not give your children whatever they want; instead, do not hesitate to use your wisdom to give them what they need. If you who are mortal and finite know how to respond wisely to childish requests, imagine how much more our Father will bless you for your spiritual prayers. People should always pray, and not become discouraged.’

“Let me tell you the story of a certain judge who lived in a wicked city. This judge did not fear God, and he did not respect people. There was a needy widow in the city who kept coming to this unfair judge saying ‘Protect me from the person hurting me.’ For a long time the judge ignored her, but eventually he thought to himself ‘Even though I do not fear God or care about people, I am going to give this woman what she wants before she wears me out with her constant nagging.’ I keep repeating this idea to encourage you to keep praying, but not to think that your wants if they are not in line with God’s will, will change the response.’

“Your persistence praying is not to win God’s favor, but to change yourself. Its purpose is to bring your attitude in line with God’s will, and to increase your soul’s ability to receive divine impulses. But when most people pray they exercise little faith, yet genuine faith removes mountains of material difficulty that may be in the way of spiritual progress.”

The Believer’s Prayer

The apostles were not satisfied with Jesus’ answer: they wanted an actual prayer to teach to the new disciples. James Zebedee said “Very well Master, but we do not want a prayer for ourselves, we want one for the new believers who are always asking us to teach them the right way to pray to the Father in heaven.”

Jesus gave in and agreed to give them the prayer that he taught his family in Nazareth:

“Our Father who is in heaven,

Hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come; your will be done

on Earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our bread for tomorrow;

Refresh our souls with the water of life.

And forgive us every one our debts

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Save us in temptation, deliver us from evil,

and increasingly make us perfect like yourself.”

It is not strange that the apostles wanted Jesus to teach them a model prayer for believers. John the Baptist had taught his followers several prayers, and all of the other exalted teachers before them had given prayers to their pupils. The Jews had twenty-five to thirty rote prayers that they recited in the synagogues and even on the street corners. Still, Jesus discouraged people from praying in public. Up to this point the twelve had only heard him pray a few times, but they did see him spend entire nights doing something similar to prayer or worship and they were curious to know what it was. Jesus taught his apostles to always to pray in secret: to go off by themselves in the quiet of nature or to their rooms and shut the doors.

In the years since Jesus people have modified his family’s prayer and now end it with “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” And at some point in history two lines were lost in copying and someone added the clause “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forevermore.”

Jesus never taught a formal personal prayer: only group, family, or social prayers. He gave the apostles the prayer in collective form like the family had prayed at home in Nazareth, and he never even volunteered to do that. Jesus taught his apostles that effective prayer must be five things. First, it has to be unselfish: not just for oneself. Second, the person has to believe: the prayer has to come from faith. Third, the person must be sincere: the prayer has to express honesty in one’s heart. Fourth, it has to be intelligent: according to light and fifth, the person has to trust in and be in submission to the Father’s wisdom.

When Jesus spent entire nights on the mountain praying it was mostly for his disciples, especially for the twelve apostles. Jesus prayed little for himself even though he was often in contact with our Father in heaven; he prayed silently in the spirit, and almost never out loud.

More about Prayer

For days afterwards the apostles kept asking Jesus questions about prayer. The following is a summary of his replies.

First, any prayer regardless of how much it is based in spiritual reality will expand that soul’s ability to receive spiritual impulses if that prayer is offered with faith. Second, when praying remember that sonship with God is a gift that has been freely given. You do not have to do anything to earn the right to be a son or daughter of God. Just like it was your parent’s will that brought you into being on Earth, it is God’s will that brings you the grace of the new life in the spirit. Therefore you must accept your gift of the spirit from the Father just like a child naturally accepts the gift of life from its Earth parents. From that point you earn righteousness by progressively developing your character. Third, Jesus used prayer to better communicate with the Paradise deities. In a similar fashion prayer leads people into true worship—spiritual communication—with God. The level of a soul’s spiritual receptivity determines how much of the heavenly response the person recognizes and in turn uses in their lives. Fourth, prayer and worship are ways of detaching one’s self from the monotony of earth life and they are the tools needed for progressive intellectual attainment and religious self-actualization. Fifth, prayer cures too much self-critique. To pray like Jesus taught soothes the soul: Jesus reaped the benefits that come from praying for others. Sixth, prayer is the breath of the spirit life in the midst of the temporal life on Earth. Worship is the salvation for pleasure-seeking generations of people. Seventh, if praying is akin to recharging the spiritual batteries of the soul, then worship is like tuning the mind into the spiritual broadcasts from God that are being transmitted throughout the universe. Eighth, prayer is the mortal child looking for its spiritual Father and it facilitates the exchange of the human will for the divine will. Prayer turns what is, into what it should be.

Other Forms of Prayer

On occasion, Jesus used other forms of prayer for clarification. He called these parable prayers, and Jesus instructed the twelve not to teach them to the people. These prayers were offered only to help them better understand his teachings. What Jesus did not tell them was that many of these prayers were from other inhabited worlds in our universe.

The following are seven of the parable prayers Jesus gave his apostles. The authors of the Urantia revelation had to receive specific permission to put these prayers into the revelation, and they are presented here in their original form.

Our Father in whom consist the universe realms,

uplifted be your name and all-glorious your character.

Your presence encompasses us, and your glory is manifested

imperfectly through us as it is in perfection shown on high.

Give us this day the vivifying forces of light,

and let us not stray into the evil bypaths of our imagination,

for yours is the glorious indwelling, the everlasting power,

and to us, the eternal gift of the infinite love of your Son.

Even so, and everlastingly true.

Our creative Parent, who is in the center of the universe,

bestow on us your nature and give to us your character.

Make us sons and daughters of yours by grace

and glorify your name through our eternal achievement.

Your adjusting and controlling spirit give to live and dwell in us

that we may do your will on this sphere as angels do your bidding in light.

Sustain us this day in our progress along the path of truth.

Deliver us from inertia, evil, and all sinful transgression.

Be patient with us as we show loving-kindness to our fellows.

Shed abroad the spirit of your mercy in our creature hearts.

Lead us by your own hand, step by step, through the uncertain maze of life, and when our end will come, receive into your own bosom our faithful spirits.

Even so, not our desires but your will be done.

Our perfect and righteous heavenly Father,

this day guide and direct our journey.

Sanctify our steps and co-ordinate our thoughts.

Ever lead us in the ways of eternal progress.

Fill us with wisdom to the fullness of power

and vitalize us with your infinite energy.

Inspire us with the divine consciousness of

the presence and guidance of the seraphic hosts.

Guide us ever upward in the pathway of light;

Justify us fully in the day of the great judgment.

Make us like yourself in eternal glory

and receive us into your endless service on high.

Our Father who is in the mystery,

reveal to us your holy character.

Give your children on Earth this day

to see the way, the light, and the truth.

Show us the pathway of eternal progress

and give us the will to walk therein.

Establish in us your divine kingship

and thereby bestow on us the full mastery of self.

Let us not stray into paths of darkness and death;

Lead us everlastingly beside the waters of life.

Hear these our prayers for your own sake;

Be pleased to make us more and more like yourself.

At the end, for the sake of the divine Son,

receive us into the eternal arms.

Even so, not our will but yours be done.

Glorious Father and Mother, in one parent combined,

loyal would we be to your divine nature.

Your own self to live again in and through us

by the gift and bestowal of your divine spirit,

Thus reproducing you imperfectly in this sphere

as you are perfectly and majestically shown on high.

Give us day by day your sweet ministry of brotherhood

and lead us moment by moment in the pathway of loving service.

Be you ever and unfailingly patient with us

even as we show forth your patience to our children.

Give us the divine wisdom that does all things well

and the infinite love that is gracious to every creature.

Bestow on us your patience and loving-kindness

that our charity may enfold the weak of the realm.

And when our career is finished, make it an honor to your name,

a pleasure to your good spirit, and a satisfaction to our soul helpers.

Not as we wish, our loving Father,

but as you desire the eternal good of your mortal

children, even so may it be.

Our all-faithful Source and all-powerful Center,

reverent and holy be the name of your all-gracious Son.

Your bounties and your blessings have descended on us,

thus empowering us to perform your will and execute your bidding.

Give us moment by moment the sustenance of the tree of life;

refresh us day by day with the living waters of the river thereof.

Step by step lead us out of darkness and into the divine light.

Renew our minds by the transformations of the indwelling spirit,

and when the mortal end will finally come on us,

receive us to yourself and send us forth in eternity.

Crown us with celestial diadems of fruitful service,

and we will glorify the Father, the Son, and the Holy Influence.

Even so, throughout a universe without end.

Our Father who dwells in the secret places of the universe,

honored be your name, reverenced your mercy, and respected your judgment.

Let the sun of righteousness shine on us at noontime,

while we beseech you to guide our wayward steps in the twilight.

Lead us by the hand in the ways of your own choosing

and forsake us not when the path is hard and the hours are dark.

Forget us not as we so often neglect and forget you.

But be you merciful and love us as we desire to love you.

Look down on us in kindness and forgive us in mercy

as we in justice forgive those who distress and injure us.

May the love, devotion, and bestowal of the majestic Son

make available life everlasting with your endless mercy and love.

May the God of universes bestow on us the full measure of his spirit;

give us grace to yield to the leading of this spirit.

By the loving ministry of devoted seraphic hosts

may the Son guide and lead us to the end of the age.

Make us ever and increasingly like yourself

and at our end receive us into the eternal Paradise embrace.

Even so, in the name of the bestowal Son

and for the honor and glory of the Supreme Father.

Although the apostles were not at liberty to use these prayers in their public teachings, they benefited much from them in their own personal religious growth.

Conference with John’s Apostles

John the Baptist had been urged by Abner, his chief of disciples, to appoint twelve of his top disciples to be his apostles just like Jesus had done. Then by chance, around the first of October Philip and some of Jesus’ other apostles ran into a group of John’s new apostles at the market when they were all buying food. After a short discussion they decided to bring the two groups of apostles together for a conference to determine how to proceed with the work. Beginning the second week of the month the twenty-four met at the Gilboa camp three times a day, six times a week.

For the first week, Jesus talked with the group during the breaks between the morning, afternoon, and evening meetings. They wanted Jesus to take charge of these discussions; he said no and would not budge, but he did agree to teach three lectures dealing with sympathy, tolerance, and co-operation.

Abner and Andrew took turns conducting the meetings. They had much to discuss and many problems to solve. Even though Jesus had already refused to participate, the apostles kept coming to him for advice. Always, Jesus’ response was that he was only concerned with the person, not the group. Jesus said his purpose was to represent the Father to the individual and to help that specific person as needed with their own personal religious issues. But when it came to group decisions coordinating the work and turning religion into an organized social group of people all believing the same way, the apostles would have to handle that themselves. Jesus told them all in advance that he would agree with whatever they decided as long as all of them were also in agreement.

After the first week of talks Jesus left the apostles. He said “And now to leave you alone so you can work, I am taking off for two weeks. Do not worry about me: I will be back. I am going to be doing my Father’s business, because we have other realms besides this one.” Jesus then went down the mountain and they did not see him again for two weeks. No one ever knew where Jesus went, or what he did during those fourteen days.

It took the apostles some time to compose themselves after Jesus left, and they had to do so without his help. Then, the first thing they all agreed on was adopting the prayer that Jesus had just taught them as the one prayer that both groups would teach the people. Next, they decided that as long as John the Baptist was alive, whether he was in prison or not, both groups would continue with their current work meeting every three months for a week to settle any problems that arose.

The most serious decision the group had to make concerned baptism, and again they had no guidance from Jesus because he had refused to comment. They finally decided that Jesus’ apostles would teach the people and that John’s apostles would baptize them. They all agreed that baptism should be the first step a person takes to show others that they were in the brotherhood of the kingdom. If John were to die they agreed that his disciples would then follow Jesus, and they would not baptize people unless Jesus or the apostles agreed. In that case, Jesus’ apostles would begin baptizing believers with water to signify the Divine Spirit. The final decision about baptism was whether or not to make repentance a requirement. In the end they left that decision open. John’s apostles preached, “Repent and be baptized” while Jesus’ apostles told people, “Believe and be baptized.”

This was the first time Jesus’ followers coordinated their efforts to construct the framework for the coming Christian religion, and in the process they resolved many of their problems. For these twenty-four men the two weeks of having to resolve their problems without Jesus’ help was a remarkable experience. They learned to differ, debate, and compromise while staying open, at least to an extent, to the other person’s viewpoint.

Jesus returned on the final day of their joint talks. He listened to their report and then said that he would help each of them meet their responsibility to carry out the spirit of their joint decisions. For the next two and a half months, up until John the Baptist was killed, John’s apostles worked with Jesus and his twelve teaching and baptizing people in the cities of the Decapolis. They broke camp on Mount Gilboa on November 2, A.D. 27.

In the Decapolis Cities

November and December signaled the end of assuming John the Baptist’s efforts and instructing his disciples on Jesus’ teachings. The twenty-four worked quietly in the Greek cities of the Decapolis and focused most of their time in Abila, Gerasa, Gadara, and Scythopolis; they worked in pairs preaching the gospel as they each understood it, with Jesus’ group teaching people and John’s baptizing them. Many gentiles and renegade Jews heeded their call and became believers in the new gospel of the kingdom.

While the apostles worked with the people Jesus spent his time teaching the twenty-four. He also had many special sessions with just John’s disciples, and those meetings helped them to better understand why Jesus did not visit John in prison or try to get him released. Before coming to the Gilboa camp most of these men had accepted Jesus because John had said that they should, but afterwards they believed in Jesus because they knew him. Still, they never could understand why he refused to perform miracles to convince people he was the Messiah.

Abner became especially devoted to Jesus, and he was eventually put in charge of seventy other teachers that Jesus had instructed. The process of integrating the two groups of apostles showed how a new revelation has to compromise with the former religion it was trying to salvage. In this case, Jesus’ apostles agreed to baptism to include John’s apostles in their new religion and John’s apostles in turn had to give up almost everything except the water baptism to be accepted by Jesus’ apostles.

In Camp Near Pella

Toward the end of December everyone went over to the Jordan close to Pella and continued teaching and baptizing both Jews and gentiles. One afternoon some special friends of John the Baptist interrupted Jesus as he spoke to the crowd, and said “John the Baptist has sent us to ask, are you truly the Deliverer or will we look for another?”

That was the last message that Jesus ever received from John. Since it had been a year and a half with almost no word from Jesus, it was not odd for John to wonder about the status of the kingdom. Jesus told John’s friends, “Go back and tell John that he is not forgotten. Tell him what you have seen and heard, and that the poor have good tidings preached to them.”

Jesus then turned back to the crowd and said “Do not think that John doubts the gospel of the kingdom. He is only asking this question to assure his disciples, who are also my disciples. John is no weakling. Let me ask you who heard John preach before Herod put him in prison: What did you see in John—a reed shaking in the wind? A man who changes his moods and wears fancy clothes? As a rule the people who wear fine cloths and have easy lives are found in king’s courts and rich people’s mansions. But what did you see when you looked at John? A prophet? Yes I say to you, and much more than a prophet. Of John it was written ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face; he will prepare the way before you.’ It is true when I tell you that there has never been born a person nobler than John the Baptist, but with that said, people born of the spirit no matter how small they may be in the kingdom of heaven are more exalted than John because they know they have become sons of God.” Many of the people who heard Jesus that day left to be baptized. After this event John’s apostles fully accepted Jesus and the two groups finally bonded more or less as one. John’s friends returned to Machaerus and told him what Jesus had said; this eased John’s mind, and strengthened his faith.

Later in the afternoon while he was still speaking to the crowd, Jesus said “But to what should I compare this generation? Many of you will not believe John’s message or my teaching. You are like children playing in the marketplace telling their friends, ‘We piped for you and you did not dance; we wailed and you did not mourn.’ It is the same with some of you. John did not come eating and drinking, and yet they said he had a devil. The Son of Man comes eating and drinking, and these same people say ‘Look at the wino and greedy pig, a friend of sinners and tax collectors. It is true that wisdom is justified by her children. It seems that the Father in heaven has hidden some of these truths from the wise and haughty, while he has shown them to babes. But the Father does all things well; the Father reveals himself to the universe in his own way. So come, all who work and carry heavy loads and you will find rest for your souls. Take up the divine yoke and you will experience the peace of God that passes all other types of understanding.”

Death of John the Baptist

Herod Antipas had John the Baptist killed the evening of January 10, A.D. 28. The next morning some of John’s disciples asked Herod for John’s body and then placed him in a tomb. Later he was buried at Abner’s home in Sebaste. The next day, January 12^th, John’s friends went north to the camp where Jesus and the twenty-four were teaching near Pella and told Jesus everything that had happened. When Jesus learned about John’s death he stopped his lecture and told the crowd to go home. Then he called the twenty-four apostles together and said “John’s dead. Herod had him beheaded. Tonight, all of you arrange your affairs: the wait is over. The hour has come for us to go out in power and announce the kingdom to everyone. Tomorrow we go to Galilee.” The next morning January 13, A.D. 28 Jesus, the apostles, and twenty-five disciples left for Capernaum to spend the night at Zebedee’s house.