Ch. 44, The Perean Mission Begins

“Son of Man: Urantia,” 2nd edition

The Perean Mission Begins

Abner was a Nazarite who had at one time been the headmaster of their school at Engedi, and then the chief of John the Baptist’s apostles. He was well acquainted with the Perean district because it was where John had done most of his work. During Judas Maccabee’s era most of the Jews had been relocated from these lands, and now Perea was about equally Jewish and gentile: it was the most beautiful province in all of Palestine, known as “the land beyond the Jordan.” On Tuesday, January 3, A.D. 30 Abner called the seventy evangelists together and gave them their final instructions before they went out to all of the villages in Perea: he and the others never again returned to the Pella camp. The evangelists took the gospel to more than eighty-five towns, including: Adam, Dion, Aroer, Tyrus, Macad, Edrei, Gadda, Zaphon, Gadara, Arbela, Ramath, Bosora, Caspin, Mispeh, Gerasa, Ragaba, Penuel, Hatita, Gilead, Livias, Sibmah, Medeba, Succoth, Amathus, Shittim, Elealah, Heshbon, Jogbehah, Beth-Peor, Beth-Meon, Areopolis, Callirrhoe, Capitolias, Beth-Nimrah, and Philadelphia.

The Perean mission lasted almost three months. Although Jesus had not told them to do so, Abner and the seventy baptized the new believers. The women’s corps now numbered sixty-two and they took over most of the work caring for the sick. During this mission there were no miracles: everyone concentrated on teaching the people the higher spiritual aspects of the gospel. More than anywhere else in Palestine the crowds were excited, and in general the gospel was well accepted by the better classes. During this last mission Jesus divided his time between the Pella camp and helping the others as they taught in the villages: after the Perean mission ended he went straight to Jerusalem to pass through his final experiences as a mortal of the realm.

At the Pella Camp

By mid-January more than twelve hundred people were staying at Pella. When Jesus was in camp he taught at least once a day, usually about nine o’clock in the morning if it was not raining. Peter and the other apostles taught in the afternoons. As usual the evenings were reserved for Jesus’ question and answer sessions with the twelve and the more advanced disciples. These evening groups averaged about fifty people. When Jesus left for Jerusalem in mid-March there were over four thousand people attending the lessons that either he or Peter taught every morning. Jesus decided to end his time on Earth when his message was at its peak during this second, no-miracle phase of spreading the gospel. Three quarters of these crowds were sincere people looking for the truth; the rest were Pharisees and others from Jerusalem who doubted Jesus’ message.

Sermon on the Good Shepherd

After escaping the Jewish rulers in Jerusalem, Jesus was followed to Pella by over three hundred people—Pharisees, teachers, and other believers. It was to a group of about a hundred of these people, along with the twelve apostles, that Jesus preached the sermon on the good shepherd. He said “Tonight I have much to tell you, and since some of you are my disciples and others are my enemies, I am going to teach you with a parable so that each of you can take whatever finds reception in your heart.”

“Here tonight are people who would be willing to die for me and this gospel, and some of them will in the years ahead. There are also people here, slaves of tradition, who have followed me to this place and who along with their deluded leaders want to kill the Son of Man. The life that I now live as a man with you will judge both of you, the true shepherds and the false shepherds. If the false shepherd was blind he would have no sin. But you do not claim to be blind: you claim that you can see. You say you are the teachers of Israel, and because of that you do sin.’

“In times of danger the true shepherd gathers his flock into the sheepfold to keep them safe. When the morning comes he enters into the fold by the door, and when he calls the sheep know his voice. Every shepherd who gains entrance to the sheepfold by any other way than the door is a thief. The true shepherd enters the fold after his helper has opened the door for him, and his sheep, knowing his voice, come out at his word. When those sheep that are his are brought out, the true shepherd goes before them: he leads the way and the sheep follow him. His sheep follow him because they know his voice: they will not follow a stranger. They will run from the stranger because they do not know his voice. This crowd that is gathered around us here are like sheep without a shepherd. But when we speak to them they know the shepherd’s voice and they follow after us. At least do those who thirst and hunger for truth and righteousness. Some of you are not of my fold: you do not know my voice and you do not follow me, and because you are false shepherds the sheep will not know your voice and they will not follow you.”

After a pause, Jesus said “Those of you who want to be the assistant shepherds of my Father’s flocks must not only be worthy leaders, but you must also feed the flock with good food. You are not true shepherds unless you lead your flocks into green pastures and beside still waters.’

“Now in case some of you too easily understand this parable, I am telling you that I am both the door to the Father’s sheepfold and at the same time the true shepherd of my Father’s flocks. Every shepherd who wants to enter the fold without me will fail, and the sheep will not hear his voice. I and my disciples are the door. Every soul who enters on the eternal path by the way I have ordained will be saved and will go on to attain the eternal pastures of Paradise.’

“But I am also the true shepherd who is willing to even die for the sheep. The thief breaks into the sheepfold only to kill, steal, and destroy. But I have come so that all of you can have life, and have more of it. He who is a hireling when danger comes will run away and allow the sheep to be scattered and destroyed. But the true shepherd will not run when the wolf comes: he will protect his flock and if necessary lay down his life for his sheep. It is the truth when I tell you, friends and enemies, that I am the true shepherd. I know my own and my own know me. I will not run away in the face of danger. I will complete my service to my Father’s will and I will not abandon the flock that the Father has trusted me to keep.’

“But I have many other sheep who are not part of this sheepfold, and these words are true for other worlds, not only yours. These other sheep also hear and know my voice, and I have promised the Father that they will all be brought into one fold—one brotherhood of the sons of God. Then everyone will know the voice of one shepherd, the true shepherd, and all people will recognize the fatherhood of God.’

“Why does the Father love me and why has he put all of his flock into my hands for keeping? It is because the Father knows that I will not waiver in keeping the fold safe, that I will not desert my sheep, and that if it is required I will not hesitate to lay down my life in service to his many flocks. But know this, if I lay down my life I will take it up again. No person or any other creature can take away my life. I have the right and the power to lay down my life, and I have the same right and power to take it up again. You cannot understand this, but I was given this power from my Father even before this world came into being.”

The apostles were confused, his disciples were amazed, and the Pharisees from Jerusalem left into the night saying, “He is either mad, or he has a devil.” But even some of the Jerusalem teachers said “He speaks like one having authority; besides, who has ever seen a devil open the eyes of a blind man and do all of the wonderful things that this man has?” In the morning about half of these Jewish teachers stated their belief in Jesus, and the rest in shock went back to Jerusalem and their homes.

Saturday’s Sermon at Pella

By the end of January the crowds gathering for the Sabbath services had grown to almost three thousand people. On this Saturday, January 28^th Jesus preached the sermon on trust and spiritual preparedness. After Simon Peter gave the opening remarks, Jesus said “What I have told my apostles and disciples many times, I am now telling you: beware of the unbelief of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy born of prejudice and nurtured in traditional bondage, even though many of them have honest hearts and some stay here as my disciples. Soon you will all understand my teachings, for there is nothing hidden now that will not be revealed: all will be made known when the Son of Man has completed his mission in the flesh on Earth.’

“Soon, very soon, the things that our enemies are now planning in secrecy and in darkness will be brought out into the light and announced from the rooftops. But I am telling you, my friends that when they want to destroy the Son of Man do not be afraid of them. Do not fear those who, although they can kill the body after that have no more power over you. I warn you to fear no one in heaven or on Earth, but instead to rejoice in knowing him who has the power to deliver you from all wickedness and to present you blameless before the judgment seat of a universe.’

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet when these birds flit about looking for food not one of them exists without the Father, the source of all life, knowing it. To the seraphic guardians the very hairs of your head are numbered. If all of this is true why should you live in fear of the many trifles that come up in your daily lives? I am telling you not to fear: you are much more valuable than a bunch of sparrows.’

“All of you who have had the courage to state your faith in my gospel before everyone else, I will soon praise before the angels of heaven. But he who knowingly denies the truth of my teachings in front of people will be denied by his guardian of destiny even before the angels of heaven.’

“Say what you will about the Son of Man and you will be forgiven. But the people who presume to blaspheme against God will hardly be forgiven, because when people go so far as to knowingly say that God’s deeds are the forces of evil, those types of rebels will hardly ever want to have their sins forgiven much less ask for forgiveness.’

“When our enemies bring you before the rulers of the synagogues and before other high courts, do not worry about what you will say or be anxious about how you will answer their questions because the spirit that dwells in you will teach you in that hour what you should say in honor of the gospel of the kingdom.’

“How long will you procrastinate in the valley of decision? Why do you go back and forth between two opinions? Why should Jews or gentiles hesitate to accept the good news that they are sons of the eternal God? How long will it take us to persuade you to joyfully enter into your spiritual inheritance? I came into this world to reveal the Father to you, and to lead you to the Father. The first I have done, but the last I cannot do without your consent. The Father never forces anyone to enter the kingdom. The invitation has always been and always will be, ‘Whosoever will, let the person come and freely partake of the water of life.’” When Jesus had finished speaking many people went down to the river to be baptized by the apostles in the Jordan, while Jesus answered questions for the people who remained behind.

Dividing the Inheritance

As the apostles baptized believers in the Jordan and Jesus talked with the people who had stayed behind, a young man came up and said “Master, my father died leaving me and my brother much property but my brother refuses to give me that what is mine. Will you ask my brother to divide this inheritance with me?”

Jesus was mildly indignant that this material-minded young man brought up a question about business, but he decided to use the moment to further teach the people. Jesus asked “Man, who made me a divider over you? Where did you get the idea that I care about the material affairs of this world?”

Turning to the people around him, Jesus said “Be careful and keep yourselves free from wanting too much in this life. People’s lives are not about how many possessions they have. Happiness does not come from the power of wealth, and joy does not come from riches. Wealth in and of itself is not a curse. But the love of riches many times leads to so much devotion to the material things of this world that the soul is blinded to the beautiful spiritual realities of the kingdom of God on Earth or to the joys of eternal life in heaven.”

“Let me tell you a story of a certain rich man whose harvests were always full. When he became rich he asked himself, ‘What will I do with all of my wealth? I now have so much money that I have no place to keep it.’ After giving his problem some thought he told himself, ‘This is what I will do. I will replace my barns with bigger ones so that I have enough room to store all of my riches. Then I can say to my soul ‘soul, you have enough money to last you for many years. Now take it easy: eat, drink, and be merry because you are rich.’

“But this rich man was also foolish. While he took care of the material needs for his mind and body, he failed to put away any treasures in heaven to satisfy his spirit and save his soul. Even then he was not going to enjoy spending his wealth because that night his soul was required: thieves broke into his house and killed him, and after they had stolen all that they wanted from the barns they burned the rest to the ground. As for what remained after the fire, his heirs fought for among themselves. This man hoarded treasures for himself on Earth but he was not rich with God.”

Jesus dealt with the young man this way because he knew that greed was his problem. But even if that had not been the case, Jesus would not have interfered because he never meddled in the earthly affairs of his apostles, much less his disciples.

After Jesus had finished his story about the rich man, another person stood up and said “Master, I know that your apostles have sold all of their earthly possessions to follow you, and that they share all that they have like the Essenes do. But do you want all of us who are your disciples to do the same? Is it a sin to possess honest wealth?”

Jesus replied “My friend, it is not a sin to have honorable wealth. But it is a sin if your material wealth turns into treasuresthat take all of your interest and divert your devotion from the spiritual goals of the kingdom. There is no sin in having honest wealth on Earth provided your treasure is in heaven, because where your treasure is your heart will be. There is a vast difference between wealth that leads to selfishness, and wealth that is held and managed to support those people who are devoting their energies to the kingdom. Many of you here have no money, yet you are being fed and housed in yonder tent city because of generous people who have donated money to David Zebedee for these needs.’

“But never forget that in the end wealth does not last: it does not endure. The love of riches usually clouds up and even destroys the spiritual vision. Do not fail to recognize the danger of money becoming your master instead of your servant.”

Jesus did not teach and he did not approve of idleness, extravagance, depending on charity, or not caring for the physical needs of one’s family. But he did teach that earthly matters had to be placed lower than the soul’s welfare and spiritual progress in the kingdom of heaven.

The people went down to the river to watch the new believers being baptized. The first man who had questioned Jesus about his inheritance and who felt like he had been dealt with too harshly, went up to Jesus in private and again asked him about his wealth. Jesus said “My son, why are you missing the opportunity to feed on the bread of life in order to please your greed? Do you not know that the Jewish laws of inheritance will get you your money if you take your complaint to the court at the synagogue? Can you not see that my work has to do with making sure that you know about your heavenly inheritance? Have you not read the scripture, ‘There is he who grows rich by his suspicion and dishonesty, and this is his reward: he says I have found rest and now I will be able to continually meet my needs, but he does not know what time will bring him and that he must leave all of these things to other people when he dies.’

“Have you not read the commandment, ‘You will not covet’: that you are not to crave things? And again, ‘They have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat, and then they turned to other gods.’ Have you read in the Psalms that ‘the Lord abhors the covetous,’ that ‘the little a righteous person has is better than the riches of many wicked people.’ ‘If you become wealthy, if your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.’ Have you read where Jeremiah said the rich man should not glorify his riches?’ Ezekiel spoke the truth when he said ‘With their mouths they make a show of love, but their hearts are set on their own selfish gain.’” As Jesus sent the young man away he said “My son, what will it profit you if you gain the whole world and yet you lose your own soul?”

Another person asked Jesus how the wealthy would be received in the day of judgment, and Jesus said “I have not come to judge either the rich or the poor: the lives that people have lived will be their judgement for all.”

At least three questions must be answered by everyone who acquires immense wealth: how much wealth did you accumulate, how did you gain this wealth, and how did you use your wealth?”

Talks to the Apostles on Wealth

After supper when Jesus and the twelve were gathered together for their evening meeting, Andrew said “Master, would you repeat for us what you told the people while we were baptizing believers?”

Jesus said “Yes Andrew, I will speak to you about these matters of wealth and self-support. But what I say to you, my apostles, must be different than what I told the disciples and the crowds since you have given up everything not only to follow me, but to be ordained as ambassadors of the kingdom.’

“You already have several years of experience, and you know that the Father will not desert you. You have dedicated your lives to the ministry of the kingdom: because of that do not worry about the things of the earthly life—like what you will eat, or for your body—what you will wear. The welfare of the soul is more than food and drink. The spirit’s progress is far more important than fancy clothing. When you are tempted to doubt that you will be fed, consider the ravens: they do not sow or reap and they have no barns or warehouses and yet the Father provides food for every one of them that looks for it. And how much more valuable are you than many birds! Besides, all of your worrying can do nothing to take care of your material needs. Which of you by worrying can add a day to your life or six inches to your height? Since such things are not in your hands why do you worry about any of these problems?’

“Consider the lilies, how they grow. They do not work or spin thread; yet I say to you even Solomon in all of his glory was not attired like one of these lilies. If God dresses the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is cut down and thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you the ambassadors of the heavenly kingdom? O you of little faith! When you wholeheartedly devote yourselves to announcing the gospel of the kingdom you should not worry concerning the support of yourselves or the families you have given up. If you truly give your lives to the gospel you will live by the gospel. If you are only believing disciples, you must earn your own bread and donate to the needs of all who heal, teach, and preach. If you are anxious about your bread and water, how are you any different from the nations of the world who so carefully look for such needs? Devote yourselves to your work believing that both the Father and I know that you need all of these things. Let me assure you once and for all that if you dedicate your lives to the work of the kingdom all of your real needs will be met. Look for the greater thing and the lesser things will be found there; ask for the heavenly and the earthly will be included. The shadow is certain to follow the substance.’

“You are only a small group but if you have faith, if you do not stumble in fear, I am telling you that it is my Father’s good pleasure to give you this kingdom. You have stored your treasures where the purse does not grow old, where no thief can steal it, and where no moth can destroy it. As I told the people, where your treasure is there is also your heart.’

“But in the work that is just ahead of us and in the work that remains for you after I go to the Father you will be seriously tried. You must all be on your guard against fear and doubt. Every one of you prepare your minds and refresh your souls in worship. Stand guard like people who are watching for their master to return from the marriage feast so that when he knocks on the door they can quickly open it for them. Such watchful servants are blessed by the master who finds them faithful at such an important moment. Then will the master make his servants sit down while he himself serves them. It is the truth when I tell you that a crisis is just ahead in your lives, and it is your duty to watch and to be ready.’

“You know full well that no one would let his house be broken into if he knew what time the thief was going to come. Watch out for yourselves, because at a time that you least suspect and in a way you do not expect, the Son of Man will leave.”

The twelve sat in silence. They had heard some of these warnings before but not in exactly this way.

Answer to Peter’s Question

Simon Peter said “Do you speak this parable to us, your apostles, or is it for all of the disciples?”

Jesus replied “In the time of testing, people’s souls are revealed: hardship discloses what is in the heart. When the servant is tested and proven, then the lord of the house can put the servant in charge of his household and be secure knowing that his children are fed and nurtured. Likewise, I will soon know who can be trusted with the welfare of my children when I have returned to the Father. Like the lord of the household will put the true and tried servant in charge of the affairs of his family, so will I praise those who endure the hardships of this hour in the affairs of my kingdom.’

“But if the servant is lazy and starts to say in his heart, ‘My master is late in coming’ and he begins to mistreat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunken, then that servant’s lord will come at a time when he is not ready, and finding the servant unfaithful will throw him out in disgrace. So do yourselves well by preparing yourselves for that day when you will be visited suddenly and in an unexpected manner. Remember, much has been given to you: because of that, much will be required of you. Fiery trials are drawing near. I have a baptism I must go through to elevate me, and I am on watch until this is done. You preach peace on Earth, but my mission will not bring peace in the earthly affairs of humanity, a least not for a time. When two members of a family believe in me and the other three members reject this gospel, the only result can be division. Friends, relatives, and loved ones are going to break apart because of the gospel you preach. True, each of these believers will have lasting and profound peace in their own heart, but peace on Earth will not come until all people are willing to believe in and enter into their glorious inheritance as sons with God. Nevertheless, go into all the world announcing this gospel to all nations: to every man, woman, and child.”

This conversation ended a busy Saturday. In the morning, Jesus and the twelve went into the cities of northern Perea to visit with the seventy working under Abner’s supervision.