Ch. 46, The Visit to Philadelphia

“Son of Man: Urantia,” 2nd edition

The Visit to Philadelphia

Throughout the Perean mission ten of the apostles would go with Jesus to visit the seventy evangelists while two of them would stay behind to teach the crowds at Pella. Usually three to five hundred believers would follow Jesus when he travelled around Peria. On this particular trip to Philadelphia, Simon Peter and his brother Andrew were the two apostles that returned to Pella to teach. By the time Jesus and the other ten arrived in Philadelphia on Wednesday, February 22^ndover six hundred people were following them. They rested over Thursday and Friday, and then Friday evening James spoke in the synagogue where they decided to hold a general meeting the next night. Everyone was happy about the progress at Philadelphia and in the other villages, and David’s messengers told them about the kingdom’s progress in the rest of Palestine, Alexandria, and Damascus. No miracles had occurred during the Decapolis tour, and except for healing the lepers none had occurred on the Perean mission. The gospel was being announced with power not miracles, and most of it was being done without Jesus or the apostles present.

Breakfast with the Pharisees

In Philadelphia on Saturday morning another wealthy and influential Pharisee who believed in the gospel held a breakfast in Jesus’ honor. About forty Pharisees along with a few lawyers arrived from Jerusalem to attend the meal. Jesus was standing by the door talking with Abner and the host was already sitting at the table when a leading Pharisee from the Sanhedrin went, as he usually did, to take his seat of honor just to the left of the host. But for this occasion the host had reserved that seat for Jesus and the seat immediately to the host’s right was reserved for Abner: the Pharisee’s seat was the fourth to the host’s left, which offended the dignitary.

Most of the people at the breakfast were friendly to Jesus and the gospel, and they were enjoying themselves as they visited. Only Jesus’ enemies noticed that he did not wash his hands, and while Abner did wash before the meal he did not between courses. Near the end of the breakfast a man came in from the street. He had suffered for many years from disease, and now his arms and legs were swollen out of proportion. This sick man had recently been baptized by Abner’s group, and while he did not ask Jesus for healing Jesus knew that the man had come to the breakfast so that he would notice him. This man knew that Jesus was not performing miracles at that time, but he decided that if Jesus saw how bad off he was that it might appeal to his compassion. The man was right. When he entered the room both Jesus and the Pharisee from the Sanhedrin noticed him. The Pharisee immediately let everyone know that he was upset that the sick man was there. But when the man looked at Jesus, Jesus’ expression was so kind that the man went over and sat himself on the floor next to him. As the meal was ending Jesus looked around at the other guests, and then after giving the man a meaningful glance he said “My friends, teachers in Israel, and learned lawyers I want to ask you a question: is it lawful to heal the sick and those with disease on the Sabbath, or not?”

Most of the people at the breakfast table knew Jesus too well to respond, and no one answered his question. Then Jesus went over to the sick man and taking him by the hand said “Get up and go your way. You have not asked to be healed, but I know your heart’s desire and your soul’s faith.”

Before the man left the room Jesus returned to his seat and said to those sitting at the table, “My Father does miracles like this not to tempt you into the kingdom, but to reveal himself to those who are already in the kingdom. You can see that it would be like the Father to do these kinds of things, because if one of you had a favorite pet that fell down a well on the Sabbath you would immediately go and save it.”

Since no one responded and it appeared that his host agreed, Jesus stood up and said to everyone, “My friends, when you are invited to a wedding feast do not sit down in the most important seat because maybe someone more honored than you has been invited. Then the host will have to ask you to give up your place to this other more honored guest. If that happens, with shame you will have to take a lower place at the table. Instead, when you are invited to a feast it would be wise to look for the lowest place and take your seat there. That way when the host looks around at his guests he can say to you, ‘My friend why sit in the lowest seat? Come up higher.” Thus the person will be glorified in the presence of his fellow guests. Do not forget, everyone who praises himself will be humbled, while he who truly humbles himself will be praised. So when you plan a supper do not always invite just your family, your friends, or your rich neighbors so that they can return the favor and invite you to their dinners. Sometimes invite the poor, the blind, and the maimed and you will be blessed in your heart because you know the lame and poor cannot repay your loving ministry.’

Parable of the Great Supper

One of the lawyers who wanted to relieve the silence said “Blessed is he who will eat bread in the kingdom of God,” which was a common saying in that era.

Jesus then told everyone a parable that even his friendly host was compelled to take to heart. He said “There was a ruler who was giving a grand supper, and after having invited many guests he sent his servants out at dinner time to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, for everything is ready now.’ But all of them began to make excuses. The first person who was invited said ‘I have just bought a farm and I have to work on it; I pray you excuse me.’ Another person who was invited said ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen and I have to go and get them; I pray you excuse me.’ Then another person said ‘I have just gotten married so I cannot come.’

“The servants returned and told this to their master. The master of the house was angry, and turning to his servants he said ‘I have prepared this marriage feast; the fatlings are killed and everything is ready for my guests but they have rejected my invitation; everyone one of them has gone off to his lands and his possessions and they even disrespect my servants who invite them to come to my feast. So quickly go out into the lanes and streets of the city, out into the byways and highways and bring the poor and the outcast and the lame and the blind back here with you so that the marriage feast will have guests.’ The servants did as their lord commanded and there was still room for more guests. Then the lord said to his servants, ‘Go out now into the roads and the countryside and convince those who are there to come here so that my house will be full. I declare that none of those who were first invited will taste my supper.’ The servants again did as their master commanded and the house was filled.”

After the people at breakfast heard these words they left and every person went to their own home. At least one of the Pharisees who had been sneering at Jesus that morning understood the meaning of this parable and was baptized later that day. The next day all of the apostles tried their hand at interpreting this parable of the great supper. Although Jesus listened with interest to all of their different interpretations, he was steadfast in refusing to offer them any more help. All he would say was “Let every man find out the meaning for himself, and in his own soul.”

The Woman with the Spirit of Infirmity

Jesus taught in the synagogue on the Sabbath. At the end of the service he looked down and saw a depressed elderly woman whose body looked more bent over than normal for her age. This woman had long lived in fear, and all of the joy had passed out of her life. As Jesus stepped down from the platform he went over and touching her on the shoulder said “Woman, if you would only believe, your depression would go away.” This woman who had been bound by fear and depression for more than eighteen years believed Jesus, and by faith immediately stood straight. When she saw that she could stand erect, she lifted up her voice and glorified God.

Even though this woman’s problem was mental illness, and her bowed-over body was the result of her depression, the people thought that Jesus had healed a real physical disorder. Although the congregation at Philadelphia was itselffriendly toward Jesus, its leader was an unfriendly Pharisee. Angry that Jesus had ventured to do such a thing on the Sabbath he stood up before everyone and said “Are there not six days that people should do all their work? In these working days come then and be healed, but not on the Sabbath day.”

Jesus returned to the speaker’s platform and said “Why play the part of hypocrites? Do not every one of you on the Sabbath let the ox out of the stall and lead it over to its water? If it is okay to do that on the Sabbath should not this women, who is a daughter of Abraham and who has been bound by evil for eighteen years, be untied from her bondage and led to drink the waters of life and liberty even on the Sabbath?” As the woman continued to glorify God, Jesus’ critic was put to shame and the congregation joined her in rejoicing that she had been healed; the leader of the synagogue was replaced with one of Jesus’ followers.

Jesus taught in the synagogue again on Sunday, and later at noon many more people were baptized by Abner in the river south of the city. In the morning, Jesus and the apostles would have returned to the Pella camp but one of David’s messengers had shown up the night before and changed their plans: he had an urgent message for Jesus from his friends at Bethany near Jerusalem.

The Message from Bethany

It was late that Sunday night, February 26^th when a runner from Bethany showed up at Philadelphia with a message from Mary and Martha. It said “Lord, he whom you love is very sick.”

Jesus received this message at the end of the evening conference and just as he was saying good night to the apostles. At first Jesus said nothing. This was one of those times when he would pause and seemed to be communicating with someone outside of himself. Then looking at the messenger Jesus said loud enough that the apostles could hear him, “This sickness is not to the death. Do not doubt that it can be used to glorify God and praise the Son.”

Jesus was fond of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus; he had an intense love for all three of them. His first human thought when he received the message was to go at once to help. But another idea came to his combined human-divine mind. He had almost given up hope that the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem would ever accept the kingdom, but he still loved his people. He now came to a plan to give the scribes and Pharisees in Jerusalem one more chance to accept his teaching. Furthermore, he decided to make this last appeal to Jerusalem the most astounding wonder of his entire time on Earth. The Jews clung to the idea of a miracle-working deliverer, and although Jesus refused to stoop to performing miracles or assuming political power, he now asked his Father for permission to show us his so far unshown power over life and death.

The Jews were in the habit of burying their dead the day that they died: this was because of the warm climate. Many times they put someone in the tomb who was only comatose, and on the second or even the third day the person would walk out of the tomb. But the Jews also believed that while the person’s soul or spirit may hang around the body for two or three days, it never stayed any longer; that too much decay had set in by the fourth day and that no one ever came out of the tomb after that long of a time. It was for these reasons that Jesus waited a full two days in Philadelphia before going to Bethany.

Early Wednesday morning Jesus said “Let us prepare to go at once back to Judea.” When the apostles heard Jesus they went off by themselves to talk. James took the lead in the discussion, and they all agreed that it would be stupid to let Jesus go back to Judea. With all of them in agreement they went back to Jesus and James said ‘Master, you were in Jerusalem a few weeks ago and the leaders tried to kill you while the people wanted to stone you. You gave these men their chance to receive the truth then, and we will not let you to go back to Judea now.”

Jesus said “But do you not understand that there are twelve hours of the day that work can be safely done? If people walk in the day they do not stumble because they have light, but if people walk at night they are liable to stumble since they do not have light. As long as my day lasts, I am not afraid to enter Judea. I want to do one more mighty work for these Jews; I want to give them one more chance to believe, even on their own terms of showing them the outward glory and the visible power of the Father and the love of the Son. Besides, do you not realize that our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep and I want to go and wake him up!”

One of the apostles said “Master, if Lazarus has fallen asleep then he will be sure to recover.”

In that era it was the Jew’s custom to talk about death like it was a form of sleep. Since the apostles did not understand that Jesus meant that Lazarus had left this world, he now plainly said “Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there because now you will have a new reason to believe in me, and because what you will see should strengthen all of you for the day when I will leave you and return to the Father.”

When they could not dissuade Jesus from returning to Judea and when some of the apostles said they were unwilling to go with him, Thomas said “We have told the Master our fears, but he is determined to go to Bethany. I am satisfied it means the end; they will surely kill him. But if that is the Master’s choice then let us act like men of courage; let us go so that we can also die with him.” And it was always this way: in matters requiring sustained and deliberate courage, Thomas was the mainstay of the twelve apostles.

On the Way to Bethany

Almost fifty people, both friendly and not, had followed Jesus and the apostles back to Bethany. On Wednesday during the lunch break, Jesus gave a talk on the terms of salvation. To end the lecture he told the parable of the Pharisee and the publican. Jesus said “You see that the Father gives salvation to humanity’s children, and that this salvation is a free gift to everyone who has the faith to receive sonship in the divine family. There is nothing that people can do to earn this salvation. Self-righteous works cannot buy God’s favor, and praying much in public will not make up for lacking faith in your heart. You can deceive people by your outward acts, but God looks into your souls. What I am telling you is well illustrated by two men who went into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. The Pharisee stood inside and prayed to himself, ‘O God I thank you that I am not like other men who are unjust, adulterers, uneducated, extortioners, or even like this tax-collector next to me. I fast twice a week and I pay temple taxes on all that I receive.’ But the tax collector standing far away would not so much as lift his eyes to heaven, and instead beat his chest and said ‘God be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you that the tax collector went home with God’s approval and not the Pharisee, because everyone who brags about himself will be humbled while everyone who humbles himself will be uplifted.”

That night in Jericho the unfriendly Pharisees again tried to trick Jesus by engaging him in a conversation about divorce and marriage like they had before in Galilee. But Jesus avoided the discussion: contrasted against the marriage laws of the Jewish code, the Pharisees’ interpretation of Moses’ divorce statutes was lax and disgraceful. The Pharisee and the tax-collector represented both bad and good religion. The Pharisee judged himself by the lowest standard, while the tax-collector squared himself against the highest ideal. For the Pharisees, devotion was an excuse to do nothing: it was a self-deceiving sham used to show people how self-righteous and spiritually secure they were with God. For the tax-collector devotion roused his soul to repent, confess, and accept by faith God’s mercy and forgiveness. The Pharisee was looking for justice: the tax-collector was looking for mercy. The law of the universe is “Ask and you will receive: seek and you will find.”

While Jesus avoided the argument with the Pharisees, he did say that marriage was the highest ideal of all human relationships. He disapproved of the Jerusalem Jews being allowed to divorce their wives for anything from being bad cooks to the man becoming enamored with a better looking woman. The Pharisees went so far as to say that an easy divorce was a special right of the Jewish people, especially the Pharisees. So while Jesus did not tell them what their laws should be, he did bitterly condemn breaking marriage vows and pointed out the injustice that happens to the women and children. Jesus never agreed with any practice that gave men advantage over women: he only supported those teachings that placed women equal with men.

Although Jesus did not offer new rules to govern divorce and marriage, he did urge the Jews to live up to the laws and higher teachings they already had. He constantly referred them back to their own scriptures for help in this subject. Jesus upheld their highest ideals of marriage while he avoided saying much about how they actually practiced divorce or that they had special privileges to do so. The apostles were confused as to why Jesus did not want to speak too much about social, economic, political, or scientific problems: they did not realize that Jesus’ mission on Earth was exclusively to reveal spiritual and religious truths.

Later that evening Jesus told the apostles, “Marriage is honorable and it is to be desired by all people. The fact that the Son of Man is doing his Earth mission alone is in no way a reflection of the desirability of marriage. The Father has made male and female, and it is his divine will that men and women should find their highest service and resulting joy in establishing homes to bear and train children as co-partners with the makers of the Earth and the heavens. To build a family is why men and women leave their parents and cling to one another, the two becoming as one.’

Blessing the Little Children

That night Jesus’ comments about marriage and children being blessed spread throughout Jericho. By the next morning, well before breakfast, scores of mothers carrying their babies and leading their children by the hand arrived at the house asking Jesus to bless their little ones. The apostles went outside and tried to send the mothers away, but they refused to leave until Jesus had laid his hands on the children. The apostles became angry and raised their voices. When Jesus heard all of this through the window, he went outside and annoyed and offended he roughly scolded his apostles saying “Put up with little children coming to me: do not stop them because of such is the kingdom of heaven. It is true when I say to you that those who do not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will hardly enter it to grow up to the full stature of spiritual adulthood.”

After Jesus reprimanded his apostles he called all of the children to him, and laying his hands on their heads he spoke words of hope and courage to their mothers. Jesus often spoke to his apostles about the celestial mansions, and he taught them that the advancing children of God must spiritually grow up there like children grow up physically on this world. In this way the sacred will often seem to be common, like on this day when the mothers little realized that the celestial host of Nebadon was watching the children of Jericho play with the creator of their universe. The women’s status in Palestine was much improved by Jesus’ teaching; it would have been the same across the world if his followers had not changed so much of what he had painstakingly taught them.

It was also at Jericho that Jesus impressed on his apostles the enormous value of beauty for influencing people to worship, especially children. Through both example and teaching Jesus showed people the value of worshiping the Creator in the midst of natural surroundings: he preferred to talk with the heavenly Father among the trees and lowly creatures of the natural world. Jesus took joy contemplating God through the inspiring spectacle of the starry realms of the Creator Sons in the night sky. When it is not possible to worship the Father in nature’s church, people should do their best to create homes that are simple, artistic, and beautiful sanctuaries so they will excite people’s highest emotions and assist the mental part of spiritual communion with God.

While truth, beauty, and holiness are powerful and effective aids to true worship, just being flashy, massive, or elaborate does not help. Beauty is the most religious when it is simple and natural. How unfortunate that little children have their first introduction to public worship in cold barren rooms lacking any beauty, good cheer, or inspiration to be holy. Children should be taught to worship God outside in nature, and only later go with their parents to churches that are at least as artistic and beautiful as the home in which they live.

The Talk about Angels

As they walked the hills leading from Jericho to Bethany, Nathaniel stayed by Jesus’ side most of the way. Their conversation about children and the kingdom led to the subject of angels and how they minister to us. Nathaniel finally said “Seeing that the high priest is a Sadducee and since the Sadducees do not believe in angels, what do we teach the people about those heavenly ministers?”

Among other things, Jesus said “The angels are a separate order of created beings; they are entirely different from the material types of mortal creatures and they work as a distinct group of universe intelligences. Angels are not part of the Sons of God in the scriptures; neither are they the glorified spirits of people who have progressed through the mansions on high. Angels are a direct creation, and they do not reproduce themselves. The angels only have a spiritual connection with the human race. As people make their way to the Father in Paradise they do go through a state of being that is similar to that of an angel, but people never become angels.’

“The angels never die like people do: they are immortal unless by chance they become involved in sin like some of them did with Lucifer’s deceptions. The angels are the spirit servants in heaven, and they are neither all-wise nor all-powerful. But all of the loyal angels are truly pure and holy.’

“Do you not remember when I told you that if you could see through spiritual eyes you would see the heavens opened, and you would witness God’ angels going back and forth from the Earth? It is through the angels work, through their ministry, that one world can keep in touch with other worlds. Have I not told you repeatedly that I have other sheep that are not of this fold? These angels are not spies that watch you and then go and tell the Father what you are doing and thinking. The Father does not need spies to do that kind of thing because he lives in you. But these angels do keep the heavens informed about what is happening in other more remote parts of the universe. While serving the government of the Father and the universes of the Sons, many of these angels are also assigned to serve the humanity. When I taught you that many of these seraphim are ministering spirits I was not speaking in poetic or figurative terms. All of this is true, regardless if it is difficult for you to understand.’

“Many of the angels are involved in saving people. Have I not told you of the joy that angles show when one soul decides to give up sin and begin the search for God? I even told you of the joy that is in the presence of the angels of heaven, in other words, that the angels feel a presence of joy around them in heaven that is not radiating from the angels themselves over that one sinner who repents. This joy arising from something other than the angels indicates that there are other higher orders of celestial beings who are also involved with the spiritual welfare and divine progress of humanity.’

“The angels are also much involved with how a person’s spirit is released from the mortal body, and how their soul is escorted to the mansions in heaven. Angels are the sure and heavenly guides of a person’s soul during that uncharted and indefinite period of time between mortal death and the new life in the spirit world.”

Jesus would have said more about angels, but some of Martha’s friends had told her that Jesus and the apostles were arriving so she ran out to greet them before they arrived at the house.