Summaries From The Urantia Book
Further Exploring the Mind of
Jesus.
Introduction
Your mission
to the world is founded on the fact that I lived a God-revealing life
among you;...and it shall consist in the life that you will live among
men--the actual and living experience of loving men and serving them,
even as I have loved and served you. (2043)
Many
times in the Urantia Papers we are exhorted to live as Jesus lived.
You may preach a religion about Jesus but, perforce, you
must live the religion of Jesus. (2091)
But in no way does this mean that we are to copy the material
life of Jesus. It is Jesus' spiritual life that we are exhorted to live--and
to do so we have to know the mind of Jesus. Why? So that we might 'sense'
how a perfectly spiritualized mind would respond to the ordinary everyday
experiences of living.
Our quote from p. 2091 implies that unless we can actually
live the spiritualized life we waste our time in preaching about Jesus.
What is now needed….
Christianity has indeed done a great service for this
world, but what is now most needed is Jesus. The world needs to see Jesus
living again on earth in the experience of spirit-born mortals who effectively
reveal the Master to all men. It is futile to talk about a revival of
primitive Christianity; you must go forward from where you find yourselves.
(2084)
There have been many most wonderful lives lived over the
past 2000 years by men and women who truly discovered the meaning of
"living as Jesus lived." So what was it that they discovered
in the Gospels that acted so uniquely as their guiding light?
Along with the earliest of the Christians they were probably
all aware of our indwelling by the Spirit of the Father--most often referred
to by Paul and by John in verses such as "Know you not that you
are the temple of God, that the Spirit of God dwells within you,"
(1 Cor. 3:16) and "if we love one another, God dwells
in us, and his love is perfected in us." (1 John 4:12)
But their primary source of understanding of the mind of
Jesus almost certainly had its foundations in the "Sermon on the
Mount," as presented in the Gospel of Matthew, plus some simple parable
stories that Jesus used so expertly.
The Sermon on the Mount begins with what have been called:
The Beatitudes
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:
for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the
children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness'
sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute
you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward
in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Arrogance and Humility
In modern times some of the phrasing of these words has
acquired an altered meaning from the original translation. In the Urantia
Papers, Jesus illustrates the meaning of "poor in spirit" in
a story of a wealthy Pharisee who strode into the synagogue declaring
his thanks to God that he was not like that miserable publican over there
in the corner, and then followed up with a catalogue of his praiseworthy
attributes. In contrast the publican prayed to God contritely in the words,
"God have mercy on me, a miserable sinner."
The first was full of his own arrogant
self-importance and puffed up with conceit and pride. The second was humble
before God, he was teachable, and anxious to
do better. It is in the publican that we find the meaning of "poor
in spirit."
Likewise the meaning of "those who mourn" is
seen in those who feel genuine sympathy for the unfortunate or distressed,
while "the meek" are those who are the opposite of arrogant,
bullying, dominating.
Ask yourself what a perfect God, the
epitome of love and compassion, would be like and interpret Jesus' beatitudes
accordingly--and you'll never be far wrong. Jesus continued:
You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt
have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it
is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden
under the feet of men.
The
Let your Light so Shine
You are the light of the world. A city that is set on
an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put
it under a bushel-cup, but on a candlestick; and it gives light
unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
For verily I say to you, Till heaven and earth pass away,
not one jot shall pass from the law, until all be fulfilled.
Whosoever therefore shall break even the least of these commandments,
and teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven:
but whosoever shall do, and teach them so, the same shall be called great
in the kingdom of heaven.
The law was originally given to lawless Bedouin tribes
whose understanding of spirituality was minimal. Today our societies still
stand in need of a strict, even severe but just, system of law. In contrast,
those who are truly spiritualized have no further need of law.
For I say unto you, That except
your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees,
you shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.
[The scribes and the Pharisees of Jesus' day are representative of those who today manipulate power and
the law for their own selfish gain.]
You have heard it said
You have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shall
not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his
brother without a cause shall be ibrought to
trial: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca
(idiot), shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou
fool, shall be in danger of the judgment.
Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and then remember
that your brother has ought against you; leave your gift before the altar,
and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and
offer your gift.
Agree or Disagree
Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in accord
with him; lest at any time the adversary delivers you to the judge, and
the judge delivers you to the warden, and you are cast into prison.
Verily I say to you that you shall by no means come out thence,
until you have paid the utmost farthing.
If your right eye offends, pluck it out, and cast it from
you; for it is more profitable for you that only one of your members should
be lost, and not that your whole body should perish.
And if your right hand offends, cut it off, and cast it from
you also: for it is more profitable for you to lose this one member, and
not your whole body.
Again, you have heard that it has been said by those of old, You shall not forswear yourself, but shall perform unto the
Lord your oaths:
But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven;
for it is God's throne. Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool.
Neither shall you swear by your head, because you cannot
make one hair white or black.
But let your communication simply be, yes or
no, yea or nay, for whatsoever is more than these comes of evil.
You have heard that it has been said, An
eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
But I say to you, That you resist not evil: but whosoever
shall smite you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.
And if any man will sue you at law, and take away your coat,
let him have your cloak also.
And whosoever shall compel you to go a mile, go also the
second mile.
[note: the Roman soldier had the right to compel
civilians to carry his baggage for approximately one mile, but not more]
To Give or to Receive?
Give to him that asks, and from him who would borrow from
you, turn him not away.
You have heard that it has been said,
You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.
But I say, 'Love your enemies, bless those that curse you,
do good to those that hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use
you; that you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven: for
he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and he sends rain
on the just and on the unjust.
For if you love only those who love you, what reward do you
deserve? do not even the publicans and thieves
do the same?
And if you greet only your brethren, what do you do more
than others? do not even the pagans do so?
Be you therefore perfect, even as your
Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Take heed that you do not do your alms before men, to be
seen of them. For, lo, you have your reward.
When you do your alms, do not sound a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may
have glory of men.
But when you are doing your alms, let not your left hand
know what your right hand does. That your alms may be in secret; and your
Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly.
How to Pray
And when you pray, be not as the hypocrites are; for they
love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets,
that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.
But you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when
you have shut the door, pray to your Father in secret; and your Father
who sees in secret shall reward you openly.
And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions, as the heathen
do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Therefore be not like them; for your Father knows what things
you have need of even before you ask him.
In this manner you should construct your prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For yours is the kingdom, and the
power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
To Forgive or not to Forgive
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you:
But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses.
Moreover when you fast, be not,
as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces
that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They
have their reward.
But you, when you fast, disfigure not your faces but rather
wash so that you do not appear unto men to fast; and your Father who sees
you fast in secret, he shall reward you openly.
Where your Treasure is
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where
moth and rust do corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither
moth nor rust corrupt, and where thieves cannot break through nor steal:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore your eye be
single, your whole body shall be full of light.
But if your eye be evil, your whole body shall be full of
darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great
is that darkness!
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the
one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise
the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life,
what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what
you shall put on. Is not life more than meat,
and the body more than raiment?
Behold the fowls of the air: they sow not,
neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father
feeds them. Are you not more precious than they?
On Thinking
Which of you by taking thought
can add one cubit unto his stature?
And why do you take thought for raiment? Consider the lilies
of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
And yet I say to you, not even Solomon in all his glory was
arrayed like one of these.
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which
to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more
clothe you, O you of little faith?
Therefore take no thought, saying, What
shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all
these things.
But seek first the
Take no thought for the morrow:
for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient
unto the day is the evil thereof.
Judgment is Mine
Judge not, that you be not judged.
For with whatsoever judgment you judge others, so shall you
be judged: and with what measure you mete out, so shall it be measured
to you again.
And why do you behold the speck that is in your brother's
eye, but consider not the splinter that is in your own eye?
How will you say to your brother, Let me remove the speck
from your eye; and, behold, a splinter is in your own eye?
Give not that which is holy to the dogs, neither cast your
pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn
again and rend you.
Ask, and it shall be given; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and
to him that knocks it shall be opened.
Be Kind to your Children
For what man is there of you, who, if his son asks for bread,
would he give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish, would he give him a serpent?
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more shall your Father in heaven give good things to
those that ask him?
Therefore all things whatsoever you would that men should do to
you, do even so to them: for this is the law
and the prophets.
Enter in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad
is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be that take that
path;
But strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leads
unto life.
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing,
while inwardly they are ravening wolves.
You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes
of thorns, or figs of thistles?
On Bearing Fruit
Even so, every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt
tree can only bring forth bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit,
neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
By their fruits you shall know them.
Not every one that calls unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which
is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in your name and in your name cast out devils and done many
wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart
from me, you that work iniquity.
Anti-Gravity
Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them,
I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house upon a rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds
blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon
a rock.
And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and does
them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon
the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds
blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell; and great was the fall of
it.
It came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the
people were astonished at his doctrine; for he taught them as one having
authority, and not as the scribes.
A great virtue of Matthew's "Sermon on the Mount"
is that it is condensed into a single unit. But whereas it is not meant
to be used as a set of rules for living, taken overall, it does provide
a means for comprehending Jesus' indefinable selflessness that can lead
us to mind spiritualization and God-knowingness.
The Parables
In addition to the Sermon on
the Mount, our understanding of the mind of Jesus can be enhanced if we
have a good knowledge of his parables--among them, "The Laborers
in the Vineyard" (Matthew 20:1-16) that illustrates the compassion
of God; "The Good Samaritan" (Luke 28:25-37) that outlaws racial
prejudice; "The Lost Sheep" (Matthew 18:12-14) that tells of
God's care for sinners; and "The Sheep and the Goats," given
below, that illustrates the loving and serving nature of divinity:
To Do
And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate
them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats:
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on
the left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come,
you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world:
For I was a hungry, and you gave me meat; I was thirsty,
and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in:
I was naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited
me; I was in prison, and you came to comfort me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when did
we see you hungry, and fed you or thirsty, and gave you drink?
When did we meet you as a stranger, and took you in; or see
you naked, and clothed you?
Or when did we see you sick, or in prison, and came unto
you?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say
unto you, inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these my
brethren, you have done it unto me.
Or Not to Do
Then shall he say to those on his left hand, Depart from
me. For I was a hungry, and you gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and you
gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and you took me not in: naked, and
you clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and you visited me not.
Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when did we
see you hungry, or thirsty, a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison,
and did not minister to you?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you,
inasmuch as you did it not to the least of these, you did it not to me.
Also there are three short verses in the
"Sermon on the Mount" that merit parable status:
For what man is there of you who, if his son asks for
bread, would he give him a stone?
Or, if he asked for a fish would he give him a serpent?
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give good things to those who ask?
These simple verses are among the most important in the whole
of the New Testament--for they provide the sincere individual with the
means to gain personal insight into mind of God.
For any problem confronting us that needs a moral or ethical
yes or no judgment, we can ask ourselves how the finest and most loving
earthly father conceivable by us would respond. And whether our answer
be yes or no, we would have little cause for doubt that God,
who is perfect love and compassion, would respond likewise.
The beauty of the parables of Jesus is that they provide
simple but deeply meaningful answers to so many extremely difficult ethical
problems.
Even though constituted of only a few scraps from the
totality of the teaching of Jesus, nevertheless this combination of teachings
is sufficient to provide a foundation from which, in cooperation with
the indwelling Divine Spirit, any genuine seeker can gain a saving knowledge
of the mind of Jesus, hence of his revelation of the nature of God. And,
over two millennia, it has been the guiding source for a multitude of
dedicated Christians to achieve that end.
However, what must be avoided at all costs is that we convert
any of this foundation material into rules, commandments, or creeds.
All matters moral, ethical, or spiritual are situational
and relative. Therefore they cannot be generalized. Each such occasion
of experience is unique and cannot occur in exactly the same way again.
But once converted to rules and creeds, they can take on an absolute and
rigid status
In reality, such matters are unique
for the individual. Hence judgment and decision making belongs uniquely
to the individual and the Spirit of the Father who indwells each one of
us.
[Societies though, are different. Because of
the imperfections of individuals, a society cannot be truly stable except
there be rules of behavior to which members are required to subscribe--under
duress, if necessary.]
Once we gain a good knowledge of the mind of Jesus and have
also come to rely upon a feeling of "at oneness" with our indwelling
Father-Spirit, then we, too, will commence to live our lives as Jesus
lived his--in accord with the will of God and under the guidance of the
God-Spirit-Within.
Quite remarkably, when in the public gaze, we will also cease
to "act a part" by attempting to convince others of our holiness--and
expecting, hoping, or demanding that they should be what we were only
pretending to be.
In fact, even the thought that our lives are, or even should
be, examples to the non-initiated will cease--and we will simply "be"
what we really are, knowing that nothing else is reality--and nothing
but our reality is acceptable to God.
