Paper 169 - Last Teaching at Pella - UrantiaBookSources.com · Parable: ‘Ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls’ (E2 256)

WORK-IN-PROGRESS (NOVEMBER 29, 2013) PARALLEL CHART FOR

Paper 169 — Last Teaching at Pella

© 2013 Matthew Block

Most endnotes and Urantia Book cross-references have been deleted to enhance readability.

Sources for Paper 169, in the order in which they appear

(1) Wm. Arnold Stevens and Ernest Dewitt Burton, A Harmony of the Gospels for HistoricalStudy: An Analytical Synopsis of the Four Gospels (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons,1904, 1932)

(2) Rev. Alfred Edersheim, M.A.Oxon, D.D., Ph.D., The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah(Volume Two) (New York: Longman, Green, & Co., Eighth Edition, Revised, 1899)

(3) David Smith, M.A., D.D., Our Lord’s Earthly Life (New York: George H. DoranCompany, 1925)

Note: This source is coded Smith2.

(4) G. Campbell Morgan, D.D., The Teaching of Christ (Old Tappan, New Jersey: FlemingH. Revell Company, 1913)

Key

(a) Green indicates where a source author first appears, or where he/she reappears.

(b) Yellow highlights most parallelisms.

(c) Tan highlights parallelisms not occurring on the same row, or parallelisms separated byyellowed parallelisms.

(d) An underlined word or words indicates where the source and the UB writer pointedlydiffer from each other.

(e) Blue indicates original (or “revealed”) information, or UB-specific terminology andconcepts. (What to highlight in this regard is debatable. The highlights are tentative.)

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Matthew Block29 November 2013

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SOURCE OR PARALLEL URANTIA PAPER 169

Work-in-progress Version 29 Nov. 2013

© 2013 Matthew BlockPAPER 169 — LAST

TEACHING AT PELLA

169:0.1 Late on Monday evening,March 6, Jesus and the ten apostlesarrived at the Pella camp. This was thelast week of Jesus’ sojourn there, and hewas very active in teaching the multitudeand instructing the apostles. He preachedevery afternoon to the crowds and eachnight answered questions for the apostlesand certain of the more advanceddisciples residing at the camp.

169:0.2 Word regarding theresurrection of Lazarus had reached theencampment two days before theMaster’s arrival, and the entire assemblywas agog. Not since the feeding of thefive thousand had anything occurredwhich so aroused the imagination of thepeople. And thus it was at the very heightof the second phase of the public ministryof the kingdom that Jesus planned toteach this one short week at Pella andthen to begin the tour of southern Pereawhich led right up to the final and tragicexperiences of the last week in Jerusalem.

XXVI: FROM THE FEAST OFDEDICATION UNTIL AFTER THEWITHDRAWAL TO EPHRAIM. (AHarmony of the Gospels 138)

§102. THREE PARABLES OF GRACE. Luke,Chap. 15.

169:0.3 The Pharisees and the chiefpriests had begun to formulate theircharges and to crystallize theiraccusations. They objected to theMaster’s teachings on these grounds:

169:0.4 1. He is a friend of publicansand sinners;

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1 Now all the publicans and sinnerswere drawing near unto him to hear him. 2And both the Pharisees and the scribesmurmured, saying, This man receivethsinners, and eateth with them.

he receives the ungodly and even eatswith them.

169:0.5 2. He is a blasphemer; he talksabout God as being his Father and thinkshe is equal with God.

169:0.6 3. He is a lawbreaker. He healsdisease on the Sabbath and in many otherways flouts the sacred law of Israel.

169:0.7 4. He is in league with devils.He works wonders and does seemingmiracles by the power of Beelzebub, theprince of devils.

1. PARABLE OF THE LOST

SON

169:1.1 On Thursday afternoon Jesustalked to the multitude about the “Graceof Salvation.” In the course of thissermon he retold the story of the lostsheep and the lost coin and then added hisfavorite parable of the prodigal son. SaidJesus:

169:1.2 “You have been admonished bythe prophets from Samuel to John thatyou should seek for God—search fortruth. Always have they said,

[Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, callye upon him while he is near: (Isa. 55:6)]

‘Seek the Lord while he may be found.’

And all such teaching should be taken toheart. But I have come to show you that,while you are seeking to find God, God islikewise seeking to find you.

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[See 159:1.2 and 159:5.16.] Many times have I told you the story ofthe good shepherd

3 And he spake unto them a parable,saying, 4 What man of you, having ahundred sheep, and having lost one ofthem, doth not leave the ninety and nine inthe wilderness,

who left the ninety and nine sheep in thefold

and go after that which is lost, until he findit?

while he went forth searching for the onethat was lost,

5 And when he hath found it, he layeth iton his shoulders, rejoicing.

and how, when he had found the strayingsheep, he laid it over his shoulder

and tenderly carried it back to the fold.

6 And when he cometh home, And when the lost sheep had beenrestored to the fold,

you remember that

he calleth together his friends and hisneighbours,

the good shepherd called in his friends

saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for Ihave found my sheep which was lost.

and bade them rejoice with him over thefinding of the sheep that had been lost.

7 I say unto you, that even so there shall bejoy in heaven over one sinner thanrepenteth,

Again I say there is more joy in heavenover one sinner who repents

more than over ninety and nine righteouspersons, who need no repentance.

than over the ninety and nine just personswho need no repentance.

The fact that souls are lost only increasesthe interest of the heavenly Father. I havecome to this world to do my Father’sbidding, and it has truly been said of theSon of Man that he is a friend ofpublicans and sinners.

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IV, XVII: THE THREE PARABLES OF THEGOSPEL: OF THE RECOVERY OF THELOST—OF THE LOST SHEEP, THE LOSTDRACHM, THE LOST SON. (St. Luke xv.)

(Edersheim2 253)

As previously stated, Rabbinism placedacceptance at the end of repentance, andmade it its wages (E2 255).

169:1.3 “You have been taught thatdivine acceptance comes after yourrepentance

[[The Jewish teaching] called upon them to ‘dopenitence,’ and then Divine Mercy, or ratherJustice, would have its reward for the penitent (E2253).]

and as a result of all your works ofsacrifice and penitence,

The Gospel places acceptance at thebeginning of repentance, and as the freegift of God’s love (E2 255).

but I assure you that the Father acceptsyou even before you have repented

and sends the Son and his associates tofind you and bring you, with rejoicing,back to the fold, the kingdom of sonshipand spiritual progress.

And we recall the saying of St. Peter,which, no doubt, looked back upon thisParable: ‘Ye were as sheep going astray;but are now returned unto the Shepherdand Bishop of your souls’ (E2 256).

You are all like sheep which have goneastray,

[For the Son of man came to seek and to savethat which was lost (Luke 19:10).]

and I have come to seek and to save thosewho are lost.



169:1.4 “And you should alsoremember the story of

8 Or what woman having ten pieces ofsilver,

the woman who, having had ten pieces ofsilver

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[However, the coin may have been one from hernecklace which her husband had given her at theirmarriage; for it was the custom then, as now, forthe groom to give some generous gift to the bride’spersonal adornment, or as a symbol of their union(Rev. George A. Young, M.A., The IllustrativeTeachings of Jesus [1914], p. 51.]

made into a necklace of adornment,

if she lose one piece, doth not light a lamp,and sweep the house,

lost one piece, and how she lit the lampand diligently swept the house

and seek diligently to find it? and kept up the search until she found thelost piece of silver.

9 And when she hath found it, she callethtogether her friends and neighbours,saying,

And as soon as she found the coin thatwas lost, she called together her friendsand neighbors, saying,

Rejoice with me, for I have found the piecewhich I had lost.

‘Rejoice with me, for I have found thepiece that was lost.’

So again I say,

10 Even so, I say unto you, there is joy inthe presence of the angels of God over onesinner that repenteth.

there is always joy in the presence of theangels of heaven over one sinner whorepents

and returns to the Father’s fold.

And I tell you this story to impress uponyou that the Father and his Son go forthto search for those who are lost, and inthis search we employ all influencescapable of rendering assistance in ourdiligent efforts to find those who are lost,those who stand in need of salvation. Andso, while the Son of Man goes out in thewilderness to seek for the sheep goneastray, he also searches for the coin whichis lost in the house.

The sheep wanders away, unintentionally;

[But [the lost coin] is still in the house—not likethe sheep that had gone astray—only covered bythe dust that is continually accumulating from thework and accidents around (Edersheim2 257).]

the coin is covered by the dust of timeand obscured by the accumulation of thethings of men.

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169:1.5 “And now I would like to tellyou the story of a thoughtless son of awell-to-do farmer who deliberately lefthis father’s house and went off into aforeign land, where he fell into muchtribulation.

[It is not now to the innate tendency of his nature,nor yet to the work and dust in the house that theloss is attributable, but to the personal, free choiceof the individual. He does not stray; he does notfall aside—he wilfully departs, and underaggravated circumstances (Edersheim2 258-59).]

You recall that the sheep strayed awaywithout intention, but this youth left hishome with premeditation.

It was like this:

11 And he said, A certain man had twosons:

169:1.6 “A certain man had two sons;

one, the younger, was lighthearted andcarefree, always seeking for a good timeand shirking responsibility, while hisolder brother was serious, sober, hard-working, and willing to bear respons-ibility.

JOURNEYING TO JERUSALEM(Smith2 238)

Now these two brothers did not get alongwell together;

The continual bickering of the lads hadgrieved their good father ... (S2 247).

they were always quarreling andbickering.

The younger lad was cheerful andvivacious, but indolent and unreliable;

The elder was a steady and industriouslad,

the older son was steady and industrious,

but he was also selfish, surly, andconceited.

at the same time self-centered, surly, andconceited.

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The younger was a merry lad, fonder ofplay than of work; withal adventurous,discontented with his narrow life on thefarm and ambitious of seeing somethingof the large world (S2 247).

The younger son enjoyed play butshunned work;

the older devoted himself to work butseldom played.



This association became so disagreeablethat

12 and the younger said to his father,Father,

the younger son came to his father andsaid:

give me the portion of thy substance thatfalleth to me.

‘Father, give me the third portion of yourpossessions which would fall to me

[According to the general rule the elder would gettwo thirds and the younger one third, and hebegged his father to give him his portion now(Smith2 247).]

and allow me to go out into the world toseek my own fortune.’

And when the father heard this request,knowing how unhappy the young manwas at home and with his older brother,

And he divided unto them his living. he divided his property, giving the youthhis share.

13 And not many days after the youngerson gathered all together,

169:1.7 “Within a few weeks the youngman gathered together all his funds

and took his journey into a far country; and set out upon a journey to a farcountry,

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and finding nothing profitable to dowhich was also pleasurable,

and there he wasted his substance withriotous living.

he soon wasted all his inheritance inriotous living.

14 And when he had spent all, And when he had spent all,

there arose a mighty famine in that country;and he began to be in want.

there arose a prolonged famine in thatcountry, and he found himself in want.

And so, when he suffered hunger and hisdistress was great,

15 And he went and joined himself to oneof the citizens of that country;

he found employment with one of thecitizens of that country,

and he sent him into his fields to feedswine.

who sent him into the fields to feedswine.

16 And he would fain have filled his bellywith the husks that the swine did eat:

And the young man would fain havefilled himself with the husks which theswine ate,

and no man gave unto him. but no one would give him anything.

169:1.8 “One day, when he was veryhungry,

17 But when he came to himself he said, he came to himself and said:

How many hired servants of my father’shave bread enough and to spare, and Iperish here with hunger!

‘How many hired servants of my fatherhave bread enough and to spare while Iperish with hunger,

feeding swine off here in a foreigncountry!

18 I will arise and go to my father, and willsay unto him,

I will arise and go to my father, and I willsay to him:

Father, I have sinned against heaven, and inthy sight:

Father, I have sinned against heaven andagainst you.

19 I am no more worthy to be called thyson:

I am no more worthy to be called yourson;

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make me as one of thy hired servants. only be willing to make me one of yourhired servants.’

And when the young man had reachedthis decision,

20 And he arose, and came to his father. he arose and started out for his father’shouse.

169:1.9 “Now this father had grievedmuch for his son; he had missed thecheerful, though thoughtless, lad. Thisfather loved this son

[When we read that, ‘while he was yet afar off, hisfather saw him,’ we must evidently understand it inthe sense, that his father had been always on theoutlook for him ... (Edersheim2 261).]

and was always on the lookout for hisreturn,

so that on the day he approached hishome,

But while he was yet afar off, his father sawhim, and was moved with compassion,

even while he was yet afar off, the fathersaw him and, being moved with lovingcompassion,

and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissedhim.

ran out to meet him, and with affectionategreeting he embraced and kissed him.

And after they had thus met,

21 And the son said unto him, the son looked up into his father’s tearfulface and said:

Father, I have sinned against heaven, and inthy sight:

‘Father, I have sinned against heaven andin your sight;

I am no more worthy to be called thy son. I am no more worthy to be called ason’—

but the lad did not find opportunity tocomplete his confession because

But the father said to his servants, the overjoyed father said to the servants

who had by this time come running up:

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Bring forth quickly the best robe, ‘Bring quickly his best robe,

the one I have saved,

and put it on him; and put it on him

and put a ring on his hand, and shoes onhis feet:

and put the son’s ring on his hand andfetch sandals for his feet.’

[Similarly, the finger-ring for his hand, and thesandals for his unshod feet, would indicate the sonof the house (Edersheim2 262).]

[As he neared home footsore and tattered, his fatherspied him in the distance and, recognising him, ranto meet him and embraced and kissed him (Smith2249).]

169:1.10 “And then, after the happyfather had led the footsore and weary ladinto the house, he called to his servants:

23 and bring the fatted calf, and kill it, andlet us eat, and make merry:

‘Bring on the fatted calf and kill it, andlet us eat and make merry,

24 for this my son was dead, and is aliveagain; he was lost, and is found.

for this my son was dead and is aliveagain; he was lost and is found.’

And they began to be merry. And they all gathered about the father torejoice with him over the restoration ofhis son.

169:1.11 “About this time, while theywere celebrating,

25 Now his elder son was in the field: andas he came

the elder son came in from his day’s workin the field,

and drew nigh to the house, he heard musicand dancing.

and as he drew near the house, he heardthe music and the dancing.

And when he came up to the back door,

26 And he called to him one of theservants, and inquired what these thingsmight be.

he called out one of the servants andinquired as to the meaning of all thisfestivity.

27 And he said unto him, And then said the servant:

Thy brother is come; ‘Your long-lost brother has come home,

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and thy father hath killed the fatted calf,because he hath received him safe andsound.

and your father has killed the fatted calfto rejoice over his son’s safe return.

Come in that you also may greet yourbrother and receive him back into yourfather’s house.’

169:1.12 “But when the older brotherheard this,

28 But he was angry, and would not go in: he was so hurt and angry he would not gointo the house.

When his father heard of his resentmentof the welcome of his younger brother,

and his father came out and intreated him. he went out to entreat him.

But the older son would not yield to hisfather’s persuasion.

29 But he answered and said to his father, He answered his father, saying:

Lo, these many years do I serve thee, and Inever transgressed a commandment ofthine:

‘Here these many years have I servedyou, never transgressing the least of yourcommands,

and yet thou never gaveth me a kid, that Imight make merry with my friends:

and yet you never gave me even a kid thatI might make merry with my friends.

I have remained here to care for you allthese years, and you never made rejoicingover my faithful service,

30 but when this thy son came, who hathdevoured thy living with harlots,

but when this your son returns, havingsquandered your substance with harlots,

thou killedst for him the fatted calf. you make haste to kill the fatted calf

and make merry over him.’

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169:1.13 “Since this father truly lovedboth of his sons,

31 And he said unto him, he tried to reason with this older one:

Son, thou art ever with me, and all that ismine is thine.

‘But, my son, you have all the while beenwith me, and all this which I have isyours.

You could have had a kid at any time youhad made friends to share yourmerriment.

32 But it was meet to make merry and beglad:

But it is only proper that you should nowjoin with me in being glad and merry

because of your brother’s return.

Think of it, my son,

for this thy brother was dead, and is aliveagain; and was lost, and is found.

your brother was lost and is found; he hasreturned alive to us!’”

169:1.14 This was one of the mosttouching and effective of all the parableswhich Jesus ever presented to impressupon his hearers the Father’s willingnessto receive all who seek entrance into thekingdom of heaven.

169:1.15 Jesus was very partial totelling these three stories at the sametime.

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XVII: THE THREE PARABLES OF THEGOSPEL: OF THE RECOVERY OF THELOST—OF THE LOST SHEEP, THE LOST

DRACHM, THE LOST SON. (Edersheim2253)

He presented the story of the lost sheep toshow that, when men unintentionallystray away from the path of life,

Other differences have to be markedin the Parables themselves. In the firstParable (that of the Lost Sheep) the maininterest centres in the lost; the Father is mindful of such lost ones

and goes out, with his Sons, the trueshepherds of the flock, to seek the lostsheep.

He then would recite the story of the coinlost in the house to illustrate howthorough is

in the second (that of the Lost Drachm),in the search; the divine searching

for all who are confused, confounded, orotherwise spiritually blinded by thematerial cares and accumulations of life.

And then he would launch forth into thetelling of this parable of the lost son, thereception of the returning prodigal, toshow how complete is

in the third, in the restoration (E2 255). the restoration of the lost son into hisFather’s house and heart.

169:1.16 Many, many times during hisyears of teaching, Jesus told and retoldthis story of the prodigal son. Thisparable and the story of the goodSamaritan were his favorite means ofteaching the love of the Father and theneighborliness of man.

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2 . P A R A B L E O F T H E

SHREWD STEWARD


§103. TWO PARABLES OF WARNING.Luke, Chap. 16.

169:2.1 One evening Simon Zelotes,commenting on one of Jesus’ statements,said: “Master, what did you mean whenyou said today that many of the childrenof the world are wiser in their generationthan are the children of the kingdom sincethey are skillful in making friends withthe mammon of unrighteousness?”

1 And he said also unto his disciples, Jesus answered:

169:2.2 “Some of you, before youentered the kingdom, were very shrewd indealing with your business associates. Ifyou were unjust and often unfair,

[[The Parable’s] object is simply to show, in themost striking manner, the prudence of a worldlyman, who is unrestrained by any otherconsideration than that of attaining his end(Edersheim2 266).]

you were nonetheless prudent andfarseeing in that you transacted yourbusiness with an eye single to yourpresent profit and future safety.

Likewise should you now so order yourlives in the kingdom as to provide foryour present joy while you also makecertain of your future enjoyment oftreasures laid up in heaven. If you were sodiligent in making gains for yourselveswhen in the service of self, why shouldyou show less diligence in gaining soulsfor the kingdom since you are nowservants of the brotherhood of man andstewards of God?

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169:2.3 “You may all learn a lessonfrom the story of

There was a certain rich man, who had asteward;

a certain rich man who had a shrewd butunjust steward.

[He tells of a steward who had been employed bya wealthy magnate to manage his estate and hadshamefully abused his trust, not only appropriatingmuch of the revenue but oppressing the tenantry(Smith2 251).]

This steward had not only oppressed hismaster’s clients for his own selfish gain,

and the same was accused unto him that hewas wasting his goods.

but he had also directly wasted andsquandered his master’s funds.

When all this finally came to the ears ofhis master,

2 And he called him, and said unto him,What is this that I hear of thee?

he called the steward before him andasked the meaning of these rumors

render the account of thy stewardship; forthou canst be no longer my steward.

and required that he should giveimmediate accounting of his stewardship

and prepare to turn his master’s affairsover to another.

3 And the steward said within himself, 169:2.4 “Now this unfaithful stewardbegan to say to himself:

What shall I do, seeing that my lord takethaway the stewardship from me?

‘What shall I do since I am about to losethis stewardship?

I have not strength to dig; to beg I amashamed.

I have not the strength to dig; to beg I amashamed.

4 I am resolved what to do, that, when Iam put out of the stewardship

I know what I will do to make certainthat, when I am put out of thisstewardship,

they may receive me into their houses. I will be welcomed into the houses of allwho do business with my master.’

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5 And calling to him each one of his lord’sdebtors,

And then, calling in each of his lord’sdebtors,

he said to the first, How much owest thouunto my lord?

he said to the first, ‘How much do youowe my master?’

6 And he said, A hundred measures of oil. He answered, ‘A hundred measures ofoil.’

And he said unto him, Take thy bond, andsit down quickly and write fifty.

Then said the steward, ‘Take your waxboard bond, sit down quickly, and changeit to fifty.’

[There can be no question that acknowledgments ofdebt, and other transactions, were ordinarily writtendown on such wax-covered tablets ... (Edersheim2272).]

7 Then said he to another, And how muchowest thou?

Then he said to another debtor, ‘Howmuch do you owe?’

And he said, A hundred measures of wheat. And he replied, ‘A hundred measures ofwheat.’

He saith unto him, Take thy bond, andwrite fourscore.

Then said the steward, ‘Take your bondand write fourscore.’

And this he did with numerous otherdebtors. And so did this dishoneststeward seek to make friends for himselfafter he would be discharged from hisstewardship.

8 And his lord commended theunrighteous steward because he had donewisely:

Even his lord and master, when hesubsequently found out about this, wascompelled to admit that his unfaithfulsteward had at least shown sagacity in themanner in which he had sought to providefor future days of want and adversity.

169:2.5 “And it is in this way that

for the sons of this world are for their owngeneration wiser than the sons of the light.

the sons of this world sometimes showmore wisdom in their preparation for thefuture than do the children of light.

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9 And I say unto you, I say to you who profess to be acquiringtreasure in heaven:

Take lessons from those who

Make to yourselves friends by means of themammon of unrighteousness;

make friends with the mammon ofunrighteousness,

and likewise so conduct your lives thatyou make eternal friendship with theforces of righteousness

that, when it shall fail, in order that, when all things earthly fail,

they may receive you into the eternaltabernacles.

you shall be joyfully received into theeternal habitations.

169:2.6 “I affirm that

10 He that is faithful in a very little isfaithful also in much:

he who is faithful in little will also befaithful in much,

and he that is unrighteous in a very little isunrighteous also in much.

while he who is unrighteous in little willalso be unrighteous in much.

11 If therefore ye have not been faithful inthe unrighteous mammon,

If you have not shown foresight andintegrity in the affairs of this world,

who will commit to your trust the trueriches?

how can you hope to be faithful andprudent when you are trusted with thestewardship of the true riches of theheavenly kingdom?

[Here perhaps is the place of that sayingwhich, recorded by none of the Evangelists, is sofrequently ascribed to our Lord in the earlyChristian literature: “Show yourselves approvedbankers” (Smith2 253).]

If you are not good stewards and faithfulbankers,

12 And if ye have not been faithful in thatwhich is another’s,

if you have not been faithful in that whichis another’s,

who will give you that which is your own? who will be foolish enough to give yougreat treasure in your own name?

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169:2.7 “And again I assert that

13 No servant can serve two masters: no man can serve two masters;

for either he will hate the one, and love theother; or else he will hold to one, anddespise the other.

either he will hate the one and love theother, or else he will hold to one while hedespises the other.

Ye cannot serve God and mammon. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

14 And the Pharisees, who were loversof money, heard all these things;

169:2.8 When the Pharisees who werepresent heard this,

and they scoffed at him. they began to sneer and scoff

since they were much given to theacquirement of riches.

15 And he said unto them, Ye are they thatjustify yourselves in the sight of men; butGod knoweth your hearts: for that which isexalted among men is an abomination inthe sight of God. 16 The law and theprophets were until John: from that timethe gospel of the kingdom of God ispreached, and every man entereth violentlyinto it. 17 But it is easier for heaven andearth to pass away, than for one tittle of thelaw to fall. 18 Every one that putteth awayhis wife, and marrieth another, committethadultery: and he that marrieth one that isput away from a husband committethadultery.

These unfriendly hearers sought toengage Jesus in unprofitable argumenta-tion, but he refused to debate with hisenemies. When the Pharisees fell towrangling among themselves, their loudspeaking attracted large numbers of themultitude encamped thereabouts; andwhen they began to dispute with eachother, Jesus withdrew, going to his tentfor the night.

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3. THE RICH MAN AND THE

BEGGAR

[!]

169:3.1 When the meeting became toonoisy, Simon Peter, standing up, tookcharge, saying: “Men and brethren, it isnot seemly thus to dispute amongyourselves. The Master has spoken, andyou do well to ponder his words. And thisis no new doctrine which he proclaimedto you. Have you not also heard theallegory of the Nazarites concerning therich man and the beggar? Some of usheard John the Baptist thunder thisparable of warning to those who loveriches and covet dishonest wealth. Andwhile this olden parable is not accordingto the gospel we preach, you would all dowell to heed its lessons until such a timeas you comprehend the new light of thekingdom of heaven. The story as Johntold it was like this:

19 Now there was a certain rich man, 169:3.2 “There was a certain rich man

[He is often styled Dives, but this is merely Latinfor ‘the Rich Man’ (Hastings’ DB 38.]

named Dives,

and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, who, being clothed in purple and finelinen,

faring sumptuously every day [ERV mg.:Or, living in mirth and splendour every day]: lived in mirth and splendor every day.

20 and a certain beggar named Lazarus And there was a certain beggar namedLazarus,

was laid at his gate, full of sores, who lay at this rich man’s gate, coveredwith sores

21 and desiring to be fed with the crumbsthat fell from the rich man’s table;

and desiring to be fed with the crumbswhich fell from the rich man’s table;

yea, even the dogs came and licked hissores.

yes, even the dogs came and licked hissores.

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22 And it came to pass, that the beggardied,

And it came to pass that the beggar died

and that he was carried away by the angelsinto Abraham’s bosom:

and was carried away by the angels to restin Abraham’s bosom.

and the rich man also died, And then, presently, this rich man alsodied

and was buried. and was buried with great pomp and regalsplendor.

When the rich man departed from thisworld,

23 And in Hades he lifted up his eyes,being in torments,

he waked up in Hades, and findinghimself in torment, he lifted up his eyes

and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus inhis bosom.

and beheld Abraham afar off and Lazarusin his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, And then Dives cried aloud:

Father Abraham, have mercy on me, andsend Lazarus,

‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me andsend over Lazarus

that he may dip the tip of his finger inwater, and cool my tongue;

that he may dip the tip of his finger inwater to cool my tongue,

for I am in anguish in this flame. for I am in great anguish because of mypunishment.’

25 But Abraham said, And then Abraham replied:

Son, remember that thou in thy lifetimereceivedst thy good things,

‘My son, you should remember that inyour lifetime you enjoyed the good things

and Lazarus in like manner evil things: while Lazarus in like manner suffered theevil.

but now But now all this is changed, seeing that

here he is comforted, and thou art inanguish.

Lazarus is comforted while you aretormented.

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26 And beside all this, between us and youthere is a great gulf fixed,

And besides, between us and you there isa great gulf

that they which would pass from hence toyou may not be able,

so that we cannot go to you,

and that none may cross over from thenceto us.

neither can you come over to us.’

27 And he said, Then said Dives to Abraham:

I pray thee therefore, father, that thouwouldest send him to my father’s house;

‘I pray you send Lazarus back to myfather’s house,

28 for I have five brethren; inasmuch as I have five brothers,

that he may testify unto them, lest they alsocome into this place of torment.

that he may so testify as to prevent mybrothers from coming to this place oftorment.’

29 But Abraham saith, But Abraham said:

They have Moses and the prophets; letthem hear them.

‘My son, they have Moses and theprophets; let them hear them.’

30 And he said, And then answered Dives:

nay father Abraham: ‘No, No, Father Abraham!

but if one go to them from the dead, theywill repent.

but if one go to them from the dead, theywill repent.’

31 And he said unto him, And then said Abraham:

If they hear not Moses and the prophets, ‘If they hear not Moses and the prophets,

neither will they be persuaded, if one risefrom the dead.

neither will they be persuaded even if onewere to rise from the dead.’”

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169:3.3 After Peter had recited thisancient parable of the Nazaritebrotherhood, and since the crowd hadquieted down, Andrew arose anddismissed them for the night. Althoughboth the apostles and his disciplesfrequently asked Jesus questions aboutthe parable of Dives and Lazarus, henever consented to make commentthereon.

4. THE FATHER AND HIS

KINGDOM

[See 141:2.1, 141:4, 149:6.8.]

[See 40:6.5 and 170:5.17 for ‘elder brother’.]

169:4.1 Jesus always had trouble tryingto explain to the apostles that, while theyproclaimed the establishment of thekingdom of God, the Father in heavenwas not a king. At the time Jesus lived onearth and taught in the flesh, the people ofUrantia knew mostly of kings andemperors in the governments of thenations, and the Jews had long contem-plated the coming of the kingdom of God.For these and other reasons, the Masterthought best to designate the spiritualbrotherhood of man as the kingdom ofheaven and the spirit head of thisbrotherhood as the Father in heaven.Never did Jesus refer to his Father as aking. In his intimate talks with theapostles he always referred to himself asthe Son of Man and as their elder brother.He depicted all his followers as servantsof mankind and messengers of the gospelof the kingdom.

I: CONCERNING GOD (Morgan 17)

In the words of Jesus we find nosystematic teaching about the nature ofGod (M 17).

169:4.2 Jesus never gave his apostles asystematic lesson concerning thepersonality and attributes of the Father inheaven.

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He never asked men to believe in hisFather; he took it for granted they did.

Jesus never argued for the existence ofGod; He assumed that existence (M 17).

Jesus never belittled himself by offeringarguments in proof of the reality of theFather.

His teaching regarding the Father allcentered in the declaration that he and theFather are one;

This is His claim concerning men: “HaveI been so long time with you, and dostthou not know Me, Philip? he that hathseen Me hath seen the Father” (M 28).

that he who has seen the Son has seen theFather;

that the Father, like the Son, knows allthings;

This is His claim concerning His relationto His Father in the world: “No oneknoweth the Son, save the Father; neitherdoth any know the Father save the Son,

that only the Son really knows the Father,

and He to whomsoever the Son willeth toreveal Him” (M 28).

and he to whom the Son will reveal him;

that he who knows the Son knows alsothe Father; and that the Father sent himinto the world to reveal their combinednatures and to show forth their conjointwork.

He never made other pronouncementsabout his Father except

To the woman of Samaria He said, God isSpirit.” There is no record in the NewTestament of any other essential and finaldeclaration concerning God from the lipsof Jesus (M 25).

to the woman of Samaria at Jacob’s well,when he declared, “God is spirit.”

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169:4.3 You learn about God fromJesus by observing the divinity of his life,not by depending on his teachings. Fromthe life of the Master you may eachassimilate that concept of God whichrepresents the measure of your capacity toperceive realities spiritual and divine,truths real and eternal. The finite cannever hope to comprehend the Infiniteexcept as the Infinite was focalized in thetime-space personality of the finiteexperience of the human life of Jesus ofNazareth.

169:4.4 Jesus well knew that God canbe known only by the realities ofexperience; never can he be understoodby the mere teaching of the mind.

Jesus taught his apostles that, while theynever could fully understand God,

On the other hand, there is noassumption on the part of Jesus, andnothing in His teaching that would leadus to the conclusion that He consideredGod to be unknowable. On the contrary,he declared incidentally, over and overagain, and more than once quiteemphatically, that God is revealed, andtherefore can be known (M 18). they could most certainly know him,

even as they had known the Son of Man.

We must, however, at once recognizethe fact that the words of Jesus do notconstitute His complete revelation of theFather; that His teaching about God is notto be found finally in what He said, but inwhat He was, and in what He did (M 18).

You can know God, not by understandingwhat Jesus said, but by knowing whatJesus was.

Jesus was a revelation of God.

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169:4.5 Except when quoting theHebrew scriptures,

There is a sense in which it would becorrect to say He only referred to God bythe use of two names, for in every casewhere He used the third, He did so inmaking a quotation from the OldTestament Scriptures (M 20).

Jesus referred to Deity by only twonames:

The two outstanding and peculiar names,which Jesus employed in referring to theOne Whose existence He assumed, werethose of “God” and “Father” (M 20). God and Father.

And when the Master made reference tohis Father as God, he usually employed

If the Lord made use of that actualword, Theos, if He spoke a Greek dialect,there can be no question that the thoughtin His mind was the thought of theHebrew word, Elohim, that majestic andmysterious plural in which the masterconception is that of strength (M 21-22).

the Hebrew word signifying the pluralGod (the Trinity)

and not the word Yahweh, which stoodfor the progressive conception of thetribal God of the Jews.

169:4.6 Jesus never called the Father aking, and he very much regretted that theJewish hope for a restored kingdom andJohn’s proclamation of a coming king-dom made it necessary for him todenominate his proposed spiritualbrotherhood the kingdom of heaven. Withthe one exception—the declaration that“God is spirit”—Jesus never referred toDeity in any manner other than in termsdescriptive of his own personal relation-ship with the First Source and Center ofParadise.

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[Compare M 21-22.] 169:4.7 Jesus employed the word Godto designate the idea of Deity and theword Father to designate the experienceof knowing God.

[Compare M 23.] When the word Father is employed todenote God, it should be understood in itslargest possible meaning.

[Compare M 24-25.] The word God cannot be defined andtherefore stands for the infinite concept ofthe Father,

while the term Father, being capable ofpartial definition, may be employed torepresent the human concept of the divineFather as he is associated with manduring the course of mortal existence.

[Compare M 25.] 169:4.8 To the Jews, Elohim was theGod of gods, while Yahweh was the Godof Israel. Jesus accepted the concept ofElohim and called this supreme group ofbeings God. In the place of the concept ofYahweh, the racial deity, he introducedthe idea of the fatherhood of God and theworld-wide brotherhood of man. Heexalted the Yahweh concept of a deifiedracial Father to the idea of a Father of allthe children of men, a divine Father of theindividual believer. And he further taughtthat this God of universes and this Fatherof all men were one and the sameParadise Deity.

169:4.9 Jesus never claimed to be themanifestation of Elohim (God) in theflesh. He never declared that he was arevelation of Elohim (God) to the worlds.He never taught that he who had seen himhad seen Elohim (God). But he didproclaim himself as the revelation of theFather in the flesh, and he did say thatwhoso had seen him had seen the Father.As the divine Son he claimed to representonly the Father.

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169:4.10 He was, indeed, the Son ofeven the Elohim God; but in the likenessof mortal flesh and to the mortal sons ofGod, he chose to limit his life revelationto the portrayal of his Father’s characterin so far as such a revelation might becomprehensible to mortal man. Asregards the character of the other personsof the Paradise Trinity, we shall have tobe content with the teaching that they arealtogether like the Father, who has beenrevealed in personal portraiture in the lifeof his incarnated Son, Jesus of Nazareth.

169:4.11 Although Jesus revealed thetrue nature of the heavenly Father in hisearth life,

The first impression made upon themind by a study of the words of Jesusabout God is that of how little He said ofHim (M 17).

he taught little about him.

In fact, he taught only two things:

Thus the supreme truths about God inthe teachings of Jesus may thus be brieflystated; God in Himself is Spirit; that God in himself is spirit,

towards all He is a Father, knowing,working, loving in His method;

and that, in all matters of relationshipwith his creatures, he is a Father.

and He is Lord, the Author of a law bornof love, and intended to produce love (M27).

On this evening Jesus made the finalpronouncement of his relationship withGod when he declared:

This is His claim for Himself: “I came outfrom the Father, and am come into theworld;

“I have come out from the Father, and Ihave come into the world;

again, I leave the world, and go unto theFather” (M 28).

again, I will leave the world and go to theFather.”

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169:4.12 But mark you! never did Jesussay, “Whoso has heard me has heardGod.” But he did say, “He who has seenme has seen the Father.” To hear Jesus’teaching is not equivalent to knowingGod, but to see Jesus is an experiencewhich in itself is a revelation of theFather to the soul. The God of universesrules the far-flung creation, but it is theFather in heaven who sends forth hisspirit to dwell within your minds.

[Compare M 28.] 169:4.13 Jesus is the spiritual lens inhuman likeness which makes visible tothe material creature Him who isinvisible.

[Christ thus became the head of the church

rather than the elder brother of each

individual believer in the Father’s family of

the kingdom (170:5.17).]

He is your elder brother who, in the flesh,makes known to you a Being of infiniteattributes whom not even the celestialhosts can presume fully to understand.But all of this must consist in the personalexperience of the individual believer.

God who is spirit can be known only as aspiritual experience. God can be revealedto the finite sons of the material worlds,by the divine Son of the spiritual realms,only as a Father. You can know theEternal as a Father; you can worship himas the God of universes, the infiniteCreator of all existences.

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Paper 169 - Last Teaching at Pella - UrantiaBookSources.com · Parable: ‘Ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls’ (E2 256)