In this Chapter:

1. Origin of the Records

2. Birth of Jesus at Bethlehem

3. The Dedication at Jerusalem

4. The Return to Nazareth

5. The Youth of Jesus

6. Jesus at Student

7. Development of Jesus
   

These passages tell us everything we know about Jesus’ youth. It’s not a lot, and you may wonder how we even know this much. You can imagine how it might happen: A local boy makes a name for himself, and then people come around asking questions to find out more about him -- who his parents were, how he grew up, what stories there are about his youth that give insight into his latter stature...much like we do today with sports and movie stars. (I can hear it now: “Oh yes, quite a handful that Jesus was, smart as a whip let me tell you! Why, I remember a time when…”)

With the passage of time, we can assume that many of the stories of Jesus’ youth have been lost. Remember, at best the Synoptic Gospels were written several decades after Jesus death, and before then existed only as oral tradition. Given that, it’s amazing we have what we do.

And what insights might we gain into Jesus from these small snippets? One thing that stands out is that he had parents and seems to have been conceived the old fashioned way. Nothing about a virgin birth here. His parents appear to have been devout Jews, following Jewish laws and customs. And we can probably conclude that Jesus was very bright. At 12, he’s already locking horns with the local Rabbis (“and all that heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.”). In today’s language we might say he was gifted. In any case, he was bright, well thought of, and clearly interested in his religious tradition.

8. Statement of the Work of John

These passages are important because they help convey the tenor of the times and the strong belief among many Jews in the coming of an apocalyptic messiah.

First off, John is best understood as a member of the apocalyptic camp. He is preaching repentance of sins so that when judgment day comes, those that have repented are ready to rise up to heaven, while those that are unworthy “will burn up in unquenchable fire.”  This is the apocalyptic vision par excellence. (For more on the Apocalyptic vision, see Jesus’ Context.)

It also appears from this passage that John’s message is finding many receptive ears. Jews from all walks of life – soldiers, tax collectors, and “the multitudes” -- are coming to be baptized by John and asking him what they must do to be worthy of God’s grace when the judgment day comes. Even the Pharisees and Sadducees are coming to check John out, although John clearly does not see them as having much of a shot at redemption – calling them “offspring of vipers” and saying that it is not enough just to be a Jew (“We have Abraham to our father”), but that you must be a good Jew. Clearly John felt that this was criteria the Pharisees and Sadducees did not meet. 

Importantly, this passage also reveals how powerful the messianic expectation was at this time: “and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether haply he were the Christ.” John denies that role for himself, but predicts the coming of another “whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose.” In Christian theology this has been taken to be a foreshadowing of the coming of Jesus, but as we will see, Jesus fully rejects both the political and the apocalyptic visions as dangerously delusional and a threat to his peoples’ survival. 

In the last paragraph, we learn of John’s criticism of Herod for marrying his dead brother’s wife (and other trespasses, apparently), which gets him thrown into jail and eventually beheaded. 

But before that happens, Jesus has his own experience at the hands of John, in a baptism probably unlike any John had given before, or after.

9. Baptism of Jesus by John

This passage begs the question: If Jesus did not believe in the apocalyptic vision, what was he doing being baptized by John, who clearly did believe in it? One possibility is that at this point in his life, Jesus had not necessarily rejected the idea of an apocalyptic messiah – that insight came after his baptismal experience and his time in the wilderness, which we explore in the next section.

Again, trying to put ourselves in Jesus’ sandals, we can project that John was making quite an impact among the Jewish populace, arousing Jesus’ curiosity about what John had to say. We can also imagine that Jesus -- himself preoccupied with his peoples’ plight under the Romans -- was inspired by John’s courage, since his actions were creating dangerous enemies (not just Herod but Jewish religious leaders as well). With all of that playing in his mind, it’s not hard to see how Jesus might have been motivated to experience the baptism that John was offering.

All of this is, of course, conjecture -- we cannot know for sure. But whatever Jesus’ motivation for undergoing John’s baptism, we do know that he had quite an experience: “the heaven was opened, and the Spirit of God descended, as a dove, upon him.” The language is poetic, not literal. If you’ve ever had what might be called a religious experience – what mystics have referred to as a direct perception of the oneness of reality that penetrates the soul but defies verbal expression -- you would be compelled to rely on poetic language to convey it.

We can also see how such an experience could lead to a total shift in Jesus’ identity – “And a voice came out of heaven: Thou art my beloved Son; this day have I begotten thee.” One interpretation: Jesus had an “ah ha!” experience of the first order, in which he became deeply conscious of his personal relationship with God.

However we might try and describe the experience, it was clearly powerful, and required Jesus to remove himself from his normal environment to assimilate what had happened. This brings us to his time spent in the wilderness.

10. Withdrawal of Jesus to the Wilderness

Jesus had a profound experience of some kind in the baptism – he saw something he had not seen before, and it led to a total shift in his identity. The questions before him then became: What does this experience mean, and what shall I do with it? Shall I use my insight to serve my own ambition and power drive ? Does my insight somehow confer upon me supernatural abilities? Or shall I simply use it to amass great personal wealth? These are the three temptations Jesus confronts during his time in the wilderness, symbolically presented as a conversation with the devil.

The first temptation is that of the political messiah: “And he led Jesus up, and shewed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, To thee will I give all this authority, and the glory of them: if thou wilt worship before me, it shall all be thine.”

Jesus was keenly aware that his people were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the one who would re-establish the Jewish Kingdom as it was in its heyday under David. He also knew he could play into that expectation and amass considerable personal power. He rejected that as a possibility, saying: “It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Jesus concluded that the expectation of a political messiah was not the will of God, but rather a dangerous illusion with potentially disastrous consequences. He understood that there was simply no way the Jews could rise up against the Romans and win. The Romans had already shown how they deal with insurgency: They massacre all the insurgents. It was clear to Jesus that such a fate awaited the Jews if they continued to resist Roman rule.

The second of Jesus’ temptations was to play to the peoples’ desire for an apocalyptic messiah: “And he led Jesus to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou are the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, to guard thee: And on their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone.” The apocalyptic vision can be thought of as a magical belief – where the physical laws of reality are turned on their heads. Earth comes to an end; evil doers are cast into fire, and the good and righteous rise up to Heaven. Jesus’ answer to this temptation was: “It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” In other words, don’t expect God to suddenly change all the rules. We have been given the structure of reality, it has been dependable, and to expect that structure to be suddenly violated is completely unrealistic.

So, if Jesus is not going to try and fulfill either the political or apocalyptic visions, a third alternative is presented to him: Use the insight to gain material wealth. This is the symbolism of turning stone into bread. Jesus’ answer – that man does not live by bread alone – is a statement that material well-being is not the primary focus of life. First and foremost is a complete commitment to the will of God.

We will see in the next section that, having thus sorted out the options available to him, Jesus makes a decision: He takes on the mission of teacher to pass on the knowledge he has gained – not just so that his people can avoid the catastrophe to which rebellion against the Romans ultimately leads, but so that they can fulfill their higher destiny of bringing this new knowledge to the rest of humankind.

The rest of Jesus’ short life is dedicated to that purpose.

12. Jesus Teaches at Nazareth
13. Jesus Teaches at Capernaum

Jesus at this point has begun his ministry, and while we are not told in detail what he said, he is clearly making an impact and his fame is growing.

One of the first places Jesus goes is back to his own synagogue in Nazareth, and that may have been his launching point. The passage he selects from the Book of Isaiah is telling. Jesus is well versed in his own tradition, and one of the repeating themes of his ministry is that his purpose is to lift Jewish scripture to a new, higher level. We also see, particularly at the beginning of his ministry, that he teaches in code (primarily through the use of parables) to avoid stirring up retribution by the high priests, whom, like John the Baptist, Jesus often criticizes.

The passage he reads from Isaiah could be an example of Jesus speaking in code, where one could perceive a higher or deeper interpretation of the words being used.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
Because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor:

One meaning of this could be the materially poor, certainly not a threatening message; the other meaning could be the poor in spirit. As we will see, Jesus did not believe that the religious leaders of his time were serving the people’s spiritual needs, and in fact were an obstacle to people achieving an autonomous relationship with God.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives,
To set a liberty them that are bruised,

By “captives,” many no doubt thought Jesus was talking about the Jews’ subjugation by the Romans. The other possibility – again born out by later teachings – was that he was referring to his people’s captivity to the rigid interpretations of Jewish law, promulgated by the high priests, which again were not serving the people’s real interests.

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

This could be interpreted as a prediction of the coming apocalyptic messiah; or it could be interpreted as the revealing of a new truth concerning humankind’s relationship to God and to other human beings, which Jesus first glimpsed in the baptism by John, and which he was now dedicated to teaching others.

14. Jesus and Mental Cases

This is the first time we encounter Jesus performing a “miracle.” It’s hard to take elements of this report literally – devils coming out of someone’s body and having a conversation with Jesus! A more reasonable explanation is that this is an observer’s fanciful or creative interpretation of what he witnessed. That Jesus performed such a healing does not seem at all out of the realm of possibility, given what we know today about the power of suggestion (let alone the power of the mind), particularly when the healer is given an extraordinary level of consent, as Jesus apparently was.

The conversation referred to, if it occurred at all, may have been with a person apparently still “possessed” (still mentally disturbed). In any case, it is interesting that Jesus rebukes the speaker for referring to him as the Christ (or messiah). It supports the supposition that Jesus did not wish to be identified with either the political or apocalyptic expectations.

15. Jesus Teaches by the Lake
16. Jesus Wins Fisherman Followers

The first of these two passages again attests to the growing interest in Jesus’ teachings; the multitude was so great he had to put out in a boat to avoid being trampled.

The second passage is the first time we see Jesus taking on disciples. While the passage is written as if the disciples joined Jesus after only one memorable encounter, a more realistic scenario may be that Jesus had many interactions with the fishermen, where he built up a relationship with them over time, perhaps occasionally helping them to find better places to fish, and then eventually winning them over to be his disciples.

As we will see later, the disciples also held to a belief in an impending political or apocalyptic messiah, and they were convinced Jesus was the one they were waiting for, which was no doubt their motivation for joining him. Despite Jesus’ teachings to the contrary, it was a belief from which they were never disabused.

17. Jesus Teaches Throughout Galilee

There are several times in Jesus’ short ministry where he goes off alone to pray. One can imagine he is asking for God’s guidance and direction as to what he should do next. Clearly he is gaining popularity. But is it for the right reasons? Are people hearing his message? Or is the expectation of a messiah so great that it is clouding people’s ability to understand his teachings? If so, might there be a better approach? All of these things and more are possible, and may have motivated him to undertake a prayerful contemplation of whether or not teaching is the right mission, or whether some other course of action is called for.

Whatever his motivation, at the end of his time in prayer, Jesus seems to have received some sort of confirmation of his method, for in reconnecting with his disciples he says: “Let us go elsewhere into the next towns, that I may preach there also, for to this end came I forth.”

18. Criticism of Free Forgiveness for Sin
19. Criticism for Association with Sinners
20. Criticism of Attitude Toward Fasting
21. Criticism for Working on the Sabbath

These passages illustrate another theme of Jesus’ that will become clearer as we get into his specific teachings. This theme is the internalization of authority: Doing things not because of law or tradition, but because they make sense and serve human needs.

All of us do certain things without knowing why. Often times the reason for our behavior has long been obsolete, but the behavior itself remains. One example is of the woman who, every time she cooked a pot roast, cut two inches off the end before putting it in the pan. When asked why, she said she did it because her mother did it. She did not know that her mother did it only because the pan she owned was two inches too small for the roast!

One of Jesus’ insights about his own religion was that it had become hidebound to tradition and had ceased to be a vital, living force that evolved in response to current needs. In Jesus’ view, the promise of the Jewish religion was its insight regarding the oneness of Reality (“the Lord our God, the Lord is One”), and the ability of people to establish a personal and autonomous relationship with that Reality (“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy soul, mind, heart and strength”). Rather than encourage this relationship, the priestly class actually obstructed it by demanding adherence to rigid codes of conduct that had nothing to do with God, but everything to do with securing the priests’ place in society.

So what specifically are the laws and customs that Jesus challenged? First, he challenged the accepted notion that only God has the authority to forgive sins. As the intermediaries between God and the people, you can see how the Pharisees might have been threatened by such a teaching. If people have the authority to forgive sins – that is, if they can be direct vehicles of God’s loving and forgiving spirit -- doesn’t that undermine the authority of the priests?

Jesus also challenged the accepted cultural mores that sinners are unworthy of the attentions of the righteous, and that fasting and resting on the Sabbath are inviolable. Of these, the passage on fasting may be the most difficult to understand. What is all this about “sons of the bridechamber” not fasting when they are with the “bridegroom”? One possible interpretation: The symbolic purpose of fasting is to cleanse the spirit. Jesus' point may have been that when you are in right relationship to God (the bridegroom) the spirit is already pure. It’s when God’s spirit is absent in your own life that you’d better worry about fasting.

Again, for Jesus a relationship with God is vital, alive, personal, and relevant to the moment. It does not require an intermediary and it is not gained by following archaic customs. It is living art; not paint-by-numbers.

22. Culmination of Criticism of Jesus
23. Attitude of Jesus Toward Criticism

One gets the sense that the Pharisees were survivors – they were pretty quick to sniff out and deal with threats to their authority. It is still early on in Jesus’ ministry and they have already decided that this guy has got to go.

Jesus is obviously aware of his impact on the status quo. He knows he is a threat, he understands why, and, importantly, he has compassion for those who fear him. He knows that change is hard for people, particularly when the old ways seem to be working so well, as in a sense they certainly were for those in charge.

All of us know this. Change comes slowly if at all. Often times we only change when we hit rock bottom and see no other way out. Even then it is more a surrender than a real decision to change. Out of surrendering comes acceptance and perhaps the vision of a new possibility, if there is one. But the vision can not be seen until the act of surrendering is complete.

Totally surrendering what does not work can give us the opportunity to gain a new “wineskin.” But a new wineskin is not the new wine – or the new teaching, or the new way of seeing -- itself. What is the new teaching? Jesus gives his fullest description in the next section: Definition of Standards of Righteousness.

26. Discourse on Standards of Righteousness

Because this passage is so long and content-rich, we will take it a section at a time.

And Jesus came down with the twelve, and stood on a level place. And a great multitude of his disciples, and a great number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the sea cost of Tyre and Sidon, came to hear him.

And Jesus lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:

Blessed are ye poor.
Blessed are ye that hunger.
Blessed are ye that weep.
Blessed are ye when men persecute you.
Ye are the salt of the earth.
Ye are the light of the world.

Okay, let’s stop right here. Why in the world would Jesus say it is a blessing to be poor, hungry, sad and persecuted? Does that sound like a blessed state to you? Is he saying that somehow these are the attributes of a righteous, noble, God-like state of being, which should be nurtured and cherished?

A more plausible interpretation gets us back to a point made in the last section: Jesus understood that people are more likely to make fundamental changes only after they have hit rock bottom. If the behavior is working for you, you have little or no motivation to change it. Likewise if the culture is working for you – even if it is corrupt – there’s no reason to start making waves.

Jesus did not believe the Jewish culture was working for his people, because it was steering them toward a suicidal confrontation with the Romans. Nevertheless, the culture was working very well for the elites, at least in the short-term– they were prosperous and in positions of power, and as a result unwilling to take any actions against their perceived self-interest. They were promoters of the status quo, and were distinctly disinterested in any teaching that diminished their status and prestige.

In short, Jesus was saying that the people who are disillusioned with the way things are have the best chance to initiate and nurture the new – they are the light of the world because they are open to moving down a different, more life-enhancing path.

Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill. For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of God.

This passage is important because it shows that Jesus saw himself in the line of the Jewish prophets. He is not out to start a new religion. His interest is in fulfilling the promise of his own religion. And he makes it clear that the standards he is talking about are far higher than those set by the scribes and Pharisees. How much higher? Let’s take a look:

Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment.

If therefore thou are offering thy gift at the alter, and there rememberest that thy brother has aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the alter, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and them come and offer thy gift.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God.

“Thou shalt not kill” is the first of the 10 Commandments, which were given to Moses by God at Mount Sinai. These commandments form the foundation of Jewish law, and it is this foundation that Jesus said he had come to fulfill, or lift to a new level of understanding or consciousness.

His insights in this regard are extremely astute, particularly when viewed in the light of today’s knowledge of human psychology. Jesus understood that the desire to kill is the inevitable extension of any belief system that justifies anger. Anger is the taproot of the kill, and if religion is to be contemporary and of value, it must deal with that taproot.

So when we are angry, Jesus instructs, go and make peace with whomever we are angry with. He does not say “don’t get angry” – that’s not realistic (and if there is one thing that Jesus is into, it’s Reality!). He says that when we are angry, do not be justified in that anger, or excuse it, but go make peace. Otherwise, we are in danger of “the judgment.”

What judgment is that? God’s judgment? Is Jesus talking about the apocalypse here?

The suggestion here is that Jesus is talking about something else, something very challenging to get hold of. It requires a very different perspective on the world – the perspective Jesus received in his baptismal experience with John.

The whole premise of Jesus’ ministry rests on the insight that all life is one, and that what we do to others we do to ourselves. What that means is that when we are angry at and out of relationship with another, we are actually angry and out of relationship with ourselves – for the other is us, we just have not seen it yet. As a result we are in a state of “dis-integration”. That state is the judgment of which Jesus speaks. By making peace, we re-integrate.

Haven’t we all experienced the pain of estrangement and the joy of reconciliation? One experience leaves us feeling whole and energized; the other split and often spiritless, preoccupying us and draining our energy. Such is the nature of the judgment. It is not God’s punishment – any more than is stepping off a cliff and suffering the effects of gravity. It is simply part of the law of cause and effect.

Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, that everyone that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thine eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body. And if thy hand causeth thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Well, here is a juicy one! This passage follows a similar logic to the one above. Just as anger is the taproot of the kill, so lust is the taproot of adultery. Jesus’ instruction again is, deal with the taproot.

The procreative drive is one of the strongest of human instincts – elemental to our survival as a species. If we are not vigilant, it can take us over and become an obsession. Our powers of self control become subjugated to this ancient and primitive drive, and we in effect become enslaved. If we are enslaved, we are not free to serve the will of God, which for Jesus is at the core of what it means to be human.

Both the teaching on lust and the teaching on anger lead us naturally to compassion. We may feel judgmental of one who commits adultery or murder, but have we not all experienced lust and anger? If so, then according to Jesus we are not so disconnected from the adulterer or the murderer, and so have the capacity to understand and forgive.

Again, ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: but I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by the heaven, nor by the earth, nor by Jerusalem. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head. But let your speech be Yea, yea; Nay, nay: and whatsoever is more than these is of evil.

It’s all about wholeness. Say yes when you mean yes, say no when you mean no.

When you say yes but mean no, you are split. When you say no but mean yes, you are split. Be total. Be whole. Be one, just as the universe is one, just as God is one.

Ye have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, Resist not evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man would take away thy cloak, let him have thy coat also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him twain.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

This is an oft quoted, oft discussed, and oft challenged passage. Is it really wise to turn the other cheek just to get smacked again? Sounds painful, and not very creative. Given what we know about Jesus, could this really be what he was advocating?

More than likely, no. Once again, Jesus is talking about a profoundly new way of looking at the world, encapsulated in three amazing words: “Resist not evil.”

What in the world is he talking about? If you should resist anything, shouldn’t it be evil?

Let’s do a little thought experiment, Think about a time when you were in resistance. Maybe your in-laws were coming to stay for the week. Your child was failing in school. Someone at work was shirking their responsibilities, leaving you holding the bag... whatever it might have been (and if you’re human, you should be able to think of plenty of examples!).

Now ask yourself, when you were in that state of resistance – which is basically wishing that something that is, wasn’t, and how crazy is that? -- how creative did you feel? How free were you to act? Or did the resistance seem to collapse all options and leave you stewing in anger or resentment or hurt? Jesus’ point is that when we resist, we cannot respond creatively. And when confronted with evil, we need all our creative powers operating at full throttle, for it can make the difference between life and death.

When you are free – not in resistance – you can do the unexpected, which can alleviate the stress or tension or even danger of a situation, and allow for a more constructive outcome. That is the meaning behind the admonitions to turn the other cheek, to give the coat as well as the cloak, and to walk two miles rather than one.

Let me give you a small example. My wife and I lived in China for two years in the early ‘80s and our primary mode of transportation – like every one else’s -- was a bicycle. If you got into an accident with another bicyclist whom you did not know, the customary outcome was a yelling match, each one blaming the other for their inept bike riding skills. You would never apologize – to do so would be to admit guilt and lose face.

One time I ran into someone on my bike, an older gentleman. He looked at me and, in customary fashion, began to verbally rip into me, with insults I can only imagine. When he came up for air I just looked at him and said, “I’m sorry”. He was stunned into silence. He looked at me, shocked, and just said, “It’s okay, doesn’t matter, no harm done” and rode off, occasionally stealing a backward glance to see if I was for real or some sort of an illusion.

So what was that all about? Well, I figure I did the equivalent of turning the other cheek. I did the unexpected, and it took the wind right out of his sails. He did not hit me on the other cheek (keep yelling at me), he stopped yelling altogether.

My advantage was in being a foreigner and not caring about losing face. I was free, able to respond in whatever way I thought the most creative. Of course, you don’t have to live in a foreign country to put this teaching to work. We probably all have examples illustrating that conflicts are best dealt with when you have not been polarized by resistance, but when you can leap into someone else’s shoes, gain a new perspective and uncover some previously hidden options.

The opposite approach is knee-jerk retaliation – the “eye for en eye” philosophy that has a direct hotline to our reptilian brain. Anyone who is really paying attention can see that this approach leads only to escalating violence, pain and misery. Jesus certainly saw that, and so was advocating a different response to Roman rule than the direct confrontation being preached by the Zealots. Stop resisting the Romans, he was saying. Stop being trouble. This too shall pass, and if we become model subjects, odds are they will leave us alone and we may even outlast them.

That would certainly have been a better outcome than what eventually transpired: Near-complete annihilation 60 years after Jesus’ death.

And what about today? Do we need more proof that the eye-for-an-eye approach does not work, or are we finally ready to try something new?

Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy: but I say unto you, Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you.

If ye love them that love you, what thank have ye? for even sinners love those that love them. And if ye do good to them that do good to you, what thank have ye? for even sinners do the same.

Ye shall be sons of the Most High: for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil: he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. Be ye merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

“Love your enemy” and “resist not evil” are fundamentally the same teaching. Both are instructing us to respond creatively rather than react violently, to act with goodwill rather than with ill-will. It’s all in the attitude.

Doing good to those that hate us, however, is not easy. It requires that we move beyond our limited sense of self and expand our identity to include the enemy. Just as God is inclusive of all --“he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust” – so should we be.

Think about it: If all life is one interconnected whole, than the “other”-- even our enemy – is us. Not understanding or hating another is an outcome of not understanding or hating ourselves. So embracing the enemy is an heroically creative act that brings about wholeness in ourselves, and contributes to the well-being of the world at large.

Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them: else ye have no reward with your Father.

When therefore thou doest alms, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret shall recompense thee.

And when ye pray, ye shall not be as the hypocrites: for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father, which seeth in secret shall recompense thee.

Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen of men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face; that thou be not seen of men to fast, but of thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall recompense thee.

In these passages, it appears that Jesus is drawing attention to the pitfalls of egocentricity. There are basically two motivations available to us for our actions: egocentric, or God-centric. When we do things for egocentric reasons – for “the glory of men” – we have received our reward. Our ego has been stroked.

Doing things for God – rather than for the attention or approval of others -- diminishes the hold our ego has on our sense of self, and creates the opportunity to see who we are beyond the ego’s limited boundaries.

Hasn’t it been the times when we’ve forgotten ourselves – when we’ve abandoned totally into some project or effort or purpose – that we have felt the most alive? Maybe that is the greater aliveness that Jesus refers to when he says, “and thy Father, which seeth in secret shall recompense thee.”

Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me cast out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.

The message here seems pretty simple: how can you help someone else if you are not seeing things clearly yourself? If something is blocking your perception, take care of it, before you try and help another.

Doing this is not often easy -- we so desperately want to see the problem as lying “out there” rather than inside ourselves. The rewards, however, can be great. When we at last see and accept ourselves, we are better able to see and accept others. When we see and accept others compassion, not hatred, flows.

All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them.

Not everyone that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of God; but he that doeth the will of my Father.

Here Jesus is saying that it is not enough to go through the motions of living a religious life. What’s required is that we completely align ourselves with the will of God.

Why is that so important? Left to our own devices, our motivation can be shallow, petty, and self-serving. God brings badly needed perspective to our decision-making process, requiring that we think long term and beyond the traditional boundaries of self, family, tribe and nation. God is wholeness, and the purpose of a relationship with God is to help us to think and act for the benefit of all.

This passage is the first time that Jesus refers to the “kingdom of God.” The suggestion here is that the kingdom of God is not a place, not a euphemism for Heaven, but rather a state of being to be realized here and now – a state of being in obedient relationship with God.

By their fruits ye shall know them. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but the corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bringeth forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and the evil man out of evil treasure bringeth forth that which is evil. Therefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Every one therefore which heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, which 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 the rock. And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall thereof.

Enter ye in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many be they that enter in thereby. For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few be they that find it.

What is to be the basis of our life? Money? We can lose money. Family? We can lose our family. Good health? We can lose that too. Everything temporal can be taken away from us. Making such things the foundation of our life is building our house upon sand.

To build our house upon a rock is to enter into a conscious relationship with God: to be aware of the power and pitfalls of our ego-centricity; to enter into the process of loosening our ego’s hold on our identity by dealing with our resistance and anger and lust and blind spots. And when we can love not only those who love us, but our enemy as well, we shall be likened unto the wise man of which Jesus speaks.

And why is the gate narrow? Because in a relationship with God, love is all that is permitted us.

27. Opinion of a Roman Centurion

Here we have a high ranking Roman soldier with a son who is apparently seriously ill. Aware of Jesus’ reputation as a healer, the centurion asks the Jewish elders to petition Jesus on his behalf, that he come to his son’s aid. Jesus consents.

But just before Jesus arrives, he is stopped by friends of the centurion who convey a most interesting message. He is told not to trouble himself by coming further, but to perform the healing from where he is: “Sir, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say the word.”

What’s going on? The centurion clearly has faith that Jesus does not need to see the child or even enter his house in order to perform the healing. What would give him that faith?

Apparently it has something to do with his regard for Jesus and his understanding of the nature of authority: “For I also am a man set under authority, having under myself soldiers: and I say to this one, Go, and he goeth; and to another Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.”

A possible interpretation: Clearly the centurion holds Jesus in high esteem. Here he is, a high-ranking soldier in the service of the Roman Empire, and he does not feel himself worthy to approach Jesus, a member of a small religious sect completely under Roman rule! That is quite a statement. A military man who thinks in terms of hierarchy and rank, he has placed Jesus at some level higher than himself – not militarily, but spiritually.

The centurion then draws a seemingly logical conclusion: if he, by virtue of being a centurion of the Roman Empire, has command over others – saying unto this one “Go, and he goeth” – Jesus, being of “higher rank” and in service of God, must have something even more powerful under his command. So powerful that he can act at a distance, and heal the centurion’s son.

We all put ourselves under some authority, consciously or unconsciously. It could be the authority of our culture, of the company we work for, or of our family. Setting ourselves under authority confers upon us certain benefits, and certain responsibilities. Jesus put himself under the highest authority possible: God. The centurion understood that and grasped the consequences as well; and at that, Jesus marveled.

See also “Opinion of Disciples about Jesus,” Commentary 10-47.

28. Opinion of John the Baptist

Remember that John believed in and preached the coming of the apocalyptic messiah (“…there cometh he that is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with fire: whose fan is in his hand, thoroughly to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn up in unquenchable fire.”).

John sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the messiah of whom John spoke, or should they be looking for someone else? Jesus response: “You’ve heard what I had to say, go report on it. And hopefully my imperfections will not get in the way of your understanding.” Why does he add that last sentence? Because he knows that people project on leaders, burdening them with unrealistic expectations. And what happens when those expectations are not met? People throw out the baby with the bath water: Disregarding not just the teacher, but the teachings as well.

Jesus continues in this vein:

And when the messengers of John were departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out in the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously appareled, and live delicately, are in king’s courts. But what went ye out to see? A prophet? I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there is none greater than John: yet he that is but little in the kingdom of God is greater than John. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of God suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesized until John.

Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation, and to what are they like? They are like unto children that sit in the marketplace, and call one to another; which say, We piped unto you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and ye did not weep. For John is come eating no bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, he hath a devil. I am come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold, a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! And wisdom is justified of all her children.

So what’s the point? These passages have perhaps lost some context in the retelling, but Jesus seems to be saying that people are making excuses for not taking in the teachings of their prophets.

Apparently both John and Jesus have come under criticism for their behavior. So he asks the multitudes, when you went out to the wilderness to see John, what were your expectations? Did you expect to see someone refined and well dressed? If so, you would be disappointed. People like that are in king’s courts.

But if you expected to see a prophet, John should not disappoint you. In fact, among men born of women, there is none better. [Remember, Jesus had quite an experience in his baptism by John, and no doubt felt indebted to him, even if he did not agree with everything he taught. If you’ve ever had a mentor that you outgrew, you’ll understand.]

At the same time, Jesus makes the point that John has limitations. Even a prophet “little in the kingdom of God” -- that is, one just waking up to the reality of the unity of life and its inherent implications – is greater than John, who never had that fundamental, reorienting insight.

John, says Jesus, comes in the tradition of the prophets before him, preaching a violent, apocalyptic arrival of the kingdom of God, where the “evil” are slaughtered and the “good” lifted up to everlasting life. Jesus comes offering a new vision of the kingdom of God, one governed by love and mercy and forgiveness, not violent retribution.

But whether listening to the teachings of John or of Jesus, people are finding excuses to not act on what they hear. One has a devil, they say. The other is a friend of publicans and sinners. And because they have found fault with the teacher, they have given themselves reason to not take in the full implications of the teachings.

See also “Opinion of Disciples about Jesus,” Commentary 10-47.

29. Opinion of a Sinner vs Opinion of a Pharisee

We might conclude from this passage that Jesus’ teachings about forgiveness made him well loved by those who were judged and shunned as sinners by the Jewish establishment. Punishment for sinning was often severe, including being stoned to death. Into such an environment comes a prophet who, as he says, desires mercy, and not sacrifice. Such a teaching would be to sinners what water is to a dry throat.

See also “Opinion of Disciples about Jesus,” Commentary 10-47.

31. Opinion of the Friends of Jesus

Jesus’ popularity is growing, to the point where the crowds are getting so big there is not even enough room to eat. He may even be in danger of getting trampled, for his friends have to go and rescue him from the multitudes.

See also “Opinion of Disciples about Jesus,” Commentary 10-47.

33. Basis of Real Relationship to Jesus

Well, if you were Jesus’ mother or brother, this might have sounded a bit harsh. But one thing we learn about Jesus as we study his life is that he never missed an opportunity to teach. His point here – repeated in several parables that come later -- is that our relationship with God is primary and completely redefines our relationship to everything else: our mother, father, brother, sister, neighbor and even enemy.

See also “Basis of Real Relationship to Jesus,” Commentary 11-63. 

34. Discourse on the Kingdom of God

Since this is a long passage, we will break it out into sections.

And again Jesus began to teach by the seaside. And there gathered unto him a very great multitude, so that he entered into a boat, and sat in the sea; and all the multitude were by the sea on the land. And he taught them many things in parables, and said unto them in his teaching:

How shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or in what parable shall we set it forth? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown upon the earth, though it be less than all the seeds that are upon the earth, yet when it is sown, groweth up, and becometh greater than all the herbs, and putteth out great branches; so that the birds of the heaven can lodge under the shadow thereof.

As we discussed earlier, the kingdom of God refers not to a place, but to a spirit or an energy that is released when an individual or a collective live in conscious relationship with God, obedient to His will.

The parable of the mustard seed is that the kingdom of God starts small – one person at a time. As more people see and choose the relationship, however, the influence or affect of that spiritual dimension grows and spreads to the benefit of all.

And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened.
And he said, Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

This parable speaks to the inner nature of our relationship with God, which we begin by making a commitment to deal with our resistance (“Resist not evil”), remove our blind spots (“…first remove the beam in our own eye”), and learn to love our enemy. Once we make that commitment -- and stick with it until we are “all leavened” -- it works on us, mysteriously, as leaven works on bread.

Another parable set Jesus before them, saying, The kingdom of God is likened unto a man that sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the blade sprang up, and brought forth fruit, there appeared the tares also. And the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares? And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this. And the servants say unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he saith, Nay; lest haply while ye gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together.
If any man hath ears to hear, let him hear.

In this parable Jesus once again debunks the apocalyptic version of the kingdom of God. If you try to separate the wheat (the good guys) from the tares (the bad guys), you’ll end up killing both. So don’t try and stamp out or eliminate evil, because it will bring about your own destruction as well.

Now that’s something, isn’t it? It certainly isn’t the way most of us think. The only way it makes sense is if you see life in an entirely different context. We are one human family. Each of us represents what is possible for all of us. No one has a unique possibility; if they did, they would be something other than human. Just as all acorns share a common potential – none of them can become a peach tree – so do all people.

Because we are the same, the key to accepting others is to accept ourselves. (Think back to our discussion on Jesus’ teaching on anger and lust.) Likewise, rejection or condemnation of another can be a sign that there is an aspect of ourselves with which we have not yet made peace.

In that context, evil in the world can actually be our teacher, revealing sides of our own nature that perhaps we would rather not look at. Take terrorism, for example. Most people would say terrorists are evil. Most people would also say they themselves are not terrorists. But take the USA: is there not some shade of terrorism in a country that has 6% of the world’s population but uses more than 30% of its resources? In a country known to have covertly deposed democratically elected leaders in third world countries just because they threatened our economic interests? In a country that prosecuted a misguided war in Southeast Asia that resulted in the death of 3 million innocent civilians? We have some soul searching to do; and evil in the world may be an indication that we have not soul searched enough.

If we really understood evil, we’d know that its root is ignorance, and that our challenge is not to eliminate evil—for ignorance will always exist—but to understand the process by which we move from ignorance to knowledge, from darkness to light.

The only other choice, according to Jesus, is to perish.

And Jesus said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed upon the earth; and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he knoweth not how. The earth beareth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.

We can see in nature that when the right conditions are met, the growth process occurs. The same is true for the kingdom of God. When we fulfill the conditions -- obedience to the will of God, which is to love all – a growth process is set in motion that bears fruit in mysterious ways.

The kingdom of God is like unto a treasure hidden in the field; which a man found, and hid; and in his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

Again, the kingdom of God is like unto a man that is a merchant seeking goodly pearls: and having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

When we truly understand what the kingdom of God is all about, we know that a relationship with God is not something that you add on to your life, like a new room to your house. It is the foundation of your house…without it you have nothing solid upon which to build. But to be 100 percent obedient to God’s will requires the total surrendering of our own will – that is the meaning of selling everything you have. And it feels like everything, doesn’t it? That’s because we are so tightly identified with our own ego. But along with that surrendering comes a rebirth to a higher, more fulfilling state of consciousness.

And with many such parables spake Jesus the word unto them, as they were able to hear it: and without a parable spake he not unto them.

And when Jesus was alone, the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? And he said unto them, Unto you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all things are done in parables: that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand.

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine, lest haply they trample them under their feet, and turn and rend you.

Jesus knows that his teachings threaten the religious authorities – the scribes and Pharisees – and that they are plotting against him, hoping to trap him in some heresy. Jesus therefore speaks in parables that they may see and not perceive, and hear, but not understand.

Then Jesus went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying: Explain unto us the parable of the tares of the field. And Jesus saith unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how shall ye know all the parables?

Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he thinketh he hath.

Here is one of our first clues that Jesus’ disciples are really not getting it. The tares in the field parable, remember, refuted the apocalyptic vision of the kingdom of God, the prevailing expectation of the times. It was one of Jesus’ central teachings, yet his disciples totally missed its meaning.

Jesus uses this as an opportunity to stress to his disciples the importance of clear perception and understanding. If you don’t see that bus coming as you cross the street, or don’t appreciate its ability to flatten you like a pancake upon contact, you’re going to probably lose everything you have as it runs right over you. If you do see it, and understand your relationship to it (stay out of its way!), you cross safely and life goes on. That is the meaning of “to him shall be given.”

Hearken: Behold, the sower went forth to sow: and it came to pass, as he sowed, some seed fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured it. And other fell on the rocky ground, where it had not much earth; and straightway it sprang up, because it had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And other fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And others fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing; and brought forth, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.

And Jesus said unto them, Is the lamp brought to be put under the bushel, or under the bed, and not to be put on the stand? There is nothing hid, save that it should be manifested; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light.

Here Jesus is acknowledging that not everyone will understand his teachings. But those that do understand them have an obligation to spread those teachings far and wide. In fact, the very purpose of the human adventure is to move from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge, so that life may continue.

And Jesus asked them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto Jesus, Yea. And he said unto them, Therefore every scribe who hath been made a disciple to the kingdom of God is like unto a man that is a householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

In the attitude or spirit that prevails in the kingdom of God, the richness of the past is not discarded, and the possibility of the new is not resisted. Each is evaluated only on its ability to serve the cause of life.

There is nothing covered up, that shall not be revealed: and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in the darkness, speak ye in the light: and what ye hear in the ear, proclaim upon the housetops. And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them which kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

Again, we see that Jesus had an acute understanding of the danger of his situation. We can project at this point that he has foreseen that his life will end at the hands of those he most threatens, and that to buy as much time as possible, he must speak covertly. But there will come a time when his disciples will need to abandon the stealth approach, and instead teach openly…proclaiming these truths “from the housetops.”

[See also “Limits of the Kingdom of God” (Commentary 12-69), “Time of the Kingdom of God” (Commentary 13-79), “Essential for Entrance into Kingdom” (Commentary 14-84), and “Time of the Kingdom of God” (Commentary 14-89).]

35. Fear vs Faith

Fear and faith. Two ways of looking at reality. In fear, we anticipate a negative outcome. In faith, we anticipate a positive one. Neither approach guarantees anything, but it may be that our attitude does somehow influence the outcome. In extreme cases we call this a “self-fulfilling prophesy” -- for example, someone who, being convinced that no one likes them, carries a chip on their shoulder so that indeed, no one likes them.

Probably most of us, however, bounce back and forth between these two attitudes. When we get in our car and drive down the freeway, we probably have faith we’re going to reach our destination, and are not preoccupied with having a major collision. Being talked into bungee jumping off of the Golden Gate Bridge by a group of friends, however, might arouse in us a bit of trepidation. Still, we would have to have more faith than fear or we would never jump, right?

So maybe the attitude of faith has something to do with knowledge gained from experience. Enough trips down the freeway with no collisions and we begin to have faith that this is a safe thing to do. After all, we live in a pretty reliable world, where if we follow the rules – obey speed limits, make sure you’re going in the direction of traffic, etc. – then the outcomes tend to be fairly consistent. There’s always the outlier, the occasional exception, but it is just that: the exception.

36. Jesus Teaches at Nazareth

Jesus goes to his hometown to preach, and his reception is a bit chilly. It’s not hard to imagine why. Someone the locals have probably known since he was in swaddling clothes comes back as if he’s some sort of big-shot prophet who suddenly knows more than they do.

You can image them thinking to themselves, “Hey, isn’t this that runny-nosed kid that used to tease my daughter and throw pebbles at the neighbor’s sheep? And now he’s come back thinking he’s all special and filled with the wisdom of God? Yeah, right. He should go back to being a carpenter, if anyone will hire him.”

Perhaps the lesson here is that once people have a strong impression of you, it’s hard for them to see you any differently, no matter how much evidence there may be of change.

38. Disciples Tour in Galilee

This is the first – and last! – time that Jesus sends his followers out on their own. Why did he never send them out again? Look at the last line: “And they went out, and preached that men should repent.” Repentance was John’s message, not Jesus’! The disciples were preaching that people should repent and get ready for the apocalypse, where the righteous will be rewarded with everlasting life, and the wicked burned in unquenchable fire. As we have seen, Jesus preached a very different message.

It is hard to escape the conclusion that these disciples were not the sharpest tools in the shed. Despite all of Jesus’ teachings, they could never shake the belief that he was the messiah foretold in Jewish prophesy, there to vanquish the Roman enemy.