CHAPTER 142
The path of discipleship, its difficulties. The cross and its meaning. The danger of wealth. The young man who loved wealth more than he loved Christ. Parable of the rich man and Lazarus.
Now, Jesus and the twelve went to another town, and as they entered it they said, Peace be to all; good will to all.
2 A multitude of people followed and the master said to them, Behold, for you are followers for selfish gain.
3 If you would follow me in love, and be disciples of the Holy Breath, and gain at last the crown of life, you must leave all there is of carnal life behind.
4 Be not deceived; stay, men, and count the cost.
5 If one would build a tower, or a home, he first sits down and counts the cost to be assured that he has gold enough to finish it.
6 For well he knows that if he makes a failure of his enterprise he may lose all his wealth, and be the butt of ridicule.
7 And if a king desires to take the kingdom of another king, he calls his trusted men and they consider well their strength; he will not measure arms with one of matchless power.
8 Count well the cost before you start to follow me; it means the giving up of life, and all you have.
9 If you love father, mother, wife, or child, more than you love the Christ, you cannot follow me.
10 If you love wealth or honor more than you love the Christ, you cannot follow me.
11 The paths of carnal life do not run up the mountain side towards the top; they run around the mount of life, and if you go straight to the upper gate of consciousness you cross the paths of carnal life; tread in them not.
12 And this is how men bear the cross; no man can bear another’s cross.
13 Take up your cross and follow me through Christ into the path of true discipleship; this is the path that leads to life.
14 This way of life is called the pearl of greatest price, and he who finds it must put all he has beneath his feet.
15 Behold, a man found in a certain field the croppings of a wondrous mine of gold, and he went forth and sold his home and all he had and bought the field; then he rejoiced in wealth.
16 Now, there were present, scribes and Pharisees of wealth who loved their money, and their bonds and lands, and they laughed loud to scorn what Jesus said.
17 Then Jesus spoke to them and said, You are the men who justify yourselves in sight of men; God knows your wickedness of heart;
18 And you must know, O men, that whatsoever is revered and is exalted by the carnal mind, is an abomination in the sight of God.
19 And Jesus went his way, and as he went a young man ran and knelt down at his feet and said, Good master, tell me what to do that I may have eternal life.
20 And Jesus said, Why do you call me good? No one is truly good but God himself.
21 And God has said, If you would enter into life, keep the Commandments of the law.
22 The young man asked, To which commands did he refer?
23 And Jesus said, You shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not do adulterous things; you shall not falsely testify;
24 And you shall love your God with all your heart, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
25 The man replied, These things I have observed from youth; what lack I yet?
26 And Jesus said, One thing you lack; your heart is fixed on things of earth; you are not free.
27 Go forth and sell all that you have, and give your money to the poor, and come and follow me, and you shall have eternal life.
28 The man was grieved at what the master said; for he was rich; he hid his face and went in sorrow on his way.
29 And Jesus looked upon the sorrowing man and said, It is so hard for men with hoarded wealth to enter through the door into the kingdom of the soul.
30 And his disciples were amazed at what he said.
31 He answered them and said, I tell you, men, that they who trust in riches cannot trust in God and cannot come into the kingdom of the soul;
32 Yea, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a man with hoarded wealth to find the way of life. And his disciples said, Who then can find the way? Who can be saved?
33 And Jesus said, The rich may give his gold away; the high may kiss the dust, and God will save.
34 Then Jesus spoke this parable to them:
35 A rich man lived in splendid state; he wore the finest garments men could make; his boards were loaded with the costliest viands of the land.
36 A beggar, blind and lame, whose name was Lazarus, was wont to sit beside the waste gate of this home that he might share with dogs the refuse from the rich man’s boards.
37 It came to pass that Lazarus died, and angels carried him away unto the bosom of our father Abraham.
38 The rich man also died, and he was buried in a costly tomb; but in the purifying fires he opened up his eyes dissatisfied.
39 He looked and saw the beggar resting peacefully in the bosom of his father Abraham, and in the bitterness of his soul he cried,
40 My father Abraham, look down in mercy on your son; I am tormented in these flames.
41 Send Lazarus, I beseech, that he may give me just a sup of water to cool my parched tongue.
42 But Abraham replied, My son, in mortal life, you had the best things of the earth and Lazarus had the worst, and you would not give him a cup of water there, but drove him from your door.
43 The law must be fulfilled, and Lazarus now is comforted, and you are paying what you owe.
44 Besides, there is a great gulf fixed between your zone and us, and if I would I could not send Lazarus to you, and you cannot come up to us till you have paid your debts.
45 Again the man in anguish said, O father Abraham, I pray, send Lazarus back to earth, and to my father’s house, that he may tell my brothers who are yet in life, for I have five of them, about the horrors of this place, lest they come down to me and not to you.
46 And Abraham replied, They have the words of Moses and the seers, let them hear them.
47 The man replied, They will not hearken to the written word; but if a man would go up from the grave they might believe.
48 But Abraham replied, If they hear not the words of Moses and the seers they would not be persuaded even though one from the dead stood in their midst.
49 And Peter said, Lord, we have left our all to follow you; and what is our reward?
50 And Jesus said, Most verily I say to you, that you who have left all to follow me shall come into a newness of a life hid deep with Christ in God.
51 And you shall sit with me upon the throne of power, and judge with me the tribes of Israel.
52 And he who conquers carnal self, and follows me through Christ shall have a hundred fold of that which is the wealth of life on earth, and in the world to come, eternal life.
CHAPTER 143
Righteousness in rewards. Jesus relates the parable of the husbandman and the laborers. Makes known the divine law of divorce. The mystery of marriage.
The Lord was standing by the sea; the multitudes were there and one stood forth and said,
2 Does God bestow rewards as men bestow rewards, for what is done?
3 And Jesus said, Men never know what other men have done, this life is such a seeming life.
4 One man may seem to do a mighty work, and be adjudged by men as worthy of a great reward.
5 Another man may seem to be a failure in the harvest fields of life, and be dishonored in the face of men.
6 Men do not know the hearts of men; God only knows the hearts of men, and when the day is done he may reward with life the man who fell beneath the burdens of the day, and turn away the man who was the idol of the hearts of men.
7 And then he spoke a parable; he said, The kingdom of the soul is like a man who had a vast estate,
8 And in the morning time he went down to the market place to search for men to gather in his grain.
9 He found three men, and he agreed to give to each a penny for his service for the day, and sent them to his field.
10 Again he went down to the market place the third hour of the day and found five men in waiting, and he said, Go down into my field and serve, and I will pay you what is right; and they went down and served.
11 He went again; it was the sixth hour of the day, and seven men were waiting at the stand; he sent them to the field to serve.
12 And at the eleventh hour he went again; twelve men stood there in seeming idleness; he said to them, Why stand you here in idleness all day?
13 They said, Because we have no work to do; no man has hired us.
14 And then he sent them to his field to serve.
15 Now, when the evening came the man said to his steward, Call the laborers from the field, and pay them for his services. And all were paid, and each received a penny for his hire.
16 Now, when the twelve, who served but from the eleventh hour, received each one a penny for his hire, the three were sore aggrieved; they said,
17 These twelve have served but one short hour, and now they have an equal share with us who have toiled through the scorching hours of day; should we not have at least two pennies for our hire?
18 The man replied, My friends, I do no wrong to you. Did we not have a fast agreement when you went to work? have I not paid in full?
19 What is it unto you if I should pay these men a smaller or a larger sum? Take that which is your own and go your way, for I will give unto the twelve what I will give unto the three, the five, the seven.
20 They did their best and you could do no more than do your best.
21 The hire of man is based upon the intent of the heart.
22 As Jesus taught, a Pharisee came up and said, Lord, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife?
23 And Jesus said, You ought to know; what says the law?
24 The Pharisee replied, The law provides that man may be divorced, may put away his wife.
25 And Jesus said, The hardness of the hearts of men induced the giver of the law to make provisions such as these; but from the first it was not so.
26 God made a woman for a man, and they were one; and afterwards he said, A man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife; they are no more divided; they are one, one flesh.
27 What God has joined no man can part.
28 Now, when they went up to the house, a man made free to ask again about this matter of divorce.
29 And Jesus said again what to the Pharisee he said; and then he gave the higher law of marriage life:
30 Whoever puts away his wife, except she be a courtesan, and then shall take another wife commits adultery.
31 The woman who shall leave a man, unless he be a libertine and an adulterer, and then becomes the wife of any other man, commits adultery.
32 And Thomas asked, What is adultery?
33 And Jesus said, The man who harbors lustful thoughts, who covets any woman not his wife, is an adulterer.
34 The wife who harbors lustful thoughts, and covets any man who is not wed to her, is not her husband, is a courtesan.
35 Men cannot make a law to bind two hearts.
36 When two are bound in love they have no thought of lust. The woman cannot leave the man; the man has no desire to send his wife away.
37 When men and women harbor lustful thoughts, and covet any other flesh, they are not one, not joined by God.
38 And Philip said, Lord, are there few that God has joined in holy marriage bonds?
39 And Jesus said, God knows the pure in heart; the lustful men and women are but creatures of the lustful self; they cannot be at one; nor can they be at one with God.
40 Nathaniel said, Is it not well that all men should refrain from taking on themselves the marriage vow?
41 And Jesus said, Men are not pure because they are unmarried men. The man who lusts is an adulterer if he has wife or not.
42 And then he said to all, Some things men know by being told, while other things they know not till the gate of consciousness shall open up for them.
43 I speak a mystery that now you cannot understand; but you shall some day understand.
44 A eunuch is a man who does not lust; some men are eunuchs born, some men are eunuchs by the power of men, and some are eunuchs by the Holy Breath, who makes them free in God through Christ.
45 He who is able to receive the truth I speak, let him receive.
CHAPTER 144
The Christines at Tiberius. Jesus speaks on the inner life. Relates the parable of the prodigal son. The resentment of the elder brother.
When they had journeyed through the towns and cities of the land of Galilee, the Lord with his disciples came to Tiberius, and here they met a few who loved the name of Christ.
2 And Jesus told them many things about the inner life; but when the multitudes came up, he spoke a parable; he said,
3 A certain man with great possessions had two sons. The youngest son grew tired of life at home and said,
4 My father, pray divide your wealth and give the portion that is mine to me, and I will seek my fortune in another land.
5 The father did as he desired, and with his wealth the young man went into a foreign land.
6 He was a profligate and soon had squandered all his wealth in ways of sin.
7 When nothing else remained for him to do he found employment in the fields to care for swine.
8 And he was hungry and no one gave him aught to eat, and so he ate the carob pods that he was feeding to the swine.
9 And after many days he found himself and said unto himself, My father is a man of wealth; he has a score of servants who are bountifully fed while I, his son, am starving in the fields among the swine.
10 I do not hope to be received again as son, but I will rise and go straight to my father’s house, and I will make confession of my waywardness;
11 And I will say, My father, I am come again; I am a profligate, and I have lost my wealth in ways of sin; I am not worthy to be called your son.
12 I do not ask to be received again as son, but let me have a place among your servants, where I may have a shelter from the storms and have enough to eat.
13 And he arose and sought his father’s house, and as he came his mother saw him while yet a great way off.
14 (A mother’s heart can feel the first faint yearning of a wandering child.)
15 The father came, and hand in hand they walked a-down the way to meet the boy, and there was joy, great joy.
16 The boy tried hard to plead for mercy and a servant’s place; but love was all too great to listen to the plea.
17 The door was opened wide; he found a welcome in the mother’s heart, and in the father’s heart.
18 The father called the servants in, and bade them bring the finest robe for him; the choicest sandals for his feet; a ring of purest gold for him to wear.
19 And then the father said, My servants, go and kill the fatted calf; prepare a feast, for we are glad;
20 Our son we thought was dead is here alive; a treasure that we thought was lost is found.
21 The feast was soon prepared and all were merry, when the eldest son who had been serving in a distant field and knew not that his brother had returned, came home.
22 And when he learned the cause of all the merriment he was offended, and would not go into the house.
23 His father and his mother both besought him tearfully to disregard the waywardness and folly of their son; but he would not; he said,
24 Lo, all these years I have remained at home, have served you every day, have never yet transgressed your most severe commands;
25 And yet you never killed for me a kid, nor made for me a simple feast that I might make merry with my friends;
26 But when your son, this profligate, who has gone forth and squandered half your wealth in ways of sin, comes home, because he could do nothing else, you kill for him the fatted calf and make a wondrous feast.
27 His father said, My son, all that I have is yours and you are ever with us in our joys;
28 And it is well to show our gladness when your brother, who is near and dear to us, and who we thought was dead, returns to us alive.
29 He may have been a profligate; may have consorted with gay courtesans and thieves, yet he is still your brother and our son.
30 Then Jesus said so all might hear: He who has ears to hear, and hearts to understand will comprehend the meaning of this parable.
31 Then Jesus and the twelve came to Capernaum.
CHAPTER 145
Jesus speaks on the establishment of the Christine kingdom and the future coming of the Lord in power. Exhorts to faithfulness. Parable of the unjust judge. Parable of the Pharisee and the publican.
A company of Pharisees came up to speak with Jesus and they said, Rabboni, we have heard you say, The kingdom is at hand.
2 We read in Daniel that the God of heaven will form a kingdom, and we ask, Is this the kingdom of the God you speak about? If so, when will it come?
3 And Jesus said, The prophets all have told about this kingdom of the God, and it is just at hand; but men can never see it come.
4 It never can be seen with carnal eyes; it is within.
5 Lo, I have said, and now I say again, None but the pure in heart can see the king, and all the pure in heart are subjects of the king.
6 Reform, and turn away from sin; prepare you, O prepare! the kingdom is at hand.
7 And then he spoke to his disciples and he said, The seasons of the son of man are past.
8 The time will come when you will wish above all else to see again one of these days; but you can see it not.
9 And many men will say, Lo, here is Christ; lo, there is Christ. Be not deceived; go not into their ways.
10 For when the son of man will come again no man need point the way; for as the lightning lights the heavens, so will the son of man light up the heavens and earth.
11 But, lo, I say, that many generations will have come and gone before the son of man shall come in power; but when he comes no one will say, Lo, here is Christ; lo, there.
12 But as it was before the flood in Noah’s day, so shall it be. The people ate, they drank, were filled with merriment and sung for joy,
13 And did not know their doom until the ark was done and Noah entered in; but then the flood came on and swept them all away.
14 So, also, in the days of Lot; the people ate and drank; they bought, they sold, they planted and they reaped, they went their ways in sin, and they cared not;
15 But when the righteous Lot went from their city’s gates the earth beneath the city shook, and brimstone fires fell from heaven;
16 The gapping jaws of earth flew wide, and swallowed up their homes, their wealth, and they went down to rise no more.
17 So shall it be when comes the son of man in power.
18 I charge you men, as I will charge men then, Seek not to save your wealth, or you will lose your lives. Go forth, and look not back upon the crumbling walls of sin. Do not forget Lot’s wife.
19 Whoever tries to save his life will lose his life; whoever freely gives his life in serving life will save his life.
20 Then comes the sifting time. Two men will be in bed; one will be called, the other left; two women will be working side by side; one will be snatched away, the other left.
21 And his disciples said, Explain to us this parable; or is it not a parable?
22 And Jesus said, The wise will understand, for where the bread of heaven is, there you will find the pure in heart; and where the carcass lies will gather all the birds of prey.
23 But, lo, I say, before these days will come, the son of man will be betrayed by one of you into the hands of wicked men, and he will give his life for you and all the world.
24 Yea, more; the Holy Breath will come in power and fill you with the wisdom of the just.
25 And you will tell the wondrous story in Judea and in Samaria and in the farther lands of earth.
26 And then to teach that men should pray and never faint, he told this parable:
27 There was a judge who feared not God, nor yet regarded man.
28 There was a widow who oft implored the judge to right her wrongs and to avenge her foes.
29 At first the judge would hear her not, but after many days he said,
30 I fear not God, and I regard not man, yet, lest this widow wear me out by pleading every day I will avenge her on her foes.
31 When the disciples asked the meaning of this parable, the Lord replied, The wise can understand; the foolish have no need to know.
32 And then to teach a lesson unto certain of his followers who trusted in themselves and thought that they were holier than other men, he told this parable:
33 Two men went to the synagogue to pray; one was a Pharisee, the other was a publican.
34 The Pharisee stood forth and prayed thus with himself, O God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, who are extortioners, unjust, adulterers;
35 Not even like this publican. I fast two times a week, and I give tithes of all I get.
36 The publican came not a-near; he would not lift his eyes to heaven, but smote his breast and said,
37 O Lord, be merciful to me; I am a sinner in thy sight; I am undone.
38 And now, you men, I say to you, The publican knew how to pray, and he was justified.
39 The Pharisee knew how to talk, but still he went away condemned.
40 Lo, every one who lauds himself shall be abased, and he who does not praise himself shall be exalted in the sight of God.