Difference between revisions of "145:2 Afternoon at the Synagogue"
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| − | 145:2.1 The next [[Sabbath]], at the afternoon service in the [[synagogue]], [[Jesus]] [[preached]] his [[sermon]] on " The Will of the Father in Heaven. " In the morning [[Peter, the Apostle|Simon Peter]] had [[preached]] on " [[The Kingdom]]. " At the Thursday evening meeting of the [[synagogue]] [[Andrew, the Apostle|Andrew]] had taught, his subject being " The New Way. " At this particular time more people believed in [[Jesus]] in [ | + | 145:2.1 The next [[Sabbath]], at the afternoon service in the [[synagogue]], [[Jesus]] [[preached]] his [[sermon]] on " The Will of the Father in Heaven. " In the morning [[Peter, the Apostle|Simon Peter]] had [[preached]] on " [[The Kingdom]]. " At the Thursday evening meeting of the [[synagogue]] [[Andrew, the Apostle|Andrew]] had taught, his subject being " The New Way. " At this particular time more people believed in [[Jesus]] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capernaum Capernaum] than in any other one [[city]] on [[earth]]. |
| − | 145:2.2 As [[Jesus]] taught in the [[synagogue]] this [[Sabbath]] afternoon, according to [[custom]] he took the first [[text]] from [ | + | 145:2.2 As [[Jesus]] taught in the [[synagogue]] this [[Sabbath]] afternoon, according to [[custom]] he took the first [[text]] from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torah the law], reading from the [[Book of Exodus]]: " And you shall serve the Lord, your [[God]], and he shall [[bless]] your bread and your water, and all sickness shall be taken away from you. "[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Exodus#Chapter_.23] He chose the second text from [[the Prophets]], reading from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaiah Isaiah]: " Arise and shine, for your [[light]] has come, and the [[glory]] of the Lord has risen upon you. [[Darkness]] may cover the [[earth]] and gross [[darkness]] the people, but the [[spirit]] of the Lord shall arise upon you, and the [[divine]] [[glory]] shall be seen with you. Even the [[gentiles]] shall come to this [[light]], and many great [[minds]] shall [[surrender]] to the brightness of this [[light]]. "[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Isaiah#Chapter_.60] |
145:2.3 This [[sermon]] was an [[effort]] on [[Jesus]]' part to make clear the [[fact]] that [[religion]] is a [[personal]] [[experience]]. Among other things, [[the Master]] said: | 145:2.3 This [[sermon]] was an [[effort]] on [[Jesus]]' part to make clear the [[fact]] that [[religion]] is a [[personal]] [[experience]]. Among other things, [[the Master]] said: | ||
| − | 145:2.4 " You well know that, while a kindhearted [[father]] [[loves]] his [[family]] as a [[whole]], he so regards them as a [[group]] because of his strong [[affection]] for each [[individual]] member of that [[family]]. No longer must you approach [[the Father]] in heaven as a [[child]] of [[Israel]] but as a child of [[God]]. As a [[group]], you are indeed the children of [[Israel]], but as [[individuals]], each one of you is a child of God. I have come, not to [[reveal]] [[the Father]] to the children of [[Israel]], but rather to bring this [[knowledge]] of [[God]] and the [[revelation]] of his [[love]] and [[mercy]] to the [[individual]] believer as a [[genuine]] [[personal]] [[experience]]. [[The prophets]] have all taught you that [[Yahweh]] cares for his people, that [[God]] loves [[Israel]]. But I have come among you to [[proclaim]] a greater [[truth]], one which many of the later [[prophets]] also grasped, that [[God]] loves you —every one of you—as [[individuals]]. All these [[generations]] have you had a [ | + | 145:2.4 " You well know that, while a kindhearted [[father]] [[loves]] his [[family]] as a [[whole]], he so regards them as a [[group]] because of his strong [[affection]] for each [[individual]] member of that [[family]]. No longer must you approach [[the Father]] in heaven as a [[child]] of [[Israel]] but as a child of [[God]]. As a [[group]], you are indeed the children of [[Israel]], but as [[individuals]], each one of you is a child of God. I have come, not to [[reveal]] [[the Father]] to the children of [[Israel]], but rather to bring this [[knowledge]] of [[God]] and the [[revelation]] of his [[love]] and [[mercy]] to the [[individual]] believer as a [[genuine]] [[personal]] [[experience]]. [[The prophets]] have all taught you that [[Yahweh]] cares for his people, that [[God]] loves [[Israel]]. But I have come among you to [[proclaim]] a greater [[truth]], one which many of the later [[prophets]] also grasped, that [[God]] loves you —every one of you—as [[individuals]]. All these [[generations]] have you had a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_religion national or racial religion]; now have I come to give you a [[personal]] [[religion]]. |
| − | 145:2.5 " But even this is not a new [[idea]]. Many of the spiritually minded among you have known this [[truth]], inasmuch as some of the [[prophets]] have so instructed you. Have you not [[read]] in the [[Scriptures]] where the [ | + | 145:2.5 " But even this is not a new [[idea]]. Many of the spiritually minded among you have known this [[truth]], inasmuch as some of the [[prophets]] have so instructed you. Have you not [[read]] in the [[Scriptures]] where the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah Prophet Jeremiah] says: `In those days they shall no more say, the [[fathers]] have eaten sour grapes and the [[children]]'s teeth are set on edge. Every man shall die for his own [[iniquity]]; every man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge. Behold, the days shall come when I will make a new [[covenant]] with my people, not according to the covenant which I made with their [[fathers]] when I brought them out of the land of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypt Egypt], but according to the new way. I will even write my [[law]] in their [[hearts]]. I will be their [[God]], and they shall be my people. In that day they shall not say, one man to his [[neighbor]], do you know the Lord? Nay! For they shall all know me [[personally]], from the least to the greatest.'[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Jeremiah#Chapter_.31] |
| − | 145:2.6 " Have you not [[read]] these [[promises]]? Do you not [[believe]] the [[Hebrew Bible|Scriptures]]? Do you not [[understand]] that the [[prophet]]'s [[words]] are fulfilled in what you behold this very day? And did not [ | + | 145:2.6 " Have you not [[read]] these [[promises]]? Do you not [[believe]] the [[Hebrew Bible|Scriptures]]? Do you not [[understand]] that the [[prophet]]'s [[words]] are fulfilled in what you behold this very day? And did not [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah Jeremiah] exhort you to make [[religion]] an affair of the [[heart]], to [[relate]] yourselves to [[God]] as [[individuals]]? Did not the [[prophet]] tell you that the [[God]] of heaven would search your [[individual]] [[hearts]]? And were you not [[warned]] that the natural [[human]] [[heart]] is [[deceitful]] above all things and oftentimes desperately [[wicked]]? |
| − | 145:2.7 " Have you not read also where [ | + | 145:2.7 " Have you not read also where [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezekiel Ezekiel] taught even your [[fathers]] that [[religion]] must become a [[reality]] in your [[individual]] [[experiences]]? No more shall you use the [[proverb]] which says, `The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge.'[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Jeremiah#Chapter_.31] `As I live,' says the Lord God, `behold all [[souls]] are mine; as the soul of the [[father]], so also the soul of the son. Only the soul that [[sins]] shall die.' And then [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezekiel Ezekiel] foresaw even this day when he spoke in behalf of [[God]], saying: `A new [[heart]] also will I give you, and a new [[spirit]] will I put within you.'[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Ezekiel#Chapter_36] |
145:2.8 " No more should you [[fear]] that [[God]] will [[punish]] a [[nation]] for the [[sin]] of an [[individual]]; neither will [[the Father]] in heaven punish one of his believing [[children]] for the [[sins]] of a [[nation]], albeit the [[individual]] member of any [[family]] must often suffer the [[material]] [[consequences]] of [[family]] mistakes and [[group]] [[transgression]]s. Do you not [[realize]] that the [[hope]] of a better [[nation]]—or a better world—is bound up in the [[progress]] and [[enlightenment]] of the [[individual]]? " | 145:2.8 " No more should you [[fear]] that [[God]] will [[punish]] a [[nation]] for the [[sin]] of an [[individual]]; neither will [[the Father]] in heaven punish one of his believing [[children]] for the [[sins]] of a [[nation]], albeit the [[individual]] member of any [[family]] must often suffer the [[material]] [[consequences]] of [[family]] mistakes and [[group]] [[transgression]]s. Do you not [[realize]] that the [[hope]] of a better [[nation]]—or a better world—is bound up in the [[progress]] and [[enlightenment]] of the [[individual]]? " | ||
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145:2.10 [[The apostles]] were greatly helped by this [[sermon]]. All of them [[realized]] more fully that the [[gospel]] of [[the kingdom]] is a [[message]] directed to the [[individual]], not to the [[nation]]. | 145:2.10 [[The apostles]] were greatly helped by this [[sermon]]. All of them [[realized]] more fully that the [[gospel]] of [[the kingdom]] is a [[message]] directed to the [[individual]], not to the [[nation]]. | ||
| − | 145:2.11 Even though the people of [ | + | 145:2.11 Even though the people of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capernaum Capernaum] were familiar with [[Jesus]]' teaching, they were astonished at his [[sermon]] on this [[Sabbath]] day. He taught, indeed, as one having [[authority]] and not as the [[scribes]]. |
| − | 145:2.12 Just as [[Jesus]] finished speaking, a [[young man]] in the [[congregation]] who had been much [[agitated]] by his [[words]] was seized with a [[violent]] [ | + | 145:2.12 Just as [[Jesus]] finished speaking, a [[young man]] in the [[congregation]] who had been much [[agitated]] by his [[words]] was seized with a [[violent]] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epilepsy epileptic attack] and loudly cried out. At the end of the seizure, when recovering [[consciousness]], he spoke in a [[dream]]y state, saying: " What have we to do with you, [[Jesus]] of [[Nazareth]]? You are the [[holy]] one of [[God]]; have you come to destroy us? " [[Jesus]] bade the people be [[quiet]] and, taking the [[young man]] by the hand, said, " Come out of it "—and he was [[immediately]] [[awakened]].[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Gospel_of_Luke#Chapter_4] |
| − | 145:2.13 This [[young man]] was not [[possessed]] of an unclean [[spirit]] or [[demon]]; he was a [[victim]] of ordinary [ | + | 145:2.13 This [[young man]] was not [[possessed]] of an unclean [[spirit]] or [[demon]]; he was a [[victim]] of ordinary [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epilepsy epilepsy]. But he had been taught that his [[affliction]] was due to [[Possessed|possession]] by an [[Nefarious|evil spirit]]. He [[believed]] this teaching and behaved accordingly in all that he [[thought]] or said concerning his ailment. The people all believed that such [[phenomena]] were directly [[caused]] by the [[presence]] of [[Demon|unclean spirits]]. Accordingly they believed that [[Jesus]] had cast a [[demon]] out of this man. But [[Jesus]] did not at that time [[cure]] his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epilepsy epilepsy]. Not until later on that day, after [[Twilight|sundown]], was this man really [[healed]]. Long after the day of [[Pentecost]] the [[John, the Apostle|Apostle John]], who was the last to [[write]] of [[Jesus]]' doings, avoided all [[reference]] to these so-called acts of " casting out [[devil]]s, " and this he did in view of the [[fact]] that such cases of [[demon]] possession never occurred after [[Pentecost]]. |
| − | 145:2.14 As a result of this commonplace incident the report was rapidly spread through [ | + | 145:2.14 As a result of this commonplace incident the report was rapidly spread through [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capernaum Capernaum] that [[Jesus]] had cast a [[demon]] out of a man and [[miraculously]] [[healed]] him in the [[synagogue]] at the conclusion of his afternoon [[sermon]]. The [[Sabbath]] was just the time for the rapid and [[effective]] spreading of such a startling [[rumor]]. This report was also carried to all the smaller settlements around [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capernaum Capernaum], and many of the people believed it. |
| − | 145:2.15 The cooking and the housework at the large [ | + | 145:2.15 The cooking and the housework at the large [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebedee Zebedee] [[home]], where [[Jesus]] and [[the twelve]] made their [[headquarters]], was for the most part done by [[Peter, the Apostle|Simon Peter]]'s [[wife]] and her [[mother]]. [[Peter, the Apostle|Peter]]'s [[home]] was near that of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebedee Zebedee]; and [[Jesus]] and his [[friends]] stopped there on the way from the [[synagogue]] because [[Peter, the Apostle|Peter]]'s wife's [[mother]] had for several days been sick with chills and fever. Now it [[chance]]d that, at about the time [[Jesus]] stood over this sick woman, holding her hand, smoothing her brow, and speaking [[words]] of [[comfort]] and [[encouragement]], the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fever fever] left her. [[Jesus]] had not yet had time to [[explain]] to his [[apostles]] that no [[miracle]] had been wrought at the [[synagogue]]; and with this incident so fresh and vivid in their [[minds]], and recalling the [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_137#137:4._THE_WEDDING_AT_CANA water and the wine at Cana], they seized upon this [[coincidence]] as another [[miracle]], and some of them rushed out to [[Dissemination|spread the news]] abroad throughout the [[city]]. |
| − | 145:2.16 Amatha, [[Peter, the Apostle|Peter]]'s mother-in-law, was [[suffering]] from [ | + | 145:2.16 Amatha, [[Peter, the Apostle|Peter]]'s mother-in-law, was [[suffering]] from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaria malarial fever]. She was not miraculously [[healed]] by [[Jesus]] at this time. Not until several hours later, after [[Twilight|sundown]], was her cure [[effected]] in [[connection]] with the extraordinary [[event]] which occurred in the front yard of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebedee Zebedee] [[home]]. |
145:2.17 And these cases are typical of the [[manner]] in which a [[wonder]]-seeking [[generation]] and a [[miracle]]-minded people unfailingly seized upon all such [[coincidences]] as the [[pretext]] for [[proclaiming]] that another [[miracle]] had been wrought by [[Jesus]]. | 145:2.17 And these cases are typical of the [[manner]] in which a [[wonder]]-seeking [[generation]] and a [[miracle]]-minded people unfailingly seized upon all such [[coincidences]] as the [[pretext]] for [[proclaiming]] that another [[miracle]] had been wrought by [[Jesus]]. | ||
| − | <center>[ | + | <center>[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_145 Go to Paper 145]</center> |
| − | <center>[ | + | <center>[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Urantia_Text_-_Contents Go to Table of Contents]</center> |
[[Category:Paper 145 - Four Eventful Days at Capernaum]] | [[Category:Paper 145 - Four Eventful Days at Capernaum]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Individual]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Experience]] | ||
Latest revision as of 23:02, 12 December 2020
145:2.1 The next Sabbath, at the afternoon service in the synagogue, Jesus preached his sermon on " The Will of the Father in Heaven. " In the morning Simon Peter had preached on " The Kingdom. " At the Thursday evening meeting of the synagogue Andrew had taught, his subject being " The New Way. " At this particular time more people believed in Jesus in Capernaum than in any other one city on earth.
145:2.2 As Jesus taught in the synagogue this Sabbath afternoon, according to custom he took the first text from the law, reading from the Book of Exodus: " And you shall serve the Lord, your God, and he shall bless your bread and your water, and all sickness shall be taken away from you. "[1] He chose the second text from the Prophets, reading from Isaiah: " Arise and shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Darkness may cover the earth and gross darkness the people, but the spirit of the Lord shall arise upon you, and the divine glory shall be seen with you. Even the gentiles shall come to this light, and many great minds shall surrender to the brightness of this light. "[2]
145:2.3 This sermon was an effort on Jesus' part to make clear the fact that religion is a personal experience. Among other things, the Master said:
145:2.4 " You well know that, while a kindhearted father loves his family as a whole, he so regards them as a group because of his strong affection for each individual member of that family. No longer must you approach the Father in heaven as a child of Israel but as a child of God. As a group, you are indeed the children of Israel, but as individuals, each one of you is a child of God. I have come, not to reveal the Father to the children of Israel, but rather to bring this knowledge of God and the revelation of his love and mercy to the individual believer as a genuine personal experience. The prophets have all taught you that Yahweh cares for his people, that God loves Israel. But I have come among you to proclaim a greater truth, one which many of the later prophets also grasped, that God loves you —every one of you—as individuals. All these generations have you had a national or racial religion; now have I come to give you a personal religion.
145:2.5 " But even this is not a new idea. Many of the spiritually minded among you have known this truth, inasmuch as some of the prophets have so instructed you. Have you not read in the Scriptures where the Prophet Jeremiah says: `In those days they shall no more say, the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge. Every man shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge. Behold, the days shall come when I will make a new covenant with my people, not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, but according to the new way. I will even write my law in their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be my people. In that day they shall not say, one man to his neighbor, do you know the Lord? Nay! For they shall all know me personally, from the least to the greatest.'[3]
145:2.6 " Have you not read these promises? Do you not believe the Scriptures? Do you not understand that the prophet's words are fulfilled in what you behold this very day? And did not Jeremiah exhort you to make religion an affair of the heart, to relate yourselves to God as individuals? Did not the prophet tell you that the God of heaven would search your individual hearts? And were you not warned that the natural human heart is deceitful above all things and oftentimes desperately wicked?
145:2.7 " Have you not read also where Ezekiel taught even your fathers that religion must become a reality in your individual experiences? No more shall you use the proverb which says, `The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge.'[4] `As I live,' says the Lord God, `behold all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son. Only the soul that sins shall die.' And then Ezekiel foresaw even this day when he spoke in behalf of God, saying: `A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.'[5]
145:2.8 " No more should you fear that God will punish a nation for the sin of an individual; neither will the Father in heaven punish one of his believing children for the sins of a nation, albeit the individual member of any family must often suffer the material consequences of family mistakes and group transgressions. Do you not realize that the hope of a better nation—or a better world—is bound up in the progress and enlightenment of the individual? "
145:2.9 Then the Master portrayed that the Father in heaven, after man discerns this spiritual freedom, wills that his children on earth should begin that eternal ascent of the Paradise career which consists in the creature's conscious response to the divine urge of the indwelling spirit to find the Creator, to know God and to seek to become like him.
145:2.10 The apostles were greatly helped by this sermon. All of them realized more fully that the gospel of the kingdom is a message directed to the individual, not to the nation.
145:2.11 Even though the people of Capernaum were familiar with Jesus' teaching, they were astonished at his sermon on this Sabbath day. He taught, indeed, as one having authority and not as the scribes.
145:2.12 Just as Jesus finished speaking, a young man in the congregation who had been much agitated by his words was seized with a violent epileptic attack and loudly cried out. At the end of the seizure, when recovering consciousness, he spoke in a dreamy state, saying: " What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? You are the holy one of God; have you come to destroy us? " Jesus bade the people be quiet and, taking the young man by the hand, said, " Come out of it "—and he was immediately awakened.[6]
145:2.13 This young man was not possessed of an unclean spirit or demon; he was a victim of ordinary epilepsy. But he had been taught that his affliction was due to possession by an evil spirit. He believed this teaching and behaved accordingly in all that he thought or said concerning his ailment. The people all believed that such phenomena were directly caused by the presence of unclean spirits. Accordingly they believed that Jesus had cast a demon out of this man. But Jesus did not at that time cure his epilepsy. Not until later on that day, after sundown, was this man really healed. Long after the day of Pentecost the Apostle John, who was the last to write of Jesus' doings, avoided all reference to these so-called acts of " casting out devils, " and this he did in view of the fact that such cases of demon possession never occurred after Pentecost.
145:2.14 As a result of this commonplace incident the report was rapidly spread through Capernaum that Jesus had cast a demon out of a man and miraculously healed him in the synagogue at the conclusion of his afternoon sermon. The Sabbath was just the time for the rapid and effective spreading of such a startling rumor. This report was also carried to all the smaller settlements around Capernaum, and many of the people believed it.
145:2.15 The cooking and the housework at the large Zebedee home, where Jesus and the twelve made their headquarters, was for the most part done by Simon Peter's wife and her mother. Peter's home was near that of Zebedee; and Jesus and his friends stopped there on the way from the synagogue because Peter's wife's mother had for several days been sick with chills and fever. Now it chanced that, at about the time Jesus stood over this sick woman, holding her hand, smoothing her brow, and speaking words of comfort and encouragement, the fever left her. Jesus had not yet had time to explain to his apostles that no miracle had been wrought at the synagogue; and with this incident so fresh and vivid in their minds, and recalling the water and the wine at Cana, they seized upon this coincidence as another miracle, and some of them rushed out to spread the news abroad throughout the city.
145:2.16 Amatha, Peter's mother-in-law, was suffering from malarial fever. She was not miraculously healed by Jesus at this time. Not until several hours later, after sundown, was her cure effected in connection with the extraordinary event which occurred in the front yard of the Zebedee home.
145:2.17 And these cases are typical of the manner in which a wonder-seeking generation and a miracle-minded people unfailingly seized upon all such coincidences as the pretext for proclaiming that another miracle had been wrought by Jesus.
