"‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to ...'" (Matthew 5:21-22)

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother without cause will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool! Will be in danger of the fire of hell." (Matthew 5:21-22)

What does 'Raca' mean?

“Raca” is a Hebrew word indicating contempt for someone. Jesus condemns this as something the Sanhedrin—referring to the institutional temple council—can address.

Jesus is clarifying that lashing out at someone with a statement of ridicule - such as "you fool" - reflects an issue we have deep within. This indicates a level of jealousy and hatred that rots within us. This is why Jesus said:

"But anyone who says, ‘You fool! Will be in danger of the fire of hell."

This bears witness to the rotten state of our own consciousness. "the fire of hell" is thought of as a physical place - like a cave with lots of fire and people chained to the walls.

The issue is anger - the opposite of mercy.

Why is anger a problem?

This statement by Jesus to his students refers to the law of love. If we love our fellow children of God, there is no question of being angry and not forgiving them, let alone hurting or murdering them.

That is to become angry with someone without sufficient cause. What cause would be sufficient? Their offending God or His representative, which is essentially breaking the ‘first and foremost commandment,’ to love God and His children with all our heart and soul.

Now sometimes we might become angry with a fellow child of God if they do something that hurts themselves spiritually. This is also “with cause.” 

Becoming angry in this way, out of love, is not the same as saying “you fool” to them. It is like saying, "please come home" - which is what God keeps asking us to do.

What does Jesus mean by 'the fire of hell'?

A more appropriate translation* of the Greek word γέεννα (geenna) in Jesus' statement would refer to "wickedness" rather than "hell" because wickedness relates to consciousness, rather than a physical location.

The fire of wickedness occurs within our consciousness, but burns for everyone around us. Having a consciousness of hatred and envy is in itself wickedness. And this consciousness itself causes a burning of self-centeredness.

What is that burning of self-centeredness? We are speaking of lust and anger. These two sensations are compared to burning because if we have ever watched a fire, we know that fire consumes everything around it.

Next time you watch a fire, look closely at how it consumes its fuel. The flames lap up around the fuel and slowly work in and torch the fuel. But it is not as if the flames are satisfied with what they consume. They remain unsatisfied. They always need more fuel to consume.

This is the nature of lust and anger. Lust, when unsatisfied, can lead to anger. When we want something (lust) and we do not get what we want, we can become angry.

Note that Jesus says:

"But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother without cause will be subject to judgment."

Becoming angry "without cause" relates directly to anger and envy. Being envious means being jealous of someone else because they have what we want.

Becoming envious is our worst conscious development. It is at the root of much of the violence and harm that are done against others. Envy is one of the key reasons for our being here in the physical world, away from the Supreme Being.

Why are we away from God now?

We are here, away from God, because we became envious of Him. Yes, we wanted to have what He has. He has the power, the beauty, the authority, the fame. And we want those things. So we were sent away, tossed out of the spiritual realm - symbolized by Adam and Eve being tossed out of the "Garden."

It is the same with heaven: Yes, there is a spiritual world, but heaven is a state of consciousness.

Consider this verse in Genesis:

The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21)

The "garments of skin" symbolize these physical bodies we temporarily occupy. We are not these physical bodies. We are the spirit-person within them. We are the drivers of these physical bodies.

This physical world is like a rehabilitation center. Here we deal with the consequences of our envy, lust and anger. One of the reasons we are here in this world is to learn to transcend enviousness. 

As we look around us we have so many opportunities to become envious of others. Others who have become more wealthy, famous or otherwise successful in the material world can become the subject of our envy.

But we are also provided the ability to combat envy. First, the world combats our envy with consequences. When we act out of envy, we typically are met with the consequences of those actions. This can help us learn that envy does us no good.

Ultimately, envy is treated spiritually. By becoming closer to the Supreme Being and developing a relationship with Him.

Why is there so much suffering?

Often people ask if God is so good, how come there is so much suffering in the world?

The suffering of the world is not the result of God’s actions or decisions. The design of the world is set up to teach us and guide us, as well as offer us the freedom to make our own decisions.

As a result of that design, we are also met with the consequences of our actions. We“reap what we sow.” This means that the actions we take now will lead to particular results either here and now, or in the future.

We must ask ourselves logically, why a person would be born into a suffering situation like Darfur? Why are these kids suffering from birth? Did God just decide to punish these people for no reason?

Certainly not. As we will see later, Jesus also addresses this issue. These souls are being punished for the acts they committed in previous lifetimes. Today we experience the hell we caused to others in the past. It is a perfect system. It is a teaching system.

Depending upon the act and the situation, sometimes we receive our consequences in this lifetime, immediately. Prison or war are good examples of punishment for decisions made during the same lifetime. For those who are angry and hostile toward others, that anger and hostility may lead to a backlash of a fight or even escalate into a war. This is the immediate “hell” for these activities.

The world is also designed for love. Caring for others leads to a completely different result as well. When we care for others, this will result in being cared for - if not by others then by God. This too is the design of this world: A perfect world designed by God to teach each and every one of us our own set of lessons, simultaneously.

We might wonder why love is such an important part of Jesus’ teachings and such an integral part of the commandments that Moses revealed. What is it about love that is so important to God?

Is God love?

We often hear vague sayings such as “God is love.” Does this have any meaning?

Yes, God is the embodiment of Love. Love emanates from Him. God is also the most loved, the move loveable, and the most loving.

The real point is that God is a Person, and He unconditionally loves each of us personally. His whole Personality is tied to His love and care for each of us. The spiritual dimension is thus the place where this unconditional love governs all activity. Every one of His actions is founded upon love and compassion.

Therefore, actions of hatred, anger, and spite are simply out of context with His world. They run contrary to His Personality and nature. Self-centered activities of lust, envy, and anger oppose love. Where true love is, envy, hatred, and anger do not have a place. It is for this reason that actions against love have such negative consequences.

We were all created with an innate propensity for love. But each of us also has the innate ability to make choices. This is because freedom is inseparable from love. If God forced us to love Him that would hardly be considered real love.

Those of us floundering among the temporary physical dimension, dwelling within these temporary "garments of skin” made a choice at one point or another not to love and trust God. This decision point is the symbolic story of Adam and Eve.

So now we find ourselves here trying to enjoy as He might enjoy. Here we try to play god by trying to control and dominate others, and gather up as much money, possessions and attention as we possibly can. As the expression goes: "He who dies with the most toys wins." This aptly summarizes our attempts to "win" over our environment by trying to enjoy as a ruler - the expression of our desire to be in God's position.

God did not want to lose us, though. So He also designed a facility to allow us to learn to love. A facility that allows us to grow spiritually and understand that true happiness is having a loving relationship with Him. This is confirmed by Jesus' most important teaching:

“ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind" (Luke 10:27)

*Here is the translation of Matthew 5:21-22 from the Lost Gospels of Jesus:

"You have what it was taught in ancient times, ‘You shall not kill, and whoever kills shall face the consequences. Yet I say to you that anyone who becomes angry with his brother shall be subject to consequences, and whoever calls his brother ‘stupid’ shall be subject to judgment, and whoever speaks godlessness shall be subject to the fires of wickedness." (Matt. 5:21-22)

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged ..." (Matthew 7:1-2)

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Matthew 7:1-2)

What does Jesus mean by 'judge'?

The word "judge" here is being translated from the Greek word κρίνω (krinō), which means, according to the lexicon:

-to separate, put asunder, to pick out, select, choose
-to approve, esteem, to prefer
-to be of opinion, deem, think, to be of opinion
-to determine, resolve, decree
-to judge
-to pronounce an opinion concerning right and wrong
-to rule, govern

While "judge" may be the best word to use, the meaning of Jesus' statement begins to have greater meaning because it indicates not just judging others but feeling oneself in a position to judge others. That is, thinking highly enough of oneself to think that our opinions and judgments have value. It is a false sense of entitlement - feeling ourselves great enough to be able to judge others.

Feeling so highly of ourselves to enable us to judge others is practically universal in the physical world. The citizens of this world feel it is our right and responsibility to judge others.

Are our judgments and opinions valuable?

In this world, practically everyone has an opinion - on practically everything. Regardless of whether we know anything about what we are talking about or not. We think our opinions and judgments are invaluable.

We can see it online in the form of comments and reviews. So many people want to get their opinion out there - judging an article or book or topic in general. Regardless of their expertise on the topic. Regardless of whether they have had any training or any kind of knowledge given to them to share.

There are two issues here. One relates to a lack of knowledge and the other relates to humility.

Are we really in any kind of position to make judgments upon anyone else? No. Therefore, our judgments have no value.

Just consider how small and inconsequential we are. There are about 7,800,000,000. Thus we are each one 1/7,800,000,000 of the human population on earth.

Now consider the Supreme Being. He created every single one of these 7.8 billion people, and a lot more. How can each of us be undergoing simultaneous learning experiences?

Because God intelligently designed the physical world and all of its lessons and consequences.

Humans have invented computer programming that allows for what is called artificial intelligence. God is the ultimate programmer, and he has designed a whole living mechanism within the physical world that expresses intelligence in the form of teaching us. 

Only the intelligence within this world is not artificial. It is alive.

Who is in a position to judge?

In order to judge, one must have all the facts, and the intelligence to interpret them. Do we have enough facts to make judgments on someone else? Do we know what they have gone through? Do we know the various causational issues to make an educated judgment?

Not really. Only one person has all of this: The Supreme Being.

Because the Supreme Being is the Source of everything and the Owner of everything, and the Knower of everything, only He has the right of judgment. Only He has an opinion of value.

Therefore, if we are not glorifying the Supreme Being, or passing along His opinions - the teachings of His representatives - then our opinions are no better than dogs barking or cats meowing.

Jesus confirmed this position as he said:

"By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me." (John 5:30)

Jesus is stating that is judgments are fair because he is working on behalf of the Supreme Being. He is God's representative. His purpose for judging others is not related to the reasons we in the physical world like to judge others.

We like to judge others because we think that we are great. This is self-centeredness. It is pride. It is egotism based upon false identification.

Because we mistakenly identify ourselves as these physical bodies, we think we have some right of judgment. Yet we are not these physical bodies. They are temporary vehicles. And our minds are also temporary. So even if we think we have a sharp mind, the mind will not be sharp for long. At some point, our mind will become forgetful just as our physical body falters and begins to die.

Jesus' statement above also indicates one of the designs of the physical world - that the physical world is designed to teach us through consequences. Whatever we do comes back to us in the form of consequences. This allows us to experience what we do to others. It is the perfect learning tool.

Jesus is explaining this process with regard to judgment. He says, "in the same way you judge others, you will be judged." This is precision consequence learning.

It is so precise that even the measure with which we judge others - "and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

How does God judge?

The Supreme Being is the perfect judge. Not only does He see everything and automatically understand the various causational issues. But He imparts fair and merciful judgments upon us in real-time.

Some of His judgments are immediate, while others take place over time, depending upon the circumstance.

The basis of God's judgments is consequences. The Supreme Being wants us to learn and grow from our mistakes. So He combines mercy together with the impartial serving of consequences. Much of this takes place seemingly automatically, but there is tremendous wisdom behind it all.

This is confirmed by Jesus as translated from the NLT version:

"For you will be treated as you treat others." (Matt. 7:2 NLT)

The foundation is that we are here in this world to learn. So what we do while here may come back at us during this lifetime or the next lifetime.

This consequence system, designed by the Supreme Being, is perfect. It is the perfect system because it doesn't require God to intervene and move things around for each situation. The consequences are measured out automatically depending upon our situation and learning opportunities.

Yet some feel that God is not perfect, because if He were, then why is the world so messed up? Why are there so many wars, and people starving and people dying if God were perfect?

Those who make such a judgment of God are judging God without the ability to do so. We don't bother considering that quite possibly the reason why the world is so messed up is that we are messing it up.

Yes, the Supreme Being simply provided us with a world where we could make choices regarding our activities. Here we have the choice to be as mean and greedy as we want or a loving and kind as we want. It is our choice, and the condition of the world reflects this choice.

As such, it is the meanness - the hostility - the greed - of those of us in the physical world that has produced all the hostility, starvation, and wars around the world. These are not coming from God. They are coming from us. These are the consequences of our actions. Our consciousness. Our self-centeredness.

Why do we suffer in this world?

Why, we might ask, are some children born into starvation? What have they done to deserve this?

This same question was asked of Jesus:

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:1-2)

Such a question assumes that this man lived before he was born and had the opportunity to sin. Therefore, we know the question assumes the man had a lifetime before this lifetime.

How else could the man's sins have possibly caused him to be blind if he were born blind? This assumption clearly means that Jesus taught that we can live multiple physical lifetimes.

We also know that living multiple lifetimes was also understood by many during Jesus' time. We can see this in the following verses:

Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.” (Mark 8:27-28)

We can understand from these and other verses that at least part of Jesus' teachings was that we each have lived before being born within this physical body. These teachings were neatly removed from the New Testament by the Romans and the sectarian institutions that followed - along with silencing early Christian teachers such as Origen Adamantius from Alexandria. The Romans and the Roman Catholic institution repackaged Jesus' teachings in ways that fit their agenda of controlling the populace.

The reality that cannot be neatly removed is that we are not these physical bodies at all. It is scientifically verifiable. These bodies are constantly changing. The molecules that make up our body now will be recycled for new molecules within five years. So within five years, we will effectively have a completely different body on.

This means we changed bodies - right in this lifetime.

We can also change bodies after this body is dead - if we haven't re-developed our loving relationship with the Supreme Being.

And this is why some children are born into suffering. Because that suffering is a consequence of actions taken in a previous life. Just as Jesus' disciples mentioned, "who sinned, this man or his parents?"

Think about this further. The question is a logical one. The boy's blindness might be a consequence of the parents - something the parents did before the boy was born. Or it might have been a consequence of something the boy did - in his previous lifetime.

Who is suffering?

Suffering in the physical world takes place upon the temporary physical body - not upon the spirit-person within. Yes, it can certainly affect the spirit-person, invoking learning, and understanding produced by previous activities.

But essentially, it is like playing a video game. If a boy's icon gets blown up in the video game does the boy get hurt? No. The boy can just turn off the game and walk away.

In the same way, if our body gets blown up, we simply leave the physical body - and "walk" away. We actually rise up out of the physical body (resurrection) at the time of death.

So the suffering of the physical body is meant as a learning experience. It is like getting into a flight simulator. The flight simulator is not a real plane. It is designed to teach a person how to fly a plane.

In the same way, these physical bodies are designed to teach us - to rehabilitate us.

This is the purpose for consequences, which are borne from the perfect judgments of the Supreme Being. When we treat others poorly we get treated the same in reciprocation - if not immediately, at some point.

This system is meant to teach us so that someday we will learn to love again. And one day desire to re-develop our innate relationship with the Supreme Being.

“Do not give dogs what is sacred, do not throw your pearls to pigs..." (Matthew 7:6)

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." (Matthew 7:6)

What does Jesus mean by not giving 'dogs what is sacred'?

This often quoted metaphorical statement by Jesus was not only instructive regarding how Jesus' disciples and students were to teach - but also renders clarity on why many of Jesus’ public teachings utilized parables and metaphors.

The word "sacred" here - taken from the Greek word ἅγιος (hagios) meaning "most holy thing" according to the lexicon - refers to the confidential teachings relating to the spiritual realm and the Supreme Being.

These were the primary elements of Jesus' most valuable teachings - which were coming from the Supreme Being, as Jesus stated elsewhere:

“My teaching is not my own. It comes from the One who sent me." (John 7:16)

In other words, Jesus was guarding the confidential teachings coming from the Supreme Being.

And because Jesus was giving this instruction to his disciples, Jesus' point relates also to this confidential nature of his teachings, as well as the teachings of the prophets before him:

Yes, these teachings have been carefully guarded over the centuries.

Were some of Jesus' teachings confidential?

Some of Jesus' teachings - especially those directed at his disciples in private - were confidential.

Jesus confirmed the confidential ("secret") nature of these teachings elsewhere:

"The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables...." (Mark 4:11-12)

Jesus sometimes spoke in parables so that only those who were humble enough to be able to receive spiritual understanding could receive the message. Others -- those with their own agendas -- were left puzzled about the message of the particular message.

Jesus is indicating that God communicates His lessons and truths to those who are ready and receptive to hear them. His communications can come directly through our heart ("Holy Spirit") or through His confidential representatives. 

Who are the 'pigs' according to Jesus?

From Abraham to Moses to David to John the Baptist and Jesus, and many in between and from other cultures and times we find God communicating to those who are ready to hear. 

But we also find the Truth passed down by God's prophets has been in many cases misinterpreted by those who have sought to utilize them for their own purposes of gaining power and authority.

For this reason, we find many of God's communications have often been neglected or ignored over the centuries.

These are the "pigs" that Jesus is warning us about.

How do we know if we are ready to hear it?

A sincere desire to come to know the Supreme Being is the signal that one is ready to hear Jesus' confidential teachings.

This is confirmed by Jesus' next statement.

For this reason, Jesus was teaching his disciples to carefully present the Truth to those who are ready to hear it. He wanted them to carefully lay out the right amount of wisdom to meet the situation and the depth of the listener, to avoid the Truth being trampled upon and misused.

In terms of students of Jesus' teachings, there is another message: The teachings of God's representative are best received with humility and reverence.

This point was confirmed by another statement by Jesus:

“I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children." (Matthew 11:25)

“Take heart, daughter, your faith has healed you.” (Matthew 9:22)

Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples. Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment. (Matt. 9:19-22)

What does Jesus mean by 'faith'?

The word "faith" in this verse is translated from the Greek word πίστις or pistis. πίστις means, "the character of one who can be relied on" according to the lexicon. Thus, being faithful within this context is referring to trust. Being faithful means having complete confidence. Being faithful means relying not upon the temporary trappings of the physical world, but relying solely upon God.

This situation and statement by Jesus indicates that the key requirement of Jesus’ healings was reliance upon God. Jesus simply wanted to teach those around him to trust and rely on God. The message of Jesus was not about his power to heal. Jesus wasn't trying to prove he was great.

Rather, Jesus' healings were meant to demonstrate our need to rely upon God.

Jesus drew his power from the Supreme Being. This is confirmed by many statements, including:

"By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me." (John 5:30)

"By myself I can do nothing" reveals the source of Jesus' ability to heal others. It also reveals why Jesus stated that the woman's "faith" - or trust in the Supreme Being - healed her.

Not only was Jesus' power to heal coming from the Supreme Being. His entire life was focused upon doing what the Supreme Being wanted. Jesus was focused upon pleasing God:

"My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." (Matthew 26:39)

Jesus' intention to do God's will and not his own will illustrates - what?

Why should we rely upon God?

Jesus' teachings indicate clearly that the Supreme Being is not a vague force or burning bush. He is a Person - albeit the most powerful, beautiful, gracious, intelligent and loving Person.

And this is why Jesus was also promoting the notion of coming to rely upon - trust - the Supreme Being: Because He is trustworthy.

Typically when we put our love upon the forms of this physical world those forms at some point abandon us. We might put our love upon an institution but the institution breaks up. Or we might put our love upon our family, but the family members die. Or we put our love upon our children but the children grow old enough to leave. Or we might put our love upon a spouse only to have our spouse die at some point or divorce us.

So we cannot really trust - rely upon - the temporary forms of this physical world. While most might be good-intentioned, every form of this world - every body - will die. Or that person might leave us before that time.

But we can rely upon the Supreme Being. He is eternal and always with us. He never abandons us - even if we abandon Him.

And that is precisely why we are in the physical world, seemingly away from Him. Because we rejected the Supreme Being and our relationship with Him.

So the Supreme Being set up this physical world - for those who do not want to love Him or serve Him. This is confirmed in Genesis:

The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21)

Our physical bodies, and the identities associated with them, are "garments of skin." They are temporary coverings of our spirit-persons. This coincided with the Supreme Being tossing us out of the spiritual realm (Garden of Eden).

So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground (Genesis 3:23).

Furthermore, God set up the physical world to be a place where we cannot see Him with these physical eyes - unless God specifically arranges it. This allows us the ability not to have to face God.

Are we hiding from God?

Within this physical world, we can pretend to hide from God. We can pretend He does not exist. Although it is not possible to really hide from God, we are given the opportunity to ignore Him. This gives us the ultimate freedom to choose to be with Him or not.

After all, if the Supreme Being was visible to our physical eyes, how could we choose to ignore Him?

In other words, the world is set up so that we have the freedom to choose whether we want to love God or not - because love by definition requires freedom. We can instead focus our love upon ourselves, and those temporary material assets like money, family, wealth, prestige, power, and so on.

Or we can decide that we want to have a relationship with the Supreme Being.

Not only does this temporary world give us the freedom to choose God or not, but this world is set up to test our faith should we take some initial steps towards Him. Why?

The Supreme Being does not want us to choose Him whimsically. He wants us to be serious about Him. Therefore, for those who make some effort to know Him, He has created various barriers (illusions of potential material happiness) in order to test us. This is because He wants us to be sincere.

Any relationship requires sincerity. If a boy whimsically asks a girlfriend to marry her without being serious, would the girl immediately say yes? Only a stupid girl would marry a boy who was not serious.

And what would the girl do if she wanted to marry the boy but also knew he wasn't serious? She would probably begin to test his sincerity in the hopes that he would realize his lack of seriousness and become more serious.

This is precisely what the Supreme Being does. His physical world tests our faith by throwing all kinds of doubts and temptations at us. He also continues to hide from us, revealing Himself only when we become serious and sincere.

This testing of the seriousness of our trust in God is precisely why modern scientists have come up with theories about how the universe was created by accident. It is the Supreme Being who gives those who don't want to be with Him the means to deny His existence.

Certainly, if the Supreme Being wanted to force us to acknowledge Him and serve Him He could.

But He doesn't because He enjoys loving relationships - not slavery.

This is why Jesus stated:

“ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matt. 22:37-38)

"What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? ... “ (Matthew 11:7-10)

"What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ “ (Matthew 11:7-10)

Is Jesus referring to John the Baptist?

Here Jesus is describing John the Baptist, and he is also clarifying the meaning of "preparing the way."

We also find in Luke a similar attribute to John the Baptist, but not by Jesus:

He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God's salvation.' " (Luke 3:3-6)

So we find here that John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. John was also teaching, according to this, "God's salvation."

Jesus was referring to John because one of John's hallmarks was preaching from the desert. Thousands traveled out to the Jordan River to hear him preach and receive baptism from him. John was truly a Prophet of his time and was respected that way.

By Jesus' statement, we can see that Jesus also honored John. John was essentially Jesus' teacher, because Jesus also went out to hear John teach, and he then received baptism from John.

This means, practically, that Jesus accepted John as his spiritual teacher.

What does 'prepared the way' mean and who prepares the way for whom?

To dive deeper into the meaning of 'prepared the way' we must investigate the basis for this terminology. This term originates from the Book of Isaiah Chapter 40:

A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. (Isaiah 40:3)

But this should not be taken out of context. Who is preparing the way for whom?

This is indicated when the full quote of the "voice of one calling" is considered:

A voice of one calling: "In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (Isaiah 40:3-5)

Many teach that Isaiah was referring to Jesus with this statement. But it is clear that this is not true. The word "LORD" in the first statement is being translated from the Hebrew word, יְהֹוָה (Yĕhovah). As is obvious from the transliteration, this word is referring to Jehovah.

This means this statement is referring to preparing the way for the Supreme Being. Therefore, to misconstrue this statement as referring to Jesus at some point in the future would not only be dishonest. It would be wrong.

The context of this statement is far broader in application. The last statement of the quote in Isaiah reveals the context is about making a straight path to the Supreme Being. This means focusing our life upon the Supreme Being and developing our loving relationship with God.

But the last line indicates how this could also connect to John: "For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

The "mouth of the LORD" refers to God's messenger or representative. Someone who is speaking for God. Someone who speaks for another person is often referred to as their "mouth" or "mouthpiece."

So as Jesus uses this to describe John, he is referring to the fact that John was one of God's representatives.

We can further understand this meaning in the Book of Malachi.

“See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to His temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. (Malachi 3:1)

So we find that the person preparing the way is "my messenger" - meaning God's messenger because this is God speaking ("says the Lord Almighty")

Does this statement by the Supreme Being mean there is only one messenger of His covenant?

Moses was a messenger of the covenant. David was a messenger. Isaac was a messenger. Abraham was a messenger. Jeremiah was. Malachi is being a messenger as well, as he puts forth these verses.

And according to Jesus, John was also a messenger of the covenant. 

These messengers all appeared on this earth for those who sought out the Supreme Being during their time. In other words, for those who desire to return to God, the Supreme Being sends His messenger.

Those who interpret Jesus' above statement to mean that John prepared the way for Jesus simply do not understand the real covenant being discussed. So they distort the teachings of Jesus to suit the political hierarchy of their institutions.

Many teach a false “surrender” to Jesus, and that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross will magically save people: They teach being saved through proclamation: that all they need to do is say, "I surrender to Jesus" and they are saved. This is hucksterism. This is cheating.

There is no magic path back to the Supreme Being by way of taking advantage of Jesus' suffering. Jesus himself spent years teaching to people. Why did he spend all that time teaching if we could simply be saved by his body's death on the cross?

Those teachings are what can save us - just as his teachings were able to save those who followed him.

Note that in Malachi 3:1 above, God says clearly that “the messenger of the covenant… will come.” From this, we can see that the Supreme Being is saying that He sends His messengers to “prepare the way before Me.” From this, we can understand that God utilizes His messengers to prepare us, by showing us how to re-develop our relationship with Him.

The words “the way” signify a path or road. “Before Me” indicate the path or road leading to the Supreme Being. Thus we can know the Supreme Being has set up a system where we can return to HIm - by following the teachings of His messengers.

These points are confirmed by God clearly in Malachi. 2:7:

“For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction--because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty.”

How much clearer could this be? This statement clarifies that the Supreme Being indeed has had many messengers or representatives. This is why "a priest" is mentioned. As Jesus also taught his disciples and then asked them to teach others, anyone who sincerely receives and applies the knowledge from God’s representative and messenger may pass on that message to others with devotion, thus becoming one of God's messengers.

The operators of God's statement are sincerity and application, meaning the message must be humbly received and applied it to one's life without tainting it with our own interpretations.

Note that Jesus is paraphrasing Isaiah and Malachi, but  3:1, we can see a significant change in the statement as Jesus is referring to the same “way” that God was referring to, but this “way” is “before you” rather than “before Me” as is stated by God in Mal. 3:1 and "for the LORD" in Isaiah. 

This confirms the meaning of the Supreme Being's statement that the “way” is the path back to our relationship with the Supreme Being.

What is a 'swaying reed'?

What about the "reed swayed by the wind"? What does this mean?

Jesus is speaking of those teachers who bend their teachings to please others - in order to gain followers. This is a disease among those who seek to be honored and respected - and those who gain their positions among ecclesiastical institutions through appointment. These are not God's representatives. They are elected by people and thus represent only those who elect them.

John the Baptist was not such a person. He was God's representative and didn't care if his teachings offended those around him or those institutions which sought to persecute him and eventually put him in jail and then murdered his body.

They did not go all the way out to the desert to see someone who was finely dressed or someone who says a lot of mumbo jumbo. They went to the desert to hear from God's messenger: Someone who delivers the message of the Supreme Being:

God’s covenant: The Supreme Being's promise to each of us that if we come to know Him and love Him with all our heart and soul and all of our being, we will return to Him, and He will give us full protection.

What is the 'covenant'?

Some ecclesiastical teachers say that the covenant was some kind of pact between Abraham and God pertaining to the coming of Jesus - that God was beholden to Abraham to deliver Jesus to save the Jews.

Rather, the covenant is part of the relationship of loving service between the Supreme Being and those who are devoted to Him. The Supreme Being promises us that if we take a few steps toward Him - He will take many more towards us.

God promises that if we rely upon Him and take refuge in Him, we will have nothing to fear. He promises us that we can depend upon Him for protection. If we re-develop our loving service relationship with Him, he will bring us back home to Him. This is His promise. This is His covenant to every living being who wants to return to His loving embrace.

This is confirmed by the Supreme Being in the Book of Malachi:

“But for you who revere My Name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.” (Malachi 4:2)

This is a clear statement. The Supreme Being was disappointed in many of the peoples of Israel who disobeyed (and offended) His previous messengers such as Moses and Abraham. They taught that salvation comes for those who love and revere the Supreme Being and His Holy Names.

They didn't have to wait in some kind of purgatory for the coming of Jesus, nor do people today have to wait for a so-called second coming. A person can worship the Supreme Being and glorify His Holy Names right now - and His covenant will be there.

When considered holistically, the Scriptures clarify that in every age the Supreme Being sends His representatives to teach by example and words the true path of returning to Him. These messengers each carry with them the covenant of the relationship of loving service to the Supreme Being.

“A farmer went out to sow his seed ...” (Matthew 13:3-9)

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed.“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop--a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:3-9)

What does the parable of the farmer and the seed mean?

Jesus himself explains it to his disciples several verses later. Here is his explanation:

“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. What was sown on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. What was sown among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But what was sown on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:18-23)

Thus we can know from Jesus' own explanation what it means. But let's investigate these points a little further:

Who is the 'farmer' - or the 'sower'?

Since Jesus is comparing planting seeds to hearing "the message about the kingdom," we can understand that the farmer or sower is the Supreme Being and His representative, and "the kingdom" is the spiritual realm - that realm and consciousness where the Supreme Being is loved and worshiped.

Why not just Jesus? Isn't Jesus speaking of himself as the farmer or sower?

Yes and no. Just consider this statement by Jesus:

“My teaching is not my own. It comes from the One who sent me." (John 7:16)

This clearly indicates that Jesus' teachings are coming from the Supreme Being. Jesus may be doing the preaching as God's loving servant, but what he is preaching is coming from God. Jesus is representing God.

Thus, the farmer or sower is ultimately the Supreme Being - in this case working through Jesus.

What is 'the message of the kingdom'?

The central message of Jesus' teachings is confirmed here:

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)

In other words, the "kingdom" is not a physical location. It is a particular consciousness.

Who is the 'evil one'?

Who is the "evil one" - who "comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart"?

This is a metaphor, describing the illusory energy of the physical world. Some may refer to this as satan or the devil. But it is an energy - illusion: that we are these physical bodies, and that this world is our permanent home and these things around us that we see are all permanent.

Furthermore, it is the illusion that the forms and things of the physical world will fulfill us. Jesus describes this with:

"the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth"

This illusory energy of the physical world actually supports our self-centeredness. Thus is supporting our desire for independent enjoyment - outside of our relationship with the Supreme Being.

This illusory energy has the ability to "snatch" away what we may hear from God's representative because as we seek our self-centered satisfaction and misidentify ourselves with these physical bodies, we chase those forms and things of the physical world, and this serves to distract us from what we might have heard from God's representative.

Once we are distracted, we can become forgetful. We can forget what we might have heard from God's representative as we chase the forms and things of the physical world.

This forgetfulness - and the illusory energy of the physical world - is actually designed by the Supreme Being in order to allow us our freedom. He doesn't want to force Himself upon us. He wants us to come to Him freely and without any coercion or force. This is because love cannot be forced. Love requires freedom.

This freedom comes in the form of forgetfulness. Just consider if a father cared about a son and the son cursed the father and said he wanted to get away from him and never see him again. What would a loving father do? The loving father would let his son go. He would grant his son some space and hope the son comes back to him one day. In the meantime he won't be getting in his son's face - he will leave him alone - and let him be.

The Supreme Being is doing something like this, except that He owns and controls everything - so how can we get away from God?

For this reason, the Supreme Being sets up the illusory energy to allow us to forget Him - and allow us to identify ourselves with this physical body so we forget who we are and how we are related with Him.

What do the 'birds' symbolize?

As to the birds who take the seeds away in Jesus' parable, these would represent envy and/or blaspheming of God's representative. This is a grave mistake that can immediately snatch away the seed of love for God before it can take root.

So what about the "trouble or persecution" Jesus speaks of? During Jesus' time, there were lethal threats for those who followed Jesus. Jesus' followers were persecuted, and of course, Jesus was persecuted.

In general, Jesus is describing the challenges that a person may face once he makes a commitment to loving and serving the Supreme Being with his life.

These include family members and so-called friends who don't want us to continue our spiritual path. For example, peer pressure. They also include non-believers who try to convince us that God doesn't exist or that we are all God.

These forms of persecution - just as are many other challenges we may face - are tests. They are testing our resolve to grow spiritually and return to the Supreme Being. Why?

Because the Supreme Being doesn't want us to whimsically return to Him. He wants us to be serious about returning to a relationship with Him. This not only requires commitment. It requires long-term dedication. A weathering through challenges, and taking shelter of the Supreme Being at every turn.

This latter point describes the final situation - the seed which grew into a crop and produced other seeds:

"But what was sown on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

This crop and yielding of multiple times what was sown occurs when a follower of God's representative hears his teachings, takes them to heart, and then passes them on to others.

When such a person passes the Supreme Being's message as heard from God's representative onto others, there is a multiplying effect ("hundred, sixty or thirty times") because those who receive that message can then pass it on to still others.

“Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27)

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." (Matt. 14:22-27)

Why should they 'take courage'?

The phrase, "take courage" is being translated from the Greek word θαρσέω (tharseō). This word means "to be of good cheer" as well as "to be of good courage" according to the lexicon.

This term relates to facing an adversity. To be of good courage or good cheer in the face of something that is tenuous or dangerous means not only facing that adversity, but rising above it.

In this case, the adversity was the boat being tossed, but also Jesus walking on the water next to the boat. Such a sight (seeing Jesus walking on the water) was frightening the disciples. So he asked them to rise above their fear.

How could they rise above their fear?

Jesus’ statement indicates that he wants his disciples to rise above their fear by trusting him and trusting the Supreme Being.

Jesus is asking for trust because trust is the key to faith. This is the central foundation for building a relationship of love.

Consider this in our family or personal lives. Could we have faith in someone we didn’t trust?

While many in organized religion focus on faith as trusting that God exists, or that Jesus died for their sins, real faith means trusting that the Supreme Being is someone we can love and serve: and take shelter of.

In other words, we can trust that the Supreme Being is our Best Friend.

What was the purpose of Jesus walking on water?

Why did Jesus walk out to them on the water surface? Was he trying to show them how great he was?

This is the takeaway that many teach: That Jesus is proving that he was incredible.

However, that is a short-sighted motive. Such a motive makes Jesus seem egotistical - that he was trying to prove himself to others, and show how great he was.

Actually, this wasn't the purpose of Jesus walking out on the water. The purpose was to teach his disciples to trust him and to trust in the Supreme Being.

This is because Jesus is teaching about Someone (the Supreme Being) they could not see with their physical eyes.

Should we trust in God?

This is the critical point about coming to know and love the Supreme Being. We can certainly love someone without trusting them. But to exchange a loving relationship, we need to have trust in the person we love.

Because we rejected our relationship with the Supreme Being at some point in our past, He escorted us to a place - the physical world - where we didn’t have to see Him anymore.

This is the physical world. We were given these temporary physical bodies and this temporary physical world in order to be virtually away from the Supreme Being.

Just as an automobile allows a person to become separated from contact with nature - as we drive on asphalt in a vehicle made of steel and plastic - this physical body separates us from our spiritual selves and our connection with the Supreme Being. These physical eyes aren't able to see the Supreme Being and this physical mind cannot perceive the Supreme Being for a reason: They were designed to shield us from the Supreme Being.

The Supreme Being is spiritual, and each of us is a spiritual living being. We are eternal, while this physical body is temporary. This is why we struggle so much to survive - because we are eternal by nature.

Out of love, God still wants us back. But only if we choose to return to Him. Because love requires freedom, only we can make that choice to return to our loving service relationship with Him.

He does not make this process easy and for good reason. We can use a modern-day example:

Consider what would happen if a person abused their spouse and got kicked out of the house, but then got accepted back in just because they said "sorry." This would make it easy for them to abuse their spouse again because there was little in the way of consequence for the last time they did it. This is often referred to as enabling. If a person allows someone to abuse them or abuse themselves with no consequences, then that person is enabling the abuse. They are not doing anything to remedy the issue.

This is not so different from our situation, because we have abused our original relationship with the Supreme Being. We have turned on our Best Friend and Loving Advocate.

God is perfect. He thus has set up the perfect consequential environment - the physical world. The physical world has all the mechanisms that guide us and teach us; allowing us the ability to make good choices and gradually become healed.

This gradual improvement is what evolution is all about. As our spirit evolves, we are taught various lessons regarding relationships, care and love. We are repeatedly taught that caring for others and helping others makes us happy. We are taught that self-centeredness and greed stimulate anger, frustration, and competition - which harbor emptiness. As we evolve through the various lessons this physical world delivers, we finally arrive at the opportunity to renew our relationship with the Supreme Being.

How can we have a relationship with God?

Coming to know God means being introduced. This is why Jesus came to the earth. Jesus had a relationship with God and he introduced others to that relationship.

The Supreme Being reaches out to us through His messenger. Why? Because part of the education required is to understand the relationships that exist between the Supreme Being and His children. Who better to introduce this to us than one who is involved in such a relationship?

From there it is our choice. Do we receive God’s messenger’s hand and trust him to introduce us to the Supreme Being? Or do we become attracted by the pomp and circumstance of organized religion or the various temptations of the physical world?

This is Jesus’ lesson here to Peter and his other students in the boat. He wants his students to trust him, so Jesus can introduce them to his loving Master and Father: the Supreme Being - Whom they can trust and rely upon.

“For many are invited, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14)

What does 'many are invited' mean?

Jesus said this directly following his parable of the wedding banquet, where Jesus described a king inviting people to the wedding of his son.

The Supreme Being is inviting all of us back home to Him. He wants every one of us to return to Him and resume our loving relationship with Him. 

For this reason, God sends His messengers to canvas us. He also sends us repeated messages from within. He teaches us continuously - through the lessons of this world and directly through His messengers - that this place is not our home, and we will not be truly happy until we return to Him and resume our original loving relationship with Him.

This is because He originally created each of us to exchange an individual loving relationship with Him. This can be seen all around us. Every one of us is looking to exchange a loving relationship with someone we can trust and rely upon. No one is exempt from this constant objective of seeking true love, because this is part of our inner nature.

At the same time, the Supreme Being gave us the ultimate freedom to choose to love Him or not. He never forces us. After all, how could we truly love someone if we were forced?

This situation is symbolized in the story of Adam and Eve. While God advised Adam not to pick and eat the fruit of the tree of life, God still put the tree there, in front of them. God could have made it so there wasn’t a tree there in the first place. He could have easily prevented them from picking its fruit. He could have at least put a big fence around it.

God not only put the tree there, but He allowed Adam to be easily able to pick its fruit.

This ‘tree of life’ is actually the tree of love: The tree symbolizes God giving us the choice to love Him or not. By picking the fruit, Adam was saying that he wanted his freedom from God. He chose self-centeredness over doing what God wanted. He wanted independence from God.

This equates to Adam choosing not to love God: Instead of obeying God and therefore putting God's wishes first - Adam chose to put himself first: He became self-centered.

God gave each of us this ultimate choice. The freedom to love Him or not. This is because love requires freedom. Could we really love God if we had no other choice?

What does 'few are chosen' mean?

Just as we have the choice to leave God, we have the choice to return to Him. We can decide at any time that we want to return to Him, and He will direct us on the path home.

At the same time, however, there are requirements to returning home to God. We cannot simply snap our fingers and get to return to Him. We have to change. Our consciousness must change from being self-centered to being God-centered.

This takes effort. And we have to be determined. We have to work at it. We must prove to God - and ourselves - that we really want to return to Him. We have to prove that it isn’t just a passing phase.

This is no different than any other relationship. Imagine if we had a girlfriend or boyfriend and we suddenly decided we didn't want to be with them anymore, and we broke up with them. This would certainly hurt them, yes? But what would happen if, after a couple of years, we casually contacted them and told them we want to resume our relationship with them. Would they immediately take us back?

Certainly, they would want us to be serious this time. They would want to know that we wouldn't whimsically leave again. In other words, we would have to prove (to ourselves and them) that we seriously wanted to get back together.

In the same way, should we decide we want to return to God, there will be many hurdles. We will be challenged. We will be tempted. We will be forced to make the decision on a daily basis. Sometimes we may even give in to the temptations of this world or not make it over a hurdle.

There is an expression for this: We might lose a fight, but this doesn’t mean we will lose the war. We must have the determination and reliance upon the Supreme Being: To get back up, dust ourselves off, and continue on the road towards re-establishing our relationship with Him. If we are serious about returning to Him, we must make a determined and sustained effort.

This is how the few are chosen. It is not that others choose us. God invites all of us to return to Him. But it is not necessarily easy. We must be determined. We must beg His forgiveness for wanting to abandon Him. We must ask the Supreme Being to help us return to Him. This will not be possible without God’s help. We cannot do it without Him.

This is the process of being chosen. It is not that God randomly chooses who He wants to return to Him. He gives those who are determined the strength to return to Him. Yes, we are the ones who make the choice. 

But as Thomas Kempis once wrote, man proposes and God disposes. This notion is derived from scripture:

Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. (Proverbs 19:21)

Accepting the Lord's purpose means being ready to enter into God’s world, where the Supreme Being is the center. Currently, we think we are the center and everyone and everything revolves around me. This is the consciousness of the physical world. It is the opposite of the consciousness of the spiritual realm.

How do we get chosen?

This requires having a change of heart. Accepting the Supreme Being as the center of the universe, and my life revolves around Him. This consciousness marks the beginning point for an appropriate relationship with the Supreme Being.

This contrasts with many of the teachings of some institutions and their teachers who teach us to ask God for anything we want - like God is some sort of genie. They teach that God is just waiting around for us to ask Him for stuff - and we should pray to Him for money, success and health.

This self-centered approach to the Supreme Being will not result in being chosen. This consciousness still puts us as the center with God revolving around me.

Jesus illustrated the consciousness he wanted us to develop as he prayed to God:

“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39)

“Everything they do is done for men to see ...’” (Matthew 23:5-7)

"Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called 'Rabbi' by others." (Matthew 23:5-7)

What is wrong with doing everything 'for people to see'?

Jesus is speaking of temple teachers who are deceiving people. Instead of being truly devoted to God, they are making a show of false devotion according to Jesus.

Jesus is also giving us a clear method to distinguish those who might appear to be teachers of Truth, but who are, in fact, fakes.

Jesus’ statement here is a strong one. One that is applicable today. A preacher, priest, bishop, pope, minister, reverend, guru, rabbi, imam, or any other type of ecclesiastical teacher whose focus is upon gaining the authority, prestige, admiration, followers, and the acceptance of others is not to be accepted as a messenger of God or a messenger of Jesus - regardless of their uniforms or titles.

Should their intention be upon their own success along with many followers - they seek their own glory, not God's.

Jesus clarifies that these fake teachers will go to great lengths to make themselves look official. A phylactery was a box containing scripture verses. It was worn on the forehead or arm. A wide box was one containing many scrolls. The rabbis were keen on impressing others with their scholarly authority. The rest of their clothing was also focused on impressing upon others their advanced positions.

Like so many of today's ecclesiastical teachers, they made sure that where ever they were, people would recognize their position of authority.

Then, like many ecclesiastical teachers of today, they also demanded special seats and enjoyed being given attention in public. They enjoyed the power of having people address them with humility and awe.

Why are fame and authority so important?

This is the epitome of our disease in the physical world. We want others to honor us. Whether it is being recognized as an Olympic gold medal winner, a CEO, a doctor, a movie star, a bestselling author, or a political leader, it is the same desire. We want the respect and admiration of others.

Just look around, or turn on the TV. So many of us work hard to carve out a position of respect. If we don't get to be president, a doctor, or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, we begin to look for more practical positions of authority and respect. This might include being a supervisor at work or a mother or father - positions to command respect and authority over some group of people.

But then for some, gaining the position of pastor, priest, bishop, pope, minister, guru, imam, and so on offers that position of authority. In these positions, at least one day a week, they can exercise authority over those who follow them. In these positions, they are offered respect, admiration, and prestige.

Even so, these positions are never satisfying. Regardless of how high we go on the ladder of authority, power and prestige, it is never enough. Senators want to be presidents. Managers want to be CEOs. Movie stars want to win an Oscar. Priests want to be a bishop or cardinal - or even pope. 

And for those who are mothers and fathers, children are not enough. They want to be grandmothers and grandfathers.

In these ways, we seek to extend our authority, because the authority we currently have is never enough: Because authority does not satisfy us.

Why doesn't authority satisfy us?

This means two things: Number one, having a position of authority is not our natural position. If it was, then we would be satisfied with whatever authority we have.

Number two, it means that we never actually have real authority. The authority is an illusion. There is always someone greater. We never reach the ultimate position of authority, no matter how hard we try.

Why? Why do we seek admiration, power, and authority - and never really achieve it? Because we each desire ultimately to be God.

We have become jealous of God. Rather than worship and serve God, we want to be the center of attention. We want to be served. We want power and prestige because we want to be God.

God knows this. This is why He put us in this physical world, and into these temporary physical bodies. This is like our little sandbox: to play out our desire to be Him.

Is this God's way of teaching us?

God has arranged all the trappings for us to play out our desires, and each of us chooses our own method: Some of us go for making money and becoming wealthy. We figure if we have the wealth, we’ll get power and prestige. 

For others, it is a particular role or position of authority, including positions within communities, industries, religious groups, social groups and/or families. All of these provide positions arranged within the physical world for us to exercise our quest for power and authority.

God is allowing us to play these roles for a period of time in order to allow us to see that power and authority are not satisfying. He wants us to realize that we will never be happy unless we change and resume our natural positions as His loving caregivers and friends.

This progression is seen quite easily among some of the world's most wealthy people. After struggling for many years to become rich and powerful, even billionaires are still not satisfied. Many then turn to philanthropic activities because they begin to feel more satisfaction in giving and helping others.

This is because they are gradually realizing that our natural function is not to have authority, be respected, and be served: Our natural position is to love and serve. What they may or may not realize is that ultimately, our natural position is to love and serve the Supreme Being.

And this is what Jesus was teaching:

“ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.” And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

“You travel over land and sea to win a single convert ..." (Matthew 23:15)

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.” (Matthew 23:15)

Why did Jesus say they 'travel over land and sea'?

Over the centuries, missionaries have traveled by boat and by land, and now by air to distant locations to convert those of other beliefs to their particular doctrine. By Jesus’ statement, we know this was also taking place during his time among the institutional temples.

Historically, Judaism was spread throughout the Middle Eastern region. After the Jerusalem temple was destroyed around 587 BCE, there was a rebuilding of Judaism in the region. This is often referred to as the Second Temple Period, and lasted between about 516 BCE to about 70 CE - after the Jerusalem temple was again destroyed, this time by the Romans.

During that Second Temple Period, Judaism expanded, partly through the missionary activities of temple priests and Pharisees.

During the life of Jesus, these missionary activities focused on the conversion of people into the temple organization and their acceptance of various rituals.

Jesus rejected this focus on rituals by the temple priests, just as Jesus' teacher, John the Baptist did. For example, we find these verses in Matthew:

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." (Matthew 3:7-10)

What about later missionaries?

We can also draw lessons from Jesus' statement with regard to some of the missionary expeditions that have been done in Jesus' name over the centuries, also done "over land and sea."

If we consider these missionary efforts, we find that some incorporated violence and intimidation to convert natives in foreign lands. This was often followed by confiscating lands and commodities from native peoples. As a result, over the centuries, native cultures have been damaged or severely diminished.

For example, we find that in the 15th Century there were several edicts issued by the Roman Catholic Church that encouraged missionary expeditions that confiscated lands and enslaved natives. In 1452 Pope Nicholas V issued the Dum Diversas papal bull that allowed Portugal's mission led by King Afonso V to conquer lands and convert "pagans and any other unbelievers to perpetual slavery."

In 1455, the Romanus Pontifex papal bull authorized Afonso to expand this seizure of land, which encouraged the enslavement of West Africans.

European missions eventually used these kinds of authorizations to conquer lands in the Americas and the Pacific island nations, enslaving many of those peoples.

These activities also provided the foundation for the slave trade from Africa to the Americas and Europe. (Though in fairness, later papal bulls tried to discourage slavery.)

Some of these missionaries apparently did not accept or realize that many native peoples were already worshiping the Supreme Being in their own manner. For example, we find many North American Native tribes honored The Great Spirit.

While some may have sincerely desired to bring Jesus’ teachings to others, there were many others who simply utilized these missions to take advantage of foreign lands and their peoples.

Many of these 'missions' resulted in violence, and the slaughter of thousands of native peoples around the world over the centuries.

Were these 'missions' what Jesus wanted his followers to do? Certainly not. As we can see from Jesus' statement above, there is a wrong way to preach to others. This includes forceable conversion.

What did Jesus mean by 'a son of hell as you are'?

Jesus confirms that these 'missions' of the Pharisees and temple priests were degraded, and their converts were not benefited. This is confirmed by the Greek phrase υἱὸν γεέννης, which has been incorrectly translated to "son of hell."

The more appropriate translation for υἱὸν γεέννης would be a follower of those who will suffer.

The word υἱὸν has been incorrectly translated as son. While υἱὸν can mean 'son' in the context of a father and his physical son, this is not the correct context. This context indicates the translation, as confirmed by the Greek lexicon, υἱὸν should be "used to describe one who depends on another or is his follower." So a person who becomes converted by one of these hypocritical Pharisees becomes one of their followers.

The next word in the phrase is γεέννης. γεέννης has been translated to "hell," and this is not altogether wrong, but Jesus' concept of hell should be clarified.

The Greek word γεέννης, transliterated as 'geenna,' is an allegorical reference to a location south of Jerusalem in the valley of Hinnom, called 'Gehenna.' Here there were ghastly sacrifices of children and animals to an idol called Moloch. The animals and children were thrown into the fire.

This place and its practice were abhorred by the local people, and they used a reference to this as a place of suffering, where people followed a demoniac god and suffered as a result. Therefore, this place (Gehenna) became referred to allegorically as a place of suffering. This has since been expanded to mean some kind of underworld.

Many people have been lulled into a concept prognosticated by sectarian teachers that hell is an underground world where a fiery devil named satan lives and tortures people who are chained up on cavern walls. This imaginative teaching has even been taken to the extent that the entrance to hell is through volcanoes.

This has been proven wrong by those who have explored volcanoes, and by those who have drilled many miles deep into the surface of the earth. There are no caverns where people are being chained to walls and tortured.

So where is hell then?

Depending upon our consciousness, hell can be right here. We can be living in hell right now. The question is to what extent we are suffering in hell. This physical dimension simultaneously supports relative degrees of hell, depending upon our past activities, and our consciousness.

Do we think that a person who is starving is not in hell? Is a woman who is repeatedly raped at gunpoint not in hell? How about a person in the grips of war? Are they not in hell? How about someone being tortured or murdered in a Holocaust? Are they not experiencing hell? Or how about someone in prison, subjected to being beaten or raped? Are these circumstances not hellish enough?

Hell is where fear reigns. Hell is that place where God is forgotten. Hell is that place where people fight over money. Hell is where people become angry and violent because they are afraid others may take what they have. 

This means that hell can reside among those who are violent towards others. Those who harm or abuse others are residing in hell, just as those they harm and abuse.

Hell is a consciousness, but it is also that place where the consciousness of fear, anger, violence and hatred plays out in physical reality.

Is this because of what we have done in a previous lifetime?

The question is whether our life in the physical world is the result of actions taken in a previous lifetime. Consider this question, asked of Jesus by his disciples:

"Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9:1)

Why did Jesus’ disciples (note multiple disciples) ask this question? This question was very logical because some people are born normal and others with deficiencies. Why is one person born blind they asked? Why is one person born in more fortunate circumstances than another person?

The question arose from an understanding of Jesus’ teachings. At one point Jesus said to someone:

Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” (John 5:14)

In other words, they understood that there were consequences for sinning.

And in this case, Jesus' disciples assumed that before the man was born, he had the ability to sin, and this sin caused his current suffering.

In order to have the ability to sin, the man must have had a previous physical body. Why? Because as Jesus also taught that sinning was an activity executed through the flesh. In other words, the person must have had a prior physical body in order to have sinned before he was born.

Note also that Jesus did not ridicule or criticize this question. He accepted it. He did not say, “that cannot happen.” What he said was:

"Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent me.” (John 9:2)

In other words, Jesus accepted that a person could suffer in his next life from sins of the past life. This means that we do have previous lifetimes.

This is also confirmed here in Matthew 23:15, as Jesus confirms that the Pharisees will suffer, and so will their converts. Jesus is not threatening a fictitious place called hell. He is simply telling them that they and their followers will suffer in the future for what they are doing now.

Does he mean they will suffer during this lifetime? That would be impractical since they were living within a system that continued to support their practices. Therefore, Jesus could only be referring to a future lifetime.

Why are there consequences to our actions?

Jesus is indicating from his teachings that there are consequences to certain actions. Especially bad consequences for harming or misleading others. Why are there consequences?

We can look around us each day and see how in the physical world there serves up a reaction for every action. All of us suffer our particular situations for the activities we did in the past. Consider a person sitting in jail. They are in that hellish situation because of their past activities. Or a person who has lung cancer after smoking for 40 years. Their smoking addiction caused their current suffering.

Or a person who is beaten up by another person after starting a fight.

All of these indicate that the physical world is a place of consequence. Everything we do has a consequence here: Good or bad.

Does this mean that God put us here to suffer? Actually, God set up the physical world as a place of learning. This is a rehabilitation center, where we have the opportunity to grow.

Why? Those of us in this physical world are here because we turned away from our relationship with the Supreme Being. We no longer wanted to be His loving servant. We wanted to enjoy separately from God - rather than love and serve God (our natural constitution).

So we were sent down to this physical world and given virtual temporary physical bodies in order to 1) exercise our right to try to enjoy independently from God and try to pretend to be God, and 2) to learn.

And since these bodies are temporary virtual shells, the miseries they suffer are also virtual. We might compare this with an icon in a video game. The icon may get shot, but we are still sitting there handling the video game controller.

This virtual world has a purpose, however. We have been sent here to take on these virtual physical bodies because God wants us to learn once again how to love. He wants us to return to Him and His loving kingdom because He knows only this will make us happy.

In order to return, however, we must have a change of consciousness. We must be willing to give up the idea that we are going to enjoy ourselves independently of God. We must give up the idea that we are superior to others and the world revolves around us. We must learn what it means to love and care for someone other than ourselves.

Isn't this what the physical world constantly teaches us? That loving and caring for others brings happiness, while self-love and selfish behavior brings us misery? Is this a coincidence? No. It is intentional. God programmed the physical universe to teach us about love.

The ultimate source of pleasure for us is to love and serve the Supreme Being because when we love and serve God, we become truly fulfilled. And when we love the Supreme Being we automatically love all of God's children. These are the real teachings of Jesus:

“ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.” And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

"This very night you will all fall away on account of me ...'" (Matthew 26:31)

When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: " 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'" (Matthew 26:30-31)

Jesus is predicting that his disciples will abandon him as he gets arrested and tried.

Why was Jesus arrested?

The temple High Priests and the Roman government worked in tandem to eliminate Jesus and his growing movement. The temple priests saw Jesus' teachings as threatening the stability of their organization. The Romans wanted the status quo so they could continue collecting their taxes.

The temple priests were worried that Jesus' movement would steal parishioners away from their temples. Their lifestyles were dependent on the tithings of these parishioners or forced collections of widows' inheritances as confirmed in Mark 12:40. Jesus' gaining movement threatened this system.

The Romans cooperated with the temple priests for the purpose of keeping the society in check. They occupied the region and collected taxes from the people to maintain their excessive lifestyles in Rome.

Scholarly sources indicate that the temple priests brought their concerns about Jesus' teachings before Pontius Pilate, who was the magistrate or prefect of Judea, in charge of governing the region. Pilate's responsibility was to keep the occupied state peaceful and producing income for the Romans.

Thus Pilate needed to support the priests' concerns about Jesus to avoid a Jewish uprising (which did occur a couple of decades later).

So there was a lot of pressure put upon Jesus' followers by the temple officials, supported by the Roman officials. With Jesus' arrest, many of his disciples ran off to avoid their own arrest. That is, with the exception of the devoted Mary Magdalene, who sat under Jesus' cross during his torture.

Why does Jesus quote Zechariah?

Jesus utilizes a part of a verse from Zechariah 13:7 in his statement. Some have misconstrued that this means Zechariah was predicting Jesus' arrest and subsequent murder at the hands of the Romans and temple high priests.

But this is not consistent with the rest of Zechariah's scroll. Rather, Zechariah's text describes a tumultuous event that has nothing to do with Jesus being arrested. We can easily see this from the verses surrounding Zechariah 13:7:

"On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his prophetic vision. He will not put on a prophet's garment of hair in order to deceive. He will say, 'I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.' If someone asks him, 'What are these wounds on your body?' he will answer, 'The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.' "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!" declares the LORD Almighty. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones. In the whole land," declares the LORD, "two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My Name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.'" (Zech. 13:4-9)

The details of the violent calamity are described in verses just preceding these:

"I [God speaking] am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem." (Zech. 12:2)

and

"On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place." (Zech. 12:6)

These are not the events that occurred when Jesus was arrested and tried. Rather, Zechariah is describing a violent overthrow of the kingdom of Judah that was to occur in future years - before the arrival of Jesus.

Zechariah lived in the Sixth Century BCE. During this century, Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuchadnezzar II attacked and pillaged Jerusalem and Judah multiple times. Following these, many of their inhabitants fled to surrounding regions. Jerusalem and Judah were also attacked by Artaxerxes III in 350 BCE. He arrested and killed many Jews, and imprisoned many.

In all, Jerusalem was attacked or besieged at least 75 different times over the centuries. It has been completely burnt down at least twice. It has undergone a change of rule at least 44 times. Judah has also undergone many sieges, often at the same time.

Zechariah was not predicting Jesus' arrest and trial in those verses.

Why did Jesus use Zechariah's verse then? 

Jesus was illustrating, using scripture, one of the tests the Supreme Being puts in front of those (such as Jesus' followers) who begin their path towards resuming their relationship with Him.

Each of us has choices to make with our lives. These choices determine whether we return to our relationship with God or not. Those who begin their journey are often tested.

Testing our dedication is necessary for our spiritual growth. Testing, in fact, is common amongst most relationships. When a man decides to have a relationship with a woman, he is often tested with options to go out with other women. His resisting those tests provide part of the glue of his relationship with the woman.

Now consider if a man and a woman have a long-term relationship, and the man runs off with another woman. After a couple of years, the man comes back to the woman, asking for her forgiveness and if he can return to their relationship. Will the woman drop everything and embrace him as she had before?

Not likely. The woman will most likely, assuming she wants to resume their relationship at all, go slowly. She wants to see how serious he really is. This 'going slowly' serves as the first test, because if the man isn't serious, he'll get frustrated and run off again.

Does God test us?

The Supreme Being also tests someone asking to return to Him - especially after we abandoned Him as we have done in our past. He will also go slowly, in addition to putting in front of us numerous tests.

Because the Supreme Being also happens to control everything, He designs challenges that specifically test (and reveal) our unique weaknesses. This is designed to increase our sincerity. And should we fail a type of test, we'll likely be retested.

These tests are for our benefit. It isn't that He needs to test us. We need those tests in order to know where we are and how far we have to go.

In the beginning, such tests will be fairly basic. As we progress, the tests become more difficult. The tests perfectly reflect our individual level of advancement and particular weaknesses.

Even when we fail a test, God never gives up on us. The tests reveal our own weaknesses, which allow us to grow and become spiritually stronger. This is what occurred amongst Jesus' followers. They were tested, and most did not pass. Yet both Jesus and God forgave them, and they each learned a great lesson.

Did Jesus teach that he would die for our sins?

Despite the glossing over of Jesus' teachings by some doctrines, we can see that Jesus oversaw the development of his followers' spiritual growth by maintaining disciplined devotional practices. This is indicated throughout the books of the new testament, and evidenced by the description of what Jesus and his disciples did after the "last supper" as quoted above:

When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. (Matthew 26:30)

What does "sung a hymn" mean? It means they devoutly practiced praising God and His Holy Names after dinner. This wasn't a weekly ceremony. This was a continual devotional regimen. And this was what Jesus' taught and practiced - consistent with the teachings of the ancient "prophets" - in order to bring about a change of consciousness amongst his students.

This thesis of "Jesus died for my sins" bypasses the process of changing our hearts. This was formulated by Paul and later embraced by the Romans because it made joining the church attractive for those who didn't want to do the hard work. It was a strategy to gain followers by making it easier to think we are saved.

The unfortunate part of this teaching is that it dissuades us from seeking a change of heart - from self-centeredness to God-centeredness.

Jesus never taught that all we have to do is wait until his body died on the cross and acknowledge that he died for our sins and then we are saved. He taught his students to change their consciousness from being servants of "mammon" to loving servants of God:

"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon." (Luke 16:9)

It is not easy to change. One must undergo significant devotional work and await gradual change to adjust our consciousness from lovers of materialism ("mammon") to lovers of God.

It is way easier to continue our self-centered behavior, and go to church every Sunday and make a proclamation that "Jesus died for my sins." This formula was a great strategy for collecting followers back then, and it still is today.

Jesus taught that we need to change from being servants of materialism ("mammon") to becoming loving servants of God. It means doing the hard work to change our consciousness.

This means being tested. It means humbly getting back up and dusting ourselves off when we fail our tests - just as Jesus' disciples did - and continuing the devotional progress, in order to change our hearts from self-centeredness to loving God and His children:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matthew 22:37-38)