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Oversættelser: © 2015 Urantia Foundation
BAPTISM AND THE FORTY DAYS
DÅBEN OG DE FYRRE DAGE
1955 136:0.1 JESUS began his public work at the height of the popular interest in John’s preaching and at a time when the Jewish people of Palestine were eagerly looking for the appearance of the Messiah. There was a great contrast between John and Jesus. John was an eager and earnest worker, but Jesus was a calm and happy laborer; only a few times in his entire life was he ever in a hurry. Jesus was a comforting consolation to the world and somewhat of an example; John was hardly a comfort or an example. He preached the kingdom of heaven but hardly entered into the happiness thereof. Though Jesus spoke of John as the greatest of the prophets of the old order, he also said that the least of those who saw the great light of the new way and entered thereby into the kingdom of heaven was indeed greater than John.
2015 136:0.1 Jesus begyndte sit offentlige virke mens den folkelige interesse for Johannes forkyndelse var på sit højeste, i en tid da Palæstinas jødiske befolkning var ivrig på udkig efter at Messias skulle vise sig[1]. Johannes og Jesus var store modsætninger. I sin måde at arbejde på var Johannes ivrig og oprigtig, mens Jesus var rolig og lykkelig; kun nogle få gange i løbet af hele sit liv havde han hastværk. Jesus var en betryggende trøst for verden og lidt af et eksempel. Johannes var næppe hverken nogen trøst eller noget eksempel. Han forkyndte himmelens rige, men tog næppe del i den lykke som det skulle medføre[2]. Selv om Jesus omtalte Johannes som den største blandt profeterne af den gamle skole, så sagde han også at den mindste af dem som så den nye vejens lys og ved hjælp derfra indtræder i himmelriget, såmænd var større end Johannes.
1955 136:0.2 When John preached the coming kingdom, the burden of his message was: Repent! flee from the wrath to come. When Jesus began to preach, there remained the exhortation to repentance, but such a message was always followed by the gospel, the good tidings of the joy and liberty of the new kingdom.
2015 136:0.2 Når Johannes forkyndte rigets komme, var hovedbudskabet: “Omvend jer! Flygt fra den kommende vrede!” Da Jesus begyndte at forkynde, var tilskyndelsen om at angre stadig til stede; men et sådan budskab ville altid blive efterfulgt af evangeliet, de gode nyheder om det nye rigets glæder og frihed.[3]
1. CONCEPTS OF THE EXPECTED MESSIAH
1. FORESTILLINGERNE OM DEN VENTEDE MESSIAS
1955 136:1.1 The Jews entertained many ideas about the expected deliverer, and each of these different schools of Messianic teaching was able to point to statements in the Hebrew scriptures as proof of their contentions. In a general way, the Jews regarded their national history as beginning with Abraham and culminating in the Messiah and the new age of the kingdom of God. In earlier times they had envisaged this deliverer as “the servant of the Lord,” then as “the Son of Man,” while latterly some even went so far as to refer to the Messiah as the “Son of God.” But no matter whether he was called the “seed of Abraham” or “the son of David,” all were agreed that he was to be the Messiah, the “anointed one.” Thus did the concept evolve from the “servant of the Lord” to the “son of David,” “Son of Man,” and “Son of God.”
2015 136:1.1 Blandt jøderne verserede der mange idéer om den forventede befrier, og hver af disse forskellige skoler som befattede sig med messiastanken, havde sine udtalelser i de hebræiske skrifter som de kunne pege på for at bevise deres påstande. Almindeligvis anså jøderne at deres nationale historie begyndte med Abraham og kulminerede med Messias og Guds riges nye tidsalder. Før i tiden havde de forstillet sig denne befrier som ‘Herrens tjener’, derefter som ‘Menneskesønnen’, mens der i senere tider, til og med var nogen som gik så langt som at henvise til Messias som ‘Guds søn’. Men uanset om han blev kaldt ‘Abrahams sæd’ eller ‘Davids søn’, var alle enige om, at han kom til at blive Messias, ‘den salvede’. Opfattelsen voksede således fra at være ‘Guds tjener’ til ‘Davids søn’, ‘Menneskesønnen’ og ‘Guds søn’[4].
1955 136:1.2 In the days of John and Jesus the more learned Jews had developed an idea of the coming Messiah as the perfected and representative Israelite, combining in himself as the “servant of the Lord” the threefold office of prophet, priest, and king.
2015 136:1.2 På Johannes og Jesu tid havde de mere lærde jøder udviklet en idé om den kommende Messias som den perfekte og repræsentative Israelit som både var ‘Guds tjener’ og samtidig besatte de tre poster som profet, præst og konge.
1955 136:1.3 The Jews devoutly believed that, as Moses had delivered their fathers from Egyptian bondage by miraculous wonders, so would the coming Messiah deliver the Jewish people from Roman domination by even greater miracles of power and marvels of racial triumph. The rabbis had gathered together almost five hundred passages from the Scriptures which, notwithstanding their apparent contradictions, they averred were prophetic of the coming Messiah. And amidst all these details of time, technique, and function, they almost completely lost sight of the personality of the promised Messiah. They were looking for a restoration of Jewish national glory—Israel’s temporal exaltation—rather than for the salvation of the world. It therefore becomes evident that Jesus of Nazareth could never satisfy this materialistic Messianic concept of the Jewish mind. Many of their reputed Messianic predictions, had they but viewed these prophetic utterances in a different light, would have very naturally prepared their minds for a recognition of Jesus as the terminator of one age and the inaugurator of a new and better dispensation of mercy and salvation for all nations.
2015 136:1.3 Jøderne troede inderligt på at, som Moses havde befriet deres forfædre fra trældom i Egypten ved hjælp af mirakuløse under, på samme måde ville den kommende Messias befri det jødiske folk fra det romerske overherredømme ved hjælp af endog mægtigere mirakler og opsigtsvækkende tegn på racemæssig triumf. Rabbierne havde samlet næsten femhundrede uddrag af skrifterne som de, rent bortset fra deres åbenlyse selvmodsigelse, højt og helligt påstod, var profetier om den kommende Messias. Og blandt alle disse detaljer om tidspunktet, teknikken og funktionen, tabte de næsten den levende Messias personlighed helt af syne. De så frem mod en genoprettelse af den jødiske nations ære - Israels ophøjelse - i stedet for at verden skulle reddes. Derfor er det indlysende at Jesus fra Nazaret aldrig kunne leve op til denne materialistiske messiasforestilling i jødernes tanker. Mange af deres formodede messiasforudsigelser, ville såfremt de bare havde set disse profetier fra en anden synsvinkel, på en helt naturlig måde havde forberedt dem mentalt på at anerkende Jesus som afslutteren af en tidsalder og igangsætteren af en ny og bedre tidsforordning med nåde og frelse for alle nationer.
1955 136:1.4 The Jews had been brought up to believe in the doctrine of the Shekinah. But this reputed symbol of the Divine Presence was not to be seen in the temple. They believed that the coming of the Messiah would effect its restoration. They held confusing ideas about racial sin and the supposed evil nature of man. Some taught that Adam’s sin had cursed the human race, and that the Messiah would remove this curse and restore man to divine favor. Others taught that God, in creating man, had put into his being both good and evil natures; that when he observed the outworking of this arrangement, he was greatly disappointed, and that “He repented that he had thus made man.” And those who taught this believed that the Messiah was to come in order to redeem man from this inherent evil nature.
2015 136:1.4 Jøderne var blevet opdraget til at tro på Shekinah-doktrinen. Men dette, som gik for at være et symbol på det Guddommelige Nærvær, kunne man ikke se i templet. De troede at Messias komme ville medføre at det blev genindsat. De havde forvirrede idéer om racens synd og menneskets påstået onde natur. Nogle underviste i at Adams synd havde kastet en forbandelse over menneskeslægten og at Messias ville fjerne denne forbandelse og bringe mennesket tilbage til anseelse i Guds øjne. Andre underviste om at Gud, i det han skabte mennesket, forsynede sine skabninger med både den gode og den onde natur, men da han så hvad dette medførte, blev han frygtelig skuffet, og “han angrede at han havde skabt mennesket[5].” Og de som underviste dette, troede at Messias skulle komme og forløse mennesket fra dets iboende onde natur.
1955 136:1.5 The majority of the Jews believed that they continued to languish under Roman rule because of their national sins and because of the halfheartedness of the gentile proselytes. The Jewish nation had not wholeheartedly repented; therefore did the Messiah delay his coming. There was much talk about repentance; wherefore the mighty and immediate appeal of John’s preaching, “Repent and be baptized, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And the kingdom of heaven could mean only one thing to any devout Jew: The coming of the Messiah.
2015 136:1.5 Flertallet af jøderne troede at de fortsat skulle sygne hen under det romerske overherredømme på grund af deres nationale synder og på grund af de halvhjertede ikke jødiske proselytter. Den jødiske nation havde ikke helhjertet angret, derfor var Messias afventende med sin ankomst. Der var meget snak om anger; derfor denne voldsomme og umiddelbare appel i Johannes forkyndelse: “Omvend jer og lad jer døbe, for himmelens rige er nær[6].” Og for enhver troende jøde kunne himmelens rige kun betyde én ting: Messias ankomst.
1955 136:1.6 There was one feature of the bestowal of Michael which was utterly foreign to the Jewish conception of the Messiah, and that was the union of the two natures, the human and the divine. The Jews had variously conceived of the Messiah as perfected human, superhuman, and even as divine, but they never entertained the concept of the union of the human and the divine. And this was the great stumbling block of Jesus’ early disciples. They grasped the human concept of the Messiah as the son of David, as presented by the earlier prophets; as the Son of Man, the superhuman idea of Daniel and some of the later prophets; and even as the Son of God, as depicted by the author of the Book of Enoch and by certain of his contemporaries; but never had they for a single moment entertained the true concept of the union in one earth personality of the two natures, the human and the divine. The incarnation of the Creator in the form of the creature had not been revealed beforehand. It was revealed only in Jesus; the world knew nothing of such things until the Creator Son was made flesh and dwelt among the mortals of the realm.
2015 136:1.6 Der var et kendetegn ved Mikaels overdragelse som var yderst fremmed for den jødiske forestilling om Messias, og det var foreningen af de to egenskaber af at være både menneskelig og guddommelig. Jøderne havde gjort sig forskellige tanker om Messias som det perfekte menneske, som overmenneske og til og med som guddommelig, men begrebet om en forening af det menneskelige og det guddommelige havde de aldrig haft i tankerne. Og dette var den store anstødssten for Jesu disciple i begyndelsen. De forstod det menneskelige begreb om Messias som Davids søn som de første profeter havde fremstillet det; som Menneskesønnen, som var Daniels og nogle af de senere profeters idé om et overmenneske; og til og med som Guds søn; som forfatteren af Enoks bog og enkelte af hans samtidige beskrev det; men aldrig for ét eneste øjeblik underholdt de det sande begreb om at de to egenskaber, det menneskelige og det guddommelige, kunne forenes i én jordisk personlighed[7][8]. Inkarnationen af Skaberen i form af en skabning var ikke blevet åbenbaret på forhånd. Den blev først åbenbaret ved Jesus; verden viste ingenting om noget sådan før Skabersønnen blev kødeliggjort og befandt sig blandt de dødelige i verden.[9]
2. THE BAPTISM OF JESUS
2. JESU DÅB
1955 136:2.1 Jesus was baptized at the very height of John’s preaching when Palestine was aflame with the expectancy of his message—“the kingdom of God is at hand”—when all Jewry was engaged in serious and solemn self-examination. The Jewish sense of racial solidarity was very profound. The Jews not only believed that the sins of the father might afflict his children, but they firmly believed that the sin of one individual might curse the nation. Accordingly, not all who submitted to John’s baptism regarded themselves as being guilty of the specific sins which John denounced. Many devout souls were baptized by John for the good of Israel. They feared lest some sin of ignorance on their part might delay the coming of the Messiah. They felt themselves to belong to a guilty and sin-cursed nation, and they presented themselves for baptism that they might by so doing manifest fruits of race penitence. It is therefore evident that Jesus in no sense received John’s baptism as a rite of repentance or for the remission of sins. In accepting baptism at the hands of John, Jesus was only following the example of many pious Israelites.
2015 136:2.1 Jesus blev døbt mens Johannes forkyndervirksomhed var på sit højdepunkt, og Palæstina var optændt af forventningen om hans budskab - “Guds rige er nær” - og hele det jødiske samfund var engageret i en seriøs og højtidelig selvransagelse[10][11]. Jødernes sans for racesolidaritet gik vældig dybt. Ikke bare troede jøderne at en fars synder kunne ramme hans børn, men de troede fuldt og fast på, at et individs synd kunne blive en forbandelse for hele nationen. Derfor var det ikke alle som lod sig døbe af Johannes som anså sig for at være skyldige i de syndere som Johannes udtrykkelig tog afstand fra. Mange hengivne sjæle blev døbt af Johannes for Israels bedste skyld. De var bange for at have begået en eller anden uvidenhedssynd som på grund af dem ville udsætte Messias ankomst[12]. De følte sig som en del af en skyldig og syndsforbandet nation, og de fremstod for at døbes for at tilkendegive følgen (frugterne, viljen) af deres races kollektive anger. Det fremgår derfor at Jesus ikke på nogen måde lod sig døbe som et ritual for at vise anger eller at modtage syndernes forladelse. Ved at godtage at lade Johannes døbe ham, fulgte Jesus bare mange fromme israelitters eksempel.
1955 136:2.2 When Jesus of Nazareth went down into the Jordan to be baptized, he was a mortal of the realm who had attained the pinnacle of human evolutionary ascension in all matters related to the conquest of mind and to self-identification with the spirit. He stood in the Jordan that day a perfected mortal of the evolutionary worlds of time and space. Perfect synchrony and full communication had become established between the mortal mind of Jesus and the indwelling spirit Adjuster, the divine gift of his Father in Paradise. And just such an Adjuster indwells all normal beings living on Urantia since the ascension of Michael to the headship of his universe, except that Jesus’ Adjuster had been previously prepared for this special mission by similarly indwelling another superhuman incarnated in the likeness of mortal flesh, Machiventa Melchizedek.
2015 136:2.2 Da Jesus fra Nazaret gik ud i Jordanfloden for at døbes, var han en jordisk dødelig som havde nået det maksimale af hvad et menneske kan stige i sin udvikling når det gælder alt som vedrører erobringen af sindet og selv-identificering med ånden. Han stod den dag i Jordanfloden som en perfektioneret dødelig fra tidens og rummets evolutionære verdener. Perfekt synkronisering og fuldstændig kommunikation var blevet etableret mellem Jesu dødelige sind og hans iboende åndens Tankeretter, den guddommelige gave fra hans Fader i Paradis. Og netop sådan en Tankeretter har bolig i alle normale væsener som har levet på Urantia siden Mikaels opstigning til lederpositionen i sit univers, bortset fra at Jesu Tankeretter tidligere var blevet forberedt til denne specielle opgave ved på samme måde at have boet i et andet overmenneskeligt væsen som havde inkarneret sig ind i lighed med kødelig skikkelse: Makiventa Melkizedek.
1955 136:2.3 Ordinarily, when a mortal of the realm attains such high levels of personality perfection, there occur those preliminary phenomena of spiritual elevation which terminate in eventual fusion of the matured soul of the mortal with its associated divine Adjuster. And such a change was apparently due to take place in the personality experience of Jesus of Nazareth on that very day when he went down into the Jordan with his two brothers to be baptized by John. This ceremony was the final act of his purely human life on Urantia, and many superhuman observers expected to witness the fusion of the Adjuster with its indwelt mind, but they were all destined to suffer disappointment. Something new and even greater occurred. As John laid his hands upon Jesus to baptize him, the indwelling Adjuster took final leave of the perfected human soul of Joshua ben Joseph. And in a few moments this divine entity returned from Divinington as a Personalized Adjuster and chief of his kind throughout the entire local universe of Nebadon. Thus did Jesus observe his own former divine spirit descending on its return to him in personalized form. And he heard this same spirit of Paradise origin now speak, saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” And John, with Jesus’ two brothers, also heard these words. John’s disciples, standing by the water’s edge, did not hear these words, neither did they see the apparition of the Personalized Adjuster. Only the eyes of Jesus beheld the Personalized Adjuster.
2015 136:2.3 Sædvanligvis vil der, når en jordisk dødelig når sådanne højder af perfektionering af sin personlighed, indtræffe de indledende fænomener af åndelig ophøjelse som til sidst fører til fusion mellem den dødeliges modnede sjæl og dens guddommelige tilknyttede Tankeretter. Og det så ud til at være en sådan forandring som nu kom til at ske i Jesus fra Nazarets personlighedsoplevelse netop på denne dag, da han gik ud i Jordanfloden sammen med sine to brødre for at blive døbt af Johannes. Denne ceremoni var den sidste handling i hans rent menneskelige liv på Urantia, og mange overmenneskelige observatører forventede at blive vidne til fusionen mellem Tankeretteren og det sind hvori den boede, men de skulle alle komme til at blive skuffet. Noget nyt og endnu større indtræf. I det Johannes lagde sine hænder på Jesus for at døbe ham, tog den iboende Tankeretter sin endelige afsked med Joshua ben Josefs perfektionerede menneskesjæl. Og efter nogle få øjeblikke kom dette guddommelige væsen tilbage fra Divinington som en Personaliseret Tankeretter, leder for sin slags i hele lokaluniverset Nebadon[13]. Således så Jesus sin egen forhenværende guddommelige ånd komme tilbage ned til ham i personliggjort form. Og nu hørte han denne samme ånd med oprindelse fra Paradis tale med disse ord: ”Dette er min elskede Søn, og i ham finder jeg stort velbehag[14].” Og Johannes, sammen med Jesu to brødre, hørte også disse ord. Johannes disciple, som stod ved vandkanten, hørte dem ikke, og de så heller ikke åbenbaringen af den Personaliseret Tankeretter. Det var kun Jesu øjne som så den Personaliseret Tankeretter.
1955 136:2.4 When the returned and now exalted Personalized Adjuster had thus spoken, all was silence. And while the four of them tarried in the water, Jesus, looking up to the near-by Adjuster, prayed: “My Father who reigns in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come! Your will be done on earth, even as it is in heaven.” When he had prayed, the “heavens were opened,” and the Son of Man saw the vision, presented by the now Personalized Adjuster, of himself as a Son of God as he was before he came to earth in the likeness of mortal flesh, and as he would be when the incarnated life should be finished. This heavenly vision was seen only by Jesus.
2015 136:2.4 Da den tilbagevendte og nu ophøjede Personaliseret Tankeretteren havde talt, blev der helt stille. Og mens de fire blev stående ude i vandet, vendte Jesus blikket op mod Tankeretteren, som befandt sig lige ved, og bad: “Min Fader som hersker over himmelen, helliget være dit navn. Komme dit rige! Må din vilje blive udført på jorden, som det sker i himmelen.” Da han havde bedt[15]. ´åbnede himlen sig´ og Menneskesønnen så visionen som blev vist ham af den nu Personaliseret Tankeretter, af ham selv som en Guds Søn som han var før han kom til jorden i skikkelse af dødelig kød, og som han ville blive når det inkarnerede liv var færdigt[16]. Denne himmelske vision blev kun set af Jesus.
1955 136:2.5 It was the voice of the Personalized Adjuster that John and Jesus heard, speaking in behalf of the Universal Father, for the Adjuster is of, and as, the Paradise Father. Throughout the remainder of Jesus’ earth life this Personalized Adjuster was associated with him in all his labors; Jesus was in constant communion with this exalted Adjuster.
2015 136:2.5 Det var stemmen til den Personaliseret Tankeretter som Jesus og Johannes hørte; den talte på vegne af den Universelle Fader, for Tankeretteren er af, og som, Paradisfaderen[17]. Gennem resten af Jesu jordiske liv ledsagede den Personaliserede Tankeretter ham gennem alle hans bestræbelser, Jesus var i konstant samkvem med denne ophøjede Tankeretter.
1955 136:2.6 When Jesus was baptized, he repented of no misdeeds; he made no confession of sin. His was the baptism of consecration to the performance of the will of the heavenly Father. At his baptism he heard the unmistakable call of his Father, the final summons to be about his Father’s business, and he went away into private seclusion for forty days to think over these manifold problems. In thus retiring for a season from active personality contact with his earthly associates, Jesus, as he was and on Urantia, was following the very procedure that obtains on the morontia worlds whenever an ascending mortal fuses with the inner presence of the Universal Father.
2015 136:2.6 Da Jesus blev døbt, angrede han ingen misgerninger, han bekendte ingen synd. Hans dåb var for at vie sig til at udføre den himmelske Faders vilje. Da han blev døbt, hørte han sin Faders umiskendelige opfordring, den endelige indkaldelse for at tage sig af sin Faders anliggender, og han drog af sted for at trække sig tilbage i ensom afsondrethed i fyrre dage for at gennemtænke disse mangfoldige problemer. Ved på denne måde at trække sig tilbage for en tid fra aktiv personlighedskontakt med sine jordiske følgesvende fulgte Jesus, som han var på Urantia, den selvsamme procedure som gælder på morontiaverdnerne når en opadstigende dødelig fusioneres med den Universelle Faders indre tilstedeværelse.
1955 136:2.7 This day of baptism ended the purely human life of Jesus. The divine Son has found his Father, the Universal Father has found his incarnated Son, and they speak the one to the other.
2015 136:2.7 Denne dåbsdag afsluttede Jesu det rent menneskelige liv. Den guddommelige Søn har fundet sin Fader, den Universelle Fader har fundet sin inkarneret Søn, og de taler med hinanden.
1955 136:2.8 (Jesus was almost thirty-one and one-half years old when he was baptized. While Luke says that Jesus was baptized in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, which would be A.D. 29 since Augustus died in A.D. 14, it should be recalled that Tiberius was coemperor with Augustus for two and one-half years before the death of Augustus, having had coins struck in his honor in October, A.D. 11. The fifteenth year of his actual rule was, therefore, this very year of A.D. 26, that of Jesus’ baptism. And this was also the year that Pontius Pilate began his rule as governor of Judea.)
2015 136:2.8 (Jesus var næsten enogtredive et halvt år gammel da han blev døbt. Mens Lukas siger at Jesus blev døbt i det femtende år under Tiberius Cæsars styre, som ville blive i år 29 e.Kr. i og med at Augustus døde i år 14 e.Kr., bør der erindres om at Tiberius var kejser sammen med Augustus i to og et halvt år før Augustus død, efter at der i hans ære var slået mønt i hans favør i oktober i år 11 e.Kr. Det femtende år i hans faktiske regeringstid var derfor netop det samme år 26 e. Kr. som da Jesus blev døbt. Og det var også i det år at Pontius Pilatus blev indsat som guvernør i Judæa.)[18]
3. THE FORTY DAYS
3. DE FYRRE DAGE
1955 136:3.1 Jesus had endured the great temptation of his mortal bestowal before his baptism when he had been wet with the dews of Mount Hermon for six weeks. There on Mount Hermon, as an unaided mortal of the realm, he had met and defeated the Urantia pretender, Caligastia, the prince of this world. That eventful day, on the universe records, Jesus of Nazareth had become the Planetary Prince of Urantia. And this Prince of Urantia, so soon to be proclaimed supreme Sovereign of Nebadon, now went into forty days of retirement to formulate the plans and determine upon the technique of proclaiming the new kingdom of God in the hearts of men.
2015 136:3.1 Jesus havde klaret sig gennem sit dødelige livsforløbs store fristelser før dåben mens han havde været våd af Hermonbjergets dug i seks uger. På Hermonbjerget havde han, som en dødelig af denne verden uden at modtage hjælp, mødt og nedkæmpet Urantias hykler Caligastia, denne verdens prins. I følge universets nedskrivelser var det på denne begivenhedsrige dag at Jesus fra Nazaret blev Urantias Planetprins. Og denne Prins af Urantia, som meget snart skulle erklæres som den ypperste suveræne hersker for hele Nebadon, trak sig nu tilbage i fyrre dage for at udarbejde planerne og bestemme sig for hvilken teknik han skulle benytte sig af for at forkynde det nye Guds rige i menneskenes hjerter[19].
1955 136:3.2 After his baptism he entered upon the forty days of adjusting himself to the changed relationships of the world and the universe occasioned by the personalization of his Adjuster. During this isolation in the Perean hills he determined upon the policy to be pursued and the methods to be employed in the new and changed phase of earth life which he was about to inaugurate.
2015 136:3.2 Efter dåben begyndte han sine fyrre dage med at tilpasse sig de ændrede relationer i verden og universet som følge af at hans Tankeretter var blevet personaliseret. I løbet af denne isolation i Pereas bakker bestemte han sig for hvilken fremgangsmåde han skulle følge og hvilken metoder han skulle benytte sig af i den nye og ændret fase af livet på jorden som han var i færd med at påbegynde.
1955 136:3.3 Jesus did not go into retirement for the purpose of fasting and for the affliction of his soul. He was not an ascetic, and he came forever to destroy all such notions regarding the approach to God. His reasons for seeking this retirement were entirely different from those which had actuated Moses and Elijah, and even John the Baptist. Jesus was then wholly self-conscious concerning his relation to the universe of his making and also to the universe of universes, supervised by the Paradise Father, his Father in heaven. He now fully recalled the bestowal charge and its instructions administered by his elder brother, Immanuel, ere he entered upon his Urantia incarnation. He now clearly and fully comprehended all these far-flung relationships, and he desired to be away for a season of quiet meditation so that he could think out the plans and decide upon the procedures for the prosecution of his public labors in behalf of this world and for all other worlds in his local universe.
2015 136:3.3 Jesus trak sig ikke tilbage med den hensigt at faste og plage sin sjæl. Han var ingen asket, og han kom for al fremtid til at udrydde sådanne forestillinger om det at tilnærme sig Gud. Hans bevæggrunde for at søge afsondring var helt forskellige fra dem som havde drevet Moses og Elias, og til og med Johannes Døberen. Jesus var da fuldt selvbevidst når det gjaldt hans forhold til det univers han selv havde skabt, og også til universernes univers, under opsyn af Paradisfaderen, hans Fader i himlen. Nu mindes han til fulde det overdragelseserhverv og de instruktioner som fulgte med, foreskrevet af hans ældre bror, Immanuel, før han trådte ind i Urantia inkarnationen. Nu forstod han klart og til fulde alle disse vidtrækkende relationer, og han ønskede at være bortrejst for en tid i stille meditation, så han kunne udtænke de planer og beslutte fremgangsmåden om hvordan han skulle gennemføre sit offentlige arbejde til det bedste for denne verden og alle de andre verdner i hans lokalunivers.
1955 136:3.4 While wandering about in the hills, seeking a suitable shelter, Jesus encountered his universe chief executive, Gabriel, the Bright and Morning Star of Nebadon. Gabriel now re-established personal communication with the Creator Son of the universe; they met directly for the first time since Michael took leave of his associates on Salvington when he went to Edentia preparatory to entering upon the Urantia bestowal. Gabriel, by direction of Immanuel and on authority of the Uversa Ancients of Days, now laid before Jesus information indicating that his bestowal experience on Urantia was practically finished so far as concerned the earning of the perfected sovereignty of his universe and the termination of the Lucifer rebellion. The former was achieved on the day of his baptism when the personalization of his Adjuster demonstrated the perfection and completion of his bestowal in the likeness of mortal flesh, and the latter was a fact of history on that day when he came down from Mount Hermon to join the waiting lad, Tiglath. Jesus was now informed, upon the highest authority of the local universe and the superuniverse, that his bestowal work was finished in so far as it affected his personal status in relation to sovereignty and rebellion. He had already had this assurance direct from Paradise in the baptismal vision and in the phenomenon of the personalization of his indwelling Thought Adjuster.
2015 136:3.4 Mens han strejfede omkring i bakkerne, i søgning efter et passende ly, mødte Jesus sin øverstkommanderende for universet, Gabriel, Nebadons Klare Morgenstjerne. Gabriel genoprettede nu sin personlige forbindelse med universets Skabersøn; de mødtes direkte for første gang siden Mikael tog afsked med sine følgesvende på Salvington da han drog til Edentia for at forberede sin indtræden i Urantia overdragelsen. Gabriel, efter retningslinjer fra Immanuel og med autoritet fra Dagenes Ældste på Uversa, fremlagde nu for Jesus oplysninger som indikerede at hans overdragelseserfaring på Urantia praktisk taget var afsluttet hvad angik hans optjening af den perfekte suverænitet over sit univers og afslutning af Lucifers oprør. Det første opnåede han på sin dåbsdag da personaliseringen af hans Tankeretter demonstrerede perfektionen og fuldbyrdelsen i de dødeliges kødelige skikkelse, og det sidste blev et historisk faktum den dag han kom ned fra Hermonbjerget for at slå følge med den ventende knægt Tiglat. Jesus blev nu informeret, fra lokaluniversets og superuniversets øverste autoritet, at hans overdragelsesarbejde var afsluttet for så vidt som at det skulle få indflydelse på hans personlighedsstatus i forhold til suveræniteten og til oprøret. Han havde allerede fået denne forsikring direkte fra Paradiset i dåbsvisionen og ved det fænomen at hans iboende Tankeretter blev personaliseret.
1955 136:3.5 While he tarried on the mountain, talking with Gabriel, the Constellation Father of Edentia appeared to Jesus and Gabriel in person, saying: “The records are completed. The sovereignty of Michael number 611,121 over his universe of Nebadon rests in completion at the right hand of the Universal Father. I bring to you the bestowal release of Immanuel, your sponsor-brother for the Urantia incarnation. You are at liberty now or at any subsequent time, in the manner of your own choosing, to terminate your incarnation bestowal, ascend to the right hand of your Father, receive your sovereignty, and assume your well-earned unconditional rulership of all Nebadon. I also testify to the completion of the records of the superuniverse, by authorization of the Ancients of Days, having to do with the termination of all sin-rebellion in your universe and endowing you with full and unlimited authority to deal with any and all such possible upheavals in the future. Technically, your work on Urantia and in the flesh of the mortal creature is finished. Your course from now on is a matter of your own choosing.”
2015 136:3.5 Mens han opholdt sig på bjerget og talte med Gabriel, trådte Konstellationsfaderen af Edentia frem for Gabriel og Jesus i egen person og sagde: “Nedskrivningen er fuldført. Suveræniteten til Mikael nr. 611 121 over hans univers Nebadon hviler i sin fuldbyrdelse ved den Universelle Faders højre hånd. Jeg bringer dig overdragelsesfritagelsen fra Immanuel, din sponsor-broder for Urantia inkarnationen. Du har nu din frihed eller når som helst siden, på den måde du selv måtte vælge det, til at afslutte din inkarnations overdragelse, stige op til din Faders højre hånd, modtage din suverænitet og overtage din velfortjente, betingelsesløse herredømme over hele Nebadon. Jeg bekræfter også at superuniversets nedskrivninger, autoriseret af Dagenes Ældste, er færdig udarbejdet angående det som har at gøre med afslutningen af hele syndsoprøret i dit univers, og at du er udstyret med fuld og ubegrænset autoritet til at håndtere enhver slags oprør i dit univers i fremtiden. Teknisk set er dit arbejde på Urantia i en dødelig skabnings skikkelse afsluttet. Din videre kurs er overladt til dit eget valg.”
1955 136:3.6 When the Most High Father of Edentia had taken leave, Jesus held long converse with Gabriel regarding the welfare of the universe and, sending greetings to Immanuel, proffered his assurance that, in the work which he was about to undertake on Urantia, he would be ever mindful of the counsel he had received in connection with the prebestowal charge administered on Salvington.
2015 136:3.6 Da den Højeste Faderen af Edentia havde taget afsked, havde Jesus en lang samtale med Gabriel om universets velfærd og, i det han sendte sine hilsner til Immanuel, tilbød han sin forsikring om at han, i det arbejde han var i færd med at udføre på Urantia, altid ville tage hensyn til de råd han havde fået i forbindelse med før overdragelsesinstruksen som var foreskrevet ham på Salvington.
1955 136:3.7 Throughout all of these forty days of isolation James and John the sons of Zebedee were engaged in searching for Jesus. Many times they were not far from his abiding place, but never did they find him.
2015 136:3.7 I løbet af alle disse fyrre dage fortsatte James og Johannes, Zebedæus sønnerne med at lede efter Jesus. Mange gange kom de ganske nær hans tilholdssted, men de fandt ham aldrig.
4. PLANS FOR PUBLIC WORK
4. PLANER FOR DET OFFENTLIGE ARBEJDE
1955 136:4.1 Day by day, up in the hills, Jesus formulated the plans for the remainder of his Urantia bestowal. He first decided not to teach contemporaneously with John. He planned to remain in comparative retirement until the work of John achieved its purpose, or until John was suddenly stopped by imprisonment. Jesus well knew that John’s fearless and tactless preaching would presently arouse the fears and enmity of the civil rulers. In view of John’s precarious situation, Jesus began definitely to plan his program of public labors in behalf of his people and the world, in behalf of every inhabited world throughout his vast universe. Michael’s mortal bestowal was on Urantia but for all worlds of Nebadon.
2015 136:4.1 Dag for dag, oppe i bakkerne, udarbejdede Jesus planerne for det som var tilbage af hans overdragelse på Urantia. Først bestemte han sig for ikke at undervise samtidig med Johannes. Han planlagde at holde sig forholdsvis tilbagetrukket helt til Johannes arbejde havde opfyldt sin hensigt, eller til der blev sat en pludselig stopper for Johannes ved at han havnede i fængsel. Jesus var klar over at Johannes med sin frygtløse og taktløse prædiken før eller siden ville vække frygt og fjendtlighed hos de politiske myndigheder. Med Johannes risikable situation for øjet begyndte Jesus at tage endelige afgørelser om hvordan han skulle tilrettelægge sit offentlige arbejde til det bedste for sit folk og verden, til det bedste for hver eneste beboede verden i hans kæmpemæssige univers. Mikaels overdragelse som dødelig foregik på Urantia, men for alle verdener i Nebadon.
1955 136:4.2 The first thing Jesus did, after thinking through the general plan of co-ordinating his program with John’s movement, was to review in his mind the instructions of Immanuel. Carefully he thought over the advice given him concerning his methods of labor, and that he was to leave no permanent writing on the planet. Never again did Jesus write on anything except sand. On his next visit to Nazareth, much to the sorrow of his brother Joseph, Jesus destroyed all of his writing that was preserved on the boards about the carpenter shop, and which hung upon the walls of the old home. And Jesus pondered well over Immanuel’s advice pertaining to his economic, social, and political attitude toward the world as he should find it.
2015 136:4.2 Det første Jesus gjorte efter at have gennemtænkt den generelle plan for hvordan han skulle samordne sit program med Johannes bevægelse, var at gennemtænke Immanuels instruktioner på ny. Nøje gennemtænkte han rådene som han havde fået om sine arbejdsmetoder, og på at han ikke burde efterlade sig nogle bevarede skrevne ord på planeten. Aldrig mere skrev Jesus på noget andet end i sandet. Ved sit næste besøg til Nazaret ødelagde Jesus, til sin bror Josefs store fortvivlelse, alt som var bevaret af det som han havde skrevet på tavlerne i og rundt i snedkerværkstedet og på væggene i deres gamle hjem. Jesus grublede også grundig over de råd fra Immanuel som havde at gøre med hans økonomiske, sociale og politiske holdning til verden som han skulle komme til at møde den.
1955 136:4.3 Jesus did not fast during this forty days’ isolation. The longest period he went without food was his first two days in the hills when he was so engrossed with his thinking that he forgot all about eating. But on the third day he went in search of food. Neither was he tempted during this time by any evil spirits or rebel personalities of station on this world or from any other world.
2015 136:4.3 Jesus fastede ikke under sine fyrre dages isolation[20]. Den længste periode han tilbragte uden mad, var de to første dage oppe i bakkerne mens han var så opslugt af sin tankevirksomhed at han helt glemte at tænke på mad. Men den tredje dag gik han ud og ledte efter føde. Heller ikke blev han fristet i løbet af denne tid af nogen onde ånder eller oprørspersonligheder med tilhold på denne verden eller fra nogen anden verden[21].
1955 136:4.4 These forty days were the occasion of the final conference between the human and the divine minds, or rather the first real functioning of these two minds as now made one. The results of this momentous season of meditation demonstrated conclusively that the divine mind has triumphantly and spiritually dominated the human intellect. The mind of man has become the mind of God from this time on, and though the selfhood of the mind of man is ever present, always does this spiritualized human mind say, “Not my will but yours be done.”
2015 136:4.4 Disse fyrre dage var anledningen for den endelige konference mellem det menneskelige og det guddommelige sind, eller snarere første gang disse to sind nu fungerede som et. Resultaterne af denne afgørende meditationperiode viste med alt afgørende klarhed at det guddommelige sind sejrende og åndelig dominerede det menneskelige intellekt. Menneskesindet var blevet til Guds sind fra nu af, og selv om menneskesindets jeg altid er til stede, siger dette åndeliggjorte menneskesind altid: “Ikke min vilje, men må din ske[22].”
1955 136:4.5 The transactions of this eventful time were not the fantastic visions of a starved and weakened mind, neither were they the confused and puerile symbolisms which afterward gained record as the “temptations of Jesus in the wilderness.” Rather was this a season for thinking over the whole eventful and varied career of the Urantia bestowal and for the careful laying of those plans for further ministry which would best serve this world while also contributing something to the betterment of all other rebellion-isolated spheres. Jesus thought over the whole span of human life on Urantia, from the days of Andon and Fonta, down through Adam’s default, and on to the ministry of the Melchizedek of Salem.
2015 136:4.5 Det som foregik i løbet af denne begivenhedsrige tid var ikke fantastiske visioner i et udsultet og svækket sind, og heller ikke de forvirrede og barnlige symbolismer som efterfølgende havnede i nedskrivningerne som “Jesu fristelser i ørkenen[23].” Snarere var dette en tid for at gennemtænke hele Urantia overdragelsens begivenhedsrige og foranderlige livsforløb og for nøje at planlægge den videre tjenestevirksomhed som bedst ville tjene denne verden og samtidig bidrage med at forbedre tilstanden for alle de andre oprørs isolerede kloder. Jesus gennemtænkte hele forløbet af menneskehedens liv på Urantia, fra Anton og Fontas dage, videre gennem Adams forsømmelse og frem til Melkisedek af Salems tjenestevirksomhed.
1955 136:4.6 Gabriel had reminded Jesus that there were two ways in which he might manifest himself to the world in case he should choose to tarry on Urantia for a time. And it was made clear to Jesus that his choice in this matter would have nothing to do with either his universe sovereignty or the termination of the Lucifer rebellion. These two ways of world ministry were:
2015 136:4.6 Gabriel havde mindet Jesus om, at der fandtes to måder som han kunne manifestere sig selv for verden på såfremt han skulle vælge at opholde sig på Urantia endnu et stykke tid. Og det blev gjort klart for Jesus at hans valg i denne sag ikke ville have nogen som helst at gøre hverken med hans suverænitet over universet eller med at få bragt Lucifers oprør til ophør. Disse to måder at tjene på var:
1955 136:4.7 1. His own way—the way that might seem most pleasant and profitable from the standpoint of the immediate needs of this world and the present edification of his own universe.
2015 136:4.7 1. Hans egen måde - den måde som nok ville synes som den mest glædelig og formålstjenlig set ud fra denne verdens umiddelbare behov og ud fra hvad der på kort sigt var opbyggelig for hans eget univers.
1955 136:4.8 2. The Father’s way—the exemplification of a farseeing ideal of creature life visualized by the high personalities of the Paradise administration of the universe of universes.
2015 136:4.8 2. Faderens måde - ved at gå foran med et eksempel i henhold til det fremsynet ideal for skabningers liv som de høje personligheder i Paradisadministrationen af universernes univers forestillede sig det.
1955 136:4.9 It was thus made clear to Jesus that there were two ways in which he could order the remainder of his earth life. Each of these ways had something to be said in its favor as it might be regarded in the light of the immediate situation. The Son of Man clearly saw that his choice between these two modes of conduct would have nothing to do with his reception of universe sovereignty; that was a matter already settled and sealed on the records of the universe of universes and only awaited his demand in person. But it was indicated to Jesus that it would afford his Paradise brother, Immanuel, great satisfaction if he, Jesus, should see fit to finish up his earth career of incarnation as he had so nobly begun it, always subject to the Father’s will. On the third day of this isolation Jesus promised himself he would go back to the world to finish his earth career, and that in a situation involving any two ways he would always choose the Father’s will. And he lived out the remainder of his earth life always true to that resolve. Even to the bitter end he invariably subordinated his sovereign will to that of his heavenly Father.
2015 136:4.9 Det blev dermed klart for Jesus at der fandtes to måder som han kunne ordne det som var tilbage af hans jordiske liv på. Hver af disse måder havde noget som kunne siges til deres fordel i betragtning af lyset af den foreliggende situation. Menneskesønnen så klart at hans valg mellem disse to måder at optræde på ikke ville have noget som helst at gøre med hans modtagelse af suveræniteten over sit univers, den sag var allerede afgjort og beseglet i annalerne for universernes univers og ventede bare på at han i egen person skulle gøre krav på den. Men det blev antydet overfor Jesus at det ville være til stor tilfredsstillelse for hans Paradisbror Immanuel om han, Jesus ville finde det passende at fuldende sin jordiske inkarnations løbebane så ædelt som han havde begyndt den, altid underlagt sin Faders vilje. På sin tredje dag i isolation lovet Jesu sig selv at han ville vende tilbage til verden for at afslutte sin jordiske løbebane, og at i en situation som involverede enten den ene eller den anden af de to måder, ville han altid vælge Faderens vilje. Og mens han levede resten af sit jordiske liv, var han altid tro mod denne afgørelse. Helt til den bitre ende underordnede han altid sin suveræne vilje efter den himmelske Faders.
1955 136:4.10 The forty days in the mountain wilderness were not a period of great temptation but rather the period of the Master’s great decisions. During these days of lone communion with himself and his Father’s immediate presence—the Personalized Adjuster (he no longer had a personal seraphic guardian)—he arrived, one by one, at the great decisions which were to control his policies and conduct for the remainder of his earth career. Subsequently the tradition of a great temptation became attached to this period of isolation through confusion with the fragmentary narratives of the Mount Hermon struggles, and further because it was the custom to have all great prophets and human leaders begin their public careers by undergoing these supposed seasons of fasting and prayer. It had always been Jesus’ practice, when facing any new or serious decisions, to withdraw for communion with his own spirit that he might seek to know the will of God.
2015 136:4.10 De fyrre dage i bjergenes vildmark var ikke en periode med store fristelser, men snarere perioden for Mesterens store beslutninger[24]. I løbet af disse dage med ensomt samkvem mellem ham selv og Faderens umiddelbare nærvær - den Personaliseret Tankeretter (han havde ikke længere nogen personlig serafisk vogter) - kom han, en efter en, frem til de store beslutninger som han i sine fremgangsmåder og i sin optræden gennem resten af sit jordiske livsforløb kom til at rette sig efter. Senere blev traditionen om den store fristelse forbundet med denne tilbagetræknings periode gennem forvirringen med brudstykker af beretningen om hans kamp på Hermonbjerget, og desuden fordi det var sædvane at alle store profeter og ledere for menneskene skulle begynde deres offentlige virke ved at gennemleve de formodede tidsrum med faste og bøn. Det havde altid været Jesus fremgangsmåde, at når han stod overfor en hvilken som helst ny og alvorlig beslutning, at trække sig tilbage for at have samkvem med sin egen ånd for at finde ud af hvad der var Guds vilje.
1955 136:4.11 In all this planning for the remainder of his earth life, Jesus was always torn in his human heart by two opposing courses of conduct:
2015 136:4.11 Gennem hele denne planlægning af resten af hans jordiske liv blev Jesus altid sønderrevet i sit hjerte over at måtte vælge mellem to modstridende måder at optræde på:
1955 136:4.12 1. He entertained a strong desire to win his people—and the whole world—to believe in him and to accept his new spiritual kingdom. And he well knew their ideas concerning the coming Messiah.
2015 136:4.12 1. Han nærede et stærkt ønske om at vinde sit folk - og hele verden - til at tro på ham og godtage hans nye åndelige rige. Og han kendte godt til deres idéer om den kommende Messias.
1955 136:4.13 2. To live and work as he knew his Father would approve, to conduct his work in behalf of other worlds in need, and to continue, in the establishment of the kingdom, to reveal the Father and show forth his divine character of love.
2015 136:4.13 2. At leve og arbejde som han vidste at hans Fader ville anerkende, at indrette sit arbejde efter andre trængende verdner og, fortsætte med at etablere riget, med at åbenbare Faderen og synliggøre hans guddommelige kærlighedsvæsen.
1955 136:4.14 Throughout these eventful days Jesus lived in an ancient rock cavern, a shelter in the side of the hills near a village sometime called Beit Adis. He drank from the small spring which came from the side of the hill near this rock shelter.
2015 136:4.14 I løbet af disse begivenhedsrige dage boede Jesus i en ældgammel klippehule, et beskyttelsessted på siden af en bakke ikke langt fra en landsby som engang hed Beit Adis. Han drak fra en lille bæk som udsprang på siden af bakken nær hans opholdssted.
5. THE FIRST GREAT DECISION
5. DEN FØRSTE STORE BESLUTNING
1955 136:5.1 On the third day after beginning this conference with himself and his Personalized Adjuster, Jesus was presented with the vision of the assembled celestial hosts of Nebadon sent by their commanders to wait upon the will of their beloved Sovereign. This mighty host embraced twelve legions of seraphim and proportionate numbers of every order of universe intelligence. And the first great decision of Jesus’ isolation had to do with whether or not he would make use of these mighty personalities in connection with the ensuing program of his public work on Urantia.
2015 136:5.1 På tredje dagen efter at have begyndt denne konference mellem sig selv og hans Personaliserede Retter, blev Jesus præsenteret for en vision af de fremmødte himmelske skarer fra Nebadon som var sendt af deres anførere for at afvente deres elskede Herskers vilje. Disse mægtige hærskarer omfattede tolv legioner serafer og tilsvarende store antal af alle slags intelligensvæsener i universet[25]. Den første store beslutning Jesus tog i isolation, havde at gøre med hvorvidt han skulle benytte sig af disse kraftfulde personligheder i forbindelse med programmet for hans forestående offentlige virke på Urantia.
1955 136:5.2 Jesus decided that he would not utilize a single personality of this vast assemblage unless it should become evident that this was his Father’s will. Notwithstanding this general decision, this vast host remained with him throughout the balance of his earth life, always in readiness to obey the least expression of their Sovereign’s will. Although Jesus did not constantly behold these attendant personalities with his human eyes, his associated Personalized Adjuster did constantly behold, and could communicate with, all of them.
2015 136:5.2 Jesus besluttede at han ikke ville benytte en eneste personlighed af denne kæmpemæssige forsamling medmindre det skulle komme frem at dette var hans Faders vilje. På trods af denne generelle beslutning, holdt den kæmpemæssige skarer sig hos ham gennem den resterende, mest tungtvejende del af hans jordiske liv, altid beredte til at adlyde den mindste antydning fra deres Herskers vilje. Selv om Jesus ikke så disse deltagende personligheder hele tiden med sine menneskelige øjne, kunne hans tilsluttede Personaliserede Retter til enhver tid se og kommunikere med dem alle sammen.
1955 136:5.3 Before coming down from the forty days’ retreat in the hills, Jesus assigned the immediate command of this attendant host of universe personalities to his recently Personalized Adjuster, and for more than four years of Urantia time did these selected personalities from every division of universe intelligences obediently and respectfully function under the wise guidance of this exalted and experienced Personalized Mystery Monitor. In assuming command of this mighty assembly, the Adjuster, being a onetime part and essence of the Paradise Father, assured Jesus that in no case would these superhuman agencies be permitted to serve, or manifest themselves in connection with, or in behalf of, his earth career unless it should develop that the Father willed such intervention. Thus by one great decision Jesus voluntarily deprived himself of all superhuman co-operation in all matters having to do with the remainder of his mortal career unless the Father might independently choose to participate in some certain act or episode of the Son’s earth labors.
2015 136:5.3 Før han kom ned fra disse fyrre dages tilbagetrækning oppe i bakkerne, overlod Jesus den umiddelbare kommando over den tilstedeværende skare af personligheder i Universet til sin nylig Personaliserede Retter, og i mere end fire år efter Urantias tidsregning fungerede disse udvalgte personligheder fra hver eneste division af intelligenser i universet lydig og respektfuld under den kloge vejledning af denne ophøjede og erfarne Personaliserede Mysterieledsager. I det Retteren overtog kommandoen over denne mægtige forsamling, forsikrede Retteren, som en gang var en del af og essensen af Paradisfaderen Jesus om, at der ikke i nogen tilfælde ville blive givet disse overmenneskelige magter tilladelse til at tjene eller manifestere sig i forbindelse med eller til fordel for hans jordiske livsforløb med mindre det skulle udvikle sig således at Faderen ville at en sådan indgriben skulle ske. Dermed frasagde Jesus sig frivillig tilgang til alt overmenneskelig medvirkning angående alt som havde at gøre med det som var tilbage af hans dødelige livsforløb, medmindre Faderen uafhængig af ham skulle vælge at deltage i en eller andet bestemt gerning eller episode i Sønnens arbejde på jorden.
1955 136:5.4 In accepting this command of the universe hosts in attendance upon Christ Michael, the Personalized Adjuster took great pains to point out to Jesus that, while such an assembly of universe creatures could be limited in their space activities by the delegated authority of their Creator, such limitations were not operative in connection with their function in time. And this limitation was dependent on the fact that Adjusters are nontime beings when once they are personalized. Accordingly was Jesus admonished that, while the Adjuster’s control of the living intelligences placed under his command would be complete and perfect as to all matters involving space, there could be no such perfect limitations imposed regarding time. Said the Adjuster: “I will, as you have directed, enjoin the employment of this attendant host of universe intelligences in any manner in connection with your earth career except in those cases where the Paradise Father directs me to release such agencies in order that his divine will of your choosing may be accomplished, and in those instances where you may engage in any choice or act of your divine-human will which shall only involve departures from the natural earth order as to time. In all such events I am powerless, and your creatures here assembled in perfection and unity of power are likewise helpless. If your united natures once entertain such desires, these mandates of your choice will be forthwith executed. Your wish in all such matters will constitute the abridgment of time, and the thing projected is existent. Under my command this constitutes the fullest possible limitation which can be imposed upon your potential sovereignty. In my self-consciousness time is nonexistent, and therefore I cannot limit your creatures in anything related thereto.”
2015 136:5.4 Da den accepterede denne kommando over skarerne fra universet som kunne betjene Kristus Mikael, gjorte den Personaliserede Retter sig store anstrengelser med at påpege overfor Jesus at, mens en sådan forsamling af skabninger fra universet kunne begrænses i deres aktiviteter i rummet af deres skabers delegeret autoritet, var sådanne begrænsninger ikke virkende i forbindelse med deres funktion i tiden. Denne begrænsning var afhængig af det faktum at Rettere ikke er tidsvæsener så snart de bliver personaliseret. I henhold til dette blev Jesus advaret om at, mens Retterens kontrol over de levende intelligente væsener som var placeret under hans kommando, ville være fuldstændig og perfekt når det gjaldt alle affærer som involverede rum, kunne der ikke pålægges nogen en sådan perfekt begrænsning hvad angik tiden. Retteren sagde: “Jeg vil, som du har anvist, forbyde brugen af denne deltagende skare af intelligente væsener fra universet på enhver måde i forbindelse med dit jordiske livsforløb, undtagen i de tilfælde hvor Paradisfaderen giver mig instrukser om at frigøre sådanne repræsentanter for at hans guddommelige vilje efter dit eget valg skal kunne fuldbyrdes, og i de tilfælde hvor du vil kunne engagere dig i et eller andet valg eller en handling ud fra din guddommelige og menneskelige vilje som kun kommer til at involvere afvigelser fra den naturlige jordiske forordning når det gælder tiden. Ved alle sådanne begivenheder er jeg magtesløs, og dine skabninger som her er samlet i perfektion og magtens enhed, er lige så hjælpeløse. Så snart dit forende væsen nærer sådanne ønsker, vil disse mandater som du har valgt, med et blive effektueret. Dit ønske i alle sådanne anliggender vil indebære at tiden kortes ned, og det som er projekteret er eksisterende. Under min kommando indebærer dette den mest fuldstændige begrænsning som det er muligt at pålægge din potentielle suverænitet. I min selvbevidsthed er tid ikkeeksisterende, og derfor kan jeg ikke lægge nogen begrænsning på dine skabninger når det gælder noget som er forbundet med den.”
1955 136:5.5 Thus did Jesus become apprised of the working out of his decision to go on living as a man among men. He had by a single decision excluded all of his attendant universe hosts of varied intelligences from participating in his ensuing public ministry except in such matters as concerned time only. It therefore becomes evident that any possible supernatural or supposedly superhuman accompaniments of Jesus’ ministry pertained wholly to the elimination of time unless the Father in heaven specifically ruled otherwise. No miracle, ministry of mercy, or any other possible event occurring in connection with Jesus’ remaining earth labors could possibly be of the nature or character of an act transcending the natural laws established and regularly working in the affairs of man as he lives on Urantia except in this expressly stated matter of time. No limits, of course, could be placed upon the manifestations of “the Father’s will.” The elimination of time in connection with the expressed desire of this potential Sovereign of a universe could only be avoided by the direct and explicit act of the will of this God-man to the effect that time, as related to the act or event in question, should not be shortened or eliminated. In order to prevent the appearance of apparent time miracles, it was necessary for Jesus to remain constantly time conscious. Any lapse of time consciousness on his part, in connection with the entertainment of definite desire, was equivalent to the enactment of the thing conceived in the mind of this Creator Son, and without the intervention of time.
2015 136:5.5 Dermed blev Jesus underrettet om hvordan hans beslutning om at fortsætte med at leve som et menneske blandt mennesker ville virke. Han havde med en eneste beslutning udelukket alle sine tilstedeværende skarer af forskellige intelligente væsener fra universet i at deltage i hans forestående offentlige tjenestevirksomhed undtagen i sådanne anliggender som kun angik tiden. Det bliver derfor indlysende at enhver mulig overnaturlig eller formodentlig overmenneskelig bidrag til Jesu tjenestevirksomhed kun havde med ophævelse af tiden at gøre medmindre den himmelske Fader bestemte noget andet. Intet mirakel, ingen nådens tjeneste eller nogen anden handling i forbindelse med resten af Jesu jordiske virke kunne overhovedet være af en natur eller have karakter af en gerning som overskred de etablerede naturlove som virker regelmæssig i menneskenes anliggender mens de lever på Urantia, undtagen i dette eftertrykkelige fastsatte spørgsmål om tiden. Ingen begrænsninger kunne selvsagt pålægges manifestationerne af ‘Faderens vilje’. Ophævelsen af tiden i forbindelse med det udtalte ønske fra denne potentielle Hersker over et univers kunne kun undgås gennem en direkte eller udtrykkelige vilje handling hos dette Gud-menneske med den virkning at tiden, som den var forbundet med gerningen eller hændelsen som det drejede sig om, ikke skulle kortes ned eller ophæves. For at forhindre at der skulle opstå synlige tidsmirakler var det nødvendig for Jesus at holde sig konstant tidsbevidst. Ethvert afbræk i tidsbevidstheden for hans del, i forbindelse med at have bestemte ønsker om noget, var lig med gennemførelse af det som blev opfattet i sindet hos denne Skabersøn, og uden indblanding af tid.
1955 136:5.6 Through the supervising control of his associated and Personalized Adjuster it was possible for Michael perfectly to limit his personal earth activities with reference to space, but it was not possible for the Son of Man thus to limit his new earth status as potential Sovereign of Nebadon as regards time. And this was the actual status of Jesus of Nazareth as he went forth to begin his public ministry on Urantia.
2015 136:5.6 Ved hjælp af hans tilknyttede og Personaliserede Tankeretters overvågende kontrol var det mulig for Mikael på perfekt vis at begrænse sine personlige jordiske aktiviteter i forhold til rum, men det var ikke mulig for Menneskesønnen på samme måde at få begrænset sin nye status på jorden som Nebadons Hersker hvad angik tid. Dette var den faktiske status Jesus fra Nazarets havde da han drog ud for at begynde sin offentlige tjenestevirksomhed på Urantia.
6. THE SECOND DECISION
6. DEN ANDEN BESLUTNING
1955 136:6.1 Having settled his policy concerning all personalities of all classes of his created intelligences, so far as this could be determined in view of the inherent potential of his new status of divinity, Jesus now turned his thoughts toward himself. What would he, now the fully self-conscious creator of all things and beings existent in this universe, do with these creator prerogatives in the recurring life situations which would immediately confront him when he returned to Galilee to resume his work among men? In fact, already, and right where he was in these lonely hills, had this problem forcibly presented itself in the matter of obtaining food. By the third day of his solitary meditations the human body grew hungry. Should he go in quest of food as any ordinary man would, or should he merely exercise his normal creative powers and produce suitable bodily nourishment ready at hand? And this great decision of the Master has been portrayed to you as a temptation—as a challenge by supposed enemies that he “command that these stones become loaves of bread.”
2015 136:6.1 Efter at have fastlagt sin linje overfor alle intelligensvæsener som han selv havde skabt, i den grad dette lod sig bestemme i lyset af det iboende potentiale i hans guddommelighedsstatus, vendte Jesus nu tankerne mod sig selv. Hvad ville han, nu som fuld selvbevidst skaber af alle ting og væsener som fandtes i dette univers, gøre med disse skaberprivilegier i de stadig tilbagevendende livssituationer som han umiddelbart ville konfronteres med, når han vendte tilbage til Galilæa for at genoptage sit virke blandt menneskene? Faktisk havde dette problem allerede, akkurat der hvor han nu befandt sig i disse øde bakker, tvunget sig ind på ham i form af at han måtte se at skaffe sig noget mad. På tredje dagen med disse ensomme meditationer blev menneskekroppen sulten. Skulle han drage ud og lede efter mad på samme måde som et hvilken som helst almindelig menneske, eller skulle han simpelthen bare bruge sine normale skaberkræfter og frembringe passende næring for kroppen lige for hånden? Denne store beslutning af Mesteren er blevet beskrevet for jer som en fristelse - som en udfordring fremsat af formodede fjender at han “befalede at disse sten skal blive til brød.”[26]
1955 136:6.2 Jesus thus settled upon another and consistent policy for the remainder of his earth labors. As far as his personal necessities were concerned, and in general even in his relations with other personalities, he now deliberately chose to pursue the path of normal earthly existence; he definitely decided against a policy which would transcend, violate, or outrage his own established natural laws. But he could not promise himself, as he had already been warned by his Personalized Adjuster, that these natural laws might not, in certain conceivable circumstances, be greatly accelerated. In principle, Jesus decided that his lifework should be organized and prosecuted in accordance with natural law and in harmony with the existing social organization. The Master thereby chose a program of living which was the equivalent of deciding against miracles and wonders. Again he decided in favor of “the Father’s will”; again he surrendered everything into the hands of his Paradise Father.
2015 136:6.2 Dermed fastlagde Jesus endnu en konsekvent fremgangsmåde for den tilbageværende del af sit virke på jorden. Angående hans personlige behov, og også generelt i forhold til andre personligheder, valgte han nu med overlæg at følge den normale jordiske tilværelsens vej; han bestemte sig definitivt imod en fremgangsmåde som ville overskride, bryde med eller vise ringeagt for hans egne fastlagte naturlove. Men han kunne ikke love sig selv at de naturlove, som han allerede var blevet advaret af sin Personaliserede Retter om, under visse tænkbare omstændigheder ikke skulle kunne blive kraftig accelereret. I princippet besluttet Jesus at hans livsværk skulle organiseres og iværksættes i henhold til naturlovene og i harmoni med den rådende sociale struktur. Mesteren valgte derved et program for sin livsførelse som var ensbetydende med at bortvælge mirakler og vidunder. Igen bestemte han sig i ‘sin Faders viljes’ favør, igen overlod han alt til Paradisfaders hænder.
1955 136:6.3 Jesus’ human nature dictated that the first duty was self-preservation; that is the normal attitude of the natural man on the worlds of time and space, and it is, therefore, a legitimate reaction of a Urantia mortal. But Jesus was not concerned merely with this world and its creatures; he was living a life designed to instruct and inspire the manifold creatures of a far-flung universe.
2015 136:6.3 Jesus menneskelige natur dikterede at den første pligt var selvopholdelsen; det er den normale indstilling hos det naturlige menneske på verdnerne af tid og rum; og den er derfor en legitim reaktion hos den dødelige på Urantia. Men Jesus var ikke kun optaget af denne verden og dens skabninger, han levede et liv som var beregnet på at skulle instruere og inspirere mangfoldige skabninger i et vidtstrakt univers.
1955 136:6.4 Before his baptismal illumination he had lived in perfect submission to the will and guidance of his heavenly Father. He emphatically decided to continue on in just such implicit mortal dependence on the Father’s will. He purposed to follow the unnatural course—he decided not to seek self-preservation. He chose to go on pursuing the policy of refusing to defend himself. He formulated his conclusions in the words of Scripture familiar to his human mind: “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” In reaching this conclusion in regard to the appetite of the physical nature as expressed in hunger for food, the Son of Man made his final declaration concerning all other urges of the flesh and the natural impulses of human nature.
2015 136:6.4 Før sin oplysning i forbindelse med dåben havde han levet i perfekt underkastelse til sin himmelske Faders vilje og ledelse. Med eftertryk besluttede han at fortsætte videre i netop denne dødeliges betingelsesløse afhængighed af Faderens vilje. Han gjorte det til sit formål at følge den unaturlige vej - han bestemte sig for ikke at søge selvopholdelse. Han valgte at fortsætte med at følge en fremgangsmåde om at han skulle nægte at forsvare sig. Han formulerede sine konklusioner med ordene fra skriften som var velkendte for hans menneskesind: “Mennesket skal ikke leve af brød alene, men af hvert et ord som kommer ud af Guds mund[27].” Ved at komme til denne konklusion om den fysiske naturlige appetit som nu gav sig udtryk i at han blev sulten, kom Menneskesønnen til sin endelige erklæring angående alle andre former for kødelig trang og menneskelige naturlige tilbøjeligheder.
1955 136:6.5 His superhuman power he might possibly use for others, but for himself, never. And he pursued this policy consistently to the very end, when it was jeeringly said of him: “He saved others; himself he cannot save”—because he would not.
2015 136:6.5 Hans overmenneskelige kraft kunne han muligvis komme til at bruge til gavn for andre, men for sig selv - aldrig! Og han fulgte denne fremgangsmåde konsekvent til sidste ende, da det hånligt blev sagt til ham: “Han frelste andre, men sig selv kan han ikke frelse” - for det ville han ikke.[28]
1955 136:6.6 The Jews were expecting a Messiah who would do even greater wonders than Moses, who was reputed to have brought forth water from the rock in a desert place and to have fed their forefathers with manna in the wilderness. Jesus knew the sort of Messiah his compatriots expected, and he had all the powers and prerogatives to measure up to their most sanguine expectations, but he decided against such a magnificent program of power and glory. Jesus looked upon such a course of expected miracle working as a harking back to the olden days of ignorant magic and the degraded practices of the savage medicine men. Possibly, for the salvation of his creatures, he might accelerate natural law, but to transcend his own laws, either for the benefit of himself or the overawing of his fellow men, that he would not do. And the Master’s decision was final.
2015 136:6.6 Jøderne forventede sig en Messias som kunne udføre endnu større undere end Moses, om hvem man sagde, at han skulle havde fået vandet til at flyde ud af stengrunden på et sted midt i ørkenen og som skulle have brødfødt deres forfædre med manna ude i vildmarken. Jesus viste hvad for en slags Messias hans landsmænd forventede sig, og han havde al den kraft og de fuldmagter som skulle til for at leve op til deres mest opskruede forventninger. Men han besluttede sig imod et sådan storslået program af magt og ære. Jesus så på en sådan kurs som gik ud på at udrette forventede mirakler, som et tilbagefald til gamle dages uvidende menneskers magi og til primitive medicinmænds ikke længere anerkendte metoder. Muligvis ville han, for at redde sine skabninger, accelerere naturlovene, men at overskride sine egne love, enten for at drage fordel af det selv eller for at gøre et overvældende indtryk på sine medmennesker - nej, det ville han ikke gøre. Og Mesterens beslutning var endelig.
1955 136:6.7 Jesus sorrowed for his people; he fully understood how they had been led up to the expectation of the coming Messiah, the time when “the earth will yield its fruits ten thousandfold, and on one vine there will be a thousand branches, and each branch will produce a thousand clusters, and each cluster will produce a thousand grapes, and each grape will produce a gallon of wine.” The Jews believed the Messiah would usher in an era of miraculous plenty. The Hebrews had long been nurtured on traditions of miracles and legends of wonders.
2015 136:6.7 Jesus sørgede over sit folk; han forstod fuldt ud hvordan de var blevet ledt frem til at forvente at Messias skulle komme, den tid da “jorden skal give afgrøde i titusindvis, og der på ‘en vinranke skal være tusinde grene, og hver gren vil frembringe tusinde klaser, og hver klase vil indeholde tusinde druer, og hver drue vil frembringe en krukke med vin[29].” Jøderne troede Messias ville indlede en æra med mirakuløs overflod. Hebræerne havde længe været flasket op på mirakeltraditioner og legender om undere.
1955 136:6.8 He was not a Messiah coming to multiply bread and wine. He came not to minister to temporal needs only; he came to reveal his Father in heaven to his children on earth, while he sought to lead his earth children to join him in a sincere effort so to live as to do the will of the Father in heaven.
2015 136:6.8 Han var ikke en Messias som kom for at mangfoldiggøre brød og vin. Han kom ikke kun for at imødekomme verdslige behov; han kom for at åbenbare sin Fader i himmelen til sine børn på jorden, mens han søgte at lede sine jordiske børn til at slutte sig til ham i et helhjertet forsøg på at leve i tråd med Faderen i himmelens vilje.
1955 136:6.9 In this decision Jesus of Nazareth portrayed to an onlooking universe the folly and sin of prostituting divine talents and God-given abilities for personal aggrandizement or for purely selfish gain and glorification. That was the sin of Lucifer and Caligastia.
2015 136:6.9 Med denne beslutning portrætterede Jesus fra Nazaret sig for et univers af tilskuere hvor dumt og syndig det er at prostituere guddommelige talenter og Gudgivne egenskaber for at gøre sig selv større eller høste ren selvisk gavn og forherligelse. Det var det som var Lucifers og Caligastias synd.
1955 136:6.10 This great decision of Jesus portrays dramatically the truth that selfish satisfaction and sensuous gratification, alone and of themselves, are not able to confer happiness upon evolving human beings. There are higher values in mortal existence—intellectual mastery and spiritual achievement—which far transcend the necessary gratification of man’s purely physical appetites and urges. Man’s natural endowment of talent and ability should be chiefly devoted to the development and ennoblement of his higher powers of mind and spirit.
2015 136:6.10 Denne store beslutning som Jesus tog, giver et dramatisk portræt af sandheden om at selvisk tilfredsstillelse og sanselig fornøjelse, alene og af sig selv, ikke er i stand til at tilføre mennesker i udvikling nogen lykke. Der er højere værdier i den dødelige tilværelse - intellektuel beherskelse og åndelig præstation - som i høj grad overgår den nødvendige behovs tilfredsstillelse af menneskets rent fysiske appetitter og drifter. Menneskets naturlige talenter og evner burde for det meste vies til at udvikle og forædle dets højere sinds- og åndskræfter.
1955 136:6.11 Jesus thus revealed to the creatures of his universe the technique of the new and better way, the higher moral values of living and the deeper spiritual satisfactions of evolutionary human existence on the worlds of space.
2015 136:6.11 Således åbenbarede Jesus for sine skabninger i universet den nye og bedre vej foretagender, de højere moralske livsværdier og den dybere åndelige tilfredsstillelse i den evolutionære menneskelige tilværelse i verdnerne i rummet.
7. THE THIRD DECISION
7. DEN TREDJE BESLUTNING
1955 136:7.1 Having made his decisions regarding such matters as food and physical ministration to the needs of his material body, the care of the health of himself and his associates, there remained yet other problems to solve. What would be his attitude when confronted by personal danger? He decided to exercise normal watchcare over his human safety and to take reasonable precaution to prevent the untimely termination of his career in the flesh but to refrain from all superhuman intervention when the crisis of his life in the flesh should come. As he was formulating this decision, Jesus was seated under the shade of a tree on an overhanging ledge of rock with a precipice right there before him. He fully realized that he could cast himself off the ledge and out into space, and that nothing could happen to harm him provided he would rescind his first great decision not to invoke the interposition of his celestial intelligences in the prosecution of his lifework on Urantia, and provided he would abrogate his second decision concerning his attitude toward self-preservation.
2015 136:7.1 Efter at han havde truffet sine beslutninger om sådanne ting som mad og den fysiske vedligeholdelse af hans materielle legeme og sin egen og sine følgesvendes sundhed, var der stadig flere problemer at løse. Hvad slags holdning skulle han indtage når han blev stillet overfor fysiske farer? Han bestemte sig for at vise almindelig påpasselighed overfor sin tryghed som menneske og rimelig forsigtighed for at forhindre et utidig ophør af hans livsforløb i kødet, men at afholde sig fra al overmenneskelig indblanding når krisen i hans liv i kødet ville komme. Mens han formulerede denne beslutning, sad Jesus i skyggen af et træ på en fremspringende klippeafsats med en afgrund lige foran sig. Han var fuld ud klar over at han kunne kaste sig ret ud i afgrunden og ud i luftrummet og at der intet kunne ske ham, forudsat at han omgjorte sin første beslutning om ikke at påkalde sine himmelske tænkende væseners indgriben i udførelsen af hans livsværk på Urantia og forudsat at han også ville gå imod sin anden beslutning om hvilken holdning han skulle indtage overfor det at tage vare på sig selv.[30]
1955 136:7.2 Jesus knew his fellow countrymen were expecting a Messiah who would be above natural law. Well had he been taught that Scripture: “There shall no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Would this sort of presumption, this defiance of his Father’s laws of gravity, be justified in order to protect himself from possible harm or, perchance, to win the confidence of his mistaught and distracted people? But such a course, however gratifying to the sign-seeking Jews, would be, not a revelation of his Father, but a questionable trifling with the established laws of the universe of universes.
2015 136:7.2 Jesus viste at hans landsmænd ventede sig en Messias som ville være hævet over naturlovene. Grundig havde han lært det skriftsted som sagde: “Intet ondt skal overgå dig, og ingen plage skal komme nær dit telt. For han skal give sine engle befaling om at de skal bevare dig på alle dine veje. De skal bære dig på hænderne, for at du ikke skal støde din fod på nogen sten[31].” Ville en sådan antagelse, det at trodse sin Faders tyngdelove på denne måde, kunne retfærdiggøre om det var for at beskytte ham mod mulig skade eller for den sags skyld for at vinde tillid hos hans vildledte, forvirrede folk? En sådan fremgangsmåde ville, uanset hvor opmuntrende det ville være for jøderne i deres søgen efter under og tegn, ikke være nogen åbenbaring af hans Fader, men snarere en tvivlsom måde at omgå de etablerede love i universernes univers.
1955 136:7.3 Understanding all of this and knowing that the Master refused to work in defiance of his established laws of nature in so far as his personal conduct was concerned, you know of a certainty that he never walked on the water nor did anything else which was an outrage to his material order of administering the world; always, of course, bearing in mind that there had, as yet, been found no way whereby he could be wholly delivered from the lack of control over the element of time in connection with those matters put under the jurisdiction of the Personalized Adjuster.
2015 136:7.3 Ved at forstå alt dette og vide at Mesteren, hvad hans egen optræden angik, i sit arbejde nægtede at trodse sine etablerede naturlove, ved I med sikkerhed at han aldrig gik på vandet eller foretog sig noget andet som var en krænkelse til hans materielle forordning for at administrere verden; selv om der altid må tænke på at man endnu ikke havde fundet nogen måde hvorpå han helt kunne befris fra den mangel på kontrol som han havde over tidsfaktoren med de anliggender af tid som er i forbindelse med de sager som hører under hans Personaliserede Retters ansvarsområder[32][33].
1955 136:7.4 Throughout his entire earth life Jesus was consistently loyal to this decision. No matter whether the Pharisees taunted him for a sign, or the watchers at Calvary dared him to come down from the cross, he steadfastly adhered to the decision of this hour on the hillside.
2015 136:7.4 I løbet af hele sit liv på jorden var Jesus konsekvent loyal overfor denne beslutning. Uanset om det var farisæerne som spottende ville afkræve ham at vise et tegn, eller tilskuerne ved Golgata som udfordrede ham til at komme ned fra korset, så holdt han sig trofast til beslutningen fra denne tid oppe på bjergsiden[34].
8. THE FOURTH DECISION
8. DEN FJERDE BESLUTNING
1955 136:8.1 The next great problem with which this God-man wrestled and which he presently decided in accordance with the will of the Father in heaven, concerned the question as to whether or not any of his superhuman powers should be employed for the purpose of attracting the attention and winning the adherence of his fellow men. Should he in any manner lend his universe powers to the gratification of the Jewish hankering for the spectacular and the marvelous? He decided that he should not. He settled upon a policy of procedure which eliminated all such practices as the method of bringing his mission to the notice of men. And he consistently lived up to this great decision. Even when he permitted the manifestation of numerous time-shortening ministrations of mercy, he almost invariably admonished the recipients of his healing ministry to tell no man about the benefits they had received. And always did he refuse the taunting challenge of his enemies to “show us a sign” in proof and demonstration of his divinity.
2015 136:8.1 Det næste store problem som dette Gud-menneske havde at strides med og som han nu tog sin beslutning om i overensstemmelse med sin himmelske Faders vilje, angik spørgsmålet om hvorvidt nogen af hans overmenneskelige kræfter skulle benyttes for at tiltrække sig opmærksomhed og vinde tilslutning fra hans medmennesker. Skulle han på nogen måde stille sine kræfter fra universet til disposition for at tilfredsstille den jødiske længsel efter det spektakulære og det eventyrlige? Han besluttede, at han ikke skulle. Han fastsatte som fremgangsmåde at han skulle udelukke al sådan praksis som en metode til at få folk til at lægge mærke til hans mission. Og han levede konsekvent op til denne beslutning. Selv når tillod manifestationer af tidsforkortende nådetjenester, formanede han næsten altid modtagerne af hans helbredende virksomhed om ikke at fortælle nogen om det de havde modtaget. Og altid afslog han når hans fjender spottende opfordrede ham til at ’vise os et tegn’ som bevis på og synliggørelse af hans guddommelighed[35].[36]
1955 136:8.2 Jesus very wisely foresaw that the working of miracles and the execution of wonders would call forth only outward allegiance by overawing the material mind; such performances would not reveal God nor save men. He refused to become a mere wonder-worker. He resolved to become occupied with but a single task—the establishment of the kingdom of heaven.
2015 136:8.2 Jesus forudså med stor visdom at det at gøre mirakler og udføre under kun ville fremkalde overfladisk tilslutning ved at han gjorte et overvældende indtryk på folks materielle sind; sådanne optrin ville hverken åbenbare Gud eller frelse mennesker. Han nægtede ganske enkelt at blive en mirakelmager. Han bestemte sig til kun at beskæftige sig med en eneste opgave - at etablere himmelens rige.
1955 136:8.3 Throughout all this momentous dialogue of Jesus’ communing with himself, there was present the human element of questioning and near-doubting, for Jesus was man as well as God. It was evident he would never be received by the Jews as the Messiah if he did not work wonders. Besides, if he would consent to do just one unnatural thing, the human mind would know of a certainty that it was in subservience to a truly divine mind. Would it be consistent with “the Father’s will” for the divine mind to make this concession to the doubting nature of the human mind? Jesus decided that it would not and cited the presence of the Personalized Adjuster as sufficient proof of divinity in partnership with humanity.
2015 136:8.3 I løbet af hele denne afgørende dialog, hvor Jesus var fordybet i sig selv, var det menneskelige element som fik ham til at stille spørgsmål og næsten tvivle tilstede, for Jesus var et menneske såvel som Gud. Det var tydeligt at han aldrig ville blive modtaget blandt jøderne som Messias hvis han ikke udførte undere. Og desuden, hvis han ville gå med til at gøre en eneste unaturlig ting; ville det menneskelige sind vide med sikkerhed at dette skete i underdanighed til et virkelig guddommeligt sind. Ville det være i overensstemmelse med ‘Faderens vilje’ for det guddommelige sind at give efter for det menneskelige sinds tvivlende natur på denne måde? Jesus bestemte at det ville det ikke og henviste til tilstedeværelse af den Personaliserede Retter som tilstrækkelig bevis på det guddommelige i partnerskab med det menneskelige[37].
1955 136:8.4 Jesus had traveled much; he recalled Rome, Alexandria, and Damascus. He knew the methods of the world—how people gained their ends in politics and commerce by compromise and diplomacy. Would he utilize this knowledge in the furtherance of his mission on earth? No! He likewise decided against all compromise with the wisdom of the world and the influence of riches in the establishment of the kingdom. He again chose to depend exclusively on the Father’s will.
2015 136:8.4 Jesus havde rejst meget; han mindes Rom, Alexandria og Damaskus. Han kendte denne verdens metoder - hvordan folk opnåede hvad de ville i politik og forretningslivet ved hjælp af kompromisser og diplomati. Ville han drage nytte af denne kundskab i gennemføringen af sin mission på jorden? Ligeledes besluttede han ikke at indgå i nogen kompromisser med al verdslig klogskab og med indflydelse fra de velbeslåede for at etablere Guds rige. Igen bestemte han sig for udelukkende at være afhængig af Faderens vilje.
1955 136:8.5 Jesus was fully aware of the short cuts open to one of his powers. He knew many ways in which the attention of the nation, and the whole world, could be immediately focused upon himself. Soon the Passover would be celebrated at Jerusalem; the city would be thronged with visitors. He could ascend the pinnacle of the temple and before the bewildered multitude walk out on the air; that would be the kind of a Messiah they were looking for. But he would subsequently disappoint them since he had not come to re-establish David’s throne. And he knew the futility of the Caligastia method of trying to get ahead of the natural, slow, and sure way of accomplishing the divine purpose. Again the Son of Man bowed obediently to the Father’s way, the Father’s will.
2015 136:8.5 Jesus var fuldt ud klar over hvilke genveje som lå åben som følge af en med hans evner. Han viste mange måder hvorpå nationer og hele verdens opmærksomhed umiddelbart kunne fokuseres mod ham selv. Snart skulle påsken fejres i Jerusalem; byen ville blive overfyldt med besøgende. Han kunne stige op på tempeltårnet og spadsere ret ud i luften foran den desorienteret menneskemængde; det ville være den slags Messias de ventede på[38]. Men efterfølgende ville han komme til at skuffe dem siden han ikke var kommet for at genrejse Davids trone. Han kendte til det unyttige i Caligastias metoder for at prøve at få et forspring på den naturlige, langsomme og sikre måde for fuldførelsen af det guddommelige formål. Igen bøjede Menneskesønnen sig lydig ned for Faderens vej, Faderens vilje.
1955 136:8.6 Jesus chose to establish the kingdom of heaven in the hearts of mankind by natural, ordinary, difficult, and trying methods, just such procedures as his earth children must subsequently follow in their work of enlarging and extending that heavenly kingdom. For well did the Son of Man know that it would be “through much tribulation that many of the children of all ages would enter into the kingdom.” Jesus was now passing through the great test of civilized man, to have power and steadfastly refuse to use it for purely selfish or personal purposes.
2015 136:8.6 Jesus valgte at etablere himlens rige i menneskers hjerter ved hjælp af naturlige, almindelige, vanskelige og prøvelsesbelagte metoder, de samme procedurer som hans jordiske børn efter ham må følge i deres arbejde for at bringe vækst og udvide dette himmelske rige. For Menneskesønnen viste udmærket godt at det ville være “gennem store prøvelser at mange af hans børn fra alle tidsaldre ville træde ind i Guds rige[39].” Jesus gennemgik nu det civiliserede menneskets store prøvelse, at have magt og ufravigelig nægte at bruge den for rent selviske og personlige formål.
1955 136:8.7 In your consideration of the life and experience of the Son of Man, it should be ever borne in mind that the Son of God was incarnate in the mind of a first-century human being, not in the mind of a twentieth-century or other-century mortal. By this we mean to convey the idea that the human endowments of Jesus were of natural acquirement. He was the product of the hereditary and environmental factors of his time, plus the influence of his training and education. His humanity was genuine, natural, wholly derived from the antecedents of, and fostered by, the actual intellectual status and social and economic conditions of that day and generation. While in the experience of this God-man there was always the possibility that the divine mind would transcend the human intellect, nonetheless, when, and as, his human mind functioned, it did perform as would a true mortal mind under the conditions of the human environment of that day.
2015 136:8.7 Når I tager Menneskesønnens liv og erfaringer i betragtning, burde I altid have i tankerne, at Guds søn var inkarneret i sindet hos et menneske i det første århundrede, ikke i et dødeligt sind fra det tyvende eller noget andet århundrede. Ved at sige dette prøver vi at få frem, at Jesus menneskelige evner var af en naturlig beskaffenhed. Han var et produkt af de arvelige og miljømæssige faktorer i sin samtid plus påvirkningen fra hans oplæring og uddannelse. Hans menneskelighed var ægte, naturlig, helt og holdent udsprunget fra og fostret indenfor rammerne af den intellektuelle status og de sociale og økonomiske forhold som rådede på den tid og i den generation. Mens muligheden for at det guddommelige sind ville overgå det menneskelige intellekt, altid var til stede i denne Gud-menneskes erfaring, ikke desto mindre, så fungerede hans menneskesind alligevel, når det var aktivt på samme måde som et virkelig dødeligt sind på de vilkår som samtidens miljøbetingelser gav for mennesket.
1955 136:8.8 Jesus portrayed to all the worlds of his vast universe the folly of creating artificial situations for the purpose of exhibiting arbitrary authority or of indulging exceptional power for the purpose of enhancing moral values or accelerating spiritual progress. Jesus decided that he would not lend his mission on earth to a repetition of the disappointment of the reign of the Maccabees. He refused to prostitute his divine attributes for the purpose of acquiring unearned popularity or for gaining political prestige. He would not countenance the transmutation of divine and creative energy into national power or international prestige. Jesus of Nazareth refused to compromise with evil, much less to consort with sin. The Master triumphantly put loyalty to his Father’s will above every other earthly and temporal consideration.
2015 136:8.8 Jesus portrætterede for alle verdnerne i sit kæmpemæssige univers hvor tåbelig det er at skabe kunstige situationer med den hensigt at fremvise vilkårlig autoritet eller at gå med på at bruge sine ualmindelige kræfter for at skulle ophøje moralske værdier eller for at accelerere åndelige fremskridt. Jesus besluttede at han ikke ville lade sin missionstid på jorden blive brugt til at gentage skuffelsen fra Makkabæernes regeringstid. Han nægtede at prostituere sine guddommelige egenskaber til det formål at tilegne sig ufortjent popularitet eller oparbejde sig politisk prestige. Han ville ikke godtage at lade guddommelig og kreativ energi omdannes til national magt eller international prestige. Jesus fra Nazaret nægtede at indgå kompromisser med ondskaben, langt mindre ville han harmonisere sig med synden. Sejrrig satte Mesteren loyaliteten til sin Faders vilje højere end alle andre jordiske og verdslige spørgsmål.
9. THE FIFTH DECISION
9. DEN FEMTE BESLUTNING
1955 136:9.1 Having settled such questions of policy as pertained to his individual relations to natural law and spiritual power, he turned his attention to the choice of methods to be employed in the proclamation and establishment of the kingdom of God. John had already begun this work; how might he continue the message? How should he take over John’s mission? How should he organize his followers for effective effort and intelligent co-operation? Jesus was now reaching the final decision which would forbid that he further regard himself as the Jewish Messiah, at least as the Messiah was popularly conceived in that day.
2015 136:9.1 Efter at have løst spørgsmålene om fremgangsmåder som havde at gøre med hvordan han skulle forholde sig til naturlovene og åndelig kraft, vendte han sin opmærksomhed mod hvilke metoder han skulle vælge i forkyndelsen og etableringen af Guds rige. Johannes havde allerede begyndt sit arbejde; hvordan skulle han føre budskabet videre? Hvordan skulle han overtage Johannes mission? Hvordan skulle han organisere sine tilhængere sådan at de fik mest mulig ud af deres anstrengelser og fungerede i et intelligent samarbejde? Jesus nået nu den endelige beslutning som ville forhindre ham fremover at betragte sig selv som den jødiske Messias, i det mindste den Messias som man populært tænkte sig på den tid.
1955 136:9.2 The Jews envisaged a deliverer who would come in miraculous power to cast down Israel’s enemies and establish the Jews as world rulers, free from want and oppression. Jesus knew that this hope would never be realized. He knew that the kingdom of heaven had to do with the overthrow of evil in the hearts of men, and that it was purely a matter of spiritual concern. He thought out the advisability of inaugurating the spiritual kingdom with a brilliant and dazzling display of power—and such a course would have been permissible and wholly within the jurisdiction of Michael—but he fully decided against such a plan. He would not compromise with the revolutionary techniques of Caligastia. He had won the world in potential by submission to the Father’s will, and he proposed to finish his work as he had begun it, and as the Son of Man.
2015 136:9.2 Jøderne så for sig en befrier som ville komme med mirakuløs kraft for at styrte Israels fjender og indsætte jøderne som verdens herskere, fri fra nød, savn og undertrykkelse. Jesus viste, at dette håb aldrig ville blive virkelighed. Han vidste at himlens rige havde at gøre med at omvælte ondskaben i menneskenes hjerter og at dette kun var et åndeligt anliggende. Han udtænkte hvor tilrådelig det ville være at lade det åndelige rige gøre sin indtræden med en strålende og glansfuld opvisning af magt - og sådan en fremgangsmåde ville være tilladelig og være helt indenfor rammerne af Mikaels myndighed - men han besluttede helt og holdent at tage afstand fra en sådan plan. Han ville ikke indgå nogen kompromisser med Caligastias revolutionære teknikker. Han havde potentielt vundet verden ved at underordne sig Faderens vilje, og han gik ind for at afslutte sit arbejde som han havde begyndt det, som Menneskesønnen.
1955 136:9.3 You can hardly imagine what would have happened on Urantia had this God-man, now in potential possession of all power in heaven and on earth, once decided to unfurl the banner of sovereignty, to marshal his wonder-working battalions in militant array! But he would not compromise. He would not serve evil that the worship of God might presumably be derived therefrom. He would abide by the Father’s will. He would proclaim to an onlooking universe, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”
2015 136:9.3 I kan næppe forestille jer hvad der ville være hændt på Urantia hvis dette Gud-menneske, som nu var i potentiel besiddelse af al magt i himmelen og på jorden, først havde bestemt sig for at hejse selvbestemmelsesfanen, at opstille sine mirakeludrettende bataljoner på geled i militær formation! Men han ville ikke indgå noget kompromis. Han ville ikke tjene det onde på grundlag af at man kunne regne med at det ville føre til at Gud kom til at blive tilbedt. Han ville holde sig til Faderens vilje. Han ville erklære til et univers af tilskuere: “Du skal tilbede Herren din Gud og kun ham skal du tjene.”[40]
1955 136:9.4 As the days passed, with ever-increasing clearness Jesus perceived what kind of a truth-revealer he was to become. He discerned that God’s way was not going to be the easy way. He began to realize that the cup of the remainder of his human experience might possibly be bitter, but he decided to drink it.
2015 136:9.4 Efterhånden som dagene gik, blev det stadig tydeligere klart for Jesus hvad slags sandhedsåbenbarer det var han skulle blive. Han erkendte at Guds vej ikke kom til at blive nogen let vej. Han begyndte at indse at hans tilbageværende menneskelige erfaringers kop nok ville være bitter, men han besluttede at drikke den[41].
1955 136:9.5 Even his human mind is saying good-bye to the throne of David. Step by step this human mind follows in the path of the divine. The human mind still asks questions but unfailingly accepts the divine answers as final rulings in this combined life of living as a man in the world while all the time submitting unqualifiedly to the doing of the Father’s eternal and divine will.
2015 136:9.5 Selv hans menneskesind siger nu farvel til Davids trone. Skridt for skridt følger dette menneskesind den guddommeliges vej. Menneskesindet fortsætter med at stille spørgsmål, men godtager ufravigelig de guddommelige svar som endelige afgørelser i dette kombinerede liv hvor han lever som et menneske i verden mens han hele tiden ubetinget underordner sig det at udføre Faderens evige og guddommelige vilje.
1955 136:9.6 Rome was mistress of the Western world. The Son of Man, now in isolation and achieving these momentous decisions, with the hosts of heaven at his command, represented the last chance of the Jews to attain world dominion; but this earthborn Jew, who possessed such tremendous wisdom and power, declined to use his universe endowments either for the aggrandizement of himself or for the enthronement of his people. He saw, as it were, “the kingdoms of this world,” and he possessed the power to take them. The Most Highs of Edentia had resigned all these powers into his hands, but he did not want them. The kingdoms of earth were paltry things to interest the Creator and Ruler of a universe. He had only one objective, the further revelation of God to man, the establishment of the kingdom, the rule of the heavenly Father in the hearts of mankind.
2015 136:9.6 Rom var bestyrerinden i den vestlige verden. Menneskesønnen, nu i isolation og i færd med at nå frem til disse betydningsfulde beslutninger, med himmelens hærskarer under sin kommando, repræsenterede jødernes sidste chance til at opnå magt over verden, men denne jordbunden jøde, som var i besiddelse af en sådan enorm visdom og kraft, afslog at bruge sine universelle begavelser for at gøre sig stor eller for at sætte sit folk på tronen[42]. Han så for sig ”denne verdens kongeriger” og han var mægtig nok til at indtage dem. De Højeste på Edentia havde overgivet hele denne magt i hans hænder, men han ville ikke have den. Jordens kongeriger var for ubetydelige sager til at interessere Skaberen af og Herskeren over et univers. Han havde kun et formål, den videre åbenbaring af Gud til mennesket, etablering af Guds rige og den himmelske Faders herredømme i menneskenes hjerter.
1955 136:9.7 The idea of battle, contention, and slaughter was repugnant to Jesus; he would have none of it. He would appear on earth as the Prince of Peace to reveal a God of love. Before his baptism he had again refused the offer of the Zealots to lead them in rebellion against the Roman oppressors. And now he made his final decision regarding those Scriptures which his mother had taught him, such as: “The Lord has said to me, ‘You are my Son; this day have I begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the heathen for your inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; you shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”
2015 136:9.7 Tanken om våbenkamp, strid og drab var frastødende for Jesus; han ville ikke have noget af den slags. Han ville vise sig på jorden som Fredsprinsen som skulle åbenbare kærlighedens Gud. Før han blev døbt, havde han nok engang afslået tilbuddet fra Zeloterne om at lede dem i oprør mod de romerske undertrykkere. Og nu træf han sin endelige beslutning angående de skriftsteder hans mor havde lært ham, som sagde: “Herren sagde til mig: Du er min søn, jeg har født dig i dag. Spørg mig! Og jeg vil give dig hedningerne til arv og jordens ender til eje. Du skal knuse dem med jernstav; som en pottemagers kar skal du sønderslå dem[43].”
1955 136:9.8 Jesus of Nazareth reached the conclusion that such utterances did not refer to him. At last, and finally, the human mind of the Son of Man made a clean sweep of all these Messianic difficulties and contradictions—Hebrew scriptures, parental training, chazan teaching, Jewish expectations, and human ambitious longings; once and for all he decided upon his course. He would return to Galilee and quietly begin the proclamation of the kingdom and trust his Father (the Personalized Adjuster) to work out the details of procedure day by day.
2015 136:9.8 Jesus fra Nazaret kom til den konklusion at sådanne ytringer ikke refererede til ham. Endelig og uigenkaldelig havde menneskesønnens menneskelige sind bortfejet alle disse Messias relaterede vanskeligheder og modsigelser - hebræiske skriftsteder, forældrenes opdragelse, chazan undervisningen, de jødiske forventninger samt menneskelige ambitiøse længsler; en gang for alle udstak han sin fremgangsmåde. Han ville vende tilbage til Galilæa og stilfærdig begynde at forkynde Guds rige og stole på sin Fader (den Personaliserede Retter) i udarbejdelsen af detaljerne i fremgangsmåden dag for dag.
1955 136:9.9 By these decisions Jesus set a worthy example for every person on every world throughout a vast universe when he refused to apply material tests to prove spiritual problems, when he refused presumptuously to defy natural laws. And he set an inspiring example of universe loyalty and moral nobility when he refused to grasp temporal power as the prelude to spiritual glory.
2015 136:9.9 Med disse beslutninger gjorte Jesus sig til et værdigt eksempel for alle mennesker på alle verdner i et vældigt univers, da han nægtede at anvende materiel bevisførelse overfor åndelige problemer, da han nægtede at sætte sig selv dumdristig over naturens love. Og han statuerede et inspirerende eksempel når det gjaldt loyalitet til universet og moralsk ædelhed, da han nægtede at tilegne sig verdslig magt som en indledning til åndelig storhed.
1955 136:9.10 If the Son of Man had any doubts about his mission and its nature when he went up in the hills after his baptism, he had none when he came back to his fellows following the forty days of isolation and decisions.
2015 136:9.10 Om menneskesønnen havde haft nogen tvivl angående sin mission og dens natur da han begav sig op i bakkerne efter at være blevet døbt, så havde han i hvert fald ingen tvivl da han kom tilbage til sine venner efter de fyrre dage med isolation og fattede beslutninger.
1955 136:9.11 Jesus has formulated a program for the establishment of the Father’s kingdom. He will not cater to the physical gratification of the people. He will not deal out bread to the multitudes as he has so recently seen it being done in Rome. He will not attract attention to himself by wonder-working, even though the Jews are expecting just that sort of a deliverer. Neither will he seek to win acceptance of a spiritual message by a show of political authority or temporal power.
2015 136:9.11 Jesus havde formuleret et program for at etablere Faderens rige. Han agtede ikke at gøre noget for at behage folket i fysisk henseende. Han agtede ikke at uddele brød til folkemængden som han for nylig havde set at man gjorte det i Rom. Han agtede ikke at tiltrække sig opmærksomhed ved at iværksætte undere, selv om det netop var den slags jøderne forventede sig. Og ej heller agtede han at vinde accept for et åndelig budskab ved at fremvise politisk autoritet eller verdslig magt.
1955 136:9.12 In rejecting these methods of enhancing the coming kingdom in the eyes of the expectant Jews, Jesus made sure that these same Jews would certainly and finally reject all of his claims to authority and divinity. Knowing all this, Jesus long sought to prevent his early followers alluding to him as the Messiah.
2015 136:9.12 Ved at afvise disse metoder til at ophøje Guds kommende riges anseelse i jødernes øjne sørgede Jesus for at disse selvsamme jøder sikkert og definitivt ville afvise alle hans påberåbelser af autoritet og guddommelighed. Vel vidende om dette forsøgte Jesus længe, at forhindrer sine tilhængere i at omtale ham som Messias.
1955 136:9.13 Throughout his public ministry he was confronted with the necessity of dealing with three constantly recurring situations: the clamor to be fed, the insistence on miracles, and the final request that he allow his followers to make him king. But Jesus never departed from the decisions which he made during these days of his isolation in the Perean hills.
2015 136:9.13 Op gennem sin offentlige tjenestevirksomhed blev han konfronteret med nødvendigheden af at tackles med tre slags konstant tilbagevendende situationer; at folk råbte efter mad, at de insisterede på, at der måtte ske mirakler, og den sidste begæring, at han blev spurgt om at tillade sine tilhængere at gøre ham til konge. Men Jesus afveg aldrig fra de beslutninger han træf i løbet af disse dage i isolation i Pereas bakker.
10. THE SIXTH DECISION
10. DEN SJETTE BESLUTNING
1955 136:10.1 On the last day of this memorable isolation, before starting down the mountain to join John and his disciples, the Son of Man made his final decision. And this decision he communicated to the Personalized Adjuster in these words, “And in all other matters, as in these now of decision-record, I pledge you I will be subject to the will of my Father.” And when he had thus spoken, he journeyed down the mountain. And his face shone with the glory of spiritual victory and moral achievement.
2015 136:10.1 Den sidste dag i denne mindeværdige isolations periode, før han startede på vej ned for at møde Johannes og sine disciple, fattede Menneskesønnen sin sidste beslutning. Denne beslutning kommunikerede han til sin Personaliserede Retter med disse ord: “Og i alle andre anliggender, så som i disse beslutninger som nu er nedfældet, lover jeg overfor dig, at jeg vil underkaste mig min Faders vilje[44].” Og da han havde sagt dette, begav han sig ned fra bjerget. Og hans ansigt strålede af åndelig sejr og moralsk præstation.