© 1999 Chris Ragetly
© 1999 Association Francophone des Lecteurs du Livre d'Urantia
| Cooperation with the Adjuster | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 9 — Spring 1999 | The Three Great Human Experiences |
(This article has three parts)
What was his character when he was on Urantia as the Son of Man?
“Every one of the apostles loved Jesus, but it remains true that each of the twelve was drawn toward him because of some certain trait of personality which made a special appeal to the individual apostle. Andrew admired Jesus because of his consistent sincerity, his unaffected dignity. When men once knew Jesus, they were possessed with the urge to share him with their friends; they really wanted all the world to know him.” (UB 139:1.11)
No one could doubt the sincerity of Jesus. His life, as always, reflected the words he said. Jesus was, among other things, a leader, but a leader whose authority was such that he had no need to demonstrate it, he commanded without any affectation. His personality was a constant radiance, which his character could only emphasize.
“The one trait which Peter most admired in Jesus was his supernal tenderness. Peter never grew weary of contemplating Jesus’ forbearance. He never forgot the lesson about forgiving the wrongdoer, not only seven times but seventy times and seven. He thought much about these impressions of the Master’s forgiving character during those dark and dismal days immediately following his thoughtless and unintended denial of Jesus in the high priest’s courtyard.” (UB 139:2.5)
Tenderness, long-suffering, his forgiving ways, his indulgence, are all traits of Jesus’ character that Peter had the opportunity to personally experience on several occasions. It is undoubtedly for this reason that his love for Jesus was born in these qualities.
“That characteristic of Jesus which James most admired was the Master’s sympathetic affection. Jesus’ understanding interest in the small and the great, the rich and the poor, made a great appeal to him.” (UB 139:3.6)
Jesus in his affection for men, followed exactly that of his Father, our Father, (whom he had the mission to reveal to men), he is no respecter of persons, his love is given without distinction, there is no favoritism, and yet his love for each of us is perfect, we can be known as “the friend of God”. (UB 1:5.8)
“Those characteristics of Jesus which John most appreciated were the Master’s love and unselfishness; these traits made such an impression on him that his whole subsequent life became dominated by the sentiment of love and brotherly devotion. He talked about love and wrote about love. This “son of thunder” became the “apostle of love”; and at Ephesus, when the aged bishop was no longer able to stand in the pulpit and preach but had to be carried to church in a chair, and when at the close of the service he was asked to say a few words to the believers, for years his only utterance was, “My little children, love one another.”” (UB 139:4.6)
These two traits of Jesus’ character are perhaps the most striking. His love is always selfless. This love is the very nature of his character.
“The one quality about Jesus which Philip so continuously admired was the Master’s unfailing generosity. Never could Philip find anything in Jesus which was small, niggardly, or stingy, and he worshiped this ever-present and unfailing liberality.” (UB 139:5.6)
Jesus knew how to give. He gave all that he could give, and knew not to exceed the receptive capacities of the lucky recipient. But we must not believe that only those who were in his presence benefited from it. Not only has all of Urantia benefited, still benefits and will always benefit, but all the evolutionary and architectural worlds of Nebadon are in the same boat as Urantia (at least as far as the teachings of Jesus are concerned). Certainly, the degrees of understanding are different depending on whether a world has a million years of experience, like Urantia, or 200 billion years like the first evolutionary worlds of Nebadon.
“Nathaniel most revered Jesus for his tolerance. He never grew weary of contemplating the broadmindedness and generous sympathy of the Son of Man.” (UB 139:6.8)
This is a quality that is one of the most difficult to put into practice. Having been able to tolerate a Judas among his apostles is, I believe, one of the most flagrant proofs of the tolerance, broad-mindedness and generous compassion of Jesus. What a lesson for us!
“It was the Master’s forgiving disposition which Matthew most appreciated. He would never cease to recount that faith only was necessary in the business of finding God. He always liked to speak of the kingdom as “this business of finding God.”” (UB 139:7.4)
To forgive you must love. We always come back to love which is the very basis of our existence in the cosmos.
“The other apostles held Jesus in reverence because of some special and outstanding trait of his replete personality, but Thomas revered his Master because of his superbly balanced character. Increasingly Thomas admired and honored one who was so lovingly merciful yet so inflexibly just and fair; so firm but never obstinate; so calm but never indifferent; so helpful and so sympathetic but never meddlesome or dictatorial; so strong but at the same time so gentle; so positive but never rough or rude; so tender but never vacillating; so pure and innocent but at the same time so virile, aggressive, and forceful; so truly courageous but never rash or foolhardy; such a lover of nature but so free from all tendency to revere nature; so humorous and so playful, but so free from levity and frivolity. It was this matchless symmetry of personality that so charmed Thomas. He probably enjoyed the highest intellectual understanding and personality appreciation of Jesus of any of the twelve.” (UB 139:8.7)
We have here a nearly complete description of the character of Jesus, together with an appreciation of his personality. Thomas had indeed an analytical mind of the first order. A balanced character as here described is the perfect archetype, which must surely serve as a model for all Nebadon. How could it be better? And all this in the Son of Man, as a mortal of the kingdom. Perhaps we shall have the hope some day, in the ages to come, of trying to put ourselves on a level with Jesus?
“James Alpheus especially loved Jesus because of the Master’s simplicity. These twins could not comprehend the mind of Jesus, but they did grasp the sympathetic bond between themselves and the heart of their Master. Their minds were not of a high order; they might even reverently be called stupid, but they had a real experience in their spiritual natures. They believed in Jesus; they were sons of God and fellows of the kingdom.” (UB 139:10.6)
For the myriads of simple people who populate Nebadon, James and Judas Alpheus are the perfect example of a hope become reality, knowing that they are useful and noticed by our Brother Father to all, in our universe.
“Judas Alpheus was drawn toward Jesus because of the Master’s unostentatious humility. Such humility linked with such personal dignity made a great appeal to Judas. The fact that Jesus would always enjoin silence regarding his unusual acts made a great impression on this simple child of nature.” (UB 139:10.7)
The natural dignity of Jesus was undoubtedly a factor of respect among his apostles, but combined with his humility, the impression was even stronger.
“The one thing about Jesus which Simon so much admired was the Master’s calmness, his assurance, poise, and inexplicable composure.” (UB 139:11.5)
Calmness, assurance, balance and serenity are obviously character traits that impress; they are the basis on which all the other qualities that can be found in Jesus are based.
“There was no special trait about Jesus which Judas admired above the generally attractive and exquisitely charming personality of the Master. Judas was never able to rise above his Judean prejudices against his Galilean associates; he would even criticize in his mind many things about Jesus. Him whom eleven of the apostles looked upon as the perfect man, as the “one altogether lovely and the chiefest among ten thousand,” this self-satisfied Judean often dared to criticize in his own heart. He really entertained the notion that Jesus was timid and somewhat afraid to assert his own power and authority.” (UB 139:12.4)
Still, Judas admired the Master’s attractive and delicately charming personality, but he did not really love him; it always comes back to love which is the basis of every relationship, if it is to have any hope of lasting in eternal life.
The qualities of Jesus’ character, as perceived by the twelve apostles, are those that many other mortals of their day perceived in a more or less partial way. All Nebadon discovered them in this human revelation of the Father. It is through Jesus that we perceive the personality of the Father. In this seventh and final bestowal, Michael revealed the will of the Father. The Urantia Book demonstrates and affirms this to us time and time again. When we discover Jesus, we discover the Father.
(End of the first part)
Chris Ragetly
| Cooperation with the Adjuster | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 9 — Spring 1999 | The Three Great Human Experiences |