© 2005 The Brotherhood of Man Library
| Secrets of Jesus Spirituality | Volume 12 - No. 2 — Index | What the Urantia Revelation says about the Spirit of Truth |
The Urantia revelation rejects the concept that Jesus’ crucifixion was a sacrificial offering made to God in full payment for the sins of mankind–a dogma subscribed to by all major Christian sects.
However, if Jesus’ crucifixion was not such a sacrificial offering, why then was he crucified?
Jesus’ teachings were completely peaceful, threatening no one. He was no rabble rouser, he deplored violence, refused to defend himself, regularly used statements such as if someone demands your coat, give him your cloak as well, or if he forces you to carry his bag for one mile, carry it an extra mile.
Right up to the time of his arrest, both he and his apostles could simply have fled–all the way to Galilee, and beyond if necessary. He allowed his capture and instructed his apostles not to resist.
The accounts of his arrest both in the New Testament and the Urantia revelation show that his opposition group had no legal case against him. They had to fabricate something.
The accounts of events prior to the arrest also agree that Jesus asked the Father if there was any way the crucifixion could be avoided. (UB 182:3.1; Matt. 26:39; Mark 14:36) Apparently there was not.
On the night before the crucifixion, Jesus addressed the apostles: “If I go not away, the new teacher cannot come into your hearts. I must be divested of this mortal body and be restored to my place on high before I can send this spirit teacher to live in your souls and lead your spirits into the truth. And when my spirit comes to indwell you, it will illuminate the difference between sin and righteousness and will enable you to judge wisely in your hearts concerning them.” (UB 180:6.2)
“When I have been delivered from this investment of mortal nature, I will be able to return as a spirit indweller of each of you and of all other believers in this gospel of the kingdom. In this way the Son of Man will become a spiritual incarnation in the souls of all true believers.” (UB 181:1.1)
The chief purpose of the Spirit of Truth–to foster awareness of its chief purpose: “The chief purpose in living is in doing the Father’s will.” (UB 180:6.1)
“If you would follow after me when I leave you, put forth your earnest efforts to live in accordance with the spirit of my teachings and with the ideal of my life–the doing of my Father’s will.” (UB 181:1.3)
Jesus gives peace to his fellow doers of the will of God but not on the order of the joys and satisfactions of this material world. …
The peace which Michael (Jesus) gives his children on earth is that very peace which filled his own soul when he himself lived the mortal life in the flesh and on this very world. The peace of Jesus is the joy and satisfaction of a God-knowing individual who has achieved the triumph of learning fully how to do the will of God while living the mortal life in the flesh. The peace of Jesus’ mind was founded on an absolute human faith in the actuality of the divine Father’s wise and sympathetic overcare. (UB 181:1.7-8)
“The Master knew all that was to befall him, and he was unafraid. After he had bestowed this peace upon each of his followers, he could consistently say, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (UB 181:1.9)
“The peace of Jesus is, then, the peace and assurance of a son who fully believes that his career for time and eternity is safely and wholly in the care and keeping of an all-wise, all-loving, and all-powerful spirit Father. And this is, indeed, a peace which passes the understanding of mortal mind, but which can be enjoyed to the full by the believing human heart.” (UB 181:1.10)
To John:
Jesus: “You will learn to love your brethren more when you first learn to love their Father in heaven more, and after you have become truly more interested in their welfare in time and in eternity.” (UB 181:2.5)
To James: “When the new teacher comes, let him teach you the poise of compassion and that sympathetic tolerance which is born of sublime confidence in me and of perfect submission to the Father’s will. Dedicate your life to the demonstration of that combined human affection and divine dignity of the God-knowing and Son-believing disciple. And all who thus live will reveal the gospel even in the manner of their death.” (UB 181:2.15)
To Philip, the materialist: “And then, when you are blessed with spiritual vision, go forth to your work, dedicating your life to the cause of leading mankind to search for God and to seek eternal realities with the eye of spiritual faith and not with the eyes of the material mind. Remember, Philip, you have a great mission on earth, for the world is filled with those who look at life just as you have tended to. You have a great work to do, and when it is finished in faith, you shall come to me in my kingdom, and I will take great pleasure in showing you that which eye has not seen, ear heard, nor the mortal mind conceived. In the meantime, become as a little child in the kingdom of the spirit and permit me, as the spirit of the new teacher, to lead you forward in the spiritual kingdom. And in this way will I be able to do much for you which I was not able to accomplish when I sojourned with you as a mortal of the realm. And always remember, Philip, he who has seen me has seen the Father.” (UB 181:2.20)
To Nathaniel, the intellectual: “You should learn that the expression of even a good thought must be modulated in accordance with the intellectual status and spiritual development of the hearer. Sincerity is most serviceable in the work of the kingdom when it is wedded to discretion… If you would learn to work with your brethren, you might accomplish more permanent things, but if you find yourself going off in quest of those who think as you do, in that event dedicate your life to proving that the God-knowing disciple can become a kingdom builder even when alone in the world and wholly isolated from his fellow believers. I know you will be faithful to the end, and I will some day welcome you to the enlarged service of my kingdom on high.” (UB 181:2.21-22)
“. . .David Zebedee and John Mark took Jesus to one side and revealed that they had kept Judas under observation for several days, and that they knew he intended to betray him into the hands of his enemies. Jesus listened to them but only said: ”My friends, nothing can happen to the Son of Man unless the Father in heaven so wills. Let not your hearts be troubled; all things will work together for the glory of God and the salvation of men**.**" (UB 182:2.1)
At Gethsemane: “Falling down on the ground, Jesus again prayed: ‘”Father, I know it is possible to avoid this cup–all things are possible with you–but I have come to do your will, and while this is a bitter cup, I would drink it if it is your will.’“ And when he had thus prayed, a mighty angel came down by his side and, speaking to him, touched him and strengthened him.” (UB 182:3.2)
“And now, O Father, if this cup may not pass, then would I drink it. Not my will, but yours, be done.” (UB 182:3.4)
“Just now the apostles were about to witness new evidences of his humanity. Just before the greatest of all the revelations of his divinity, his resurrection, must now come the greatest proofs of his mortal nature–his humiliation and crucifixion.” (UB 182:3.5)
“Each time Jesus prayed in the garden, his humanity laid a firmer faith-hold upon his divinity; his human will more completely became one with the divine will of his Father. Among other words spoken to him by the mighty angel was the message that the Father desired his Son to finish his earth bestowal by passing through the creature experience of death just as all mortal creatures must experience material dissolution in passing from the existence of time into the progression of eternity.” (UB 182:3.6)
“While no mortal can presume to understand the thoughts and feelings of the incarnate Son of God at such a time as this, we know that he endured great anguish and suffered untold sorrow, for the perspiration rolled off his face in great drops. He was at last convinced that the Father intended to allow natural events to take their course; he was fully determined to employ none of his sovereign power as the supreme head of a universe to save himself.” (UB 182:3.7)
Why would the Father allow his Son to be crucified? At this point in time Jesus and his apostles could have fled to the security of Philip’s kingdom east of the Jordan or even into Phonecia.
“The experience of parting with the apostles was a great strain on the human heart of Jesus; this sorrow of love bore down on him and made it more difficult to face such a death as he well knew awaited him. He realized how weak and how ignorant his apostles were, and he dreaded to leave them. He well knew that the time of his departure had come, but his human heart longed to find out whether there might not possibly be some legitimate avenue of escape from this terrible plight of suffering and sorrow. And when it had thus sought escape, and failed, it was willing to drink the cup.” (UB 182:3.9)
“The divine mind of Michael (Jesus) knew he had done his best for the twelve apostles; but the human heart of Jesus wished that more might have been done for them before they should be left alone in the world. Jesus’ human heart was being crushed; he truly loved his brethren. He was isolated from his family in the flesh; one of his chosen associates was betraying him. His father Joseph’s people had rejected him and thereby sealed their doom as a people with a special mission on earth. His soul was tortured by baffled love and rejected mercy. It was just one of those awful human moments when everything seems to bear down with crushing cruelty and terrible agony.” (UB 182:3.9)
“Jesus’ humanity was not insensible to this situation of private loneliness, public shame, and the appearance of the failure of his cause. All these sentiments bore down on him with indescribable heaviness.” (UB 182:3.10)
“Before Judas and the soldiers arrived, the Master had fully regained his customary poise; the spirit had triumphed over the flesh; faith had asserted itself over all human tendencies to fear or entertain doubt. The supreme test of the full realization of the human nature had been met and acceptably passed. Once more the Son of Man was prepared to face his enemies with equanimity and in the full assurance of his invincibility as a mortal man unreservedly dedicated to the doing of his Father’s will.” (UB 182:3.11)
The Urantia revelation rejects the concept that Jesus died for our sins, making this comment: “The people of Urantia continue to suffer from the influence of primitive concepts of God. . . .The barbarous idea of appeasing an angry God, of propitiating an offended Lord, of winning the favor of Deity through sacrifices and penance and even by the shedding of blood, represents a religion wholly puerile and primitive, a philosophy unworthy of an enlightened age of science and truth. Such beliefs are utterly repulsive to the celestial beings and the divine rulers who serve and reign in the universes. It is an affront to God to believe, hold, or teach that innocent blood must be shed in order to win his favor or to divert the fictitious divine wrath.” (UB 4:5.3) (UB 4:5.4)
For most Christians, having been brought up from early childhood to accept without question that Jesus’ crucifixion was to purchase forgiveness for our sins, this statement comes as somewhat of a shock. But, for most, it takes very little thought to realize the foolish contradiction inherent in the doctrine that God is both perfect love, compassion, and forgiveness yet demands that his only Son should be crucified, a sacrificial offering of his blood, in order to purchase God’s forgiveness for our sins.
So why did Jesus need to die–especially that a horrible death by crucifixion was the most likely eventuality.
Jesus’ prayer to the Father at Gethsemane specifically requested release. (UB 182:3.2) But the release did not come. What seems to have come was the reminder that Jesus’ bestowal conditions required that his mortal life be terminated only by natural means. (UB 120:4.5)
Other than by old age or sickness, only an accidental death seems to be a possible way for a natural exit from mortality by Jesus.
Jesus deliberately undertook the visit to Jerusalem on the Passover occasion that brought about the crucifixion. And he seems to have deliberately antagonized the Sanhedrin to the point that forced them to act against him. But there appears to have been no real need to do so. He could quite easily have avoided drawing attention to himself. In fact there appears to be no obvious reason why he should have gone to Jerusalem at all.
Perhaps the answer is on UB 180:6.2
“If I go not away, the new teacher cannot come into your hearts. I must be divested of this mortal body and be restored to my place on high before I can send this spirit teacher to live in your souls and lead your spirits into the truth. And when my spirit comes to indwell you, he will illuminate the difference between sin and righteousness and will enable you to judge wisely in your hearts concerning them.” (UB 180:6.2)
This statement from Jesus appears to imply that his Spirit of Truth would be a more effective teacher of righteousness than Jesus himself. And it is not difficult to see why this could be so. After three years of personal teaching by Jesus, his fundamental message of love, goodness, tolerance, and service would have become overly familiar.
Much of this message was conveyed by parables, all of which the apostles must have heard on multitudinous occasions. Perhaps Jesus realized there was little more that he could personally do to promote this message. And so long as he remained with the apostolic band, he would be the central figure that the crowds sought after–and not because of the message he brought but largely because of their expectation of miracles.
Jesus’ bestowal mission required him to “live a life wholeheartedly motivated to do the will of the Paradise Father, thus to reveal God, your Father, in the flesh and especially to the creatures of the flesh.” He was to “exhibit in his one short life in the flesh, the transcendent possibilities attainable by a God-knowing human being…and to function so as to show the achievement of God seeking man and finding him, and the phenomenon of man seeking God and finding him.” (UB 120:2.8)
Jesus may have judged that he had already fulfilled his mission on Urantia–which would be better served if his bestowal was terminated now and the preservation and dissemination of its message was entrusted to his Spirit of Truth and the apostles.
Recalling the statement, “God has decreed the sovereignty of the material and mortal will and that decree is absolute,” (UB 5:6.8) it appears that both Jesus and the Father were taking an enormous gamble by having Michael’s bestowal terminate at this juncture. Jesus realization of this is illustrated by, "The experience of parting with the apostles was a great strain on the human heart of Jesus; this sorrow of love bore down on him and made it more difficult to face such a death as he well knew awaited him. He realized how weak and how ignorant his apostles were, and he dreaded to leave them. (UB 182:3.9)
Their behavior during the period of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion illustrates the validity of Jesus’ doubting. Peter denied him three times during Jesus’ trial. Of the eleven remaining apostles only John was present both at the trial and crucifixion. The others all went into hiding and remained hidden even after Jesus’ resurrection appearances. And their courage remained in limbo until the events of Pentecost–after they had received Jesus’ Spirit of Truth.
That Jesus expected his presence as the Spirit of Truth would be more effective for spreading his gospel message than his presence in the flesh was confirmed by:
“In less than a month after the bestowal of the Spirit of Truth, the apostles made more individual spiritual progress than during their almost four years of personal and loving association with the Master.”
And further confirmed by his farewell admonition to the apostle Philip: "Permit me as the spirit of the new teacher to lead you forward. In this way will I be able to do much for you which I was not able to accomplish when I sojourned with you as a mortal of the realm. (UB 181:2.20)
Subsequent events also validated Jesus’ trust in these men. Furthermore they validated his confidence in the Spirit of Truth, operating in the minds of believers, and functioning to promote the dominance of truth, beauty, goodness, and love in the affairs of men.
Although not the religion that we would expect Jesus to have founded, early Christianity retained and/or conserved much of Jesus’ basic teachings. They are still there, present in the gospels, awaiting their rediscovery.
Christianity’s major initial failing was that it was virtually a closed Jewish movement. Christianity gained universality only when Paul came along and forced the Christian leadership to open up to the gentiles. However, instead of its primary message of love and service, Paul compromised so that its attraction for the majority of converts hinged upon the concept that Jesus died for our sins. This concept was what catalyzed its wildfire-like spread throughout the Roman Empire.
Christianity remains so encumbered, even today, still awaiting its release. However, guilt and the fear of divine retribution from the God of the Old Testament is so deeply embedded in the human psyche that release from its shackles will likely be a difficult and painful process.
However, the remedy is in our own hands. When enough of us enlist the aid of Jesus’ Spirit of Truth, amazing things will come to pass.
| Secrets of Jesus Spirituality | Volume 12 - No. 2 — Index | What the Urantia Revelation says about the Spirit of Truth |