© 2004 Olga López
© 2004 Urantia Association of Spain
The UB devotes its final, fourth, part to a detailed account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In the early papers of this part, what is most striking is the perfection of Michael of Nebadon’s plan for the donation, the degree to which all the circumstances surrounding his coming to this planet were ideal: the personalities of his parents, the town where he was born… so many circumstances contributed to Jesus having a solid cultural and human formation, from his childhood onward. He was a normal child, yes, but with immense potential for learning.
It doesn’t seem like a distinction, or a source of pride, that the rest of Nebadon calls our planet “the world of the cross.” But we were very fortunate that Michael of Nebadon chose our world for his seventh and final bestowal. Other worlds are visited by other types of Paradise sons, such as the Magisterial Sons. We had the great honor of “welcoming” (I put that in quotes because he ultimately died a violent death) a Creator Son of a local universe, who also promised to return to this world. A return that will not be the same as the first, as can be deduced from reading the Book. If I remember correctly, the Book says that Michael of Nebadon will return to be seen with the eyes “of the spirit.”
It shouldn’t surprise us that Jesus’ conception was completely natural. And this may be shocking to those of us raised in the Catholic religion, for which the Immaculate Conception is one of its dogmas. However, I consider it a moral duty for every seeker of Truth (with a capital T) to shed all dogma and preconceived ideas in order to fully assimilate the contents of The Urantia Book.
On the other hand, there’s nothing wrong with Jesus’ conception being completely normal, identical to the natural conception of all human life. In fact, I find it more beautiful that Jesus is the son of Joseph and Mary; for me, it doesn’t make him any less divine—quite the contrary.
Likewise, it’s completely logical and understandable that he had brothers and sisters. Wasn’t having a large family a blessing for a married couple in that era? Why would Joseph and Mary’s home be an exception, with only one son?
It’s understandable that many Catholic believers are shocked by such claims, but I would tell them that they should not believe anything imposed on them, but rather what their reason and their heart lead them to believe.
It is clear that Jesus was aware of his true personality long before his baptism in the Jordan. The paper in which he speaks of the 40 days in the desert, when Jesus made a series of crucial decisions for his gift, is very illuminating. Among them, the decision not to use his power as Creator Son and to live on our planet simply as the Son of Man.
However, Jesus was warned that certain phenomena would occur, unavoidable and independent of time, precisely given his status as the Creator Son, phenomena that were considered miracles. What happened at the wedding at Cana is an example: when Mary appealed to Jesus’ mercy, he was unable to prevent what she desired from coming true. And so, an event considered miraculous occurred.
As we read on, we see that many such events occurred, primarily the healing of the sick. However, these healings always took place with care to ensure that they did not go against the will of the Universal Father. Jesus knew this will at all times, for he had the ability to communicate with his Personalized Adjuster.
A powerful reason for Michael of Nebadon to make his seventh bestowal on Urantia, and not on another planet in the local universe, was that this very world had been most affected by the Lucifer rebellion and had therefore long been in spiritual darkness. In Paper 120, we are told that this bestowal marked the “technical” end of the rebellion on our planet.
From Paper 120, there is a paragraph I would like to highlight, in 120:3.6, which contains one of the pieces of advice that Emanuel gives to Michael before his bestowal on Urantia:
““5. As you may see fit, you are to identify yourself with existing religious and spiritual movements as they may be found on Urantia but in every possible manner seek to avoid the formal establishment of an organized cult, a crystallized religion, or a segregated ethical grouping of mortal beings. Your life and teachings are to become the common heritage of all religions and all peoples.” UB 120:3.6
It’s true that Jesus didn’t found any church or institutionalized group, but from what we already know, his followers made the mistake of creating a religion “in the spirit of” Jesus of Nazareth. It didn’t matter that Jesus left no written documents in his own handwriting, nor did it matter that there were no images that would have immediately led to idolatry of him. Indeed, this—the total absence of his own papers and works—is the argument many use to deny his historical existence.
Does this mean that his gift-giving mission failed? No, of course not. It simply needs to be viewed from a broader perspective. Even though Jesus’ life, today, is not considered by many on this planet as part of the common heritage of all religions, even though the message he brought with his coming to Urantia has been greatly distorted, the apparent failure is actually a necessary step so that, in due time, his true message may reemerge in all its splendor and, at the same time, in all its simplicity: “Do the will of the Father.” So simple, yet so difficult to put into practice.
Paper 121 attempts to paint a portrait of the historical period in which Michael of Nebadon lived his life as a Urantian mortal. It emphasizes that his time represented an ideal historical situation for his message to spread throughout the civilized world: a politically cohesive world thanks to the Roman Empire, culturally interconnected thanks to Hellenistic culture, and in a territory with a monotheistic and highly moral religion like Judaism.
Furthermore, Palestine was a land of passage, a crossroads between East and West, which made it ideal as the setting for Michael of Nebadon’s earthly life. It was also no coincidence that he spent the first stage of his life in Nazareth, in the region of Galilee: Galilee was, at that time, more liberal than Judea regarding the rigidities of Jewish religion and tradition.
This paper serves to understand the foundations upon which Christianity was built, as developed by Paul of Tarsus: the influence of mystery religions, Greek culture, and Jewish morality.
At the end of the paper, the authorship of the four gospels is discussed. These gospels were all written many years after the death of Jesus of Nazareth, given his refusal to leave written records during his life on Urantia.
This refusal is difficult to understand, especially considering the risk of his message being distorted over time by people who never met him personally. However, we must conclude that there must be a good reason for it.
Reading this paper, it is striking to see how far the stage had been set, how the circumstances of Jesus’ childhood suited the donation:
A fact mentioned in this paper, and which is very significant, is the one mentioned in UB 123:4.5: the fall of Jesus down some stairs, which the midwayers in charge of the child Jesus were unable to prevent. It is said concerning this accident:
“Material accidents, commonplace occurrences of a physical nature, are not arbitrarily interfered with by celestial personalities. Under ordinary circumstances only midway creatures can intervene in material conditions to safeguard the persons of men and women of destiny, and even in special situations these beings can so act only in obedience to the specific mandates of their superiors.” UB 123:4.7
Should we understand from this that this accident was not avoided, because it would not have caused irreparable damage to the physical body of Jesus of Nazareth?
Also worth highlighting is the event recounted at the end of the paper: the visit of Nahor, a teacher at the rabbinical academy in Jerusalem, to the home of Joseph and Mary. He proposed taking Jesus with him for his education at the center of Jewish culture, more in line with Hebrew orthodoxy than liberal Galilee. Here, the difference of opinion between Joseph and Mary stands out: Joseph sensed that his son was not destined to be the political Messiah that Mary saw in him, but rather a spiritual teacher. In the face of his parents’ disagreements, the child Jesus was already clear that he should consider this matter “with his Father who is in heaven” and do His will, which was none other than to remain in Nazareth with his family, at least for the time being.
Jesus’s first visit to Jerusalem had a profound impact on the young man’s life. His transition from childhood to adolescence meant confronting rigid, mechanical, and even bloody traditions.
The young Jesus rebelled against the idea of a vengeful God, thirsty for blood and sacrifices to appease his wrath. Even as a child, Jesus saw God as a merciful Father who loved his children infinitely, and he made this clear to his earthly father (125:0.6):
“My father, it cannot be true—the Father in heaven cannot so regard his erring children on earth. The heavenly Father cannot love his children less than you love me. And I well know, no matter what unwise thing I might do, you would never pour out wrath upon me nor vent anger against me. If you, my earthly father, possess such human reflections of the Divine, how much more must the heavenly Father be filled with goodness and overflowing with mercy. I refuse to believe that my Father in heaven loves me less than my father on earth.” UB 125:0.6
Jesus was also saddened to see how the Temple in Jerusalem was the scene of a disrespectful marketplace and an irreverent attitude, completely contrary to the spirit of meditation and devotion that should be found there. He also disagreed with the discrimination against women in the Temple.
All these incomprehensible situations were presented to the temple sages with an attitude devoid of arrogance, simply wanting to know the truth. An attitude that followed him throughout his public life.
Even then, Jesus was clear that he must be about his Father’s business, even though he was not clear about his true identity. He was also aware that his time had not yet come, so until that time came, he “balanced his dedication to duty with his obligations to his family and society” (UB 125:6.13).
This paper narrates a previously untold part of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. From reading it, I would highlight some particularly moving facts. First, there is the fact that Jesus maintained contact with all kinds of people living in the territories of the Roman Empire, people who knew nothing of this exceptional being, but whose encounter was decisive, both in their lives and in the spread of the Gospel. It is paradoxical that these people embraced the Gospel years later, unaware that they had personally encountered Jesus.
Secondly, I would like to highlight one of the many encounters included in this paper, which I consider to have special significance, as it reminded me so much of my personal situation at a certain point in my life: that of the “young man who was afraid.” How many times I felt like that young man, of whom the LU says that “unable to find solace and courage in relationships with his peers, this young man had sought the solitude of the hills; he had grown up with a feeling of helplessness and inferiority.”
How fortunate that young man was, and how comforting were Jesus’ words, which restored his confidence and joy in life! Others of us have had to endure years and years of experience to emerge from personal isolation, from the quagmire we had dug ourselves into.
After reading this paper, it seems inevitable to reach the conclusion that all the religions that existed in Jesus’ time had positive teachings and contained their share of truth regarding the nature of the Universal Father. Why, then, have we persisted in pitting our religious beliefs against each other, allowing intolerance to unleash so many conflicts throughout history, from which we have not only not been spared, but which continually and violently erupt?
If only we could see what unites us, instead of what separates us…!
This paper speaks of the quiet work Jesus did in the capital of the Roman Empire, preparing the ground for those who would later go there to announce the coming of the kingdom (Peter and Paul). As in paper 130, it is paradoxical that many of those who conversed with Jesus at that time did not think he was the same person on whom a new religion had been founded.
There are two topics I would highlight from this paper:
When Jesus speaks of the seventh kind of wealth, “accidental wealth,” it seems clear that what we really call “luck” or “fortune” does not entitle us to selfish enjoyment of this money, but rather we are to use it to help others as well. UB 132:5.21: “Accidental riches are to be regarded in a sense as a trust to be administered for the benefit of one’s own economic or social group.”
This paragraph is one of my favorites from this paper. In it, Jesus tells Ganid about a child who had lost his mother:
“You know, Ganid, most human beings are like the lost child. They spend much of their time crying in fear and suffering in sorrow when, in very truth, they are but a short distance from safety and security, even as this child was only a little way from home. And all those who know the way of truth and enjoy the assurance of knowing God should esteem it a privilege, not a duty, to offer guidance to their fellows in their efforts to find the satisfactions of living. Did we not supremely enjoy this ministry of restoring the child to his mother? So do those who lead men to God experience the supreme satisfaction of human service.” UB 132:6.1
What good is the wisdom we develop if we don’t then share it with others? What good are our spiritual treasures if they remain locked away in the depths of our hearts? It’s not about “casting pearls before swine,” but about helping all those who, even without realizing it, thirst for truth.
Jesus’s determination to leave no physical evidence of his time on this planet is striking. This was presumably to prevent these objects from being venerated, although Christianity has not been free from certain idolatry in the form of relics, images, etc. There were no writings from the apostles during Jesus’ lifetime that narrated the events of his life at the time they occurred. The Gospels were written mostly by people who did not know Jesus, so they are incomplete and even show contradictions, for example in their narration of the events following Jesus’ resurrection.
Regarding Jesus’ distancing himself from his family during his preaching, it is clear that his mother and siblings (except for Ruth, the youngest, who always understood him) were confused about him. They had the idea that he would be the Messiah who would liberate Israel, and his actions repeatedly contradicted this image. Only after Jesus’ death did they finally understand that his mission was of a very different nature.
It seems as if it was written that a wall of misunderstanding would rise between him and his family, as if that were part of Michael of Nebadon’s apprenticeship on Urantia.
Those who were fortunate enough to know Jesus were truly fortunate. Those of us who have lived in this “here and now” are, however, left with his message.