Episode:Jesus Faces Death—Farewell Instruction (Part 4)

From Symmetry of Soul


Said Jesus: "I have warned you that a man’s foes may be those of his own household. Although the gospel of the kingdom never fails to bring great peace to the soul of the individual believer, it will not bring peace on earth until man is willing to believe my teaching wholeheartedly and to establish the practice of doing the Father’s will as the chief purpose in living the mortal life."

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Keywords: Urantia, Jesus, Necessity for Leaving, Final Admonitions, Words of Comfort

Summary by Kermit

Commentary after Review

Post review commentary included reflections on wisdom versus truth. We noted the well-nigh universal bias introduced by our schooling with the ubiquity of so-called true and false tests has given us a false sense of truth. These lead us astry: truth as correct understanding or glorified fact instead of a living realization. Noting the role of the Spirit of Truth (SoT) as a bifurcating influence, we discussed how this applies to individuals, families, nations, and the collective. As previously mentioned the sword of truth cuts ever more sharply as these groupings manifest greater spiritual quickening.

Jesus made no attempt to uplift or reform the political, social, and economic conditions of his time and place on earth. What about a Magisterial bestowal? We conjectured that such missions on more normal worlds would find a more advanced and harmonious state of affairs, thus less polarized in these realms and therefore less contentious. Regarding Urantia, we find the revelation engages these domains in ways Jesus never did. The revelation abounds with statements and positions in these political, social, and economic areas guaranteed to intensify the existing polarities.

Reiterating the idea of the SoT being a 4th intuition or insight (in addition to the three cosmic intuitions) we called attention to the reference in [180:5.5] where the midwayers directly refer to the SoT as a superhuman insight.

180:6. The Necessity for Leaving

Keeping the revelation relevant and current, SoS suggested the student take on the question for one’s self about the necessity for leaving this world. Can we view mortal death as a universe technique for progression. After all it is referred to in the revelation as terrestrial escape.

The Master now proceeds to speak plainly and directly to his men concerning the events about to transpire including their deaths and the deaths of their disciples at the hands of those who think they are doing a service to God. He acknowledges the great peace that comes to the individual who accepts the gospel, but makes clear that worldwide peace must await the wholehearted acceptance of this gospel and the established practice of doing the Father’s will as the chief purpose in living the mortal life. Listen to our discussion as to why kindred minds is the necessary condition in establishing the worldwide brotherhood of man rather than kindred spirits.

We explored the specificity of terminology in the midwayer account of the Master’s explanation of the work of the SoT as coming into their hearts and living in their souls, even leading the Thought Adjuster into the truth. And further, how the SoT illuminates the difference between sin and righteousness. Note that sin, being holistic and a product of free-will personal choice is resistant to amelioration by the application of goodness.

As Jesus informs the eleven, and the midwayers inform us that in our ascension his SoT will continue to guide us into all truth beyond the borders of his local universe, as suggested in [117:5.9]. Thus the Master continues to speak in terms we can only imagine as baffling to his men. We attempted to grasp the meaning of his reference to the SoT as showing them of things to come. It was suggested that the SoT confers a context for believers of the truths of eternity, thereby sharpening and extending the faculty of foresight, thus a clearer picture of what lies ahead. Further confusing them and believers for the past two thousand years he plants the seeds of the stumbling block of supreme magic of invoking his name as a material technique for having their prayer requests granted.

Jesus then explains to the apostles the immediate future unfolding of events, telling them that shortly he will leave them, after which they will soon see him again, but not for long. But alas, their long cherished notions regarding Jesus as the Messiah were so deeply rooted that they could not fathom that he would not return to establish an earthly material kingdom in their lifetime.

Paper 181. Final Admonitions and Warnings

While the eleven began to grasp the inevitability of Jesus' departure, they interpreted his declaration to return to them shortly after his death as confirmation of their preconceived beliefs along with their ardent hopes, and conveniently forgetting to register that his return was also for “a little while.”

181:1. Last Words of Comfort

He continues to reiterate his need to depart and the benefits of SoT bestowal. His words of comfort (strength and courage) are not chosen to provide immediate succor to his bewildered boys but designed to find lodgment in their hearts and come to mind later after they have emerged from the shock and sorrow of his murder. We also detect that his instruction here is intended for a wider audience than merely his eleven friends.

We noted that the SoT is indeed poured out on all flesh, but free-will acceptance of this gift is required for it to produce the promised benefits. This is in contrast to the encircuitment in the Holy Spirit (HS) which is a grace gift.

The Master tries to make plain to the eleven that following his departure the manner in which they should follow after him is to earnestly try to live in accordance with the spirit of his teachings and the ideal of his life, and NOT attempt to imitate his life in the flesh. Would that his immediate followers and subsequent generations of believers grasped fully this instruction.

And so the Master concludes his admonitions to the apostles as a group. He reinforces the eleven with foreknowledge of the tribulations to come and reiteration of the coming of the promised helper and his watchcare over his scattered flock.

Notes by Brad

  • This author noted that wisdom and truth are words whose meaning is reversed for for one of his longtime friends.
    • Anyone who took "true-false tests" in school will have a tendency to not have a high definition of truth.
  • In the basic energy notion of adjutant mind, truth and falsehood are the same--they both have a holistic, spherical like quality.


  • This author recalls asking for "the mind of Jesus" to help with a breakup conversation. At age 21 he was overwhelmed and didn't feel he could handle it.
    • Probably magical thinking. But the belief in it worked.
    • It wasn't a spiritual technique, most likely. But it was a psychologic procedure.
    • Though there's still no guarantee such a procedure will result in a positive outcome.
    • Getting to a genuine spiritual technique is incomprehensible to us at this point, most likely. How could it not be, if you don't even really know what spirit refers to?
    • But there is grace, and eventually we might stumble upon that spiritual nature and how to work in it.


  • "The Necessity for Leaving" -- how does this speak to you and your own life?
    • We all die. Why? Why is it necessary for you to someday leave this sphere, too?
    • "I have to die to go to the next level." Sure. But why?
    • Interpreting how this text applies to today makes the text comes alive. Potentially living truth, instead of a series of facts.
  • Jesus tell them "they will kill you." Not softpedaling this. Not even "those who kill me will try to kill you."
    • These are people with genuine spiritual direction (even if it's a false direction). It doesn't lead to peace and utopia.
    • Externally, you'll face serious assault. Sure, it can be peace in the inner life, but it's going to be sobering for them.
  • Jesus doesn't just dictate to them "stay in this room for 48 hours." He gives them reflective material, so their free will can be involved in the coming hours and days.


  • Evil can be overcome with goodness. But not sin.
    • Sin has a holistic, spherical quality to it.
    • Goodness is more part-wise.
    • And parts always are subservient to the whole.


  • The Spirit of Truth follows us beyond the confines of our local universe in the ascending career!
    • "the many abodes in my Father's universe."
    • The SoT gets reflected upward.
    • [117:5] refers to this, too. Including the physics of how this is possible (it'll need a different conductor)
    • This is so because Michael now (after becoming a Master Son) has a measure of Supreme Deity embodied within him.


  • The Spirit of Truth will
    • "even show you things to come."
      • How ?? This is about foresight, not magic or Star Wars' force (There's no such thing as magic)
      • It allows us observe less like an animal (in the moment), and more in a holistic fashion.
  • Lead a Thought Adjuster into the truth.
    • How?? Isn't a Thought Adjuster innately divine?
      • Well, yes, but often inexperienced with little or no relation to the whole.
      • The Thought Adjuster might be denominated the spirit of goodness (it is not the Spirit of Truth).


  • Paragraph 5 was very confusing to the apostles. But they were processing it analytically in Paragraph 6, in little pieces.
    • So Paragraph 7 he tries to help them see things more synthetically, more reflectively.
    • Remember: analytic is natural... animal. Synthetic is unnatural... human.


  • This all remains in the freewill hands of the apostles.
    • That's because it's not coercion.
    • It's because it's living, not dead. It's potential truth.
    • It must be this way. You want free will, don't you?
    • The animal in you might feel scared by this, or at least timid. But mercy and grace abound.


  • Students of the 5th ER are not immune from preconceived opinions, settled ideas, and long-standing prejudices similar to those the apostles are exhibiting.
    • Plenty of readers think Jesus is going to return soon and fix our world's material problems.
    • Plenty of readers still worry about their salvation.
    • Plenty of readers are taking prayer as a material technique, not a spiritual technique.
    • Fear. And indolence.
    • And wishful thinking to solidify it all.
    • This is all natural. Intense longings for material stuff. Can you strive to be unnatural?
    • This author reminds himself a favorite passage: "There is no material reward for righteous living, but there is profound satisfaction—consciousness of achievement—and this transcends any conceivable material reward." [39:4.13]


  • Observe how patient Jesus is here with his apostles.
    • He knows he's dying and yet his teaching doesn't take on any air of desperation. This author imagines his would in a comparable setting.
    • This is Jesus the man we are seeing. We could strive to be as patient as he is here.


  • Instead of "What would Jesus do," try "what is the ideal behind what Jesus did?"
    • Doing the Father's will.
    • But it's one of the old wineskins: imitation. Imitate a great man, and acquire his divinity.
      • As if this is about molecules!


  • Jesus is very much in a teacher mode here.
    • Repeating the same key points, even as it all begins to "dawn" on the apostles.
    • He's giving them material to work with after he is crucified and after they collect themselves.
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