IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 178

YES, HE is Talking to YOU! (continued)

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

We have moved through Luke’s story of the conception of John the Baptist and of Jesus and in previous days we have discussed much of the available information on John both from the historical perspective and the words of the Master and the Apostle John about him. We have also seen the notable praise and high esteem with which Mary the Mother of the Lord is held in Islamic scripture and we have touched upon the idea of the spiritual relationship between Jesus and Muhammad. Although it is difficult for many Christians to see the spirituality involved in the life and the teachings of Muhammad, there is a reality that at some point must be reckoned with. What we as Christians know of the Muslim culture and religion are only the warped and warbled ideas that come through the carnal mind and this is much the same as they know about the varied, and in some parts almost secular, Christian world. When we consider that there an estimated 1.5 billion Islamic people (compared to an estimated 2.1 billion Christians in all their denominations and sects), we should see that there must be something of extreme importance in this belief system and that it is not just what we can see from looking at its radical fringe and listening to antagonists who likely have never even seen a Qur’an.

Before continuing on with the nativity of the Lord Jesus, let us complete our thoughts on John the Baptist with the story of his birth and the pronunciations of his father Zacharias who Rev. Hartdegen referred to as the last prophet¹⁰. Luke’s story continues with Mary visiting her cousin Elisabeth: “And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo , as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house” (Luke 1:39-56).

We noted yesterday and we should see still today; that the working out of the Great Plan of God moves spiritually to ensure that the flesh does not get in the way. We can see here a number of ideas; first is the visit and the rather lengthy stay in which mutual support is very likely a factor. There is one woman, Elisabeth, who is past her childbearing years and another who is a virgin; both of these would raise the curiosity and likely invite harsh words in the community. Second there are the words of Elisabeth. In the timing of things in Luke’s record, it is unlikely that Elisabeth knew of Mary’s condition other than by spiritual means; the angel told Mary that Elisabeth is in her sixth month and Mary stayed three months before the child John is born leaving little room for other communication.. But she does know and the child John knows as well of the Great Spiritual Things that are working out in their presence. Third, in the praise that Mary expresses for the Lord, Mary tells us that it is her Soul that glorifies God and it is her Spirit that rejoices in these things that are being accomplished. Though Mary, like us all, lives in the flesh, she is speaking from her Inner Man, her Soul, of things spiritual and holy and taking no credit in the flesh but acknowledging her own smallness in stature as her own low estate. Finally, we should see here in this text the intended plight of the proud, the mighty and the rich and we should know these words as a harbinger of those values encapsulated in the words of the Master’s teaching.

We come now to the birth of the Baptist: “Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her. And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying , His name is John. And they marvelled all. And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God. And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea. And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying , What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him” (Luke 1:57-66).

Before his conception Zacharias was instructed to call the child by the name John and the reasoning for this is much beyond our ken. The name we call John is from the Greek Ioannes which the lexicon tells us means Jehovah is a gracious giver². The lexicon also tells us that this name is from the Hebrew Yowchanan which in English is translated as Johanan and which they tell us means Jehovah has graced² and this is pretty much equivalent to the Greek. We can trace this further, back to the time of King David, but the meanings of the name stay much the same. Vincent tells us that the meaning of the name from the Greek is God is favourable, or Jehovah showeth grace⁴. While names may be picked by men because of the meanings that they reflect, we do not know that this is true also with the spiritual selections of names like John or even Jesus; there may be quite a different reason for the instruction to use certain names as this flowed from the Spirit realm in the visions of Zacharias and Mary and, as we will see later, Joseph as well. Nevertheless, the child is called John to the surprise of the others present and, as quickly as Zacharias lost his ability to speak, he gained it back. It is in this special and miraculous happening that the True nature of the child is espoused. And now, being again able to speak, “Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,  Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,  And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hateus; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;  The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel” (Luke 1:67-80).

Zacharias, the last prophet, here speaks regarding the Master and then his son John the Baptist. In his speaking Zacharias is announcing the coming of the Messiah and it is likely that this was not at all understood by those listening. When we walk in the Light of the Soul as did this man, we can have all things revealed to us by the revelation that is within this Light; for Luke, this is called being “filled with the Holy Ghost“. So Zacharias knows and speaks of the Coming One, the Christ, as the redemption of His people, “an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David“. The lexicon tells us that the idea here of horn should be seen as a symbol of strength and courage, and used as such in a variety of phrases; a mighty and valiant helper² and this most certainly is the Christ. Zacharias also proclaims this coming as the event of which the prophets of old spoke and the promise of God fulfilled. He goes on then to define the mission of the child John as “To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God” which John himself repeats as his call to “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2).

Now we should see in this all the Great Charge that John has in his life on Earth. In both the words of the angel and in the words of his father we can see John in the true light of paving the way for the teaching of the Coming One and in this light we should see also that those things that the Baptist taught in simplicity would be expanded upon by the Master. Let us look at these things:

• We have first the Angel Gabriel telling Zacharias about the son that he would have: “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:15-17).
• We have next the prophesy of Zacharias saying of his son: “And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. 
• And last we have the words of the Baptist himself; Luke telling us that: “And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. And the people asked him, saying , What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do like wise. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages“.

There is little difference between the prophesy of the Angel Gabriel and  Zacharias nor the word of the Baptist himself in the appointed mission that would be undertaken and accomplished. We know also of his result, seeing from previous posts that the Master has great things to say about the work that John did (In the Words of Jesus parts 172-176). In looking at the sayings of the Baptist above we get a glimpse of the message of Jesus which is to follow and this is what is seen by those who chose to follow John in his day. And what do we see? From the angel we see that John’s teaching will turn a heart of disobedience to one of wisdom and prepare us for the Lord; from his father we see that John’s teaching will instruct us in the way of repentance and the way of salvation, that it will give us Light and guide us in the ways of PEACE. And, from John we should see the working out of these things in his simple words of repentance, of giving to those in need, of being fair and honest in all we do. We should see also to refrain from violence and taking advantage of others and we see the humble thought of being content. Yes his words may be addressed to specific persons but, like the words of the Master, they are meant for all. If we could but look at the words of the Baptist as confirmation of the teaching of the Christ, we could find in his simplicity great help in becoming a DOER of the Word of God.

We continue in the next post with similar ideas on the prophecies regarding the birth of the Master.

Note on the Quote of the Day

Better than a thousand hollow words
Is one word that brings peace.
Better than a thousand hollow verses
Is one verse that brings peace.
Better than a hundred hollow lines
Is one line of the dharma (law), bringing peace.
It is better to conquer yourself 
Than to win a thousand battles.
Then the victory is yours.
It cannot be taken from you,
Not by angels or by demons, Heaven or hell.
Better than a hundred years of worship,
Better than a thousand offerings, 
Better than giving up a thousand worldly ways
In order to win merit,
Better even than tending in the forest
A sacred flame for a hundred years - 
Is one moment's reverence
For the man who has conquered himself.