IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 738

ON LOVE; PART CCCXXVII

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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May the Power of the One True God flow through His group of all true servers;

May the Love of the Christ characterize the lives of all who seek to aid in His work;

May I fulfill my part in the one work through self-forgetfulness, harmlessness and right speech

(Evening Reflection)

“He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.  Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor. He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night. Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:4-35).

As we close out this look at the Apostle Judas, the apostle that in a way can be seen as the most in tune with the Master and His destiny, we thought it good to bullet point some of the features that we have spoken on over the last several days from the other apostle’s perspectives. Before we do however we should understand that ALL that we have discussed is from the Gospel of the Apostle John and while there are words on this in the synoptics as well. none of the gospel writers is so anti-Judas, if we can use these words regarding an apostle of the Lord, as is John and none has so complete a story. We see in John’s words the complete narrative as it includes the Master’s words at the washing of the apostle’s feet as well as his words that we have interpreted as either addressed directly at Judas or at them ALL about Judas; this dynamic is missing in the synoptic versions.  Looking briefly at the others we find:

• The Apostle Matthew’s version includes these words of forethought which are written in retrospect as we KNOW from John’s Gospel and the others as well the even at the time of the Last Supper, none Truly KNOW of Judas’ plan. We read this from before the Supper: “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.  And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him” (Matthew 26:14-16). Later, in the shortened version that Matthew relates we have: “And as they did eat , he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.  And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?  And he answered and said , He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.  Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said , Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said” (Matthew 26:21-25). Here we see that each of the twelve asks if he is to be the one and here again we see that they DO NOT understand what is happening but at the same time that they would perhaps accept if it were them? we CAN NOT tell this. Added here is the comment of the Master that “woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born” and we should be able to understand this from the perspective of the anguish that must be overwhelming to Judas as he prepares to do this thing. Missing here is the direct action of the Master’s words regarding DOING as he informs them ALL by his example of washing the apostle’s feet and His words that they must do the distasteful as well. And, not only for each other as the words on washing are concerned, but also in His next words that “For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you“. Here we should see this idea of example as overriding the idea of washing feet and that by this example they must be prepared to do whatsoever IS required of them. We do believe that this IS addressed directly at Judas.
• The Apostle Mark’s Gospel has a similar rendition of the beginning of Judas plan and again should see this as retrospective and not the thoughts of any at the time. Again, before the Supper and, as with Matthew’s version above, just after the episode with the woman with the alabaster box of ointment, which is a much conflicted story among the gospels in its own right, we read: “And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him” (Mark 14:10-11). Now we CAN NOT  KNOW where they get this idea that Judas did this at this time as we KNOW as well that they had no clue that he was doing such at the time; perhaps his was absent for a time here? Mark goes on to tell us later this part which IS virtually identical to the version from Matthew above: “And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me. And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I? And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish. The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed ! good were it for that man if he had never been born” (Mark 14:18-21). The words that we say above regarding Matthew’s version should suffice to address this as well and here again we see the confusion of the apostles and, without here saying, the selection of Judas who, if we can take this from both Matthew’s and Mark’s reports, had already begun his work by meeting with the chief priests. These renditions take nothing away from the understanding that we have based upon the many words in John’s Gospel and we should note here that neither of these versions show Judas leaving the group as we read in John’s Gospel.
• The Apostle Luke’s view of this IS a bit different but to the same effect. Luke does not tell the story of the woman with the alabaster box but he does say that at about this same time that: “Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh , which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him; for they feared the people. Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them. And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money. And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude” (Luke 22:1-6). Here, Judas’ rather unknown actions are more acutely depicted and as we say above we DO KNOW that the apostles DO NOT KNOW that this is what is happening in real time as they are later without understanding. We also DO NOT KNOW what is the source of the slightly varying reports of what transpires. In Luke’s Gospel the encounter with the twelve regarding who it IS that will deliver Him is shorter and does not mention Judas by name except later as the act is completed and, while Mark and Matthew put this as before the lifting of the cup and the breaking of the bread, Luke puts these things afterward saying: “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.  Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.  But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed! And they began to enquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing” (Luke 22:19-23). Here we see the full participation in the Supper by Judas and this same is seen in John’s Gospel although he does not report on the lifting of the cup and the breaking of the bread. Both Mark and Matthew are silent on this as they never say when Judas leaves the Supper but it is likely safe to assume that he did partake in these things with the Master.

In these three synoptic version of the story of Judas we have much less drama and much less information regarding what actually transpires while in John’s Gospel we have an real flavor for the interaction between the Master and the story, we hear His words and can imagine His actions. We have tied most ALL of John’s words together, from the washing of the feet of the disciples to Jesus’ final command for them to Love one another and we have constructed them into a rather cogent synopsis of the actual events on that day in Jerusalem. There IS NO one to speak for Judas and although there is a book that bears the name of the Gospel of Judas, its origin and authorship have not been corroborated and it seems too self-serving, at least in the way that the text is translated, to be the work of an apostle. Nonetheless there is a book and since this is the work of men, men who were likely predisposed to certain ideas as they worked, we DO NOT include these words in ours but rely only on the biblical accounts that we have as the accepted writings of the apostles. From these and many years of consideration we have developed our understanding of the whole of this premise that we have put forward over the last several days and we should add here that our consideration has only been in the general idea that Judas IS NOT the criminal that he is made out to be by the gospel stories and the traditions of doctrine as in our reading and our understanding, the Master had always sufficient support to prevent Himself from falling prey to the whims of men and the their actions in their limited free-will. His apostles and those around Him ARE NOT  accidental but their very presence is purposeful and ordained in the heavenly realm, if we can say it this way, where the Souls who came as these men and women in Jesus Life come as advanced Souls who ARE able to fulfill their part in this Great Drama. And among these IS Judas and, from our perspective here today we can see him as having one of the more important and the more difficult roles to play; this difficulty is however ONLY from a human perspective.

Saying that our general consideration of the story of Judas was only in the general ideas of our presentation, we should say that the words that we write regarding the conversations and acts of the Master in this time with the apostles came mostly to us for the first time as we revealed them in our essays. Many of these ideas went from never being considered to being clear as day and this is what can and does happen when we turn our focus to a selfless view of the words of the Master as presented in the Gospels. In writing, most ALL intent and focus is upon these things we write and in this focus streams of ideas that we had never entertained flow through to our minds and out through our typing fingers; this IS Revelation and this IS Realization and their source IS the Inner man who KNOWS. And here is the importance of focus; the Inner man ever KNOWS but his thoughts seldom can penetrate the clamor of Life in the world and the attention given to the other things that come about in Life. We believe that we have now completed our work on the story of Judas and we hope that we can ALL see him in a Truer Light now than just the reviled criminal that he has become in doctrine and, from this perspective of being reviled by generations, we should be able to clearly see the Master’s words from above, that: “good were it for that man if he had never been born” which can only reflect upon this experience as the Life of the Soul IS divine and unaffected on His own plane.

We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.

Note on the Quote of the Day

This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.

Wakefulness is the way to life. The fool sleeps As if he were already dead, But the master is awake And he lives forever. He watches. He is clear. How happy he is! For he sees that wakefulness is life. How happy he is, Following the path of the awakened. With great perseverance He meditates, seeking Freedom and happiness. So awake, reflect, watch. Work with care and attention. Live in the way And the light will grow in you. By watching and working The master makes for himself an island Which the flood cannot overwhelm. The fool is careless. But the master guards his watching. It is his most precious treasure. He never gives in to desire. He meditates. And in the strength of his resolve He discovers true happiness. He overcomes desire – And from the tower of his wisdom He looks down with dispassion Upon the sorrowing crowd. From the mountain top He looks down at those Who live close to the ground. Mindful among the mindless, Awake while others dream, Swift as the race horse He outstrips the field. By watching Indra became king of the gods. How wonderful it is to watch. How foolish to sleep. The beggar who guards his mind And fears the waywardness of his thoughts Burns through every bond With the fire of his vigilance. The beggar who guards his mind And fears his own confusion Cannot fall. He has found his way to peace. (Dhammapada; on Wakefulness) ⁵.

This selection from the Dhammapada, the sayings of the Buddha, is from the chapter called Wakefulness. The ideas here are simple for the awakened but for the unawakened they can be very difficult. This is much like the sayings of the Christ and His apostles, especially these last ones that we discussed regarding the mysteries. Wakefulness here can be likened to our idea of focus on the Christ Within, the Soul, and the spiritual Life. Sleep is just the opposite and can be likened to focus upon the things of the world. To be awake is to see things as they Truly are and to be asleep is to see things in the illusion and the glamour of the world. Wakefulness makes a man the master of his own Life while sleep makes one the fool. Wakefulness is striving to enter at the strait gate while being asleep is to float aimlessly on the waves of the ways of the world where one may think that he is getting somewhere only to realize in the end that he has gone nowhere, accomplished nothing.

In the above we should see the idea of master as we understand the disciple in our writing, as the awakened one, the man in whom the Light of the Soul is being expressed through form, the disciple and the high aspirant and we should see the idea of the beggar as the seeker, the one who is seeking awakening.

This idea then of being awake can be seen running through the teachings of the Master and of the Buddha although the Master does not use the specific word but rather alludes to it in His teachings calling the asleep those whose “heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed” and the awakened those who “see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart” and this is a point that Jesus makes several times and it is to those who can realize their awakening that these words ARE directed: “blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear“.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!