"It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'" (Luke 4:8)

Jesus says this to "Satan" as he is being tempted in the desert during his forty-day fast.

Why did Jesus fast for 40 days?

Jesus' fasting and sacrifice in the desert were meant to devote himself to the Supreme Being. It also served to prepare Jesus to begin teaching. Jesus' sacrifice symbolized the sacrifice of Moses and his followers as they traveled through the desert guided by God.

We also find that Jesus' sacrifice and exchange with the allegorical "Satan" provided a platform for understanding the focus of Jesus' teachings.

What does Jesus' response mean?

Jesus is quoting Moses. In reality, Jesus' statement provides clarification for a mistranslation that occurs throughout the Old Testament.

Jesus begins his statement with "It is written." This indicates that he was quoting scripture. In fact, we find that Jesus was quoting from Deuteronomy 6:13, a statement by Moses:

"Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only..." (Deuteronomy 6:13)

Wait a second. Even though Biblical scholars have accepted that Jesus was quoting Deut. 6:13, the verse is not precisely the same, as Jesus said:

"'Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'"

So while Deut. 6:13 supposedly says "Fear the Lord," Jesus says "Worship the Lord." Why the difference and does it even make a difference?

Jesus' teachings revolved around coming to love God and serve God.

How can you love someone you fear?

The translation to 'fear' is a mistranslation.

A number of verses from the Old Testament utilize the word "fear" in their reference to the Supreme Being. But ironically, most of those same teachers that were teaching love for God were also quoted as promoting the "fear" of God.

And even Moses, who supposedly used the word "fear," also promotes love for God, as he said:

"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Deut. 6:5)

Indeed, some have promoted the idea that while the Old Testament teachers taught of an angry God who demanded that people fear Him, while Jesus introduced a more loving, forgiving God.

Such an interpretation, however, is contradicted by Moses' own teachings (for example, in Deut. 6:5) as well as the teachings of Joshua, David, Abraham, Jacob and many other Prophets, who loved God. For example, Joshua said:

"So be very careful to love the LORD your God." (Joshua 23:11)

And David's teachings:

"Let those who love the LORD hate evil, for He guards the lives of His faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked." (Psalm 97:10)

We also find many other pledges about God from all the teachers of the Old Testament concerning loving God, including those who also supposedly used the word "fear."

Rather, the word "fear" with respect to God in the Old Testament is a mistranslation.

"Fear" is being translated from the Hebrew root word, ירא (yare'). While one possible meaning of this word could be "fear"; according to the lexicon, ירא (yare') can also mean "to stand in awe of, be awed," or "to cause astonishment and awe, be held in awe," or "to inspire reverence..."

In other words, the word "fear" is an inappropriate translation. Why? Because it is out of context with the rest of the message being communicated by those teachers of the Old Testament. The more appropriate translation would be, as Jesus clarifies, is "worship." This could be alternatively used with "awe" or "revere."

One can certainly love someone they also revere or hold in awe. This is completely consistent. "Reverence" is also synonymous with admiration, adoration, esteem, loyalty, praise, and worship according to the thesaurus. And this is consistent with Jesus' translation, as he uses the word "worship," coming from the Greek word προσκυνέω (proskyneō), which means to make homage, worship, make obeisance and other supplications according to the lexicon.

Why was this translated to fear?

The early translations of the Biblical scriptures were transliterated from Greek and Hebrew to Latin. These early scriptures were not intended for general public consumption. Because most people could not read. Furthermore, the Roman government and its Roman Catholic Church banned the possession and use of any scripture in private homes.

This meant that the Latin Bible developed by the Romans was intended for use by Catholic priests, who would instill fear among the people. The general population was supposed to get their knowledge directly from the priests, who would read the Latin Bible.

We can see such an agenda as we find that the Book of Revelations - while hardly the last manuscript written - was put last in the Bible in an attempt to extend a warning to the general public about straying from the Church. Its last verses warn that "adding" or "taking away" "from this book of prophesy" will bring about plagues and take away a share in the "tree of life."

The Book of Revelations was put last in the Bible to imply that there are no other scriptures outside of the Holy Bible. This is being taught even though the Revelation verses are obviously referring to the Book of Revelation, and Jesus himself read and even quoted from scripture manuscripts not contained in the Bible.

This doesn't mean that the original manuscripts of the Bible contain falsehoods. It simply means that those who assembled and translated the ancient texts into the Bible had an agenda, and their agenda produced a document that has misled many into a false impression of the Supreme Being.

The bottom line is that the translations of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew to Latin were accomplished with a political purpose. Those who translated the books of the Old Testament had a lack of understanding of the Supreme Being. They themselves had not established a relationship of love with the Supreme Being. Their translations merely mirrored this lack of relationship with God. And this goes even for those "scholars" with tuition-paid degrees and appointed (elected) clergy positions within institutions that continue to promote an agenda of political position and authority.

Jesus, on the other hand, does no such thing. By his statement, Jesus knows perfectly well not only what Moses said, but also indicates that he indeed practiced Moses' instruction: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'

Notice also that Jesus does not say "serve God and serve me" in his statement. He doesn't say "Worship the Lord your God as well as me, Jesus." He clearly says "only," as in "solely."

If Jesus was God, why didn't he simply say, "Worship me and serve me only"? Was he trying to trick people? Was he creating some sort of mystery?

Rather, Jesus clearly states "the Lord your God." "God" means Supreme Being. "God" means Controller of everything. The Controller over everything does not need to become a man and suffer on the cross for our sins.

Does God have to follow rules of sacrifice?

Certainly not. God can remove sins with a simple thought. He does not need to engage in any kind of sacrifice to suffer for our sins. This teaching contradicts the superiority of the Supreme Being. It contradicts the existence of an all-powerful Supreme Being. Such a teaching is thus atheistic.

This doesn't mean that we cannot worship Jesus. But it means that we must worship Jesus solely in relation to God. Jesus is God's representative: God's loving servant. But Jesus clearly is not God. He is obviously referring to someone else as God. This is evidenced by Jesus' statement:

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 7:21)

Again, note the word "only" in this statement. Jesus is clearly teaching - just as did Moses, Joshua, David, Samuel, and John the Baptist - that we should use our lives to worship and serve the Supreme Being, and eventually, through those activities, come to know Him more and more, and learn to love Him with all of our being. This is confirmed by Moses' primary teaching, and by Jesus' most important instruction:

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'" (Luke 10:27 and Deut 6:5)

"Physician, heal yourself! ... no prophet is accepted in his hometown. ..." (Luke 4:23-27)

"Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.' I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed - only Naaman the Syrian." (Luke 4:23-27)

Here Jesus is speaking in the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. Jesus had stood up and read from a scroll from Isaiah (as discussed previously) and told them their hearing his teachings "fulfilled" that scripture.

As we discussed, Jesus was indicating not that Isaiah necessarily predicted Jesus' coming, but that Jesus' teaching on behalf of God - being God's representative - carried out Isaiah's teachings that professed the passing on of God's message.

Now Jesus is responding to some in the congregation who doubted Jesus' position as God's representative, as indicated:

All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked. (Luke 4:22)

This statement "Isn't this Joseph's son?" clarifies the mood of many in the congregation, who saw Jesus not as God's representative, but rather as just another boy in the town - a boy they had known as Joseph's son.

This offense against God's representative is serious, and Jesus was responding to that. To see God's representative as his physical body - and thinking oneself as an equal or peer - is to offend the Supreme Being.

This is because the Supreme Being has authorized and chosen that person - not arbitrarily - as a result of an intimate loving relationship that exists between the Supreme Being and His loving servant. This intimate relationship creates a bond between them, and as God's loving servant wants to please God, God authorizes that person to speak on His behalf.

This process is completely unrelated to any type of ecclesiastical appointment. God's representatives are not chosen by political committees, be they deacons, cardinals, bishops or otherwise. God chooses His own representative who is completely committed to Him.

What is being 'chosen' mean?

But it is not as if someone can simply proclaim they have been chosen by the Supreme Being. A person must also become the student of God's representative, and be guided by that person. This is the process, because God's representative introduces the serious follower to the Supreme Being, and their lost loving relationship with Him.

This is the ancient practice as authorized by the Supreme Being. We see it in the life of Jesus, as Jesus became a student of John the Baptist, evidenced by John's baptism of Jesus. Then he took on his own students, and taught them specifically, then asked them to teach it to others.

We also see it in the life of Elisha, the ancient prophet Jesus is speaking of in the verse above. Elisha was one of Elijah's devoted students. We can see this devotion in the following text from the Old Testament:

When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" "Yes, I know," Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it." Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho." And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho. The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" "Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of it." Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So the two of them walked on. (2 Kings 2:1-7)

We can see from this exchange the dedication Elisha had for his teacher Elijah, and the intimate relationship that existed between the student and his teacher. This was also seen with Jesus and his disciples. This is the relationship between God's representative and the serious student, who sees his teacher as his master, and himself as his teacher's servant.

This service and position of the student nurture the student's relationship with the Supreme Being. Because the teacher is dedicated to God, by becoming dedicated to such a teacher, the student is introduced into the loving relationship the teacher has with God.

Is Jesus our peer?

To see such an exalted teacher as Jesus - God's representative - as an equal or peer just because he wears a temporary physical body is a mistake. It is an error in judgment and harmful to one's spiritual life.

This applies to those historians who analyze Jesus' life and teachings as though he was an ordinary person. Just because he occupied a physical body does not mean that he was not God's representative. It is an offense against God to see His representative as a peer with typical human emotions.

This is what is transpiring in Nazareth with some of those in the congregation. And Jesus is clarifying this reality in his statement.

The phrase "physician heal thyself" was obviously part of the scriptures that Jesus and the Jews of that era utilized. Otherwise, he would not have quoted the statement as a proverb. We do not find that statement in the current Bible - indicating it was omitted at some point.

Indeed, there are many - some estimate in the several hundred and maybe even more - scriptural texts that were eliminated from inclusion into the Canon and then Bible as directed by early Church fathers and their eventual masters, the Roman emperors. As evidenced by the findings of many scriptures both written before and after the birth of Christ, there were many texts that were utilized and seen as Holy Scripture by many that are not included in the current Bible.

What Jesus discusses with regard to Elisha also indicates an important consideration as we reference Jesus' life and teachings.

Jesus discusses that while Elijah could have helped so many other widows at a time of calamity, he only helped a particular widow, the widow in Zarephath.

He also mentioned that while Elisha was a great healer, and many were sick with skin diseases (the word translated to "leprosy" (λεπρός (lepros) can mean any number of skin diseases) the only person that Elisha healed for skin disease was Naaman the Syrian.

What is Jesus trying to say here?

He is illustrating that God's representative is not some sort of doctor who comes to treat everyone's physical body and heal every disease. Otherwise, Jesus would have healed every physical body. Why didn't Jesus just heal every body then?

We know this because while Jesus could have healed virtually anyone of any disease, he chose specific people in specific circumstances - those who also had faith in God. As evidenced by Jesus' life, God's representative is directed by the Supreme Being to help particular people - those who are ready for spiritual healing.

Why is this? Is God or Jesus not fair?

God is the Supreme Being. If He wanted to, He could heal every body on the planet with a single thought. He controls everything.

Besides, the idea of healing the body as a physician is being used here symbolically. Jesus is not talking about healing people's bodies. He is talking about saving people. He is talking about delivering people from a life of bondage in the physical world to the resumption of their loving relationships with the Supreme Being.

Jesus is indicating that in order to heal others spiritually, a person must be healed first. "Physician, heal yourself" indicates that a person cannot be a teacher without being a student first. A teacher must have accomplished a loving relationship with the Supreme Being before being able to introduce others to such a loving relationship.

Why didn't Jesus heal everyone?

What about the question asked above: Why doesn't the Supreme Being, and Jesus - His representative - heal everyone's physical body? This is the same as asking a similar question: Why, if God is kind, is there so much suffering in the world?

The suffering in the world is caused by us, not God. The Supreme Being simply set up the physical world as a place of consequence so that we can understand the effect our actions have on others. It is our actions - and our choices - that have created for each of us, our particular situation.

The first action is that we decided we did not want to be in our natural position of God's loving caregiver any longer. We wanted to enjoy being the master instead of the servant.

So the Supreme Being simply set up a virtual domain where we could pretend to be someone we are not for a while, to experience being separated from God, so we could try to enjoy ourselves in a self-centered fashion. This is the physical world. Here we are given temporary physical bodies and given temporary identities so that we can exercise our desires.

The only problem is that once we are here, whatever we do comes back to us. If we hurt someone, we end up being hurt in the same way later. If we help someone, we are helped later. The physical world is like a mirror - it shows us precisely who we are.

This means our suffering was created by us either in this life or in a previous lifetime. Our previous actions - together with our consciousness - determines the type of physical body we are born into. It determines our family and many other things. For example, a person who forced slaves in their previous life will likely take on the body born into a slave family in the next lifetime, to experience precisely what was committed to others in the previous life as a slave-master.

We must remember, however, that these identities are virtual. They are not us. The pain that we feel and the suffering we feel is taking place for a virtual, temporary body. It is like a computer game icon in a computer game. They might be blown up or shot, but the computer operator is not blown up or shot. And when the computer operator turns off the computer, the game icon is deleted. What is left is only the learning of the computer operator.

It is the same in the physical world. What is left from the suffering and death of these temporary physical bodies after our body dies is only the learning experiences we take away from them. This creates conscious evolution - and the possibility of our choosing to return to our natural position.

Thus there is little advantage for the Supreme Being or His representative to remove the learning experiences of those in the physical world who are undergoing the consequences of their previous activities. This is part of our learning experience.

Can we ever graduate from the physical world?

However, should a person come to a point where they are finished with their self-centered desires to be separate from God: They are finished with their chase to be master and enjoy the world - and they sincerely ask God to take them back - this is a different story.

Such a person receives the direct attention of the Supreme Being. The Supreme Being sends His representative to such a person to reconnect that person to their relationship with Him. God sends His loving servants specifically to those who are ready to return home. For these, assuming they remain sincere, God's representative re-introduces them to the Supreme Being and guides them back to their original consciousness as one of God's loving caregivers.

God's representative is serving God. Where ever God wants him to go - he goes. And God utilizes such a loving servant to re-introduce us to God because the loving servant can show us how it is done. He is already healed: He can thus heal us.

This healing is not about the physical body. Every physical body will become diseased and die. It is all about love. Love for God and love for God's children is the lifeblood of our spiritual selves. And it only comes to those who are ready to give up their self-centered dreams. It is only then that the real physician can heal us with God's message:

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'" (Luke 10:27 and Deut 6:5)

"Have you never read what David did ... ?" (Luke 6:3-5)

"Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions. The Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath." (Luke 6:3-5)

Here Jesus is responding to a question some Pharisees asked him:

"Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" (Luke 6:2)

The background is that Jesus and his disciples were traveling, and they were walking through some grainfields. His disciples, being hungry, 'began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels.' (Luke 6:1)

Why does Jesus refer to David here?

Jesus was defending his disciples eating grains on the Sabbath - contrary to a devotional rite maintained by the Jewish temple priests and their followers.

In response to the Pharisees' question, Jesus compares this act to when David and his "companions" were eating food by custom permitted only for the temple priests to eat.

The point Jesus is making is that David was serving the Supreme Being directly, and this put him in a position equivalent - even superior - to a priest. And David's "companions" were actually his assistants - his students. This is confirmed by the Greek words μετά (meta) and αὐτός (autos).

While the translators of this verse have assumed μετά (meta) means "with," the lexicon clarifies that the word relates to someone or something that follows "after" or "behind." We can know from this that David's "companions" were actually his followers.

Just as Jesus' disciples were following and assisting Jesus in his mission to serve God, David also had students who were assisting him in his efforts to serve the Supreme Being.

Thus, David was permitted, in the eyes of God, to eat of the consecrated food - e.g, food that had been offered at the Altar of the Supreme Being.

Jesus compares this act to the act of his own disciples eating grain on the Sabbath because Jesus understands that his practical and direct service to the Supreme Being stood above the rituals designed to help people remember the Supreme Being.

What is the purpose of religious rites?

Remembering the Supreme Being is - or should be - the purpose of any ritualistic ceremony or sacrifice. The purpose of the rites and regulations that have descended through the teachings of God's devoted servants is devotion to God. These activities are ultimately meant to remind us of the Supreme Being - and remind us that we are ultimately God's subjects.

Practical service by His devoted servants already accomplished this objective. The actions of God's loving servants to please Him stand above the rituals because they are directly pleasing to the Supreme Being. Devoted lovers of God do not need to be reminded of their Beloved, the Supreme Being, while pushing forward on their mission to serve Him and please Him. They have already achieved the goal of any ceremonial or sacrificial rite.

Jesus' disciples were traveling by foot from town to town in Judea to assist Jesus' preaching. They were performing practical service to support Jesus' efforts to please the Supreme Being. Because they were traveling by foot, they needed to eat. They were traveling on the Sabbath, so they could not fast as others who could take the day off and not work during the Sabbath.

It didn't matter whether it was the Sabbath or not to Jesus. For Jesus, every day was dedicated to the Supreme Being. While others did other types of work on the non-Sabbath days, Jesus continued his efforts to please the Supreme Being seven days a week. He was the perfect loving servant of the Supreme Being.

What does 'the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath' mean?

This point of perfect loving servant is precisely why Jesus described himself - along with David - as the "Son of man."

Notice that Jesus does not say "I am the Lord of the Sabbath." Or even, "I, the Son of man, am the Lord of the Sabbath." Why not? 

Jesus is clearly referring to the "Son of man" in the third person. Why is that?

Is this the way people talk? Would a person come up to us and talk of themselves in the third person? Would they (assuming they were wearing a blue shirt) say: "Hello. The man wearing the blue shirt is named Sam and he is speaking with you" ? No. He would say, "Hello. I am Sam and I am pleased to speak with you."

Rather, Jesus was referring to the position of "Son of man" rather than personally to himself. Jesus had just compared his disciples eating the grain to David and David's students eating consecrated bread. So the "Son of man" was inclusive of David.

In other words, Jesus was referring to the role of "Son of man." Otherwise, it makes no sense that Jesus would suddenly take a third-person stance in his statement. When someone speaks of themselves exclusively, they say "me" or "I" - they speak in the first person.

When they mean "you" or "he" or "she" they speak in the second person. But when they speak of a person taking on a particular role, they speak in the third person, as Jesus was speaking.

Let's use an example. Let's say that an Army officer is mixing it up in the Officer's Club at the Army base. Suddenly he sees a private walking and milling around in the Officer's Club. What will he say? He will say something like: "This club is only for officers." He won't say: "This club is only for me" because that would not be true. There are other officers besides himself, so the officer discusses the role or position of officer in the third person.

This is confirmed by the fact that David also identified himself as a "Son of man:"

"O Lord, what is man that you care for him, the Son of man that you think of him?" (Psalm 144:3)

Notice that David also uses this term in the third person, once again because it is a role or position. And we know that David was speaking of himself here (despite incorrect interpretations by professional Christian teachers to the contrary), because of the context of the verse, and the previous verse:

"He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me." (Psalm 144:2)

In fact, we know that others in the Old Testament were also referred to as "Son of man." Consider Job's self-description, once again in the third person:

"who (referring to himself) is but a maggot - a Son of man, who is only a worm!" (Job 25:6)

God also repeatedly addressed Ezekial as "Son of man." Here is one of the many verses:

"He [God] said: "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against Me to this very day." (Ezekial 2:3)

Furthermore, we must clarify that the English phrase translated by professional translators - "Son of man" - is a misinterpretation.

What could "Son of man" possibly mean, and why would this be a distinctive title anyway? There is nothing distinctive about being a son of a man. Every man is a son of a man. Therefore, we must invalidate this translation from both the Greek and Hebrew phrases.

The Hebrew word "Son of man" is taken from two Hebrew words: בן (ben) and אדם ('adam) (or אנוש ('enowsh) - both refer to humanity). The word בן (ben) can certainly mean "son" when used in the context of a physical family. But the word can also, according to the Hebrew lexicon, refer to someone who is a follower or servant of a particular order, person or philosophy. According to the lexicon, בן (ben) can be used to describe "a member of a guild, order, class."

For example, בן (ben) was used repeatedly throughout the Old Testament to describe the Israelites - בן (ben) ישראל Yisra'el - literally translated to "sons of Israel." And this was not describing people who were necessarily descendants of Israel or born in the tribe. This is describing those who followed the philosophy of the prophet Israel.

בן (ben) was also used to describe "sons of God" multiple times, such as:

When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. (Genesis 6:2)

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:4)

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. (Job 1:6)

Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. (Job 2:1)

When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:7)

We find the same phrase used in the New Testament:

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." (Matt. 6:9)

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (John 1:12)

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14)

For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. (Romans 8:19)

These are not describing "sons" as the physical offspring, but rather, followers of God. Devotees of God. Depending upon the context, this could be translated to either "followers of God" or "devotees of God" or "servants of God" - but also (as in the case of Jesus in the singular) - "representative of God."

While certainly "son" was also used to describe physical sons in other texts of the Bible, there is a blurring of the word in other places as it was also used to describe followers or devotees. This interchangeability continues even to this day, as many institutions call their priest "father." Is the priest really their physical "father?" Certainly not. The correct address is "teacher."

As a result of this periodic mistranslation and confusion, the texts of the Bible refer to some as physical sons, when in fact, they were followers. Here is an example:

'The priests, the sons of Levi, shall step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the LORD and to decide all cases of dispute and assault.' (Deuteronomy 21:5)

Were all those priests - spoken of generally in this verse - the physical offspring of Levi? Certainly not. Rather, they were followers of Levi. They were in the order of Levi.

Similar periodic misinterpretations were also made in the New Testament, but this time from the Greek language (this is not a coincidence, as the Greek texts mirrored the devotional language of the Hebrew texts.)

In the New Testament the word "son" in "Son of man" and "Son of God" is coming from the Greek word υἱός (huios). Just as בן (ben) can also refer to a follower or member of an order, the Greek lexicon details that the word is "used to describe one who depends on another or is his follower. 1) a pupil" Thus just as we find many uses of בן (ben) in the Old Testament that describe followers, devotees or subjects, we also find the same uses in the New Testament. Consider for example, a statement by Jesus in Matthew:

"But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matt. 8:12)

In this statement, "subjects" is being translated from the Greek word υἱός (huios) - the same word used in "son of man" and "son of God." We know that Jesus was not talking about physical "sons" of a kingdom in Matt. 8:12. He was speaking of those who follow a particular philosophy - the philosophy of materialism - the kingdom of the physical world.

In the very same way, the use of the word υἱός (huios) in the Greek phrase υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου does not refer to a physical son of a man. This would be a preposterous and meaningless title.

Rather, the words υἱός (huios) and בן (ben) in these contexts refer to service. Jesus, David, Ezekial and Job are being referred to as servants - dedicated servants. But servants of what? In υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, the Greek word τοῦ refers to "of" and the Greek word ἀνθρώπου refers to either "man" "mankind" or "humanity" - just as אדם ('adam) or אנוש ('enowsh) do.

Thus, the proper translation of υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου is not "Son of man."

It is "Servant of humanity."

Was Jesus serving humanity?

This is the appropriate title for one who assumes the role of serving all of humanity. They are trying to deliver God's message to us. They are performing a service to us, and to the Supreme Being. They are delivering a message from the Supreme Being. This is illustrated in God's instruction to Ezekiel quoted above (Ezekial 2:3).

This might be compared to a college professor who might say he is providing a service to his students, or an elected leader who says he is performing government service - to the people.

In this case, however, the service that Jesus, David, Job, and Ezekial - along with all of the prophets who have represented God - comes not from a salary or public post, but from a place of love. They are loving the Supreme Being, and thus loving all humanity - God's children. They are thus trying to bring us back to the spiritual realm, where we can be happy.

This was Jesus' service to us, and thus he is the ultimate Servant of humanity.

And this is why Jesus made a point of saying that those who assume this role of Servant of humanity on behalf of the Supreme Being, are also the "Lord of the Sabbath." They are not "Lord" as in the Supreme Being. But they are "Lord" in the context that they are above the rituals that have been ordained for us ordinary folks who need to be reminded of the Supreme Being.

Besides, Jesus was not interested in being "Lord." His interest was being God's servant and the servant of humanity. This is why he also said:

"If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." (Mark 9:35)

"Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you ..." (Luke 6:22)

"Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the son of man." (Luke 6:22)

Jesus is continuing this direct discussion with his disciples. How do we know Jesus was directing this discussion at his disciples? This discussion begins with the following description:

Looking at his disciples, he said: (Luke 6:20)

We can also see that Jesus is speaking directly to his disciples here because Jesus is speaking of people insulting them, excluding them and rejecting them because they are following Jesus. This by necessity separates those who may be hearing Jesus for the first time or otherwise hearing him without commitment.

Why did so many hate Jesus and his followers?

We can also understand by Jesus' statement that he was a controversial teacher and was hated by many. Even though he was able to speak in synagogues and temple courtyards, the ecclesiastical organized Jewish teachers and their followers were deeply critical of Jesus, his teachings, and his followers.

Why is this? Why would people reject such an exalted teacher as Jesus? Why, even when they were in the presence of the greatest pure lover of the Supreme Being, would they not realize he was speaking the truth? What kind of person would reject Jesus and his followers?

To understand the answer to this question we must first understand who we are and why we are here. To simply assume that all those people living in Judea - many of whom were direct descendants of David and even Moses - were just blind is too simplistic.

Why does someone reject God's messenger?

There is a clear reason why someone would be so insulting and offensive to God's messenger and his followers:

We are in this physical world because at some point each of us rejected the Supreme Being and wanted to be away from Him. We might be compared to a son who turns 18 and rebels against his parents and runs away from home.

One of the more critical issues in this rejection, however, is that we rejected our Best Friend not just because we felt rebellious. We rejected Him because we became envious of His position as God. We saw Him receiving all the attention of others, and enjoying all the perks of being the Supreme Being. We wanted those things. We became jealous.

This state of jealousy is symbolized in the story of Adam and Eve, as the serpent described the "forbidden fruit":

"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:1-5)

Since Adam and Eve ate the fruit, we know they wanted to "be like God." This desire to "be like God" when we are obviously not God is quite clearly envy - jealousy.

This consciousness - enviousness - creates some very heavy negativity against the person we are envious of. Consider what can happen in a relationship between two childhood friends. One of them gets some recognition for something, and the other gets jealous. This jealousy spawns all sorts of negativity between the former friends, and their relationship spirals downward into negativity.

Once this envious consciousness came upon us, we immediately lost our position in the spiritual realm. We could no longer 'fit in' with the consciousness of the spiritual realm - which is based upon loving, selfless relationships between the Supreme Being and His children. Once we became jealous, we were forced to leave the spiritual realm.

This is symbolized by the Supreme Being's tossing Adam out of the Garden of Eden:

So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:23)

Where did the Supreme Being banish us to? The physical world. We were forced to take on physical bodies:

The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21)

What are 'garments of skin'?

Consider this carefully: What are "garments of skin"? Many ecclesiastical interpreters have assumed these are animal skins. As though the Supreme Being went out and killed a couple of animals in the Garden of Eden and skinned them, and put them on Adam and Eve. That is a preposterous thought.

But we must also include the understanding that God was banishing them virtually at the same time He was giving them "garments of skin."

As discussed with these verses, the word "garments" is translated from the Hebrew word כתנת (kĕthoneth), used to describe a tunic or under-garment - worn underneath the clothes. And "of skin" is translated from the Hebrew word עור (`owr) which means, foremost, human skin; the skin of the gums; and more appropriately, the physical body; according to the Hebrew Lexicon. While it can also mean the skin of animals, this usage is not typical.

Thus we can clearly see that the statement "garments of skin" originally indicated the physical body is a covering over the spiritual person - symbolized by Adam and Eve.

And since it is clear that the story of Eden is a symbolic story describing how each of us fell from the spiritual realm to the physical world, we can understand that being covered by these physical bodies landed us squarely in the physical realm.

Once in the physical realm, our spiritual selves and our connection with the Supreme Being becomes completely obscured. This is arranged by the illusory nature of the physical dimension. Why?

Because this is what we wanted and the Supreme Being graciously arranged it for us. We wanted to "be like God." We wanted to enjoy separately from God. We wanted to have others praise us. We wanted to have others serve us. We wanted to be famous, have lots of things, and in general, be king of all we survey.

And this physical world gives us these illusions. Here we get to pretend that we are the most important person and that everything revolves around us. We can develop our own little niche and think we are better than everyone else. We can use our bodies to procreate offspring and pretend that we are creators and our children belong to us. We can get really skilled at something - like a sport or acting - and receive the acclaim of others. Or we can think up some new-fangled approach to something and become a "guru" to others.

One way or another, this physical world allows us to play out our fantasies of pretending we are the center of the universe - "god-like."

But we are in reality each minuscule beings in comparison with God. We can never really become God. We can only pretend - in our own minds - that we are the center of the universe.

And the physical world is arranged to give us this illusion. It might be compared to a video game. We can sit down at a computer and start to play a video game, taking on the video game character (an "icon"). The game and its imagery give us the illusion of its imagery and allow our computer icon to do all sorts of awesome tricks. Maybe it's beating a bunch of people up or shooting down a whole bunch of people or just driving really fast without an accident.

This illusion all starts with taking on the "icon," and beginning to identify with it. The person playing the video game must assume that icon identity in the game. Once he assumes the identity and begins to identify with it, it is this self-identification that stimulates the illusion. Of course, video game software isn't as good as the illusory reality the Supreme Being uses to create the illusions of the physical world: a person playing a video game will still know he isn't really the icon.

The Supreme Being set up the physical world to give us complete immersion. We completely forget our real selves as we identify with these temporary physical bodies ("icons"). This allows us to completely forget the Supreme Being and our eternal relationship with Him as His servitor.

Why would we want to forget God?

Because we don't want to serve. We want to be served. This desire required us to leave the Supreme Being because the Supreme Being wants to exchange relationships of loving service. And because real love requires freedom, we are each given the choice of whether we want to love Him or not.

Now as for those who were rejecting Jesus and his followers - as well as most of us here in the present day who reject those who are teaching the truth - we can now understand why a person wants to reject God's messenger who is bringing us the truth:

Because we don't want to hear the truth. The truth will shatter our illusion that we are the center of the universe. The truth that Jesus was teaching was that in order to be happy we have to learn to love and serve the Supreme Being with all our heart and soul. This is the polar opposite of what most of us in the physical world wants:

We want others to love us with all their heart and soul.

Do you see the conflict here? This is also why so many ecclesiastical institutions and their teachers have rejected or ignored the real teachings of Jesus. Because each was seeking their own positions of glory within their institution - to be "guru" and have many followers, and be liked and appreciated by others. They don't want to be anyone's servant. They don't want to do someone else's will. They want others to do their will. And their followers use their teachings to seek their own followers.

Here is what Jesus says about these so-called followers and teachers:

“Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 7:21)

Notice that the delineation is set with the word "only" here: "only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” This means that only those who see themselves as God's servants will enter the spiritual realm (kingdom of heaven).

Jesus followed this up by saying:

“Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?" Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" (Matt. 7:22-23)

This is pretty heavy: "Evildoers!" Why are those who prophesy in Jesus' name and drive out demons and perform miracles in Jesus' name "evildoers"? Because, as stated clearly in the statement before, they do not see themselves as servants of God - doing "the will of my Father who is in heaven." They are doing their own will. They are wanting to maintain their self-imagined position as the center of the universe, and gain the appreciation and the praise of others. Their purpose is not to please God. Their purpose is to please themselves.

And this is why those people outside of Jesus' students were rejecting Jesus' followers. Because they could not accept what Jesus really taught. The Pharisees and Jewish teachers could not accept Jesus' teachings. Jesus' teachings tore at the very fabric of their self-centered lives, and their governance of their followers. They were thus envious of Jesus and his success, and they poisoned others against Jesus.

They were thinking they were so smart - feeling themselves the center of the universe - that they could make judgment upon God's beloved servant Jesus, who claimed only to be God's servant and the servant of humanity.

Yes, the correct translation of υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου - incorrectly translated here to "son of man" - is actually better translated to "servant of humanity". This is because the word υἱὸς only refers to being a physical son "in a restricted sense" according to the lexicon. It is also "used to describe one who depends on another or is his follower. 1) a pupil" according to the lexicon. And because ἀνθρώπου can mean "man," "mankind," or "humanity", this leaves the most appropriate translation, "servant of humanity."

This is consistent with Jesus' teachings, as he said:

"Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the son of man (servant of humanity) did not come to be served, but to serve..." (Matt. 20:25-28)

And how did Jesus serve them? With his teachings. And what was his most important teaching?

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)

"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46)

What does 'Lord' mean here?

This statement by Jesus clarifies his perspective regarding those who say they might follow Jesus but do not follow his teachings.

By asking this rhetorical question - "Why do you call me "Lord, Lord and not do what I say?" - Jesus is focusing upon those who act as if they are Jesus' followers, but do not follow Jesus' teachings.

The phrase, "Lord, Lord" is being translated from the repetition of the Greek word κύριος (kyrios), which in this context, according to the lexicon, means "a title of honor expressive of respect and reverence, with which servants greet their master."

In other words, κύριος, κύριος could also be translated to "Master, Master" just as well as "Lord, Lord."

The focal point in this definition is the phrase, "with which servants greet their master." This is critical because Jesus is speaking here to his disciples who had gathered around him. This is confirmed by the description of Jesus as he began this lecture: Looking at his disciples, he said:... (Luke 6:20)

What is a disciple?

By ancient definition, a disciple is a student who also presents themselves as a servant of a spiritual teacher. Their spiritual teacher is to be considered their master - which is why spiritual teachers are often referred to by their students as their "spiritual master."

So Jesus is asking those who were presenting themselves as Jesus' disciples by greeting Jesus as their spiritual master - "Lord, Lord" or "Master, Master" - but, as Jesus states, were not following his instructions.

The phrase, "do not do what I say?" is very clear. The second "do" here is being translated from the Greek word ποιέω (poieō), which means "to make;" "to produce, construct, form, fashion, etc.;" and "to make a thing out of something," according to the lexicon.

This means that Jesus is referring to his students physically following Jesus' instructions. ποιέω (poieō) means, in this context, to perform service - following Jesus' instructions.

What kind of service is this? What were Jesus' instructions? What was he teaching?

We can start with his most important instruction:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)

From this foundational instruction we can consider Jesus' clear instruction contained in these two (along with other) statements:

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 7:21)

and

"For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." (Matt. 12:50)

We can thus see from the clear statements above that first and foremost, Jesus is instructing that his followers love the Supreme Being with all their heart, soul and mind - their entire being. Then he is clearly instructing that they do God's will.

But what is God's will?

Clearly, we know from Jesus' teachings that God indeed has a will. This means that God is a person - as only a person can have a will and purpose.

And the fact that Jesus is teaching his students to do God's will means by default that God's will must be different than their own will.

This means that God is not only a person who has a will, but is a Person who has a will different from our will.

How is that? Those of us living within the physical world are here because we decided we didn't want to do God's will. At some point in our past - each of us fell from the spiritual realm (our home) and took on these physical bodies in the physical world.

The spiritual realm is that place where God's will is done, and the citizens of the spiritual realm are loving God and their lives are centered around pleasing God (doing His will).

The reason we got kicked out of the spiritual realm is because we decided we didn't want to love the Supreme Being - our Best Friend - any longer. We wanted to chase our own dreams instead. We wanted to be independent of Him. We wanted to do our own will. We wanted to do what we wanted, not what He wanted.

So He cut us loose. He set up a virtual universe where we could pretend to be someone that we are not for a while. Because we really cannot leave the Supreme Being's presence, He set up a virtual world where we could be in the illusion that He doesn't exist - or if He does exist, He exists to give me whatever I want - whatever I pray for.

This forgetting the existence of the Supreme Being is granted by the Supreme Being because He loves us, and He wants us to choose to love Him. He never forces Himself upon any of us.

This is the perfection of love and kindness, which is present in the Supreme Being. No one could ever love us as much as God does.

So Jesus is trying to teach his disciples to turn their lives around. His teachings are about changing their consciousness. He is trying to teach them to give their lives to the Supreme Being and do God's will, rather than remain focused upon doing their own will.

What is this called?

It is called selfishness or self-centeredness. When we are focused on our own happiness, we are being self-centered. This is misery. When we live in this consciousness, we are empty and unfulfilled.

A person who loves another is focused upon the happiness of the one they love. And when that person is God, the person who is loving God is completely fulfilled and completely happy.

Jesus is trying to bring this happiness to his disciples. He loves them and wants them to be happy.

Jesus' teachings and his life also illustrate what God's will is. Throughout the life of Jesus as portrayed in the Books of the New Testament we find he gave so many instructions about how to live one's life in a way that is pleasing to the Supreme Being. He teaches them to not put their faith in the things of this world, as they are like building a house on the seashore at low tide. He teaches them to focus upon God - "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness...."

Jesus also teaches them to glorify the Supreme Being - to praise God. We find this as Jesus tells his students how to pray:

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.' (Matt. 6:6-10)

Of course, his prayer continues, but these verses provide clarity on Jesus' instructions. Jesus is instructing his students not to make a show of their prayers - or their relationship with God. He is telling them that they need to establish a private loving relationship with God.

Did Jesus teach his followers to praise God?

Jesus' prayer - 'The Lord's Prayer' - also instructs his students to praise God's Holy Name. That is the meaning of "hallowed by Your Name." To "hallow" someone's name means to praise and revere that Name. The word "hallow" is being translated from the Greek word ἁγιάζω (hagiazō), which means to venerate or consecrate. This is also related to the fact that Jesus, and John the Baptist before him, as well as David, utilized and were described with the accolade: "Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord."

These indicate that part of Jesus' teachings was to praise God's Holy Names. God's Name can be praised in song, with prayer, or with incantation. Simply repeating any of God's Holy Names brings our consciousness in focus towards God. By praising God's Names - even by simply saying "Praise be to God" (ברך אלהים (barak 'elohiym)) as David often did within his Psalms - focuses our consciousness on our Best Friend and Companion, the Supreme Being.

The next statement by Jesus in his suggested prayer once again confirms Jesus' instructions about the importance of using one's life and performing service to please God:

"Your will be done"

What is God's will? Jesus' life and teachings clarified God's will. This is because Jesus is God's representative.

As we've indicated above, Jesus asked us to focus our lives upon God. And he showed us with his life how to do it: Through prayer, activities, words and the choices we make for our lives.

This is God's will: God wants us to renew our loving relationship with Him. God wants us back. He wants us to come home because He knows this and only this will make each of us truly happy.

"I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John ..." (Luke 7:28)

"I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." (Luke 7:28)

Was Jesus devoted to John the Baptist?

Jesus' statement indicates clearly that Jesus was devoted to his teacher John the Baptist.

"I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John" clearly indicates Jesus' devotion and esteem towards John. Yet many institutional teachers completely ignore this humble attribute by Jesus as they pronounce that Jesus could not be including himself - that he could not possibly be saying that John was greater than himself.

Yet this is precisely what Jesus is saying. Was Jesus' physical body not also born "of women"? Was he not the son of Mary? And did Mary not give birth to Jesus? This is clearly documented in the Gospels.

This most certainly means that Jesus is paying homage to and honoring his spiritual teacher as being the greatest teacher, and greater than himself.

Was John Jesus' teacher?

How do we know this? Consider the rite and meaning of baptism. Originally, baptism was a ceremony symbolizing a follower's acceptance of a particular teacher. This is clearly documented in the case of Jesus:

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. (Matt. 3:13)

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. (Mark 1:9)

John also baptized many others:

The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. (Mark 1:5)

And Jesus was among them:

When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. (Luke 3:21)

In fact, many of those who were in the crowd listening to Jesus' teachings were John's disciples, as we find these two verses directly following Jesus statement above in Luke 7:28:

(All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus' words, acknowledged that God's way was right, because they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.) (Luke 7:28)

So we can see clearly that at least in that region, John had many disciples, and Jesus was among them. And John would not have been baptizing if he didn't understand himself to be a bonafide teacher and representative of God. We can see this within this statement:

Even tax collectors came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?" (Luke 3:12)

This indicates that along with their baptism they were accepting John as their spiritual teacher. They were ready to take instruction from him.

We can also see the esteemed position required to baptize others during those times with this statement:

Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" (John 1:25)

This indicates that John was admitting himself to be a spiritual teacher and God's representative by exercising the rite of baptism and thereby accepting students.

What is baptism?

We can also see that baptism is none other than the rite of anointing as described in the Old Testament:

"Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue throughout their generations." (Exodus 40:15)

We can see this rite as Moses anointed Aaron:

He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him to consecrate him. (Lev. 8:12)

And we can see this rite as Samuel anointed David:

So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David. (1 Samuel 16:13)

These verses and others clearly indicate that anointing and baptizing are essentially the same in their symbolic meaning. They are both ceremonial rites that symbolize the student accepting the spiritual teacher as God's representative, and the spiritual teacher accepting the student as disciple.

And while some institutions like to say that becoming a priest requires a more official ceremony following baptism, this is merely pomp. It is not the reality. The reality is that anointing and baptizing are ceremonies that symbolize a person's accepting a spiritual teacher. Any student of a bonafide teacher can become a teacher. This was illustrated by Jesus himself as he told all his disciples to go out and teach others (see below).

And we see that anointing alone was a general rite required to become a priest (the word "father" in the verse below has been assumed from אב ('ab) but the Hebrew indicates this means mentor or teacher) with this instruction by God to Moses:

The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement.  (Lev. 16:32)

As time went on, we see from the Old Testament that the Jewish temple institutions began to see anointing as the rite of passage to become a king. But this is completely negated by the early descriptions of anointing and David's many statements regarding how special those who have been anointed are to the Supreme Being:

"The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD's anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the LORD." (1 Samuel 24:6)

and

But David said to Abishai, "Don't destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the LORD's anointed and be guiltless?" (1 Samuel 26:9)

Furthermore, the rite of baptism/anointing also represents the student committing their life to the teachings of the teacher - and this means (if the student is sincere) committing their life to the Supreme Being. This is why David was so respectful of Saul's having been anointed.

These verses and many others indicate that the anointing was specifically related to becoming a student of a spiritual teacher. Certainly, the word was also used to select or "anoint" a king. But this anointing was related to the fact that the king was expected to carry out the wishes of the Supreme Being. They weren't being anointed as a ruler. Kings were anointed into doing the will of God.

Many institutional teachers not only discount John's baptism: They also do not realize that baptism is a form of anointing, just as many prophets were anointed.

These teachers assume these verses indicate that John's baptisms were not potent. Why would John baptize so many people including Jesus then? Why did John even teach?

Many discount John's baptisms because he spoke of himself and his baptism humbly:

"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." (Matt. 3:11)

"I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." (Mark 1:8)

"I baptize you with water. But One who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." (Luke 3:16)

"I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands One you do not know." (John 1:26)

Most misinterpret the phrase "But One who is more powerful than I will come" to mean someone who enters the scene later - as though it were a movie set or something. But this would contradict John's own statement saying that "but among you stands One you do not know" if we are talking about Jesus' coming arrival on the scene. This is confirmed by this clear statement four verses later:

When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. (Luke 3:21)

We can also know that John was not speaking of Jesus because John did not know Jesus' position. This is confirmed with this verse:

When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?' " (Luke 7:20)

So who was John referring to when he spoke of "One who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie"?

In fact, the statements in Matt. 3:11, Mark 1:8, and John 1:26 are not speaking specifically of Jesus. These statements are indicating that it is the Supreme Being - God Himself - who renders real baptism. Yes, the "He" in "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" is none other than God. And "but among you stands one you do not know" is referring to the Supreme Being, who stands amongst all of us - but we do not see Him. We do not know Him. (This also relates to the teaching, "The kingdom of heaven is near.")

What does "come" mean?

We must understand the source and meaning of the word "come," as used multiple times in the context of Jesus' and John's teachings in the New Testament. This word "come" is translated from the Greek word ἔρχομαι (erchomai) which means, "to appear, make one's appearance" and "to come into being, arise, come forth, show itself, find place or influence" according to Thayer's lexicon.

The "appearance" of the Supreme Being takes place within our life and heart once we dedicate our life to God. Such a person comes to see God within, from a spiritual perspective. This is not the same as seeing with the physical eyes. It is seeing with the heart. In other to have such a vision of the Supreme Being, one's spiritual eyes must be opened. These are the eyes of love and humble loving service.

John was certainly humble about his own power. This is consistent among bonafide spiritual teachers. Jesus also indicated his humility when he told John's disciples: "Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me." (Luke 7:23)

And we must understand how God's representative sees himself. God's representative sees himself as a humble servant of the Supreme Being and God's representative. Jesus indicated this clearly when he said:

"My teaching is not my own. It comes from the One who sent me." (John 7:16)

and

"I am not here on my own authority, but He who sent me is true. You do not know Him" (John 7:28)

Notice how both Jesus and John spoke humbly about their own abilities, and they both attributed all their potency to the Supreme Being.

And those who have misinterpreted these glorious statements by John and Jesus are in fact trampling upon their humble statements, being blind to the very Supreme Being they were referring to.

Did Jesus pass on John's teachings?

We also can see from John's and Jesus' teachings that Jesus was, in fact, passing on John's teachings to others. Consider these three verses:

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." (Matt. 3:1-2)

After Jesus' baptism from John, Jesus carried forth those teachings:

From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." (Matt. 4:17)

and Jesus also told his disciples to pass on these same teachings to others:

"As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.'" (Matt. 10:7)

The "message" "'The kingdom of heaven is near'" is obviously a generalization of their teachings, but the fact that not only did John and Jesus both teach it, but Jesus told his own students to teach it. Because we know that Jesus' disciples were to pass on Jesus' teachings, we can also know by these verses that Jesus was passing on John's teachings. This clearly indicates Jesus' relationship with John as his student.

What is the second lesson of Jesus' statement?

Now for the second lesson within Jesus' statement of Luke 7:28:

"yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."

Is Jesus saying that John the Baptist was not the greatest person "born of women" as he indicated in the first part of this statement? Was he contradicting himself? Certainly not.

Jesus was trying to teach a great lesson here, one critical for his students to understand. When it comes to a bonafide spiritual leader or teacher - God's representative in other words - being the "greatest" is not comparable to being "greatest" as we consider it in the physical world.

In fact, so many people want to be great teachers. They strive for many followers and strive to earn a name and reputation for saving so many people. This goal, to become a great teacher, is in fact no different than wanting to be a movie star or a famous model, or even a president or an Olympic Gold Medal winner. These are all aspirations of empty hearts who want to fill our emptiness with the adoration of others.

We think that if we are adored by many people we will be happy, and fulfilled inside. Any real star, president or winner will tell you, however, that having the adoration of millions does not fulfill the emptiness within. And we can see that it doesn't by all the suicides and addictions among those who are famous. Becoming famous does not fulfill us - even if we become a famous preacher, minister, reverend or even pope.

This is because being great or famous is not our natural position. Our natural position is one of servant-caregiver. We are not happy being served and adored by many because this is not our natural position.

In fact, we are not these physical bodies at all. They are temporary vehicles we drive for a few years and then leave them at the time of death. Thus their identities are temporary as well. Just as a child can only be identified as a child for a few years, we can only be identified with our adult body - our jobs and positions - temporarily. Just talk to any elderly person. They will say: "When I was younger I was a fireman" or "when I was younger I was a lawyer." Their former identities were quite obviously temporary.

And when we leave our body behind at the time of death, we will leave our identification with it completely.

Yet we each have a spiritual identity that endures. Our spiritual identity is eternal. This is who we are inside.

This spiritual identity's natural position is servant-caregiver. We are only fulfilled when we are loving and serving the Supreme Being and His children.

This means that humility equates to greatness in the spiritual realm. This creates an opposite scenario compared to the physical world, where being great in the physical world means being puffed up and respected by others.

Being great in the spiritual realm is the opposite. Being great is related to one's level of humility and service to others. Therefore, the greatest in the spiritual realm are actually the most humble - feeling themselves the lowest instead of the greatest.

This is Jesus' lesson with this statement. He is trying to make sure his own disciples do not fall into the trap of desiring to become a great spiritual teacher. This was something Jesus condemned about the ecclesiastical Jewish teachers - the Pharisees, Sadducees and the High Priests. They were all vying for the top spiritual teacher post because they wanted to be respected and served by the public.

Meanwhile, Jesus' hope was that his students learned to love and humbly serve the Supreme Being:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)

“Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man ..." (Luke 9:58)

“Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Luke 9:58)

Why did Jesus say this?

Jesus stated this as he was walking along the road, after a man approached him and said the following:

“I will follow you wherever you go.” (Luke 9:57)

What did Jesus mean by his reply?

Was he trying to dissuade the follower?

And didn't Jesus sleep? Didn't he have places to sleep when he went to different towns?

Why did Jesus refer to the 'Son of Man' in the third person?

Why didn't he say "I don't have a place to lay my head"?

This is normally how people refer to themselves - in the first person. They do not typically refer to themselves in the third person. It would be like a person saying to a bank teller (assuming his name was Bill): "Bill doesn't have any money in his wallet. Can you take some money out of his account and give it to him?"

What will the bank teller do in such a situation? The teller will probably think the bank is being robbed or something. Rather, Bill would say, "I don't have any money...."

So why is Jesus referring to himself in the third person? We do know that Jesus indeed is speaking of himself - right?

Not completely. Jesus is referring to a role. We might compare this to how a company vice president might refer to the limitations of their role. They might say, for example: "The vice president doesn't have the ability to fire the president's staff." While the vice president is certainly referring to a situation involving himself, but he is referring to a limitation of his role, rather than himself directly.

What role Jesus is referring to?

The Greek phrase Jesus uses is υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου - being mistranslated to "Son of Man" - is a role. And it has particular distinctions and limitations, as Jesus is stating.

As explained previously, the Greek word υἱός is being translated to "son" can mean "son," but only "in a restricted sense, the male offspring (one born by a father and of a mother)," according to the lexicon.

Why would being a son of a man be a distinctive title? Every male is a son of a man. The expression thus makes no sense in this context.

It would be like an employee of a company going to work and saying among his workmates: "I am special because I'm an employee." The other employees would look at him and say, "That's no big deal - we're all employees!"

The lexicon also defines υἱός as "used to describe one who depends on another or is his follower." What is this?

Quite simply, there are two meanings to the word υἱός - though they are related. υἱός relates to someone who is subservient. A son is still subservient to the father, but a household servant is also subservient. During the time of Jesus, practically any household of any means had a servant. Thus the word υἱός was used often outside of the strict use of "son." In those instances, it referred to someone who was in servitude. Thus its most applicable translation in this context is "servant."

And this alternative use of the word "son" has even carried on through the centuries in its English translation, as a person of authority might frequently refer to someone who is either younger, inferior or subservient as "son" when they weren't their physical son. For example, an older owner of a company might say to one of his younger employees, "son, you will need to work harder." The employee is not the boss' son. This same use of the word "son" was also used between slave owners and their slaves in recent centuries.

The tradition of υἱός in Greek is even more defined. υἱός can be used to refer to a servant, a follower, a devotee, a subject and otherwise in a subservient position. This is reflected by Jesus' own statements using υἱός in these statements - all translated to "subjects" in the 1984 NIV:

"And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your subjects drive them out? So then, they will be your judges." (Matt. 12:27)

Jesus replied, "The subjects of this age marry and are given in marriage." (Luke 20:34)

"They are God's servants, since they are subjects of the resurrection." (Luke 20:36)

In fact, the various ecclesiastical translators of these verses have had a tough time with the translation of υἱός in these cases. For example, for Luke 20:34, the 1984 New International Version translates υἱός to "subjects" as above, while the 2010 NIV translates the word to "people." Meanwhile the King James Version translates it to "children" and the New King James Version translates it to "sons" - "The sons of this age..."

The above examples are only a few of the hundreds of times the word is used in the New Testament - used to describe both a literal "son" and those in some sort of subservient position.

In fact, we can see that Jesus himself equates this word υἱός to "servant" in Luke 20:36 above.

Now let's put this together with the rest of the phrase, τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. The word τοῦ means "of." There is no debate with its current translation.

But the word ἀνθρώπου - being translated to "man" - is best translated to either "mankind" or "humanity" - as "humanity" refers to people of both sexes.

So this means that the most appropriate translation of the Greek phrase υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, and the role Jesus was referring to, is: "Servant of the people" or "Servant of Humanity."

What is a servant of the people?

Just think about it. Government workers will often refer to themselves as "civil servants" for the same reason - they see themselves as a servant of the people.

This is the meaning of Jesus' reference, but there is a deeper context. He is not talking about serving people's physical bodies, as a government civil servant might. Jesus is referring to people's spiritual lives.

Jesus is serving humanity by bringing us the teachings of love for God.

This use of servant of humanity, in fact, has an even older tradition, and this is what Jesus was alluding to. We find the reference - again incorrectly translated to "son of man" - used for at least three of the prophets of the Old Testament: Job, David, and Ezekial.

David said as he referred to himself:

"O Lord, what is man that you care for him, the son of man [servant of humanity] that you think of him?" (Psalm 144:3)

While many interpreters have tried to say this is referring to Jesus, there is no evidence of this, in fact, throughout David's prayer here he is referring to himself and his relationship with God, and his being grateful for the Supreme Being caring for him.

Job also referred to himself in this manner as he addressed the Supreme Being:

"how much less man, who is but a maggot - a son of man [servant of humanity], who is only a worm!" (Job 25:6)

Certainly, this is a self-reference by Job. Or would they be suggesting that Job is referring to Jesus as a worm? Hardly. Job is referring to himself in a humble manner.

Then we find that God Himself repeatedly used this reference as he addressed Ezekial. In fact, God used this reference to Ezekial over thirty times as He was giving him instructions. Here is one of them:

"He [God] said to me, "Son of man [servant of humanity], stand up on your feet and I will speak to you."" (Ezekial 2:1)

and

"He [God] said: "Son of man [servant of humanity}, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against Me to this very day." (Ezekial 2:3)

Thus there is a great tradition for the use of this term as a humble subservient role. And Jesus was indeed using this role as a humble self-reference as he considered his position with humility, comparing even to birds and foxes [using the translation to Servant of Humanity]:

“Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Servant of Humanity has no place to lay his head.”

We also find that Jesus understood the meaning of service to humanity, as he said plainly to his students:

"Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant." (Mark 10:43)

Was Jesus teaching us about humility?

We can see that in Luke 9:58, Jesus is quite plainly referring to himself in a humble manner, as a servant of humanity. This is why Jesus makes this reference in the third person: Because it is not only about him. It is about the role he has taken on to serve others. And Jesus recognizes that others before him have taken this role, and he is acknowledging that he is following in that role.

And as Jesus is accepting this role, he is also commenting to the potential follower about what is to come for him if he decides to follow Jesus: A life of service.

Jesus was indicating to the potential follower that following him would not be following someone who could offer him the luxuries of a comfortable bed or comfortable life. Jesus was leading an austere life dedicated to helping others. He was working in the capacity of servant to others and as such, was traveling from town to town, with no home to rest at.

And Jesus could not offer the potential follower a room at the temple, as the Temples could offer their priests-in-training, along with meals, and eventually salaries as they gained their priesthood. Jesus could not offer any of this. The only thing he could offer the potential follower was a life of service.

But this is the key to spiritual life and our return to the spiritual realm. You see, the Supreme Being created us to be His loving servants. We were created to give the Supreme Being pleasure, within a loving service relationship. This is our identity: loving servant. This means that those who live within the spiritual realm are joyful and fulfilled as they serve the Supreme Being - the Perfect Person. When He is pleased, they are happy.

This is the opposite of our situation here. Here in the physical world, we are focused upon our own pleasure. We seek to make ourselves happy at any expense, and often at the expense of others' suffering or at least inconvenience. Here we are out for ourselves. This is because we rejected our natural position as God's servant. We didn't want to serve. We wanted to be served.

So God sent us to the physical world where we took on these temporary physical bodies so we could chase around our self-centered goals of making ourselves happy. Why? Because love requires freedom. As He created us, He also gave us the freedom not to love Him.

Are we servants by nature?

And herein lies the rub. In order to return to our natural position within the spiritual realm, we have to engage in a life of service. We have to begin resuming our natural position in order to return to that natural position.

The evidence that this is our natural position is clear: When others serve us, we feel empty. But when we serve others, we feel better. This is why even the most wealthy people - after a life of having everyone serve them - want to serve others by doing charitable works. This is because serving feels better. It feels better to serve because this is our natural position: loving servants.

And this is why people often say, "'Tis better to give than to receive."

But serving others does not completely fulfill us. This is because we were created to serve the Supreme Being. He is our Perfect Person - the person we each have been searching for throughout our lives. He is the one that if we serve and please - we feel complete fulfillment.

But because God loves us so, a true servant of God will also try to serve His children - spiritually.

And Jesus was in this position. He was the Supreme Being's perfect loving servant. He had dedicated his life to pleasing God by teaching love for God to anyone who was interested. And for this service to God, Jesus also assumed that exalted state he referred to himself in the third person as the "Servant of Humanity."

And just what was Jesus' service to humanity? To save humanity through his teachings. And what was Jesus' most important teaching?

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)

“No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service ..." (Luke 9:62)

“No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)

This statement by Jesus follows this verse:

Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” (Luke 9:61) 

Why couldn't he say goodbye to his family?

Jesus' reply can easily be taken out of context. Is Jesus saying that a farmer or a field worker cannot return to the spiritual realm?

Wasn't Jesus supportive of the family? Just consider today if a teacher discouraged his students from saying goodbye to their family before becoming a follower.

Also consider, the importance of family is one of the central tenets of so many institutions today. Why wasn't Jesus supportive of the potential follower returning to his family to say goodbye?

We must understand that Jesus wasn't making a grand statement to all of humanity about farming here. He was speaking directly to this potential follower, who had the choice of following Jesus now or looking "back" by going back to his family to say goodbye.

Is Jesus speaking about commitment?

Commitment requires focus. And it relates to service. This is why Jesus refers to "service in the kingdom of God.” And why he references "a hand to the plow and looks back." Jesus is talking about our grand choice: who do we want to serve?

While many think of the spiritual realm or heaven as this place where people are all sitting around playing harps or otherwise enjoying themselves, the spiritual realm is actually wherever loving service to the Supreme Being is taking place - wherever it may be.

While serving and giving pleasure to God is the central mission of the spiritual realm, it also takes place throughout the spiritual and material universes among those to want to live for God.

You see, we are all servants. Whether we serve ourselves and our physical bodies, our bosses, our electorate, our board of directors, our parents, or our spouses, we are all serving someone, and most of the time we are serving multiple people at once, as well as serving our physical bodies.

These ultimately self-centered engagements are all based on the mistaken notion that we are independent and we do not need to serve. We think of ourselves as the boss of someone or something. We like to think of ourselves as the boss of our children, or our employees, or our fans, or our pets. But what we don't see is that we are actually their servants.

This is seen easily in pet owners who pick up their pet's poop. Or parents who change their children's diapers and drive them to school every day. Or bosses who provide services for their employees. Or stars who serve their fans by entertaining them, providing interviews, and public engagements.

We don't see that we are servants for only one reason: Because we don't want to be a servant.

Is this denial?

We are in denial that we are servants and caregivers. This is because we have become envious of the Supreme Being. We wanted what He has. We became envious of Him and this is why we were kicked out of the spiritual realm.

So God gave us these temporary physical bodies and this illusory place so we could pretend we were bosses of something. But because our nature is one of servant, we simply have changed from one type of service to another. Our service is now self-centered instead of being God-centered.

So Jesus is offering those around him a pathway back to their natural position as one of God's loving servants in the spiritual realm. Do they want to take that opportunity? If they do, they must be committed to it. They must be focused upon it, and not look back.

This reflects the fact that the Supreme Being only wants us to come home when we are ready. This is what Jesus means by "fit for service" - being ready. And "fit for service" means we must have totally committed ourselves to loving and serving the Supreme Being. This means having a one-pointed commitment to pleasing God.

This is the test that Jesus is giving to his prospective student. He is saying that only those who are committed to following him will become ready to return to their position as God's loving service in the spiritual realm.

Is love the bottom line?

And it is love that lies at the bottom line. Service to God must be based upon love or it is not spiritual. Service to God based upon getting something in return is not spiritual. That is business. It is still self-centered. And because it is ultimately self-centered, there is no commitment in this type of service relationship.

This can be compared to other relationships of seeming love in the physical world. If a father loves his son, and his son gets in an accident, what does the father do? He drops everything and rushes to the hospital. He doesn't first go to his own parents or his boss and ask them if it is alright if he goes to the hospital. He just does it. Why? Because of his complete commitment to his son. And this reflects his love for his son. He doesn't care if he loses his job.

This relationship between love and service, and the type of natural commitment that follows is also reflected in Jesus' most important instruction:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)