"Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" ..." (Luke 2:49)

"Why were you searching for me? Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" (Luke 2:49)

This is Jesus' first statement in the Gospel of Luke. He said this when his body was twelve years old.

When Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover feast, and the feast was over, they began their journey home but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem at the Temple:

'sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.' (Luke 2:46)

This verse illustrates that at some point, Jesus was a student.

Did Jesus worship himself?

Jesus' statement contradicts the teaching about Jesus promoted by many institutions - including the Roman Catholic Church and those sects that grew from its theology - that Jesus is God.

Yet such a teaching (that Jesus is God) is repeatedly contradicted by the Gospels, including the Gospel of Luke. Jesus contradicts this notion by what he himself said and taught. And this first statement by Jesus in Luke underscores this fact. The phrase "my Father's house" indicates two important things:

1) That Jesus was devoted to someone other than himself - translated here as his "Father."

2) That Jesus considered the Temple where God is worshiped - even though this was a Jewish temple - as God's house. If Jesus was God then he would have described the Temple as "my house."

We know from the Gospels that Jesus worshipped the Supreme Being, the very same God that the early Israelites worshiped: The same God addressed in the Bible as Jehovah, Yahweh, Eloah, Abba and many other Holy Names. This is the same God that Jesus prayed to and praised. In other words, Jesus worshiped God. Jesus did not worship himself.

And this is the very same God worshiped by David, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Job, and John the Baptist. And the same God worshiped by peoples of various other ancient monotheistic cultures by different names.

The bottom line is that there can only be one God. One Supreme Being. There may be many sects and names of religious institutions. But there is only one God, and this is the God that Jesus refers to as Greek πατήρ (patēr) - translated here to "Father."

Did Jesus really call God 'Father'?

The New International Version as used here, along with the King James Version and practically every other popular version of the Bible - translates the Greek word πατήρ (patēr) to "Father." But is this an appropriate translation of this Greek word in context?

We should note that just because all these Bibles used the same word doesn't mean that Jesus used this word. Jesus was speaking in Aramaic, which eventually was translated into Greek. So the English words used are twice removed from what Jesus actually said. For this reason, it is important to understand not only the meaning of the Greek word, but within what context it was spoken.

According to Strong's lexicon, the Greek word πατήρ (patēr) means:

"generator or male ancestor -
-either the nearest ancestor: father of the corporeal nature, natural fathers, both parents
-a more remote ancestor, the founder of a family or tribe, progenitor of a people, forefather
-fathers i.e. ancestors, forefathers, founders of a nation
-one advanced in years, a senior"

This means that when used in the context of an earthly physical family, "father" would be appropriate. When used of a country or tribe, the word would refer to ancestors, forefathers, founders, etc.

But in ancient times this term also applied to one's superior - translated to "master" or "lord."

Yet these are all references to relationships within the physical world - namely those relating to a physical nation or a physical family, or one's position in society.

But when used in reference to God, in the context of a spiritual discussion, the term takes on another meaning and thus a deferential translation.

In other words, the more appropriate translation would be "Creator" or "LORD." These are the two deferential references provoked by the Greek word πατήρ (patēr) within this context.

Because God is above the realm of the physical - as indicated by Jesus - that He is beyond the physical and of the spirit - the spiritual realm. Therefore, to translate this word to the lowest common denominator - i.e., "father" which refers to a physical family - would not be appropriate.

Translating this word πατήρ (patēr) to "father" when it is referencing God would be inappropriate. It would be akin to bringing God down to our level - which He is not.

Given the definition above and the recognition of God's superior spiritual position, the more appropriate translation of this Greek word when referring to God would be "Creator" because this indicates God's ability as "Generator" as noted above - being the ultimate Source of not just Jesus, but all things and all beings.

Moreover, the word πατήρ (patēr) was also utilized as Jesus in a more intimate basis, as "my" (ἐγώ egō) πατήρ (patēr). This has often been translated to "my Father." However, again since Jesus is not discussing such a relationship akin to the physical body - where fatherhood prevails, the more appropriate syntax would relate to the spiritual relationship between Jesus and the Supreme Being - being one of loving servant and his LORD, or Master. Thus a more appropriate translation would be akin to "my LORD" in most cases, as this better captures both the devotional intimacy as well as the loving servitude relationship between Jesus and the Supreme Being.

A further basis for this is that the Greek word πατήρ (patēr) was frequently used in ancient times to indicate a relationship of one's superior - as historically a senior person was addressed frequently with this word - even when there was no familial relationship. Thus "my lord" was the typical usage that carried this forth into the English language in such greetings to superiors in ancient times.

This translation would also correspond to the use of יְהֹוָה (Yĕhovah) through the Old Testament - often translated to "Lord" throughout the Old Testament. Yet certainly, Yĕhovah or Jehovah - which refers to the Original Person and Source (or Creator/Father) of everything - is being stated in the original Hebrew.

For this reason, references to God using πατήρ (patēr) include the capitalization system employed by early English translators - to LORD.

This would also be consistent with the word that Jesus likely spoke himself in Aramaic: Abba. The word Abba is also more appropriately translated to Creator or LORD.

Was Jesus a student before he was a teacher?

This event in Jesus' life, at 12 years old, and this statement, indicate that:

1) Jesus was a student before he was a teacher;
2) Jesus put significant effort into learning the Jewish teachings and the scripture prior to his becoming a teacher;
3) Jesus accepted the teachings passed down from Moses, David, Solomon, Eli, Saul, Joshua, Abraham and others (as this is what the "teachers" of the temple were teaching).

We find later that Jesus also accepted John the Baptist as his initiating teacher. In other words, he became a disciple of John.

This illustrates another aspect of Jesus. That not only did he accept the teachings of those ancient prophets prior to his appearance, but he accepted a process by which one must become a student of a bonafide teacher who is passing on the Truth before becoming a teacher.

The first chapter of Luke goes to great lengths to establish that John the Baptist was part of this ancient lineage of teachers descended from Abraham, Moses, David, and others. It establishes that John's father, Zechariah, was part of this lineage:

In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah (Luke 1:5)

Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. (Luke 1:8)

So we see that Zechariah was a devoted priest who worshiped God. He was chosen by God to bring up and teach a son, John, in the teachings passed down through him. This early Luke text also illustrates that John the Baptist was also able to deliver people back to God - "save" people, in other words:

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. (Luke 1:11-16)

'Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God' indicates quite clearly that John the Baptist - and those who preceded Jesus in the succession of teachers leading to Jesus and then Jesus' disciples - were able to "save" people, by bringing them 'back to the Lord their God.'

Is Jesus the only one who can save people?

This clearly contradicts another teaching that Jesus is the only means of salvation for all humanity. If Jesus is the only means to salvation then this means the billions of people who lived over the centuries before Jesus could not return to God through the teachings of such great saints as Abraham, David, Moses and so many others.

Why did they bother to teach if they could not save people? And what happened to all the devoted people before Jesus' appearance - could they not be saved?

Early Roman Catholic teachers tried to cover up this hole in their thesis that Jesus has been the only means for salvation by conjuring up a mythical state of "purgatory" where supposedly every person who worshiped God would have to wait until Jesus came and saved them. This is simply creative speculation by an organization that originally sought to maintain control over the Roman Empire by virtue of a claim that Jesus is "God became man" and the only means of salvation.

Yet their statement has no scriptural evidence aside from the misinterpretations and mistranslations of key scriptural passages. They try to claim that many of David's prayers were actually about Jesus instead of God, and they try to claim that the Prophets' teachings were all about predicting the coming of Jesus.

This has no real support once those texts are translated objectively. Those texts show that each of those Saints were devoted to God - the same God Jesus worshiped, whom he called "Father."

And as for some of the texts of the Old Testament discussing a savior to come - this lineage of teachers offered many saviors - many messiahs: One after another, as the Truth was being passed from teacher to student for thousands of years. Each era has provided a 'messiah' - one passing on the true Message of God - which can save us.

Were Jesus' teachings consistent with John's?

We find that Jesus' teachings were clearly consistent with John's teachings. We also find that John's teachings were consistent with Zechariah's teachings, and Zechariah's teachings were consistent with those teachers (Prophets) before him. This is why Jesus often referred to David and other Prophets in his own teachings. Jesus was part of a succession of teachers that went back to David and David's teacher, Samuel, and Samuel's teacher, Eli, and further up to Moses and Abraham.

While this fact has been shrouded by those who assembled, translated and interpreted (for payment) the books of the Bible on behalf of their institution seeking power, we can see clearly that Jesus' teachings were consistent with those of his teacher, John:

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, he also taught the same message:

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 preach this same message to others:

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

While this phrase, 'The kingdom of heaven is near' is not the optimal translation, it tells us that John, Jesus and Jesus' disciples all taught the same basic message. This clarifies that Jesus is not the exclusive savior that many have professed.

Rather, it illustrates that what Jesus taught is what saves people. The message Jesus taught, and John before him taught, and David, Moses and Abraham before him taught, and Jesus' true disciples after him taught, is what will save us.

What does 'the kingdom of heaven is near' mean?

And just what does 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' mean? Many have promoted the proposition that this verse indicates the end of the world is coming soon ("near"). 

But they have been promoting this interpretation for over 1700 years, even though the world has yet to come to an end. Thus the word "near" is being misused. Were John, Jesus, and Jesus' disciples all lying about the world coming to an end soon (after all, they interpret the word "near" as meaning "soon.")

Yet the word "near" does not mean "soon." The word "near" in these verses is being translated from the Greek word ἐγγίζω (eggizō), which does not indicate the element of time at all. It indicates closeness in distance according to Thayer's lexicon: "1) to bring near, to join one thing to another; 2) to draw or come near to, to approach."

In other words, 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' means that God's kingdom is very close to us. It is accessible. Jesus further indicates this as he said:

"The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:20-21)

How could an entire kingdom of God be within us?

Most people interpret this to mean within our physical bodies. But this is incorrect. Where is it then? Inside of our liver? Our brain? Our lungs?

The correct understanding comes from who we actually are: We are not these physical bodies. We are each spiritual beings in essence, and we are temporarily occupying and operating a physical body.

Understanding that our essence is spiritual means that when we access our spiritual nature - the spiritual person within - we can access the spiritual realm. We can access God and the kingdom of God only through our spiritual nature.

What is our spiritual nature? 

We each have a spiritual form, which has nothing to do with the physical body we occupy. This spiritual form is eternal, and it comes from the spiritual realm. Each of us - as spirit-persons - was created by the Supreme Being as one of His caregivers.

But He also gave each of us the choice to love and care for Him or not. After all, love requires freedom, and God wanted to enjoy our love only when given voluntarily.

Those of us who chose not to love and care for God anymore were given physical bodies and our consciousness was tossed into the physical world by virtue of taking on a gross physical body.

This might be compared to a person sitting down in a car and driving it away. Except that the programming of the physical world by the Supreme Being is set up in such a way that we are tricked into identifying with these physical bodies - allowing us to forget our spiritual identities. (We can get a little glimpse of this as people will also often identify themselves and others by the car they drive.)

Why have we been thrown into these bodies and have forgotten our spiritual identities? So we could get away from God. We wanted to get away from Him so we could try to enjoy ourselves in a self-centered way. We might compare this to putting on a spacesuit. Our physical bodies give us access to this physical world set up to allow a self-centered, seemingly God-absent dimension.

The spiritual realm is a place where there is no self-centeredness. One cannot be self-centered and remain in the spiritual realm. So those of us who became self-centered had to be sent into this virtual physical world.

We could compare this to a computer video game, where the person utilizes a game icon (and begins to identify with it) through the programming of the game. The person may be sitting in their chair in front of the computer, but their icon is allowed to go through so many challenges - wars, fights and so on - within the game.

But when the computer video game is over, the person can turn off the computer and get up and walk away. The fact that their icon was blown up in the video game doesn't matter. This is because they are not that video game icon.

We are in a similar situation. The spiritual realm is near right now to each of us because we are not these physical bodies. These things of the physical world - our occupations, our money (or lack thereof), our families, our cars, and houses - they are not ours because we are not these bodies. We will leave them all - including our physical identity - at the time of death.

But our spiritual essence will never leave us. It will always be near to us. At any time we can return to our spiritual essence and our true nature as one of God's loving caregivers. This is the purpose of the primary teaching of Jesus, Moses and all of those Teachers sent by God to give us a single message that will ultimately save us:

“ ‘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)

The Book of Luke documents virtually the same thing:

"'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)

"Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." (Luke 5:10)

Here Jesus, after giving a lecture to a crowd at the Lake of Gennesaret - 'with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God' (Luke 5:1) - enlists James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon and Simon's fishing partners to follow him and eventually become his disciples.

At one point, Jesus actually sat down in one of the boats and gave his lecture from inside the boat:

He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. (Luke 5:3)

Much attention is given to Jesus' miracle of the fish. But the connection between Jesus' discussion prior to this is often overlooked.

Did Jesus' students follow Jesus because of miracles?

This concept is furthest from the truth, and borne by those who have little faith in the Supreme Being and the ability of Jesus' teachings to change people's hearts. They need various signs and miracles in order to believe, but their believing is weak because it is dependent upon these. Jesus confirmed this when he said:

"A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign!" (Matthew 12:39)

We see this weak belief in God today as so many people are focused on seeing some sort of "miraculous sign" - such as seeing Jesus' face on a piece of food or piece of cloth. Jesus is condemning this because it has little to do with Jesus' real teachings - related to developing one's trust and loving relationship with the Supreme Being.

Rather, we can see from later in the text that Jesus' dedicated students such as James and Simon (Peter) became leading teachers after Jesus' passing. They spread Jesus' message throughout the region.

These close disciples of Jesus did not follow him because of his miracles. They followed him because his teachings made sense to them. They followed them because what he taught struck a chord in them. What he taught was the Truth about God and the spiritual realm.

Jesus confirms this in his statement, "from now on you will catch men." Why would Jesus say they would "catch men"?

Consider carefully what this means. To "catch men" means to capture the hearts of others. It means to convince others of the Truth. It means to teach others.

Why was Jesus recruiting followers?

Jesus was enlisting students to learn the truth from him in order to teach others.

This means Jesus' intention and motive was to teach others. He wasn't out to gain a bunch of followers so he could feel good, being everyone's leader. He wanted his students to become leaders. He wanted to get God's message out to people.

Being the teacher wasn't Jesus' focus. It was what he was teaching.

This is why Jesus was willing to accept his physical body being murdered because of his teachings. Those Jewish chief priests who had Jesus arrested together with the Romans did not murder Jesus because he roamed around Judea. It was because his teachings threatened their authority.

Jesus' teachings taught people to give their lives to the Supreme Being. He taught them to worship God above all, and establish a loving relationship with God. This threatened their positions of authority because they sought to control the population with their Jewish regulations and laws.

They utilized their positions among the Jewish temples not to teach people to love God as Moses taught, but to govern and control the population. This satisfied the Roman governor because the people were under control. But as soon as the chief priests told Pilate that Jesus threatened their authority by teaching something different, they had his body murdered.

And Jesus did not run away from this. He did not say that the most important thing was to maintain his position as their teacher. He did not seek the protection of his disciples, even though they were ready to fight on his behalf to protect him. Rather, he allowed his body to be murdered because he wanted them to understand how important his teachings were.

Jesus wanted his students to pass on to others what he taught them. It was his teachings that were most important to him, because these teachings were coming from the Supreme Being:

"These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me." (John 14:24)

In other words, Jesus' focus was to serve the Supreme Being because he loved God. And God wants to deliver us a message. God wants us to be happy, and we will not be happy until we return to our loving relationship with Him. We will not be fulfilled until we return to our natural condition of being one of God's loving caregivers in the spiritual realm. Jesus confirmed this 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)

"No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one...." (Luke 5:36-39)

"No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, 'The old is better.'" (Luke 5:36-39)

Here is Jesus' statement from Matthew:

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved." (Matt. 9:16-17)

In both, this analogy by Jesus is responding to the question posed by the Pharisees:

They said to him, "John's disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking." (Luke 5:33)

Why is Jesus discussing wineskins and sewing garments?

These are analogies. We can see by comparing the two statements that Jesus' message has nothing to do with wine or sewing. Jesus is illustrating why his specific instructions to his disciples may differ in some cases with specific instructions of John the Baptist to John's disciples, and why these may also differ from specific instructions from previous teachers such as Moses or David.

This doesn't mean their teachings were different. As we can see from Jesus' teachings, they perfectly aligned with John's teachings, Moses' teachings, and the teachings of other prophets. We can see how Jesus' teachings matched Moses when he precisely quoted Moses' most important instruction when asked which of the commandments was the most important:

"'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 Deuteronomy 6:5)

And we know that Jesus' general teachings mirrored his teacher John's teachings:

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

After his baptism from John, Jesus began teaching the very same message:

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

Then Jesus also told his disciples to preach this same message to others:

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

What does this teaching mean?

This paraphrased message, 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' has been greatly misinterpreted by those teachers and their institutions who want to scare people into joining their institution by saying that this means John, Jesus, and Jesus' disciples were teaching that the end of the world is coming.

Yet even though through the centuries so many of these teachers predicted the end of the world was coming within a few years, the end of the world still hasn't come, now 2,000 years later. When will the followers of these acclaim-hungry professional teachers realize that John, Jesus, and Jesus' students were not teaching about the end of the world?

In fact, the word "near", taken from the Greek word ἐγγίζω (eggizō), does not mean "soon." It relates to closeness - being nearby. This is confirmed in the lexicon: "to bring near, to join one thing to another; to draw or come near to, to approach."

They were not teaching about the end of the world. They were teaching that the kingdom of God is nearby. God is available to us. We can reach Him easily, should we reach out to Him and re-develop our love for Him.

This interpretation is confirmed by another statement of Jesus regarding the kingdom of God (the spiritual realm):

"The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:20-21)

Being "within you" and "near" are consistent. But it is not consistent to try to twist Jesus', John's, and Jesus' disciples' words to make it seem that they were teaching that the end of the world is coming. That is simply a strategy of some institutions that seek to gain and keep followers by threatening them.

Is God available to each of us?

The bigger picture of the mention of all three - John, Jesus, and Jesus' disciples - teaching the same doctrine of God and His kingdom being available to us - is that Jesus did not go out and invent his own teaching. His teachings were consistent with his teacher John's, and John's teacher (Zechariah), and the entire lineage of teachers coming from Abraham and Moses before them.

This is also why many referred to Jesus as the υἱός (huios) of David. The Greek word υἱός (huios) has been incorrectly translated to "son" in modern New Testament versions, when in fact, the lexicon shows that it only indicates "son" "in a restricted sense, the male offspring (one born by a father and of a mother)."

The lexicon clearly identifies other uses of the word υἱός (huios), including the one applicable here: "used to describe one who depends on another or is his follower 1) a pupil." So the references to Jesus as the "son" of David, were actually referencing that Jesus came in the succession of teachers - i.e., was a "pupil" - or student - coming in line with David.

This is only logical, as there is no chance that Jesus was David's "son" - because David lived centuries prior to Jesus.

What is the meaning of patching an old garment?

This brings us to the point Jesus is making with regard to patching an old garment from a new one and putting new wine into an old wineskin.

Jesus was speaking to the point that God's representatives teach according to the time and circumstances present at the time of their teachings. Their core teachings and message do not change, but their methods and specific instructions may change according to the time and circumstances.

In other words, when someone tries to compare Jesus' specific instructions to his students to Moses' specific instructions to his students, there will be differences. Both Jesus and Moses were teaching love for God, but their specific instructions each related to the particular time and circumstances.

While we might think that there was little difference in the cultures between Moses' time and Jesus' time because they were both from antiquity, that is short-sighted. There were certainly differences in the situation and environment.

This is why, for example, Jesus did not teach the ceremonies of offering butchered animals at the altar. Rather, Jesus taught his students to make private offerings to God as he did, and he also ate no meat. This is because, during Jesus' time and circumstances, meat was not needed to keep the body alive. Judea was a rich farming region during Jesus' time, and they also had fish.

Moses' students, on the other hand, were nomads traveling through a mostly-barren region, so they required meat to survive. Moses thus sanctioned eating meat but only after it had been offered to God at the altar - on the condition it was limited to certain animals and the meat was drained of blood and carefully cooked.

Jesus also made offerings - but of loaves and fish - to the Supreme Being: Jesus' offerings have been mistranslated and misinterpreted as "blessings" but this describes Jesus' personal and private offerings to the Supreme Being as sanctioned by Moses and other teachers in Jesus' line.

There were also differences between John's specific instructions to his students and Jesus', as Jesus is responding to here: John instructed his students to fast on particular holy days in commemoration to that particular purpose - often in devotion to an earlier prophet.

But Jesus' students were traveling with him, often walking many miles between towns, where Jesus would give his sermons and speak personally to people. This was a different situation than John's, who mostly stayed in his monastery in the desert where he taught to people after those people traveled to see him.

Jesus, on the other hand, was reaching out to people by traveling to their towns and cities. Traveling by foot for many miles is not an easy chore, so Jesus and his students needed to eat and drink enough so that they'd have the energy to walk and make the arrangements in each town.

Fasting was out of the question - and could even be considered cruel - when considering that Jesus' students were walking with him from town to town in Judea - a very inhospitable region for foot travel. They were already making great sacrifices in their service to God - which is what fasting is.

Were Jesus' teachings consistent with what John the Baptist taught?

The core instructions were the same. Jesus' instruction was essentially the same as John's with regard to the purpose of his students. The purpose of their efforts was both to serve and please the Supreme Being.

Jesus was traveling through the region teaching about God to introduce others to Him. This is the ultimate service to the Supreme Being. Jesus' students were supporting that service by accompanying Jesus, and setting up places for him to stay and teach. So they were serving Jesus, who was serving God.

John's students primarily stayed at the monastery with John and supported his teachings by helping to accommodate visitors. John was also serving God, and his students supported that service. John also instructed them to fast during the holy days as part of their service.

It could be compared to two people working in two different divisions of a company. One person may be a manager on the production floor and another may be a marketing person. Despite their two different tasks, they are both working for the same company and both trying to make that company successful.

This is the same with God's loving servants and representatives. God dispatches His loving servants to work in their own way in His service, according to their skills and their particular situation, and the environment they are in. One of His servants may travel to different places while another may write, for example.

But if they are in line with the teachings of His true representatives - as Jesus and John were - their teachings will not be different. They will still teach that the only pathway to happiness is to come to know and love the Supreme Being, and then do His will in order to please Him. The only way each of us can be individually happy is if we reach out from within to our Best Friend and Beloved Master - God, who is truly near - and give Him our heart.

Their teachings were consistent because their teachings were coming from God. Jesus affirmed this as he said:

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

Did Jesus teach what many teach today?

Neither Jesus nor the Prophets taught what many modern sects are teaching today: That Jesus is God and all we have to do is accept Jesus "into our heart" and that he "died for my sins" and we are saved.

Jesus never taught this. John never taught this. Zachariah didn't teach this. David didn't teach this. Moses didn't teach this. Abraham didn't teach this. None of the bonafide representatives of the Supreme Being taught this.

So why are these institutions teaching this? Because they are not in line with the lineage of devoted representatives of the Supreme Being, as were Jesus, John, Zachariah, Solomon, Samuel, David, Eli, Joshua, Job, Moses, Abraham and Noah were.

The teachings of these institutions are inconsistent with the teachings of this great lineage of teachers that focused on the instruction that we should learn to love and devote ourselves to the Supreme Being. These teachings were consistent among all the prophets as well as Jesus and John because they each represented God and the only pathway back to the spiritual realm.

These teachings provide the only pathway to happiness because of who we truly are. We are not these temporary physical bodies and their temporary identities - which will decompose at the time of death. We are spiritual beings, and our home is the spiritual realm.

Our natural position is as one of God's caregivers. Each of us has a unique relationship with the Supreme Being. The only way to return to that relationship is to devote ourselves to the one and only Supreme Being. This is why Jesus' taught as Moses taught:

“ ‘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 and Deut. 6:5)

"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven..." (Luke 6:23)

"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the Prophets." (Luke 6:23)

Remember that Jesus is speaking to his disciples as he said this ('Looking at his disciples, he said:' - Luke 6:20), and he spoke the verse above after he said:

"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' disciples have chosen to sacrifice being appreciated and respected by others for the sake of following their teacher Jesus. Because Jesus was rejected by the mainstream Jewish teachers and their respective followers and organizations, Jesus' disciples were rejected by others. They were, as Jesus states, excluded, insulted, and rejected.

But because they accepted this hardship in order to follow Jesus, Jesus says clearly that "your reward is in heaven." What does this mean?

What is a reward in heaven?

The heavenly reward is unconditional spiritual love.

Jesus is explaining the heavenly reward for loving and serving God - joy. This juxtaposes with the earthly reward of gaining the respect of others on earth.

Receiving acceptance amongst one's peers requires effort. First, they will need to fit in. This means wearing the right clothes, having the right haircut, and doing those things that are accepted by the group of people they want to be accepted by. This also means saying things that are accepted and not doing things that are different from the norm.

We find these sorts of groups all around us today. There are church groups, temple groups, environmentalist groups, community groups, nationalist groups, political groups and many others.

The supposed earthly reward is being accepted: acceptance into a group or society. It takes hard work to fit in. And fitting in means a reward of acceptance.

Fitting in with a group or society is important to us because being accepted by others is confused with being loved. We each need love. We each want to be loved.

The problem is that this so-called "love" is not really love. Those who become accepted by a group don't really receive love. Mutual acceptance is sort of a stalemate with others in the group - that we are all "okay" since everyone is doing the same thing. This is also called insecurity.

Such a mutual acceptance means that while acceptance is sought to satisfy our insecurities, our seeking acceptance is sought by members of the group to satisfy their insecurities. In other words, they need us as much as we need them.

The problem is that physical groups or societies cannot truly satisfy insecurity. That is because insecurity is only satisfied by unconditional spiritual love.

Can we have this reward while we are on earth?

Jesus is teaching that living our life for the Supreme Being gives us a real reward: Unconditional spiritual love. Unlike group acceptance, this is completely satisfying. And we can have this reward while still on earth, or in heaven.

The unconditional spiritual love provided by God also satisfies all of our insecurities. This is why Jesus and Jesus' students could weather through the abuse of those around them.

Spiritual love cannot be found through materialism or from fitting in with a physical group. Even if it is a church or sect or other supposedly religious groups.

The reward for living one's life for the Supreme Being and His representatives is beyond the range of the physical body or a physical group of people.

A person who lives their life for the Supreme Being will still have to contend with aging, disease and the death of their physical body. But those who live for the Supreme Being begin to re-establish our original loving relationship with God. This relationship gives us the unconditional spiritual love we each seek as eternal.

Does Love of God satisfy insecurity?

A loving relationship with the Supreme Being gives us the security that we each inherently need. None of us - despite the teachings of so many that claim we are God - can control our environment or the world around us. We need help from someone who is in control. This is the Supreme Being.

This relationship - regardless of whether it occurs when we are in the physical body or after the death of the body - is spiritual. It is not of the physical world. We may express this relationship in our physical lives, but the relationship itself is spiritual.

This is what Jesus means when he says their reward is in heaven. It is not as if his students all have to wait until their bodies die and they go to heaven. Or that they will need to wait until Jesus' "second coming," as many teachers proclaim. They - and each of us - can partake of a spiritual reward right here and now. Regardless of the church, temple or institution we may belong to.

How can we do that? By partaking in the instructions of God's representative, Jesus. By focusing our lives on the Supreme Being in practical ways. This means sincere and humble prayer, praising God and His Holy Names with song and chant, offering gifts to God, and spending time studying scripture.

All of these methods can be done in the privacy of our own homes, away from the groups, institutions and churches, or within groups - assuming the group shares God being the center of focus.

Regardless, we can reject being accepted by any group and just focus our attention on the Supreme Being, and this will allow us to begin to partake in our original relationship with the Supreme Being - our heavenly reward.

Why did Jesus compare himself and his followers to the Prophets?

Jesus compares himself and students with the Prophets. The second thing that Jesus' statement above communicates is that Jesus compares himself and his followers to the Prophets and their followers. "For that is how their fathers treated the Prophets" clearly indicates that in the same way those institutional Jewish temple teachers and their followers were rejecting Jesus and his followers, the Prophets before Jesus were also being rejected by institutional followers of ancient times.

This gives us a clearer picture of not only how Jesus saw himself, but also what the Prophets of the Old Testament were doing. They were doing the same thing as Jesus was - teaching love for God to their own followers while being rejected by the masses.

Despite the interpretation that the purpose of the Prophets' teachings were to foretell Jesus' coming, Jesus saw himself as following in the footsteps of the Prophets before him. This also means Jesus' teachings also reflected the teachings of the Prophets.

This is consistent with scripture. If we read the Old Testament without institutional interpretation, we can clearly see that each of the Prophets was teaching love for God. Each was teaching us to hold on to and re-develop our relationship with the Supreme Being.

And this is what Jesus was teaching.

We can also see that Jesus had great respect and appreciation for the Prophets before him. Not only did he quote them often, but he renders his admiration for them in this statement above: "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the Prophets." (Luke 6:23)

This means that Jesus' students should be thankful not only because their reward is in heaven: But they are following in the footsteps of those who followed the Prophets before Jesus - those who also were rejected by others in order to follow God's representative. Jesus also did this, as he rejected his local temple and went to the desert to hear from and become baptized by John the Baptist.

This indicates a pattern. The pattern is that the masses may follow the teachings of institutional teachers who may mislead them, while only a few will reject these institutions and find those who truly represent the Supreme Being and the true message of the Prophets and Jesus.

Why is this? Why do so many follow these giant religious institutions who mislead others? Why do so many people follow institutions with histories of child molestation and other violent activities in centuries past?

Because many of us do not want to hear the whole truth. Many of us want to hide from the whole truth. Most of us who have set up camp in the physical world are here because we ran away from God.

Are we running from God?

Most of us who are dwelling in physical bodies within the physical world are here because we are running from God.

The physical world is the place God set up where one can get away from the Supreme Being.

We have come here because most of us do not want to really worship God. We might pretend to belong to a particular institution to be accepted by others, but ultimately, our goal is to be respected by others. We want others to love us. We don't want to give love. We want others to love us.

Ultimately, we want to be the boss. We want to be the star. We want to be the greatest at something - whether it be sports, job, community or another club. We want others to love us and admire us.

And many of those who seek the position of religious teacher - whether it be priest, reverend, guru, pope or bishop - are also seeking the love and admiration of others. They may put up a great front of prayer - and speak a great sermon in church - but they want to be the center of attention. The leader of the pack. The big guy in the room. This is no different than the person who wants to be CEO or a big movie star or rock star.

In other words, those of us drowning in self-centeredness will use whatever niche we find available to gain the respect of others - even if it means using religion. This is why Jesus said:

"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)

Isn't this what priests and preachers do (or try to do) - prophesize in Jesus' name, drive out demons and perform miracles in his name? Yes. Yet Jesus is calling them "evildoers." Why?

Because they are only using Jesus to gain the attention and acceptance of others. They are using Jesus to become the big guy in the room.

Before this statement Jesus clarifies who pleases him:

"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)

Doing "the will of my Father" means engaging to please God. This means having a loving relationship with the Supreme Being. Doing someone else's will means doing things that please the other person. A person who works to please another without expecting a return (which is a business relationship) is executing care for that person. This is the meaning of love.

And if we have any doubt that Jesus wanted his students - and all of us - to love the Supreme Being, we can just read Jesus' statement - also quoting the prophet Moses who taught repeatedly of love for God - when Jesus was asked which is the most important commandment:

"'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." (Matthew 22:37-38)

"Can a blind man lead a blind man? ..." (Luke 6:39-40)

"Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher." (Luke 6:39-40)

Is Jesus the only teacher?

Jesus is clearly stating here the importance of being a student of a living spiritual teacher. He is also illustrating how the student can effectively pass on the teachings of their teacher. This runs contrary to the supposition of many institutional teachers who proclaim that Jesus is the only teacher.

If Jesus was the only teacher, then why did Jesus instruct his students to go out and teach:

He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach - (Mark 3:14)

In Luke 6:39-40, Jesus is speaking here to his disciples (Looking at his disciples, he said:... (Luke 6:20)).

We can thus understand that Jesus is giving his students instruction. He is instructing them on how to conduct themselves and how to progress in their spiritual advancement.

This lies contrary to those who will attempt to apply Jesus' statements here and elsewhere out of context, and many who preach the ultimate contradiction of teaching that Jesus is the only teacher. They are teaching us this. Why do we need them to teach us this if Jesus is the only teacher? Why do they teach - preach - at all if Jesus is the only teacher?

Is it proper to teach before becoming a student?

It is quite simply hypocritical to be teaching that we only need to accept Jesus as our teacher.

Some interpreters of the Bible have stretched and twisted Jesus' statements to fit their agenda. They will attempt to use Jesus' statements to apply to situations outside of their context.

This is precisely why Jesus is underscoring here the need to be "fully trained" by "his teacher."

Having a living teacher who has been trained by a teacher will be able to train us in the same way they were trained, yet apply those teachings to the present time and circumstances. We can see by Jesus' instruction to his students is so important:

Why can't a blind man lead a blind man?

Often a person will join a church assuming that the teacher of that church - its pastor, minister, reverend, priest or whatever - is equipped to help them advance spiritually. The church-goer may sometimes change churches if they do not like the pastor or priest, but this is rare. The church-goer will often choose the church of a sect they feel they are a member of, or perhaps some of their family are members of that sect - or perhaps they were invited by friends or the church is simply nearby their home.

Who the pastor or priest of that church is often a secondary consideration. As explained by Jesus, this is a mistake.

There is a frequent assumption that anyone who has been ordained by educators approved by a church institution's leaders is qualified to be our teacher. This is seemingly verified by a local church committee, who will often select the pastor to be their church teacher.

The Catholic church process is a bit different, with priests being appointed by regional bishops who govern that territory on behalf of the Catholic diocese.

Both processes are essentially the same. The pastor or priest first must attend a seminary college and receive a degree in divinity, and then must be qualified through testing and sometimes interview to become ordained. Then the person is selected through either a committee of deacons or a bishop to be the teacher of a particular church and those who attend that church.

The decision is being made by committees of people. This makes the selection process a political process.

This process - of election or appointment of teachers through a political process by other people - was also existing in the Temple during Jesus' time. The high priests and Pharisee officials were appointed with a political process. 

Yet we find that Jesus did not approve of this process. He repeatedly criticized the Temple institution and those who were politically appointed to their positions among the Temples.

What does "fully trained" mean?

Jesus used the phrase "fully trained" above. Every person who becomes fully trained by a bona fide spiritual teacher is equipped to represent those teachings. If the spiritual teacher is connected with God, the "fully trained" student will also become connected to God. There is no official certification by any institution or other group of people required.

Being 'fully trained' means that the person has become committed to the teachings of their teacher. Being "fully trained" means they are living those teachings. This means they have become devoted to those teachings.

Many will say that the priest or pastor is being fully trained in seminary school. This may be the case, but only if the seminary school teacher has themselves taken on a teacher who is qualified to give them spiritual training.

The problem is that most of the seminary colleges are professional institutions. They are not staffed by those who are carrying out Jesus' instruction to serve the Supreme Being. They are staffed by those who are being paid a salary to teach. This means they are professional teachers - not spiritual teachers.

As clearly stated by Jesus above, a teacher is only qualified if they are first "fully trained" by a "fully trained" spiritual teacher. And because Jesus' teachings taught service ("the will of my Father"), they must be serving the Supreme Being with that service of teaching. If they are receiving a salary in exchange for their teachings, then it is not service. It is business.

Those pastors or priests who were students of these professional teachers carry on that tradition by receiving salaries for their teaching in churches. This receiving of a salary disqualifies them from being bona fide spiritual teachers, however. This is because they are not conducting service to God. They are conducting business.

Should a person serve God for a salary?

A person who is maintaining a business relationship with God - conducting service in return for a salary or some other reward - can only train us to do the same. They cannot train us to become loving servants of the Supreme Being.

They also cannot teach us the answers to the central questions about life: Who am I? Why am I here? Why is there so much suffering here? and Who is God?

And it is for this reason that so many students of these professional Church teachers focus their attention not on regaining their natural position as one of God's loving servants, but they focus upon praying to God for stuff.

This is why some will pray for wealth, to win football games or pray to gain some other material advantage. 

What kind of a relationship with God is this? This is a relationship where we expect God to serve us: We expect Him to help us win the race, fix our leg, make us wealthy and so on.

What does this have to do with loving service? With devotion? Nothing. It is a business relationship.

And it is this very business relationship that makes so many people walk away from their faith in the Supreme Being. They didn't get what they wanted, so to heck with God. Why pray if we don't get what we want?

This type of relationship is specifically the result of the 'blind leading the blind' as Jesus states here. Those professional teachers who are conducting business relationships with God are leading others into that same blindness.

What are they blind to?

They are blind to our identity as spiritual and not the temporary physical body. They are blind to why we are here in the physical world first place. They are blind to our original relationship of loving service to the Supreme Being - a relationship that ultimately brings us happiness.

They are blind to the complete fulfillment that comes as a result of engaging in devotional service to the Supreme Being without any expectation of reward.

They are blind to these because they do not know about them. They have not been "fully trained."

This is because loving service to the Supreme Being without any expectation of reward requires love. It requires a person to love God. And how does a person learn to love God?

First they need to be introduced to God - the Person God. We cannot love someone we do not know.

This introduction must come from a person who already knows the Supreme Being. This is not only God's requirement: It is the universal law of relationships.

Just imagine if we told someone that we were going to introduce them to the President. So they get all excited, and when the day comes, they find out we don't really know the President. We just pretended to know him. Can that person come to know the President without being introduced by someone who already knows him? Likely not. Like most people, the President will typically only trust a person if they are introduced by someone they already trust.

It is similar with God, because a fully trained teacher will show us how we can apply our lives at this very point in time and space in such a way that will please the Supreme Being. Should we truly want to come to know God we will follow those instructions.

And when the Supreme Being sees this, He is pleased. He is pleased because we are committing ourselves in such a way that is pleasing to Him.

This is not only illustrated by this statement above by Jesus. It is also illustrated as Jesus approached and was baptized by John the Baptist. John knew that Jesus was an exalted lover of God already: But he still accepted Jesus as his student by baptizing him. Jesus even commented on the necessity of this process:

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." (John 3:13-15)

This is not about getting stuff from God. It is not about God fixing our leg, making us wealthy or helping us win the game. Love for God has not about God serving us: It is about us serving God. "To fulfill all righteousness" in this context means to conduct oneself in such a way pleasing to God.

This is confirmed by the Greek word δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosynē) translated to "righteousness." This word means "integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, the correctness of thinking feeling, and acting;" and in this application, "the condition acceptable to God." Being acceptable to God means pleasing God. Jesus wanted to please God with his becoming one of John's students - the meaning of baptism.

Just imagine if we were to approach a person we wanted to become friends with, and all we did is ask him to do stuff for us. Would that make for a healthy relationship? The other person would likely dismiss us - as it would be easy to see that we were simply interested in using them to get what we wanted. We were not interested in having a relationship with them.

The Supreme Being is a person. He enjoys loving relationships. He does like to do things for those He loves - and He is doing things for us all the time regardless of our appreciation of them. But a true loving relationship is about service. A person who truly loves another will want to do what pleases that person.

This is what Jesus was trying to teach his students: About loving God and serving God. One does not exist without the other.

This is confirmed by Jesus' most important instruction, which had been passed down from one "fully trained" teacher to another over many centuries, as evidenced by Moses teaching the same instruction to his own students:

"'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 Deuteronomy 6:5)

"No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed...." (Luke 8:16-18)

"No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them." (Luke 8:16-18)

What does the parable of the lamp mean?

Jesus is speaking directly to his disciples. He is speaking about them passing on the information - the Truth - that he has given them.

The word "lamp" is being translated from the Greek word, λύχνος (lychnos), which means "candle, lamp or another illuminator" according to the lexicon. Jesus is referring to something that gives off light. Something that provides illumination so that we can see what is going on around us when the surroundings are dark.

That dark place is the physical world. The physical world is covered in the darkness of ignorance. Here in this world, we think this place is all there is. In this world, we think that we are the center of the universe.

The "lamp" in Jesus' parable is his teachings. Jesus' teachings provide illumination in a world of ignorance of the Truth. Jesus' teachings cut through the haze of the illusion that the only thing that exists is what we see with our senses, and we are the center of the universe.

What is illusion?

Some time ago, on a CBS 60-Minutes piece, a man - Shin Dong-hyuk - documented his experiences at a prison in North Korea. It turns out the man was born in that prison, and while in the prison Shin was given no opportunity to know or see anything outside the prison: No books, internet, newspapers, TV, radio or other communications were made available to him. And his North Korean captors kept him in the dark about the world outside.

So up until Shin escaped the prison - he did not even know a world outside the prison existed. He did not know people could choose their food. Shin did not know some foods even existed. He had no idea that people even had the freedom to walk around freely.

This is because Shin's senses were limited by his captors to seeing only inside the prison. He could not see outside the prison and therefore, assumed that the prison was all that existed. And when he escaped, Shin was shocked at what occurs in the "outside world."

This type of assumption - that all we see is all that exists - takes place naturally because our memory of life before this body has been essentially wiped clean. Our mind has been programmed to only believe what the senses perceive. This physical mind thus has no entry into the spiritual realm unless our senses come into contact with God's representative or scripture. Otherwise, the mind will assume all we see around us in the physical world is all that exists.

Just as the North Korean prison guards made sure that the prisoner's senses were limited to the prison, the Supreme Being programmed the physical world so our physical senses and mind could not perceive Him or the spiritual realm.

Why did we forget?

Why would the Supreme Being - controller of everything - do this? Why would He make the spiritual realm invisible to our physical senses? Why would He allow us to be in ignorance?

Because this is what we wanted. We wanted to get away from God. We wanted to go out and play out our desires. We wanted to have what God has.

Let's give an example:

Let's say that we had a long-time friend from our youth - a friend who shared everything with us for many years. And suddenly our friend becomes a sports star, and we become jealous of our friend. We became envious because we wanted that stardom. And let's say one day in a jealous rage we burst out and screamed at this old friend - telling them we never wanted to see them again.

How would that make our old friend feel? They would become heartbroken. They would become saddened that they had lost their friendship with us all because we became jealous of what they achieved.

What would such a friend do after we became jealous of them and told them we didn't want to see them again? They would naturally go away. They would give us our space. They would get out of our lives and leave us alone. They wouldn't want to hang around us.

This is our situation with God, except that instead of becoming a sports star, God is the Supreme Controller. We became envious of God, as the symbolism of the forbidden fruit, portrayed by the snake to Eve:

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

Then we find that God banished Adam and Eve (symbolically, each of us), denying our access to the "tree of life" - symbolically, spiritual life:

And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." (Genesis 3:22)

Becoming "like one of us" relates to enjoyment. Seeking enjoyment, which comes with consequences ("good and evil" which translated correctly really means "pain and pleasure.)

And the facility God used was not only banning them (us) from the Garden, but also covering them with "skin":

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

These "garments of skin" are our physical bodies. God covered us in physical bodies so that we can play out our self-centeredness.

But along with that, these bodies and this physical world was imbued with lessens and consequences:

"Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." (Genesis 3:17-19)

This is the story of the physical world and these physical bodies. Within them we toil and we struggle amongst thorns and thistles. Then our bodies die and they decompose into the dust of the earth.

Is this world fulfilling?

In His infinite wisdom, God has programmed the physical world to allow us to try to achieve our desire to become like God ("one of us").

In this world, we can pretend to be the "boss" of something. We can be the boss of others at work. Or we can be the boss of a sports team by being a coach or captain. Or we can be the boss of our children, or if we are a schoolteacher, the boss of our students. And if we can't be any of those bosses, we can get a pet and be the boss of our pet. We can play all sorts of roles in this physical world and try to act out our jealousy of God by being in charge of someone and/or something.

Here we can also mimic God in that we can become a "star" of something. Each of us can pretend we are some sort of star here. We can win a few games at something and think we are the star of that crowd, that sport, or that match. We can practice an instrument for many years and then feel we are a star musician of some sort. We can do something unique on a you-tube video and feel we are an internet star. We can be a business success and be the star of the business world. Or we can be the star of our pets. All of these attempts are allowed by the Supreme Being in order to provide us with an opportunity to achieve our dreams - so we try to achieve God's position by being some sort of "star."

Yet none of these forms of stardom fulfill us. They do not make us happy. Being the boss or the star only brings us emptiness. This is one of the lessons of the physical world. We are not happy with these achievements because, by nature, we are not stars. We are not bosses. These are not our natural positions.

What is our natural position?

Our natural position is one of a servant. Of caregiver. We are fulfilled only when we resume our spiritual identity as one of God's loving servants and caregivers.

This, in fact, is why the physical world was also programmed by God to teach us. Through consequence learning experiences, the Supreme Being shows us that this is not our home, and we indeed have another home.

The teachings of the prophets - passed down through John to Jesus, all taught this fact. This world is not our home, and we will be empty without our Best Friend, God. This is why Jesus' central teaching - as was Moses' and the rest of the prophets - was:

"'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)

This is the light that Jesus illuminated his students with.

The next part of Jesus' statement reveals that the Truth will continue to illuminate us as it is revealed:

"For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open."

This indicates that the Truth cannot be hidden. It will be revealed and illuminated to those who will hear it:

Is Jesus speaking of humility?

The next part of Jesus' statement refers to a particular state of mind when it comes to the Truth. First he says:

"Therefore consider carefully how you listen."

What does "how you listen" mean? Jesus is referring to being open-minded. Not letting our pre-conceived notions interfere with our learning.

Ultimately this relates to humility. Being open-minded means letting go of the idea that we know it all. Being open-minded means assuming we have a lot to learn.

It takes humility to admit this. This is communicated in Jesus' last statement:

"Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them."

What we "think we have" relates to confidence. Being confident about what we know. When we are confident that we know it all, Jesus is saying that even what we do know will be taken from us.

So what is it that "whoever has"? It is humility. Accepting that we are nothing without the wisdom of the Supreme Being. Accepting that everything we have comes from God. Jesus stated this about himself and his own teachings:

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

"... tell them, 'The kingdom of God has come near ...'" (Luke 10:9)

"Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'" (Luke 10:9)

What does this mean?

What does "'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'" mean?

This translation is consistent with most other Biblical versions (NKJV, NLT, FSV, NASB, ASV, etc.).

And stated in the King James Version as:

"The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you."

And translated in Young's Literal Translation Bible as:

"The reign of God hath come nigh to you."

So what does this statement really mean then? What does the "kingdom of God" or "reign of God" mean and why would this be so important that not only would Jesus teach it, but John would teach it and Jesus asked his students to teach it?

First, we must understand - this statement is a paraphrasing of a set of teachings. We might compare this to how a person might paraphrase a book's contents:

Let's say a book details the various battles of World War II and what each country and their generals did, and how the war was ended and who won, and all the other details of the war. Such a book might be a huge book - maybe 500-700 pages long.

But then someone asks us, after we read such a book, "what was the book about?"

What would we say? Would we begin to tell the person all the details of the book - all the battles and generals and such?

No. We would simply say something like: "The book was all about World War II."

Yes, this would be the way to capture the essence of the book without having to read it.

The word "kingdom" here comes from the Greek word, βασιλεία (basileia), which means "royal power, kingship, dominion, rule" according to the lexicon, wherein it also states clearly, "not to be confused with an actual kingdom but rather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom" - confirmed by Young's Literal Translation version above - translating it to "reign" rather than "kingdom."

Thus we find this reveals the fallacy of this doomsday interpretation. Because this word βασιλεία (basileia) is not describing a physical kingdom or territory, it cannot refer to the annihilation of the physical world.

Furthermore, the word "near" - coming from the Greek word ἐγγίζω (eggizō) - does not have anything to do with time - as in a doomsday scenario. Rather, according to the lexicon, the word means, "to bring near, to join one thing to another;" and "to draw or come near to, to approach."

Thus we can conclude the doomsday interpretation of this phrase is inaccurate.

Instead, the phrase: "'The kingdom of God has come near to you'" means we have the opportunity to let God rule our lives: We have the opportunity to surrender to God's will. We can - if we choose - elect to do God's will instead of our own will.

Doing so will in fact bring us - as individuals - under the "reign" or "dominion" of the Supreme Being. Should we choose to do what God wants us to do - rather than what we want - then we will become one of God's servants.

This is not about slavery. A person who chooses to do God's will does so out of freedom. We are never forced to serve God. If He wanted to force us, He could. But He doesn't. God wants us to make the choice - because love requires freedom.

Isn't this what John also taught?

Furthermore, we find clear indication that Jesus in fact was passing down the same teachings that John the Baptist taught. Just consider these 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. 3:2)

From that time on [after John's imprisonment] Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." (Matt. 4:17)

[Jesus told his disciples] "As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.'" (Matt. 10:7)

This confirms Jesus' statement in Luke 10:9 above.

So we can clearly see Jesus is now instructing his students to pass on these very same teachings that John taught.

In the same way, the teachings of love for God handed down from teacher to student over the centuries are not fully contained within the descriptions of the various prophets, nor are they all contained in the New Testament. In fact, it is clear the books of the New Testament detail snippets of some of Jesus' teachings, mostly in parable form. There are only one or two explanations of those parables, along with a few of his prayers and exchanges with people. Outside of these, the Books of the New Testament contain mostly Jesus' teachings in parable form:

He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, “ ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’" (Luke 8:10)

Or do we think that Jesus' students - or Jesus' students' students who passed along and transcribed these short summaries of Jesus' life - would disobey Jesus' instruction and broadcast all of Jesus' intimate teachings to his students?

Certainly not. Rather, they exposed primarily what Jesus exposed to the public: Enough of the teachings to bring clarity to those who are sincere in their efforts to gain wisdom, yet just enough mystery to confuse those who are not sincere. This is specifically why Jesus spoke in the public using parables, and why most of the teachings detailed within the Books of the New Testament are also in parable or summary form.

In other words, there is a distinction between Jesus' confidential teachings to his students and what was taught in public. Why is this? Jesus clearly explains the reason:

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." (Matt. 7:6)

Note the words, "what is sacred" - the word "sacred" - coming from the Greek word ἅγιος (hagios) - means "most holy thing" according to the lexicon.

So Jesus was careful not to reveal "what is sacred" to just anyone and everyone. Rather, he understood clearly the right time and circumstance. He knew when to reveal what and to whom. How and why?

Because Jesus was passing on God's message, and God was guiding the process:

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

Jesus also clarified that only those sincerely wanting to rekindle their relationship with God could understand this:

"Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own." (John 7:17)

We can, therefore, understand Jesus was not only selective about what he taught; but he carefully selected to whom and when it was taught - because he cherished those teachings - as they were coming from God - the Person Jesus loves.

Why is Jesus saying this now?

Here Jesus is continuing to instruct his 72 disciples on their going out to preach on his behalf. What does he mean by this instruction?

Before this verse, Jesus tells them to go in twos, to each town and village. He tells them to travel directly to the village without stopping. He tells them to travel there without shoes or extra clothes, and he tells them to stay where they are invited to stay, and bring "peace" to that house. This is all instructed in Luke 10:2 forward. We've discussed the meaning of these instructions with each verse.

Jesus is giving specific instructions to specific students at a particular time and circumstance. It is not as if we should be imitating these specific instructions some 2,000 years later.

This is the purpose of having a living spiritual teacher - and the very reason why Jesus sent out his disciples to teach as he was doing. He wanted his students to also take on students - and pass on those teachings to others according to the time and circumstance.

Yes, each culture, each time and each location may require a slightly different methodology for reaching out and communicating to others.

We can see this today as we look at the internet - and how schools and universities have changed over the centuries. Teaching methods change with the times.

But Jesus wasn't asking his students to pass on just any teaching:

Wasn't Jesus teaching love for God?

Yes, Jesus was teaching love for God. He wasn't making these teachings up either. He didn't invent the teachings of love for God. We can see this clearly from two perspectives. First, we can see that Jesus was passing on the same teachings that had been passed down from Moses to Joshua and on through the lineage of prophets:

“‘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)

This is derived from Moses' teachings, found throughout Deuteronomy, particularly this verse:

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

("Strength" versus "mind" - applications of time and circumstance.)

And God wants our love. He wants to exchange love. This is what gives God pleasure.

And it is what gives each of us pleasure too.

Just think about what we do in our lives. Besides the quest to keep the body alive - survival - we are perpetually engaged in relationships. We want to exchange love with others. We want others to love us, and we want to share loving relationships with others.

This is also why almost every movie and book is about love. This is why people want to have and be a part of a family. This is why people search for their 'soul mate.' Because we are seeking love and loving relationships.

We have this tendency because we are God's children. We come from Him. He is the Master at loving relationships. He is the Master at love and exchanging love. So we've inherited the need for love.

Yes, this seemingly innocuous paraphrasing of Jesus' and John's teachings runs deep. It has the breadth and the expanse of the universe for those who can perceive it. It has the heart of God within it for those who see it.

Jesus is teaching that each of us can turn to the Supreme Being now. He is right here next to each of us, waiting patiently and lovingly. We can turn to Him and give our lives to Him and fall in love with Him and lovingly serve Him. If we choose to.

What about healing?

So what about the healing thing? Why did Jesus also tell his 72 students to heal the sick? ""Heal the sick who are there..."

The word "heal" comes from the Greek word, θεραπεύω (therapeuō), and the word "sick" comes from the Greek word ἀσθενής (asthenēs).

The primary meaning for the word θεραπεύω (therapeuō) is "to serve, do service." Only its secondary meaning is "to heal, cure, restore to health."

And the only meaning for the word ἀσθενής (asthenēs) according to the lexicon is "weak, infirm, feeble."

So while we can certainly interpret this as healing the sick, a better, broader, and more literal translation would be:

What about "serve the weak"?

Jesus is talking about caring for those who are weak, feeble, or otherwise humbled in life. Does this mean they have to completely heal their diseases? Do they each have to perform miracles?

Remember this is being instructed to 72 disciples. Were all of Jesus' disciples able to perform miracles of healing as Jesus did? We certainly cannot limit them to not being able to. But to expect all of them to be "miracle workers" would be rather unrealistic.

Thus we can accept that Jesus was not expecting all his students to do miracles. Rather, Jesus was wanting them to care for people. To serve those who were weak and feeble. Those who needed assistance. If a man was elderly and bed-ridden and needed some water, Jesus expected his students would care for the man and get him some water.

But this phrase, "serve the weak" also goes further. It also relates to reaching those who are humble. And those who have less opportunity than others due to their humility and stature.

We must remember Jesus' purpose was not to heal everyone's physical body. This is the physical world and every physical body gets sick, and every physical body gets old and dies. Then the spirit-person leaves the body. Jesus was focused on healing the spirit-person within. Yes, Jesus may have performed some miracles to bring attention to those teachings, but his intent was to heal the person within: The person who will be leaving the body at the time of death.

And Jesus didn't want his students to travel to villages and become the servant of some rich landowner or otherwise become the sidekick of some wealthy, powerful person. He wanted his students to provide service to the lowly, and teach those who were humble. Why?

This reflects the mercy of God. It reflects the care and nurturing that the Supreme Being has for us. He is always there for us - particularly during times of trouble and humility.

And those who are lowly, feeble and otherwise humbled in any society are also often more receptive to hearing the teachings of love for God. Because they are dealing with some of the realities of physical existence, they have more opportunity to see through the illusions of wealth, fame and power. Not necessarily - but more likely.

Those who are chasing wealth, or chasing fame, or otherwise striving for power or the affection of others, are often so involved in this illusory chase that they will not stop and seriously consider whether their chase will result in happiness. But those who have been through the chase and have come out the other side so to speak, are often ready to hear the truth as handed down from teacher to student - coming from the Supreme Being - which resolves the questions of physical suffering - healing the person within.

These reasons are why Jesus wanted his students to 'serve the weak.'

But as for trying to imitate these instructions - as many ecclesiastical teachers attempt as they display their evangelist showman miracle healings in order to increase their followers - we can understand this was condemned by Jesus, with a caveat:

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 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 in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" (Matt. 7:21-23)

"Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me ..." (Luke 10:16)

"Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects Him who sent me." (Luke 10:16) 

What is Jesus talking about?

Here Jesus is summing up - as he instructs his 72 disciples before they go out and preach - the essence of representing the Supreme Being within the succession of spiritual teachers.

Jesus is sending out his disciples to teach the same teachings that he himself was teaching - the same teachings that Jesus' teacher John the Baptist taught.

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

From that time on [after John's imprisonment] Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." (Matt. 4:17)

And Jesus instructed his 72 disciples:

"Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'" (Luke 10:9)

This is evidence of a clear lineage of teachers and their teachings, which Jesus was a part of.

Furthermore, "Whoever listens to you listens to me" indicates that to hear the teachings coming from Jesus' disciples is to hear Jesus' teachings.

And "whoever rejects me rejects Him who sent me" indicates that to hear the teachings coming from Jesus and Jesus' disciples is to hear God's teachings.

This is because Jesus is representing the Supreme Being. He is God's representative.

This is not only clear from this statement, but Jesus stated this before with statements such as:

"For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken." (John 12:49)

"...everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15)

Was Jesus sent by God?

It is clear from this statement that Jesus was sent by the Supreme Being and is speaking on His behalf. But why? Why would Jesus speak on God's behalf? Can't God speak for Himself?

The essential understanding is there exists a loving relationship between Jesus and the Supreme Being. The reason God lets His loving servants speak on His behalf is that they not only can communicate God's objectives and His instructions - but they can communicate and illustrate to others how to love the Supreme Being.

In other words, Jesus showed us both with his teachings and with his life just how to love the Supreme Being: How to give one's life to the Supreme Being.

This is why God lets His loving servants such as Jesus come to the earth to teach on His behalf.

And we can see in some of Jesus' statements the intimacy of the relationship between God and Jesus. These were illustrated in statements that many find confusing, such as:

"I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30)

"On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you." (John 14:20)

While many have inaccurately taught this means Jesus is God, Jesus is actually speaking of the loving relationship between him and the Supreme Being. It is a relationship of love, wherein the lover is always trying to please his beloved.

Just consider what takes place between a husband and wife. There are two people, yet they are one when it comes to their dealings with others. They are a team. Why? Because they are committed to each other. Their marriage and their loving relationship (theoretically) means they have one will between them. There is a oneness between them.

The same oneness can be said of a relationship between God and His loving servant, in that the loving servant of God is always wanting to please the Supreme Being. Thus the loving servant essentially surrenders his will to the Supreme Being's will. This makes them effectively one because they have one will between them.

This means there is no difference between what they want. They both want the same thing. The Supreme Being's loving servant wants whatever the Supreme Being wants.

And because the Supreme Being loves us unconditionally, He always wants what will ultimately make us happy.

Because of Jesus' love for the Supreme Being, Jesus' teachings are God's teachings. And if Jesus' disciples are doing Jesus' will and passing on Jesus' teachings, they are also passing on God's teachings.

This is the process by which we come to know the Supreme Being. He sends those who have already committed themselves to Him to introduce us to Him.

Did Jesus introduce his students to God?

Yes. And now he wants them to introduce others.

This introduction process is how we can also come to know the Supreme Being. But this introduction can only come from someone who knows God and loves the Supreme Being. It cannot come from a pretender. It doesn't matter how long a person's robes are, or what title others have given them.

Just consider if a stranger off the street came to us and said, "I know the president and I can introduce you personally to him." So we follow the stranger to the White House and they stand in front of the locked gate surrounding the perimeter and he proceeds to tell us the president's family history. Is the stranger really introducing us? No, he can't even get through the locked gate outside the White House, let alone introduce us personally to the president.

This is essentially what some teachers are doing. They claim to be introducing us to Jesus and God but they do not have a relationship with either. They might have learned a lot of Biblical history in seminary college. But they don't know Jesus and God personally. And this is why many of these teachers are confusing Jesus with God - because they don't know either of them.

Furthermore, we cannot trust these teachers who teach that we don't need a teacher because we can learn directly from Jesus "in the heart." This is hypocritical teaching. Why are they teaching us if we can reach Jesus directly? Why are they instructing us if we can turn to Jesus directly? Why not just get this from Jesus himself?

They are teaching nonsense because they are not empowered. We can see that John the Baptist was empowered to teach. And so was Jesus. And Jesus empowered his disciples to teach. And they went out to teach others. This illustrates clearly the process.

It is a practical process. There is no need for speculative imagination, trying to imagine Jesus within my heart so that I can "hear" him. This is a teaching from those who are not empowered. From those who are not passing on Jesus' teachings.

We can see here that Jesus' 72 disciples were committed to Jesus, and thus committed to the Supreme Being. They were passing on Jesus' instructions, after hearing and learning Jesus' teachings. They didn't need to imagine anything. It was very practical.

And Jesus' teachings were also very practical. What was Jesus' primary teaching?

" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Luke 10:27)