“Let the dead bury their own dead ...” (Luke 9:60)

He said to another man, "Follow me." But he replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:59-60)

Why did Jesus instruct the man not to bury his father?

Jesus' statement is clear. Jesus has asked someone to follow him and that person felt they needed to attend to the funeral of their father first. So Jesus is telling him to leave the funeral to the "dead" and instead "proclaim the kingdom of God."

What about those who preach that the family is all-important? And what about the importance of burials? Many churches even have graveyards as part of their institution, and the priests claiming to follow Jesus will typically preside over burial rituals.

These rituals, in fact, illustrate how far these institutions have wandered from Jesus' teachings. Instead of embracing Jesus' teachings as Jesus' followers, these institutions have embraced the very elements that Jesus asked his students to de-emphasize in their lives.

Why would Jesus instruct a potential follower not to attend his own father's funeral?

Isn't the family important to Jesus?

Jesus did indeed teach that the family of the physical body was not important in spiritual life. This is why, when his mother and brothers came to visit him during a sermon, he said:

"My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice." (Luke 8:20-21)

Yes, Jesus is teaching us about our larger family. The family of God's children, which we are a member of. And those of God's children that are accepting the Supreme Being are our dearest family members.

But what about Moses' teaching to "honor your mother and your father" (Exodus 20:12)? Yes, this is one of the instructions of Moses. So what is going on? Why is Jesus telling this potential follower not to attend his father's funeral?

Jesus wasn't instructing his students not to honor their mother or father when they were alive. He was teaching them not to honor dead bodies. The soul of the man's father was gone, leaving the dead carcass. The man had the opportunity to follow Jesus. Surely the dead body of his father was not so important in comparison.

At issue is the nature of the physical body with respect to our identity and the importance of our spiritual life.

“Let the dead bury their own dead" is a metaphorical homonym comparing a dead physical body with a dead spiritual life.

What did Jesus teach about who we are?

Jesus taught that we are not the physical body. He taught that we are spirit by nature.

The physical body is only alive when it is animated by the spirit-person - the spiritual self that is not perceivable by the gross physical senses. When this spirit-person leaves the physical body the body dies. It is lifeless.

This means that we are not these physical bodies. They are temporary vehicles we occupy for a while. Then they die.

But those who are enamored by the physical world - those of us who identify ourselves with our physical body - will mourn the death of a family member. What we are not seeing is that the person has not died. They have simply left their physical body.

Thus to attend the funeral of the father is not related to Moses' commandment, because that person whom we should respect for raising us and taking care of us as children is gone. Their lifeless physical body may remain, but the person is gone.

Thus, Jesus is classifying those who mourn the death of the physical body as "dead" because they are incorrectly identifying the spiritual self with the physical body. They are "dead" because they are not seeing that the spirit-person has simply moved on. And they are "dead" because they are not focused upon their relationship with their real Father - the Supreme Being.

In other words, they are spiritually "dead."

This statement, in fact, is testimony that Jesus himself taught about our identity as spirit, not the physical body. Other statements confirm this, such as:

"And don’t fear those who can kill the body but are unable to kill the soul." (Matthew 10:28)

"Watch out and pray that you will not be tempted – for the spirit may be willing but the physical body is weak." (Matt. 26:41 and Mark 14:38)

“For this reason I say to you, don’t be anxious about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body and what you will wear. Is not the soul more than food, and the body more than clothing?" (Matt. 6:25)

"It is spirit that gives life; the physical body provides no benefit." (John 6:63)

"That which arises from the flesh is flesh, and that which arises from the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:6)

"But when you see your true self that existed before your body, which never dies nor becomes visible, how can you rely on it?” (Gospel of Thomas 84:2)

"For my mother bore my body, yet my True Mother gave me life.” (Gospel of Thomas 101:3)

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear." (Luke 12:22)

In the last statement, if we single out the phrase "or about your body," we get:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your body"

Jesus is telling his students not to worry about their bodies because we are not these bodies. Our body is a temporary vehicle.

Meanwhile, Jesus has a mission to do. He is teaching others about the Supreme Being. He is guiding others by educating them about God. And on the scale of importance, this takes precedence over mourning over a lifeless body.

What did he mean by 'go preach'?

But is Jesus necessarily telling the student to immediately go out and begin preaching, even though he hasn't been following Jesus yet? (As Jesus has just asked him to "follow me.")

Both of these words, "preach" (KJV) or "proclaim" (NIV) come from the Greek word διαγγέλλω (diaggellō), which means, according to Strong's lexicon:

1) to carry a message through, announce everywhere, through places, through assemblies of men etc.
2) to publish abroad, declare

Would Jesus be sending out a brand new follower to preach - before he began hearing from Jesus and learning his teachings?

This interpretation - to preach - actually contradicts Jesus' first statement, "follow me." (Luke 9:59) He can't go out and preach if he hasn't followed Jesus yet. He must become Jesus' student and learn from Jesus before he is ready to preach.

So yes, we can certainly interpret this to mean Jesus wants him to go out preaching, but there is a more appropriate translation and interpretation of this statement - given the circumstances:

Did Jesus encourage him to glorify God?

The reality is that Jesus wanted his follower to glorify the Supreme Being. To "proclaim the kingdom of God" doesn't just mean preaching to others. It means to praise the Supreme Being. It means to glorify Him and glorify His Holy Name.

Preaching is also glorifying God: but simply in the role of a teacher.

The fact is, many have completely missed this part of Jesus' teachings. He wanted those around him to glorify God and praise God's Name.

This is evidenced by how Jesus wanted his students to say about him:

"Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" (Luke 13:35)

And why, after practically every miracle Jesus performed, do we find people praising God:

When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God... (Matt. 9:8)

The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel. (Matt. 15:31)

He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God... (Mark 2:12)

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God... (Luke 2:28)

They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” (Luke 7:16)

Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. (Luke 13:13)

Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. (Luke 18:43)

The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God... (Luke 23:47)

And with these verses, we discover the real purpose of so many of Jesus' activities, such as performing miracles. He wanted those around him to praise God!

We also see that Jesus' disciples followed this instruction of Jesus after he left them:

And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. (Luke 24:53)

This act of praising God was also taught by David - whom Jesus followed and quoted often:

Let the Name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore. (Psalms 113:2)

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the Name of the LORD is to be praised. (Psalms 113:3)

From these verses and many others, we find that Jesus indeed was teaching his students to praise God - to glorify the Supreme Being. This also meant as David stresses, glorifying God's Holy Name.

Actually, we find this teaching throughout the Books of the Bible. Why? Because this is a universal teaching of any bona fide representative of the Supreme Being.

As this statement and all these verses clearly indicate, praising the Supreme Being and glorifying His Holy Names is the pathway to returning to our relationship with the Supreme Being. And what is the nature of that relationship? Jesus emphasized this:

“‘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." (Luke 10:27)

This is why Jesus taught us to glorify God.

"I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden ..." (Luke 10:21)

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what You were pleased to do." (Luke 10:21)

Who is Jesus praying to if Jesus is God?

Verses like this completely contradict and reveal the falsity of the teaching that Jesus is God. If Jesus was God, then he would be praying to himself. He wouldn't need to pray to another person. He would not need to praise another person.

Rather, he would say, "I praise me because I am God and I have hidden ..."

Indeed, Jesus is praying to the Supreme Being, with a heart "full of joy" - as he reflects on the news of his students' successful preaching mission.

The phrase "full of joy" comes from the Greek word ἀγαλλιάω (agalliaō). This word means "to exult, rejoice exceedingly, be exceeding glad" according to the lexicon.

In other words, Jesus was very pleased as praised God. Why?

From the verses before this we know it is because Jesus' 72 disciples had returned from their preaching mission with good news. They had preached to others. Jesus' teachings had been communicated to others and this made him pleased.

Why was Jesus praising God?

But notice that Jesus is praising God and not praising those who went out and preached. Why is he praising God instead of his followers who preached to others?

Because he realizes that this is God's arrangement. God is the one who opened up the hearts of Jesus' students, allowing them to hear the Truth. And God is the one who gave Jesus' followers the ability to pass on those teachings to others.

This is a sign of love. You see, Jesus was not on a power trip. It wasn't as if he had to be the big preacher. He had at least 72 students and disciples who were now passing on his teachings to others. This made him pleased because he loved not only his students, but he loves all of God's children and wants others to hear his teachings.

And Jesus' love for others reflects the Supreme Being's love for us.

In fact, Jesus' love for others relates directly to his love for the Supreme Being.

We can see this in Jesus' prayer to the Supreme Being. This is how Jesus expressed his joy: By praising God.

First, he says, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth...."

The expression "I praise You" comes from the Greek word ἐξομολογέω (exomologeō), which not only means to praise or profess someone, but to do it joyfully.

In fact, we find that praising God is recommended throughout the scriptures. Every prophet praised God and taught the importance of praising God. And David praises God in practically every Psalm.

And we know that praising God pleased Jesus. Here is the scene when Jesus walked down the road to Jerusalem:

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices... (Luke 19:37)

So not only did Jesus praise God, but he taught his disciples to praise God. This is also reflected by what Jesus' disciples did after Jesus left them - the very last verse of Luke:

And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. (Luke 24:53)

So why is it so important to praise God? Why is this such an important teaching of Jesus and the Prophets?

Because this is how we can connect with the Supreme Being. This is how we can establish a relationship with God.

Just consider how this is done between two people. What does a boy do when he wants to have a relationship with a girl? He compliments her. He might say, "that's a nice dress," or perhaps, "I like what you said in class."

He says this because it is universally accepted that praising someone helps us establish a relationship with them.

It is no different with the Supreme Being. In fact, these universal laws of relationships actually stem from the relationships between the Supreme Being and His children.

But we must understand the difference between praise from the heart and forced praise. The boy might praise the girl because he is trying to figure out a way to get closer to her. She will certainly realize this even if the compliment seems forced. If she is receptive to a relationship with the boy she will respond positively because she knows the intention of the praise.

It is the same with the Supreme Being. When we are beginning our path towards re-establishing our relationship with the Supreme Being we might praise God somewhat mechanically. But if we are sincerely doing this, He sees that we are doing this because we want to have a relationship with Him. We want to come to know God and come to love Him. He sees this and reciprocates. This is how we come to know the Supreme Being - as we become ready, He shows us more and more of Himself.

This, by the way, is the purpose of the ancient teaching - calling out and reciting the Holy Name of God - praising God - has been passed on from ancient times through the prophets all the way from Abraham through Jesus and Jesus' students.

Unfortunately, this ancient teaching is not taught by many today. Some will recite the phrase "praise God" because it is mentioned so many times in the scriptures. But they do not teach their followers to praise God in a focused way. Why? Because they are not passing on the instructions given by these great teachers.

Here in Jesus' statement, we see that praising God can occupy another dimension: Spontaneous praise of God out of love.

We also see how this works in other types of relationships. When a person sincerely cares about the other person and praises that person as an expression of their love.

A loving parent, for example, might joyfully praise her child when the child walks for the first time. This kind of praise comes when there is already a relationship of love.

This type of praise - out of love - is where Jesus is coming from. He already enjoys a loving relationship with the Supreme Being. So as he became happy that his disciples are spreading his teachings - his teachings about love for God - he expresses that joy with loving praise to the Supreme Being.

Is Jesus referring literally to 'little children'?

Actually, there is a slight mistranslation here. The phrase "little children" is not a fair translation. Jesus is not speaking of "little children" here - that would be out of context with the situation. Jesus is speaking about his students - and the fact that his students have understood his teachings. They have understood them while those "wise and learned" ecclesiastical Jewish priests did not understand the Truth, even though they had access to the scriptures.

The phrase "little children" is being translated from the Greek word νήπιος (nēpios), which can mean "infant" or "little child" when spoken of literally, but when used metaphorically (which is how Jesus was obviously using it) it means "untaught, unskilled" according to the lexicon. It thus also relates to humility.

So Jesus was referring to the fact that his students were humble, simple, and not trained by the ecclesiastical Jewish schools to be scholars, as the Jewish priests were. They had seriously heard the teachings of Jesus and had been empowered by God.

This is how God passes on the Truth. He uses those who humbly submit to Him. He typically doesn't utilize those who consider themselves scholars - especially those who are proud of their scholarship. In fact, it is this very issue - pride - that prevents us from sincerely approaching God. And it is pride that keeps the Supreme Being hidden from our consciousness.

He also does not utilize or show Himself to those who seek to profit from His teachings. Those who pay to go to seminary college and then seek to earn a living from preaching are not eligible to be empowered by God.

Only those who worship God without any promise of reward. This is the case with Jesus, as he praises God directly, without seeking honor or praise for himself.

And we can see here that Jesus' interest was in what pleased the Supreme Being:

"Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do."

Jesus wants to please the Supreme Being because Jesus loves God, and this is what a person does when they love someone. They want to please the one they love.

So Jesus is expressing his love for God and the fact that he is joyful that the activities of his students - in going out and passing on his teachings - pleased God. And just what were Jesus' teachings being passed on? They most certainly included 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)

"When you pray, say: 'Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your Name...." (Luke 11:2-4)

"When you pray, say:

'Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your Name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins,

as we forgive those who sin against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.'" (Luke 11:2-4)

Jesus is responding to a question from one of his disciples:

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." (Luke 11:1)

So we find here clear evidence of how Jesus wanted his students to reach out to the Supreme Being. Let's review his prayer.

Who is 'Our Father in heaven'?

This phrase illustrates that Jesus is wanting his students to see the Supreme Being as their Protector and their Creator. The word "Father" comes from the Greek word πατήρ (patēr), which means, metaphorically, "the originator and transmitter of anything."

In other words, by honoring the Supreme Being with the Name "Father" - we are not speaking as though we would to the father of our physical body. This is referring to the Source of everything. The Father of all things and all beings.

Next, Jesus states "in heaven." This indicates the spiritual world - a dimension outside - yet inclusive of - the realm of the physical world. Why is this important for Jesus to say?

Because we cannot see God with these physical eyes. The physical eyes were designed not to see the Supreme Being and those activities that take place between God and His loving servants.

But that doesn't mean that the physical world is beyond the Supreme Being. God is also dwelling here as well as in the spiritual realm. The physical world is simply a small portion of His creation.

It is like a television set. The television set may be part of our living room but our living room doesn't exist within the television set - nor is the virtual reality portrayed on the television the reality occurring in our living room.

In the same way, the physical world is real, but the activities that take place within it are temporary and thus virtual. Just as the activities of the actors seen on the TV set may reflect real activities, the temporary activities of the physical world perfectly reflect the eternal activities in the spiritual realm. The activities of the physical world are perverted reflections of those within the spiritual realm.

In the same way that a television actor cannot see the television audience when he is acting out his part, we cannot see the Supreme Being and the reality around us because we are immersed in the physical world.

This dimension and these bodies were designed for the purpose of our being able to avoid Him.

In other words, "heaven" here does not necessarily mean some physical place away from here - like someplace up in the clouds. "Heaven" refers to the domain of God - the spiritual realm where God is loved and served. This can take place anywhere in either dimension.

This is confirmed by the statement, "Your kingdom come." Jesus is asking his students to request that they return to the spiritual realm - that place where God is honored, loved and served.

What does "Hallowed be Your Name" mean?

The Supreme Being's Holy Names are a vehicle for us to make contact with Him. Praising and incanting God's Names allow us to connect with Him and be with Him. This is because God's Names are part of Himself.

Here in the physical world, we are separate from our names, just as we are not our physical bodies. A person can be named "Tom" and 20 years later may change his name to "Bob." This is because the person is not his name.

But there is no differentiation between God and His reference. God's Form is part of Himself and God's Names - references to Him - are also a part of Himself. They are all part of Himself because the Supreme Being is absolute.

For this reason, the teachings of Jesus and the lineage of teachers before him - up through all the prophets - taught the importance of calling upon - repeating - singing - praising - God's Names as a means to connect with the Supreme Being.

What does 'Your will be done ...' mean?

This is one of the essential elements of Jesus' teachings. Why?

When we love someone, we naturally want to please them. We want to do what they want. This is love, and this is our real nature - our spiritual nature. Each of us wants to truly love someone - we want to 'fall in love.' And we want to serve someone out of this love. We want to please the one we love.

For this reason, serving God is the essential process we undertake as we come to know and learn to love the Supreme Being. We find out what pleases Him and we do what pleases Him. Why?

Because by acting in such a way that is pleasing to God, we execute our spiritual nature. This is the perfection of our existence - our means for fulfillment.

Here in the physical world, we see around us that everyone is desperately looking for fulfillment. We look for it through achieving fame; we look for it by becoming wealthy; we look for it by having a family; we look for it by having a nice house, or a great job, or whatever. Yet none of the people that have these things - whether us or others - are fulfilled by these things.

This is why we see famous and wealthy people addicted to drugs or alcohol - some even committing suicide. This is why those with all the money a person could use in a lifetime still working so hard for more money. This is why people with families have affairs. This is why people with nice homes want a bigger home - or a home in a better neighborhood. This is why those with great jobs want to move up to another job. We are simply not satisfied with what we gain in the physical world because we aren't these physical bodies.

It would be like a hungry person who is driving a car driving up to a gas station and thinking that if he puts gas in his car he won't be hungry anymore. The gas may fill up the car but it doesn't satisfy the driver's hunger.

In the same way, we are the spiritual person within this temporary physical body. We have a spiritual hunger to return to our relationship with God.

In the physical world, we are blocked off from God because we are self-centered. We want to please ourselves. This is why we cannot see Him or feel His presence - even though He is right here next to each of us.

This relates directly to the next phase of the prayer:

What does "Give us this day our daily bread" mean?

Is Jesus really advising his students to pray for bread? Is this the same teacher who also taught his students:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes." (Luke 12:22-23)

Certainly, Jesus would not ask his students to utilize their precious prayers to ask for food for their physical body - as this would directly contradict his teachings.

Rather, Jesus is not speaking of literal bread here. He is using the word "bread" metaphorically. We see elsewhere that Jesus used bread metaphorically:

"Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." (John 6:32)

and

“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” (Luke 4:4)

and followed in this conversation with:

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

Thus we see that Jesus had used the word "bread" metaphorically to describe what will feed us spiritually - to love, and worship God, and serve God.

This is what Jesus is asking his students to ask God for in his prayer - he wants them to ask to re-establish their loving service relationship with the Supreme Being.

Worshiping and serving God results in fulfilling our spiritual nature. This accomplishes the meaning of "Your kingdom come."

What is our 'bread'?

Our "bread" is love for God.

This is what we pine for as we search for love throughout this world. As we seek the approval of others. As we seek our soul mate - the perfect person. We seek to 'fall in love' with someone we adore and can always trust and rely upon. This can only be accomplished with the Supreme Being.

And the next element of Jesus' prayer: "And forgive us our sins, as we also forgive those who sin against us" - this reveals the true meaning of "sin."

If "sin" was merely the execution of something considered "wrong" or "bad" - or breaking some rule - then there would be no need to ask the Supreme Being to forgive that activity, just as it would make no sense for us to forgive someone else if they broke a rule. Why would they need to seek our forgiveness?

Let's say that there is a sign with rules on it at the swimming pool that says "no running." And we go running and jump in the pool. Would we need to later go to the lifeguard and say, "I'm sorry I ran - please forgive me"?

No - because our running did not offend the lifeguard. The lifeguard would likely say, "so what - no problem - just don't run again."

But it would be a different story if we were to call the lifeguard a jerk - or splash water on him. This would be offensive against the lifeguard. Such an activity would require us to apologize - seek his forgiveness - because we offended the lifeguard.

This same issue - offending - is the condition that we would have to forgive others. If someone offends us - we can get mighty upset by that. Especially if it embarrasses us or otherwise harms us physically, emotionally or financially. Such an activity would require a stretch for us to forgive them. Especially if they didn't ask for forgiveness.

This is the kind of forgiveness that the Supreme Being would expect from us just as He forgives us for those activities that have offended Him.

What activities offend Him?

First, activities that impede His loving servants during their service to Him. Or activities that blaspheme Him, His Name or one of His loving servants. These are the worst offenses.

Behind these are activities performed for our self-centered purposes whilst we ignore Him. These are activities that forget our relationship with Him. Worst of these are activities that specifically make it harder for us to regain our relationship with Him. The Supreme Being, through His loving servants, have spelled most of these out to us if we want to know them. This is what Moses' commandments were all about, which Jesus also reflected upon.

Certain self-centered activities are specifically discouraged because they lead us away from Him. These activities offend the Supreme Being only because He wants us back. He wants us to return to our loving relationship with Him because He knows that will fulfill us. By ignoring Him and ignoring those things that will help us return to Him, we effectively turn our back on Him. This offends Him because He loves us and wants the best for us. It is thus personal - producing the need to ask for His forgiveness.

And yes, it is not that any of us are innocent. We are all offensive, and this is why we are here in the first place: Because we offended the Supreme Being by becoming self-centered, and turning our backs on Him.

And this relates directly to the last part of Jesus' prayer:

What does, 'and lead us not into temptation' mean?

This is taken from the Greek: καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν.

The word "lead" comes from the Greek word εἰσφέρω (eispherō) which does indicate, from the lexicon, "to lead to" or "bring to". Why would God "lead us into temptation"?

Such a question ignores the reality of the situation. Ecclesiastical institutions and their teachers would present that temptation does not come from God - but from satan - some entity who is competing with God.

God has no competitor. The Supreme Being is absolutely in control of everything.

But - the Supreme Being wants us to truly love Him out of choice. Love cannot be forced. A person cannot be forced to love and worship someone if they are forced to.

So the Supreme Being gives His children the choice to love Him, and some choose not to. Those of us in the physical realm have chosen not to in the past - that is why we are here.

As soon as we choose not to love and serve the Supreme Being, He puts us within physical bodies in the physical world and allows us to play out our self-centeredness.

In this way, He is leading us into temptation - or self-centeredness. He is allowing us to do what we want rather than what He wants.

In this way, He is giving us the choice - at every moment - to love and serve Him or love or serve ourselves.

And this part of Jesus' prayer is a request for Him to "lead" us back to Him - by giving us the strength to follow the teachings of Jesus, and return to our loving relationship with Him.

This ties directly to the last phrase:

What about, 'but deliver us from evil'?

While some attribute the word "evil" to a particular person as mentioned above - the devil or satan - the word "evil" - taken from the Greek πονηρός (ponēros) which relates to being "diseased or blind" - actually refers to self-centeredness - being blinded by self-centeredness.

This is our essential choice granted by God: We can choose God or we can choose ourselves.

We can work for our pleasure or we can work for God's pleasure. This is our innate choice, and it is required in order to have true love.

Evil is borne of the nature of the physical world and these physical bodies and minds. The mind will tease us with various scenarios that are essentially self-centered - to please the body or our desire for the body's pleasure.

Yes, we can certainly attribute this to an entity because certainly, God has numerous facilitators who assist Him with the operations of the physical world. So we can ascribe temptations in a personal format realistically.

But God has no challenger. His facilitators all work for Him. He is in charge. Therefore we can know that any of the temptations of the physical world are in the end arranged by the Supreme Being to allow us the ultimate choice to love Him or love ourselves. This grants us the perfect freedom to love Him or not.

At the same time - because God loves us and wants the best for us - Jesus is encouraging us, with this prayer and his other teachings, to choose to love God:

“ ‘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)

"Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?" (Luke 17:17-18)

"Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?" (Luke 17:17-18)

What is the point of Jesus' questions?

These two questions by Jesus disclose a critical teaching of Jesus that has been virtually ignored by many over the centuries.

The teaching of Jesus we are discussing is the praising of the Supreme Being's Holy Names.

Here is the verse providing reference to Jesus' statement:

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. (Luke 17:15)

Now we must ask, why would the man bother to return and be 'praising God in a loud voice'? And why would Jesus make such a big deal, saying:

Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?"

There is only one answer to both of these questions:

It is because Jesus placed great importance upon praising God and His Names. It was a critical part of Jesus' teachings.

Did Jesus' followers praise God as a practice?

We can also draw this conclusion based on the many occasions where others who followed Jesus praised God:

When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man. (Matt. 9:8)

The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel. (Matt. 15:31)

He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God (Mark 2:12)

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God (Luke 2:28)

Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. (Luke 1:64)

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God (Luke 2:13)

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. (Luke 2:20)

Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. (Luke 5:25)

They were all filled with awe and praised God.  (Luke 7:16)

Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. (Luke 13:13)

Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. (Luke 18:43)

The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” (Luke 23:47)

And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. (Luke 24:53)

So we see from these verses that praising the Supreme Being occurred with some frequency, revolving around the teachings and activities of Jesus. Practically every major miracle was followed by people who witnessed it praising the Supreme Being.

How do we know this was a critical part of Jesus' teachings?

In the last statement above - Luke 24:53 - "they" is referring to Jesus' disciples and students. And the timing of their sojourn at the Temple was following Jesus' reappearance to them after his persecution.

Thus we find that praising God's Holy Names was so critical to Jesus' teachings, that once he re-appeared to them, they all stayed at the temple praising God's Holy Names.

We also find a critical phrase in all four gospels, regarding Jesus:

"‘Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord.’” (Matt. 21:9, Mark 11:9, Luke 19:38, John 12:13)

This phrase is actually derived from David's Psalm 118:

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever. Let Israel say: "His love endures forever." Let the house of Aaron say: "His love endures forever." Let those who fear the LORD say: "His love endures forever." When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD; He brought me into a spacious place. The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The LORD is with me; He is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. All the nations surrounded me, but in the Name of the LORD I cut them down. They surrounded me on every side, but in the Name of the LORD I cut them down. They swarmed around me like bees, but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them down. I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation. Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: "The LORD's right hand has done mighty things! The LORD's right hand is lifted high; the LORD's right hand has done mighty things!" I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done. The LORD has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. The LORD has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. LORD, save us! LORD, grant us success! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you. The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise you; You are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever. (Psalm 118)

What does this mean?

We can see clearly from this Psalm that David is speaking of the Supreme Being - God. And thus the "Name of the Lord" here would be none other than the Holy Name of the Supreme Being.

And since David is stating clearly not only the power of God's Holy Name - but he is praising God's messenger who comes to teach of the glories of God's Holy Name. This is very clear from David's Psalm 118.

Now we can translate the importance of praising God's Holy Name - communicated by David - to Jesus. Why? Because as Jesus was heading down to Jerusalem, his followers were all chanting this phrase, "Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord."

Thus we can only conclude that indeed, Jesus did "come in the Name of the Lord."

Which means, quite simply, that Jesus taught the importance of praising God's Holy Names. And he praised God himself. Here is one example:

He said to them, “When you pray, say: “ ‘Father, hallowed be Your Name, Your kingdom come. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Luke 11:2)

We also find throughout the Scriptures of the Bible, many other Bible verses showing the evidence of the importance of praising God's Holy Names.

Is this a lost teaching of Jesus?

Yet despite all this clear scriptural evidence, we find that many institutions claiming to follow Jesus do not teach the importance of praising God's Holy Names. Surely they will on occasion say "praise Jesus." And surely there is nothing wrong with this. But as Jesus himself points out to the man who was healed of his leprosy who returned to praise God - praising God's Holy Names is one of the critical teachings of Jesus.

And we can see by the example of Jesus' disciples, who 'stayed continually at the temple, praising God' (Luke 24:53) that this activity pleases Jesus: Praising God's Holy Names.

We also see by Jesus' statements and the events surrounding Jesus that praising God's Holy Names should not only be the major ceremony taking place in the temple - this devotional activity can be done anywhere at any time.

We can apply Jesus' teaching directly to our lives. This can be done by simply choosing one or several of God's Names and repeating those Holy Names. Praising God can be done as one is walking. It can be done with music and singing - with family and friends or by oneself. It can also be done meditatively.

Regardless of how praising God's Holy Names is done, it allows us to connect with the Supreme Being. God presents Himself to us through this transcendental means by His mercy. Anyone seeking to reconnect with Him - and come to know Him and redevelop our innate love for Him - may do so through the process of repeating and praising His Holy Names.

This was a critical part of Jesus' teachings - as well as a part of the teachings of all the Prophets.

"I am going to send you what my Father has promised ..." (Luke 24:49)

You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24:48-49)

Is this the last thing Jesus taught?

Yes, this is the last of Jesus' teachings to his disciples before he departs. Here are the remaining verses of Luke after Jesus says this:

Then he led them out as far as Bethany and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he departed from them and was carried up into the spiritual realm. Then after they worshiped him, they returned to Jerusalem with great joy. Then they all remained at the Temple, glorifying God. (Luke 24:49-52)

Who is Jesus' 'Father'?

Why would Jesus be "sending forth the message" of his Father? And who is Jesus' Father?

Jesus is speaking of his Beloved, the Supreme Being. The Greek phrase is ἀποστέλλω τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν. The word ἐπαγγελίαν relates to a message or promise, and ἀποστέλλω (apostellō) relates to the delivery or sending forth of a message - this is the verb form of the Greek word ἀπόστολος (apostolos) often translated to "apostles."

For this reason, another translation for this word ἀπόστολος (apostolosis) is "messengers."

Jesus is asking his close disciples to receive and pass on his teachings to others. He is sending forth the message of his Father, the LORD because this is the essence of his teachings: Jesus' teachings are coming from the Supreme Being.

This is confirmed elsewhere in the Lost Gospels of Jesus.:

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me because He anointed me to preach the gospel to the humble. He has sent me to proclaim mercy to the imprisoned and renewed sight to the blind, to set free those who are opposed – to proclaim the blessed time of the LORD.” (Luke 4:18-19)

"My food is to do what pleases Him who sent me and to complete His work." (John 4:34)

"Truly I say to you, he that hears my teachings and trusts in Him who sent me, has eternal life and will not be judged, but crosses over from death into life." (John 5:24)

"By myself I can do nothing; As I hear, I make choices, and my choices are just because I do not seek to please myself but to please Him who sent me." (John 5:30)

"For I have descended from the spiritual realm not to please myself but to please Him who sent me." (John 6:38)

“My teaching is not mine, but comes from He who sent me." (John 7:16)

Jesus also confirms that as his disciples pass on his teachings, they become linked up with Jesus just as Jesus is linked up with the Supreme Being:

"One who listens to you listens to me; and one who rejects you rejects me. And one who rejects me rejects the One who sent me.” (Luke 10:16)

But isn't Jesus God?

By calling out his 'Father,' we know that Jesus is not the Supreme Being. We can also know this from Jesus' teachings. Those who claim he is are confusing the messenger with the sender of the message. Jesus speaks of being sent by the Supreme Being. Obviously, there must be two individuals - the Sender and the messenger.

Yet it is true there is a unity between Jesus and the Supreme Being, just as Jesus spoke of unity between himself and his students. Yes, Jesus was asking his students to receive God's message from him and then pass those teachings on to others.

But it is not as if Jesus' students became Jesus. They are still individuals. Yes, those of his students that truly passed on Jesus' teachings became linked up with Jesus. Those who passed on his teachings became part of his ministry. Yet these students didn't become Jesus. They didn't merge into Jesus or something. They remained individuals.

In the same way, Jesus did not become the Supreme Being. Jesus remained an individual. Yes, he was linked up with God because God empowered Jesus to be His representative.

And being God's representative empowered Jesus to also be able to pass God's message to his students, who then were able to become empowered to be Jesus' representatives, and thus God's representatives.

This is why Jesus could say in Luke 10:16 that one who rejects the messenger of Jesus rejects Jesus, and rejecting Jesus means rejecting the Supreme Being.

Does Jesus have a relationship with God?

Yes. We must see this practically: What Jesus is speaking of is a relationship.

We could see this as an official capacity. Sort of like a press secretary passing on what the president is saying. Yes, the press secretary can pass on the official statement of the president, and thus represent the president from an official capacity.

But Jesus' relationship with the Supreme Being is more than official. It is a relationship of love. And Jesus is lovingly serving God.

Such a relationship brings forth another dimension with regard to Jesus' being God's representative. Such a loving relationship allows Jesus to represent the loving nature of the Supreme Being.

This requires intimacy. To represent a person more intimately, one must have an intimate relationship with them.

This is what Jesus did with his life and his teachings. Due to his intimate relationship with God, he could teach his students how to love and serve the Supreme Being. He dedicated his own life to loving and serving God. In this way, Jesus was God's ultimate representative. He showed us how to love and serve God with both his teachings and his life.

This empowerment gave Jesus the ability to pass on God's most important message:

“ ‘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 was both Moses' (Deut. 6:5) and Jesus' most important instruction because this is God's ultimate message. This is what would please God the most. The Supreme Being wants us to re-develop our loving service relationship with Him because this is what will make us happy. This is what will re-awaken us from our slumber within this physical world.

Now Jesus wanted his own students to become empowered by God to pass on this same message - through their words and their lives. He explained how they should await this empowerment before they went out to teach:

"But you are to stay in the city until you are covered with the power of the Almighty.”

Such empowerment takes place from an intimate basis: It requires the personal development of one's own intimate relationship with God. Forming such an intimate relationship means coming to know God and love God, then wanting to please God. After all, teaching others to love and serve God can only come from a position where one is loving and serving God themselves.

How does one come to know and love God?

This is answered by the last verses of Luke (24:49-52). We find not only does Jesus bless them and they worship Jesus (God's intimate lover and representative): But then they return to the Temple to worship, make offerings, and glorify God:

Then they all remained at the Temple, glorifying God. (Luke 24:52)

This explains the process of coming to know God, and developing a loving relationship with the Supreme Being. Worshiping and praising God is an ancient practice - taught not only by Jesus to his students. But also taught by all the Prophets. You can see the scriptural evidence for praising God and His Names here.

This is a very practical matter. Just consider: What does a person do when they want to develop a relationship with someone else? They reach out and connect with that person. They engage with that person. They get to know the person.

This is precisely the purpose of glorifying and praising the Supreme Being, as taught by Jesus and all the Prophets.

For example, a man who wants to get to know a woman will try to connect with her by having conversations. During those conversations, what will he do? He will say how pretty she looks. He'll tell her she is nice, and he really likes her - right? Then perhaps he will bring her flowers.

Such conversation, praise, and flowers will not only provide connection. They will indicate to the woman that the man wants to have a relationship with the woman. She will respond by opening up to the man.

It is not so different with the Supreme Being. Reaching out to God - connecting with God through prayer - is key to Him opening up to us. It is the key to re-establishing our relationship with Him. Why? Because this activity illustrates our desire to come to know Him and love Him.

Then as we glorify and praise the Supreme Being - which we can do with incantation and song - our loving service relationship with Him grows.

Making offerings to God can further progress our relationship with Him. There is scriptural evidence for making offerings.

The process is gradual. This is because most of us in the physical world are currently polluted with self-centeredness. Most of us are not interested in loving and serving God. Most of us are more interested in being glorified by others and served by others. We are typically thinking about ourselves and what can get out of life.

This polluted consciousness blocks our ability to truly love and serve the Supreme Being. Self-centeredness is like a shroud or covering over our hearts. It is like being surrounded by a hard shell - one that prevents contact with the real world.

This shell of self-centeredness is also what keeps us from perceiving God and seeing into the spiritual dimension. We are each spiritual beings - trapped within a temporary physical body. It is our identification with these physical bodies that traps us within this physical dimension. And because our interests are self-centered, our consciousness is trapped within the confines of the concerns for the body - the body's survival, food, sensual feedback and so on.

Through bodily identification, our self-centeredness is directed into the concerns for the temporary physical body. This serves to block the vision of our true selves - our spirit-person.

Our true self - our spirit-person - is a person of love. Love is the food of the spirit-person. Love is the essential component and nature of the spirit-person. As such, the vision of the spirit-person - and the ability to perceive the Supreme Being - is founded upon love - and blocked by self-centeredness.

Because of our consciousness of self-centeredness and identifying with the temporary physical body - the process of purifying our consciousness is gradual. It begins as we start to connect with God through regular prayer. And it proceeds as we glorify the Supreme Being and make offerings to Him on a regular basis.

And yes, many challenges are presented to us as we undergo this purification process of regular prayer and the praising of God and His Names. These challenges serve to teach us that we need the Supreme Being - we are weak and need His strength.

But in the end, it is our commitment and dedication to the Supreme Being that carries us upward. When our body dies (and it will, because every body dies) our intention to please the Supreme Being and re-establish our relationship with Him will guide us upward, back home to our true family - with our Best Friend, the Supreme Being, and His loving representative, Jesus.