MITN XIX

1. When Jesus had finished saying these things, He left Galilee and went into the part of Judea that is on the other side of the Jordan;

2. And great throngs followed Him there, and so He healed them there.

3. And while He was in the area, the Pharisees came to Him again and put Him to the test by asking, “Is it legal and right for a man to dismiss his wife…to divorce her for any reason that he may have?

4. He replied to them, “Have you never read in your Scriptures that He Who made them from the beginning made them male and female?

5. This is why a man has to leave his father and mother at some point, and be united and bonded to his wife…and when that happens, the two of them become, in a sense, one single entity,

6. so that they are no longer two separate physical bodies, but actually become one new one. And if a particular union between a man and a woman is, indeed, God-ordained, then no human being should do anything to create a disconnect between what God has put together.”

7. They shot back at Him, “Well if marriage is so special…if, indeed, it is a God-created thing, then why did Moses make it so practical and easy to get a divorce? According to his law, all a man has to do to get out of a marriage is to send his wife a written notice, and then just simply dismiss her from his life, and be done with her, altogether.”

8. He said to them, “Moses set up this system basically because of the hardness of your hearts…specifically, your insensitivity to women. He permitted you to simply dismiss your wives with no regard for required responsibility to them because you have had no concept of covenant. But in this Moses did not have the heart and mind of God, considering that this self-serving male convenience was not in God’s original plan.

9. But I say to you that whoever just casually dismisses his wife for no legitimate reason, and marries the next available woman who comes along, really is only committing adultery with her. His shallow flippancy in such a case shows that he has no understanding of the seriousness of covenant. The situation is somewhat different if the wife has been unfaithful to her husband, but the real issue is still about the apparent disregard of covenant. So if a man marries a woman just because she was dismissed for her unfaithfulness to her husband, he is still just committing adultery with her if there is no genuine commitment to the covenant of marriage.”

10. The disciples, listening in on this conversation, said to Him, “If that’s really what marriage is about…if covenant is really that important…if God takes it that seriously…then no man in his right mind would ever want to get married! What would be the point of limiting your options by binding yourself to that kind of commitment?”

11. But He said to them, “Marriage is for men…not for boys. That’s why not all men can accept this concept. It’s for those who are mature enough to understand and appreciate the value of human, adult relationships.

12. But it also requires a certain kind of maturity to understand that this kind of relationship isn’t for everyone. There are some asexual men who, from birth, never seem to give women or marriage a thought. Other men may have been intentionally emasculated for cultural purposes, or for other reasons. And still others are single and celibate for spiritual pursuits…as if they were married only to the Kingdom of/from the heavens. Whatever the case, it requires insightful maturity to comprehend that not everyone takes the same path, or has the same needs in these matters. If you can receive this, you will be able to live and let live.”

13. When this unusual exchange ended, people started bringing their little children to Jesus, requesting that He put His hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples, thinking that this was unimportant, or beneath Jesus, or was a waste of His time, openly rebuked those who brought them.

14. But He stopped them immediately and said, “You leave these children alone! Allow every single one of these little ones to come to Me, and don’t you ever forbid or restrain them again. Not only are they important…they are what the Kingdom of/from the heavens is all about!”

15. And He laid His hands on them, and after He had prayed for all of them He went on His way.

16. Another day a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, You’re good…so I ask You…what good thing must I do to be in full possession of eternal life?"

17. Jesus said, "Why do you question me about what's good…in fact, why do you even call Me good? God is the only One who is good. If you want to enter the life of God, just practice His precepts…keep His commandments…and you will manifest His goodness in your life."

18. This statement was too general for the man, so he probed a little further, saying, “OK, then…which commandments, in particular, should I keep?”

19. Jesus said, “All of them are important…don't murder…don't commit adultery…don't steal…don't lie about people…honor your father and mother…basically all the different ways of simply saying ‘love your neighbor as you love yourself’."

20. The young man said, “That’s it? That’s all there is? I’ve kept all these commandments practically my whole life, and I’m still not good. What am I missing?”

21. Jesus said to him, “Look, if you’re really that serious about manifesting the character of God in your life, then go sell everything that you have, give everything that you make from the sale to the poor, and then you’ll be free to become one of my disciples. The entirety of your possessions will then be in the Kingdom, and all that you own will be deposited into the heavenly realm.”

22. But Jesus went too far for the young man on this point. The idea of selling everything…this suggestion of total abandon…just seemed too extreme for him, especially because he was wealthy, and had a lot of possessions. Jesus’ words not only caught him off guard, they also overwhelmed and depressed him…and so, not knowing what to say, he just turned around and walked away in convicted silence.

23. As Jesus watched him go, He said to the disciples who were standing there with Him, “I tell you, truthfully, it is really quite difficult…extremely hard…for a rich man to become a subject in the Kingdom of/from the heavens.

24. In fact, it’s easier for a camel to go through that little gate that they leave open at night in the walls of Jerusalem called ‘The Needle's Eye’…the gate that is so low and narrow that a large animal can only pass through it on its knees, and unencumbered with baggage. It’s symbolic of the way a rich man has to enter the Kingdom.

25. For some reason, the disciples were staggered by these words. They said to Him, “Well, then, if that’s the case, who has any chance of being fit for the Kingdom, at all?”

26. Jesus looked straight at them, and into them, and said, “Things like this are virtually impossible when only using human strength…but with God’s help, anything and everything is really possible!”

27. Then Peter spoke up and said, "Well, now that you mention it…we may not have had the kind of wealth that that young man has, but we’ve left everything that we did have to follow you. What are we going to get for our sacrifice?”

28. Jesus said to them, “Yes, you have, in fact, followed me, fully…and so I say to you that in the new age…when the earth is reborn into the revelation of the Christ…when the Son of Man is enthroned in glory…you will be enthroned, as well! In fact, all who have followed me will rule and have dominion, starting with the twelve tribes of Israel.

29. And this is the part the wealthy young man didn’t stick around long enough to find out: Anyone who sacrifices home, family, property…whatever…because of their desire to follow Me…will get every bit of it back a hundred times over! And this is in addition to the promise of the full blessings of eternal, or ‘ now’-life!

30. And in this there is a great reversal coming…many of the so-called ‘first’ ones will actually end up being the last to walk in this. And, by the same token, many who are considered to be the ‘last’ to come in, will, in reality, be the first to obtain it.”

MITN XVIII

1. Then the disciples came up and asked Jesus, “Who, in your estimation, is really the greatest in the Kingdom of/from the heavens?”

2. But instead of directly answering their question, He first called a little child over to Himself, and placed him in the center of the room,

3. and once they had focused on the child, He said to them, “Boys, I really and truly want you to get this…unless you change the way you think about things…until your mind is cleansed from your cynicism and competitiveness with one another…until you have a paradigm shift that moves you from the silliness of being ‘childish’, so that you can enter the freedom of becoming ‘child-like’…and until you grasp the difference between these two concepts…you’re never going to be subjects in My Kingdom at all!

4. Whoever will remove the mental clutter of adulthood, so that he or she can re-connect with what is the best part of childhood…the simple, basic ideas of trust…humility…love…forgiveness…imagination…that person will rank very high in the Kingdom of/from the heavens.

5. Furthermore, you should know that I am so identified with these little ones, I can tell you that whoever receives and loves and welcomes and celebrates one little child like this for My sake, and in My name, receives and loves and welcomes and celebrates Me.

6. On the other hand, whoever hurts one of these precious ones…or abuses them in any way…or takes advantage of their simple trust…or causes them to grow up and be less than what they should have been…it would actually be better for that individual to have one of those huge grinding-stones that they use in the mills fastened around his neck, and to be sunk in the depth of the sea.

7. The world suffers terribly because of those who bring this kind of sin into it. Children are going to have a difficult enough time learning to make right choices for themselves, without selfish adults making it even harder for them to do so. The on-going struggle to choose the right path is a fact of life and a rite of passage…but those strong ones who cause the weak ones to go astray bring a certain kind of curse on themselves!

8. So, let Me put it this way…your desire to be a good example should be such that if, say, your hand or your foot causes you to stumble and sin, you would be willing to just cut it off and throw it away. It would, in fact, be better for you to go through life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet, and your very existence become so worthless that you end up being thrown into the fires at the garbage dump outside Jerusalem which never go out.

9. By the same token, if your eye causes you to stumble and sin, you should be willing to pluck it out and throw it away from you. Again, it would be better for you to go through life with only one eye, than to have two eyes and live in such a way that would cause you to end up being thrown into the fires of Gehenna.

10. This may sound extreme to you, but you need to comprehend the importance of this point. It is simply unacceptable to damage one of these little ones…or even to resent or despise them in any way. Remember this… their personal angels are constantly in touch with my Father in the heavenly realm.

11. (Verse 11 doesn’t exist in any original manuscripts.)

12. Now think about this…if a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray and gets lost, won’t that man…if he’s a true shepherd…leave the ninety-nine on the mountain and go in search of the one that is lost?

13. And then, if he finds it, doesn't he make far more over it than over the ninety-nine who haven’t wandered off?

14. Well, your Father in the heavenly realm feels exactly the same way about people… especially these little ones. He doesn't intend to ever stop searching for those who are lost, until every single one is found!

15. So, since your Father is so relentless in His love for you, you should be relentless in your love for one another. For example, if your brother or sister wrongs you in any way, you should have the integrity to go and tell him or her about it, directly…and keep the conversation and the whole matter between the two of you. And if he/she ‘hears’ you…I mean listens to you and receives what you have to say and comprehends it, you have won back your brother or your sister.

16. But if the offender refuses listen to you, don’t give up your pursuit of reconciliation, yet. Take along with you one or two others, so that every word may be confirmed and upheld by the testimony of two or three witnesses…and try again.

17. If that doesn’t work, and he or she still won't listen or receive you, then, and only then…go public with it. Get up and tell the whole church what’s going on between the two of you. And if that still doesn’t work, and you still can’t work out a way to re-connect with that person in relationship, then you may have no choice but to stop your physical efforts, and just pray for him or her. In that case you will have to love the one who hurt you from afar, as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

18. Let me tell you why this is so essential. First, as I have already told you…whatever you forbid and declare to be improper and unlawful on earth must be what is already forbidden and declared unlawful in the heavenly realm. In the same way, whatever you permit and declare proper and lawful on earth must be what is already permitted in the heavenly realm.

19. This is why relationships are so important. See, if two of you on earth come into the kind of agreement that exists between those in the heavenly realm, you create a supernatural harmony together that makes a symphony…and that kind of harmony is the music of God…the ONE song, or the ‘Uni-Verse’…no discord…no dissonance…no instrument out of tune with the others. And when that symphony is played, the agreement causes whatever…anything and everything…they may ask to come to pass and be done for them by My Father in heaven.

20. Because wherever at least two or three are gathered or drawn together in and into My name…when that kind of harmony takes place…there is a revelation of the Christ, and there the I AM is in the midst of them”.

21. Then Peter, intrigued by all this talk of reconciliation and harmony, came up to Him and said, “Lord, how many times may my brother sin against me, and I forgive him and just let it go? I mean, you’re talking about a relentless pursuit of reconciliation so that people can be in harmony with one another…so…should I go so far as to forgive him seven whole times?

22. Jesus answered him, “Oh, Peter, you’re way off…I say that you shouldn’t stop at seven times, but that you should forgive seventy times seven…and by that I mean into infinity! You never, ever stop forgiving.

23. Let Me explain it this way: The Kingdom of/from the heavens is like a human king who wanted to settle accounts with his attendants.

24. When he began the accounting, it became apparent that someone owed him a huge amount of money. So the man who owed so much was found and brought to him, and when all of his debts were added up it was discovered that he owed the king several million dollars.

25. Well, the man didn’t have anywhere near that kind of money, so the king ordered him to be sold into slavery, along with his wife and his children, and everything that he possessed, so that at least some of the debt could be repaid.

26. So the man, overwhelmed with the enormity of the debt, and the severity of the situation, fell on his knees and just begged the king, pitifully. He said, ‘Please, sir, don’t destroy my family by selling us into slavery. I beg you to have mercy and patience with me, and I promise that somehow I will pay you everything.’

27. And the man seemed so sincere that the king’s heart was moved with compassion for him. So, as a gesture of good will he released him and forgave him of the entire debt!

28. And would you believe, the very same attendant got up and went to find one of his fellow attendants who owed him about twenty dollars. And when he found him, he grabbed him by the throat, started wringing his neck, and demanded, ‘Pay me right now what you owe me!’

29. So his fellow attendant, startled by this attack, fell down and begged him earnestly, saying, ‘Please, just give me time, and I promise to pay you back!’

30. But he wouldn’t hear of it, and he went out and had the man put in prison till he could pay the debt.

31. As you can imagine, when his fellow attendants saw what had happened, they were indignant, and so they went and told everything that had taken place to the king.

32. So the king called the man back in and said to him, ‘I’ve never in my life seen anything like this display of ingratitude and wickedness on your part! Out of the goodness of my heart I forgave and cancelled all that huge debt of yours because you begged me to, and I felt sorry for you.

33. How is it possible that you could leave here, and go straight to this man and treat him the way that you did? You received so much mercy from me…where was the mercy you should have given him?’

34. And the king was understandably incensed and irate with this insensitive ingrate, and turned him over to the torturers in the jail until he should pay all that he owed.

35. The point of the story is this: My heavenly Father expects every one of you to be as forgiving as you have been forgiven…don’t force Him to treat you the way the king treated the man because of his unwillingness to show the same mercy that was shown him!”

MITN XVII

All right...I guess it doesn't take any extra time to just post this with no editing and no pictures, so here it is...peace!

1. And, as it turned out, just six days later the first three of them actually did, indeed, see that glory, just as Jesus had prophesied. The way that it happened was this: With no warning to them of what was about to occur, or any explanation at all, for that matter, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.

2. And once they had reached the top, almost immediately His appearance began to undergo a complete metamorphosis, right before their very eyes! His visage seemed to literally change from the inside out, causing His face to shine with the intense, blinding light of the sun! Even His clothing began to morph into a surrounding aura that was as white as light!

3. And as this supernatural light continued to emanate and radiate from every part of Him, it seemed to burn off some kind of layer or membrane, which then allowed the disciples to suddenly and literally see into another dimension…and what they saw was two men standing right there with Jesus, holding a conversation with Him. And somehow, inexplicably, they just knew that the two men were Moses and Elijah! They had obviously never seen them before, since both men had lived on the earth centuries before this…and yet, as these two Prophets continued to commune with Jesus, the disciples not only recognized them, they were totally comfortable in their presence…not at all alarmed or surprised that they were seeing living people from another time and era right there on the mountain…in the now!

4. Then Peter, always the first to speak up, regardless of whether or not it was appropriate, said to Jesus, “Lord, this is an amazing and unforgettable moment in time! If You approve, I’d like to put up three booths right here…to build three memorials…one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah!”

5. But while he babbled on about this notion of memorializing the moment with mere mementos, a shining cloud, completely composed of transcendent light just emerged and sort of overshadowed all of them. And a deep, thunderous voice from within the cloud began to speak, saying, “This is My Son…My Beloved, with Whom I am and have always been delighted! Listen to Him!”

6. And even though the disciples hadn’t been startled by Jesus’ trans-figuration, or the appearance of two people from the distant past whom they had considered long dead, for some reason, when they heard this voice, they fell flat on their faces in fear.

7. But Jesus, now back in His normal, physical form, came and touched them and said, “All right…get up. Stop being so afraid of these things.”

8. And when they opened their eyes and looked around, they not only saw that Jesus was no longer in an altered state, they realized that He wasn’t accompanied by the other two men any longer.

9. So they got up and descended the mountain in somewhat of an awkward silence, which was finally broken when Jesus spoke up and said, “Look, I don’t want you to say anything at all about what just happened here on this mountain to anyone…at least not until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

10. The disciples then asked Him, “Why do the religious scholars say that Elijah must come first?”

11. He replied, “Well, they’re right about that…Elijah is, in fact, the one who is supposed to come first and get everything restored and ready.

12 But what they don’t grasp is that Elijah actually has come already…they just didn’t know or recognize him when he came. So, seeing him only with natural eyes, they did to him in the flesh what flesh-minded and flesh-limited people would naturally do. And what I’ve been trying to get you to understand is that they are going to treat the Son of Man exactly the same way.”

13. Then, in a rare and short-lived moment of insight, the disciples understood that He was really speaking to them about John, the Forerunner.

14. As was typical for Jesus and His disciples by this point, a crowd of needy people was waiting for them at the foot of the mountain. As they approached the throng, a man came up to Him, fell on his knees before Him, and began to beg, saying,

15. “Lord, please have mercy on my son! He has a terrible condition that causes severe, epileptic-type seizures which manifest, frequently…and when they do, he becomes suicidal, and tries to find relief by ending his life. He has burns all over his body because he has run into an open fire on several occasions, and many other times he has attempted to drown himself!”

16. Previously, I brought him to Your disciples to see if they could help him, but they weren’t able to do a thing for him.

17. In extreme frustration, Jesus answered, “Oh, you unbelieving, clueless, and backward generation! How long am I supposed to demonstrate dominion before you? How many miracles is it going to take before you realize the power that you already have?! Bring him here to Me.”

18. Then He addressed the boy’s condition as a rebel or demonic spirit, and evicted it from his ravaged body. As soon as it was expelled, the young man who had been so tormented was made instantly well, both mentally and physically.

19. Later, when the disciples had Jesus off to themselves, they asked Him, "So, why couldn't any of us, no matter how hard we tried, do for Him what You so easily did?”

20. He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith…because you force your faith to remain in tiny seed-form. The truth is, if you have faith that is like a seed…say, like a grain of mustard…all the faith that you’ll ever need is already resident within that small, insignificant thing. If you just allow the seed to grow and mature, and stop striving with it…stop trying to make things happen in the flesh…that seed will naturally and organically produce after its kind. Just trust the nature of the seed! As the grain of mustard doesn’t try to grow into a tree, but rather lets the growth process take its course in its time, you have the seed-potential to say to this mountain from which we have just descended, “Move!”, and that mountain would move! It’s already all inside you. Seriously, if you can embrace this concept, nothing at all will be impossible to you!”

21 – (Verse 21 doesn’t exist in any original manuscripts.)

22. As they were regrouping in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "Listen, you don’t seem to be comprehending this yet, but I’m telling you again that the Son of Man is about to be betrayed and turned over into the hands of carnal men.

23. You need to prepare yourself for this, and accept the fact that they will murder Him…but you also need to prepare yourself for the other part of this scenario…as I’ve told you, three days later He will be raised alive!" This time it began to sink in with the disciples a little more, and, even though they couldn’t fully accept it, they believed it enough to feel horrible about it.

24. When they arrived in Capernaum, the tax men came to Peter and asked, "Does your teacher pay taxes?"

25. Peter replied, "Yes, I’m sure that He does.” But as soon as they were in the house together, Jesus confronted him, saying. "Simon, what do you think? When a king levies taxes, who pays…his children or his subjects?"

26. He answered, “His subjects, of course.” Jesus said, "Then the children are tax-exempt, right?

27. But so that we don't upset them needlessly, go down to the lake, cast in a hook, and pull in the first fish that bites. Open its mouth, and in it you’ll find the required tax money. Take it then and give it to the collectors to pay what is owed, according to their system, by both you and Me.”