LITN XIII, Verses 18 - 35

18. Then Jesus asked, "How can I explain the Kingdom of God to you? What illustration will make it understandable?

19. All right, think of it this way...it's like a seed, say, a tiny mustard seed, which a man took one day and planted in his garden. And that insignificant seed eventually grew and became a huge tree...so big, in fact, that the birds of the air were able to perch in its branches."

20. Then He said, "Let Me see...how else can I describe it to you? How can I fully reveal the mysteries of the Kingdom, and its progressively increasing influence in the earth?

21. Here's another comparison...it's like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour, until it worked all through the dough. And then she waits for all the dough to rise."

22. He went on teaching that basic message of the Kingdom from town to village... village to town...but, little by little, He was really making His way toward Jerusalem.

23. On the way, someone asked Him, "Lord, in the end, will only a few be saved?" And He said to them,

24. "You need to be thinking about the now...about making the effort to enter into the Kingdom mentality by the narrow door that provides access to it. Many will try to grasp the concept of it, trying to enter it without repentance or revelation, but they will not be able to get in.

25. It's just like when the master of a household gets up and officially closes the door for the evening. You may stand outside and knock on the outer door again and again, saying, "Sir, open up to us!" But he will most likely answer you, "I don't know what household you come from...certainly not mine."

26. And then you may reply, "Hey...we ate and drank with you...you were a familiar voice in our community."

27. But he will say, "Seriously...I don't know what household you come from...you're definitely not a part of this one. Get out of here, and go to your own homes, you strangers!"

28. And you will have to stand outside all night in the cold, where your teeth will chatter from the cold, and where you will grind them in anger as you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets enter the house because they understand what is happening in the Kingdom of God in the now. Your anger will be increased because you yourselves will be driven away by your own lack of understanding.

29. And if that's not enough to set you off, you will also see people come from eastern lands and western lands...from the north and the south...all the people that you thought were not invited to the celebration at all, sit down and feast at the table in the Kingdom of God.

30. You don't realize this, and don't believe it when I say it, but there are some who are now 'last', as it were, who will then be 'first'...and there are some who are now considered 'first' who will then be 'last'."

31. Within an hour of hearing Him speak these words, some Pharisees came up to Him and said, "You need to get out of here...run for your life! Don't you know that Herod is determined to kill You?"

32. And He replied in a very direct manner, "Please...feel free to go and tell that fox for Me that I expel rebel spirits and perform healings today and tomorrow...and on the third day I will triumphantly finish My course. I don't have time for him or his empty threats.

33. I'm going to do what I'm going to do, today and tomorrow and the day after that. Besides, it's not proper for a prophet to come to a bad end outside Jerusalem...the whole thing will have its consummation there...and it won't happen until I get there!"

34. But then in a moment of feeling the conflict between being simultaneously connected and disconnected from them, He said, wistfully, "O Jerusalem...Jerusalem...you who continue to kill the prophets, and to stone those who are sent to you! You have no idea how often I've desired...yearned, even...to gather your children together around Me, as a hen gathers her young under her wings. I'll fulfill My own destiny, with or without your support...but, truth be told, I truly wanted to embrace you, but you just wouldn't have it!

35. But it doesn't matter now...what's about to happen is about to happen, and your house is forsaken. You won't see me again until the day of reconciliation when you all confess together, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of God.'"

LITN XIII, Verses 1 - 17

1. Around this time, Jesus was informed that Pilate had had some people from Galilee executed as they were offering sacrifices in the Temple. There was a lot of rumor and innuendo swirling around the incident...it wasn't clear what had actually happened, but for some reason he had mixed their own blood with the blood of the sacrifices on the altar. Whatever the case, there seemed to be some sentiment among those who heard about it that those who were killed had it coming to them.

2. “Do you honestly think that those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “In your self-righteous opinion, is that why they suffered like this?

3. Absolutely not! First of all, you need to be much more concerned about your own need for a paradigm shift...about your own sins...about your own relationship with God.

4. But what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? That was just a random thing that happened...they weren't killed for any particular reason on their part, as far as anyone knows. Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem?

5. Certainly not...and I say again that, unless you change the way that you think about things like this, you are going to bring destruction upon yourselves.”

6. Then He told them this illustration: "A certain man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and one day he went to look for fruit on it, but didn't find any.

7. So he said to the man who was responsible for taking care of the vineyard, 'Look...I've been coming to inspect fruit on this fig tree for three years now, and haven't ever found any. I think it's time to cut it down! Why should it use up the good soil?'

8. The man replied, 'Sir, please leave it alone for one more year...in the meantime, I'll dig around it and fertilize it.

9. If next year it finally bears fruit, fine! If not, then I'll personally cut it down.'"

10. On a particular Sabbath, Jesus was teaching and ministering in one of the local synagogues.


















11. There was a woman there that day who was completely bent over with crippling arthritis, and she had been that way for eighteen years.

12. When Jesus saw her, He called her up in front of the crowd and said to her, "Ma'am, I announce to you that today you are set free from your infirmity!"

13. Then He placed His hands on her, and immediately she straightened right up and began to praise God.

14. Furious that Jesus had once again healed on the Sabbath, the leader of the synagogue said to the people, "You know, there are six whole days for work in a week...come and be healed on one of those days...not on the sacred Sabbath!"

15. But Jesus openly rebuked him in front of his congregation, saying, "You hypocritical phonies! You all do your menial tasks on the 'sacred' Sabbath, don't you? You untie your ox or donkey from its stall, and lead it out to give it water, without giving it a thought.

16. So should not this sweet lady...this daughter of Abraham, who has been cursed with devilish arthritis for eighteen long years...be set free on the Sabbath day from the condition that bound her?"

17. When he said these confrontational words, His usual opponents were clearly and openly humiliated. But His audience saw Him as a hero that day...a champion of the people who cared about them more than about proper protocol on the Sabbath...and they were delighted with all the wonderful things He was doing.

LITN XII, Verses 22 - 59

22. Then Jesus said to His disciples: "This is why I keep telling you not to worry about your physical life...about what you will eat...or about your body...what you will wear.

23. Real life...authentic life...is more than natural food; and the body is more important than clothes.

24. Pay attention to the birds of the air. They don't sow or reap...they don't have storerooms or barns, but they never go hungry because God feeds them. And, as I've told you before, you are so much more valuable than birds!

25. Anyway, who of you by worrying can add even a single hour to your life?

26. So, since you can't even do that, what's the point of worrying about anything?
















27. Pay attention, also, to how the wild flowers grow. They don't labor or obsess about what they're going to wear, and I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed as well as one of them.

28. So think about it...if that's how God clothes the flowers and the grass of the field...plants which are here today, and thrown into the fire tomorrow...how much more will he clothe you, you of small faith!

29. And don't fixate on what you're going to eat or drink...don't even worry about it.

30. People who don't know anything about God, or about His paternal love and affection for humanity are preoccupied with such things...your Father knows full well that you need them.

31. But seek out and search for a revelation of His Kingdom in and through every circumstance, and in every situation. When you prioritize the Kingdom in this way, then you can be sure that everything in your personal world will come into order, and that all you need for your daily provision will just automatically flow into your life, and will be added to you as a result of your quest.

32. Don't be afraid of anything, little flock, because it pleases your Father to no end to give you the abundance of the Kingdom.

33. When you can, sell some of your possessions and give the money to the poor. Create a spiritual bank for yourselves that will not ever be emptied...treasures in the heavenly dimension that will never be devalued...a secure place that no bank robber can penetrate, and no pest can destroy.

34. The bottom line is this...where your treasure is, there your affections and thoughts will be, also.

35. Stay prepared...ready for service...keep your lights on.

36. Be like people waiting for the owner of their company to return from his honeymoon, so that when he arrives and knocks on the door of the business, they can immediately open up for him.

37. Those employees whose boss finds them watching for him will be glad that they were prepared. The truth is that not only will he be glad to see them, he will actually dress himself to serve them, and personally wait on them at his own special table.

38. It will be advantageous for those employees whose employer finds them ready to see him, even if he comes at an unexpected or inconvenient time.

39. Furthermore, you know that if the office manager had been aware that a burglar or vandal was coming, he wouldn't have stayed out late and left the place untended and unlocked.

40. So don't be careless or clueless...just when you don't expect Him, the Son of Man will be revealed."

41. Peter asked Him, "Lord, are you trying to get a message to us with this illustration, or is this story for everyone?"

42. Jesus answered his question indirectly, saying, "So, who is a qualified and trustworthy manager, whom the owner of the company puts in charge of his employees to make sure that they have everything that they need, when they need it?

43. It will be good for that employed man or woman whom the owner finds faithfully doing his or her job anytime he decides to return to take inventory of his company.

44. The truth is that he will promote such an employer, and put him or her in charge of his entire corporation.

45. But let's say, hypothetically, that such a manager...perhaps a man...says to himself, 'My boss is going to be gone a long time,' and he then begins to physically abuse the men in the company, and harass the women, and be inappropriate with them...maybe he even begins to drink on the job, and get drunk in the middle of the day.

46. Inevitably, the owner of the company will show up on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour that is the most inopportune for him. The boss will no doubt cut him down to size, and utterly demote him.

47. That manager who is very familiar with his boss's way of doing things, his standard of excellence, and the company policies, and still doesn't conduct himself in the way that he should, might even get mysteriously beaten up in an alley somewhere.

48. But the one whose poor job performance is simply the result of ignorance or inexperience won't be dealt with so harshly. Let Me put it this way...from everyone who has been given much, much will be expected and demanded...and from the one who has been entrusted with a lot of responsibility, much more will be asked of him or her.

49. I'm telling you this because I have come to baptize the earth with fire, and I am ready to get the fire started!















50. I have my own personal fiery baptism ahead of Me, and I'm ready to go ahead and face it...ready to deal with it now!

51. So do you suppose that I have come to only bring peace to the earth? Definitely not...sometimes before there can be peace, there has to first come a division.

52. In the days ahead, especially when the persecution on this nation begins, in one house there will be five divided among themselves...three against two, and two against three.

53. Families will even be divided...father against son, and son against father... mother against daughter, and daughter against mother...mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

54. He went on to say to the crowd of people, "Look...when you see a cloud rising in the west, you automatically say, 'It's going to rain!' And, indeed, it does.

55. In the same way, when you see that a south wind is blowing, you say, 'It's going to be so hot today!' And, sure enough, it occurs.

56. You bunch of misguided phonies! You know how to intelligently discern and interpret the appearance of the earth and sky, but you have absolutely no idea how to discern and interpret the times! You're completely unaware that a whole new world is coming!

57. Why can't you just personally decide what is right?

58. But since you can't seem to do that, let Me give you some advice to help you through the transition that is on its way...as you go with your accuser before a magistrate, on the way to see the judge, make a real effort to settle out of court. If you don't do that, but instead inflexibly hold onto your irrelevant religion and your obsolete laws and your antiquated customs, the judge will turn you over to the officer, and the officer will put you in prison.

59. And don't be naive...you won't get out until you have paid the very last penny of your fine."

LITN XII, Verses 1 - 21

1. Meanwhile, an enormous crowd began to gather...thousands trying to get close to Him, literally trampling on one another. Before addressing or even acknowledging them, Jesus began to speak to His disciples, saying: "Beware of the yeast or leaven of the Pharisees...it's nothing but sheer hypocrisy.

2. The truth is, there is nothing concealed that will not be ultimately revealed... nothing hidden in the now that will not eventually be made known.

3. Everything that you have said in the secrecy of the night will be heard in the bright light of daybreak...what you have whispered in the ear in the secret rooms will be proclaimed from the rooftops."

4. Then He began to speak to the larger crowd, saying, "I'm speaking to you all as My dear friends...don't be intimidated into silence, or forced into phoniness by the threats of religious bullies. It's true that with the cooperation of this present government they have the power to destroy your physical life, but then what can they really do? There's nothing that they or anyone else can do to your real self...your inner being.

5. If you're really going to be in awe of someone to the point that it makes you tremble and shake, be in awe of God...the God Who holds both your entire external and internal realities in His hands.

6. Look...aren't five sparrows sold for just two pennies in the open market? Do you realize that not one of them is forgotten by God?

7. You are so important...your existence so valuable...that every single hair that grows out of your scalp has its own, personal inventory number. So you have nothing to fear...you are worth much more than many sparrows!

8. You define your terms with Me...public acknowledgment brings public acknowledgment...if you act like you really know Me, I will act like I really know you, even before the angels of God.

9. But when persecution comes on this nation, if you act like you don't know Me to save yourself, I will treat you the same way...even before the angels of God who can protect you in the hour of persecution.

10. And speaking of the power of words...everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Let Me explain...it's all about the power of your words to create by the ability and influence of the Holy Spirit. Every sin and blasphemy can be automatically forgiven people because of the mercy extended to the limited flesh, but when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, your words become so effective that they literally create your reality. So when you speak things out of your mouth which are contrary to the purpose and nature of the Holy Spirit, you actually speak blasphemy against Him...and He can’t forgive you in order to prevent those words from coming to pass, because He has empowered you to have what you say. You’ll just have to deal with the consequences of whatever you’ve said, whether for good or for evil. You can speak against Me as the Son of Man, and I’ll automatically forgive you of your wrong words; but when you are empowered by the Holy Spirit, the words that you speak against His nature will have to stand just as you said them. They will not be erased through forgiveness.

11. And when the persecution comes, and you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, that same Holy Spirit will be there for you. Don't even worry about how you will defend yourselves at that time, or what you will say.

12. The Holy Spirit will inspire your words and teach you at that time what you should say."

13. Then someone in the crowd called out to Him, "Teacher...command my brother to divide the inheritance with me."

14. Jesus replied, "Who appointed Me to be an arbiter between the two of you in these matters?"

15. In response to this, He said to them, "You all need to watch out! You must be on your guard against all kinds of greed, because real life doesn't consist of an abundance of material possessions."

16. To underscore His point, He told them this illustration: "There was a certain rich landowner whose crops yielded an abundant harvest.

17. So when he realized how much he had, he thought to himself, 'What am I going to do with all of this? I don't have adequate facilities to store my crops.'

18. After giving it some thought, he said, 'All right...this is what I'll do. I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and I'll store all my surplus grain there.

19. And then I'll say to myself, "Self, you have plenty of grain laid up for many years...more than enough to take care of yourself. Take life easy...don't worry about anyone else..don't even think about someone else's needs...just spend your time eating and drinking and having one big party!" '

20. But God said to him, 'You foolish, selfish clown! Tonight your physical life will be terminated...now who will get what you have prepared for yourself, seeing as how you cared more about things than about relationships?'

21. This is how things will turn out for those who only store up things for themselves, but never acquire spiritual prosperity."

LITN XI, Verses 37 - 54

37. When Jesus had finished saying these things, a Pharisee came up to Him and invited Him to eat at his house. Being in the habit of accepting just about every social invitation, Jesus went with the man and reclined at his table.

38. But the Pharisee couldn't get past the fact that Jesus didn't first wash before the meal in the customary way.

39. Being aware of this, He said to him, "You know what? You Pharisees make such a production out of cleaning the outside of cups and dishes, while you completely ignore the obvious truth that inside yourselves you are full of greed and wickedness.

40. Your religion has made you people ridiculous! Didn't the One who made the external world make the internal world, also?

41. If you'd stop worrying for one minute about the superficial rules, and start caring about what's happening with real people...if you'd give what's inside the dish to the poor, for example...then everything that actually matters would be clean for you.

42. You Pharisees sicken me! You are so faithful to tithe to God a tenth of all your produce, but you completely neglect things like speaking out about justice and tolerance, and ministering on the love of God! I'm not saying that you shouldn't tithe...I'm saying that you should have practiced tithing without it having become a mechanical ritual...a thing that causes you to leave these other important things undone.

43. You Pharisees are going to face ruin, because you love the attention...the applause...the notoriety of having the most important seats in the synagogues, and being treated like celebrities out in the marketplaces.

44. You Pharisees are going to become absolutely obsolete...you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it."

45. One of the experts in the law who was present at the table answered Him, "Teacher, when you insult the Pharisees like this, you insult us, also."

46. Jesus replied, "You experts in the law...I say the same things to you! You load people down with burdens that they can hardly carry...rules and regulations that didn't even come from God...religious observations that are self-serving for you, which prop up your agendas...and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them!

47. Calamity is coming to you, too, because you build extravagant tombs for the prophets, and it was your own forefathers who killed them.

48. In so doing, you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did...they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.

49. This is why God, in His foreknowledge, said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill, and others they will persecute and run off.'

50. Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed...not just the ones you know about, but all the ones since the beginning of the world.

51. I'm referring to everything and all of them, from the blood of Abel, to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. I'm telling you the truth, this generation will reap the bitter harvest for it all.

52. Destruction is coming to you experts in the law, because your legalism and closed-minded perspective and influence has taken away the very key to knowledge from your people. It's bad enough that you yourselves have not entered the door of revelation...worse yet, you have hindered those who were entering on their own."

53. When Jesus left there that day, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to aggressively and openly oppose Him...and from that point on they bombarded Him with controversial questions at every opportunity.

54. They had made it their goal to get Him to entrap and condemn Himself with His own words.

LITN XI, Verses 14 - 36

14. Once Jesus was expelling a spirit that was mute from a man. When the spirit left, the man spoke, and the crowd was absolutely amazed.

15. But some of the cynics who were present said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies, that this charlatan exorcises spirits."

16. Others, unimpressed by this show of His authority, tested Him by asking for a sign from heaven.

17. Jesus saw right through them, knowing what they were thinking, and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

18. If Beelzebub is divided against himself, how can he maintain his domain over the flies of the dunghill? I say this because you claim that I drive out spirits by his authority.

19. Now, if I expel darkness by his authority, then how do your exorcists drive it out? So then, they will be your judges.

20. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out darkness, then the now-ness of the Kingdom of God has been revealed to you.

21. When a fully armed strong man guards his own house, his possessions are safe.

22. But when someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted, and divides the spoils.

23. Whoever is not in the flow with Me rejects the authority of My Kingdom. So if you're not helping to bring about Kingdom purposes, you're making things worse for everybody.

24. When an evil spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places…places that have not been watered by the water of the Word…seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, 'I think I will return to the house I left.'

25. And when it arrives, it finds the house vacant and unoccupied, swept clean and put in order.

26. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits even more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And so the final condition of that person is actually worse than the first."

27. As Jesus was saying these provocative words, a woman in the crowd became overcome with emotion and called out, "Blessed is the womb of the mother who gave birth to You...and blessed are her breasts that nursed You!"

28. Without missing a beat, He replied, "No...blessed are those who hear the Word of God and fully embrace it!"

29. As the crowds increased, Jesus said, "This is an immature and manipulative generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

30. For as Jonah in his day was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation in the now.

31. The Queen of the South will rise in judgment with this generation and sentence it; for she came from a faraway land to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now One greater than Solomon is here.

32. The people of Nineveh will stand up when this generation is judged and accuse it; for they had a paradigm shift at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here.

33. Look...no one lights a lamp and then puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under some kind of covering. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may be illuminated.

























34. In the same way, your perception is the lamp of your entire existence. When your perception is made right, your whole life will be enlightened. But when it is unhealthy, your life will be full of darkness.

35. So see to it that you do not allow the light within you to be darkened.

36. Therefore, if your whole life...your way of thinking and being...is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be totally and absolutely enlightened. Your life will be illuminated in the same way that a room is made bright by the lighting of a lamp"

Pray For Peace (Re-post)

I think this is actually the second re-post of this, and I've posted the prayer on the prayer blog before, but I think it's very relevant right now, so I added some pics and put it up again...peace...

THE
PRAYER
OF
SAINT
FRANCIS
OF
ASSISI



"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.









Where there is hatred...

















...let me sow love;













where there is injury...








...pardon;





















where there is doubt...








...faith;





















where there is despair...






...hope;




where there is darkness...







...light;














and where there is sadness...






...joy.





















O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;


















...to be understood as to understand;





















...to be loved as to love.
















For it is in giving that we receive;















...it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;





















...and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life."

LITN XI, Verses 1 - 13

1. One day Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when He finished, one of His disciples approached Him and said, "Lord, please teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."

2. So He said to all of them, "All right...when you pray, say something like this: 'Our Father – not My Father…not your Father…but Our Father Who is in the heavenly realm – may Your name be hallowed by us and always kept holy in our collective consciousness...may Your kingdom continue to come to us, and in us, and through us. May Your will be done on earth…in the physical realm…as it is in heaven…in the spiritual realm.

3. Give us – not Me, not you, but us – give us this day, our daily bread…just the provision that we need in the now…no more…no less.

4. Forgive us, collectively, our sins, as we also forgive everyone who sins against us, collectively. And lead us...together...not into temptation.'"

5. Then He said to them, "Imagine that you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, 'Hey, buddy...lend me three loaves of bread.

6. I'm asking because a friend of mine on a journey has come to visit me, and I have nothing to serve him to eat tonight.'

7. And then suppose that your friend answers, 'Go away...don't bother me! The outer door to my front courtyard is already locked, and my entire household, including the children, is in bed. I can't get up right now and give you anything.'

8. Here's the thing...even though he won't get up and give you the bread because of the obligation of your friendship, because of your shameless audacity...your absolute persistence...he will, no doubt, get up and give you as much bread as you need.

9. So I say to you...keep on asking – never stop expressing your desires, or challenging the boundaries of your faith – and it will ultimately be given you. Keep on seeking – never abandon your sense of wonder or your inquisitive interest in the mysterious – and you will ultimately find. Keep on knocking – never believe that your possibilities are exhausted or that your opportunities are finite – and the door will ultimately be opened to you.

10. Do it because everyone in this life who keeps on asking keeps on receiving. And he or she who keeps on seeking keeps on finding. And to him or her who keeps on knocking, doors will continue to be opened.

11. Look...what father is there of you, if his hungry son asks him for a fish, will ignore the request and instead hand him a snake to eat?

12. Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion for dinner?

13. If you then, with all of your potential for evil, know how to give good and beautiful gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in the heavenly realm lavish the Holy Spirit on those who keep making a demand on Him!"

LITN X, Verses 38 - 42

38. Then Jesus and His disciples went on their way, and they came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him in a show of hospitality.

39. And Martha had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus' feet, listening intently to everything He said.

40. But Martha, in an effort to be a good hostess...and to make Jesus and His disciples feel comfortable in her home...became distracted by all the preparations that had to be made for dinner. So she came to Him and said, "Lord, does it not bother you to see that my inconsiderate sister has left me to do the work in the kitchen all by myself? It certainly bothers me! Tell her to get busy and help me!"

41. Unmoved, Jesus replied, "Oh Martha...Martha...you are worried and upset about so many trivial and unimportant things.

42. You should re-prioritize, and embrace the fact that only one thing is really necessary...and your sister, Mary, has chosen that one, superior thing! And the thing that she has chosen will never be taken away from her."

LITN X, Verses 21 - 37

21. When He said that, Jesus became elated...exuberant in the Holy Spirit...and He cried out, joyfully, "I thank you, Father, Master of heaven and earth, that You hid these things from the presumptuous ones who think they know it all, and revealed them to these innocent ones...these children, untainted by the cynicism of religion...these newcomers to the mysteries of the spirit realm. Yes, Father, it pleased You to do it this way."

22. He went on to say, "All things have been committed to Me by My Father...no one fully comprehends who the Son is except the Father...no one fully comprehends who the Father is except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."

23. Then He turned to His disciples and said, privately, "Do you have any idea how blessed you are to be able to see what you are seeing?

24. There are plenty of prophets and sages...even kings...who would have literally given anything to witness something like this, but never got so much as a glimpse of anything like it...they longed to hear what you are hearing, but were never able to tap into it."

25. On a particular occasion an expert in the Law approached Jesus with the intention of testing Him. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to realize the benefits of eternal life?"

26. "Well, what is written in your Law?" He replied. "How do you perceive and interpret it?"

27. He answered, "It's simple...'Love the Lord your God with all your heartfelt passion, your willed intention, and with all your energy, and with all your intellect or intelligence; and, 'Love your neighbor as unconditionally as you love yourself.'"

28. "You have answered correctly...that's all it is," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will manifest the full potential of eternal life."

29. But that wasn't enough for this religious expert...he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "All right...but who, exactly, is my neighbor?"

























30. Jesus replied, "Let me explain it this way...a certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he became the victim of merciless robbers. They stripped him of all his clothes, beat him up, and went away, leaving him for dead.

31. A priest just happened to be travelling down the same road, and when he saw the man lying there, bruised, bloody and naked, he was repulsed by the sight, and passed by on the other side.

32. Then a Levite going the same way passed him, and had the same reaction as the priest. Not wanting to get involved or touched by the man's condition, he also passed by on the other side.

33. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came to where the man was, and when he saw him, he was moved to compassionate action.

34. Without hesitation he went to the man, bandaged his wounds, and poured oil and wine on them. Then he picked the man up and put him on his own donkey, took him to a nearby inn, and spent the night personally taking care of him.

35. The following morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'I have to leave', he said, 'but I want you to look after him...and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expenses.'

36, "Now, which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who was victimized by inhumane robbers and indifferent holy men?"

37. The expert in the law replied, "Well...I suppose the one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Then go and do likewise."