Much of the teachings of Jesus were given casually as he passed by, for example he told a runaway lad there are two things we cannot run away from: God and ourself because our Heavenly Father dwells within each of us;[1] He is always with us guiding and helping us, showing us the way.
The world is filled with hungry souls who famish in the very presence of the bread of life; men die searching for the very God who lives within them. Men seek for the treasures of the kingdom with yearning hearts and weary feet when they are all within the immediate grasp of living faith. (Urantia Book 1766.4)
During his last few days on Earth as he was summarizing his teachings there are several references to our becoming faith sons of God. For example, at the remembrance supper Jesus was instituting a symbol of a new dispensation, individuals enslaved by selfishness and rituals now become liberated faith sons of the living God.[2] During the last group prayer with the apostles in Gethsemane he declared he would give eternal life to all who become faith sons of God.[3]
Summary of teachings
During the appearances between the resurrection and his ascension, Jesus talks about the faith sons of God. If you are the faith sons of my Father, you shall never die; you shall not perish. This good news must be shared with all of our sisters and brothers. God is our loving Heavenly Father and we can now worship Him wherever we may be.[4] He also revealed God as our Father and us as sons of God on earth; this is activated when we become conscious of God. He declared our mission on Earth is to proclaim the gospel which is the fatherhood of God and the truth of the sonship of man.[5]
He placed a high value upon all people and therefore he was willing to spend himself in the unremitting service of humankind. And it was this infinite worth of the finite that made the golden rule a vital factor in his religion. What mortal can fail to be uplifted by the extraordinary faith Jesus has in him? (Urantia Book 2093.4)
The teachings of Jesus bring us out of spiritual darkness and into the light of truth; they lift us up from an inherited faith to a personal faith attained by actual experience.[6] We no longer believe just because our parents may have believed, or because this is what some religious authority told us to believe; instead it is now based on what we feel and know and experience. Jesus said anyone who believes his teaching will no longer be in darkness.[7] Jesus truly brought the light of truth into our world which had been darkened by the transgressions of previous bringers of light which started with the Lucifer Rebellion.
One of the more difficult aspects of his teachings for the apostles was that we should seek entrance into the kingdom of heaven as a little child. A child in a loving family relationship is naturally open and trusting. And so should we approach God as a trusting child who is totally open to its loving father. Jesus Said: Unless you seek entrance into the kingdom with the faith and trusting dependence of a little child, you shall in no wise gain admission. (Urantia Book 1536.5) The faith of Jesus was based upon this innocent trust in his Heavenly Father.
The teaching of Jesus regarding sin was refreshingly new; even modern religions have not reached his level of revealing God’s love for each of us. They generally teach if we pray to God with faith He will forgive us. Jesus taught God has already forgiven us; He forgives us even before we ask for this forgiveness and this forgiveness of our sin becomes activated as we forgive our fellows.[8] When an earthly child has done wrong and goes to father with eyes full of tears, a loving father has forgiven the erring child before anything is said; there may be consequences for the misdeed, but the sincere repentant child is forgiven. And so are we.
A moment’s reflection on the nature of God as taught by Jesus reveals the meaning of the death of Jesus is different from teachings by religions bearing his name. Jesus taught God is our loving Father, he taught love and brotherhood; teachings which are not consistent with the concept of atonement, that God is so angry with sin His blameless son must be put to death.
The cross of Jesus… forever places all relations between God and man upon the family basis. God is the Father; man is his son. Love, the love of a father for his son, becomes the central truth in the universe relations of Creator and creature…. (Urantia Book 2017.9) A loving father would not require some price be paid for transgressions; the reaction of a loving father would not be anger and retribution; rather it would be love, mercy and forgiveness.
After the resurrection
The resurrection of Jesus on the third day is a creed of Christians everywhere; it is a foundation of our faith; however when it happened this was a surprising event, even the apostles did not expect it nor did they believe it at first. One who did believe was David Zebedee, brother of the apostles James and John, the chief of communications for the group; he sent messengers out to believers in distant places, even as far away as Alexandria, proclaiming the resurrection.[9] After the resurrection, for forty days Jesus appeared nineteen separate times to individuals who could make spiritual use of the experience.[10]
All this power which is inherent in Jesus — the endowment of life — and which enabled him to rise from the dead, is the very gift of eternal life which he bestows upon kingdom believers, and which even now makes certain their resurrection from the bonds of natural death. (Urantia Book 2029.2)
To a group of believers he said: You also are called to publish the good news of the liberty of mankind through the gospel of sonship with God in the kingdom of heaven. Go to all the world proclaiming this gospel and confirming believers in the faith thereof. (Urantia Book 2033.1)
When Peter declared he believed Jesus had risen, Jesus appeared before him and among other things said “Gird yourself, Simon, for the battle of a new day, the struggle with spiritual darkness {Dark Forces Operating on Earth} and the evil doubtings of the natural minds of men.” (Urantia Book 2039.2) This speaks to us today as we prepare to share this message with our sisters and brothers; we must prepare ourselves to enter the struggle with spiritual darkness and doubters with evil minds; we must be prepared to do battle with forces of evil seeking to thwart our revelation.
He appeared before the eleven apostles telling them they should manifest in their daily lives these teachings through loving service in addition to preaching.[11] During this same meeting after Thomas declared that he believed it was Jesus, he was told “Blessed are those in the ages to come who will believe even though they have not seen with the eye of flesh nor heard with the mortal ear.” (Urantia Book 2043.3)
Previously Jesus said: I have come into the world to put love in the place of fear, joy in the place of sorrow, confidence in the place of dread, loving service and appreciative worship in the place of slavish bondage and meaningless ceremonies. (Urantia Book 1675.6)
His final appearance was with the apostles and finished on the western slope of Mount Olivet. The apostles were bewildered and silent, no doubt in shock after these events. His final words before he disappeared from their sight were “Remember all I have taught you and the life I have lived among you. My love overshadows you, my spirit will dwell with you, and my peace shall abide upon you. Farewell.” (Urantia Book 2057.3-4)
Further Reading
“Light of Truth: Anticipating the Triumph of Righteousness”
