As WE Pass By
Being fully human Jesus had emotions just as we have them. For example when addressing believers in Zebedee’s house (father of the apostles James and John) he was unusually cheerful. When it became time to part with the apostles the “sorrow of love” placed a great strain on his human heart. He certainly felt love and compassion toward Mary his mother. At the tomb of Lazarus he wept. Indeed he experienced the full range of human emotions from joy to good humor and on to sorrow and grief, but he was a child of joy; his frequent exhortation was “be of good cheer” just as today we might say “be happy.”
Jesus was indeed a mortal until the day of his baptism in the Jordan River when the divine portion of his career began. After this event he was in full communication with his Thought Adjuster (also called adjuster, the spark of God within everyone) who had been personalized after the baptism by John and was now a separate personality. This dual nature of Jesus gives his life story such power and makes it spiritually compelling.
The personality of Jesus was such that all manner of people were drawn to him. Many of the apostles were manly fishermen and such individuals would not be drawn to the mystical type of person generally depicted in our artwork. His personality was perfected by his decisions and by faithfully following the advice of his adjuster.
The personality of Jesus was such that it appealed to all manner of people, from educated intellectuals to sturdy Roman soldiers to Galilean fishermen. He was totally sincere and interested in each individual he met; he fully loved each individual, this showed in his interactions with every person; he loved people so much because he placed a high value upon them.
His personality was such that people were comfortable when they were with him. Though they called him Rabbi, they were learning not to be afraid of him. Jesus possessed that matchless grace of personality which enabled him so to live among them that they were not dismayed by his divinity. They found it really easy to be “friends with God,” God incarnate in the likeness of mortal flesh (Urantia Book1534.1). They immediately respected him and called him Rabbi even though he had no formal training. It was and still is easy to be friends with him.
This is a vital point; it is easy to be friends with God. He is our closest, most intimate friend; He truly knows us and loves us. He knows our value, our unique personality and the contributions we can make as we grow in spiritual awareness and service. It is easy to be friends with God.
The greatest proof of the mortal nature of Jesus is his humiliation and crucifixion. He was tried unfairly, beaten and dealt an ignominious death at the hands of religious zealots but he maintained his dignity and composure throughout.
The most compelling indication of his distinctive character was when Pontius Pilot gestured toward him and proclaimed: “Behold the man!”
Jesus the human being with his unshakable faith in God is a compelling image for mortals struggling with a hostile environment of materialism and greed, but Christianity forsook the human Jesus in its glorification of him as the divine Christ. After the emotions connected with Pentecost, Jesus became a religion and his human aspects were largely ignored. While the glorified Christ is truly a noble story it neglects the human Jesus. We must not lose sight of this human Jesus because he is our brother as well as our creator.
We must now figuratively resurrect the human Jesus from the tomb where his mortal struggles were buried underneath the theological traditions and religious dogmas of more than two thousand years. These traditions do portray a splendid concept of the Christ, but they do not speak to our human efforts and needs. The religious authorities who put Jesus to death were mired in tradition and dogma just as many current religious leaders are. The revelation of The Urantia Book was given to us at this time so we who seek righteousness can bring a breath of fresh air into the religious community today; we should seek God’s guidance in bringing this truth forward.How unfortunate that religion itself should be so misinterpreted as to take the human Jesus away from struggling mortals! Let not the discussions of the humanity or the divinity of the Christ obscure the saving truth that Jesus of Nazareth was a religious man who, by faith, achieved the knowing and the doing of the will of God; he was the most truly religious man who has ever lived on Urantia. (Urantia Book 2090.2) (The universe name of our planet is Urantia.)