35. Fear vs Faith

Fear and faith. Two ways of looking at reality. In fear, we anticipate a negative outcome. In faith, we anticipate a positive one. Neither approach guarantees anything, but it may be that our attitude does somehow influence the outcome. In extreme cases we call this a “self-fulfilling prophesy” -- for example, someone who, being convinced that no one likes them, carries a chip on their shoulder so that indeed, no one likes them.

Probably most of us, however, bounce back and forth between these two attitudes. When we get in our car and drive down the freeway, we probably have faith we’re going to reach our destination, and are not preoccupied with having a major collision. Being talked into bungee jumping off of the Golden Gate Bridge by a group of friends, however, might arouse in us a bit of trepidation. Still, we would have to have more faith than fear or we would never jump, right?

So maybe the attitude of faith has something to do with knowledge gained from experience. Enough trips down the freeway with no collisions and we begin to have faith that this is a safe thing to do. After all, we live in a pretty reliable world, where if we follow the rules – obey speed limits, make sure you’re going in the direction of traffic, etc. – then the outcomes tend to be fairly consistent. There’s always the outlier, the occasional exception, but it is just that: the exception.

36. Jesus Teaches at Nazareth

Jesus goes to his hometown to preach, and his reception is a bit chilly. It’s not hard to imagine why. Someone the locals have probably known since he was in swaddling clothes comes back as if he’s some sort of big-shot prophet who suddenly knows more than they do.

You can image them thinking to themselves, “Hey, isn’t this that runny-nosed kid that used to tease my daughter and throw pebbles at the neighbor’s sheep? And now he’s come back thinking he’s all special and filled with the wisdom of God? Yeah, right. He should go back to being a carpenter, if anyone will hire him.”

Perhaps the lesson here is that once people have a strong impression of you, it’s hard for them to see you any differently, no matter how much evidence there may be of change.

38. Disciples Tour in Galilee

This is the first – and last! – time that Jesus sends his followers out on their own. Why did he never send them out again? Look at the last line: “And they went out, and preached that men should repent.” Repentance was John’s message, not Jesus’! The disciples were preaching that people should repent and get ready for the apocalypse, where the righteous will be rewarded with everlasting life, and the wicked burned in unquenchable fire. As we have seen, Jesus preached a very different message.

It is hard to escape the conclusion that these disciples were not the sharpest tools in the shed. Despite all of Jesus’ teachings, they could never shake the belief that he was the messiah foretold in Jewish prophesy, there to vanquish the Roman enemy.

40. Report of Associates on their Tour
41. Jesus Teaching in the Desert

Let’s project on these passages a bit. Jesus sees that many people are hungry for his teachings, more than he can minister to on his own. He had hoped to multiply the number of available messengers by training his disciples, but after sending them out the first time, he realizes that they have not understood, and never sends them out again.

But the need for teaching continues to grow: “And Jesus came forth and saw a great multitude, and he had compassion on them, because they were as sheep not having a Shepard: and he began to teach them many things.”

You can see how Jesus’ concern would have been great. His people are headed toward a confrontation with the Romans that they will not survive; he has a message that offers a new alternative; people seem hungry for the message, but he is only one person -- he cannot minister to them all. And his disciples, who he was hoping could help spread the word, are totally out to lunch.

What to do? As was his practice, he goes to pray, to seek guidance on how to proceed.

It could be that by now Jesus knows his mission will fail – not even those closest to him are able to understand -- and that he does not have long to live. As a result he may have decided in the remaining days left to him to make as big a splash as possible, in hopes that his words will make a strong enough impression to outlast him and take root in the minds of future generations. For from now on, his teachings are direct, unguarded and, as far as the religious authorities are concerned, highly confrontational.

42. Concerning Traditions About Defilement

This is another long passage that we will look at in sections.

And there are gathered together unto Jesus the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of his disciples ate their bread with defiled, that is, unwashen, hands.

For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands diligently, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders: and when they come from the marketplace, except they wash themselves, they eat not: and many other things there be, which they have received to hold, washing of cups, and pots, and brazen vessels.

And the Pharisees and the scribes ask Jesus, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with defiled hands?

And Jesus said unto them, Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

This people honoreth me with their lips,
But their heart is far from me.
But in vain do they worship me,
Teaching as their doctrines the ..precepts of men.

Ye leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men.

And he said unto them, Full well do ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your tradition. For Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death: but ye say, If a man shall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is Corban, that is to say, Given to God; ye no longer suffer him to do aught for his father or mother; making void the word of God by your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things ye do.

And Jesus called to him the multitude, and said unto them, Hear me all of you, and understand: To eat with unwashen hands defileth not the man. There is nothing from without the man, that going into him can defile him: but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man.

The message here echoes earlier passages on Jesus’ attitude toward fasting, keeping the Sabbath and associating with sinners. Once again Jesus rebukes the scribes and Pharisees for maintaining outward -- and meaningless -- appearances of piety while ignoring what’s truly important: their inner condition.

Jesus’ accusation is that the scribes and Pharisees sacrifice the laws of God in order to keep self-serving “laws of men.” His example: Sinners who make financial contributions to the synagogue are no longer held accountable for their actions. To say that money can act as a substitute for righteous living is clearly an abomination in Jesus’ view.

And when Jesus was entered into the house from the multitude, his disciples asked of him the parable. And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Perceive ye not, that whatsoever from without goeth into the man, it cannot defile him; because it goeth not into his heart.

And he said, That which proceedeth out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, evil thoughts proceed, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, covetings, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, ailing, pride, foolishness: all these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man.

Yet more evidence of the disciples being slow on the uptake.

Then the disciples said unto Jesus, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, when they heard that saying? But Jesus answered and said, Every plant which my Father planted not, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both shall fall into a pit.

This is a very interesting teaching. It suggests that evil – or ignorance – has an end. Think in terms of evolution. Every species that does not adapt to changes in the environment goes extinct. This could be a modern interpretation of “Every plant which my Father planted not, shall be rooted up.” If we are not aligned with the fundamental laws of life, we don’t make it. Simple as that.

There’s also an implication here that there is another way of dealing with evil. Rather than trying to root it up and eliminate it, let it run its course. Having made the wrong turn in the labyrinth of life, it will eventually reach a dead-end and go no further.

43. Withdrawal Toward Tyre and Sidon

Another indication of Jesus’ steadily growing popularity. Even when he tried to hide himself, presumably to get some rest and quiet time, he could not.

45. Pharisees Demand Signs from Jesus

We can presume that the Pharisees are seeking a sign that Jesus is the messiah. Jesus’ response is that they have no business seeking a sign – they need look no further than their own corruption to know that what he is teaching is true. Jesus may have even been saying he was the sign – but in their blindness, they missed it, and it will not come again before the destruction of Jerusalem.

46. The Leaven of the Pharisees

It appears that the use of metaphors could render the disciples stumped. Jesus was using leaven as a metaphor for the teachings of the Pharisees, and they thought he was speaking literally about bread.

Not a good sign for their future prospects as Jesus’ missionaries.

47. Opinion of Disciples about Jesus

When Peter says that he thinks Jesus is the Christ, he means that he thinks Jesus is the apocalyptic messiah of whom John prophesied, the one to usher in the new golden reign of the Jews.

Given the disciples’ past performance, Jesus probably anticipates such an answer, and admonishes them not to tell people that he is the Christ. Why? Because he does not want to foster that already prevalent misconception.

[See also “Contemporary Opinions About the Worth of Jesus,” Commentary 6-27.]

48. Jesus Forecasts Events at Jerusalem

This is an interesting passage. First of all, Jesus seems pretty clear on the fate that awaits him, and he is accepting of it. Clearly he believes it is God’s will. Otherwise, he’d be steering clear of Jerusalem.

And then there is Peter’s reaction – something any nice person would tend to say, right? “C’mon Jesus, why all doom and gloom? Cheer up, that’s not going to happen to you!” 

But Jesus delivers what appears on the surface to be a pretty uncharitable response – he turns around and calls Peter Satan! What is that about? Well, one explanation is that Peter still thinks Jesus is the apocalyptic messiah, and Jesus getting strung up by the authorities is NOT the way the story is supposed to end. Jesus calls him on that and rebukes him for buying into the apocalyptic fantasy and not being grounded in reality, which is what a relationship with God is all about.

49. Some Costs of Discipleship

Here we have the essence of Jesus’ teaching, what is known as The Great Paradox. Understanding it requires postulating two aspects of our identity: one rooted at the level of ego (our conditioned or enculturated self) and one rooted at the level of our soul (our essence or “created” self).

The ego-centric self abides by “the laws of men” to use Jesus’ language. In other words, it seeks survival by being obedient to the expectations and norms of the culture. The ego also sees itself as fundamentally separate from the rest of humanity, and therefore can feel secure only when it has either power over or approval from “the other.”

The soul-centered self abides by “the laws of God” and thus stands on much firmer ground. It sees itself in holistic terms – part of, not separate from. Unconcerned with power or approval or even physical survival, it is able to serve a higher purpose: truth. So when it appears that the culture is headed in the wrong direction – say, for example, a direction that threatens the survival of the clan or nation – the soul-centered self is willing to risk rejection and even its physical life to speak out.

Both “selves” have their purpose and usefulness. The question is, which self is in charge? If the ego is running the show, our essence or soul is left unmanifest. That is the meaning behind the first part of The Great Paradox. If we try and save our ego – that is, only concern ourselves with success within the culture as measured by power and approval – our higher self is left stillborn.

But if we are willing to forgo power and approval and risk rejection in order to do what we know is right – which, if you’ve ever had the experience, you know truly does feel like a death – we create the condition for the birth of a new, higher level of existence or consciousness. That is what is meant by losing your life to save it.

It is the most difficult instruction, because our ego does not want to die. The ego is clever, resilient, subtle and unrelenting – all qualities developed and perfected over millions of years of evolution. Without the ego’s drive for survival, we would never have come as far as we have.

But if we want to continue to evolve and not destroy ourselves, it is time to will the ego into a subservient role. It will never go away completely; but it can cease to be in charge.

[See also “Some Tests of Discipleship (Commentary 11-57), and “The Costs of Discipleship (Commentary 12-73).]

50. The Problem of Tribute Payment

The tribute payment is expected prior to entering the temple. Jesus instructs that just as earthly kings do not require their sons to pay tribute to enter their kingdom, so God does not require His sons to pay tribute to enter into His. Again, Jesus’ point is that the tribute payment is a law of men, created for the benefit of the priests; it is not a law of God.

But he does not want the issue to stand in the way of people hearing his teaching, so he says, go catch a fish, and use that as payment.

51. Teaching on Greatness

The disciples have gotten caught up in a very human predicament: they are trying to rank themselves socially – who is smarter, richer, taller, greater, whatever. For the ego-centric, enculturated self, as we’ve discussed before, hierarchy and knowing your place are very important.

But once again Jesus turns the logic of the ego on its head, and says that in the kingdom of God, being first means to be last of all and minister of all. Huh? How does that work? Well, there’s a stanza from a great song that Louis Armstrong recorded, called “What a Wonderful World.” It goes like this:

“I see the children,
I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more
Than I’ll ever know
And I say to myself, what a wonderful world…”

And that’s the way knowledge works, right? If you want to be first—say, the one who knows the most – you have to be last. Only then do you have the advantage of all the learning that came before you. It also places upon you the responsibility to spread and enlarge that knowledge for the benefit of those who come after…which would make you a “minister of all.”

The genius of Jesus is that he speaks from such a totally different frame of reference – one that takes in a greatly expanded context of existence. His teachings extend our horizons of time and space, and place the human species not at the pinnacle of existence, but on a continuum: as inheritors of a wealth of past wisdom and success, and as torchbearers of the present with tremendous responsibility for future outcomes.

The radical nature of this perspective is what makes many of his teachings – even today – so hard to understand and to seem at times to defy common sense. Because from a more typical, limited (egocentric) perspective, they often don’t make sense.

That’s why the first step in understanding Jesus’ teachings is to understand his worldview: all life is part of one seamless whole, all an expression of a single, loving spirit. When we clearly perceive and align with that spirit, we fulfill our true identity and like a healthy flower, life blossoms. When we fail to perceive and align, we suffer, just as a seed suffers when it fails to find the right combination of sun, soil and rain.

How do we know when we are in alignment? We are loving and responsive. How do we know when we are out of alignment? We are hateful and resistant. Pretty simple. And yet, not simple at all.

Oh yes, and that business about salt? Well, once again it’s about being true to our real selves. When salt loses its saltness, it loses its identity. Jesus is saying that by tending to the things of man – preoccupation with status and power, for example – we lose our true identity as a vehicle for the spirit of God.

[See also “Teaching on Standards of Greatness,” Commentary 14-87.]

52. Teaching on Tolerance
53. Teaching on Forgiveness

As we’ve seen, the disciples live in a time when peoples’ lives are guided by laws that are highly rigid and specific, and this may be one reason why the disciples repeatedly confuse symbolic language with literal, as we see again here. Jesus is teaching that we should have a constant attitude of forgiveness, but the disciples want a specific number: do I forgive someone seven times, and then on the eighth time I can really let the bastard have it? To make it more clear, Jesus says not seven, but until seventy times seven.

Why does Jesus recommend this attitude? The next passage, “Parable on Forgiveness,” gives us an idea.

[See also “Teaching on Tolerance” (Commentary 11-56), and “Parable on Forgiveness” (Commentary 10-54). ]

54. Parable on Forgiveness

Can you remember a time when, feeling truly loved and worthwhile, you had nothing but goodwill and charity toward everyone else around you? Maybe it was in high school when you found out that the person you liked really liked you. Or the day you got a well deserved promotion at work, Or had a particularly brilliant idea that everyone loved. People could cut you off on the highway, spill coffee on your blouse, whatever – all were immediately forgiven. In fact, you could not help but forgive them; it was automatic. Something happened that made you feel loved and worthwhile, and you were compelled to extend that same spirit toward all others. We’ve all probably had that experience at least a few times in our lives.

Jesus is saying that if we saw clearly – without blinders or judgment – our own human frailties and limitations, and clearly understood that we are loved by God, our creator, despite all of our shortcomings, then we would be so overwhelmed with gratitude that we would automatically have nothing but an attitude of charity, goodwill and forgiveness toward all other human beings.

It’s not that having such an attitude is just a good or nice idea. It is actually the inevitable outcome of being fully who we are meant to be. This is important, because Jesus was not creating some sort of behavioral check-list that, if followed, leads to automatic membership into the kingdom of God. He was trying to communicate a process that, if undertaken, leads naturally to loving, forgiving, merciful behavior.

Again, we don’t go for the behavior directly, we go for the process that will lead to the behavior. If you see what Jesus saw, this is how you will behave. Not how you should behave. That is a big difference. And one that few have understood.

The emphasis is always on how you see and how you hear. Not on what you do. Doing is just the result of seeing and hearing clearly.

56. Teaching on Tolerance

The first thing we need to understand here is that the Jews and the Samaritans were not chums. The Samaritans, who practiced a hybrid form of Judaism, were considered at best “half-Jews” by the Israelites and were no doubt discriminated against.

Now suppose the Samaritans of this village had heard about Jesus and believed the common misperception that he had come to ring in the apocalypse, where the wheat is separated from the chaff, and chaff is all burned up. Who would the Samaritans be in that analogy? Chaff. How eager would they have been to receive Jesus? Not very.

So the disciples, being offended, want to know if Jesus wants to burn up those nasty Samaritans right then and there (yet more proof that they could not shake the apocalyptic expectation). Of course Jesus does not want to do that at all, because that is not consistent with the spirit of God, which is the spirit of wholeness, not divisiveness, and which desires mercy, not sacrifice. The disciples are ignorant of the true spirit of God, the very spirit that animates their lives. Hence Jesus’ rebuke: Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.

[See also “Teaching on Tolerance,” Commentary 10-52.]