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Chapter One
In the beginning God spoke. This is just like God - part of the way God is.
Everything there is comes from God speaking; otherwise there would be
nothing at all. God speaking brought into being the life and intelligence we
all share. These have kept on shining like light in the darkness and have
never been defeated by the darkness. There was a messenger from God called
John. John played his part in keeping the light shining, encouraging people
to trust the light, although he was not the light himself. The full light
that makes things clear to everybody was then coming into the world. The one
who made the world appeared in the world, but the world paid no attention.
Those specially prepared, God’s chosen people, turned their backs.
Nevertheless there were many who opened their arms in trust, and these are
the rightful children of God. They are not children in the human sense, the
result of family planning or physical passion, but in the sense of sharing
God’s nature. God spoke by means of a human being living among us. We have
seen the beauty of the only complete physical expression of The Loving God,
wonderful to look at and to know. John showed his support by shouting out,
“This is the one I was telling you about, ‘The one who arrives after me is
more important than me, because he existed before me.’ ’’ From his
superstore we have received one good gift after another. Moses gave us rules
and regulations: Jesus, God’s representative, gave us true love. No one has
ever seen God, but the one faithful likeness who shares God’s nature has
shown us what God is like.
(19) This is how John answered when the Jewish authorities sent a deputation
of religious leaders from Jerusalem to ask him. ‘Who arc you?” John did not
mince his words but said quite plainly, “I’m not the Chosen One.” So they
asked, “Who are you, then? Are you Elijah?” He said. “No, I’m not.” “Are you
the special speaker from God we’ve been promised?” Again John said. “No”.
Then they said, “We need to know who you are so we can make our report. What
do you say about yourself?” John replied, using words from one of God’s
speakers, “I’m ‘The Voice’ crying out in the desert, ‘Build a straight road
for God to travel on.’ ”
Some messengers who had been sent by the strict set asked John, “Why do you
dip people if you’re not the Chosen One, nor Elijah, nor the promised
speaker?” He answered. “I only dip people in the water. Among you there’s
someone you don’t know who is going to take over from me. I’m not fit to do
up his shoe laces!” This all happened in Dateford across the Jordan where
John was dipping. The next day, John saw Jesus coming towards him and
shouted, “Here’s God’s Lamb who’ll take away everything wrong in the world!
This is the one I told you about when I said, ‘After me, someone will come
who is more important than me, because he was around before me.’ Even I
didn’t realize who he was, although my job is to introduce him to God’s
People. That’s what my dipping in water is all about.” Then John explained
why he was so sure. “I saw the Spirit coming out of the sky like a pigeon,
and she perched on him. I didn’t realize who he was until then, but the one
who sent me to dip people in the water said to me, ‘The one you see the
Spirit land on is the one who will drench you with God’s Spirit. I’ve seen
the evidence, and I’m stating publicly that this is God’s Chosen One.”
(35) Next day John the Dipper was talking with two of his followers. Seeing
Jesus walking by, John pointed to him and said, “Look, there’s God’s Lamb!”
This caught their interest and they went after Jesus. When Jesus turned and
saw them following him he said, “What do you want?” They answered, “Teacher,
where are your lodgings?” Jesus said to them, “Come and see”. So they went
to see where Jesus was lodging and spent the day with him. It was about four
o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard what John said was
Andrew. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell
him, “We’ve found God’s Chosen.” He brought Simon to Jesus who looked him in
the eye and said, “So you’re Simon Johnson! I’m going to call you ‘Rocky’.
The next day, Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He met Philip and said to him,
“Join my team.” Philip, like Andrew and Rocky, was from Fishtown. Philip
went to find his friend Nathan and told him, “We’ve found the one Moses
wrote about in our book of rules, the one God’s speakers wrote about too.
His name is Jesus Josephson, and he comes from Nazareth.” “Nazareth!?”
Nathan sneered, “Can anything good come from that dump?” Philip said, “Come
and see.” When Jesus saw Nathan walking towards him he said, “Here’s a
descendant of Jacob without any deceit in him - and that’s the truth!”
Nathan asked Jesus, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw what you
were doing under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Nathan said,
“Teacher, you’re God’s Chosen One! You’re the right leader for God’s People!
Jesus said, “Do you trust me because I told you I saw you under the fig
tree? You’ll see greater things than that.” Then Jesus said to him, “Believe
me, you’ll go right to the heart of things. You’ll recognize the Complete
Person as the link between this world and God.”
Chapter Two
Two days later there was a wedding at Cana. The mother of Jesus was there,
and Jesus and his friends were guests as well. When all the wine had been
drunk, Jesus’s mother said to him, “They’ve run out of wine.” Jesus said to
her, “Stop interfering, woman! Our ideas are worlds apart. I’m not seeking
to attract attention.” Jesus’s mother said to the waiters, “Do whatever he
tells you.” Nearby there were six big stone jars, the kind used by Jewish
people for ceremonial washing. Jesus said to the waiters, “Fill the jars
with water.” And they filled them right up to the top. Then he said, “Now go
back to the well and take what you draw from it to whoever is in charge of
the catering.” So they did. The supervisor, tasting the water, which had now
become wine, did not know where it had come from, (though the waiters knew).
He called across to the bridegroom and said, “Everyone else serves the top
quality wine first and the poorer quality after the guests have got drunk.
But you’ve kept the best wine till now.” By showing his special qualities
like this in Cana of Galilee, Jesus gave the first clue as to who he was.
His friends learned to trust him. After this, Jesus went on to Nahum-Town
with his mother and the rest of his family and friends. They stayed there a
few days.
(13) As it was near the time of the Jewish festival called the Passover,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the Temple he found people selling cattle,
sheep and pigeons, and others sitting at stalls changing money. He made a
whip out of some cords and drove out all the sheep and
cattle.
He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the coins flew all over
the place. Then he turned on the pigeon sellers. “Get out of here,” he said,
“Stop making my parent’s house a market place!” His friends were reminded of
the words in the old writings, “Enthusiasm for your house will set me on
fire.” The Temple clergy asked Jesus, “What miracle can you perform for us
to prove you have the right to do this?” Jesus answered, “Knock this temple
down and I’ll build it again in three days.” They said, “This temple has
been under construction for forty-six years, and you’re going to build it in
three days?” (Jesus was talking about his body as a temple. After his return
to life, the friends of Jesus remembered what he had said, and they trusted
the old books and the words Jesus had spoken.) [see footnote1]
While Jesus was in Jerusalem for the festival, many put their trust in him.
They saw the remarkable things he was doing. But Jesus did not trust the
crowds. He knew how unreliable they could be. Jesus didn’t need others to
tell him what people were like. He could read their thoughts.
Chapter Three
Nick was one of the strict set and a member of the Supreme Council. He
called on Jesus after dark. He began by saying, “Sir, you’re obviously a
teacher sent by God. Your splendid record of good work proves that God is
with you.” Jesus said, “Believe me, no one can recognize God’s New World
without starting life all over again.” Nick asked, “How can someone make a
new start when they are as old as I am? You may as well ask me to get back
into my mother’s womb and come out again.” Jesus answered, “Believe me, no
one can be a citizen of God’s New World without being born of water and the
Spirit. The waters of birth deliver a physical body, but the Spirit makes
you a person. Don’t be so surprised at me saying ‘You must start life all
over again.’ Like the wind, the Spirit blows where she chooses, and like the
wind, you hear the sound she makes, but you don’t know where she’s coming
from or where she’s going. That’s what it’s like when the Spirit takes your
life in a new direction.” Nick said, “I don’t follow.” Jesus said, “You call
yourself a teacher of God’s people, and you don’t understand what I’m
talking about? Believe me, I’m speaking from experience, but you religious
people won’t take me seriously. So far I’ve only mentioned things to do with
this life. What if I were to talk to you about things outside the realm of
time and space?”
(13) (No-one has had experience of that world except the one who came from
there, The Complete Person. Just as Moses set up the bronze snake on a pole
in the desert, the Complete Person must be exposed to view, so that everyone
has a chance to trust him and experience life to the full.
If you want to know how much God loves, trust the unique self-portrait God
has given the world. Then you won’t shrink to nothing but always be full of
life. God’s Likeness was not sent into the world to show the world in a bad
light, but to bring healing to the world. Those who trust are not shown up;
but those who don’t trust have ensured their own disgrace in advance,
because they haven’t trusted God’s only faithful likeness. This is the heart
of the matter: Light has come into the world, but people prefer darkness to
light because they do such wicked things. Those who do wrong hate the light
and avoid it. They are afraid their conduct will be exposed. Honest people
step into the light to show everybody that what they do has God’s approval.)
[see footnote 2]
(22) After this, Jesus and his followers went south to the province of Judea
and spent a while together out in the country. They also dipped some people.
At the same time, John was dipping at Peace Springs because the water was
deep there. People kept coming to be dipped. This was before John was put in
prison.
There was a discussion between John’s followers and some other religious
people about the use of water in religious ceremonies. They brought this
question to John. “Teacher, you had a companion when you were on the other
side of the Jordan. You spoke highly of him. Now he is dipping people, and
everyone is flocking to him.” John replied, “We all get our jobs from God.
Remember what I said, ‘I’m not the Chosen One. I’m the one who goes in front
to announce him.’ It’s the bridegroom who gets the bride. The best man, who
stands by the bridegroom at the wedding ceremony and hears him singing, is
happy at the bridegroom’s good fortune. Jesus must have centre stage, and I
must step aside.”
(31) (The one coming from beyond time and space is more important than
anyone else. Anyone who comes from our world can only speak about things of
here and now. The one from beyond has a total view of everything and can
give us information no one else possesses. But people don’t want to know
this! To accept the authority of the one who has come, is to accept the
truth of God, because the one sent by God speaks God’s words, inspired by
God’s Spirit. Love flows from The Loving God to God’s Likeness who is
entrusted with responsibility for everything. Those who accept God’s
Likeness will experience life to the full; those who turn their backs will
not know the meaning of life. They will have a bad time.) [see footnote 2]
Chapter Four
Jesus heard that the strict set were saying, “Jesus is winning more
followers than John and dipping them”, although it was not Jesus but his
friends who were doing the dipping. So Jesus left Judea and made his way
back north to Galilee. He decided to go through Samaria. He came to a
village called Jacobs Well, near the plot of ground Jacob had given his son,
Joseph. The well was still there. Jesus was feeling tired after the hard
walk, so he sat down by the well.
A Samaritan woman came to get some water, and Jesus said to her. “Give me a
drink.” (His friends had gone to the village to buy food.) The Samaritan
woman said to Jesus. ‘How can you, a Jew, ask me for a drink’? I’m a woman
and a Samaritan!’ (Jews do not eat or drink with Samaritans.) Jesus said,
“If only you knew what God has on offer and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a
drink,’ you would be the one to ask, and I would provide you with a constant
supply of water.” The woman said to Jesus, “Sir, it’s a deep well and you
haven’t even got a bucket. How are you going to get the constant supply of
water you’re talking about? Are you greater than Jacob, our ancestor, who
gave us this well and drank from it himself, and his family and animals?”
Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks water from this well will be thirsty again,
but those who drink the water I give them will never be thirsty. The water I
give them will turn into a spring of water deep inside them and give life to
the full,” The woman said, “Sir, give me this water. Then I’ll never get
thirsty or have to keep coming here to fetch water.” Jesus said to her, “Go
and get your husband!” The woman answered, “I haven’t got a husband.” Jesus
said, “Quite right you haven’t! You’ve got through five husbands, and the
one you’re living with now isn’t your husband! You never spoke a truer
word!” The woman said to Jesus, “Sir, I can tell you’re one of God’s
speakers. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews say that
Jerusalem is the right place to worship.” Jesus said, “Friend, believe me,
the time is coming when you won’t worship the Loving God on this mountain or
in Jerusalem. You Samaritans don’t really know what you’re worshipping; we
Jews have a better idea, since we’re the ones whose job is to bring healing
to the world. But the time’s coming, has come in fact, when people seeking
to worship the Loving God will worship with sincerity of heart and mind.
That’s the sort of worshippers God wants. God’s Spirit is like the wind,
open and free. God’s worshippers must be the same.” The woman said to Jesus,
“I know that God’s Chosen is coming. On that day all our questions will be
answered.’ Jesus said, “I am answering your questions now!”
Just then Jesus’s friends came back and were surprised to find him chatting
with a woman, but they did not like to ask “What’s the problem?” or “Why are
you talking to her?” Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the
village. She said to the people there, “Come and meet someone who told me my
life-story! Do you think it could be the Chosen One?” They came out from the
village and made their way to Jesus.
Meanwhile Jesus’s friends tried to get him to eat something. But Jesus said,
“I’ve got food to eat you don’t know anything about. So they said to one
another, “Could somebody else have brought him some food, perhaps?” Jesus
said to them, “My food is to please the one who sent me and to finish the
job I’ve been given. You have a saying, ‘It takes four months for harvest to
come.’ But I say, look around you. The fields are ready to harvest. Some
workers are already getting their wages and bringing in a healthy crop.
Those who sowed the seed and those who harvested the corn are going to have
a great barn dance together! The saying is true, ‘One sows and another
reaps’. I’ve sent you to reap where you haven’t had to do anything. Others
have done the hard work, and you’re getting the results.”
Many Samaritans from that village trusted Jesus because of what the woman
said, “He told me my life-story!” When the Samaritan people met Jesus, they
asked him to stay with them. So Jesus stayed there two days. Many more
trusted Jesus when they heard what he had to say. They told the woman, “Now
we don’t have to rely on what you told us. We’ve heard for ourselves, and we
know this is the one the world’s been waiting for.”
(43) Then Jesus continued his journey to Galilee. He did not expect Galilee
to give him the warm welcome he got from the Samaritans. Jesus often said,
“Nowhere is God’s messenger less popular than on home ground.” But when
Jesus arrived in Galilee, the people there opened their arms. They had seen
everything he had done in Jerusalem at the festival because they had been
there on holiday.
Jesus visited the village of Cana again, where he had brought happiness at a
wedding. In Nahum-Town, the government officer’s boy was ill. When the
officer heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to Jesus
and asked him to come and heal his boy who was dying. Jesus said, “As long
as you don’t expect magic tricks. Just trust me!” The officer said, “Please
hurry, Sir, before my boy dies.” Jesus said, “Off you go! Your boy will
live!” Trusting the words of Jesus, the officer started for home. On the
way, some of his staff met him with the news that his boy was going to live.
He asked them when they had noticed a change for the better, and they told
him, “He got over the fever yesterday, at one in the afternoon. The officer
realized this was the time when Jesus said, “Your boy will live.” He trusted
Jesus and so did his family and friends. This is the second clue Jesus gave
as to who he was. It was straight after he had come from Judea to Galilee.
[see footnote 3]
Chapter Five
Jesus went to Jerusalem for one of the festivals. In Jerusalem, by the Sheep
Gate, there is a pool known as ‘The Five Arches’. The pool is indeed
surrounded by five arches, and in these a large number of disabled people
used to lie around, including blind, lame and paralysed people. A man was
lying there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. Jesus spotted him, and
realising he had been there a long time, asked him, “Do you want to get
better?’ The man said, “Sir, I’ve got no one to help me into the pool when
the waters bubble; and while I’m trying to get down there, someone else
pushes in front of me.” Jesus said, “Stand on your feet, pick up your mat,
and get moving!” The man recovered instantly, picked up his mat and walked
off.
It was the Rest Day, so the clergy said to the man who had previously been
disabled, “It’s Saturday; you are forbidden to carry your mat!” But he said,
“The person who cured me told me to pick up my mat and be on my way.” They
asked him, “Who was it told you to do that?” The man did not know who Jesus
was, and Jesus had disappeared among the crowd before he had time to ask.
Later Jesus came across him in the Temple and said to him, ‘Look here,
you’ve been healed, so stop misbehaving, otherwise you’re going to be in
worse trouble!” The man went off and told the clergy that Jesus was the one
who had cured him. The clergy began to make trouble for Jesus, accusing him
of working on the Rest Day. But Jesus defended his actions by saying, “My
parent is working today as usual and I’m doing the same.” This made the
clergy even more determined to kill Jesus, not just for ignoring the
Saturday restrictions, but for claiming that God was his parent, and talking
as if he was equal with God.
(19) Jesus said, “Believe me, a child relies on its parent and imitates its
parent’s behaviour. Parents love their children and teach them their skills.
So expect to be surprised – there’s more to come! The ability to raise the
dead and give them life is passed on from one member of the family to
another. The Loving God does not judge anybody, but The True Likeness can
make decisions on God’s behalf. That’s why God and the True Likeness should
receive the same respect as each other from everybody. To respect one is to
respect the other, and to despise one is to despise the other. Believe me,
those who accept what I have to say, and trust the one who sent me, have
nothing to worry about. Death will be no threat for them, and they will have
life to the full.
Believe me, the time is coming, in fact it’s already come, when those who
are dead will hear the voice of God’s True Likeness, and come alive again.
For just as the Loving God is the source of life, so too The True Likeness
has the key to life and can decide what’s best for each person’s future. I
hope this doesn’t confuse you. Very soon, all those who are in their graves
will hear the voice of The Complete Person and step out -those who have done
good, to life that is new and full; and those who have done evil, to shame.
I can’t do anything on my own. My decisions are based on what I hear. Those
decisions are fair because I have no motives of my own. I aim simply to
carry out the wishes of the one who sent me. If I argue my own case, it
won’t stand up. But there is someone to argue on my behalf, someone whose
words cannot be doubted. You sent messengers to find out John’s views and he
gave you an honest opinion. Not that one person’s opinion counts for much. I
mention it in order to help you. John was a lamp shining all around, and for
a while you enjoyed his light. But the witness I’m talking about is greater
than John’s. The things the Loving God has given me to do, which I’m doing
at this very moment, are the proof that the Loving God has sent me. The God
who sent me argues my case. You are not tuned to hearing or seeing God
because God’s ideas have no place in your thinking and you don’t trust God’s
representative.
You bury your heads in the old books because you think you can find real
life there. It’s strange that the old books recommend me, yet you refuse to
come to me for life. I’m not interested in being popular. But I know why you
think so little of me. It’s because you don’t have the love of God in your
hearts. I’m like my Parent, The Loving God That’s why you don’t warm to me!
You prefer famous celebrities. How can you trust me, the one who has the
approval of the only true God, when you’re only interested in cheap
popularity? Don’t imagine that I will bring evidence against you to God. The
prosecution will be led by your hero Moses. You think he’s on your side. But
if you really trusted Moses, you would trust me, since Moses wrote about me.
If you don’t accept what he wrote, it’s not surprising you don’t accept what
I say!”
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