The mystical Jesus was describing his essence and our own at the same time

[Guest guest]

" Jesus gave us the deepest insights into God-consciousness when he

talked about himself. Even after two thousand years, we can feel the

awe and disbelief that greeted him. The Son of God was robed in the

flesh of an ordinary person, and only those who were attuned to

higher things could see his real essence. For everyone else, he was

either a fraud or a danger—especially to the rich and powerful. It's

not as if the case is settled. Sceptics continue to question Jesus's

claim to be Messiah, and faithful Christians harbour doubts about

whether Jesus redeemed the world from sin, as he said he did.

 

Positive or negative images both fail to capture Jesus's essence—

complete unity with God. In essence, he is a mystery. And that's the

point, to convey to his listeners that being human is mysterious. If

we list the most important things this mystical figure said about

himself, we get a far different picture from the Messiah who will

conquer sin and the Romans at the same time.

 

The mystical Jesus was describing his essence and our own at the same

time. This essence is a speck of God, the soul substance inside

everyone that never became separated from its source:

 

Essence is detached from the material world and its concerns.

It turns to God for all its needs.

It acts spontaneously, without a fixed plan.

It sees itself as timeless.

It feels compassion and suffering and wants to end it.

It feels that suffering begins in consciousness and that higher

consciousness puts an end to suffering.

 

In describing himself, Jesus was describing the essence that is your

source and mine, and we should listen to his words as coming from

that place—it is our own inner voice. Jesus set us the challenge of

living from our essence, as he did.

 

I Am Spirit

 

He said to them, " You are from below, I am from above;

you are of this world, I am not of this world. " (John 8:23)

 

Jesus affirms that he is essentially a spiritual being and that this

places him above ordinary understanding. The implication is that

higher consciousness cannot easily relate to lower; there is a gap

between them that needs to be filled.

 

I Am Eternal

 

Jesus said to them, " Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I

am. "

 

Since Judaism derived from Abraham, Jesus is saying not only that he

existed before his physical appearance, but that he came before the

founder. This implies that his truth surpasses the eldest of the

elders. The broader meaning is that spirit surpasses any organized

religion…

 

All Authority Is Mine

 

And Jesus came and said to them, " All authority in heaven and on

earth has been given to me, " (Matthew 28:18)

 

Jesus says these words after he has risen from the dead, appearing to

his disciples on a mountain in Galilee. The context is one of

revelation. He had promised to attain God's power after he died, and

now he has, at a time when Jesus was spirit and no longer a flesh-and-

blood person. The deeper teaching is that spirit has authority in the

material world as well as its own domain. "

 

The Third Jesus: The Jesus We Cannot Ignore

Pages 120-124

Publisher: Harmony (February 19, 2008)

ISBN-10: 0307338312

ISBN-13: 978-0307338310