The Baptism of Jesus - Part 7

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The Baptism of Jesus - Part 7

 

(p.111) Saint John, the beloved disciple of Christ, records the testimony of

John the Baptist, the guru through whose instrumentality Jesus received this

baptism of Spirit:

 

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, " Behold the Lamb of

God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, 'After

me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.' And I knew

him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come

baptizing with water. "

 

And John bare record, saying, " I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a

dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but He that sent me to baptize

with water, the same said unto me, 'Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit

descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy

Ghost.' And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God " (John 1:29-34).

 

The Lamb of God:

a world savior

 

(p.112) All masters who have attained the ultimate realization and oneness with

God are equal in the eyes of God. But the Father of the Universe, during certain

cycles of time, " prefers, " that is, chooses, one soul to come to earth as a

world prophet to give spiritual impetus to His children. Sometimes in the world

there are several masters present, but one is delegated by God t carry out a

preeminent dispensation. That in no degree lessens the greatness of other

masters, who are all one in Spirit. John came baptizing with water, in the

customary ritualistic way, to draw the attention of Israel, true souls, to the

advent of Jesus. Having stirred their receptivity, he could then humbly fulfill

his own dispensation: to make manifest by his testimony the divine credentials

of Jesus, who was " preferred " --chosen by God--for a grand mission of the

reformation of humanity. Jesus was to do this by inspiring the world with a new

consciousness through revival of the true rite of baptism by Spirit, the

transformation of consciousness by immersion in the sacred vibration of the Holy

Ghost.

 

The expression " I knew him not " is misleading. It does not mean that John didn't

recognize Jesus. Rather, he was pointing out that no one in the ordinary state

of body-identified ego consciousness--or even John himself, through purely

external sensory perception--could possibly fathom the spiritual consciousness

of the Christ in Jesus. It was during Jesus' baptism, when both he and John were

transfigured in the light of the Holy Ghost, that John witnessed that Jesus was

indeed a fully manifested " Son of God. " Such recognition could not be evidenced

to an ordinary mind; but through the transparency of an uplifted consciousness,

the full divinity of Jesus' consciousness as one with Christ Consciousness can

be realized.

 

John's reference to Jesus that " he was before me " again demonstrates John's

humility in acknowledging, in their incarnations as John and Jesus, the reversal

of their previous roles as Elijah and Elisha--it was Jesus in this present drama

who demonstrated Christhood before John ( " before me " ).

 

(p.113) John introduced Jesus the Savior with the epithet " Lamb of God, which

taketh away the sin of the world. " A lamb is a symbol of innocence, meekness,

and loyalty. Jesus was innocent, pure, humble, and true to God in every way. His

was not the arrogant power of a tyrannical crusader out to destroy evil by

force. Rather he came to offer himself as a sacrifice (as lambs are sacrificed

in the Orient) to exemplify the supreme power of love. If God used His

omnipotence to punish man, it would be impossible for a mere mortal to exercise

independent judgment and thus learn and grow by his own mistakes. The karmic law

works whereby man punishes himself proportionate to his misdeeds, while at the

same time God uses love to encourage discriminative right behavior and to awaken

in the human spirit the higher soul qualities of God's image within the true

Self.

 

Jesus exemplified God's love in a rare expression of spiritual magnanimity: the

willing oblation of his own life. By sacrificing himself for the spiritual

welfare of others, a savior who is empowered by God to do so can expiate the

sins of others. Jesus, a world savior, took on himself not only the karmic debt

of his disciples but also the sin of the masses by allowing himself to be

crucified.

 

It would be folly to presume that anyone, even a Jesus, can take away an

individual's sin unless the sinner himself cooperates to remove that karmic

consequence. A master can take upon himself some of the burden of a disciple if

that devotee makes a worthwhile spiritual effort to improve himself. But most of

all, a master serves in the highest way by example and teachings that inspire

the errant children of God to free themselves from their bad habits and

spiritual negligence.

 

To demonstrate the Divine Compassion, Jesus came as the lamb of spirituality,

ready to offer himself as a sacrifice before the temple of truth--an exemplar of

the consummate power of love over evil, wisdom over ignorance, forgiveness over

vengefulness, light over darkness.

 

Jesus' sacrifice was, primarily, to exemplify for all time the power of

spiritual force over ignorance and brute force. He showed that the power of love

could conquer the Roman Empire, which with all its might could not suppress his

philosophy. His reign has outlasted that of all warrior conquerors, based on the

divine edict: " Love your enemies. "

 

In pointing to Jesus as one sent by God to be the savior of multitudes, John

proclaims: " Behold the gentleness of compassion and the meek but almighty power

of love represented in Jesus, which will destroy ignorance and evil from the

lives of those who will receive within themselves the Christ incarnate in him.

(p.114) Christ-love will act as a powerful current in the heart and brain to

destroy the sin of evil. "

 

The Second Coming of Christ (The Resurrection of the Christ Within

You) Volume 1, Discourse 6, pg. 111-114

Paramahansa Yogananda

Printed in the United States of America 1434-J881

ISBN-13:978-0-87612-557-1

ISBN-10:0-87612-557-7