Lectionary for 30 December: BT 163:6.1-8

Today’s readings from the Book of Truth present us with an extraordinary moment in the life of Yeshua (Jesus) and His ministry—a time when the work of His chosen disciples began to bear fruit in the world, independent of His physical presence. This event is rich with lessons for those who labour in the vineyard of God, lessons on humility, faith, and the nature of true spiritual joy.

As the seventy returned to the camp, bursting with enthusiasm, they recounted how their mission to preach the Gospel had been met with great success. They rejoiced in the healing of the sick and even the subjection of devils. But note what filled the heart of our Lord with joy. It was not the acts of power they performed but the realisation that His mission could continue even after His earthly departure. Christ rejoiced not in what was transient but in the eternal—the establishment of God’s kingdom in the hearts of men and women.
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Reading for April 30: BT 154:0.1-3

The events of that fateful Saturday night in Tiberias serve as a reminder of the constant opposition and persecution that Yeshua and His followers faced during their ministry on earth. As Yeshua was speaking words of comfort and courage to His disciples, a council was being held between Herod Antipas and a group of scribes and Pharisees, who were urging Herod to arrest Yeshua. They accused Him of stirring up the populace to dissension and even to rebellion, but Herod refused to take action against Him as a political offender.
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The Book of Truth 193:1.1-3

Final Appearances and Ascension

1. The Appearance at Sychar

193:1.1
About four o’clock on Sabbath afternoon, 13 May, the Master appeared to Nalda and about seventy-five Samaritan believers near Jacob’s well, at Sychar. The believers were in the habit of meeting at this place, near where Yeshua had spoken to Nalda concerning the water of life. On this day, just as they had finished their discussions of the reported resurrection, Yeshua suddenly appeared before them, saying:

193:1.2
“Peace be upon you. You rejoice to know that I am the resurrection and the life, but this will avail you nothing unless you are firstborn of the eternal spirit, thereby coming to possess, by faith, the gift of eternal life. If you are the faith sons of my Father, you shall never die; you shall not perish. The gospel of the kingdom has taught you that all men are the sons of God. And this good news concerning the love of the heavenly Father for his children on earth must be carried to all the world. The time has come when you worship God neither on Gerizim nor at Jerusalem, but where you are, as you are, in spirit and in truth. It is your faith that saves your souls. Salvation is the gift of God to all who believe they are his sons. But be not deceived; while salvation is the free gift of God and is bestowed upon all who accept it by faith, there follows the experience of bearing the fruits of this spirit life as it is lived in the flesh. The acceptance of the doctrine of the fatherhood of God implies that you also freely accept the associated truth of the brotherhood of man. And if man is your brother, he is even more than your neighbour, whom the Father requires you to love as yourself. Your brother, being of your own family, you will not only love with a family affection, but you will also serve as you would serve yourself. And you will thus love and serve your brother because you, being my brethren, have been thus loved and served by me. Go, then, into all the world telling this good news to all creatures of every race, tribe, and nation. My spirit shall go before you, and I will be with you always.”

193:1.3
These Samaritans were greatly astonished at this appearance of the Master, and they hastened off to the nearby towns and villages, where they published abroad the news that they had seen Yeshua, and that he had talked to them. And this was the seventeenth morontia appearance of the Master.

The Book of Truth 124:1.11-13

The Later Childhood of Yeshua
1. Yeshua’s Ninth Year (A.D. 3)

124:1.11
In May of this year, on his uncle’s farm, Yeshua for the first time helped with the harvest of the grain. Before he was thirteen, he had managed to find out something about practically everything that men and women worked at around Nazareth except metalworking, and he spent several months in a smith’s shop when older, after the death of his father.

124:1.12
When work and caravan travel were slack, Yeshua made many trips with his father on pleasure or business to nearby Cana, Endor, and Nain. Even as a lad he frequently visited Sepphoris, only a little over three miles from Nazareth to the northwest, and from 4 B.C. to about A.D. 25 the capital of Galilee and one of the residences of Herod Antipas.

124:1.13
Yeshua continued to grow physically, intellectually, socially, and spiritually. His trips away from home did much to give him a better and more generous understanding of his own family, and by this time even his parents were beginning to learn from him as well as to teach him. Yeshua was an original thinker and a skilful teacher, even in his youth. He was in constant collision with the so-called “oral law,” but he always sought to adapt himself to the practices of his family. He got along fairly well with the children of his age, but he often grew discouraged with their slow-acting minds. Before he was ten years old, he had become the leader of a group of seven lads who formed themselves into a society for promoting the acquirements of manhood—physical, intellectual, and religious. Among these boys, Yeshua succeeded in introducing many new games and various improved methods of physical recreation.

The Book of Truth 154:1.1-3

Last Days at Capernaum

1. A Week of Counsel

154:1.1
From 1 to 7 May, Yeshua held intimate counsel with his followers at the Zebedee house. Only the tried and trusted disciples were admitted to these conferences. At this time there were only about one hundred disciples who had the moral courage to brave the opposition of the Pharisees and openly declare their adherence to Yeshua. With this group he held sessions morning, afternoon, and evening. Small companies of inquirers assembled each afternoon by the seaside, where some of the evangelists or apostles discoursed to them. These groups seldom numbered more than fifty.

154:1.2
On Friday of this week, official action was taken by the rulers of the Capernaum synagogue closing the house of God to Yeshua and all his followers. This action was taken at the instigation of the Jerusalem Pharisees. Jairus resigned as chief ruler and openly aligned himself with Yeshua.

154:1.3
The last of the seaside meetings was held on Sabbath afternoon, 7 May. Yeshua talked to less than one hundred and fifty who had assembled at that time. This Saturday night marked the time of the lowest ebb in the tide of popular regard for Yeshua and his teachings. From then on there was a steady, slow, but more healthful and dependable growth in favourable sentiment; a new following was built up which was better grounded in spiritual faith and true religious experience. The more or less composite and compromising transition stage between the materialistic concepts of the kingdom held by the Master’s followers and those more idealistic and spiritual concepts taught by Yeshua had now definitely ended. From now on there was a more open proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom in its larger scope and in its far-flung spiritual implications.