JESUS the young nazarene?

 The Jesus' Series

JESUS  the young Nazarene

Jesus is your friend, not your judge.

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Therefore, I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them.

—Master Jesus

Hafed and Jesus arrived in Persia in spring—Zoroaster's birthday being commemorated at the same time. Their arrival appeared to add interest to the approaching festival and this was manifested by the glad and hearty feeling that animated the brethren when they welcomed them home.

After two days' rest, the festival came on. They were all early astir. Following the chant, they marched in procession towards the place where the festival was held.

Young Jesus at length stood up to address them for the last time. 

Although in appearance but a stripling among the sages of Persia, all were eager to listen to him. He spoke somewhat in this form—

Men and brethren of Persia—I have spoken unto you on occasions such as this before, and as I am now about to leave you for my own land, suffer me once more to give utterance to my thoughts.

Men of wisdom and learning and understanding, I thank you for the knowledge you have imparted to me—for all the lessons you have taught me. 

Here I stand after travelling with my venerated father amongst nations north and south, east and west. 

We have searched into their theological systems, into their modes of worship and their religious practices, but in all our wanderings and searchings amongst these peoples, though we have seen much that we considered wrong in their doctrines and worship, and much that was foolish and impure in their religious practices, yet we were oftentimes glad to see traces of great spiritual truths in their ancient books.

O men of Persia! servants of the Most High, rejoice that ye are in possession of the light, for, alas! many who once had that light now grope in darkness. Proclaim your belief in the One God, the Father of All—He is the True God—all else are false.

Brethren, I love you because of your sincere devotion to the truth, I love you because of your devotion to the welfare of the people, because ye seek not to blindfold the ignorant but rather to open up to them the fountains of truth and wisdom.

My friends and brethren, high and holy is your calling, for to you is committed the education of the youth of Persia, and I love you because ye strive to set before their minds that which will not only benefit them for life on earth, but that which will enrich them in spirit and fit them for heaven. You impart to them all that you yourselves have received in regard to the works of God, and above all, you teach them to live lives of goodness and purity.

O men of Persia, great and blessed is your work and precious will be the fruits. But the time draws near when darkness will come upon Persia.

Brethren, I must leave you to go home to my own land, and there I will in due time proclaim to my kindred the truth I am sent to bear unto them. But the day will come when the message, which I must first deliver to my own nation will be delivered unto you.

Accept it—O Persians. Farewell! until I meet you in the Kingdom where dwelleth the bright messenger from whom ye receive the heavenly light.

Farewell, my friends!

You may forget me for a time, but you will before long hear of me, and the time will yet come when some of you will suffer for me. Thus spoke the young Nazarene and closed with praise and thanksgiving to God.

And now that he was about to leave, Hafed felt his heart warm to this great and good and glorious youth.

Never had he met with one so Godlike in all that he said and did.

Had his willing ears not listened to his wondrous revelations of the unseen and spiritual until morning light broke in upon their sweet and holy communings?

Had he not seen him while surrounded by thirsty, dying travellers bring water from the rocks?

Had he not seen him by the touch of his hand restore the spirit to the lifeless body when that which had been a senseless lump of clay became by his merciful intervention once more a living husband and father—

A moving, speaking, working man?

Aye, one who was yet to do mighty works in the name of Jesus, who graciously raised him from death. His brethren had seen or learned so much about the Prince, of his wonderful works and spirituality of mind, that they could not help looking on him as something more than man, as one specially endowed by the heavenly powers for the elevation of mankind.

I come to overthrow the evil in the hearts of men, to point them to Heaven and lead them in the right way.

See me when but a helpless infant at my mother's breast driven into Egypt and finding refuge with one whom these Jews counted an idolater!

Idolater! did he bring me up in idolatry?

Well, you know how he taught me, in the truth and light. He, too, is in the heavenly country. Have I not seen him—

Has not Hafed, my reverend father, seen him in all his beauty as an angel?

Yes, and he now labours in that work in which He took delight while here on earth, giving light to the blind and unbarring prison doors. 

Whosoever shall do the will of my Father, which is in Heaven, the same is my brother and sister and mother.

—Master Jesus

 

Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus saith unto him—Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God, with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it—Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. This is my commandment, that ye love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples. If ye have love to one another.

Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward! Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

—Master Jesus

All that we may know of that higher life is summed up in the teaching of Jesus, probably all that we can understand of it, certainly, all that we need to know. First, be ye perfect, out of that comes the service of the strong to the feeble—Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. It is more blessed to give than to receive. Primarily, it is a life of growth and service.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the spirit is spirit.

—Master Jesus

I will not leave you comfortless, I will come unto you. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another comforter that He may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth. Howbeit when He—the Spirit of Truth—is come, He will give you into all truth. But the comforter, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

—Master Jesus

O my brethren, there is nothing for all this, but the pure and beautiful and simple truths taught by Jesus the Nazarene, the Sent-of-God. He hath lifted the veil from the unseen world. He hath taught us that the Great God is our Father, and that He himself and we are brethren, that all mankind, from the lowest to the highest, in all nations and of all creeds, all, all are the offspring of God, and all are alike cared for by Him, and that God now calleth on everyone to acknowledge him as their Lord and Master.

—Hafed, Prince of Persia

Do you suppose that Jesus Christ made any mistake when He said―Come unto him, and make his abode with him? I tell you He did not―He enunciated one of the great fundamental truths of the whole Universe―

The one and only way to accomplish your salvation is the way of the indwelling God―

God in the heart and soul of every son and daughter of (hu)man, leading and guiding him all the time.

―Spirit William James

Look at that glorious sun, see how he runs on in unclouded beauty! Clouds will obscure his beams for a time, and again he will burst out in blessings over all. These darkening clouds are needed. They play their part in our Great Father's work.

Ah, how often when crossing those sandy deserts did we long for the dark cloud as a shadow from the scorching heat!

—Hafed, Prince of Persia

Be bold for the truth. Take Jesus, the Prince, as your great pattern. He was never afraid to proclaim the most unwelcome truths before a whole nation, nor did he hesitate on every fitting occasion to show his great power in giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, health to the sick, in making the lame to walk and even bringing back the spirit to the cast-off body. He had these spiritual gifts without measure and he exercised the power wherever and whenever he perceived that good would result therefrom to man.

Walk ye in the steps of the Great Prince, Jesus the Nazarene, and ye will have the gifts, which he promised. Then will your churches receive the Spirit of him in whom they profess to believe, and then will be ushered in the longed-for Golden Age when man and angel will walk together in loving and holy converse.

—Hafed, Prince of Persia

Ah, how often has that High and Holy Angel dealt with these Jews, my kinsmen! But they have rebelled again and again and served their own lusts rather than God—they have polluted the Holy Temple, the house of prayer and made it a den of robbers. You may think me harsh and unsparing—I can hardly refrain.

I would have them taught no theologies, but enjoined to take Jesus as their leader, their exemplar—to make him their model in all things, so that they may be led early into virtuous paths, and living as he lived pass away from earth as his true followers and breathe in the heavenly atmosphere of the land of light and glory.

The Great Master Jesus said—Take no thought what ye shall eat, nor wherewithal ye shall be clothed, for your heavenly Father knoweth ye have need of all these things. 

—Hafed, Prince of Persia