High Stakes

by Erin McCarthy

  It’s also strange that the seven devils, or demons, later on became the seven deadly sins from the Church. Jesus had learned from his studies in India the belief that all illness came from bad jinns or demons because they didn’t know about germs or disease. The practice of bloodletting to bleed out the bad humors or demons came from this belief. Jesus knew he was communicating with an illiterate populace and had to use the beliefs and terminologies that they would accept. Francine says he knew the difference, but no one would have understood, so he used the only resources he had available. Can you imagine how hard it would be to tell an uneducated and superstitious populace that their long-held belief in a devil and demons causing illness was not true? It would have been impossible for him to convince them out of their beliefs and he would have been laughed at and scorned even more than he already was. He took the route of expediency and let them keep their belief he was casting out demons instead of healing illness. His mission was too important to risk being sabotaged because of archaic beliefs.

  In Luke 8:3, Mary Magdalene, Joanna the wife of Chusa (Herod’s steward) and a woman named Susanna and many others ministered to Christ and his disciples and were women of means or substance—meaning they were wealthy. This verifies what I said earlier about Mary Magdalene being from a wealthy family. These women and others helped support Jesus and his disciples in their travels by paying their expenses and ministering to their needs such as mending, washing and cooking. Jesus and Mary Magdalene were already married at Cana and several other disciples were also married, and we must assume that some if not all of their wives traveled with them. Jesus and his disciples therefore had the resources to travel at will and it made sense in his public life to travel with women. Even though it was frowned on to have single women traveling with men, the endless multitudes that followed Jesus made it easier because they blended into the crowd, so to speak. His core group looked like a group of people altogether in a society, and Jesus in his public life was trying to show the equality of men and women.

  As the fame of Jesus spread, he gathered more and more followers and disciples. His entourage numbered in the hundreds and many would be sent before him to proclaim his arrival in places in Galilee and Judea. They would send the word to the general populace that a new teacher and prophet was coming and that he could heal and perform miracles. Wherever Jesus went, crowds and multitudes awaited him, as well as many who needed the miracle of healing. Among those multitudes were also a good number of priests and Pharisees who reported back to the Sanhedrin Christ’s every action and word.

  Jewish law and customs were very strict, and the slightest breach of those laws and customs would cause a person to be rebuked and punished. Jesus, having studied and gained wisdom in foreign lands, felt many of these laws and customs were stupid and foolish. He especially disagreed with the law of the Sabbath, which prevented good works and deeds from being done on the Sabbath Day. He broke that law continuously many times, according to the Bible. He forgave people their sins, which was considered to be blasphemy because only God could forgive sins, and he quickly found himself at odds with the Pharisees, priests and Sanhedrin. If he was accosted by a priest or Pharisee concerning the law, he would inevitably accuse them of hypocrisy and would give them a clear explanation of why he was right and they were wrong. The general populace were awed and marveled at his teachings and explanations, and he became even more popular.

  This popularity put the Sanhedrin and Pharisees in a bind. If they tried to arrest him or denounce him publicly, they could lose their stature in the eyes of the people and perhaps even cause widespread rioting. In their jealousy and fear of losing power, the Pharisees and Sanhedrin started to plot the death of Jesus of Nazareth. They knew that they had to entrap Jesus by his own words, and their spies had reported back to them numerous times about how Jesus was constantly expounding that he was the Messiah who had been prophesied. They knew he was a threat to their power, and as the popularity of Jesus grew it also became more of a threat. They knew they could not let him run rampant throughout the country spouting his heresies and blasphemies against strict Judaic laws, but they also knew he was becoming bolder and more argumentative with his preaching and words…and it was in the Law that they felt they could entrap him.

  Jesus was preaching and expounding on a loving God, a God who was forgiving and kind; while the Pharisees and Sanhedrin remained loyal to the God of Moses who set down strict laws and commandments. The God of Moses was such that if you didn’t believe in Him, then you would have a vengeful and wrathful God who would rain havoc upon you and you would be condemned to a life of misery in hell on the Judgment Day. But here was Jesus, sent as God’s messenger to try and set the truth down once and for all. You must realize that religion at that time, as even sadly today, is based on guilt, unworthiness and fear of God.

  Christ’s sermons in his public life show his kindness and wisdom in bringing about “the New Law.” His Beatitudes, I feel, are even more powerful than any other religious writings. His taught the simplistic commandments of “Love your neighbor as yourself” and “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” These time-tested pearls of wisdom take in almost all the Ten Commandments except for the first couple, which are basically: “You shall have no other Gods before me and take no graven image of me” “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord God in vain” and “Keep the Sabbath Day holy.” The Judaic concept of God attributes to Him many human qualities like love, anger, jealousy, etc. The God of the Ten Commandments is definitely an Old Testament God that has the human traits of anger and jealousy and even says He is jealous in the Hebrew text of the first commandment.

  With this in mind, the teachings of Christ were too simple for the heavy dogma of that day. This is not to cast aspersions, for people only know what they have been taught. It even exists today, for when I do my readings, people in dire straits wonder if God hates them or if they have done something to anger God or if God doesn’t care about them. None of the above is true, but old norms die hard, and Christ certainly had a miserable, hard journey set upon him by his Chart for God.

  Yet Christ persevered, even taking on the Sanhedrin and every type of ridicule and skepticism. As I stated earlier, he was almost thrown off a cliff and several times people wanted to stone him to death because of his teachings. Christ kept moving around, trying to reach as many people as fast as he could, because he knew his time was short. He traveled mainly in Galilee, because when he went to Judea he was persecuted more often by his enemies. He was welcomed into many of the best homes, usually by people who were more inclined to Gnostic beliefs and were believers sympathetic to his ministry.

  I’m sure you can find some of the Beatitudes that he gave during his public life, but I would like to include them here in the hope that you will read them maybe with new eyes, or with a deeper meaning of his ministry. There are actually two sets of Beatitudes, the more well known ones found in Chapter 5 of Matthew and the lesser-known ones found in Chapter 6 of Luke, which many times give the same wisdom but in different words. The Beatitudes cover and address all facets of life, and we will begin with what we might call the secondary Beatitudes found in Luke.

  Luke 6:17–49 says: And coming down with them, he stood in a plain place, and the company of his disciples, and a very great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the sea coast both of Tyre and Sidon, who were come to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases. (This shows how far we might say his popularity has spread, again due to the disciples going among the people to tell them to come and hear this God-like man speak and be healed of disease or unclean spirits.) And they that were troubled with uncleanspirits, were cured. And all the multitude sought to touch him, for virtue went out from him, and healed all. (This shows that he was already known as a healer, and how can anyone miss the fact that healing energy (virtue) supplied to him by God went out from him like kinetic energy to heal all those around him. We also know that if you get rid of fear and doubt
and have enough faith or belief, you can be healed.) And he, lifting up his eyes on his disciples, said:

  Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God. I feel any person reading this can see it isn’t just for the poor, but it is also for those who are not so obsessed with worldly objects that take them away from their God center.)

  Blessed are ye that hunger now: for you shall be filled. (Spiritually as well as physically.)

  Blessed are ye that weep now: for you shall laugh. (All things pass and even if this life is hard, the Other Side is joy.)

  Blessed shall you be when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’ssake. (He is talking to us, but also almost to himself, because if you work in truth with God…who can really hurt you?)

  Be glad in that day and rejoice; for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For according to these things did their fathers to the prophets. (Again, it doesn’t matter…you have to go with your own God and the love of God.)

  But woe to you that are rich: for you have your consolation. (This doesn’t mean you can’t have wealth, just don’t let it consume you and block your spirituality.)

  Woe to you that are filled: for you shall hunger. (You never want to stop learning.) Woe to you that now laugh: for you shall mourn and weep. (This seems negative, but he is trying to show how fast life changes and we must know there is good and bad.)

  Woe to you when men shall bless you: for according to these things did their fathers to the false prophets. (Be careful of your ego. Keep yourself in check and don’t get caught up in your own feeling of your holiness.)

  But I say to you that hear: Love your enemies, dogood to them that hate you. (Hate breeds hate, which is negative and can lead to evil. He also is going against the Old Testament axiom of “an eye for an eye…”)

  Bless them that curse you, and pray for them that calumniate (slander) you. (Do not fall into the trap of doing like for like when it is negative for negativity draws negativity.)

  And to him that striketh thee on the one cheek, offer also the other. And him that taketh away from thee thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also. (Violence breeds violence and we also see here the passive influences of his studies in the Far East.)

  Give to every one that asketh thee, and of him that taketh away thy goods, ask them not again. (To give to one who asks is divine, but be careful of what you ask for.)

  And as you would that men should do to you, do you also to them in like manner. (The golden rule.)

  And if you love them that love you, what thanks are to you? For sinners also love those that love them.

  And if you do good to them who do good to you, what thanks are to you? For sinners also do this.

  And if you lend to them of whom you hope to receive, what thanks are to you? For sinners also lend to sinners, for to receive as much.

  (All of the above three axioms are saying basically the same thing: to give of yourself without thought of reward is divine, but to give of yourself with a thought of getting something in return is not.)

  But love ye your enemies: do good, and lend, hoping for nothing thereby: and your reward shall be great, and you shall be the sons of the highest; for He is kind to the unthankful, and to the evil. (Do good works without thought of reward and also treat others with kindness. Also note here that again he brings out a merciful and forgiving God who still loves and treats with kindness the unthankful and the evil.)

  Be therefore merciful, as your Father is merciful. (Try to be as loving, kind and merciful as God.)

  Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven. (This is my personal favorite and I really wish that more so-called “Christians” would have this branded on their soul. A true Christian would never say, “If you are not saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, you will be damned to hell,” for it is not only judgmental but condemning. If you ever hear a preacher, evangelist or priest say this…run, for they truly do not understand the meaning of Christ’s teachings.)

  Give, and it shall be given to you: good mea sure and pressed down and shaken together and running over shall they give into your bosom. For with the same mea sure that you shall mete withal, it shall be measured to you again. (Simply, this means that what you give out, whether positive or negative, you will get in return.)

  Can the blind lead the blind? Do they not both fall into the ditch? (Think for yourself; if you follow someone blindly and that person is blind to the truth, you become like them.)

  The disciple is not above his master: but every one shall be perfect, if he be as his master. (None of us are above God, but in striving to be like God we are all perfect before God, no matter what faith or religion we practice.)

  What I call the well-known Beatitudes are in Matthew, but I didn’t want to neglect what was in Luke, because it shows how Christ was trying to give us a formula for life, which before that had been only esoteric knowledge. This gets down to the grassroots of life, living and dealing with everyday situations. Notice how everything leads us to finding our own spirituality. This again shows us that Jesus was more interested in how a person led their life than in how they followed the rules and laws and dogma of a religion.

  We find in Matthew Chapter 5:1–12 the often quoted and more popular “classical” Beatitudes in his Sermon on the Mount:

  And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain, and when he was set down, his disciples came unto him. And opening his mouth, he taught them, saying:

  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Poor, meaning without complexity and dogma and just simplistically loving God.)

  Blessed are the meek; for they shall possess the land. (This I have always known was tongue-in-cheek. If you are too meek and mild, all you’ll get is this world, so stand up for your beliefs.)

  Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted. (All of us die, but we all come to the knowledge that we will all be together on the Other Side.)

  Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill. (If you look to be fair and righteous, no matter how long you have to wait you’ll come back on top.)

  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. (It doesn’t always happen right away, but karma works in a positive manner also.)

  Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God. (We all will see God on the Other Side after each of our journeys of life after life.)

  Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (There is so much dissension in this world and if you try to keep peace you are stretching your soul to greater spirituality.)

  Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (You can almost see his passive spiritual training in India, as so many of the Beatitudes seem to be karmically driven. Always remember that no matter how much injustice you suffer in life, God always knows what the truth really is.)

  Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you. (I know many interpret this to mean persecution for believing in Christ; but I like to interpret it as persecution for believing in truth, which Christ was a symbol for. It also reads a lot like my life…with my critics and detractors; for later on Christ says not to hide your light under a bushel and to let your light shine before men. Well…I think I’m trying to do that, and I know after I die I will be going to the Other Side, just as all of you are.)

  It boils down to right living and giving solace to all those suffering the difficulties of life and just getting out and showing your love and knowledge. Like I’ve always said, Love God, do good, and then shut up and go home. If you believe in and love God, then help someone else…a hidden light of truth and spirituality do
esn’t do any good for you to just sit in the house with it. Get out and help each other. This doesn’t mean you have to be converting and preachy, just do good acts for others and in that way you’ll be fulfilling your Chart no matter what your themes or purpose are.

  Even when he taught the Lord’s Prayer on the mountain…here we see again that he always gave honor to his Father in heaven. He never started the Lord’s Prayer with “My Jesus here on earth.” It’s sad…because Christianity has made Jesus the only God and forgotten the Father and even more so the Mother.

  You certainly can read these yourself in the Bible, but as I stated, read it with new eyes of love and right living and spiritual search. It’s like he said, in the Gnostic tradition, “Seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.” If you stop searching for truth, then you become complacent and you really don’t realize what his life was about.

  As he traveled through Galilee and the surrounding areas, he would speak about mostly the Kingdom of God and God’s love and forgiveness. He was what we might call today not only a spiritual teacher, but also a motivational speaker. He was the only one who told people how to live, how to treat servants, how to forgive a son that was ungrateful, how to treat widows, and even taught them how to set up house hold rules, have a happy marriage and manage finances. Not unlike now, he would address and give advice on all the social problems of the day…bigotry, oppression, taxes and political problems. He was truly as he depicted, a shepherd leading his sheep to a pasture where they could be nourished, rather than looking at everything as hopeless.