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Audio
Tablet Thirteen
Chapter 9
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"And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own
city."
"And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of
the palsy, lying on a bed: and
Esa seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be
of good cheer; thy
sins be forgiven thee."
(Matthew 9:1-2) |
<1>It was the Law of
Karma and the
sins (samskaras)
which were done by this person in his previous lifetimes which
caused him to be tormented by the palsy. In other words, he
was being punished for
sins done in his previous
lifetimes.
<2>In order to heal him,
Christ forgave his
samskaras (sins).
Therefore, his
samskaras would be
dissolved, the cause of his sickness would no longer be present, and
he would be healed. That is why
Christ said, "thy
sins be forgiven thee" --
not your ancestors' but of "thee."
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"And, behold, certain of the scribes said within
themselves, This man blasphemeth." (Matthew 9:3)
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<3>But the people could not understand the
Law of
Karma and looked at
Christ as a regular
person, not as the
son of God who is in
Pure
Consciousness as the
Father, and can do
whatever the
Father can (with His
allowance). That is why even the scribes who were supposed to be the
most learned were ignorant of these facts and thought he was
blaspheming, because he put himself equal with
God. <4>The scribes
thought that
God is the only Being who
can forgive. They did not know that the
son of God, with His permission, can do whatever the
Father can.
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"And Esa
knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye
evil in your hearts?"
"For whether is easier, to say, Thy
sins be forgiven thee; or
to say, Arise, and walk?" (Matthew 9:4-5) |
<5>Esa
knew their thoughts, so he asked them which one is better: to do the
miracles without letting it be known what is the cause of the
sickness and suffering (which is
sin), "Arise, and walk;" or
to do the miracles and at the same time show the reason the
suffering is there and how it can be cured (by the
sin being forgiven by the Lord, and also by repentance and
refraining from repeating it), "thy
sins be forgiven thee."
<6>So
sin is disobedience of the
Lord's Laws and is the source of suffering individually or
collectively.
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"But that ye may know that the Son of man hath
power on earth to forgive sins,
(then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed,
and go unto thine house."
"And he arose, and departed to his house."
(Matthew 9:6-7)
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<7>Esa,
the son of man, was also the
son of God as a
god-man (Avatar,
in Pure
Consciousness) and if
God willed, he could
forgive
sins. So he commanded that
the sick man arise and go, which is the same as forgiving his
sins. The man did this, so again it is shown that the
son of God can
forgive sins.
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"But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled,
and glorified
God, which had given such
power unto men." (Matthew 9:8)
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<8>But people marvelled at how these miracles
were possible. When they saw these things happen which do not occur
in everyday life, they glorified the Lord. <9>However, if
people would just be more considerate to know
God and try to see His miracles, they would see them in
everything. <10>All of creation and the fact that they are
here and alive, are miracles.
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"And as Esa
passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at
the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he
arose, and followed him." (Matthew 9:9)
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<11>Christ
called another disciple who was so ready to accept him that only
being told "follow me" was enough to make him leave everything and
follow him.
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"And it came to pass, as
Esa
sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and
sinners came and sat down
with him and his disciples."
"And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto
his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and
sinners?"
"But when
Esa heard that, he said
unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that
are sick."
"But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will
have mercy, and not
sacrifice: for
I am not come to call the
righteous, but
sinners to repentance."
(Matthew 9:10-13)
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<12>When a person is healthy, he does not go
to a doctor and does not even think about one. But when he is sick,
then he needs a doctor.
<13>Likewise, it is the
sinners who need a Savior.
<14>Also as long as a sick person does not
believe he is sick, he does not go to the doctor. But when he
realizes he is sick, then he seeks medical care. That is also true
about the human. As long as they think they are not
sinners (are not ignorant),
they do not feel they need a Savior who can take them away from
ignorance
to the light (knowledge).
<15>That is why the publicans and
sinners went to
Christ to hear his
words, but the scribes and Pharisees who also were ignorant but
unaware of it, did not go to him. They had created a big
false ego so they could not see the
light in
Christ.
<16>Also, many would do much
sacrifice and go
through different penances but did not have any mercy toward other
humans. That is why
Christ said, "I will
have mercy, and not
sacrifice." That is,
the goal of
sacrifice and
penance, etc., is to become merciful toward the lost souls and try
to help them out of
ignorance, not to
forsake the society and become an escapist.
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"Then came to him the disciples of John, saying,
Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?"
(Matthew 9:14)
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<17>Here we can see that the followers of
John who would do much fasting and penance, came to him and asked
him why his disciples did not fast and do all those similar types of
sacrifices.
<18>But
Christ
was trying to make a point that the goal of the life is to be(come)
Divine (merciful), not
to fast or
sacrifice from
ignorance. Those
Divine attributes should be created which are manifested through a
realized person and show
God's qualities.
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"And Esa
said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long
as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the
bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast."
(Matthew 9:15)
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<19>Christ
is not against fasting, but he had not come to teach penance and
fasting. These practices have their place in spiritual progress. He
had come to teach mercy and love towards others. <20>Without
these virtues, other rituals and disciplinary acts are worthless.
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"No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that
which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent
is made worse."
"Neither do men put new wine into old bottles
[skins]: else the bottles [skins] break, and the wine runneth out,
and the bottles [skins] perish: but they put new wine into new
bottles [skins], and both are preserved." (Matthew 9:16-17)
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<21>The old truths have already been given to
humanity by many Great Souls and
Prophets. But
Christ had something to
add to them. He brought a new teaching. If he taught the same things
as the people before him, what difference is there between he and
them?
<22>He did not come to abolish the old
teachings but to bring something new which could not be put in the
old skins. However, with adding these new teachings to the old, a
new wine
will be created which will reveal a deeper truth.
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