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Audio
Tablet Twenty-Three
Chapter 14
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"At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the
fame of
Esa,"
"And said unto his servants, This
is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty
works do shew forth themselves in him."
"For Herod had laid hold on John,
and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias sake, his brother
Philip's wife."
"For John said unto him, It is not
lawful for thee to have her."
"And when he would have put him to
death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a
prophet."
"But when Herod's birthday was
kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased
Herod."
"Whereupon he promised with an oath
to give her whatsoever she would ask."
"And she, being before instructed
of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger."
"And the king was sorry:
nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at
meat, he commanded it to be given her."
"And he sent, and beheaded John in
the prison."
"And his head was brought in a
charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother."
"And his disciples came, and took up the body,
and buried it, and went and told
Esa." (Matthew 14:1-12)
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<1>John the Baptist told Herod that he should
not marry his brother's wife. Herod became angry because of that and
put him in prison. But because he was afraid of people who thought
John was a Prophet, he did not kill him.
<2>He did not kill him because he was afraid of
God!
<3>But at a birthday party, and most probably
in a drunken state, he promised to give anything that the daughter
of Herodias asked. When she asked for the head of John, he did not
use his common sense to refuse such a cruel request, but again
because of the people who heard his oath, he ordered John to be
beheaded.
<4>He did not fear God
but men!
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"When Esa
heard of it, he departed thence by ship unto a desert place apart:
and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out
of the cities."
"And Esa
went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion
toward them, and he healed their sick." (Matthew 14:13-14)
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<5>Esa
went away after he heard that John was beheaded. A great multitude
followed him!
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"And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is
a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away,
that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals."
"But Esa
said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat."
"And they say unto him, We have
here but five loaves, and two fishes."
"He said, Bring them hither to me."
"And he commanded the multitude to
sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes,
and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves
to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude."
"And they did all eat, and were
filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve
baskets full."
"And they that had eaten were about five thousand
men, beside women and children." (Matthew 14:15-21)
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<6>Esa
fed a great multitude in a miraculous way (by
hidden manna).
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"And straightway
Esa
constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him
unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away."
"And when he had sent the multitudes away, he
went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was
come, he was there alone." (Matthew 14:22-23)
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<7>To go to a place of solitude and to be
alone to pray and meditate is a requirement for those who want to
elevate their Souls and become close to the Lord.
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"But the ship was now in the midst of the sea,
tossed with waves: for the
wind was contrary." (Matthew 14:24)
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<8>To be in the ship (a safe place) in the
middle of turbulent water
(water is a symbol for
manifested consciousness or
mind) means being safe
from
Maya (turbulent
water or consciousness),
<9>but still afraid (or a possibility) of being drowned in
it.
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"And in the fourth watch of the night
Esa went unto them, walking
on the sea." (Matthew 14:25)
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<10>But
Esa did not need a ship to
stay above the turbulent consciousness or
Maya. He was beyond it, in
Pure
Consciousness.
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"And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were
troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear."
"But straightway
Esa
spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid."
(Matthew 14:26-27)
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<11>People usually become afraid of a
realized person, because he seems so different from them. <12>Also
they feel guilt in the presence of such a pure person.
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"And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be
thou, bid me come unto thee on the
water." (Matthew 14:28)
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<13>Peter desired to become like
Christ.
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"And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down
out of the ship, he walked on the
water, to go to
Esa." (Matthew 14:29)
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<14>Because he trusted
Esa and gave up his fear,
he came out of his shelter (the ship) and was able to stay above the
water
(turbulent consciousness, mind).
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"But when he saw the
wind
boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying
Lord, save me." (Matthew 14:30)
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<15>But when he saw the
wind (the power of
attraction, desires, attachment, and greed, the four
winds) he lost his
one-pointedness
(faith) and started to sink into the ocean of
Maya. <16>He cried for the help of the Lord, "Lord, save
me."
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"And immediately
Esa
stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou
of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" (Matthew 14:31)
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<17>The slightest doubt puts you millions of
miles away from the Lord. That is when faith weakens, and you will
be drowned in the world. But if you truly ask for help, you will be
saved.
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"And when they were come into the ship, the
wind ceased."
"Then they that were in the ship came and
worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the
Son of God." (Matthew 14:32-33) |
<18>They were more impressed by his miracles
than his teachings. However, they realized he was "the
Son of God."
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"And when they were gone over, they came into the land of
Gennesaret."
"And when the men of that place had
knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about,
and brought unto him all that were diseased;"
"And besought him that they might only touch the
hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly
whole." (Matthew 14:34-36)
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<19>The people of this land were more
interested in his healing powers than his teachings, so he only
healed them.
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