12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
This echos Jesus’ statement in Luke 17:20-21.
13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”
14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”
19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”
“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.
21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
The sin Jesus is speaking of is not recognizing the Christ in Himself. He also taught that this Light of the Christ is in each one of us, as he did in Luke 17:20-21. It is the Universal Life of our Soul being animated by the finger and breath of God for which Jesus lived and died. This is the same teaching that Jesus is reaching all hearts open to Universal Love, Universal Life, and Universal Order, in today’s teaching about the I AM Presence within each one of us.
Some people are quick to point out that murderers, thieves, liars, et cetera, are not of the “good seed” spoken about by Jesus. They say they are pure evil or possessed. This is an incorrect understanding. That’s the same line of thinking why the people in Jesus’ day thought Jesus ought not get together with the tax collector Matthew, prostitutes, and those thought to be second-class citizens. Jesus spent his life trying to get our thinking on the right track. Even beloved Moses killed a man and still became a perfect example of how to overcome evil with good. Yet some of us are still derailed.
As mentioned in the cutline beneath the lead picture above, while Jesus did quote from Enoch, both Jesus and Enoch knew the cause of evil on Earth.
“Evil also lives inside of the common man; set free when pride kills reason and eats integrity whole. There is evil that entraps us and evil that tugs from within. But neither have control until we choose to relent. … When outcome is not considered, empathy abandoned, or compassion dismissed, evil has come of age.” – The Book of Enoch, The Omega.
22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”
23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”
Jesus is teaching that to deny the Life of Christ, which is beyond what most religions have hijacked for thousands of years, is different from the human spin interjected into the various belief systems.
You and I have the choice each and every day to awaken to this Christ Light, Christ Love, and Christ Order within us. We also have the free will to live in self-sabotage, self-deception, and self-denial of who and what we truly are. You and I are the Temple of God living here and now on Earth.
25 “Who are you?” they asked.
“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”
27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up[a] the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” 30 Even as he spoke, many believed in him.
Dispute Over Whose Children Jesus’ Opponents Are
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.[b]”
39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would[c] do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.”
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
This “belonging to God” is the decision you and I make each and every minute of every day. All humanity is made of the same stuff of the Earth. Check out what is in the vitamins you take each day to replenish ourselves. When we run out of energy, it is time to replenish ourselves with the stuff of the Earth.
This “belonging to God” is taking a good look at our choices of deciding to do evil over good, or good over evil. We get opportunities to do the better thing that saves the most life, to promote healing, and build up one another as well as the Earth. We can also tear down, destroy reputations, attack countries, and the like.
Just know the evil that has to be overcome starts within you and me before it extends out into our neighborhoods, states, and countries. It all starts in the thinking process. Let us take a moment to heal our thoughts, minds, and voices. That is where all healing begins.
Namaste
