Kapitel 136		Paper 136
Dåben Og De Fyrre Dage		Baptism and the Forty Days
136:0.1 (1509.1) JESUS begyndte sit offentlige arbejde på højdepunktet af den folkelige interesse for Johannes’ forkyndelse og på et tidspunkt, hvor det jødiske folk i Palæstina ivrigt ventede på Messias’ tilsynekomst. Der var en stor kontrast mellem Johannes og Jesus. Johannes var en ivrig og seriøs arbejder, men Jesus var en rolig og glad arbejder; kun få gange i hele sit liv havde han travlt. Jesus var en trøst for verden og noget af et forbillede; Johannes var knap nok en trøst eller et forbillede. Han prædikede Himmeriget, men kom næppe ind i dets lyksaligheder. Selvom Jesus talte om Johannes som den største af den gamle ordens profeter, sagde han også, at den mindste af dem, der så den nye vejs store lys og derved trådte ind i Himmeriget, faktisk var større end Johannes.		136:0.1 (1509.1) JESUS began his public work at the height of the popular interest in John’s preaching and at a time when the Jewish people of Palestine were eagerly looking for the appearance of the Messiah. There was a great contrast between John and Jesus. John was an eager and earnest worker, but Jesus was a calm and happy laborer; only a few times in his entire life was he ever in a hurry. Jesus was a comforting consolation to the world and somewhat of an example; John was hardly a comfort or an example. He preached the kingdom of heaven but hardly entered into the happiness thereof. Though Jesus spoke of John as the greatest of the prophets of the old order, he also said that the least of those who saw the great light of the new way and entered thereby into the kingdom of heaven was indeed greater than John.
136:0.2 (1509.2) Da Johannes prædikede det kommende rige, var byrden i hans budskab: Omvend jer! Flygt fra den kommende vrede. Da Jesus begyndte at prædike, var der stadig formaningen til omvendelse, men et sådant budskab blev altid efterfulgt af evangeliet, det gode budskab om glæden og friheden i det nye rige.		136:0.2 (1509.2) When John preached the coming kingdom, the burden of his message was: Repent! flee from the wrath to come. When Jesus began to preach, there remained the exhortation to repentance, but such a message was always followed by the gospel, the good tidings of the joy and liberty of the new kingdom.
1. Forestillinger om den forventede messias ^top		1. Concepts of the Expected Messiah ^top
136:1.1 (1509.3) Jøderne havde mange ideer om den forventede befrier, og hver af disse forskellige skoler inden for messiansk lære kunne pege på udsagn i de hebraiske skrifter som bevis for deres påstande. Generelt betragtede jøderne deres nationale historie som begyndende med Abraham og kulminerende med Messias og den nye tidsalder i Guds rige. I tidligere tider havde de forestillet sig denne befrier som “Herrens tjener,” derefter som “Menneskesønnen,” mens nogle på det seneste endda gik så vidt som til at omtale Messias som “Guds søn.” Men uanset om han blev kaldt “Abrahams afkom” eller “Davids søn,” var alle enige om, at han skulle være Messias, den “salvede.” Således udviklede begrebet sig fra “Herrens tjener” til “Davids søn,” “Menneskesønnen,” og “Guds søn.”		136:1.1 (1509.3) The Jews entertained many ideas about the expected deliverer, and each of these different schools of Messianic teaching was able to point to statements in the Hebrew scriptures as proof of their contentions. In a general way, the Jews regarded their national history as beginning with Abraham and culminating in the Messiah and the new age of the kingdom of God. In earlier times they had envisaged this deliverer as “the servant of the Lord,” then as “the Son of Man,” while latterly some even went so far as to refer to the Messiah as the “Son of God.” But no matter whether he was called the “seed of Abraham” or “the son of David,” all were agreed that he was to be the Messiah, the “anointed one.” Thus did the concept evolve from the “servant of the Lord” to the “son of David,” “Son of Man,” and “Son of God.”
136:1.2 (1509.4) På Johannes’ og Jesu tid havde de mere lærde jøder udviklet en idé om den kommende Messias som den fuldkomne og repræsentative israelit, der i sig selv som “Herrens tjener” kombinerede det trefoldige embede som profet, præst og konge.		136:1.2 (1509.4) In the days of John and Jesus the more learned Jews had developed an idea of the coming Messiah as the perfected and representative Israelite, combining in himself as the “servant of the Lord” the threefold office of prophet, priest, and king.
136:1.3 (1509.5) Jøderne troede inderligt på, at ligesom Moses havde befriet deres fædre fra egyptisk slaveri ved mirakuløse undere, således ville den kommende Messias befri det jødiske folk fra romersk dominans ved endnu større kraftmirakler og undere af racemæssig triumf. Rabbinerne havde samlet næsten fem hundrede passager fra Skriften, som de, på trods af deres tilsyneladende modsigelser, hævdede var profetiske om den kommende Messias. Og midt i alle disse detaljer om tid, teknik og funktion mistede de næsten helt den lovede Messias’ personlighed af syne. De ledte efter en genoprettelse af jødisk national ære—Israels timelige ophøjelse—snarere end efter verdens frelse. Det bliver derfor tydeligt, at Jesus af Nazaret aldrig kunne tilfredsstille dette materialistiske messianske koncept i det jødiske sind. Mange af deres påståede messianske forudsigelser ville, hvis de havde set disse profetiske ytringer i et andet lys, meget naturligt have forberedt deres sind på en anerkendelse af Jesus som afslutningen på en tidsalder og indlederen af en ny og bedre ordning med barmhjertighed og frelse for alle nationer.		136:1.3 (1509.5) The Jews devoutly believed that, as Moses had delivered their fathers from Egyptian bondage by miraculous wonders, so would the coming Messiah deliver the Jewish people from Roman domination by even greater miracles of power and marvels of racial triumph. The rabbis had gathered together almost five hundred passages from the Scriptures which, notwithstanding their apparent contradictions, they averred were prophetic of the coming Messiah. And amidst all these details of time, technique, and function, they almost completely lost sight of the personality of the promised Messiah. They were looking for a restoration of Jewish national glory—Israel’s temporal exaltation—rather than for the salvation of the world. It therefore becomes evident that Jesus of Nazareth could never satisfy this materialistic Messianic concept of the Jewish mind. Many of their reputed Messianic predictions, had they but viewed these prophetic utterances in a different light, would have very naturally prepared their minds for a recognition of Jesus as the terminator of one age and the inaugurator of a new and better dispensation of mercy and salvation for all nations.
136:1.4 (1510.1) Jøderne var blevet opdraget til at tro på læren om Shekinah. Men dette påståede symbol på det guddommelige nærvær var ikke at se i templet. De troede, at Messias’ komme ville genoprette det. De havde forvirrende ideer om racens synd og menneskets formodede onde natur. Nogle lærte, at Adams synd havde forbandet menneskeslægten, og at Messias ville fjerne denne forbandelse og genoprette mennesket til guddommelig gunst. Andre lærte, at Gud, da han skabte mennesket, havde givet det både en god og en ond natur; at han, da han så, hvordan dette arrangement virkede, blev meget skuffet, og at “han fortrød, at han havde skabt mennesket på den måde.” Og de, der lærte dette, mente, at Messias skulle komme for at forløse mennesket fra denne iboende onde natur.		136:1.4 (1510.1) The Jews had been brought up to believe in the doctrine of the Shekinah. But this reputed symbol of the Divine Presence was not to be seen in the temple. They believed that the coming of the Messiah would effect its restoration. They held confusing ideas about racial sin and the supposed evil nature of man. Some taught that Adam’s sin had cursed the human race, and that the Messiah would remove this curse and restore man to divine favor. Others taught that God, in creating man, had put into his being both good and evil natures; that when he observed the outworking of this arrangement, he was greatly disappointed, and that “He repented that he had thus made man.” And those who taught this believed that the Messiah was to come in order to redeem man from this inherent evil nature.
136:1.5 (1510.2) Flertallet af jøderne mente, at de blev ved med at lide under romersk styre på grund af deres nationale synder og på grund af de ikke-jødiske proselytters halvhjertethed. Den jødiske nation havde ikke helhjertet omvendt sig; derfor forsinkede Messias sit komme. Der blev talt meget om omvendelse; derfor den mægtige og umiddelbare appel i Johannes’ forkyndelse: “Omvend jer og bliv døbt, for Himmeriget er kommet nær.” Og Himmeriget kunne kun betyde én ting for enhver hengiven jøde: Messias’ komme.		136:1.5 (1510.2) The majority of the Jews believed that they continued to languish under Roman rule because of their national sins and because of the halfheartedness of the gentile proselytes. The Jewish nation had not wholeheartedly repented; therefore did the Messiah delay his coming. There was much talk about repentance; wherefore the mighty and immediate appeal of John’s preaching, “Repent and be baptized, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And the kingdom of heaven could mean only one thing to any devout Jew: The coming of the Messiah.
136:1.6 (1510.3) Der var et træk ved Mikaels overdragelse, som var fuldstændig fremmed for den jødiske opfattelse af Messias, og det var foreningen af de to naturer, den menneskelige og den guddommelige. Jøderne havde på forskellig vis opfattet Messias som et fuldkomment menneske, et overmenneske og endda som guddommelig, men de havde aldrig forestillet sig en forening af det menneskelige og det guddommelige. Og det var den store anstødssten for Jesu tidlige disciple. De forstod den menneskelige opfattelse af Messias som Davids søn, sådan som de tidligere profeter præsenterede den; som Menneskesønnen, Daniels og nogle af de senere profeters overmenneskelige idé; og endda som Guds Søn, sådan som forfatteren til Enoks Bog og nogle af hans samtidige beskrev den; men aldrig havde de et eneste øjeblik overvejet den sande opfattelse af foreningen af de to naturer, den menneskelige og den guddommelige, i én jordisk personlighed. Skaberens inkarnation i skabningens skikkelse var ikke blevet åbenbaret på forhånd. Det blev kun åbenbaret i Jesus; verden vidste intet om sådanne ting, før Skabersønnen blev gjort til kød og boede blandt de dødelige i riget.		136:1.6 (1510.3) There was one feature of the bestowal of Michael which was utterly foreign to the Jewish conception of the Messiah, and that was the union of the two natures, the human and the divine. The Jews had variously conceived of the Messiah as perfected human, superhuman, and even as divine, but they never entertained the concept of the union of the human and the divine. And this was the great stumbling block of Jesus’ early disciples. They grasped the human concept of the Messiah as the son of David, as presented by the earlier prophets; as the Son of Man, the superhuman idea of Daniel and some of the later prophets; and even as the Son of God, as depicted by the author of the Book of Enoch and by certain of his contemporaries; but never had they for a single moment entertained the true concept of the union in one earth personality of the two natures, the human and the divine. The incarnation of the Creator in the form of the creature had not been revealed beforehand. It was revealed only in Jesus; the world knew nothing of such things until the Creator Son was made flesh and dwelt among the mortals of the realm.
2. Jesu dåb ^top		2. The Baptism of Jesus ^top
136:2.1 (1510.4) Jesus blev døbt på højdepunktet af Johannes’ forkyndelse, da Palæstina stod i flammer over forventningen til hans budskab—“Guds rige er kommet nær”—og da hele jødedommen var engageret i en alvorlig og højtidelig selvransagelse. Den jødiske følelse af racemæssig solidaritet var meget dyb. Jøderne troede ikke kun på, at faderens synder kunne ramme hans børn, men de troede også fuldt og fast på, at en enkelt persons synd kunne forbande hele nationen. Derfor var det ikke alle, der underkastede sig Johannes’ dåb, som anså sig selv for at være skyldige i de specifikke synder, som Johannes fordømte. Mange fromme sjæle blev døbt af Johannes til gavn for Israel. De frygtede, at en eller anden uvidenhedssynd fra deres side kunne forsinke Messias’ komme. De følte, at de tilhørte en skyldig og syndsforbandet nation, og de lod sig døbe for på den måde at vise, at de havde gjort bod. Det er derfor tydeligt, at Jesus på ingen måde modtog Johannes’ dåb som et ritual for omvendelse eller for syndernes forladelse. Da Jesus lod sig døbe af Johannes, fulgte han blot mange fromme israelitters eksempel.		136:2.1 (1510.4) Jesus was baptized at the very height of John’s preaching when Palestine was aflame with the expectancy of his message—“the kingdom of God is at hand”—when all Jewry was engaged in serious and solemn self-examination. The Jewish sense of racial solidarity was very profound. The Jews not only believed that the sins of the father might afflict his children, but they firmly believed that the sin of one individual might curse the nation. Accordingly, not all who submitted to John’s baptism regarded themselves as being guilty of the specific sins which John denounced. Many devout souls were baptized by John for the good of Israel. They feared lest some sin of ignorance on their part might delay the coming of the Messiah. They felt themselves to belong to a guilty and sin-cursed nation, and they presented themselves for baptism that they might by so doing manifest fruits of race penitence. It is therefore evident that Jesus in no sense received John’s baptism as a rite of repentance or for the remission of sins. In accepting baptism at the hands of John, Jesus was only following the example of many pious Israelites.
136:2.2 (1511.1) Da Jesus af Nazaret gik ned i Jordan for at blive døbt, var han en dødelig fra det rige, der havde nået højdepunktet af menneskets evolutionære opstigning i alle forhold, der har med erobring af sindet og selvidentifikation med ånden at gøre. Han stod i Jordan den dag som en perfektioneret dødelig fra de evolutionære verdener i tid og rum. Perfekt synkronisering og fuld kommunikation var blevet etableret mellem Jesu dødelige sind og den iboende åndelige Retter, den guddommelige gave fra hans Fader i Paradis. Og netop sådan en Retter bor i alle normale væsener, der har levet på Urantia siden Mikaels opstigning til lederskabet af sit univers, bortset fra at Jesu Retter tidligere var blevet forberedt til denne særlige mission ved på samme måde at have boet i et andet overmenneske, der var inkarneret i skikkelse af dødeligt kød, Machiventa Melchizedek.		136:2.2 (1511.1) When Jesus of Nazareth went down into the Jordan to be baptized, he was a mortal of the realm who had attained the pinnacle of human evolutionary ascension in all matters related to the conquest of mind and to self-identification with the spirit. He stood in the Jordan that day a perfected mortal of the evolutionary worlds of time and space. Perfect synchrony and full communication had become established between the mortal mind of Jesus and the indwelling spirit Adjuster, the divine gift of his Father in Paradise. And just such an Adjuster indwells all normal beings living on Urantia since the ascension of Michael to the headship of his universe, except that Jesus’ Adjuster had been previously prepared for this special mission by similarly indwelling another superhuman incarnated in the likeness of mortal flesh, Machiventa Melchizedek.
136:2.3 (1511.2) Når en dødelig i dette rige opnår så høje niveauer af personlighedsfuldkommenhed, opstår der normalt de indledende fænomener af åndelig ophøjelse, som ender med, at den dødeliges modne sjæl smelter sammen med den tilhørende guddommelige Retter. Og en sådan forandring skulle tilsyneladende finde sted i Jesus af Nazarets personlighedsoplevelse netop den dag, hvor han gik ned i Jordan med sine to brødre for at blive døbt af Johannes. Denne ceremoni var den sidste handling i hans rent menneskelige liv på Urantia, og mange overmenneskelige iagttagere forventede at være vidne til fusionen mellem Retteren og dets indbyggede sind, men de var alle bestemt til at blive skuffede. Noget nyt og endnu større skete. Da Johannes lagde sine hænder på Jesus for at døbe ham, tog den iboende Retter endelig afsked med Joshua ben Josephs fuldkomne menneskesjæl. Og i løbet af få øjeblikke vendte dette guddommelige væsen tilbage fra Divinington som en Personaliseret Retter og leder af sin art i hele lokaluniverset Nebadon. Således iagttog Jesus sin egen tidligere guddommelige ånd stige ned, da den vendte tilbage til ham i personaliseret form. Og han hørte den samme ånd af paradisisk oprindelse tale og sige: “Dette er min elskede søn, i hvem jeg har fundet velbehag.” Og Johannes, sammen med Jesu to brødre, hørte også disse ord. Johannes’ disciple, der stod ved vandkanten, hørte ikke disse ord, og de så heller ikke den Personlige Retters tilsynekomst. Kun Jesus’ øjne så den Personaliserede Retter		136:2.3 (1511.2) Ordinarily, when a mortal of the realm attains such high levels of personality perfection, there occur those preliminary phenomena of spiritual elevation which terminate in eventual fusion of the matured soul of the mortal with its associated divine Adjuster. And such a change was apparently due to take place in the personality experience of Jesus of Nazareth on that very day when he went down into the Jordan with his two brothers to be baptized by John. This ceremony was the final act of his purely human life on Urantia, and many superhuman observers expected to witness the fusion of the Adjuster with its indwelt mind, but they were all destined to suffer disappointment. Something new and even greater occurred. As John laid his hands upon Jesus to baptize him, the indwelling Adjuster took final leave of the perfected human soul of Joshua ben Joseph. And in a few moments this divine entity returned from Divinington as a Personalized Adjuster and chief of his kind throughout the entire local universe of Nebadon. Thus did Jesus observe his own former divine spirit descending on its return to him in personalized form. And he heard this same spirit of Paradise origin now speak, saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” And John, with Jesus’ two brothers, also heard these words. John’s disciples, standing by the water’s edge, did not hear these words, neither did they see the apparition of the Personalized Adjuster. Only the eyes of Jesus beheld the Personalized Adjuster.
136:2.4 (1511.3) Da den hjemvendte og nu ophøjede Personlige Retter således havde talt, var alt stille. Og mens de fire opholdt sig i vandet, bad Jesus, mens han så op mod den nærtstående Retter “Min Fader, som regerer i himlene, helliget vorde dit navn. Komme dit rige! Ske din vilje på jorden, som den sker i himlen.” Da han havde bedt, “åbnedes himlene,” og Menneskesønnen så visionen, præsenteret af den nu Personaliserede Retter, af sig selv som en Guds Søn, som han var, før han kom til jorden i skikkelse af dødeligt kød, og som han ville være, når det inkarnerede liv skulle afsluttes. Denne himmelske vision blev kun set af Jesus.		136:2.4 (1511.3) When the returned and now exalted Personalized Adjuster had thus spoken, all was silence. And while the four of them tarried in the water, Jesus, looking up to the near-by Adjuster, prayed: “My Father who reigns in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come! Your will be done on earth, even as it is in heaven.” When he had prayed, the “heavens were opened,” and the Son of Man saw the vision, presented by the now Personalized Adjuster, of himself as a Son of God as he was before he came to earth in the likeness of mortal flesh, and as he would be when the incarnated life should be finished. This heavenly vision was seen only by Jesus.
136:2.5 (1512.1) Det var den Personaliserede Retters stemme, som Johannes og Jesus hørte, der talte på vegne af den Universelle Fader, for Retteren er af, og som, Paradisets Fader. Gennem resten af Jesu jordiske liv var denne Personaliserede Retter forbundet med ham i alt hans arbejde; Jesus var i konstant fællesskab med denne ophøjede Retter.		136:2.5 (1512.1) It was the voice of the Personalized Adjuster that John and Jesus heard, speaking in behalf of the Universal Father, for the Adjuster is of, and as, the Paradise Father. Throughout the remainder of Jesus’ earth life this Personalized Adjuster was associated with him in all his labors; Jesus was in constant communion with this exalted Adjuster.
136:2.6 (1512.2) Da Jesus blev døbt, angrede han ikke sine ugerninger, han bekendte ikke sin synd. Hans dåb var en indvielse til at udføre den himmelske Faders vilje. Ved sin dåb hørte han sin Faders umiskendelige kald, den endelige opfordring til at tage sig af sin Faders sager, og han trak sig tilbage i 40 dage for at tænke over disse mangfoldige problemer. Da Jesus, som han var på Urantia, på denne måde i en periode trak sig tilbage fra aktiv personlighedskontakt med sine jordiske medarbejdere, fulgte han den samme procedure, som finder sted i morontiaverdenerne, når en opstigende dødelig smelter sammen med den Universelle Faders indre nærvær.		136:2.6 (1512.2) When Jesus was baptized, he repented of no misdeeds; he made no confession of sin. His was the baptism of consecration to the performance of the will of the heavenly Father. At his baptism he heard the unmistakable call of his Father, the final summons to be about his Father’s business, and he went away into private seclusion for forty days to think over these manifold problems. In thus retiring for a season from active personality contact with his earthly associates, Jesus, as he was and on Urantia, was following the very procedure that obtains on the morontia worlds whenever an ascending mortal fuses with the inner presence of the Universal Father.
136:2.7 (1512.3) Denne dåbsdag afsluttede Jesu rent menneskelige liv. Den guddommelige Søn har fundet sin Fader, den universelle Fader har fundet sin inkarnerede Søn, og de taler med hinanden.		136:2.7 (1512.3) This day of baptism ended the purely human life of Jesus. The divine Son has found his Father, the Universal Father has found his incarnated Son, and they speak the one to the other.
136:2.8 (1512.4) (Jesus var næsten enogtredive et halvt år gammel, da han blev døbt. Selvom Lukas siger, at Jesus blev døbt i Tiberius Cæsars femtende regeringsår, hvilket ville være 29 e.Kr., eftersom Augustus døde i 14 e.Kr., skal man huske på, at Tiberius var medkejser med Augustus i to et halvt år før Augustus’ død og havde fået slået mønter til ære for ham i oktober 11 e.Kr. Det femtende år af hans egentlige styre var derfor netop dette år 26 e.Kr, året for Jesu dåb. Og det var også det år, hvor Pontius Pilatus begyndte sit styre som guvernør i Judæa).		136:2.8 (1512.4) (Jesus was almost thirty-one and one-half years old when he was baptized. While Luke says that Jesus was baptized in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, which would be a.d. 29 since Augustus died in a.d. 14, it should be recalled that Tiberius was coemperor with Augustus for two and one-half years before the death of Augustus, having had coins struck in his honor in October, a.d. 11. The fifteenth year of his actual rule was, therefore, this very year of a.d. 26, that of Jesus’ baptism. And this was also the year that Pontius Pilate began his rule as governor of Judea.)
3. De fyrre dage ^top		3. The Forty Days ^top
136:3.1 (1512.5) Jesus havde udholdt den store fristelse i sin dødelige overdragelse før sin dåb, da han havde været våd af duggen fra Hermonbjerget i seks uger. Der på Hermonbjerget, som en uhjulpen dødelig fra riget, havde han mødt og besejret Urantias bedrager, Caligastia, denne verdens prins. På denne begivenhedsrige dag var Jesus af Nazaret ifølge universets optegnelser blevet Urantias planetariske prins. Og denne prins af Urantia, som snart skulle udråbes til Nebadons øverste hersker, trak sig nu tilbage i fyrre dage for at formulere planer og fastlægge teknikken til at proklamere det nye Guds rige i menneskenes hjerter.		136:3.1 (1512.5) Jesus had endured the great temptation of his mortal bestowal before his baptism when he had been wet with the dews of Mount Hermon for six weeks. There on Mount Hermon, as an unaided mortal of the realm, he had met and defeated the Urantia pretender, Caligastia, the prince of this world. That eventful day, on the universe records, Jesus of Nazareth had become the Planetary Prince of Urantia. And this Prince of Urantia, so soon to be proclaimed supreme Sovereign of Nebadon, now went into forty days of retirement to formulate the plans and determine upon the technique of proclaiming the new kingdom of God in the hearts of men.
136:3.2 (1512.6) Efter sin dåb gik han ind i de fyrre dage, hvor han skulle tilpasse sig de ændrede forhold i verden og universet, som personaliseringen af hans Retter medførte. Under denne isolation i de Pereanske bjerge fastlagde han den politik, der skulle føres, og de metoder, der skulle anvendes i den nye og ændrede fase af jordelivet, som han var ved at påbegynde.		136:3.2 (1512.6) After his baptism he entered upon the forty days of adjusting himself to the changed relationships of the world and the universe occasioned by the personalization of his Adjuster. During this isolation in the Perean hills he determined upon the policy to be pursued and the methods to be employed in the new and changed phase of earth life which he was about to inaugurate.
136:3.3 (1512.7) Jesus trak sig ikke tilbage for at faste og lide for sin sjæl. Han var ikke asket, og han kom for altid for at ødelægge alle sådanne forestillinger om, hvordan man nærmer sig Gud. Hans grunde til at trække sig tilbage var helt anderledes end dem, der havde drevet Moses og Elias og endda Johannes Døberen. Jesus var da helt bevidst om sit forhold til det univers, han selv havde skabt, og også til universernes univers, som blev overvåget af Paradisets Fader, hans Fader i himlen. Han huskede nu fuldt ud den overdragelsessbefaling og de instruktioner, som hans ældre bror, Immanuel, havde givet ham, før han påbegyndte sin inkarnation på Urantia. Han forstod nu klart og fuldt ud alle disse vidtrækkende relationer, og han ønskede at være væk i en periode med stille meditation, så han kunne udtænke planerne og beslutte procedurerne for fortsættelsen af sit offentlige arbejde for denne verden og for alle andre verdener i sit lokalunivers.		136:3.3 (1512.7) Jesus did not go into retirement for the purpose of fasting and for the affliction of his soul. He was not an ascetic, and he came forever to destroy all such notions regarding the approach to God. His reasons for seeking this retirement were entirely different from those which had actuated Moses and Elijah, and even John the Baptist. Jesus was then wholly self-conscious concerning his relation to the universe of his making and also to the universe of universes, supervised by the Paradise Father, his Father in heaven. He now fully recalled the bestowal charge and its instructions administered by his elder brother, Immanuel, ere he entered upon his Urantia incarnation. He now clearly and fully comprehended all these far-flung relationships, and he desired to be away for a season of quiet meditation so that he could think out the plans and decide upon the procedures for the prosecution of his public labors in behalf of this world and for all other worlds in his local universe.
136:3.4 (1513.1) Mens Jesus vandrede rundt i bjergene for at finde et passende sted at søge ly, mødte han sin overordnede i universet, Gabriel, Nebadons Lysende Morgenstjerne. Gabriel genoptog nu den personlige kommunikation med universets Skabersøn; de mødtes direkte for første gang, siden Mikael tog afsked med sine medarbejdere på Salvington, da han tog til Edentia for at forberede sig til at tage imod Urantias overdragelse. Gabriel fremlagde nu på Immanuels foranledning og med bemyndigelse fra Dagene Ældste i Uversa oplysninger for Jesus, der indikerede, at hans overdragelsesoplevelse på Urantia praktisk talt var afsluttet, hvad angik opnåelsen af den fuldkomne suverænitet over hans univers og afslutningen på Lucifers oprør. Det første blev opnået på dagen for hans dåb, da personaliseringen af hans Retter demonstrerede fuldkommenheden og afslutningen af hans overdragelse i skikkelse af dødeligt kød, og det sidste var en historisk kendsgerning på den dag, da han kom ned fra Hermonbjerget for at slutte sig til den ventende dreng, Tiglath. Jesus blev nu informeret af den højeste autoritet i lokaluniverset og superuniverset om, at hans overdragelsesarbejde var afsluttet, for så vidt som det påvirkede hans personlige status i forhold til suverænitet og oprør. Han havde allerede fået denne forsikring direkte fra Paradis i dåbsvisionen og i fænomenet med personaliseringen af hans indre Tankeretter.		136:3.4 (1513.1) While wandering about in the hills, seeking a suitable shelter, Jesus encountered his universe chief executive, Gabriel, the Bright and Morning Star of Nebadon. Gabriel now re-established personal communication with the Creator Son of the universe; they met directly for the first time since Michael took leave of his associates on Salvington when he went to Edentia preparatory to entering upon the Urantia bestowal. Gabriel, by direction of Immanuel and on authority of the Uversa Ancients of Days, now laid before Jesus information indicating that his bestowal experience on Urantia was practically finished so far as concerned the earning of the perfected sovereignty of his universe and the termination of the Lucifer rebellion. The former was achieved on the day of his baptism when the personalization of his Adjuster demonstrated the perfection and completion of his bestowal in the likeness of mortal flesh, and the latter was a fact of history on that day when he came down from Mount Hermon to join the waiting lad, Tiglath. Jesus was now informed, upon the highest authority of the local universe and the superuniverse, that his bestowal work was finished in so far as it affected his personal status in relation to sovereignty and rebellion. He had already had this assurance direct from Paradise in the baptismal vision and in the phenomenon of the personalization of his indwelling Thought Adjuster.
136:3.5 (1513.2) Mens han opholdt sig på bjerget og talte med Gabriel, viste konstellationens Fader af Edentia sig personligt for Jesus og Gabriel og sagde: “Optegnelserne er afsluttet. Mikael nummer 611.121’s suverænitet over sit univers Nebadon hviler fuldstændigt ved den Universelle Faders højre hånd. Jeg bringer jer overdragelsesfritagelsen fra Immanuel, jeres sponsorbror for inkarnationen på Urantia. Du har frihed til nu eller på et hvilket som helst senere tidspunkt, på den måde du selv vælger, at afslutte din inkarnationsgave, stige op til din Faders højre hånd, modtage din suverænitet og påtage dig dit velfortjente ubetingede herredømme over hele Nebadon. Jeg vidner også om færdiggørelsen af superuniversets optegnelser, med tilladelse fra Dagene Ældste, der har at gøre med afslutningen på alt syndsoprør i dit univers og giver dig fuld og ubegrænset autoritet til at håndtere enhver og alle sådanne mulige omvæltninger i fremtiden. Teknisk set er dit arbejde på Urantia og i den dødelige skabnings kød færdigt. Din kurs fra nu af er et spørgsmål om dit eget valg.”		136:3.5 (1513.2) While he tarried on the mountain, talking with Gabriel, the Constellation Father of Edentia appeared to Jesus and Gabriel in person, saying: “The records are completed. The sovereignty of Michael number 611,121 over his universe of Nebadon rests in completion at the right hand of the Universal Father. I bring to you the bestowal release of Immanuel, your sponsor-brother for the Urantia incarnation. You are at liberty now or at any subsequent time, in the manner of your own choosing, to terminate your incarnation bestowal, ascend to the right hand of your Father, receive your sovereignty, and assume your well-earned unconditional rulership of all Nebadon. I also testify to the completion of the records of the superuniverse, by authorization of the Ancients of Days, having to do with the termination of all sin-rebellion in your universe and endowing you with full and unlimited authority to deal with any and all such possible upheavals in the future. Technically, your work on Urantia and in the flesh of the mortal creature is finished. Your course from now on is a matter of your own choosing.”
136:3.6 (1513.3) Da Edentias Højeste Fader havde taget afsked, førte Jesus en lang samtale med Gabriel om universets velfærd, og da han sendte hilsner til Immanuel, forsikrede han, at han i det arbejde, han skulle i gang med på Urantia, altid ville være opmærksom på de råd, han havde modtaget i forbindelse med før overdragelsesinstruksen som var foreskrevet ham på Salvington.		136:3.6 (1513.3) When the Most High Father of Edentia had taken leave, Jesus held long converse with Gabriel regarding the welfare of the universe and, sending greetings to Immanuel, proffered his assurance that, in the work which he was about to undertake on Urantia, he would be ever mindful of the counsel he had received in connection with the prebestowal charge administered on Salvington.
136:3.7 (1514.1) Gennem alle disse fyrre dages isolation var James og Johannes, Zebedæus’ sønner, optaget af at lede efter Jesus. Mange gange var de ikke langt fra hans opholdssted, men de fandt ham aldrig.		136:3.7 (1514.1) Throughout all of these forty days of isolation James and John the sons of Zebedee were engaged in searching for Jesus. Many times they were not far from his abiding place, but never did they find him.
4. Planer for det offentlige arbejde ^top		4. Plans for Public Work ^top
136:4.1 (1514.2) Dag for dag, oppe i bjergene, formulerede Jesus planerne for resten af sin overdragelse til Urantia. Først besluttede han sig for ikke at undervise samtidig med Johannes. Han planlagde at holde sig forholdsvis tilbage, indtil Johannes’ arbejde havde nået sit mål, eller indtil Johannes pludselig blev stoppet af fængsel. Jesus vidste godt, at Johannes’ frygtløse og taktløse forkyndelse i øjeblikket ville vække de civile magthaveres frygt og fjendskab. I lyset af Johannes’ prekære situation begyndte Jesus definitivt at planlægge sit program for offentligt arbejde på vegne af sit folk og verden, på vegne af alle beboede verdener i hele sit enorme univers. Mikaels dødelige overdragelse var på Urantia, men for alle verdener i Nebadon.		136:4.1 (1514.2) Day by day, up in the hills, Jesus formulated the plans for the remainder of his Urantia bestowal. He first decided not to teach contemporaneously with John. He planned to remain in comparative retirement until the work of John achieved its purpose, or until John was suddenly stopped by imprisonment. Jesus well knew that John’s fearless and tactless preaching would presently arouse the fears and enmity of the civil rulers. In view of John’s precarious situation, Jesus began definitely to plan his program of public labors in behalf of his people and the world, in behalf of every inhabited world throughout his vast universe. Michael’s mortal bestowal was on Urantia but for all worlds of Nebadon.
136:4.2 (1514.3) Det første, Jesus gjorde, efter at have gennemtænkt den generelle plan for at koordinere sit program med Johannes’ bevægelse, var at gennemgå Immanuels instruktioner i sit sind. Han tænkte nøje over det råd, han havde fået om sine arbejdsmetoder, og at han ikke måtte efterlade noget permanent skrift på planeten. Jesus skrev aldrig mere på andet end sand. Ved sit næste besøg i Nazaret tilintetgjorde Jesus til sin bror Josefs store sorg alle sine skrifter, som var bevaret på tavlerne omkring tømrerværkstedet, og som hang på væggene i det gamle hjem. Og Jesus tænkte meget over Immanuels råd om hans økonomiske, sociale og politiske holdning til verden, som han skulle finde den.		136:4.2 (1514.3) The first thing Jesus did, after thinking through the general plan of co-ordinating his program with John’s movement, was to review in his mind the instructions of Immanuel. Carefully he thought over the advice given him concerning his methods of labor, and that he was to leave no permanent writing on the planet. Never again did Jesus write on anything except sand. On his next visit to Nazareth, much to the sorrow of his brother Joseph, Jesus destroyed all of his writing that was preserved on the boards about the carpenter shop, and which hung upon the walls of the old home. And Jesus pondered well over Immanuel’s advice pertaining to his economic, social, and political attitude toward the world as he should find it.
136:4.3 (1514.4) Jesus fastede ikke i løbet af de fyrre dages isolation. Den længste periode, han gik uden mad, var de første to dage i bjergene, hvor han var så opslugt af sine tanker, at han glemte alt om at spise. Men på tredjedagen gik han på jagt efter mad. Han blev heller ikke fristet i denne periode af nogen onde ånder eller oprørske personligheder af rang i denne verden eller fra nogen anden verden.		136:4.3 (1514.4) Jesus did not fast during this forty days’ isolation. The longest period he went without food was his first two days in the hills when he was so engrossed with his thinking that he forgot all about eating. But on the third day he went in search of food. Neither was he tempted during this time by any evil spirits or rebel personalities of station on this world or from any other world.
136:4.4 (1514.5) Disse fyrre dage var anledningen til den endelige konference mellem det menneskelige og det guddommelige sind, eller rettere den første virkelige funktion af disse to sind, som nu er blevet ét. Resultaterne af denne betydningsfulde meditationsperiode viste endegyldigt, at det guddommelige sind triumferende og åndeligt har domineret det menneskelige intellekt. Menneskets sind er blevet Guds sind fra dette tidspunkt, og selvom menneskets selv altid er til stede, siger dette åndeliggjorte menneskesind altid: “Ikke min vilje, men din ske.”		136:4.4 (1514.5) These forty days were the occasion of the final conference between the human and the divine minds, or rather the first real functioning of these two minds as now made one. The results of this momentous season of meditation demonstrated conclusively that the divine mind has triumphantly and spiritually dominated the human intellect. The mind of man has become the mind of God from this time on, and though the selfhood of the mind of man is ever present, always does this spiritualized human mind say, “Not my will but yours be done.”
136:4.5 (1514.6) Transaktionerne i denne begivenhedsrige tid var ikke fantastiske visioner fra et udsultet og svækket sind, og de var heller ikke de forvirrede og barnlige symbolikker, som senere blev registreret som “Jesu fristelser i ørkenen.” Det var snarere en tid til at tænke over hele den begivenhedsrige og varierede karriere, af Urantia overdragelsen, og til omhyggeligt at lægge de planer for videre tjeneste, som bedst ville tjene denne verden og samtidig bidrage til at forbedre alle andre oprørsisolerede sfærer. Jesus tænkte over hele det menneskelige liv på Urantia, fra Andons og Fontas dage, ned gennem Adams misligholdelse og videre til Melkisedeks tjeneste i Salem.		136:4.5 (1514.6) The transactions of this eventful time were not the fantastic visions of a starved and weakened mind, neither were they the confused and puerile symbolisms which afterward gained record as the “temptations of Jesus in the wilderness.” Rather was this a season for thinking over the whole eventful and varied career of the Urantia bestowal and for the careful laying of those plans for further ministry which would best serve this world while also contributing something to the betterment of all other rebellion-isolated spheres. Jesus thought over the whole span of human life on Urantia, from the days of Andon and Fonta, down through Adam’s default, and on to the ministry of the Melchizedek of Salem.
136:4.6 (1514.7) Gabriel havde mindet Jesus om, at der var to måder, hvorpå han kunne manifestere sig for verden, hvis han skulle vælge at blive på Urantia i et stykke tid. Og det blev gjort klart for Jesus, at hans valg i denne sag ikke ville have noget at gøre med hverken hans suverænitet i universet eller afslutningen på Lucifers oprør. Disse to måder at tjene verden på var:		136:4.6 (1514.7) Gabriel had reminded Jesus that there were two ways in which he might manifest himself to the world in case he should choose to tarry on Urantia for a time. And it was made clear to Jesus that his choice in this matter would have nothing to do with either his universe sovereignty or the termination of the Lucifer rebellion. These two ways of world ministry were:
136:4.7 (1515.1) 1. Hans egen vej—den vej, der kan synes mest behagelig og indbringende set ud fra denne verdens umiddelbare behov og hans eget univers’ aktuelle opbyggelse.		136:4.7 (1515.1) 1. His own way—the way that might seem most pleasant and profitable from the standpoint of the immediate needs of this world and the present edification of his own universe.
136:4.8 (1515.2) 2. Faderens vej—eksemplificeringen af et fremsynet ideal for skabningernes liv, visualiseret af de høje personligheder i Paradisets administration af universernes univers.		136:4.8 (1515.2) 2. The Father’s way—the exemplification of a farseeing ideal of creature life visualized by the high personalities of the Paradise administration of the universe of universes.
136:4.9 (1515.3) Det blev således gjort klart for Jesus, at der var to måder, hvorpå han kunne tilrettelægge resten af sit jordiske liv. Hver af disse måder havde noget at sige til sin fordel, som det kunne ses i lyset af den umiddelbare situation. Menneskesønnen så tydeligt, at hans valg mellem disse to måder at opføre sig på ikke ville have noget at gøre med hans modtagelse af universets suverænitet; det var en sag, der allerede var afgjort og forseglet i universernes univers, og som kun afventede hans personlige krav. Men det blev antydet over for Jesus, at det ville være en stor tilfredsstillelse for hans bror i Paradiset, Immanuel, hvis han, Jesus, fandt det passende at afslutte sin inkarnationskarriere på jorden, som han så ædelt havde påbegyndt den, altid underlagt Faderens vilje. På den tredje dag i denne isolation lovede Jesus sig selv, at han ville vende tilbage til verden for at afslutte sin jordiske karriere, og at han altid ville vælge Faderens vilje i en situation, hvor der var to veje at gå. Og han levede resten af sit jordiske liv, altid tro mod denne beslutning. Selv til den bitre ende underordnede han altid sin suveræne vilje under sin himmelske Faders.		136:4.9 (1515.3) It was thus made clear to Jesus that there were two ways in which he could order the remainder of his earth life. Each of these ways had something to be said in its favor as it might be regarded in the light of the immediate situation. The Son of Man clearly saw that his choice between these two modes of conduct would have nothing to do with his reception of universe sovereignty; that was a matter already settled and sealed on the records of the universe of universes and only awaited his demand in person. But it was indicated to Jesus that it would afford his Paradise brother, Immanuel, great satisfaction if he, Jesus, should see fit to finish up his earth career of incarnation as he had so nobly begun it, always subject to the Father’s will. On the third day of this isolation Jesus promised himself he would go back to the world to finish his earth career, and that in a situation involving any two ways he would always choose the Father’s will. And he lived out the remainder of his earth life always true to that resolve. Even to the bitter end he invariably subordinated his sovereign will to that of his heavenly Father.
136:4.10 (1515.4) De fyrre dage i bjergenes ørken var ikke en periode med store fristelser, men snarere en periode med Mesterens store beslutninger. I løbet af disse dage, hvor han var alene med sig selv og sin Faders umiddelbare nærvær—den Personlige Retter (han havde ikke længere en personlig serafisk vogter)—nåede han én efter én frem til de store beslutninger, som skulle styre hans politik og adfærd i resten af hans jordiske karriere. Efterfølgende blev traditionen om en stor fristelse knyttet til denne periode med isolation på grund af sammenblanding med de fragmentariske beretninger om kampene på Hermonbjerget, og desuden fordi det var skik, at alle store profeter og menneskelige ledere begyndte deres offentlige karriere med at gennemgå disse formodede faste- og bønnesæsoner. Det havde altid været Jesus’ praksis, når han stod over for nye eller alvorlige beslutninger, at trække sig tilbage for at være sammen med sin egen ånd, så han kunne søge at kende Guds vilje.		136:4.10 (1515.4) The forty days in the mountain wilderness were not a period of great temptation but rather the period of the Master’s great decisions. During these days of lone communion with himself and his Father’s immediate presence—the Personalized Adjuster (he no longer had a personal seraphic guardian)—he arrived, one by one, at the great decisions which were to control his policies and conduct for the remainder of his earth career. Subsequently the tradition of a great temptation became attached to this period of isolation through confusion with the fragmentary narratives of the Mount Hermon struggles, and further because it was the custom to have all great prophets and human leaders begin their public careers by undergoing these supposed seasons of fasting and prayer. It had always been Jesus’ practice, when facing any new or serious decisions, to withdraw for communion with his own spirit that he might seek to know the will of God.
136:4.11 (1515.5) I al denne planlægning af resten af sit jordiske liv var Jesus altid splittet i sit menneskelige hjerte af to modsatrettede adfærdsplaner:		136:4.11 (1515.5) In all this planning for the remainder of his earth life, Jesus was always torn in his human heart by two opposing courses of conduct:
136:4.12 (1515.6) 1. Han nærede et stærkt ønske om at vinde sit folk—og hele verden—til at tro på ham og acceptere hans nye åndelige rige. Og han kendte udmærket deres forestillinger om den kommende Messias.		136:4.12 (1515.6) 1. He entertained a strong desire to win his people—and the whole world—to believe in him and to accept his new spiritual kingdom. And he well knew their ideas concerning the coming Messiah.
136:4.13 (1515.7) 2. At leve og arbejde, som han vidste, at hans Fader ville godkende, at udføre sit arbejde på vegne af andre verdener i nød, og at fortsætte med at åbenbare Faderen og vise hans guddommelige kærlighedskarakter i etableringen af riget.		136:4.13 (1515.7) 2. To live and work as he knew his Father would approve, to conduct his work in behalf of other worlds in need, and to continue, in the establishment of the kingdom, to reveal the Father and show forth his divine character of love.
136:4.14 (1515.8) I løbet af disse begivenhedsrige dage boede Jesus i en gammel klippehule, et skjul i siden af bjergene nær en landsby, der engang hed Beit Adis. Han drak af den lille kilde, der kom fra bjergsiden nær denne klippehule.		136:4.14 (1515.8) Throughout these eventful days Jesus lived in an ancient rock cavern, a shelter in the side of the hills near a village sometime called Beit Adis. He drank from the small spring which came from the side of the hill near this rock shelter.
5. Den første store beslutning ^top		5. The First Great Decision ^top
136:5.1 (1516.1) På tredjedagen efter at have indledt denne konference med sig selv og sin personaliserede Retter, fik Jesus et syn af Nebadons samlede himmelske hærskarer, der var sendt af deres hærførere for at afvente deres elskede herskers vilje. Denne mægtige hær omfattede tolv legioner af serafer og et forholdsmæssigt stort antal af alle universets intelligensklasser. Og den første store beslutning i Jesu isolation havde at gøre med, om han ville gøre brug af disse mægtige personligheder i forbindelse med det efterfølgende program for hans offentlige arbejde på Urantia.		136:5.1 (1516.1) On the third day after beginning this conference with himself and his Personalized Adjuster, Jesus was presented with the vision of the assembled celestial hosts of Nebadon sent by their commanders to wait upon the will of their beloved Sovereign. This mighty host embraced twelve legions of seraphim and proportionate numbers of every order of universe intelligence. And the first great decision of Jesus’ isolation had to do with whether or not he would make use of these mighty personalities in connection with the ensuing program of his public work on Urantia.
136:5.2 (1516.2) Jesus besluttede, at han ikke ville bruge en eneste personlighed fra denne enorme forsamling, medmindre det skulle blive tydeligt, at det var hans Fars vilje. På trods af denne generelle beslutning forblev denne enorme hær hos ham i resten af hans jordiske liv, altid parat til at adlyde det mindste udtryk for deres herskers vilje. Selvom Jesus ikke konstant så disse ledsagende personligheder med sine menneskelige øjne, så hans tilknyttede personaliserede Retter dem alle konstant og kunne kommunikere med dem.		136:5.2 (1516.2) Jesus decided that he would not utilize a single personality of this vast assemblage unless it should become evident that this was his Father’s will. Notwithstanding this general decision, this vast host remained with him throughout the balance of his earth life, always in readiness to obey the least expression of their Sovereign’s will. Although Jesus did not constantly behold these attendant personalities with his human eyes, his associated Personalized Adjuster did constantly behold, and could communicate with, all of them.
136:5.3 (1516.3) Før Jesus kom ned fra de fyrre dages retræte i bjergene, overdrog han den umiddelbare kommando over denne ledsagende hær af universpersonligheder til sin nyligt personaliserede Retter og i mere end fire år af Urantias tid fungerede disse udvalgte personligheder fra alle afdelinger af universets intelligenser lydigt og respektfuldt under den kloge ledelse af denne ophøjede og erfarne personaliserede mysterielærer. Da han overtog kommandoen over denne mægtige forsamling, forsikrede Retteren, der engang var en del af og essensen af Paradisfaderen, Jesus om, at disse overmenneskelige instanser under ingen omstændigheder ville få lov til at tjene eller manifestere sig i forbindelse med eller på vegne af hans jordiske karriere, medmindre det skulle vise sig, at Faderen ønskede en sådan indgriben. Ved én stor beslutning fratog Jesus således frivilligt sig selv alt overmenneskeligt samarbejde i alle anliggender, der havde at gøre med resten af hans jordiske karriere, medmindre Faderen uafhængigt kunne vælge at deltage i en bestemt handling eller episode af Sønnens jordiske arbejde.		136:5.3 (1516.3) Before coming down from the forty days’ retreat in the hills, Jesus assigned the immediate command of this attendant host of universe personalities to his recently Personalized Adjuster, and for more than four years of Urantia time did these selected personalities from every division of universe intelligences obediently and respectfully function under the wise guidance of this exalted and experienced Personalized Mystery Monitor. In assuming command of this mighty assembly, the Adjuster, being a onetime part and essence of the Paradise Father, assured Jesus that in no case would these superhuman agencies be permitted to serve, or manifest themselves in connection with, or in behalf of, his earth career unless it should develop that the Father willed such intervention. Thus by one great decision Jesus voluntarily deprived himself of all superhuman co-operation in all matters having to do with the remainder of his mortal career unless the Father might independently choose to participate in some certain act or episode of the Son’s earth labors.
136:5.4 (1516.4) Da den personaliserede Retter accepterede denne befaling fra universets værter, der var til stede hos Kristus Mikael, gjorde han sig stor umage med at påpege over for Jesus, at selv om en sådan forsamling af universets skabninger kunne være begrænset i deres rum-aktiviteter af deres Skabers delegerede myndighed, så var sådanne begrænsninger ikke gældende i forbindelse med deres funktion i tid. Og denne begrænsning var afhængig af den kendsgerning, at Rettere ikke er tidsvæsener, når de først er personaliserede. Derfor blev Jesus formanet om, at mens Retterens kontrol over de levende intelligenser, der var placeret under hans kommando, ville være fuldstændig og perfekt med hensyn til alle forhold, der involverede rummet, kunne der ikke pålægges sådanne perfekte begrænsninger med hensyn til tiden. Retteren sagde: “Jeg vil, som du har givet ordre til, påbyde brugen af denne ledsagende hær af universintelligenser på nogen måde i forbindelse med din jordiske karriere undtagen i de tilfælde, hvor Paradisfaderen giver mig ordre til at frigive sådanne agenturer, for at hans guddommelige vilje efter dit valg kan blive opfyldt, og i de tilfælde, hvor du kan engagere dig i ethvert valg eller enhver handling efter din guddommelige-menneskelige vilje, som kun vil involvere afvigelser fra den naturlige jordiske orden med hensyn til tid. I alle sådanne tilfælde er jeg magtesløs, og jeres skabninger, der er samlet her i fuldkommenhed og enhed af magt, er ligeledes hjælpeløse. Hvis jeres forenede naturer engang nærer sådanne ønsker, vil disse mandater efter jeres valg straks blive udført. Jeres ønske i alle sådanne sager vil udgøre en forkortelse af tiden, og det projekterede er eksisterende. Under min kommando udgør dette den fuldest mulige begrænsning, der kan pålægges din potentielle suverænitet. I min selvbevidsthed er tiden ikke-eksisterende, og derfor kan jeg ikke begrænse jeres skabninger i noget, der har med den at gøre.”		136:5.4 (1516.4) In accepting this command of the universe hosts in attendance upon Christ Michael, the Personalized Adjuster took great pains to point out to Jesus that, while such an assembly of universe creatures could be limited in their space activities by the delegated authority of their Creator, such limitations were not operative in connection with their function in time. And this limitation was dependent on the fact that Adjusters are nontime beings when once they are personalized. Accordingly was Jesus admonished that, while the Adjuster’s control of the living intelligences placed under his command would be complete and perfect as to all matters involving space, there could be no such perfect limitations imposed regarding time. Said the Adjuster: “I will, as you have directed, enjoin the employment of this attendant host of universe intelligences in any manner in connection with your earth career except in those cases where the Paradise Father directs me to release such agencies in order that his divine will of your choosing may be accomplished, and in those instances where you may engage in any choice or act of your divine-human will which shall only involve departures from the natural earth order as to time. In all such events I am powerless, and your creatures here assembled in perfection and unity of power are likewise helpless. If your united natures once entertain such desires, these mandates of your choice will be forthwith executed. Your wish in all such matters will constitute the abridgment of time, and the thing projected is existent. Under my command this constitutes the fullest possible limitation which can be imposed upon your potential sovereignty. In my self-consciousness time is nonexistent, and therefore I cannot limit your creatures in anything related thereto.”
136:5.5 (1517.1) Således blev Jesus klar over, hvordan hans beslutning om at fortsætte med at leve som et menneske blandt mennesker blev udmøntet. Han havde med en enkelt beslutning udelukket alle sine ledsagende universelle værter af forskellige intelligenser fra at deltage i sin efterfølgende offentlige tjeneste, undtagen i sager, der kun vedrørte tid. Det bliver derfor tydeligt, at enhver mulig overnaturlig eller angiveligt overmenneskelig ledsagelse af Jesu tjeneste udelukkende vedrørte eliminering af tid, medmindre Faderen i himlen specifikt bestemte andet. Intet mirakel, ingen barmhjertighedsgerning eller nogen anden mulig begivenhed i forbindelse med Jesu resterende arbejde på jorden kunne have karakter af en handling, der overskred de naturlige love, der er etableret og regelmæssigt virker i menneskets anliggender, mens det lever på Urantia undtagen i dette udtrykkeligt angivne spørgsmål om tid. Der kan naturligvis ikke sættes grænser for manifestationerne af “Faderens vilje.” Elimineringen af tid i forbindelse med det udtrykte ønske fra denne potentielle suveræn over et univers kunne kun undgås ved en direkte og udtrykkelig handling fra dette Gud-menneskes vilje om, at tiden, som den er relateret til den pågældende handling eller begivenhed, ikke skulle forkortes eller elimineres. For at forhindre tilsyneladende tidsmirakler var det nødvendigt for Jesus at forblive konstant tidsbevidst. Enhver afbrydelse af tidsbevidstheden fra hans side, i forbindelse med opfyldelsen af et bestemt ønske, svarede til udførelsen af det, der var udtænkt i denne Skabersøns sind, og uden tidens mellemkomst.		136:5.5 (1517.1) Thus did Jesus become apprised of the working out of his decision to go on living as a man among men. He had by a single decision excluded all of his attendant universe hosts of varied intelligences from participating in his ensuing public ministry except in such matters as concerned time only. It therefore becomes evident that any possible supernatural or supposedly superhuman accompaniments of Jesus’ ministry pertained wholly to the elimination of time unless the Father in heaven specifically ruled otherwise. No miracle, ministry of mercy, or any other possible event occurring in connection with Jesus’ remaining earth labors could possibly be of the nature or character of an act transcending the natural laws established and regularly working in the affairs of man as he lives on Urantia except in this expressly stated matter of time. No limits, of course, could be placed upon the manifestations of “the Father’s will.” The elimination of time in connection with the expressed desire of this potential Sovereign of a universe could only be avoided by the direct and explicit act of the will of this God-man to the effect that time, as related to the act or event in question, should not be shortened or eliminated. In order to prevent the appearance of apparent time miracles, it was necessary for Jesus to remain constantly time conscious. Any lapse of time consciousness on his part, in connection with the entertainment of definite desire, was equivalent to the enactment of the thing conceived in the mind of this Creator Son, and without the intervention of time.
136:5.6 (1517.2) Gennem sin tilknyttede og personaliserede Retters overvågende kontrol var det muligt for Mikael perfekt at begrænse sine personlige jordiske aktiviteter med henvisning til rummet, men det var ikke muligt for Menneskesønnen således at begrænse sin nye jordiske status som potentiel suveræn over Nebadon med hensyn til tiden. Og dette var den faktiske status for Jesus af Nazaret, da han gik ud for at begynde sin offentlige tjeneste på Urantia.		136:5.6 (1517.2) Through the supervising control of his associated and Personalized Adjuster it was possible for Michael perfectly to limit his personal earth activities with reference to space, but it was not possible for the Son of Man thus to limit his new earth status as potential Sovereign of Nebadon as regards time. And this was the actual status of Jesus of Nazareth as he went forth to begin his public ministry on Urantia.
6. Den anden beslutning ^top		6. The Second Decision ^top
136:6.1 (1517.3) Efter at have fastlagt sin politik vedrørende alle personligheder i alle klasser af hans skabte intelligenser, så vidt dette kunne bestemmes i lyset af det iboende potentiale i hans nye status som guddommelighed, vendte Jesus nu sine tanker mod sig selv. Hvad ville han, nu den fuldt selvbevidste skaber af alle ting og væsener i dette univers, gøre med disse skaberrettigheder i de tilbagevendende livssituationer, som umiddelbart ville konfrontere ham, når han vendte tilbage til Galilæa for at genoptage sit arbejde blandt mennesker? Faktisk havde dette problem allerede, og lige der hvor han befandt sig i disse ensomme bakker, meldt sig med al tydelighed i spørgsmålet om at skaffe mad. På den tredje dag af hans ensomme meditationer blev menneskekroppen sulten. Skulle han gå på jagt efter mad, som enhver almindelig mand ville, eller skulle han blot udøve sine normale kreative kræfter og producere passende kropslig næring lige ved hånden? Og denne Mesterens store beslutning er blevet fremstillet for jer som en fristelse—som en udfordring fra formodede fjender om, at han “befaler, at disse sten bliver til brød.”		136:6.1 (1517.3) Having settled his policy concerning all personalities of all classes of his created intelligences, so far as this could be determined in view of the inherent potential of his new status of divinity, Jesus now turned his thoughts toward himself. What would he, now the fully self-conscious creator of all things and beings existent in this universe, do with these creator prerogatives in the recurring life situations which would immediately confront him when he returned to Galilee to resume his work among men? In fact, already, and right where he was in these lonely hills, had this problem forcibly presented itself in the matter of obtaining food. By the third day of his solitary meditations the human body grew hungry. Should he go in quest of food as any ordinary man would, or should he merely exercise his normal creative powers and produce suitable bodily nourishment ready at hand? And this great decision of the Master has been portrayed to you as a temptation—as a challenge by supposed enemies that he “command that these stones become loaves of bread.”
136:6.2 (1518.1) Jesus lagde sig således fast på en anden og konsekvent politik for resten af sit jordiske arbejde. Hvad angik hans personlige behov, og generelt selv i hans forhold til andre personligheder, valgte han nu bevidst at følge den normale jordiske eksistens’ vej; han besluttede sig definitivt imod en politik, der ville overskride, krænke eller forarge hans egne etablerede naturlove. Men han kunne ikke love sig selv, da han allerede var blevet advaret af sin personlige Retter, at disse naturlove ikke under visse tænkelige omstændigheder kunne blive stærkt accelereret. I princippet besluttede Jesus, at hans livsværk skulle organiseres og forfølges i overensstemmelse med naturloven og i harmoni med den eksisterende sociale organisation. Mesteren valgte dermed et livsprogram, der svarede til at beslutte sig imod mirakler og undere. Igen besluttede han sig til fordel for “Faderens vilje”; igen overgav han alt i sin Paradisfars hænder.		136:6.2 (1518.1) Jesus thus settled upon another and consistent policy for the remainder of his earth labors. As far as his personal necessities were concerned, and in general even in his relations with other personalities, he now deliberately chose to pursue the path of normal earthly existence; he definitely decided against a policy which would transcend, violate, or outrage his own established natural laws. But he could not promise himself, as he had already been warned by his Personalized Adjuster, that these natural laws might not, in certain conceivable circumstances, be greatly accelerated. In principle, Jesus decided that his lifework should be organized and prosecuted in accordance with natural law and in harmony with the existing social organization. The Master thereby chose a program of living which was the equivalent of deciding against miracles and wonders. Again he decided in favor of “the Father’s will”; again he surrendered everything into the hands of his Paradise Father.
136:6.3 (1518.2) Jesu menneskelige natur dikterede, at den første pligt var selvopholdelse; det er den normale holdning hos det naturlige menneske i tidens og rummets verdener, og det er derfor en legitim reaktion hos en dødelig på Urantia. Men Jesus var ikke kun optaget af denne verden og dens skabninger; han levede et liv, der var designet til at instruere og inspirere de mangfoldige skabninger i et fjerntliggende univers.		136:6.3 (1518.2) Jesus’ human nature dictated that the first duty was self-preservation; that is the normal attitude of the natural man on the worlds of time and space, and it is, therefore, a legitimate reaction of a Urantia mortal. But Jesus was not concerned merely with this world and its creatures; he was living a life designed to instruct and inspire the manifold creatures of a far-flung universe.
136:6.4 (1518.3) Før sin dåbsoplysning havde han levet i perfekt underkastelse af sin himmelske Faders vilje og vejledning. Han besluttede eftertrykkeligt at fortsætte i netop denne implicitte dødelige afhængighed af Faderens vilje. Han havde til hensigt at følge den unaturlige kurs—han besluttede sig for ikke at søge selvopholdelse. Han valgte at fortsætte med at nægte at forsvare sig selv. Han formulerede sine konklusioner med de ord fra Skriften, som hans menneskelige sind kendte: “Mennesket skal ikke leve af brød alene, men af hvert ord, der udgår fra Guds mund.” Da Menneskesønnen nåede frem til denne konklusion med hensyn til den fysiske naturs appetit, som den kommer til udtryk i sult efter mad, kom han med sin endelige erklæring om alle andre af kødets drifter og de naturlige impulser i den menneskelige natur.		136:6.4 (1518.3) Before his baptismal illumination he had lived in perfect submission to the will and guidance of his heavenly Father. He emphatically decided to continue on in just such implicit mortal dependence on the Father’s will. He purposed to follow the unnatural course—he decided not to seek self-preservation. He chose to go on pursuing the policy of refusing to defend himself. He formulated his conclusions in the words of Scripture familiar to his human mind: “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” In reaching this conclusion in regard to the appetite of the physical nature as expressed in hunger for food, the Son of Man made his final declaration concerning all other urges of the flesh and the natural impulses of human nature.
136:6.5 (1518.4) Hans overmenneskelige kræfter kunne han muligvis bruge for andre, men aldrig for sig selv. Og han forfulgte denne politik konsekvent lige til det sidste, da det hånligt blev sagt om ham: “Han reddede andre; sig selv kan han ikke redde”—fordi han ikke ville.		136:6.5 (1518.4) His superhuman power he might possibly use for others, but for himself, never. And he pursued this policy consistently to the very end, when it was jeeringly said of him: “He saved others; himself he cannot save”—because he would not.
136:6.6 (1518.5) Jøderne forventede en Messias, der ville gøre endnu større undere end Moses, som havde ry for at have frembragt vand fra klippen på et øde sted og for at have fodret deres forfædre med manna i ørkenen. Jesus vidste, hvilken slags Messias hans landsmænd forventede, og han havde alle kræfter og privilegier til at leve op til deres mest optimistiske forventninger, men han besluttede sig imod et så storslået program af magt og herlighed. Jesus betragtede en sådan kurs med forventede mirakler som en tilbagevenden til de gamle dage med uvidende magi og de vilde medicinmænds nedværdigende praksis. For at frelse sine skabninger kunne han muligvis fremskynde naturens love, men at overskride sine egne love, enten for at gavne sig selv eller for at imponere sine medmennesker, det ville han ikke gøre. Og Mesterens beslutning var endelig.		136:6.6 (1518.5) The Jews were expecting a Messiah who would do even greater wonders than Moses, who was reputed to have brought forth water from the rock in a desert place and to have fed their forefathers with manna in the wilderness. Jesus knew the sort of Messiah his compatriots expected, and he had all the powers and prerogatives to measure up to their most sanguine expectations, but he decided against such a magnificent program of power and glory. Jesus looked upon such a course of expected miracle working as a harking back to the olden days of ignorant magic and the degraded practices of the savage medicine men. Possibly, for the salvation of his creatures, he might accelerate natural law, but to transcend his own laws, either for the benefit of himself or the overawing of his fellow men, that he would not do. And the Master’s decision was final.
136:6.7 (1518.6) Jesus sørgede for sit folk; han forstod fuldt ud, hvordan de var blevet ført frem til forventningen om den kommende Messias, den tid, hvor “jorden vil give sin frugt ti tusindfold, og på en vinstok vil der være tusind grene, og hver gren vil producere tusind klaser, og hver klase vil producere tusind druer, og hver drue vil producere en liter vin.” Jøderne troede, at Messias ville indvarsle en æra med mirakuløs overflod. Hebræerne var længe blevet opflasket med traditioner om mirakler og legender om undere.		136:6.7 (1518.6) Jesus sorrowed for his people; he fully understood how they had been led up to the expectation of the coming Messiah, the time when “the earth will yield its fruits ten thousandfold, and on one vine there will be a thousand branches, and each branch will produce a thousand clusters, and each cluster will produce a thousand grapes, and each grape will produce a gallon of wine.” The Jews believed the Messiah would usher in an era of miraculous plenty. The Hebrews had long been nurtured on traditions of miracles and legends of wonders.
136:6.8 (1519.1) Han var ikke en Messias, der kom for at formere brød og vin. Han kom ikke kun for at opfylde timelige behov; han kom for at åbenbare sin Far i himlen for sine børn på jorden, mens han forsøgte at få sine børn på jorden til at slutte sig til ham i en oprigtig bestræbelse på at leve, så de kunne gøre deres Fars vilje i himlen.		136:6.8 (1519.1) He was not a Messiah coming to multiply bread and wine. He came not to minister to temporal needs only; he came to reveal his Father in heaven to his children on earth, while he sought to lead his earth children to join him in a sincere effort so to live as to do the will of the Father in heaven.
136:6.9 (1519.2) I denne beslutning skildrede Jesus af Nazaret for et måbende univers det tåbelige og syndige i at prostituere guddommelige talenter og gudgivne evner til personlig forherligelse eller til rent egoistisk vinding og forherligelse. Det var Lucifers og Caligastias synd.		136:6.9 (1519.2) In this decision Jesus of Nazareth portrayed to an onlooking universe the folly and sin of prostituting divine talents and God-given abilities for personal aggrandizement or for purely selfish gain and glorification. That was the sin of Lucifer and Caligastia.
136:6.10 (1519.3) Denne store beslutning, som Jesus traf, skildrer på dramatisk vis den sandhed, at selvisk tilfredsstillelse og sanselig tilfredsstillelse ikke i sig selv er i stand til at give det udviklende menneske lykke. Der er højere værdier i den jordiske eksistens—intellektuel beherskelse og åndelig opnåelse—som langt overgår den nødvendige tilfredsstillelse af menneskets rent fysiske lyster og drifter. Menneskets naturlige begavelse af talent og evner bør hovedsageligt bruges til at udvikle og forædle dets højere kræfter i sindet og ånden.		136:6.10 (1519.3) This great decision of Jesus portrays dramatically the truth that selfish satisfaction and sensuous gratification, alone and of themselves, are not able to confer happiness upon evolving human beings. There are higher values in mortal existence—intellectual mastery and spiritual achievement—which far transcend the necessary gratification of man’s purely physical appetites and urges. Man’s natural endowment of talent and ability should be chiefly devoted to the development and ennoblement of his higher powers of mind and spirit.
136:6.11 (1519.4) Jesus åbenbarede således for skabningerne i sit univers teknikken bag den nye og bedre vej, de højere moralske værdier i livet og de dybere åndelige tilfredsstillelser i den evolutionære menneskelige eksistens i rummets verdener.		136:6.11 (1519.4) Jesus thus revealed to the creatures of his universe the technique of the new and better way, the higher moral values of living and the deeper spiritual satisfactions of evolutionary human existence on the worlds of space.
7. Den tredje beslutning ^top		7. The Third Decision ^top
136:7.1 (1519.5) Da han havde truffet sine beslutninger om f.eks. mad og fysisk pleje af sin materielle krops behov, pleje af sit eget og sine kollegers helbred, var der stadig andre problemer at løse. Hvad ville hans holdning være, når han blev konfronteret med personlig fare? Han besluttede at udvise normal agtpågivenhed over for sin menneskelige sikkerhed og at tage rimelige forholdsregler for at forhindre en utidig afslutning på sin karriere i kødet, men at afstå fra al overmenneskelig indgriben, når krisen i hans liv i kødet skulle komme. Mens han formulerede denne beslutning, sad Jesus i skyggen af et træ på en udhængende klippeafsats med en afgrund lige foran sig. Han var helt klar over, at han kunne kaste sig ud over den. Han indså fuldt ud, at han kunne kaste sig ud fra afsatsen og ud i rummet, og at intet kunne ske, der kunne skade ham, forudsat at han ville tilbagekalde sin første store beslutning om ikke at påkalde sig sine himmelske intelligensers mellemkomst i udførelsen af sit livsværk på Urantia, og forudsat at han ville ophæve sin anden beslutning om sin holdning til selvopholdelse.		136:7.1 (1519.5) Having made his decisions regarding such matters as food and physical ministration to the needs of his material body, the care of the health of himself and his associates, there remained yet other problems to solve. What would be his attitude when confronted by personal danger? He decided to exercise normal watchcare over his human safety and to take reasonable precaution to prevent the untimely termination of his career in the flesh but to refrain from all superhuman intervention when the crisis of his life in the flesh should come. As he was formulating this decision, Jesus was seated under the shade of a tree on an overhanging ledge of rock with a precipice right there before him. He fully realized that he could cast himself off the ledge and out into space, and that nothing could happen to harm him provided he would rescind his first great decision not to invoke the interposition of his celestial intelligences in the prosecution of his lifework on Urantia, and provided he would abrogate his second decision concerning his attitude toward self-preservation.
136:7.2 (1519.6) Jesus vidste, at hans landsmænd forventede en Messias, som ville være hævet over naturens love. Han var blevet undervist i det skriftsted: “Der skal ikke ske jer noget ondt, og ingen plage skal komme i nærheden af jeres bolig. For han skal give sine engle befaling over jer, så de vogter jer på alle jeres veje. De skal bære dig i deres hænder, så du ikke støder din fod mod en sten.” Ville denne form for overmod, denne trods mod sin Faders tyngdelove, være berettiget for at beskytte sig selv mod mulig skade eller måske for at vinde tilliden hos sit vildledte og forvirrede folk? Men en sådan fremgangsmåde, hvor tilfredsstillende den end måtte være for de tegn-søgende jøder, ville ikke være en åbenbaring af hans Fader, men en tvivlsom leg med de etablerede love i universernes univers.		136:7.2 (1519.6) Jesus knew his fellow countrymen were expecting a Messiah who would be above natural law. Well had he been taught that Scripture: “There shall no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Would this sort of presumption, this defiance of his Father’s laws of gravity, be justified in order to protect himself from possible harm or, perchance, to win the confidence of his mistaught and distracted people? But such a course, however gratifying to the sign-seeking Jews, would be, not a revelation of his Father, but a questionable trifling with the established laws of the universe of universes.
136:7.3 (1519.7) Når man forstår alt dette og ved, at Mesteren nægtede at arbejde i modstrid med sine etablerede naturlove, for så vidt angår hans personlige adfærd, ved man med sikkerhed, at han aldrig gik på vandet eller gjorde noget andet, der var en krænkelse af hans materielle orden for administration af verden; selvfølgelig altid under hensyntagen til, at der endnu ikke var fundet nogen måde, hvorpå han kunne blive helt befriet fra manglen på kontrol over tidselementet i forbindelse med de sager, der er underlagt den personaliserede Retters ansvarsområde.		136:7.3 (1519.7) Understanding all of this and knowing that the Master refused to work in defiance of his established laws of nature in so far as his personal conduct was concerned, you know of a certainty that he never walked on the water nor did anything else which was an outrage to his material order of administering the world; always, of course, bearing in mind that there had, as yet, been found no way whereby he could be wholly delivered from the lack of control over the element of time in connection with those matters put under the jurisdiction of the Personalized Adjuster.
136:7.4 (1520.1) Gennem hele sit jordiske liv var Jesus konsekvent loyal over for denne beslutning. Uanset om farisæerne hånede ham for at få et tegn, eller tilskuerne på Golgata udfordrede ham til at stige ned fra korset, holdt han urokkeligt fast i beslutningen fra denne time på bjergskråningen.		136:7.4 (1520.1) Throughout his entire earth life Jesus was consistently loyal to this decision. No matter whether the Pharisees taunted him for a sign, or the watchers at Calvary dared him to come down from the cross, he steadfastly adhered to the decision of this hour on the hillside.
8. Den fjerde beslutning ^top		8. The Fourth Decision ^top
136:8.1 (1520.2) Det næste store problem, som dette gudmenneske kæmpede med, og som han nu besluttede i overensstemmelse med sin himmelske Faders vilje, drejede sig om, hvorvidt nogle af hans overmenneskelige kræfter skulle bruges til at tiltrække hans medmenneskers opmærksomhed og vinde deres tilslutning. Skulle han på nogen måde låne sine universelle kræfter ud til at tilfredsstille den jødiske higen efter det spektakulære og det fantastiske? Han besluttede, at det skulle han ikke. Han besluttede sig for en fremgangsmåde, der eliminerede al sådan praksis som metode til at gøre mennesker opmærksomme på hans mission. Og han levede konsekvent op til denne store beslutning. Selv når han tillod mange tidsforkortende barmhjertighedsgerninger, formanede han næsten altid modtagerne af hans helbredende tjeneste om ikke at fortælle nogen om de goder, de havde modtaget. Og altid afviste han sine fjenders hånlige udfordring om at “vise os et tegn” som bevis på og demonstration af sin guddommelighed.		136:8.1 (1520.2) The next great problem with which this God-man wrestled and which he presently decided in accordance with the will of the Father in heaven, concerned the question as to whether or not any of his superhuman powers should be employed for the purpose of attracting the attention and winning the adherence of his fellow men. Should he in any manner lend his universe powers to the gratification of the Jewish hankering for the spectacular and the marvelous? He decided that he should not. He settled upon a policy of procedure which eliminated all such practices as the method of bringing his mission to the notice of men. And he consistently lived up to this great decision. Even when he permitted the manifestation of numerous time-shortening ministrations of mercy, he almost invariably admonished the recipients of his healing ministry to tell no man about the benefits they had received. And always did he refuse the taunting challenge of his enemies to “show us a sign” in proof and demonstration of his divinity.
136:8.2 (1520.3) Jesus forudså meget klogt, at udførelsen af mirakler og undere kun ville fremkalde ydre loyalitet ved at overrumple det materielle sind; sådanne forestillinger ville ikke åbenbare Gud eller frelse mennesker. Han nægtede at blive en simpel mirakelmager. Han besluttede sig for kun at beskæftige sig med en enkelt opgave—oprettelsen af Himmeriget.		136:8.2 (1520.3) Jesus very wisely foresaw that the working of miracles and the execution of wonders would call forth only outward allegiance by overawing the material mind; such performances would not reveal God nor save men. He refused to become a mere wonder-worker. He resolved to become occupied with but a single task—the establishment of the kingdom of heaven.
136:8.3 (1520.4) Under hele denne betydningsfulde dialog, hvor Jesus kommunikerede med sig selv, var der et menneskeligt element af spørgsmål og næsten tvivl, for Jesus var både menneske og Gud. Det var tydeligt, at han aldrig ville blive modtaget af jøderne som Messias, hvis han ikke gjorde undere. Og hvis han indvilligede i at gøre bare én unaturlig ting, ville det menneskelige sind med sikkerhed vide, at det var underlagt et virkelig guddommeligt sind. Ville det være i overensstemmelse med “Faderens vilje,” at det guddommelige sind gjorde denne indrømmelse til det menneskelige sinds tvivlende natur? Jesus besluttede, at det ville det ikke, og nævnte tilstedeværelsen af den personaliserede Retter som et tilstrækkeligt bevis på guddommelighed i partnerskab med menneskeheden.		136:8.3 (1520.4) Throughout all this momentous dialogue of Jesus’ communing with himself, there was present the human element of questioning and near-doubting, for Jesus was man as well as God. It was evident he would never be received by the Jews as the Messiah if he did not work wonders. Besides, if he would consent to do just one unnatural thing, the human mind would know of a certainty that it was in subservience to a truly divine mind. Would it be consistent with “the Father’s will” for the divine mind to make this concession to the doubting nature of the human mind? Jesus decided that it would not and cited the presence of the Personalized Adjuster as sufficient proof of divinity in partnership with humanity.
136:8.4 (1520.5) Jesus havde rejst meget; han huskede Rom, Alexandria og Damaskus. Han kendte verdens metoder—hvordan folk opnåede deres mål i politik og handel ved hjælp af kompromiser og diplomati. Ville han bruge denne viden til at fremme sin mission på jorden? Nej! han besluttede sig ligeledes for ikke at gå på kompromis med verdens visdom og rigdommens indflydelse i etableringen af riget. Han valgte igen udelukkende at stole på Faderens vilje.		136:8.4 (1520.5) Jesus had traveled much; he recalled Rome, Alexandria, and Damascus. He knew the methods of the world—how people gained their ends in politics and commerce by compromise and diplomacy. Would he utilize this knowledge in the furtherance of his mission on earth? No! He likewise decided against all compromise with the wisdom of the world and the influence of riches in the establishment of the kingdom. He again chose to depend exclusively on the Father’s will.
136:8.5 (1520.6) Jesus var fuldt bevidst om de genveje, der var åbne for en af hans kræfter. Han kendte mange måder, hvorpå nationens og hele verdens opmærksomhed øjeblikkeligt kunne fokuseres på ham selv. Snart ville påsken blive fejret i Jerusalem; byen ville blive overrendt af besøgende. Han kunne stige op på templets tinde og gå ud i luften foran den forvirrede folkemængde; det ville være den slags Messias, de ledte efter. Men han ville efterfølgende skuffe dem, da han ikke var kommet for at genetablere Davids trone. Og han vidste, hvor nytteløst det var at bruge Caligastia-metoden til at forsøge at komme foran den naturlige, langsomme og sikre måde at opfylde det guddommelige formål på. Igen bøjede Menneskesønnen sig lydigt for Faderens vej, Faderens vilje.		136:8.5 (1520.6) Jesus was fully aware of the short cuts open to one of his powers. He knew many ways in which the attention of the nation, and the whole world, could be immediately focused upon himself. Soon the Passover would be celebrated at Jerusalem; the city would be thronged with visitors. He could ascend the pinnacle of the temple and before the bewildered multitude walk out on the air; that would be the kind of a Messiah they were looking for. But he would subsequently disappoint them since he had not come to re-establish David’s throne. And he knew the futility of the Caligastia method of trying to get ahead of the natural, slow, and sure way of accomplishing the divine purpose. Again the Son of Man bowed obediently to the Father’s way, the Father’s will.
136:8.6 (1521.1) Jesus valgte at etablere Himmeriget i menneskehedens hjerter ved hjælp af naturlige, almindelige, vanskelige og prøvende metoder, præcis sådanne procedurer, som hans jordiske børn efterfølgende skal følge i deres arbejde med at udvide og udbrede det himmelske rige. For Menneskesønnen vidste godt, at det ville være “gennem megen trængsel, at mange af alle tiders børn ville komme ind i riget.” Jesus gennemgik nu det civiliserede menneskes store prøve: at have magt og standhaftigt nægte at bruge den til rent egoistiske eller personlige formål.		136:8.6 (1521.1) Jesus chose to establish the kingdom of heaven in the hearts of mankind by natural, ordinary, difficult, and trying methods, just such procedures as his earth children must subsequently follow in their work of enlarging and extending that heavenly kingdom. For well did the Son of Man know that it would be “through much tribulation that many of the children of all ages would enter into the kingdom.” Jesus was now passing through the great test of civilized man, to have power and steadfastly refuse to use it for purely selfish or personal purposes.
136:8.7 (1521.2) Når du overvejer Menneskesønnens liv og erfaringer, bør du altid huske på, at Guds Søn blev inkarneret i et menneskes sind i det første århundrede, ikke i et menneskes sind i det tyvende århundrede eller et andet århundrede. Med dette mener vi, at Jesu menneskelige egenskaber var naturligt erhvervede. Han var et produkt af sin tids arvelige og miljømæssige faktorer, plus indflydelsen fra hans træning og uddannelse. Hans menneskelighed var ægte, naturlig, helt afledt af fortilfældene og fremmet af den faktiske intellektuelle status og de sociale og økonomiske forhold på den tid og i den generation. Selvom der i dette gudsmenneskes erfaring altid var mulighed for, at det guddommelige sind ville overskride det menneskelige intellekt, fungerede hans menneskelige sind ikke desto mindre, når og som det fungerede, som et sandt dødeligt sind ville gøre det under forholdene i det menneskelige miljø på den tid.		136:8.7 (1521.2) In your consideration of the life and experience of the Son of Man, it should be ever borne in mind that the Son of God was incarnate in the mind of a first-century human being, not in the mind of a twentieth-century or other-century mortal. By this we mean to convey the idea that the human endowments of Jesus were of natural acquirement. He was the product of the hereditary and environmental factors of his time, plus the influence of his training and education. His humanity was genuine, natural, wholly derived from the antecedents of, and fostered by, the actual intellectual status and social and economic conditions of that day and generation. While in the experience of this God-man there was always the possibility that the divine mind would transcend the human intellect, nonetheless, when, and as, his human mind functioned, it did perform as would a true mortal mind under the conditions of the human environment of that day.
136:8.8 (1521.3) Jesus skildrede for alle verdener i sit enorme univers det tåbelige i at skabe kunstige situationer med det formål at udvise vilkårlig autoritet eller at give sig hen til usædvanlig magt med det formål at forbedre moralske værdier eller fremskynde åndelige fremskridt. Jesus besluttede, at han ikke ville låne sin mission på jorden til en gentagelse af skuffelsen fra makkabæernes regeringstid. Han nægtede at prostituere sine guddommelige egenskaber med det formål at opnå ufortjent popularitet eller politisk prestige. Han ville ikke acceptere, at guddommelig og kreativ energi blev forvandlet til national magt eller international prestige. Jesus af Nazaret nægtede at gå på kompromis med ondskaben, og endnu mindre at gå i ledtog med synden. Mesteren satte triumferende loyalitet over for sin Faders vilje over alle andre jordiske og verdslige hensyn.		136:8.8 (1521.3) Jesus portrayed to all the worlds of his vast universe the folly of creating artificial situations for the purpose of exhibiting arbitrary authority or of indulging exceptional power for the purpose of enhancing moral values or accelerating spiritual progress. Jesus decided that he would not lend his mission on earth to a repetition of the disappointment of the reign of the Maccabees. He refused to prostitute his divine attributes for the purpose of acquiring unearned popularity or for gaining political prestige. He would not countenance the transmutation of divine and creative energy into national power or international prestige. Jesus of Nazareth refused to compromise with evil, much less to consort with sin. The Master triumphantly put loyalty to his Father’s will above every other earthly and temporal consideration.
9. Den femte beslutning ^top		9. The Fifth Decision ^top
136:9.1 (1521.4) Efter at have afklaret de politiske spørgsmål, der vedrørte hans individuelle forhold til den naturlige lov og den åndelige magt, vendte han sin opmærksomhed mod valget af de metoder, der skulle bruges til at forkynde og etablere Guds rige. Johannes havde allerede påbegyndt dette arbejde; hvordan kunne han fortsætte budskabet? Hvordan skulle han overtage Johannes’ mission? Hvordan skulle han organisere sine tilhængere med henblik på effektiv indsats og intelligent samarbejde? Jesus var nu ved at nå frem til den endelige beslutning, som ville forbyde ham yderligere at betragte sig selv som den jødiske Messias, i det mindste sådan som Messias blev opfattet i folkemunde på den tid.		136:9.1 (1521.4) Having settled such questions of policy as pertained to his individual relations to natural law and spiritual power, he turned his attention to the choice of methods to be employed in the proclamation and establishment of the kingdom of God. John had already begun this work; how might he continue the message? How should he take over John’s mission? How should he organize his followers for effective effort and intelligent co-operation? Jesus was now reaching the final decision which would forbid that he further regard himself as the Jewish Messiah, at least as the Messiah was popularly conceived in that day.
136:9.2 (1522.1) Jøderne forestillede sig en befrier, der ville komme med mirakuløs kraft for at nedkæmpe Israels fjender og etablere jøderne som verdensherskere, fri for nød og undertrykkelse. Jesus vidste, at dette håb aldrig ville gå i opfyldelse. Han vidste, at himlenes rige havde at gøre med omstyrtelsen af det onde i menneskers hjerter, og at det var et rent åndeligt anliggende. Han overvejede det tilrådelige i at indvie det åndelige rige med en strålende og blændende magtdemonstration—og en sådan fremgangsmåde ville have været tilladt og helt inden for Mikaels jurisdiktion—men han besluttede sig helt og holdent imod en sådan plan. Han ville ikke gå på kompromis med Caligastias revolutionære teknikker. Han havde vundet verden i potentiale ved at underkaste sig Faderens vilje, og han foreslog at afslutte sit arbejde, som han havde påbegyndt det, og som Menneskesønnen.		136:9.2 (1522.1) The Jews envisaged a deliverer who would come in miraculous power to cast down Israel’s enemies and establish the Jews as world rulers, free from want and oppression. Jesus knew that this hope would never be realized. He knew that the kingdom of heaven had to do with the overthrow of evil in the hearts of men, and that it was purely a matter of spiritual concern. He thought out the advisability of inaugurating the spiritual kingdom with a brilliant and dazzling display of power—and such a course would have been permissible and wholly within the jurisdiction of Michael—but he fully decided against such a plan. He would not compromise with the revolutionary techniques of Caligastia. He had won the world in potential by submission to the Father’s will, and he proposed to finish his work as he had begun it, and as the Son of Man.
136:9.3 (1522.2) Du kan næppe forestille dig, hvad der ville være sket på Urantia, hvis dette gudsmenneske, som nu var i potentiel besiddelse af al magt i himlen og på jorden, engang havde besluttet sig for at udfolde suverænitetens banner og samle sine vidunderlige bataljoner i militant opstilling! Men han ville ikke gå på kompromis. Han ville ikke tjene det onde, for at tilbedelsen af Gud formodentlig kunne afledes deraf. Han ville holde sig til Faderens vilje. Han ville proklamere til et måbende univers: “I skal tilbede Herren jeres Gud, og ham alene skal I tjene.”		136:9.3 (1522.2) You can hardly imagine what would have happened on Urantia had this God-man, now in potential possession of all power in heaven and on earth, once decided to unfurl the banner of sovereignty, to marshal his wonder-working battalions in militant array! But he would not compromise. He would not serve evil that the worship of God might presumably be derived therefrom. He would abide by the Father’s will. He would proclaim to an onlooking universe, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”
136:9.4 (1522.3) Som dagene gik, så Jesus med stadig større klarhed, hvilken slags sandhedsåbenbarer han skulle blive. Han indså, at Guds vej ikke ville være den nemme vej. Han begyndte at indse, at bægeret med resten af hans menneskelige erfaring muligvis ville være bittert, men han besluttede sig for at drikke det.		136:9.4 (1522.3) As the days passed, with ever-increasing clearness Jesus perceived what kind of a truth-revealer he was to become. He discerned that God’s way was not going to be the easy way. He began to realize that the cup of the remainder of his human experience might possibly be bitter, but he decided to drink it.
136:9.5 (1522.4) Selv hans menneskelige sind siger farvel til Davids trone. Skridt for skridt følger dette menneskelige sind det guddommeliges vej. Det menneskelige sind stiller stadig spørgsmål, men accepterer ufejlbarligt de guddommelige svar som endelige afgørelser i dette kombinerede liv, hvor man lever som et menneske i verden, mens man hele tiden uden forbehold underkaster sig udførelsen af Faderens evige og guddommelige vilje.		136:9.5 (1522.4) Even his human mind is saying good-bye to the throne of David. Step by step this human mind follows in the path of the divine. The human mind still asks questions but unfailingly accepts the divine answers as final rulings in this combined life of living as a man in the world while all the time submitting unqualifiedly to the doing of the Father’s eternal and divine will.
136:9.6 (1522.5) Rom var herskerinde over den vestlige verden. Menneskesønnen, som nu var isoleret og traf disse betydningsfulde beslutninger med himlens hærskarer under sin kommando, repræsenterede jødernes sidste chance for at opnå verdensherredømme; men denne jordbunden jøde, som besad en så enorm visdom og magt, nægtede at bruge sine universelle evner til hverken at forøge sig selv eller sit folks trone. Han så for sig “denne verdens riger,” og han besad magten til at tage dem. De Allerhøjeste i Edentia havde lagt alle disse magter i hans hænder, men han ville ikke have dem. Jordens riger var ubetydelige ting til at interessere universets skaber og hersker. Han havde kun ét mål, Guds videre åbenbaring for mennesket, etableringen af riget, den himmelske Faders herredømme i menneskehedens hjerter.		136:9.6 (1522.5) Rome was mistress of the Western world. The Son of Man, now in isolation and achieving these momentous decisions, with the hosts of heaven at his command, represented the last chance of the Jews to attain world dominion; but this earthborn Jew, who possessed such tremendous wisdom and power, declined to use his universe endowments either for the aggrandizement of himself or for the enthronement of his people. He saw, as it were, “the kingdoms of this world,” and he possessed the power to take them. The Most Highs of Edentia had resigned all these powers into his hands, but he did not want them. The kingdoms of earth were paltry things to interest the Creator and Ruler of a universe. He had only one objective, the further revelation of God to man, the establishment of the kingdom, the rule of the heavenly Father in the hearts of mankind.
136:9.7 (1522.6) Tanken om kamp, stridigheder og nedslagtning var frastødende for Jesus; han ville ikke have noget af det. Han ville vise sig på jorden som Fredens prins for at åbenbare en kærlighedens Gud. Før sin dåb havde han igen afvist tilbuddet fra zeloterne om at lede dem i oprør mod de romerske undertrykkere. Og nu traf han sin endelige beslutning med hensyn til de skriftsteder, som hans mor havde lært ham, f.eks: “Herren har sagt til mig: ‘Du er min søn; i dag har jeg født dig. Spørg mig, og jeg vil give dig hedningerne som din arv og jordens yderste egne som din ejendom. Du skal knuse dem med en jernstang, du skal slå dem i stykker som et lerkar.’”		136:9.7 (1522.6) The idea of battle, contention, and slaughter was repugnant to Jesus; he would have none of it. He would appear on earth as the Prince of Peace to reveal a God of love. Before his baptism he had again refused the offer of the Zealots to lead them in rebellion against the Roman oppressors. And now he made his final decision regarding those Scriptures which his mother had taught him, such as: “The Lord has said to me, ‘You are my Son; this day have I begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the heathen for your inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; you shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”
136:9.8 (1522.7) Jesus af Nazaret nåede frem til den konklusion, at sådanne ytringer ikke refererede til ham. Endelig gjorde Menneskesønnens menneskelige sind rent bord med alle disse messianske vanskeligheder og selvmodsigelser—hebraiske skrifter, forældres opdragelse, chazan-lære, jødiske forventninger og menneskelige ambitiøse længsler; én gang for alle besluttede han sig for sin kurs. Han ville vende tilbage til Galilæa og stille og roligt begynde at proklamere kongeriget og stole på, at hans Fader (den Personaliserede Retter) ville udrede detaljerne i proceduren dag for dag.		136:9.8 (1522.7) Jesus of Nazareth reached the conclusion that such utterances did not refer to him. At last, and finally, the human mind of the Son of Man made a clean sweep of all these Messianic difficulties and contradictions—Hebrew scriptures, parental training, chazan teaching, Jewish expectations, and human ambitious longings; once and for all he decided upon his course. He would return to Galilee and quietly begin the proclamation of the kingdom and trust his Father (the Personalized Adjuster) to work out the details of procedure day by day.
136:9.9 (1523.1) Med disse beslutninger satte Jesus et værdigt eksempel for alle mennesker i alle verdener i hele det enorme univers, da han nægtede at anvende materielle tests til at bevise åndelige problemer, da han nægtede formasteligt at trodse naturlove. Og han satte et inspirerende eksempel på universets loyalitet og moralske ædelhed, da han nægtede at gribe verdslig magt som optakt til åndelig herlighed.		136:9.9 (1523.1) By these decisions Jesus set a worthy example for every person on every world throughout a vast universe when he refused to apply material tests to prove spiritual problems, when he refused presumptuously to defy natural laws. And he set an inspiring example of universe loyalty and moral nobility when he refused to grasp temporal power as the prelude to spiritual glory.
136:9.10 (1523.2) Hvis Menneskesønnen var i tvivl om sin mission og dens natur, da han gik op i bjergene efter sin dåb, var han det ikke, da han kom tilbage til sine medmennesker efter de fyrre dages isolation og beslutninger.		136:9.10 (1523.2) If the Son of Man had any doubts about his mission and its nature when he went up in the hills after his baptism, he had none when he came back to his fellows following the forty days of isolation and decisions.
136:9.11 (1523.3) Jesus har formuleret et program for etableringen af Faderens rige. Han vil ikke tage hensyn til folkets fysiske tilfredsstillelse. Han vil ikke dele brød ud til masserne, som han for nylig har set det blive gjort i Rom. Han vil ikke tiltrække sig opmærksomhed ved at gøre underværker, selvom jøderne netop forventer den slags af en befrier. Han vil heller ikke forsøge at vinde accept af et åndeligt budskab ved at vise politisk autoritet eller verdslig magt.		136:9.11 (1523.3) Jesus has formulated a program for the establishment of the Father’s kingdom. He will not cater to the physical gratification of the people. He will not deal out bread to the multitudes as he has so recently seen it being done in Rome. He will not attract attention to himself by wonder-working, even though the Jews are expecting just that sort of a deliverer. Neither will he seek to win acceptance of a spiritual message by a show of political authority or temporal power.
136:9.12 (1523.4) Ved at afvise disse metoder til at fremhæve det kommende rige i de forventningsfulde jøders øjne, sørgede Jesus for, at de samme jøder helt sikkert og endeligt ville afvise alle hans påstande om autoritet og guddommelighed. Da Jesus vidste alt dette, forsøgte han længe at forhindre sine tidlige tilhængere i at omtale ham som Messias.		136:9.12 (1523.4) In rejecting these methods of enhancing the coming kingdom in the eyes of the expectant Jews, Jesus made sure that these same Jews would certainly and finally reject all of his claims to authority and divinity. Knowing all this, Jesus long sought to prevent his early followers alluding to him as the Messiah.
136:9.13 (1523.5) Gennem hele sin offentlige tjeneste blev han konfronteret med nødvendigheden af at håndtere tre konstant tilbagevendende situationer: kravet om at blive bespist, insisteringen på mirakler og den endelige anmodning om, at han skulle lade sine tilhængere gøre ham til konge. Men Jesus afveg aldrig fra de beslutninger, han traf i de dage, hvor han var isoleret i Pereas bjerge.		136:9.13 (1523.5) Throughout his public ministry he was confronted with the necessity of dealing with three constantly recurring situations: the clamor to be fed, the insistence on miracles, and the final request that he allow his followers to make him king. But Jesus never departed from the decisions which he made during these days of his isolation in the Perean hills.
10. Den sjette beslutning ^top		10. The Sixth Decision ^top
136:10.1 (1523.6) På den sidste dag af denne mindeværdige isolation, før han gik ned ad bjerget for at slutte sig til Johannes og sine disciple, traf Menneskesønnen sin endelige beslutning. Og denne beslutning meddelte han den personaliserede Retter med disse ord: “Og i alle andre sager, som i disse, hvor der nu er taget en beslutning, lover jeg dig, at jeg vil være underlagt min Faders vilje.” Og da han havde talt således, gik han ned ad bjerget. Og hans ansigt skinnede af herligheden ved åndelig sejr og moralsk præstation.		136:10.1 (1523.6) On the last day of this memorable isolation, before starting down the mountain to join John and his disciples, the Son of Man made his final decision. And this decision he communicated to the Personalized Adjuster in these words, “And in all other matters, as in these now of decision-record, I pledge you I will be subject to the will of my Father.” And when he had thus spoken, he journeyed down the mountain. And his face shone with the glory of spiritual victory and moral achievement.