THY KINGDOM
COME
JESUS went
about in the towns and villages and taught all men the happiness of doing the
Father's will. And he was sorry for people because they perish without knowing
what true life consists of, and trouble and torment themselves without knowing
why, like scattered sheep that have no shepherd. Once many people came to Jesus
to hear his teaching and he went up on a hill and sat down. His pupils surrounded
him. And he began to teach the people what the Father's will is. He said:
“Blessed
are the poor and the homeless, for they live in the will of the Father. If they
are hungry they shall be satisfied, and if they sorrow and weep they shall be
comforted. If people despise them, thrust them aside, and drive them away, let
them be glad of it, for so God's people have always been treated and they
receive a heavenly reward.”
“But woe to
the rich, for they have already got what they wanted, and will get nothing
more. Now they are satisfied, but they too will be hungry. Now they rejoice,
but they too will be sad. Woe to those whom everyone praises, for only
deceivers are praised by everybody.”
“Blessed
are the poor and homeless; but blessed only if they are poor not merely
outwardly but also in spirit-just as salt is good only when it has saltness in
it and is not salt merely in appearance.”
“So you
also, the poor and homeless, are the teachers of the world; you are blessed if
you know that true happiness is in being homeless and poor. But if you are poor
only outwardly then, like salt that has no savor, you are good for nothing. You
are the light of the world, therefore do not hide your light but let men see
it. When a man lights a candle he does not put it under the bench but on the
table that it should give light to everyone in the room. So you, too, should
not hide your light but show it by your actions, that men may see that you have
the truth, and seeing your good deeds may understand your heavenly Father.”
“And do not
think that I free you from the law. I teach not release from the law but
fulfillment of the eternal law. As long as there are men under heaven the
eternal law remains. There will be no release from law till men of themselves
fulfill the eternal law completely. And now, I give you the commandments of
that eternal law. If anyone releases himself from any of these short
commandments and teaches others that they may do so, he shall be least in the
kingdom of heaven, but he who fulfills them and thereby teaches others to
fulfill them shall be great in the kingdom of heaven. For if your virtue is no
more than the virtue of the Orthodox legalists you will never reach the kingdom
of heaven. These are the commandments:”
“In the
former law it was said: ‘Do not kill, and if anyone kills another he must be
judged.’”
“But I tell
you that everyone who grows angry with' his brother-man deserves judgment, and
still more to blame is he who speaks abusively to his brother-man. So if you
wish to pray to God, first think whether there is anyone who has something
against you. If you remember even one man who considers that you have offended
him, leave your prayers and go first to make peace with your brotherman, and
then you may pray. Know that God requires neither sacrifice nor prayer, but
only peace, concord, and love among men; and that you can neither pray nor
think of God if there is a single man towards whom you do not feel love.”
“So this is
the first commandment: ‘Do not be angry, and do not rail; and if you have
spoken harshly to anyone make peace with him and do it so that no one should
have a grudge against you.’”
In the
former law it was said: ‘Do not commit adultery, and if you wish to put away
your wife, give her a letter of divorcement.’ But I tell you that if you look
lustfully at a woman's beauty you are already committing adultery. All
sensuality destroys the soul, and so it is better for you to renounce the
pleasures of the flesh than to destroy your life. And if you put away your
wife, then besides being vicious yourself you drive her to wantonness too, as
well as him with whom she may unite. So that is the second commandment: Do not
think that love of a woman is good, do not desire women, but live with her with
whom you have become united, and do not leave her.”
“In the
former law it was said: ‘Do not utter the name of the Lord God in vain, do not
call upon God when lying, and do not dishonor the name of your God. Do not
swear to any untruth and so profane your God.’”
“But I tell
you that every oath is a profanation of God. Therefore do not swear at all. Man
cannot promise anything, for he is wholly in the power of the Father. He cannot
make one gray hair black. How then can he swear beforehand that he will do this
or that, and swear to it by God? Every oath is a profanation of God, for if a
man is compelled to fulfill under an oath that which is against the will of God
it shows that he had promised to act contrary to God's will, and so every oath
is an evil. But when men ask you about anything, say Yes if it is yes, or no if
it is no; anything added to that is evil.”
“So the
third commandment is: ‘Never swear anything for anyone. Say Yes when it is yes,
No when it is no, and understand that every oath is evil.’ In the former law it
was said that if a man killed another he must give a life for a life, an eye
for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, an arm for an arm, an ox for an ox, a slave
for a slave, and much else. But I say to you: ‘Do not fight evil by evil, and
not only do not exact at law an ox for an ox, a slave for a slave, a life for a
life, but do not resist evil at all.’ If anyone wishes to take an ox from you,
give him another; if he wants to take your coat by law, give him your shirt as
well; if anyone knocks out a tooth on one side, turn the other side to him. If
he would make you do one piece of work for him, do two. If men wish to take
your property, let them have it. If they owe you money and do not return it, do
not demand it. And therefore: Do not judge or go to law, do not punish, and you
yourself will not be judged or punished. Forgive everyone and you will be
forgiven; but if you judge others they will judge you also.”
“You cannot
judge, for men are all blind and do not see the truth. How can you see a speck
in your brother's eye when there is dust in your own? You must first get your
own eye clear-but whose eyes are perfectly clear? Can a blind man lead the
blind? They will both fall into the pit. And those who judge and punish are
like blind men leading the blind.”
“Those who judge,
and condemn others to violent treatment, wounds, mutilation, or death, wish to
correct them, but what can come of their teaching except that the pupils will
learn to become just like their teacher? What then will they do when they have
learnt the lesson? Only what their teacher does: violence and murder. And do
not expect to find justice in the courts. To entrust one's love of justice to
men's courts is like throwing precious pearls to swine: they will trample on
them and will tear you to pieces. And therefore the fourth commandment is:
However men may wrong you, do not return evil, do not judge or go to law, do
not sue, and do not punish. In the former law it was said: Do good to men of
your own nation and do harm to foreigners.”
But I tell
you: “Love not only your own countrymen, but people of other nations also. Let
others hate you, attack you, and wrong you, but speak well of them and do good
to them. If you are attached only to your own countrymen, remember that all men
are attached to their own countrymen, and wars result from that. But behave
equally well to men of all nations, and you will be sons of the Father. All men
are His children, so they are all brothers to you.”
“And so
this is the fifth commandment: ‘Treat foreigners as I have told you to treat
one another.’ To the Father of all men there are no separate nations or
separate kingdoms: all are brothers, all sons of one Father. Make no
distinctions among people as to nations and kingdoms.
And so:
1. Do not
be angry, but live at peace with all men.
2. Do not
indulge yourself in sexual gratification.
3. Do not
promise anything on oath to anyone.
4. Do not
resist evil, do not judge and do not go to law.
5. Make no
distinction of nationality, but love foreigners as your own people.
All these
commandments are contained in one:
All that
you wish men to do to you, do you to them.”
“Do not
fulfill these commandments for praise from men. If you do it for men, then from
men you have your reward. But if you do it not for men, your reward is from
your heavenly Father. So if you do good to others do not boast about it before
men. That is what the hypocrites do, to obtain praise. And they get what they
seek. But if you do good to men, do it so that no one sees it, and that your
left hand should not know what your right hand does. And your Father will see
it and will give you what you need.”
“And if you
wish to pray, do not do it as the hypocrites do. They love to pray in the
churches and in the sight of men. They do it for men's praise, and from men
receive what they aim at.”
“But if you
wish to pray, go where no one will see you, and pray to the Father of your
spirit, and He will see what is in your soul and will give you what your soul
desires.”
“When you
pray, do not wag your tongue as the hypocrites do. Your Father knows what you
need before you open your lips.”
“Pray only
thus:
‘Our
Father, without beginning and without end, like the heavens! May Thy being
alone be holy. May power be Thine alone, so that Thy will may be done, without
beginning and without end, on earth. Give me the food of life this present day.
Efface my former mistakes and wipe them out, as I efface and wipe out all the
mistakes my brothers have made; that I may not fall into temptation, but be
saved from evil. For the power and strength are Thine, and the decision is
Thine.’”
“If you
pray, free yourself above all from malice against anyone. For if you do not
forgive others their faults, your Father will not forgive you yours.”
“If you
fast, do so without any parade of it before others. The hypocrites fast that
people should see it and praise them-and people do praise them, so they get
what they wanted. But you should not do so; if you suffer want, go about with a
cheerful face that men may not see, but that your Father may see and give you
what you need.”
“Do not lay
up store for yourself on earth. On earth maggots consume, and rust eats, and
thieves steal: but lay up for yourselves heavenly riches. Heavenly riches are
not consumed by maggots, nor eaten away by rust, nor do thieves steal them.
Where your riches are, there will your heart be also.”
“The light
of the body is the eye, and the light of the soul is the heart. If your eye is
dim your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light of your heart is dim
your whole soul will be in darkness. You cannot serve two masters at the same
time. If you please the one you will offend the other. You cannot serve both
God and the flesh. Either you will work for the earthly life or for God.
Therefore do not be anxious about what you will eat or drink, or how you will
be dressed. For the life is more wonderful than food and clothing and God has
given you this.”
“Look on
God's creatures, the birds. They do not sow or reap or gather in the harvest,
yet God feeds them. In God's sight man is not less than a bird. If God gave man
life, He will be able to feed him too. And you yourselves know that you can do
nothing of yourselves, however you may strive. You cannot lengthen your life by
an hour. And why do you trouble about clothing? The flowers of the field do no
work and do not spin, but they are adorned as Solomon in all his luxury never
was.”
“And if God
has so adorned the grass which grows to-day, and to-morrow is cut down, will He
not clothe you?”
“Do not be
afraid and do not worry; do not say that you must think of what you will eat
and how you will be clothed. All men need these things and God knows that you
need them. So do not trouble about the future. Live in the present day. Take
care to be in the Father's will. Desire that which alone is important, and the
rest will come of itself. Seek only to be in the will of the Father, and do not
trouble about the future, for when it comes its trouble will come too. There is
enough evil in the present.”
“Ask and it
shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it will be opened to you.
Where is there a father who would give his son a stone instead of bread, or a
snake instead of a fish? Then why do you think if we wicked men can give our
children what they need, that your Father in heaven will not give you what you
truly need, if you ask Him? Ask, and the heavenly Father will give the spirit
of life to them that ask Him.”
“Narrow is
the path to life, but enter by that narrow way. There is only one entry to
life-a strait and narrow one. Great and wide is the field around, but it leads
to destruction. The narrow way alone leads to life, and few find it. But do not
be afraid, little flock! The Father has prepared the Kingdom for you. Only,
beware of false prophets and teachers; they come to you in sheep's clothing,
but inwardly are ravening wolves. By their fruits-by what comes from them-you
will know them. From the burdock you do not gather grapes, nor apples from an
aspen. A good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bad fruit. So you will know
these men by the fruits of their teaching.”
“A good man
out of his good heart brings forth all that is good. But an evil man out of his
evil heart brings forth all that is evil. For from the overflow of the heart
the lips speak. And therefore if teachers tell you to do to others what would
be bad for yourselves, if they teach violence, executions, and wars- then you
may know that they are false teachers.”
“For it is
not those who say: 'Lord, Lord!' who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but
those who fulfill the will of the heavenly Father. The false teachers will say:
‘Lord, Lord! We taught your doctrine, and by your teaching drove out evil.’ But
I will disown them and say: ‘No, I never recognized you and do not recognize
you now, Go away from me; you do what is unlawful.’”
“He who
hears these words of mine and acts on them is like a reasonable man who builds
his house on a rock. And his house will stand against all storms. But he who
hears these words of mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who
builds his house on the sand. When a storm comes his house will fall and all in
it will perish.”
And the
people were all astonished at this teaching, for the teaching of Jesus was
quite different from that of the Orthodox professors of the law. They taught a
law that had to be obeyed, but Jesus taught that all men are free. And in Jesus
Christ were fulfilled the prophecies of Isaiah: that a people living in
darkness, in the shadow of death, saw the light of life. That he who brought this
light of truth did no violence or harm to men, but was meek and gentle. To
bring truth into the world he neither disputes nor shouts, nor is his voice
raised, and he will not break a straw or put out the smallest light, and all
the hope of men is in his teaching.
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